Cochlear implants in the inclusive classroom: a case study

This article presents a case study of a child aged 12 years with a cochlear implant who is attending a mainstream educational setting in Skopje, FYR Macedonia. The study, which uses both qualitative and quantitative data, took place over a period of 12 months. It illustrates the importance of professional development and training of teachers and a need to emphasise a range of intervention strategies. It also highlights the challenges facing children and young people with cochlear implants in schools and suggests a range of systemic approaches to addressing the issues raised.     

A cross-cultural study of learning behaviours in the classroom: from a thinking style perspective

Chinese students were often portrayed as passive learners in the classroom, whereas their American peers have been viewed as active learners. This study was designed to examine and explain the distinct learning behaviours in the classroom between these two student groups in relation to thinking style. Surveys of learning behaviours and thinking styles were administered to three samples, American students (n?=?129), Chinese students in China (n?=?134) and Chinese students in the USA (n?=?121). The results of the study revealed that American students reported higher activity level in the classroom and tended to be analytic in thinking style, while Chinese students, both in China and in the USA, reported lower activity level in the classroom, and were inclined to be holistic in thinking style. Furthermore, the thinking style variable was found to mediate the relationship between cultural group and learning behaviour, suggesting that thinking style might partially explain the distinct learning behaviours presented by American and Chinese students.     

小学课堂教学中运用小组合作式学习的策略研究

目前,很多国家在课堂教学中普遍采用小组合作学习的教学模式,其原因在于这种模式可以对学生的自主学习起到很好的推动作用,同时也可以让学生在合作学习中对情感认知等方面有所提升,可以看作是一种比较新颖的教学模式,同时也可以是策略体系中的一种。笔者就小组学习如何实施,才可以在小学课堂教学中有效的发挥其独特的作用进行系统的分析和研究。     

浅谈学具操作在小学数学课堂教学中的作用

学具操作对小学数学课堂教学非常重要。近几年的教学实践证明,在小学数学课堂教学中,适当地引导学生动手操作,让学生通过学具操作参与知识的形成过程,对唤起学生的求知欲、帮助学生理解算理和掌握数学概念、培养学生的探索能力都起着非常重要的作用。     

小学生学习适应性研究

研究发现，小学生总体学习适应水平比全国理论水平高得多。综合小学低，中，高年级适应不良率来看，小学中年级适应性最差。就学习适应性不良的学生来说，城乡之间无显差异，但性别方面有显差异。就学习适应优良的学生而言，城乡之间无显差异，而性别之间虽亦无显差异，但从各分项测验看，男生优良率明显低于女生。     

Promoting self-regulated learning to improve achievement: A case study in higher education

Abstract

The aim of this article is to report on a study conducted to assess the effect of an intervention programme to improve SRL and the achievement of a group of poorly performing undergraduate students at the Tshwane University of Technology. SRL was used as theoretical framework. The case study reports on 20 Engineering students who attended learning skills intervention sessions and wrote a college version of the learning and study strategies inventory (LASSI) pre-test and post-test. The intervention consisted of 12 workshop sessions presented over a period of three months. The LASSI pre-test showed that the group scored below the 50th percentile on four scales (anxiety, attitude, selecting main ideas and test-taking strategies). Observed improvements in the post-test scores of the LASSI scales for seven out of ten scales were statistically significant. The students’ academic achievements also improved. The findings are important for improving student success and throughput in South African higher education.     

Predicting high school student use of learning strategies: the role of preferred learning styles and classroom climate

This study investigated the predictiveness of preferred learning styles (competitive and cooperative) and classroom climate (teacher support and disciplinary climate) on learning strategy use in mathematics. The student survey part of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2003 comprising of 4633 US observations was used in a weighted ordinary least squares multiple regression framework to predict learning strategy from preferred learning styles and classroom climate while controlling for self-efficacy and demographic variables. The results showed that preferred learning styles were the most important predictors of learning strategies used in mathematics. Educational implications were discussed.     

Digital Learning Playground: supporting authentic learning experiences in the classroom

This study proposes a platform to provide a near-authentic environment, context, and situation for task-based learning. The platform includes two projection screens (a vertical and a horizontal screen) combined for situated or authentic learning. The horizontal screen extends the vertical screen scene to form a space for learning activities and performance. The platform creates learning situations using robots as surrogates of students to accomplish real-life tasks. Kolb's four-stage experiential learning cyclical model was adopted in the learning design. A simple practice was developed to examine the effect on teaching children English as a foreign language. The results reveal that children could engage deeply and feel more enjoyment using the system. Moreover, as surrogates for students to imagine that they are accomplishing real-life missions, robots could be a vital element of authentic learning in future classrooms.     

Assessment for learning in Norway and Portugal: the case of primary school mathematics teaching

In this study, we aim to understand the forces driving assessment for learning (AfL) in primary school teaching. By applying a case study design, including the two cases of Norway and Portugal and using mathematics teaching as an example, available policy documents and research reports are analysed to identify the differences and similarities that might explain the assessment practices previously observed in the two countries. Many similarities are found at the school and national levels. In particular, AfL is introduced as a national policy in both countries. Still, AfL practices are not common in primary mathematics classrooms in either country, although this is true for different reasons in each country. It is suggested that the assessment culture caused by national policies, such as curriculum reforms, national professional development projects and teacher autonomy, explains the similarities in the observed outcomes.     

Reflections on the role of metacognition in student reading and learning at higher education level

Abstract

This article represents a literature review and interpretation pertaining to the role that metacognition is seen to play in student performance. It begins by providing evidence from research reported in the literature which indicates that not all students are able to accurately assess their capabilities, and suggests that this lack is linked to insufficiently developed metacognitive skills (MS). The concept of metacognition, as well as its role in academic learning and reading, is discussed. On the basis of evidence from research reported in the literature, which has shown that explicit teaching of metacognitive strategies can result in improved performance among students, the article concludes by suggesting practical ways in which lecturers can help their students develop key MS.     

Learning Chinese characters via mobile technology in a primary school classroom

This paper describes a project, including the design, development, and use of a mobile application (referred to as application hereafter) for learning Chinese as a second language in a bilingual primary school. The application was designed for iPod Touch Apple technology with the purpose to facilitate learning of a fundamental set of 200 Chinese characters. The project was a coordinated effort of experts, including an instructional designer, a software engineer, a Chinese language expert, and classroom teachers to develop an experimental Chinese character learning application for the primary school classroom. This paper reports how the project team explored experiences of teachers and learners in a particular context, developed understanding of teaching and learning needs for Chinese language learning, and how these inform design of the educational application. The final outcomes of the project include a Chinese character learning application and recommendations for design and use of educational applications in Chinese language teaching and other similar contexts.     

中职数学课堂教学中学生学习兴趣的培养

中职学生数学学习兴趣缺乏,严重影响教学质量.课堂教学是学习兴趣培养的主渠道.为此,教师在课堂教学中要充分利用各种有利因素,克服消极因素,培养学生的学习兴趣.     

小学语文“阅读——写作”迁移教学案例研究

案例研究是实证研究的主要方式之一,本文选取具有典型性的三个案例探讨文章阅读对写作的迁移效应。探究其形成原因主要有三种,即例文与习作缺少情境相似性;教师对例文特点的分析讲解、指导不到位;学生缺乏自觉运用的需求和能力。并针对性提出研究启示,在阅读教学向写作迁移效应的研究中注重三种策略的使用:第一,有重点的积累;第二,有方向的文本选择策略;第三,有选择的形式训练。     

Assessment for Learning in the writing classroom: an incomplete realisation

An Observation Guide, designed to help New Zealand teachers identify areas of teaching strength and aspects for development, was developed as part of a wider project. In the second phase of this project, 18 middle school teachers used the Guide to gather and record evidence as they participated in seven rounds of reciprocal peer observation and feedback during writing lessons with Grades 6–8 students. We report here on data from round 6 observations about the assessment for learning (AfL) strategies reported as evident in teachers’ practices, how these strategies were implemented and potential gaps in practice. AfL has at its heart a core of interdependent strategies that collectively contribute to the development of autonomous, self-regulating learners and quality learning. While the middle school teachers shared goals for learning and communicated what counted as successful achievement to students, they appeared to struggle when articulating goals in terms of literacy learning and conveying the substantive aspects and quality expected in students’ writing. In addition, despite AfL's promotion of learner autonomy, few teachers openly afforded students focused opportunities to take a meaningful role in their learning through the appraisal of their own and peers’ writing and the joint construction of feedback. As such, teachers’ AfL practice in the writing classroom failed to realise its full potential. It is argued that the promise of AfL can only be reached when strategies are enacted in ways that reflect its unitary nature, promote quality outcomes and give students a central role in their learning.     

Interdisciplinary Learning: Process and Outcomes

Interdisciplinary learning is characterized by the integration of multidisciplinary knowledge across a central program theme or focus. With repeated exposure to interdisciplinary thought, learners develop more advanced epistemological beliefs, enhanced critical thinking ability and metacognitive skills, and an understanding of the relations among perspectives derived from different disciplines. Our adaptation of Biggs and Collis' (1982) Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome illustrates the stages of interdisciplinary knowledge integration and explains corresponding patterns of learners' intellectual functioning, from acquisition of single-subject information to transfer of interdisciplinary knowledge to other topics, issues, or problems.     

Perceptions of student engagement in the flipped classroom: a case study

ABSTRACT

One of the blended learning strategies that researchers and educators commonly use in higher education is Flipped Classroom. The purpose of this case study was to explore how both professors and students perceive student engagement in flipped classrooms. Three college professors who implemented flipped classrooms and their 14 students participated in the study. Three individual faculty interviews and three student focus group interviewers were conducted. Five components of the utilization-focused evaluation model were used in the data coding. The findings revealed both positive and negative opinions depending on how they implemented the flipped classroom including the engagement of students and the environment. Faculty participants who fully implemented the flipped model had positive opinions about the implementation and student engagement, finding the model helped increase student performance and grades. In addition, the majority of student participants liked the challenges offered by the flipped classroom, which increased their engagement.     

Organizational routines and teaching innovations: a case study

Adopting new teaching practices, like the ‘flipped classroom’, disrupts organizational routines within the university. This paper examines flipped classroom implementation from the perspective of four stakeholder groups students, instructors, administrators, and managers), using an organizational routines lens. Disrupting established routines created risk, decreases coordination and shared understanding, and increases time and cognitive load for stakeholders. We conclude that seemingly minor innovations in teaching delivery can have major and disruptive implications for the wider institution.