A review of rubric use in higher education

This paper critically reviews the empirical research on the use of rubrics at the post‐secondary level, identifies gaps in the literature and proposes areas in need of research. Studies of rubrics in higher education have been undertaken in a wide range of disciplines and for multiple purposes, including increasing student achievement, improving instruction and evaluating programmes. While, student perceptions of rubrics are generally positive and some authors report positive responses to rubric use by instructors, others noted a tendency for instructors to resist using them. Two studies suggested that rubric use was associated with improved academic performance, while one did not. The potential of rubrics to identify the need for improvements in courses and programmes has been demonstrated. Studies of the validity of rubrics have shown that clarity and appropriateness of language is a central concern. Studies of rater reliability tend to show that rubrics can lead to a relatively common interpretation of student performance. Suggestions for future research include the use of more rigorous research methods, more attention to validity and reliability, a closer focus on learning and research on rubric use in diverse educational contexts.     

“Not Pure Harmony,but Less of a Power Struggle”: What Do Teachers and Pedagogues Think About Using Existential Pedagogy?

Existential Pedagogy (EP) derives from existential analysis and logotherapy developed by Viktor Frankl and Alfried Längle in the tradition of existential philosophy and phenomenology. This study investigated how EP influences pedagogues' and teachers' attitudes and teaching. Four focus groups with a total of 12 persons each were conducted in an elementary school that is tailored for students with emotional and behavioral problems. Data were analyzed with the qualitative content analysis. EP helped teachers come into relationship with students, strengthen students' self-esteem, and find meaningful approaches to the learning content. It also facilitated coming into touch with one's emotions and with the children's emotions. The individualized approach does not solely focus on children but highly impacts teachers and pedagogues. Similarities to other pedagogies can be found, but it appears to be specific for EP to have an impact on teachers and pedagogues. Additionally EP encourages an individual and flexible handling of EP.     

Impact of short- compared to long-haul international travel on the sleep and wellbeing of national wheelchair basketball athletes

Currently, very little is known about the impact of short- or long-haul air travel on the sleep and wellbeing of wheelchair basketball athletes. Eleven national wheelchair basketball athletes wore actigraphy monitors prior, during, and after air travel to the United Kingdom. Upon arrival, participants rated their subjective jet-lag, fatigue, and vigor. Individuals traveled to the United Kingdom from different locations in Australia, the United States, and Europe and were categorised according to travel length [LONG (up to 30.2 h) or SHORT (up to 6.5 h)]. Linear mixed models determined effects of travel length on sleep and subjective ratings of jet-lag, fatigue, and vigor. During competition, subjective fatigue and jet-lag were substantially higher (ES = 0.73; ±0.77) and (ES = 0.57; ±0.60), subjective vigor was lower (ES = 1.94; ±0.72), and get-up time was earlier (ES = 0.57; ±0.60) for LONG when compared to SHORT. Travelling greater distances by airplane had a larger effect on subjective ratings of jet-lag, fatigue and vigor, rather than sleep. Irrespective of travel group, sleep and subjective responses were compromised, reflecting the travel requirements, competition-mediated influences, and/or due to a change in environment.     

Does self-perceived sleep reflect sleep estimated via activity monitors in professional rugby league athletes?

This study examined agreement between self-perceived sleep and sleep estimated via activity monitors in professional rugby league athletes. 63 athletes, from three separate teams wore actigraphy monitors for 10.3 ± 3.9 days. During the monitoring period, ratings of perceived sleep quality (on a 1–5 and 1–10 Likert scale), and an estimate of sleep duration were recorded daily. Agreement between sleep estimated via activity monitors and self-perceived sleep was examined using mean bias, Pearson correlation (r) and typical error of the estimate (TEE). 641 nights of sleep were recorded, with a very large, positive correlation observed between sleep duration estimated via activity monitors and subjective sleep duration (r = 0.85), and a TEE of 48 minutes. Mean bias revealed subjective sleep duration overestimated sleep by an average of 19.8 minutes. The relationship between sleep efficiency estimated via activity monitors and self-perceived sleep quality on a 1–5 (r = 0.22) and 1–10 Likert scale (r = 0.28) was limited. The outcomes of this investigation support the use of subjective measures to monitor sleep duration in rugby league athletes when objective means are unavailable. However, practitioners should be aware of the tendency of athletes to overestimate sleep duration.     

Effects of intensity on muscle-specific voluntary electromechanical delay and relaxation electromechanical delay

The purposes of this study were to examine: 1) the potential muscle-specific differences in voluntary electromechanical delay (EMD) and relaxation electromechanical delay (R-EMD), and 2) the effects of intensity on EMD and R-EMD during step incremental isometric muscle actions from 10 to 100% maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). EMD and R-EMD measures were calculated from the simultaneous assessments of electromyography, mechanomyography, and force production from the vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), and rectus femoris (RF) during step isometric muscle actions. There were no differences between the VL, VM, and RF for the voluntary EMD_E-M (onsets of the electromyographic to mechanomyographic signals), EMD_M-F (onsets the mechanomyographic to force production), or EMD_E-F (onsets of the electromyographic signal to force production) as well as R-EMD_E-M (cessation of electromyographic to mechanomyographic signal), R-EMD_M-F (cessation of mechanomyographic signal to force cessation), or R-EMD_E-F (cessation of electromyorgraphic signal to force cessation) at any intensity. There were decreases in all EMD and R-EMD measures with increases in intensity. The relative contributions from EMD_E-M and EMD_M-F to EMD_E-F as well as R-EMD_E-M and R-EMD_M-F to R-EMD_E-F remained similar across all intensities. The superficial muscles of the quadriceps femoris shared similar EMD and R-EMD measurements.     

“I Could Not Believe That Would Happen”: Challenges and Opportunities in a Critical,Project-Based Clinical Experience

As part of a youth summer program—a partnership between a large Southeastern university and the local school district—middle-school-aged youth, preservice teachers, and doctoral candidates interested in arts-based literacy practices spent their mornings in June 2016 engaging in activities that both explored and expanded thinking around their communities, schools, and families. Whereas the youth were enrolled in a monthlong creative arts and tentative unschooling experiment that ran roughly the length of a typical school day, university faculty and graduate students were engaged in a course on the application of youth participatory action research (YPAR). This article is an examination of the experience of preservice teachers, through an analysis of their reflections on events within the course, to suggest ways forward through the promises and perils of project-based, clinical preservice teaching experiences. In our exploration of the experiences of focal preservice teachers when engaged with youth coresearchers in a monthlong YPAR project, we found the work to have been filled with contradictions, unexpected shifts, and moments of great understanding, community affiliation, and suffering.     

9. Jahrestagung der World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) Berlin, 12. bis 17. August 1956

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Agencies,educators, communities and wildfire: partnerships to enhance environmental education for youth

We studied seven programs that engage youth from 10 to 18 years old in wildfire risk reduction in their communities in the United States through in-depth interviews to examine the nature and role of community-school partnerships in resource-focused environmental education. While the programs use a variety of strategies, from Scout badge to summer school, they exhibit several common dimensions: they all engage youth in community projects; they all arise from partnerships between resource agencies, community organizations, and educators; they all began when people familiar with both wildfire and youth education saw an opportunity to improve the community and educate youth through action; and all partners are able to contribute to the common program yet retain their individual identity as they meet their own mission-based goals. We use themes and quotes to illustrate these common dimensions for establishing community-school partnerships that could build action competence through environment-based education projects.     

What happens when accountability meets technology integration

Conclusion This discussion posited that the language of accountability at the federal and state levels has established the goal of schools as the raising of test scores and that this goal has trumped technology integration efforts. After outlining the basic tenets of both standards-based education and professional development efforts focused on technology integration, we highlighted three tensions that impact the relationship between standards-based education and professional development for technology integration. These tensions are traditional vs. progressive pedagogy; standardized tests vs. authentic assessment; and technology as central vs. technology as peripheral to pedagogy. We concluded with a few suggested strategies for addressing these tensions and provided suggestions for research. We believe that the most promising possibility for transcending the tension between standards-based education and professional development for technology integration is to refocus schools on excellent pedagogy. When excellent pedagogy becomes the cornerstone of school vision and the central focus of all professional development, standards and technology integration will also find their rightful places. His primary research interest involves professional development of K-12 teachers. He has also worked with the Teacher Institute for Curriculum Knowledge about Integration of Technology which promotes the thoughtful use of technology in rural Indiana Schools. she is engaged in research concerned with the relationships between learner engagement and web-based learning environments.     

Improving the quality and effectiveness of computer-mediated instruction through usability evaluations

Brigham Young University's Center for Instructional Design (CID) creates online courses and multimedia instructional applications for university faculty. This paper asserts that including usability testing as a part of evaluation improves the quality and effectiveness of computer‐mediated instruction. The paper describes the fundamental purpose and functions of usability testing, and also distinguishes between different forms of evaluation: accessibility, quality assurance (QA), usability and implementation. Through a detailed case study, we describe how usability testing improved the quality of a computer‐based chemistry course and facilitated a clearer analysis of the learning effectiveness of this course.