The development of a questionnaire on metacognition for students in higher education

Interest in the role of metacognition has been steadily rising in most forms of education. This study focuses on the construction of a questionnaire for measuring metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive regulation and metacognitive responsiveness among students in higher education and the subsequent process of testing to determine its validity.

Purpose

The aim of the study was to construct an original instrument for measuring features of metacognition, henceforth referred to as the Awareness of Independent Learning Inventory (AILI), and further to establish the similarities and differences between this model and existing instruments for measuring metacognition.

Sample

The AILI questionnaire was distributed to 1058 students in various types of Teacher Training Institutes in the Netherlands and Belgium. The abridged English version of the questionnaire was administered to another sample of 729 students reading Economics and Business Administration at the University of Maastricht in the south of the Netherlands.

Design and methods

The AILI instrument was constructed on the basis of a facet design along two dimensions: components of metacognition and topics of concern to students in higher education. The data gathered with the instrument was analyzed by means of a generalisability study and a decision study, respectively. The validity of the instrument was investigated by using confirmatory factor analysis.

Results

The generalisability study showed that the reliability of the instrument was satisfactory. The decision study revealed that the number of items included in the questionnaire could be reduced substantially by leaving out two components of one of the dimensions in the facet design, without losing too much generalisability. The validity study showed that there was a considerable level of congruity between parts of the AILI questionnaire and the relevant parts of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ).

Conclusions

The AILI questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring metacognitive knowledge, regulation and responsiveness. It is suitable for use in the evaluation of the effects of interventions that purport to increase metacognitive knowledge, regulation and responsiveness of students in higher education.     

Development of decoding,reading comprehension,vocabulary and spelling during the elementary school years

The goal of this study was (1) to investigate the development of decoding(efficiency), reading comprehension, vocabulary and spelling during theelementary school years and (2) to determine the differences between poor,average and good performers with regard to the development of theseskills. Twice each year two standardized tests for each skill wereadministered. For two successive periods, one of the tests for each skill wasthe same. To describe the development in terms of a latent variable evolvingacross grades, the structured-means version of the structural equationmodel was used. The growth was expressed in terms of effect size. Withrespect to the first question, clear seasonal effects were found for readingcomprehension, vocabulary and spelling, while the seasonal effect fordecoding efficiency was restricted to the early grades. Progress tended tobe greater from fall to spring than from spring to fall. For decodingefficiency, and to a lesser degree for vocabulary and spelling, growthshowed a declining trend across grades. For reading comprehension, theprogress in grade 2 was lower than the progress in grade 3, but progresswas declining across higher grades. With respect to the second question,it appeared that initially low performers on reading comprehension,vocabulary and spelling tended to show a greater progress, especially inperiods where the largest amount of instruction was given. Although it wasfound that the low, medium and high ability groups remain in the sameorder, as far as their means are concerned, these findings do not confirmthe existence of a Matthew effect for reading comprehension, vocabularyand spelling. For decoding efficiency no clear differential effect could befound: the gap between the poor and good performers did not widen overtime for this skill.     

Relating Latent Change Score and Continuous Time Models

The primary goal of this article is to demonstrate the close relationship between 2 classes of dynamic models in psychological research: latent change score models and continuous time models. The secondary goal is to point out some differences. We begin with a brief review of both approaches, before demonstrating how the 2 methods are mathematically and conceptually related. It will be shown that most commonly used latent change score models are related to continuous time models by the difference equation approximation to the differential equation. One way in which the 2 approaches differ is the treatment of time. Whereas there are theoretical and practical restrictions regarding observation time points and intervals in latent change score models, no such limitations exist in continuous time models. We illustrate our arguments with three simulated data sets using a univariate and bivariate model with equal and unequal time intervals. As a by-product of this comparison, we discuss the use of phantom and definition variables to account for varying time intervals in latent change score models. We end with a reanalysis of the Bradway–McArdle longitudinal study on intellectual abilities (used before by McArdle & Hamagami, 2004) by means of the proportional change score model and the dual change score model in discrete and continuous time.     

Stimulating independent learning: a quasi‐experimental study on portfolio

A portfolio model was developed which can serve as an alternative to the literature study with practical processing, the predominant dissertation model used in teacher education courses in Flanders. Using a pre‐ and post‐test quasi‐experimental design with 174 teacher students and 44 supervisors, we examined whether the use of portfolio as a dissertation model has a greater effect on the students’ capacity for independent learning than the literature study with practical processing, using three questionnaires. The research shows that portfolio results in students acquiring greater metacognitive knowledge. It also appears that students only get the chance to use their metacognitive skills when supervisors give them sufficient autonomy. However, supervisors experience loss of control and therefore tend to restrict students’ autonomy. This leads us to the paradox of independent learning: students will only learn independently when they are given the opportunity to learn independently. Supervisors need to transfer learner control.     

Aiming for service excellence: Implementing a plan for customer service quality at a blended service desk

ABSTRACT

This article discusses a public service review and redesign that resulted in a blended service desk combining reference and circulation functions, staffed by nonlibrarians. The redesign implements a number of organizational structures that encourage service excellence, as found in the business literature and in examples of nonlibrary organizations that excel in customer service. The article identifies key organizational structures that have been shown to support or hinder good service and discusses the process of implementing these structures in practice and the results of an assessment process designed around determining success.     

Effects of Art Education in Secondary Schools on Cultural Participation in Later Life

This paper reports on the effects of art education in secondary schools on the cultural participation of Dutch students 10–20 years after leaving school. We draw our conclusion from a sample survey among 1034 students from 31 schools, half of whom took art as a subject of examination. Art examination subjects were more often chosen by students who were already active in the arts, come from culturally active families, and who more often chose languages and other humanities in their examination package. However, in spite of their affiliation with art prior to choosing an examination package, training in the arts during secondary school was found to add to their participation in cultural activities ten to twenty years later. The effects are restricted to the same art discipline as the art lessons attended, and apply to both receptive [enjoying art of artists] and productive [producing art] cultural participation.     

Teacher educators developing professional roles: frictions between current and optimal practices

This article reports on a study of the professional learning of Flemish teacher educators. In the first part, an exemplary survey was conducted in order to compile an inventory of the existing types of education initiatives for teacher educators in Flanders. An electronic survey was then conducted in order to identify the professional needs of teacher educators in Flanders. The third part of the study focused on how the professional learning of teacher educators can evolve throughout their careers. This topic was examined by organising focus groups with teacher educators at two international conferences for teacher educators. Flemish teacher educators devote considerable attention to professional learning, and they are able to meet their needs through the broad range of existing courses and programmes offered within the educational system. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement in the alignment of professional learning with the needs and career stages of teacher educators.     

(Un)Expected Scholars: Counter-Narratives from Two (Boys) Men of Color Across the Educational Pipeline

There has been an upsurge of attention on the achievements and struggles of boys and men of color in the U.S. The recent flood of attention to police-involved shootings of African Americans and other people of color only exacerbate the need for a focus on this particular population. The White House announcement of My Brother's Keeper in 2014 aims to recognize and respond to the crisis facing boys and men of color. In addition, the work of various scholars has continued not only to acknowledge the crisis, but also advocate, push, and enact policies and practices relevant to boys and men of color. Empirical research has made clear the disparities in academic engagement and achievement, disciplinary practices, and the overall student experience. Less common, however, are the voices of students who once attended those schools, grew up in challenging environments, yet went on to become academically accomplished. The purpose of this article is to provide counter-narratives—those of the two authors—in an effort to give voice to the formative moments and opportunities that pushed us along our uncertain paths to earning doctorates. Given our approach, critical race theory (CRT) provides the guiding theoretical lens for this work. It is our hope that this article can help educators and students remain steadfast in their journeys and, to a degree, use counter-narratives as a practical and pedagogical tool. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.     

Maximum Likelihood Dynamic Factor Modeling for Arbitrary N and T Using SEM

This article has 3 objectives that build on each other. First, we demonstrate how to obtain maximum likelihood estimates for dynamic factor models (the direct autoregressive factor score model) with arbitrary T and N by means of structural equation modeling (SEM) and compare the approach to existing methods. Second, we go beyond standard time series analysis (T large and N = 1) and conventional SEM (N large and T = 1 or small) by integrating both approaches. The resulting combined model offers a variety of new modeling options including a direct test of the ergodicity hypothesis, according to which the factorial structure of an individual observed at many time points is identical to the factorial structure of a group of individuals observed at a single point in time. Third, we illustrate the flexibility of SEM time series modeling by extending the approach to account for complex error structures. We end with a discussion of current limitations and future applications of SEM-based time series modeling for arbitrary T and N.