Crystal M. Ramsay

The Measurement and Predictive Ability of Metacognition in Middle School Learners

ABSTRACT The authors examined relations among components of metacognition from varying theoretical perspectives, explored the psychometric characteristics of known measures of metacognition, and examined the predictive strength of measures of metacognition for both science and overall academic achievement in 97 seventh-grade students. Findings indicated expected significant correlations between 2 measures of metacognition, the Junior Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (Sperling, Howard, Miller, & Murphy, 2002) and an open-ended version of Swansons (1990) metacognition measure and a significant correlation between the Swanson measure and general science teacher ratings of students’ metacognition. Student measures demonstrated sound psychometric properties and both were significant predictors of science achievement. Additional analyses, recommendations for future research, and suggestions for practitioners and educators interested in measuring and promoting metacognition are provided.

Fun in the College Classroom: Examining Its Nature and Relationship with Student Engagement.

Despite the popular belief that fun has a positive impact in learning contexts, empirical research on fun in the classroom has been limited. To extend research in this area, the goal of this study was to develop and validate a new scale to assess fun in the classroom and examine its relationship with student engagement. The multi-stage scale development effort resulted in a two-dimensional measure, including fun activities and fun delivery. Fun activities reflect a variety of hands-on exercises and ways to promote social involvement among students. Fun delivery is more instructor-focused, including the use of humor, creative examples, and storytelling. Interestingly, fun delivery, but not fun activities, was positively related to student engagement. These findings suggest that not all fun is equal and highlight the need for additional research to validate the impact of fun on meaningful student outcomes.

Reading Perspective: Can It Improve Middle School Students' Comprehension of Informational Text?.

ABSTRACT In 2 experiments the authors investigated whether assigning a perspective to middle school students prior to reading a long informational text would improve their reading comprehension. Pretest–posttest control group designs were employed in both experiments, in Experiment 1 (n = 146 fifth- and sixth-grade students) and in Experiment 2 (n = 83 eighth-grade students), where a delayed measure of comprehension was also included. Findings indicated statistically significant learning gains from pre- to posttest regardless of perspective but no differential benefit for perspective assignment on overall comprehension or comprehension of perspective-relevant content. Previous research has demonstrated comprehension benefit for adults assigned a perspective before reading short narrative texts in experimental settings. This work extends reading comprehension research by testing the efficacy of perspective instantiation in 2 samples of middle school learners reading an informational text in a school setting. Findings suggest more research is necessary prior to advocating the use of perspective instantiation in classrooms.

Blogging pragmatics and pedagogy: An adventure in faculty development

As university faculty are increasingly called upon to ‘do more with less,’ particularly to teach more students with fewer resources, technology can provide viable solutions to pedagogical dilemmas. Faculty developers are frequently tasked with introducing faculty to or coaching them in the use of technological solutions. With respect to blogs, the typical show-and-tell approach to technology awareness that our faculty development center uses seemed inadequate, given the complexity of blog design, implementation, and maintenance. Instead, we found the best way to instruct university faculty in the use of blogs is to give them an opportunity to participate in a blogging community as part of a Course in College Teaching (CCT). We experimented with two different approaches in two different sections of our CCT. This paper reports on the current blogging culture in higher education, describes our specific context for utilizing blogs, shares implementation decisions and learning affordances, and forwards a set of ‘lessons learned.’

Intratextual Persuasive Messages as Catalysts for HigherOrder Thinking An Exploratory Investigation

Facilitating students’ acquisition of higherorder thinking skills is imperative in the 21st century. Although some types of text have been shown to enhance higherorder thinking, the effects of many novel forms of text have yet to be investigated. As such, the purpose of the present study was to explore the extent to which a relatively novel form of text (i.e., intratextual persuasive message) served as a catalyst for students’ higherorder thinking as evidenced in the quantity, quality, and content of their arguments before and after reading. The findings revealed that the quantity of students’ arguments increased from prereading to postreading and the content of the reasons provided by the students was more in line with those of the authors, whereas the quality of students’ arguments decreased over time. Interestingly, relatively few students altered their position on the central question from the text. Rather, the nature of the data indicated that students engaged in case-building as they read the text. As a result, the intratextual persuasive message was only minimally effective at enhancing students’ higherorder thinking. Implications for research and practice are forwarded.

Supporting students’ knowledge construction and self-regulation through the use of elaborative processing strategies

Abstract Theoretical and empirical support for the benefits of elaborative strategy instruction for middle level students is highlighted. Consistent with the Keys of Educating Young Adolescents, teaching elaborative strategies enhances academic achievement, engages learners, and empowers students’ future independent learning. A transactional strategy instruction approach is described and suggested for educators to employ as they teach students elaborative strategies. Several strategies known to engage students in meaningful learning, including self-explanation, elaborative interrogation, student generated drawing, and generating examples, are shared. Specific examples tied to middle level academic goals and objectives across academic domains are provided.

PROS: A self-guided process for assignment completion and meaningful learning

Abstract In this chapter, a framework is provided to guide students in developing a consistent approach to completing assignments. Not only does the framework provide a study structure, but it also suggests technologies to support students as they manage, monitor, and adapt their learning strategies. The framework is applicable across the curriculum and enables students to approach coursework with an organized plan and reflection. While the aim is to support self-directed and autodidactic learners, we recognize that instructors still play a powerful role in guiding learning. We suggest that instructors introduce the framework and provide feedback, if needed, but the intention is for this to be a tool in a self-directed learner’s toolbox.