In search of the reliability of a Flemish version of the Knowledge Monitoring Assessment Test

Metacognitive skills are widely recognized as an important moderating variable for learning. Many studies have shown that these skills affect students’ learning results. Tobias and Everson (2000) argue that metacognitive skills cannot be effectively applied in absence of accurate knowledge monitoring. Consequently, they constructed a knowledge monitoring assessment test, which is claimed to be a valid test to measure students' knowledge monitoring capacity. In this contribution the reliability of a Flemish version of the KMA test is studied. Two studies are reported on, one with secondary education students and one with freshmen university students. In both studies split half method and Kuder Richardson 20 were used to calculate the internal consistency as a measurement of reliability. Because none of the results showed a good reliability it is suggested that additional efforts are needed to elaborate a reliable instrument.     

Perceptual,thematic and taxonomic relations in children’s mental representations: Responses to triads

Recent research into children’s conceptual representation-much of it based on the so-called ‘triads’ task-has created a number of issues such as the age at which children become capable of representation at the superordinate level; the relative prominence of taxonomic, perceptual or thematic relations as the basis of representation; and the range of categories to which these different representations apply at different ages. In the study reported in this paper we presented children of three different ages with three types of triads designed to assess children’s sensitivity to these different relations separately across ten common superordinate categories. The approach which allowed us to track preferences for perceptual, thematic and taxonomic relations simultaneously across the three age groups showed an increase in sensitivity to both thematic and taxonomic relations with age. We conclude by suggesting that these relations are part of a common representation based on patterns of covariation within (static taxonomic relations) and across (event relations) time.     

Motivation and Attribution at Secondary School: the role of gender

A total of 1068 secondary school pupils completed a questionnaire concerned with enjoyment of school, enjoyment of subjects and what they attributed academic success to. Gender differences were shown in the overall enjoyment of school (girls expressing greater enjoyment). Girls also reported liking friends, teachers, outings and lessons more than boys, while boys reported liking sports and school clubs more. Enjoyment of school subjects reflected traditional sex stereotyping: girls reported more liking than did boys for English, French, German, history, drama, music and home economics while boys reported more liking for science. craft and design technology, physical education and information technology. Some gender differences were shown in rating factors contributing to academic success (girls rating hard work and teachers’ liking for you as more important than boys, and boys rating cleverness, talent and luck as more important than girls) but attributions with respect to academic success varied more with age than with gender.     

Activation de schèmes de programmation et mémorisation de figures géométriques

Learning programming concepts in school raises various theoretical and pragmatical questions. The experience, accumulated these past years in this field, enables us to measure the scope of the difficulties encountered both by the pupils in mastering the basic programming concepts and by teachers in building pertinent learning situations. The experiment, reported in this paper, focuses on the comparison of the effects of «programming schemes» activation versus «drawing schemes» activation on the memorization of geometrical figure characteristics. The children of the «programming group» are asked to manipulate «computer programming objects» in order to describe a figure. They build up a schematic internal representation in which the pertinent information is presented without any reference to the metrical characteristics of the object. Conversely, the representation, elaborated by children who use «familiar schemes» (drawing), is closer to the figure characteristics of the image but it induces them to make more «false recognition» of the object when one asks them to find the target among other figures.     

Collaborative processes in species identification using an internet-based taxonomic resource

Visual databases are increasingly important resources through which individuals and groups can undertake species identification. This paper reports research on the collaborative processes undertaken by pre-service teacher students when working in small groups to identify birds using an Internet-based taxonomic resource. The student groups are conceptualised as ‘knowledge-building communities’ working in a ‘joint problem space’ comprising the collective knowledge of the participants interacting with the taxonomic database. Collaborative group work and associated dialogue were recorded with digital video. The recordings were analysed for the categories of dialogue and the categories of knowledge used by the students as they interacted with the taxonomic database and how they drew on their previous experiences of identifying birds. The outcomes are discussed in the context of the interplay of individual and social processes and the interplay between abstraction and lived experience in the joint problem space.     

Developing Performance Indicators for Assessing Classroom Teaching Practices and Student Learning

Several states are requiring institutions to document changes in student outcomes. Regional and specialized accrediting agencies are also changing their review criteria from measuring inputs to assessing indicators of student learning. This article describes the results of an evaluation project that sought to develop performance indicators of learning gains for undergraduate engineering students. Specifically, the study investigated the relationship between classroom practices and students' gains in professional competencies. More than 1,250 students from 7 universities participated. Findings show that the instructional practices of Instructor Interaction and Feedback, Collaborative Learning, and Clarity and Organization are significantly and positively associated with gains in students' self-reported gains in problem-solving skills, group skills, and understanding of engineering as an occupation. The indicators meet several conditions recommended by the assessment literature. They are (1) meaningful to the user, (2) reliable and valid, and (3) index observable behaviors rather than subjective impressions.