Students’ Reflections on the Benefits of a Financial Simulation Through “Thank You Notes”

Abstract

As an instructional strategy, simulations have become common in the field of education. While they have been effective at imparting knowledge and skills, not all simulation experiences meet their objectives. This study determined the effectiveness of a financial simulation, the Reality Store®, aimed at teaching financial literacy and life skills to youth. Data were collected from Thank You notes written by middle school students who had participated in the simulation. These notes were combined with data from post-simulation surveys to ensure trustworthy results. Overall, students were satisfied with the simulation experience and learned that: adult life is hard; children are expensive; and the need for budgeting and saving money is essential. Recommendations for teaching financial literacy and life skills using simulations are provided.     

Field News

Abstract

Sixty-four undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of three groups, one of which was given knowledge level objectives, another, evaluation level objectives, and the third group, no objectives. All subjects subsequently responded to two sets of knowledge level test items (one set of which was directly referenced from the knowledge level objectives) and one set of evaluation level test items which was directly referenced from the evaluation level objectives. The results showed there were no differences in total learning between the three groups, the objectives had no facilitative effect on relevant learning, and they did not have a detrimental effect on incidental learning when the measurement was taken at a level equal to or lower than the level of the objectives earlier provided. Incidental learning was substantially depressed, however, when the measurement was taken at a level higher than the level of the objectives provided. The results were interpreted in terms of a "taxonomic set" resulting from the use of objectives, rather than their creating a particular focus on objective related material.     

A classification of the ISIS program using Bloom's cognitive taxonomy

This article focuses on the practical use of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. The current status of analyzing and classifying test items and behavioral objectives was examined in this study. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to analyze and classify the ISIS minicourse performance objectives and criterion-referenced test items according to Bloom's cognitive Taxonomy in order to determine what levels of cognition the ISIS instructional materials are directed. The performance objectives and test items of thirty-three ISIS minicourses and criterion-referenced tests were collected and classified. Four research questions were posed in the study. The findings indicate that ISIS minicourse test items and performance objectives are written primarily at the Knowledge and Comprehension levels. The ISIS instructional materials reflect low percentages of upper cognitive level test items and performance objectives. Based upon the use of a chi-square analysis, twenty-four of the ISIS minicourses and tests demonstrate a positive congruence between their performance objectives and criterion-referenced test items. Nine ISIS minicourses were found to demonstrate a negative relationship between their performance objectives and test items. Implications and Recommendations based on the findings of the studies are provided.     

Understanding science teaching effectiveness: examining how science-specific and generic instructional practices relate to student achievement in secondary science classrooms

ABSTRACT

In order to create conditions for students’ meaningful and rigorous intellectual engagement in science classrooms, it is critically important to help science teachers learn which strategies and approaches can be used best to develop students’ scientific literacy. Better understanding how science teachers’ instructional practices relate to student achievement can provide teachers with beneficial information about how to best engage their students in meaningful science learning. To address this need, this study examined the instructional practices that 99 secondary biology teachers used in their classrooms and employed regression to determine which instructional practices are predictive of students’ science achievement. Results revealed that the secondary science teachers who had well-managed classroom environments and who provided opportunities for their students to engage in student-directed investigation-related experiences were more likely to have increased student outcomes, as determined by teachers’ value-added measures. These findings suggest that attending to both generic and subject-specific aspects of science teachers’ instructional practice is important for understanding the underlying mechanisms that result in more effective science instruction in secondary classrooms. Implications about the use of these observational measures within teacher evaluation systems are discussed.     

Transfer of Learning on Similar Metric Conversion Tasks

Abstract

It was hypothesized that Ss who demonstrate mastery of linear metric conversion tasks on which they have received explicit instruction will demonstrate mastery of other linear metric conversion tasks, metric volume conversion tasks, and metric mass conversion tasks with no explicit instruction. Ninety-nine pre-service elementary teachers were presented with a tutorial instructional module on basic terminology of the metric system. The module and all tests were mediated by an IBM 1500 Computer-Assisted Instruction system located in Penn State University’s CAI Laboratory. The results supported each hypothesis of the investigation.     

Effect of Precise Objectives upon Student Achievement in Health Education

The purpose of this study was to determine what effect the communication of precise instructional objectives to students has on their learning. The study was designed (1) to provide data on whether student achievement can be influenced significantly by providing students, in advance of instruction, information on what is expected of them as an outcome of instruction and (2) to investigate various ways of communicating to students, in writing, that which is to be learned in class. The Ss for this study were selected from five tenth-grade health and safety classes taught by the same teacher. Of the 143 Ss, one third in each class was randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. For treatment groups one through three, the participants received precisely stated instructional objectives, vaguely stated instructional objectives, and short paragraphs of health information, respectively. Ss receiving prior to instruction precise information on what is expected of them showed greater achievement than those who received vague or related information.     

Student Grades and Average Ratings of Instructional Quality: The Need for Adjustment

Abstract

The authors compared the average grades given in 165 behavioral and social science courses with the average ratings given by students to the instructors who taught the courses. Significant positive correlations were found between the average ratings for instructional quality and the average grades received by students. The courses in which the average grades were the highest were also those in which students gave teachers the highest ratings. Among possible reasons for the correlations are that better teachers attracted better students or that quality teachers provided more effective instruction, resulting in more student learning and, thus, higher average grades. Another explanation is that most college students tend to bias their ratings of instructional quality in favor of teachers who grade leniently (I. Neath, 1996). If correct, the latter reasoning begins to explain why the widespread use of student evaluations in the United States in recent decades has been accompanied by increases in the average grades that university students received. To prevent grade inflation, and particularly to avoid rewarding and promoting instructors who use increasingly lax grading standards, administrators should adjust student ratings of instructional quality for the average grades given for a course. In general, only courses near the extremely high and low ends in terms of students' average grades were significantly affected by the statistical adjustment.     

An Analytical Study of the Reading Habits of Deaf Children

The efficacy of behavioral objectives in improving student achievement was assessed in a college setting. The Ss were nineteen senior and graduate students enrolled in a research course in educational psychology. Ss randomly assigned to two groups were separated before treatment. One group received a list of precise instructional objectives, while the other group discussed an unrelated topic. The two groups were reunited, exposed to the same lecture, and then administered a 12-item quiz covering the day’s lesson. Results of an analysis of covariance revealed that behavioral objectives had a desirable effect on student achievement.     

Management of non-consensually shared youth-produced sexual images: A Delphi study with adolescents as experts

There is an increased availability of online child abuse images, a proportion of which is created by young people in coercive and non- coercive relationships (sexting).ObjectivesThis Delphi study with adolescents as "experts" who had taken and shared sexual images, was conducted to identify appropriate responses to sexting where images are shared without consent and identify indicators of distress and ways to facilitate disclosure when the sharing of images causes anxiety or is associated with further victimization.Participants and setting124 adolescents from the United Kingdom completed an online survey. All self-identified as taking and sharing sexual images of themselves. 45 provided full survey responses (73% female; mean age 16.24) and of these 23 completed the second round. Recruitment was through social media and local schools.MethodsAn online two-round Delphi method was completed using a vignettes-based questionnaire. To assess consensus, a defined average percentage agreement (80% cut-off) was used. Qualitative content analysis identified relevant themes in responses to Round 1 which informed the Round 2 items.ResultsIn the first round 60 items were identified that endorsed views of problem identification, facilitation of disclosure, proportionate responding, and problem management. Overall, participants agreed that the clear majority of statements identified in Round 2 were important and thus achieved consensus.ConclusionsThis study represents a novel and inclusive approach through the formation of an expert panel of young people. These views may inform appropriate victim-centered management of cases where images have been shared without permission.     

Developing and evaluating instructionally sensitive assessments in science

The purpose of this article is to address a major gap in the instructional sensitivity literature on how to develop instructionally sensitive assessments. We propose an approach to developing and evaluating instructionally sensitive assessments in science and test this approach with one elementary life‐science module. The assessment we developed was administered to 125 students in seven classrooms. The development approach considered three dimensions of instructional sensitivity; that is, assessment items should: represent the curriculum content, reflect the quality of instruction, and have formative value for teaching. Focusing solely on the first dimension, representation of the curriculum content, this study was guided by the following research questions: (1) What science module characteristics can be systematically manipulated to develop items that prove to be instructionally sensitive? and (2) Are the instructionally sensitive assessments developed sufficiently valid to make inferences about the impact of instruction on students' performance? In this article, we describe our item development approach and provide empirical evidence to support validity arguments about the developed instructionally sensitive items. Results indicated that: (1) manipulations of the items at different proximities to vary their sensitivity were aligned with the rules for item development and also corresponded with pre‐to‐post gains; and (2) the items developed at different distances from the science module showed a pattern of pre‐to‐post gain consistent with their instructional sensitivity, that is, the closer the items were to the science module, the larger the observed gains and effect sizes. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 691–712, 2012     

Recognition and development of academic talent in educationally disadvantaged students

Abstract

We studied 36 students identified as “educationally disadvantaged” who scored above average on standardized achievement tests and completed a program to reinforce their academic skills in either language arts or mathematics. We pretested and posttested an additional (control) group of 28 students who received no instructional intervention. We found a significant effect of the instructional intervention for both achievement and aptitude test scores in language arts as well as mathematics. Gains in mathematics were significantly greater than in language arts. After instructional intervention, the majority of students were eligible and academically qualified for challenging gifted‐talented programs. These findings are consistent with two other similar research projects using the same instructional program and model, suggesting stability of results. We discuss implications of this study for identifying and developing academic talent in such a population.     

Investigating the relationship between instructional practices and science achievement in an inquiry-based learning environment

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the discrete effects of inquiry-based instructional practices that described the PISA 2015 construct ‘inquiry-based instruction’ and how each practice, and the frequency of each practice, is related to science achievement across 69 countries. The data for this study were drawn from the PISA 2015 database and analysed using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM). HLMs were estimated to test the contribution of each item to students’ science achievement scores. Some inquiry practices demonstrated a significant, linear, positive relationship to science achievement (particularly items involving contextualising science learning). Two of the negatively associated items (explaining their ideas and doing experiments) were found to have a curvilinear relationship to science achievement. All nine items were dummy coded by the reported frequency of use and an optimum frequency was determined using the categorical model and by calculating the inflection point of the curvilinear associations in the previous model e.g. students that carry out experiments in the lab in some lessons have higher achievement scores than students who perform experiments in all lessons. These findings, accompanied by detailed analyses of the items and their relationships to science outcomes, give stakeholders clear guidance regarding the effective use of inquiry-based approaches in the classroom.     

Work models: Beyond instructional objectives

While instructional objectives have provided a cornerstone for the practice and science of instruction, they have also locked us into a lexically based conceptual system. In order to realize the interactive potential of computer-based instructional systems, we need a new way of representing performance. This paper presents the concept of a work model which is a unit of practice which allows replication of both information and interaction. In addition, the work model idea also addresses some of the fundamental problems with objectives such as their inability to capture the richness of terminal behavior or how to relate objectives to content.     

Proportional reasoning and the linguistic abilities required for hypothetico-deductive reasoning

The hypothesis is advanced that a necessary, though not sufficient, condition for the acquisition of proportional reasoning during adolescence is the prior internalization of key linguistic elements of argumentation, essentially those used in hypothetico-deductive reasoning. This hypothesized internalization, which does not occur in all individuals, results in some who have acquired the ability to reflect upon the correctness of self-generated answers in a hypothetico-deductive manner, and others who have not. As an initial test of the hypothesis, 46 subjects (Ss) (mean age = 21.03 years) were classified into additive, transitional, or proportional reasoning categories based upon responses to a proportions task. Group differences were found in which proportional Ss performed better than transitional Ss who in turn performed better than additive Ss on a number of items testing Ss' abilities to identify, generate, and use the linguistic elements of argumentation. Further it was found that some Ss who were successful on the linguistic items failed the proportions task, but no Ss who were successful on the proportions task failed the linguistic items. This result supports the hypothesis that the internalization of linguistic elements of argumentation is a prerequisite for proportional reasoning and by inference other advanced reasoning schemata as well. Implications for science instruction are drawn.     

An examination of the systematic planning techniques of two experienced teachers

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which systematic planning techniques were incorporated into the written and mental planning practices of two experienced teachers, one who had received formal training in the use of those techniques and one who had not. In order to accomplish this goal, a questionnaire was administered to the teachers and they were interviewed and observed as they went about planning and implementing an instructional unit. Results indicated that the teacher who had been trained to use systematic planning techniques did employ them, and that the other teacher adhered to the principle that instructional activities should be planned with objectives clearly in mind. These findings call into question some of the conclusions drawn by researchers who have previously examined the planning practices of teachers.     

Recommendations for Designing and Implementing Distributed Problem-Based Learning

Abstract

As distributed problem-based learning (dPBL) emerges as an interactive online methodology, it is necessary for instructional designers who want to develop this approach to understand the practices experienced designers of dPBL recommend. This phenomenological study examined the practices that designers of dPBL use and recommend. Ten experienced dPBL designers from seven countries participated in the qualitative study. Data were collected through semistructured telephone interviews in order to gather information about each individual's experiences using instructional design and designing dPBL. A listing of ten recommendations for designing dPBL is presented based on the information provided by the experienced designers.     

Effects of Using an Instructional Game on Motivation and Performance

Abstract

Although many educators theorize that instructional games are effective for providing students with motivating practice, research on instructional gaming is inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect on motivation and performance of using an instructional game. The effect of using a supplemental reading on motivation and performance was also examined. We randomly assigned 75 undergraduates to one of two treatments after they had attended a lecture on the information-processing model of learning. The subjects in one treatment group used an instructional board game to practice the material presented in the lecture, while those in the other group practiced using a traditional worksheet. Results indicated that using the instructional game significantly affected the four motivational components of attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. The instructional game did not influence performance. The results also suggested that the subjects who reported completion of a supplemental reading had significantly better performance and confidence than did the subjects who reported that they had not completed the reading. Implications for the design of practice are discussed.     

The pedagogy of argumentation in science education: science teachers’ instructional practices

ABSTRACT

Argumentation has been a prominent concern in science education research and a common goal in science curriculum in many countries over the past decade. With reference to this goal, policy documents burden responsibilities on science teachers, such as involving students in dialogues and being guides in students’ spoken or written argumentation. Consequently, teachers’ pedagogical practices regarding argumentation gain importance due to their impact on how they incorporate this practice into their classrooms. In this study, therefore, we investigated the instructional strategies adopted by science teachers for their argumentation-based science teaching. Participants were one elementary science teacher, two chemistry teachers, and four graduate students, who have a background in science education. The study took place during a graduate course, which was aimed at developing science teachers’ theory and pedagogy of argumentation. Data sources included the participants’ video-recorded classroom practices, audio-recorded reflections, post-interviews, and participants’ written materials. The findings revealed three typologies of instructional strategies towards argumentation. They are named as Basic Instructional Strategies for Argumentation, Meta-level Instructional ?St??rategies for ?Argumentation, and Meta-strategic Instructional ?St??rategies for ?Argumentation. In conclusion, the study provided a detailed coding framework for the exploration of science teachers’ instructional practices while they are implementing argumentation-based lessons.