Metacognition, achievement goals, study strategies and academic achievement: pathways to achievement

The purpose of this research was to develop and test a model of effective self-regulated learning. Based on effort expenditure we discerned effective self-regulators and less effective self-regulators. The model comprised achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach and -avoidance goals), metacognition (metacognitive knowledge, regulation and experience), study strategies (metacognitive, deep cognitive, surface cognitive and resource management strategies) and academic achievement. The relationships in the model were tested with controlling for intellectual ability, gender and age. The results showed that effective self-regulated learning involved two pathways: a metacognitive and a strategy pathway. The first pathway involved a positive relationship of mastery goals and a negative relationship of performance-avoidance goals with metacognition. Metacognition positively affected the use of the four study strategies. The strategy pathway involved positive effects of mastery and performance-approach goals on the use of metacognitive and deep cognitive strategies. Further, performance-approach goals positively affected the use of surface cognitive and resource management strategies. The use of metacognitive and resource management strategies had a positive and the use of surface cognitive strategies had a negative effect on exam scores.     

The effects of self-efficacy,hope, and engagement on the academic achievement of secondary education in the Dominican Republic

Achievement in the academic settings has long lasting positive outcomes. In this study, hope, self-efficacy, and engagement are linked to academic success. The aims of this study were to test a model which predicts academic success in the Dominican Republic while testing for the mediator role of engagement. The sample was composed of 614 middle-school students. Scales of Dispositional Hope, Academic Self-Efficacy, Academic Self-concept, and Engagement were used. Academic performance was measured with students' grades in Spanish and Mathematics. Three structural equation models were tested. The retained model stated hope and self-efficacy as antecedents, engagement dimensions as mediators and grades and academic self-concept as final outcomes. There were significant effects of hope and self-efficacy on engagement, and behavioral engagement was the best predictor of academic success. These results point out that interventions should target variables, such as hope or engagement to increase academic success.     

A pedagogical alliance for trust,wellbeing and the identification of errors for learning and formative assessment

Formative assessments and feedback are vital to enhancing learning outcomes but require that learners feel at ease identifying their errors, and receiving feedback from a trusted source – teachers. An experimental test of a new theoretical framework was conducted to cultivate a pedagogical alliance to enhance students’ (a) trust in the teacher, (b) well-being in the learning environment and (c) identification of confusion and errors for the purpose of learning, assessment and feedback. A sample of 101 undergraduate students was randomly assigned to either an intervention (n = 51) or control (n = 50) condition in Elementary Statistics. Results indicated that a pedagogical alliance could be created to enhance student trust in the instructor, leading students to report greater well-being and a higher number of potential areas of confusion in their understanding of new content material relative to a control group. These results have implications for formative feedback, assessments, and by extension learning outcomes.     

PBL in teacher education: its effects on achievement and self-regulation

Problem-based learning (PBL) as an educational practice continues to have great impact on all levels of education and across different disciplines. The aim of this experimental study is to examine the effects of PBL on prospective teachers’ academic achievements and self-regulation. The treatment group (n?=?36) and the control group (n?=?21) comprised Middle East Technical University Language Teaching Department senior students attending the Language Testing and Evaluation Course. Quantitative data were collected via an achievement test, an open-ended application exam and a scale on self-regulation in learning. Qualitative data were obtained through student interviews. The quantitative results revealed that PBL was effective for students’ knowledge, comprehension and application-level achievements, but it had no significant effects on their self-regulation. The content analysis of student interviews yielded some positive findings about the application of PBL in teacher education, its strengths and weaknesses as experienced during implementation, together with individual and group work processes involved. The study offers some suggestions for the application of PBL in large classes generally and specifically in a teacher education course.     

Examining integrated leadership systems in high schools: connecting principal and teacher leadership to organizational processes and student outcomes

Research on school leadership suggests that both principal and teacher leadership are important for school improvement. However, few studies have studied the interaction of principal and teacher leadership as separate but linked systems in how they relate to student outcomes. In this study, we examine how leadership pathways are related in the context of high schools and compare findings to research in elementary schools. Using survey and administrative data from high schools in a large urban context, the paper explores direct and indirect pathways from leadership to student achievement growth. The results indicate that there are 2 pathways through which principal leadership is related to student learning in high schools. One pathway is mediated by teacher leadership, whereas the second pathway does not include teacher leadership. We find that similar to elementary schools, the learning climate is the only organizational factor that links principal and teacher leadership with student achievement.     

Dynamic reciprocal relations of achievement goals with daily experiences of academic success and failure: An ambulatory assessment study

Achievement goals have been linked to achievement in various educational settings. The present work explored day-to-day variations in achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach, performance-avoidance) and their associations with daily experiences of academic success and failure. Ambulatory assessment data from 108 students in Grade 5 were collected, with daily assessments of achievement goals in the morning and end-of-day reports of academic success and failure. Dynamic structural equation models revealed reciprocal within-person effects between mastery goals and academic success. Academic success was further associated with higher mastery and performance-approach goals in the next morning. Academic failure was linked to both performance goals, though this association was not robust in all sensitivity analyses. Higher average daily academic success and lower average academic failure were linked to better academic achievement one year later. Findings suggest meaningful within-person dynamics among goals and daily academic success and failure.     

The effects of digital storytelling on student achievement,social presence,and attitude in online collaborative learning environments

This study investigated the effects of digital storytelling on student achievement, social presence, and attitude in online collaborative learning environments. Students in one middle school course were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups after they received initial general instruction regarding teamwork skills. The “digital storytelling-based online collaborative learning (DST-OCL)” and the “general online collaborative learning (G-OCL)” groups received subsequent associated skills training. The overall results indicated that after each group took part in the treatment during online collaborative learning activities, the “DST-OCL” groups had significantly higher social presence than the “G-OCL” groups. Specifically, using “DST-OCL” strategies was significantly more effective than using “G-OCL” strategies for improving the “online communication,” “interactivity,” and “privacy” components of students’ social presence in online collaborative learning environments. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding student achievement and attitude. The findings of this study offer an insight into methods for using digital storytelling as an instructional strategy for improving online collaborative learning effectiveness.     

Future time orientation and learning conceptions: effects on metacognitive strategies,self-efficacy beliefs,study effort and academic achievement

During the past decade, research on the constructive learning process has been conducted mainly from two perspectives: student approaches to learning (SAL) and self-regulated learning (SRL). The SAL perspective has highlighted the role of learning conceptions with respect to other topics involved in constructive learning processes, whereas recently the SAL perspective has emphasised the effects of the future time perspective (FTP) and self-efficacy beliefs about these topics. Based on these two lines of research (SRL and SAL), using path analysis, we explored the direct and indirect effects of FTP and learning conceptions on self-efficacy, metacognitive strategies, effort and academic performance. Likewise, we identified some patterns that combine specific factors related to these variables. Participants in the present study were 100 (84% females, 16% males) Spanish fourth year university students enrolled in the Social Sciences Degree Programme. The ages of the students ranged from 18 to 49 (M = 22.02; SD = 3.68) and their participation was voluntary and anonymous. Likert-scale inventories were used to obtain data from students: FTP; learning conceptions; metacognitive strategies scale; and self-efficacy beliefs for SAL. On the one hand, the path analysis showed interesting indirect and direct relationships between topics with regard to key constructs of each of these research perspectives (SRL/SAL). However, these results do not coincide with the body of knowledge about FTP. On the other hand, results obtained using cluster and discriminant analysis revealed three specific patterns: a meaning orientation to learning and the future, a reproductive orientation to learning and the present, and an unusual pattern explained by the influence of historical-cultural characteristics on learning practices in educational contexts. We consider that this last pattern presents relevant implications for educational practice.     

The relation between classroom management and mathematics achievement: A multilevel structural equation model

The impact of teachers on their students’ academic achievement continues to be an area of inquiry. One area not fully explored is the relation between teachers’ behavior and classroom management (CM) skills, student motivation, and student achievement. We examined these relations using a multi‐level structural equation model. Data included Behavior Management subscale scores of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System for 247 fourth and fifth grade teachers, indicators of academic motivation, and end‐of‐year state standardized mathematics assessment results for 4,847 students from the National Center of Teacher Effectiveness Main Study. The results indicate teachers’ CM skills have a significant direct effect on student motivation and a significant indirect effect on students’ math achievement, suggesting that students in classrooms of teachers with better CM are more motivated to learn math and have higher math achievement scores. This underscores the importance of helping teachers increase their use of evidence‐based classroom management techniques.     

A reciprocal test of perceptions of teaching quality and approaches to learning: A longitudinal examination of teaching-learning connections

Abstract

Biggs' Presage–Process–Product (3P) model provides a flexible model for testing hypotheses about intra-psychic and contextual effects on student learning processes and outcomes; however, few empirical studies have effectively tested the longitudinal and reciprocal effects implied by the model. The current study provides an empirical test of theorised reciprocal relationships operating over time implied by the 3P model between perceived teaching quality and approaches to learning. The current study examines a longitudinal sample of Japanese university students (n = 1348; female = 404) from 18 degree programmes. Data from a reciprocal latent model were analysed using structural equation modelling. Modelling identified significant reciprocal effects between teaching quality and deep approaches to learning. Deep (positively) and surface (negatively) predicted annualised GPA (moderate and large effects, respectively). Consistent with a systems theory perspective on teaching and learning, longitudinal results supported hypothesised reciprocal relationships between perceptions of teaching quality and approaches. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Self-regulated learning partially mediates the effect of self-regulated learning interventions on achievement in higher education: A meta-analysis

It is often assumed that interventions aimed at supporting students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) are effective for improving achievement because these interventions support SRL activity. In this study, meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) was used to test whether SRL activity indeed mediates the effect of SRL interventions on achievement in higher education. Contrary to popular belief, the results only provide evidence for partial mediation. Furthermore, three separate meta-analyses were performed to investigate the role of possible moderators of the relations between: (1) SRL interventions and achievement, (2) SRL interventions and SRL activity, and (3) SRL activity and achievement. Although SRL interventions were effective in improving SRL activity and achievement, most of the study, measurement, and intervention moderators did not explain significant variance of the investigated effect sizes. Other factors, such as task motivation and time on task, potentially influence the effectiveness of SRL interventions. Practical, theoretical and methodological implications are provided.     

Peers and academic achievement: A longitudinal study on selection and socialization effects of in-class friends

The present study was conducted to analyze whether in-class friends influence each other's grades, and whether adolescents tend to select friends that are similar to them in terms of academic achievement. During 1 academic year, 542 eighth-grade students (M age = 13.3 years) reported on 3 different occasions on their in-class friendship networks. At these occasions their report card grades for 3 subjects were copied from their files. We tested whether academic achievement functions as a selection criterion for friendship, and whether academic achievement is influenced by in-class friends, using social network analytic techniques. Socialization effects for Dutch and English language grades, but not for mathematics grades, were found. We found no support for selection effects of grades.     

Secondary School Students Learning From Reflections on the Rationale Behind Self-Made Errors: A Field Experiment

Thus far, it is unclear how students can learn most effectively from their own errors. In this study, reflections on the rationale behind self-made errors are assumed to enhance knowledge acquisition. In a field experiment with pre/post/follow-up design, the authors practiced fractions with 174 seventh- and eighth-grade students who were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: The students reflected on either the rationale behind their own errors or on the correct solution corresponding to their own errors. Students in the first condition group demonstrated a greater procedural knowledge at the posttest and at the follow-up test. Furthermore, at the follow-up test, these students demonstrated a higher conceptual knowledge. The implications for theory and school instruction are discussed.     

专业学位研究生英语自主性教学模式探索——基于结构方程建模的实证研究

专业学位研究生英语教学尚属外语教学领域的新生事物。运用结构方程建模的研究结果显示：不同类型的专业学位研究生在英语能力、学习行为和课程需求方面存在较显著的分化。西安交通大学在一项历时3年的教改实验中,采用基于自主性学习理念的立体化课程设置和教学模式,适合专业学位硕士学时较短、突出应用的特点,为专业学位研究生英语教学探索出了一条新的道路。     

The effects of formative assessment pre-lecture online chapter quizzes and student-initiated inquiries to the instructor on academic achievement

This study's goal was to quantify the effects pre-lecture online quizzes and student-initiated inquiries to the instructor, either virtually or in person, had on students' achievement. Pre- and post-course tests were also implemented to an experimental and a comparison section of the same course. The number of electronic administrative contacts was positively related to achievement, and the number of in-person contacts was negatively related. The number of quizzes taken in the first section of the course was positively related, while the number of quizzes taken in subsequent sections of the course was not related, nor was quiz performance. Perhaps providing the opportunity to take the quizzes prompted the students to become involved in the course earlier on, thus establishing a sound basis for the following material. Complementing traditional teaching methods was not intrusive to highly structured course content already in place.     

Adaptive and effortful control and academic self-efficacy beliefs on achievement: A longitudinal study of 1st through 3rd graders

The linkages between self-regulatory processes and achievement were examined across 3 years in 733 children beginning at 1st grade (M = 6.57 years, S.D. = .39 at 1st grade) who were identified as lower achieving in literacy. Accounting for consistencies in measures (from 1 year prior) and for influences of child's age, gender, IQ, ethnicity and economic adversity on achievement, results indicate that adaptive/effortful control at 1st grade contributed to both academic self-efficacy beliefs at 2nd grade, and reading (but not math) achievement at 3rd grade. Although academic self-efficacy did not partially mediate the linkage between adaptive/effortful control and achievement, academic self-efficacy beliefs were positively correlated with reading and math. Results support the notion that early efforts to promote children's self-regulatory skills would enhance future academic self-beliefs and achievement, particularly in literacy.     

英语学习动机与自我认同变化——-对五所高校跟踪研究的结构方程模型分析

本文是大学生英语学习动机与自我认同跟踪项目的一部分, 考察动机类型与自我认同变化的关系。研究材料是同一问卷在四年中五次施测获得的定量数据, 对象为北京五所高校1300 余名学生。结构方程模型检验发现, 英语学习动机类型与自我认同变化相互影响, 前者对后者的影响更大。随着时间的推移, 动机对自我认同的影响具有下降趋势, 而认同对动机的影响先降后升。此外, 学习成绩动机与情境动机、出国动机与削减性认同变化始终显著相关。     

Environmental knowledge and behavioural outcomes of tourism students in Australia: towards testing a range of mediation and moderated mediation effects

Our study examines the environmental knowledge (EK) and behavioural outcomes of students studying ecotourism in Sydney, Australia. Three competing models were tested to examine the relationships between EK, participation intention (PI) in ecotourism programs, landscape likeability (LL) and social interactions (SI); and the study also tested the moderated mediation influence of gender differences and relationship length on mediators. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data collected from 173 residential tourism students. Key findings suggest whilst LL and PI are significant outcomes of EK, LL has a stronger mediating effect on PI compared to SI; and all mediation effects are further moderated by gender differences. However, only Model 3 confirms the moderating effect of the length of relationship. Noting the key role that EK plays in influencing their PI and LL, our study also suggests ways of developing the tourism students’ EK, through various experiential and pedagogical interventions.     

Synthesizing research evidence on self-regulated learning and academic achievement in online and blended learning environments: A scoping review

The present study synthesizes research evidence on self-regulated learning (SRL) and academic achievement in online and blended learning environments from intervention and cross-sectional studies. We examined 163 studies conducted in various countries and different learning contexts in terms of study characteristics, methodology, and SRL features. The current study found that SRL in the online and blended learning contexts has been an important topic and has received increased attention. The results revealed the importance of SRL for improving students' academic performance in the STEM field. It also demonstrated that the majority of the studies adopted multiple SRL strategies throughout mixed phases. This study confirmed the effectiveness of SRL on academic achievement in online or blended learning. However, the present study also identified that research on children's and adolescents' SRL strategies in online learning contexts is urgently needed and most of the available research did not focus on the preparatory and planning phases of SRL which are extremely important.     

Alternative perspectives on learning outcomes: challenges for assessment

In discussing the relationship between curriculum and assessment it is commonly argued that assessment should be aligned to curriculum or, alternatively, that they should be congruent with each other. This article explores that relationship in five educational contexts in the UK and in Europe, ranging across school education, workplace learning, vocational education and higher education. Four main themes are highlighted: construct definition, progression, assessment procedures, and system-level accountability. What emerges from the five case studies under review is a multi-layered process of knowledge being constructed in diverse ways at different levels in each context. The article concludes that, rather than thinking in terms of either alignment or congruence, these relationships are better understood in terms of non-linear systems embracing curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.