Hierarchical structures in expert performance

This paper describes the use of learning-hierarchy analysis in studies of expertise. A hierarchical analysis was carried out on expertise in language-arts teacher planning for a short story. The resulting hierarchy depicted a complex pattern of prerequisite intellectual skills integrating knowledge of students, reading difficulty, strategies/activities, and the author (Stephen Crane). Of particular interest was that each branch of the hierarchy included “fuzzy sets,” that is, complex conceptual knowledge that experts were usually unable to explain. All elements in the hierarchy were capabilities learned from experience as opposed to direct instruction. It was recommended that advice-strategies developed from hierarchical analysis could be used to facilitate the development of expertise. These strategies do not teach expertise directly but encourage the learner to glean the most from task-relevant experience.     

The Relation between Individual Differences in Fantasy and Theory of Mind

The relation between early fantasy/pretense and children's knowledge about mental life was examined in a study of 152 3- and 4-year-old boys and girls. Children were interviewed about their fantasy lives (e.g., imaginary companions, impersonation of imagined characters) and were given tasks assessing their level of pretend play and verbal intelligence. In a second session 1 week later, children were given a series of theory of mind tasks, including measures of appearance-reality, false belief, representational change, and perspective taking. The theory of mind tasks were significantly intercorrelated with the effects of verbal intelligence and age statistically controlled. Individual differences in fantasy/pretense were assessed by (1) identifying children who created imaginary characters, and (2) extracting factor scores from a combination of interview and behavioral measures. Each of these fantasy assessments was significantly related to the theory of mind performance of the 4-year-old children, independent of verbal intelligence.     

Variation in clinical placement supervisors’ conceptions of and approaches to supervision in a veterinary internship programme

Good teaching that supports final year students’ learning in clinical placements is critical for students’ successful transition from an academic environment to professional practice. Final year internship programmes are designed to encourage student-centred approaches to teaching and deep approaches to learning, but the extent to which clinical supervisors adopt a student-centred teaching approach is unknown. Survey data (n?=?117) from veterinary supervisors were analysed using phenomenography. The results revealed qualitative differences in supervisors’ conceptions of and approaches to supervision. Quantitative statistical analysis was used to investigate relationships between supervisors’ conceptions and approaches. These analyses identified the types of supervisor experiences more likely to encourage students to participate in clinical practice in ways that will help them transition successfully to independent professional practice. The results have value for clinical educators and administrators seeking to improve the quality of placement supervision in a range of professional education programmes.     

Prominent Messages in Television Drama Switched at Birth Promote Attitude Change Toward Deafness

The study at hand employed a pre- versus posttest experimental design to test the effects of television drama Switched at Birth on viewers’ attitudes toward deafness. This program tells the story of two teenage girls (one of whom is deaf) and their struggles to relate to their peers and families after discovering they were switched as newborns. Two hundred eleven female adults completed pre- and postexposure measures utilizing Cooper, Rose, and Mason's (2004 Cooper , A. , Rose , J. , &; Mason , O. ( 2004 ). Measuring the attitudes of human service professionals toward deafness . American Annals of the Deaf , 148 , 385 – 389 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) Attitudes to Deafness measure, the items of which were categorized according to thematic dimensions. After exposure to one of three episodes, viewers’ attitudes toward deafness significantly improved overall, although significant differences in attitude changes varied by episodes and dimensions. The three thematic dimensions that were most strongly represented in the program (social interaction, deafness as a handicap, and language issues) appeared to show the strongest attitude change. Positive attitude changes were observed on social interaction and deafness as handicap dimensions, which was consistent with program content depicting positive deaf-hearing friendships and capable deaf characters. However, attitudes on the language issues dimension showed a negative shift, possibly due to the way that deaf characters communicated with hearing characters onscreen.     

Are Student Protests in Arab States Caused by Economic and Political Grievances? Empirical Evidence from the 2006–07 Arab Barometer

We investigate the nature of protests by students (age 18 and older) in Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, and Yemen by using subsamples of students from nationally representative and acclaimed public opinion data (the 2006–07 Arab Barometer). We find between 22.1% (Jordan) and 54.7% (Yemen) participated in either the signing of petitions, or marching in street protests, or both between the years 2003–07. To explain student protest participation, we draw from the political economy literature to test four grievance-based hypotheses that link protest to student perceptions on the performance of the economy, personal family socioeconomic status, political exclusion, and preference for democracy. Ordered probit regression analyses indicate that students protest for different reasons in the four countries. We find statistical evidence that student protests are associated with grievances about the economy (Algeria and Morocco) and lack of democracy (Algeria only). Joint hypothesis tests reveal that the four grievances jointly matter in Algeria, Morocco, and Yemen but not Jordan.