Author index

Authors Index

Author index     

Development of an instrument to evaluate the effectiveness of teachers in guiding small groups

In many student-centred curricula, teacherswork in small groups with students. Guidingsmall groups is rather complex. Teachers needto aim to stimulate students in these groupstowards constructive, self-directed, contextualand collaborative learning. It is alsoimportant that teachers demonstrate adequateinterpersonal behaviour towards students. Inthis study, an instrument was developed toprovide teachers with feedback about theirperformance to improve their behaviour. The aimof this study is to report on the development,reliability and validity of an instrument toevaluate teachers' performance in guiding smallgroups.The items of the instrument were based on fivetheoretical dimensions: constructive,self-directed, contextual and collaborativelearning and the teacher's interpersonalbehaviour. Students were asked to fill out thisinstrument and evaluate the performance of theteacher guiding the small group at the end ofseveral courses. The instrument was tested in apilot-study. Confirmatory factor analysis andgeneralizability studies indicated that theinstrument is fairly valid and reliable whensix student responses are available perteacher. Teachers receive detailed feedbackabout their performance indicating strong andweak aspects. Further research is needed todetermine whether this feedback indeed leads toimprovement of teachers' behaviour.     

Strengthening internal quality assurance processes: facilitating student evaluation committees to contribute

Student evaluation committees play a crucial role in internal quality assurance processes as representatives of the student body. However, the students on these committees sometimes experience difficulty in providing constructive and structured feedback to faculty in an environment characterised by a strong power differential between student and staff. This study aimed to evaluate a leadership and quality assurance training implemented for students involved in internal quality assurance. Furthermore, we explored how students give shape to their internal quality assurance role. Students from three health sciences programmes participated in a mixed methods study to evaluate the training and reflect on their internal quality assurance role. Overall, the students were very enthusiastic about the training. Qualitative data analysis indicated that in their internal quality assurance role, students: (1) harnessed the power of the entire student population; (2) tried to create focus and take charge; (3) searched for a common ground with staff, and (4) they explained how they dealt with the power differential. Providing training for students with internal quality assurance roles is a valuable endeavour. Future research needs to investigate further ways to help students to contribute to internal quality assurance processes in higher education.     

Walking the tightrope with an e-portfolio: imbalance between support and autonomy hampers self-directed learning

Teacher coaching is essential to support self-directed learning, but requires a lot of time and energy. This mixed-methods study investigated the effects of using an e-portfolio with a self-coaching protocol and limited teacher coaching on the development of self-directed learning skills and motivation. With regard to self-directed learning, students’ overestimation of performance on learning tasks grew over time, while their ability to formulate points for improvement did not change significantly. With regard to motivation, students’ controlled (i.e. largely extrinsic) motivation increased while their autonomous (i.e. largely intrinsic) motivation decreased. Thematic analysis of interviews demonstrated students needed more support and feedback from their teacher. The use of suboptimal cues for performance assessment and an imperfect balance between autonomy and support hampered self-directed learning and motivation. We recommend providing just-in-time feedback about performance on learning tasks and giving students some autonomy over the choice of learning tasks, to enhance reflection and motivation.     

The relationship between students’ small group activities,time spent on self-study,and achievement

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the contributions students make to the problem-based tutorial group process as observed by their peers, self-study time and achievement. To that end, the Maastricht Peer Activity Rating Scale was administered to students participating in Problem-Based Learning tutorial groups. With this rating scale students had to rate the constructive, collaborative and motivational activities of their peers within the tutorial group. In addition, time spent on self-study was measured with a self-estimation method and achievement was measured with a unit test and a group assignment. A causal model of these variables was developed, in which the three types of activities were assumed to affect time spent on self-study, which would in turn affect unit test scores and group assignment scores. A structural equation modeling analysis indicated acceptable model fit. Especially apparent was the evidence for the causal relations between a student’s constructive activities and his/her unit test score and between a student’s collaborative activities and the group assignment score. On the other hand, time spent on self-study was not affected by the students’ contributions, nor did it have an effect on the unit test score. These results suggest that there are indeed causal relations between a student’s contributions to the tutorial group process and achievement.     

Relevant prior knowledge moderates the effect of elaboration during small group discussion on academic achievement

This study set out to test whether relevant prior knowledge would moderate a positive effect on academic achievement of elaboration during small-group discussion. In a 2 × 2 experimental design, 66 undergraduate students observed a video showing a small-group problem-based discussion about thunder and lightning. In the video, a teacher asked questions to the observing participants. Participants either elaborated by responding to these questions, or did not elaborate, but completed a distraction task after each question. They received either relevant or irrelevant prior knowledge before the discussion. After the discussion, all participants studied a text about thunder and lighting and completed immediate and delayed-recall tests for this text. Elaboration had no main effect on recall, but there was a significant interaction effect between relevant prior knowledge and elaboration. The results suggest that elaboration is helpful for students with more prior knowledge, but harmful for students with less prior knowledge.     

Which cognitive processes support learning during small-group discussion? The role of providing explanations and listening to others

Seventy students participated in an experiment to measure the effects of either providing explanations or listening during small group discussions on recall of related subject-matter studied after the discussion. They watched a video of a small group discussing a problem. In the first experimental condition, the video was stopped at various points in time, enabling the participants to verbally respond to the discussion. In the second condition, they listened to the same discussion, without contributing. In the control condition, they listened to a discussion that was not related to the subject-matter subsequently studied. After the discussion, all participants studied a text and answered questions that tested their recall of information from this text. No immediate differences in recall were found. One month later, participants who had actively engaged in explaining remembered more from the text. The conclusion appears justified that actively providing explanations during a discussion positively affects long-term memory.     

Ten steps to 4C/ID: training differentiation skills in a professional development program for teachers

Instructional Science - This paper describes how an interdisciplinary design team used the Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) model and its accompanying Ten Steps design approach to...