Knowledge and Appearance in Children's Pictorial Representation

Seven and nine year olds were asked to draw two three‐dimensional objects (a cube and a wedge). When there was disjunction between their knowledge of the object's structure and its appearance (cube), they depicted the invariant rather than the variant features and produced rectangular solutions. When differences between the structure and the appearance of the object were minimised (wedge) most children drew a converging form. They could also accurately copy a two‐dimensional converging form. However, the children's knowledge of what the line drawing was supposed to represent did have an effect: in particular, they drew fewer converging obliques when the same line drawing was called a ‘building block’ (a rectangular object) than when it was called a ‘shape’ or a ‘house’ (an object known to contain obliques). A similar pattern of results was observed in a second experiment in which a selection task was used.     

Writing Across the Curriculum: A Hermeneutic Study of Students' Experiences in Writing in Food Science Education

ABSTRACT: Writing can enhance learning by helping students put words to their thinking about course material. The purposes of this study were to assess the influence of a structured academic journal writing exercise on student learning in a food science class and to examine student responses to the experience. Hermeneutics, a philosophy of science and qualitative research method, was used to analyze journal data from 48 participating students during a 2-y period and involved 3 steps: (1) describing themes taken from a global reading of student commentaries, (2) reducing or relating themes to specific, verbatim statements found in student writings, and (3) interpreting or imposing meaning on the themes and the statements (Lanigan 1988). Hermeneutic analysis showed that journal writing was difficult at first but became easier and enjoyable over time, allowed students to relate course content to other knowledge, exposed students to course material multiple times allowing for better information retention, enhanced student understanding, helped students think critically, required students to prepare for class, gave students the opportunity to express opinions, and allowed students to experience writing as enjoyable and positive. Several minor themes suggested that most students found the experience useful to their learning. Findings from this study are consistent with neuroscience and cognitive psychology theories regarding learning and the development of reasoning skills.     

Vicarious learning from dialogue and discourse -- A controlled comparison

This study examined learning in the domain of sentence parsing and syntax tree-diagram construction. The aim of the study was to assess whether subjects could learn vicariously from recordings of interactions between a previous student and a tutor.Four intervention conditions and a control condition were compared. Subjects in a dialogue group (DL) read printed tutorial notes and subsequently vicariously viewed dynamic (animated) recordings of tree diagrams being constructed by a previous student in the presence of a tutor.The discourse (DI) condition was similar except that subjects viewed recordings of tree diagrams being constructed by a tutor who concurrently verbalised instructional discourse.In a third condition (DO), subjects viewed tree-diagram construction animation clips which were not annotated with either dialogue or discourse. In a linear text (LT) condition, subjects were given only printed tutorial notes. A control (CO) condition involved pre and post testing without any intervention.Results indicated that the dialogue condition was as effective as the discourse condition. This provides support for contention that re-usable dialogue is a useful resource for the vicarious learner. Another finding was that un-annotated animated diagrams were surprisingly effective. Several reasons for their effectiveness are suggested from the literature on instructional animations.     

Using Greek Mythology as a Metaphor to Enhance Supervision

The authors review some uses of myths and stories in counselor education and supervision. They note that collaborative supervision is especially relevant to the exploration of alternative views of supervisee growth that may be mirrored in myths and stories and in their multiple interpretations. The interpretation of the Greek myth of Psyche is examined as a possible vehicle for enhancing counselor growth in supervision.     

Connections: A Collaborative Design Project

This is a study of the Connections project; a collaborative design exercise between Birmingham School of Architecture and Landscape, and local primary schools. It explains the processes and outcomes of this annual collaborative design exercise, in which students of architecture join forces with primary school children, to explore connections between architecture, and various subjects of the National Curriculum. It shows how graphical learning methods, from architectural education, have been adopted successfully across the curriculum at primary level. Three phases of the project, and their different kinds of graphic communication, are identified. Learning in each of these is explored with supporting evidence from students’ diaries and interviews with teachers. Two examples of recent project work are used to show processes and outcomes. The first, a Science and Architecture project, demonstrates how methods of working gave a clear relationship between abstract ideas, and representational models and drawings. The second illustrates quality of outcomes, and depth of understanding in an Art and Architecture project. Finally the study introduces ongoing research, based on the Connections project experience, which addresses the scope of learning at both curriculum levels.     

Examining Combinations of Social Physique Anxiety and Motivation Regulations Using Latent Profile Analysis

Previous research has used cluster analysis to examine how social physique anxiety (SPA) combines with motivation in physical education. This study utilized a more advanced analytic approach, latent profile analysis (LPA), to identify profiles of SPA and motivation regulations. Students in grades 9–12 (N = 298) completed questionnaires at two time points assessing SPA and motivation regulations, psychological needs, enjoyment, effort, and characteristics of physical education peers. LPA identified four profiles representing Autonomous (13.4%), Average (39.3%), Low Autonomous (25.2%), and Autonomous and Introjected (22.1%). Profiles were replicated at a second time point, and evidence of profile measurement invariance across gender was found. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed profile differences. The model-based analytic approach to identify profiles of SPA and motivation regulations differed from cluster analysis profiles. The profiles were not driven by SPA, rather autonomous motivation is the dominant factor associated with physical education motivational experiences.     

Validity Evidence for the State Mindfulness Scale for Physical Activity

Being attentive to and aware of one’s experiences in the present moment with qualities of acceptance and openness reflects the state of mindfulness. Positive associations exist between state mindfulness and state autonomous motivation for everyday activities. Though this suggests that state mindfulness links with adaptive motivational experiences, no suitable measure of state mindfulness exists that would facilitate the examination of these relationships in a physical activity context. Thus, we revised the State Mindfulness Scale (Tanay & Bernstein, 2013) and provided score validity evidence for the measure in a physical activity context. A bi-factor model reflecting mindfulness of the mind and body as specific factors and a general mindfulness factor was supported. Validity evidence, such as positive relationships with intrinsic motivation, and a negative relationship with body surveillance support score use. The revised scale can facilitate investigations of the role of mindfulness in physical activity settings.