Teaching with the Case Method Online: Pure Versus Hybrid Approaches

The impact of hybrid classroom/distance education approaches is examined in the context of the case method. Four distinct semester‐long treatments, which varied mixes of classroom and online discussion, were used to teach a graduate MIS survey course. Specific findings suggest that by using Web technology, college instructors may offer students the option of participating in high‐quality courses using the case method pedagogy in an online environment. Students not only appear to do as well as in the traditional classroom, but the data suggest that students in the online environment may perform better at multiple levels of learning outcomes, especially when using a blend of classroom and online technologies. Furthermore, the precepts of the case method pedagogy may be enhanced by the use of online discussions. Instructors employing the technique may find their own importance devalued, while the time demands of the approach can be much greater than for traditional classes. The findings infer that it is the model of learning and its fit with supporting technologies, rather than the presence of technology per se, which enhances learning outcomes.     

Fostering students’ creativity via educational robotics: An investigation of teachers’ pedagogical practices based on teacher interviews

This study explored how educational robotics (ER) was implemented in classrooms to foster creativity among elementary school students and identified challenges associated with its implementation. Twenty-six teachers at different elementary schools were interviewed. In-depth teacher interviews and grounded theory were used to collect and analyze the interviews. We found that the intended creative learning outcome for students was mastery of the developmental process of creativity. The teachers generally reported using a four-phase instructional framework consisting of eight sub-phases and targeted teaching strategies to support students’ learning outcomes. Challenges included insufficient appropriate learning materials, a lack of expansive learning activities and tasks and limited opportunities to engage students in the process of design thinking and developing metacognitive abilities. The findings have practical implications for teachers and researchers who are interested in developing pedagogical practices (PP) incorporating ER to support students’ creativity. The study also has theoretical value, offering insights into teachers’ PP in implementing ER.     

Museums as Restorative Environments

Abstract Restorative environments possess a combination of attributes that facilitate recovery from mental fatigue. Most previous research in this regard has focused on natural environments, but this paper explores the extent to which museum environments also provide access to restorative experiences. Visitors (307 tourists and 274 local residents) to a history museum, an art museum, an aquarium, and a botanic garden completed a questionnaire regarding the restorative qualities and benefits of the environment they visited. The findings indicate that for some people, museums are at least as restorative as natural environments. The paper contributes to the development of a theoretical understanding of museums as restorative environments and provides insights into the factors that facilitate and enhance restorative experiences. Such experiences have the potential to contribute to visitors’ well‐being and satisfaction.     

Attitudes towards school self-evaluation

Research reveals that a positive attitude towards self-evaluation is a pre-condition which favours successful school self-evaluation. This article describes how self-evaluation is regarded in schools and investigates whether school characteristics can explain differences in the attitude of individuals. We report on a survey study conducted among 2716 school principals and teachers in 96 schools. Our research shows that respondents expressed themselves more positively with regard to the possible results of self-evaluation than with regard to the self-evaluation process itself. We also found that school principals exhibit a more positive attitude than teachers. Multi-level analyses demonstrate that the attitude towards self-evaluation is related to the characteristics of the broader functioning of the school where the respondent works (such as school culture and whether or not the school concerned meets the criteria of a professional learning community).     

Student–student relations from the teacher versus student perspective: A multi-level confirmatory factor analysis

Educational research emphasizes the advantages of multimethod designs. However, if the design comprises different perspectives, the question of construct validity emerges. We related this question to student and teacher ratings of student–student relations, which are of high interest in research on physical education. In our study, 2,160 students and their 114 physical education teachers answered parallel items. Data was analyzed by applying the multi-level correlated trait-correlated method minus one approach, which makes it possible to consider multiple indicators per trait and to distinguish between trait, method, and error components. The student–student relations subscales student conflicts, class cohesion, and pleasure in demonstrating were reliable and valid regarding the two perspectives. Moreover, teacher and student ratings of student–student relations were consistent to a certain extent. The administered questionnaire was suitable for both perspectives. The applied model provides a good basis for similar research questions regarding construct validity.     

From dignity to security protocols: a scientometric analysis of digital ethics

Our lives are increasingly intertwined with the digital realm, and with new technology, new ethical problems emerge. The academic field that addresses these problems—which we tentatively call ‘digital ethics’—can be an important intellectual resource for policy making and regulation. This is why it is important to understand how the new ethical challenges of a digital society are being met by academic research. We have undertaken a scientometric analysis to arrive at a better understanding of the nature, scope and dynamics of the field of digital ethics. Our approach in this paper shows how the field of digital ethics is distributed over various academic disciplines. By first having experts select a collection of keywords central to digital ethics, we have generated a dataset of articles discussing these issues. This approach allows us to generate a scientometric visualisation of the field of digital ethics, without being constrained by any preconceived definitions of academic disciplines. We have first of all found that the number of publications pertaining to digital ethics is exponentially increasing. We furthermore established that whereas one may expect digital ethics to be a species of ethics, we in fact found that the various questions pertaining to digital ethics are predominantly being discussed in computer science, law and biomedical science. It is in these fields, more than in the independent field of ethics, that ethical discourse is being developed around concrete and often technical issues. Moreover, it appears that some important ethical values are very prominent in one field (e.g., autonomy in medical science), while being almost absent in others. We conclude that to get a thorough understanding of, and grip on, all the hard ethical questions of a digital society, ethicists, policy makers and legal scholars will need to familiarize themselves with the concrete and practical work that is being done across a range of different scientific fields to deal with these questions.     

Validation of networks derived from snowball sampling of municipal science education actors

Social network analysis (SNA) has been used in many educational studies in the past decade, but what these studies have in common is that the populations in question in most cases are defined and known to the researchers studying the networks. Snowball sampling is an SNA methodology most often used to study hidden populations, for example, groups of homosexual people, drug users or people with sexually transmitted diseases. By use of a snowball sampling approach, this study mapped municipal social networks of educational actors, who were otherwise hidden to the researchers. Subsequently, the resulting networks were validated through interviews with central respondents and by using prior investigations of the municipalities. Our results confirmed that the majority of the designated respondents recognized the resulting sociograms and their own position in these. It was also found that not all predictions based on existing knowledge of the municipalities aligned with SNA data. However, these discrepancies could be explained by development in the municipalities in the time following previous investigations. This study shows that snowball sampling is an applicable method to use for mapping hidden populations in educational settings, but also that qualitative studies are needed in order to interpret the networks in real-life contexts.     

Continuous professional development and ECEC quality: Findings from a European systematic literature review

This article presents the findings of an analysis of the effects of CPD initiatives on the quality of the pedagogical practices of ECEC practitioners. It is part of a larger study commissioned by Eurofound and jointly conducted by VBJK, IOE and PPMI (Eurofound, 2015). In order to draw policy-relevant information that might support decision makers in designing effective ECEC policies in their countries, the study reviewed existing research evidence published on this topic not only in English, but also in all the languages currently in use in EU Member States. Therefore, it involved country experts from EU-28 Member States. The research question was framed by the political priorities identified by the Council Conclusions on Early Childhood Education and Care (EU Council, 2011). The systematic literature review methodology elaborated by the EPPI-Centre for informing evidence-based policies in the field of education and social sciences was adopted to review the evidence drawn from primary research studies cross-nationally. The study revealed that long-term CPD interventions integrated into practice, such as pedagogical guidance and coaching in reflection groups, proved to be effective not only in countries with a well-established system of ECEC provision and a high level of qualification requirements for the practitioners, but also in countries with poorly subsidised ECEC systems and low qualification requirements. CPD initiatives based on the active engagement of practitioners and on peer exchanges within a shared scientific framework, proved to be the most effective.     

Increased physical education at school improves the visual-spatial cognition during adolescence

The main goal of this study was to investigate the influence of an established school programme with a high amount of physical education on visual-spatial ability in a secondary school. One hundred and forty-four adolescents, 69 from sport classes and 75 from regular classes, solved a cognitive processing speed task and a mental rotation task. The results reflect a better cognitive processing speed of the boys in the sports classes compared to regular classes but no differences for girls. Concerning the mental rotation performance, we found a significantly better mental rotation performance for boys and girls in the sports classes compared to regular classes due to an increased number of items worked on. Supposedly, motor expertise facilitates mental rotation performance by promoting a faster editing of the task. The benefits of sport classes in normal high school settings have to be investigated in further studies considering the effect on academic performance.