Are teachers’ subjective feelings linked with need-supportive and need-thwarting motivating styles? A cross-lagged pilot study in physical education

This article examines the relations between the teachers’ subjective feeling and their motivating teaching style during physical education lessons. Doing so, it aimed at better understanding the emotional antecedents of the teaching behaviors. Twelve volunteer physical education teachers were filmed with their respective classes to assess the motivating style they used during their intervention. Immediately after, the subjective feelings they felt during the lesson were assessed using the affective slider in a video-based session. Cross-lagged multilevel modeling was then performed, controlling for emotional exhaustion level and demographic factors. Results showed that, at the within level, subjective pleasant feelings predicted positively the relatedness-supportive dimension of the motivating style, and negatively the controlling dimension. At the between level, the controlling dimension of the motivating style was positively related to the pleasant subjective feelings while the relatedness-thwarting dimension was negatively related to them. While literature has mainly examined the cognitive antecedents of teachers’ motivating styles, this study emphasizes the emotional processes occurring during the lesson. Based on the conceptual framework of teachers’ emotions model proposed by Frenzel (2014), results indicate that teachers react to their subjective feelings, modifying the way they interact with students accordingly. In parallel with cognitive determinants of teaching, the emotional dimension thus deserves to be more deeply considered in future teaching training programs.

     

Recovery of pulmonary diffusing capacity after maximal exercise.

Pulmonary diffusing capacity (DICO), together with spirometric variables, arterial oxygen tension (paO2) and cardiac output were determined before and at intervals after maximal arm cranking, treadmill running and ergometer rowing. Independent of the type of exercise, D1CO increased immediately post-exercise from a median 13.6 (range 7.3-16.3) to 15.1 (9.3-19.6) mmol min-1 kPa-1 (P < 0.01). However, it decreased to 11.6 (6.9-15.5) mmol min-1 kPa-1 (P < 0.01) after 24 h with cardiac output and paO2 at resting values, and D1CO normalized after 20 h. Thoracic electrical impedance at 2.5 and 100 kHz increased slightly post-exercise, indicating a decrease in thoracic fluid balance, and there were no echocardiographic signs of left ventricular failure at the time of the decrease in D1CO. Also, active muscle (limb) circumference and volume, and an increase in haematocrit from 43.8 (38.0-47.0) to 47.1 (42.7-49.8) (P < 0.01), had normalized at the time of the decrease in D1CO. Vital capacity, forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, peak and peak mid-expiratory flows did not change. However, total lung capacity increased from 6.8 (5.0-7.6) to 7.0 (5.1-7.8) litres (P < 0.05) immediately after exercise and remained elevated at 6.9 (5.1-8.7) litres (P < 0.05) when a decrease in D1CO was noted. The results demonstrate that independent of the type of maximal exercise, an approximate 15% reduction in D1CO takes place 2-3 h post-exercise, which normalizes during the following day of recovery.     

Local Farmers' Organisations: A Space for Peer-to-Peer Learning? The Case of Milk Collection Cooperatives in Morocco

Abstract

Purpose: The study investigated to what extent local farmers' organisations are spaces where farmers discuss, learn and innovate.

Design/methodology/approach: Two milk collection cooperatives in Morocco were studied. The study analysed the discussion networks, their impacts on farmers' knowledge and innovation, and the performance of collective action at cooperative level.

Findings: In both cooperatives, only two-thirds of the farmers regularly discussed dairy practices with other farmers. Most leaders of one cooperative were acknowledged to be experienced farmers and played key roles as advisors on dairy farming. Farmers' involvement in dialogue networks in this cooperative improved their capacity to innovate in dairy farming, even though their knowledge on some issues related to cattle, health and nutrition was not improved. In the other cooperative, experienced farmers did not share their knowledge and farmers' involvement in dialogue networks at cooperative level had no impact on their knowledge and practices. Dialogue networks and collective action were found to influence each other, since in the first cooperative, collective action was considered by members to be efficient, whereas in the second collective action was limited to milk collection.

Practical implications: The study enabled identification of stumbling blocks which need to be addressed to get local farmers’ organisations involved in farmer capacity-building.

Originality/value: While the importance of local discussion networks for knowledge creation and diffusion is widely acknowledged, taking such networks into account in farmers' capacity-building programmes in developing countries has been hindered by their informality. Combining the analysis of dialogue networks and collective action proved to be a productive way to assess the potentialities of working with farmers' organisations with the aim of establishing a connection with local discussion networks.     

Investigating the relationship between transactive memory and performance in collaborative learning

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between the three dimensions of transactive memory (coordination, credibility, and specialization) and performance of collaborating students. A total of 113 students, distributed into groups of two or three, participated in the study. They were required to complete a series of learning tasks during the semester and to write a joint report for each task to be evaluated by their instructors. Afterwards, they were asked to fill out a questionnaire including self-report measures of transactive memory. The results showed a well-established positive relationship between transactive memory and performance based essentially on coordination; also, performance improved linearly as members developed specializations within groups. Implications for future research in collaborative learning are discussed.     

Processus de preuve et situations de validation

Résumé Nous étudions les relations entre preuves et contradictions dans la résolution d'un probleme de mathématiques. Cette étude montre la nécessité d'une approche à la fois situationnelle et cognitive, notamment en référence au fonctionnement des connaissances dans l'apprentissage des mathématiques. Ceci nous conduit à distinguer différents stades dans l'évolution des preuves pragmatiques aux preuves intellectuelles. Enfin nous montrons que le dépassement d'une contradiction ne constitue pas nécessairement un progrés cognitif, en particulier nous examinons le traitement d'un contre-exemple par des élèves de quatrième.

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Proving processes and situations for validation

A study is made of the relationship between Proofs and Contradictions in mathematics problem-solving. With respect to mathematics learning, we show the necessity for an approach being both situational and cognitive. This study leads to the demarcation of several stages from Pragmatic Proofs to Intellectual Proofs. We then go on to show that overcoming a contradiction does not necessarily constitute cognitive progress. In particular we examine how pupils (13–14 year old) cope with counterexamples.

     

Investigation of the hydro-mechanical behaviour of fouled ballast

In this study, a fouled ballast taken from the site of Sénissiat, France, was investigated. For the hydraulic behaviour, a large-scale cell was developed allowing drainage and evaporation tests to be carried out with monitoring of both suction and volumetric water content at various positions of the sample. It was observed that the hydraulic conductivity of fouled ballast is decreasing with suction increase, as for common unsaturated soils. The effect of fines content was found to be negligible. For the mechanical behaviour, both monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests were carried out using a large-scale triaxial cell. Various water contents were considered. The results were interpreted in terms of shear strength and permanent axial strain. It appeared that the water content is an important factor to be accounted for since any increase of water content or degree of saturation significantly decreases the shear strength and increases the permanent strain. Constitutive modelling has been attempted based on the experimental results. The model in its current state is capable of describing the effects of stress level, cycle number and water content.