Assessing self-regulated learning in higher education: a systematic literature review of self-report instruments

The growing interest in the field of learning strategies has led to an increasing number of studies and, with that, the development of numerous instruments to measure the use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. Due to the complexity of this research field, the types of assessment methods are diverse. For this reason, we conducted a systematic review of self-report instruments that measure SRL in higher education and highlight their main characteristics. In doing so, we applied the general principles of systematic reviewing—we conducted a systematic search of established psychological and educational databases with previously defined inclusion criteria and applied a multistage filtering process. In an additional step, we examined a subsample of nine established instruments in terms of their implementation characteristics, psychometric properties, and additional characteristics. The results illustrate the distribution of self-report instruments used in higher education and point to a growing use of course- or domain-specific questionnaires over the past decades as well as a lack of emotional and motivational regulation scales.     

Parental distress: the initial phase of hearing aid and cochlear implant fitting

The results of previous cross-section studies suggest that childhood hearing impairment may lead to parental psychosocial stress. The present study investigated whether modifications in parental psychic state can be ascertained in connection with the child's treatment events and the child's hearing and speech status, in a prospective study design. Data were available on 116 fathers and mothers regarding the pre-cochlear implant examination or hearing aid fitting of their child. In the course of the child's treatment, parental quality of life improved from a low to a normal level. Among children who were at the stage of pre-examination for a cochlear implant, better hearing and speech capacity was linked to more severe impairment of the parental state. It is emphasized that the parents whose children showed comparatively good language development at the time of pre-examination for a cochlear implant were especially subjected to stress.     

Undergraduates Leading Undergraduates: Peer Facilitation in a Science Workshop Program

This article presents the results of a study investigating the experiences of undergraduatesacting as peer leaders in an extensive peer-led team learning program in introductory undergraduate sciences and engineering courses. In an effort to understand the facilitator experience in the program better and to report initial findings on the benefits derived through a peer-facilitation experience, the study identified multiple areas in which peer facilitators reported experiences ofgrowth and the ways in which they understood and responded to this growth. Marina Micari, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, is Associate Researcher, Gateway Science Workshop Program, Northwestern University. Her interests include adult continuing education and cross-cultural communication. Bernhard Streitwieser, Ph.D. Columbia University, is Associate Director, Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University, and Lecturer, German Department, Northwestern University. His interests include comparative education and contemporary German society; European Education and systemic reform. Gregory Light, Ph.D., University of London, is Director, Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University. His interests include the theory and practice of learning and teaching in higher and professional education.     

Professional Competence and Intuitive Decision Making: A Simulation Study in the Domain of Emergency Medicine

Intuition presents as a crucial component of professional competence for many occupations, including emergency physicians because many of their decisions have to be made quickly. When arriving at the scene of an accident, they promptly have to assess the circumstances and initiate immediate life-saving measures without opportunities for deep analyses of patients’ conditions. Therefore, spontaneous and intuitive decisions are required to solve the problem appropriately, rather than more intentional and time-consuming forms of decision-making. Yet, the efficacy of and processes underpinning these intuitive activities remain far from fully understood or clearly conceptualised. The study reported here aims at revealing the efficacy of such intuition by analysing decision-making behaviour of emergency physicians. Based on patient simulation mannequins, which can be programmed to present specified clinical situations, three groups of participants with different levels of emergency medicine expertise (n ₁  = 10 novices, n ₂  = 10 semi-experts, n ₃  = 10 experts) each addressed two different authentic problem cases. In the first simulation, time pressure was utilised to press participants to decide intuitively. In the second simulation, the participants had to legitimise their decisions without any time pressure in order to generate rational decisions. Whereas no clear difference in the participants’ performances between both cases could be identified, experts and semi-experts performed better than novices in their intuitive decision-making, thereby supporting beliefs about the efficacy of intuition. It is proposed that medical education, as well as other forms of occupational preparation, should consider theories of mental simulations in order to improve surgeons’ professional education.     

Student conceptions of international experience in the study abroad context

While much of recent study abroad research has focused on identifying and measuring different learning outcomes in terms of specific skills, competencies, perspectives and attributes acquired during study abroad opportunities, less research has considered how students’ deeper conceptions and understandings of international experience may change and develop during such educational encounters. This paper presents a phenomenographical research study that explored how students conceive of and make meaning out of their international education experience in a study abroad context. The data are based on detailed semi-structured interviews conducted with a sample of 28 undergraduate students at an American university who engaged in a variety of different study abroad opportunities. Guided by Variation Theory of Learning, the analysis of the data resulted in a typology of student conceptions of international experience (SCIE) that identified four distinct categories of conceptions of international experience (observing, interacting, participating and embracing) described across three constitutive features (being in the other culture, relating to the other culture and learning in the other culture). Hierarchically related through nine critical aspects of variation, the typology provides a unique and useful framework against which to map the “messiness” of students’ complex, often complicated understandings of their experience. It offers study abroad programmers opportunities to better understand and design student learning experiences and assessment instruments that go beyond competencies, skills and other learning outcomes.     

Technological innovation systems and the multi-level perspective: Towards an integrated framework

Technological innovation systems and the multi-level framework are closely related concepts for the study of far-reaching technological change. They draw on common theoretical roots and analyze similar empirical phenomena. However, they have developed rather independent research strands over the past few years. The paper reviews the state of the art of both concepts and explores commonalities as well as differences. Against this background, we outline first elements of a path towards an integrated framework that combines the strengths of the two approaches and allows providing a better understanding of radical innovation processes and socio-technical transformations.     

Troubled Relationships in Early Childhood Education: Parent-Teacher Interactions in Ethnoculturally Diverse Child Care Settings

In order to study the nature of the relationships between early childhood educators and minority families, we interviewed child care teachers (N = 199) and supervisors (N = 77) in three Canadian cities of major immigrant influx. Views of minority families were elicited through 14 focus groups (total attendance, N = 108) in these cities. A coordinated analysis of data revealed four main findings as follows: 1) Although both minority parents and teachers agreed that minority parents were not involved enough in the child care setting, they disagreed about the reasons for the lack of involvement. 2) Minority parents and teachers tended to be unaware of their basic differences in ECE goals, particularly with respect to cognition, social skills, and respect for authority; they gave conflicting accounts of difficulties related to these goals. 3) Schools and minority parents appeared to have substantial differences over what constitutes proper child-rearing methods in the home. The practices of minority parents were often viewed by teachers as lax. 4) Based on teachers' and parents' reports, racial and discriminatory incidents, according to the various definitions of those involved, were not uncommon in child care centers; sometimes teachers were unaware of them. Subtle and unintended effects of racism were much more noticed by some parents than by many teachers. Some of these difficulties may be linked to an “expert model” of early childhood education; hence it is proposed that a collaborative approach is one avenue to better relations between teachers and minority parents.