Assessing self-regulated learning in early childhood education : Difficulties, needs, and prospects

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

New media for the promotion of self-regulated learning in higher education

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

Selecting valuable information to remember: age-related differences and similarities in self-regulated learning

It is often necessary to selectively attend to important information, at the expense of less important information, especially if you know you cannot remember large amounts of information. The present study examined how younger and older adults select valuable information to study, when given unrestricted choices about how to allocate study time. Participants were shown a display of point values ranging from 1–30. Participants could choose which values to study, and the associated word was then shown. Study time, and the choice to restudy words, was under the participant's control during the 2-minute study session. Overall, both age groups selected high value words to study and studied these more than the lower value words. However, older adults allocated a disproportionately greater amount of study time to the higher-value words, and age-differences in recall were reduced or eliminated for the highest value words. In addition, older adults capitalized on recency effects in a strategic manner, by studying high-value items often but also immediately before the test. A multilevel mediation analysis indicated that participants strategically remembered items with higher point value, and older adults showed similar or even stronger strategic process that may help to compensate for poorer memory. These results demonstrate efficient (and different) metacognitive control operations in younger and older adults, which can allow for strategic regulation of study choices and allocation of study time when remembering important information. The findings are interpreted in terms of life span models of agenda-based regulation and discussed in terms of practical applications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)(journal abstract)

Easy mathematics, chiefly arithmetic : being a collection of hints to teachers, parents, self-taught students, and adults, and containing a summary or indication of most things in elementary mathematics useful to be known /

Folded table of 3-figure logarithms at end.

Social media integration for the purpose of self-regulated learning

In this study, design based research in a teacher design team is performed. Teachers who intend to use social media to extend their school class teaching, are confronted with a lack of clear guidelines that inform them how to utilize them effectively. In this study, we aim at formulating such guidelines and testing their usefulness. First, opportunities to facilitate self-regulated learning (SRL) in higher education through the use of social media are elaborated in a literature study. Second, these opportunities are translated into teacher education to search for stimulating and limiting factors within the design, resulting in guidelines for effective social media integration.

Factors Related to Study Success at Lappeenranta University of Technology

Tutkimuksen avulla selvitettiin opintomenestykseen liittyviä tekijöitä Lappeenrannan teknillisessä korkeakoulussa (LTKK). Tutkimus liittyi opetuksen ja oppimisen kehitystyöhön tuotantotalouden osastolla. Tutkimuksen viitekehyksen muodosti oppimistuloksia selittävä malli, joka on laadittu Tynjälän (1999) kokoaman mallin perusteella. Tutkimuksen perusjoukko muodostui LTKK:n läsnä olevista perusopiskelijoista lukuun ottamatta jatko- ja vaihto-opiskelijoita. Opiskelijat jaettiin ositetulla otannalla ryhmiin, joissa suoritettiin yksinkertainen satunnaisotanta. Otoskoko oli 645 opiskelijaa. Tiedonkeruumenetelmänä oli Internet-kysely. Aineisto analysoitiin useiden kvantitatiivisten ja kvalitatiivisten menetelmien avulla. Tutkimuksen tuloksia voidaan pitää luotettavina ja tutkimuksen avulla saatiin tärkeää ja hyödyllistä tietoa opintomenestyksestä ja oppimisprosesseista. Tulosten perusteella merkittävimmät oppimistuloksiin positiivisesti liittyvät tekijät ovat syväsuuntautunut opiskelustrategia ja luottaminen omiin kykyihin, ja negatiiviset tekijät ovat oppimisen itsesäätelyn puute, omien kykyjen epäily ja pintasuuntautunut opiskelustrategia. Merkitysorientoituneet, itsesäätelykykyiset opiskelijat menestyivät LTKK:ssa parhaiten.

Pedagogiken i tiden : Om framväxten av nya undervisningsformer under tidigt 2000-tal – exemplet Kunskapsskolan

The study concerns the new educational activities that emerge within the deregulated school system at the beginning of the 21st century. Which ideas guide the work? How is the activity formed? What does one hope to achieve? The aim of the thesis is to explore these educational practices in one of the larges independent schools in Sweden – Kunskapsskolan. The study was based upon a sociocultural perspective on learning and on twenty situated interviews with seven principals. Tools central for the activity in Kunskapsskolan were used as basis for the interviews. A qualitative analysis has been used; one of the methods for analysis applied is phenomenography. The study shows how the school, with the help of centrally developed tools, organised the teaching and the environments for learning that were implemented in all schools of the company. Individually organised teaching is the foundation for all teaching, where the students are expected to be self-regulated and self-correcting and use the tools provided for their learning. With regards to the students’ learning, the teachers’ role is mainly related to individual tutorial conversations. Thereby the tools intended to create freedom and control for the students, also create problems and obstacles. Students who do not learn to use the tools have difficulties in managing their studies. The new tools also affect the teachers’ work. In comparison with other schools, the teachers are expected to submit to the educational model and a centrally controlled planning. The teaching is centrally planned in subject specific stages or subject integrated courses. Teachers can influence the central planning by working collaboratively in teacher teams but not individually. The main commission of the teachers is to follow the educational model decided by the company. In comparison with the traditional school, both teachers and students are given new roles. When learning is individually organised for the students, the teachers are expected to develop their knowledge collectively. According to the results, both students and teachers have different approaches to the system – they can submit to the system or approach it in a more independent and reflective way.

Educational characteristics of students with high or low self-concept

In response to methodological concerns associated with previous research into the educational characteristics of students with high or low self-concept, the topic was re-examined using a significantly more representative sample and a contemporary self-concept measure. From an initial screening of 515 preadolescent, coeducational students in 18 schools, students significantly high or low in self-concept were compared using standardized tests in reading, spelling, and mathematics, and teacher interviews to determine students' academic and nonacademic characteristics. The teachers were not informed of the self-concept status of the students. Compared to students with low self-concept, students with high self-concept were rated by teachers as being more popular, cooperative, and persistent in class, showed greater leadership, were lower in anxiety, had more supportive families, and had higher teacher expectations for their future success. Teachers observed that students with low self-concept were quiet and withdrawn, while peers with high self-concept were talkative and more dominating with peers. Students with lower self-concepts were also lower than their peers in reading, spelling, and mathematical abilities. The findings support the notion that there is an interactive relationship between self-concept and achievement. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Extra-curricular involvement and self-regulation in children

The research investigated the relationship between extra-curricular involvement (ECI) and self-regulated behaviours in 8 to 9 year old children, and identified sex, location, and socio-economic status (SES) differences in their ECI and self-regulatory behaviours. 550 children from 44 schools in Queensland and New South Wales completed the Child Self-Regulatory Process Inventory and questions about their ECI. Nearly 90 percent of students were involved in at least one extra-curricular activity with the mean number of activities being 1.27. Girls and urban children were significantly more involved in school-based extra- curricular activities than their male and rural counterparts; there were no significant differences among SES groups. Urban children and children in the high SES group reported significantly greater involvement for non-school based activities. For the three self- regulation strategies, girls scored significantly higher than boys. Moreover, children in the high ECI group reported significantly greater use of self-regulation strategies than children in both the low and medium ECI groups. Implications of findings are discussed in light of the need for quality extra-curricular programs, especially in terms of emotional climate and self-directed activities.

How Students Study? An Analysis of Learning Strategies in Engineering and Technology Courses

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2014

Upper Secondary Students’ Beliefs About Learning English as a Foreign Language : A contrast between the students’ beliefs and the Swedish curriculum

Learning English as a foreign language (EFL) entails different factors. Language learners use different strategies in order to make their language acquisition successful. Motivation and self-regulated learning are other factors that influence how successful the EFL learner is. This paper aims to analyze the beliefs of upper secondary students in a Swedish school about learning EFL, as well as how their beliefs relate to what is specified in the Swedish curriculum. An analysis of the differences between students’ beliefs and what is stated in the curriculum was done. A survey was conducted on a total of 54 students who were enrolled in the social sciences program. The results showed that students believed that motivation and self-regulated learning were important factors for a successful learning. For them, the language skill of reception is more important than production, which does not correspond with what it is stated in the national curriculum. First and second year students’ beliefs were similar in most of the cases, but not all of them.

Medication competence of nursing students in Finland

Lääkehoidon turvallinen toteuttaminen edellyttää sairaanhoitajalta hyvää lääkehoidon osaamisperustaa. Sairaanhoitajakoulutuksen tehtävänä on mahdollistaa tämän osaamisen kehittyminen. Kansainvälisissä tutkimuksissa on kuitenkin osoitettu, että lääkehoidon opetuksen laajuudessa, sisällössä ja toteutuksessa on vaihtelevuutta. Aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa on raportoitu myös puutteita lääkehoidon osaamisessa sekä sairaanhoitajilla että sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoilla. Koulutuksen ja lääkehoidon osaamisen kehittämiseksi lääkehoidon opetuksen ja sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoiden lääkehoidon osaamisen monipuolinen arviointi ja osaamista selittävien tekijöiden tarkastelu on tarpeen. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli i) arvioida lääkehoidon opetusta suomalaisessa sairaanhoitajakoulutuksessa, ii) arvioida sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoiden lääkehoidon osaamista sekä iii) tunnistaa sairaanhoitajaopiskelijan lääkehoidon osaamiseen yhteydessä olevat tekijät. Tutkimus toteutettiin kolmessa vaiheessa. Ensimmäisessä vaiheessa kahden integroidun kirjallisuuskatsauksen kautta määriteltiin tutkimuksen kohteena oleva sairaanhoitajan lääkehoidon osaaminen ja aiemmin tunnistetut sairaanhoitajaopiskelijan lääkehoidon osaamiseen yhteydessä olevat tekijät. Toisessa vaiheessa toteutettiin valtakunnallinen lääkehoidon opetukseen liittyvä kysely hoitotyön koulutusohjelmasta vastaaville koulutuspäälliköille (n=22) ja opettajille (n=136). Tutkimuksen kolmannessa vaiheessa opintojensa alku‐ (n=328) ja loppuvaiheessa olevien sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoiden (n=338) lääkehoidon osaaminen arvioitiin ja osaamiseen yhteydessä olevat tekijät tunnistettiin. Aineistojen analyysissä käytettiin pääosin tilastollisia menetelmiä. Tulosten perusteella lääkehoidon opetuksen laajuus vaihteli eri ammattikorkeakouluissa, mutta opetuksen sisältö oli kuitenkin monipuolista. Lisää huomiota tulisi kiinnittää lääkehoidon teoreettiseen perustaan ja itsehoitoon sekä lääkehoidon ohjaukseen liittyviin sisältöalueisiin. Opiskelijoiden lääkehoidon osaamista arvioitiin säännöllisesti kaikissa ammattikorkeakouluissa. Sairaanhoitajaopiskelijan lääkehoidon osaamista arvioitiin tutkimuksessa tietotestillä, lääkelaskentatehtävillä ja lyhyiden potilastapausten ratkaisemisen avulla. Lääkehoidon osaamiseen yhteydessä olevia tekijöitä tarkasteltiin kolmesta näkökulmasta: 1) yksilölliset tekijät, 2) kliiniseen oppimisympäristöön ja 3) ammattikorkeakouluun liittyvät tekijät. Lääkehoidon teoreettista osaamista arvioivassa tietotestissä opiskelijat vastasivat keskimäärin 72 prosenttiin kysymyksistä täysin oikein; lääkelaskuista täysin oikein oli 74 % ja potilastapauksissa 57 % valitsi parhaan mahdollisen toimintatavan. Tulosten perusteella sairaanhoitajaopiskelijan osaamista selittivät eniten yksilölliset tekijät. Lääkehoidon osaamiseen yhteydessä olevien tekijöiden välillä oli eroa opintojen alussa ja lopussa. Opintojen alkuvaiheessa opiskelijan aikaisempi opintomenestys oli yhteydessä lääkehoidon osaamiseen, kun taas opintojen loppuvaiheessa siihen olivat yhteydessä opiskelijan kyky itseohjautuvaan oppimiseen sekä opiskelumotivaatio. Johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta tutkimuksen tulosten olevan samansuuntaisia kuin aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa. Lääkehoidon opetuksen laajuus vaihtelee opetussuunnitelmatasolla, mutta täsmällinen arviointi on vaikeaa opetuksen sisältöjen integroimisen takia. Sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoiden lääkehoidon osaaminen oli hieman parempaa kuin aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa, mutta osaamisessa on edelleen puutteita. Lääkehoidon opetuksen ja osaamisen kehittäminen edellyttää kansallista ja kansainvälistä tutkimus‐ ja kehittämisyhteistyötä. Tutkimuksen tulokset tukevat lääkehoidon opetuksen sekä osaamisen tutkimusta ja kehittämistä.

Lifestyles of higher education students: the influence of self- esteem and psychological well-being

Background The transition to higher education can affect lifestyle-related factors. Objectives: To identify lifestyles of higher education students and analyse the influence of self-esteem and psychological well-being. Methods Correlational cross-sectional study. A total of 4,314 students partici- pated in the study. Online questionnaires were used: Estilo de Vida Fantástico (Fantastic Lifestyle Assessment) [1]; Questionário de Bem- estar Psicológico (Psychological General Well-Being Questionnaire) [2], and Escala de auto-estima de Rosenberg (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale [3]. Results Most students (85.3 %) have a healthy lifestyle. Lifestyle is strongly correlated with self-esteem and psychological well-being (p < 0.001). While analysing the association between self-esteem and psycho- logical well-being and the various lifestyle domains according to gen- der, a positive and significant correlation (p < 0.001) was found among female students, except for the Smoking domain (p = 0.393); in relation to psychological well-being, positive correlations were found in all domains. Among male students, positive and significant correlations (p < 0.001) were found in most lifestyle domains and self-esteem, except for the Smoking (p = 0.992), Alcohol and other drugs (p = 0.181) and Other behaviours (p = 0.442) domains; in rela- tion to psychological well-being, positive and significant correlations (p < 0.001) were found in most lifestyle domains, except for the Smoking (p = 0.458) and Other behaviours (p = 0.128) domains. Conclusions Based on the results, higher education institutions should support intervention projects to maintain high levels of psychological well- being and self-esteem, promoting healthy lifestyles.

Aprendizagem autorregulada da leitura: resultados positivos de uma intervenção psicopedagógica

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a pedagogical intervention to improve the reading comprehension of fourth grade students of a public primary school. Two classes of 28 students were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. The students were assessed during three different moments by means of an informative questionnaire, a Learning Strategies Scale and two cloze tests for reading comprehension. The intervention consisted of seven sessions which included learning strategies instruction, reading strategies instruction, meta-cognition activation, motivational support and study guidance. Results showed improvement in meta-cognition and in reading comprehension in both groups. However, gains were higher and more consistent in the experimental group.