The Role of Metaphor in Scientific Epistemology: A Constructivist Perspective and Consequences for Science Education

I examine the role played by metaphor, in supporting andconditioning our thinking about theoretical models of learning in science education.Some examples are given, of cases where the use of inappropriate metaphors can actually counteract a properunderstanding of the topic being learnt. With special reference to von Glasersfeld's theory of radicalconstructivism, it is argued that much of the controversy appearing in the academic discussion of this theorystems from the injudicious use of metaphors of ``truth' and ``reality', concepts that are in a sense inheritedfrom the domain of Law. These metaphors are often taken too literally, as representing ``obvious' and henceindisputable constraints on scientific investigation; and they then strongly favour the adoption of an epistemologyof scientific realism, which is at variance with the theory of knowledge that is proposed by radical constructivism.However, it is argued that this realist epistemology is not compelling, since it rests on a somewhat contentiousmetaphoric base, and that a radical-constructivist epistemology offers a better strategy for the purposesof science education.     

The effects of transfer in teaching vocabulary to school children: An analysis of the dependencies between lists of trained and non-trained words

In the present study, 81 Norwegian students were taught the meaning of words by the Word Generation (WG) method and 51 Norwegian students were taught by an approach inspired by the Thinking Schools (TS) concept. Two sets of words were used: a set of words to be trained and a set of non-trained control words. The two teaching methods yielded no significant differences for the trained words, but the WG participants performed better than the TS participants on the non-trained words. An analysis of the dependencies between the trained words and non-trained words suggested that the participants of the WG program, in contrast to the TS students, profited from a transfer effect that resulted in augmented scores on the non-trained words.     

An examination of the roles of the teacher and students during a problem-based learning intervention: lessons learned from a study in a Taiwanese primary mathematics classroom

The benefits of problem-based learning (PBL) to student learning have prompted researchers to investigate this pedagogical approach over the past few decades. However, little research has examined how PBL can be applied to mathematics learning and teaching, especially in countries like Taiwan, where the majority of teachers are accustomed to lecture methods and students are used to this style of teaching. This study examines the actions of a teacher and her class of 35 fifth-grade students (10–11-year-olds) as they tried to take on and respond to the demands of their new roles as “facilitator” and “constructors”, respectively, during a one-year PBL intervention in a Taiwanese mathematics classroom. Our findings provide insights into classroom participants’ role transition, from a customary role to a new role, when engaging with PBL. We identify an interrelationship between the teacher and student roles and discuss implications for the implementation of PBL at the primary education level.     

Differentiating Different Types of Cognitive Load: a Comparison of Different Measures

Recent studies about learning and instruction use cognitive load measurement to pay attention to the human cognitive resources and to the consumption of these resources during the learning process. In order to validate different measures of cognitive load for different cognitive load factors, the present study compares three different methods of objective cognitive load measurement and one subjective method. An experimental three-group design (N = 78) was used, with exposure to seductive details (extraneous cognitive load factor), mental animation tasks (germane cognitive load factor), or the basic learning instruction (control group). Cognitive load was measured by the rhythm method (Park and Brünken 2015), the index of cognitive activity (ICA) (Marshall 2007), and the subjective ratings of mental effort and task difficulty (Paas 1992). Eye-tracking data were used to analyze the attention allocation and as an indicator for cognitive activity. The results show a significantly higher cognitive load for the mental animation group in contrast to the control and the seductive detail group, indicated by rhythm method and subjective ratings, as well as a higher cognitive activity, indicated by eye tracking. Furthermore, the mental animation group shows significantly higher comprehension performance in contrast to the seductive detail group and significantly higher transfer performance in contrast to the control group. The ICA values showed no significant differences in cognitive load. The results provide evidence for the benefits of combining eye-tracking analysis and the results of cognitive load ratings or secondary task performance for a direct and continuous cognitive load assessment and for a differentiating access to the single cognitive load factors.     

The sound of study: Student experiences of listening in the university soundscape

The students from three universities (Groningen, Oldenburg and the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht) were surveyed on the experience of hearing and listening in their studies. Included in the online survey were established questionnaires on hearing loss, tinnitus, hyperacusis, a subscale on psychosocial strain resulting from impaired hearing and a questionnaire about students’ perceptions of listening ease in study environments. Results from the 10,466 students who completed the survey (13% response rate) are highlighted, with particular attention to listening ease and measures proposed by students for improving it. The number of students having problems with hearing and listening transpires to be substantially larger when research is not constrained to students with a recognised hearing impairment, suggesting that listening is primarily a sociocultural performance and achievement rather than an artefact of physical attributes. One finding from our survey is that classroom practices could be more effective if study soundscapes are improved, while universities might exercise greater inclusive responsibility for study as a high quality sensory experience for the benefit of all students.     

Using intellectual capital statements to determine value drivers and priorities for organizational change: a portfolio selection approach

Ex post examination of a firm's performance in key intellectual capital indicators can demonstrate the value-creating potential and the organizational change aspect of intellectual capital reporting and management. These insights form the basis of an intellectual capital portfolio selection problem. Portfolio selection takes place in two stages. First, we calculate mean returns and variances for each market-valued portion of intellectual capital. Based on these estimations, we set up a portfolio selection problem. The solution to this portfolio selection problem provides priorities for organizational change. In this framework, the portfolio weights stand for organizational priorities, the weight constraints represent organizational barriers for change and the correlation of returns stands for the organizational interdependence of the intellectual capital components.     

Citizenship discourses: production and curriculum

This paper explores citizenship discourses empirically through upper secondary school student’s understandings, as these emerge in and through their everyday experiences. Drawing on a post-structuralist theorisation inspired by the work of Michel Foucault, a discourse analysis of data from interviews with students is carried out. This analysis characterises three discourses of the active citizen – a knowledgeable citizen, a responsive and holistic citizen, and a self-responsible ‘free’ citizen. The analysis raises questions over the implications of contemporary efforts for the intensification of standardising forces through citizenship education. It also stresses the notion that engaging students actively does always also involve discourses other than those stressed through the curriculum, which nurtures the body and nerve of democracy itself.     

Value orientations and motivational interference in school-leisure conflict: The case of Vietnam

The experience of motivational interference during studying and leisure in a school-leisure conflict and its relationship to pupils' value orientations were investigated in a self-report study of Vietnamese pupils (N = 346, mean age = 15 years). The results were compared with a combined sample consisting of pupils from nine other countries (N = 2155). From a cross-cultural perspective, the mean values of the variables show that Vietnamese pupils differ with regard to their values and motivational interference from pupils in other countries. Within the Vietnamese sample, modern value orientation was positively related to decision for a studying activity in a school-leisure conflict and to experience of motivational interference during a leisure activity and negatively related to interference during studying. For post-modern value orientation, the relationships were mostly reversed. Despite differences between sample means, the consistency in the relationships between the variables across the samples indicates that the pattern of relationships can be generalized.