Teachers’ beliefs, instructional behaviors, and students’ engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures

This study investigated the relations between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and students’ self-reported engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures. Participants were the biology, geography, and German teachers of 46 classes (Grades 5-8) and their students. Teachers’ instructional behaviors and students’ engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures were assessed by means of student ratings. Teachers’ beliefs about using texts with instructional pictures in their teaching were assessed by a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that the more teachers believed that students should be taught clear strategies on how to learn from texts with instructional pictures the more engagement was reported by their students. A multilevel mediation model showed that the association between teachers’ beliefs and students’ self-reported engagement was mediated by teachers’ perceived instructional behavior.     

The instructional message: A theoretical perspective

This article presents a theoretical model for message design proved capable of improving the quality of instruction while increasing cost effectiveness. Integrating classical rhetoric, information theory, contemporary media criticism, social psychology, and the psychology of human information processing, the model directs the designer to design a block of time that optimizes the information load and message complexity within the constraints of the receiver’s abilities and experience, the requirements of the source, and the capabilities and limitations of the medium.     

The use of evaluative feedback for instructional improvement: A longitudinal perspective

Both the available experimental evidence and recent reviews are unclear regarding the effectiveness of student ratings feedback for instructional improvement. Provision of feedback has not consistently produced improvement. Feedback accompanied by consultation has resulted in more consistent instructor improvement. However, the literature on interventions for instructional improvements has failed to address the longitudinal nature of improvement and development. The present study examined follow-up data over a ten-year period on instructors who had participated in a quasi-experimental study of the effectiveness of consultation and feedback conducted in 1971 and 1972. The results obtained indicate that instructors who had originally received feedback with consultation maintained higher student ratings and used instructional resources more during follow-up than instructors who originally received feedback only. This result must be tempered by several interpretative considerations regarding sample size, power, and experimental control. A number of concerns were also expressed regarding the adequacy of the current literature for describing a developmental event, instructional improvement, through the use of short-term studies. Recommendations are made for increased durations of study and alternative tactics of experimental design and control.     

The effect of static and animated visualization: a perspective of instructional effectiveness and efficiency

This study investigated the effectiveness of three different levels of enhancement strategies utilized to facilitate students’ learning from static and animated visualization when taking the time-on-task into consideration. Participants were randomly assigned to six treatment groups, and then took four criterion measures. The time-on-task was measured and used as a covariate in the analysis. The results suggest that animation is more effective than static visuals for improving learning across all levels of learning. Questions plus feedback embedded into the visualized material are most effective in enhancing higher-level but not lower-level learning objectives. Furthermore, time-on-task may be interpreted differently. On the one hand, students should be allowed as much time as needed to learn material when it is enriched, such as in the animated lesson. On the other hand, requiring students in a static-only treatment to review the visuals may produce the same learning effect as the use of animated visuals.     

Maximising meaning: creating a learning environment for reading comprehension of informative texts from a Vygotskian perspective

Sociocultural theories based on the work of Vygotsky have been increasingly influential in educational sciences. Developmental education (DE) is a pedagogical approach based on Vygotskian theory that has inspired primary schools in the Netherlands to change the learning environment innovatively in a comprehensive way. In this article, we focus on the learning environment for reading comprehension of informative texts in upper-primary grade classrooms in DE. Our aim is to contribute to a more profound understanding of the characteristics of learning environments that are inspired by a Vygotskian approach and that are conducive to reading comprehension of informative texts. Five fourth-grade expert DE teachers participated in a multiple case study aimed at describing and analysing these characteristics for the domain of reading informative texts. Data were collected over a period of six to eight weeks for each teacher and consisted of videotaped interviews, classroom observations and documents. We conclude that DE learning environments are focused on maximising meaning from text for students. This is achieved by organising learning on the basis of emergent goals within students’ participation in sociocultural practices.     

新历史主义“文本历史性”视阈下的文本复译

文本复译是翻译领域里很常见的现象之一。围绕文本复译现象,折射出了翻译活动的复杂性,同时也充分反映了翻译活动所涉及的问题不仅仅处于语言层面,而且存在于文化、社会、政治、伦理、经济等各个层面。文本复译有时是经济利益驱动使然,有时是语言表达符合时代主流所需要,有时是对原著文本的进一步阐释的体现。凡此种种都是适应或符合一定历史条件下的对原著生命延续之必要。新历史主义的"文本历史性"为文本复译现象提供了新的依据,故就此作相关讨论。     

Research on instructional development

The instructional technology field is periodically faced with discussion of the appropriate direction of its research and more specifically of the relationship between research and practice. This paper extends the discussion by examining the nature and scope of developmental research. Two categories of developmental research are explored. They vary in terms of the extent to which the conclusions resulting from the research are generalizable or contextually-specific. Type 1 research tends to be case studies of specific design, development, or evaluation projects with its findings directed toward the improvement of a product or identification of those conditions conducive to efficient product development and use. Type 2 research typically addresses the validity and/or effectiveness of an existing or newly constructed development model, process, or technique. The promise of developmental research as a vehicle for creating sound methods for linking research and practice is discussed.     

Exploring teachers' instructional design practices from a systems design perspective

Curricular changes in higher vocationaleducation have rendered teachers' instructionaldesign activities increasingly important. Usinga repertory grid technique, this paper sets outto analyse current design activities of tenteacher trainers. Their actual approach iscompared with an instructional systems design(ISD) approach and related to innovativeteacher roles. Teachers' activities show animbalance in two ID phases, that is problemanalysis and evaluation. The results suggestthat they attempt to translate curricular goalsdirectly into concrete lessons and they payrelatively little attention to evaluation. Inline with this finding, they underrate the twoinnovative teacher roles of the `diagnostician'and the `evaluator'. It is argued thatimbalanced or incomplete design approaches andperceived roles may hinder innovation ineducation. Implications for the support ofteachers' design activities are discussed.     

Student ratings and various instructional variables from a within-instructor perspective

The relationship between class size, instructional method, course level, reason for enrollment, and student ratings of instruction was assessed from a within-instructor perspective. Two hundred fifty-four pairs of courses taught by the same instructor were correspondingly identified and subjected to a stepwise multiple regression procedure. Only class size was found to be a significant predictor of ratings once individual differences between instructors were controlled, hence underlining the importance of (1) taking cognizance of the size of the course when using student ratings of instructors as a measure of teaching effectiveness, and (2) controlling for systematic variation due to instructor idiosyncracies in instructional research.     

Internationalising the content of higher education: the need for a curriculum perspective

Internationalisation of higher education is a strategic theme in current research on higher education and policy debate. Both at national and institutional levels, in many countries, internationalisation is stated to be an educational goal. However, the dominant discourse on internationalisation of higher education in research and research-based discussions tends to be framed by political, economic and organisational perspectives, rather than informed by educational considerations. There is also a tendency to place internationalisation in higher education within the conceptual frame of economic globalisation and the increasing trade in educational services worldwide. While such discussions may shed light on various organisational, political or economic issues, this research does not give a pedagogical basis for the internationalisation of higher education in terms of teaching and learning. In particular, questions relating to the internationalisation of content and learning outcomes need to be addressed. A series of studies conducted in Sweden 1999–2007 by the authors indicates that the didactical realisation of internationalisation as an educational goal can be very elusive. In our findings, the concrete content considered by teachers and students to represent internationalisation did not follow any clear pattern or goal. Internationalisation was assumed to be represented by some form of ‘general knowledge’ and general human qualities, without considering cultural differences. Institutionalised curriculum thinking as a basis for developing internationalisation was lacking. Concrete thinking was very much restricted to organisational and administrative aspects, and thoughts concerning content and learning outcomes tended to be expressed in idealised and general terms, rather than developed into clarifying and useful specifications underpinned by curriculum theory. Certain consequences ensuing from this situation are discussed, and a curriculum approach to internationalisation of higher education is suggested.     

目的论视角下的旅游文本变译

功能翻译理论把翻译视为一种目的性行为,其核心理论"目的论"为文本翻译中的变译提供了理论依据,同时将变译方法应用于文本翻译,能够更好实现文本的最高翻译目的。本文将以旅游文本为例,研究目的论和变译对文本翻译的重要作用。     

The Early Reading Research: The impact of instructional psychology

The Early Reading Research (ERR), is a six-year research project investigating the most effective approaches to: improving reading standards; ensuring that every child can reach age and skill appropriate targets in reading; and, preventing the occurrence of reading difficulties. This article reviews the educational and psychological research into teaching reading and relates recent findings to theories and research emerging from instructional psychology, which underpins the 'framework for teaching reading' used within the ERR. Two studies are then summarised which evaluated the impact of the ERR reading framework. Study 1 involved a two-year experimental study where the progress of children following the ERR framework during reception and Year 1, was compared to that of children taught to read through their usual classroom methods. Study 2 involved a one-year study where the progress of a sample of children within the ERR was compared to children following the National Literacy Project. The article concludes by highlighting some implications of the ERR for educational psychologists (EPs), the field of special education and the National Literacy Strategy.     

From concepts of motivation to its application in instructional design: Reconsidering motivation from an instructional design perspective

This paper explores the concepts of motivation, including extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. It describes how motivation becomes a major concern in the field of instructional design (ID). Furthermore, a motivation model—the ARCS model—is identified and discussed. Finally, it provides an example of how to apply the motivational design process in ID. The aim of this paper is to facilitate a deeper understanding of motivation and to inform professionals about its importance in learning     

Differentiations in motivation and need satisfaction based on course modality: a self-determination theory perspective

Online education has grown exponentially over the past two decades, in large part due to its promise of flexibility and connectivity for students. However, this approach to pedagogy has remained relatively unexamined in regard to issues of motivation and intellectual thriving. Using self-determination theory as a foundation, we assessed the degree to which course modality (namely online vs. face-to-face) led to psychological need satisfaction and quality motivation. Our survey of 240 (n = 240) college students confirmed previous research in which higher quality motivation predicted the satisfaction of autonomy, competence and relatedness, which in turn predicted course and instructor approval. However, in a series of matched-pairs t-tests, students reported lower levels of quality motivation, autonomy support, competence and relatedness in online courses than they did for face-to-face courses.     

Testing an instructional model in a university educational setting from the student's perspective

We tested a theoretical model that hypothesized relationships between several variables from input, process and product in an educational setting, from the university student's perspective, using structural equation modeling. In order to carry out the analysis, we measured in sequential order the input (referring to students’ personal characteristics), the teaching/learning process developed and finally the product or achievement reached by students (declarative and procedural). Two questionnaires, made up of various subscales, were used to measure input and process variables, at the beginning and at the end of the instructional process, respectively, developed in the first semester with Psychostatistics students. Results suggest that important associations exist between the three components. The structural models obtained showed a better fit for procedural achievement. The implications of these findings for teachers and the way they operate in the classroom are discussed.     

法位学视角下实用语篇翻译的意义重构

法位学(Tagmemics)是上世纪六十年代从美国结构主义语法流派中派生而来的一个语法流派,它提供了一种研究语言的方法,并力图把语言作为一个整体来研究。本文对法位学理论的基本概念和分析方法进行了讨论,并试图使用法位学中Kalaba-X分析探讨翻译中意义的重构,证实其在实用语篇翻译实践中的可行性。