Dyadic executive function effects in children's collaborative hypermedia learning

The current study investigated the extent to which executive functions (EF) affect how prior knowledge predicts hypermedia learning outcomes in primary school children. Learning outcomes were: individual knowledge and transfer, and dyadic assignment quality. Eighty-seven same-sex dyads participated in a hypermedia WebQuest assignment about the heart and living a healthy lifestyle. EF measures were action control and attention control. Dyadic analyses were performed using actor-partner interdependence models with dyads distinguished by EF. Analyses showed that one's own pre-test predicted one's own and partner's post-test for both higher and lower EF dyad members. Furthermore, for dyad members with relative higher EF only, their own and partner's pre-test predicted transfer. Finally, the lower action control dyad member's pre-test and the higher attention control dyad member's pre-test predicted assignment quality. These results show the importance of EF and prior knowledge for deeper conceptual understanding in a collaborative learning setting.     

The Whole PIE: A roadmap to comprehensive excellence

Responding to the alarming numbers of dissatisfied members of the U.S. workforce, this article introduces a workable plan of action titled “The Whole PIE,” which is useful for members of the workforce at all levels, to enhance their internal locus of control and enhance the quality of life at work for themselves and others. Starting with actions geared toward personal (“P”) performance enhancement, and subsequently graduating to actions at the interactive (“I”) and external (“E”) level, the text leads the reader toward a comprehensive perspective (The Whole “PIE”) in which short‐term and long‐term actors and factors are considered in one's workplace performance.     

Reducing Supervisee Anxiety: A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach

The effectiveness of counselor supervision is often diminished because of supervisee anxiety. Drawing from the cognitive theories, this article contends that supervisee anxiety is a result of placing one's self-worth on the external, and often vague, criteria of approval from others and competence in one's performance. While it is not uncommon or unprofessional for supervisees to feel anxious, high levels of anxiety can trigger a variety of defensive reactions that inhibit the learning process. For this reason, supervisors are encouraged to help supervisees resolve their approval and performance anxiety and thus increase their potential for growth and change. The anxiety management approach presented in this article is based on the principles of rational-emotive and cognitive-behavior therapies and stresses the importance of identifying feelings and beliefs, cognitive restructuring, and behavior risk taking.     

Enhanced monitoring accuracy and test performance: Incremental effects of judgment training over and above repeated testing

From a self-regulated learning perspective, adequate monitoring of own learning processes and outcomes is crucial to regulate one's own learning effectively. Research on metacognitive judgments, however, clearly indicates that students frequently overestimate their actual performance. Therefore, the present study with N = 209 undergraduate students aimed to support students in developing accurate judgments in order to improve learning processes and, eventually, performance. A quasi-experimental design with three conditions (metacognitive training, testing, and control) and five testing sessions was implemented. In addition to repeated testing plus individual feedback in the testing group, students in the metacognitive training group received psychoeducation, made item-specific judgments, and were given feedback. Over and above the positive effects of repeated testing, metacognitive training positively influenced several monitoring accuracy scores (bias, absolute accuracy, and specificity) and students' performance. Moreover, the metacognitive training group exhibited a nonlinear interindividual decrease in overconfidence. Overall, the study provided considerable evidence that monitoring accuracy and performance can be improved by means of judgment training.     

Scientific Literacy: The Role of Goal-Directed Reading and Evaluation in Understanding Scientific Information

In this article, we examine the mental processes and representations that are required of laypersons when learning about science issues from texts. We begin by defining scientific literacy as the ability to understand and critically evaluate scientific content in order to achieve one's goals. We then present 3 challenges of learning from science texts: the intrinsic complexity of science phenomena, the need to coordinate multiple documents of various types, and the rhetorical structure of the texts themselves. Because scientific information focuses on models, theories, explanations, and evidence, we focus on how explanatory and argumentative texts are processed. Then we examine 2 components of executive control in reading—goal-directed guidance and evaluation of content—that readers can acquire and adopt to deal with these challenges. Finally, we discuss 3 implications that these theories and empirical findings have for interventions intended to improve laypersons’ understanding of scientific information.     

Maternal and paternal similarities and differences in parenting: An examination of Mexican-American parents of young children

The present study evaluated the degree of parental similarity–dissimilarity across parenting dimensions operationalized in terms of: (1) one's own and one's partner's style; (2) meta-emotion belief structures; (3) behavioral strategies in reaction to children's emotions; as well as (4) parental support and responsiveness. The first four dimensions were assessed with independent self-reports from both mothers and fathers and the latter was measured through observed behaviors in a discussion of emotions. Fifty-seven families participated. The mothers (92%) and fathers (90%) of preschool-aged children (mean age 57.5 months, 54% male) were predominantly of Mexican descent. Results revealed significant similarity when comparing mothers’ and fathers’ observed behaviors. Agreement among parents also emerged when comparing minimizing coping reactions to children's emotional displays and self-reported and reports of one's partner's authoritative parenting. Despite evidence of agreement on use of authoritative strategies and similarity on observed behaviors, comparisons of mean levels revealed dissimilarity. The participating mothers reported a greater tendency to employ authoritative strategies and their partners’ ratings of the mothers’ parenting confirmed this perceived difference. In addition, comparisons of mothers’ and fathers’ observed behaviors in interaction with their children suggested that, while mothers and fathers are engaged in similar behaviors, mothers are observed to engage in them more frequently. These results reinforce the need to assess both parents, employing multiple methods, in determining interdependence or their combined and unique contributions to socializing children.     

Dynamic learner profiling and automatic learner classification for adaptive e-learning environment

E-learning allows learners individually to learn “anywhere, anytime” and offers immediate access to specific information. However, learners have different behaviors, learning styles, attitudes, and aptitudes, which affect their learning process, and therefore learning environments need to adapt according to these differences, so as to increase the results of the learning process. In addition, providing the same learning content to all the learners may lead to a reduction in the learner's performance. Hence, there is a need to classify the learners based on their performance and knowledge level. Learner profiles play an important role in making the e-learning environment adaptive. Providing an adaptive learning environment, catering to the changing needs and behavior of the learner can be achieved by evolving dynamic learner profiles. Navigation logs can be used to analyze learners’ behavior over a period of time. In this work, we propose dynamic learner profiling to cater to changing learner behaviors, styles, goals, preferences, performances, knowledge level, learner's state, content difficulty, and feedbacks. Based on the continuous observation of learner preferences and requirements, the learner profile is dynamically updated. Furthermore, we propose an automatic learner classification to construct the learner profile and identify the complexity level of learning content, using the Bayesian belief network and decision tree techniques. We evaluated our system with two traditional adaptive e-learning systems, using static profiles and behavioral aspects, through our performance evaluation method of different learner types. In addition, we compared the actual learners’ data with the system generated results for various types of learners, and showed the increased interest in their learning outcomes.     

Internet Infidelity: Double Standards and the Differing Views of Women and Men

This exploratory study analyzed which types of acts involving the Internet are considered most severe, sex differences in the perceptions of infidelity, and the evaluation of infidelity when one commits it versus one's partner. Two-hundred and eight participants rated the severity of 44 specific acts (e.g., disclosing love to a person met in an Internet chat room) on either the self-infidelity or partner-infidelity questionnaire. The results indicated that involving/goal-directed acts were rated as more severe than superficial/informal acts, women viewed involving/goal-directed acts of Internet infidelity as more severe than did men, and partner-infidelity was perceived as more severe than self-infidelity. The severity of 44 specific acts are also provided, and this information advances our ability to describe infidelity on the Internet and predict if, and to what degree, others will consider particular actions as infidelity. The implications of these results, as well as future directions, are discussed.     

Tacit Teaching

This essay reflects upon certain aspects of Wittgenstein's own practices as a teacher. Doing philosophy always took priority for Wittgenstein, whether this was in oral or written form: it was important to show the deep puzzles in our language (and our culture and thinking) as a step toward dissolving them. In this respect, one can teach only as a guide; it is a matter of showing more than saying.

Wittgenstein's approach suggests a model that I will call tacit teaching. Tacit teaching refers to the many forms of informal instruction—some intentional, some unintentional, and some difficult to categorize simply as one or the other—by which skills, capacities, and dispositions are passed along within a domain of practice. Wittgenstein repeatedly uses the language of signposts, of wandering through a city, of being lost and finding one's way, of needing a guide, of learning how to go on by one's self, to refer to the complex web of knowledge and understanding that allows successful autonomous practice in some discipline: most pertinently, in the context of Wittgenstein's own teaching and writing, the discipline of doing philosophy, but with clear reference to teaching and learning in other complex and ill‐structured domains as well.     

Children's self‐regulated learning profile in language and mathematics: The role of task value beliefs

This study explored the self‐regulated learning (SRL) profile of upper elementary (fifth and sixth grade) school children who were differentiated in their task value beliefs (low and high) in language and mathematics. Students' SRL profile involved their teachers' ratings of achievement outcomes and SRL behaviors. The subscale of task value beliefs from the Motivational Self‐Regulated Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was administered to the children, and their teachers completed a battery of scales and measurements concerning students' achievement and SRL behaviors. The results confirm previous evidence indicating that SRL involves high levels of motivation, metacognition, and strategic action. Furthermore, the results support the domain‐specific character of task value beliefs. Differences in teachers' evaluations about the achievement outcomes and SRL behaviors regarding the two groups of students (low and high in task value beliefs) were found significant mostly in the domain of mathematics. Students with high value beliefs in mathematics were described as more cognitively, metacognitively, and motivationally competent learners as compared to students with lower value beliefs. The results suggest that future intervention studies should focus on strengthening task value beliefs in “threatening” school subjects, such as mathematics, from the elementary school years. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Development of the Metacognitive Skills of Prediction and Evaluation in Children With or Without Math Disability

Metacognition refers to knowledge about one's own cognition. The present study was designed to assess metacognitive skills that either precede or follow task engagement, rather than the processes that occur during a task. Specifically, we examined prediction and evaluation skills among children with (n= 17) or without (n= 179) mathematics learning disability (MLD), from grades 2 to 4. Children were asked to predict which of several math problems they could solve correctly; later, they were asked to solve those problems. They were asked to evaluate whether their solution to each of another set of problems was correct. Children's ability to evaluate their answers to math problems improved from grade 2 to grade 3, whereas there was no change over time in the children's ability to predict which problems they could solve correctly. Children with MLD were less accurate than children without MLD in evaluating both their correct and incorrect solutions, and they were less accurate at predicting which problems they could solve correctly. However, children with MLD were as accurate as their peers in correctly predicting that they could not solve specific math problems. The findings have implications for the usefulness of children's self‐review during mathematics problem solving.     

Goal-Directed Behavior in Children with Down Syndrome: The Role of Joint Play Situations

Children's goal-directed behaviors were examined in independent play sessions before and after a joint-play interaction with their mothers for a group of children with Down syndrome (n = 22) and a control group of mental and language age matched typically developing children (n = 24). While both groups showed comparable amounts of time spent in independent goal-directed play during the pre session and similar play responses with their mothers during the joint play session, only the control children significantly increased their goal-directed behavior from the pre to the post session. Maternal behaviors that provided information about how to use the toy predicted increases from the pre to post sessions in independent goal-directed play but only for the control children. These findings suggest that children with Down syndrome may have more difficulty transferring the goal-directed play behaviors they can use with support from their mothers to an independent play situation. Findings are discussed in relation to early education program design for children with Down syndrome.     

The influence of achievement goals on collaborative interactions and knowledge convergence

Although there is evidence of the influence of achievement goals on individuals’ learning, less is known about their influence on collaborative groups. In this study, 45 pairs of college students engaged in a building task. Twenty-three of the pairs were assigned to a learning goal condition and 22 to a performance goal condition. Pre- and post-test measures were used to quantify differences in outcomes, knowledge convergence and knowledge convergence mechanisms between conditions; qualitative coding was conducted to understand differences in interactions. Results indicated no difference in overall measures of learning and performance outcomes between conditions. However, groups with a learning goal showed more knowledge convergence than groups with a performance goal. Groups with a learning goal engaged in more reflection and more explanations during the task than groups with a performance goal. These results suggest that achievement goals influence interaction behaviors when students are engaged in collaborative activities.     

The role of basic need fulfillment in academic dishonesty: A self-determination theory perspective

The sharp rise in academic dishonesty is prompting increased concern in educational institutions. Based on the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), we posited that frustration of the three basic psychological needs for autonomy (endorsing one's actions at the highest level of reflection), competence (feeling capable in one's pursuits), and relatedness (feelings of belonging and connection with others) underpins the likelihood of academic deception. We tested this hypothesis in two studies. Study 1 (n = 121) utilized an experimental design in which need fulfillment was manipulated by providing different instructions about accomplishing a task to a sample of undergraduate students. Results showed that participants in the need-frustration condition were more likely to cheat, whereas those in the need-satisfaction condition were least likely to cheat. Those in the neutral condition scored in between the other two groups. In Study 2, we investigated whether autonomous motivation mediated the effect of need fulfillment on academic dishonesty in a sample of junior high school students (n = 115). A mediation analysis showed that perceived need fulfillment in learning activities was positively associated with autonomous motivation, which, in turn, was inversely related to self-reported academic dishonesty. Implications for promoting needs-supportive educational strategies are discussed.     

Self-efficacy and prior domain knowledge: to what extent does monitoring mediate their relationship with hypermedia learning?

While research has documented the key role of monitoring processes during hypermedia learning, limited empirical research has used process data to examine the possibility that these processes mediate the relationship between motivational constructs (such as self-efficacy) and cognitive factors (such as prior domain knowledge) with hypermedia learning outcomes. This multi-method study addressed this issue by examining: (1) The extent to which the relationship between self-efficacy and hypermedia learning outcomes is mediated by the use of specific monitoring processes and; (2) The extent to which the relationship between prior domain knowledge and hypermedia learning outcomes is mediated by the use of specific monitoring processes. Participants included 68 education majors. A self-report questionnaire was used to measure self-efficacy, a pretest was used to measure prior domain knowledge, a posttest was used to measure learning outcomes, and a think-aloud protocol were used to identify the deployment of monitoring processes during a 30-min hypermedia learning task. Results indicated that the relationship between self-efficacy and specific monitoring processes (Monitoring Understanding, Monitoring Environment, and Monitoring Progress Towards Goals) was significantly detectable. Additionally, the relationship between prior domain knowledge and Monitoring Understanding was significantly detectable. Lastly, regression analyses revealed that the relationship between self-efficacy and hypermedia learning outcomes was mediated by the extent to which participants monitored their understanding and the environment.     

Modelling by teacher educators

A desirable professional competency of teacher educators is the ability to explicitly model for their students, the thoughts and actions that underpin one's pedagogical approach. However desirable, the articulation of knowledge of practice is a difficult and complex task that demands considerable awareness of oneself, pedagogy and students. This article explores the nature and development of explicit modelling by two teacher educators in the context of a preservice education programme in an Australian University. The article illustrates how through their collaborative self-study, the teacher educator/authors have begun to conceptualise a pedagogy of teacher education that is based on learning from the experience of ‘being explicit’.     

Measuring faculty learning in curriculum and teaching competence online courses

Online education is used for a variety of purposes in higher education. Two such purposes are improving one's performance over time and understanding one's professional development in the context of online teaching and learning. Relying on data from online staff development courses delivered in five Spanish universities, this article explores online faculty learning through the lens of staff development theory. This theoretical perspective emphasizes the universities' quality assurance contexts and offers an empirical examination of the ways in which faculty members learn curriculum and teaching competencies (CTCs) in online staff development programmes. At the core of this analysis is the contention that faculty members understand and respond to quality teaching lessons and activities. Finally, this study highlights the points deemed important when designing, implementing, and evaluating Internet CTC training courses.     

Exploring the effects of online learning behaviors on short-term and long-term learning outcomes in flipped classrooms

ABSTRACT

The flipped classroom pedagogy has been widely used recently. Despite many researches have paid attention with the learning outcome of flipped classroom, there has been limited attention in regard to investigate the relationship between learning behavior and learning outcomes in a flipped classroom. In this paper, we proposed to investigate the influence of online learning behaviors on short-term and long-term learning outcomes in a flipped classroom. This study used Calculus and grade point average (GPA) scores to represent short-term and long-term learning outcomes, respectively. Multiple linear regression indicated that students’ online learning behavior does not have a significant effect on short-term learning outcomes, but has a significant effect on long-term learning outcomes. For applying multiple correspondence analysis, students were divided into groups according to five grade levels based on their scores. According to GPA grade level, students’ online learning behaviors had a significant effect on long-term learning outcomes for the five groups (GPAa, GPAb, GPAc, GPAd, GPAe). According to their Calculus grade level, students’ online learning behaviors had a significant effect on short-term learning outcomes for three groups (CALa, CALd, and CALe), but two groups (CALb and CALc) did not demonstrate this trend. For exploring the effects of online learning behaviors on future learning outcomes, GPA can be considered representative because the GPA was calculated for the entire academic year 2015. Students in the CALa group exhibited the highest frequency of online learning behaviors and obtained the highest GPA grade levels (GPAa and GPAb). For the CALb, CALc, CALd, and CALe groups, students with a higher frequency of online learning behaviors obtained a higher GPA grade level. These results indicate that students’ online learning behaviors have a positive effect on future learning outcomes.     

王阳明龙场悟道的意义

人最重要的是先找到自己的定盘星,亲证人伦物理,不能把闻见之知当成真理。要自己成全自己、自己对自己负责。