Building a metacognitive model of reflection

An increased value is being placed on quality teaching in higher education. An important step in developing approaches to better instruction is understanding how those who are successful go about improving their teaching. Thus, several years ago we undertook a program of research in which the concept of reflection provided the frame of reference. We envisaged reflection as a process of formative evaluation, and also saw links between reflection and metacognition. What we have documented and analyzed in detail are the reflective processes of six university professors in their day-to-day planning, instructing and evaluating of learners. The result is a metacognitive model and coding scheme that operationalize the process of reflection. Both provide a language for describing reflection and therefore a way to think about how to improve teaching. In this paper, we describe the research and the model and the contributions they make to our understanding of teacher thinking in higher education.     

Using a Substitute Activity to Eliminate Eye Poking in a 3‐year‐old Visually Impaired Child in the Classroom

This paper documents the effectiveness of a substitute activity in decreasing the frequency of eye poking in a 3‐year‐old nonretarded visually impaired child who was involved in a highly participatory, full‐day reading program with four sighted classmates. Following 49 days of training, eye poking had been eliminated, and the subject was able to read 25 word cards. Elements to consider when selecting a substitute activity to interrupt an established self‐stimulating behaviour such as eye poking are discussed.     

Predicting transition and adjustment to college: biomedical and behavioral science aspirants’ and minority students’ first year of college

The purpose of this study is to explore key factors that impact the college transition of aspiring underrepresented minority students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, in comparison with White, Asian students and non-science minority students. We examined successful management of the academic environment and sense of belonging during the first college year. Longitudinal data were derived from the Higher Education Research Institute’s (HERI) 2004 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshman Survey and the 2005 Your First College Year (YFCY) Survey. Using a reformulation of the integration model (Nora, Barlow, and Crisp, 2005), we find concerns about college financing, negotiating family support and responsibility, and campus racial dynamics (perceived and behavioral) affect student adjustment and sense of integration in the first year. This study was made possible by the support of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH Grant Number 1 RO1 GMO71968-01. This independent research and the views expressed here do not indicate endorsement by the sponsor.     

Adolescents earlier diagnosed as dyslexic show major IQ declines on the WISC-III

Adolescents (n=43) previously diagnosed as dyslexic/reading disabled had markedly lower IQ scores on the newly standardized Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III) than on the earlier administered WISC-R. The declines for Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQs were 10, 12, and 11 points, respectively, which were twice as great as in a subset of the standardization sample given both versions of the WISC. The adolescents did not show a significant decline in standard scores from the Wide Range Achievement Test (Level I to Level II). However, only two subjects had current reading and spelling standard scores above the 25th percentile. The impact of lower WISC-III IQs on guidelines for classification of students as learning disabled is discussed.     

Steps to abstract reasoning: An interdisciplinary program for cognitive development

A learning cycle approach to undergraduate instruction was implemented in a variety of subjects in the liberal arts and sciences. The students in the experimental program were typical representatives of an institution with liberal admissions policies. Significant gains were made in critical thinking and cognitive skill development by the experimental group. Additionally, retention of the experimental group was improved. Gains of this sort have the potential to rekindle hope in college faculties that some of the traditional goals of higher education that center on critical thinking and cognitive skill development need not be abandoned in institutions with liberal admissions policies.     

Faculty perceptions of the quality and usefulness of three types of evaluative information

The purpose of the study was to investigate faculty perceptions of student evaluative information collected by three methods: objective questionnaire items, open-ended questions, and group interviews. Faculty rated three simulated evaluation reports on their potential for accuracy, trustworthiness, usefulness, comprehensiveness, believability, interpretability, and value as information used for self-improvement and promotion purposes. Faculty, in general, regarded the evaluative information to be more credible, useful, and accurate for their own self-improvement than for promotion purposes. Faculty also desired more than one type of evaluative information regardless of the purpose of evaluation.