Ability,demography, learning style,and personality trait correlates of student preference for assessment method

More than 400 students from four universities in America and Britain completed measures of learning style preference, general knowledge (as a proxy for intelligence), and preference for examination method. Learning style was consistently associated with preferences: surface learners preferred multiple choice and group work options, and viewed essay‐type and dissertation options less favourably. Deep learners, on the other hand, favoured essay‐type and oral exams as well as final dissertations. Males favoured oral (viva voce) exams and females coursework assessment. Extraverts preferred multiple choice, oral, and group work assessment, while openness was positively associated with essays and oral exams but negatively associated with multiple choice and group work. Regression analysis showed that personality, learning style, general knowledge, and demographic factors accounted for 5–10% of the variance in preferred examination technique. Results in part replicate earlier studies and are discussed in terms of changes in examination methods.     

A Starting Point: Provide Children Opportunities to Engage with Scientific Inquiry and Nature of Science

Research in Science Education - This paper explores the effect teachers’ participation in a targeted inquiry-based/nature of science (NoS) continuing professional development programme had on...     

Editorial

In this article the authors explore a language and literacy community mapping project carried out by public school teachers in southern California. They chronicle the knowledge produced by teachers about the depth and diversity of language and literacy resources present in the neighborhoods surrounding their various urban school sites.     

The PCC ISNI Pilot: Exploring Identity Management on a Global,Collaborative Scale

Abstract

The Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) conducted a multi-institution Pilot project to contribute metadata to the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) database. In addition to describing the goals, structure, and activities undertaken in the Pilot, this article examines some of the experiences of PCC metadata practitioners as they sought to incorporate ISNIs into their metadata workflows and pursue a wide range of ISNI use cases. Lastly, the article outlines next steps that flowed from the Pilot as the PCC has parlayed its newly developing identity management expertise into additional PCC program explorations.     

Strategic Engagement: New Models of Relationship Management for Academic Librarians

ABSTRACT

How do we best bridge the gap between the Library and the diverse academic communities it serves? Librarians need new strategies for engagement. Traditional models of liaison, aligning solutions to disciplines, are yielding to functional specialisms, including a focus on building partnerships. This paper offers a snapshot of realignment across the Russell Group from subject support to relationship management. It then follows the journey of a newly-formed Faculty and School Engagement Team. Techniques are explored for building relationship capital, anchored to a model Strategic Engagement Cycle. Theory is contrasted with the challenges of securing real buy-in to new ways of working amid diverging agendas and assumptions, notably within the Library itself. Consideration is given to the retention of aspects of subject librarian roles. Investment in a relationship management function demands staunch and ongoing commitment to fulfil its promise, not only from its performers but from across the library community.     

Levels of experience: an exploration for learning design

The purpose of this paper is to introduce an organizer that I developed while working at the Institute for Educational Research in Jyväskylä, Finland.1 While I have referred to it in an earlier paper (Bopry, ), I have not formally described it in a published article. The organizer is based on my understanding of second order cybernetic theory, in particular the enactive theories of Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela. It has helped me analyse instructional situations and has informed my practice. My task in this paper is to describe the organizer, relate it to the theoretical framework from which it has emerged and provide a warrant for its use in the field of educational technology. While I shall provide examples of how the organizer has been used, an extensive elaboration of its potential for learning design will appear in a second paper.

Les niveaux d’expérience: une exploration visant à l’apprentissage du « design »

Le but de cette étude est de présenter un organiseur que j’ai mis au point pendant que je travaillais à l’Institut de Recherche Educative de Jyväskylä en Finlande.1 Academy of Finland grant no. 37189. Je l’avais mentionné dans un article précédent (Bopry, 1998) mais je ne l’avais pas décrit de façon formelle dans un article destiné à la publication. Cet organiseur se fonde sur ma compréhension de la théorie cybernétique du deuxième ordre et en particulier des théories d’accomplissement de Humberto Maturana et de Francisco Varela. C’est ce qui m’a aidée à analyser des situations pédagogiques et à enrichir ma pratique. Mon rôle dans cet article est de décrire l’organiseur, de le relier au cadre théorique d’où il est issu et de fournir des garanties pour son usage dans le domaine de la technologie éducative. Ici je fournirai des exemples de la façon dont cet organiseur a été utilisé et une étude plus vaste de ses possibilités en matière de design pédagogique paraîtra dans un deuxième article.

Erfahrungsniveaus: Eine Untersuchung für Unterrichtsentwürfe

Mit diesem Beitrag soll ein Organisator vorgestellt werden, den ich entwickelte, als ich am Institut für Bildungsforschung in Jyväskylä, Finnland arbeitete.¹ Während ich schon in einer früheren Arbeit (Bopry, 1998) darauf verwiesen habe, fehlt noch eine formelle Beschreibung in einem veröffentlichten Artikel. Der Organisator basiert auf meinem Verständnis der “second‐order cybernetic theory”, vor allem der “enactive theories” von Humberto Maturana und Francisco Varela. Er hat mir geholfen, Unterrichtssituationen zu analysieren und hat meine praktische Arbeit geprägt. Meine Aufgabe in diesem Papier ist, den Organisator zu beschreiben, ihn auf den theoretischen Rahmen zu beziehen, in dem er entstanden ist, und eine Anleitung zu seinem Gebrauch im Bereich der Bildungstechnologie zu liefern. Während ich Beispiele dafür beifügen werde, wie der Organisator verwendet worden ist, erscheint eine umfassende Darstellung seines Potentials für Unterrichtsentwürfe in einem zweiten Papier.     

Stay Behind the Yellow Line: Young Children Constructing Knowledge from an Art Exhibition

Studies exploring very young children visiting museums and art galleries are few. The majority of research about museum and gallery visitors explores family group interactions. This paper examines the findings of a study involving three‐ and four‐year‐old children visiting an art exhibition in a national museum on more than one occasion. The children's construction of knowledge about being a museum visitor and exhibitor indicates their ability to develop an appreciation of art and an understanding of the purposes of museums and art galleries.