Developmental differences in motor task integration: A test of Pascual-Leone's Theory of Constructive Operators

This study assessed the ability of Pascual-Leone's Theory of Constructive Operators to predict the minimum age or maturational level at which integration of a motor task could be achieved. Children 5–12 years of age (n=114) performed a discrete motor task requiring a constrained circular movement to be integrated with an unconstrained linear movement to a target. The Theory of Constructive Operators and the principles of constructive cognition were used to generate a model of task performance. Based on the model and in accordance with the theory, it was predicted that 5- to 6-year-old subjects would lack the cognitive capacity (M-capacity) to efficiently integrate this task. An analysis of covariance for age was performed on task parameters reflecting integration (and highest M-demand) with movement speed as the covariate. Scheffé contrasts supported the prediction as 5- to 6-year-old subjects were inferior to each of the other age groups (p < .05). Furthermore, no significant differences were found to exist between any of the older age groups.     

Ethnography of an auto body repair class: Some implications for cultural transmission

This paper is a study of an ethnography of an auto body repair class in a postsecondary technical school. The class provides the students with the auto body repair skills. The students also learn employer/worker relationships and worker/worker relationships. The students learn their skills by doing them. They learn the role of a worker by being in a situation which simulates an auto body shop situation.     

A case study approach to delivering and evaluating services by a school psychologist

Two interrelated problems in delivering school psychological services by one school psychologist acted as a motivating force behind this study: the problem of how to plan and render services to a school system where the ratio of students to school psychologists is high, and the problem of how to determine the degree of effectiveness of these services. This study describes an approach which consisted of three distinct services rendered by a school psychologist. Evaluative measurements of the services were made in two areas: the effect of the services on the ongoing operations of the system, and the evaluation of the services by school personnel exposed to the services directly or indirectly. The relative merits and the limitations of such an approach are discussed.     

Modeling spatial knowledge

A person's cognitive map, or knowledge of large-scale space, is built up from observations gathered as he travels through the environment. It acts as a problem solver to find routes and relative positions, as well as describing the current location. The TOUR model captures the multiple representations that make up the cognitive map, the problem-solving strategies it uses, and the mechanisms for assimilating new information. The representations have rich collections of states of partial knowledge, which support many of the performance characteristics of common-sense knowledge.     

The effects of didactic classroom instruction versus field exposure on career maturity

This study tested two types of career training (field exposure and didactic classroom) to determine which is more effective in bringing about the development of career maturity. Forty-six first-year Upward Bound students were assigned to either a field exposure or a didactic group by the use of a stratified random assignment technique. A pretest/post-test design was utilized with the Career Maturity Inventory as the data-collecting instrument. The data were analyzed by analysis of covariance. The results of the study indicate that field exposure career training is an effective method to increase career maturity.     

Investigative versus realistic Holland types and adjustment in theoretical engineering majors

This study tested the sensitivity of J. L. Holland's (Making vocational choices: A theory of careers, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1973) congruence method for predicting differential outcomes in the case of subtle person-environment congruence differences. This question is relevant to engineering programs, where students with adjacent Holland orientations of Investigative (I) and Realistic (R) aspire to complete theoretically oriented engineering majors, such as electrical and mechanical engineering. It was hypothesized that high congruence (e.g., I-type student in I-type engineering major) compared to moderately high congruence (e.g., R-type in I-type major) would result in more positive educational outcomes. A preliminary analysis verified that subgroups of I- and R-type students possessed similar scores on measures of general and math aptitude. Results on both outcome measures favored the high student-curriculum congruence hypothesis. I- compared to R-type subjects demonstrated greater persistence in their initial engineering major over a 2-year period and attained higher grades. Persistence findings replicated across two separate classes of entering students, but academic performance differences were not as consistent.