Enhancing students’ approaches to learning: the added value of gradually implementing case-based learning

Previous research has shown the difficulty of enhancing students’ approaches to learning, in particular the deep approach, through student-centred teaching methods such as problem- and case-based learning. This study investigates whether mixed instructional methods combining case-based learning and lectures have the power to enhance students’ approaches to learning, compared to instructional methods using either case-based learning or lectures. A quasi-experimental research was set up using a pre-/post-test design. Participants were 1,098 first-year student teachers taking a course on child development. Statistical analysis showed that students in a gradually implemented case-based setting, in which lectures gradually made way for case-based learning, scored significantly higher on the scales organised studying and effort management and significantly lower on the surface approach, compared to students in a completely case-based setting. Therefore, students in a gradually implemented case-based setting worked in a better organised way and spent more effort and concentration than students who experienced only case-based learning. Nevertheless, the gradually implemented case-based setting did not encourage students to apply deep approaches that aimed at understanding. Quantitative content analysis revealed that students in the gradually implemented case-based setting especially appreciated the variation in teaching methods and the specific combination of lectures and case-based learning.     

The epistemic challenges,trust and the online collaborative group

The use of collaborative learning strategies continues to grow in online environments. The ability to collaborate may, therefore, present epistemic challenges for the students and hinder their capacity to trust their own and their fellow students’ ability to help them learn, and the capacity of the group (as a whole) to grow and develop. The purpose of this study is to: examine the students’ experiences in OCG groups to understand the ways trust issues manifest in the OCG; the ways these trust issues reflect epistemic challenges; and the strategies that the students use to resolve the trust issues. The study uses a phenomenographic approach, a qualitative interpretative research approach that seeks to illuminate people’s understandings and ideas about the world or their experiences of it. The data analysis revealed that trust—especially as it related to ability—was a persistent issue for the groups with regard to two epistemic challenges: trusting their own capacity to accomplish the task; and trusting the knowledge and skills of their peers.     

What Does She Expect When She Dresses Like That? Teacher Interpretation of Emerging Adolescent Female Sexuality

When examining the experiences of adolescent girls, a study into the presumptions teachers have regarding female adolescent sexuality is a very important aspect to explore. This article presents the findings from a study we conducted with eleven middle- and high school teachers in a southeastern state from both rural and urban districts. In-depth interviews were conducted to determine how their experiences and perceptions impact their understanding of the emerging sexuality of students in their classrooms. Several findings emerged, including that girls continue to be placed in contradictory positions concerning sexuality, that adverse sexual labels continue to serve as a means of sexual harassment that many teachers do not recognize, and that perceptions of sexuality and acceptable behavior remain deeply embedded in race and class issues.     

Revising the ISSN Standard: The Challenge of Change

ABSTRACT

The International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) has been the standard, eight-digit code used to identify newspapers, journals, magazines, and periodicals on all kinds of media—print and electronic—for the past 40 years. Periodically, the standard must be revised to allow it to accommodate new formats, changes in the publishing industry and information supply chain, and other developments in the information field. Regina Romano Reynolds, director of the U.S. ISSN Center at the Library of Congress, describes the issues that the ISSN International Centre perceives as necessitating a revision of the standard and the likely next steps in the International Organization for Standardization standards revision process.     

Experiences Situating Mathematical Problem Solving at the Core of Early Childhood Classrooms

Our goal in this article is to discuss the importance of problems in early childhood education for the child’s development and engagement with the mathematics existing in childhood culture. Our assumption is that an important task for young children’s education is to create a democratic and critical environment, in which multiplicity of perspectives is celebrated, along with diversity of concepts and practices, with movement between imaginary and real worlds. In light of this, the goal of this article is to defend a perspective for curriculum and for the role of the mathematics educator, promoting the learning of mathematics through problem solving in early childhood years. In order to discuss and illustrate this perspective we describe the pedagogical practices of two teachers who teach 4- and 5-years-olds, who create for their students an environment rich in problem solving and investigations. In both classrooms, all children individually succeeded in sharing their unique solutions and new knowledge constructed as a result of their inquiries. The experience provides evidence that problem solving affords children the opportunity to raise conjectures, to discuss possibilities and to draw conclusions, even if partial ones, that are then vetted by the group as the authors share their solutions. In this way, the work with problem solving nurtures cooperative learning and promotes the exploration of a diversity of ideas.     

The direct and indirect effect of motivation for learning on students' approaches to learning through the perceptions of workload and task complexity

The present study investigates the direct and indirect influence of motivation for learning, as understood by the self‐determination theory, on students' approaches to learning. Concerning the direct influence of motivation, results show that autonomous motivation is positively related to a deep approach to learning and negatively to a surface approach. Motivation also has an indirect effect on students' approaches to learning through the perceptions of workload and task complexity, in particular through the perception of a lack of information. The greater the extent to which students are autonomously motivated, the less they perceive that they have a lack of information and the less they are inclined to adopt a surface approach to learning.     

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.

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Zusammenfassung QUALIT?T UND CHANCENGLEICHHEIT IN DER FRüHKINDLICHEN PFLEGE IN PERU – Die vorliegende Studie untersucht Dokumente zur Bildungspolitik sowie Programme zur frühkindlichen Entwicklung und Erziehung in Peru. Die Autorin bietet eine Auswertung von Programmen zum frühkindlichen Lernen sowie deren Ergebnisse in verschiedenen Bildungszentren in Peru. Gesundheit, Ern?hrung, Entwicklung und Teilhabe werden als Schlüsselthemen identifiziert. Die Studie schlie?t mit einem Verweis auf die wichtige Bedeutung der überprüfung von Qualit?t und Chancengleichheit in der frühkindlichen Pflege.

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Resumen CALIDAD E IGUALDAD DE OPORTUNIDADES EN LA ATENCIóN DE LA PRIMERA INFANCIA EN PERú – Este trabajo examina documentos y programas educativos sobre el desarrollo y la educación de la primera infancia en Perú. La autora proporciona una evaluación de los programas de aprendizaje para la primera infancia y de sus resultados en diferentes centros de ense?anza de Perú. La salud, la nutrición, el desarrollo y la participación se han identificado como áreas de importancia central. El estudio termina indicando cuán importante es controlar la calidad y la igualdad de oportunidades en la atención de la primera infancia.

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Résumé QUALITé ET éQUITé DANS L’ASSISTANCE à LA PRIME ENFANCE AU PéROU – La présente étude examine les documents et les programmes de la politique éducative pour l’éducation et le développement de la prime enfance au Pérou : L’auteur fournit une évaluation des programmes d’apprentissage de la prime enfance et de leurs résultats dans différents centres d’éducation au Pérou. Santé, nutrition, développement et participation sont identifiés comme des domaines clefs de préoccupation. L’étude conclut sur une référence à l’importance de la qualité et de l’équité de l’encadrement dans l’assistance à la prime enfance.

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The author: Regina Moromizato Izu holds a Masters in Social Management from the Pontificia Universidad Católica of Peru and is pursuing doctoral studies in childhood, youth, and social sciences at the Universidad Manizales – CINDE (Colombia). She is currently teaching in alternative early childhood programs at the Pontificia Universidad Católica of Peru. She has conducted various research projects and consulting work for government agencies concerning programs bearing on early childhood, the family, and the community. Contact address: Facultad de Educación, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Peru, Lima, Peru. E-mail: rmoromi@pucp.edu.pe