Peer and self‐assessment in the first year of university

This paper reviews the literature about peer and self‐assessment in university courses from the point of view of their use, and the suitability of their use, in the first year of university study. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part argues that although first‐year students are involved in many of the studies that report on the use of peer and self‐assessment in higher education, the proportion of these studies that do so is somewhat less than in other year levels. In addition, relatively little of this work directly and explicitly discusses the suitability of peer and self‐assessment for students and courses at this year level. The second part of the paper provides an introductory exploration of the relationship between peer and self‐assessment, and specific features of first‐year assessment, learning and teaching. Three issues relating directly to the suitability of peer and self‐assessment in the first year are explored. In the third part, the paper briefly discusses the desirability of implementing peer and self‐assessment, in general, before seeking to extend this specifically to the first year. The paper concludes by recommending that greater use can and should be made of peer and self‐assessment in the first year of university study.     

Conceptions of first‐year university students of the constituents of matter and the notions of acids and bases

Preconceptions of first‐year university students of the constituents of matter and the notions of acids and bases were investigated on a total of 400 students. The procedure used consisted of free interviews, semi‐structured interviews and questionnaires.

It was found that the constituents of matter were well known to students, but that interactions between these constituents were either totally unknown or were the subject of severe misconceptions. The students’ knowledge tended to be qualitative and formal, with a worrying lack of connection with everyday life.     

Biography and social structure in the socialization of student teachers: a re‐examination of the pupil control ideologies of student teachers

This study examined the effects of the student teaching experience on the pupil control ideologies of student teachers and attempted to assess the relative contributions of biography and social structure in determining student teacher attitudes toward pupil control. The subjects were forty elementary student teachers from one midwestern university. The results indicated that student teachers did not become more custodial in their views toward pupil control by the end of the experience. Furthermore, cooperating teachers exerted little influence on student teacher pupil control ideologies once the effects of biography were removed. It was concluded that biography does play an important part in the socialization of student teachers and that future research on student teaching should consider the effects of biography and social structure together within an interactive model of socialization. Finally, the limitations of focusing exclusively on student teacher ideologies are discussed and the concept of perspectives is offered as a potentially heuristic tool for overcoming these limitations.     

Teacher education policy in Ireland and the challenges of the twenty‐first century

In line with the principles of the Bologna Process, teacher education systems across Europe are converging along a common path. Taking the Republic of Ireland (Ireland) as a case study, this paper examines the European agenda in relation to teacher education and asks how individual nation states are coping with the demands of greater comparability and compatibility. It suggests that while structurally, teacher education in Ireland has undergone significant reform in order to conform to a wider European agenda, significant gaps remain in existing teacher education policy particularly in relation to continuous professional development which will, if not addressed, impede Ireland’s capacity to adequately prepare teachers for the challenges of the twentieth‐first century.     

The effect of time‐on‐task on student grades and grade expectations

The effects of students’ attitudes on time devoted to a course (i.e. time‐on‐task), and the subsequent effects of this time‐on‐task on their performance in the course and their overall grade point average (GPA) were studied. Over a three‐year period, engineering students (N = 231) were surveyed in weeks one, three, seven (after midterms) and 10 (before finals) of a 10‐week quarter in six sophomore and junior engineering classes (eight different sections). Results of this study show that most students are optimistic about their future performance in a new course, regardless of their previous overall GPA. All students appear to devote a relatively high and equal amount of time‐on‐task during the first week of the term. The students who earned grades between ‘B+’ and ‘A’ appear to optimise this time by the third week. Students who earned a final grade of ‘B’ study similar to ‘A’ students before midterms but significantly increase their efforts after midterms while the ‘C’ students decrease their time devoted to the course. This study finds that ‘A’ students know they will earn an ‘A’ as long as they do the work. In contrast, ‘C’ students are resigned to the fact that they will earn a ‘C’ and, thus, devote far less time to a course. The ‘B’ students want better grades and will devote the most effort towards achieving these grades.     

Learning‐to‐learn and learning‐to‐teach: the impact of disciplinary subject study on student‐teachers’ professional identity

A coherent view of student‐teachers’ preparation and the learning experiences to which they are exposed are key to sustaining the relevance of university‐based teacher‐education programmes. Arguably, such coherence is lacking and the research base to an understanding of the student‐teacher experience is still a relatively limited one. This paper takes the view that student‐teachers’ epistemological growth is a key component of their professional development, their sense of identity as intending teachers, and their successful entry into a teaching career. In adopting a phenomenographic approach it explores a chain of evidence which demonstrates that immersion in the processes of learning and knowing, within a specific disciplinary context, had a significant impact on students’ emerging professional identities and on their values as teachers which extends beyond the subject matter itself. Arguably, the findings of this case‐study hold important implications for a teacher‐education programme and for effective pedagogic practice.     

Teaching at the border of despair and hope: supporting the education of non‐traditional working class student teachers

This study focuses on a group of working class adult students' experiences and reactions to their encounters during a foundational series of university courses required of all preprofessional education students. It finds that sharing stressful events and personal information during analytical discussions led to the development of a collegial learning community and added to participants' respect for difference and diversity. The study also finds that these non‐traditional undergraduates viewed their own academic learning experience, as well as their role as college students, through a standpoint of struggle and distress. However, their future professional goal, being a teacher, was defined from an opposite point of view. Education and learning as a profession was viewed as a liberating experience, a way out of poverty and other stressful conditions. The dissonance between these two perspectives is explored from a variety of theoretical perspectives and the discussion ends with a call for more inclusive and flexible university programs that support working class and non‐traditional students' perspectives and needs.     

Re‐asserting the place of context in explaining student (under‐)achievement

One popular view of student achievement is that the quality of teaching students receive plays an important part in whether or not they do well at school. In this article we draw attention to ‘context’ as a complementary explanation, particularly regarding achievement differences between students from different socio‐economic backgrounds. In making these observations, we utilise data from one Australian secondary school located in an economically depressed rural community. Drawing on the insights of Bourdieu, our focus is on the broader social and economic influences that can adversely position students and schools, as well as work to inform the institutional stance that schools take in relation to their students.     

University‐school collaboration and needs assessment in the training of student leadership and peer support in Hong Kong

One hundred seventy secondary schools in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire designed to assess their needs for leadership training of students in different domains of school activities and their endorsement of university‐school collaboration in these activities. The questionnaire also assessed the extent and degree of support and involvement that schools intended to provide in training programs and in organized school activities for students to assume leadership roles in schools. Findings indicated that schools were in need of student leaders in different student activities, especially in those less related to academic concerns. It was stressed that in providing opportunities for student leaders to continue practicing their skills in school activities, other students might eventually benefit through participation in school activities and peer support programs organized by student leaders.     

Discipline orientations of pre‐service teachers before and after student teaching

This study examined the classroom discipline orientations of pre‐service elementary teachers both before and after the student teaching experience. Prior to beginning and immediately after completing their full‐time student teaching experience, pre‐service teachers (N = 220) from three southeastern universities in the USA completed a discipline belief instrument which identified their preferred model of classroom discipline. The results showed that the student teaching experience significantly increased beginning teachers’ preferences toward a more assertive discipline model (Rules and Consequences) and decreased their preferences toward the humanistic discipline model (Relationship–Listening). These results demonstrate that the student teaching experience may be creating a dissonance in prior knowledge and beliefs, and experiences of pre‐service teachers in classrooms. The results of the study suggest that teacher education programs can help pre‐service teachers transition more smoothly into classroom teaching by providing a school–university partnership as well as more lessons and advice on handling specific classroom management situations.     

The relationship between first‐year achievement and the pedagogical‐didactical fit between secondary school and university

Central in this study is the degree to which the pedagogical‐didactical approach in undergraduate programmes aligns with the pedagogical‐didactical approach in secondary schools, and how this is related to first‐year achievement. Approaches to teaching at secondary schools and in first‐year university programmes were examined by interviewing school management, school teachers and university lecturers. The teaching approaches found within the schools were contrasted against the academic teaching approaches, resulting in four types of fit. With multiple regression analysis the relationships between these four types of fit, gender, prior achievement and first‐year achievement were examined. The results showed that prior performance is positively related to first‐year achievement, as well as a fit characterised by more student‐centred teaching in the first year compared to the approach to teaching at secondary school.     

The Acquisition of Science‐related Attitudes and its Relationship to Pre‐student Teaching Experience

It is desirable that secondary school science teachers should, in addition to acquiring factual knowledge in the content area of science, also develop favourable science‐related attitudes. The present science teacher education programmes provided in Teachers’ Colleges in Nigeria make provisions for the acquisition of factual knowledge in science. However, it is assumed that positive science‐related attitudes would be incidentally acquired as secondary product of cognitive outcomes.

This paper is a report of a study in which an instructional package‐‐the Introductory Science Teacher Education (ISTE)‐‐was designed to promote in pre‐service science teachers the acquisition of favourable science‐related attitudes.

A trial administration of the ISTE was carried out in the study. Then the effect of the ISTE on students exposed to it was determined in terms of acquisition of science‐related attitudes and competence in lesson preparation.

The results obtained confirmed that the ISTE could produce better science‐related attitudes than the traditional science teacher education programme. The superiority of the effect of the ISTE on lesson preparation competence of pre‐service science teachers was also established in the study. Thus, a case is made for the need for such a package as the ISTE in science teacher education programmes.     

Inter‐cultural student interaction in post‐graduate business and information technology programs: the potentialities of global study tours

Extant academic literature, the media and views expressed by staff and students report that both local and international students are experiencing dissatisfaction with the lack of inter‐cultural student interaction occurring in classrooms, group discussions and teamwork in post‐graduate studies in the Australian higher education sector. It has been argued that increased interaction between local and international students may improve the overall student experience. This interpretive empirical study explores the potential of global study tours to increase inter‐cultural student interaction through the provision of opportunities for greater cultural understandings.     

Swiss student‐teachers' views of social pedagogy

In recent years a number of policy and practice initiatives concerning pastoral care in schools in England have led to schools increasingly being expected to take a leading role in addressing a widening range of concerns regarding the welfare, care and education of children, and in working more closely with parents and other professional agencies in addressing these. This has included a consideration of the notion of ‘social pedagogy’ as widely practiced in mainland Europe. This paper explores the views of student‐teachers in Switzerland, a country where social pedagogy is well developed, regarding the role of the school in addressing pupil problems. The findings indicate that these Swiss student‐teachers felt schools should take the lead role primarily in areas regarding poor academic progress, bullying, general misbehaviour and disaffection, and less so in areas of a more personal nature for pupils where schools may be less accountable. The findings provide some pointers concerning how Swiss student‐teachers would benefit from greater attention being given to considering such pastoral care issues in their training course.     

Self‐regulation of student epistemic thinking in science: the role of metacognitive prompts

The purpose of the present study is to examine the effectiveness of a metacognitive prompts intervention‐science (MPI‐S), which is based on the nature of science with 162 eighth‐grade science students. It was hypothesised that students exposed to the intervention will show higher levels of content knowledge and knowledge about the nature of science than students in a comparison group. Attempts were also made to determine what cognitive processes are triggered during the use of metacognitive prompts. Findings showed significant improvements in students’ content knowledge and nature of science. In addition, qualitative findings revealed that the experimental group made choices based on evidence in the inquiry unit whereas the comparison group made decisions based on authority. Educational implications for practice into the classroom are discussed.     

Discrimination of the language behavior of college‐and middle‐aged encoders

Language samples of college and middle‐aged respondents were syntactically analyzed in order to determine if the use of college students is appropriate for generalizations to other elements of the population. Multiple Discriminant Analysis was employed to determine correct classification of written language samples based on syntactic categories. Twenty‐two college‐aged subjects and 22 middle‐aged subjects responded to a TAT‐type photograph. The correct classification of college and middle‐aged subjects was 93.18%. A second MDA calculated on a three‐way distinction (college/nursing home employees/educators) yielded 90.91% discriminability. Utilizing a four‐way distinction (freshmen/sophomores/nursing home employees/ educators], the correct classification was 81.82%. Finally, an MDA calculated for male/female resulted in 68.18% discriminability. These results cast doubt on the validity of a “science of sophomores.”     

Breaking the didactic circle: a study on some aspects of the promotion of student‐directed learning by teachers and teacher educators

Although there is a fair amount of knowledge on the issue of promoting student‐directed learning, research indicates that teachers are not always able to put that knowledge into practice. Therefore, new educational practices related to student‐directed learning should be introduced in teacher education. This makes it possible to break the didactic circle of traditionally trained teachers, who take the traditional approach to teaching. This article compares the outcomes of 10 + 9 case studies on student‐directed learning, carried out in two different types of secondary education, with the outcomes of 10 case studies on teacher education in respect of four indicators for student‐directed learning. It explores whether teacher educators take the lead with respect to the promotion of student‐directed learning. As the findings show, this is not the case. We found a lack of attention to personal interest‐oriented learning among student teachers, a lack of competence in using various methods of reflection and a lack of competence in discussing pedagogical choices with student teachers. The conclusion is that student‐directed learning should be supported, in both teaching and teacher education, by devoting more attention to the professional development of teacher educators, especially with respect to these three aspects.

Bien que l'on dispose d'une grande somme de connaissances sur la façon de promouvoir l'apprentissage personnalisé, il ressort de l'étude que les enseignants ne sont pas toujours en mesure de mettre concrètement ces informations en ?uvre. C'est pourquoi de nouvelles pratiques d'enseignement liées à l'apprentissage personnalisé devraient être intégrées à la formation des enseignants. Ceci permettrait de briser le cercle didactique des enseignants formés de façon traditionnelle et n'ayant par conséquent qu'une approche traditionnelle de l'enseignement. Dans le présent article sont comparés les résultats de 10 + 9 études de cas sur l'apprentissage personnalisé effectuées dans deux types différents d'enseignement du second cycle à ceux de 10 études de cas sur la formation des enseignants, au regard de quatre indicateurs pour l'apprentissage personnalisé. Il examine si les formateurs d'enseignants parviennent à imposer la promotion de l'apprentissage personnalisé. Il s'avère que non. Nous avons constaté un manque d'attention accordée à l'apprentissage axé sur les centres d'intérêt personnels chez les futurs enseignants, ainsi qu'un déficit de compétences dans l'utilisation de diverses méthodes de réflexion et dans la discussion des choix pédagogiques avec les futurs enseignants. Nous en concluons qu'il faut promouvoir l'apprentissage personnalisé, tant au niveau de l'enseignement que de la formation des enseignants, en accordant une plus grande importance au développement professionnel des formateurs d'enseignants, notamment en ce qui concerne ces trois aspects.

Obwohl das Wissen über die Förderung des schülerorientierten Lernens beträchtlich ist, weisen Forschungsergebnisse aus, dass Lehrer nicht immer in der Lage sind, dieses Wissen in die Praxis umzusetzen. Aus diesem Grunde sollten neue Praxen in den Bildungsgängen der Lehrerausbildung eingeführt werden, die sich auf schülerorientiertes Lernen beziehen. Das bietet die Möglichkeit, den didaktischen Kreis der herkömmlich ausgebildeten Lehrer zu durchbrechen, die sich der herkömmlichen Unterrichtsmethode verschrieben haben. In diesem Artikel werden die Ergebnisse von 10 + 9 Fallstudien über schülerorientiertes Lernen, die in zwei unterschiedlichen Arten der höheren Schulbildung durchgeführt wurden, mit den Ergebnissen von 10 Fallstudien über Lehrerausbildung in Bezug auf vier Indikatoren für schülerorientiertes Lernen verglichen. Damit wird untersucht, ob Lehrerausbilder die Führung übernehmen, wenn es um die Förderung des schülerorientierten Lernens geht. Wie die Ergebnisse zeigen, ist dies nicht der Fall. Wir stellten mangelnde Beachtung des persönlichen interesseorientierten Lernens der Praktikanten, fehlende Kompetenz in der Nutzung unterschiedlicher Reflexionsmethoden und fehlende Kompetenz in der Erörterung pädagogischer Möglichkeiten mit den Praktikanten fest. Die Schlussfolgerung ist, dass schülerorientiertes Lernen im Lehrberuf und in der Lehrerausbildung unterstützt werden sollte, indem der beruflichen Entwicklung von Lehrerausbildern im Hinblick auf diese drei Aspekte mehr Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet wird.

Aunque abundan los conocimientos acumulados sobre el tema de la promoción del aprendizaje dirigido por los estudiantes, de las investigaciones se desprende que los profesores no siempre son capaces de llevar a la práctica estos conocimientos. Por lo tanto, es imprescindible introducir nuevas prácticas educativas relacionadas con el aprendizaje dirigido por los estudiantes en la formación de profesores. Esto permitiría romper el círculo didáctico de los profesores que recibieron una formación tradicional y que utilizan un método tradicional para enseñar. Este artículo compara los resultados de 10 + 9 estudios de caso sobre el aprendizaje dirigido por los estudiantes, que se llevaron a cabo en dos tipos distintos de enseñanza secundaria, con los resultados de 10 estudios de caso sobre la formación de profesores, en función de cuatro indicadores para el aprendizaje dirigido por los estudiantes. El artículo explora si los formadores de profesores toman la delantera en la promoción del aprendizaje dirigido por los estudiantes. De los resultados se deduce que éste no es el caso. Descubrimos una falta de interés por el aprendizaje orientado hacia los intereses personales entre los estudiantes para profesores, una falta de competencia a la hora de utilizar distintos métodos de reflexión y una falta de competencia a la hora de debatir sobre las opciones pedagógicas con los estudiantes para profesores. De todo ello se concluye que se debe apoyar el aprendizaje dirigido por los estudiantes, tanto en la enseñanza como en la formación de profesores, prestando más atención al desarrollo profesional de los formadores de profesores, especialmente en lo que respecta a estos tres aspectos.     

Relationships between student characteristics and self‐, peer and tutor evaluations of oral presentations

There are many influences on how assessors grade themselves and others. Oral presentations are useful for exploring such factors in peer, self‐ and tutor marked assessments, being rapidly completed and assessed, commonly used in HE and very difficult to anonymize. This opportunistic study examined the effects of gender and level of attainment on the triangulation of marks awarded to student presenters. Grades generated by peer assessment were associated more strongly with tutor‐awarded marks than those from self‐assessment. For self‐assessment there was a strong effect of gender (female students undervalued their performance compared with tutor grades). Peer assessment produced higher marks than from tutors, perhaps because of the close‐knit community developed during residential courses. For tutor marks, the greatest variability was at the lower end of the scale, whereas peer assessors were most variable when marking students who self‐evaluated or peer assessed highly. Students awarded a narrower range of marks to peers compared with tutors, but when self‐assessing used a larger range. Presentations by students who admitted to little sleep the night before received lower grades from both peers and tutors, but this was not reflected by self‐assessments, suggesting they were unaware of their poorer performances. Sessions with fewer talks (four rather than seven) reduced the ‘dip’ in marks previously observed in the middle of sessions. Findings are discussed in the context of bias in this mode of assessment.     

Faith schools in the twenty‐first century

This article is intended as an initial investigation into the foundations of moral psychology. I primarily examine a recent work in moral education, Daniel Lapsley’s and Darcia Narvaez’s ‘Character education’, whose authors seem to assume at points that criteria for discerning moral actions and moral traits can be derived apart from ethics or moral philosophy. This assumption, which appears to stem from misconceptions about both the virtues traditionally understood and the non-empirical nature of moral-philosophical theorising, is problematic: (1) it courts moral relativism, which would preclude arguing for the superiority of any model of moral education, (2) deriving or validating a morality through empirical methods involves a self-undermining stance about the nature of empirical justification and (3) empirical criteria used to delineate morality are unavoidably arbitrary. After examining similarly problematic works by David Wong and Lawrence Kohlberg, I conclude that moral psychologists must wrestle with the problem of moral criteria through substantive engagement with moral philosophy.     

Joining the goblins: fictional narratives and the development of student‐teachers’ reflection on practice in the further education sector

This paper explores ways in which student‐teachers in the Lifelong Learning sector are able to draw on fictionalised accounts of their own teaching practice experiences in order to gain a clearer understanding of their models and expectations of professionalism, and of how they, as individuals, locate their current position within the profession as a community of practice. It argues that the translation of experience into fiction – in this case specifically in the form of fairy tales – can be usefully applied in order to enhance and encourage reflection on practice as part of an action research cycle. Drawing on the evidence gathered, the paper goes on to suggest that student teachers’ main preoccupation at this stage of their development is not so much with meeting ‘standards’ of professionalism as with questions of behaviours and practices that will lead to a sense of belonging and acceptance; and with the need to transform their status, in relation to the profession, from that of outsider to insider.