Development and validation of the IMEB-M,a German questionnaire for assessing topic-specific epistemic beliefs

Epistemic beliefs are individual beliefs about knowledge and knowledge acquisition. Empirical studies indicate that learners’ epistemic beliefs influence their learning processes and success (e.g. motivation, text comprehension, learning strategy selection, grades). Teachers and trainers can support their apprentices in developing preferable epistemic beliefs to facilitate learning. To do this, instructors need information on learners’ current beliefs for lesson planning and monitoring epistemic beliefs development. The following paper reports the validation of a tool for generating this kind of information: the Instrument for Measuring Epistemic Beliefs in Marketing. The instrument validation is based on three studies (Study I: 225 university trained business administration students; Study II: 531 vocationally trained retailers/wholesalers; Study III: 179 vocationally trained bank assistants). It reveals high reliabilities (α values about .700), stable factor structures, and incremental validity in comparison to general epistemic beliefs. The new questionnaire is able to predict grades in marketing and can be used to diagnose apprentices’ epistemic beliefs for adjusting instruction to learners’ preconditions. Findings based on the new instrument indicate that apprentices show partly unfavourable epistemic beliefs. As a result, supporting learners in developing preferable beliefs provides an opportunity to increase their learning success.     

Assuring the competence of lamaze certified childbirth educators

Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educators, their employers, and Lamaze International all share the responsibility of assuring the public of an educator's ongoing competence.     

Developing competence profiles for educators in environmental education organisations in the Netherlands

This qualitative study explores the meanings and possible merits of introducing competence profiles for enhancing professional development in the environmental education sector in the Netherlands. It presents the three most important environmental education jobs and their underlying competencies alongside their core professional challenges, as identified by environmental educators and experts in the Netherlands. The jobs are: education practitioner, programme leader, and organisational manager. The core professional challenges for the education practitioner entail: developing demand‐driven instructional programmes and spontaneous, ad‐hoc programmes, and addressing task and goal orientations. For the programme leader, they are acquisition of new projects, quality assurance, and project management; and for the organisational manager, they are human resource management, financial management, representing the organisation and showing its performance. The results of the study should inform educational institutions how to develop relevant programmes for future environmental educators, and for the professional development of environmental educators in environmental education organisations.     

Development and validation of an instrument for assessing attitudes of high school students about recycling

Recycling and its applications are growing significantly due to the great potential for solving a range of environmental problems in society. Nevertheless, there are currently very few instruments that can provide valid and reliable data on students’ attitudes toward recycling. In this regard, this article focuses on the development and validation of Recycling Attitude Scale (RAS). The items in the RAS were developed initially from the responses to three open-ended items by 53 tenth and eleventh grade students and literature review on recycling attitude. This initial form was pilot tested with 356 tenth and eleventh grade students and then subjected to exploratory factor analysis. Subsequently, the revised version of the scale was administrated to 694 tenth grade students, and the results were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis. The RAS consists of 21 items in three subscales, with responses recorded on a four-point Likert scale, options ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient (α) of the scale was found to be .87. The results indicate that the RAS a potentially valuable tool for both instructors and researchers in Turkey for the assessment of the attitudes toward recycling held by students in secondary education.     

Design and validation of a novel learning tool, the "Anato-Rug," for teaching equine topographical anatomy

Recognition of anatomical landmarks in live animals (and humans) is key for clinical practice, but students often find it difficult to translate knowledge from dissection‐based anatomy onto the live animal and struggle to acquire this vital skill. The purpose of this study was to create and evaluate the use of an equine anatomy rug (“Anato‐Rug”) depicting topographical anatomy and key areas of lung, heart, and gastrointestinal auscultation, which could be used together with a live horse to aid learning of “live animal” anatomy. Over the course of 2 weeks, 38 third year veterinary students were randomly allocated into an experimental group, revising topographical anatomy from the “Anato‐Rug,” or a control group, learning topographical anatomy from a textbook. Immediately post activity, both groups underwent a test on live anatomy knowledge and were retested 1 week later. Both groups then completed a questionnaire to ascertain their perceptions of their learning experiences. Results showed that the experimental groups scored significantly higher than the control group at the first testing session, experienced more enjoyment during the activity and gained more confidence in identifying anatomical landmarks than the control group. There was not a significant difference in scores between groups at the second testing session. The findings indicate that the anatomy rug is an effective learning tool that aids understanding, confidence, and enjoyment in learning equine thorax and abdominal anatomy; however it was not better than traditional methods with regards to longer term memory recall. Anat SciEduc. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

从语用能力透视交际能力的培养

阐释和评价语用能力和交际能力,探讨二者之间的联系,结合实际论证"知识"与"能力"的关系,用以指导外语教学中交际能力的培养.     

Self-perceived action competence for sustainability: the theoretical grounding and empirical validation of a novel research instrument

Abstract

This study contributes to an operationalization of the concept of action competence for sustainability through the theoretical development and empirical validation of a new 12-item Likert-scale questionnaire: the Self-Perceived Action Competence for Sustainability Questionnaire, SPACS-Q. Other scales in environmental and sustainability education (ESE) typically measure concepts such as pro-environmental and sustainability attitudes and behaviors, and therefore do not fully cover the concept of action competence for sustainability. An action differs from a ‘mere’ behavior in that it is voluntary and targeted at bringing about change, which is the overarching goal of ESE. We define action competence as a latent capacity among individuals to act sustainably. We introduce a novel scale measuring this seminal concept. Totally, 614 Swedish adolescents aged 12-19 participated in this study. The scale includes three latent subconstructs: i) knowledge of action possibilities, ii) confidence in one’s own influence, and iii) the willingness to act. Confirmatory factor analyses, reliability measures and investigation of convergent validity reveal a questionnaire instrument with excellent psychometric quality. We put forward that the SPACS-Q is a novel and theory-driven, empirically reliable and valid, instrument, and encourage fellow researchers to use the SPACS-Q when investigating people’s action competence for sustainability in various contexts.     

Establishing the validity and reliability of a modified tool for assessing innovative thinking of engineering students

Abstract

The goal of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of a self-report tool for assessing individual differences in innovative thinking, based on a modification of the ‘innovative behavior scale’. A five-stage study was conducted among engineering students worldwide, who enrolled in a massive open online course in Nanotechnology and Nanosensors. Content validity was established by a panel of experts in engineering education. Construct validity was established through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, indicating a four-factor solution with 13 items loaded above critical level. Known-groups validity revealed differences among learners with distinct expertise. The scale’s stability across populations and over time was confirmed, providing there has been no intentional intervention. Finally, the scale’s concurrent validity was reinforced through data triangulation with actual practice - the fabrication of innovative nanosensors.     

Word associations as a tool for assessing conceptual change in science education

In the present study, we have applied a word association procedure for assessing conceptual change in science education, leaning on the presuppositions of the theory of social representations. The proposed method was applied both before and after a university population ecology course. Our results have shown that the teaching procedure can change representations of stimulus terms, which could be considered analogous to “strong restructuring”. The methodology proved to be quite efficient in monitoring stimulus terms' extentness, as well as associations' centrality, validity, and coherence. The easiness of collecting data, as well as the potential of conducting rather unbiased longitudinal studies can contribute to the attractiveness of the methodology.     

Special educational needs,e-learning and the reflective e-portfolio: implications for developing and assessing competence in pre-service education

Diagnostic and formative assessment practices have been widely endorsed in the educational research literature. This article reports the findings of a small-scale study which investigated the extent to which these practices have been embraced in classroom teaching. The interview data from six lecturers and six students at a polytechnic in Singapore illustrate how lecturers described their strategies and students experienced them. The data indicate that, among the research participants, there was little clear evidence to suggest that diagnostic and formative assessment were coherently conceptualised or strategically applied. Further, instances of pedagogical actions that could have been taken as applications of diagnostic and formative assessment appeared to have occurred serendipitously rather than purposefully. The implications of this for the students’ learning are discussed.     

From digital literacy to digital competence: the teacher digital competency (TDC) framework

Over the years, a variety of frameworks, models and literacies have been developed to guide teacher educators in their efforts to build digital capabilities in their students, that will support them to use new and emerging technologies in their future classrooms. Generally, these focus on advancing students’ skills in using ‘educational’ applications and digitally-sourced information, or understanding effective blends of pedagogical, content and technological knowledge seen as supporting the integration of digital resources into teaching, to enhance subject learning outcomes. Within teacher education institutions courses developing these capabilities are commonly delivered as standalone entities, or there is an assumption that they will be generated by technology’s integration in other disciplines or through mandated assessment. However, significant research exists suggesting the current narrow focus on subject-related technical and information skills does not prepare students adequately with the breadth of knowledge and capabilities needed in today’s classrooms, and beyond. This article presents a conceptual framework introducing an expanded view of teacher digital competence (TDC). It moves beyond prevailing technical and literacies conceptualisations, arguing for more holistic and broader-based understandings that recognise the increasingly complex knowledge and skills young people need to function ethically, safely and productively in diverse, digitally-mediated environments. The implications of the framework are discussed, with specific reference to its interdisciplinary nature and the requirement of all faculty to engage purposefully and deliberately in delivering its objectives. Practical suggestions on how the framework might be used by faculty, are presented.

     

The digital competence framework for primary and secondary schools in Europe

There has been a lot of interest to competence‐based education in research and scholarship. How competence‐based education has been developed and implemented varies across education systems in Europe. The European Commission defines digital competence as one of the eight key competence standards for lifelong learning. The European digital competence framework DigComp provides a comprehensive and exhaustive framework for citizens; it has the potential to be adapted to the needs of specific target groups. Nevertheless, no current research has focused on the need for developing a common framework for primary and secondary education. To address this gap we present a digital competence framework for European primary and secondary students. DigComp and a set of European frameworks are analysed in this paper. Combining categorical analysis with the collaboration of teachers and experts in the field, we define performance criteria and components that contribute to competence by five categories, providing a framework to promote the acquisition and evaluation of digital competence. This framework can be implemented in any EU country, it incorporates the most recent theoretical advances in research on information and communication technologies.     

发展产业集群 提升区域经济核心竞争力

改革开放以来,我国中小企业获得了长足发展,已成为促进经济持续快速发展的主力军.目前,单个中小企业的发展正遭遇融资"瓶颈"、研发创新力量不足和竞争力水平低等问题.而产业集群是一个有较强生命力和创新力的企业组织形式,不仅可以弥补单个中小企业的不足,还将促进区域经济的崛起.     

Problems of,and support for,beginner educators

Abstract

Beginner educators cannot produce their best work and achieve the objectives of the schools that employed them until they have adjusted to the work they are required to do, the environment in which they are to work and the colleagues and learners with whom they have to work. However, it is well known that the transition from student educator to newly qualified educator can be problematic. The best way of supporting and developing novice educators is a clear understanding of their problems and constructive induction programmes that train and sustain them by addressing these issues. The article therefore focuses on the plight of, and support for, beginner educators. It addresses two questions. First, what are the needs and concerns of beginner educators? Second, what strategies can be offered to support beginner educators that will ease their transition into the classroom and reduce attrition early in their careers?     

Evolution and validation of a personal form of an instrument for assessing science laboratory classroom environments

The research reported in this article makes two distinctive contributions to the field of classroom environment research. First, because existing instruments are unsuitable for science laboratory classes, the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI) was developed and validated. Second, a new Personal form of the SLEI (involving a student's perceptions of his or her own role within the class) was developed and validated in conjunction with the conventional Class form (involving a student's perceptions of the class as a whole), and its usefulness was investigated. The instrument was cross-nationally fieldtested with 5,447 students in 269 senior high school and university classes in six countries, and cross-validated with 1,594 senior high school students in 92 classes in Australia. Each SLEI scale exhibited satisfactory internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, and factorial validity, and differentiated between the perceptions of students in different classes. A variety of applications with the new instrument furnished evidence about its usefulness and revealed that science laboratory classes are dominated by closed-ended activities; mean scores obtained on the Class form were consistently somewhat more favorable than on the corresponding Personal form; females generally held more favorable perceptions than males, but these differences were somewhat larger for the Personal form than the Class form; associations existed between attitudinal outcomes and laboratory environment dimensions; and the Class and Personal forms of the SLEI each accounted for unique variance in student outcomes which was independent of that accounted for by the other form.     

The limits of tolerance in assessing the competence of counselling trainees

At a time when there is intense demand for counselling training in Britain, at considerable cost in terms of time and money for students, the pressure for successful outcome weighs heavily on course tutors. At the same time the pressure to ensure that professional standards of competence in counselling are upheld make the process of continual and final assessment critical.As part of a study investigating the assessment of competence of counsellors in training, trainers were asked a series of questions about the ethical difficulties they have encountered in assessing students. Four case scenarios were presented highlighting various dilemmas that can face trainers when aspects of a student's personal development or self awareness potentially pose a threat to the counselling relationship they have with clients. Trainers were also asked whether they had ever passed students studying on their courses against their better judgement or with reservations about their capacity to fully engage with their clients in a competent and professional manner. If so they were also asked how this came about. The response to these questions was varied and interesting. The majority of respondents reported that students had graduated from their courses about whom they had reservations. The response to the varied scenarios produced valuable qualitative data that reflects both differing frames of reference and value systems of trainers and training courses.The information gathered in this enquiry is discussed with reference to recent sparse literature on counselling training, professionalism and ethics. This paper addresses the concerns that counselling trainers agonise over in private, now open for debate in a public arena, namely how tolerant can they afford to be when assessing the competence of their trainees.     

What motivates higher education educators to innovate? Exploring competence,autonomy, and relatedness – and connections with wellbeing

ABSTRACT

Background: High quality tertiary teaching is important for maximising the impact of tertiary education for students, employers and society, as well as for institutional reputation and accountability. Varied interpretations exist regarding what counts as ‘innovative’ tertiary teaching.

Purpose: This study sought to explore the deeper drivers of motivations of tertiary educators to initiate and implement teaching innovations.

Method: Drawing from the data from semi-structured interviews from a wider study into innovative teaching in a tertiary education institution in Aotearoa New Zealand, we analysed the rationale of 13 expert tertiary educators for teaching in novel ways. The framework for analysis was based on Self-Determination Theory: data were analysed in relation to three basic psychological needs known to impact on motivation and wellbeing – competence, autonomy and relatedness.

Findings: Our analysis suggests that tertiary educator motivation to innovate in their teaching is related to feelings of all three needs. Findings suggest that innovative pedagogical change was linked to educators’ need for feelings of competence in relation to subject area content, pedagogy and developing student competence. Enhancing autonomy for the educators themselves, or for their students, was also an important factor motivating innovative practice. Developing relatedness between students, between themselves and students, and between students and society were reported as motivations for innovative teaching. Some teaching innovations were motivated by the educator’s desire for greater personal or student wellbeing.

Conclusions Educators’ motivations for being innovative in their tertiary pedagogical practice encompassed content, pedagogical, personal and social dimensions. None reported that their innovation was motivated by institutional policy or expectations. The reported challenges to innovative teaching practice, including institutional structures and processes, lack of access to specific technologies, and the time needed to develop and implement changed practice, indicate that educators must be strongly committed to making change in their practice to sustain the effort required.