The Psychological Basis for the Identification of Physical Environmental Parameters in the Development of Early Cognitive Competence1,2

Abstract:Ulvund, S. E. 1981. The Psychological Basis for the Identification of Physical Environmental Parameters in the Development of Early Cognitive Competence. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 25,125‐140. A theoretical analysis focussing on the identification of physical environmental parameters in the development of early cognitive competence is presented. Referring to cognitive competence as a collective term of cognitive behavior as considered by Piaget (1952) and Hunt (1965), a theoretical frame of reference based on Brunswik's (1955) unit and Wohlwill's (1973) conceptions of the environment as a source of stimulation versus the environment as a context for behavior, is discussed. It is further suggested that different variants of the optimal stimulation hypothesis, combined with a transactional model of development (Sameroff, 1975a), form a highly relevant psychological basis for the identification of physical environmental parameters. Some implications for coming research are suggested.     

Reconciliation—a rhetorical concept/ion

What is reconciliation? A source of historical puzzlement and contemporary controversy over how to make history, this question asks after those words which constitute a beginning (again), that moment in which endless cycles of conflict give way to the hope for “unity in difference.” Concerned with the dynamics of its operation, the present essay contends that reconciliation is a rhetorical concept, a performance and norm of rhetorical practice that transcends violence less than it turns its historical justification toward mutual oppositions that call for(th) the character (ethos) of understanding. A challenge to both the logic and politics of identity, an opposing and relating of that which is held to be exclusive, reconciliation is thus difficult to define. From a reading of the concept's history, I investigate this definitional puzzle through consideration of how the substance of reconciliation appears within its potential, the capacity to open a time for expression, invent the grounds for speech-action, and abide in the risks that attend the power to name. To make new in relation, reconciliation's promise demands significant faith in the works of words.     

Interpreting differences between the United States and New Zealand university students’ engagement scores as measured by the NSSE and AUSSE

Press releases concerning the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) results warn that university students in Australia and New Zealand are less engaged than their peers at United States institutions. Such warnings about student engagement and interactions then become targets for improvement on Australasian universities’ strategic plans. In considering New Zealand university students’ survey responses, we examined AUSSE and the US National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data for 2009 and 2010 with respect to all items that load on the five scales these instruments share. We argue that most of the observed differences in responses, response distributions and subsequent scale scores can be attributed to differences in educational pathways and cultures between the USA and New Zealand. Consequently, considerable caution in these trans-Pacific comparisons is warranted, particularly when formulating policy and practices to improve student engagement in New Zealand based on methods that have been employed in different educational contexts.     

Structure du raisonnement deductif et apprentissage de la demonstration

Resume Le raisonnement déductif ne fonctionne pas comme une argumentation. Cependant ces deux formes de raisonnement emploient souvent les mêmes connecteurs et se traduisent par des démarches linguistiques très voisines. C'est une des raisons pour lesquelles la plupart des élèves ne parviennent pas à percevoir les exigences propres d'une démonstration en mathématique. Cet article présente une analyse cognitive de l'organisation déductive du raisonnement par opposition à son organisation argumentative. La distinction entre contenu et statut opératoire des propositions y apparaît fondamentale. Pour illustrer cette analyse nous présentons des textes de démonstration rédigés par des élèves de quatrième, sur des problèmes de géométrie, au cours d'une expérience d'enseignement organisée pour faire mettre en oeuvre cette distinction. L'analyse de ces textes et l'interprétation de l'évolution observée au cours de cette expérience conduisent à prendre en compte une seconde distinction: celle entre la valeur de vérité et la valeur épistémique des propositions. Car la découverte du fonctionnement du raisonnement déductif s'accompagne, pour les élèves, d'une prise de conscience: il change la valeur épistémique de la proposition démontrée.

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Deductive thinking does not work like argumentation. However these two kinds of reasoning use very similar linguistic forms and propositional connectives. This is one of the main reasons why most of the students do not understand the requirements of mathematical proofs. In this article we present a cognitive analysis of deductive organisation versus argumentative organisation of reasoning, and the didactical applications of this analysis. We present also proofs written by young students for geometrical problems, in the frame of an experience, the goal of which was to realize dissociation between content and operative status of propositions. The analysis of proofs written by the students requires a second distinction between truth value and epistemic value of propositions: by splitting content and operative status, students discover how deductive reasoning works and, at the same time, become aware that deductive reasoning change also the epistemic value of the proved proposition.

     

What should a physical education teacher know? An analysis of learning outcomes for future physical education teachers in Sweden

Background: Research indicates that physical education teacher education (PETE) has only limited impact on how physical education (PE) is taught in schools. In this paper, our starting point is that the difficulties of challenging the dominating subject traditions in PE could be due to difficulties of challenging certain epistemological assumptions recurring in significant PETE subject matter and didactics courses.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise how knowledge is expressed in learning outcomes formulated in curriculum documents at PETE institutions in Sweden and to discuss the potential educational consequences of the epistemological assumptions underlying the analysed expressions of knowledge.

Setting and participants: This paper offers possible explanations for the difficulties of influencing subject traditions in PE through analysing learning outcomes formulated in PETE curriculum documents. The analysis is based on 224 learning outcomes collected from a total of 18 course syllabi, spread at 6 PETE institutions in Sweden.

Research design, data collection and analysis: The documents have been collected through contact by e-mail with representatives for each institution. Through the analysis different themes in the material have been identified and clustered together. Inspired by Fenstermacher's ideas about teacher knowledge as propositional knowledge and performance knowledge, our ambition is to discuss the potential educational consequences of the epistemological assumptions underpinning the analysed learning outcomes.

Findings: In the collected learning outcomes, the following themes were identified: teaching PE, interpreting curriculum documents, physical movement skills, science, social health, pedagogy, critical inquiry, and research methods. In most of the identified themes, the learning outcomes represent both subject matter knowledge and general teacher knowledge and are also formulated with an integrated perspective on so-called performance knowledge and propositional knowledge. However, particularly in the themes science and physical movement skills, two very influential themes, the learning outcomes are limited to subject matter knowledge and the concept of knowledge in these themes is also limited and unilateral in relation to ideas of different forms of teacher knowledge.

Conclusions: We argue that a decontextualisation of knowledge, in this paper identified through dissolving science from its use in practice and through detaching physical movement skills from other conceptual foundations, contributes to the reproduction of subject traditions that render PE teachers incapable of critically reflecting over their practice, for instance how different groups of students benefit or suffer from the teaching of certain content. Drawing on the work of Tinning, we offer an explanation as to how teacher knowledge in the themes science and physical movement skills, emanating from behaviouristic and craft knowledge orientations, is formulated.     

La Transición: parent perspectives on transition for Latino youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities

The transition to adulthood can be a challenging time for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Its complexity, however, may be magnified for families who have immigrated to the United States. This study examined the transition expectations and experiences of six first-generation, Latino parents and their transition-aged (14–22) children with intellectual disability, autism, and/or multiple disabilities. Through individual interviews held in Spanish or English, parents offered insights into (1) their visions of success for their child, (2) the distinct barriers they face as immigrant families, and (3) their suggestions for schools and adult agencies related to supporting strong transitions. Their portraits of desired outcomes were quite individualized and reflected high expectations. Factors identified as inhibiting successful transitions included persistent language barriers, the views of certain professionals and community members, and exclusion from typical school experiences. Parents encouraged schools to support family advocacy, foster greater student independence, expand adult programming, and reduce segregated educational placements. We present implications for educators on working with Latino families, as well as offer recommendations for future research.     

Domain general constraints on statistical learning

All theories of language development suggest that learning is constrained. However, theories differ on whether these constraints arise from language-specific processes or have domain-general origins such as the characteristics of human perception and information processing. The current experiments explored constraints on statistical learning of patterns, such as the phonotactic patterns of an infants' native language. Infants in these experiments were presented with a visual analog of a phonotactic learning task used by J. R. Saffran and E. D. Thiessen (2003). Saffran and Thiessen found that infants' phonotactic learning was constrained such that some patterns were learned more easily than other patterns. The current results indicate that infants' learning of visual patterns shows the same constraints as infants' learning of phonotactic patterns. This is consistent with theories suggesting that constraints arise from domain-general sources and, as such, should operate over many kinds of stimuli in addition to linguistic stimuli.