Ana Margarida Veiga Simão

Perceptions of effectiveness, fairness and feedback of assessment methods: a study in higher education

This paper draws upon a broader piece of research aimed at investigating assessment in higher education. It focuses upon the perceptions of undergraduates about issues of effectiveness, fairness and feedback, particularly in regard to the so-called learner-centred methods. In total, 378 undergraduate students participated in the study at the University of Minho (254) and at the University of Lisbon (124). Data were collected through questionnaires. Findings suggest that the most frequent assessment methods are written tests, oral presentations in group and project work. Participants who are assessed by methods which require their active involvement view assessment as a fairer and more effective process than students who are assessed by more traditional methods such as examinations and written tests. However, the idea of conflict in assessment emerged as a key distinctive feature associated with learner-centred assessment methods such as project work and portfolios. Implications of the findings for developing learner-centred methods in higher education are discussed.

CONTEXTOS E PROCESSOS DE MUDANÇA DOS PROFESSORES: UMA PROPOSTA DE MODELO

This article draws a proposal of a model for the under- standing and analysis of the teacherschange based on results of the empirical studies carried out in Portugal. Considering the perspective of complexity, the change is viewed as a process that implies simul- taneously contextual factors, which may or not be sustained by edu-

Assessing Self-Regulated Strategies for School Writing: Cross-Cultural Validation of a Triadic Measure.

This study reports on the construction of a questionnaire to assess ninth-grade students’ use of self-regulated strategies for school writing tasks. Exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses were conducted to validate the factor structure of the instrument. The initial factor analytic stage (n = 296) revealed a 13-factor scale, accounting for 61.35% of the variance. Cross-cultural validation was carried out involving Portuguese and Brazilian students (n = 732). Multi-group analyses of invariance were performed on the two samples. Results support a theoretically driven second-order model assessing 12 self-regulated strategies for writing. Full configural and metric invariance were established, suggesting that the 34-item measure may be robust to assess the model under investigation across cultures. Findings suggest that the instrument can be a valid theory-based assessment tool to help researchers and practitioners examine how students in transition to high school initiate and control their school writing tasks.

Emoções no cyberbullying: um estudo com adolescentes portugueses

This paper presents a part of the extensive study of the project Cyberbullying – A Diagnosis of the Situation in Portugal, which applied a questionnaire to 3,525 teenagers in the 6th, 8th and 11th schooling levels. In order to characterize cyberbullying, we have sought to contribute to the identification and interpretation of emotions experienced by the youngsters involved as victims or offenders in cyberbullying situations. The data reveal that sadness, desire for revenge, and fear are the most frequent emotions of the victims, while satisfaction, indifference and relief are those that the offenders experience the most. Data also reveal significant differences between the emotions experienced by victims and those that offenders attributed to them, which can be an indicator of the lack of empathy of the latter and thus requires the development of an emotional education of youngsters. Some significant differences have been found concerning schooling level, sex, school, and municipality, namely: a higher incidence of emotions such as sadness, fear, insecurity, and the desire for revenge among male victims; more feelings of insecurity, relief, confusion, and disorientation among young female offenders; emotions associated with impotence and lack of support experienced by youngsters in the role of victims, more in some schools than in others. These data lead us to reflect on how to take action to prevent cyberbullying.

Entrevista com tarefa na identificação de processos na aprendizagem autorregulada

La entrevista con tarea se ha revelado un instrumento util para los profesionales de la educacion pues, por intermedio de las interacciones de los intervinientes, se puede evaluar los procesos y las estrategias aplicados por los aprendices en una determinada tarea. El modelo que se siguio es atribuido a Zimmerman (2000, 2013), con una perspectiva socio cognitiva. Asi, se pretende, no solo averiguar si la entrevista con tarea puede auxiliar los profesionales a identificar procesos auto regulatorios en el aprendizaje, sino tambien potenciarlos en los aprendices. Se efectuo seis entrevistas semiestructuradas a dos alumnos, al realizar un resumen. Los resultados permiten inferir sobre el planeamiento estrategico que ellos hacen, cuales son sus creencias de autoeficacia, la capacidad de auto supervisarla tarea y aplicar estrategias de comprension. Se verifico tambien la evolucion en los perfiles de aprendizaje ya que los alumnos pasaron a: adecuar los objetivos de las estrategias, interiorizar normas de accion y hacer revision. Dada a su pertinencia, se pretende alargar la investigacion para conferirle mayor aplicabilidad y extender su potencial.Task Development Interviews have shown their usefulness in identifying and gathering information regarding psychological processes and strategies as students perform tasks. In light of Zimmerman’s (2000, 2013) social-cognitive approach to self-regulated learning, this study proposes to answer two questions, namely, how Task Development Interviews can help professionals identify students’ self-regulatory processes and how the latter can they prompted. Three semi-structured interviews were applied to two students performing a text summary. The findings revealed that students planned the task strategically, developed strong self-efficacy beliefs, and were able to self-monitor the task and apply comprehension strategies. Furthermore, these findings showed some development in regards to students’ performance, namely through the adjustment of the task’s objectives, the adoption and adaptation of norms of action and lastly, through the revision of strategy use. Due to its pertinent nature, the study will continue to be developed in order to extend the applicability and potential of the instruments used.

Technology Enhanced Environments for Selfregulated Learning in Teaching Practices

The academic community in Portugal has turned to the theme of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) in Technology Enhanced Learning Environments (TELEs) with a growing interest and increasing energy. This growing interest has emerged because SRL is considered an active and constructive process through which learners establish objectives, monitor, regulate and control their cognition, motivation and behaviour, as they are guided by those same objectives and by contextual specificities that characterize the learning environment (Nicol, 2009; Winters, Greene, & Costich, 2008). The considerable number of PhD and Masters Dissertations with an empirical research focus on SRL is a good indicator of this rising trend. However, there is little evidence of research that has been conducted on the specific topic of SRL in TELEs.

Cyberbullying: Shaping the use of verbal aggression through normative moral beliefs and self-efficacy

This study investigates the mediating effect of normative moral beliefs about cyberbullying behavior and self-efficacy beliefs to solve cyberbullying incidents in the relationship between adolescents’ personal moral beliefs and the use of the content from verbal aggressions they witnessed in situations of cyberbullying. A total of 1607 students responded to an open-ended question regarding the content of verbal aggression they observed in cyberbullying situations, as well as questionnaires concerning personal and normative moral beliefs about cyberbullying behavior and self-efficacy beliefs to solve cyberbullying situations. Through content analysis, findings revealed nine distinct categories of content, which are in line with verbal aggression in cyberbullying behavior. Normative moral beliefs and self-efficacy beliefs mediated the relationship between adolescents’ personal moral beliefs and using the content from verbal aggressions to communicate online. These results offer insights to develop authentic and interactive intervention programs that teach adolescents to communicate assertively, as a step toward preventing cyberbullying.

Entrevista con tarea en la identificación de procesos en el aprendizaje autorregulada

La entrevista con tarea se ha revelado un instrumento util para los profesionales de la educacion pues, por intermedio de las interacciones de los intervinientes, se puede evaluar los procesos y las estrategias aplicados por los aprendices en una determinada tarea. El modelo que se siguio es atribuido a Zimmerman (2000, 2013), con una perspectiva socio cognitiva. Asi, se pretende, no solo averiguar si la entrevista con tarea puede auxiliar los profesionales a identificar procesos auto regulatorios en el aprendizaje, sino tambien potenciarlos en los aprendices. Se efectuo seis entrevistas semiestructuradas a dos alumnos, al realizar un resumen. Los resultados permiten inferir sobre el planeamiento estrategico que ellos hacen, cuales son sus creencias de autoeficacia, la capacidad de auto supervisarla tarea y aplicar estrategias de comprension. Se verifico tambien la evolucion en los perfiles de aprendizaje ya que los alumnos pasaron a: adecuar los objetivos de las estrategias, interiorizar normas de accion y hacer revision. Dada a su pertinencia, se pretende alargar la investigacion para conferirle mayor aplicabilidad y extender su potencial.Task Development Interviews have shown their usefulness in identifying and gathering information regarding psychological processes and strategies as students perform tasks. In light of Zimmerman’s (2000, 2013) social-cognitive approach to self-regulated learning, this study proposes to answer two questions, namely, how Task Development Interviews can help professionals identify students’ self-regulatory processes and how the latter can they prompted. Three semi-structured interviews were applied to two students performing a text summary. The findings revealed that students planned the task strategically, developed strong self-efficacy beliefs, and were able to self-monitor the task and apply comprehension strategies. Furthermore, these findings showed some development in regards to students’ performance, namely through the adjustment of the task’s objectives, the adoption and adaptation of norms of action and lastly, through the revision of strategy use. Due to its pertinent nature, the study will continue to be developed in order to extend the applicability and potential of the instruments used.

Interviewing with task in self-regulatory learning processes identification

La entrevista con tarea se ha revelado un instrumento util para los profesionales de la educacion pues, por intermedio de las interacciones de los intervinientes, se puede evaluar los procesos y las estrategias aplicados por los aprendices en una determinada tarea. El modelo que se siguio es atribuido a Zimmerman (2000, 2013), con una perspectiva socio cognitiva. Asi, se pretende, no solo averiguar si la entrevista con tarea puede auxiliar los profesionales a identificar procesos auto regulatorios en el aprendizaje, sino tambien potenciarlos en los aprendices. Se efectuo seis entrevistas semiestructuradas a dos alumnos, al realizar un resumen. Los resultados permiten inferir sobre el planeamiento estrategico que ellos hacen, cuales son sus creencias de autoeficacia, la capacidad de auto supervisarla tarea y aplicar estrategias de comprension. Se verifico tambien la evolucion en los perfiles de aprendizaje ya que los alumnos pasaron a: adecuar los objetivos de las estrategias, interiorizar normas de accion y hacer revision. Dada a su pertinencia, se pretende alargar la investigacion para conferirle mayor aplicabilidad y extender su potencial.Task Development Interviews have shown their usefulness in identifying and gathering information regarding psychological processes and strategies as students perform tasks. In light of Zimmerman’s (2000, 2013) social-cognitive approach to self-regulated learning, this study proposes to answer two questions, namely, how Task Development Interviews can help professionals identify students’ self-regulatory processes and how the latter can they prompted. Three semi-structured interviews were applied to two students performing a text summary. The findings revealed that students planned the task strategically, developed strong self-efficacy beliefs, and were able to self-monitor the task and apply comprehension strategies. Furthermore, these findings showed some development in regards to students’ performance, namely through the adjustment of the task’s objectives, the adoption and adaptation of norms of action and lastly, through the revision of strategy use. Due to its pertinent nature, the study will continue to be developed in order to extend the applicability and potential of the instruments used.

CONTRIBUTOS DA ESTIMULAÇÃO DA RECORDAÇÃO PARA IDENTIFICAR E PROMOVER ESTRATÉGIAS DE AUTORREGULAÇÃO DA APRENDIZAGEM DURANTE O ESTÁGIO EM EDUCAÇÃO FÍSICA

Compreender as potencialidades da tecnica da estimulacao da recordacao na promocao da reflexao de seis estagiarios de um curso de licenciatura em Educacao Fisica sobre o seu desempenho constitui o objetivo deste estudo. Por meio da analise textual discursiva emergiram quatro categorias (planejamento; antecipacao de resultados e previsao de solucao; promocao da autorregulacao da aprendizagem dos aluno; autorreflexao), as quais buscam responder as questoes levantadas no estudo. Os dados sugerem que a utilizacao da estimulacao da recordacao contribuiu para a promocao da autorregulacao da aprendizagem dos estagiarios e para a formulacao de diferentes solucoes frente aos desafios do estagio.