Making inquiry-based science learning visible: the influence of CVS and cognitive skills on content knowledge learning in guided inquiry

ABSTRACT

Many science curricula and standards emphasise that students should learn both scientific knowledge and the skills associated with the construction of this knowledge. One way to achieve this goal is to use inquiry-learning activities that embed the use of science process skills. We investigated the influence of scientific reasoning skills (i.e. conceptual and procedural knowledge of the control-of-variables strategy) on students’ conceptual learning gains in physics during an inquiry-learning activity. Eighth graders (n?=?189) answered research questions about variables that influence the force of electromagnets and the brightness of light bulbs by designing, running, and interpreting experiments. We measured knowledge of electricity and electromagnets, scientific reasoning skills, and cognitive skills (analogical reasoning and reading ability). Using structural equation modelling we found no direct effects of cognitive skills on students’ content knowledge learning gains; however, there were direct effects of scientific reasoning skills on content knowledge learning gains. Our results show that cognitive skills are not sufficient; students require specific scientific reasoning skills to learn science content from inquiry activities. Furthermore, our findings illustrate that what students learn during guided inquiry activities becomes visible when we examine both the skills used during inquiry learning and the process of knowledge construction. The implications of these findings for science teaching and research are discussed.     

What factors motivate male and female Generation Z students to become engaged as peer teachers? A mixed-method study among medical and dental students in the gross anatomy course

Peer-teaching is widely established in anatomy teaching and offers well-described advantages. Nevertheless, at Ulm University, Germany, a reduction in the number of peer teacher applicants for the dissection course was observed. This study examined factors related to the attractiveness of a position as a peer teacher for Generation Z students. Participants of the gross anatomy course were asked to evaluate factors influencing the attractiveness of a peer teacher position using a six-point Likert scale. Additionally, open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively. Sex-specific subgroup analysis was performed comparing students of low and high motivation to apply for a tutorship. Of the 374 students who participated in this study (response rate 53%), 38% stated that they were intending to apply as peer teachers. Data indicated that students displayed intrinsic motivation to apply for a tutorship because of the opportunity to improve their anatomy knowledge and/or their pleasure in teaching. In contrast, extrinsic factors like remuneration of the tutorship and its relevance for their curriculum vitae were least important. Anatomy educators underestimated the demotivating factor of the workload associated with the tutorship and encouraged students less frequently to apply than peer teachers. Only minor sex-specific differences could be identified. Nevertheless, female students were encouraged less frequently to apply than their male peers. In summary, Generation Z students apply as peer teachers because they are enthusiastic about the task. To motivate students to commit to extracurricular activities like a tutorship, anatomy educators should actively encourage students—particularly females—more frequently to apply.     

The development of children at familial risk for dyslexia: Birth to early school age

Children at risk for familial dyslexia (n = 107) and their controls (n = 93) have been followed from birth to school entry in the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal study of Dyslexia (JLD) on developmental factors linked to reading and dyslexia. At the point of school entry, the majority of the at-risk children displayed decoding ability that fell at least 1 SD below the mean of the control group. Measures of speech processing were the earliest indices to show both group differences in infancy and also significant predictive associations with reading acquisition. A number of measures of language, including phonological and morphological skill collected repeatedly from age three, revealed group differences and predictive correlations. Both the group differences and the predictive associations to later language and reading ability strengthened as a function of increasing age. The predictions, however, tend to be stronger and the spectrum of significant correlations wider in the at-risk group. These results are crucial to early identification and intervention of dyslexia in at-risk children.     

Adolescents’ Social Networks: Exploring Different Patterns of Socio-Digital Participation

The purpose of the study was to assess adolescents’ participation in various socio-digital activities by using a self-report questionnaire, a social networking questionnaire, and interviews. The participants (n?=?253) were grade 6–9 students from a multicultural lower-secondary school in Finland. Three profiles of socio-digital participation were identified: friendship oriented basic participators (n?=?161), gaming-oriented participators (n?=?61), and creative participators (n?=?31) intensively engaged in diverse socio-digital practices. The analyses revealed systematic differences in social networking relations as a function of adolescents’ social-digital participation profile and gender. The reciprocal values in hanging out, liking, and media multiplexity were highest for creative participators, whereas gaming-oriented participators were less socially active than their peers. The socio-digital expertise of creative participators was socially recognized by a larger group of peers than that of the other groups. The study produces methodological tools suitable for collecting systematic longitudinal data of socio-digital practices of larger groups of adolescents in future.     

A framework for assessing market entry opportunities for internet‐based TV

Abstract

The advent of the Internet alleviates the access bottleneck to TV distribution channels and softens licensing requirements. This lowers entry barriers to TV markets via the Internet in various forms. This paper takes the German TV sector as an example to analyse the attractiveness of TV markets for new entrants. A sequential framework for entering TV markets is introduced. The skills set of an Internet‐based TV provider for such an entry is examined. Technical feasibility, legal aspects, and potential sources of revenue are considered.

Potential above average profits due to the market's oligopolistic structure, as well as an increased contestability thanks to lower market entry barriers seem to render the German TV market attractive for new entrants. In early 2002, Internet‐based TV still faced severe technical and legal constraints. The analysis suggests that once these constraints have been overcome, the Internet could be an attractive additional distribution channel for some types of television content. While existing revenue sources from the TV sector are expected to be transferable to a certain degree, the value of innovative revenue sources based on online sales cannot yet be determined. This value will depend on the future acceptance of interactivity by the viewer (e. g. Owen 1999).     

Searching for pedagogical adaptations by exploring teacher’s tacit knowledge and interactional co-regulation in the education of pupils with autism

The purpose of this article is to introduce a research design, which aims to find useful pedagogical adaptations for teaching pupils with autism. Autism is a behavioural syndrome characterised by disabilities and dysfunctions in interaction and communication, which is why it is interesting to explore educational processes particularly from an interactional perspective in a class with pupils with autism. The main focus is in exploring teacher’s tacit knowledge and interactional co-regulation between the teacher and the pupils. This study is a part of a larger Finnish project, which involves the education of pupils with autism in the primary school system. In the study described, six video recordings (each about 30?min) were taken under analysis due to the uniqueness in the research context of special education: the videos are rare in that they involve only the teacher and her six pupils with autism; no helpers are present in the classroom. This study explored the phenomenon ethnomethodologically. This study indicated that it is possible to apply a general theory of interaction when exploring people with autism, although the main diagnostic criteria of autism are disabilities in social interaction and communication. It was possible to extract episodes from the behaviour of the teacher that showed her tacit knowledge becoming concrete. These results could be taken into consideration when planning and carrying out teaching in different contexts and in teacher education, too.     

From e‐learning space to e‐learning place

In this paper, it is argued that e‐learning environments are currently more like ‘buildings’, ie, learning spaces, rather than ‘schools’, ie, places for learning. The concepts originated from architecture and urban design, where they are used both to distinguish static spaces from inhabited places, and more importantly, as design objectives. The transformation from space to place is supported and enabled by social interactions between the (learning) community members. We argue that this distinction between the concepts explains some of the problems with current e‐learning systems and propose issues to consider when designing new systems. By acknowledging the importance and characteristics of a place, designers and researchers can justify the need and support for social interactions in learning space, consequently enabling social community building in e‐learning environments, and most importantly, supporting the development of a user‐friendly and motivating e‐learning place.