Elementary Science Students’ Motivation and Learning Strategy Use: Constructivist Classroom Contextual Factors in a Life Science Laboratory and a Traditional Classroom

The purpose of this study was to describe the influence of constructivist classroom contextual factors in a life science laboratory and a traditional science classroom on elementary students’ motivation and learning strategy use. The Constructivist Teaching Inventory was used to examine classroom contextual factors. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire was used to examine student motivation and learning strategies. A Wilcoxon nonparametric test determined that constructivist teaching practices were found to occur more often in the life laboratory than in the regular classroom. Although constructivist teaching practices increased at each observation time in both the regular classroom and in the life laboratory, a Friedman test determined that they were not statistically significant increases. Paired sample t tests determined that student motivation and learning strategies were higher in the life laboratory than in the regular classroom overall as well as at each survey time except for learning strategies at Post 1. A 2 × 4 between 3 within repeated measure ANOVA determined that student MSLQ motivation and learning strategy scores in the regular classroom varied statistically significantly by teacher. Student MSLQ motivation and learning strategy scores in the life laboratory varied statistically significantly by teacher. To triangulate data, individual interviews of students were conducted at the end of the semester and revealed students regard the life laboratory as an asset to their science study; however, students do appreciate and value working in the learning environment that the regular classroom provides.     

Not Just Any Child Care Center? Social and Ethnic Disparities in the Use of Early Education Institutions With a Beneficial Learning Environment

This study investigates social and ethnic differences in the use of early childhood education and care (ECEC) centers with different learning environments in an ECEC system with universal state-subsidized provision and low fees. Based on the German National Educational Panel Study—Kindergarten Cohort from 2011, we matched data on 587 groups in 253 ECEC centers with information on about 1,700 children and their parents and applied stepwise multivariate regression models. Research Findings: The results showed that social and ethnic differences tended to be small and were mostly not significant in terms of structural quality, activities, and materials in ECEC centers. In contrast, large disparities emerged regarding the use of ECEC centers with different compositions of children: Children of low educated parents and those with a non-German family language attended institutions with higher proportions of children from families with low educated parents and from families with a non-German family language, respectively. Practice or Policy: To counteract and compensate for the large disparities in the social and ethnic composition of children in ECEC centers, state funding rules and structural quality standards should take the composition more strongly into account.     

The Interplay of the Classroom Learning Environment and Inquiry‐based Activities

This quasi‐experimental study investigates how the classroom learning environment changed after inquiry‐based activities were introduced and student questioning was encouraged. Three science teachers and three classes of fifth graders (n=92) participated in this study. The analysis of covariance reveals that although the experimental group students perceived that their teacher’s support was significantly lower than that for the comparison group did (p< 0.05), they were significantly more involved in learning (p< 0.05) than their counterparts. Classroom observations of student questioning and inquiry activities revealed that those students with high quality levels in asking or responding to questions outperformed their counterparts in the inquiry ability of designing experimental procedures.     

Relationships between High School Chemistry Students’ Perceptions of a Constructivist Learning Environment and their STEM Career Expectations

Considerable attention has been devoted to factors affecting the persistence of women and historically underrepresented ethnic groups in their science education trajectories. The literature has focused more on structural factors that affect longitudinal outcomes rather than classroom experiences. This exploratory survey study described relationships among high school chemistry students’ perceptions of a constructivist learning environment (CLE) and STEM career expectations. The sample included 693 students from 7 public high schools within the San Francisco Bay Area. Students’ perceptions of a CLE predicted their expectations of entering a science career, but not engineering, computer, health, or mathematics-related careers. When all groups of students perceived the learning environment as more constructivist, they were more likely to expect science careers.     

Students’ Perceptions of a Problem-Based Learning Environment

During the last decades, traditional learning environments have been criticised for not developing the prerequisites for professional expertise (H. Mandl, H. Gruber &; A. Renkl, Interactive minds: Life-span perspectives on the social foundation of cognition, pp. 394–412, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996; P. Tynjälä, International Journal of Educational Research, 31, 357–442, 1999). To meet this criticism, educational approaches such as problem-based learning, project-based learning and case-based learning are being implemented to an increasing extent. Research also concentrates on the efficiency of these approaches in terms of students’ learning outcomes. At the same time, classroom-based theories of learning (J. B. Biggs, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 63, 3–19, 1993; M. Prosser &; K. Trigwell, Understanding learning and teaching. Buckingham, UK: SRHE and Open University Press, 1999) stress the importance of the investigation of subjective learning environments in order to understand the nature of these students’ learning outcomes, for learning results are not a mere function of the learning setting because each student operates as a filter for the possible influence of the environment. However, most research on students’ perception of the learning environment is conducted in predominantly traditional learning environments.The goal of our research was to investigate students’ perceptions of the key design variables of a problem-based learning environment and if students perceive that they enhance learning. There are four research questions. First, to what extent do students’ perceptions of a PBL environment match the theoretical assumptions of PBL? Second, do their perceptions differ as a function of the institutional context? Third, is there a difference in the perceptions of students between groups of first year and experienced students and between disciplines? Fourth, are there interaction effects between study phase and discipline?The results show that, in general, students value the key variables of the learning environment as powerful (i.e. enhancing learning). Also, the results indicate that students’ perceptions of the learning environment in various institutional contexts differ significantly. In general, no distinctions were found related to students in different study phases. However, in terms of specific design variables, students studying in diverse disciplines showed significantly divergent perceptions. Finally, significant interaction effects were found between study phase and discipline.     

Influences of Teacher–Child Social Interactions on English Language Development in a Head Start Classroom

Increasing numbers of Spanish-speaking preschool children require attention to improve the likelihood of success in school. This study, part of a larger 2-year ethnographic study of a Head Start classroom, elaborates the role of teachers’ interactions with students who were learning English. Using an interactional ethnography approach, the authors focus on the social nature of these interactions. The study illuminates the kinds of teacher interactions with students that support and hinder the students’ language learning. It reinforces the importance of student engagement in social interactions with teachers and with English other than codes of obedience and authority. Finally, it recommends actions teachers can take to provide optimal circumstances for English learning interactions for students.

Constructing Problems in a Web‐Based Learning Environment

Abstract

This article describes how the World Wide Web was implemented in a graduate course. The interactions that took place among the students and between the students and instructor illustrate how problem‐based learning strategies can be supported by the Web. Of particular note, the course content focused on technology‐based learning, thus students were immersed in an authentic learning environment. The article chronicles the various strategies ? that students implemented to facilitate the problem‐solving process and concludes by way of issues to consider when implementing such strategies within Web‐based learning environments     

A Pilot Study in the Field of Professional Further Education — Cooperative Learning in a Multimedia Learning Environment

ABSTRACT

Based on cooperative learning models, the present study investigated the specific effects of performance, interpersonal relations and affective variables in a computer‐based cooperative learning environment. Subjects were male and female adults who studied a multimedia learning program as a professional training task. After randomization 50 subjects worked in cooperative settings, while 25 subjects worked individually as a control group. In keeping with our assumptions, the subjects benefited from being paired. Further advantages for cooperative learning seem likely if instructions are modified and cooperative strategies used.     

Exploring Bilingual Uyghur-Chinese Students’Social Use of Language inside and out of Classroom

This paper examines language use inside and out of classroom of Uyghur students from the middle schools for both Han and ethnic minorities in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China. A total of 341 Uyghur students between 12 and 15 years of age, attending 3 middle schools for both Han and ethnic minorities in Urumqi, responded to questionnaires requesting information about their language backgrounds, their use of language at school (inside and out of classroom) and in the wider community, their self-perceptions about their linguistic competence in Uyghur and in Chinese and their attitudes towards Uyghur, Chinese and towards bilingualism. The results, in general, demonstrated a positive attitude towards bilingualism, and there was a trend towards favoring the use of Chinese both inside and outside classroom. The implications of the findings for language policy and planning in education are discussed.     

Teachers as Facilitators in a Computer‐supported Learning Environment

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that teachers in this technology‐rich era have a new role to play in their classrooms. As a knowledge facilitator, rather than a knowledge presenter, the job of the teacher is to create a computer‐ supported learning environment where learners are encouraged to think critically and creatively and to develop personal ownership and appreciation of the knowledge constructed. Classroom examples are given in this paper to provide evidence that the teacher's role is crucial in a successful computer‐ based learning environment. The implications of computer‐supported learning environments to teacher development and education are also discussed.     

Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Understanding of the Nature of Science and Perceptions of the Classroom Learning Environment

This study investigated prospective elementary teachers’ understandings of the nature of science and explored associations with their guided-inquiry science learning environment. Over 500 female students completed the Nature of Scientific Knowledge Survey (NSKS), although only four scales were analyzed–Creative, Testable, Amoral, and Unified. The learning environment was assessed using previously-validated and reliable scales from What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) and the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI). Analyses indicated moderate multiple correlations that were statistically significant (p?<?0.01) between Creative (R?=?0.22), Testable (R?=?0.29), and Unified (R?=?0.27), and a positive learning environment. Regression coefficients revealed that Open-Endedness was a significant independent predictor of students’ understanding of the role of creativity in science (β?=?0.16), while Cooperation, Open-Endedness, and Material Environment were linked with understanding the testable nature of science (β?=?0.10–0.12). Interview questions probed possible relationships between an improved understanding of the nature of science and elements of a positive classroom environment. Responses suggested that an appropriate level of open-endedness during investigations was very important as this helped students grapple with abstract nature of science concepts and shift their conceptions closer to a more realistic view of scientific practice.     

The Use of Video Cases in a Multimedia Learning Environment for Facilitating High School Students’ Inquiry into a Problem from Varying Perspectives

This study investigated the connection between the use of video cases within a multimedia learning environment and students’ inquiry into a socio-scientific problem. The software program was designed based on principles from the Cognitive Flexibility Theory (CFT) and incorporated video cases of experts with differing perspectives. Seventy-nine 10th-grade students in an urban high school participated in this study. After watching the expert videos, students generated investigative questions and reflected on how their ideas changed over time. This study found a significant correlation between the time students spent watching the expert videos and their ability to consider the problem’s perspectives as well as their ability to integrate these perspectives within their questions. Moreover, problem-solving ability and time watching the videos were detected as possible influential predictors of students’ consideration of the problem’s perspectives within their questions. Although students watched all video cases in equivalent ways, one of the video cases, which incorporated multiple perspectives as opposed to just presenting one perspective, appeared most influential in helping students integrate the various perspectives into their own thinking. A qualitative analysis of students’ reflections indicated that many students appreciated the complexity, authenticity, and ethical dimensions of the problem. It also revealed that while the majority of students thought critically about the problem, some students still had naïve or simplistic ways of thinking. This study provided some preliminary evidence that offering students the opportunity to watch videos of different perspectives may influence them to think in alternative ways about a complex problem.     

Measuring Effectiveness of Health Education in a Web‐based Learning Environment: a preliminary report

Driven by claims of efficacy, flexibility and resource effectiveness, higher education is increasingly utilising the Web as an instructional tool. The claims for pedagogical effectiveness are often just that – claims — and appear not to have been proven in the reality of subject presentation and evaluation. Thus, it is necessary to examine assumptions regarding the benefits of Web‐based instruction in terms of effectiveness. This article discusses aspects of an investigation which examined and compared the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS related collaborative tutorial activities carried out in both a Web‐based learning environment and a face‐to‐face class situation within an undergraduate health education subject. Effectiveness of the pedagogical strategy and the different learning environments were measured in terms of observed learning outcomes and reported perceptions of the learners regarding their learning experience. Preliminary results based on measured learning outcomes related to the subject matter, HIV/AIDS, demonstrated that collaborative learning activities were significantly more effective in the Web‐based than in the class environment. Additionally, the vast majority of learners perceived the Web‐based environment to be as effective or more effective than the face‐to‐face, class environment in terms of facilitating their understanding of the issues explored in the subject.     

Rethinking Flexible Learning in a Distributed Learning Environment: A University‐Wide Initiative

This paper is a case study of the impact of ICT on the teaching and learning environment at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, where the convergence of distance and campus‐based education is changing the teaching environment in ways impossible prior to the development of ICT. Specifically, the paper will explore issues which have arisen from the implementation of a new flexible unit model which focuses on student access to rather than delivery of unit materials. The issues identified in a pilot of the new approach include: rethinking how students access learning resources; streamlining print materials provided to students; implementing an online lecture recording and streaming solution; and providing assessment which is equivalent whether taken on‐campus or online. These issues are not unique to Murdoch, but the integrated approach to resolving them offers a financially attractive means to achieve both reform and improved quality.

Reconsidération de la formation flexible dans un environnement de formation décentralisée. Une initiative dans toute l'université Cet exposé représente une étude de cas sur l'impact du ICT de l'environnement d'enseignement et de formation à l'université Murdoch à Perth en Australie de l'Ouest, où la convergence de la formation par correspondance et de la formation sur le campus change l'environnement d'enseignement ce qui était impossible avant le développement du ICT. Specifiquement, l'exposé s'occupe de problèmes qui résultent de l'implémentation d'un nouveau modèle d'enseignement flexible qui se concentre sur l'accès des étudiants plutôt que sur la diffusion de matières d'enseignement. Les problèmes identifiés dans un premier approche comprennent: Reconsidération de l'accès aux ressources de formation pour les étudiants; Rationalisation des matières imprimées prévues pour les étudiants; Réalisation d'une consignation de cours en ligne et présentation de solutions réactualisées; Evaluation équivalente soit considérée sur le campus ou en ligne. Ces problèmes ne sont pas unique à Murdoch mais un essai intégré de les résoudre offre un moyen financier intéressant pour atteindre une réforme et une qualité améliorée.

Überdenken des flexiblen Lernens in einem dezentralisiertem Lernumfeld: Eine universitätsweite Initiative Es handelt sich bei diesem Bericht um eine Fallstudie über den Einfluss von ICT auf die Lehr- und Lernumgebung an der Murdoch Universität in Perth in West Australien, wo das Zusammentreffen von Fernstudium und klassischer Hochschulbildung das Unterrichtsumfeld in einer Weise verändert, wie sie vor der Entwicklung von ICT unmöglich erschien. Es werden insbesondere Fragen untersucht, die durch die Einführung eines neuen, flexiblen Unterrichtsmodells entstehen, welches sich eher auf die studentischen Zugriffsmöglichkeiten auf Unterrichtsmaterialien fokussiert als auf die Versorgung des Studenten mit diesen Materialien. Die Fragen, die in einem neuen Pilotansatz aufkommen, beinhalten folgende Punkte: Überdenken, wie Studenten an Lernressourcen gelangen; Rationalisierung der für die Studenten vorgesehenen Printmaterialien; Einführung einer Aufzeichnung von Online Vorlesungen und laufend aktualisierte Anwendungen; Anwendung von einheitlichen Bewertungsmaßstäben, gleichgültig ob online oder an der Hochschule. Diese Fragen stellen sich nicht nur an der Murdoch Universität, aber der integrierte Ansatz sie zu beantworten, stellt eine finanziell attraktives Mittel dar, sowohl eine Reform als auch eine verbesserte Qualität zu erreichen.     

Effects of Teacher Professional Development and Science Classroom Learning Environment on Students’ Science Achievement

Research in Science Education - Science classroom learning environment (CLE) and science teacher professional development (PD) are two important factors in students’ science learning....     

Cultural Background and Students’ Perceptions of Science Classroom Learning Environment and Teacher Interpersonal Behaviour in Jammu,India

This article reports research into associations between students’ cultural background and their perceptions of their teacher’s interpersonal behaviour and classroom learning environment. A sample of 1021 students from 31 classes in seven co-educational private schools completed a survey including the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) and a question relating to cultural background. Statistical analyses showed that the Kashmiri group of students perceived their classrooms and teacher interaction more positively than those from the other cultural groups identified in the study.     

Influence of Psychosocial Classroom Environment on Students’ Motivation and Self-Regulation in Science Learning: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

The primary aim of this study was two-fold: 1) to identify salient psychosocial features of the classroom environment that influence students’ motivation and self-regulation in science learning; and 2) to examine the effect of the motivational constructs of learning goal orientation, science task value and self-efficacy in science learning on students’ self-regulation in science classrooms. Data collected from 1360 science students in grades 8, 9 and 10 in five public schools in Perth, Western Australia were utilized to validate the questionnaires and to investigate the hypothesized relationships. Structural Equation Modeling analysis suggested that student cohesiveness, investigation and task orientation were the most influential predictors of student motivation and self-regulation in science learning. In addition, learning goal orientation, task value and self-efficacy significantly influenced students’ self-regulation in science. The findings offer potential opportunities for educators to plan and implement effective pedagogical strategies aimed at increasing students’ motivation and self-regulation in science learning.     

Adolescent English Learners’ Use of Digital Technology in the Classroom

This study looked at how five adolescent English Learners (ELs) in an English as a second language class use the available digital technology. Data collected consisted of classroom observations, student and classroom documents, and focus student interviews. Data collection and analysis were simultaneous processes. Findings suggest adolescent ELs use their personal smartphones and school-provided laptops on a regular basis for entertainment and scaffolding purposes.