The Five-Factor Model personality assessment for improved student design team performance

Researchers have long noted the correlation of various personality traits and team performance. Studies relating aggregate team personality traits to team performance are scattered in the literature and may not always be relevant to engineering design teams. This paper synthesizes the results from applicable Five-Factor Model (FFM)-based personality studies related to engineering design team performance, into a form that can be readily used by non-experts—engineering faculty and students. In addition, an approach is presented where aggregate data is visually presented to recognize patterns that correspond to strength and existence of personality traits within the team as measured by the FFM model while maintaining student confidentiality. With this approach, identification of team strengths and weaknesses stemming from the personality trait distribution is simplified. An assessment of the usability of the approach—completed in two first-year engineering courses—is presented to demonstrate its potential.     

The use of source-related strategies in evaluating multiple psychology texts: a student–scientist comparison

Multiple text comprehension can greatly benefit from paying attention to sources and from using this information for evaluating text information. Previous research based on texts from the domain of history suggests that source-related strategies are acquired as part of the discipline expertise as opposed to the spontaneous use of these strategies by students just entering a field. In the present study, we compared the performance of students and scientists in the domain of psychology with regard to (a) their knowledge of publication types, (b) relevant source characteristics, (c) their use of sources for evaluating the credibility of multiple texts, and (d) their ability to judge the plausibility of argumentative statements in psychological texts. Participants worked on a battery of newly developed computerised tests with a think-aloud instruction to uncover strategies that scientists and students used when reading a text. Results showed that scientists scored higher in all of the assessed abilities and that these abilities were positively correlated with each other. Importantly, the superior performance of scientists in evaluating the credibility of multiple texts was mediated by their use of source information. Implications are discussed in terms of discipline expertise.     

What is the Effect of Case-Based Learning on the Academic Achievement of Students on the Topic of “Biochemical Oxygen Demand?”

Research in Science Education - The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the case-based learning (CBL) method used in “biochemical oxygen demand (BOD),” which is a...     

Teaching at a Distance — Reflections on the relationship between discipline‐based and general teaching theories

German readers would immediately associate the term ‘discipline-based’ with Didaktik, which in the German-speaking world is an established branch of education science. The first section therefore deals with the development of Didaktik, understood as a theory of teaching and learning which seeks to investigate the relationships between discipline-based and general teaching theories. Didaktik was originally a strictly theory-oriented discipline in German-speaking countries, but changes in its terms of reference have led to an acceptance of the more pragmatically oriented curriculum theory of the English-speaking world. The term ‘discipline-based’ seems to indicate that here, too, education science has turned its back on positivistic, ‘purely scientific’ standards, so a knowledge of the German discussion of teaching-learning theory may be of interest.

The second section shows that in distance education, too, general teaching models need concretization in terms of discipline-based teaching theory, and that on the other hand, any discipline-based theory needs to have its foundations in general teaching theory, i.e. in pedagogic principles.

The third section therefore postulates the necessity of a theory of distance education which is based on practical experience.     

Geschlechtsspezifische Leistungsunterschiede in Abhängigkeit der sozialen Herkunft. Eine Untersuchung zur Interaktion zweier sozialer Kategorien

Gender differences in educational outcomes are often reported. However, some evidence suggests that these differences are not consistent but vary with social background. In quantitative research, however, the interaction between gender and social background has been underinvestigated. The present study investigates whether the effect of gender on achievement is moderated by socio-economic status (SES). The sample consists of N = 3935 primary school-children in Berlin (6th grade). The results show that the effect of gender on achievement varies with SES, with a stronger correlation between the achievement of boys and their SES. Taken together, the results of the study suggest a differentiated consideration of the achievement of boys and girls and the importance of considering multiple group identities.     

Identification with early primary school mathematics: a home–school activity theory conceptualisation and methodology

This paper offers a new methodology for researching children’s identifications in the early primary phase that makes visible the ‘seeds’ of academic dis-/identities, which typically flower later in adolescence. It focuses on the ‘case’ of mathematical identifications (MI) to exemplify how children come to dis/identify from the academic curriculum more broadly. MI is defined as any act where cultural representations of being mathematical are reflected back on to the child by others or the self, as they engage in mathematical activity. Data are presented concerning Bilal and Nico to show identifications in a hybrid home–school mathematics activity that contradict or ‘align’ with MI elicited in school-mathematical activity. It is argued that contradictions between these MIs indicate ‘potential’ development towards disengagement (the case of Nico). This contrasts with home–school alignment involving Bilal’s ‘schoolified’ home activities, which (re)validate school-mathematical activity. It is further argued that this conceptual innovation offers potential for investigating identity in early childhood.     

Academic Mobbing in Relation to Leadership Practices: A New Perspective on an Old Issue

Abstract

Constant pressures emanating from internal and external environments of the academy have resulted in many changes, one of which is the workplace mobbing, an old issue for the broader field of organization science but a relatively new phenomenon in the academic context. This study investigated the relationship between workplace mobbing and academic leadership and the results indicated that the more positive leadership there is in an institution, the less mobbing behaviors are observed.