Enhancing the Calibration Accuracy of Adult Learners: A Multifaceted Intervention

The present study employs the Nelson and Narens Model of Metacognition (NNMM) to examine the influence of metacognitive strategy training and extrinsic incentives on performance, level of confidence, and the calibration accuracy of undergraduate students\u27 metacognitive judgments within a pretest/posttest experimental design. Calibration of performance is crucial because it allows learners to engage in appropriate comprehension monitoring during a learning episode. As metacognition implies, those individuals who are better calibrators can more adequately adapt to the demands of the situation (monitoring), and thereby better prepare for learning episodes that are similar in format or content (control). Consequently, this aids in the improvement of performance, confidence, and calibration accuracy. Findings suggest that strategy training and incentives enhanced performance and level confidence in performance. However, only strategy training increased the calibration accuracy of feeling-of-knowing judgments. Theoretically, both strategy training and incentives influence learners\u27 metacognitive monitoring and control; therefore, the results support the NNMM. Educational implications and directions for future research are discussed

Professional Development for Working with Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Teacher Self-Efficacy

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the effect of teacher professional development for working with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and teacher (N = 56) self-efficacy in the general education classroom. A pretest/posttest quasi-experimental research design was implemented. Teachers in one randomly assigned school received professional development training on research-based practices in working with students with autism to determine if the training had any effect on their perceived self-efficacy ratings and teachers in the other school were randomly assigned to serve as the control (i.e., no additional professional development training was provided during the research phase). Results showed that the training had a large positive effect on teacher self-efficacy ratings regarding working with students with autism in the inclusion classroom. Findings tentatively show the need and importance for the provision of more professional development training to general education teachers for working with students with autism to improve teacher self-efficacy and to provide the most effective and inclusive educational experience possible

Supporting Metacognitive Awareness and Strategy Use Through Digital Photography in a Rural Title I School

The Photography and Media Literacy Project (PMLP) was an after-school program designed to teach fourth and fifth grade children about the science and art of photography in a Title I school in rural southeast Georgia. Through the completion of a problem-based applied project, we endeavored to further enhance and develop students’ media literacy, critical thinking, and metacognitive skills. The project involved having students consider some aspect of their environment (i.e., a problem from the natural, physical, school or social environment) and develop a media presentation about the topic (e.g., a movie), which included images that they took (with iPods that we provided), as well as a narrative that described their observation, research, argument and/or experience. Through the use of technology and various other media, our purpose was to help these young learners improve their metacognitive planning and monitoring skills, as well as their problem-solving and reasoning ability, all foundational skills critical for success in high stakes assessments such as Georgia Milestone Assessment. Although no significant differences were found in pre-posttest assessments, we believe that with minor modifications, this type of program shows promise in its potential for boosting participants’ metacognitive functioning and other skills related to critical evaluation of information, which have been found to enhance learning outcomes

“You Can Sort of Feel It”: Exploring Metacognition and the Feeling of Knowing Among Undergraduate Students

Traditional research on the metacognitive practice of calibration has been primarily investigated within the realm of quantitative experimental methodologies. This article expands the research scope of metacognitive calibration by offering a qualitative approach to the growing body of literature. More specifically, the current study investigates the learners’ perspective on the calibration process. Ten undergraduate students were selected to participate in a structured interview on their previous calibration performances (five students low in calibration processing and five proficient in calibration processing). Ultimately nine students (N=9) participated in individual interviews. Participant interviews are qualitatively assessed through the mediums of (1) Serra and Matcalfe’s original work on the “feelings of knowing” and (2) self-regulated learning theory (SRL). Results indicate a difference in feelings of knowing between low and proficient calibrators across a battery of themes: effort, strategies, planning, and evaluation. Implications of the results and direction for future research are explored

Factors Affecting Quality of Life for Children with Asthma

BACKGROUND: In the U.S., asthma is the most common chronic illness in children under 18 years. An exploration of asthma admission rates in emergency departments indicated this was also the case for Southeast Georgia. Despite the availability of effective asthma treatments and interventions, asthma continues to severely impact children’s health-related QOL. PURPOSE: This exploratory study sought to assess quality of life (QOL) issues facing children with asthma and their caregivers. Specifically, this study aimed to 1) Determine the baseline QOL in children with asthma and their parents/caregivers, & 2) Determine what factors affect QOL for children with asthma and their caregivers. METHODS: This exploratory study employed a mixed-model design. Participants were recruited for a convenience sample from a large children’s hospital outpatient clinic in Southeast Georgia. Participants included children aged 7-17 with a diagnosis of asthma or reactive airway disease (N=104) and their parents/caregivers (N=104). Child participants completed the Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ), a reliable and validated QOL questionnaire for childhood asthma focusing on the domains of activity limitations, emotional function, and an exploration of symptoms. Caregiver participants completed a demographics questionnaire and the Paediatric Asthma Caregiver’s Quality of Life Questionnaire (PACQLQ), a reliable and validated QOL questionnaire for caregivers of children with childhood asthma focusing on two domains, activity limitations and emotional function. Items in both the PAQLQ and PACQLQ questionnaires are rated on a 7-point scale, with higher scores indicating less impairment and lower scores indicating greater impairment to the domain under consideration. RESULTS & CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: In addressing the first aim of this study, the results revealed that the baseline QOL for children with asthma and their caregivers was relatively high. In addressing the second aim of this study, the results of both the PAQLQ and the PACQLQ revealed that the most significant factor that affects the QOL of children with asthma is ED visits. The more ED visits reported, the greater the impairment to emotional function and physical activity. While the findings of this study demonstrate a positive baseline QOL, it is important to further investigate the specific impact of ED visits on QOL of children with asthma and their caregivers. An important clinical implication is that education on controlling asthma symptoms to prevent ED visits for both children and their caregivers may be of value to improve their QOL

Modifying the Diabetes Prevention Program to Adolescents in a School Setting: A Feasibility Study

The growing epidemic of overweight children has led to a higher prevalence of youth being diagnosed with diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes. The current study modified the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) for use with 7th–10th graders in a school setting. The DPP is an evidence-based lifestyle intervention program that has been translated successfully in various adult settings. Yet the feasibility of modifying the DPP for use with middle and high school students has not been documented. A multidisciplinary university research team collaborated with a local charter school to include a modified DPP as part of the curriculum for one semester. Pre- and posttests included food knowledge, health locus of control, BMI, and performance on the 12-minute Cooper walk/run test. Findings suggest tentatively that the modified DPP was successful at increasing food knowledge and awareness of more rigorous physical activity as well as their association to improved health outcomes. Equally as important, results demonstrate that it is feasible to conduct interventions targeting healthy weight among adolescents in school-based settings by incorporating them in the curriculum.</jats:p

Relação entre Medidas Subjetivas de Consciência Metacognitiva e viés implícito entre estudantes universitários dos Estados Unidos

Objective. e purpose of the present study was to explore the relation between subjective measures of metacognitive awarenessand implicit bias, and to investigate whether metacognition is a viable pathway to meet the two objectives. Method. A sampleof U.S. undergraduate students (N = 117) completed self-report measures of implicit bias (Situational Attitude Scale) andmetacognitive awareness (Metacognitive Awareness Inventory). Correlational analyses, Pearson’s r coefficients, and a hierarchicallinear regression analysis were conducted to address the research objectives. Results. Findings revealed that implicit bias andmetacognitive awareness were related, and that conditional knowledge, comprehension monitoring, information management,debugging, and evaluation led to decrements in negatively charged implicit bias. Conclusion. Evidently, metacognition is a viablepathway for raising awareness of one’s implicit biases and subsequently mitigating them through the development of tailorededucational interventions.Objetivo. El propósito del presenteestudio fueexplorarlarelación entrelas medidas subjetivas deconciencia metacognitiva y sesgoimplícito e investigar si la metacognición es una vía viable para cumplir los dos objetivos. Método. Una muestra de estudiantesde pregrado de EE. UU. (N = 117) completaron medidas de autoinforme de sesgo implícito (Escala de Actitud Situacional) yconcienciametacognitiva(Inventario deConcienciaMetacognitiva). Serealizaron análisiscorrelacionales,coecientesr de Pearsony un análisis de regresión lineal jerárquica para abordar los objetivos de la investigación. Resultados. Los hallazgos revelaronque el sesgo implícito y la conciencia metacognitiva estaban relacionados y que el conocimiento condicional, el monitoreo de lacomprensión, la gestión delainformación, la depuración y laevaluación condujeron a disminucionesen elsesgo implícito con carganegativa. Conclusión. Evidentemente, la metacognición es una vía viable para crear conciencia sobre los sesgos implícitos de unoy, posteriormente, mitigarlos mediante el desarrollo de intervenciones educativas personalizadas.Escopo. O objetivo do presente estudo foi explorar a relação entre as medidas subjetivas de consciência metacognitiva e viésimplícito, e pesquisar se a metacognição é um caminho viável para atingir os dois objetivos. Método. Uma amostra de estudantesde graduação dos EUA (N = 117) completou medidas de auto relatório de viés implícito (Escada de Atitude Situacional) econsciência metacognitiva (Inventário de Consciência Metacognitiva). Foram realizadas análises correlacionais, coecientes r dePearson e análise de regressão linear hierárquica para atender aos objetivos da pesquisa. Resultados. Os resultados revelaramque o viés implícito e a consciência metacognitiva estavam relacionados e que o conhecimento condicional, o monitoramentoda compreensão, o gerenciamento da informação, a depuração e a avaliação levaram a diminuições no viés implícito de carganegativa. Conclusão. Evidentemente, a metacognição é um caminho viável para criar conscientização sobre os vieses implícitos e,posteriormente, mitigá-los por meio do desenvolvimento de intervenções educacionais personalizadas

Instructional Leadership Practices and School Leaders\u27 Self-Efficacy

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate instructional leadership practices and the degree to which these practices predict the leadership self-efficacy of school leaders while controlling for years of experience as a school leader. With educational reform focused on school accountability, principals must attend to tasks that lead to school improvement. Identifying such tasks as instructional leadership practices and gaining a more comprehensive understanding of instructional leadership practices through leadership self-efficacy may contribute to school improvement. The methodology utilized a survey and the participants were 100 principals and assistant principals of public schools in the southeastern United States, spanning 18 school districts and 180 schools. The findings revealed that supervising and evaluating instruction and monitoring student progress were significant positive predictors of leadership self-efficacy for the entire sample of respondents whereas coordinating curriculum was only approaching significance. This pattern shifted, however, when the sample was divided between principals and assistant principals. For practical implications, educational leaders and key constituents may consider these results for reflection on practice as well as planning professional learning for skill development to attain school improvement. Recommendations for future research include expansion of the population to include participants in other locations as well as the inclusion of additional instructional leadership practices

T35: a small automatic telescope for long-term observing campaigns

The T35 is a small telescope (14") equipped with a large format CCD camera installed in the Sierra Nevada Observatory (SNO) in Southern Spain. This telescope will be a useful tool for the detecting and studying pulsating stars, particularly, in open clusters. In this paper, we describe the automation process of the T35 and show also some images taken with the new instrumentation.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in the special issue "Robotic Astronomy" of Advances of Astronom