任务类型对注意及目标语形式习得的影响

在Schmit的“注意假说”、Swain的输出假设的理论框架下,文章用定量的方法检测了非输出任务和输出任务类型（看图说话和看图作文）引起的学习者注意、与过去事实相反的虚拟语气习得的关系。试验持续四周,受试共63人,分为看图说话组、看图作文组及控制组,采用试验前测一试验一试验后测的研究方法进行考察。结果显示。输出任务更能显著促进学习者对目标语形式的注意和对目标语形式的正确使用。     

Comparison of traditional methods with 3D computer models in the instruction of hepatobiliary anatomy

This study was designed to determine whether an interactive three-dimensional presentation depicting liver and biliary anatomy is more effective for teaching medical students than a traditional textbook format presentation of the same material. Forty-six medical students volunteered for participation in this study. Baseline demographic information, spatial ability, and knowledge of relevant anatomy were measured. Participants were randomized into two groups and presented with a computer-based interactive learning module comprised of animations and still images to highlight various anatomical structures (3D group), or a computer-based text document containing the same images and text without animation or interactive features (2D group). Following each teaching module, students completed a satisfaction survey and nine-item anatomic knowledge post-test. The 3D group scored higher on the post-test than the 2D group, with a mean score of 74% and 64%, respectively; however, when baseline differences in pretest scores were accounted for, this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.33). Spatial ability did not statistically significantly correlate with post-test scores for the 3D group or the 2D group. In the post-test satisfaction survey the 3D group expressed a statistically significantly higher overall satisfaction rating compared to students in the 2D control group (4.5 versus 3.7 out of 5, P = 0.02). While the interactive 3D multimedia module received higher satisfaction ratings from students, it neither enhanced nor inhibited learning of complex hepatobiliary anatomy compared to an informationally equivalent traditional textbook style approach. .     

Conceptual change with refutational maps

ABSTRACT

This study investigated how studying a refutational map, a type of argument map, affected conceptual change. Refutational maps visually display both correct and alternative conceptions. Participants (N?=?120) were randomly assigned to (1) a refutational map condition, (2) a refutational text condition, and (3) a non-refutational text condition. The post-test results showed that studying the refutational map led to better performance on free recall and learning transfer measures. Specifically, participants who studied the refutational map performed significantly better than others on a free recall test, and they significantly outperformed the non-refutational text group on a short-answer transfer test. The multiple-choice test, another transfer measure, failed to detect any differences among the three groups. The research also found that individual differences in need for cognition and logical thinking ability interacted with the type of study materials. Participants scoring lower on logical thinking ability gained more from studying the refutational map.     

A Comparison of Different Conceptual Change Pedagogies Employed Within the Topic of “Sound Propagation”

The purpose of this study was to compare different conceptual change methods within a topic on ‘sound propagation’. The study was conducted with 80 grade 5 students (aged 11–12 year old) drawn from four cohort classes in an elementary school on the north coast of Black Sea Region in Turkey. While one class was assigned as a control group, the others formed experimental groups (one with a conceptual change text, one with analogies presented as computer animations and one with a combination of conceptual change text, analogies and computer animations). A questionnaire with 10 two-tier questions was administered as a pretest a week before the teaching intervention, and the same test was re-administered immediately after the intervention as a post-test. The questionnaire was also employed as a delayed post-test 3 weeks after the teaching intervention. The experimental groups performed significantly better in the post-test that the control group (p < 0.05). Within the experimental groups, the group exposed to a combination of the conceptual change text, analogies and computer animations performed best on the post-test and the delayed post-test (p < 0.05). Overall the study indicated that the intervention that employed the entire suite of conceptual change pedagogies produced the best learning outcomes.     

The effects of cooperative learning and learner control on students' achievement, option selections, and attitudes

We investigated the effects of studying alone or in cooperative-learning groups on the performance of high and low achievers, using either learner- or program-controlled computer-based instruction. A total of 92 sixth-grade students were classified by Stanford Achievement Test scores and randomly assigned to group or individual treatments, stratified by achievement scores. Both high and low achievers in the cooperative treatment performed better and had more positive attitudes toward grouping than did students working individually, on both program-controlled and learner-controlled computer lessons. In addition, the cooperative-learning group exhibited significantly greater improvement from immediate to delayed post-test than did the individual-learning group. For low achievers, the greatest improvement was in the program-controlled condition, and for the high achievers, in the learner-controlled condition. The learner-controlled cooperative-learning group, compared to the learner-controlled individual-learning group, chose to check its concept learning more often and spent more time interacting with the computer-based tutorial. These results suggest that cooperative learning provides beneficial effects, and imply a need for software designers to adapt computer-based instruction for cooperative learning to the different learning styles of high-and low-achieving students.     

Age,Gender and Training in Children's Performance of Piaget's Horizontality Task

Six-hundred children from the ages of 5 to 9 years, balanced for sex and age, were administered Piaget's horizontality tasks using a square water bottle. They were then divided into three experimental groups, and re-administered the task with or without instructions. The first group completed the task using gradually specific instructions until the participants performed each item to criterion level. The number of instructions needed to perform to criterion level was recorded (training scores). The second group completed the task with traditional training where the correct answer was demonstrated. The third group completed the task without feedback. After a month, all of the participants were given a post-test consisting of the square water bottle task, as well as a verticality task that required a related principle. Children's pre- and post-test performance scores were classified into six stages. It was found that there was a significant sex difference in the pretest performance of the horizontality task beginning at 8 years of age. The graduated training group evidenced higher stage scores on the post-test than the demonstration group and the control group. The former demonstrated a more integrated understanding of stable external reference frames compared to the other groups.     

Phonological abilities and writing among portuguese preschool children

The objective of this study was to identify causal relationships between the development of phonological abilities and progress in writing in preschool children. The participants were 44 children, with an average age of 5 years and 6 months, and whose writing was syllabic with phonetization. The children were divided into three groups. They were subjected to a pre-test and a post-test that were intended to evaluate both their writing and their phonological skills. In between the two tests experimental group 1 underwent a writing training program designed to lead them to produce syllabic-alphabetic/alphabetic writing, while experimental group 2 was subjected to a phonological training program designed to work on phonetic units. The third group served as a control group. The number of letters known and the level of intelligence were controlled. The children in the two experimental groups achieved results that revealed a similar degree of progress (greater than the control group) in both their writing and their phonological abilities.     

Invented spelling activities in small groups and early spelling and reading

Our aim was to assess the impact of an invented spelling programme conducted in small groups on children’s written language acquisition in Portuguese. We expected the experimental group to have better post-test results than the control group in spelling and reading. Participants were 160 preschool-age children who were randomly divided into an experimental and a control group. Their age, cognitive ability, knowledge of letters and phonological abilities were controlled. Children’s spelling and reading were evaluated in a pre- and a post-test. In-between, experimental group participated in an invented spelling programme in small groups and the control group in story readings. The experimental group showed better results in spelling and reading in the post-test than the control one. Different dynamics occurred in the small groups which had different impacts on children’s acquisitions. These results provide empirical support for the proposal that invented spelling should be incorporated into early literacy instruction.     

Iranian university students’ experiences of and attitudes towards alternatives in assessment

This study investigated the effect of assessment type (self vs. peer vs. teacher) on university students’ academic achievement and students’ attitudes toward them. In the main study, 82 undergraduate English-as-a-Foreign-Language students in four classes at three universities in Iran were randomly assigned into one of self-, peer- and teacher-assessment or control groups. A pre-test was designed to measure students’ initial knowledge in the subject Teaching Methods. Then experimental groups were subjected to one of the assessment types; however, the control group received no intervention. Thirty-eight students from experimental groups completed an attitude questionnaire. A similarly designed follow-up study was conducted with two classes of BA Chemistry students taking a General English course at Urmia University. The application of one-way analysis of covariance on the main study post-test data indicated differences in performances of all groups, with peer-assessment group performing the best. Quantitative and qualitative analyses indicated that both self- and peer-assessment, as well as the teacher-assessment group, had positive attitudes toward their assessment experiences. The application of one-way analysis of variance on replication study data showed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group on the post-test and that students in the former group had positive attitudes toward self-assessment.     

Some factors influencing student performance in laboratory experimental work in physiology with implications for curriculum deliberations and instructional design

A class of 1st-year medical students was divided into a control group who performed a laboratory experiment for themselves, and an experimental group who were given a demonstrationdata interpretation exercise. Prior to the practical session the experimental group were given a programmed text covering the underlying theoretical principles, to use in their private study. The control group were instructed to do their private study in the usual way using only their lecture notes and textbooks. Prior knowledge and the gain resulting from practical instruction were assessed using pre- and post-tests.The conventional laboratory method was ineffective and did not facilitate conceptual understanding. The post-test performance and gain of the experimental group was significantly better than that of the control group, but this result did not appear to be dependent upon greater prior knowledge. The pretest performance of both treatment groups revealed that many students were inadequately prepared for the practical exercise. Many students did not appear to study the programmed text conscientiously, probably because they were accustomed to the traditional method of teaching and adopted a surface, reproductive approach to all learning. Furthermore, the students had difficulty linking their prior knowledge to the experiment, suggesting the need for pre-laboratory exercises designed to achieve closer integration between theory and experimentation.It is clear that in order to achieve more meaningful learning there is a need for the students to change their attitudes and approaches to learning and for active, student-centred teaching-learning experiences to be incorporated into the curriculum.     

ARGUMENTATION AND STUDENTS’ CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF PROPERTIES AND BEHAVIORS OF GASES

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of argumentation-based pedagogy on college students?? conceptual understanding of properties and behaviors of gases. The sample consists of 108 students (52 in the control group and 56 in the intervention group) drawn from 2 general chemistry college courses taught by the same instructor. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests. The results of the study show that the intervention group students performed significantly better than the control group students on the post-test. The intervention group students also showed significant increase in their test scores between pre- and post-test. While at least 80?% of the students in the intervention group abandoned their initial ideas on all of the 17 alternative conceptions that were identified by the authors but one, the percent of student abandoning their initial ideas in the control group was less than 50. The discussion focuses on the implications of these results for addressing students?? alternative conceptions, promoting the argumentation?Cpedagogy in college science courses and the challenges associated with the use of argumentation in college science classrooms.     

Exploring the effects of online team-based learning and co-regulated learning on students' development of computing skills

As more and more educational institutions are providing online courses, it is necessary to design effective teaching methods integrated with technologies to benefit both teachers and students. The researcher in this study designed innovative online teaching methods of team-based learning (TBL) and co-regulated learning (CRL) to improve students' computing skills. The participants in this study were 124 undergraduates from three classes taking a compulsory course titled “Applied Information Technology: Data Processing.” There were three blended classes involved in this empirical study. The first group (EG1), which received the treatment of online TBL and CRL, and the second group (EG2), which received the treatment of online TBL only, were the experimental groups. The last group, which received the traditional teaching method, served as the control group. Before the experiment started, the author conducted a pretest to confirm that the differences of students' computing skills among the three groups were not significant at the beginning of the course. Based on the analysis of the post-test, the results indicate that students who received the intervention of online CRL had significantly better computing skills for using Excel by semester-end than those without. However, the intervention of online TBL did not contribute to better learning effects in this study. Based on the findings in this study, the author points out implications for teachers, schools, and educators, particularly for those responsible for courses focusing on solving ill-structured problems and those students who have typically received traditional didactic pedagogy for many years.     

The value of writing-to-learn when using question prompts to support web-based learning in ill-structured domains

This study investigates the effectiveness of two variants of a prompting strategy that guides students to focus on important issues when learning in an ill-structured domain. Students in three groups studied individually Software Project Management (SPM) cases for a week, using a web-based learning environment designed especially for this purpose. The first group (control) studied the cases without any prompting. The second group (“writing mode”) studied the same cases, while prompted to provide written answers to a set of knowledge integration prompts meant to engage students in deeper processing of the material. The third group (“thinking mode”) studied the cases, while prompted only to think of possible answers to the same question prompts. Results indicated that students in the writing condition group outperformed the others in both domain knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer post-test items. Several students in the thinking condition group skipped the question prompts, while those that reported having reflected on the material were unable to achieve high performance comparable to the writing condition group. Overall, the study provides evidence that the implementation of prompting techniques in technology-enhanced learning environments may lead to improved outcomes, when combined with the requirement that students provide their answers in writing.     

The Collaboration of Cooperative Learning and Conceptual Change: Enhancing the Students’ Understanding of Chemical Bonding Concepts

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cooperative learning based on conceptual change approach instruction on ninth-grade students’ understanding in chemical bonding concepts compared to traditional instruction. Seventy-two ninth-grade students from two intact chemistry classes taught by the same teacher in a public high school participated in the study. The classes were randomly assigned as the experimental and control group. The control group (N?=?35) was taught by traditional instruction while the experimental group (N?=?37) was taught cooperative learning based on conceptual change approach instruction. Chemical Bonding Concept Test (CBCT) was used as pre- and post-test to define students’ understanding of chemical bonding concepts. After treatment, students’ interviews were conducted to observe more information about their responses. Moreover, students from experimental groups were interviewed to obtain information about students’ perceptions on cooperative work experiences. The results from ANCOVA showed that cooperative learning based on conceptual change approach instruction led to better acquisition of scientific conceptions related to chemical bonding concepts than traditional instruction. Interview results demonstrated that the students in the experimental group had better understanding and fewer misconceptions in chemical bonding concepts than those in the control group. Moreover, interviews about treatment indicated that this treatment helped students’ learning and increased their learning motivation and their social skills.     

Effects of Conceptual Change and Traditional Confirmatory Simulations on Pre-Service Teachers’ Understanding of Direct Current Circuits

The objective of this research is to investigate the effects of simulations based on conceptual change conditions (CCS) and traditional confirmatory simulations (TCS) on pre-service elementary school teachers’ understanding of direct current electric circuits. The data was collected from a sample consisting of 89 students; 48 students in the experimental group who were taught simulations based on CCS, and 41 students in control group who followed the TCS. Subjects in both groups used open source software (Qucs) to simulate electric circuits. All students were administered Electric Circuits Concepts Test (DIRECT), Science Process Skills Test, Physics Attitude Scale, and Computer Attitude Scale before the treatment. Pre-test analyses revealed that there is no significant difference between experimental and control groups in terms of understanding of direct current electricity. After completing 3 weeks treatment, all students received the DIRECT again as a post-test. Analysis of covariance was used. Science process skills and attitudes toward computers were taken as covariates. The results showed that the conceptual change based simulations caused significantly better acquisition of conceptual change of direct current electricity concepts than the confirmatory simulation. While science process skills and attitudes towards computer made significant contributions to the variations in achievement, gender differences and interactions between gender and treatment did not. Eleven weeks later, the DIRECT was reapplied to the students in both groups. Eleven weeks delayed post-test results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in understanding of direct current electric concepts.     

Putting “mobile” into mathematics: Results of a randomised controlled trial

There is an increasing use of mobile technologies in the classroom, particularly its use in supporting contextual learning, but comparative research on the effects of mobile learning in mathematics are few. The aim of this research was to examine student perceptions of using mobile technologies and their effect on mathematics achievement in a randomised controlled trial. Seventy-four Grade 5 and 6 students and three teachers participated in the study. Both groups participated in six weeks of active and collaborative learning activities on math. The experimental group used tablets to support them in their activities while the control group had similarly designed activities without the tablets. The tablets were observed to have facilitated constructivist learning activities as students moved in and out of different learning contexts. Most of the experimental group had positive evaluations but their end activity ratings were not significantly different from the control group. Gender differences were found in terms of how students perceived the mobile learning activities. There was no difference found in the groups’ post-test achievement scores following an analysis of covariance with pre-test as covariate. For items relating to student misconception, students in the experimental group performed better. Overall, the study highlights that the success of a mobile learning intervention is dependent on various factors, such as student characteristics, stability of the technology and content compatibility. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Development of computer play pedagogy intervention for children with low conceptual understanding in basic mathematics operation using the dyscalculia feature approach

This study describes the development of a basic computer-based play pedagogy intervention using a dyscalculia-remedy-oriented approach such as repetition and number orientation manipulation, and the investigation of its effect on children displaying dyscalculia characteristics. This computer play was evaluated in a group of 50 seven-year-old Malaysian children, who were low achievers in mathematics subject and were divided into control and intervention group. The intervention group engaged with the newly developed computer play for an hour per day for five consecutive days, while the control group attended normal classroom learning for the same time period. Overall post-test scores indicated that children from the intervention group performed significantly better than the control group after the five-day intervention period by 57.9%. Number disorientation and arithmetic operation confusion, which are common amongst the children displaying dyscalculia characteristics, were also significantly reduced after the intervention. This implies that the children benefitted from the computer play.     

The Effect of Cooperative and Mastery Learning Methods on Primary Grade Students' Learning and Retention of Economic Concepts

Empirical studies have shown the positive effects of combining cooperative and mastery learning methods on mathematics achievement higher order questioning skills, and originality, but little is known, at present, about the effects of cooperative-mastery learning in other subject areas or on other cognitive outcomes. The problem of this study was to explore the effects of cooperative and mastery learning methods, alone and in combination, on first and second grade students' learning and retention of basic economic concepts. A 2 X 2 (cooperative X mastery) factorial design compared the achievement of one hundred-twenty students who were individually randomly assigned (using grade level as a stratification variable) to one of four treatment conditions—instruction on basic economic concepts using (1) cooperative learning, (2) mastery learning, (3) cooperative-mastery learning, or (4) a control treatment (no cooperative or mastery learning). All subjects were administered a written pretest, post-test, and delayed post-test on their understanding of economic concepts. To further probe children's understanding of economic concepts, a randomly selected sub-sample of sixty- four students was interviewed using an oral pretest, post-test, and delayed post-test. Overall, the results support the superiority of the cooperative-mastery learning method over either method alone in promoting the acquisition and retention of economic concepts. Pretest data verified the initial equivalence of groups. The cooperative-mastery learning group outperformed (a) the control group on all post-tests and delayed post-tests and (b) the cooperative learning group on all post-tests and delayed post-tests except the written post-test. By delayed post-test on the oral measure, the cooperative-mastery learning group was also outperforming the mastery learning group. As further evidence of the superiority of the cooperative-mastery learning method, the mean score of the cooperative-mastery learning group was greater than the combined mean scores of the mastery and cooperative learning groups on the oral post-test and delayed post-test. The authors suggest that the cooperative-mastery learning method is in line with current early childhood practices and has the capacity for simultaneously boosting the conceptual development and language development of young children. This capacity is said to stem from the method's provision of (a) specific, positive feedback, (b) a social context for sustained effort and involvement in a topic, (c) child-child communication exchanges, and (d) adult-child communication exchanges.     

Comparing the Effectiveness of Two Different Career Education Courses on Career Decidedness for College Freshmen: An Exploratory Study

An exploratory study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of two different career education courses on career decision making for college freshmen in Taiwan. Two different career education courses were designed for college students; one was a cognitive restructuring intervention and the other was a career decision skills training intervention. The cognitive restructuring career education course was compared to two other conditions. Approximately 164 college freshmen were administered the Career Decision Scale, a demographic sheet, and a follow-up questionnaire. The design selected for the study was a pre- and post-test design, using two experimental groups (two approaches to career education courses) and one control group. A total of 152 subjects completed both pre- and post-analyses. A 3 × 2 multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was performed. The factors were treatment and gender. In the comparisons of the students who took the two different approaches to career education courses and the students who did not, statistical analyses of the data indicated that regardless of gender, a significant treatment main effect on the indecision scale of the Career Decision Scale was found. However, there were no significant treatment group differences between the two experimental groups. Implications and suggestions for designing a college career education course were also discussed.     

Instructional Design of Web-based Simulations for Learners with Different Levels of Spatial Ability

This study, the purpose of which is to determine an efficient instructional design for different levels of spatial abilities, investigates: (1) the main effects of visual treatments in simulation environments on comprehension and the transfer of chemistry knowledge and (2) the interaction effects of the visual treatments and the learners’ spatial abilities. Two hundred and fifty-seven middle school students were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions. The results indicated: (1) a significant main effect of the treatment condition for both comprehension (p < 0.001) and transfer (p < 0.005) tests, where the treatment group performed better than the control group and (2) a significant interaction effect (p < 0.05) between the instructional treatment conditions and level of spatial ability for the comprehension test: Low spatial ability learners performed better in the treatment group than in the control group, whereas high spatial ability learners performed similarly regardless of the instructional conditions.