The effect of sequence of instruction on students' cognitive preferences and recall in the context of a problem-oriented method of teaching

This experiment investigated two possible sequences in which biochemical theory and the clinical applications of such theory can be presented to pre-clinical medical students. The dependent variables were the students' cognitive preferences and their ability to recall the contents of the instruction. Seventy-two students were randomly allocated to either a Theory-to-application or an Application-to-theory condition. The results indicated that the Application-to-theory sequence of instruction produced a significantly greater preference for being taught the specific facts of pre-clinical medical science, as opposed to being taught about the clinical applications. However, this was achieved at the expense of a significantly reduced ability to actually recall the theory which was taught.     

Metasearch accuracy for letters and symbols: do our intuitions match empirical reality?

The “familiarity effect” (Shen and Reingold, Perception & Psychophysics 63(3):464–475, 2001) is a phenomenon in which unfamiliar symbols perceptually “pop-out” when placed among familiar symbols (e.g., letters). In contrast, searching for familiar symbols among unfamiliar symbols is more challenging. Failure to account for effects such as these when predicting search performance could lead to overconfidence and error. This study investigated metacognitive awareness of the familiarity effect by asking participants to rate the speed and accuracy of search before they searched for either letter or symbol targets among letter or symbol distractors. Feature overlap between target and distractor and target presence or absence were also manipulated to provide concurrent cues to task difficulty. This study examined metacognitive awareness of the “familiarity effect,” and extended the findings from an earlier metasearch study (Redford et al., Memory and Cognition 39:1534–1545, 2011). Metacognition was accurate with respect to the familiarity effect. However, participants incorrectly predicted that they would detect a target’s absence faster than its presence. These findings suggest that people have metacognitive awareness for some aspects of visual search, even when patterns of search performance are complex and potentially counterintuitive. However, limitations exist in our metacognitive awareness of visual search. The results are discussed in relation to Koriat’s cue utilization framework and heuristic-based metacognition.     

SOCIAL CAPITAL, SOCIAL INCLUSION AND CHANGING SCHOOL CONTEXTS: A SCOTTISH PERSPECTIVE

ABSTRACT:  This paper synthesises a collaborative review of social capital theory, with particular regard for its relevance to the changing educational landscape within Scotland. The review considers the common and distinctive elements of social capital, developed by the founding fathers – Putnam, Bourdieu and Coleman – and explores how these might help to understand the changing contexts and pursue opportunities for growth.     

Concept mapping improves metacomprehension accuracy among 7th graders

Two experiments explored concept map construction as a useful intervention to improve metacomprehension accuracy among 7th grade students. In the first experiment, metacomprehension was marginally better for a concept mapping group than for a rereading group. In the second experiment, metacomprehension accuracy was significantly greater for a concept mapping group than for a control group, while a group of students who were given already constructed concept maps had accuracy between these two groups. In both experiments, control groups had poor metacomprehension accuracy. That is, they performed worse on tests they predicted better performance and performed better on tests they predicted worse performance. Although constructing concept maps did not produce the same high level of accurate monitoring previously reported in the literature, it still reduced the illusion of knowing.     

Writing essays: does self-efficacy matter? The relationship between self-efficacy in reading and in writing and undergraduate students’ performance in essay writing

Self-efficacy beliefs have been identified as associated with students’ academic performance. The present research assessed the relationship between two new self-efficacy scales (self-efficacy in reading [SER] and self-efficacy in writing [SEW]) and students’ writing performance on a piece of assessed written coursework. Using data from first and second year undergraduate psychology students at a UK university (N?=?145), the results showed that both SER and SEW were related to actual writing performance. Overall the results support the importance of the concept of self-efficacy in relation to student performance. We discuss the relevance of self-efficacy on students’ perceptions and self-regulations.