Challenges of adopting constructive alignment in action learning education

This paper will critically examine how the two influential pedagogical approaches of action-based learning and constructive alignment relate to each other, and how they may differ in focus and basic assumptions. From the outset, they are based on similar underpinnings, with the student and the learning outcomes in the center. Drawing from experiences of developing an action-based master program in management with the integration of constructive alignment in its curriculum, the purpose is to reflect on what difficulties emerge when adopting both perspectives simultaneously. Constructive alignment works under the premises that the learning goals can and should be decided beforehand in order to align them with learning activities and examination forms. This view brings a challenge for programs where the means of the learning process is provided, while it is much up to the students’ own responsibilities to drive the learning toward some self-governing and internalized learning outcomes.     

An analysis of visual oddity concept learning in a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus)

We tested a California sea lion for visual oddity learning by presenting problems composed of three two-dimensional black-and-white stimuli, two identical (S−) and one different (S+). In the first experimental stage, a single problem per session was presented until learning criterion was reached. In the second experimental stage, all problems were presented only five times in succession; then a new problem was introduced (six problems/session). In the third experimental stage, each problem was presented only once. The sea lion mastered all stages of oddity learning. A final transfer test with oddity problems composed of completely new stimuli yielded performance significantly above chance. Data analyses suggested learning of specific stimulus properties in the first stage, learning set formation in the second stage, but oddity conceptualization in the third stage.     

Developing as a teacher in the fields of science and technology

In universities, development as a teacher may be contradicted with developing as a researcher. Most previous studies have investigated pedagogical development merely as a result of pedagogical training and ignored the dual teacher-researcher identity. This study examines what kind of meaningful experiences are perceived to have triggered and influenced the process of developing as a teacher in the fields of science and technology. The data were gathered by interviewing 10 academics who had participated in a pedagogical training offered by a Finnish technical university between 1999 and 2009. Based on a narrative analysis utilizing dimensions of transformative learning, the results highlight the influence of the working environment and experiences, and imply that teacher development process in the fields of science and technology can be better understood in terms of becoming a teacher, rather than as a continual, conscious development process. The resulting teacher-researcher identity provides a basis for pedagogical development.     

Associations between individual and collective efficacy beliefs and students' bystander behavior

This study examined whether defending and passive bystanding during peer victimization episodes were associated with individual- and classroom-level efficacy to stop peer victimization. Self-report survey data were analyzed from 1,467 Swedish fourth-grade students (mean age = 10.55) from 100 classrooms in 63 schools. Multilevel analyses revealed that, when witnessing peer victimization, students more often defended victims if they were high in defender self-efficacy and if they belonged to classrooms high in collective efficacy. In contrast, students were more likely to remain passive if they were low in defender self-efficacy and if they belonged to classrooms low in collective efficacy. Taken together, our findings suggest that efficacy beliefs both at the individual and at the classroom level contribute to explaining variability in students' bystander behaviors, which has potential implications for prevention and intervention work.     

Fish Oil Supplementation in Pregnancy and Neurodevelopment in Childhood—A Randomized Clinical Trial

A double-blind randomized controlled trial of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 LCPUFA) supplementation or matching placebo during third trimester of pregnancy was conducted within the COPSAC₂₀₁₀ mother-child cohort consisting of 736 women and their children. The objective was to determine if maternal n-3 LCPUFA pregnancy supplementation affects offspring neurodevelopment until 6 years. Neurodevelopment was evaluated in 654 children assessing age of motor milestone achievement, language development, cognitive development, general neurodevelopment, and emotional and behavioral problems. Maternal n-3 LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy improved early language development and reduced the impact of emotional and behavioral problems. The n-3 LCPUFA supplementation was in boys associated with the earlier achievement of gross motor milestones, improved cognitive development, and a reduced impact of emotional and behavioral problems.     

Technological change in the Norwegian whaling industry: A case-study in the use of patent-statistics as a technology indicator

This paper presents an example of the use of patent statistics as a technology indicator in one industry. The first part deals with the problem of interpretation. Through examination of several other partial technology indicators, it is concluded that at least in this industry, patent statistics provide a reliable indicator, not only for the timing of inventions, but for the timing of innovations and diffusion as well. The reason is that the intervals between the stages in the innovation process are very short. This contradicts evidence from many other industries, and it is therefore emphasized that generalizations are unwarranted.The second part of this paper deals with the possible causes of technological change in Norwegian whaling. The methodology is inspired by J. Schmookler's work. Thus, the patents are correlated with other indicators of economic development in the industry. But while Schmookler's view is that the patent activity is determined by social demand and economic growth, the conclusions for the Norwegian whaling industry point in the opposite direction: the technological transformation that took place during the 1920s and early 1930s was forced upon the firms in their efforts to cut costs, which was achieved by rationalizing production and catching methods in line with a downward price trend for whale oil.     

Patterns in the form of formative feedback and student response

Formative feedback currently receives attention as an effective means of increasing student learning. However, how to frame feedback to achieve the best effect is an ongoing debate. In this study we analyse a written data-set of 174 segments of teacher feedback and student response, coded using 10 emergent feedback and 14 response categories. As it is argued that feedback is a dialogue between students and teacher, links between feedback and response segments are viewed as a dialogical framework that we visualise and understand using network analysis. From this network we conclude that some ways of formulating feedback are more productive and likely to lead to types of responses that signify learning than others. We thus identify the reflection group of responses, consisting of the categories reflective response, explanation and students investigate own thinking. The feedback categories that link primarily to the reflection group are open question, wondering question and leading question, which we categorise as the questioning group of feedback. We discuss these patterns against a previously published framework, and by discussing specific examples we further our understanding of what makes feedback formative.     

Consequences of school grading systems on adolescent health: evidence from a Swedish school reform

ABSTRACT

Education reforms that entail increased emphasis on high-stakes testing, assessment and grading have spread across education systems in recent decades. Critics have argued that these policies could have consequences for stress, identity, self-esteem and the overall health of pupils. However, these potentially negative consequences have rarely been investigated in a systematic and rigorous way. In this study we use a major education reform in Sweden, which introduced grades and increased the use of testing for pupils in the 6^th and 7^th school year (aged 12 to 13 years), to study the consequences of grading and assessment for health outcomes. Using data from the Health Behaviours of School-Aged Children Survey, we find that the reform increased school-related stress and reduced the academic self-esteem of pupils in the 7^th school year. This, in turn, had an indirect effect on psychosomatic symptoms and life satisfaction for these pupils. Moreover, the negative effects of the reform were generally stronger for girls, thereby widening the already troubling gender differences in health. We conclude that accountability reforms aimed at increased use of testing, assessment and grading can potentially have negative side effects on pupils’ health.     

Comenius,moral and pious education,and the why,when and how of school discipline

ABSTRACT

The present study provides an analysis of John Amos Comenius’s thoughts on moral and pious education, educational governance and school discipline as expressed in Didactica Magna. This is examined from the background of his view of education as a societal phenomenon, the purposes of different categories of knowledge for individual formation and the role of pedagogy in the upbringing of children. Theoretically, this paper expands on Michel Foucault’s ideas about governmentality and discipline, as well as on Henri Lefebvre’s spatial theories. The article argues that Comenius can be viewed as a significant contributor to the early modern shift towards new administrative techniques for school governance, transmitting the mode of disciplinary power into pedogogised and didactic forms. The article contributes to achieving more systematic knowledge for understanding the focused areas of schooling, the concept of discipline and the pedagogic premises of disciplinary practice in an early-modern European educational context.