Associations Between Teacher-Rated Versus Self-Rated Student Temperament and School Achievement

This study examined whether teacher-rated versus self-rated student temperaments are different in relation to the school grades in Maths and Mother language (ML) instruction in a nationally representative sample of Finnish Secondary School students (n?=?1,063, mean age 15.1 years). The results indicated that teacher-rated temperament was more strongly associated with students' Maths and ML grades than self-rated temperament. All the teacher-rated temperament traits were associated with school grades, accounting for 38% and 45% of the variance in Maths and ML, respectively. Of the self-rated temperaments, high task orientation and its components, high persistence and low distractibility, were associated with better school grades both in Maths and ML. Low reactivity and low negative emotionality were associated only with better ML grades, whereas high inhibition was associated only with better Maths grades. A temperament-conscious education needs to be taken into account in future teacher training.     

Girls and physics: teaching and learning strategies tested by classroom interventions in grade 11

In this quasi-experimental study various strategies are developed and empirically tested for an approach to physics instruction that should improve girls' and boys' attitudes toward and achievements in physics. Strategies include opportunities to integrate different pre-existing knowledge and the variation of teaching methods to enhance co-operation and communication in the classroom. The core of this study is an intervention in 31 classes of public schools in Switzerland. The intervention, one unit in optics and one in motion (velocity/acceleration), includes the first 40 lessons of the first physics course that all students have to attend at the upper secondary level. Data sources are various student and teacher questionnaires, tests and semi-structured interviews with teachers. Results of the entrance and final survey are presented. The focus will be on some of the applied strategies. Implications for the teaching and learning of physics and for teacher education are discussed.     

No Light at the End of Tunnel Vision: Steps for Improving Lesson Plans

The authors of this article believe that the current structure of lesson plans impede differentiation, individualization, and innovation and offer little in assessing the quality of teaching and learning. Concrete steps will be offered for planning to better respond to student diversity in meeting lesson objectives.     

Education to Promote Positive Attitudes About Aging

ABSTRACT

This longitudinal study examined what a one-time intervention about aging does to the attitudes of high-school students toward aging. Early findings from the study support previous research that indicates ageist attitudes formed in early childhood become difficult to change as children reach adolescence. This research further supports the need for aging education to begin in early childhood.     

Engaging the scholar: Three types of academic consulting and their impact on universities and industry

We present a conceptual framework of academic consulting and explore its impacts on universities and the benefits to innovating firms. We distinguish between three types of academic consulting: opportunity-driven, commercialization-driven and research-driven. Exploring the implications of these different types, first, we postulate that consulting has limited impact on biasing academic research towards more ‘applied’ themes. Secondly, while we expect research-driven consulting activities to be positively associated with research productivity, opportunity-driven consulting will have a negative impact. Thirdly, we differentiate between different functions of academic consulting for different types of firms.     

Setting the scientific stage for esports psychology: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

Competitive gaming, better known as electronic sports (esports), is rapidly growing in popularity. We systematically reviewed the available literature regarding the psychological aspects of esports using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) evidence-based reporting checklist and a Population, Intervention, Comparator, and Outcomes (PICO) framework with the following inclusion criteria: (i) published between 1994 and 2018; (ii) empirical investigation (as the current state of research is dense with positions and opinions but has few empirical investigations); and (iii) focussed on esports games that are associated with either cognitive performance or game performance. The goal of our research was twofold: to present a summary of the empirical evidence addressing the psychological characteristics of both cognitive and game performance in esports, and to integrate esports in the field of sport psychology. More specifically, our goals were to highlight the interplay of psychological aspects of performance and esports and to clearly define the theoretical foundations of the psychological aspects of esports performance. Underlining the differences from video gaming will inform future research directions and stimulate the development of high-quality practice in the applied field of sports and exercise psychology.