The Relationship Between Approaches to Learning and Reflection Upon Practice

This study examined the association between students' approaches to learning and stages of reflective thinking. The revised version of the Study Process Questionnaire was used to measure deep and surface approaches to learning and the Reflection Questionnaire was used to distinguish four stages of reflective and nonreflective thinking. Both questionnaires were completed by 402 undergraduates from all years of study from a health science faculty in a university in Hong Kong. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test possible associations. The results showed that only the habitual action scale correlated significantly to surface approach to learning. Understanding, reflection and critical reflection correlated with deep approach but had no correlation to surface approach. Understanding, reflection and critical reflection correspond to the use of a deep approach with increasing levels of meaningful personal assimilation. These findings provide evidence of close association between approaches to learning and stages of reflection upon practice. The results also provide evidence for the convergent validity of both questionnaires.     

Three-dimensional kinematics of the lower limbs during forward ice hockey skating

The objectives of the study were to describe lower limb kinematics in three dimensions during the forward skating stride in hockey players and to contrast skating techniques between low- and high-calibre skaters. Participant motions were recorded with four synchronized digital video cameras while wearing reflective marker triads on the thighs, shanks, and skates. Participants skated on a specialized treadmill with a polyethylene slat bed at a self-selected speed for 1 min. Each participant completed three 1-min skating trials separated by 5 min of rest. Joint and limb segment angles were calculated within the local (anatomical) and global reference planes. Similar gross movement patterns and stride rates were observed; however, high-calibre participants showed a greater range and rate of joint motion in both the sagittal and frontal planes, contributing to greater stride length for high-calibre players. Furthermore, consequent postural differences led to greater lateral excursion during the power stroke in high-calibre skaters. In conclusion, specific kinematic differences in both joint and limb segment angle movement patterns were observed between low- and high-calibre skaters.     

Rival Conceptions of Spiritual Education

The recent upsurge of interest, political and professional, in the notion of spiritual education would appear to have been accompanied by no greater clarity in our understanding of teaching, learning and development in the spiritual domain; indeed, most official and other literature on the spiritual aspects of schooling seems blissfully unaware of much need for rigorous analysis regarding a domain of usage which licenses different and not clearly consistent conceptions of spiritual experience and enquiry. While attempting to give more precise expression to these competing views, this paper proceeds to argue for the greater coherence of one particular conception over its likely rivals.     

Five-Year Follow-Up of Doctoral Graduates in Counseling

Doctoral graduates in counseling nationwide were surveyed 5 years after earning their degrees to examine the trends in work life, income, professional activities, credentials, and future professional planning.     

To Control or Not to Control: The question of whether experimental designs are appropriate for evaluating teaching innovations in higher education

It is becoming increasingly common for academics to engage in research into their own teaching, usually by introducing some form of innovation into one of their courses. When doing so, they are often inclined by disciplinary tradition, or urged by senior colleagues, to use experimental designs in order that any observed outcomes can be attributed to the innovation itself. This article points out the problems with experimental designs for naturalistic studies of innovative teaching in higher education. A genuine control is impossible. Practical difficulties in separating groups often result in contamination of designs. Educational issues are complex with many variables involved. Therefore, experimental designs with limited numbers of cells result in over-simplification because they deal with only a few of the relevant factors. Particular types of innovation are not precisely reproducible so generalisation can be misleading. As an alternative, triangulation across multi-method evaluations from several sources is recommended, with the aim of establishing evidence beyond reasonable doubt. Comparison and synthesis across related projects appears to be a promising way to derive recommendations for ways to formulate important aspects of innovations.     

Exploring Satisfying Experiences in Museums

This article presents results from an ongoing research project that investigates the experiences visitors find satisfying in museums. Using a list constructed from interviews with visitors and surveys, data were obtained from visitors in nine Smithsonian museums. Analysis of the results showed that experiences can be classified into four categories: Object experiences, Cognitive experiences, Introspective experiences, and Social experiences. The article points out that the type of most satisfying experience differs according to the characteristics of museums, exhibitions, and visitors. It also proposes an interpretation for these data, and suggests some possible applications.