Positive and negative experiences related to doctoral study conditions

ABSTRACT

During their doctoral studies, students undergo an emotionally and intellectually intensive process involving a wide range of positive and negative experiences. This article analyses PhD students’ perceptions of the most positive and negative experiences related to doctoral study conditions. Previous researchers have primarily focused on analysing experiences that negatively affect doctoral work and have related these experiences to institutional, social and individual variables. However, little is known regarding positive experiences and how both positive and negative experiences are interpreted and related to variables connected with doctoral study, such as discipline, funding, enrolment type, and the stage of the doctoral process. In total, 1173 doctoral students from 56 Spanish universities completed an open-ended online survey. The findings indicate that opportunities for PhD students to communicate their scientific advances, receive expert feedback and interact with other researchers have a high positive influence on their doctoral journey. However, funding difficulties, particularly for students in the social sciences, and relationships with the research community, principally with the supervisor, were perceived as the main negative challenges. Experiences related to research design, data collection and analysis were perceived either negatively – primarily for mid-level students – or positively. These results should be considered in future doctoral programme policies to determine when, how and why to provide specific support during the doctoral process.     

Validation of clay modeling as a learning tool for the periventricular structures of the human brain

Visualizing anatomical structures and functional processes in three dimensions (3D) are important skills for medical students. However, contemplating 3D structures mentally and interpreting biomedical images can be challenging. This study examines the impact of a new pedagogical approach to teaching neuroanatomy, specifically how building a 3D‐model from oil‐based modeling clay affects learners’ understanding of periventricular structures of the brain among undergraduate medical students in Colombia. Students were provided with an instructional video before building the models of the structures, and thereafter took a computer‐based quiz. They then brought their clay models to class where they answered questions about the structures via interactive response cards. Their knowledge of periventricular structures was assessed with a paper‐based quiz. Afterward, a focus group was conducted and a survey was distributed to understand students’ perceptions of the activity, as well as the impact of the intervention on their understanding of anatomical structures in 3D. Quiz scores of students that constructed the models were significantly higher than those taught the material in a more traditional manner (P < 0.05). Moreover, the modeling activity reduced time spent studying the topic and increased understanding of spatial relationships between structures in the brain. The results demonstrated a significant difference between genders in their self‐perception of their ability to contemplate and rotate structures mentally (P < 0.05). The study demonstrated that the construction of 3D clay models in combination with autonomous learning activities was a valuable and efficient learning tool in the anatomy course, and that additional models could be designed to promote deeper learning of other neuroanatomy topics. Anat Sci Educ 11: 137–145. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Parent Scaffolding in Children's Oral Reading

Parent coaching strategies during shared book reading were analysed according to the principles of scaffolding in a sample of 46 parent-child dyads during the latter half of grade one. The ways that parents responded to each of a child's oral reading errors or miscues were coded into levels of assistance that reflected increasing support at each successive level. In addition children's attempts at rereading miscued words were coded as successful or not. Parents often provided a string of feedback clues and analyses revealed that the level of support parents provided shifted up or increased when their child was unsuccessful in rereading a word after feedback. With increasing level of parental support children's success in rereading misread words increased. Moreover, children with weaker word recognition skill were offered feedback at higher levels of support by their parents. These results demonstrate how parents and children co-construct the feedback that parents provide when listening to their children read and the sensitivity on the part of parents to children's reading performance.     

Preservice elementary science teachers’ argumentation competence: impact of a training programme

The recent literature has shown the importance of preservice elementary science teachers (PESTs) having a deep understanding of argumentation, as this factor may affect the nature of the class activities that are taught and what students learn. A lack of understanding of this factor may represent an obstacle in the development of science education programmes in line with the development of scientific competences. This paper presents the results of the design and implementation of a training programme of 6 sessions (12 h of class participation plus 8 h of personal homework) on argumentation. The programme was carried out by 57 Spanish PESTs from Malaga, Spain. The training programme incorporates the innovative use of certain strategies to improve competence in argumentation, such as teaching PESTs to identify the elements of arguments in order to design assessment rubrics or by including peer assessment during evaluation with and without rubrics. The results obtained on implementing the training programme were evaluated based on the development of PESTs’ argumentation competence using Toulmin’s argumentative model. Data collection methods involved two tasks carried out at the beginning and the end of the programme, i.e., pre- and post-test, respectively. The conclusion of the study is that students made significant progress in their argumentation competence on completing the course. In addition, PESTs who followed the training programme achieved statistically better results at the end than those in the control group (n = 41), who followed a traditional teaching programme. A 6-month transfer task showed a slight improvement for the PESTs of the experimental group in relation to the control group in their ability to transfer argumentation to practice.     

A game for learning history on mobile devices

This paper presents a game designed to support teaching and learning of Portuguese History to 6th grade students. Firstly, a state of the art of mobile game-based learning for History is presented. Then we describe shortly the research carried out which aimed at the analysis of the games most played by students, followed by the identification of the learning principles proposed by Paul Gee and the game mechanics to propose a game structure. Data was collected from students in the 2nd cycle of the Portuguese Educational System (n = 508) through a questionnaire. Finally, we describe the game, that was developed based on those findings, related to a Portuguese historical event - the Republic Implementation in 1910.     

Overt and Relational Victimization: A Meta‐Analytic Review of Their Overlap and Associations With Social–Psychological Adjustment

This meta‐analytic review includes 135 studies, representing 17 countries, of child and adolescent (ages 4–17) samples of overt and relational peer victimization and examines the magnitude of overlap between forms of victimization and associations with five social–psychological adjustment indices. Results indicate a strong intercorrelation between forms of victimization ( = .72). No gender difference with regard to relational victimization was found, but boys were slightly higher in overt victimization. Overt victimization is more strongly associated with overt aggression; relational victimization is more strongly related to internalizing problems, lower levels of received prosocial behavior from peers, and relational aggression. Both forms are related to externalizing problems. Age and method of assessment were explored as potential sources of variability in effect sizes.     

Breaking Free from the Needs Paradigm: A Collaborative Analysis of Inclusion

ABSTRACT

This self-study, based on research, conducted over five years, focuses on my leadership role employing an inclusion model of education in a school in Iceland serving students from ages 6 to 16. In this article, we examine how Edda’s practice helped support inclusion for the students, their families, and the teachers who engage with them. This multilayered self-study research project included feedback and insights from others in order to inform my understanding of my practice within the context of inclusion. Findings reveal Edda’s focus on the discourse of diagnosis as a dominant structural issue within her practice. The resulting themes on perceptions of inclusion, coordination of support, deployment of people, and collaboration across different entities have informed my understanding about my practice and my perspective on the meaning of a support system within inclusive education and improved student performance.     

What Difference Does a Major Make? The Influence of College Major Field on Persistence by African American and White Students

The results from this study indicate similarities and differences in the factors related to the persistence of White and African American students in their freshman and sophomore years in college. Using random samples of data from students enrolled in public institutions of higher education in a Midwestern state, OLS regression analyses indicated that African American sophomores in the high-demand major fields (e.g., Business, Health, and Engineering/Computer Science) were more likely to persist than were those in other major fields, but there were no statistically significant differences in persistence for African American freshmen in other fields. While major fields were not statistically significant for White sophomores, White freshmen in social sciences or undecided about their majors were less likely to persist. The effects of financial aid packages on persistence varied across race.     

Effects of intensive use of computers in secondary school on gender differences in attitudes towards ICT: A systematic review

There is a wealth of interventions focusing on the intensive use of computers in secondary schools, largely aiming at improving students’ performance. However, global evidence on the effects of the use of computers on attitudinal outcomes has not been synthesised so far. Taking into account that the differences in the attitudes of boys and girls regarding the use of computers are one of the factors described as causes of the low number of girls following ICT studies, the aim of this article is to review the evidence on the effects of intensive use of computers in schools on gender differences in attitudes outcomes: anxiety, enjoyment, self-confidence and self-efficacy. Searches generated a total of 740 citations of which 59 were identified as relevant and nine were finally included. The methodological quality of included studies was poor to moderate. The results suggest that despite the intensive use of computers, boys are favoured in computer anxiety, self-confidence and self-efficacy; and suggest no differences in computer enjoyment. There is no evidence that intensive use of computers reduce gender differences in these outcomes. Further policy recommendations should be rooted on robust evaluations, which take into account implementations parameters, as well.