Rigorously selected and well trained senior student tutors in problem based learning: student perceptions and study achievements

We compared effects of tutoring by students and by staff. In four courses in each of two consecutive first years of an undergraduate problem-based law curriculum we examined the achievements and perceptions of tutors of students taught by student and staff tutors. Achievements were measured by the results on the regular end-of-course tests. After the end-of-course tests students’ perceptions were obtained by an online questionnaire and by a semi-structured focus group interview. The aim of the focus groups was to gain more in-depth insight into students’ perceptions. No significant differences in achievement and perceptions of tutors were found. Students’ perceptions of both staff and student tutors were generally positive. The results suggest that students that are carefully selected and well trained can be effective as tutors in the first year of an undergraduate problem-based curriculum.     

From the contribution to the action approach: White teachers' experiences influencing the development of multicultural science curricula

In this exploratory case study, we sought to understand teacher's integration of multicultural curricula in science curriculum units, and how personal experiences influenced the level of integration in light of Bank's typology of ethnic content integration into school curricula. Five research participants volunteered and were selected so as to be representative of the demographic of pre‐service and in‐service teachers in the southern United States. The aim was to explore teachers' personal experiences with cultural others that either facilitated or impeded their adoption of multicultural curricula strategies in science curricula units. Case narratives present and discuss interview data and assigned curricula projects. Findings suggest that participants who had transformative cultural experiences and who identified as the marginalized cultural other, transformed science curricula at higher levels of Bank's typology for curricula' multicultural approaches. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1271–1295, 2012     

Looking at learning approaches from the angle of student profiles

This study starts with investigating the relation of perceived workload, motivation for learning and working memory capacity (WMC) with students’ approaches to learning. Secondly, this study investigates if differences exist between different student profiles concerning their approach to the learning and the influence of workloads thereon. Results show a relation for workload and motivation but not for WMC. By means of a cluster analysis, three student profiles were identified based on WMC and motivation. Students characterised by high WMC and average motivation scored higher on surface approaches and lower on deep approaches than students with high autonomous motivation. These latter students also score higher on deep approaches than students characterised by low WMC. Finally, it was found that all student profiles responded the same to the influence of workload. In contrast with prior research, deep approaches were higher when the workload was higher.     

University students’ grasp of inflection points

This paper describes university students’ grasp of inflection points. The participants were asked what inflection points are, to mark inflection points on graphs, to judge the validity of related statements, and to find inflection points by investigating (1) a function, (2) the derivative, and (3) the graph of the derivative. We found four erroneous images of inflection points: (1) f ′ (x)?=?0 as a necessary condition, (2) f ′ (x)?≠?0 as a necessary condition, (3) f ″ (x)?=?0 as a sufficient condition, and (4) the location of “a peak point, where the graph bends” as an inflection point. We use the lenses of Fischbein, Tall, and Vinner and Duval’s frameworks to analyze students’ errors that were rooted in mathematical and in real-life contexts.     

Does inside passing contribute to the high incidence of groin injuries in soccer? A biomechanical analysis

Groin injuries are common in soccer and often cause time-loss from training. While groin injuries have been linked to full effort kicking, the role of inside passing is unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate hip joint kinematics and muscle force, stress and contraction velocity for adductor longus and gracilis during inside passing. 3D kinematics of ten soccer players (23.4 yrs; 77.5 kg; 1.81 m) were captured with a motion capture system inside a Footbonaut. Muscle force and contraction velocity were determined with AnyBody Modelling System. Gracilis muscle forces were 9% lower compared to adductor longus (p = 0.005), but muscle stress was 183% higher in gracilis (p = 0.005). Contraction velocity reveals eccentric contraction of gracilis in the last quarter of the swing phase. Considering the combination of eccentric contraction, high muscle stress and the repetitive nature of inside passing, gracilis accumulates high loads in matches and training. These results indicate that the high incidence of groin injuries in soccer could be linked to isolated pass training. Practitioners need to be aware of the risk and refrain from sudden increases in the amount of pass training. This gives the musculoskeletal system time to adapt and might avoid career threatening injuries.     

A Critical Co-Constructed Autoethnography of a Gendered Cross-Cultural Mentoring Between Two Early Career Latin@ Scholars Working in the Deep South

Multicultural mentoring has been suggested to support Latin@ faculty success in their careers, yet current literature on effective mentorships of Latin@ faculty is limited. This critical co-constructed autoethnography draws on critical race theory (CRT) and latin@ critical race theory (LatCrit) frameworks to highlight the lived experiences and key elements of an effective gendered cross-cultural mentoring relationship in a Latin@ pretenure faculty dyad working in a predominantly White institution of higher education located in the Deep South of the United States. Drawing upon a methodological rhythm of sorts, a Black scholar acts as a muse providing testimonios and interpretations of a relationship existing among Latin@ scholars in predominantly White intellectual spaces. Findings from this critical co-constructed autoethnography note that a safe colored space supports effective mentoring, familismo, personalismo, enabling effective cross-cultural mentorship.     

Motivation and metacognition when learning a complex system

Our cognitive-motivational process model (Vollmeyer & Rheinberg, 1998) assumes that motivational factors (i.e., mastery confidence, incompetence fear, interest, and challenge) affect performance via mediators. Previous studies (Vollmeyer, Rollett, & Rheinberg, 1997) found that strategy systematicity and motivational state during learning mediate the impact of initial motivation on the learning of a complex system. Potential mediators could be other cognitive (e.g., hypothesis testing) and metacognitive aspects, in that more motivated learners (high mastery confidence, low incompetence fear, high interest) analyse more deeply. Verbal protocols from 44 students who learnt to control a complex dynamic system were collected. We measured their initial motivation (on the four factors specified), then during learning we assessed their strategy systematicity and motivational state. Additionally, we analysed the verbal protocols to obtain indicators of learners’ cognitive and metacognitive processes. Performance measures were levels of knowledge acquisition and application. The cognitive-motivational process model was replicated. Qualitative cognitive aspects were added as mediators, however, the results for metacognition were problematic, partly because participants gave relatively few clearly expressed metacognitive statements.     

What is it worth? An empirical investigation into attitudes towards education amongst youngsters following secondary education in Flanders

This paper argues that whereas the social relevance of attitudes towards education is commonly confined to their direct impact on educational aspirations or attainment, attitudes may also impact on educational success in a way similar to cultural capital. Survey data were used to assess the support for three different attitudes with respect to the perceived value of attending school among youngsters (n = 853) following secondary education in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium). The results revealed substantial differences according to the pupils’ cultural capital, time perspective, personal educational experiences and social mobility. These findings are taken as a starting point for a broader discussion about how attention to attitudes may enable us to account for the power struggles in which the educational field and the teaching profession are involved.