Students’ conceptions of distinct constructivist assumptions

The present studies were conducted to investigate students’ conceptions of distinct constructivist assumptions. To that end, a questionnaire was developed containing statements about four constructivist assumptions: The importance of knowledge construction, cooperative learning, self-regulation, and the use of authentic problems together with self-perceived inability to learn and motivation to learn. The studies demonstrate that the questionnaire was able to unearth students’ conceptions of the distinctiveness of constructivist assumptions. Students were able to identify the six factors underlying the questionnaire, as indicated by the fit of the hypothesized model. The test for measurement invariance showed that factor loadings were equivalent across groups and that the questionnaire’s underlying factor structure gave evidence of cross-validation. Testing alternative models with one and three latent factors resulted in poor model fits, supporting the questionnaire’s latent factor structure. The questionnaire developed appeared an adequate instrument to investigate students’ conceptions of constructivist assumptions of learning and students acknowledge the importance of these assumptions as distinct influences on their learning process.     

The role of academic ability indicators in big-fish-little-pond effect research: A comparison study

The authors examined the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) on academic self-concept (ASC) using different indicators of academic ability (i.e., achievement test, cognitive ability test, grades corrected for grading-on-a-curve effects, uncorrected grades). They investigated under what circumstances grades are suitable indicators of academic ability in BFLPE research. The sample comprised 730 sixth-grade students from 30 classes belonging to the top track of the German secondary high school system. Using multilevel models, all indicators of academic ability exhibited negative contrast effects on ASC at class level (i.e., BFLPE). The authors found the strongest effects for corrected grades, followed by achievement tests, cognitive ability, and, finally, uncorrected grades. Thus, the study provides evidence for the usage of grades within BFLPE research for investigating the BFLPE.     

The role of teachers in facilitating situational interest in an active-learning classroom

The study sought to explore whether interactional teacher characteristics such as social congruence, subject-matter expertise, and cognitive congruence increase situational interest in students. Correlational and path analyses were conducted on a sample of 498 polytechnic students to assess potential differences in situational interest based on these three teacher characteristics and how well these characteristics predicted situational interest. Results revealed that students supported by teachers who scored high on these characteristics reported significantly higher levels of situational interest. Cognitive congruence was the most significant predictor of situational interest. Overall, the findings suggest that teachers play an influential role in increasing students’ situational interest in the active-learning classroom.     

Which cognitive processes support learning during small-group discussion? The role of providing explanations and listening to others

Seventy students participated in an experiment to measure the effects of either providing explanations or listening during small group discussions on recall of related subject-matter studied after the discussion. They watched a video of a small group discussing a problem. In the first experimental condition, the video was stopped at various points in time, enabling the participants to verbally respond to the discussion. In the second condition, they listened to the same discussion, without contributing. In the control condition, they listened to a discussion that was not related to the subject-matter subsequently studied. After the discussion, all participants studied a text and answered questions that tested their recall of information from this text. No immediate differences in recall were found. One month later, participants who had actively engaged in explaining remembered more from the text. The conclusion appears justified that actively providing explanations during a discussion positively affects long-term memory.     

Personality characteristics of engineers

The objective of the current study was to investigate the personality characteristics of a group of engineers with a variety of years of experience. It was executed to remedy shortcomings of the literature concerning this issue and to produce suggestions for a postgraduate training programme for engineers. A total of103 engineers were tested with the five-factor personality inventory (FFPI), a ‘big five’ personality test of Dutch origin. The engineers were shown to score lower on the factor agreeableness, and higher on the factors extraversion, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and autonomy than a national comparison group. The older the engineers, the more conscientious and autonomous they were. In addition, engineers with lower degrees were more conscientious than engineers with higher degrees. A practical implication of the findings for the postgraduate training of engineers is that more attention should be paid to the development of interpersonal skills.