Effect of screen size on multimedia vocabulary learning

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of three different screen sizes (small, medium and large) and two types of multimedia instruction (text only and text with pictorial annotation) on vocabulary learning. One hundred thirty‐five Korean middle school students learning English as a foreign language were randomly distributed into six groups and were given a pretest, a self‐study multimedia instruction, a posttest and a retention test online. The pretest, posttest and retention test were identical and included 30 vocabulary questions. Results show that the large screen multimedia instruction helped the students to learn English vocabulary more effectively than the small screen instruction as demonstrated on both the posttest and retention test. However, there was little difference in vocabulary learning between the text‐only and text‐with‐pictorial annotation instructions. Although visual perception can be influenced by each learner's expectations and knowledge, using a smaller screen for instruction causes more challenges for learners to perceive and comprehend vocabulary learning.     

Progress to conservation: Conflict or correct answer?

One of the fundamental problems in socio-cognitive conflict theory concerns what it is that leads to cognitive growth. Is it conflict per se, i.e. the fact that two contradictory opinions are brought together, or is it the presence of the correct answer which is essential for growth. In this experiment, dyads, functioning on the same cognitive level, were formed and asked to solve a conservation-of-length task. The classification of the children in the pre-test was not done according to Piagetian norms, but according to Flavell’s appearance-reality (AR) model: AR non-conservers (AR-NC), AR intermediates (AR-I) and AR conservers (AR-C). Many children who would have been scored as non-conservers in a standard Piagetian task, showed an underlying conservation competence and were classified as AR-I. The results of the interaction suggest that conflict does not lead to appropriate change in AR-NC dyads or AR-I dyads. Furthermore, the results suggest that the most effective method for AR-I to become conservers, is to make them think about a problem and then, to create consensus by confronting the children with others who have also reached the correct solution.     

Scaffolding Middle School Students’ Construction of Scientific Explanations: Comparing a cognitive versus a metacognitive evaluation approach

This study investigated the effects of scaffolds as cognitive prompts and as metacognitive evaluation on seventh-grade students' growth of content knowledge and construction of scientific explanations in five inquiry-based biology activities. Students' scores on multiple-choice pretest and posttest and worksheets for five inquiry-based activities were analyzed. The results show that the students' content knowledge in all conditions significantly increased from the pretest to posttest. Incorporating cognitive prompts with the explanation scaffolds better facilitated knowledge integration and resulted in greater learning gains of content knowledge and better quality evidence and reasoning. The metacognitive evaluation instruction improved all explanation components, especially claims and reasoning. This metacognitive approach also significantly reduced students' over- or underestimation during peer-evaluation by refining their internal standards for the quality of scientific explanations. The ability to accurately evaluate the quality of explanations was strongly associated with better performance on explanation construction. The cognitive prompts and metacognitive evaluation instruction address different aspects of the challenges faced by the students, and show different effects on the enhancement of content knowledge and the quality of scientific explanations. Future directions and suggestions are provided for improving the design of the scaffolds to facilitate the construction of scientific explanations.     

Teaching Phonological Awareness and Metacognitive Strategies to Children with Reading Difficulties: A comparison of two instructional methods

This paper describes an applied training study which investigated the differential effects of two instructional methods on the reading performance of primary school children with reading difficulties. Sixty five children aged 7-10 participated. Twenty five children were assigned to each of two experimental groups: direct instruction in phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle, or the same direct instruction in phonological awareness in conjunction with training in specific metalinguistic concepts and metacognitive strategies. Fifteen children were selected as controls. Reading performance from baseline was measured within a pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest experimental design. Data and results are presented on 60 children owing to attrition. Results showed that direct instruction in phonological awareness improved the reading performance of children with reading difficulties over time. However, direct instruction in phonological awareness in conjunction with explicit training in specific metalinguistic concepts and metacognitive strategies was more advantageous overall.     

形式聚焦教学时机对不同英语水平学习者语法习得的效果研究

本研究对比了分离型和融入型形式聚焦教学时机对不同英语水平学习者语法习得的效果。126名初中生被分为分离组、融入组和控制组,每组学生又被分为高低水平组。所有学生完成错误改正题的前测、即时和延时后测。结果表明,两种时机对不同水平学习者都有促进作用,对高水平学习者效果更明显,分离型效果更好。对高水平学习者,分离型的即时和延时效果都好于融入型;对低水平学习者,两种时机的即时效果没有区别,但分离型延迟效果更好。     

An Experimental Effort to Change the Achievement Test Profile

An experiment was performed to determine the effects of instruction in the Piacceleration program (PXL) on Hispanic Head Start students’ acquisition of Piagetian skills. The PXL is a hands-on, mastery-based program designed to systematically instruct children in the Piagetian skills of classification, seriation, and conservation. The PXL group performed significantly better than the control group on posttest measures of classification of objects by form, size, and orientation, and on measures of general classification and seriation. The two groups did not differ significantly on a posttest measure of intelligence, the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R). The participants who achieved concept mastery, however, performed significantly better than their nonmastery peers on the WPPSI-R Full scale.     

The relative responsiveness of concrete operational seventh grade and college students to science instruction

Numerous persons have suggested that instruction should match the developmental level of the learner. Are “concrete operational” college students developmentally the same as “concrete operational” seventh grade students thus in need of identical instruction? Matched concrete operational seventh grade and college students were given identical classroom instruction in probabilistic and correlational reasoning. The college students performed significantly better on posttest measures which appeared to require greater processing of information while significant differences did not exist on less difficult items. Level of cognitive development, field independence, and fluid intelligence correlated moderately with posttest performance for the seventh grade students. Field independence and fluid intelligence correlated moderately with posttest performance for the college students but not pretest knowledge of specific biological concepts and cognitive level. It was concluded that college students are more responsive to instruction due either to (1) greater amount of experience or (2) greater information processing capacity. Implications for science teaching are discussed.     

Social Context Effects on Children's Performance of Number Conservation Tasks: plausibility and evidence

Abstract Recent controversy over Piagetian tasks concerns whether the experimenter's actions result in children misunderstanding the question. Evidence for this has been derived from differences in performance of conservation tasks according to whether the transformation is intentional or accidental. Studies reporting large differences according to transformation type are claimed to be flawed procedurally. Including a preliminary talk and restricting questions to one domain result in little or no transformation type effect. Whether children's correct judgments in accidental versions are reliable indications of their knowledge has also been disputed. They may reflect children's ignoring of the transformation or covert counting. Using an identity conservation pretest 192 Yemeni children were selected to be tested on number conservation tasks varying in transformation type, numerosity and equality. The results were analysed using a model‐fitting procedure. Identity nonconservers were affected by transformation type but not numerosity whereas identity conservers showed the opposite pattern. The identity nonconservers may simply have been so bemused by the adult experimenter introducing a soft toy in the accidental conditions that they guessed. For identity nonconservers guessing will result in greater success than reasoning.     

Direct and Extended Vocabulary Instruction in Kindergarten: Investigating Transfer Effects

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of an 18-week program of direct and extended vocabulary instruction with kindergarten students on both proximal measures of target word knowledge and transfer measures of generalized language and literacy. A second purpose was to examine whether treatment effects would be moderated by initial receptive vocabulary knowledge measured at pretest. In a quasi-experimental design, 80 kindergarten students from schools serving large at-risk populations were taught the meanings of 54 vocabulary words within interactive story read alouds over 36 half-hour instructional lessons (2 lessons per week over 18 weeks). An additional 44 students served as a no-treatment control. Findings indicated that students who received vocabulary instruction outperformed controls on a measure of target word knowledge as well as measures of generalized receptive vocabulary and listening comprehension. In addition, initial receptive vocabulary was strongly related to posttest performance on all measures. Implications are discussed in relation to supporting vocabulary development in the early grades within a multitier framework of instruction and intervention.     

Testing the Immediate and Long-Term Efficacy of a Tier 2 Kindergarten Mathematics Intervention

ABSTRACT

This study examined the efficacy of a kindergarten mathematics intervention program, ROOTS, focused on developing whole-number understanding in the areas of counting and cardinality and operations and algebraic thinking for students at risk in mathematics. The study utilized a randomized block design with students within classrooms randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Measures of mathematics achievement were collected in the fall (pretest) and spring (posttest) in kindergarten and in the winter of first grade (delayed posttest). Significant differences between conditions favoring treatment students were found on four of six measures at posttest. Treatment students reduced the achievement gap with their not-at-risk peers. No effect was found on follow-up first-grade achievement scores. Implications for Tier 2 mathematics instruction in a Response to Intervention model are discussed.     

Spatial ability and transformational geometry

New technologies in education are placing more emphasis upon visual and spatial skills, those required to inspect, encode, transform, and construct information in visual displays. They do this by presenting students with learning material embedded in complex visual displays and hypermedia, and by requiring students to navigate through virtual space. These developments make it important for us to learn more about the underlying nature of visuospatial ability, how it is related to academic performance, and how it can be improved. This paper explores these issues in the context of instruction in transformational geometry upon geometry performance and spatial ability of Grade 7/8 students. The instructional conditions were (a) a traditional textbook approach involving paper-and-pencil tasks and verbal instruction (Traditional Group), and (b) an approach incorporating object manipulation, and visual imagery, which was designed to encourage spatial thinking (Spatial Group). Multiple regression results indicated that posttest geometry performance was predicted by pretest geometry, pretest spatial ability, and the interaction of pretest geometry and instructional condition; the interaction indicated that high prior knowledge subjects performed better in the Spatial group, low prior knowledge subjects in the Traditional group. Posttest spatial ability was predicted by handedness, pretest geometry, pretest spatial ability, and the interaction of pretest spatial ability and handedness; the interaction indicated that less right-handed subjects of low spatial ability improved on spatial ability more than their more right-handed peers.     

The Effects of Cooperative Learning on Student Achievement and Motivation in a High School Geometry Class

In this study, the effects of a form of cooperative group instruction (Student Teams Achievement Divisions) on student motivation and achievement in a high school geometry class were examined. Eighty students were randomly assigned to either a control group receiving traditional instruction or one of two treatment groups receiving cooperative learning instruction. Geometry achievement was assessed using scores from the IOWA Test of Basic Skills and teacher-made exams. An 83-item questionnaire was used as a pretest, posttest, and post-posttest assessment of efficacy, intrinsic valuing, goal orientation, and cognitive processing. Students in the cooperative treatment groups exhibited significantly greater gains than the control group in geometry achievement, efficacy, intrinsic valuing of geometry, learning goal orientation, and reported uses of deep processing strategies. The implications for cooperative group structures and motivation theory are discussed.     

Using the retrospective pretest to get usable,indirect evidence of student learning

Minimal evidence exists regarding the retrospective pretest’s effectiveness as a tool to obtain usable, indirect evidence of student learning in open admissions institutions. The researcher conducted this study to determine if a retrospective pretest more accurately detected a change in students’ knowledge compared to a conventional pretest–posttest. The researcher designed a 17‐item inventory covering course objectives, and students were randomly assigned to either a retrospective pretest (referred to as post‐then) or a conventional pretest–posttest group. Findings indicated that participants in the post‐then group reported a greater change in knowledge compared to the conventional group. This finding supported the use of the retrospective pretest as a tool for getting usable, indirect evidence of student learning. Future research needs to examine response effect, alternative ways of calculating treatment effect and the confounding influences of other perceptual variables.     

Effects of Early Field Experience on Student Teachers’ Self-Concepts and Performance

This research was designed to determine whether (1) selecting a pre-student teaching field-based experience brought about significant differences in secondary student teachers’ self-concepts and performance; and (2) whether self-concept scores were predictors of performance ratings. Student teachers who had selected Project Interaction (PI) and those who had no early field experience (NF) were pre-and posttested on four self-concept variables, and rated on performance by cooperating teachers, supervisors, and by self-ratings. Pretest self-concept scores were correlated with performance ratings. Results indicated the PI group had significantly more conflict on the pretest, which was reversed on the posttest to produce a trend toward significantly less conflict. The PI group had significantly higher self-esteem than the NF group on the posttest. No significant differences were found on performance ratings, but cooperating teachers’ ratings did correlate with pretest self-concept scores. It was concluded that early field experience appeared to have latent positive effects on self-concept.     

Academic outcomes for students with learning disabilities in consultation and resource programs

In this study, pretest and posttest achievement test data were collected for 67 children with learning disabilities assigned to one of four conditions: one period of resource room instruction per day; two periods of resource room instruction per day; consultative services combined with in-class instruction; and consultative services to classroom teachers. Analysis of pretest achievement measures indicated that students assigned to two periods of resource room per day differed significantly from the other groups and results from this group were analyzed separately. Students in the remaining three conditions made gains in standing relative to same-age peers from pretest to posttest. Students receiving a combination of consultation and direct services showed small, but significantly greater overall gains in achievement than did students placed in the resource room.     

The effect of a strategy training on reading comprehension in fourth-grade students

Previous studies have shown that instruction of reading strategies is an effective method for enhancing reading comprehension. However, many of the interventions in these studies focused on small groups of (poor) comprehenders and were provided by research assistants, making it time-consuming and relatively expensive. The authors implemented a strategy intervention to intact classrooms, consisting of reciprocal teaching and delivered by teachers. Participants were 510 typically developing fourth-grade students. A clustered randomized controlled trial was conducted with pretest, posttest, and follow-up measures to assess knowledge of reading strategies and reading comprehension. The results revealed that the intervention had an effect on knowledge of reading strategies at posttest and follow-up. However, the intervention did not affect reading comprehension performance. Together with the results of earlier studies, the present study raises the question whether strategy interventions are the most efficient to improve fourth-grade students' reading comprehension.     

任务前后语言形式聚焦对英语学习者语法习得影响的对比研究

本研究对比了任务前和任务后形式聚焦对英语学习者学习被动语态的教学效果。127名初中生被分为任务前、任务后形式聚焦组和控制组。在任务前组,教师先引导学生聚焦被动语态的规则和使用,然后完成相关的交际活动任务。在任务后组,学生先进行与被动语态相关的交际活动任务,然后再聚焦被动语态的语法规则。控制组只完成测试。错误改正题和图片描述题的结果表明,任务前和任务后聚焦形式都能显著促进学生对被动语态的掌握,总体上任务前聚焦形式的效果更好。     

Student performance and attitudes using personalized mathematics instruction

This study investigated the effects of personalized instruction on the achievement and attitudes of Taiwanese students on two-step mathematics word problems. A total of 136 fourth-graders in a Taiwanese public school participated in the study. Subjects initially completed a Student Survey on which they chose their favorite foods, sports, stores, classmates, and other selections. The most popular items were then used to create personalized math word problems for the pretest, personalized instructional program, and posttest. Subjects were blocked by ability based on their pretest scores and were randomly assigned within ability levels to either a personalized or nonpersonalized version of the print-based instructional program. After finishing the program, subjects completed a student attitude survey and the posttest. A repeated-measures univariate analysis of variance revealed that subjects in the personalized treatment made significantly greater pretest-to-posttest gains than those in the nonpersonalized treatment. Subjects also performed significantly better on the personalized pretest and posttest problems than on the nonpersonalized problems. Personalized subjects and higher-ability students both had significantly more positive attitudes toward the instructional program than did their nonpersonalized and lower-ability counterparts. This research was conducted while he was a doctoral student at Arizona State University.     

Building an organized knowledge base: Concept mapping and achievement in secondary school physics

Direct teaching of problem-solving methods to high school physics students met with little success. Expert problem solving depended upon an organized knowledge base. Concept mapping was found to be a key to organizing an effective knowledge base. The investigation of the effect of the degree of concept mapping on achievement was the purpose of this study. Six intact high school physics classes, taught by this investigator, took part in the study. Two classes were control groups and received standard instruction. Four classes received six weeks of concept-mapping instruction prior to the unit under study. Two of these four classes were the low-level treatment group and were required to submit concept maps at the conclusion of the instruction. The other two classes were the high-level treatment group and were required to submit concept maps at the beginning and at the conclusion of the unit under study. One class from each treatment group took a pretest prior to instruction. An analysis of the posttest results revealed no pretest sensitization. A one-way analysis of covariance indicated a significant main effect for the treatment level at the p < 0.05 level. A pair of single-df comparisons of the adjusted treatment means resulted in significant differences (p < 0.05) between the control group and the average of the treatment means as well as between the two experimental groups. It can be concluded that for this sample (upper-middle-class high school physics students) mapping concepts prior to, during, and subsequent to instruction led to greater achievement as measured by posttest scores.     

The Nature of the Refutation Text Effect: An Investigation of Attention Allocation

ABSTRACT

Students often hold misconceptions that conflict with scientific explanations. Research has shown that refutation texts are effective for facilitating conceptual change in these cases (Guzzetti, Snyder, Glass, & Gamas, 1993). The process through which refutation texts have their effect is not clear. The authors replicated and extended previous research investigating cognitive processes involved in the refutation text effect. Undergraduates read either a refutation or an expository text on seasonal change. Individual reading times were recorded. Participants’ conceptions were measured at pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest. Results showed that readers spent less time reading the refutation paragraph compared to the expository paragraph. The refutation text group had fewer misconceptions at posttest. These findings suggest that refutation text processing differences mirror similar findings in the attention literature, which may account for their effectiveness.