Inquiring scaffolds in laboratory tasks: an instance of a “worked laboratory guide effect”?

The study explores if established support devices for paper–pencil problem solving, namely worked examples and incremental scaffolds, are applicable to laboratory tasks. N?=?173 grade eight students solved in dyads a physics laboratory task in one of three conditions. In condition A (unguided problem solving), students were asked to determine the mass of an unknown object by applying Hooke’s law. In condition B (laboratory guide), students received a guide which instructed and explained each solution step. In condition C (incremental scaffolds), the solution steps were presented incrementally on learner demand and were preceded by strategic prompts. Dependent variables were learning outcomes (solution, retention, knowledge) and motivational learning experiences (basic needs, situational interest, deeper level processing). The laboratory guide (B) led to better learning outcomes (d?=?0.42) but lower motivation (d?>?0.38) compared to unguided problem solving (A). Incremental scaffolds (C) led to higher motivation (d?>?0.44) but similar learning outcomes compared to a laboratory guide.     

Information systems in Czech agriculture: Implications for research and the study of agricultural extension

Recent and rapid changes have occurred in the structure of agriculture in the Czech Republic. These have been accompanied by innovation in the provision of information and advice to farmers and also in the role of the Agricultural Universities (especially in Departments of Education) and in the teaching of Agriculture in vocational secondary schools. The information resource for agriculture has been developed by encouraging sources and centres from which information and advice can be obtained by farmers, rather than by the introduction of a formalised national Extension Service. Hence, the emerging system is based on farmers constructing their own information systems as responses to what they perceive to be their needs and what they find most useful. Research was conducted during 1998 – 2000 to establish farmer priorities for information, and the relative uses made of 20 possible sources, by small-scale and large-scale private farmers, by company farms and the new cooperatives. Evidence was also obtained about some recent and current changes in needs and sources. Transfer of information between farms was shown to be very important. An assessment was also made of the levels of farmer optimism about the future of their farms. The small-scale farmers were the most numerous (39,6 %) optimistic respondents. Suggestions are made for the development of curricula for teaching Extension in the Czech Republic and also, significantly, the essential data that have been collected to establish a baseline for future analyses to monitor changes which are on-going in the information systems.     

Education as cultural mobilisation: The Great War and its effects on moral education in the Netherlands

Education during World War I has been a relatively unexplored field of research, especially in the case of countries with a neutral stance in that war. The Netherlands is one such country. This article argues that even though the Netherlands was politically neutral, it was and considered itself a part of western civilisation and shared in the experience of a cultural or existential crisis that came over Europe as a consequence of the war. This crisis also caused Dutch pedagogues to reflect on the war. Leading Dutch pedagogues wrote in their journals how education had to be changed in order to prevent a future war or to preserve moral values in their country, which was not (yet) part of the warfare. To characterise this effort, we introduce the concept of cultural mobilisation, following recent developments in the historiography of the cultural dimensions of the Great War. Based on an in-depth analysis of Dutch pedagogical journals, ranging from Protestant, Catholic and socialist to humanist and anarchistic world views, we focus on three pedagogical debates that were influenced by the Great War. The first debate focuses on peace education and shows how pedagogues rejected the war pedagogy of their German colleagues in particular and advised teachers to pass on a peace-loving message to their pupils. The second debate focuses on the reception of Montessori education and the third on Foerster’s and Kerschensteiner’s social pedagogy, both in light of the desire of pedagogues to improve moral education in the school.     

Unsilencing voices: a study of zoo signs and their language of authority

Zoo signs are important for informal learning, but their effect on visitor perception of animals has been sparsely studied. Other studies have established the importance of informal learning in American society; this study discusses zoo signs in the context of such learning. Through the lens of Critical Theory framed by informal learning, and by applying critical discourse analysis, I discovered subtle institutional power on zoo signs. This may influence visitors through dominant ideological discursive formations and emergent discourse objects, adding to the paradox of “saving” wild animals while simultaneously oppressing them. Signs covering a variety of species from two different United States-accredited zoos were analyzed. Critical Theory looks to emancipate oppressed human populations; here I apply it zoo animals. As physical emancipation is not practical, I define emancipation in the sociological sense—in this case, freedom from silence. Through this research, perhaps we can find a way to represent animals as living beings who have their own lives and voices, by presenting them honestly, with care and compassion.     

When bodies matter: significance of the body in gender constructions in physiotherapy education

This article examines which bodily performances indicate the significance of gender in the skills training of physiotherapy students. It is based on a qualitative study of first-year students' skills training in a Norwegian physiotherapy education programme. The study draws inspiration from Paechter's theory of the communities of masculinities and femininities, which argues that the material body is significant in gender construction. These findings indicate how, both historically and contemporarily, gender norms are strongly interwoven into students' bodily performances during their professional training. This bodily performance conforms to heteronormativity. Based on these findings, we argue that within critical educational studies of gender there is a need for theoretical frameworks that include a focus on the material body as a site of gender performance.     

Engineering students’ experiences from physics group work in learning labs

The development and validation of a test of biology‐related attitudes (TOBRA) is described. This instrument was developed for science students in grades 10‐12 in Indonesia; however, the procedures for validation of the instrument will be of general interest to science educators. These procedures included the use of latent partition analysis to examine the conceptual structure of TOBRA.     

Legitimate Peripheral Participation in Communities of Practice: Participation Support Structures for Newcomers in Faculty Student Councils

Participating in communities of practice (CoPs) is an important way of learning. For newcomers in such communities, the learning process can be described as legitimate peripheral participation (LPP). Although a body of knowledge on LPP has been accumulated from qualitative case studies, mostly focusing on the use of practices, the concrete mechanisms that shape the LPP process have not yet been systematically analyzed. In this study, we examined participation support structures with a focus on activities that senior CoP members demonstrate to foster newcomers’ participation. The use of 8 distinct participation support structures was identified in interviews with experienced members of faculty student councils. A hierarchical linear model based on data from 68 newcomers in 14 faculty student councils was computed. The model showed that in addition to exposure time and CoP size, 2 participation support structures (recruitment strategies and accessibility of community knowledge) were predictive of the newcomers’ level of participation. We conclude that senior members’ specific participation support structures can facilitate or hinder newcomers’ participation in CoPs and that the original LPP approach needs to be enhanced by taking participation support structures into account.