Students' Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the World Wide Web as a Research and Teaching Tool in Science Learning

Students often make little linkage from lesson to lesson on what they learn in the regular classroom. Having them take responsibility for what they are learning is one way of having them think and connect these thoughts together. This qualitative study looks at the use of the World Wide Web (WWW) as a research and teaching tool in promoting self-directed learning in a group of 15 year old students. The perceptions of students on the effectiveness of the World Wide Web in assisting them with the construction of knowledge on Photosynthesis and Respiration are reported and discussed in this paper. The study showed that the students found that the WWW had a number of positive effects on their learning including motivation for independent learning. However, the unedited and unstructured nature of the WWW meant that many of the sites they visited had information that was too difficult to understand and that time was required to improve technical and critical thinking skills to search effectively. The teacher's role as facilitator and guide was crucial to the success of their learning.     

Assessing learning in a sociology department: what do students say that they learn?

Assessment plays a central role in evaluating and strengthening student learning in higher education, and sociology departments, in particular, have increasingly become interested in engaging in assessment activities to better understand students’ learning. This qualitative study builds on previous research on assessment by asking what students in one American university department see themselves learning in the sociology major. Rather than asking students to reflect on what we think they are learning, we asked open-ended questions about skills, topics and modes of education they considered most significant to their learning. The 25 sociology majors in our study included second-year students, graduating fourth-year students and alumni who had graduated five years prior, enabling us to compare what students have learned or are learning across cohorts. Our findings demonstrate that students emphasise a common collection of skills, topics and – especially – modes of learning in the major, despite their various course selections and interests within the discipline, and also that majors’ orientations to sociology vary as they move through, and beyond, the undergraduate curriculum.     

Student explanations of their science teachers’ assessments,grading practices and how they learn science

The current paper draws on data generated through group interviews with students who were involved in a larger ethnographic research project performed in three science classrooms. The purpose of the study from which this data was generated, was to understand science teachers’ assessment practices in an upper-secondary school in Sweden. During group interviews students were asked about their conceptions of what were the assessment priority of teachers, why the students were silent during lecturing and their experiences regarding peer- and self-assessments. The research design and analysis of the findings derives from what students told us about their assessments and learning sciences experiences. Students related that besides the results of the written test, they do not know what else teachers assessed and used to determine their grades. It was also found that students did not participate in the discussion on science because of peer-pressure and a fear of disappointing their peers. Student silence is also linked with student conceptions of science learning and student experiences with methodologies of teaching and learning sciences.     

探索英汉语词语中的文化信息

语言和文化密不可分,语言有丰富的文化内涵.词汇是语言中最活泼、最具生命力、且最能体现时代和社会变化的一个要素,因而不仅受到文化的制约,而且词语中的文化信息也能生动地反映出民族文化的独特魅力和内涵.在学习英语的时候,如果对西方的文化背景知识不甚了解,忽视了有关文化背景知识的讲授.那么就不可避免地存在许多交际上的障碍.因此要想使学生顺利完成交际,就必须在教学中把语言和文化知识结合起来,重视文化教学,让学生注意英汉词语中文化信息差异对交际的影响.     

‘I have a love–hate relationship with ATLAS.ti’™: integrating qualitative data analysis software into a graduate research methods course

While research on teaching qualitative methods in education has increased, few studies explore teaching qualitative data analysis software within graduate-level methods courses. During 2013, we required students in several such courses to use ATLAS.ti? as a project management tool for their assignments. By supporting students’ early experiences with ATLAS.ti?, we anticipated that they might continue using the tool in their future research work. Using a case study and reflective practice approach, we reviewed course materials, including student and instructor reflections, to understand what happened when data analysis software was integrated into an advanced methods course. We identified five major themes: (1) a needed push out of their comfort zones; (2) various forms of support working together; (3) keys to motivation; (4) a new generation educating the current one and (5) use of the software beyond coursework. Implications for practice include ensuring adequate access and support for learning the software, balancing methodological and technical instruction, and creating meaningful student assignments and feedback opportunities.     

浅析高职院校专业认知与职业规划教学

不少高职学生对专业认知模糊,对专业课程也缺乏总体认识,进而导致职业规划意识弱,规划能力低,学习消极被动。其主要原因是不知道所选择的专业是什么、学什么、怎么学、做什么(就业规划)。南通纺织职业技术学院将专业认知与职业规划合二为一,设置成专业导论课,有助于高职生了解所学专业,培养专业兴趣,掌握专业课程的学习方法,规划自己学业。     

复变函数教学中直观性原则应用的思考与实践

复变函数教学过程中直观性原则的应用,就是在直观性原则的理念下,结合复变函数课程的自身特点应用不同的直观形式,恰当地向学生讲解复变函数的内容.可以通过背景直观形式、模式与类比直观形式和经验与类比直观形式等方法进行教学.     

Exploring How Different Features of Animations of Sodium Chloride Dissolution Affect Students’ Explanations

Animations of molecular structure and dynamics are often used to help students understand the abstract ideas of chemistry. This qualitative study investigated how the features of two different styles of molecular-level animation affected students’ explanations of how sodium chloride dissolves in water. In small group sessions 18 college-level general chemistry students dissolved table salt in water, after which they individually viewed two animations of salt dissolution. Before and after viewing each animation the participants provided pictorial, written, and oral explanations of the process at the macroscopic and molecular levels. The students then discussed the animations as a group. An analysis of the data showed that students incorporated some of the microscopic structural and functional features from the animations into their explanations. However, oral explanations revealed that in many cases, participants who drew or wrote correct explanations did not comprehend their meanings. Students’ drawings may have reflected only what they had seen, rather than a cohesive understanding. Students’ explanations given after viewing the animations improved, but some prior misconceptions were retained and in some cases, new misconceptions appeared. Students reported that they found the animations useful in learning; however, they sometimes missed essential features when they watched the animation alone.     

Quality of Vocational Literacy: how Finnish vocational school students learn from text

The article concentrates on the essential prerequisite for future continuing education—the skill of independent learning from text in the light of an evaluation study carried out in Finnish vocational schools. The research task was to elucidate how learning from text can be explained, what kinds of results students achieved and above all what kinds of learning strategies they applied. Furthermore, students’ learning orientation was studied. The results of the empirical study indicated that learning from text is a transactional process of many factors related to cognition and motivation. Seventy‐five percent of the qualitative level of the learning outcomes could be explained. The qualitative level of the results proved on average fairly low even though individual differences were notable. Information processing in the learning process was mostly superficial. Such processing was generally related to atomistic structuring of knowledge, limited and text‐bound use of knowledge as well as haste. With the help of cluster analysis of the learning process variables students were placed in five groups relating to their learning orientation. The groups differed from each other in relation to the aims of activities, learning process and results.     

They Don't Show Nothing I Didn't Know: Emergent Tensions Between Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Mathematics Pedagogy

This article describes data from the Community Mapping Project, a set of statistical activities and inquiry projects within a summer seminar for high school students. In designing the Community Mapping Project, we attempted to create conditions under which urban students themselves would come to recognize how mathematics is relevant to their lives and their communities. Using mixed methods, we analyzed the pre- and postassessments and final projects of 25 high school students to investigate what students learned from their experience. We also analyzed the data from video case studies to begin to understand how learning was organized. Our qualitative analysis revealed several tensions that emerged between the goals and norms of our instantiation of a culturally relevant pedagogy and the goals and norms of our mathematics pedagogy. We argue that how these tensions are navigated mediate what opportunity students have for learning statistics. This article provides some considerations and lessons learned that may help inform both teachers who wish to rethink their mathematics pedagogy, and the designers who wish to create culturally relevant curricula.     

Learning Approaches in the Architectural Education and the Role of Students’ Habitus: Case Study Pakistan

This study seeks to explore the impact of social upbringing on architectural learning. The theory of “habitus” helps to understand how students’ personality dispositions might affect the way they approach learning in the “field” of architectural education. The notions of learning approaches and knowledge codes in literature are used to develop a framework for the study that helps to explore the field of architectural education. It is a qualitative study, conducted through semi-structured interviews with 44 students in 10 architecture schools in Pakistan. Interviews explored students’ habitus as well as their learning approaches, later explored through the framework developed in the study. Interviews are transcribed and coded using Nvivo 12. A detailed analysis explores the connection between habitus and learning approaches and finds out that habitus plays a major role in determining the way students approach learning in Architecture, with most cultivated habitus students showing a deep learning approach.     

English Language Assistance Needs of Chinese Students

It is known that the IELTS test has not been a good predictor of English capability in academic settings. More information is required. Are students not motivated to keep improving their English; what obstacles do they face? The English language issues facing international students from China at one University are explored through a survey and focus groups. It is observed that a lack of motivation is not the key factor. Rather one core problem is the very difficult demands of acculturation within a short time frame which would enable confidence for the students to continue to engage with other English speaking students. When faced with such immediate and hard to achieve acculturation, many retreat to their language groups. In the academic context, support for the transition to discipline based academic genres is double difficult as the time frame for second language learners is longer, but performance requirements are more immediate. Many first language students also have difficulties in this area, but have the easier language path to mastery. The study draws usefully on a comparison made with students studying English in China.     

Elementary School Teachers' Beliefs about the Role of Technology in 21st-Century Teaching and Learning

Technological advancements have led to changes in the expectations placed on K-12 teachers. Teachers are now expected to better equip students with 21st-century skills, making it important to understand teachers' beliefs about the role of technology in teaching and learning and the skills their students need to be successful. Using a qualitative approach, the current study explores these beliefs among a group of urban elementary school teachers in the southeastern United States. Results suggest that, although teachers see the value of technology for teaching and learning, they require more guidance on what constitutes 21st-century skills and how to effectively integrate technology.     

Writing Across the Curriculum: A Hermeneutic Study of Students' Experiences in Writing in Food Science Education

ABSTRACT: Writing can enhance learning by helping students put words to their thinking about course material. The purposes of this study were to assess the influence of a structured academic journal writing exercise on student learning in a food science class and to examine student responses to the experience. Hermeneutics, a philosophy of science and qualitative research method, was used to analyze journal data from 48 participating students during a 2-y period and involved 3 steps: (1) describing themes taken from a global reading of student commentaries, (2) reducing or relating themes to specific, verbatim statements found in student writings, and (3) interpreting or imposing meaning on the themes and the statements (Lanigan 1988). Hermeneutic analysis showed that journal writing was difficult at first but became easier and enjoyable over time, allowed students to relate course content to other knowledge, exposed students to course material multiple times allowing for better information retention, enhanced student understanding, helped students think critically, required students to prepare for class, gave students the opportunity to express opinions, and allowed students to experience writing as enjoyable and positive. Several minor themes suggested that most students found the experience useful to their learning. Findings from this study are consistent with neuroscience and cognitive psychology theories regarding learning and the development of reasoning skills.     

The Importance of History and Philosophy of Science in Correcting Distorted Views of ‘Amount of Substance’ and ‘Mole’ Concepts in Chemistry Teaching

The knowledge of historical facts can help teachers and students to correctly appreciate a variety of scientific theories. It is important to be aware of the evolution of the basic concepts, particularly the ones our students find very abstract and therefore difficult to understand. Historical knowledge of chemical concepts will allow us to understand their difficulties and make them easier to teach successfully. In this paper we answer the following research questions: what was the historic and sociologic context in which chemical equivalent, mole and its magnitude amount of substance were introduced to science? How the lack of historic knowledge in science teaching contributes to the presence of distorted views of science and hampers meaningful learning?     

对外汉语本科专业不同性格类型学生英语学习策略差异研究

通过采用了北京师范大学外语系的程晓堂和郑敏两位学者的英语学习策略调查表对新疆师范大学汉语教育学院的对外汉语本科05级的同学进行了英语学习策略的诊断;用文秋芳博士的性格测量表对该班同学的性格特点进行了分析。结果发现不同性格的学生学习策略的使用情况也各不相同;而通过皮尔逊相关系数的计算发现学习策略与学习成绩两个变量的相关性很强,即:学习策略使用得越多,学习成绩越好。     

专业学生英语学习策略观念之初步调查——基于长治学院的个案研究

学习策略是影响学习的重要因素之一。为了了解专业学生对英语学习策略的了解现状,该研究以问卷调查的方式对长治学院英语专业2008级至2011级四个年级随机抽取的462名学生进行了现状调查。结果显示,从大一至大四的四个年级的专业学生普遍认可英语学习策略对英语学习的重要作用,但却缺乏有效的英语学习策略。他们希望进一步了解英语学习策略,并愿意接受这方面的培训。针对现状,建议强化策略观念,进行策略指导,开展策略培训。     

Barriers to learning online experienced by students with a mental health disability

Online education is widely regarded as increasing accessibility to higher education to individuals with disadvantage and disability, including those with a mental health disability. However, the learning challenges these students experience within the online learning environment are not well understood. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to better understand the barriers to learning that these students face in this environment. A qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with 12 students revealed three major learning barriers: (a) impact of impairment, (b) personal and situational circumstances, and (c) learning environment. These barriers were found to have wide-ranging consequences for the students’ ability to fully engage in study and their overall wellbeing. The findings lend insight into the low retention rates for this cohort of students and the learning barriers that need to be addressed by online education providers to better enhance the educational experience of these students.     

Learning in Workplace Simulations in Vocational Education: a Student Perspective

In vocational education, workplace simulations (WPS) have been implemented to ensure a better connection between the educational setting and the labour market. Moreover, WPS are supposed to motivate students and promote self-directed learning. So far, however, not much is known about the way students experience these WPS. The aim of the present exploratory case study was to investigate students’ perceptions and preparedness for WPS and explore what factors they perceive to be relevant for their learning in these simulations. Forty students from three different pre-vocational secondary schools participated. Semi-structured group interviews were conducted and thematic analysis was used to examine the qualitative data. The results revealed that authentic WPS can increase student motivation and engagement. Learner characteristics regarded as relevant in WPS were motivation, responsibility, independence and discipline. For students, the presence and guidance of the teacher played an essential role in their working and learning effectively. They felt limited in making choices to direct their own learning. Assessment criteria were not transparent enough for students. Concluding, we found that students perceived factors closely related to self-regulated and self-directed learning to be relevant for their learning; however, these learning activities and processes have not yet been sufficiently promoted and supported in the investigated vocational schools. The study highlights design dilemmas for vocational practice and offers indications in how to match both learning environmental characteristics and teacher support tailored to learners’ needs.