A longitudinal evaluative study of student difficulties with engineering graphics   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

Charles Potter  Errol Van Der Merwe  Wendy Kaufman  Julie Delacour 《European Journal of Engineering Education》2006,31(2):201-214

We have previously reported in this journal that spatial ability influences academic performance in engineering. We have also reported that spatial ability is trainable, and can be increased through instruction focused on using perception and mental imagery in three-dimensional representation. In this article, we present the results of a longitudinal evaluative study of student difficulties with engineering graphics at our university, involving research over a 24-year period. Prior to our intervention, the first-year engineering graphics course at our university had a failure rate of 36% for all engineering students, and failure rates of 80% for African students studying at our university. In terms of outcomes, our study indicates that changed teaching practices have been associated with increased pass rates, which currently average 88% for all students. There is clear evidence that African students no longer experience major difficulties in passing the course. This can be attributed both to changes in teaching methodology, as well as broader contextual changes occurring in South Africa over the period reviewed.

Despite evidence of increased pass rates, our data suggest that there is a continuing relationship between three-dimensional spatial perception and academic performance in engineering graphics, as well as with aggregated first-year engineering marks. For this reason, many students still require academic support. There is also evidence that female students experience difficulties with engineering graphics due to lack of previous technical experience, and use a variety of strategies to overcome their study problems. The most effective appear to be use of peers and friends, and in particular students who had previously taken the course, as mediators of the course content and materials. Those female students who have not taken technical drawing at school level, and female students who do not network with other engineering students, are those at greatest disadvantage.  相似文献   

Cognitive Aging and Computer-Based Instructional Design: Where Do We Go From Here?   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Pascal W. M. Van Gerven  Fred Paas  Huib K. Tabbers 《Educational Psychology Review》2006,18(2):141-157

In this article, themost relevant literature on cognitive aging and instructional design is merged to formulate recommendations for designing computer-based training material aimed at elderly learners. The core message is that researchers and instructional designers do not need to develop special computerized instruction for older adults. Rather, existing principles of general instructional and multimedia design can be evaluated and used to accommodate the needs of elderly learners. Particular attention is given to John Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) and Richard Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML). It is argued that these instructional theories bear important benefits for older learners because they support an efficient use of available cognitive resources. New research directions are suggested to test the implications of these theories for learning in old age.

Pascal W. M. Van GervenEmail:

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A System of Student Feedback: Considerations of Academic Staff Taken into Account     

Veerle Hulpiau  Evelien Masschelein  Luc Van Der Stockt  Piet Verhesschen  Kim Waeytens 《Tertiary Education and Management》2013,19(1):35-45

As a consequence of the suspension of a system of yearly evaluations of individual courses with student questionnaires, the University of Leuven organised a broad consultation of the academic community focussing on what they expect from a system based on student feedback. The study revealed that this community attaches great importance to a clear definition of the goals of student feedback, improvement and accountability, and a logical translation of these goals into a concrete approach. The study also confirmed the need of academic staff for a concrete response to the importance they give to quality improvement and enhancement besides accountability.  相似文献   

Pre-service educators’ dispositions toward inclusive practices for students with emotional and behavioural difficulties     

Justin D. Garwood  Christopher L. Van Loan 《International Journal of Inclusive Education》2013,17(12):1332-1347

ABSTRACT

In response to challenging behaviour from students with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), teachers around the world often label students as challenging, defining them by their disability. Negative views of students with EBD are a barrier to their inclusion and a major challenge for policy in the United States and elsewhere associated with access to the education system for students with disabilities. Pre-service teacher education has been highlighted as an optimum time to instil in pre-service educators a more equitable disposition toward behaviour management and inclusive practices. Therefore, the purpose of the current mixed-methods study was to assess whether or not an undergraduate course focused on relationship-based approaches to positive behaviour support could impact pre-service educators’ dispositions toward inclusive classroom practices for students with EBD. Survey results from 41 pre-service educators indicated that participants made significant improvements in their knowledge and understanding of compassionate behaviour management, intentional relationship building, and establishment of a welcoming classroom environment. Analysis of participants’ written responses to open-ended questions revealed several themes regarding changes in dispositions toward students with EBD. Implications for pre-service educator preparation and inclusion of students with EBD are discussed.  相似文献   

Book Reviews     

A.W. Van Den Ban 《The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension》2013,19(2):219-224

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Sex educators’ attitudes and intentions towards using sexually explicit material: an application of the theory of planned behaviour     

Dana Hack  Stephan Van den Broucke  Emmanuelle Kever 《Sex education》2013,13(6):706-719

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Premature closure and guided reinvention: a case study in a web‐based learning environment     

Anne Bannink  Jet Van Dam 《Teachers and Teaching》2013,19(6):565-586

Just as linguistic errors have provided insights into the nature of linguistic competence(s), detailed analyses of blind spots or marked trajectories in the reflection cycles of novice teachers may provide a window on their underlying beliefs, and thus on relevant zones of proximal development. In this paper we analyse a case study in an experimental web‐based learning environment in which a novice teacher demonstrably just reproduces the assumptions she started out with rather than re‐inspecting them. Having located a problem of motivation uniquely inside the learners’ heads, she pointedly ignores hints in the feedback that her own verbal and nonverbal behaviour in the classroom might be a relevant domain of enquiry. Our findings show the need for structural interventions within a priori hypothesized, linearly ordered, stages in reflection models. We report on two small‐scale experiments that implement suggested changes in the architecture of the web site which yield more context‐sensitive ways of scaffolding reflection. In conclusion we argue that detailed discursive accounts of successful and less successful reflection trajectories are needed to refine and further develop models in teacher thinking.  相似文献   

Safe Schools for LGBTQI Students: How Do Teachers View Their Role in Promoting Safe Schools?     

Stephanie Vega  Heather Glynn Crawford  J-Lynn Van Pelt 《Equity & Excellence in Education》2013,46(2):250-260

This literature review presents insights from existing research on how teachers view their role in creating safe schools for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI) students. Analysis of the literature shows that there are concerns for LGBTQI students’ safety in schools, that educational settings operate from a position of heteronormativity, and that heterosexual teachers are uniquely positioned as part of the dominant group in which they help to define what is normal and what is deviant in school culture. Research findings on the ways heterosexual teachers respond to institutional heteronormativity are summarized and compared. This review of research provides considerations for and recommendations to school administrators and teacher educators to address needs of teachers. Areas for future research also are identified.  相似文献   

THROUGH OUR EYES: HELPING EMERGING TEACHERS SEE THEMSELVES     

Irma J. Van Scoy 《Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education》2013,34(1):43-53

Preservice teachers benefit from opportunities to intentionally and systematically evaluate their practice. Teachers Observational Tools (TOTs) described in this article are useful instruments that effectively guide teaching interns’ and their coaching teachers’ observations. They give education students opportunities to draw conclusions and evaluate their own work rather then relying on coaching teachers’ opinions. These tools are appealing to constructivist teacher educators. These observational techniques have been used effectively by students preparing to teach young children, but could be used effectively by those working with students of all ages. They are popular with preservice teachers and their supervisors and have, additionally, made an important contribution to our University's professional development school partnerships.  相似文献   

August: More than Poppies and Gladioli     

Darlene M. Van Tiem  James L. Moseley 《Performance Improvement》2013,52(7):2-2

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