Is underestimation less detrimental than overestimation? The impact of experts’ beliefs about a layperson’s knowledge on learning and question asking

Although prior research has shown that experts tend to overestimate or underestimate what laypersons actually know, little is known about the specific consequences of biased estimations for communication. To investigate the impact of biased estimations of a layperson’s knowledge on the effectiveness of experts’ explanations, we conducted a web-based dialog experiment with 45 pairs of experts and laypersons. We manipulated the experts’ mental model of the layperson by presenting them either valid information about the layperson’s knowledge or information that was biased towards overestimation or underestimation. Results showed that the experts adopted the biased estimations and adapted their explanations accordingly. Consequently, the laypersons’ learning from the experts’ explanations was impaired when the experts overestimated or underestimated the layperson’s knowledge. In addition, laypersons whose knowledge was overestimated more often generated questions that reflected comprehension problems. Laypersons whose knowledge was underestimated asked mainly for additional information previously not addressed in the explanations. The results suggest that underestimating a learner during the instructional dialog is as detrimental to learning as is the overestimation of a learner’s knowledge. Thus, the provision of effective explanations presupposes an accurate mental model of the learner’s knowledge prerequisites.     

Situating teachers’ developmental engineering experiences in an inquiry-based,laboratory learning environment

Many secondary math and science teachers don’t understand the nature and application of engineering adequately to transfer that understanding to their students. Research is needed that investigates and illuminates the process and characteristics of development that addresses this gap. This mixed-method study examines the developmental experiences of 16 public math and science teachers in a yearlong engineering experience. Teachers partnered with university engineering professor-mentors for six weeks on campus followed by ongoing support for transfer to their secondary classes (grades 9–12). Teachers gained engineering knowledge and skills, and an understanding of engineering’s diversity and interdisciplinary nature, plus integrative applied strategies for math and science instruction. They developed productive perceptions (of value, utility, benefits, feasibility and fit) of engineering for their grade 9–12 students, along with efficacy and intent to use what they had learned. Teachers identified positive, profound shifts in their perceptions of engineering and engineers. All teachers integrated engineering principles into their classrooms, but the process was more challenging for math teachers than for science teachers. This developmental experience may help bridge gaps of school-to-life and disciplinary boundaries that separate formal educational environments from authentic life experience.     

Understanding access to higher education amongst humanitarian migrants: an analysis of Australian longitudinal survey data

Higher Education - Humanitarian migrants are amongst the most marginalised population groups in countries within the Global North, including Australia. An important channel for these migrants to...     

Using a Diagnosis-Based Approach to Individualize Instructional Explanations in Computer-Mediated Communication

To maximize the effectiveness of instructional explanations, they should be tailored to an individual learner. However, instructors are often not able to collect diagnostically relevant information about a learner to individualize their explanations. This is particularly true in computer-mediated settings where it is more difficult to thoroughly assess a learner’s understanding. We present an approach that provides instructors in asynchronous and text-based computer-mediated communication settings with information about a learner’s understanding that has sufficient diagnostic power to enable them to generate learner-tailored explanations. A series of experiments testing this approach suggest several conclusions. First, instructors need information about a learner to individualize explanations. Second, instructors are able to design explanations that are specifically adapted to a learner’s individual understanding. Third, learner-tailored explanations facilitate the processing of new information and make instructional communication more efficient. Fourth, learner-tailored explanations enhance a deep understanding of the information processed and make instructional communication more effective.     

A novel technology-industry concordance table based on linked inventor-establishment data

Mapping technologies into industries is frequently required in empirical innovation studies, but many concordances only provide coarse mappings. We develop a novel concordance between industries and technologies making use of linked inventor-employee data for a large sample of German patents filed at the European Patent Office between 1999 and 2011. Inventors listed on these patents are matched and disambiguated with German social security records. Employment data recorded in this database include detailed industry codes describing the industrial activities of the inventors’ establishments. These linked microdata allow us to identify the precise industrial origin of inventions, combine them with technology classifications from the inventors’ patents and to generate novel concordance tables. We evaluate our approach by comparing the concordances with existing work. Moreover, in an empirical application, we find that patent based indicators represent valid proxies for the innovation performance of industries and thus help to measure innovation in the absence of other survey based indicators. Service sector innovation activities, however, appear to be barely represented by the patenting activities of inventors and establishments.     

Stair self-efficacy questionnaire to test the ability of stair negotiation for older people

Background

Older adults face different challenges that affect their daily living. One of the most challenging and hazardous activities of everyday living, especially in the elderly, is stair climbing. Therefore the ability of stair climbing is inter alia used as an indicator for physical fitness and an independent life without the need of support. But until now there has not been an alternative to test the stair climbing ability than to actually climb stairs by using the stair up and down test. Therefore, this study evaluates a self-efficacy questionnaire as a complementing instrument to predict stair climbing abilities.

Methods

A new instrument has been developed for German-speaking countries to assess the role of stair self-efficacy for older people (SSE). The instrument, based on the questionnaire from Hamel and Cavanagh (2004), assesses stair self-efficacy during the performance of 10 different staircase management situations and gathers information about participation in these staircase situations. Reliability and construct validity of the questionnaire were tested with a sample of 121 older adults who completed the SSE questionnaire and the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC-D) scale. As an additional validity check, 90 participants performed stair climbing in a physical test.

Results

Statistical analysis via a factor analysis showed that the SSE questionnaire is one-dimensional. In addition, reliability was tested by using Cronbach’s alpha and the split-half method via Spearman–Brown to calculate the internal consistency. Both methods yielded adequate results and furthermore the reliability was established via the results of the test–retest reliability. Validity was tested by the parallel testing, using the Pearson correlation between the SSE score and ABC scale, as well as physical testing.

Conclusions

Taken together, the SSE questionnaire offers the possibility to evaluate stair climbing performance without the need for physical performance. This questionnaire is especially helpful because the participants do not need to become physically stressed and exposed to the risk of falling before they are confident enough to climb stairs.