Note‐Taking and Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities: Challenges and Solutions

As more secondary students with learning disabilities (LD) enroll in advanced content‐area classes and are expected to pass state exams, they are faced with the challenge of mastering difficult concepts and abstract vocabulary while learning content. Once in these classes, students must learn from lectures that move at a quick pace, record accurate and complete notes, and then demonstrate their mastery of the content on tests. This article provides an overview of the challenges faced by students with LD in content‐area classes and discusses the problems that students have learning from lectures and recording notes. Further, the article discusses theory and research related to note‐taking and presents note‐taking interventions that teachers can use to help students improve their note‐taking skills, and ultimately, improve their achievement in these classes.     

Learning Styles and Strategies of Postgraduate Students

Research by Pask has suggested that matching and mismatching teaching strategies with learners'preferred learning strategies may have considerable effects of learning. The study reported here sought to explore the extent to which a group of experienced and successful learners, such as postgraduate students, might be expected to be versatile learners, in the sense of being able to learn equally well from holist and serialist learning materials. Eighty-three postgraduate students completed two questionnaires designed to assess learning styles. Twenty-six students also took two tests designed to assess their competence in learning from materials designed to suit holist and serialist learning strategies. Only two out of 26 students scored equally well on the tests of holist and serialist competence. The study also examines the extent to which holist and serialist competence may be predicted by relatively'quick and easy'questionnaire instruments. In 19 out of 23 cases such competence could be predicted from responses to a number of items from one of the questionnaires. Implications for further research are discussed.     

三年制高职生学习风格分析——以岳阳职业技术学院为例

目的 了解三年制高职学生学习风格,为学习任务分析和教学策略制定提供依据.方法 采用Felder学习风格问卷,对我院2007级三年制高职学生进行自填式问卷调查.结果 经Quick Cluster和Hierarchical Cluster分析,我院2007级2075名三年制高职学生学习风格相当一致,有63.33%的学生以积极主动型、感觉型和视觉型为主体学习风格.结论 喜欢通过一些活动和尝试来学习的学生多于通过思考来学习的学生;倾向于学习事实性内容的学生多于喜欢发现事物的发展可能性及相互关系的学生;善于通过情境记忆的学生多于通过口头语言来记忆的学生.     

英语学习策略及训练探析

在现代大学英语教学中,教师对教与学的认知已发生了很大的变化,学生如何学已经成为教学研究的重点。教师如何教首要的前提是了解学生如何学。英语学习策略可使语言学习取得更好的效果教师在教学中渗透学习策略的训练,能提高学生的学习效果和质量;同时也能促进教师的教学教师通过了解学生的学习策略,调整自己的教学策略和教学方法,从而能更好地提高教学效果。     

Service Learning Pedagogies to Promote Student Learning in Occupational Therapy Education

The centrality of service learning in the development of students’ professional practice has received worldwide attention. Exposure to appropriately designed service learning experience determines the acquisition of graduate attributes. This article addresses a study in which the key question was: What methods and strategies do students and their clinical supervisors find beneficial in improving their learning experiences during service learning placements? Drawing on the views and experiences of a group of final year occupational therapy (OT) students and their supervisors, the initial focus is on concepts in learning relevant to service learning and professional development, including Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (ZPD), the capability approach and collaborative and peer assisted learning. This is followed by an overview of the methodology and an analysis of the students’ and clinical supervisors’ experiences during service learning. The discussion focuses on the implications of the study findings for practice within a service learning context to enhance the alignment of institutional practices with students’ needs.     

试论基于网络资源的英语教学特点

通过对有关文献分析,努力综合分析在英语教学中使用网络资源相关的各种理论、概念和教学策略.建议英语教师使用网络信息技术去改善学生的学习,英语教师要利用好相关技术和资源去帮助和鼓励学生的学习,帮助学生选择感兴趣而有效的学习策略.     

学生自主学习的概念及其培养

教育目标不仅要使学生获取知识,更要使他们学会学习。近年,各地较多强调通过不同科目或学习领域的学习与教学,可以培养学生的共通能力。这些能力都是培养学生自主学习的重要条件。本文对自主学习的定义和概念作出一些分析,对有关研究和教与学作出一些简介。文中提及学生自主学习定义包含三个特点:他们采用自主的学习策略、他们面对自我学习成效回馈的积极响应、以及他们互动地推动学习过程。自主的学生选择和采用自主学习策略,在反思学习成效与技巧的基础上,争取理想的学术成果。笔者最后提出建议:(1)如何应用学习动机、课室管理、教师教学和教师期待以探讨自主学习在课堂教学过程中的实践;(2)如何以自主学习这个概念贯彻于各科或各学习领域的课程设计的各个课程要素中。笔者期望,研究自主学习能有助学生学习。     

Problem-Based Learning: What and How Do Students Learn?

Problem-based approaches to learning have a long history of advocating experience-based education. Psychological research and theory suggests that by having students learn through the experience of solving problems, they can learn both content and thinking strategies. Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional method in which students learn through facilitated problem solving. In PBL, student learning centers on a complex problem that does not have a single correct answer. Students work in collaborative groups to identify what they need to learn in order to solve a problem. They engage in self-directed learning (SDL) and then apply their new knowledge to the problem and reflect on what they learned and the effectiveness of the strategies employed. The teacher acts to facilitate the learning process rather than to provide knowledge. The goals of PBL include helping students develop 1) flexible knowledge, 2) effective problem-solving skills, 3) SDL skills, 4) effective collaboration skills, and 5) intrinsic motivation. This article discusses the nature of learning in PBL and examines the empirical evidence supporting it. There is considerable research on the first 3 goals of PBL but little on the last 2. Moreover, minimal research has been conducted outside medical and gifted education. Understanding how these goals are achieved with less skilled learners is an important part of a research agenda for PBL. The evidence suggests that PBL is an instructional approach that offers the potential to help students develop flexible understanding and lifelong learning skills.     

待识庐山真面目——关于“学”与“教”的再认识

＂学＂和＂教＂,是学校教育教学的核心概念和关键事件。但是,因＂师教生学＂、＂重教轻学＂的惯习影响,很少有教师对＂学＂与＂教＂的内涵、特质以及孰主孰从、孰先孰后的关系等作系统深入思考。事实上,唯有对＂教育的目的是学而不是教＂、＂什么是真正的学习＂、＂学什么更有价值＂、＂怎样教能更好地促进学＂等问题作深刻思辨和清醒认识,学校教育才能实现＂重教＂向＂重学＂转型、＂为学而教＂的美好愿景。     

Proof schemes and learning strategies of above-average mathematics students

What patterns can be observed among the mathematical arguments above-average students find convincing and the strategies these students use to learn new mathematical concepts? To investigate this question, we gave task-based interviews to eleven female students who had performed well in their college-level mathematics courses, but who differed in the number of proof-oriented courses each had taken. One interview was designed to elicit expressions of what students find convincing. These expressions were categorized according to the proof schemes defined by Harel and Sowder (1998). A second interview was designed to elicit expressions of what strategies students use to learn a mathematical concept from its definition, and these expressions were classified according to the learning strategies described by Dahlberg and Housman (1997). A qualitative analysis of the data uncovered the existence of a variety of phenomena, including the following: All of the students successfully generated examples when asked to do so, but they differed in whether they generated examples without prompting and whether they successfully generated examples when it was necessary to disprove conjectures. All but one of the students exhibited two or more proof schemes, with one student exhibiting four different proof schemes. The students who were most convinced by external factors were unsuccessful in generating examples, using examples, and reformulating concepts. The only student who found an examples-based argument convincing generated examples far more than the other students. The students who wrote and were convinced by deductive arguments were successful in reformulating concepts and using examples, and they were the same set of students who did not generate examples spontaneously but did successfully generate examples when asked to do so or when it was necessary to disprove a conjecture.     

加强学习策略培训 提高学生英语自主学习能力

培养学生利用学习策略,学会学习,不仅能减轻学生的学习负担,提高学生的学习效果,而且能提高教育教学水平和质量。文章通过分析高职高专学生英语学习的能力、水平和英语教学的现状及存在的问题,阐述了对学生进行英语学习策略培训的必要性,并有针对性地提出了适合高职高专学生学习特点的十项学习策略,对学生进行自主学习能力培训。     

Assessment and Classroom Learning

This article is a review of the literature on classroom formative assessment. Several studies show firm evidence that innovations designed to strengthen the frequent feedback that students receive about their learning yield substantial learning gains. The perceptions of students and their role in self‐assessment are considered alongside analysis of the strategies used by teachers and the formative strategies incorporated in such systemic approaches as mastery learning. There follows a more detailed and theoretical analysis of the nature of feedback, which provides a basis for a discussion of the development of theoretical models for formative assessment and of the prospects for the improvement of practice.     

论高职学生的学习与学习策略

学习是一种适应的活动,高职学生要学会学习,就要掌握必要的学习理论和学习策略.     

Learning oceanography from a computer simulation compared with direct experience at sea

Considerable research has compared how students learn science from computer simulations with how they learn from “traditional” classes. Little research has compared how students learn science from computer simulations with how they learn from direct experience in the real environment on which the simulations are based. This study compared two college classes studying introductory oceanography. One class learned using an interactive computer simulation based on a dynamic, three‐dimensional model of physical oceanography. The other class learned by spending a day on a research ship using scientific tools and instruments to measure physical properties of the ocean directly. In classes preceding and following the simulation or field experience, students performed the same exercises regarding currents and salinity, had the same instructor presentations, and did the same homework. The study found that the field experience helped contextualize learning for students with little prior experience of the ocean while the simulation made it easier for students to connect what they learned from it to other content they learned in class. These and other findings shed light on what computer simulations can and cannot help students learn, and what concepts are best learned in the real environment. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 25–42, 2006     

中亚留学生汉语词汇学习策略使用情况调查分析

本研究运用调查问卷,从元认知策略、认知策略和社会策略三个类别对在华学习汉语的非学历教育中亚留学生的词汇学习策略展开调查研究,探析留学生汉语词汇学习策略的使用情况.调查分析表明,在汉语词汇学习策略的选择上,中亚留学生能够综合使用社会策略、认知策略、元认知策略.获知留学生的词汇策略使用情况,有助于教师更好地了解学生,并在教学活动中开展有针对性的策略教学.     

大学生外语学习策略使用情况的研究

外语学习策略是学习者为了使语言学习更加有效而有意识地采取的特定行为。大学生英语学习策略的使用情况及其特点是文章关注的焦点。研究结果显示,相当数量的学生对外语学习策略的使用仍处于较低的水平,而英语学习策略的使用对英语成绩有显著影响。在外语教学中,教师应不断挖掘对自己学生有用的语言学习策略,培养学生的独立学习能力。     

How Levels of Interactivity in Tutorials Affect Students' Learning of Modeling Transportation Problems in a Spreadsheet

Do students learn to model OR/MS problems better by using computer‐based interactive tutorials and, if so, does increased interactivity in the tutorials lead to better learning? In order to determine the effect of different levels of interactivity on student learning, we used screen capture technology to design interactive support materials for modeling and solving the transportation problem in a spreadsheet. A controlled experiment was carried out and the results indicate a general support for the effectiveness of interactive tutorials in enhancing students’ learning of modeling concepts. However, the study also found that excessive interactivity increased the cognitive load for the students and hindered their learning by making it difficult for them to consolidate concepts, integrate previous knowledge, and create meaningful mental models of the process.     

Implementation of Game-transformed Inquiry-based Learning to Promote the Understanding of and Motivation to Learn Chemistry

Many studies have used the potential of computer games to promote students’ attitudes toward learning and increase their learning performance. A few studies have transformed scientific content into computer games or developed games with scientific content. In this paper, we employed students’ common misconceptions of chemistry regarding the properties of liquid to develop a computer game. Daily life situations and everyday phenomena related to the chemical understanding of the properties of liquid were also taken into account. Afterward, we applied a process-oriented, inquiry-based active learning approach to implement the game in a Thai high school chemistry course. We studied the implementation of a game-transformed inquiry-based learning class by comparing it to a conventional inquiry-based learning class. The results of this study include aspects of students’ conceptual understanding of chemistry and their motivation to learn chemistry. We found that students in both the game-transformed inquiry-based learning class and conventional inquiry-based learning class had a significantly increased conceptual understanding of chemistry. There was also a significant difference between the gains of both classes between the pre- and post-conceptual understanding scores. Moreover, the post-conceptual understanding scores of students in the two classes were significantly different. These findings support the notion that students can better comprehend chemistry concepts through a computer game, especially when integrated with the process-oriented, inquiry-based learning approach. The findings of this study also highlight the game-transformed inquiry-based learning approach’s support of students’ motivation to learn chemistry.

     

Investigating Strategies for Pre-Class Content Learning in a Flipped Classroom

In a flipped classroom model, learning of basic content is shifted before class while in-class time is used for concept application. Empirical and controlled research studies are lacking on the best strategies to provide the necessary pre-class content instruction. In this study, we tested three methods of pre-class content learning—interactive online tutorials, video lectures, and textbook-style readings—while holding the content and the in-class application activities constant. Identical introductory, non-majors biology classes were manipulated at both a public, open-enrollment institution and a private, highly selective institution. We found that video lectures offer a small advantage to overall student learning over interactive tutorials or textbook-style readings. Although our two populations differed in their ability to effectively learn from pre-class activities, through a student-centered flipped classroom approach, students at both institutions demonstrated equal learning gains by the final assessment. Potential reasons for some observed differences are suggested.     

Learning computer science concepts with Scratch

Scratch is a visual programming environment that is widely used by young people. We investigated if Scratch can be used to teach concepts of computer science (CS). We developed learning materials for middle-school students that were designed according to the constructionist philosophy of Scratch and evaluated them in a few schools during two years. Tests were constructed based upon a novel combination of the revised Bloom taxonomy and the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome taxonomy. These instruments were augmented with qualitative tools, such as observations and interviews. The results showed that students could successfully learn important concepts of CS, although there were problems with some concepts such as repeated execution, variables, and concurrency. We believe that these problems can be overcome by modifications to the teaching process that we suggest.