Determinants of Learning Outcome for Students at High School in Norway: A Constructivist Approach

A vital part of student learning is the construction of mental structures encompassing categories believed to affect learning outcome. In this study we investigate this research question through the lenses of a constructivist approach. As the first study on our research question at high school in Norway, our empirical findings make up the main contribution of this study. The data were analyzed by a grounded theory methodology. The results identify 6 dimensions of determinants of learning outcome. The dimensions: student activity, work processes and motivation to learn are manifest of the latent dimension process of learning, while the second latent dimension learning content is manifested in the 3 dimensions: correction, information from teacher and putting into context.     

The Impact of Blended Learning on Community of Inquiry and Perceived Learning among High School Learners Enrolled in a Public Charter School

Abstract

This study examined how blended learning impacts high school learners’ community of inquiry (CoI) and perceived learning in comparison to online instruction. Archival data collected from a public charter high school in the U.S. southeast was examined. The results demonstrate a statistically significant difference in social presence among students enrolled in blended learning courses as compared to online learning only. No statistically significant difference in perceived learning existed between groups. Findings are discussed in light of the community of inquiry framework and add to current understanding of the impacts of distance learning on K-12 student outcomes and the applicability of the CoI framework to K-12 learning environments.     

初一学生数学学习动机和坚持性:数学——性别刻板印象的影响

为探究数学—性别刻板印象对初中生数学学习动机和坚持性的影响以及性别差异,采用外显数学刻板印象量表、内隐数学—性别联想测验、数学学习坚持性量表和数学学习动机量表,对初一学生进行测查.结果显示:(1)总体上,初中生不存在外显数学刻板印象,而存在内隐数学刻板印象;(2)性别调节外显数学刻板印象与数学学习动机的关系,并且进一步影响学生的数学学习坚持性.具体而言,男生的外显数学刻板印象通过提高学习动机影响学习坚持性;而对于女生,外显数学刻板印象却会降低学习动机影响学习坚持性.但内隐数学刻板印象并不存在类似调节和中介效应.在教育实践中,教师应充分重视数学刻板印象给男、女初中生数学学习活动带来的不同影响,并实施有效的预防和弥补措施.     

Secondary school renewal: the effect of classroom learning culture on educational outcomes

The study was grounded on theoretical propositions and empirical research concerning school effectiveness, classroom effectiveness, school improvement and school renewal. In particular, improving student learning outcomes through improving and renewing schools is dependent on changing classroom cultures of learning and teaching. A model of classroom culture consisting of student educational values (dependent variable), formal learning outcomes (dependent variable), and the attitudes and behaviours of students, teachers and parents (independent variables) was proposed. Hypothesised relationships between the dependent and independent variables were tested by multiple regression analysis of data from 988 students obtained from administration of a Rasch-model instrument assessing classroom culture. The classroom learning attitudes and behaviours of students were found to relate directly to educational outcomes, as were teacher expectations and parent attitudes and behaviours. The attitudes and behaviours of students and teachers towards classroom collaboration and caring were not confirmed to relate directly to learning outcomes. The findings of the investigation are discussed in the light of the theoretical assumptions upon which the study was based, including identification of the implications of the empirical results for understanding and facilitating renewal of secondary schools with the intention of improving educational outcomes in classrooms.     

Students' Use of Time Outside of School: A Case for After School Programs for Urban Middle School Youth

Students in 4 inner-city middle schools serving mostly (90.9%) economically disadvantaged, minority youth were asked how they spend their time after school and on weekends. Analysis of responses from 1583 students revealed that the vast majority did not participate in after-school programs (77.2%) or lessons of any kind (86.5%). Students reported extensive time spent watching television or hanging out with friends. Weekends presented a similar pattern of unstructured social activity with even more television viewing and considerably less homework. Four-way ANOVAs of 13 composite time measures for a week revealed no significant school differences, only 2 significant grade differences, but several interesting and highly significant differences by sex and by race. Implications for designing after school programs are discussed in light of the students' highly unproductive use of time outside of school.     

The Impact of School Improvement Grants on Student Outcomes: Findings From a National Evaluation Using a Regression Discontinuity Design

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program received more than $3 billion with the goal of substantially improving student achievement. The SIG program’s funding was to help states turn around the nation’s persistently lowest-achieving schools using one of four school intervention models—transformation, turnaround, restart, or closure. We used a regression discontinuity design and a large sample of schools from more than 20 states to evaluate the impact of implementing a SIG-funded intervention model on use of SIG-promoted practices and student outcomes. Our regression discontinuity design exploited cutoff values on the continuous variables used to define the SIG eligibility tiers to compare outcomes in schools that just met the eligibility cutoff for receiving SIG funding to outcomes in schools that just missed it. We found that SIG had no impact on any of the outcomes we examined, including math and reading test scores, high school graduation rates, and college enrollment rates. Using a correlational analysis, we found the turnaround model was associated with larger student achievement gains in math than the transformation model for grades 6 through 12.     

能动者的思索——香港学校改进协作模式的再造与更新

教育改革是以一系列行动改变教育制度的"结构"、过程和行为习惯的过程.香港中文大学的成员利用教改的机会,在香港的学校内进行改进工作,让一系列学校改进计划成功地开展.本文试图总结大学与学校协作的经验,并分析大学成员如何面对学校教育庞大而牢固的"结构"而试图改变之.文章以"结构化"理论为探讨脉络,展现大学成员如何与政府和学校教师结为伙伴,让学校改进的协作模式得以更新.     

Learning and Study Strategies among First-Year Students at a South African University: A Mixed Methods Study

South African higher education is plagued by low academic success rates. Academic development and support units can play an important role in addressing low academic success rates by assisting students in developing appropriate learning and study strategies. Limited information is available on students’ learning and study strategy profiles and their needs regarding intervention programmes. This article reports on a mixed methods study that investigated learning and study strategies among a sample of first-year students enrolled at a South African university. Quantitative data, collected using the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) from a sample of first-year students, pointed to an urgent need for learning and study strategy intervention programmes to be provided. The qualitative data offered a more in-depth understanding of participants’ needs regarding learning and study strategy intervention programmes. Implications for practice and avenues for further research are discussed.     

以“学习性评价”提高化学课堂教学有效性的研究与思考

新课程倡导多元的评价方式,追求高效的课堂教学,提倡教师积极进行课程改革实践并不断反思.笔者尝试在高中化学教学中引入＂学习性评价＂,旨在促进课堂教学有效性的提高和学生的全面发展.     

初中英语学习者学习风格与学习效果的相关性调查研究

通过对92名初中英语学习者进行问卷调查,就所得数据进行定量与定性分析,对初中英语学习者的学习风格倾向以及学习风格与学习效果之间的相关性进行了探讨。结果表明:初中英语学习者倾向于审视型、视觉型和独立型的学习风格,而最不喜欢的是分析型的学习风格;听觉型、独立型、分析型和冲动型的学习风格与学习效果呈显著正相关,而依赖型的学习风格与学习效果呈显著负相关。     

The Impact of a Holistic Conditional Cash Transfer Program in New York City on Parental Financial Investment,Student Time Use,and Educational Processes and Outcomes

ABSTRACT

This article examines the impacts of Opportunity New York City–Family Rewards, the first holistic conditional cash transfer (CCT) program evaluated in the United States, on parental financial investments in children, and high school students' academic time use, motivations and self-beliefs, and achievement outcomes. Family Rewards, launched by the Center for Economic Opportunity in the Mayor's Office of the City of New York in 2007 and codesigned and evaluated by MDRC, offered cash assistance to low-income families conditioned on family investments in three areas: children's education, family preventive health care, and parents' employment. Results that rely on a random assignment design find that Family Rewards resulted in statistically significant increases in parental spending and saving on education for all students, and increased savings for those students most academically prepared at baseline and for girls, as well as statistically significant increases in academic time use and achievement outcomes for these same academically prepared students. There were no impacts on student motivations and self-beliefs. Implications are discussed for conditional cash transfer programs as well as for interventions targeting high-risk children and families.     

国内外近二十年大学生英语有效学习研究综述

通过对近20年大学生英语有效学习研究进行调查,综述了国内外相关的研究,总结了现阶段研究的特点：国内外研究主要集中于有效学习理论研究,英语有效学习相关性研究,英语有效学习方式和英语有效学习策略等方面。     

Effects of a Learner-Centred Environment on the Academic Competence and Motivation of Students at Risk

This study examined the efficacy of a learner-centred environment in enhancing the academic achievements and motivation of high school students who are at risk of dropping out of school. Three groups of students at high academic risk were compared. The control group consisted of students who are exposed to a remedial academic program in a traditional school context, and the experimental groups consisted of students enrolled at schools that have implemented a structured academic program in a learner-centred environment. It is shown that a learner-centred environment yields significantly higher achievement scores and a somewhat higher internal motivational orientation. These results suggest that a structured academic program in a learner-centred environment could provide hope for students at academic risk and other students who are likely to be lost to the academic educational system.     

浅谈少数民族高中生英语能力的培养和提高

21世纪是全球经济化和知识信息高速发展的年代，努力培养少数民族人才成为当前的一项重要任务。素质教育下的高考考核是以能力为目标的，而能力的培养要以充实丰富的知识作基础，能力的提高要以坚实的知识作嫁接。对于来自边远地区的少数民族中学生而言，只有掌握并拥有英语听、说、读、写等方面的知识，才能应对能力考核，才能适应更高层次学习的要求。     

初中生的父母教养方式、社会支持和心理健康的关系

通过对549名初中生的父母教养方式、社会支持和心理健康状况相互关系的问卷调查发现,父母教养方式与初中生的社会支持、心理健康状况有密切联系,父母教养方式积极（高情感接纳）的被试,对社会支持的感受积极,其心理健康状况也相对较好.通过初中生感受到的重要他人的社会支持可以预测其心理健康状况,这其中既有初中生的同伴、教师的作用,也包括父母的作用.初中生的家庭内环境特点与其家庭外社会关系状况有内在联系,两者不是相互独立的.     

Goal Orientation and its Impact on Student Affect: Some Findings from a Singapore Sample

The effect of goal structure on motivation and achievement has been well documented in studies conducted amongst children in the west. The present study provides findings from older students aged (12 to 19) belonging to a multi-cultural Asian society. Students (N=1573) responded to a questionnaire designed to identify and evaluate psychological states; results showed that students in this sample expressed affect similar to that experienced by western counterparts given the same reward structure. In the context of this study it is largely competitive; hardly a classroom in Singapore is structured along the lines of a noncompetitive, individualistic model.     

Voice in Digital Education: The Impact of Instructor's Perceived Age and Gender on Student Learning and Evaluation

Instructor evaluations are influenced by implicit age and gender bias, with lower ratings and negative feedback given to instructors believed to stray from stereotypical age and gender norms. Female instructors exhibiting typically male-associated qualities such as leadership and authority, are often negatively impacted. Implicit bias also influences evaluation of digital resources and instructors, regardless of students' positive learning outcomes. As digital learning resources become the norm in education, it is crucial to explore the impact of implicit bias at various educational levels. In this study, undergraduate and graduate students were randomly exposed to one of five digital tutorials; four experimental tutorials presenting identical anatomy content with narrators of different gender and age, and a control tutorial featuring origami (paper folding) instructions without audio. Learning outcomes were measured by pre-quiz vs. post-quiz comparisons using repeated measures MANOVA. Implicit bias was analyzed by evaluation response comparisons using repeated measures MANOVA and three-way MANOVA. Post-quiz scores increased significantly in the four experimental groups (P < 0.05) but not in the control (P = 0.99). The increased performance was not statistically different across the four experimental groups (P > 0.26), suggesting that learning occurred irrespective of the instructor gender and age. Students' evaluations were consistently higher for the experimental resources than the control. There was no significant difference in evaluations across the four experimental groups but compared to the control, younger male and younger female narrators received significantly higher ratings for approachability, acceptance, inclusivity, and care for student learning. The study highlights important considerations for digital resources development and interpretation of student evaluations.     

The Impact of Every Classroom,Every Day on High School Student Achievement: Results From a School-Randomized Trial

Abstract

Every Classroom, Every Day (ECED) is a set of instructional improvement interventions designed to increase student achievement in math and English/language arts (ELA). ECED includes three primary components: (a) systematic classroom observations by school leaders, (b) intensive professional development and support for math teachers and instructional leaders to reorganize math instruction, assessment, and grading around mastery of benchmarks, and (c) a structured literacy curriculum that supplements traditional English courses, with accompanying professional development and support for teachers surrounding its use. The present study is a two-year trial, conducted by independent researchers, which employed a school-randomized design and included 20 high schools (10 treatment; 10 control) in five districts in four states. The students were ethnically diverse and most were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Results provided evidence that ECED improved scores on standardized tests of math achievement, but not standardized tests of ELA achievement. Findings are discussed in terms of differences between math and ELA and of implications for future large-scale school-randomized trials.     

The meaning of quality professional learning for school improvement: articulating a coherent vision rooted in a theoretical perspective on learning

A clearly articulated theoretical perspective on learning is essential for developing consistency among learning, pedagogy, and leadership and for planning and making adjustments to better serve students in all areas. Notwithstanding, few professional learning and school improvement approaches in pre-school through 12th grade (P-12) schools improve student learning (Guskey, 2003). Therefore, the central question is raised, how is theory used in professional learning and school improvement approaches that advance teaching and learning?

Examination of peer-reviewed literature resulted in the identification of 3 effective approaches for analysis using 4 major learning theories. Analysis revealed that each approach was associated with the tenets of either a cognitive, constructivist, or sociocultural theoretical perspective on learning. This introduced a way to examine the theoretical soundness of school improvement and professional learning approaches. Conclusions regarding the use of learning theory in improvement designs are discussed.