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Research on learning strategies and learning motivation in different educational contexts has provided valuable insights, but in this field, low-educated adults remain an understudied population. This study addresses this gap by means of a person-oriented approach and seeks to investigate whether quantitatively and qualitatively different learner profiles can be distinguished among low-educated adults in second-chance education (SCE) by relating three key components of learning: learning motivation, regulation and processing strategies. 512 adult learners of six SCE-institutions filled in a Learning and Motivation questionnaire. Latent profile analysis shows the presence of motivational profiles differing both in quantity and quality (i.e., good- versus poor-quality and high- versus low-quantity motivational profiles) and regulatory profiles being distinct in the use of regulation strategies (i.e., self-regulated versus unregulated profiles). Mainly quantitatively different processing profiles were found among low-educated adults (i.e., active, moderate, inactive processing profiles). When integrating all three components of learning, analyses identified two more optimal motivational-learning profiles, combining good-quality motivation with a moderately-active use of self-regulation and processing strategies (i.e., good-quality motivation – self-regulated – active processing profile and good-quality motivation – moderate profile) and two more suboptimal profiles in which poor-quality or low-quantity motivation is combined with the inactive use of self-regulation and processing strategies (i.e., poor-quality motivation – unregulated – inactive processing profile, low-quantity motivation – unregulated – inactive processing profile). A fifth motivational-learning profile exhibits a pattern of poor-quality motivation combined with a moderately-active use of self- regulation and processing strategies.

Since there has been no clear overview of educational practices that beneft high-ability students in mixed-ability classrooms in grades one to six, this review aims to provide insight into the efects of educational practices on the cognitive and afective-motivational learning outcomes of high-ability students. In order to identify these educational practices, we conducted a review of the existing literature, comprising a systematic search of the Education Resources Information Center and Web of Science databases for studies from the last 25 years. Only empirical studies that investigated the impact of interventions were included. Applying these criteria resulted in the inclusion of seventeen studies. Four different educational practices were shown to have a positive impact on cognitive learning outcomes: providing dynamic feedback, enhancing self-regulated learning, adjusting the curriculum and providing diferentiated instruction. The impact of educational practices on afective-motivational learning outcomes was inconclusive. Based on this review, we conclude that teachers can help high-ability students in mixed-ability classrooms in grades one to six across various educational contexts using the educational practices reported in this study.

This study examined the relationship between refutation texts and attention allocation by focusing on the interaction between important reader-and-text characteristics. Specifically, the authors investigated how prior knowledge and text-based interest affect attention allocation on refutation/control statements, topic, and explanatory and concluding sentences in refutation and nonrefutation texts. We employed eye tracking to monitor the reading behavior of 92 students in higher education. The results revealed that during first-pass regressive reading, nonrefutation-text readers, compared with refutation-text readers, read topic sentences longer, indicating the correct scientific information. Concluding sentences, summarizing the correct scientific information, were reread for longer by refutation-text readers. With increasing prior knowledge, refutation texts were read more slowly than nonrefutation texts during first-pass reading. A higher text-based interest increased rereading time in the refutation text and decreased rereading time in the nonrefutation text. This study advances present knowledge in the field by demonstrating that the interaction between text and reader characteristics affects attention allocation in reading and comprehension.

Purpose This study aims to unravel the dynamic nature of the process of self-regulated learning (SRL) of medical specialists as it actually unfolds over time in the authentic clinical environment. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal multiple case-study design was used, combining multiple data-collection techniques. Long-term observations offered evidence on overt SRL strategies. Physicians’ observed behaviours were used as cues for in loco stimulated recall interviews, asking about covert SRL strategies and their thoughts regarding a situation at hand. Field notes and audiotaped stimulated recall interviews were transcribed verbatim and integrated in a longitudinal database to map SRL as it actually unfolds moment-by-moment. The transcripts were analysed from an inter- and intra-individual perspective using Nvivo 12. Findings Results show a variety of strategies that initiate, advance and evaluate the process of SRL. Different SRL strategies not included in contemporary frameworks on SRL are found and classified as a new category which the authors labelled “learning readiness”. Exemplary for an SRL strategy in this category is awareness of learning needs. Results show that SRL in the clinical environment is found as an interrelated, dynamic process unfolding in time with feedback loops between different SRL strategies. Performance is found to play a leading role in driving SRL. Originality/value This study contributes empirically to the conceptual understanding of SRL in the clinical environment. The use of a situated, longitudinal methodology, which goes beyond the common path of retrospective self-report questionnaires, adds to the disentanglement of the process of SRL as it actually unfolds in the work environment.

In this qualitative study we explored the opportunities and difficulties experienced by cognitive high-ability students during the transition to higher education. Although high-ability individuals undoubtedly have the cognitive capacity to excel academically, research has shown that there is persistent underachievement among this group of students, and that they may face challenges particularly within higher education when compared to compulsory education. To better understand their experiences, ten current and former high-ability students were selected by means of scores on standardized intelligence tests to participate in semi-structured interviews. Results revealed many similarities between the participants. The majority of the participants reported insufficient study skills and not knowing what is expected of them as obstacles during their transition to higher education, and cited that a lack of challenge in previous schooling caused them transitional difficulties. These factors were more often cited by participants who experienced a delay of one year or more in their higher education study progress. Conversely, participants with good study skills and clear expectations experienced a more successful transition. Contextual factors such as perceived support from the environment learning environment seemed to have a facilitating effect on the students’ transition experience but did not seem to determine the success of a student’s transition on their own. ispartof: Journal Of College Student Development vol:63 issue:3 pages:315-332 status: published

Simulations are complex learning environments, especially when they are designed such that student agency intensively shapes the simulation process. Investigating student learning during the simulation process requires a methodological approach that is able to take contextual influences and fluctuations of processes into account and produce rich, exhaustive descriptions of how student learning unfolds during a simulation. In this paper, we present a methodological approach to assessing student learning in simulations and reflect upon the lessons learned from this approach. We detail a longitudinal case study design in the context of a role-play simulation of political decision-making and critically examine the research opportunities and challenges it presents by focusing on the alignment of theory and research goals, aspects of context, sampling, measurements and procedures, and the role of the researcher.

Instructional practices in Education for Sustainable Development are thought to play a crucial role in the cultivation of students' action competence towards Sustainable Development issues. This paper explores teachers' interests and their action-oriented instructional practices in ESD. The Action-orientation in ESD Questionnaire (AoESD-Q) employs a survey methodology consisting of vignettes describing different instructional practices and following open questions. Thematic analysis was employed to reveal teachers' interests, and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and frequency analyses to detect the least or more often reported interests and instructional practices. The study revealed that teachers in this study have poor interest in and limited instructional practices of action-orientation in ESD. As such, they mostly apply low action-oriented instructional practices. Teachers' interested in action-oriented instructional practices also apply mostly low action-oriented instructional practices. Potential factors are discussed which are responsible for teachers’ poor interest in action-oriented practices and limited implementation in ESD teaching and implications for teacher professionalization programmes.

Educational policy strategies give work-based learning (WBL) and dual learning pathways a prominent role in strengthening student engagement. Given this mounting policy attention, the current study aims to fill a knowledge gap with regard to the relation between WBL and student engagement, particularly within the context of dual pathways combining school- and work-based learning. To this end, we situated student engagement in the wider motivational framework of the self-system model of motivational development (SSMMD) to help theorize its antecedents in students’ learning contexts and psychological self-system processes. The main purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses based on the SSMMD within a WBL context and to relate student engagement in WBL to engagement in school-based learning. As most measurements of the elements making up the SSMMD were validated within a school-based learning context, we used confirmatory factor analyses to test the measurement transferability to a WBL context. Our findings show the relevance of applying the SSMMD to the context of WBL, hereby confirming the facilitating or inhibiting role of a WBL context in fulfilling the basic psychological needs of needs of autonomy, relatedness and competence, which in turn supports engagement in WBL. Our findings also show the potential to study work- and school-based learning as two interrelated learning contexts, stimulating researchers, policy makers and practitioners to further study and invest in dual learning pathways that purposefully combine learning in school- and work-based contexts.

The social adjustment process is a prominent factor in the literature on the transition to higher education (HE). This vast body of research, however, has predominantly focussed on academically oriented first-year higher education (FYHE) contexts, leaving professionally oriented programs (providing vocational education that prepares students for a particular occupation) rather underexamined. Therefore, this study set out to explore what first-year students in professional HE contexts perceive to be the most important social experiences associated with their adjustment process in the first semester of FYHE. Furthermore, this study examines the extent to which the uncovered key experiences associated with social adjustment are reported at different times. Hereto, drawing on the critical incidents technique, qualitative data were collected from 104 purposively selected freshmen, enrolled in a Flemish (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) university college which offers professional HE programs, such as social work and nursing. At the start of the second semester of FYHE, these respondents completed 'reflective logs' wherein they reflected on three critical social experiences during their first semester in HE. Firstly, a qualitative content analysis revealed that students report on five overarching themes: (1) dealing with the unknown, (2) establishing a first connection, (3) establishing a deeper connection, (4) support from peers and others, and (5) loneliness. Secondly, a quantitative analysis of code occurrence suggests that these five uncovered themes seem to be more significant at different times in the first semester of FYHE. Implications of the findings for the development of guidance and coaching initiatives are discussed.

The aim of this study is to provide – first theoretically and, subsequently, through an empirical analysis – a rationale for including the concept of overexcitability in talent research, beyond the five-factor model personality traits. Moreover, the empirical part of this study makes use of an innovative statistical method to address the problem of a frequentist approach to statistics in complex trait models which are based on personality questionnaire data. This study offers insight into the differential significance of overexcitability in relation to the established personality traits, emphasizing Dabrowski’s dynamic approach to personality and the key contribution of overexcitability in the developmental process. Furthermore, implications for the field of giftedness are discussed.

Comparative Judgement (CJ) aims to improve the quality of performance-based assessments by letting multiple assessors judge pairs of performances. CJ is generally associated with high levels of reliability, but there is also a large variation in reliability between assessments. This study investigates which assessment characteristics influence the level of reliability. A meta-analysis was performed on the results of 49 CJ assessments. Results show that there was an effect of the number of comparisons on the level of reliability. In addition, the probability of reaching an asymptote in the reliability, i.e., the point where large effort is needed to only slightly increase the reliability, was larger for experts and peers than for novices. For reliability levels of .70 between 10 and 14 comparisons per performance are needed. This rises to 26 to 37 comparisons for a reliability of .90.

To date, little understanding exists of how first-year students in professionally oriented higher-education (HE) programs (i.e., those that provide vocational education to prepare students for a particular occupation) experience their academic transition process. In the present study, we first argued how the constructs of academic adjustment and academic integration can provide complementary perspectives on the academic transition of first-year students in (professional) HE. Next, we examined what first-year students in professional HE contexts perceive to be the most important experiences associated with their academic transition process in the first semester of their first year of higher education (FYHE). To this end, we adopted the fundamentals of the critical incident technique and asked 104 students in a Flemish (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) university college (which offers professional HE programs, such as nursing) to complete “reflective logs” with open questions at the start of the second semester of their FYHE, wherein they reflected on three critical academic experiences during their first semester. An inductive, cross-case content analysis of the collected narratives showed that students reported on nine themes of academic experiences, which relate to five adjustment themes (dealing with the organization of the study program, organizing study work, committing to the study, following class and taking notes, and processing learning content outside class) and four integration themes (feeling competent, feeling stressed, feeling prepared, and feeling supported). Further analyses showed that although some of the nine themes of academic experiences appear to be more important at different times in the first semester, they all seem to be meaningful throughout the whole semester.

This study tests an integrative model, which delineates how students’ academic motivation, academic self-efficacy and learning strategies (processing strategies and regulation strategies) at the end of secondary education impact academic adjustment in the first semester of the first year of higher education (FYHE) and subsequent academic achievement at the end of the FYHE, in two types of HE programmes. More precisely, the present study explores the extent to which the explanatory values of aforementioned determinants of academic adjustment and academic achievement differ across academic (providing more theoretical and scientific education) and professional (offering more vocational education that prepares students for a particular occupation, such as nursing) programmes. Hereto, multiple-group SEM analyses were carried out on a longitudinal dataset containing 1987 respondents (Academic programmes: N=1080, 54.4%; Professional programmes: N=907, 45.6%), using Mplus 8.3. Results indicate differences in the predictive power of determinants under scrutiny between professional and academic contexts. Firstly, learning strategies and motivational variables at the end of secondary education have more predictive power in the prediction of FYHE academic adjustment in the academic programmes than in professional programmes. Secondly, our results indicate that academic adjustment in the first semester of the FYHE influences academic achievement to a bigger extent in professional programmes than in academic programmes. Moreover, these differences across HE contexts were found after controlling for prior education. Implications of the findings are discussed.

In contrast with the phletora of studies on academic motivation of regular students in regular educational settings, this study aims to shed light on the motivational drive and 'educational support needs' of chronically ill children in hospital schools. This in-depth qualitative study wants to explore if the expected motivational dimensions central in SDT research are present among this specific population and setting and if the expected relationships with 'needs' are present. In contrast with research on academic motivation and needs in common classrooms, research in hospital schools is very scarce. Using the theoretical framework of self-determination theory, we investigated the presence of different types of motivation in relationship with ABC. More specifically, we investigated their motivational types which we then related to the needs they wanted their hospital school teacher(s) to fulfill. A purposive selected sample of six students with a chronic and/or long-term illness from three different hospital schools in Flanders (Belgium) was interviewed, using elicitation techniques to further deepen the data collection. Despite of their chronic illness, all participating students were academically motivated, though some students indicated that not feeling well could cause temporary motivational regression. We were able to distinguish differences in motivation type and preferable need support. More controlled motivated students from the university hospital schools indicated a preference for support in terms of relatedness. More autonomously motivated students from a hospital school within a revalidation centre showed more autonomous motivation and preferred competence support, instead of the autonomy-support that would be expected according to self-determination theory. Moreover, the educational context and the types of illnesses or treatments seem to be linked with students’ motivation types and preferred support.

Research indicates that educational stratification may lead to a lower-track school culture of futility and a less academically-oriented culture among lower-track teachers, leading to both reduced study involvement and lower educational achievement among their students. This study investigated whether an anti-school culture in the lower tracks [in this study, in technical secondary education (TSE; N = 132) in comparison with general secondary education (GSE; N = 356)] has a solid basis that is supported by personal, ontological differences in intelligence and developmental potential [i.e., overexcitability, according to the theory of positive disintegration (TPD)]. In addition, this study examined the consistency of these results with differences in mathematical and verbal achievement, the use of cognitive processing and metacognitive regulation strategies, and study motivation, as well as differences in the influence of personal competence indicators on the learning approach, all suggesting contextual, educational influences. A Bayesian analysis was applied to address the problem of a frequentist approach in complex statistical models. This study does not primarily reveal competence differences between both tracks (as indicated by no substantive differences in overexcitability and intelligence between respectively former GSE and TSE students and GSE and TSE boys), but rather substantial differences in verbal and mathematical performance, as well as regulatory/motivational problems among former TSE students, corroborating to some extent the abovementioned consequences of academic differentiation. The results are further elucidated from the perspective of self-determination theory and the TPD.

Background Internships are highly relevant learning experiences for engineering students. However, such practice-based learning settings must be carefully designed to allow their learning potential to unfold. Purpose Exploring the job demands-control-support (JDCS) model, this study aimed to investigate how job demands, job control, and social support affect interns' use of different learning strategies. Method The study utilized data collected from a sample of engineering students (n = 118) who completed a required internship during their degree. The data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach including latent factors. Results Job demands were found to be a relevant and significant driver of students' shared regulation (e.g., asking for feedback), self-regulation (e.g., self-directed use of codified information), efforts to relate theory to practice (e.g., connecting workplace experience with theoretical knowledge), and the absence of avoidance of learning (e.g., lack of adaptation to work situations), but not of external regulation (e.g., asking for help to solve problems). Job control, however, was not found to be a positive or significant driver of student learning. Social support was found to be a relevant and significant predictor of external and shared regulation but not of the other learning activities. Conclusions This study provided mixed findings regarding key hypotheses central to the JDCS model, generating rather poor evidence supporting it. In fact, job demands, job control, and social support exhibited much less explanatory power than expected for engineering students' learning during internships.

This study contributes to current self-efficacy research in two ways. First, it responds to the need for more context- and competency-specific self-efficacy research by expanding the research field to the context of role-play simulations and focusing on the outcome of self-efficacy in negotiating. Second, aiming to investigate sources of self-efficacy and their interplay, the study addresses the need for more in-depth qualitative research by conducting a single holistic case study with a longitudinal design. Moreover, the study focuses on outcomes of an increase or decrease in self-efficacy over time. Data were collected during a four-day European Union simulation. Three data sources – diaries, interviews, and semi-structured observations and field notes – contributed to data convergence, ensuring that more than a single source of evidence supported findings. Four students were selected using maximum variation sampling. The final sample of 27 meaningful events – about the development of self-efficacy in negotiating – were selected by within-case sampling based on a set of inclusion criteria. Data were analyzed by means of content analysis. Three groups of sources of self-efficacy could be defined: personal sources, social sources, and contextual sources, which encompassed and enriched the four previously hypothesized sources of self-efficacy. With regard to the interplay of sources, five main pathways could be defined. Personal sources were present in all pathways. The contribution of social sources to an increase in self-efficacy was more obvious than its role in a decrease in self-efficacy. The contribution of the contextual source to the development of self-efficacy in negotiating was generally less prominent.

Supporting first-year students to adjust to their new academic environment is a crucial task in higher education. Investigating students’ perceptions of fit between secondary and higher education could give higher education institutions valuable information for student feedback and support, when captured in a reliable and valid way. This study examines the construct validity, reliability, and criterion-related validity of the Students’ Perceived Fit Questionnaire (SPFQ) by using a longitudinal dataset (N = 930, first-year students). The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor structure measuring students’ perceptions of: 1) the extent to which secondary education prepared them for higher education in terms of content knowledge; 2) resemblance in the teaching approach between secondary and higher education, and 3) the need to adapt to their higher education study programme. Concerning the criterion-related validity, it was found that first-year students who experienced similarities in teaching approach are more likely to persist in their studies. Furthermore, our results indicated that first-year students who experienced less need to adapt to their higher education study programme felt more self-efficacious regarding their own learning and, consequently, were more likely to persist in their studies.

This study aims to give insight into teachers’ beliefs of high-ability students and how this relates to their classroom teaching. Thirteen teachers from six different elementary or secondary schools participated in in-depth interviews. The participants talked about cognitive functioning, social skills, classroom behaviour, motivation and specific characteristics of high-ability students. In addition, regarding educational practices with high-ability students, teachers agreed that providing challenging learning tasks is deeply important. Finally, we found that teachers with a limited frame of reference on high-ability students are likely to have a less extended repertoire of educational practices.

Science students study success rates in the first year of higher education (FYHE) are problematic. Although a considerable amount of previous research has been carried out to investigate the determinants of students academic achievement in FYHE, there has been little discussion about the incremental value of non-cognitive factors over and above cognitive determinants in the prediction of early (after the first semester of FYHE) academic achievement in a science educational context. Furthermore, the complex nature of the relationships between determinants of academic achievement is frequently neglected. An investigation that addresses these gaps is important to provide the insights necessary to identify at-risk science students early in their academic career. Therefore, the main aim of this research was to examine the incremental value of non-cognitive variables (processing strategies, regulation strategies, academic motivation, self-concept, self-efficacy) in predicting students early academic achievement in a science FYHE context, over and above domain-specific prior knowledge (cognitive) and after controlling for gender, age and prior education. Hereto, path-analyses were used on the data of 781 first-year students within a faculty of science of a Belgian university college in the academic year 20162017. Results show that cognitive variables and pre-entry characteristics predict early academic achievement. However, after controlling for these characteristics, evidence for the assumption that non-cognitive variables are determinants of early academic achievement in science education contexts could not be found in this study. Implications for theory and research are discussed.

Comparative judgment (CJ) is an alternative method for assessing competences based on Thurstone’s law of comparative judgment. Assessors are asked to compare pairs of students work (representations) and judge which one is better on a certain competence. These judgments are analyzed using the Bradly–Terry–Luce model resulting in logit estimates for the representations. In this context, the Scale Separation Reliability (SSR), coming from Rasch modeling, is typically used as reliability measure. But, to the knowledge of the authors, it has never been systematically investigated if the meaning of the SSR can be transferred from Rasch to CJ. As the meaning of the reliability is an important question for both assessment theory and practice, the current study looks into this. A meta-analysis is performed on 26 CJ assessments. For every assessment, split-halves are performed based on assessor. The rank orders of the whole assessment and the halves are correlated and compared with SSR values using Bland–Altman plots. The correlation between the halves of an assessment was compared with the SSR of the whole assessment showing that the SSR is a good measure for split-half reliability. Comparing the SSR of one of the halves with the correlation between the two respective halves showed that the SSR can also be interpreted as an interrater correlation. Regarding SSR as expressing a correlation with the truth, the results are mixed.

BackgroundUp until now, empirical studies in the Student Approaches to Learning field have mainly been focused on the use of self-report instruments, such as interviews and questionnaires, to uncover differences in students' general preferences towards learning strategies, but have focused less on the use of task-specific and online measures.AimsThis study aimed at extending current research on students' learning strategies by combining general and task-specific measurements of students' learning strategies using both offline and online measures. We want to clarify how students process learning contents and to what extent this is related to their self-report of learning strategies.SampleTwenty students with different generic learning profiles (according to self-report questionnaires) read an expository text, while their eye movements were registered to answer questions on the content afterwards.MethodsEye-tracking data were analysed with generalized linear mixed-effects models.ResultsThe results indicate that students with an all-high profile, combining both deep and surface learning strategies, spend more time on rereading the text than students with an all-low profile, scoring low on both learning strategies.ConclusionsThis study showed that we can use eye-tracking to distinguish very strategic students, characterized using cognitive processing and regulation strategies, from low strategic students, characterized by a lack of cognitive and regulation strategies. These students processed the expository text according to how they self-reported.

As in many OECD countries, the first year in Flemish Higher Education is a major hurdle. Research on the experience of the transition period from secondary to higher education highlights the importance of the change in students teaching/learning environment. Though this change is hypothesised to affect students learning strategies, and hereby students chances of study success, studies examining the change in learning strategies during the transition period are absent. The present research is innovative in the way that it investigates the average and differential growth in learning strategies during the transition from secondary to higher education. All students from 36 secondary schools were logged onto the Inventory of Learning Styles-Short Version, and their progress was tracked over five waves from the beginning of the last year at secondary school to the beginning of their second year at a higher education establishment. Six hundred and thirty students were retained for analysis. Results indicate that students on average increased their self-regulated and deep learning during the transition. The results also showed an increase in students degree of analysing and lack of regulation. Furthermore, for all the scales except the memorizing scale, the evolution over time varied from student to student.

By implementing student-centred learning environments, higher education institutions aim to foster student self-efficacy and self-regulation. Previous research that focuses on how students perceive these learning environments usually does not take the differential impact of students study motivation into account. However, the type of motivation might influence how students perceive their learning environment. To this end, this study investigates the relationship between students perceived autonomy support in student-centred learning environments and self-regulation and self-efficacy by taking study motivation into account. The results indicate that autonomy-supportive teacher behaviour enhances self-efficacy for students who are autonomously motivated. Amotivated students might need other than autonomy-supportive teacher behaviour to develop self-efficacy. Self-regulation seems to play a less distinct role. Overall, when examining the effects of autonomy-supportive teaching in higher education, the quality and quantity of students motivation has a role to play, an aspect which is important to consider in future research and practice.

In educational research, there is a growing interest in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine students' levels of processing. As there is a growing interest in the use of fMRI, a systematic review was conducted to examine how deep and surface levels of processing are operationalized within the neuroscientific field. In addition, we investigated how this operationalization impacts on the conceptualization of levels of processing within fMRI research. A systematic search was conducted within the MEDLINE, PubMed, ERIC, and Web of Science databases, and 25 studies were identified for this review. With regard to the operationalization, the review indicates that levels of processing were examined under highly controlled conditions with decontextualized and simplified language stimuli. Analysis of these studies revealed that there is a lack of conceptual clarity as, in half of the cases, no theoretical framework was explicitly mentioned, and no clear definition was given regarding levels of processing.

Role-play simulations have become commonly used active learning methods to teach about complex, dynamic political processes. However, an understanding of why there is variation in student learning during such simulations is lacking. This study focuses on the development of student self-efficacy in negotiating over the period of one simulation. We investigate to what extent self-efficacy development can be explained by the individual characteristics of students. This study further contributes to the field by including perceived student cohesiveness as a social aspect of the simulation. Data from 84 participants were collected during a four-day Model United Nations (MUN) simulation. Self-efficacy in negotiating was measured using 12 measurement times, and the data analysed using multilevel growth modelling. Results show a statistically significant linear increase in self-efficacy in negotiating over the period of the simulation. Compared to the time factor, individual characteristics explain variation in self-efficacy development to a larger extent, of which perceived student cohesiveness contributes the most.

Recently, comparative judgement has been introduced as an alternative method for scoring essays. Although this method is promising in terms of obtaining reliable scores, empirical evidence concerning its validity is lacking. The current study examines implications resulting from two critical assumptions underpinning the use of comparative judgement, namely: its holistic characteristic and how the final rank order reflects the shared consensus on what makes for a good essay. Judges justifications that underpin their decisions are qualitatively analysed to obtain insight into the dimensions of academic writing they take into account. The results show that most arguments are directly related to the competence description. However, judges also use their expertise in order to judge the quality of essays. Additionally, judges differ in terms of how they conceptualise writing quality, and regarding the extent to which they tap into their own expertise. Finally, this study explores diverging conceptualisation of misfitting judges.

This study starts from the observation that current empirical research on students processing strategies in higher education has mainly focused on the use of self-report instruments to measure students general preferences towards processing strategies. In contrast, there is a rather limited use of more direct and online observation techniques to uncover differences in processing strategies at a task specific level. We based our study on one of the most influential studies in the domain of Students Approaches to Learning (SAL) (Marton, Dahlgren, Säljö, & Svensson, 1975). In our exploratory experiment we used eye tracking followed by a cued recall to investigate how students use processing strategies in learning from expository text. Nineteen university students participated in the experiment. Results suggested that students in the deep condition did not look longer at the essentials in the text compared with students in the surface condition, but that they processed them in a more deep way. In our sample, students in the surface condition looked longer at facts and details and also reported repeating these facts and details more often. We suggest that the combination of eye tracking followed by a cued recall is a promising tool to investigate students processing strategies since not all differences in processing strategies are reflected in overt eye movement behaviour. The current methodology allows researchers in the domain of SAL to complement and extend the present knowledge base that has accumulated through years of research with self-report questionnaires and interviews on students general preferences towards processing strategies.

The entrance of newly qualified medical specialists into daily practice is considered to be a stressful period in which curriculum support is absent. Although engaging in both personal and professional learning and development activities is recognized fundamental for lifelong professional competence, research on medical professionals entrance into practice is scarce. This research aims to contribute to the framework of medical professionals informal learning and outlines the results of an exploratory study on the nature of learning in daily practice beyond postgraduate training. Eleven newly qualified physicians from different specialized backgrounds participated in a phenomenographic study, using a critical incident method and a grounded theory approach. Results demonstrated that learning in the workplace is, to a large extent, informal and associated with a variety of learning experiences. Analysis shows that experiences related to diagnostics and treatments are important sources for learning. Furthermore, incidents related to communication, changing roles, policy and organization offer learning opportunities, and therefore categorized as learning experiences. A broad range of learning activities are identified in dealing with these learning experiences. More specifically, actively engaging in actions and interactions, especially with colleagues of the same specialty, are the most mentioned. Observing others, consulting written sources, and recognizing uncertainties, are also referred to as learning activities. In the study, interaction, solely or combined with other learning activities, are deemed as very important by specialists in the initial entrance into practice. These insights can be used to develop workplace structures to support the entrance into practice following postgraduate training.

This experimental study seeks to explore informal and conversational speech, such as slang, phrasal verbs and colloquial expressions through the use of subtitled TV series (interlingual and intralingual) amongst learners in higher education. Thus, 40 Spanish/Catalan, Dutch, German, Russian, Romanian and Moldavian second year university undergraduates, studying a BA in English in the province of Catalonia (Spain) with an A2 to C1 proficiency level of CEFR, were randomly assigned either to interlingual mode (English sound + Spanish subtitles) or to intralingual mode (English sound + English subtitles). They were exposed to a total of 13 subtitled episodes from the American series ‘Friends’ over a period of 7 weeks. A multiple choice and open questions pre-test and a post-test were administered in order to analyse the effect of the two types of subtitles upon informal vocabulary learning and film comprehension. Results indicated that learners performed better under the EE (intralingual) than under the ES (interlingual) mode. No significant interaction has been found between the intervention and the post-test scores, therefore, the difference in scores between the two conditions of subtitles is not dependent on students’ prior proficiency level. The obtained results support the use of subtitled audiovisual aids in foreign language classroom teaching, being in line with the principles outlined by the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and Theory of Cognitive Load.

The Motivation Toward the Environment Scale (MTES), developed in Canada, measures people&rsquo, s self-determined motivation for doing something for the environment. Answering the call by its original developers, this study further validated the MTES within a sample of 779 Dutch-speaking senior secondary school students, aged 17 to 19, in the north of Belgium. More specifically, reliability and construct validity of a Dutch translation of the MTES were verified. To this measure, confirmatory factor analysis was used, and the hypothesized simplex structure was tested through correlation analyses. Results confirmed the reliability of the MTES and a five-scale version of the MTES, excluding identified motivation, is introduced. This variable-centered approach was complemented by the adoption of a person-centered approach for identifying MTES profiles. Using cluster analysis, four meaningful MTES profiles emerged, with amotivation scoring medium to high in all but one. Theoretical implications of the findings and suggestions for interventions and further research are discussed.

A Design Science Research project is presented, describing the creation of an Information System for the assessment of human competences while supporting learning. First, requirements that emanate from current mainstream competence evaluation practice are introduced. Then, design principles are presented to address the design requirements. Finally, design features are discussed that represent a concrete instantiation of the design principles in a working system prototype. The output of the design, development, and evaluation of the artefact are presented as an Information Systems Design Theory. This theory provides principles that can be applied in different contexts where the evaluation of competences is needed.