How to persuade honors students to go the extra mile: creating a challenging learning environment

Although universities aim to challenge high-ability students to develop their talents to the full, the question of how to create such challenges remains unanswered. In this study, we examined six different honors courses to discover which factors in the learning environment specifically designed for high-ability students challenged these students and determined how such challenges were established. Perceived challenges (factors and intensity) in the different courses were identified from focus group interviews with students. The interviews were guided by a storyline method which retrospectively discussed students’ experiences of course activities. In addition, course materials and audio-recorded classes were analyzed to describe how challenge was established. Results revealed three challenge factors: autonomy, complexity, and teacher expectations, similar to the ones found in a previous, single-case study. Results showed that the greatest challenge was experienced when the three factors were simultaneously experienced in the learning environment. These three challenge factors were manifested in various and sometimes very subtle ways through course design (e.g. open structure of assignments) and class interactions (e.g. particular ways of questioning).     

Energetic demand and physical conditioning of table tennis players. A study review

Table tennis is a racket sport characterised by an intermittent movement profile, including short rallies interspersed with short breaks. In contrast to other racket sports, information is lacking regarding the: (i) physiological responses during table tennis matches and training; and (ii) practical recommendations for enhancing aerobic and anaerobic performance in table tennis by improving cardio-metabolic and neuro-muscular fitness, anthropometry and nutritional strategies. Therefore, this review article attempts to narratively provide an overview of the physiology of table tennis by describing the metabolic mechanisms underlying match play and outlining a framework for practical recommendations for improving cardio-metabolic and neuro-muscular fitness, anthropometry as well as nutritional strategies. A second aim was to stimulate future research on table tennis and to point out study limitations in this context. In general, the most important finding is that the rally duration is short at around 3.5s, with a longer rest time of around 8–20s, resulting in an effort-rest ratio ranging from 0.15 to 0.22 in official matches and energetic demands during match relatively low. Future studies should focus on the relationship between energetic demand and table tennis performance with a view to predicting performance in table tennis using physiological parameters.     

Datenbank-Caching - Eine systematische Analyse m?glicher Verfahren

Caching ist ein bewährtes Mittel, um die Skalier- und Verfügbarkeit von Systemen zu steigern sowie die Latenzzeit für Benutzeranforderungen zu verkürzen. Im Gegensatz zum Web-Caching, bei dem einzelne Web-Objekte irgendwo längs ihres Aufrufpfades in der Proxy-Kette vorgehalten werden, setzt Datenbank-Caching ausgewachsene Datenbanksysteme als Caches ein, um dort Satzmengen entfernter Datenbanken möglichst adaptiv verwalten und Anfragen darauf auswerten zu können. Verfahren dazu reichen von separat verwalteten materialisierten Sichten über überlappende, aber replikationsfrei gespeicherte Sichten bis hin zu Cache-Groups, in denen parametrisierte Cache-Constraints den Cache-Inhalt spezifizieren. Wir untersuchen anschaulich die verschiedenen Ansätze und ermitteln daraus eine Klassifikation, die den Lösungsraum zu enthüllen hilft. Im Mittelpunkt steht das Konzept der Prädikatsvollständigkeit: Ein Datenbank-Cache verwaltet vollständige Extensionen von Prädikaten, was ihm ermöglicht, Schlüsse über beantwortbare Anfragen zu ziehen.     

Looking for students’ personal characteristics predicting study outcome

The central goal of this study is to clarify to what degree former education and students’ personal characteristics (the ‘Big Five personality characteristics’, personal orientations on learning and students’ study approach) may predict study outcome (required credits and study continuance). Analysis of the data gathered through questionnaires of 1,471 Universities of Applied Sciences students make clear that former Education did not come forth as a powerful predictor for Credits or Study Continuance. Significant predictors are Conscientiousness and Ambivalence and Lack of Regulation. The higher the scores on Conscientiousness the more credits students are bound to obtain and the more likely they will continue their education. On the other hand students with high scores on Ambivalence and Lack of Regulation will most likely obtain fewer Credits or drop out more easily. The question arises what these results mean for the present knowledge economy which demands an increase of inhabitants with an advanced level of education. Finally, implications and recommendations for future research are suggested.     

Relationships between executive functioning and homework difficulties in students with and without autism spectrum disorder: An analysis of student- and parent-reports

Despite the fact that homework forms an important cornerstone of student development, many students fail to capitalize on the long-term benefits of doing homework. Several executive skills, including cognitive flexibility, monitoring and planning are suggested as prerequisites for the completion of homework. It follows that homework difficulties may relate to such executive functions. A group of particular interest in this respect is students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as they are known to suffer from executive dysfunction. The present study examines the extent to which differences in homework difficulties of seventh and eighth grade students with (N = 100) and without ASD (N = 86) may relate to their level of executive functioning. Homework difficulties were examined with student and parent versions of the Homework Difficulties Questionnaire (HDQ) and executive functioning was examined with the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF). In contrast to students with ASD themselves, parents of students with ASD perceived their children to suffer from more homework problems than students without ASD. For both groups, the level of executive functioning was related to the degree of homework difficulty experienced.     

Clarifying pre-service teacher perceptions of mentor teachers’ developing use of mentoring skills

The aim of this study is to clarify how pre-service teachers perceive mentor teachers’ use of mentoring skills. Sixty stimulated-recall interviews were conducted, each in connection with a previously recorded mentoring dialogue. A quantitative analysis showed that six types of mentoring skills appeared to be perceived by pre-service teachers as offering emotional support and five others as offering task assistance. After mentor teachers were trained in mentoring skills, shifts in their frequencies of use of distinct skills, as observed by independent raters, corresponded to a considerable extent with shifts in frequencies of pre-service teacher perceptions of mentor teachers’ mentoring behaviour.     

Coercive and supportive teacher behaviour: Within- and across-lesson associations with the classroom social climate

The present study investigated whether the classroom social climate varies between lessons. Specifically, the within- and across-lesson associations of coercive and supportive teacher behaviour incidents with the classroom social climate were studied. Participants in the study were 48 Dutch secondary school teachers and their classes, that is, 1208 students. Multilevel process analyses showed that supportive behaviour incidents correlated with a positive social climate during the current lesson and the lesson a week later in terms of teacher interpersonal proximity. Supportive behaviour incidents did not, however, correlate with social climate in terms of teacher interpersonal influence. Coercive behaviour incidents correlated with disrupted teacher proximity during the current lesson and the lesson a week later, but did not virtually correlate to increased levels of a teacher’s influence in the classroom.