Introduction to the Special Issue: Multimodal Meaning-Making in Science

Research in Science Education -     

The Benefits of an Augmented Reality Magic Mirror System for Integrated Radiology Teaching in Gross Anatomy

Early exposure to radiological cross-section images during introductory anatomy and dissection courses increases students’ understanding of both anatomy and radiology. Novel technologies such as augmented reality (AR) offer unique advantages for an interactive and hands-on integration with the student at the center of the learning experience. In this article, the benefits of a previously proposed AR Magic Mirror system are compared to the Anatomage, a virtual dissection table as a system for combined anatomy and radiology teaching during a two-semester gross anatomy course with 749 first-year medical students, as well as a follow-up elective course with 72 students. During the former, students worked with both systems in dedicated tutorial sessions which accompanied the anatomy lectures and provided survey-based feedback. In the elective course, participants were assigned to three groups and underwent a self-directed learning session using either Anatomage, Magic Mirror, or traditional radiology atlases. A pre- and posttest design with multiple choice questions revealed significant improvements in test scores between the two tests for both the Magic Mirror and the group using radiology atlases, while no significant differences in test scores were recorded for the Anatomage group. Furthermore, especially students with low mental rotation test (MRT) scores benefited from the Magic Mirror and Anatomage and achieved significantly higher posttest scores compared to students with a low MRT score in the theory group. Overall, the results provide supporting evidence that the Magic Mirror system achieves comparable results in terms of learning outcome to established anatomy learning tools such as Anatomage and radiology atlases.     

Lifelong learning and the continued participation of older Norwegian adults in employment

The number of people aged 60 and over across the globe is expected to double by 2050, reaching a share of more than 20 percent of the population total. Governments are therefore taking more and more policy actions to encourage ageing workers to extend their working lives and their employers to retain them. According to the OECD lifelong learning opportunities and inclusive labour markets will be essential to ensuring that workers of all educational backgrounds have the possibility of extending their working lives. This article examines the relationship between adult education completed after age 40 and the subsequent active participation of older adults in employment, using individual register data from Statistics Norway. The results show a substantial effect of upgrading formal education on subsequent labour market participation. Overall effects are quite similar for males and females. Attaining a lower level tertiary degree has the largest impact on labour market participation both for males and females. Completing a secondary education has a strong, long term impact among males. The results suggest that facilitating access to formal education among older workers may be an important contribution to extending working lives.     

Solving Developmental Tasks in Adolescents with a Chronic Physical Illness or Physical/Sensory Disability: A Meta-analysis

Chronic illnesses and disabilities may impair the attainment of age-typical developmental tasks, such as forming relationships with peers and gaining autonomy. Based on a systematic search in electronic databases and cross-referencing, 447 quantitative empirical studies were included which compared the attainment of developmental tasks of adolescents with and without chronic physical illness or physical/sensory disability. Adolescents with chronic illness or disability had more problems than healthy/nondisabled peers with regard to autonomy, body acceptance, developing friendships and romantic relationships, gaining access to a peer-group, career preparation, preparing for family life and developing socially responsible behaviour. However, between-group differences were small. No between-group differences were found regarding gender role acquisition and identity development. Success in solving developmental tasks varied, in part, by disease group, visibility of the disease/disability, age, gender and representativeness of the sample. Interventions aimed at promoting the attainment of developmental tasks are recommended.     

Book review

Land‐Grant Universities and Extension into the 21st Century: Renegotiating or Abandoning a Social Contract By: George R. McDowell. Iowa State University Press, Ames, 2001. 264 pp, $ 59.95     

中、德两国大学本科体育教育专业课程设置分析——苏州大学与德国海德堡大学对比

采用文献资料法、访谈法、对比分析法等研究方法,对苏州大学与德国海德堡大学本科体育教育专业的课程设置进行对比研究.结果显示:海德堡大学体教专业学生需要学习两个专业,为拓宽就业渠道奠定了基础;在教学总时数上,苏州大学远远超过德国海德堡大学;在学科方面,海德堡大学体教专业的授课形式多以讨论课为主;在术科方面,海德堡大学专修课学时所占比例较小,但选修课数量远多于苏州大学;在考核方面,海德堡大学大学学生考试压力较小,但突出了个人的创造性、主导性及综合能力.     

Taming a beast of burden – On some issues with the conceptualisation and operationalisation of cognitive load

Research on cognitive load theory (CLT) has not yet provided facet-specific measures of cognitive load. The lack of valid methods to measure intrinsic, extraneous and germane cognitive load makes it difficult to empirically test theoretical explanations of effects caused by manipulations of instructional designs. This situation also imposes challenges to testing CLT as a theory. This paper critically reflects the conceptualisation of CLT's core concept and the implications for its operationalisation. In order to address some of the challenges we propose a complexity framework that allows the derivation of a priori estimates of mental load that go beyond CLT's notion of element interactivity. In a study we test hypotheses with regard to effects of the variation of sources for intrinsic cognitive load (increase of complexity within tasks) and the variation of sources for extraneous cognitive load (reduction of extraneous cognitive load between tasks) in three ability groups. Complexity-based estimates prove superior to element interactivity-based estimates of mental load in the prediction of performance outcomes. Results also indicate that individual differences in information-processing capacity determine to what extent complexity is reflected as cognitive load. In this respect the proposed framework extends the focus of CLT beyond the discussion of the role of prior knowledge and acquired levels of expertise.