A framework for intentionally fostering student learning

Recognizing the mismatch between a philosophy of holistic development and evaluation focused on external, quantitative criteria led Miami University's Honors and Scholars Program to revise its curriculum in accordance with student development theory.     

Pedagogical Simulation of Sampling Distributions and the Central Limit Theorem

Students often find the fact that a sample statistic is a random variable very hard to grasp. Even more mysterious is why a sample mean should become ever more Normal as the sample size increases. This simulation tool is meant to illustrate the process, thereby giving students some intuitive grasp of the relationship between a parent population and the distribution of a sample mean.     

Psst,have you ever cheated? A study of academic dishonesty in Sweden

It has been reported that academic dishonesty is a prevalent problem that crosses all disciplines at the university level. But, how prevalent is it in Sweden? Little is published in the literature about lying, cheating, and plagiarism amongst Swedish university students. This paper focuses on the frequency of past specific academically dishonest behaviours amongst Swedish University students with consideration to social desirability. The results indicate that although there are variations in frequency of dishonest behaviours amongst university students, some dishonest behaviours are more common than others. Future perspectives are discussed.     

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and student motivation

This article analyses the results from a study conducted among the total population of full‐time Postgraduate Certificate in Education course (PGCE) students in Norwegian universities (N = 283) in the autumn of 2006. The students responded to a questionnaire examining their motivation to take the PGCE course and their motivation to become teachers. The findings show a relatively high motivation among the students, but they also reveal much uncertainty about their future job as teachers. Twenty‐five percent of the students do not know if they are going to enter the teaching profession. They take a PGCE course primarily because they want more options in the job market. The general view among the students is that they need the PGCE course to be confident in the teaching role and they think it will be a demanding course. The main motivation to become teachers is that the students want to continue working with their academic subject, which they in turn want to teach to others.     

Decoding the Digital Campus Climate for Prospective LGBTQ+ Community Colleges Students

LGBTQ+ students are increasingly visible on community college campuses, and a safe and welcoming campus climate is critical to LGBTQ+ students’ academic success and well-being. Campus climate is difficult to assess for prospective LGBTQ+ community college students, and institutional websites may be a source of information about campus climate. This study used content analysis to document and analyze the digital campus climate for prospective LGBTQ+ students in the community colleges context by examining institutional websites. Using a mixed methods approach, website content of nine community colleges was analyzed, and both the quantity and nature of the content were used to make sense of colleges’ digital campus climate for prospective LGBTQ+ students. With the exception of a couple colleges, we found that the digital campus climate was not welcoming to prospective LGBTQ+ students. The results suggest that community colleges need to enhance their website in several ways and expand their overall programming (academic and non-academic) to ensure prospective LGBTQ+ students feel welcomed and safe on community college campuses.     

An overview of game-based learning in building services engineering education

To ensure proper competence development and short graduation times for engineering students, it is essential that the study motivation is encouraged by new learning methods. In game-based learning, the learner's engagement is increased and learning is made meaningful by applying game-like features such as competition and rewarding through virtual promotions or achievement badges. In this paper, the state of the art of game-based learning in building services engineering education at university level is reviewed and discussed. A systematic literature review indicates that educational games have been reported in the field of related disciplines, such as mechanical and civil engineering. The development of system-level educational games that realistically simulate work life in building services engineering is still in its infancy. Novel rewarding practices and more comprehensive approaches entailing the state-of-the-art information tools such as building information modelling, geographic information systems, building management systems and augmented reality are needed in the future.     

Bicycle model on climate change education: presenting and evaluating a model

Abstract

This article presents and evaluates a model made for climate change education – the bicycle model. The model was created based on an extensive literature review, from which, essential aspects of climate change education were drawn out. The bicycle model is a representation of holistic climate change education and emphasizes the importance of the following aspects: knowledge, thinking skills, values, identity, worldview, action, motivation, participation, future orientation, hope and other emotions, and operational barriers. In this study, the model is also evaluated by climate education researchers and educators. The evaluation was done through documented group discussions and an electronic questionnaire. The findings suggest that the model is useful in developing climate change education policy, research and practice. The findings also give insight into expert's perceptions on climate education. Finally, the article discusses how this model could be developed further.     

Families with abused children: A follow-up study of post-crisis support

Treatment provisions planned and executed were studied in a follow-up of 14 abused or neglected children three years after discharge from the Children's Department of Ullevaal Hospital. A majority of the families were shown to have received either no help or inappropriate help. Half of the children were evaluated as being so emotionally impaired that serious future adjustment problems could be anticipated. Inappropriate treatment related to lack of understanding, workers' own feelings and normative standards. Overidentification with parents and a general belief in their ability to develop caring skills were observed as was the tendency to overlook or minimize the child's experiences and the risk to which he was exposed. Anxiety, insecurity and lack of skill in establishing appropriate relationships prevented workers obtaining adequate bases for evaluation and for effectuation of treatment. Workers' professional situations were unfavorable in specified ways. Appropriate treatment was based on differentiated psychosocial evaluation, a high involvement level by the worker and continuity. The professional situation was also favorable. Workers combined traditional therapeutic approaches with conscious use of professional authority. They intervened actively for protective purposes but were empathetic with both child and parents.     

Motor correlates of ADHD: contribution of reading disability and oppositional defiant disorder

This study investigated whether the likelihood of motor impairment in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increases with the presence of other disorders, and whether the co-occurring diagnoses of reading disability (RD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) account for the motor deficits seen in ADHD. A total of 291 children (218 boys, 73 girls) participated. Six groups of children were compared: ADHD only (n = 29); RD only (n = 63); ADHD and RD (n = 47); ADHD and ODD (n = 19); ADHD, RD, and ODD (n = 21); and typically developing control children (n = 112). Motor skills were assessed with the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency and the Beery Test of Visual-Motor Integration. We found that the motor skills of the ADHD-only group did not differ from the typical control group. Furthermore, motor impairment in ADHD increased as a function of co-occurring disorders, and the presence of RD rather than ADHD predicted motor impairment.     

Excellence through Special Education? Lessons from the Finnish School Reform

The present article focuses on connections between part-time special education and the good results of Finnish students in PISA studies. After a brief summary of the comprehensive school system and special education in Finland, PISA results are analysed. The analysis shows that the relative amount of special education targeted at language problems is highest in Finland among those countries from which comparative statistics are available. The writers argue that this preventive language-oriented part-time special education is an important factor behind the good PISA results.