Abstracts - Earli

interviews included eliciting responses to videos of ACTS lessons in this project. The analysisshows that there are substantial differences in pupil outcomes between schools, not least in termsof the metacognitive skilfulness evidenced by the pupils. The paper explores the range of factorsthat have influenced the response of pupils, teachers and headteachers, which broadly reflect theculture of the schools and some teacher characteristics. The primary schools all show varyingdegrees of ‘meshing’ ACTS with other initiatives and interests, a form of organisational socialconstruction, which means that ACTS is slowly merging into a wider pedagogy, blurring itsidentity.The transition of knowledge between educational and professional discoursesHarriet Jakobsson Ohrn, The National Swedish Police Academy, 170 82 Solna, SwedenGunilla Petersson, Stockholm University, SwedenThe aim of this study is to examine how students in higher education, undergraduate and furthereducation, handle the transition between two institutional contexts - the educational setting and theprofessional setting - in order to make sense of course content in relation to their futureoccupation. The paper takes its point of departure from nursing and police students’ perspectivesand will describe the transition of knowledge between the educational and professional discourses.Vocational education, both undergraduate and further education, is mostly based on experiencefrom the practical discourse in order to exemplify the theoretical course content. Practicalexperience from the field is taken, with help of professionals into the education, but also makesuse of the students’ own experience from the field. The purpose of using experience knowledge isto help the student make a transition between the more decontextualized educational setting andthe professional setting in order to facilitate their learning process. But what are the students’perceptions of this arrangement? Can they see the underlying purpose, or is it only blurring theirown learning process?Strategies for supporting development of problem solving skillsZane Olina, Florida State University, USAEric Sikorski, Florida State University, USATristan Johnson, Florida State University, USAJeff Sievert, Florida State University, USAWayne Slabon, Florida State University, USASeveral researchers have suggested that case-based instruction can help students adopt thecharacteristics of expert problem-solvers. The purpose of this study was to examine instructionalstrategies for facilitating development of expert-like problem solving skills, including pre-caseanalysis, case discussions in small groups of peers, interactions with expert practitioners, andindividual reflections about the case analysis process. The study was conducted in a graduate-levelcapstone seminar for instructional design students revolving around analysis of a series of casestudies. We will present results of our analysis of student work and their responses to surveys andinterviews, and discuss types of support that learners require in case-based learning environments.Assessment for Learning in Higher Education: interrogating practice and theoryLiz McDowell, Northumbria University, United KingdomCatherine Montgomery, Northumbria University, United KingdomThis paper presents work from a national Centre for Excellence in Assessment for Learning (AfL).The AfL approach is based on a set of theoretically underpinned principles. These promote:– 224 –