Abstracts - Earli

The effects of hands-on experience with new modes of assessment on students’ preferencesKatrien Struyven, KULeuven, BelgiumFilip Dochy, KULeuven, BelgiumSteven Janssens, KULeuven, BelgiumThis study investigates the effects of hands-on experience on student teachers’ preferences forassessment methods. A course on Child Development within the first-year of the elementaryteacher education program provides the quasi-experimental learning/teaching setting. Fiveresearch conditions are linked to four assessment modes, namely: portfolio, case-based, peerassessment and multiple choice evaluations. Data collection was obtained by questionnaires,adopting a longitudinal design that involves three moments of measurement (N=669). Resultsshow initially negative responses to unknown assessment methods. As familiarity with theassessment tool grew, students’ preferences changed positively. Though the extent differs, everyassessment method benefited significantly from hands-on experience with the format. Moreover,students’ perceptions of the appropriateness of the assessment method for evaluation purposes arecongruent with the students’ preferences. Consequently, in order to change students’ preferencesfor unknown assessment methods, hands-on experiences are fundamental and need to be positive.Results are particularly encouraging for teacher education instructors who use a variety ofassessment modes. Note: Tables and Figure (and Reference-list) are attached.P 301 September 2007 11:00 - 12:20Room: -1.62Paper SessionCulture and educationChair:Edina Caprez-Krompák, University of Zurich, SwitzerlandTeam learning: The influence of social and cognitive factorsPiet Van den Bossche, Maastricht University, NetherlandsWim Gijselaers, Maastricht University, NetherlandsMien Segers, Leiden University, NetherlandsA team is more than a group of people in the same space. In recent years, increasing attention hasbeen devoted to the social bases of cognition whereby research on information processing and itsconsequences for professional decision-making has taken into consideration how social processesin groups and teams affect performance. This chapter investigates when and how teams incollaborative learning environments engage in building and maintaining mutually sharedcognition, leading to increased perceived performance. In doing so, this research looks fordiscourse practices managing the co-construction of mutually shared cognition, and revealsconditions in the interpersonal context that contribute to engagement in these knowledge buildingpractices. A comprehensive theoretical framework was developed and tested. Data were collectedthrough three empirical studies in educational and organizational setting. Results showed that bothinterpersonal and socio-cognitive processes have to be taken into account to understand theformation of shared mental models, resulting in higher perceived team performance.– 826 –