Frontline Learning Research (E-Journal - EARLI, European Association for Research on Learning)
Not a member yet
256 research outputs found
Sort by
The differential effect of perspective-taking ability on profiles of cooperative behaviours and learning outcomes
Full text linkThe present study aims to provide a systematic understanding of how perspective-taking ability contributes to primary-school students’ cooperative behaviours and learning outcomes. The present study is frontline as we combined person-oriented (e.g., describing patterns of behaviours based on individual characteristics), process-oriented (e.g., examining factors affecting the quality of cooperative behaviours), and effect-oriented (e.g., examining the effect of cooperative learning on individual learning outcomes) analytical approaches within one research framework. In addition, we adhered to the multi-dimensional nature of perspective-taking ability and differentiated between social and cognitive perspective-taking ability while taking into account the contribution of perspective-taking ability at both the individual level and group level (i.e., heterogeneous and homogeneous perspective-taking ability groups) to cooperative behaviour profiles and learning outcomes of primary-school children. Based on transcribed episodes of interaction of 115 fifth-grade students, four different profiles of cooperative behaviours were discerned: captains, hard workers, switchers, and passive participants. We found that these profiles are related to perspective taking conceptualized at the group level, but not to individual-level perspective-taking ability. Profile membership, cognitive perspective-taking ability, and group-level perspective-taking ability could not predict students’ learning outcomes. Social perspective-taking ability and reading comprehension did positively predict learning outcomes. Our findings add to existing knowledge as they suggest that the influence of perspective-taking ability on cooperative behaviours and learning outcomes is susceptible to the conceptualization (i.e., cognitive vs. social) and measurement level (i.e., individual vs. group level) of perspective-taking ability
Insufficient Effort Responding in Surveys Assessing Self-Regulated Learning: Nuisance or Fatal Flaw?
Full text linkDespite concerns about their validity, self-report surveys remain the primary data collection method in the research of self-regulated learning (SRL). To address some of these concerns, we took a data set comprised of college students’ self-reported beliefs and behaviours related to SRL, assessed across three surveys, and examined it for instance of a specific threat to validity, insufficient effort responding (IER; Huang, Curran, Keeny, Poposki, & DeShon, 2012). Using four validated indicators of IER, we found the rate of IER to vary between 12-16%. Critically, while we found that students characterised as inattentive and attentive differed in some basic descriptive statistics, the inclusion of inattentive students within the data set did not alter more substantial inferences or conclusions drawn from the data. This study provides the first direct examination of the impact of respondents’ attention on the validity of SRL data generated from self-report surveys
How Teachers integrate Dashboards into their Feedback Practices
Full text linkIn technology empowered classrooms teachers receive real-time data about students’ performance and progress on teacher dashboards. Dashboards have the potential to enhance teachers’ feedback practices and complement human-prompted feedback that is initiated by teachers themselves or students asking questions. However, such enhancement requires teachers to integrate dashboards into their professional routines. How teachers shift between dashboard- and human-prompted feedback could be indicative of this integration. We therefore examined in 65 K-12 lessons: i) differences between human- and dashboard-prompted feedback; ii) how teachers alternated between human- and dashboard-prompted feedback (distribution patterns); and iii) how these distribution patterns were associated with the given feedback type: task, process, personal, metacognitive, and social feedback. The three sources of feedback resulted in different types of feedback: Teacher-prompted feedback was predominantly personal and student-prompted feedback mostly resulted in task feedback, whereas dashboard-prompted feedback was equally likely to be task, process, or personal feedback. We found two distribution patterns of dashboard-prompted feedback within a lesson: either given in one sequence together (blocked pattern) or alternated with student- and teacher-prompted feedback (mixed pattern). The distribution pattern affected the type of dashboard-prompted feedback given. In blocked patterns, dashboard-prompted feedback was mostly personal, whereas in mixed patterns task feedback was most prevalent. Hence, both sources of feedback instigation as well as the distribution of dashboard-prompted feedback affected the type of feedback given by teachers. Moreover, when teachers advanced the integration of dashboard-prompted feedback in their professional routines as indicated by mixed patterns, more effective types of feedback were given
Expanding the notion of global learning: Turkish-Dutch teens’ networked configurations for learning
Full text linkDigital technology facilitate interactions between learners and resources at a global level. New learner prototypes are therefore proposed, such as the notion of the global learner. In this paper, we argue that these prototypes of global learning often do not account for the variety of ways in which youth use technology and see themselves as learners. We take the example of Turkish-Dutch youth to show empirically how they represent an alternative for what is often seen as the prototype of what a global learner is. We combine ego-network methodology with in-depth interviews to provide a detailed account of how 25 Turkish-Dutch teens see themselves as learners, how they make use of technology to pursue their interests, how they reach out to others and media resources, and how they form selves in relation to the values and norms of their (transnational) community. Using the notion of ‘learner identity’, the study shows how these teens develop learner identities that are built on specific and culturally informed notions of ‘what a learning subject is’ that challenge the universality of the autonomous subjectivity implied in prototypical notions of the global learner. In addition, the study shows how through digital affordances, unique networked (trans)national connectivities are formed, which are informed by these teens’ specific socio-cultural position. We argue that by acknowledging these alternative ways of what a learning subject is, and how connections are formed, we can proactively incorporate them as useful models of global learning
Core and activity-specific functional participatory roles in collaborative science learning
Full text linkPrior research on the significance of roles in collaborative learning has explored their impact when they are pre-assigned to group members. In this article, it is argued that focusing on assigned roles downplays the spontaneous, emergent, and interactional nature of roles in small task groups and that this focus has limited the development of generalizable frameworks aimed at understanding the impact of roles in and across collaborative learning settings. A case is built for the importance of focusing on the functional participatory roles enacted during collaborative learning and for conceptualising these roles as emergent, dynamic, and evolving in situ (first claim). Further, a flexible conceptual framework for the analysis and understanding of such roles across diverse collaborative science-learning activities is proposed, based on the assumption that during collaborative learning, both core and activity-specific roles are enacted (second claim). The core roles resemble each other across activities as they associate closely with the nature of the science discipline itself, whereas the activity-specific roles vary across activities as their emergence is dependent on the affordances, demands, and characteristics of the particular activity and environment. Data from three diverse science-learning environments, including four totally or partly student-led collaborative science activities, were scrutinized to establish the degree of empirical support for this assumption and, thereby, the conceptual usefulness of the proposed framework. The contributions of the framework for future research of collaborative science learning are discussed
The Promise and Pitfalls of Self-report: Development, research design and analysis issues, and multiple methods
Full text linkAs a prelude to this special issue on the promise and pitfalls of self-report, this article addresses three issues critical to its current and future use. The development of self-report is framed in Vertical (improvement) and Horizontal (diversification) terms, making clear the role of both paths for continued innovation. The ongoing centrality of research design and analysis in ensuring that self-reported data is employed effectively is reviewed. Finally, the synergistic use of multiple methods is discussed. This article concludes with an overview of the SI's contributions and a summary of the SI's answers to its three central questions: a) In what ways do self-report instruments reflect the conceptualizations of the constructs suggested in theory related to motivation or strategy use? b) How does the use of self-report constrain the analytical choices made with that self-report data? c) How do the interpretations of self-report data influence interpretations of study finding
Measurement and the Study of Motivation and Strategy Use: Determining If and When Self-report Measures are Appropriate
Full text linkThe goal of this special issue is to examine the use of self-report measures in the study of motivation and strategy use. This commentary reviews the articles contained in this special issue to address the primary objective of determining if and when self-report measures contribute to understanding these major constructs involved in self-regulated learning. Guided by three central questions, this review highlights some of the major, emergent themes regarding the use of self-report. The issues addressed include attention to evidence for construct validity, the need to consider broad methodological factors in the collection and interpretation of self-report data, and the innovations made possible by modern tools for administering and analyzing self-report measures. Conclusions forward a set of conditions for the use of self-report measures, which center on the role of theoretically-driven choices in both the selection of self-report measures and analysis of the data these measures generate
“I’m the best! Or am I?”: Academic self-concepts and self-regulation in kindergarten
Full text linkIn this paper, we examined how kindergarteners’ self-evaluation biases are related to behavioural self-regulation (SR) and learning goal orientation (GO). According to educational research and practice, fostering high and optimistic academic self-concepts promotes the setting of challenging goals and initiates effective behavioural SR processes. However, research on metacognition states that it is a match between academic self-concept and abilities that provides the optimal conditions for behavioural SR and a learning GO. There is theoretical and empirical evidence in favour of both positions, yet the correlates of self-evaluative tendencies may differ with children’s different levels of achievement, which are rarely considered. This cross-sectional study used response surface analysis, an innovative research methodology capable of assessing the complex interaction of academic self-concept and academic abilities on the behavioural SR and GO of 147 kindergarten children (M = 6.47 years, SD = 0.39 years). Polynomial regression models were used to test the presence of a fit pattern in empirical data and offer a new perspective on the interaction of academic self-concept and academic abilities. Results showed that a fit is generally associated with better behavioural SR and a learning GO but that correlates of academic self-concept differ with different achievement levels and outcome measures. This study extends current knowledge, as it offers important insights on how to conceptualise and pursue questions regarding self-concepts and behavioural SR. At an applied level, the findings indicate that interventions with kindergarteners that target SR should take the interactions between self-evaluation biases and ability level into account
Reflective Mediation: Toward a Sociocultural Conception of Situated Reflection
Full text linkThe objective of the article is to contribute to the development of a sociocultural conception of situated reflection that can be used in empirical studies of reflection, and that can be utilised in development of educational practices. Based on a development of the concept of 'reflective mediation', a conception of reflection is developed from a situated understanding of learning processes. Taking a situated approach, the concept of reflective mediation describes how to understand reflection as an integral part of the immediate activities of the individual. A theoretical framework is developed for empirical studies on reflective activities of higher education students. The framework can be utilised by teachers to develop teaching methods in support of reflection in student learning. The concept of reflective mediation is developed from a combination of pragmatism and cultural historical activity theory, and it covers seven categories of learning and reflection processes. The article makes a distinction between three forms of mediation, two forms of empirical reflection, and two forms of theoretical reflection. The article concludes in a discussion of the implications of the theoretical framework for educational research and for teaching practices within higher education.
The article is frontline in the sense that it aims at developing a theoretical conception of situated reflection by combining cultural historical activity theory with pragmatism and theories of situated learning. The novelty of the article is to consider levels of human activity as levels of reflection and to introduce the distinction between theoretical and empirical reflection. Further, the article provides arguments that awareness of objects and instruments of human activity forms the basis of reflective processes. Finally, the article explains how reflection can connect levels of human activity and learning
Happy-Victimizing in Adolescence and Adulthood: Empirical Findings and Further Perspectives
Full text linkResearch on the Happy Victimizer Phenomenon has mainly focused on preschool and schoolchildren, with a few studies also including adolescents and young adults. The main finding is that young children, despite knowing that harming somone is wrong, ascribe positive feelings to perpetrators and offer hednonistic justifications, interpreted as a lack of moral motivation. Only at age 9 or 10 do almost all children ascribe negative feelings to perpetrators. According to the developmental transition hypothesis, the phenomenon should disappear in late childhood. However, reasoning patterns resembling that of the Happy Victimizer have been found in studies with adolescents and young adults, challenging that hypothesis. We present findings from four studies involving adolescents and young adults to give an overview of the patterns found and the measurement approaches used. Finally, we critically discuss the limitations of those studies and raise some core theoretical and methodological issues that remain to be resolved, some of them being addressed in the remaining papers of this special issue. The four studies and the paper are innovative in that (a) situational factors are included in the measurement of the moral reasoning patterns; (b) new reasoning patterns are identified in the context of an extended measurement approach; and (c) the moral reasoning patterns are investigated in their own right and not used as potential explanatory variables for behaviour, as has been the main focus of research on the Happy Victimizer Phenomenon