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.     

Phenomenography — a “good‐for‐nothing brother” of phenomenology? Outline of an analysis

This article will argue that five different ways of doing phenomenography can be found amongst the works of Gothenburg phenomenographers: Discursive, Experimental, Naturalistic, Hermeneutic and Phenomenological. Commenting on an earlier version of phenomenography, Jacob Needleman stated that it was “a ‘good‐for‐nothing’ brother of phenomenology”. We will argue that it is not. It is productive research, even if at times the degree of methodological reflection applied by phenomenographers to their work is found wanting. Two of five forms of Gothenburg phenomenography can be developed by recourse to phenomenology.     

Citizenship and Children’s Identity in <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Wonderful Adventures of Nils</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scouting for Boys</Emphasis>

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1906–1907) by Selma Lagerlöf and Scouting for Boys (1908) by Robert Baden-Powell are characteristic of their time and their respective national and cultural contexts—the Swedish nation state of the early twentieth century and the British Empire. Taking its cue from recent theories on citizenship and education, the article discusses ways in which these two classic children’s books relate to citizenship, nation and education. Ultimately, both books point to ways in which education—in and out of school—can be used to promote individual growth and a peaceful and durable society for world citizens.     

Efficient sample preparation in immuno-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using acoustic trapping

Acoustic trapping of minute bead amounts against fluid flow allows for easy automation of multiple assay steps, using a convenient aspirate/dispense format. Here, a method based on acoustic trapping that allows sample preparation for immuno-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using only half a million 2.8 μm antibody covered beads is presented. The acoustic trapping is done in 200 × 2000 μm² glass capillaries and provides highly efficient binding and washing conditions, as shown by complete removal of detergents and sample processing times of 5-10 min. The versatility of the method is demonstrated using an antibody against Angiotensin I (Ang I), a peptide hormone involved in hypotension. Using this model system, the acoustic trapping was efficient in enriching Angiotensin at 400 pM spiked in plasma samples.     

Energy turnover during 24 hours and 6 days of adventure racing

Abstract

Energy turnover was assessed in two conditions of mixed ultra-endurance exercise. In Study 1, energy expenditure and intake were measured in nine males in a laboratory over 24 h. In Study 2, energy expenditure was assessed in six males during an 800-km Adventure race (mean race time 152.5 h). Individual correlations between heart rate and oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O₂) were established during pre-tests when kayaking, cycling, and running. During exercise, energy expenditure was estimated from continuous heart rate recordings. Heart rate and [Vdot]O₂ were measured regularly during fixed cycling work rates to correct energy expenditure for drift in oxygen pulse. Mean energy expenditure was 18,050 ± 2,390 kcal (750 ± 100 kcal · h^?1) and 80,000 ± 18,000 kcal (500 ± 100 kcal · h^?1) in Study 1 and Study 2 respectively, which is higher than previously reported. Energy intake in Study 1 was 8,450 ± 1,160 kcal, resulting in an energy deficit of 9,590 ± 770 kcal. Body mass decreased in Study 1 (?2.3 ± 0.8 kg) but was unchanged in Study 2. Fat mass decreased in Study 2 (?2.3 ± 1.5 kg). In Study 1, muscle glycogen content decreased by only 60%. Adventure racing requires a high energy expenditure, with large inter-individual variation. A large energy deficit is caused by inadequate energy intake, possibly due to suppressed appetite and gastrointestinal problems. The oxygen pulse, comparing start to 12 h of exercise and beyond, increased by 10% and 5% in Study 1 and Study 2 respectively. Hence, estimations of energy expenditure from heart rate recordings should be corrected according to this drift.     

The Concordance between Teachers’ and Parents’ Perceptions of School Transition Practices: A Solid Base for the Future

This study focuses on parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of practices aimed at easing the transition to formal schooling (e.g., familiarization with the school, discussions about the school entrants). A total of 230 preschool teachers, 131 elementary school teachers, and 2,662 mothers and fathers filled in a questionnaire containing items on how important they considered different preschool-school transition practices. The participants considered the various transition practices to be at least somewhat important. On average, familiarization with the school was considered to be most important, whereas teacher co-operation and joint writing of curricula were considered to be least important. The perceptions of the participant groups differed from each other significantly in almost all practices. We suggest that the information on school entrants should be transferred within joint meetings between transition partners and other professionals whenever possible.     

Pennies from heaven? Using exogenous tax variation to identify effects of school resources on pupil achievement

Evidence on the effectiveness of school inputs remains inconclusive, partly due to the challenge of identification as families sort themselves into school districts and resources are potentially allocated to compensate (or reinforce) differences in pupil abilities. Using variation in school resources induced by the location of waterfalls in Norway, we examine the effect of school expenditures on pupil performance at age 16. Higher school expenditures, triggered by higher revenues from local taxes on hydropower plants, have a significantly positive effect on pupil performance. This positive IV estimate contrasts a zero effect based on least squares. A downward biased estimate using a standard cross section estimator is expected in a context of compensating resource allocation across educational units.