Elementary students’ metacognitive processes and post-performance calibration on mathematical problem-solving tasks

Calibration, or the correspondence between perceived performance and actual performance, is linked to students’ metacognitive and self-regulatory skills. Making students more aware of the quality of their performance is important in elementary school settings, and more so when math problems are involved. However, many students seem to be poorly calibrated, with a tendency towards over-confidence. The present study analyzes the relationship between post-performance calibration accuracy and the metacognitive process shown by 524 fifth- and sixth-grade students while solving two math problems. After calculating a calibration index and establishing the stability of students’ judgments and actual performance, differences in the metacognitive process exhibited by students with different calibration accuracy (Accurate vs. Inaccurate groups) were analyzed. The emergence of different calibration patterns and differences in the metacognitive process as a function of mathematics achievement and grade level were also examined. Results indicated that: (a) students in the overall sample were little calibrated and over-confident, showing high stability in their judgments and actual performance across problems; (b) inaccurate students reported using information representation sub-processes (drawing/summarizing) less frequently, but writing and reviewing (and also correcting mistakes) more frequently than their accurate peers; and (c) differences in calibration patterns and the metacognitive process were found when achievement level was considered, whereas grade level did not generate any important effect. These findings suggest the usefulness of process-based measures to examine the metacognitive processes involved in making post-performance judgments, considering achievement and its possible mediating role in this relationship.     

Cognitive,Motivational, and Volitional Dimensions of Learning: An Empirical Test of a Hypothetical Model

The principal aim of this research is to contrast empirically a hypothetical model developed on the basis of the fundamental assumptions of current self-regulated learning models. In line with evaluation criteria of model fit, a high rate of congruence between the hypothesized theoretical model and the empirical data was observed. Analysis of the effects between the variables of the model revealed the following relevant aspects: students' predisposition to feel responsible for the results of their academic behavior (internal attribution) is related to positive self-image (academic self-concept), both being important conditions for development of learning-oriented motivation (learning goals). All of this involves selection and use of learning strategies for deep information processing (deep learning strategies), which leads students to assume responsibility with high levels of persistence, perseverance, and tenacity so as to achieve goals defined by the motivational orientation. This persistence and effort to achieve the proposed goals has in turn a positive and significant effect on academic achievement.     

AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS AND ASIAN CHILDREN

ABSTRACT:  This paper compares the incidence of the diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) among White and Asian children with reference to data obtained from thirteen local education authorities (LEAs) in England. It begins by outlining some of the theoretical debates associated with the definition, diagnosis and prevalence of ASD. The empirical component underpinning this work uses logistic modelling to ascertain whether the proportion of children with a statement of special educational need (SEN) for ASD is different for Asian and for White children and whether the proportion of children with a statement of SEN for ASD varies between LEAs. The discussion speculates as to possible reasons for the differences found and identifies areas for further research.     

US and Turkish preschoolers’ observational knowledge of astronomy

The purpose of this cross-cultural study was to describe and compare US and Turkish children's observational knowledge of the day and night cycle and to identify similarities predicted by framework theory. Fifty-six (27 US and 29 Turkish) young children (ages 48–60 months) participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were individually conducted, digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the constant comparative method. The results demonstrate that preschoolers from the two cultures are able to make comparable informal observations of the sky, and their observational knowledge includes many similarities, with one exception, as predicted by framework theory. US children were more likely to perform better than the Turkish children on the question about the time of observation for the moon. Although science concepts and skills are better represented in US early childhood education programs than the Turkish program, the results suggest that this advantage did not translate into performance differences between US and Turkish children.     

Influence of problem-based learning games on effective computer programming learning in higher education

Educational technology research and development - Gaming is a part of today’s society, especially for younger generations. Therefore, game-based approaches are unsurprisingly used for...     

环球旅游礼节与禁忌

在巴西,别送人紫色花;在希腾,别向当地人招手;在澳大利亚,切勿跷起大拇指。环球旅游专家罗杰·艾斯特尔向您道出其中缘由。罗杰·艾斯特尔正为自己在沙特阿拉伯的多次会议取得成功而自我庆祝的时候,他的客户——一名中年商人,也是其公司在该地区的一位重要经销商——突然探身来抓住他的手。“我震惊不已!”艾斯特     

The Outcome of a Social Cognitive Training for Mainstream Adolescents with Social Communication Deficits in a Chinese Community

The use of cognitive-based strategies for improving social communication behaviours for individuals who have solid language and cognition is an important question. This study investigated the outcome of teaching Social Thinking^®, a framework based in social-cognition, to Chinese adolescents with social communication deficits. Thirty-nine students (33 with Autism Spectrum Disorders and six without), ranging in age from 12 to 15 years with social communication deficits, participated in a 12-week intervention. Students’ pre- and post-intervention social behaviours were measured by six aspects of the Social Thinking-ILAUGH Scale involving 115 familiar raters. Students showed significant improvement in all the six subscales of the Social Thinking-ILAUGH except humour after training. Agreements on ratings among parents and school personnel were satisfactory. A framework based in social cognitive strategies, with appropriate linguistic and cultural adaptations, appears to be a promising tool for Chinese adolescents with social learning issues. Social behaviours improved across school and home settings as noted by groups of raters familiar with the students.     

Reframing the curriculum: a transformative approach

ABSTRACT

While acknowledging higher education’s complicity in inequality, the premise of this paper is that curriculum transformation can be one means of challenging and dismantling structural injustices towards the goal of equity of access and outcomes. Fraser’s multi-dimensional framework for social justice is drawn upon to explore what this transformation requires. The framework is used to critique a particular case of curriculum intervention, Education Development in South Africa. In Fraser’s terms, the interventions have been largely affirmative, not transformative. In addition, they have focused on only the first dimension of justice, redistribution, and have generally failed to attend to misrecognition and representation. Overall, we argue that the responses of higher education institutions in South Africa to the challenges of a globalised, pluralist world have been affirmative, not transformative. A transformative approach demands a ‘reframing’ of the curriculum. This involves adjusting the scale of the problem, interrogating assumptions informing the norms of the curriculum, questioning current boundaries between ‘mainstream’ and ‘other’ students and reviewing the fitness of the curriculum for a pluralist society. The paper concludes with recommendations for what such a reframing of the curriculum might entail.     

Playing With Ideas: Evaluating the Impact of the Ultimate Block Party,a Collective Experiential Intervention to Enrich Perceptions of Play

Parental attitudes shape play opportunities afforded to children in home, community, and school settings. This study presents evaluation of an intervention designed to enrich parent's conception of play and its relationship with socially valued skills and capacities. On the basis of data from 291 racially and ethnically diverse parents/caregivers of young children (median age between 3 and 6) attending an event in NYC, we find the intervention helped parents conceptualize play in complex ways and altered perceptions of its impact on children's current—but not future—lives. Multivariate analyses reveal the causal pathway for these changes as exposure to multiple play sites, rather than time at the event—a finding with direct implications for exposing parents to developmental science in community settings.     

Cultural Constructions of Childhood and Early Literacy

This paper is based on the findings of two research teams, working collaboratively, between 1998 and 2000 in four countries: Australia, Singapore, France and England (see David et al 2000). Taking an ecological stance (Bronfenbrenner 1979), both teams adopted a cross‐cultural approach in order to gain a better understanding of the contexts in which young children become familiar with literacy. The team led by Bridie Raban worked in Singapore and Australia, that led by Tricia David in France and England. Early years practitioners in all four countries responded to questionnaires, were observed in action and interviewed. (Information about their training and about entry to primary school in each of the countries is given in the endnote.) In addition, the research teams carried out document analyses on Governmental, research and training literature and teachers’ plans, and discussed their findings with others in positions to be able to ‘authenticate’– or refute – findings. Further data were obtained through group interviews with parents of children attending selected settings involved in the research. Here we provide some of the evidence about the different views expressed by practitioners, our observational findings and analysis of the different pressures relating to literacy experienced in early childhood education and care settings. In each case the learning experiences practitioners provided for children were influenced by a range of factors, such as the contested role of preschools as preparation for schooling. In some settings this preparation was not explicit and practitioners often emphasised the importance of the ‘here and now’ nature of young children’s experiences. Rosenthal’s (2000) framework for exploring ‘collectivist’ and ‘individualist’ cultures in relation to their valued educational practices was applied to our findings, in order to identify how the cultural assumptions about literacy, learning and young children influenced the teaching approaches selected.