WHO ACHIEVES LEVEL 2 QUALIFICATIONS DURING ADULTHOOD? EVIDENCE FROM THE NCDS

ABSTRACT:  This paper describes the characteristics of people who return to learning to achieve at least a level 2 qualification, drawing on the 1958 National Child Development Cohort Study. Results show that adults who gained level 2 were more likely than those who did not to have been engaged in a range of learning activities at earlier ages, including learning during childhood, staying in education during adolescence and undertaking courses leading and not leading to qualifications during adulthood. The factor that has the highest impact on progression by age 33 and by age 42 is early school attainment. This means that for individuals who do well at school there is a greater chance of achievement of qualifications during adulthood, even when this qualification is not achieved by age 23. We further find that socioeconomic constraints in adulthood may be less of a barrier to progression than is often believed. Taking together, these findings suggest that the main focus should be on paying particular attention to attitudinal barriers to learning, rather than just being concerned with removing economic and social constraints.     

Teachers' perceptions of policy influences on science instruction with culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students

This study asked elementary school teachers how educational policies affected their science instruction with a majority of English language learners. The study employed a questionnaire followed by focus group interviews with 43 third and fourth grade teachers from six elementary schools in a large urban school district with high populations of English language learners in the southeastern United States. Results indicate that teachers' opinions concerning all areas of policy evolved as the state enforced stronger measures of accountability during the 2‐year period of the study. Although relatively positive regarding standards, their opinions became increasingly negative regarding statewide assessment, and even more so toward accountability measured by reading, writing, and mathematics. The results suggest that it is important to understand how teachers perceive the influence of policies, particularly those relating to English language learners, as science accountability becomes more imminent across the states. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 725–746, 2007     

Scaffolding cognitive and metacognitive processes in low verbal ability learners: Use of diagrams in computer-based training environments

This study investigated how instructionalstrategies can support learners' knowledgeacquisition and metacomprehension of complexsystems in a computer-based trainingenvironment, and how individual characteristicsinteract with these manipulations. Incorporating diagrams into the trainingfacilitated performance on measures ofintegrative knowledge (i.e., the integrationand application of task-relevant knowledge),but had no significant effect on measures ofdeclarative knowledge (i.e., mastery of basicfactual knowledge). Diagrams additionallyfacilitated the development of accurate mentalmodels (as measured via a card sorting task)and significantly improved the instructionalefficiency of the training (i.e., higher levelof performance was achieved with less mentaleffort). Finally, diagrams effectivelyscaffolded participants' metacognition,improving their metacomprehension accuracy(i.e., their ability to accurately monitortheir comprehension). These beneficial effectsof diagrams on learners' cognitive andmetacognitive processes were found to bestrongest for participants with low verbalability. Results are discussed in terms ofimplications for the design of adaptivelearning systems.     

On the difficulties to resurrect the beyond. A commentary on the article Learning beyond the body by Juan-Ignacio Pozo / Sobre las dificultades para resucitar el más allá. Un comentario sobre el artículo Aprender más allá del cuerpo de Juan-Ignacio Pozo

This commentary follows Pozo’s critique of psychological theories rooted in the ‘cognitive revolution’ prompted by the emergence of computer technologies in the mid-twentieth century. The core of his criticism is the assumption of the mind/body dualism built in these theories. Pozo makes the case for an approach striving to integrate mind and body while postulating the notion of a basic incarnate mind, which grows beyond the restrictions of the body by mastering the symbolic formal systems of our culture. I argue that this vision smooths the mind/body dualism without overcoming it. I elaborate on four areas in which Pozo’s theory coincides with assumptions characteristic of the mind/body dualism: explicitness, formal notations, animal cognition and representations.     

Validation of clay modeling as a learning tool for the periventricular structures of the human brain

Visualizing anatomical structures and functional processes in three dimensions (3D) are important skills for medical students. However, contemplating 3D structures mentally and interpreting biomedical images can be challenging. This study examines the impact of a new pedagogical approach to teaching neuroanatomy, specifically how building a 3D‐model from oil‐based modeling clay affects learners’ understanding of periventricular structures of the brain among undergraduate medical students in Colombia. Students were provided with an instructional video before building the models of the structures, and thereafter took a computer‐based quiz. They then brought their clay models to class where they answered questions about the structures via interactive response cards. Their knowledge of periventricular structures was assessed with a paper‐based quiz. Afterward, a focus group was conducted and a survey was distributed to understand students’ perceptions of the activity, as well as the impact of the intervention on their understanding of anatomical structures in 3D. Quiz scores of students that constructed the models were significantly higher than those taught the material in a more traditional manner (P < 0.05). Moreover, the modeling activity reduced time spent studying the topic and increased understanding of spatial relationships between structures in the brain. The results demonstrated a significant difference between genders in their self‐perception of their ability to contemplate and rotate structures mentally (P < 0.05). The study demonstrated that the construction of 3D clay models in combination with autonomous learning activities was a valuable and efficient learning tool in the anatomy course, and that additional models could be designed to promote deeper learning of other neuroanatomy topics. Anat Sci Educ 11: 137–145. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

The role of domain knowledge in cognitive modeling of information search

Computational cognitive models developed so far do not incorporate individual differences in domain knowledge in predicting user clicks on search result pages. We address this problem using a cognitive model of information search which enables us to use two semantic spaces having a low (non-expert semantic space) and a high (expert semantic space) amount of medical and health related information to represent respectively low and high knowledge of users in this domain. We also investigated two different processes along which one can gain a larger amount of knowledge in a domain: an evolutionary and a common core process. Simulations of model click behavior on difficult information search tasks and subsequent matching with actual behavioral data from users (divided into low and high domain knowledge groups based on a domain knowledge test) were conducted. Results showed that the efficacy of modeling for high domain knowledge participants (in terms of the number of matches between the model predictions and the actual user clicks on search result pages) was higher with the expert semantic space compared to the non-expert semantic space while for low domain knowledge participants it was the other way around. When the process of knowledge acquisition was taken into account, the effect of using a semantic space based on high domain knowledge was significant only for high domain knowledge participants, irrespective of the knowledge acquisition process. The implications of these outcomes for support tools that can be built based on these models are discussed.     

Acquisition of schedule-induced polydipsia by rats in proximity to upcoming food delivery

Food-deprived rats that receive intermittent delivery of small amounts of food develop excessive drinking--specifically, schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP). A main characteristic of SIP is its occurrence at the beginning of interfood intervals. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that SIP can be developed toward the end of interfood intervals, in closer proximity to upcoming than to preceding food delivery. In Experiment 1, two groups were exposed to a fixed-time (FT) 30-sec food schedule with water available during the first or the last 15 sec of each interfood interval. Two additional groups, which had access to water throughout, were exposed to FT 30-sec or FT 15-sec schedules of food presentation. The FT 30-sec group with free access to water developed the highest level of intake; similar and intermediate levels were induced in all the remaining groups. In Experiment 2, three groups of rats were exposed to an FT 90-sec food schedule with water available during the first, the second, or the last 30 sec of each interfood interval. One additional group with access to water throughout was exposed to the FT 90-sec schedule of food presentation. The group with free access to water developed a higher level of consumption than did the other groups, but by the end of training none of the four groups showed statistical differences in polydipsic drinking. Results show that adjunctive drinking can be developed in proximity to upcoming food delivery even with long interfood intervals.     

Space occupation near the basket shapes collective behaviours in youth basketball

This study aimed to analyse how youth basketball players explored numerical overloads during shot attempts by measuring their space occupation across specific court areas. Four process-tracing variables measured how the number of attackers (NA), number of defenders (ND), interpersonal distance between attacker and the closest defender (ID) and distance between attacker and the basket (DBkt) impacted on the performance outcome (converted shot; missed shot; ball possession lost). Ten competitive games involving 13 U14 teams were video recorded and players’ displacements were digitised. The associations between performance outcomes and the process-tracing measures were assessed using standardised mean differences and a cross-correlation function. A multinomial logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for each of the three possible outcomes. Results revealed that when shot attempts occurred at larger ID and at smaller DBkt, the possibilities to obtain a converted shot increased. The numerical overload of defenders near the scoring target was predominantly associated with offensive success. Also, the possibility of attackers to lead the spatial relation of movements with the defenders, near the scoring target, appeared as a prominent strategy to succeed. In sum, basketball teams that exhibit potential to adapt their collective behaviours to local changes in the environment might be closer to achieving successful outcomes.     

Opening Ceremonies of International Sports Events: The Other Face of Chinese Soft Power

Abstract

This paper analyzes the relationship between the opening ceremonies of international sports events and the building of a positive image of China. To do so, we draw on the concept of soft power, which establishes that one way in which states seek to achieve their goals in the international arena is through attraction rather than coercion. From this perspective, the construction of promedia images is one of the privileged means to deploy soft power. Thus, this paper examines the favourable projection of China’s image at inaugural ceremonies of international sports events. These images show China as a country heir to a millenary past and brilliant civilization, which aims to assist in the construction of a better future. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of these events in the construction of a collective imaginary about what government elites establish regarding what China is and should be on the international stage.