An Inquiry into the Spontaneous Transfer of Problem-Solving Skill

Problem solving, by definition, involves achieving new understanding in unfamiliar contexts, and is critical to all aspects of life, especially in the educational and scientific arenas. Students learn from many experiences to develop a repertoire of abilities, including the use of logic, which enable them to spontaneously transfer their problem-solving skill to unfamiliar situations. The purpose of this study is to explore the minimum conditions necessary to facilitate the spontaneous transfer of problem solving skill in an unfamiliar context. One hundred and seventy-five subjects were presented with logically identical problems based on the Wason selection task, which differed only in the degree to which a familiar schema could be invoked to help solve the problem. In the pretest stage, only 10.5% of subjects could solve the selection problem in an unfamiliar context, whereas 57.3% could solve it in one that was familiar. The effect of three interventions, prior exposure to a familiar scenario, repeat opportunities on like problems, and process-oriented feedback, on selection task performance in an unfamiliar context was assessed in a posttest stage. Overall, none of the interventions were effective, indicating that the minimum threshold for spontaneous transfer may be above the level of intervention included in this study. Schema theory, implications for instruction, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Reflections on Anti-Bullying Peer Counselling in a Comprehensive School

This report reflects on the first year of a peer support scheme, implemented as a means to reduce the psychological effects of bullying in one secondary school. Practical problems identified by teachers and pupils regarding recruitment, training, and running the scheme are discussed.     

Small Sample Properties of Bayesian Multivariate Autoregressive Time Series Models

The aim of this study was to compare the small sample (N = 1, 3, 5, 10, 15) performance of a Bayesian multivariate vector autoregressive (BVAR-SEM) time series model relative to frequentist power and parameter estimation bias. A multivariate autoregressive model was developed based on correlated autoregressive time series vectors of varying lengths (T = 25, 50, 75, 100, 125) using Statistical Analysis System (SAS) version 9.2. Autoregressive components for the 5 series vectors included coefficients of .80, .70, .65, .50 and .40. Error variance components included values of .20, .20, .10, .15, and .15, with cross-lagged coefficients of .10, .10, .15, .10, and .10. A Monte Carlo study revealed that in comparison to frequentist methods, the Bayesian approach provided increased sensitivity for hypothesis testing and detecting Type I error.     

Tweens' conceptions of privacy online: implications for educators

There is considerable debate about young people's concern for privacy today, given their frequent use of social media to share information and other content about themselves and others. While researchers have investigated the online privacy practices of teens and emerging adults, relatively little is known about the attitudes and behaviors of younger youth. Drawing on interviews with 42 middle school students, or ‘tweens’, we explore how youth in this age group think about and manage privacy issues online, as well as the messages they report hearing from educators about online privacy. Our findings suggest that most tweens value privacy, seek privacy from both strangers and known others online, and use a variety of strategies to protect their privacy online. Further, tweens' online privacy concerns are considerably broader than the ‘stranger danger’ messages they report hearing from teachers. We discuss the educational implications of these findings.     

A Comparative Study of Student Math Skills: Perceptions,Validation, and Recommendations

A study was conducted at a southern university in sophomore level production classes to assess skills such as the order of arithmetic operations, decimal and percent conversion, solving of algebraic expressions, and evaluation of formulas. The study was replicated using business statistics and quantitative analysis classes at a southeastern university. The intent of the study was to determine math deficiencies among college students and to ascertain whether or not these deficiencies impact grades. Data analyses compared students’ test results and grades from the different classes at the two universities and identified surprising patterns across classes, universities, and professors.These results support the need for curriculum modifications to address the identified deficiencies.     

Putting mobile application privacy in context: An empirical study of user privacy expectations for mobile devices

Users increasingly use mobile devices to engage in social activity and commerce, enabling new forms of data collection by firms and marketers. User privacy expectations for these new forms of data collection remain unclear. A particularly difficult challenge is meeting expectations for contextual integrity, as user privacy expectations vary depending upon data type collected and context of use. This article illustrates how fine-grained, contextual privacy expectations can be measured. It presents findings from a factorial vignette survey that measured the impact of diverse real-world contexts (e.g., medical, navigation, music), data types, and data uses on user privacy expectations. Results demonstrate that individuals’ general privacy preferences are of limited significance for predicting their privacy judgments in specific scenarios. Instead, the results present a nuanced portrait of the relative importance of particular contextual factors and information uses, and demonstrate how those contextual factors can be found and measured. The results also suggest that current common activities of mobile application companies, such as harvesting and reusing location data, images, and contact lists, do not meet users’ privacy expectations. Understanding how user privacy expectations vary according to context, data types, and data uses highlights areas requiring stricter privacy protections by governments and industry.     

Spatial Thinking in Practice: A Snapshot of teacher's Spatial Activity Use in the Early Years' Classroom

Spatial thinking predicts Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics achievement, yet is often absent from educational policy. We provide benchmarks of teachers' usage and perceptions of spatial activities in practice in the reception classroom (first year of primary school). In this questionnaire study of educational professionals working in the reception classroom in England (N = 104), we found that spatial and numeracy activities were perceived as significantly less important, and were reportedly completed significantly less often, than literacy or life skills. Despite the lower perceived importance of spatial skills in curriculum guidance in England, rates of reported spatial activity use were encouragingly high and were broadly comparable to those of numeracy. Teachers had moderate anxiety levels for both spatial and mathematics domains. The findings highlight a need to elevate teachers' understanding of the importance of developing children's early spatial and numeracy skills, which may begin with efforts to reduce spatial and mathematics anxiety.