Motivating young language learners: A longitudinal model of self-determined motivation in elementary school foreign language classes

Promoting intrinsic motivation is often a central concern in teaching foreign languages to elementary school children. Self-determination theory posits that intrinsic motivation develops through the interaction of the person and the environment. The present study investigated how elementary school students’ motivation develops over the course of a school year in Japanese public schools. Five-hundred and fifteen Japanese elementary school children were surveyed over the course of one school year. Self-reported motivation, perceptions of teacher support, need satisfaction, and engagement were measured at different times. External raters observed students’ engagement, while classroom teachers assessed the quality of students’ motivation and learning. Structural equation modeling results indicated a positive, dynamic relationship between motivation, perceptions of the learning environment, and engagement. External raters’ assessments showed significant positive correlations with students’ self-reported engagement. Findings indicate how the instruction offered in these Japanese elementary schools supported students’ foreign language learning motivation.     

Not in This Alone: Black Men’s Bonding,Learning, and Sense of Belonging in Black Male Initiative Programs

This multisite qualitative study explored the narratives of Black male college students’ engagement experiences in a Black Male Initiative (BMI) program across three different campuses. To better understand the students’ narratives and experiences, sense of belonging was employed as a theoretical frame to investigate how the participants made meaning from their engagement. The findings suggest that the BMI program provided students with a unique cultural community that enhanced how they felt valued and their persistence in college. In particular, students identified bonding with their Black male peers and learning from Black men connected to the program as central components of the BMI community. That deepened their sense of self and deepened their sense of mattering.

     

The dynamics of learning engagement and its relationship with teachers’ classroom practices in primary school

The current study was part of a larger project which examined teachers’ classroom practices and relationships with students’ learning engagement in primary-school education in Estonia. The focus was the role of autonomy supportive and structured teaching on learning engagement. Two primary-school teachers and their 46 students were selected for this study. The aim of the study was to explore how teachers’ classroom practices influence students’ learning engagement over two years during grade two and grade four of the educational system. Three trained observers rated classroom practices and students self-reported learning engagement. The results highlight primary students’ high-learning engagement, and did not confirm an expectation that low-autonomy-supportive teaching results in low-learning engagement in primary school.     

Constructing inclusion: lessons from critical,disability narratives

Drawing from critical disability narratives, including disability studies works, autobiographies and school age students' commentaries, explored is how discussions of school inclusion might be expanded to reflect disability voices. The analysis focuses on inclusion primarily as it concerns students with developmental disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome, and how, in light of lessons from critical disability narratives, students with these disabilities might experience fuller academic as well as social inclusion. Specifically, presented are four themes drawn from disability narratives: (1) resisting static understandings of disability; (2) creating and finding contexts for experiencing competence; (3) learning to recognize and resist normate narratives of disability; and (4) honouring the experience of disability. The paper includes a series of assumptions and principles for practising inclusion that arguably can be derived from critical disability narratives.     

Learning the Fundamentals in the Activity Curriculum

Little is known about how students go about learning in out-of-school settings, how they self-regulate their learning in these settings, and whether school learning affects out-of-school learning. Research on these questions is important because a major purpose of schooling is to enable students to learn on their own in the world beyond school. In the present study, high school students were surveyed to determine their out-of-school activities, use of learning strategies in these activities, engagement in school-prompted interests, and self-efficacy for out-of-school learning. Students reported low rates of using learning strategies in their out-of-school pursuits. Students who became so interested in a topic in school that they learned more about it outside of school (i.e., a school-prompted interest) did not have greater self-efficacy for learning or higher grades, but they did report greater use of out-of-school learning strategies, a higher number of out-of-school activities, and greater likelihood of having done a large project on their own. African American and White students were equally likely to have experienced a school-prompted interest, but Whites were more likely to have done projects. These findings suggest the need for more school instruction in learning strategies that encourages their transfer to the out-of-school domain.     

Learning to engage: how positive attitudes about the news,media literacy,and video production contribute to adolescent civic engagement

Many students enroll in video production courses in high school as part of a vocational, career, or technical program. While there has been an explosion of scholarly work in digital literacy in informal settings, less is known about how digital and media literacy competencies are developed through school-based video production courses. This study explores the relationship between civic engagement and the various multimedia instructional practices used in a high school video production course with a single-school convenience sample and an ethnically diverse population of students. Findings reveal that the best predictors of the intent to participate in civic engagement are having positive attitudes about news, current events, reporting, and journalism. Media literacy attitudes and a range of in-classroom learning experiences with video production are also associated with civic engagement.     

Teaching and Learning Science Through Song: Exploring the experiences of students and teachers

This qualitative, multi-case study explored the use of science-content music for teaching and learning in six middle school science classrooms. The researcher sought to understand how teachers made use of content-rich songs for teaching science, how they impacted student engagement and learning, and what the experiences of these teachers and students suggested about using songs for middle school classroom science instruction. Data gathered included three teacher interviews, one classroom observation and a student focus-group discussion from each of six cases. The data from each unit of analysis were examined independently and then synthesized in a multi-case analysis, resulting in a number of merged findings, or assertions, about the experience. The results of this study indicated that teachers used content-rich music to enhance student understanding of concepts in science by developing content-based vocabulary, providing students with alternative examples and explanations of concepts, and as a sense-making experience to help build conceptual understanding. The use of science-content songs engaged students by providing both situational and personal interest, and provided a mnemonic device for remembering key concepts in science. The use of songs has relevance from a constructivist approach as they were used to help students build meaning; from a socio-cultural perspective in terms of student engagement; and from a cognitive viewpoint in that in these cases they helped students make connections in learning. The results of this research have implications for science teachers and the science education community in developing new instructional strategies for the middle school science classroom.     

人工智能时代下的精准减负：提升减负政策效能的关键——基于小学生学习投入与主观课业负担类型的划分及特征分析

不同类型学生群体的个性特点与统一政策相冲突是减负政策实施的阻力之一,厘清投入和负担之间的非线性关系是科学减负的基础。研究采用聚类分析等方法探索了学生在校内外学习投入与主观课业负担的潜在分类,并从个体的学业成就、学习品质及其人际关系等角度探索了各类学生的发展特征。研究发现:(1)学生的负担情况不能一概而论,有的需要减负、有的需要增加时间投入、有的需要提升学习品质,学生可根据学习投入与主观课业负担的状况分为"低投高负型""低投低负型""高投高负型""高投低负型"等四种类型。(2)不同类型的学生无论是在学业成就、人际关系还是在影响学生终生发展的学习品质上的表现均存在显著差异。(3)减轻负担的核心在于提升学生的学习品质等非学业方面的素养,无论学习投入程度如何,学习品质表现好的学生的负担感受均较低。因此,人工智能时代下建立对学生的负担状况进行科学分类的精确诊断系统是必要的,不同类型的学生应采取个性化的减负方案,利用智能化的自适应学习系统提升学生的学习品质是减负的核心路径。     

Secondary teachers’ conceptions of student engagement: Engagement in learning or in schooling?

Teacher actions can influence how students engage at school, making it relevant to understand their conceptions of student engagement and how to facilitate it. Reviews of existing literature suggested that a distinction between engagement in schooling and engagement in learning might help differentiate between social and academic outcomes.Data from a phenomenographic study of 20 Australian teachers were analysed to show how teacher thinking related to this distinction. While some teachers held complex conceptions centred on promoting cognitive engagement and student learning, others aligned with engagement in schooling, focusing on generating participation and emphasising positive student affective experiences.     

Understanding voices from the margins: social injustice and agency in first-year students’ literacy narratives

Abstract

This article analyses literacy narratives of first-year students at a South African university. It uses excerpts from the literacy narratives to explain how this writing genre serves as an outlet for reconstructing experiences of social injustice and agency. The article discusses how students’ experiences of social injustice and their sense of agency intersect to influence their literacy development from primary school to university. The article contends that, although literacy narratives give lecturers access to students’ pre-university learning experiences and their discomforts with university literacy expectations, they also capture aspects of societal injustices and their responses to these injustices.     

Laptop initiative: Impact on instructional technology integration and student learning

The purpose of this study was to examine how 1:1 laptop initiative affected student learning at a selected rural Midwestern high school. A total of 105 high school students enrolled in 10th–12th grades during the 2008–2009 school year participated in the study. A survey instrument created by the Mitchell Institute was modified and used to collect data on student perceptions and faculty perceptions of the impact of 1:1 laptop computing on student learning and instructional integration of technology in education. Study findings suggest that integration of 1:1 laptop computing positively impacts student academic engagement and student learning. Therefore, there is need for teachers to implement appropriate computing practices to enhance student learning. Additionally, teachers need to collaborate with their students to learn and understand various instructional technology applications beyond basic Internet browsing and word processing.     

Understanding motivational structures that differentially predict engagement and achievement in middle school science

Middle school has been documented as the period in which a drop in students’ science interest and achievement occurs. This trend indicates a lack of motivation for learning science; however, little is known about how different aspects of motivation interact with student engagement and science learning outcomes. This study examines the relationships among motivational factors, engagement, and achievement in middle school science (grades 6–8). Data were obtained from middle school students in the United States (N?=?2094). The theoretical relationships among motivational constructs, including self-efficacy, and three types of goal orientations (mastery, performance approach, and performance avoid) were tested. The results showed that motivation is best modeled as distinct intrinsic and extrinsic factors; lending evidence that external, performance based goal orientations factor separately from self-efficacy and an internal, mastery based goal orientation. Second, a model was tested to examine how engagement mediated the relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors and science achievement. Engagement mediated the relationship between intrinsic motivation and science achievement, whereas extrinsic motivation had no relationship with engagement and science achievement. Implications for how classroom practice and educational policy emphasize different student motivations, and in turn, can support or hinder students’ science learning are discussed.     

Broadening Perspectives on Immigrant Experiences: Secondary Students Study the Absorption Difficulties Faced by Mizrachi Immigrants in Israel

Over the course of the 2015–2016 academic year, 12th-grade students at a Jewish high school in Canada participated in a research study that assessed how they integrated morally complex narratives in Israel’s past into their own relationship with the country. This article presents material based on how students reacted to learning that some Jewish immigrants were mistreated by the government by way of intentional economic disparity, depiction as grotesque caricatures in standard curricula, and denial of access to funds for cultural expression. The majority of students expressed shock and outrage as this narrative contrasted with the Zionist narrative that they had previously learned.     

From policy to practice: applying educational change in Israeli schools for students at high academic risk

This short report identifies the academic and environmental experiences that support the reclaiming of students at high academic risk and describes an applicable school‐wide programme emanating from the call for educational change in Israel. The proposed structured academic programme demonstrates how schools can achieve broad student knowledge and set high performance standards while accommodating diverse student needs. As such, the programme provides school practitioners with intervention targets that promote school engagement and higher school performance. In addition, the report provides illustrative examples of the implemented programme within schools for students at high academic risk in Israel. It is argued that a movement towards an adaptive model of schooling as portrayed within the structured academic programme may prove to be effective in academically engaging students at academic risk, thus providing all students with democratic possibilities for learning and knowing.     

Teachers and students together in a professional learning community

Students represent the majority of the people in a school organisation, but are rarely considered as participants in literature on professional learning communities (PLC). This article explored a PLC with the legitimate participation of students in the classroom. Data was based on interviews with 11 teachers. Community of practice theory provides 3 dimensions that were used as analytical tools: shared repertoire, mutual engagement, and joint enterprise. Shared repertoire refers to how teachers introduce and develop tools for learning; mutual engagement to how to establish relationships and atmosphere with a respect for learning; and joint enterprise to how students’ associations and experiences are used to shape content knowledge in planning for learning. We conclude that the theory of community of practice is useful to describe and understand the formation of a PLC.     

Flipped learning and parent engagement in secondary schools: A South Australian case study

Parent involvement in and engagement with children’s learning has been shown to strongly influence student achievement, engagement, motivation and school completion. However, parent involvement decreases once students reach middle school, as subject content gets harder, the number of teachers increases, and students are less likely to share their homework and learning with parents. To this end, the flipped learning (FL) approach has received growing attention, with evidence of improved higher order thinking and collaborative skills and increased transparency for parents. This paper explores school leader, parent, student and teacher perceptions of the FL approach, through the lens of a 1-year case study of two rural South Australian schools, in order to uncover how the approach affects parent engagement. Findings reveal that, whilst stakeholders feel that the flipped approach is beneficial for absent students, to reinforce content and increase student responsibility, it has not yet improved transparency for parents, with a disconnect between what schools think parents know and are engaging in, and the actual level of parent engagement in student learning. Recommendations for schools implementing the FL approach are provided against a bioecological model, adapted for this study.     

“I think at first glance people would not expect me to be interested in science”: Exploring the racialized science experiences of high school students of color

The underrepresentation of high school students of color in advanced science courses and the need to increase racial diversity in science fields is well documented. The persistence of racial disparities in science suggests that factors influencing participation include and extend beyond those currently being explored. This study explores how high school students of color make sense of racialized narratives about who does and can do science in circulation in society and their lives, and how this shapes their positioning and identity construction in science. Using interviews and surveys this study examines youths' accounts of their racialized science experiences, including how they envision scientists, make sense of racial disparities in the science community, and navigate their positioning in science. In addition, this study examines how youths' sense of their science ability, as a salient aspect of science identity, shapes the forms of navigation accessible to them, and thus, the futures they imagine in science. By sharing the complexity of students' sense making and the tensions they express as they negotiate their personal goals, science experiences, and messages they receive from racialized narratives, findings highlight the disproportionate work youth of color in this study do, as well as their resilience to navigate racialized narratives in science. This research sheds light on the experiences of high school students of color at a time in their schooling when they are making decisions about who they can become and the possible futures available to them. Implications from this study promote centering race within a critical, sociocultural, and ecological context when exploring identity construction for youth of color in science. Furthermore, findings underscore the need to create learning experiences that provide opportunities for youth of color to author narratives for their own possibilities of belonging and becoming in science in order to support inclusive pathways.     

Students’ experiences of teaching at secondary school and university: sharing responsibility for classroom engagement

Recently much research has focused on student engagement, both at school and at university. This attention is motivated by the role that engagement plays in student learning and in the student experience. Acknowledging that student engagement is a multifaceted construct we focus on the contribution that teaching and teacher traits make to the quality of student engagement, from the student’s perspective. In this small scale study, we adopt a qualitative methodology to investigate students’ perceptions of what factors impact on their engagement and what role the students themselves have in fostering such engagement. Focus group and one-to-one interviews with students in the last year of school and at university were analysed to reveal four overarching themes related to engagement in classroom life including the importance of active listening on the part of both students and teachers. The resulting Refined Quality Teaching Initiatives Framework outlines how dual engagement and active listening can be viable pedagogical strategies both at school and university. The framework also brings to the fore the active role and responsibilities that students have, in their own perceptions, for engagement in the classroom. We conclude with a reflection on the implications of our findings for teaching and teacher training.     

Hard to reach and hard to teach: supporting the self-regulation of learning in an alternative provision secondary school

Since 2010, new types of state-funded schools have opened in England with a focus on providing alternative education provision. Very little is known about these schools, partly due to their novelty, and how they are attempting to re-engage those students who for various, and often complex, reasons have become disconnected from education. We scrutinised the approach used at one such school to examine what instructional practices were used, how they were adapted to the needs of the students and what factors enabled and obstructed (re)engagement. Data were collected over a month-long fieldwork visit and included semi-structured interviews with staff and students, and semi-structured classroom observations. Instructional approaches were used that supported the learning of students who were not experienced in, or had difficulty with, regulating their learning. These included breaking down tasks, providing lots of on-task prompts, encouragement, using frequent feedback and scaffolding, and offering quick support to students. This approach allowed students to re-engage with their learning and make progress towards important qualifications required for entry to the labour market and post-compulsory education and training.