Use of national parks for outdoor environmental education: An Australian case study

The need for environmental education through outdoor education experiences is becoming increasingly evident in outdoor education theory and practice. In Australia, this environmental focus is reflected in recent outdoor education curriculum documents, particularly in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). For many outdoor education teachers who do not have expertise in environmental education, this curriculum development presents a challenge. Outdoor education teachers frequently use National Parks to help them address this challenge.

The study examined the educational objectives and roles of teachers and park staff involved in environmental education through outdoor education in National Parks in Victoria, Australia. This paper discusses findings related to the teachers' educational objectives and roles while those of the park staff are examined in a separate paper. The findings indicate that the teachers often lack the environmental knowledge and skills needed to teach some aspects of the curriculum thus making the role of the park ranger or education officer particularly significant in educating teachers as well as students. Issues are raised about the training of outdoor education teachers and of park rangers to meet the environmental education needs of outdoor education students. Questions are also raised about the appropriateness of using National Parks for outdoor education purposes.     

Explaining Constrains Causal Learning in Childhood

Three experiments investigate how self‐generated explanation influences children's causal learning. Five‐year‐olds (N = 114) observed data consistent with two hypotheses and were prompted to explain or to report each observation. In Study 1, when making novel generalizations, explainers were more likely to favor the hypothesis that accounted for more observations. In Study 2, explainers favored a hypothesis that was consistent with prior knowledge. Study 3 pitted a hypothesis that accounted for more observations against a hypothesis consistent with prior knowledge. Explainers were more likely to base generalizations on prior knowledge. Findings suggest that attempts to explain drive children to evaluate hypotheses using features of “good” explanations, or those supporting generalizations with broad scope, as informed by children's prior knowledge and observations.     

A blended approach to learning: added value and lessons learnt from students' use of computer-based materials for neurological analysis

This paper examines BSc Physiotherapy students’ experiences of developing their neurological observational and analytical skills using a blend of traditional classroom activities and computer‐based materials at the University of Birmingham. New teaching and learning resources were developed and supported in the School of Health Sciences using Web Course Tools combined with a wide range of video clips of patients with neurological disorders on CD‐ROM. These resources provided students with the opportunity to observe “real patients” prior to clinical placements, thus bridging the gap between their theoretical understanding of these disorders and their practical experience of evaluating abnormal movement in the clinical setting. This paper considers how this blended approach to learning enhanced students’ experiences of developing their neurological skills and of preparing for their clinical placements. This paper also discusses the lessons that have been gained from students’ experiences to provide future or similar projects with the opportunity to learn from these experiences.     

The Relation Between Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement Across Childhood and Adolescence: A Meta-Analysis

This research synthesis explores how academic achievement relates to two main components of self-regulated learning for students in elementary and secondary school. Two meta-analyses integrated previous findings on (1) the defining metacognitive processes of self-regulated learning and (2) students’ use of cognitive strategies. Overall correlations were small (metacognitive processes, r?=?0.20; cognitive strategies, r?=?0.11), but there was systematic variation around both of them. Five moderator analyses were conducted to explain this variation. Average correlations significantly differed based on the specific process or strategy, academic subject, grade level, type of self-regulated learning measure, and type of achievement measure. Follow-up tests explored the nature of these differences and largely support the hypotheses. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Using Community Artifacts to Support Novice Math Teacher Educators in Teaching Prospective Teachers

Despite the centrality of math teacher educators (MTEs) in teacher education, we know little about the nature of professional learning opportunities for MTEs to develop and enhance the knowledge needed to teach prospective teachers. Existing models for supporting MTEs in developing their knowledge and practice do not address how to prepare novice MTEs in initially learning to teach prospective teachers. We present a professional learning model we have been pursuing for supporting novice MTEs and the generation of and role for community artifacts, namely lesson plans, in that model. We outline the process by which we implement, analyze, and collectively revise lesson plans so that they are continually improved over time to serve as artifacts that better instantiate what members of the local community are learning about how to support novice MTEs through identification of their problems of practice. Finally, we problematize the model we are investigating and propose implications of this model and questions raised by our work with the goal of inviting further discussion about supporting novice MTEs.

     

Delegating and Distributing Morality: Can We Inscribe Privacy Protection in a Machine?

This paper addresses the question of delegation of morality to a machine, through a consideration of whether or not non-humans can be considered to be moral. The aspect of morality under consideration here is protection of privacy. The topic is introduced through two cases where there was a failure in sharing and retaining personal data protected by UK data protection law, with tragic consequences. In some sense this can be regarded as a failure in the process of delegating morality to a computer database. In the UK, the issues that these cases raise have resulted in legislation designed to protect children which allows for the creation of a huge database for children. Paradoxically, we have the situation where we failed to use digital data in enforcing the law to protect children, yet we may now rely heavily on digital technologies to care for children. I draw on the work of Floridi, Sanders, Collins, Kusch, Latour and Akrich, a spectrum of work stretching from philosophy to sociology of technology and the “seamless web” or “actor–network” approach to studies of technology. Intentionality is considered, but not deemed necessary for meaningful moral behaviour. Floridi’s and Sanders’ concept of “distributed morality” accords with the network of agency characterized by actor–network approaches. The paper concludes that enfranchizing non-humans, in the shape of computer databases of personal data, as moral agents is not necessarily problematic but a balance of delegation of morality must be made between human and non-human actors.     

Rational Higher-Order Belief Revision in Young Children

Belief revision can occur at multiple levels of abstraction, including lower-level and higher-order beliefs. It remains unclear, however, how conflicting evidence interacts with prior beliefs to encourage higher-order belief revision. This study explores how 4- and 5-year-olds (N = 96) respond to evidence that directly conflicts with their causal higher-order beliefs. When shown a single event that directly violated a strongly supported prior belief, preschoolers largely maintained their initial higher-order belief. However, when the prior belief was more weakly supported and the counterevidence was stronger, children changed their minds. These findings indicate that young children can revise their higher-order beliefs and, furthermore, do so depending on the strength of both the evidence and their prior beliefs.     

Enhancing Career Development Through the Career Success Club

The career development of students, demonstrated by students performing appropriate career developmental tasks, is important to institutions of higher education because career developed students are more likely to have career objectives, persist in their academic goals, gain career-related work experience, find employment in their chosen fields, and graduate. The purpose of this study was to determine if the career development of students by class level had been enhanced by participation in a career management plan specifically prepared for undergraduates. The intervention of a career management plan (i.e., the Career Success Club) was successful, especially for seniors and middles, in enhancing the career development of undergraduates. Career management plans may help students that are academically undecided to become more connected to their majors by focusing more on academic and career matters.     

Anxiety, depression, and peer relationships during adolescence: Results from the Portuguese national health behaviour in school-aged children survey

Use data from the Portuguese HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children) survey, which was conducted by one of the authors who is the national representative of the European Study HBSC, a World Health Organisation collaborative study (Currie, Hurrelmann, Setterbulte, Smith, & Todd, 2000; Matos, Simões, Carvalhosa, Reis & Canha 2000), to examine correlates of depression and anxiety in a large, representative sample of adolescents. The study had four aims: (1) to examine the relationship between feelings of anxiety and depression; (2) to examine the association of positive peer relationships, and anxiety and depression in school-age adolescents; (3) to examine the relationship between health, peer relationships, depression and anxiety; and finally, (4) to assess age and gender differences with regard to the above issues. Measures were constructed of depression, anxiety, peer relationships, and health. Consistent with previous studies, anxiety and depression were found to be significantly correlated. A MANOVA revealed that females and adolescents in grades 8 and 10 were more likely to report high anxiety and/or depressive symptoms. High anxiety and depression in adolescence was associated with poor peer relationships and poorer health. Implications of these results and directions for further research are discussed.