Using the Copenhagen Process to Facilitate National Qualification Framework Strategies in South Eastern Europe

This article presents and discusses a perspective on the implications of the Lisbon Process for education and training in a selected group of partner countries of the European Union — the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro). It presents the reflections of a member of staff of the European Training Foundation responsible for managing the six country regional project underway since 2003 on developing strategies for national qualification frameworks. The reflection aims to assess the potential contributions of a major strategy of the European Union on the reform processes underway in the social and economic transitions in the Western Balkans. It draws on the broader experience of the Foundation in supporting reforms in vocational education and training systems. Qualification reform is taken as an illustrative example of the use, relevance and constraints of EU ‘processes’ in accompanying education and training reform. Although the Copenhagen process partially provides a broad structure and there is a shared history between the countries of the region, each country is sufficiently different in its local contexts to suggest that the manner and pace of adoption will diverge. The emphasis on further development to suit local circumstances essentially gives partner countries an approach or set of tools with which they can shape and form their own initiatives with some confidence that the result will be in line with general European trends.     

Having Fun Doing Math: Text Messages Promoting Parent Involvement Increased Student Learning

There is a consensus that family involvement is key to academic achievement. However, it is often difficult to keep parents involved, particularly when they lack the time or academic knowledge. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact on achievement in mathematics among adolescent children when involving parents from low-income communities in the learning process. This involvement is achieved through activities that do not include any formal curricular content. A randomly selected group of parents was nudged, via text message (SMS), to complete short and simple weekly activities with their children. The teacher then connected these activities to the curricular content in class. The results reveal that, on average, the intervention increased the students’ math grade point average (GPA) by 0.488 standard deviations (p?相似文献   

Collaborative discourse,argumentation, and learning: Preface and literature review

This article serves two functions. First, it addresses why studying collaborative discourse and collaborative argumentation is important for promoting students’ deep-level understanding of content. A literature review is presented examining the evidence for this claim, concluding that engaging in collaborative discourse and argumentation might have long-term effects in consolidating learning gains. Second, the various articles in this special issue are introduced. The articles address important directions for research, including (a) how to promote pedagogically useful collaborative discourse in the classroom and in workplace setting (for example by modeling and soliciting elaborative discourse moves or by engendering “polite” behavioral norms), (b) understanding the role of joint representations and mental models in collaborative discourse, and (c) methodological difficulties with analyzing nonindependent and categorical data. The importance for educational psychologists in understanding the interaction of cognitive and social processes is highlighted.     

Scaffolding group explanation and feedback with handheld technology: impact on students’ mathematics learning

Based on strong research literatures, we conjectured that social processing of feedback by cooperating in a small group setting—with social incentives to ask questions, give explanations and discuss disagreements—would increase learning. We compared group and individual feedback, using two technologies: (1) Technology-mediated, Peer-Assisted Learning (TechPALS), which uses wireless handheld technology to structure feedback in small groups as they solve fractions problems and (2) a popular desktop product, which provides feedback to individual students as they solve fractions problems individually. Three elementary schools participated in a randomized controlled experiment conducted in the 2007–2008 school year. Students in the TechPALS condition learned more than did the control group students, with effect sizes ranging from d = 0.14 to d = 0.44. Analysis of observational data confirmed that students in the TechPALS condition participated socially in questioning, explaining, and discussing disagreements, whereas students in the individual condition did not. We conclude that an integration of technology, cooperative activity designs and broader educational practices can lead to impact on students’ mathematics learning.     

为了利润的教育，为了自由的教育

本文简要对比了两种教育,即为了经济富裕的教育和为了人的发展的教育。作者指出,因为迫切追求利润,对民主未来非常重要的价值正面临丧失之虞。如果教育真的要促进人的发展而不仅仅是为了经济增长和个人财富增加的话,批判性思考能力和想象力就绝不能忽略。     

Role of Epistemic Beliefs and Scientific Argumentation in Science Learning

We hypothesized that instruction in the criteria of scientific arguments, in combination with constructivist epistemic beliefs, would produce greater learning about physics concepts. The study was a randomized experiment, where college undergraduates (n = 88) discussed, in pairs over the Web, several physics problems related to gravity and air resistance. Prior to their discussions, one‐half of the dyads received information on the nature of scientific arguments. All students were classified epistemologically as relativists, multiplists, or evaluativists. We found that students in the treatment group incorporated more scientific criteria into their discussion notes and accordingly developed better arguments on several dimensions. In addition, significantly more participants in the treatment group adopted the correct answer to one of the problems. Outcomes also differed in relation to students’ epistemic beliefs. Specifically, multiplists were less critical of inconsistencies and misconceptions, and interacted with their partners less than other belief groups, whereas evaluativists interacted more critically, bringing up different ideas from their partners. Evaluativists also solved one of the physics problems more accurately and tended to demonstrate a reduction in misconceptions. We discuss the results in light of instruction in scientific argumentation, conceptual development and change, and epistemic beliefs.     

“Pluto Has Been a Planet My Whole Life!” Emotions, Attitudes, and Conceptual Change in Elementary Students’ Learning about Pluto’s Reclassification

Learning about certain scientific topics has potential to spark strong emotions among students. We investigated whether emotions predicted students’ attitudes after engaging in independent rereading and/or rereading plus discussion about Pluto’s reclassification. Fifth and sixth grade students read a refutation text on Pluto’s reclassification. Participants were randomly assigned to either the reread independently or the reread plus discussion group. Results showed that students in both groups experienced attitude change and that change was sustained over time. Students reported experiencing more negative than positive emotions at pretest. Emotions, which became more positive after intervention, were predictive of students’ attitudes and attitude change. Implications for the role of emotions when learning about controversial topics are discussed.     

Using critical questions to evaluate written and oral arguments in an undergraduate general education seminar: a quasi-experimental study

Reading and Writing - Although the Toulmin model (1958) has dominated argumentation research, it does not provide many tools for evaluating argument quality. Towards that end, we draw on work in...     

Using a fine-grained multiple-choice response format in educational drill-and-practice video games

When using educational video games, particularly drill-and-practice video games, there are several ways of providing an answer to a quiz. The majority of paper-based options can be classified as being either multiple-choice or constructed-response. Therefore, in the process of creating an educational drill-and-practice video game, one fundamental question to be answered is which is the most appropriate response format? This paper answers this question, proposing a hybrid format that we call fine-grained multiple-choice, where the player constructs their response one element at a time, with each element chosen from a pre-defined set. A comparative study was conducted with second grade students. When comparing the impact of an educational drill-and-practice video game that uses multiple-choice with one that uses fine-grained multiple-choice, we observe that the fine-grained multiple-choice game achieved better results. However, the multiple-choice game was substantially more successful at capturing the students' interest and motivation. Considering the widespread use of the multiple-choice format in game-based learning activities, as well as in interactive activities, this research suggests rethinking what the most suitable answer format might be for each area of the curriculum and for the different types of games.     

Plausibility Judgments in Conceptual Change and Epistemic Cognition

Plausibility judgments rarely have been addressed empirically in conceptual change research. Recent research, however, suggests that these judgments may be pivotal to conceptual change about certain topics where a gap exists between what scientists and laypersons find plausible. Based on a philosophical and empirical foundation, this article presents a theoretical model of the role of plausibility judgments in conceptual change (PJCC) with implications for epistemic cognition. The PJCC moves beyond the limitations of cold cognitive processing by incorporating the warmer constructs of affect, motivation, and motivated reasoning. We review recent research in plausibility judgments that informed the PJCC's development and discuss components of the model. Of particular note is the importance of using explicit critical evaluation to reappraise plausibility judgments that may have been originally made through implicit cognitive processes. We also suggest potentially productive areas of future research based on the PJCC model.