Young girls’ spatial and arithmetic performance: The mediating role of maternal supportive interactions during joint spatial problem solving

The present study addresses girls’ (6–7-year-olds; N = 162) early spatial and arithmetic skills within the context of learning environments provided by their mothers. The study was designed to determine the relationship between maternal supportive interactions on a joint origami spatial problem-solving task and their first grade daughters’ spatial and arithmetic skills. During home visits the mothers and daughters were videotaped jointly solving origami tasks with maternal supportive interactions assessed through ratings of maternal stimulation of cognitive development and maternal quality of assistance; the girls were separately assessed in school on spatial and arithmetic skills. Using structural equation modeling, the main findings were (1) maternal supportive interactions on a mother–child origami task mediated the relation between mothers’ spatial skills/educational level and their daughters’ spatial skills and (2) their daughters’ spatial skills in turn mediated the relation between quality of maternal supportive spatial interactions and the daughters’ arithmetic achievement. The present findings indicate the importance of early maternal supportive interactions relating to spatial problem solving for girls’ spatial and arithmetic achievement. Furthermore, all pathways linking girls’ home environments and arithmetic skills were mediated through the girls’ spatial skills, suggesting that for young girls, development of early spatial skills may be important for effective arithmetic learning.     

Home and preschool learning environments and their relations to the development of early numeracy skills

This study examined the influence of the quality of home and preschool learning environments on the development of early numeracy skills in Germany, drawing on a sample of 532 children in 97 preschools. Latent growth curve models were used to investigate early numeracy skills and their development from the first (average age: 3 years) to the third year (average age: 5 years) of preschool. Several child and family background factors (e.g., gender, maternal education, socioeconomic status), measures of the home learning environment (e.g., literacy- and numeracy-related activities), and measures of preschool structural and process quality (e.g., ECERS-E, ECERS-R) were tested as predictors of numeracy skills and their development. The analyses identified child and family background factors that predicted numeracy skills in the first year of preschool and their development over the three points of measurement—particularly gender, parental native language status (German/other), socioeconomic status, and mother's educational level. The quality of the home learning environment was strongly associated with numeracy skills in the first year of preschool, and this advantage was maintained at later ages. In contrast, the process quality of the preschool was not related to numeracy skills at the first measurement, but was significantly related to development over the period observed. The results underline the differential impact of the two learning environments on the development of numeracy skills. Interaction effects are explored and discussed.     

Parents supporting learning: a non-intensive intervention supporting literacy and numeracy in the home learning environment

In Australia, emphasis in early childhood education policy is placed on the importance of the role of the family as a child's first educator, and finding effective ways to raise the effectiveness of parents in supporting children's learning, development and well-being. International studies demonstrate that the home learning environment (HLE) provided by parents is closely associated with children's cognitive outcomes: literacy activities at home are likely to predict children's literacy abilities and numeracy activities at home are likely to predict children's numeracy abilities. However, studies focusing on building the capacity of primary caregivers to increase informal learning opportunities, such as enhancing children's literacy and numeracy learning in the HLE, have rarely been the focus of research. This study uses a sample of 113 four-year-old children to explore the association of specific aspects of the HLE with different child outcomes while controlling for child and family characteristics. In addition, a non-intensive, yet purposeful and systematic intervention to draw parents’ attention to the principles of dialogic reading and the principles of counting was introduced. Study findings suggest that parents responded positively to this approach, and that literacy and numeracy aspects of the HLE were specific predictors for children's numeracy and literacy competencies.     

Relations between home numeracy experiences and basic calculation skills of children with and without specific language impairment

The present study examined the relations between home numeracy experiences (i.e., parent–child numeracy activities and parents’ numeracy expectations) and basic calculation skills (i.e., addition and subtraction) of children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and their peers with Normal Language Achievement (NLA), while taking into account their cognitive and linguistic capacities. Fifty children with SLI and 100 children with NLA were tested on cognitive, linguistic, and basic calculation skills, and their parents filled in questionnaires on home numeracy activities and numeracy expectations. The results showed parents of children with SLI report engaging in fewer numeracy-related activities and have lower numeracy expectations for their children than parents of children with NLA. Furthermore, parent–child numeracy activities were more strongly associated with addition and subtraction for children with SLI. It is thus especially important that parents of children with SLI are made aware of their important role in the development of their child's basic calculation skills.     

The relationship between home literacy practices and developmental trajectories of emergent literacy and conventional literacy skills for Korean children

Previous studies with English-speaking families in the North American context demonstrated that home literacy practices have positive influences on children’s literacy acquisition. The present study expands previous studies by examining how home literacy practices are related to growth trajectories of emergent literacy skills (i.e., vocabulary, letter-name knowledge, and phonological awareness) and conventional literacy skills (i.e., word reading, pseudoword reading, and spelling), and by using data from Korean children and families (N = 192). The study revealed two dimensions of home literacy practices, home reading and parent teaching. Frequent reading at home was positively associated with children’s emergent literacy skills as well as conventional literacy skills in Korean. However, children whose parents reported more frequent teaching tended to have low scores in their phonological awareness, vocabulary, word reading and pseudoword reading after accounting for home reading. These results suggest a bidirectional relationship between home literacy practices, parent teaching in particular, and children’s literacy skills such that parents adjust their teaching in response to their child’s literacy acquisition. Furthermore, cultural variation in views on parent teaching may explain these results.

Case study: use of problem-based learning to develop students' technical and professional skills

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogy that has attracted attention for many biomedical engineering curricula. The aim of the current study was to address the research question, ‘Does PBL enable students to develop desirable professional engineering skills?’ The desirable skills identified were communication, teamwork, problem solving and self-directed learning. Forty-seven students enrolled in a biomedical materials course participated in the case study. Students worked in teams to complete a series of problems throughout the semester. The results showed that students made significant improvements in their problem-solving skills, written communication and self-directed learning. Students also demonstrated an ability to work in teams and communicate orally. In conclusion, this case study provides empirical evidence of the efficacy of PBL on student learning. We discuss findings from our study and provide observations of student performance and perceptions that could be useful for faculty and researchers interested in PBL for biomedical engineering education.     

The assessment of learning skills in nursing student selection: A scoping review

Abstract

Higher education student selection has significant societal, institutional and individual impacts. Thousands of applicants apply only for nursing, one of the major higher education disciplines. As the nursing profession is characterised by cognitive requirements, higher education institutions assess the learning skills of nursing applicants. However, there has been no comprehensive analysis of learning skills assessment for nursing student selection. The purpose of this scoping review was to describe the assessment of learning skills in undergraduate nursing student selection. Five databases were systematically searched, and 24 studies published between 2006 and 2016 were included. Learning skills were most commonly assessed using standardised tests in the areas of language and communication, reasoning, mathematics and natural sciences. Overall scores of onsite selection methods were found to best predict future academic performance. The results indicate that higher education institutions may benefit from comprehensive assessment of learning skills in their selection processes. This assessment should focus on a wider range of cognitive aptitudes, including reasoning skills. This review focussed on nursing education, but the results may benefit other higher education disciplines due to the generic nature of learning skills and similar cognitive requirements of higher education studies. The results support the development of more comprehensive and valid methods for assessing learning skills.     

Student teachers’ skills in the implementation of collaborative learning: A multilevel approach

This study explores the development of student teachers’ skills in implementing collaborative learning (CL) using a multilevel repeated measures design. Participants were 105 pre-service teachers that were trained in CL implementation. The results indicate that student teachers generally perform well in implementing CL. Further, it appears that these skills increase over time, although no linear growth can be found. Student teachers’ skills development appears to be positively connected with their general feeling of teaching efficacy. Surprisingly, training and students’ pedagogical knowledge have no significant impact.     

Developmental trajectories of children's spatial skills: Influencing variables and associations with later mathematical thinking

Few studies have examined the long-term relations between children's early spatial skills and their later mathematical abilities. In the current study, we investigated children's developmental trajectories of spatial skills across four waves from age 3–7 years and their association with children's later mathematical understanding. We assessed children's development in a large, heterogeneous sample of children (N = 586) from diverse cultural backgrounds and mostly low-income homes. Spatial and mathematical skills were measured using standardized assessments. Children's starting points and rate of growth in spatial skills were investigated using latent growth curve models. We explored the influence of various covariates on spatial skill development and found that socioeconomic status, language skills, and sex, but not migration background predicted children's spatial development. Furthermore, our findings showed that children's initial spatial skills––but not their rate of growth––predicted later mathematical understanding, indicating that early spatial reasoning may play a crucial role for learning mathematics.     

Beyond educational attainment: The importance of skills and lifelong learning for social outcomes. Evidence for Europe from PIAAC

Empirical evidence suggests that educational attainment nurtures people's social outcomes and promotes active participation in society and stability. However, it is unclear to what extent other types of human capital also correlate with social outcomes. Hence, we explored the opportunity offered by the PIAAC survey through its provision of information on educational attainment, observed individual key skills proficiency, and participation in adult education and training (adult lifelong learning). We therefore studied the association between these human capital variables and social outcomes, and more specifically interpersonal trust and participation in volunteering activities. Results revealed that these social outcomes were affected not only by the formal qualification obtained, determined by the education variable, but also throughout the life‐cycle. Indeed, education and training when undertaken during adult life have a significant impact, especially on volunteering. The fact that the skill proficiency also plays a significant role is extremely relevant, as skills are more likely to change over the life‐cycle, either in a positive or negative way. Whilst the formal education received is constant after exiting the educational system, skills reflect competences more accurately: first, because those with the same level of education may have different skill levels because of differences in the quality of education or ability; second, because skills can vary over time. For example, they may increase with work experience or informal education, or decrease as a result of depreciation and ageing. These findings suggest that social outcomes are prone to be affected by many factors other than formal education, suggesting that policy makers can implement recommendations even after formal education has been completed.     

The dynamic roles of cognitive reappraisal and self-regulated learning during mathematics problem solving: A mixed methods investigation

Emotion regulation (ER) and self-regulated learning (SRL) are crucial to learners’ academic achievements. To date, little research has considered the dynamic relations between cognitive reappraisal (as a form of ER) and SRL in middle-to-upper-elementary-aged children. To address this gap, we conducted an explanatory mixed-methods study to examine relations between cognitive reappraisal, the four macro phases of SRL (task definition, planning/goal setting, enactment of learning strategies, monitoring/evaluation), and mathematics problem-solving outcomes in a sample of 134 elementary students from grades 3 through 6. Path analysis revealed that cognitive reappraisal positively predicted all four phases of SRL, but that the four phases of SRL did not predict cognitive reappraisal. Moreover, both task definition and planning/goal setting positively predicted enactment and monitoring/evaluation. Results from path analyses further revealed that task definition mediated relations between cognitive reappraisal and enactment, and reappraisal and monitoring. Enactment mediated relations between reappraisal and mathematics problem-solving outcomes. Finally, enactment predicted mathematics problem-solving outcomes. Further, quantitative results were cross-validated by results from trend analyses; results converged regarding the weakly sequenced nature of SRL and with regard to cognitive reappraisal serving as an important antecedent for effective SRL.     

谈高职学校《数据结构》教学中思维能力和学习兴趣的培养

作者结合高职学生的特点,依据《数据结构》课程的教学目标,从教学实践出发,对《数据结构》课程教学中学生思维能力和学习兴趣的培养提出了一些具体措施和方法,以期加强“数据结构”课程建设。     

University teacher roles and competencies in online learning environments: a theoretical analysis of teaching and learning practices

The aim of this article is to clarify the university teacher roles and competencies in online learning environments, with a view to assisting in the design of professional development activities. This referential framework results from an extensive review of the literature and from analysing professional development designed in different European universities. It is worth mentioning that the definitions that will be produced do not refer to standards of teacher performance; on the contrary, we would like to emphasise the notion of socially situated competencies which are derived from the roles and tasks attributed to university teachers in online learning environments, without losing track of the dialectics and integrity of their exercise.     

Building bridges to student learning: Perceptions of the learning environment,engagement, and learning outcomes among Chinese undergraduates

The study examined the relationships among students’ perceptions of the learning environment, prior academic achievement, engagement, and learning outcomes (cumulative university GPA, generic skills development, and learning satisfaction) with a sample of 2,616 seniors from a full-time research-oriented university in Mainland China. The results supported a model which showed that students’ perceptions of the learning environment and prior academic achievement had direct effects on learning outcomes, and indirect effects via their engagement. The effects, however, varied depending on the type of the outcome in question: (1) Student engagement mediated the relationship between course experience and generic skills development, (2) cocurricular experience positively predicted learning satisfaction, (3) first semester GPA positively predicted cumulative university GPA, and (4) National College Entrance Examination scores did not correlate with any other factor. A major proportion of the variance in the three types of learning outcomes was accounted for by the model, showing its effectiveness in predicting university students’ learning. Implications for improving undergraduate education in China are provided.     

The effects of sustained classroom-embedded teacher professional learning on teacher efficacy and related student achievement

This paper reports on the impact of a classroom-embedded professional learning (PL) program for mathematics teaching in two contrasting districts in Canada, and investigates the relationship between teacher efficacy and student achievement. Before the PL, District A had lower teacher efficacy and student achievement than District B, but after the PL, this situation was reversed. Qualitative analysis revealed that the two districts reported learning very different things from the PL opportunity. The complexities of context, prior learning experiences, goal setting, and persistence of participants all factored into what and how teachers learned.     

Models and measures of learning outcomes for non-technical skills in simulation-based medical education: Findings from an integrated scoping review of research and content analysis of curricular learning objectives

Simulations are increasingly used to enhance ‘non-technical’ skills (NTS) in medical education but little is known about the effectiveness of many simulations. The field lacks robust outcome measures and there is lack of clarity about educationally relevant conceptual and operational dimensions of NTS to support instrument development and testing. Our study addresses this dual gap through a multi-component design focusing on three key NTS: interprofessional teamwork, communication and decision-making. A Scoping Review (ScR) was utilised to synthesise instruments used in recent publications on medical/clinical simulations targeting NTS. Full-text analysis identified a sub-set of robust instruments for further analysis. Systematic qualitative content analysis of learning objectives (LOs) in UK medical education curricula identified and synthesised the conceptual dimensions underlying NTS. Finally, identified measures’ dimensions were systematically compared with the dimensions of curricular LOs to establish the extent to which instruments used in current SBL-research address desired learning goals, and to identify relevant measures and gaps. The ScR identified 225 studies from 2018−20 of which 72 met the inclusion criteria. 31/72 studies referred to a named instrument in their abstract, including 27 unique instruments. The curriculum analysis identified a set of key conceptual dimensions of each of the target NTS. Finally, comparative analysis found that while the outcome measures used in the SBL-studies addressed many of the identified curricular LO-dimensions, there are significant gaps, notably relating to evidence use and inclusive practice. Moreover, it revealed there is little conceptual overlap between the instruments, highlighting the need for further research to ensure comparability of different studies. This study contributes to our understanding and evaluation of learning outcomes in, and our readiness to generate a rigorous evidence base for, NTS-focused SBL, by describing conceptual and operational constructs of NTS-learning outcomes in medical education and identifying appropriate validated assessment instruments to evaluate SBL.     

Education,parenting and family: The social geographies of family learning

This paper explores the relationship between education, parenting and family through the prism and particularities of family learning. Family learning is an example of an educational initiative, primarily aimed at parents and linked to wider policy concerns, which can be explored through a mapping of its social geographies; family learning is played out across and productive of different sites, spaces and identities. Based on qualitative research undertaken in West London, this paper draws on individual and group interviews with mothers participating in family learning classes and interviews with family learning providers. The key argument we extend is that focusing on the social geographies of family learning ‐ of home, school, work, community and nation ‐ allows us to see how educational initiatives extend the state's reach in family life, producing particular normative versions of family and ‘good’ parenting operating at a range of interconnecting scales. Education remains a cornerstone of family policy in the UK and detailed analyses of specific initiatives at the point of implementation – how they are practiced and received – is vital for better understanding their diverse and varied effects in contemporary society.     

Acquiring information from simple weather maps: Influences of domain-specific knowledge and general visual–spatial abilities

The influences of domain-specific meteorological knowledge and general visual–spatial abilities on the comprehension of simple weather maps were examined in a regression-based study involving a sample of participants with relatively low meteorological knowledge and in an experiment involving a contrast between samples of higher- and lower-knowledge participants. Results from the first study indicated that the roles of domain-specific knowledge and visual–spatial abilities for lower-knowledge individuals were strongly influenced by the presence of supporting geographic information (i.e., city locations) in the weather maps being interpreted. Results from the second study underscored the importance of domain-specific meteorological knowledge and map familiarity and, surprisingly, pointed to a single visual–spatial ability (speed of closure) that mediated both of these influences.     

The limits of learning: homelessness and educating the employable self

Across national contexts, in the attempt to develop and buttress ‘knowledge economies’, increasing pressure is placed on the need for flexible lifelong learners capable of constant knowledge and skills renewal. In this paper, I explore the impact of this broader sociopolitical context on the policy approach to poverty and, in particular, homelessness in Australia. Examining the ways in which education and learning for adults are increasingly at the centre of public policies, I trace the uses of education and learning in homelessness policy. Contextualising this within a consideration of recent shift towards a ‘skills agenda’ in the adult education sector, I argue that the purported power of education in homelessness policy must be understood in light of structural inequalities in the labour market and in the society more broadly.     

Insightful learning in the laboratory: Some experiences from 10 years of designing and using conceptual labs

This paper describes a series of projects on the design and implementation of ‘conceptual labs’ aimed at developing insightful learning, following work that began in 1994/1995. The main focus has been on courses in mechanics and electric circuit theory. The approach taken in designing these innovative curricula can be described as ‘design-based research’. A common feature in these learning environments is the use of technology as a tool to aid students’ inquiry. In addition, systematic variation, based on the theory of variation, has been introduced into the design of the assigned tasks. Results from conceptual inventories have demonstrated the success of conceptual labs. In the later projects, video recording was used to study students’ courses of action in labs. This paper describes how these studies have provided insights into conditions that are critical for learning and how these insights have helped the present author and his co-workers make further improvements to learning environments.