Nudging in education: from theory towards guidelines for successful implementation

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Nudging is one of the strategies from behavioral economics that aims to influence behavior by changing the environment. We propose that it could also...     

Context matters: increasing understanding with interactive Clicker Case studies

Although interactive technology is presumed to increase student understanding in large classes, no previous research studies have empirically explored the effects of Clicker Cases on students?? performance. A Clicker Case is a story (e.g., a problem someone is facing) that uses clickers (student response systems) to engage students in understanding the meaning of the science contained within the story. Using an experimental randomized Solomon design across 11 institutions, we found that Clicker Cases increased student understanding more than PowerPoint lectures in large introductory biology classrooms, although there was variation across institutions and topics. By examining student performance in conjunction with faculty experience, we found that strong Clicker Cases created dissonance, captured attention and involved students in interpreting data or making decisions. This study provides a model for collaborative research across multiple institutions and demonstrates the need for using multiple institutions and topics in research on education.     

Effects of the Active Smarter Kids (ASK) Physical Activity School-based Intervention on Executive Functions: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a seven-month curriculum prescribed physical activity (PA) intervention (the Active Smarter Kids [ASK] intervention) on executive functions in 10-year-old Norwegian children. A linear mixed model was used to analyze data from 971–1,123 fifth grade children at 28 intervention schools and 29 control schools. The intervention constituted three PA elements: PA educational lessons, PA breaks, and PA homework, adding 165 minutes of PA to the mandatory 135 minutes of PA and physical education. There was no effect of the intervention on executive functions in the intention-to-treat analyses. Per protocol analyses (n?=?776–850) revealed small effects of the intervention on the composite score of executive functions, cognitive flexibility, and motor skills. Cognitively engaging and coordinative demanding activities/games seem viable options to increase executive functions and possibly improve academic performance in children.     

Use, updating and integration of ICT in higher education: Linking purpose, people and pedagogy

In this article the use, updating and integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for teaching and learning purposes is discussed. Based on an empirical study using interviews and document analysis of the implementation of ICT in five Norwegian universities and colleges, the article analyse a number of factors that are of importance for the implementation of ICT in higher education. The analysis discloses that Norwegian higher education institutions often have adequate economic resources and a rather well developed technical infrastructure and support structure related to the use of ICT. However, attempts to link ICT initiatives to organisational development issues and to human resource management have not been very successful. In the conclusion it is argued that pedagogical issues and organisational and human development aspects must be better linked if ICT is to play a more effective role in teaching and learning in Norwegian higher education.     

Towards a semantic e-learning theory by using a modelling approach

In the present study, a semantic perspective on e‐learning theory is advanced and a modelling approach is used. This modelling approach towards the new learning theory is based on the four SECI phases of knowledge conversion: Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination and Internalisation, introduced by Nonaka in 1994, and involving two levels of knowledge—tacit and explicit. In the Socialisation phase, the teacher–student interaction activates the exploratory learning behaviour. This phase is emotionally and socially loaded. The Externalisation phase is partly emotional but a cognitive dimension is also needed, which requires creativity. This phase works optimally if it is collaborative in nature. In the Combination phase, an ability for hypothetical–deductive thinking is needed for the modelling approach. During the Internalisation phase, the learning process requires that students engage in seeking to understand and explain natural phenomena, which further demands testing of the theoretical concepts.     

Students' Misbehaviours in Turkish and English Primary Classrooms

This paper deals with the comparison of students' misbehaviours in Turkish and English primary classrooms. A field study was conducted in order to discern students' misbehaviours based on students' age, gender, time of day, seating arrangement, types of learning activities and subject matter. Semi-structured in-depth interview and systematic classroom observation were used to collect data from two different cultural contexts. Participants in this study were 20 primary school teachers. The results show that there are differences and similarities between Turkish and English primary classrooms in terms of the causes and types of students' misbehaviours. Certain misbehaviours that are caused by different cultural and educational contexts are frequently observed either in English or in Turkish classrooms.     

On Developing Content‐oriented Theories Taking Biological Evolution as an Example

Both in Europe and the United States there is a growing interest in design research. One example is the design and validation of topic‐oriented teaching–learning sequences. This research may be said to have two objectives. One is to design and test “useful products”, such as teachers’ guides and study material for students, which may be put into practice in various ways. The second is to contribute to the development of educational science; for example, understanding conditions for learning of given topics under regular classroom conditions. This article concerns the latter objective and deals with the development of content‐oriented theories stating conditions that promote learning with long‐term understanding of given topics. We present one such theory, concerning evolution by natural selection, and describe the arguments and evidence that underlie the theory, which we regard as a well‐founded hypothesis. Some methodological problems associated with testing this type of theory are discussed, as well as the role of content‐oriented theories in strengthening science education research as an autonomous specialization within educational science.     

Number of Judges when Scaling Attitude Items

Sjödahl, L. 1974. Number of Judges when Scaling Attitude Items. Scand. J. educ. Res. 18, 183‐197. When constructing attitude scales for measuring patient‐centering among student nurses the author has carried out a series of studies of the method of attitude scale formation. The article presents one of several methodological studies published by the same author in Ped. psyk. problem (nr. 184). Scale values, interquartile range, interval position and the selection of items for the final scale are studied as dependent variables when varying the size of the judging group. The results show that correlations between series of scale values from judging groups of varying sizes can be very high but that we can still get quite a different selection of items for the final scale, depending upon which judging group we use in the scaling procedure. The stability of the interval placements of the statements is shown to vary with the intervals along the scale.     

A Comparison of Piaget's and Kohlberg's Theories and Tests for Moral Judgment

Abstract:R?rvik, H. 1980. A Comparison of Piaget's and Kohlberg's Theories and Tests for Moral Judgment. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 25,99‐124. Piaget's and Kohlberg's theories for moral judgment are compared. On the basis of this comparison, hypotheses are formulated regarding expected relationships between the tests constructed on the basis of the two theories. The empirical testing of these hypotheses indicates that there are marked similarities between Piaget's and Kohlberg's tests as to characteristics measured, power of discrimination between age levels, and in the stage placement of subjects.

The main differences between the tests seem to be that Piaget's test is most influenced by the personal relationship to other persons. Contrary to the impression given by the theorist himself, Kohlberg's test seems to a larger extent to measure the subjects’ norms and emotional reactions connected to inter‐nalization of norms. Moral behavior is more closely related to Kohlberg's measure.     

Doomed to be Entrepreneurial: Institutional Transformation or Institutional Lock-Ins of ‘New’ Universities?

Universities worldwide are facing enormous strains as a result of increased external expectations where global visibility should be mixed with local and regional utility. In debates on the future of higher education, becoming an entrepreneurial university has been highlighted as a novel – although perhaps a more hybrid – way to deal with this challenge. However, while the label entrepreneurial points to an image of the university as a dynamic free agent shaped in the interplay between dynamic environments and internal flexibility, the current article takes a more critical view on the factors conditioning universities with the ambitions of becoming more entrepreneurial – particularly those of more recent age and less academic standing. For these institutions it is suggested that the university ideal of being entrepreneurial may lead to a situation of strategic inertia characterized by an institutionalized ‘lock-in’ with few alternative development paths.