Abstracts - Earli

D629 August 2007 11:00 - 12:20Room: PP6Poster SessionChair:Poster sessionFritz C. Staub, University of Fribourg, SwitzerlandDesigning instructional examples to promote problem-based learning: Self-regulated use ofcontinuous examples vs. segmented solution steps.Florian Schmidt-Weigand, University of Kassel, GermanyMartin Haenze , University of Kassel, GermanyRita Wodzinski , University of Kassel, GermanyHow can worked examples be designed to promote self-regulated problem-based learning? In twoexperiments students of the 9th grade attended in pairs (experiments 1 & 2) or alone (experiment2) to physics and chemistry problems. In both experiments learning was supported by eithercontinuous or segmented worked examples, the latter being obtained by segmenting thecontinuous examples into solution steps. In order to further promote the students’ elaboration onthe worked examples each step in the segmented condition was preceded by a prompt thatsuggested auxiliary learning activities (e.g. strategic considerations and/or communication). Bothprompts and solution steps ("feedback") were given on separate sheets. Students self-regulatedwhen to attend to the next prompt or solution step. Experiment 1 (N=60) revealed that segmentedworked examples designed in this fashion were superior to more common continuous workedexamples in measures of learning outcomes (retention, transfer) and the quality of communicationwithin pairs. Communication quality, however, did not mediate learning outcomes. In order toexplore if peer interaction contributes to the positive influence of segmentation with promptinganyway, we further varied in experiment 2 (N=146) if the segmented or continuous workedexamples were attended in pairs or alone. The results confirmed the superiority of segmented overcontinuous worked examples while pair learners did not gain higher learning outcome scores thansingles.Teacher education in Quebec at the crossroad of new competenciesTeresa Visca, McGill University, CanadaIn the recently revised teacher-education curricula in Quebec, the focus is on 12 competencies,mastery of which is assumed to represent excellence in teaching. However, a serious challengepresents itself: the competencies themselves, as well as the knowledge, attitudes, and abilitiessurrounding them, need to be clarified. Currently, the conceptualization and the evaluation ofcompetencies are being questioned by all the partners involved in the training of teachers - that is,teacher educators, students, practitioners, administrators and ministry officials - and the need toaddress this issue is urgent. Failure to do so will result in decreasing standards in teacher educationin Quebec, leaving the province behind the standards set by the international educationcommunity. The first years of practice are already extremely difficult ones, and graduatingteachers who have not been trained properly will teach poorly, depriving their students of theindispensable intellectual formation they deserve. In order to assist in this process of definition,my study addresses the following questions with the aim of contributing new knowledge to theissue of competencies in teacher education. How are competencies defined and operationalized?– 218 –