Exploring connections between teacher interpersonal behaviour,student motivation and competency level in competence-based learning environments

Learning Environments Research - Studies of connections between teacher behaviour and student outcomes are numerous, but those specifically addressing such connections in a competence-based...     

The Conceptual Nature of Gain in Vocabulary Research: An Analysis of Vocabulary Data from Schoolchildren

Two ways of measuring change are presented and compared: A conventional “change score”, defined as the difference between scores before and after an interim period, and a process-oriented approach focusing on detailed analysis of conceptually defined response patterns. The validity of the two approaches was investigated. Vocabulary knowledge was assessed by means of equivalent multiple-choice tests administered before and after an intervention, and four characteristic responses were observed: Words consistently not understood; words inconsistently understood; learned words; and words consistently understood. The results showed that inclusion of the category “words consistently not understood” offered a “truer” gain score than did the conventional change score. It captured more variance from age and cognitive constraints and appeared educationally more reliable from an assessment-for-teaching-perspective.     

Effect of angle stimulation during development on adult discrimination ability in rats

Hooded rats were reared in very restricted environments with angular, curved, or white-field stimulation. The extent of transfer from this exposure was assessed in adulthood by testing subjects for (a) learning ability in form, brightness, and pattern discrimination tasks, and (b) exploration and activity differences in an open field. The angle-reared group performed better than the other two rearing groups in all three discrimination tasks. Moreover, the curved and white-field groups were equivalent. These learning differences did not appear to result from differences in (a) exploration or activity or (b) dependence on kinesthetic cues. The results demonstrated that one type of early visual stimulation produced transfer to discrimination tasks that varied in difficulty and in degree of relevancy to the rearing forms. This effect was related to the results and interpretations from previous form-rearing studies. Three interpretations were proposed for this transfer and for the advantage of angular vs. curved stimulation.     

Motivation and learning physics

Being involved in science education we cannot avoid confronting the problem of students' waning interest in physics. Therefore, we want to focus on arguments developed by new theoretical work in the field of motivation. Especially, we are attracted by the theory of motivation featured by Deci and Ryan, because it is related to an assumptions of human development similar to our own approach. Beneath elements of cognitive development, motivation is seen as a basic concept to describe students' learning in a physics classroom. German students at lower and upper secondary level regard physics as very difficult to learn, very abstract and dominated by male students. As a result physics at school continuously loses importance and acceptance although a lot of work has been done to modernise and develop the related physics courses. We assume that knowing about the influence of motivation on learning physics may lead to new insights in the design of classroom settings. Referring to Deci and Ryan, we use a model of motivation to describe the influence of two different teaching strategies (teacher and discourse oriented) on learning. Electrostatics was taught in year 8. The outcomes of a questionnaire which is able to evaluate defined, motivational states are compared with the interpretation of the same student's interaction in the related situation of the physics classroom. The scales of the questionnaire and the categories of analysis of the video-recording are derived from the same model of motivation.     

An assessment innovation as flywheel for changing teaching and learning

This contribution shows an example of how an assessment innovation can serve as a flywheel for changing teaching and learning. This article first explains the development of an authentic, competence-based performance assessment in pre-vocational secondary education (pre-VET). Using these assessments in pre-VET, that is preparatory to VET, is important for motivating students for a future in VET. Second, in an action research 34 teacher teams of 11 pre-VET institutions implement the new assessment, supported by researchers and teacher coaches, to illuminate how it motivates students, prepares them for VET, and influences teaching and learning. Data from 76 teachers, 68 students, 24 teacher coaches and 3 researchers showed how implementing these assessments raised questions about changing educational content and pedagogy to fit a competence-based approach. Increasing teachers’ expectations of students, changing student-teacher interaction patterns, and developing teachers’ practical understanding of competencies and how they can be observed and discussed in assessments are some of the intriguing challenges that require further support for proper implementation of competence-based assessments and developing an aligned competence-based teaching and learning process.     

Teaching and Learning in Interdisciplinary Higher Education: A Systematic Review

Interdisciplinary higher education aims to develop boundary-crossing skills, such as interdisciplinary thinking. In the present review study, interdisciplinary thinking was defined as the capacity to integrate knowledge of two or more disciplines to produce a cognitive advancement in ways that would have been impossible or unlikely through single disciplinary means. It was considered as a complex cognitive skill that constituted of a number of subskills. The review was accomplished by means of a systematic search within four scientific literature databases followed by a critical analysis. The review showed that, to date, scientific research into teaching and learning in interdisciplinary higher education has remained limited and explorative. The research advanced the understanding of the necessary subskills of interdisciplinary thinking and typical conditions for enabling the development of interdisciplinary thinking. This understanding provides a platform from which the theory and practice of interdisciplinary higher education can move forward.