Measuring Bullying with the “Life in School” Checklist

James Park, the director of Antidote, criticizes those who believe that the most important task of education is to develop cognitive abilities, without any particular regard for emotional development. He argues that such an approach leaves individuals ill equipped to engage with the challenges that life throws in their path. He feels that, in spite of the recognition in the new National Curriculum Guidance of the significance of emotional processes on learning, government policy as a whole does not always appear to acknowledge this. In his view, ‘feeling and thinking, are engaged in a continuous dance. Individuals who can gracefully glide between the two modes bring energy to the task of learning and thinking’. He goes on to outline the key competencies that individuals require to achieve this, and suggests that these are most effectively achieved through dialogue ‘talking together in ways that allow individuals to understand the thoughts, feelings and values of each other’. The paper concludes with an explanation of the work and aims of Antidote.     

Putting in more: emotional work in adopting online tools in teaching and learning practices

This paper explores the emotional journey associated with changing one's teaching and learning practices and how this constitutes emotional work. The paper analyses the emotions evident in the data from a small-scale phenomenological study of lecturers who are using technological tools in their teaching, learning and assessment practices in one higher education institution. The discussion illuminates the nature and scale of the emotional work experienced by some lecturers when changing their teaching and learning practices to incorporate technology. It indicates that this challenge is so extreme that even the most committed advocates of online teaching practices may consider giving up and reverting to traditional ways of teaching. The paper identifies strategies that lecturers use to manage the anxieties they experience in their adoption of online tools.     

How the second screens change the way people interact and learn: the effects of second screen use on information processing

The use of a second screen can enhance information processing and the execution of search tasks within a given period. In this study, we examined the learner's attentional shift (AS) between two screens and controlled secondary tasks (STs) in the media multitasking setting and its effect on the learning process. In particular, we analyzed how cognitive and emotional learning effects can be explored depending on the role of this setting. A between-subject experiment was conducted with 69 participants (simultaneous vs. sequential use of a second screen in terms of open versus closed STs). The findings showed that there was a greater difference in emotional learning effects than in cognitive learning effects for participants who used a second screen. In terms of estimated emotional learning effects of media multitasking, participants engaged in sequential use demonstrated lower anxiety levels and higher competence beliefs during learning compared to participants who were engaged in simultaneous use. Moreover, an interaction effect occurred in the AS between the two screens and in controlled STs of recognition memory. These results indicate that attentional change and controlled STs are key predictors of learning effects in the media multitasking environment.     

Teaching practices that re-engage early school leavers in further education: an Australian study

Re-engaging young adults who have ‘dropped out’ of school is an important and challenging task for educators. The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching practices that encourage young people to re-engage in further learning. Through interviews with teachers and students, the study identified five major interrelated teaching strategies that were effective in re-engaging young adults in education. These strategies were: strong concern for student welfare; positive teacher–student relationships; relevant course content; a mastery-based approach to learning; and an overarching goal of building students’ confidence in their ability, and more generally, in themselves. Together, these strategies address the behavioural, emotional and cognitive components of student engagement.     

Preschoolers are sensitive to the speaker's knowledge when learning proper names

Unobservable properties that are specific to individuals, such as their proper names, can only be known by people who are familiar with those individuals. Do young children utilize this “familiarity principle” when learning language? Experiment 1 tested whether forty-eight 2- to 4-year-old children were able to determine the referent of a proper name such as “Jessie” based on the knowledge that the speaker was familiar with one individual but unfamiliar with the other. Even 2-year-olds successfully identified Jessie as the individual with whom the speaker was familiar. Experiment 2 examined whether children appreciate this principle at a general level, as do adults, or whether this knowledge may be specific to certain word-learning situations. To test this, forty-eight 3- to 5-year-old children were given the converse of the task in Experiment 1—they were asked to determine the individual with whom the speaker was familiar based on the speaker’s knowledge of an individual’s proper name. Only 5-year-olds reliably succeeded at this task, suggesting that a general understanding of the familiarity principle is a relatively late developmental accomplishment.     

Digital identity formation: socially being real and present on digital networks

Social networks have become popular communication and interaction environments recently. As digital environments, so as ecosystems, they have potential in terms of networked learning as they fulfill some roles such as mediating an environment for digital identity formation and providing social and emotional presence. Based on this phenomenon, the importance of identity formation as a sociological and psychological process was explained throughout this study. Following that, social networks as digital social ecosystems and learning environments in which self-actualization, self-presentation, and self-disclosure of the individuals were discussed and their necessity as well as their potential for social and emotional presence was explained to better understand social networks. Besides, social networks and “Facebook” as a case were examined. Within this perspective, the purpose of this study was to explore online social networks with an emphasis on learning; to put forward its educational premises; and to analyze digital identity formation, social presence, and emotional presence in social networks.     

Dyslexia and the life course

The life stories of adults diagnosed with dyslexia as children were examined, with emphasis on the related emotional experiences. The life story method of narrative analysis was used to compare and analyze the accounts of 12 participants who were interviewed extensively. The findings indicated that self-esteem problems may emerge by early childhood as individuals contend with aspects of their learning disabilities that interfere with typical development. By school age, all participants noted self-esteem problems when they experienced struggles or failures in school, which could feel traumatic. Testing and diagnosis improved self-esteem when conducted in a relevant manner that led to adaptation. The central plots of the participants' lives were characterized by the interplay between the functional challenges of their learning disabilities and the related self-esteem issues. Compensation involved the individual's areas of competence and the resources within the environment. Niches in late adolescence and young adulthood held potential to dramatically improve compensation. Participants generally exhibited four ways of life in adulthood and an added sense of emotional insecurity. Each attempted to integrate lifelong emotional experiences related to living with diagnosed dyslexia.     

Toward a procedure for minimizing and detecting false positive diagnoses of learning disability

Assessment procedures that can significantly enhance motivation to perform are needed so that poor performance due to low or avoidance motivation is not misdiagnosed as indicating ability deficits or as symptomatic of learning disabilities (LD). In this connection, research is under way to investigate the degree to which a highly motivating computer game learning task can improve differential diagnoses of LD. Findings from the initial investigation indicate that a large proportion of students diagnosed as LD were able to learn effectively when pursuing such a task. The results illustrate the key role motivation plays in determining the validity of diagnostic assessment and demonstrate the potential value of similar tasks for use in differentiating, from among individuals diagnosed as LD, those who do not have impaired learning processes.     

Nurseries and emotional well‐being: evaluating an emotionally containing model of professional development

Despite official endorsement of attachment principles in nursery work, these are often not translated into nursery practice. One possible reason for this is that staff training does not sufficiently address the personal implications and anxieties that children's attachments may entail for practitioners. Working from a psychoanalytic perspective on organisational functioning and group learning, this paper describes action research with a group of nursery heads who participated in a professional development programme designed specifically to explore emotional experience in professional work. The positive evaluations of the programme by heads and their staff are described including examples of experiential learning and of increased staff awareness about, and responsiveness to, the emotional experience of children. However, the research also concluded that sustained effectiveness of the model is likely to be dependent on an ongoing culture of attention to the emotional experience of nursery staff within nursery umbrella organisations.     

Support of the collaborative inquiry learning process: influence of support on task and team regulation

Regulation of the learning process is an important condition for efficient and effective learning. In collaborative learning, students have to regulate their collaborative activities (team regulation) next to the regulation of their own learning process focused on the task at hand (task regulation). In this study, we investigate how support of collaborative inquiry learning can influence the use of regulative activities of students. Furthermore, we explore the possible relations between task regulation, team regulation and learning results. This study involves tenth-grade students who worked in pairs in a collaborative inquiry learning environment that was based on a computer simulation, Collisions, developed in the program SimQuest. Students of the same team worked on two different computers and communicated through chat. Chat logs of students from three different conditions are compared. Students in the first condition did not receive any support at all (Control condition). In the second condition, students received an instruction in effective communication, the RIDE rules (RIDE condition). In the third condition, students were, in addition to receiving the RIDE rules instruction, supported by the Collaborative Hypothesis Tool (CHT), which helped the students with formulating hypotheses together (CHT condition). The results show that students overall used more team regulation than task regulation. In the RIDE condition and the CHT condition, students regulated their team activities most often. Moreover, in the CHT condition the regulation of team activities was positively related to the learning results. We can conclude that different measures of support can enhance the use of team regulative activities, which in turn can lead to better learning results.     

基于反思文本的慕课学习情感体验特征分析

慕课作为具有较强体验性特征的教育产品,在为广大学习者提供在线学习机会和优质资源的同时,也带来了独特的情感体验。通过对一门教师教育类慕课前、中、后期与情感体验表达有关的724条学习者反思文本的质性分析,确定了25种积极和消极情感体验,体现了慕课学习情感体验的特有状态,其中,较为常见的有满意、激励、期待、不满、警觉、充实、感兴趣、轻松、高兴、喜欢。从整体情感倾向来看,绝大多数情感体验是积极的,满意、激励与期待三种主要情感体验约占总体的80%,情感体验积极且集中。从课程阶段来看,三个阶段均以积极情感体验为主,前期情感体验表达最为丰富且种类多样,中期的消极情感体验最多。从情感体验指向对象来看,七成指向学习内容,两成指向学习者自身,而指向慕课学习形式、课程资源、学习活动和教师的情感体验相对较少。     

Exploring the influence of course elements and emotional connection to content on students’ approaches to learning in an introductory food science and human nutrition course

Researchers have identified three approaches to learning—surface, strategic, and deep. These approaches are influenced by various contextual and student factors, including teaching methods, assessments, and relevance to future career. The global objective of this study was to explore the influence of course elements and students’ emotional connection to section content on students’ approaches to learning in an introductory Food Science and Human Nutrition course. Students completed two questionnaires for the Nutrition and Health (NH) and Composition and Chemistry (CC) course sections: (a) Entwistle's ASSIST Inventory and (b) a questionnaire developed to assess students’ perceived usefulness of assignments, learning resources, and emotional connection to section content. Students’ approaches to learning did not significantly differ between NH and CC sections, with the majority reporting use of strategic or deep approaches. Generally, positive correlations were obtained for learners who used the deep and strategic approaches and their perceived usefulness of assignments and learning resources. In stark contrast, negative correlations were identified for learners who used the surface approach and their perceived usefulness of learning resources and assignments. Regarding emotional connection to section content, compared to learners who used the deep and strategic approaches, learners who used the surface approach did not enjoy and felt anxious about learning the content in both sections. Furthermore, based on regression analysis, the surface learning approach was a predictor for low exam scores in both sections. Based on these findings, instructors should implement practices in course design, instructional methods, and assessment strategies that help students choose deep and strategic approaches to learning, while minimizing surface approaches.     

论何振岱的古文观

何振岱作为近代福建著名的古文家,在古文创作上受益于谢章铤最多。谢章铤对何振岱的人品、学识及创作亦给予充分的肯定。何振岱治古文能博取众家之长,提出"四理备精,足称大家"之古文观,并在古文"入门说"、"养气说"等方面有独到见解。沉实厚重、长于说理是何振岱古文的一大特色。     

Testing the three-way interaction effect of academic stress,academic self-efficacy,and task value on persistence in learning among Korean college students

Persistence is an important indicator of academic success in higher education. Academic stress, which influences individuals’ learning motivation and behaviors, is inevitable in college life; however, individuals handle it differently based on their expectancy and value beliefs. In this study, academic stress, academic self-efficacy, and task value were chosen as predictors of persistence in learning, and the joint relationship between them was examined. The sample comprised 483 Korean college students. A multiple regression analysis was performed. The results revealed significant main and interaction effects, including a three-way interaction effect of academic stress, academic self-efficacy, and task value on persistence in learning. Particularly, students with strong motivation were less affected by a stressful and demanding environment. Furthermore, academic stress did not appear to be an exclusively negative factor and could be a catalyst to boost persistence in some conditions. Implications of the findings for promoting persistence in learning are discussed.     

Meaning-led learning for pupils with severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties

This paper proposes that learning and teaching for pupils with severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties could be enhanced by a closer focus on emotional factors and on the careful identification of what is meaningful for them. Phil Goss, senior lecturer in counselling and psychotherapy at the University of Central Lancashire draws on understandings about emotional development gleaned from child psychiatry and psychotherapy to inform our awareness of the deep-seated factors that may influence the complex needs of these pupils. He describes a research study in which he analysed findings from interviews with parents and carers about their perceptions of what is meaningful for their children. These outcomes are elaborated using findings from a pilot study on one pupil in which perceptions about what is meaningful for him were used to inform the ongoing planning of his learning. Phil Goss then uses the implications of this study to argue for fuller and more systematic involvement by parents and carers in planning for pupils with severe, and profound and multiple learning difficulties. Finally he suggests ways in which access to learning could be rendered more fruitful by adopting a meaning-led approach.     

Collaborative solving of information problems and group learning outcomes in secondary education / Resolución colaborativa de problemas informacionales y resultados de aprendizaje grupal en la educación secundaria

This research focuses on the study of the processes of collaborative solving of information problems and their impact on group learning outcomes. Forty-nine pairs of students solved three learning tasks with learning goals of increasing complexity: information selection, information interpretation, and interrelating concepts. We analysed two types of data: group work processes and group learning outcomes. The group work processes were assessed using eight dimensions, and group learning outcomes were evaluated in two ways: quality of the group written product, and shared correct knowledge. Findings reveal the significant influence of some aspects of the group work processes (such as searching for information, processing information, shared task regulation, the construction of shared knowledge, and emotional climate) in the group learning outcomes. Results also show that this influence is most evident in tasks with more complex learning demands. Finally, some educational proposals for school education are provided.     

Design,development, and implementation of electronic learning environments for collaborative learning

Developments in society and business, and related changes in higher education and lifelong learning, require educators and educational designers or technologists to rethink education. Examples of such changes are the growing importance of achieving complex learning, the integration of learning and work in education, and the need for improved flexibility with regard to time, place, and individual needs. These changes cannot simply be responded to by adding technological solutions implemented according to existing educational approaches. Instead, an integrated view of e-learning is necessary, characterized by the combination of pedagogical, technical, social, and organizational factors. This two-part special issue elaborates on the different characteristics of integrated e-learning, from design through future topics for research. He would like to give special thanks to Jan Elen and Brent Wilson, who took on the task of reviewing and discussing all of the contributions, both at AECT 2003 in Anaheim and for this issue, and J. Michael Spector, Development Editor of this journal, for his faith in all of us.