Teaching portfolios in higher education and their effects: An explorative study

Although many authors claim benefits of teaching portfolios for use in higher education settings, there are few empirical studies that investigate these benefits.This article deals with the question of whether teaching portfolios are used in higher education, and if so, which effects they bring about. Furthermore, the attitude of teachers towards the use of teaching portfolios is examined. The study shows that currently not very many teachers are using teaching portfolios. When used, a teaching portfolio is an instrument that can bring about some important positive effects. Respondents report that, due to the use of portfolios, they were stimulated to reflect on their own teaching, to actualise the learning content, to improve their course materials, to search for alternative educational methods, etc. When teachers are using teaching portfolios it is important that, besides any negative effects, they also experience positive effects. If this is not the case, teachers will see the teaching portfolio only as an extra administrative inconvenience.     

Quality and equity in early childhood care in Peru

The present study examines educational policy documents and programs on early childhood development and education in Peru. The author provides an evaluation of early childhood learning programs and their outcomes in different education centers in Peru. Health, nutrition, development, and participation are identified as key areas of concern. The study concludes with a reference to the importance of monitoring quality and equity in early childhood care.     

The paradox of trust in online collaborative groups

Open and sustained discussions in heterogeneous collaborative online groups should provide opportunities for adults to reshape their thinking, deeply understand the subject content, and have their voices heard and respected. These opportunities turn on trust. The ability to trust thoughts that are different from their own is influenced by the learners’ ability to be open about their beliefs and to develop healthy self–other relationships within their small groups. These issues are examined through a qualitative phenomenographic perspective of the stories of the students enrolled in two online adult learning classes utilizing a problem‐based and collaborative pedagogy. The findings indicate that group members import trust issues into the group, which then become issues for the group‐as‐a‐whole. To resolve these issues, the groups engage in several evading behaviors to avoid the types of discussion necessary to fully deal with the difference and resolve the trust issues.     

Negative correlation between tone (S−) and water increases target biting during S− in rats

Eighteen Long-Evans rats were exposed to a MULT VT 30-sec EXT schedule of water presentations. The EXT schedule was signaled by a 2500-Hz, 70-dB tone. Mean number of bites of a plastic target during atone (S?) increased across sessions, whereas the mean number of target bites during the VT component signaled byno tone (S+) decreased across sessions. Changing the multiple schedule to MULT EXT EXT produced a decrease in target bites during the tone. Reinstating the original MULT VT 30-sec EXT schedule produced an increase in number of target bites during the tone (S?). Changing the multiple schedule to VT 30-sec VT 30-sec produced a decrease in target bites during the tone. The results indicate that target biting in rats increases in the presence of the exteroceptive tone (S?) of the MULT VT 30-sec EXT schedule, and that target biting during the tone varies directly with the negative correlation between tone and water presentations.     

Managing Content in EBSCO Discovery Service: Action Guide for Surviving and Thriving

ABSTRACT

Since Idaho State University Libraries’ implementation and promotion of EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) in 2014, its electronic resources team continues to troubleshoot seamless content discovery for library patrons. But nothing prepared us for the kind of content issues the Library would have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. This report discusses ways of managing content in EDS to improve discovery of resources, including linking issues to ClinicalKey records and dealing with “bound with” local catalog records. It also addresses obstacles and solutions, as well as the authors’ experience working with EBSCO Support.     

High-School Students’ Epistemic Knowledge of Science and Its Relation to Learner Factors in Science Learning

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an online contextualized test for assessing students’ understanding of epistemic knowledge of science. In addition, how students’ understanding of epistemic knowledge of science interacts with learner factors, including time spent on science learning, interest, self-efficacy, and gender, was also explored. The participants were 489 senior high school students (244 males and 245 females) from eight different schools in Taiwan. Based on the result of an extensive literature review, we first identified six factors of epistemic knowledge of science, such as status of scientific knowledge, the nature of scientific enterprise, measurement in science, and so on. An online test was then created for assessing students’ understanding of the epistemic knowledge of science. Also, a learner-factor survey was developed by adopting previous PISA survey items to measure the abovementioned learner factors. The results of this study show that; (1) by factor analysis, the six factors of epistemic knowledge of science could be grouped into two dimensions which reflect the nature of scientific knowledge and knowing in science, respectively; (2) there was a gender difference in the participants’ understanding of the epistemic knowledge of science; and (3) students’ interest in science learning and the time spent on science learning were positively correlated to their understanding of the epistemic knowledge of science.     

Psychometric evaluation of entry assessment in higher education: A case study

Entry assessment for higher education is a managerial and research topic in many European countries at this moment. Due to the increased claim for higher quality in education and the decreasing finances, universities seek for means to establish a high quality instream. Research has shown that types of entry examinations offer good possibilities to put “the right man on the right place”. Not only the quality of these examinations is an important issue, also systematic differences between student groups is a main point of attention. Turkey, using a two stage assessment for several years already, is a good example of the latter. Now that several universities think about selection at the front door, it might be worth to think about evaluating selection criteria and to look at method to avoid group bias for example. Evaluating the test items with respect to systematic differences between certain groups of students has become a crucial part of item analysis and validity studies among the test users. In the present study differential item functioning (DIF) analysis was carried out for the first stage of the University Entrance Examinations in Turkey by the use of four area indices. The differences in the magnitudes of the area indices have been compared with respect to the taxonomy of educational objectives the items are supposed to measure and the subject areas. The differences among the area indices were also evaluated and compared in the present study. Item characteristic curves were obtained across the sex and branch groups by using the BILOG package program.     

Do No Harm—A Comparison of the Effects of On-Line vs. Traditional Delivery Media on a Science Course

This paper presents the results of a study designed to examine the effects of distance delivery on student performance and classroom interactions in an upper level science (Histology) course. Outcomes were assessed by comparing performance on content pre- and posttests for students enrolled in on-campus and on-line sections of the same course. Interactions were classified according to initiator, topic, and Bloom's taxonomy level for content interactions. The resulting patterns were analyzed to compare behaviors in different settings. It was found that although the groups were indistinguishable in content knowledge at the outset of the study, by the end of the semester, students in the on-line group significantly out-performed their peers in the on-campus section. The on-line settings had a greater proportion of high-level interactions (according to Bloom's taxonomy) than the on-campus setting.     

Book reviews

International Review of Education -     

The relationship between students’ approaches to learning and the assessment of learning outcomes

The purpose of the present study is to gain more insight into the relationship between students’ approaches to learning and students’ quantitative learning outcomes, as a function of the different components of problem-solving that are measured within the assessment. Data were obtained from two sources: the revised two factor study process questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) and students’ scores in their final multiple-choice exam. Using a model of cognitive components of problem-solving translated into specifications for assessment, the multiple-choice questions were divided into three categories. Three aspects of the knowledge structure that can be targeted by assessment of problem-solving were used as the distinguishing categories. These were: understanding of concepts; understanding of the principles that link concepts; and linking of concepts and principles to application conditions and procedures. The 133 second year law school students in our sample had slightly higher scores for the deep approach than for the surface approach to learning. Plotting students’ approaches to learning indicated that many students had low scores for both deep and surface approaches to learning. Correlational analysis showed no relationship between students’ approaches to learning and the components of problem-solving being measured within the multiple choice assessment. Several explanations are discussed.