Group work at university: significance of personal goals in the regulation strategies of students with positive and negative appraisals

This paper examines the mediating role of students’ goals in group work at university. Research on cooperative and collaborative learning has provided empirical support for the cognitive, motivational and social benefits of group work but the antecedents of motivation and ongoing management of emerging motivational and socio‐emotional issues have received less attention. A theory of self‐regulation that incorporates students’ personal goals and perceptions of context, combined with a sociocultural perspective on co‐regulation of individuals and contexts, can help understand why and how some groups resolve their social challenges while others are less successful. An empirical study highlighted the mediating role of students’ goals in their appraisals of group assignments, perceptions of various aspects of the contexts, and in turn regulation strategies to achieve their goals. Qualitative differences were found in the regulation strategies of students with positive and negative appraisals.     

Local university students and intercultural interactions: conceptualising culture,seeing diversity and experiencing interactions

This paper examines the intercultural interaction experiences of local, first-year students (n?=?25) in their first few weeks at university. The focus on local students complements existing intercultural interaction literature, which has tended to concentrate on the experience of the ‘cultural other’ student. Employing qualitative analysis, the study revealed relationships between how students conceptualise culture, see diversity and experience their initial intercultural interactions on campus. A link between students' cultural backgrounds and the depth of their intercultural interaction experiences emerged.     

Intercultural relationship development at university: A systematic literature review from an ecological and person-in-context perspective

For more than four decades, issues pertaining to the development of intercultural relationships between international and domestic students in university settings have received scholarly attention. However, there appears to be lack of research exploring the extent to, and the manner in which the individual and environmental dimensions interact with one another to co-create this development. This review addresses this gap by scrutinising English-language refereed journal articles from an ecological and person-in-context perspective. The review, involving a constructionist thematic analysis of systematically searched and screened papers, identified the few empirical studies from that perspective, the vague operationalisation of intercultural relationship development, and the methodological limitations of the empirical work. It also generated content-related themes of the individual–environmental interactions in the development of intercultural relationships. The review concludes by suggesting multiple areas of inquiry that warrant further empirical investigations, and by calling for the amplification and refinement of the research methodologies.     

How elementary school students' motivation is connected to self-regulation

Empirical research reveals that students face difficulties engaging in learning and achieving their goals in a variety of learning contexts. To study effectively, students need to regulate their learning process. In spite of increased understanding of cognitive aspects of self-regulation, motivational aspects of regulation have not yet been thoroughly probed. This study investigates how motivation is connected to self-regulated learning when elementary school students (N = 32) study science in real classroom contexts using gStudy software. This was done by: (1) identifying students' situated motivation during the learning process, (2) analyzing how the students with different motivational approaches activated cognitive self-regulation in authentic learning situations across multiple learning episodes, and (3) complementing the understanding with the students' individual accounts of their motivation regulation during the learning process. The results show that there are qualitative differences in the self-regulation tactics used by the high- and low-motivation students as they study. Motivation is linked closely to active self-regulation.     

Internationalisation and the development of students’ intercultural competence

Universities’ internationalisation rhetoric suggests that students studying on internationally diverse campuses will automatically engage positively with one another and develop intercultural competence. This study examined the extent to which a cohort of first year UK and non-UK students studying on an internationally diverse campus developed intercultural competence. The Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI®) and a locally designed survey were used to assess students’ intercultural competence and to explore their intercultural experiences over seven months. Students began almost exclusively in lower (ethnocentric) stages of intercultural development and most showed little progress despite reporting relatively high levels of intercultural contact, friends from other cultures and positive experiences. Findings suggest that even positive intercultural experiences do not necessarily lead to the development of intercultural competence and that university policy and practice may need to be enhanced if producing graduates with higher levels of intercultural competence is to become a realised outcome of internationalisation.     

Motivational vulnerability as a challenge for educational interventions

The focus of this study was on the question, `Are there differences among young (third grade) students who are poor learners in their metacognitive (in)competence and motivational vulnerability that are crucial for better self-regulation?’ This question was studied in an intervention context, where an effort was made to mindfully implement teaching methods that have been found to be effective in promoting strategic learning. The subjects were reading comprehension (in environmental science) and mathematical problem solving. The results suggest there is a need for more coordinated, long-term analyses of transactional, strategy-focused instruction that (a) extends over a long period of time, (b) moves from innovative to more conventional settings as students’ cognitive and motivational competence increases, (c) is based on students’ own, personal and meaningful experiences and competencies, and (d) moves from individual to collaborative, shared and multiple transaction. There also is a need to train students in the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies, emotional coping, and motivation strategies that promote self-regulation.     

Intercultural interactions of mono-cultural,mono-lingual local students in small group learning activities: a Bourdieusian analysis

This research examines the understandings and experiences of mono-cultural, mono-lingual local students in relation to intercultural interactions within small group learning activities at university. Bourdieu’s concepts of field, habitus and capital are employed to illuminate a number of barriers to intercultural interaction. Using qualitative analysis of interviews with local students, the study revealed intercultural interactions to be co-shaped by multiple co-existing, interdependent and often competing structural and contextual elements, as well as the personal dispositions that students bring to the classroom. The field tends to privilege the capital held by local students (knowledge of small group work, verbal confidence, language), and imposes structural limits on interactions. While students' habitus mediates this effect, the overall result discourages interactions between local students and those from different cultural backgrounds. Implications for universities are discussed.     

The perceptions of knowledge and learning of Amazonian indigenous teacher education students

This study focuses on the perceptions of knowledge and learning by indigenous students in an intercultural bilingual teacher education programme in Amazonian Ecuador. The study framed within postcolonial and critical theory attempts to create a space for the indigenous students to speak about their own views through the use of photography and researcher-respondent discussions. We found that the students conceptualised knowledge and learning primarily through their everyday domestic life rather than through their experiences of schooling which appears to play a secondary role.     

Assessing students’ understanding about levers: better test instruments are not enough

This study was designed to investigate variations in students’ responses to lever problems across multiple assessment contexts and formats. Prior to and at the end of a four‐month science unit on simple machines, grade 6/7 students prepared semantic maps, wrote responses to application questions, discussed their written answers, and modelled solutions to practical problems using physical materials. We present data from pre‐ and post‐instruction interviews to show that students’ responses varied in kind and extent across assessment contexts and formats. Such variations in performance are consistent with situated cognition theories which assert that competence is heterogeneous across situations and is a function of interactions between individuals and the contexts in which they perform. Based on these findings, implications are drawn regarding more productive means of assessing students’ understanding in classrooms.     

The Influence of Motivational Regulation Strategies on Online Students’ Behavioral,Emotional, and Cognitive Engagement

Providing effective motivational support is a critical determinant of a successful online distance learning experience for students in higher education. In this study, we examined how students’ academic level and use of 8 motivational regulation strategies influence 3 types of student engagement: behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement. A total of 95 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in online courses in 4-year universities in the United States participated in this study. A series of hierarchical regression analyses of undergraduate and graduate online students (N = 95) showed that behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement are predicted by different motivational regulation strategies after controlling for the academic level. Additionally, students’ academic level was found to be a predictor of cognitive engagement but not a predictor of behavioral engagement or emotional engagement. The results suggest that online course instructors, tutors, and designers should provide students with differentiated motivational scaffolding based on their motivational profile in order to promote different aspects of learning engagement.     

The mediating role of intercultural wonderment: connecting programmatic components to global outcomes in study abroad

This study examines the mediating role of intercultural wonderment in relation to students’ development of a global perspective. We utilize both confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to validate the intercultural wonderment construct and test the direct and indirect effects of the structural pathways in the model, respectively. Additionally, we highlight the relative and comparative effects of our model across cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal dimensions of student development while also testing equivalent and nested models to rule out alternative and rival explanations. The results have broad implications for study abroad researchers and practitioners who are interested in developing a deeper understanding of how students learn and develop in study abroad contexts, while offering a more nuanced understanding of how experiential and constructivist practices influence student learning abroad.     

Influence of ethnic-related diversity experiences on intercultural sensitivity of students at a public university in Malaysia

In this study, the authors examine the influence of ethnic-related diversity experiences on intercultural sensitivity among Malaysian students at a multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual Malaysian public university. Results reveal a significant differential level of ethnic-related diversity experiences (but not at the level of intercultural sensitivity) across ethnic groups studied. In comparison, the minority ethnic group of Indian students had a significantly higher level of ethnic-related diversity experiences than the Chinese and Malay students. The hypothesized significant main effect of level of ethnic-related diversity experiences on the level of intercultural sensitivity among the students is supported. The high-level ethnic-diversity experiences group significantly shows a higher level of intercultural sensitivity than the moderate and low-level groups, and the moderate level group is significantly higher than the low-level group. However, no significant interaction effect of ethnicity and ethnic-related diversity experiences on intercultural sensitivity is found. The implications of these findings are discussed further in the paper.     

Higher education students’ learning challenges and regulatory skills in different learning situations / Desafíos de aprendizaje y habilidades de regulación en distintas situaciones de aprendizaje en estudiantes de educación superior

First-year higher education (HE) students experience different challenges during their studies. These challenging learning situations can trigger self-regulated learning (SRL) skills, which students use to handle these situations. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate (a) first-year HE students’ cognitive, motivational and emotional challenges experienced in both individual and collaborative learning situations and (b) the relationship between SRL skills and experienced learning challenges. Participants included 107 first-year pre-service teachers. Data consisted of students’ self-reports via (a) open-ended answers on a challenge questionnaire and (b) Likert-scale items from MSLQ and MRS questionnaires. Based on students’ SRL profiles, differential effects on the challenging experiences were investigated. The results show that different aspects related to students’ cognition, motivation, emotions and well-being were challenging for students. Also, connections were found between students’ SRL skills and the types of experienced learning challenges. Students with high SRL reported fewer learning challenges related to motivational aspects and more challenges related to cognitive aspects than students with low SRL.     

Fostering personalized learning in science inquiry supported by mobile technologies

In this paper, we present a mobile technology-assisted seamless learning process design where students were facilitated to develop their personalized and diversified understanding in a primary school??s science topic of the life cycles of various living things. A goal-based approach to experiential learning model was adopted as the pedagogical design to support the student??s personalized learning process. We chose to report the student??s inquiry into the life cycles of the spinach plant and the butterfly to pinpoint the how the student??s personalized learning was fostered in the experiential learning. The learning process consisted of (a) in-class enculturation and question posing; (b) out-of-class field trip observation; (c) on site reflection after observation; (c) data collection and conceptualization of life cycles in the field trip; (d) the hands-on experimentation of growing the spinach plant and rearing a butterfly after the trip at home; (e) creation of animations and composition based on the hands-on experience individually either at home or in class to re-conceptualize the life cycles of the spinach plant and the butterfly, and (f) sharing and evaluation of their work in class. Each student was assigned a smartphone on a 1:1, 24?×?7 basis, which was used by individuals to mediate their seamless learning experience across multiple contexts. Through our analysis of the learning content, processes and products, we illuminate how the goal-based approach applied to mobile-assisted experiential learning facilitates students?? personalized learning and helps them to fulfill their agency in such learning experiences.     

Effects of college experiences on male and female student leadership capacity in Taiwan

This study examined how college experiences affect student leadership capacity in the general college population, as well as in male versus female populations. The data were drawn from a longitudinal sample of students across 156 colleges in Taiwan. Results of this study indicated that student leadership capacity increased after college entry. After controlling for pre-college experiences and structural characteristics, various college experiences of curricular learning, cocurricular learning, and interpersonal interaction persisted as significant factors affecting student leadership capacity across genders. College experiences of class skipping and campus residence demonstrated different effects than those found in the Western literature. Comparative results of male and female students in various contexts detected using a statistical method and criteria demonstrated that, in the case of Taiwanese college students, both genders were similarly affected by their college experiences as far as leadership capacity is concerned.     

Conceptualizing Debates in Learning and Educational Research: Toward a Complex Systems Conceptual Framework of Learning

This article proposes a conceptual framework of learning based on perspectives and methodologies being employed in the study of complex physical and social systems to inform educational research. We argue that the contexts in which learning occurs are complex systems with elements or agents at different levels—including neuronal, cognitive, intrapersonal, interpersonal, cultural—in which there are feedback interactions within and across levels of the systems so that collective properties arise (i.e., emerge) from the behaviors of the parts, often with properties that are not individually exhibited by those parts. We analyze the long-running cognitive versus situative learning debate and propose that a complex systems conceptual framework of learning (CSCFL) provides a principled way to achieve a theoretical rapprochement. We conclude with a consideration of more general implications of the CSCFL for educational research.     

Transferring motivation from educational to extramural contexts: a review of the trans-contextual model

Students?? self-determined or autonomous motivation in educational contexts is associated with adaptive educational and behavioural outcomes including persistence on educational tasks and academic performance. A key question for educators is whether promoting autonomous motivation toward activities in an educational context leads to increased autonomous motivation toward related activities in extramural contexts. In this article, we present a trans-contextual model that demonstrates the processes by which autonomous motivation is transferred from educational to extramural contexts. Using an integrated, multi-theory approach including self-determination and planned behaviour theories, we propose a motivational sequence in which perceived support for autonomous motivation for a given activity leads to autonomous motivation in educational contexts but also to autonomous motivation toward activities in extramural contexts. Autonomous motivation toward the activity in extramural contexts is proposed to be associated with attitudes, perceived control, and intentions to perform the activity in future and actual behaviour. We review recent prospective and intervention research that has applied the model to explain the transfer of autonomous motivation toward physical activity from a physical education context to a leisure time context. We also outline how the model can be applied in other educational contexts such as the transfer of motivation for science and language activities in educational contexts to motivation toward assignments in these subjects in extramural contexts. The applicability of the model as a basis for educational interventions to promote motivational transfer across contexts is discussed.     

The relation of students' precollege characteristics and freshman year experience to voluntary attrition

This study assessed the relative influence on attrition of students' precollege characteristics, their experiences and perceptions of the freshman year, and the interactions of sex, major, and racial or ethnic origin with those experiences and perceptions. A series of stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that precollege traits are not significantly related to attrition, that integration in the academic systems of the institution may be more important than involvement in the social systems, and that certain interactions between precollege traits and freshman year experiences and perceptions may be the most important. The findings suggest that attrition reduction efforts may need to be focused on what happens to students after they arrive on campus, on academic areas, and perhaps on the development of selective plans designed for different kinds of students.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Toronto, Canada, March 1978.     

The role of affective and motivational factors in designing personalized learning environments

In this paper, guidelines for designing virtual change agents (VCAs) are proposed to support students?? affective and motivational needs in order to promote personalized learning in online remedial mathematics courses. Automated, dynamic, and personalized support is emphasized in the guidelines through maximizing interactions between VCAs and individual students. The strategies that VCAs convey throughout the interactions are constructed to support emotion regulation and motivation based on theories and prior research on emotions and motivation. The availability and customizability of VCAs enable the strategies to be implemented in real-time and customized for individual students. Implications of the design guidelines for personalized, online learning contexts are discussed and future research directions are recommended as well.