When talking less is more: exploring outcomes of Twitter usage in the large‐lecture hall

This article employs a mixed‐method approach to examine the outcomes produced by using Twitter in a large‐lecture course as a means to assess the pedagogical impact and potential of Twitter’s contribution to large‐lecture course dynamics. In doing so, it seeks also to explore the broader relationship between methodologies and outcomes. Exploratory in nature and design, this study proceeds from the recognition of the inherent limitations and unpredictability in investigating how new technologies transform social patterns. Such an approach allows us to question how the mode and design of our research ultimately frame the interpretation and understanding of how social media intersect and impact classroom dynamics and their potential contributions for developing more effective pedagogical strategies and outcomes.     

Are more able students in higher education less easy to satisfy?

Student satisfaction gains an increasingly central position in the context of quality measurements. However, student satisfaction can also be stipulated as an important motivational factor for students as learners. This study combines this perspective on student satisfaction with the notion of differences in students’ ability. We hypothesize that differences in ability result in differences in student satisfaction. In line with concepts of high ability education, it is additionally hypothesized that this relation is mediated by educational stimulation—divided in cognitive, creative and professional stimulation—as well as by participation in honour programmes. A structural equation modelling (N = 733) of factors affecting student satisfaction in higher education shows that cognitive, creative and professional stimulation are the largest influencers of bachelor students’ sense of satisfaction. The interrelation between these three aspects of educational stimulation also shows the complexity of higher educational practice, since it suggests that cognitive stimulation cannot be realized without a creative factor, and vice versa. Professional stimulation needs both. Furthermore, the results show that educational stimulation mediates the effect of students’ ability on their educational satisfaction. This implies that changes in education can indeed influence students’ educational satisfaction, especially by providing educational quality. Finally, considering students’ ability level, it is shown that especially cognitively abler students are less easy to satisfy. The combination of educational stimulation and ability suggests that especially the more cognitively able students do not feel themselves sufficiently cognitively or creatively stimulated, and hence are less satisfied in vocational higher education.     

Is distance teaching more work or less work?

Abstract

This article presents data collected in a year‐long study in which the author and his assistants kept detailed records of their time spent teaching and maintaining two comparable university courses. One course was offered online to adult professionals away from campus, the other offered to undergraduates in traditional classrooms on campus. The courses had similar learning objectives, similar student activities, and equally favorable ratings by students. Both were mature courses that required only routine maintenance and revision. The data do not support the widely held belief that teaching an asynchronous online course requires more effort than teaching a comparable synchronous classroom course. Although the distance course required more frequent attention, the total teaching and maintenance time spent per student was less than that required to teach and maintain the classroom course. Categories of teaching tasks are also compared.     

‘More [Time] is better or less is more?’ Neoliberal influences on teaching and learning time

This article examines the neoliberal influences on ‘Port City Schools’ (PCS) unique district-wide extended learning time (ELT) initiative. Despite the recent popularity of ELT in urban schools, there have been few qualitative studies that question how stakeholders make sense of ELT on the ground. This research fills that gap in the literature by exploring ELT programming across PCS’s choice and neighborhood K-8 schools. The interview and observation data reveal an inherent tension between ‘more time is better’ in the enrichment-filled choice schools and ‘less is more’ in the intervention-filled neighborhood schools. Findings illuminate the ways in which school choice, neighborhood segregation, and high stakes testing push the district to use ELT to boost test scores in the lower performing neighborhood schools, while the choice schools are given flexibility in ELT programming because they are meeting expectations for student success. Because neoliberalism fails to take into account the strong relationship between test scores and socio-economics and school choice and segregation, it leads to a cycle of inequality in which children in the choice schools receive a well-balanced curriculum and children in the neighborhood schools get test preparation during ELT. Fixing this system could fix inequalities in ELT programming across all schools.     

When a problem is more than a teacher’s question

Not only are the problems teachers pose throughout their teaching of great importance but also the ways in which they use those problems make this a critical component of teaching. A problem-posing episode includes the problem setup, the statement of the problem, and the follow-up questions. Analysis of problem-posing episodes of precalculus instructors suggests that their mindset influences how they pose problems. In this paper, we describe the reflexive relationship between an instructor’s mindset and problem-posing episodes.     

Unit 8 When is your birthday?

1.用月份的词填空。1._lst 15 New Year’5 Day. 2·—1 Zth 15 Plan‘ngD州植树节). 3._lst 15 Fool’5 Day. 4._lst 15肠bor’5 Day. 5._lst 15 Children’sD叮. 6.The last three months Of a yearare一and 7·NeW sehool”ar(新学年)i。_. 8.一When 15 your birthday?一My     

What type of computer-assisted exercise supports young less skilled spellers in resolving problems in open and closed syllable words?

Dutch bisyllabic words containing open and closed syllables are particularly difficult to spell for children. What kind of support in spelling exercises improves the spelling of these words the most? Two extensions of a commonly used dictation exercise were tested: less skilled spellers in grade 2 (n = 50; 7 years and 10 months) either received explicit syllabic segmentation cues or received spelling cues by means of a visual preview. Comparisons between pre-, post-, and retention tests of spelling skill showed that extra syllabic cues did not show a significant improvement beyond normal spelling dictation and that visual preview was most effective as compared to the other types of training. The findings suggest that word-specific knowledge can effectively be improved by exposure to the correct letter pattern during exercises in spelling and seems to result in lasting improvement of word-specific orthographic representations, at least for 5 weeks.     

Nature or nurture, which is more important?

Everyone is unique owing to biological, social and cultural factors, and both of these factors can impact gender roles. However, the impact of social and cultural factors more important than others. ...     

So how big is big? Investigating the impact of class size on ratings in student evaluation

Australian universities have a long history of use of student satisfaction surveys. Their use has expanded and purpose changed over time. The surveys are often viewed as distorted by external influences such as discipline context, class size and year level of participants. This paper reports on the results of a large-scale investigation interrogating the influence of class size on student satisfaction ratings. The investigation was conducted at a large, comprehensive, research-intensive Australian university. It drew on the data from a survey administered to all students in all units of undergraduate and postgraduate study conducted across the university over four semesters. Data were collated into four class size categories. This categorised data were subjected to statistical analyses. This paper discusses the approach taken, the results of the analysis and their implications for student evaluation of teaching and learning.     

Do Black students misbehave more? Investigating the differential involvement hypothesis and out-of-school suspensions

Black students are much more likely to be disciplined using out-of-school suspensions (OSS) compared with White students. One often-cited hypothesis, though relatively untested, is the role of misconduct and students attitudes that support deviant behavior. The differential involvement hypothesis suggests that disproportionate sanctioning may result if one group of students is engaged in greater levels of misbehavior compared with the other group. Using a national high school dataset, the author used various student-reported measures of misconduct (e.g., fighting) and 18 attitudes supporting deviant behavior (e.g., it is okay to disobey school rules) to investigate their association with receiving an OSS. Findings showed that misconduct and deviant attitudes were important factors in predicting the receipt of OSS though results indicated that Black students did not generally misbehave or endorse deviant attitudes more than White students did.     

Higher Education: is more better? Gender Differences in Labour Market Returns to Tertiary Education in Israel

Research on the transition from post-secondary education to the labour market refers mainly to differences between academic and vocational tracks in secondary education. In this paper we analyse Israeli data focusing on the transition from different levels of post secondary degrees and from various fields of study to the labour market. We examine three labour market outcomes: employment status, occupational prestige attainment, and job match. Data are drawn from a supplement to the 1983 Israeli Census, which includes a random sample of Israel's tertiary education degree holders (vocational and academic). Our central finding is that men who work in female-dominated occupations get better returns than women, and women who work in male-dominated occupations get better returns than men. We discuss several explanations of this finding.     

How many words are enough? Investigating the effect of different configurations of a software scaffold for formulating scientific hypotheses in inquiry-oriented contexts

Instructional Science - We extended research on scaffolds for formulating scientific hypotheses, namely the Hypothesis Scratchpad (HS), in the domain of relative density. The sample comprised of...     

What is this in English?

在图中的空格内填入适当的字母, 使每一竖行都成为所学的词语, 并能填入相应的句子中。     

What is new in computers?

This article discusses the recent trends in mobile computing and communication. The wireless technologies behind the emergence of mobile computing and the use of the current technologies to create a mobile computing environment have also been discussed.     

‘Are you working or playing?’ Investigating young children’s perspectives of classroom activities

Play is valued conceptually and pedagogically, although its place in early years settings is under increasing pressure. Framed by the sociology of childhood and understandings of children’s agency, this article reports on an ethnographic study with children aged five years in the first year of primary school in Australia. The study investigated children's understandings of play in classroom activities involving different periods of teacher-framed and child-selected activities. Drawing on children’s accounts and video-recorded observations, the study found that children’s participation was influenced by teacher-framed agendas, and the agency afforded to them to engage in self-chosen activities and to design and negotiate their play spaces. For instance, children generally were unenthusiastic about writing activities and called these activities ‘work’ if they were directed by the teacher, and yet they consistently chose to engage in writing activities during periods of freely chosen activities. The findings raise questions about what counts as ‘play’ and ‘work’ for children, and the important function of play and free choice to mobilise participation in foundational academic activities such as writing. These understandings generate opportunities for educators to reflect upon ways to enhance children’s participation in everyday play activities in the classroom as supporting foundational academic activities.