Mission to Planet Markle: Problem-Based Learning for Teaching Elementary Students Difficult Content and Practices

Research in Science Education - Young children can struggle to learn difficult disciplinary content and important skills for practicing science. Problem-based learning (PBL) may be useful for...     

Parental influences and adolescent career behaviours in a collectivist cultural setting

Using social cognitive career theory, we examined the relationships between parental variables (parental career expectations, adolescent–parent career congruence) and adolescent career aspirations and career actions (planning, exploration) in a sample of Grade 10 Indonesian high school students. We found good support for a model that revealed various routes by which the two parental variables were associated with adolescent career aspirations and career actions, although the main influence of the parental variables was by way of self-efficacy. The findings demonstrate important roles for parental career expectations and adolescent–parent career congruence in adolescents’ career aspirations and actions.     

Development of a competency mapping tool for undergraduate professional degree programmes,using mechanical engineering as a case study

Mapping the curriculum of a professional degree to the associated competency standard ensures graduates have the competence to perform as professionals. Existing approaches to competence mapping vary greatly in depth, complexity, and effectiveness, and a standardised approach remains elusive. This paper describes a new mapping software tool that streamlines and standardises the competency mapping process. The available analytics facilitate ongoing programme review, management, and accreditation. The complete mapping and analysis of an Australian mechanical engineering degree programme is described as a case study. Each subject is mapped by evaluating the amount and depth of competence development present. Combining subject results then enables highly detailed programme level analysis. The mapping process is designed to be administratively light, with aspects of professional development embedded in the software. The effective competence mapping described in this paper enables quantification of learning within a professional degree programme, and provides a mechanism for holistic programme improvement.     

A meta-analytic investigation of therapy modality outcomes for sexually abused children and adolescents: an exploratory study

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the independent effects of different treatment elements on a number of secondary problems related to childhood and adolescent sexual abuse, as well as investigate a number of different moderators of treatment effectiveness. METHOD: Twenty-eight studies that provided treatment outcome results for children and adolescents who had been sexually abused were included in the meta-analysis. Different aspects of psychological treatment, such as specific treatment modalities (individual, cognitive-behavioral, etc.) or secondary problems (behavior problems, psychological distress, etc.) were investigated. RESULTS: The overall mean weighted effect size for the meta-analysis was d=.72 (SE=.02). The results indicate that psychological treatment after childhood or adolescent sexual abuse tended to result in better outcomes than no treatment. There was significant heterogeneity in the effectiveness of the various psychological treatment elements. Play therapy seemed to be the most effective treatment for social functioning, whereas cognitive-behavioral, abuse-specific, and supportive therapy in either group or individual formats was most effective for behavior problems. Cognitive-behavioral, family, and individual therapy seemed to be the most effective for psychological distress, and abuse-specific, cognitive-behavioral, and group therapy appeared to be the most effective for low self-concept. CONCLUSIONS: The choice of therapy modality should depend on the child's main presenting secondary problem. Further research should be conducted investigating other possible moderators and secondary problem outcomes.     

The Bottom Line for Education and Training

Because business and industry training has become a major economic investment for the companies that support it, training managers are increasingly called upon to demonstrate that their interventions are not only effective but also cost-effective. This article describes a cost-effective methodology. It points out how cost-effectiveness differs from cost-benefit analysis. The technique combines meta-analytic and simple accounting procedures to yield an index of relative cost-effectiveness of training interventions. Using examples from the schools and corporate training, the authors demonstrate how the analysis can be applied to a large variety of training situations.     

The function of uncertainty reduction in alleviating primary tension in small groups

Two studies manipulated levels of uncertainty and employed self report, observer‐ratings, and behavioral coding to assess primary tension in groups. Results indicate that a) participants cannot differentiate levels of primary tension in groups, b) observers can reliably detect differences in primary tension behaviors, and c) these tense group behaviors decrease as uncertainty is effectively reduced.     

We Are All Teachers: A Collaborative Approach to Digital Collection Development

ABSTRACT

In libraries and archives, efforts to document underrepresented communities and diversify collections can be fraught with political tension. We explore an interdepartmental collaboration to create and preserve a digital collection documenting the Urban Native Relocation Program of the mid- to late-twentieth century in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Involving the Grand Valley State University Libraries, the Kutsche Office of Local History, and the university's Native American Advisory Board, the project serves as a model not just for collaborative collection development but also for community engagement and outreach. We find that process is as important as product in developing collaborative digital collections.     

The historian activist and the Gift to the Nation project: preserving the records of the Australian Red Cross

ABSTRACT

In 2014, as part of their centenary celebrations, the Australian Red Cross initiated a project in which it transferred archives to various national, state and territory institutions across Australia including the University of Melbourne Archives and the State Library of New South Wales. The transfer of this voluminous (but not complete) collection built on earlier transfers of archives to the State Library of South Australia and the Australian War Memorial. This paper charts the origins of the plan to donate the records to public repositories. It interrogates the societal provenance of those collections, recognising that the pluralising of records is an historical process, in which the agency of archivists, historians and administrators must be understood. An investigation of Red Cross records in Australia exposes that process in its contingency, inertia and, ultimately, enthusiasm. The paper also reveals the challenges faced by voluntary organisations in preserving their records, and how historians and archivists both can benefit from assisting such organisations. Finally, this paper argues that the ‘Gift to the Nation’ project, with its national and international significance, reflects a shift in our understanding of the First World War to a transnational paradigm that recognises the important role of voluntary organisations.     

Mechanisms of attentional cueing during observational learning to facilitate motor skill acquisition

We examined the effectiveness of different cueing conditions during observational learning of a soccer accuracy pass. Sixty participants (30 males, 30 females) were randomly assigned and stratified by sex into one of six groups: discovery learning, verbal instruction, video model with visual cues, video model with verbal cues, video model with visual and verbal cues, and video model only. Each participant completed eight blocks of 10 trials each, with trial blocks 1 and 2 representing the practice phase (no manipulation), trial blocks 3, 4, 5 and 6 the acquisition phase (manipulation administered) and trial blocks 7 and 8 the retention phase (24 h after acquisition, with no manipulation). Absolute error, variable error and kicking form were recorded. The results indicated that those who used video modelling with visual and verbal cues collectively displayed less error and more appropriate form across acquisition and retention trial blocks compared with other groups. Our findings suggest that verbal information in addition to visual cues enhances perceptual representation and retention of modelled activities to improve task reproduction capabilities. Future research directions are proposed with implications for both direct and indirect perception accounts of skill acquisition through observed behaviours.