The instinct fallacy: the metacognition of answering and revising during college exams

Students often gauge their performance before and after an exam, usually in the form of rough grade estimates or general feelings. Are these estimates accurate? Should they form the basis for decisions about study time, test-taking strategies, revisions, subject mastery, or even general competence? In two studies, undergraduates took a real multiple-choice exam, described their general beliefs and feelings, tracked their performance for each question, and noted any revisions or possible revisions. Beliefs formed after the exams were poor predictors of performance. In contrast, real-time metacognitive monitoring – measured by confidence ratings for each individual question – accurately predicted performance and were a much better decisional guide. Measuring metacognitive monitoring also allowed us to examine the process of revising an answer. Should a test-taker rely on their first choice or revise in the face of uncertainty? Experience seems to show that first instincts are correct. The decision-making literature calls this the first-instinct fallacy, based on extensive analysis of revisions, and recommends revising more. However, whereas revisions have been analyzed in great detail, previous studies did not analyze the efficacy of sticking with an original choice. We found that both revising and sticking resulted in significantly more correct than incorrect outcomes, with real-time metacognition predicting when each was most appropriate.     

The role of empathy for learning in complex Science|Environment|Health contexts

Recent research on motivation to learn science shows that science teaching usually supports students’ systemising, but not their empathising cognition. In this paper we argue that empathy, with due caution, should be emphasised in science learning more seriously and consistently, particularly in a Science|Environment|Health pedagogy that aims at fostering the mutual benefit between the three interlinked educational fields. After briefly recapitulating research results about the empathising-systemising (E-S) theory and motivation to learn science, the paper describes the science of empathy and then reflects on the opportunities and challenges of introducing empathy into science teaching. Many studies of effective science learning can be found that involve empathising, though this usually is not made explicit. Thus, bringing empathy into play sheds another light on successful science learning and helps in unfolding its full potential. Moreover, considerations about the role of values in science education entail the insight that, when it comes to complex socio-scientific issues, including empathy is not only useful, but actually vital. The concept of reflective equilibrium, taken from applied ethics, provides a framework for the consideration of both systematic and empathic aspects in science teaching. This undervalued approach promises to involve all students and is therefore a genuine science for all approach.     

Orientational dyslexia: Notes from the field

Annals of Dyslexia -     

Pupils' understanding of combustion

A questionnaire survey of 300, 14 and 15 year-old pupils in England and Spain was carried out to investigate pupils' general ideas about the process of buring and their ideas about specific types of combustion, using open-ended and structured response questions. Pupils' responses were analysed and categories were defined from a classification scheme previously reported by Andersson (1990). A possible model for progression of pupils' ideas about combustion is discussed. Specialization: science teacher education. Specializations: Problem-solving, pupils' alternative concepts, initial teacher education. Specializations: Environmental education, science teacher development (international).     

Qualitative research in career development: content analysis from 1990 to 2009

A content analysis of 11 journals that published career, vocational, and work-related articles from 1990 to 2009 was conducted. Of 3,279 articles analyzed, 55.9% used quantitative methods and 35.5% were theoretical/conceptual articles. Only 6.3% used qualitative research methods. Among the qualitative empirical studies, standards of academic rigor and procedures that are typically honored within qualitative research were either not followed or were not reported. Fundamental changes need to occur if qualitative research methods are to rise to a higher level of publication and general interest among consumers of career development literature. Recommendations for future training and research are provided.     

Biological movement variability during the sprint start: Performance enhancement or hindrance?

In the current study, we quantified biological movement variability on the start and early acceleration phase of sprinting. Ten male athletes aged 17–23 years (100-m personal best: 10.87 ± 0.36 s) performed four 10-m sprints. Two 250-Hz cameras recorded the sagittal plane action to obtain the two-dimensional kinematics of the block start and initial strides from subsequent manually digitized APAS motion analysis. Infra-red timing lights (80 Hz) were used to measure the 10-m sprinting times. The coefficient of variation (CV%) calculation was adjusted to separate biological movement variability (BCV%) from estimates of variability induced by technological error (SEM%) for each individual sprinter and measure. Pearson's product–moment correlation and linear regression analysis were used to establish relationships between measures of BCV% and 10-m sprint start performance (best 10-m time) or 10-m sprint start performance consistency (10-m time BCV%) using SPSS version 12.0. Measurement error markedly inflated traditional measures of movement variability (CV%) by up to 72%. Variability in task outcome measures was considerably lower than that observed in joint rotation velocities. Consistent generation of high horizontal velocity out of the blocks led to more stable and faster starting strides.     

Developing and Assessing Curriculum on the Physics of Medical Instruments

Undergraduate educational settings often struggle to provide students with authentic biologically or medically relevant situations and problems that simultaneously improve their understanding of physics. Through exercises and laboratory activities developed in an elective Physics in Biomedicine course for upper-level biology or pre–health majors at Portland State University, we aim to teach fundamental physical concepts, such as light absorption and emission and atomic energy levels, through analysis of biological systems and medical devices. The activities address the properties of electromagnetic waves as they relate to the interaction with biological tissue and make links between physics and biomedical applications such as microscopy or laser eye surgery. We report on the effect that engaging students in tasks with actual medical equipment has had on their conceptual understanding of light and spectroscopy. These initial assessments indicate that students’ understanding improves in some areas as a result of taking the course, but gains are not uniform and are relatively low for other topics. We also find a promising “nonshift” in student attitudes toward learning science as a result of taking the course. A long-term goal of this work is to develop these materials to the extent that they can eventually be imported into an introductory curriculum for life sciences majors.     

Making Sense of Researcher Services

ABSTRACT

Researcher services have proliferated in recent years and numerous free or fee-based sites now promise increased visibility and impact for authors or contributors of publications and other research products. Not all services have the same goals, however, and it can be difficult to know with which services researchers should engage. In this article we establish three categories (author/researcher identification, academic/professional networking, and reference/citation management) and examine nineteen services that fit into those categories.

Column Editor's Note This JLA column posits that academic libraries and their services are dominated by information technologies, and that the success of librarians and professional staff is contingent on their ability to thrive in this technology-rich environment. The column will appear in odd-numbered issues of the journal, and will delve into all aspects of library-related information technologies and knowledge management used to connect users to information resources, including data preparation, discovery, delivery and preservation. Prospective authors are invited to submit articles for this column to the editor at kenning.arlitsch@montana.edu