Motivational factors in discussing sexual health with young people with chronic conditions or disabilities

The objective of this study was to identify determinants of professionals’ intention to use the new board game SeCZ TaLK to facilitate sexual health discussions with young people with chronic health conditions and disabilities, and to gauge whether intention led to actual use. A cross-sectional web-based survey of 336 professionals before they received the game sought to measure their intention to use SeCZ TaLK, their attitudes towards discussing sexuality, social professional environment, self-efficacy, opinion on the feasibility of using the game and experience discussing sexuality. Actual use of SeCZ TaLK was assessed at follow-up (N = 105). Professionals with higher self-efficacy and more experience in discussing sexual health were more likely to intend to use the game. At follow-up, intention to use explained 21% of the variance in actual use. SeCZ TaLK fits easily into the daily practice of professionals working in assisted-living and day-care facilities; other professionals experienced greater difficulty integrating the game into their practice. Despite this, SeCZ TaLk was also used across a wide range of settings including in psycho-educational groups, group consultations in hospitals and group therapy in rehabilitation centres. Professionals appreciated the board game SeCZ TaLK, but actual use depended on their own motivation and skills and compatibility with work routines.     

The Effect of Subconscious Performance Goals on Academic Performance

We investigated the impact of subconscious goals on academic performance in two field experiments. We show that unobtrusive priming of goals with regard to achievement motivation by means of a photograph improves performance in different educational contexts. High-school students who were exposed to an achievement-related photograph achieved higher grades than students in two control conditions. This effect was not affected by students’ prior performance. University students exposed to a photograph representing a specific, difficult goal reached even higher performance than students taking the exam with a general achievement photograph. For practice, subconscious goals may form a powerful, cost-effective tool to enhance academic performance. However, varying results across the experiments also prompt the need for further investigations of such effects.     

Teacher design teams as a strategy for professional development: the role of the facilitator

ABSTRACT

The goal of the current study was to explore the role and importance of the facilitator in teacher design teams. The study took place in the context of a pre-service teacher education institution in Belgium, where teacher design teams were set up to facilitate the professional development of teacher educators. The findings from focus-group discussions with team members and semi-structured interviews with facilitators confirm that the perceived importance of a facilitator depends on several factors, such as team characteristics and the design phase. Moreover, we found that a facilitator can fulfil three roles in a dynamic way: (a) providing logistic support, (b) scaffolding the design process, and (c) monitoring the design process. The discussion centres on how these results can be used to support facilitators for successful Teacher Design Teams.     

Effects of Treatment of Hearing Loss in Middle‐Aged Persons with Down Syndrome: A Pilot Study

The extent to which therapeutic intervention of hearing loss may yield better communication and social interaction was investigated in a pilot study during seven months after treatment in twelve hearing impaired subjects with Down syndrome with a mean age of 50.6 years. Although according to spontaneous observations of staff subtle positive reactions to treatment occurred in five subjects, no significant improvement could be measured by means of objective methods. The influence of personal factors like degree of retardation and language development, severity and duration of hearing impairment, age, period of habituation and training, and environmental factors, is to be studied further.     

The role of temporal patterns in students' behavior for predicting course performance: A comparison of two blended learning courses

In higher education, many studies have tried to establish which student activities predict achievement in blended courses, with the aim of optimizing course design. In this paper, we examine whether taking into account temporal patterns of student activity and instructional conditions of a course help to explain course performance. A course with a flipped classroom model (FCM) and a course with an enhanced hybrid model (EHM) were compared. The results show that in both cases, a regular pattern of activity is more effective than low activity. In the FCM, initial low activity is detrimental, whereas in the EHM the strategy of cramming later on in the course can still lead to higher course performance. In the FCM, a combination of face-to-face and online activity led to sufficient course performance, whereas in the EHM, face-to-face or online activity on its own could lead to sufficient course performance. This study offers a methodological and empirical contribution to exploring the role of patterns of activity and instructional conditions for course performance.     

Distance mathematics teaching in Flanders,Germany, and the Netherlands during COVID-19 lockdown

Educational Studies in Mathematics - The COVID-19 pandemic has confronted mathematics teachers with the challenge of developing alternative teaching practices—in many cases at a distance...     

The process of early self-control: an observational study in two- and three-year-olds

Metacognition and Learning - Early individual differences in self-control are predictive of numerous developmental outcomes, such as physical health and risk-taking behaviours. Therefore, it is...