Differential effects of instructional support on learning in simultation environments

This article investigates a complex Aptitude Treatment Interaction (ATI), of intelligence and metacognitive skill as aptitudes with structuredness of learning environment as treatment. A more structured learning environment is usually regarded as beneficial to learning in low intelligence students, whereas it may not affect or may even interfere with learning in high intelligence students. The overall analyses of four studies are presented, including a total of 99 subjects. High and low intelligence novices passed through either structured or unstructured simulation environments in the domains of heat theory, electricity, or statistics. Thinking-aloud protocols were analyzed in order to assess the metacognitive skillfulness of subjects. Several learning tests were administered, assessing both declarative and procedural domain knowledge. The results show that structuredness of learning environment did not affect learning in high intelligence subjects, irrespective of their level of metacognitive skillfulness. However, the structured learning environment yielded enhanced learning performances in low intelligence subjects with a low level of metacognitive skillfulness, while it interfered with learning in low intelligence subjects with a relatively high level of metacognitive skillfulness.     

Alignment 2.0: Strategic use of new internet technologies in government

This paper challenges the view that strategies for using Web 2.0 should primarily be based upon technological characteristics. The value of the organizational strategic alignment approach for developing specific operational Web 2.0 strategies for government organizations is explored both theoretically and empirically. On the basis of a review of the literature we conclude that there are no a priori reasons why the idea of a fit between IT strategy and business strategic orientation cannot be applied to the development of operational Web 2.0 strategies for government organizations. The empirical exploration based on intervention research at the Dutch Department of Education results in the identification of five configurations: organizational transparency, organizational interactions, policy sector transparency, policy sector interactions and process and policy innovation. These configurations are logically consistent with the strategic orientations of the three directorates of the Department of Education. This overview does not pretend to be exhaustive but validates the idea that an alignment approach leads to differences in operational strategies. The configuration approach provides organizations with useful a starting point for developing their Web 2.0 strategies.     

Writing about the past: the impact of different authentic instructional material on students’ argument writing in history

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Recent research has repeatedly raised the question of how the authenticity of learning material affects learning outcomes. This question is...     

Intellectual and metacognitive skills of novices while studying texts under conditions of text difficulty and time constraint

This study investigated the nature of the relation between intelligence and metacognitive skillfulness as predictors of novice learning from text studying. Additionally, effects of text difficulty and time constraint were examined. The intelligence of 46 social-sciences students was assessed before studying two texts on different topics. Half of the participants studied the difficult text under time pressure, while the other half did so for the easy text. Metacognition was scored from thinking-aloud protocols. Results show that metacognition, although correlated to intelligence, also uniquely contributed to comprehension of both texts. Time constraint on studying a difficult text impaired text comprehension.     

Theories of mind and personal epistemology: their interrelation and connection with the concept of metacognition

This paper seeks to highlight the links and discrepancies between three contemporary theoretical fields. The first part is devoted to theories of mind and personal epistemology. Both fields deal with naïve theories relating to the nature of knowledge and can be integrated within the concept of folk epistemology (Kitchener New Ideas Psychol 20:89–105, 2002). We argue that analyzing both domains from a developmental perspective may provide evidence for the origins of epistemological beliefs and the reasons for their evolution. The second part of the paper extends the discussion to the concept of metacognition and to its potential links with the two previously mentioned fields. In the past, theories of mind and metacognition have mainly developed as independent fields, but recent studies have highlighted a possible developmental lineage between them that needs further investigation. As the influence of the procedural component of metacognition (the regulation process) seems obvious in the personal epistemology perspective, we suggest that conducting more in situ studies will enable us to deepen our understanding of the links between the multiple components of the epistemological perspective and the reasons for epistemic change.     

Teaching and learning in higher education: Recent trends

In the last decade, the questioning of traditional teaching and learning methods and instructional systems and the search for more effective alternatives have gained momentum in higher education. Recent trends can be grouped as follows:

基于业绩表现:系统设计复杂学习的十大步骤

现代教学理论倾向于把完成现实生活任务作为学习的动力(Clark ＆ Estes，1999；van Merrieenboer ＆ Kirschner，2001)。这些理论普遍认为，现实生活任务有助于学生综合运用知识、技能以及态度，以有效完成任务；给学生创设了掌握相关子技能的机会，以便经整合后能够完成复杂学习任务；并最终使学     

Dutch Cooperation Schools as Democratic Communities: A Constructive Perspective from Dewey’s View on Democracy in Education

In this article, the authors reflect on the results of their previous research at cooperation schools in the Netherlands, where students and teachers from nonaffiliated and Christian backgrounds come together. Dewey’s perspective on educating democratic values is combined with empirical results of this research, answering the question what Dewey’s concept contributes to the reflection on the relation between values and religious education at these schools. This article shows that this reflection and the implementation of value-based religious education offers opportunities for schools that face the challenge of practicing encounter between students from different backgrounds.