Recording Student Perceptions of Teacher Behavior by Means of a Student Response Monitor

Abstract

Some Intellectual characteristics, academic problems and study habits of mature college undergraduate women were Investigated, Forty young (median age = 20) and 40 older (median age = 35) coeds matched on grade-point average were administered four WAIS subtests and a questionnaire. Older women were Inferior to younger women on WAIS performance subtests. Mature women reported more problems In concentrating, reading rapidly, and taking class notes while younger coeds reported more difficulty in remembering academic material. Older students reported better study habits. The results suggest that mature women can adjust successfully to the demands of the undergraduate academic situation.     

Academic achievement of girls in rural schools in Kenya

Abstract

This study examined the effect of two family factors (financial, social capital) and school factors on students’ achievement. One hundred eighty two, seventh-grade female students from nine schools in Muranga district, Kenya, were studied. The statistical procedures included logit regression, cross-tabulations, frequency counting and chi-square analyses. These procedures were used to look at the effects of variables on each other and their effects on students’ study habits and achievement. The researcher found that each of the two family factors (financial and social capital), and the school factors had an independent and significant effect on student achievement and study habits. The results indicated that a student's academic achievement is positively influenced by the education level of both parents. The researcher also found that the father's education had more positive influence to the study habits of the females.     

A SHORTCUT TO ESTIMATING ECONOMIC IMPACT

This study examined the study habits and skills of subjects taking basic science courses at a two year, postsecondary institution. The instrument used was the Study Behavior Inventory. This 46‐item Inventory addressed these issues: general study attitudes and behavior, reading and note‐taking techniques, and coping with examinations. The data suggest that the subjects had difficulty with time management and keeping assignments up‐to‐date. They evidenced several learning styles and problems with written expression. The subjects also reported being affected by excessive television watching, the pressures of full or part‐time employment and personal problems. Deficiencies were also noted in reading and note‐taking skills as well as considerable test anxiety and a lack of test‐wiseness.     

The Effects of Different Kinds of Hands-on Modeling Activities on the Academic Achievement,Problem-Solving Skills,and Scientific Creativity of Prospective Science Teachers

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effectiveness of unstructured, semi-structured, structured hands-on modeling activities and traditional teaching methods in developing academic achievement, problem-solving skills, and scientific creativity in prospective science teachers in the subject of the human circulatory and respiratory systems. A pre-test–post-test quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the treatment effect. There were three experimental groups and a control group in a total of 88 prospective science teachers who were enrolled in the Department of Science Education. The Academic Achievement Test (AAT), Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI), and Scientific Creativity Scale (SCS) were applied as data collection tools. The researchers employed two-way ANOVA and ANCOVA to analyze the data. Results revealed that all modeling activities were effective in enhancing participants’ AAT scores when compared with those of the control group. In addition, unstructured modeling and semi-structured modeling activities were more effective than structured modeling activities in improving AAT scores. For the AAT retention test, unstructured and semi-structured modeling groups showed better performance than the structured modeling group and control group. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference in PSI scores of the participants in favor of unstructured and semi-structured modeling activities. Lastly, there was no statistically significant difference in SCS scores with the experimental groups and control group.

     

Reading habits of pre-service teachers / Trayectorias de lectura del profesorado en formación

Abstract

Recent studies on the reading habits of those studying to be teachers have questioned the reading identity of the people who are to become the future mediators of reading in school environments. Within this framework, the current research constitutes an exploratory hermeneutic interpretative study on the reading habits of pre-service teachers, in order to establish a reader profile for this population group, which is the focus of our study. The information is taken from students at Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. It has been collected through sharing life experiences and has undergone a mixed content statistical analysis. The results reveal a standard profile defined by discontinuous reading habits, precarious intertexts and current practices mainly related to bestsellers.     

Weeding and Seeding

Abstract

College students who are no longer fully adolescent and not yet fully adult are frequently at risk for developing habits of excessive alcohol use, with consequent poor study habits and aberrant socialization patterns. “Weeding out” such trends is the work of prevention programs on campus. “Seeding” with other pro-social norms becomes the second step, the work of Wellness enhancement. Wellness is herein described as health in mind, body and spirit. It becomes a global concept that fosters cooperative programming for Student Affairs staff and faculty. This weeding-and-seeding approach shows promise for more community-oriented, personally healthy environmental change.     

Bugs,butterflies, and spiders: Children's understandings about insects

This article explores elementary children's ideas about insects. The study involved 20 children from each grade level, kindergarten through fifth-grade, for a total of 120 children. The data collection procedure was designed to investigate what an insect means to children, through the use of three different tasks: draw and explain, interview about instances, and the formulation of a general rule. Considering children's responses to the three tasks, I found that their ideas about insects reflect understandings based on physical characteristics of size and shape, arthropod characteristics, insect characteristics, human-insect interactions, life habits of insects, feeding habits of insects, and means of locomotion. Children's understandings are juxtaposed to that of a scientific perspective, elucidating implications for curriculum development and instructional practice.     

Relationship between social capital and lifestyle among older adults

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study was designed with the purpose of determining the relationship between social capital and lifestyle and their sub-variables among older adults.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using interviews that was conducted in 2017. This study was performed with randomly selected older people over 60 years of age in an urban area of Iran. Data were collected using a questionnaire in 3-month duration. The relationship between the study variables (lifestyle and social capital) was assessed through correlation analysis (in the case of non control of the underlying variables) and general linear modeling (in the case of control of the underlying variables). Data were analyzed using SPSS v.24 software at a 0.05 significant level.

Results: A total of 512 questionnaires were filed out. According to the Pearson correlation test, all social capital variables were associated with lifestyle components. However, in the general linear model test, feeling of trust and safety (p < 0.001), value of life (p = 0.030), and social participation (p = 0.004) had a significant relationship with the lifestyle.

Conclusions: The results indicated that social capital and lifestyle in the older adults were interconnected. Therefore, there is a need to improve social capital factors, especially social participation, feeling of trust and safety, and value of life, which is in-line with the strategies of achieving healthy older population. The results can be used to learn how to increase lifestyle in older adults.     

Teaching Thermodynamics to Physics Students using the Keller Plan

Summaries

English

An experimental Keller Plan programme for teaching thermodynamics to second‐year students at a Spanish university, is described. The evaluation of the programme, made in comparison with conventionally taught students, showed Keller Plan teaching to result in an improvement of students’ study habits and a more positive attitude towards examinations and tests. On the negative side, however, students following the Keller Plan programme performed less well in actual calculations and problem‐solving than their counterparts. A modified Keller Plan scheme has recently been adopted.     

Assessment of the quality and generalizability of the revised UCLA loneliness scale in Chinese and Korean community-dwelling elderly populations using item response theory (IRT)-Rasch modeling and hybrid IRT-logistic regression

ABSTRACT

Objectives: This study aims to test the dimensionality, reliability, and item quality of the revised UCLA loneliness scale as well as to investigate the differential item functioning (DIF) of the three dimensions of the revised UCLA loneliness scale in community-dwelling Chinese and Korean elderly individuals.

Method: Data from 493 elderly individuals (287 Chinese and 206 Korean) were used to examine the revised UCLA loneliness scale. The Research model based on item response theory (IRT) was used to test dimensionality, reliability, and item fit. The hybrid ordinal logistic regression-IRT test was used to evaluate DIF.

Results: Item separation reliability, person reliability, and Cronbach’s alpha met the benchmarks. The quality of the items in the three-dimension model met the benchmark. Eight items were detected as significant DIF items (at α < .01). The loneliness level of Chinese elderly individuals was significantly higher than that of Koreans in Dimensions 1 and 2, while Korean elderly participants showed significantly higher loneliness levels than Chinese participants in Dimension 3. Several collected demographic characteristics and loneliness levels were more highly correlated in Korean elderly individuals than in Chinese elderly individuals.

Conclusion: Analysis using the three dimensions is reasonable for the revised UCLA loneliness scale. Good item quality and the items of this measure suggest that the revised UCLA loneliness can be used to assess the preferred latent traits. Finally, the differences between the levels of loneliness in Chinese and Korean elderly individuals are associated with the factors of loneliness.     

Teachers’ voices on integrating MCAG into Reading Assessment Tasks

The paper is an attempt to address, on behalf of the teacher of reading, some pedagogically significant aspects of metacognition. A study was designed to test the effect of using Metacognitive Awareness Guidance (MCAG) in reading assessment tasks given to nine year old pupils (fourth grade in Israel). MCAG addresses five basic habits of mind (HOM) through questions and activities. The rationale for applying it was influenced by Vygotsky’s notion of the “zone of proximal development”. After the study ended, each teacher whose class was part of the treatment group was interviewed. The purpose of the interviews was to gain the teachers’ perspectives, thoughts and opinions on applying MCAG to assessment tasks in reading; its role and effects on learner performance and outcomes; and its influence on their daily teaching and learning activities. Their reactions related to four aspects: the use of self‐talk, the use of metacognitive learning strategies, the written MCAG and integrating habits of mind into reading assessment tasks. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Embodied experiences: Critical insights from Dewey for contemporary education

ABSTRACT

Background: Reflecting increased cross-disciplinary interest in the significance of the body in education, this paper considers that a greater appreciation of John Dewey’s conceptualisations of experience and habit would benefit contemporary theory- and practice-related concerns.

Sources of evidence and main argument: The paper draws upon pragmatist-informed epistemological insights into the nature of experience and the habitual body from John Dewey. In doing so, the paper highlights how embodied experiences could become more central to realising a diverse range of educational goals. These include contexts where students appreciate that embodied learning practices can play a reconstructive part in shaping their identity, as well as the culture and school environments they share with others.

Conclusion: The paper concludes by exemplifying and critiquing some conceptual possibilities which recognise the benefits of intensifying bodily experiences and cultivating related habits in everyday contemporary schooling.     

Are sexual minority youth overrepresented in foster care,child welfare,and out-of-home placement? Findings from nationally representative data

BackgroundPreliminary evidence suggests that sexual minority (e.g. lesbian, gay, bisexual, and same-sex attracted) youth are overrepresented in child welfare services. Yet, no study to date has been able to test this hypothesis with national data.ObjectiveUsing a two-study design, we test whether sexual minority youth are overrepresented in child welfare, foster care, and out-of-home placement using nationally representative data from the United States.Participants and settingStudy 1 data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 14,154; Mean age = 15.4). Study 2 data are from wave three of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II (n = 1309; Mean age = 15.0).MethodsFor Study 1, we use adjusted logistic regression models to test differences in lifetime foster care involvement between sexual minority and heterosexual youth. In Study 2, we calculate a Disproportionality Representation Index (DRI) – a ratio of sample prevalence relative to the general population – to estimate whether sexual minority youth were overrepresented in child welfare and out-of-home care.ResultsStudy 1 results indicate that sexual minority youth are nearly 2.5 times as likely as heterosexual youth to experience foster care placement (aOR = 2.43, 95% CI 1.40, 4.21, p = .002). Results from Study 2 show that sexual minority youth were largely overrepresented in child welfare services (DRI = 1.95–2.48) and out-of-home placement (DRI = 3.69–4.68).ConclusionsFindings are the first to demonstrate sexual minority youth’s overrepresentation in child welfare, foster care, and out-of-home placement using nationally representative data and emphasizes the need for focused research on sexual minority youth involved in the child welfare system.     

Differences in Attitudes to Lying in Children aged 8 and 11 years

Abstract

Robert Solomon, a philosopher noted for arguing the conciliation of reason and emotion, holds that emotions which are a lapse from rationality are unimportant. Their importance is supported here. Emotional habits of discourse, as well as of action, are discussed, unlike in most treatments of reason and emotion. The implication for cognitive and moral education is that the ability to engage in rational discussion, and the discipline to maintain application to difficult tasks, are seen as potentially curtailed by emotional habits of evasion. Comments are added to contest the decisiveness of the main argument used to reconcile reason and emotion, that is, the analysis of emotions as having a cognitive element.     

Administrative Provisions for Guidance in Negro Colleges and Universities

Abstract

This study investigated the empirical validity of the Whitman School In-basket Test for elementary principals, Correlations were computed among scores from a predictive test, a concurrent test, and corresponding measures of observed on-the-job behavior. The results were: (1) there was evidence of stability of in-basket performance; (2) stylistic measures of principals’ in-basket performance were not substantially related to their on-the-job behavior; and (3) there was evidence that impressionistic measures of in-basket performance bore some relationship to impressions of on-the-job behavior.     

Teachers as readers: a study of the reading habits of future teachers / El docente como lector: estudio de los hábitos lectores de futuros docentes

Abstract

Previous studies about reading achievement and habits of young people in Spain have systematically ignored the reading profile of Spanish teachers as an explanatory variable. However, teachers’ reading habits might help us to better understand their attitude towards reading and, therefore, their approach to the education of new readers in their classrooms. In this work, the reading habits of future teachers in three public universities have been explored by means of a survey. The results show that these subjects are not closely involved with reading, do not read regularly, do not read a wide variety of reading texts and do not place great value on books, although they do tend to overrate their reading practices. Furthermore, they scarcely visit libraries and mainly read for instrumental reasons, not to enjoy reading for its own sake. The way in which the reading profile of the teachers could affect their students’ education regarding reading is considered and promoting better attitudes and habits towards reading is proposed as a pre-service teacher education goal.     

Effectiveness of Schema-Based Instruction for Improving Seventh-Grade Students’ Proportional Reasoning: A Randomized Experiment

Abstract

This study examined the effect of schema-based instruction (SBI) on 7th-grade students’ mathematical problem-solving performance. SBI is an instructional intervention that emphasizes the role of mathematical structure in word problems and also provides students with a heuristic to self-monitor and aid problem solving. Using a pretest-intervention–posttest-retention test design, the study compared the learning outcomes for 1,163 students in 42 classrooms who were randomly assigned to treatment (SBI) or control condition. After 6 weeks of instruction, results of multilevel modeling indicated significant differences favoring the SBI condition in proportion problem solving involving ratios/rates and percents on an immediate posttest (g = 1.24) and on a 6-week retention test (g = 1.27). No significant difference between conditions was found for a test of transfer. These results demonstrate that SBI was more effective than students’ regular mathematics instruction.     

Moving beyond enhancing pedagogies with digital technologies: Frames of reference,habits of mind and transformative learning

Abstract

Digital technologies are a part of schooling, however, given the significant focus on using of digital technologies in teaching and learning, there is little evidence of wide scale transformation. It is within this context that this paper reports on a qualitative, explanatory case study of six teachers, with experience in enhancing pedagogies in a well-established ubiquitous technologies environment, consciously seeking to transform their practice to enact personalized digital learning. The findings indicate three interacting factors contributed to the degrees of transformation: teachers’ frames of reference (beliefs and attitudes), habits of mind (prior experience), and modes of transformative learning. This paper highlights how diversification of classroom roles, relationships and actions created challenges for teachers with experience integrating digital technologies in teaching and learning.     

North West Cross Institutional Action Learning developing women's leadership

ABSTRACT

Human resource development professionals in Higher Education are continually striving to develop efficient interventions to increase the capabilities of their leaders. As a result of evaluating feedback from an action learning (AL) programme designed and delivered in North West Higher Education Institutions in the UK for women in senior academic and professional service roles, we are able to share how AL can be utilised to transcend and supplement traditional leadership training. The article discusses the approach taken to support participants to develop vital leadership behaviours through the acquisition of critical questioning and reflective habits whilst developing strong supportive cross-institutional relationships with other higher education leaders.