The Effect of Debate Training on Argumentation Skills: The Developmental Process for Japanese College Students

How do students acquire argumentation skills through debating? Although attempts have long been made to answer this question, a common limitation of previous studies is the tendency to ignore the potential of college students who learn how to argue in a community of practice. Cultural difference is also an important theme in argumentation studies, as individuals and a community co-construct the quality of their arguments. In Japanese education, argument is rarely taught in classes. Nakano (2007) pointed out that Japanese students tend to hesitate when arguing with friends, and are low in approach argumentativeness and high in avoidance argumentativeness, compared to other Asian countries. Parliamentary Debate (PD) is most popular and is effective for novice learners of argument (Inoue & Nakano, 2006). Every stage of debating, such as preparation, debate rounds, reflection and so on, forms a cyclic learning system, and this functions as an ideal community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991). The present study aims at exploring how members of a community acquire argumentation skills through debating. First, we identify patterns of argument produced in the community during a session. Second, we analyse transitional patterns, focusing on individual differences. In order to teach reasoning and persuasion to those who are especially unwilling to oppose someone, we need to have them realize their improvement with confidence by reducing their mental blocks.

Secondary Education Students with Reading Disability - Findings from Two Remedial Training Experiments

Dyslexia can have determining effects on a person’ s learning identity, educational choices, and life in general. This is the first scientific report focusing on the remedial training prospects for adults with dyslexia. The main purpose of the research was to provide new information about reading disability in adults and to determine the usefulness of remedial training for dyslexia in Finland. In this research, the remedial effect of training material that was created to improve the reading performance of upper secondary education students was analyzed through two different remedial experiments. The results were analyzed through statistical analysis and students’ own experiences. In addition, the functionality of the diagnostic method for dyslexia and reading disability in students were studied. The sample (n = 98) comprised students from two Finnish education institutes who participated in two remedial training experiments. The reading of the test group (n = 6) and the control group (n = 3) selected from the sample were studied for one study year. The test group was given 20 hours of remedial training for dyslexia while the control group was not. The research group (n = 37) in which the diagnostic method was tested comprised of students from two Finnish vocational schools. The research results showed positive development in students’ reading during the remedial training period. Statistically significant decrease in the total number of reading errors and significant increase in reading speed were found. According to the results, the cerebral hemisphere-oriented tasks in the training material stimulated the weaker cerebral hemisphere, as expected. The training material for students with L-type dyslexia had a more positive effect than the one designed for students with P-type dyslexia.

Literacy of Young Adults Learning at Adult Gymnasiums: Literacy or Illiteracy?

The article based on the sociocultural approach to literacy (Barton & Hamilton 1998, Barton 2007, Eames 2006, Gee 2012). The literacy has to do with reading, whereas multiple abilities to “read” certain types of texts in certain ways or at certain levels are used. This allows to claim that in that area various types of abilities are needed depending on the type of literacy and there is a set of literacy practices (Gee 2012, 40). Based on sociocultural approach conducted in 2007 the survey Literacy level of students of adult gymnasiums. The survey focuses on the analysis of literacy of young adults learning at adult gymnasiums in Estonia. The main research question was: how do young adults who learn at adult gymnasiums assess their coping with literacy-related activities and what are their skills in reading texts with different degrees of difficulty? The survey revealed that the majority of young adults who had had reading difficulties during childhood also experienced reading difficulties as adults. Significant proportion of young adults learning at adult gymnasiums had difficulties with finding necessary information in written texts and using this information.

Self-Regulation in Higher Education: Students’ Motivational, Regulational and Learning Strategies, and Their Relationships to Study Success

This study investigates how in the self-regulation of learning (SRL; Pintrich 2000; Zimmerman, 2000), the motivational and affective factors are related to regulation strategies of behaviour and context, and learning strategies - and identifies different profiles in SRL. The study also aims to explore which factors of SRL are related to study success and study progress during master degree studies. The data consist of undergraduate students’ (N = 1248) responses to IQ Learn self-report questionnaires, and of data (n = 229) retrieved from the university ’ s study register. The results revealed that the sub-processes of SRL: motivational and affective components, regulation strategies and learning strategies are systematically related with each other. In addition, motivational and affective factors, especially Intrinsic motivation predicted the use of strategies regulating behaviour and context and the use of learning strategies. Study success correlated slightly positively with accumulation of credits indicating that students with better grades proceed efficiently in their studies. Yet, accumulation of credits was evidenced to relate slightly and negatively with expectancy components of SRL and the use of deep learning strategies. Finally, three student profiles in SRL were encountered: (1) Aiming high with insufficient SRL, (2) Excellent in SRL, and (3) Distressed performers. Educational implications and the needs for future research are discussed.

Certainty of career choice at the beginning of university studies - general strategies and attributions in achievement situations, and career motives

Certainty of career choice at the beginning of university studies - general strategies and attributions in achievement situations, and career motives The focus of this paper is on certainty of career choice at the beginning of university studies, and how this relates to students' career motives and more general strategies and attributions in achievement situations. The paper sample comprised 137 first-year students of theology, who completed a questionnaire developed on the basis of earlier studies on motives for studying theology and certainty of career choice. The questionnaire included a section on strategies and attributions in achievement situations (SAQ), a section covering the reasons and motives for starting to study theology and a scale measuring uncertainty of career choice. According to the results, uncertainty of career choice related positively to being assured of a place to study, and negatively to having a spiritual calling, a helping orientation and self-fulfillment. In the first year of university studies it also related positively to task avoidance and social pessimism, and negatively to success expectation. Stepwise regression analysis showed that being assured of a place to study, having a spiritual calling and low self-fulfillment explained 57 percent of the total variance. The strategies and attributions the students used in achievement situations were very modest predictors of uncertainty in career choice. Success expectation and task avoidance explained nine percent of the variance.