场依存一场独立认知风格与大学英语听力教学

大学生英语听力水平高低受多方因素影响,文章试图从场依存一场独立这组认知风格入手,对比两种不同认知风格的特点,以学生本身的认知特点为出发点调查研究其与学生听力水平的内在联系,并进一步探讨大学英语听力教学的策略。     

Cognitive Style,Gender, Attitude toward Computer‐assisted Learning and Academic Achievement

This paper reports an investigation of cognitive style, gender, attitude toward using computer‐assisted learning (CAL) and academic achievement among university students. A Group Embedded Figures Test was used to assess students’ cognitive style and a questionnaire was used for the evaluation of students’ attitude toward CAL. The results revealed that students have positive attitudes toward CAL but they were not prepared to rely entirely on CAL. A 2 x 2 ANOVA was used to investigate the effect of cognitive style and gender on the attitude toward CAL. The results revealed that male students preferred using CAL significantly more than females and field dependent students were more prepared to rely entirely on CAL than field independent students. On the other hand, there was a significant difference between males and females in their achievement scores in favour of the male group. But there was no difference between field dependence and field independence groups in their achievement. The results also revealed no significant relationship between students’ attitudes toward CAL and their achievement in these courses.     

Cognitive style and gender differences in children’s mathematics achievement

Males are often found to outperform females in tests of mathematics achievement and it has been proposed that this may in part be explained by differences in cognitive style. This study investigated the relation between Wholistic-Analytic and Verbal-Imagery cognitive style, gender and mathematics achievement in a sample of 190 Australian primary school students aged between 8–11?years (M?=?9.77, SD?=?1.05). It was hypothesised that males would outperform females in mathematics achievement tests, and that gender would interact with cognitive style on mathematics performance. A significant gender/cognitive style interaction was found. Boys with an Analytic/Imagery style achieved significantly higher results than the girls with an Analytic/Imagery style, supporting the contention that certain cognitive styles affect boys and girls mathematics performance differently. Implications of results and strategies for improving mathematics achievement among girls are discussed.     

Effect of Item Arrangement,Knowledge of Arrangement,and Test Anxiety on Two Scoring Methods

Number right (NR) and elimination (EL) scores were analyzed on 48-item college level mathematics exam that was assembled from pretest data in three forms by varying the item orderings: easy-hard, uniform, random. One-half of the forms contained information explaining the item arrangement and suggesting strategies for taking the test. Several anxiety measures were administered in a balanced order along with the experimental forms to 97 undergraduates. Multivariate ANOVA revealed no significant effects of the independent variables (order, knowledge, anxiety condition) on either cognitive dependent measure (NR or EL) (a = .05). Multivariate ANCOVA, using measures of anxiety as multiple covariates, also failed to show any significant influence (a = .05) on the cognitive dependent measures or a set of perceptional dependent measures. Results suggest that neither test scores nor attitudes are influenced by item order, knowledge thereof, or anxiety level, although factors contributing to the non-significance may have been inherent in the research design because of inadequate power and/or student performance motivation.     

Prior mathematics achievement,cognitive appraisals and anxiety as predictors of Finnish students’ later mathematics performance and career orientation

The aim of this two‐year longitudinal study was to investigate the role and impact of prior mathematics performance, cognitive appraisals and mathematics‐specific, affective anxiety in determining later mathematics achievement and future career orientation among Finnish adolescents. The basic ideas of the control‐value theory, assumed to be culturally universal, and previous controversial results regarding the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement were tested in the Finnish cultural context with a longitudinal design. The key premise of the control‐value theory is that control and value appraisals are significant determinants of both activity and outcome achievement emotions. Our results suggest that mathematics anxiety, a prospective outcome emotion, is determined by outcome expectancies (success or failure) and outcome value (the importance of performing well). They also suggest that anxiety as a negative affective emotion is a problem not only for those who perform poorly but probably also for certain pupils across all achievement levels. Compared with the performance level and with the boys, the girls exhibited inaccurately low outcome expectancies in mathematics. These low expectancies connected to the negative value of failure are a potential cause for their higher anxiety level. The educational implications of the findings are discussed.     

WHICH EXAMINEES ARE MOST FAVOURED BY THE USE OF MULTIPLE CHOICE TESTS?

Scores were obtained from 198 ninth grade students on achievement motivation, test anxiety, testwiseness, and risktaking. Tests in mathematics and vocabulary were constructed in free response and multiple choice form, and administered to the subjects in that order, with an interval of 5 weeks between administrations. Partial correlations were computed between scores on the multiple choice tests and achievement motivation, test anxiety, testwiseness, and risktaking, with free response scores partialled out. The partial correlations were corrected for the unreliability in the free response scores, and tested for significance. All partials involving achievement motivation and test anxiety were nonsignificant, as were all partials based on mathematics scores. The partial correlations of vocabulary scores with testwiseness and risktaking were significant without exception. It was concluded that the use of multiple choice tests can favour certain examinees those who are highly testwise and willing to take risks in the test situation. It was noted that the extent to which these examinees were favoured was dependent on the nature of the test, and that a verbal test seemed more susceptible than a numerical test.     

A working memory model applied to mathematical word problem solving

The main objective of this study is (a) to explore the relationship among cognitive style (field dependence/independence), working memory, and mathematics anxiety and (b) to examine their effects on students’ mathematics problem solving. A sample of 161 school girls (13–14 years old) were tested on (1) the Witkin’s cognitive style (Group Embedded Figure Test) and (2) Digit Span Backwards Test, with two mathematics exams. Results obtained indicate that the effect of field dependency, working memory, and mathematics anxiety on students' mathematical word problem solving was significant. Moreover, the correlation among working memory capacity, cognitive style, and students’ mathematics anxiety was significant. Overall, these findings could help to provide some practical implications for adapting problem solving skills and effective teaching/learning.     

Anxiety and Mathematics Performance in Female Secondary School Students in Singapore

This is an exploratory study conducted on mathematics anxiety, test anxiety and some interpersonal correlates with mathematics achievement of a sample of 206 Secondary Four female students from a Singapore school. Spielbergers' (1977) Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) and the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales (Fennema-Sherman, 1976) were the instruments us ed. Some significant findings are: high mathematics anxiety is associated with low mathematics achievement and so is high test anxiety with low mathematics achievement. However, for the most capable students, test anxiety seems to act as a facilitator in their mathematics performance. Of the three interpersonal variables explored, students' scores on the perception of their mathematics teachers have the strongest correlation with their mathematics anxiety scores.     

Systemizing and the gender gap: examining academic achievement and perseverance in STEM

For years, a popular explanation for women choosing to abandon studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has been their lack of aptitude. This study challenged that notion by integrating theories of cognitive style, academic emotion, self-efficacy, and motivation to explain students’ academic achievement and perseverance in STEM when transitioning to college. A sample of 1597 high school and junior college students participated. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were first conducted to validate a reduced version of the cognitive style questionnaire. Structural equation modeling revealed that the cognitive style known as systemizing indirectly predicted STEM achievement and persistence by way of intrinsic motivation, learning anxiety, and self-efficacy, providing a new perspective for re-examining the gender gap in STEM.

     

The Interaction of Reader and Task Factors in the Assessment of Reading Comprehension

This study examined the effects of selected reader and task variables on reading comprehension performance. Fifty deaf students and 61 hearing students of comparable reading skill level were blocked by cognitive style scores into field dependent or field independent groups. Subjects read 12 passages and completed selected-response and constructed-response question tasks under both lookback and no-lookback conditions. The passage questions tapped both text-explicit and text-implicit information. Several reader and task interaction effects were found to be significant, particularly for lookback conditions and constructed-response tasks. Moreover, cognitive style interacted with hearing state on tasks involving lookback options. Implications are drawn for further consideration of differential test administration and training in test-taking skills for certain types of readers.     

An investigation of mathematics anxiety among sixth through eighth grade students in Turkey

The purpose of the present study is to investigate mathematics anxiety among 220 sixth through eighth grade Turkish students in terms of mathematics achievement levels, perceived enjoyment of the mathematics teaching method, perceived enjoyment of mathematics, and perceived help with mathematics from parents. The Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Primary School Students (Bindak, 2005) was used to assess the levels of mathematics anxiety. A 3 × 2 factorial analysis of variance results showed that there was not a significant interaction effect or main effect of gender; however, there was a significant main effect of grade level. Standard multiple regression analyses show that independent variables accounted for 63% to 70% of variability in the dependent variable. The results also indicate that not only the perceived enjoyment of mathematics, but also the enjoyment of the mathematics teaching method and help with mathematics from parents had a significant effect on mathematics anxiety.     

Cognitive performance and academic achievement of Japanese, Chinese, and American children

Chinese, Japanese, and American children at grades 1 and 5 were given a battery of 10 cognitive tasks and tests of achievement in reading and mathematics. Samples consisted of 240 children in each grade in each culture. 2 major purposes of the study were to determine possible differences in cognitive abilities of Japanese, Chinese, and American children and to investigate the possible differential relation of scores on cognitive tasks to reading by children of the 3 cultures. Similarity was found among children of the 3 cultures in level, variability, and structure of cognitive abilities. Chinese children surpassed Japanese and American children in reading scores; both Chinese and Japanese children obtained higher scores in mathematics than the American children. Prediction of achievement scores from the cognitive tasks showed few differential effects among children of the 3 cultures. The results suggest that the high achievement of Chinese and Japanese children cannot be attributed to higher intellectual abilities, but must be related to their experiences at home and at school.     

Long-term prediction of achievement and attitudes in mathematics and reading

The purpose of the longitudinal study was to investigate the prediction of children's academic achievement on the basis of cognitive tasks given prior to kindergarten, and academic attitudes on the basis of teachers' and mothers' ratings of the children's general cognitive abilities and actual achievement. Subjects were tested initially before entering kindergarten; from 105 to 154 of the 255 kindergarten children were followed through grades 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10. A subset of cognitive tasks maintained a high relation to high school achievement scores, especially in reading. Tenth-grade self-concept of ability, expectancy for success, value of success, and perception of task difficulty showed effects of sex and academic content area, with boys generally being more favorable toward math and girls more favorable toward reading. Children's attitudes were related both to mothers' earlier ratings of their children's cognitive abilities and actual achievement scores; this was especially the case for girls. There was a negative relation between mothers' ratings and girls' attitudes toward mathematics. Sex differences in all measures throughout the 11-year period are reviewed.     

Cognitive style and achievement in science: A report from a developing society

This study investigated the effect of cognitive style, instructional mode and sex on students' achievement in biology. A sample of 258 subjects were involved and the study used a Treatment (2) × Sex (2) × Cognitive style (3) Non-randomized Control Group Pre-test-Post-test Design. Data were collected with Biology Achievement Test (BAT), Aptitude Test and Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) and an Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyse the data. The results show that subjects differed significantly in their post-test achievement scores on instructional mode and cognitive style factors. However, sex main effect was found not to be significant. It is interesting to note that the combined two-way interaction was significant. Of the three individual two-way interactions, instructional mode by sex, and instructional mode by cognitive style were significant. It is noteworthy that the three-way interactions were not significant. The results are discussed and their implications for effective biology instruction and consequently improved student achievement in biology especially in the Nigerian secondary schools are pointed out.     

Mining students' learning patterns and performance in Web-based instruction: a cognitive style approach

Personalization has been widely used in Web-based instruction (WBI). To deliver effective personalization, there is a need to understand different preferences of each student. Cognitive style has been identified as one of the most pertinent factors that affect students' learning preferences. Therefore, it is essential to investigate how learners with different cognitive styles interact with WBI programs. This paper presents an empirical study, which examines the effects of cognitive styles on students' learning patterns and the effects of learning patterns on their learning performances. Riding's cognitive style analysis was used to identify the students' cognitive styles. Data mining, especially a clustering technique, was used to analyze the results. It was found that field independent students frequently used an alphabetical index whereas field dependent students often chose a hierarchical map. Such learning patterns also have great effects on their performance, especially for field dependent students.     

初中生认知灵活性与学习风格的关系及其对学业成绩的影响

采用《认知灵活性问卷》和《所罗门学习风格自测问卷》对273名初中生进行调查,考察认知灵活性、学习风格对学业成绩的影响,结果表明：（1）认知灵活性与学习风格关系密切,认知灵活性高的学生偏爱直觉型、沉思型的学习风格;（2）认知灵活性与语文、数学及各学科总成绩均呈显著正相关,并对语文、数学及各学科总成绩均具有显著的正向预测作用;（3）学习风格各维度中,信息输入对数学及各学科总成绩具有显著的正向预测作用,信息感知对数学成绩具有显著的正向预测作用。     

Relationships of some socio-personal factors to mathematics achievement of secondary school and university students in Bophuthatswana

Poor matriculation mathematics results in Bophuthatswana led us to make exploratory efforts to identify possible non-pedagogical factors responsible for such results. Two small scale studies were carried out to examine relationships of socio-personal variables to mathematics achievement. Study 1 looked into the impact of socioeconomic background, school alienation, sex, self-concept and attitude toward mathematics on mathematics performances of secondary school pupils, while study 2 was aimed at examining relationships of dogmatism and mathematics anxiety to mathematics achievement of first-year university students. The data of these two studies invite the attention of mathematics educators to the importance of attitude toward mathematics, mathematics anxiety, and dogmatism in mathematics achievement of Bophuthatswana secondary school and university students.     

Relationship between Cognitive Style and Teachers’ Perceptions of Young Children’s Academic Competence

The study investigated the significance of matching cognitive style of first- and third-grade students to their teachers. The Articulation of the Body-Concept Scale was administered as a measure of cognitive style to 20 first- and 20 third-grade female teachers and a sample (480) of six boys and six girls for each teacher. Teachers ranked their students according to their judgment of the students’ academic competence. Discrepancy scores were obtained based on the degree to which teachers differed in ranking their students in comparison to rankings on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills. A repeated measures analysis of variance indicated statistically significant main effects for grade level and a statistically significant interaction among the cognitive styles of teachers in ranking their matched and mismatched students according to sex in relation to the students’ academic achievement scores.     

Can computer-aided instruction accommodate all learners equally?

This exploratory study investigated the impact of learning styles on human-computer interaction. Seventy learners who were enrolled in a large urban post-secondary institution participated in the study. The Gregorc Style Delineator™ was used to obtain subjects' dominant learning style scores. Results indicated that patterns of learning indices did not differ significantly based on subjects' dominant learning style. Five of the six measures indicating human-computer interaction behavior were not significant at the p < 0.05 level. However, learning styles significantly affected learning outcomes, as indicated by a significant main effect, as well as an interaction effect between dominant learning style and achievement scores. It would appear that Abstract Random learners may be at-risk for doing poorly with certain forms of computer-aided instruction. Based on the review of literature and results found in this study, it was concluded that computer-aided instruction may not be the most appropriate method of learning for all students.     

The effects of search tool type and cognitive style on performance during hypermedia database searches

This study investigated the effects of search tools and learner cognitive styles on performance in searches for information within a hypermedia database. Seventy-five students in a university English as a Second Language (ESL) program were blocked for field dependence and assigned to one of four treatments: browser, index/find, map, and all tools. Subjects searched the hypermedia database, EarthQuest, for facts to answer practice and posttest questions on science topics. Results revealed a significant interaction between search tool and cognitive style. Field-independent learners performed significantly better than field-dependent learners under the index/find and map treatments. Subjects in the four treatment groups accessed information from the database differently. Furthermore, cognitive style was significantly related to achievement, tool use, and attitude. Implications for the design and instructional use of hypermedia databases are provided.