Students’ meaning making in science: solving energy resource problems in virtual worlds combined with spreadsheets to develop graphs

The aim of this study is to scrutinize the characteristics of conceptual meaning making when students engage with virtual worlds in combination with a spreadsheet with the aim to develop graphs. We study how these tools and the representations they contain or enable students to construct serve to influence their understanding of energy resource consumption. The data were gathered in 1st grade upper-secondary science classes and they constitute the basis for the interaction analysis of students?? meaning making with representations. Our analyses demonstrate the difficulties involved in developing students?? orientation toward more conceptual orientations to representations of the knowledge domain. Virtual worlds do not in themselves represent a solution to this problem.     

From Dogmatism to Open-Mindedness? Historical Reflections on Methods in Audience Reception Research

The article traces, from the perspective of audience reception research, the gradual methodological rapprochement of once hostile methodological paradigms: the quantitatively oriented uses-and-gratifications research and the qualitatively anchored reception research. While recognizing that the methodological differences stem ultimately from different epistemological perspectives, the article describes how these differences have been played out on the terrain of empirical methodologies for conducting fieldwork on audience practices and meanings. The article considers four stages of this rapprochement: (1) antagonistic self-sufficiency; (2) separate camps; (3) self-critical coexistence; and (4) complementarity and collaboration.     

Communication apprehension and the type‐a personality

Do Type‐A individuals experience communication apprehension? Consistent with theoretical expectations, the data at hand suggest the answer is a qualified “no.” Individuals evidencing a Type‐A personality reported significantly less CA than their Type‐B counterparts. This pattern of findings was strongest for apprehension about communicating in “collective” contexts (e.g., public, group, meeting) but diminished for CA in more “intimate” circumstances (e.g., interpersonal).     

The psychological characteristics of experiences that influence science motivation and content knowledge

ABSTRACT

While motivational changes towards science are common during adolescence, our work asks which perceived classroom experiences are most strongly related to these changes. Additionally, we examine which experiences are most strongly associated with learning classroom content. In particular, using self-reports from a sample of approximately 3000 middle school students, this study investigates the influence of perceived science classroom experiences, namely student engagement and perceived success, on motivational change (fascination, values, competency belief) and content knowledge. Controlling for demographic information, school effects, and initial levels of motivation and content knowledge, we find that dimensions of engagement (affect, behavioural/cognitive) and perceived success are differentially associated with changes in particular motivational constructs and learning. Affective engagement is positively associated with motivational outcomes and negatively associated with learning outcomes, behavioural–cognitive engagement is associated only with learning, and perceived success is related only to motivational outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The Learning Benefits of Being Willing and Able to Engage in Scientific Argumentation

Engaging in science as an argumentative practice can promote students’ critical thinking, reflection, and evaluation of evidence. However, many do not approach science in this way. Furthermore, the presumed confrontational nature of argumentation may run against cultural norms particularly during the sensitive time of early adolescence. This paper explores whether middle-school students’ ability to engage in critical components of argumentation in science impacts science classroom learning. It also examines whether students’ willingness to do so attenuates or moderates that benefit. In other words, does one need to be both willing and able to engage critically with the discursive nature of science to receive benefits to learning? This study of middle-school students participating in four months of inquiry science shows a positive impact of argumentative sensemaking ability on learning, as well as instances of a moderating effect of one's willingness to engage in argumentative discourse. Possible mechanisms and the potential impacts to educational practices are discussed.     

Practising Helps: Thermodynamics,History, and Experiment

Teaching undergraduate students thermodynamics is quite often reduced to a mere mathematical treatment of Gedankenexperimente based on the two abstract fundamental postulates of thermodynamics. In a course given at the University of Oldenburg we attempt to remedy the deficiencies of such courses. Our aims are twofold: First we try to take the historical context into consideration in order to illustrate the importance of the socio-economical development for the scientific progress. Secondly, we include experimental work into the course. Here, we use replications of past experiments. In this paper I will describe the course and compare it, firstly, with two ``classical' approaches represented by the textbooks of H.B. Callen and F. Reif; secondly, I will point out the advantages the use of replications have compared to ``modern adaptions'.     

Effects of critical thinking on multiple-document comprehension

European Journal of Psychology of Education - The purpose of this study was to test the relationships between critical thinking, prior topic knowledge and beliefs, and multiple-document...     

The Use of ICT in Education: a survey of schools in Europe

The Survey of Schools: ICT in education commissioned in 2011 by the European Commission took place between January 2011 and November 2012, with data collection in autumn 2011. This article presents the main findings of the Survey based on over 190,000 questionnaire answers from students, teachers and head teachers in primary, lower and upper secondary schools randomly sampled. The article details the analytical framework design and the survey methodology implemented. It then presents the main ‘state of the art’ indicators that have been built, concerning ICT infrastructure and access to it, frequency of students' ICT based activities during lessons, level of teachers' and students' confidence in their digital competences, their opinion about using ICT for teaching and learning, and the school strategies to support ICT integration in teaching and learning. The article also presents the main findings of the exploratory part of the analysis, introducing the concepts of digitally supportive school, digitally confident and supportive teacher and digitally confident and supportive student, estimating their respective proportion at EU level on average and by country and investigating whether high percentage of digitally supportive schools include high percentages of digitally confident and positive teachers and students. A few recommendations for policy making at European, national, regional/local and institutional levels conclude the article.     

Adults' learning motivation: Expectancy of success,value, and the role of affective memories

The present study tested the applicability of expectancy-value theory to adults' learning motivation. Motivation was measured as the anticipated reaction (AR) of German students (N = 300) to receiving their instructions in English as a new learning opportunity. We used structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. Expectancies of success and values from school predicted current expectancy and value, which, in turn, accounted for about 64% of variance in AR. In addition, we explicitly tested the hitherto neglected role of affective memories as a major precursor of value, expectancy of success, and AR. Results show a small direct effect of only negative affective memories on AR, leading to a significant incremental prediction of AR in addition to expectancy and value. Thus, motivation and experiences at secondary school appear to play a crucial role in adults' learning motivation, mediated by expectancy and value specific to the learning opportunity.