Students' motivational trajectories in vocational education: Effects of a self-regulated learning environment.

Motivation is central for successful learning processes and lifelong learning. In the present study, the motivational development of vocational students in a learning environment promoting self-regulated learning (SRL) was examined in comparison to a control group with regular, teacher-centered instruction. The first aim was to examine the development of the dispositional and situational motivation of vocational students. The second aim was to gain a deeper understanding of the students' motivational experiences and the factors of the learning environment that promote and impede motivation. For this purpose, a mixed-methods design was applied. Through multilevel analysis, we investigated the development of dispositional motivation between the beginning and the end of the first year of vocational education (N = 159), as well as the development of situational motivation over the first 14 weeks using weekly motivation measures (N = 119). In addition, we interviewed 19 students from the SRL-promoting and regular school settings. The quantitative results revealed significant changes in dispositional and situational motivation over time. The qualitative results showed that the three basic psychological needs (relatedness, competence, and autonomy) were central determinants of the students' motivation in both learning environments-albeit to varying extents. Overall, the SRL-promoting learning environment has positive effects on student motivation, but interindividual differences must be considered. Moreover, the results shed light on the coexistence of different motivation regulations within students and interindividual differences in the interpretation of the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs.

Increased electrical nerve stimulation threshold of the sciatic nerve in patients with diabetic foot gangrene: a prospective parallel cohort study.

CONTEXT: Peripheral neuropathy may affect nerve conduction in patients with diabetes mellitus. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the electrical stimulation threshold for a motor response of the sciatic nerve is increased in patients suffering from diabetic foot gangrene compared to non-diabetic patients. DESIGN: Prospective non-randomised trial with two parallel groups. SETTING: Two university-affiliated hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Patients scheduled for surgical treatment of diabetic foot gangrene (n = 30) and non-diabetic patients (n = 30) displaying no risk factors for neuropathy undergoing orthopaedic foot or ankle surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The minimum current intensity required to elicit a typical motor response (dorsiflexion or eversion of the foot) at a pulse width of 0.1 ms and a stimulation frequency of 1 Hz when the needle tip was positioned under ultrasound control directly adjacent to the peroneal component of the sciatic nerve. RESULTS: The non-diabetic patients were younger [64 (SD 12) vs. 74 (SD 7) years] and predominantly female (23 vs. 8). The geometric mean of the motor stimulation threshold was 0.26 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.24 to 0.28] mA in non-diabetic and 1.9 (95% CI 1.6 to 2.2) mA in diabetic patients. The geometric mean of the electrical stimulation threshold was significantly (P < 0.001) increased by a factor of 7.2 (95% CI 6.1 to 8.4) in diabetic compared to non-diabetic patients. CONCLUSION: The electrical stimulation threshold for a motor response of the sciatic nerve is increased by a factor of 7.2 in patients with diabetic foot gangrene, which might hamper nerve identification.

Stability and change of secondary school students' motivation profiles in mathematics: Effects of a student intervention.

There is high agreement that motivation is an important factor for successful learning processes and outcomes. But how do students differ in terms of motivation and how do these differences affect the effectiveness of a motivation intervention? As an intervention interacts with students' characteristics, students' heterogeneity must be considered and homogeneous intervention effects must be critically examined. This study aimed to identify motivation profiles of a specifically vulnerable student group, namely students in the lowest ability tier in the learning of mathematics. Within the framework of self-determination theory, we investigated how these profiles changed during Grade 7 and Grade 8. Furthermore, the study examined whether a particular intervention setting aimed at promoting positive emotions and motivation in learning had an impact on the patterns of change in the specific motivation profiles compared to students in the control condition. A latent profile analysis based on self-reported intrinsic, identified, introjected, and external regulation of 348 students revealed three motivation profiles, consisting of (a) low-mixed, (b) high-mixed, and (c) self-determined. Results of the latent transition analysis indicated that the majority of students tended to remain in the same profile and also revealed different effects of the intervention on different motivation profiles. The intervention seemed to be better tailored to students in the low-mixed motivation profile than to students in other profiles. This result highlights the nature of differential effects between students.

Understanding the Development of Self-Regulated Learning: An Intervention Study to Promote Self-Regulated Learning in Vocational Schools.

Self-regulated learning (SRL) provides the foundation for building sustainable knowledge and is therefore important for schools, classrooms, and lifelong learning in general. Especially in vocational education and training, the concept of SRL remains fundamental as it relates to preparing future employees. However, further research is needed on how vocational students situationally regulate their learning process and the extent to which this may be related to a dispositional change in their SRL. In this study, we analyzed longitudinal questionnaire data from 159 students who attended either SRL-conducive or regular vocational classes. We refer to Perry and colleagues' (2018) framework of an SRL-conducive learning environment, which focuses on (meta)cognitive, motivational, and emotional aspects of learning. Using multilevel analysis, we found differences in the development of (meta)cognitive components of learning, whereas no clear differences could be identified for motivational and emotional components. The results support the assumption that process analyses can be used to draw a more differentiated picture of SRL in vocational schools. Moreover, indirect approaches to promoting SRL should be designed to include all SRL-relevant aspects.