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.     

Outside school time: an examination of science achievement and non-cognitive characteristics of 15-year olds in several countries

Elementary and secondary students spend more hours outside of class than in formal school and thus have more time for interaction with everyday science. However, evidence from a large international survey, Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) (OECD 2012), found a negative relationship between number of hours attending after-school science and science assessment scores in many countries, raising questions about why. The secondary analysis of the 2006, 2009, and 2012 PISA surveys found that in most Western countries the longer students attended after-school science programs (in a typical week), the lower their PISA standardized science test score, but the higher their positive attitudes toward future science careers, interest in science, and self-confidence in science. Several potential hypotheses for this relationship are examined and rejected. Further analysis of a causal relationship between frequent attendance in after-school programs and student achievement and attitudes should clearly identify the content of the program so that the analysis could distinguish experiences closely related to regular school curricula from the informal science activities that are not. A new analysis also should include carefully designed longitudinal surveys to test the effectiveness of informal experiences on later life choices in career and study.     

A qualitative investigation of design knowledge reuse in project-based mechanical design courses

ABSTRACT

The interpretation and reuse of previous design solutions, or precedents, is central to design. This paper describes qualitative research conducted over three years at two institutions, aimed at investigating the role of design knowledge re-use in project-based mechanical design courses. Research data were collected through participant observation, student interviews, anonymous questionnaires, and website analytics. The paper identifies challenges that must be addressed in order to support novice engineers in rehearsing the types of knowledge required to successfully reason about and engage with design precedents. Two categories of design precedents are identified: concept precedents and detail precedents. Providing students with access to the latter is identified as a particular challenge, as is providing students with access to engineering communities of practice. Approaches to addressing these challenges are discussed.     

What is ‘educational support’ for youth in social difficulties?: A qualitative study of support groups for literacy learning in Japan

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the actual conditions of youth in social difficulties in Japan and to examine the characteristics and meanings of ‘educational support’ for them from the viewpoint of literacy theory as a social practice. My colleagues and I carried out a four-year qualitative study of several private groups supporting young people from 2012 to 2015. In this study, we visited the groups and conducted semi-structured interviews with young learners (aged from 16 to 23) and their supporters. It became clear during the interviews that most young learners had not received sufficient basic education because of their delinquency or truancy, and they had had very few opportunities to build relationships of trust with those around them. The elements of the support that is needed are clarified in this study as follows: (1) building relationships of trust with young learners, (2) nurturing learners’ motivation and/or self-confidence, (3) emphasizing learners’ ideas, interests and literacies embedded in their everyday lives. These points show that ‘educational support’ for youth in social difficulties should by no means only be about the transmission of skills or fragmentary knowledge, but also the cultivation of motivation for learning and/or self-confidence based on relationships of trust.     

A multi-study examination of intra-individual feedback loops between competence and value beliefs,procrastination, and goal achievement

In the present study, we tested intra-individual feedback loops between competence beliefs, value beliefs, and goal achievement (virtuous circles), and intra-individual feedback loops between goal failure and procrastination (vicious circle). We analyzed data from five independent intensive longitudinal studies with university students (N = 841, k = 23,448 observations). Pre-registered hypotheses were tested across the five studies and aggregated using meta-analytic methods. Results provided support for virtuous circles in self-regulated learning: Students who reported higher competence and value beliefs in one study session reported higher goal achievement, and higher goal achievement predicted higher competence and value beliefs in the subsequent study session. Results provided only partial support for a vicious circle: Procrastination was associated with lower goal achievement but goal achievement did not predict subsequent procrastination. The results have theoretical implications for models of self-regulated learning and methodological implications for the design of experience sampling studies.     

A study of native English-speaking teacher programs in elementary schools in Taiwan

This study looks into issues pertaining to the policy of including native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) in elementary schools in Taiwan, i.e., NEST programs, from the perspective of the teachers involved. Through data gathered from interviews and classroom observations, this qualitative study examines the necessity of NEST programs and reveals the challenges facing NESTs and local English teachers as they negotiate the process of working together. It shows that while a NEST program is not a centralized language teacher policy in Taiwan, its necessity remains a moot point. Moreover, working with Taiwanese homeroom teachers presented challenges to the NESTs, and the local English teachers considered that working with inexperienced NESTs presented unwanted challenges. Finally, suggestions on NEST programs are discussed.     

An Examination of Resilience Processes in Context: The Case of Tasha

This research examined resilience processes in context through a narrative case study of Tasha, a young African-American woman who grew up in a poverty-ridden area of a mid-sized city in the Southeast. Personal and external data are analyzed and interpreted in terms of contextually defined themes of adversity (i.e., intersectionality of social identities, lack of attachment to her primary caregiver, and teenage pregnancy); adaptation (i.e., high school graduation, career goal-setting, commitment to her children, and “street” competence); and, protective processes (i.e., individual attributes, natural mentors, and extended family support). The importance of external sources of support and Tasha as an active agent in her development is highlighted. Research and practical implications are discussed.     

Effectiveness and relevance of feedback in Higher Education: A study of undergraduate students

This paper draws upon a wider study on assessment in higher education. It focuses on students’ perceptions of the effectiveness and relevance of feedback in regard to assessment methods and self-regulation of learning. In total, 605 undergraduates participated in the study from five Portuguese public universities. Data were collected through questionnaires with open and closed-ended questions. Results revealed that feedback is perceived as more relevant, effective and in a more positive way by students who are assessed by learner-centred methods than by those assessed by traditional methods. Also, participants who are assessed by learner-centred methods or mixed methods perceived feedback as more effective in all phases of self-regulation learning than students who are assessed by traditional methods. Implications of the findings for feedback and assessment in Higher Education are discussed.     

Lazy leisure: A qualitative investigation of the relational uses of television in marriage

Communication researchers have examined television from the perspective of the individual's uses and gratifications, family viewing, and within specific contexts such as soap opera or Olympic coviewing. However, little is known about married couples and the role of television in their relationships. This study sought to use extensive personal interviews to examine why couples watch television together, how they perceive the role of television in their relationships, and any positive or negative effects of television use in their relationship. Results were compared to earlier research regarding family TV use, and quantitative research on couples’ uses of television. A new dimension, interpersonal control, was identified as an outcome of coviewing for married couples.     

A wearables-based approach to detect and identify momentary engagement in afterschool Makerspace programs

Educational activities and programs associated with the Maker movement, which emphasizes creation of physical and digital artifacts as part of the learning experience, are presumed to be highly engaging for youth. However, there has been limited research examining what features of Maker learning activities are associated with youth engagement. We describe a research approach using wearable electrodermal activity sensors and wearable cameras to obtain data from two afterschool programs at a community Makerspace for adolescent girls (N = 12, 13). Using data obtained from these two sources along with daily survey data, we compare what is revealed from these different data sources. We observe a moderate correlation between electrodermal activity and engagement from survey responses. We also observe that activities emphasizing personal expression elicited engagement from many youth. From the EDA data and first-person video, we also identify 23 moments when groups of participants had several concurrent EDA responses suggesting high levels momentary engagement. Key features associated with those moments were opportunities for peer socialization, interactive instructional discourse, and physical making activities when objects were being assembled and manipulated.     

A systematic review of the role of learning analytics in enhancing feedback practices in higher education

Learning analytics (LA) offers new opportunities to enrich feedback practices in higher education, but little is understood about the ways different LA can enhance feedback practices for educators and students. This systematic literature review maps the current state of implementation of LA to improve feedback practices in technology-mediated learning environments in higher education. We used strict inclusion criteria to select relevant studies that have investigated the role of LA on feedback practices. To identify common features of LA for feedback studies, we coded relevant publications using an analytical framework that identifies four key dimensions of LA systems: what (types of data), how (analytic methods), why (objectives), and how educators and students are served by LA (stakeholders). Based on findings, we propose a conceptual framework that can guide the implementation of LA for feedback systems and also suggest future empirical research in this area.     

The effect of feedback on academic achievement in technology-rich learning environments (TREs): A meta-analytic review

This study aimed to investigate the effect of feedback on students' academic achievement in a technology-rich environment through a systematic and quantitative synthesis of the studies conducted over several decades. We focused on three issues: (a) the effectiveness of feedback in enhancing learning performance; (b) possible factors (feedback characteristics and study features) associated with different studies that could have resulted in the inconsistent findings across the studies; and (c) how different types of feedback differed in their effect in enhancing academic achievement. Based on 182 effect sizes extracted from 61 studies, we found that, compared with no feedback condition, feedback had at least a medium effect (g = 0.44, 95%CI [0.324, 0.555]) in enhancing academic achievement, and the effect of explanation feedback was the strongest compared to other types of feedback. The study further revealed that the feedback in blended learning was more effective than that in online learning. Possible explanations and implications of these findings, as well as limitations and future research directions were discussed.     

The role of social community and individual differences in minority mentoring programs

Researchers have examined various outcomes of undergraduate minority mentoring programs. However, there is a significant gap in research about how program members with different demographic backgrounds may not have the same experiences or outcomes as other members despite being subject to the same program elements. To address these gaps, we employed a social community framework to examine the differences across the perceptions of connectedness to a social community and participant outcomes of members of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Merit Program (MP) for Emerging Scholars. An ANOVA was performed for a study sample of n = 179 current and past MP participants. Results indicated a need to: (a) find ways to translate experiences to lower performing groups, (b) identify other approaches to build resilience and encourage connections and engagement in communities of practice, and (c) explicitly educate all participants in the importance of social community in their professional development.     

Student perceptions of hidden messages in teacher written feedback

Students take away a variety of messages from teachers’ responses to their writing, although not all the information conveyed is explicit or related to the work at hand. In fact, both the content of this feedback and the ways they respond can lead students to interpret their tutors’ beliefs about their subject, about learning, and about the value of literacy in their disciplines. Drawing on a series of interviews with 24 first and second year students at a Hong Kong university, this paper seeks to identify what these messages are and the consequences they can have for students’ attitudes to their field of study, to disciplinary writing, to learning and to teacher–student relationships.     

Testing a theory of organizational culture,climate and youth outcomes in child welfare systems: A United States national study

Theories of organizational culture and climate (OCC) applied to child welfare systems hypothesize that strategic dimensions of organizational culture influence organizational climate and that OCC explains system variance in youth outcomes. This study provides the first structural test of the direct and indirect effects of culture and climate on youth outcomes in a national sample of child welfare systems and isolates specific culture and climate dimensions most associated with youth outcomes. The study applies multilevel path analysis (ML-PA) to a U.S. nationwide sample of 2,380 youth in 73 child welfare systems participating in the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being. Youths were selected in a national, two-stage, stratified random sample design. Youths’ psychosocial functioning was assessed by caregivers’ responses to the Child Behavior Checklist at intake and at 18-month follow-up. OCC was assessed by front-line caseworkers’ (N = 1,740) aggregated responses to the Organizational Social Context measure. Comparison of the a priori and subsequent trimmed models confirmed a reduced model that excluded rigid organizational culture and explained 70% of the system variance in youth outcomes. Controlling for youth- and system-level covariates, systems with more proficient and less resistant organizational cultures exhibited more functional, more engaged, and less stressful climates. Systems with more proficient cultures and more engaged, more functional, and more stressful climates exhibited superior youth outcomes. Findings suggest child welfare administrators can support service effectiveness with interventions that improve specific dimensions of culture and climate.     

Predicting stereotype endorsement and academic motivation in women in science programs: A longitudinal model

This study proposed and tested a model based on stereotype threat theory. The hypothesis is that women who are exposed to a low percentage of women in a science program are more likely to endorse the gender stereotype that science is a male domain, which will in turn undermine their autonomous academic motivation. A total of 167 women university students enrolled in science programs participated in an 18-month longitudinal study. Results partially support our model. Although the low percentage of females in science programs was related to endorsement of the gender stereotype, there was no effect of prior stereotype endorsement on subsequent autonomous academic motivation.     

Exploring the value of peer feedback in online learning for the provider

This paper reviews studies of peer feedback from the novel perspective of the providers of that feedback. The possible learning benefits of providing peer feedback in online learning have not been extensively studied. The goal of this study was therefore to explore the process of providing online peer feedback as a learning activity for the provider. We concluded that (1) providing online peer feedback has several potential learning benefits for the provider; (2) when providing online peer feedback, students use different cognitive processes; (3) the cognitive processes and the potential learning benefits can be realised when students use specific elements in the feedback they provide.     

A systematic review on evidences supporting quality indicators of bilingual,plurilingual and multilingual programs in higher education

This systematic review intends to report on the strength of evidences supporting the quality indicators (predictors) attributed to higher education bilingual, plurilingual or multilingual practices and programs across four key dependent variables (outcomes) analyzed (i.e., student performance, second language proficiency, employment, and motivation and attitudes). The rapid growth of both offer and demand of this type of higher education and learning worldwide requires the implementation of high-quality evaluation strategies and techniques to measure potential causal links between interventions and results. To do so, a pre-specified systematic review protocol following the Campbell Collaboration (2015) recommendations is designed and implemented. The results suggest the urgent need to increase the primary research quality standards in this sub-discipline by reducing bias in the processes of designing, implementing and reporting research. Despite the scarcity of results sustained on statistical conclusions with the higher statistical power found in this review, specific results of the dependent variables indicate that this type of education benefits students’ performance and second language proficiency, with a higher impact on receptive skills. Although no results were obtained concerning student employment, other results point out that there is general satisfaction of participation with the programs. Finally, several recommendations on how to scale up those quality research standards in this sub-discipline are provided.     

The child protection and juvenile justice nexus in Australia: A longitudinal examination of the relationship between maltreatment and offending

There is convincing evidence that many young people who are in the justice system have had contact with child protection services and that victims of childhood maltreatment are at increased risk of subsequent youth justice involvement. In Australia, however, there have been few longitudinal studies that have examined these associations and relatively less is known in this area. This study examines the overlap between the child protection and youth justice involvement in South Australia, and determines how substantiated maltreatment and variations in these experiences (e.g., the type, timing and recurrence of maltreatment) relate to criminal convictions as a youth. The results show that although the majority of child-protection involved youth do not become convicted offenders, the odds of subsequent convictions are significantly greater both for those with notifications and substantiated maltreatment and for those who had been placed in out-of-home care. Multivariate analyses revealed that the strongest predictors for receiving a conviction among maltreated youth were: male gender, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ethnicity, experiences of physical abuse and emotional abuse, a greater number of substantiations (recurrence), experiencing maltreatment that commenced in childhood and continued into adolescence, and placement in out-of-home care. The mechanisms through which maltreatment might be linked with behavior are then considered, along with directions for future research in this area.     

The art of questioning in online learning environments: the potentialities of feedback in writing

Research on feedback has focused more on generating feedback rather than on how students use it and implement it; that is, what type of cognitive, metacognitive or affective activity students engage in once they have received feedback. In order to visualize feedback use and implementation, a quasi-experimental study was carried out. Students were randomly assigned to four conditions, in respect of the type of feedback (corrective, epistemic-questioning, suggestive and epistemic?+?suggestive). This research provides evidence of how students use and implement feedback in online collaborative writing. Findings show that when students received epistemic?+?suggestive feedback, they engaged in more cognitive and metacognitive activities. With regard to implementation, students who received epistemic?+?suggestive feedback obtained better final marks. This study highlights the importance of metacognitive activities in online learning, as they play a key role in the implementation of feedback.