The correction of errors committed with high confidence

Most theories predict that when people indicate that they are highly confident they are producing their strongest responses. Hence, if such a high confidence response is in error it should be overwritten only with great difficulty. In contrast to this prediction, we have found that people easily correct erroneous responses to general information questions endorsed as correct with high-confidence, so long as the correct answer is given as feedback. Three potential explanations for this unexpected hypercorrection effect are summarized. The explanation that is tested here, in two experiments, is that after a person commits a high-confidence error the correct answer feedback, being surprising or unexpected, is given more attention than is accorded to the feedback to low-confidence errors. This enhanced attentional capture leads to better memory. In both experiments, a tone detection task was presented concurrently with the corrective feedback to assess the attentional capture of feedback stimuli. In both, tone detection was selectively impaired during the feedback to high confidence errors. It was also negatively related to final performance, indicating that the attention not devoted to the tone detection was effectively engaged by the corrective feedback. These data support the attentional explanation of the high-confidence hypercorrection effect.     

Active engagement,emotional impact and changes in practice arising from a residential field trip

This study focused on the learning experiences of 50 undergraduate students undertaking a residential field trip (RFT) to Sweden as part of their Early Childhood Studies degree. Three dimensions were examined: the physical and emotional value afforded to the students from the active learning context; how this was interpreted and reflected in their knowledge, understanding and personal practice once they had left university; and the influence of factors such as age, and professional status on students' practice. The methodology was interpretive, and both deductive and inductive approaches were employed to analyse qualitative, narrative data sets derived from semi-structured questionnaires, interviews and written essays. The findings suggested that the physiological effects of hands on engagement influenced both the students' perceptions of the learning experience and their confidence to become agents of change. Subsequent changes directly attributed to the RFT experience, involved the re-evaluation of both the stereotypical pedagogic role and the way in which they related to children; students re-conceptualised their practices to reflect a more child-centred approach and increased their use of outdoor play and sustainable resources. The RFT was a catalyst that promoted empowerment, and informed both personal and professional transformations.     

Teachers’ Role in Students’ Learning at a Project-Based STEM High School: Implications for Teacher Education

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - This study explored how teachers engage and support students at a project-based STEM high school to identify key elements defining...     

Action, Consciousness and Theory of Mind: Children's Ability to Coordinate Story Characters' Actions and Thoughts

This study reports on an analysis of the relation between kindergarten children's developing theory of mind and their understanding of characters' actions and consciousness in story narrative, based on Bruner's (1986) notion of the dual landscapes of action and consciousness. Wordless picture books were used to model these two aspects of narrative through the direct portrayal of action and thought by way of thought bubbles and adults' explicit metacognitive talk. Children were asked to retell stories following both an experimenter's and the teacher's initial storytelling. Children's ability to coordinate story characters' thoughts, beliefs and intentions (consciousness) was measured by the frequency of reference to both the character's action or presence and the content of his/her thought bubbles in the stories. Results of the analyses revealed relations among children's age, language ability, non-verbal intelligence, theory of mind development, and their ability to coordinate consciousness and action in the stories. Younger children who have less developed theory of mind more often retold just the action in the real world without reference to thought, or else described the scene depicted within the thought bubble without reference to the character who held the thought. Implications for education, such as teaching children to talk about the mind, are discussed.     

Young Writers and the Nursery Rhyme Genre

This paper investigates children’s interest in the nursery rhyme genre whilst at the same time considers how children can be encouraged to write reflectively if they are working on something that both stimulates and motivates them to want to write. After reading a story book of nursery rhymes, a group of Y2 children were encouraged to consider what other adventures some of the main rhyme characters might have. By talking about the rhymes, seeing an expert writer modelling the writing process and writing collaboratively with their teacher and with each other, the children wrote an “alternative” nursery rhyme book. They began to see writing as a long term process which is recursive, takes time and effort but which is also very rewarding especially when published in the form of a book.     

Preparing Elementary School Teachers to Learn From Teaching: A Comparison of Two Approaches to Mathematics Methods Instruction

Teacher preparation programs face a significant challenge in determining how to design learning experiences that develop the combination of knowledge, practices, and dispositions needed for effective classroom teaching. Time constraints and the theory–practice divide are two well-documented concerns. We introduce the conceptual framework and design elements of a video-enhanced mathematics methods course that targets these concerns. The course centers on systematic reflection and analysis of practice intended to foster career-long learning. We then examine the impact of this course on several facets of learning-from-teaching competencies, including teacher knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Sixty-two preservice teachers enrolled in a one-year post-bachelor elementary teacher preparation program were randomly assigned to attend this course or a more typical mathematics methods course. Findings suggest that teacher preparation experiences centered on systematic reflection and analysis create opportunities to develop certain aspects of learning-from-teaching competencies that remain otherwise underdeveloped. Implications for the design of teacher preparation include the integration in mathematics methods courses of cycles of analysis through video-enhanced discussions; collaborative planning, implementation, and reflection on teaching; and live observation and co-constructed interpretations and considerations of next steps.     

Lenghth of Maternity Leave and Quality of Mother-Infant Interactions

The aim of this study was to assess the association between the length of maternity leave and the quality of mother-infant interactions; 198 employed mothers of 4-month-old infants were interviewed and videotaped in their homes during a feeding time. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated a direct association between shorter length of leave and more negative affect and behavior in maternal interactions with their infants. Infant and mother stressor/protective variables added significantly in predicting the quality of the mother-infant relationship. There were also significant interaction effects between the length of leave and these variables. Mothers who either reported more depressive symptoms or who perceived their infant as having a more difficult temperament and who had shorter leaves, compared with mothers who had longer leaves, were observed to express less positive affect, sensitivity, and responsiveness in interactions with their infants. The public policy implications of the relation between length of maternity leave, maternal and infant individual differences, and the quality of mother-infant interactions are discussed.     

Assessing Musical Performance Musically

The last decade has seen changes in the systems used in the summative assessment of musical performance at the end of compulsory schooling. One trend has been the replacement of holistic assessment by segmented assessment. The author discusses the subjectivity, reliability and musical validity of the two systems, and summarises an experiment which investigates the extent to which holistic assessment can be accounted for by means of a segmented marking system. Multiple regression analysis produces a regression equation which accounts for 71% of the variance in holistic marks produced by 29 assessors marking 10 performances. The paper concludes with a consideration of the implications of this study for assessment in musical performance and other fields.     

Academic achievement in first-year university: who maintains their high school average?

The present study investigates the characteristics which differentiate between first-year university students who maintain their high school averages (Maintainers: n = 165) and those whose averages decrease at least one letter grade (Decliners: n = 435). The 600 students entered first year at one of six Canadian Universities, which varied in size and ethnic diversity. Data were collected in August, prior to the start of school, and in November of first year. Multivariate analyses indicated significant group differences between Maintainers and Decliners on familial variables (gender, fathers’ education level, but not family income, parental reciprocity, parental support or immigrant/generational status), psychological well-being (perceived stress in August and November, and November depression, self-esteem and health), and university adjustment (university plans, transition perception, time management and university adaptation). The current study addresses a gap in the existing academic achievement literature, while providing practical information to students, parents, and educators involved in the transition to university.