Shifting Gears: Characteristics and Consequences of Latent Class Transitions in Doctoral Socialization

Research in Higher Education - Using a national sample of 336 biology Ph.D. students, this study classified students based on their interactions with faculty and peers, and investigated...     

Performance and Perception in the Flipped Learning Model: An Initial Approach to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a New Teaching Methodology in a General Science Classroom

“Flipped classroom” teaching methodology is a type of blended learning in which the traditional class setting is inverted. Lecture is shifted outside of class, while the classroom time is employed to solve problems or doing practical works through the discussion/peer collaboration of students and instructors. This relatively new instructional methodology claims that flipping your classroom engages more effectively students with the learning process, achieving better teaching results. Thus, this research aimed to evaluate the effects of the flipped classroom on the students’ performance and perception of this new methodology. This study was conducted in a general science course, sophomore of the Primary Education bachelor degree in the Training Teaching School of the University of Extremadura (Spain) during the course 2014/2015. In order to assess the suitability of the proposed methodology, the class was divided in two groups. For the first group, a traditional methodology was followed, and it was used as control. On the other hand, the “flipped classroom” methodology was used in the second group, where the students were given diverse materials, such as video lessons and reading materials, before the class to be revised at home by them. Online questionnaires were as well provided to assess the progress of the students before the class. Finally, the results were compared in terms of students’ achievements and a post-task survey was also conducted to know the students’ perceptions. A statistically significant difference was found on all assessments with the flipped class students performing higher on average. In addition, most students had a favorable perception about the flipped classroom noting the ability to pause, rewind and review lectures, as well as increased individualized learning and increased teacher availability.     

Knowledge convergence and collaborative learning

This paper operationalized the notion of knowledge convergence and assessed quantitatively how much knowledge convergence occurred during collaborative learning. Knowledge convergence was defined as an increase in common knowledge where common knowledge referred to the knowledge that all collaborating partners had. Twenty pairs of college students collaborated to learn a science text about the human circulatory system. Comparisons of individual pre-test and post-test performance revealed that students shared more knowledge pieces and mental models after collaboration. Although the amount of convergence was modest, analyses showed that collaborative interaction was responsible for the increase in common knowledge. The increase in common knowledge was observed in knowledge that was never stated in the learning text as well as in knowledge that was explicitly presented in the text. The amount of convergence was related to interaction such that real pairs shared more knowledge than nominal pairs, and more interactive pairs shared more inferred knowledge than less interactive pairs. Collaborative dialogues and learning artifacts (e.g., drawings) also indicated that common knowledge was constructed during collaboration. Possible reasons for the discrepancy between the impression of strong convergence assumed in the literature and the results of this study are discussed along with the need to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the notion that includes its process, outcome, and sources of convergence.     

Practical Experience in Teacher Education: issues Charting a European Agenda

This paper provides an overview and analysis of the role of practical experience within pre‐service and in‐service programmes of teacher education. The increasing importance of practical experience is noted and the variety of forms of partnership between Universities and schools are reviewed. The paper argues (i) for a stronger theoretical articulation of the relationship between the practicum and overall course design, (ii) for greater co‐operation between European countries in developing studies around this common element in all courses and (in) for intellectual links with newly emerging and closely related theories of learning and curriculum.     

“White supremacy in heels”: (white) feminism,white supremacy,and discursive violence

ABSTRACT

As a progressive intervention into patriarchy, feminism has traditionally centered (white) women's experience, yet when sex and gender are combined with race, feminism tends to lose its progressive edge. We argue that (white) feminism ideologically grounds itself in a gendered victimology that masks its participation and functionality in white supremacy. By erasing women of color, positioning women as victims of white male hegemony, and failing to hold white women accountable for the production and reproduction of white supremacy, (white) feminism manifests its allegiance to whiteness and in doing so commits “discursive violence”. We end with calling for ideological intersectionality as a possible corrective.     

Developing causal understanding with causal maps: the impact of total links, temporal flow, and lateral position of outcome nodes

This study examined some of the methodological approaches used by students to construct causal maps in order to determine which approaches help students understand the underlying causes and causal mechanisms in a complex system. This study tested the relationship between causal understanding (ratio of root causes correctly/incorrectly identified, number of correctly identified root-cause links explaining how root causes directly/indirectly impact final outcomes) and three attributes observed in students’ causal maps (total links, temporal flow, lateral position of final outcome) that students produced before and after online discussions on noted similarities and differences between students’ causal maps. The findings suggest that: (a) causal understanding can be adversely affected if students are instructed before group discussion to temporally sequence nodes to flow from left to right and to position the outcome node farther away from the left edge of the map relative to other nodes in the map; (b) causal understanding following group discussion can be increased by instructing students to minimize the number of causal links and create a map with temporally flow; (c) promoting temporal flow following discussion may be the most effective means of helping students to identify root causes; and (d) instructing students to minimize the number of links following discussion may be the most effective means to helping students explain root causes directly/indirectly impact outcomes. These findings provide insights on what processes and constraints can be formalized and integrated into causal mapping software when used as an instructional and assessment tool.     

The Historical and Cultural Identity of Taekwondo as a Traditional Korean Martial Art

Taekwondo's cultural identity is considered in the light of the controversy over its historical origins. After reviewing several existing theories, the meaning and development of taekwondo as a Korean martial art is explored. There are two conclusions: first, taekwondo is a fusion of several different sources; second, taekwondo is essentially a martial art that focuses on foot skills, and this distinguishes it from Japan's karate and China's wushu, which are primarily based on hand skills. The fact that all terms are rendered into pure Korean words shows the essence of Korean localization. Thus taekwondo incorporates a distinct identity as a Korean martial art.     

Lung Volumes and Maximal Respiratory Pressures in Collegiate Swimmers and Runners

Abstract

To determine whether respiratory muscle strength is related to pulmonary volume differences in athletes and nonathletes, 11 intercollegiate female swimmers, 11 female cross-country runners, and two nonathletic control groups, matched to the athletes in height and age, were evaluated for pulmonary parameters including maximal inspiratory pressure (P_lmax) and maximal expiratory pressure (P_Emax). Swimmers exhibited larger (p < .05) vital capacities (VC), residual lung volumes (RV), inspiratory capacities (IC), and functional residual capacities (FRC) than both the runners or the controls but no difference (p > .05) in either P_lmax or inspiratory flow (FIV_25%-75%). Timed expiratory volumes (FEV Q.5 m and FEV_1.0 were significantly (p < .05) lower in the swimmers than in the controls. These data suggest that an adaptational growth may be responsible, in part, for the augmented static lung volumes demonstrated in swimmers