Student-designed games in secondary education. Effects and perspectives from students and teachers

Abstract

The goal was to gain a deeper understanding of the extended use of student-designed games. 207 students (grades: eight, nine, eleven) from one school participated. They were randomly divided in Experimental (student-designed games) and Equivalent group (traditional instruction). Both experienced the same learning units (two, 12 sessions) over the same time (six weeks). The study followed a pretest, post-test, quantitative-qualitative research design. Data was obtained through questionnaire, diary and open-ended question. Quantitative results showed statistically significant differences at post-test in Autonomy and Important role favoring the Experimental group. Students’ qualitative data produced positive: student empowerment, innovation, fun and learning, and negative themes: lack of flow, boring and no democracy. From the teacher’s diary also emerged positive: student empowerment and increased participation and negative themes: lack of flow. Student-designed games can empower students, increasing their autonomy and important role, but they also have limitations.     

FACILITATORS OF AND BARRIERS TO MODEL SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

This study examined facilitators of and barriers to comprehensive and integrated services. A national sample of 267 full‐time practicing school psychologists who were Regular Members or Early Career Members of the National Association of School Psychologists participated. We administered a survey to participants that measured the extent to which they engaged in comprehensive and integrated services and the top facilitators of and barriers to those services using web‐based survey procedures. Results indicated that the majority of facilitators identified (Personal Attributes, Stakeholder Involvement, Resources and Support, School‐Specific Variables, Contextual Variables) predicted greater levels of comprehensive and integrated service delivery. Identified barriers—which often reflected the opposite condition of the facilitators—predicted lower levels of service delivery in some instances; however, they predicted services less often than did facilitators. Implications for research focused on better understanding factors that impact service delivery and on processes for facilitating increased comprehensive and integrated service delivery are discussed. Additionally, implications for practice include the assessment of facilitators and barriers, the use of data to plan for the delivery of comprehensive and integrated services, and advocacy for systems change.     

Predictors of Academic Stress Among College Students

The purpose of this study was to examine factors predictive of college students' academic stress. Three hundred seven undergraduate students (179 men, 128 women) participated in the study. Results indicated that female college students had higher academic stress than did male college students. Bivariate correlations and multiple regression analyses revealed that life satisfaction, locus of control, and gender were significant predictors of academic stress. Directions for future research and implications for counselors are discussed.     

The Bologna Process and Lifelong Education: Problem‐Based Learning

This article describes the application of Problem‐Based Learning (PBL) methodology in the context of a student congress, arguing that such new approaches to learning are best‐suited to the goals of the Bologna Process. The Congress in question enabled Spanish graduate students in Psychology, many of them mid‐career professionals, to increase their learning motivation, delve deeper into the learning experience, and further apply their learning and research. By taking an interdisciplinary approach, all the teachers concerned were able to coordinate their involvement. Feedback received from students and professors confirms that the Congress promoted new strategies and skills including self‐directed learning.     

The role of cued speech in the development of Spanish prepositions

The aim of the present study was to advance the knowledge of the linguistic development of students with prelingual profound deafness, especially the acquisition and use of prepositions in Spanish, a lexical category with an important role in the verbal comprehension. The researchers sought to learn the level of mastery students with prelingual profound deafness can achieve in the command of prepositions, depending on the system of communication they have been exposed to: classic oralism, Cued Speech, or signed language. The results show that the different systems of communication contribute, to different degrees, to the acquisition of Spanish prepositions, with the best results being obtained with Cued Speech.     

Hybridising Sport Education and Teaching for Personal and Social Responsibility to include students with disabilities

The present study aimed to explore the impact of the combination of two pedagogical models, Sport Education and Teaching for Personal and Social Responsibility, for learners with disabilities experiencing a contactless kickboxing learning unit. Twelve secondary education students agreed to participate. Five had disabilities (intellectual and motor). Additionally, three physical education teachers and the mother of one of the students contributed. Five different research instruments were used to obtain information from all participants: drawings, open-ended questions, discussion groups, diaries and semi-structured interviews. Thematic content analysis and constant comparison guided data analysis resulted in three major categories: part of the team, learning and enjoyment. Several ideas were also identified: inclusion, friendship, cooperation, students’ important role and transference. In conclusion, the hybridisation of Sport Education and Teaching for Personal and Social Responsibility seems to be a powerful tool for including students with disabilities in physical education, helping them and their classmates connect in and out of class.     

Measuring dissatisfaction with coauthorship: An empirical approach based on the researchers’ perception

Increasing levels of collaboration constitute one of the characteristics of science. However, the knowledge production system is based on a fundamental discordance: on the one hand, it is cooperative in nature, with links articulated through coauthorships, and on the other, the systems for assigning merit and distributing rewards function on an individual scale. This contradiction can give rise to dysfunction and inappropriate practices.This study analyses researchers’ perceptions about the problems associated with authorship in scientific publications. We make use of a coauthorship dissatisfaction index that measures the degree of dissatisfaction with the author order on the byline, ghost authors, and unjustified authorship. There are differences in this regard according to the branch of knowledge, status in the academic hierarchy, and sex. Using a sample of 2344 university researchers, we observed an overall dissatisfaction rate of 12.4%. The highest rates were in the areas of Health Sciences and Social Sciences, in early-stage career academics, and in women. The cognizant authorities should take steps to regulate authorship, tailoring rules to each area of knowledge, with an eye toward reducing discrimination, gender bias, and abuse of authority.     

Removing but not adding elements of a context affects generalization of instrumental responses

Three experiments with rats investigated whether adding or removing elements of a context affects generalization of instrumental behavior. Each of the experiments used a free operant procedure. In Experiments 1 and 2, rats were trained to press a lever for food in a distinctive context. Then, transfer of lever pressing was tested in a context created either by adding an element to the context of initial acquisition or by removing one of the acquisition context’s elements. In Experiment 3, a similar generalization test was conducted after rats received acquisition and extinction within the same context. For Experiments 1 and 2, we observed that removing elements from the acquisition context disrupted acquisition performance, whereas the addition of elements to the context did not. Experiment 3 revealed that removing elements from but not adding elements to the original context improved extinction performance. Our results are consistent with an elemental view of context representation.