The effects of cooperative learning on Turkish elementary students’ mathematics achievement and attitude towards mathematics using TAI and STAD methods

This study was designed to compare the effects of Team Assisted Individualization (TAI) and Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) on fourth grade students’ academic achievement in and attitudes towards mathematics. Seven classes of a school were randomly selected for this experimental study. Two of these were given instruction through TAI; two through STAD, and the remaining three were treated as a control group. For the purpose of the data analysis regarding academic achievement, the 3 X 1 covariance analysis was used to compare the groups. As a result of this comparison, both the TAI and STAD methods were found to have positive effects (d = 1.003 for TAI and d = 0.40 for STAD) on students’ academic achievement in mathematics. The pairwise comparisons showed that the TAI method had a more significant effect than the STAD method. The scores for the attitude towards mathematics were analyzed by using non-parametric statistics. As a result of this analysis, no significant difference was observed regarding students’ attitudes towards mathematics.     

Effects of Video Interaction Guidance on early childhood teachers

An experimental study showed that a video feedback intervention improved the interaction skills of early childhood education and care teachers. The teachers who had received the Video Interaction Guidance training appeared more stimulating in their behavior, were more sensitive and more verbally stimulating than teachers from the control group. The training results were still apparent three months after the training. An analysis of the behavior of teachers at micro-level also revealed positive outcomes. These findings show that video feedback training for early childhood educators is a promising method to increase their socio-emotional support and verbal stimulation in childcare practice.     

Differential Effects Between Group Counselling and Group Guidance in Conducting a ‘Coping with Stress Training Program’ for Turkish University Students

This study aimed at investigating differential effects between group counselling and group guidance in conducting a ‘Coping with Stress Training Program’ for 24 Turkish university students. The dependent variables were coping with stress, irrational beliefs and optimism. A 3 × 2 design (treatment sequence by repeated measures) was applied. As a result of the treatment no significant difference was observed between the two experimental groups in any of the variables tested in the study; however, both experimental groups differed significantly from a control group in respect to coping with stress. With regard to the within-group comparisons, irrational belief tendencies in both experimental groups decreased significantly, while the level of optimism of the counselling group and the problem-focused stress coping tendencies of the guidance group increased significantly. Based on the findings, it was considered that the program for developing coping skills for stress might best be implemented in a group guidance format especially in Turkey where there are limited physical resources, a low number of staff to run programs and a high number of students in need of help.     

Purposely Teaching for the Promotion of Higher-order Thinking Skills: A Case of Critical Thinking

This longitudinal case-study aimed at examining whether purposely teaching for the promotion of higher order thinking skills enhances students’ critical thinking (CT), within the framework of science education. Within a pre-, post-, and post–post experimental design, high school students, were divided into three research groups. The experimental group (n = 57) consisted of science students who were exposed to teaching strategies designed for enhancing higher order thinking skills. Two other groups: science (n = 41) and non-science majors (n = 79), were taught traditionally, and acted as control. By using critical thinking assessment instruments, we have found that the experimental group showed a statistically significant improvement on critical thinking skills components and disposition towards critical thinking subscales, such as truth-seeking, open-mindedness, self-confidence, and maturity, compared with the control groups. Our findings suggest that if teachers purposely and persistently practice higher order thinking strategies for example, dealing in class with real-world problems, encouraging open-ended class discussions, and fostering inquiry-oriented experiments, there is a good chance for a consequent development of critical thinking capabilities.     

Assessment of metacognitive skills by means of instruction to think aloud and reflect when prompted. Does the verbalisation method affect learning?

Recent research on metacognition points out the crucial role of on-line methods when endeavouring to conduct valid assessments of metacognitive skills. Presently, different on-line methods are used, however, it is still a question of research whether and how they affect students’ learning behaviour and learning outcome. Thus, the aim of this study is to quasi-experimentally analyse the effects of two on-line verbalisation methods on learning performance. By means of the thinking-aloud method, students in one experimental group (n = 24) were instructed to read and think aloud during learning. With the reflection when prompted method, students of another experimental group (n = 24) were prompted at each navigational step to reflect on the reasons why they chose specific information. Students in the control group (n = 22) learned without being instructed to verbalise. All three groups were treated identically except for the different use of verbalisation assessment methods. The students’ task was to learn the concepts and principles of operant conditioning presented in a hypermedium within 30 min. The students’ learning sessions were videotaped and learning performance was obtained immediately afterwards. Based on Ericsson and Simon’s (Protocol analysis: Verbal reports as data, MIT, Cambridge, 1993) model, no performance differences between the thinking aloud and the control group were hypothesised. However, prompting students for metacognitive reflection should affect learning performance positively, which is confirmed by the results only in tendency for transfer performance. Implications for on-line assessment methods of metacognitive skill will be discussed.     

Effects of Cooperative Learning on Students’ Understanding of Metallic Bonding

The present study focused on investigating the effectiveness of instruction via newly developed teaching materials based on cooperative learning when compared to a traditional approach, on ninth grade students’ understanding of metallic bonding. Fifty-seven ninth grade science students from two science classes in the same high school participated in this study. The same teacher taught metallic bonding with cooperative learning to an experimental group (N = 28) and with a traditional teacher centred approach to a control group (N = 29). Students’ conceptual understanding of metallic bonding was measured using the Metallic Bonding Concept Test. The results from the Student’s t test indicated that the mean score of the students in the experimental group was significantly higher in the experimental group (78.60, SD = 8.62), than in the control group (54.33, SD = 9.11) after treatment. In the light of the results from the concept test and individual interviews, the misconceptions related to metallic bonding were found less in the experimental group than traditional. Five of these misconceptions were firstly identified in this study. The individual interviews which were done with students from experimental group immediately after the instruction showed that students had positive perceptions about their cooperative work experiences.     

Dutch home-based pre-reading intervention with children at familial risk of dyslexia

Children (5 and 6 years old, n = 30) at familial risk of dyslexia received a home-based intervention that focused on phoneme awareness and letter knowledge in the year prior to formal reading instruction. The children were compared to a no-training at-risk control group (n = 27), which was selected a year earlier. After training, we found a small effect on a composite score of phoneme awareness (d = 0.29) and a large effect on receptive letter knowledge (d = 0.88). In first grade, however, this did not result in beneficial effects for the experimental group in word reading and spelling. Results are compared to three former intervention studies in The Netherlands and comparable studies from Denmark and Australia.     

The Effects of an Intensive Reading Intervention for Ninth Graders with very Low Reading Comprehension

This experimental study examined the efficacy of a multicomponent reading intervention compared to a control condition on the reading comprehension of adolescent students with low reading comprehension (more than 1½ standard deviations below normative sample). Ninth‐grade students were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 25) and comparison (n = 19). Reading teachers provided instruction for 90‐min, five times every two weeks for approximately 80 sessions. Treatment effects for each outcome measure were estimated using repeated measure of analysis of covariance for measures of reading comprehension and fluency. Results indicate no statistically significant differences between treatment and comparison conditions. Repeated‐measures analyses of variance between students with lower and higher decoding skills indicated a statistically significant interaction between treatment condition and decoding ability on the WJ‐III PC and Bridge‐IT, with large effect sizes (η_p² .16 and .12, respectively), indicating that treatment was differentially beneficial for students with higher decoding skills.     

Effects of Feedback on Absenteeism in the Junior High School

Abstract

This study assessed the effects of a special feedback program in reducing absenteeism among adolescent junior high school students" Parents of students in the experimental group received followup calls in cases of student absences on a more immediate basis than parents of other absentees. These parents also received positive phone calls and letters when their children improved in attendance. Two comparison groups received no positive feedback, but one was involved in a special social skills training program. Both an analysis of covariance, using absences the prior year as the covariate, and chi square analyses indicated significant differences between the groups. Both the experimental group and social skills group showed significant improvement in relation to the no-treatment control group.     

Computer-based learning of spelling skills in children with and without dyslexia

Our spelling training software recodes words into multisensory representations comprising visual and auditory codes. These codes represent information about letters and syllables of a word. An enhanced version, developed for this study, contains an additional phonological code and an improved word selection controller relying on a phoneme-based student model. We investigated the spelling behavior of children by means of learning curves based on log-file data of the previous and the enhanced software version. First, we compared the learning progress of children with dyslexia working either with the previous software (n = 28) or the adapted version (n = 37). Second, we investigated the spelling behavior of children with dyslexia (n = 37) and matched children without dyslexia (n = 25). To gain deeper insight into which factors are relevant for acquiring spelling skills, we analyzed the influence of cognitive abilities, such as attention functions and verbal memory skills, on the learning behavior. All investigations of the learning process are based on learning curve analyses of the collected log-file data. The results evidenced that those children with dyslexia benefit significantly from the additional phonological cue and the corresponding phoneme-based student model. Actually, children with dyslexia improve their spelling skills to the same extent as children without dyslexia and were able to memorize phoneme to grapheme correspondence when given the correct support and adequate training. In addition, children with low attention functions benefit from the structured learning environment. Generally, our data showed that memory sources are supportive cognitive functions for acquiring spelling skills and for using the information cues of a multi-modal learning environment.     

Impact of early code‐skill and oral‐comprehension training on reading achievement in first grade

In a 3‐year longitudinal study, we examined the relationships between oral language development, early training and reading acquisition on word‐identification and reading‐comprehension tests administered to a sample of 687 French children. Hierarchical linear models showed that both phonological awareness and oral comprehension at the age of 4 years were relevant to reading acquisition 2 years later. These two broad skills explained separate parts of the variance on both outcome measures, while revealing opposite effects: phonological skills explained more variance for alphabetic reading skills and oral comprehension explained more variance for reading comprehension. We also assessed the effects of two preschool training programmes focusing on either phonological awareness or comprehension skills. The results showed that phonological awareness training had a positive effect on alphabetic scores, and comprehension training had a positive effect on reading comprehension. These results provide insight into early oral instruction and contribute to the theoretical debate about the linguistic predictors of literacy acquisition.     

THE IMPACT OF PEER INSTRUCTION ON COLLEGE STUDENTS’ BELIEFS ABOUT PHYSICS AND CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM

The purpose of this study is to assess students’ conceptual learning of electricity and magnetism and examine how these conceptions, beliefs about physics, and quantitative problem-solving skills would change after peer instruction (PI). The Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM), Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS), multiple-choice test was administered as a pre- and posttest with Solomon 4 group design to students (N  =  138) enrolled on freshman level physics course. The number of chapter taught to the students was 14. Problem-solving strategy steps were asked to students in the exam. The analyses of CSEM showed that the treatment group (g  =  0.62) obtained significantly higher conceptual learning gain than the control group (g  =  0.36). The conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills of the students on magnetism considerably enhanced when PI was conducted (37% and 20%, respectively). CLASS results for 5 subscales (conceptual understanding, applied conceptual understanding, problem solving general, problem solving confidence, and problem solving sophistication) supported the findings of CSEM.     

Changes in the basic ICT skills of freshmen between 2005 and 2009: Who’s catching up and who’s still behind?

In the last decade, ICT use has expanded enormously in most Western countries. In line with this development, we hypothesised that freshmen at university would not only have mastered more ICT skills, but would also use computers more often than their counterparts of 5 years previously. To compare students’ opinions and behaviour between 2005 and 2009, responses to two online questionnaires (N = 714 in 2005 and N = 1529 in 2009) offered at a large university were compared. The main variables of the Technology Acceptance Model (as well as facilitating factors, study motivation and some contextual variables) were used as predictors to explore the possible changes between 2005 and 2009 in the mastering of 19 ICT skills, and the frequency of the use of computers for six different tasks. The results of the study show that freshmen became more proficient in some ICT skills, while proficiency in other skills did not change or even dropped. Gender is still an important factor to predict ICT skills and the frequency of using computers, but it is shown that for some skills female students have caught up with their male counterparts.     

Mutation-Based Learning to Improve Student Autonomy and Scientific Inquiry Skills in a Large Genetics Laboratory Course

Laboratory education can play a vital role in developing a learner''s autonomy and scientific inquiry skills. In an innovative, mutation-based learning (MBL) approach, students were instructed to redesign a teacher-designed standard experimental protocol by a “mutation” method in a molecular genetics laboratory course. Students could choose to delete, add, reverse, or replace certain steps of the standard protocol to explore questions of interest to them in a given experimental scenario. They wrote experimental proposals to address their rationales and hypotheses for the “mutations”; conducted experiments in parallel, according to both standard and mutated protocols; and then compared and analyzed results to write individual lab reports. Various autonomy-supportive measures were provided in the entire experimental process. Analyses of student work and feedback suggest that students using the MBL approach 1) spend more time discussing experiments, 2) use more scientific inquiry skills, and 3) find the increased autonomy afforded by MBL more enjoyable than do students following regimented instructions in a conventional “cookbook”-style laboratory. Furthermore, the MBL approach does not incur an obvious increase in labor and financial costs, which makes it feasible for easy adaptation and implementation in a large class.     

A qualitative synthesis of video feedback in higher education

While written and audio feedback have been well-examined by researchers, video feedback has received less attention. This review establishes the current state of research into video feedback encompassing three formats: talking head, screencast and combination screencast. Existing research shows that video feedback has a high level of acceptability amongst both staff and students and may help strengthen student-marker relationships; however, the impact of video feedback on student learning outcomes is yet to be determined. In addition, current evidence is drawn largely from small-scale studies and self-reported data susceptible to the novelty effect. While video feedback appears to be a promising alternative to traditional written feedback for its relative relational richness, the medium continues to be primarily used for information transmission rather than dialogue. Further research is needed to establish how the medium of video influences the feedback process, its potential to facilitate dialogue and its effects on student learning.     

Does Augmented Visual Feedback from Novel,Multicolored, Three-Dimensional-Printed Teeth Affect Dental Students' Acquisition of Manual Skills?

Although three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is increasingly used in dental education, its application regarding the provision of online visual augmented feedback has not been tested. Thus, this study aimed to: (1) develop two generations of multicolored 3D-printed teeth that provide visual augmented feedback for students conducting the cavity preparation process, (2) assess students' clinical performance after training on the 3D models, and (3) acquire student feedback. For the first-generation model, augmented feedback was obtained from five 3D-printed teeth models for five cavity preparation procedures. Each model comprised three layers printed in green, yellow, and red indicating whether preparation was acceptable, limited, or unacceptable, respectively. The study used a crossover design in which the experimental group trained on five multicolored models and 10 standard plastic teeth, and the control group trained on 15 standard plastic teeth. Students gave positive feedback of the methodology but complained about the printed material's hardness. Therefore, a second-generation model was developed: the model's occlusal plane was replaced with a harder printed acrylic material, and the experiment was repeated. During training, instructors provided external terminal feedback only for performance on standard plastic teeth. Manual grades for cavity preparations on standard plastic teeth were compared. No significant differences were found between the control and experimental groups in both generations' models. However, less instructor time was needed, and similar clinical results were obtained after training with both generations. Thus, multicolored 3D-printed teeth models promote self-learning during the process of acquiring manual skills and reduce student dependency on instructors.     

The effects of a competency‐oriented learning environment and tutor feedback on students’ reflection skills

This study investigates the effects of a competency‐oriented course and the effects of feedback training on students’ reflection skills. Thirty‐one nursing students enrolled in a conventional course with lectures and assignments following a traditional test. Subsequently, they enrolled in a competency‐oriented course, which included more performance‐oriented tasks based on competencies and a performance‐based assessment. In both courses, half of the students received feedback on their assignments from tutors who were trained in feedback skills (experimental group), while the other half of the students received feedback from non‐trained tutors (control group). After each course, all students wrote a reflection report. Results show that students’ reflection reports after the competency‐oriented course were of a higher quality than the reports after the conventional course. Contrary to our expectations, the quality of the reflection reports of the control group (students supervised by non‐trained tutors) was significantly higher than the quality of reflection reports of the experimental group (students supervised by trained tutors). This study shows that a competency‐oriented design of courses enhances students’ reflection skills, but that the training in feedback skills needs to be reconsidered.     

Effects of web-mediated professional development resources on teacher–child interactions in pre-kindergarten classrooms

As the workforce in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs continues to grow in the United States, the promise of these and other early education opportunities (e.g., Head Start) depends in large part on in-service professional development and training in key instructional and interaction skills. In this paper, we describe effects of MyTeachingPartner (MTP), a web-based system of professional development resources, that include video exemplars and web-mediated consultation on specific dimensions of interactions with children for 113 teachers in a state-funded pre-k program. Teachers assigned to receive on-line consultation and feedback targeted to their interactions showed significantly greater increases in independent ratings of the quality of interactions than did those only receiving access to a website with video clips. The positive effects of consultation were particularly evident in classrooms with higher proportions of children who experienced economic risks. Implications of these findings for models of professional development and widespread needs for teacher access and support are discussed in relation to the effectiveness of early education.     

FROM “EXPLORING THE MIDDLE ZONE” TO “CONSTRUCTING A BRIDGE”: EXPERIMENTING IN THE SPIRAL BIANSHI MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM

The spiral bianshi curriculum, an improvement on bianshi teaching developed by Gu (2000) and in line with Marton’s theory of variation (Marton & Booth, 1997), was tried out in a primary school in Hong Kong. This improved theoretical framework for the spiral bianshi curriculum comprises four types of bianshi problems—the inductive bianshi, the broadening bianshi, the deepening bianshi, and the applicative bianshi. Based on this framework, the research team developed a set of teaching materials on the three topics of division of fraction, speed, and volume. The materials were tried out in 21 Primary 6 classes (a total of 686 students) in a school. The effect was compared with a reference group using standard textbook materials in Hong Kong. A series of instruments, pre-tests, and post-tests were administered to gauge the effects on students’ performance in solving routine and non-routine problems, as well as the affective outcomes including self-concept, attitude towards learning mathematics, approaches to learning, and conceptions of mathematics. The intervention effects of the experimental design were examined by hierarchical regression analysis. The research reveals that students using spiral bianshi teaching materials performed significantly better than their counterparts using standard textbook materials. However, no significant differences were identified among affective learning outcome variables despite the positive results on cognitive learning outcomes. The findings indicate that spiral bianshi curriculum has high potential in enhancing students’ learning effectiveness. However, further studies are needed to map its strengths in detail.     

Effects of instructional conditions and experience on student reflection: a video annotation study

This article reports on the findings of a study that investigated the effects of instructional conditions and prior experience on students’ self-reflection. The study was conducted with the use of a video annotation tool that was used by undergraduate performing arts students to reflect on their video-recorded performances. The study shows a consistent positive effect of previous experience with the video annotation tool for engagement with reflection. Graded instructional conditions with feedback had a positive effect on increasing higher order reflections particularly for students with prior experience with the video annotation tool for reflective purposes. The finding suggests that when including reflection in the curriculum, it is important to consider introducing it at a program or degree level rather than individual courses in order to provide an opportunity for students to gain experience with reflection and any particular tool that is used (e.g., a video annotation tool). Furthermore, reflective tasks should be scaffolded into the curriculum with ample opportunity for formative feedback and summative assessment in order to encourage higher order thinking and foster students’ metacognitive awareness and monitoring for increased goal-setting and acknowledgement of the motive or effect of their observed behavior.