Support for self-regulation in learning complex topics from multimedia explanations: do learners need extensive or minimal support?

Acquiring complex conceptual knowledge requires learners to self-regulate their learning by planning, monitoring, and adjusting the process but they find it difficult to do so. In one experiment, we examined whether learners need broad systems of support for self-regulation or whether they are also able to learn with more economical support configurations. Eighty-six undergraduate students with little prior domain knowledge learned plate tectonics from a multimedia presentation involving animation with concurrent narration and support in one of four forms: minimal support, two variants of intermediate support, or extensive support. After the presentation, participants solved retention and transfer tests. The results revealed that participants receiving the broadest system of support outperformed those in the other conditions, which did not differ from one another. This means that it is so difficult for learners to self-regulate learning that they need considerable support if they are to learn complex conceptual knowledge.     

The Scottish educational crisis of 2000: an analysis of the policy process of unification

The ‘exam results debacle’ of August 2000 provoked a crisis of confidence in Scottish education and appeared to reveal widespread discontent with the current Higher Still reform of post-16 education. For a time the political future of the reform seemed to hang in the balance. This is surprising because the reform incorporated the views of the consensus that emerged from the Howie debates of the early 1990s, and its development involved consultation on a wide scale. Subsequent debates blamed the leadership style of those, especially the Inspectorate, who steered the reform process; some commentators invoked Humes' (1986) analysis of the ‘leadership class’ of Scottish education. This paper argues that a full explanation must take account of Higher Still's character as a flexible, unified system. Compared with other types of reform, the introduction of a flexible unified system tends to involve more conflict between educational interests, and a policy process that is relatively centralized, ‘top-down’ and linear. An analysis of this process must take account of horizontal as well as vertical lines of conflict in education, and of the political weaknesses which prevented the leadership from articulating clear principles and priorities as a basis for conflict resolution. The paper concludes that Humes' analysis should be complemented by McPherson and Raab's (1988) account of Scottish educational policy-making as the interplay of pluralist and corporatist forces.     

Conceptions of teaching and educational knowledge requirements

Abstract

This paper scrutinises the educational knowledge requirements of craft, technical, and reflective professional conceptions of teaching, as recently outlined by Winch, Oancea, and Orchard. Drawing on Bernsteinian sociology of knowledge we identify the different requirements each conception makes of educational knowledge, and how it is envisaged that this knowledge will be used in educational practice. While craft conceptions dismiss the value of educational knowledge per se, they nevertheless value other forms of disciplined knowledge. Arguing that technical conceptions of teaching may be either narrowly instrumental or autonomous, we suggest that an advanced technical knowledge base requires a disciplinary aspect, while knowledge for purely instrumental purposes offers a reductive view of educational practice. Moreover, the varying notions of reflection suggested by reflective professional conceptions require certain forms of engagement with educational knowledge, which are challenged by contemporary reforms in teacher education globally. It is suggested that there are often interdependencies between forms of educational knowledge and conceptions of teaching, with potential implications for the trajectories of educational reforms. The argument is briefly illustrated with reference to the national contexts of Germany, England, and Finland.     

Making the development of technological innovations more efficient: An exploratory analysis in the biotechnology sector

The current study analyzes the processes involved in obtaining technological innovations. Conclusive results are lacking in the literature, so this work defines and empirically tests a model of the relations between the firm's innovative capacity and the different ways of accumulating knowledge and the decision whether or not to codify it. Also, the model takes into account whether the innovations obtained are radical or incremental.The empirical study uses a sample of Spanish biotechnology firms, and the results show that accumulating knowledge using internal sources and not codifying it significantly improves the firm's capacity to develop radical innovations. The results also show that knowledge codification speeds up the development of incremental innovations. The relation between incremental innovations and the sources of knowledge is not so clear, although the results suggest the possible existence of a nonlinear relation between the two variables.     

Effects of plyometric jump training in female soccer player’s vertical jump height: A systematic review with meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

To assess the effects of plyometric jump training (PJT) in female soccer player’s vertical jump height, a review was conducted using the data sources PubMed, MEDLINE, Web Of Science and SCOPUS. Only peer-review articles were included. To qualify for inclusion in the meta-analysis, studies must have included (i) a PJT programme of at least 2 weeks, (ii) cohorts of healthy female soccer players with no restriction for age, (iii) a control group, (iv) a measure of countermovement jump (CMJ). The inverse variance random-effects model for meta-analyses was used. From 7,136 records initially identified through database searching, 8 were eligible for meta-analysis, comprising 9 training groups (n = 99) and 9 control groups (n = 94). The magnitude of the main effect was moderate (ES = 1.01 [95%CI = 0.36–1.66], Z = 3.04, p = 0.002). Sub-group analyses were performed (i.e., PJT frequency, duration and total number of sessions), revealing no significant subgroup differences (p = 0.34–0.96). Among the studies included in this review, none reported injury or other adverse effects. In conclusion, PJT is effective in female soccer players for the improvement of vertical jump height. In future, research must identify specific dose–response relationships following PJT, particularly in the long term.     

The Effects of Autonomy on Motivation and Performancein the College Classroom

The goals of this study were to extend the literature about classroom autonomy in several ways. First, since previous research on autonomy has tended to focus on younger learners, we examined whether the positive effects of autonomy on motivation and performance would be replicated in a college sample. Second, we tested to see whether the well-established links between intrinsic motivation and autonomy would also be found using motivational constructs that play key roles in learning (specifically, task value, self-efficacy, and test anxiety). Third, we sought to trace the effect of autonomy on changes in student motivation over the course of a semester. Finally, we examined the role of autonomy on course performance. We found that experiences of classroom autonomy in the college classroom were more closely related to motivational factors than to performance. While the immediate experience of autonomy may not be directly facilitative of high course grades, autonomy does seem to foster intrinsic goal orientation, task value, and self-efficacy, all of which are critical components of “continuing motivation.” The data presented here lend further support for the benefits of fostering autonomy within academic settings.