Nonword recall and phonemic discrimination in four‐ to six‐year‐old children

Previous research has established that the degree of ‘wordlikeness’ of nonwords affects young children's nonword repetition performance. Experiment 1 examined the possibility that output processes are responsible for the wordlikeness effect by using a probed recall procedure. Wordlikeness was defined in terms of phonological neighbourhood density, although this measure was found to be related to the traditional measure of wordlikeness involving adult ratings. A significant effect of number of phonological neighbours/wordlikeness was observed in favour of nonwords with many neighbours. In Experiments 2 and 3 the wordlikeness effect was qualified by a significant interaction with nonword repetition ability. Children with poorer repetition ability were affected by number of neighbours/wordlikeness, while children with better repetition ability were not. Children with poorer repetition ability were significantly poorer than the better repeaters with nonwords with few neighbours. The results were interpreted in terms of theories of phonological development that suggest progressive segmentation of lexical representations. In Experiment 4 the relationship of children's nonword repetition ability to phonemic discrimination ability was investigated. The results demonstrated that children with better nonword repetition ability had superior phonemic discrimination performance than children with poorer nonword repetition ability.     

Using collaborative two‐stage examinations to address test anxiety in a large enrollment gateway course

Large enrollment foundational courses are perceived as “high stakes” because of their potential to act as barriers for progression to the next course or admittance to a program. The nature of gateway courses makes them ideal settings to explore the relationship between anxiety, pedagogical interventions, and student performance. Here, two‐stage collaborative examinations were implemented to improve test‐taking skills and address widespread test anxiety in an introductory human anatomy course. Test anxiety data were collected (using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire) before the first examination and last examination. Most students experienced decreased test anxiety over the course of the semester; however, some students may have experienced performance limiting conditions due to test anxiety at the end of the semester based on academic ability in the course (in “C” students when compared to “A” students: P < 0.00006 and “B” students: P < 0.05), overall academic ability (in academically weaker students: P < 0.025), and demographic factors (in women: P < 0.025). The strongest performances on examinations were primarily observed in already academically strong students (mean individual performance: P < 0.000, mean group performance: P < 0.000). Furthermore, changes in test anxiety were not significantly associated with the group portion of the examinations. Patterns of changes in test anxiety over the course of the semester underscore a complex interaction between test anxiety, student background, and student performance. Results suggest that pathways for test anxiety in “high stakes” courses may be separate from the mechanisms responsible for the benefits of collaborative testing. Anat Sci Educ 10: 409–422. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Metacognitive online reading strategy use: Readers' perceptions in L1 and L2

This study aimed to explore whether first‐language (L1) readers of different language backgrounds would employ similar metacognitive online reading strategies and whether reading online in a second language (L2) could be influenced by L1 reading strategies. To this end, 52 Canadian college students as English L1 readers and 38 Iranian university students as both Farsi L1 and English L2 readers were selected. After completing three reading tasks on the Web, their perceptions about their use of strategies were assessed via a survey of reading strategies. Analyses of the data, using an analysis of variance and the Scheffé post hoc test, revealed certain differences. The Canadian readers perceived themselves to be high‐strategy users employing mostly a top‐down approach, whereas the Iranian readers in both Farsi and English appeared to be medium‐strategy users, favouring mostly a bottom‐up approach. Additionally, the correlation between readers' perceived use of strategies and their reading scores was statistically significant.     

Using the case method in teacher education: The role of discussion and experience in teachers' thinking about cases

The question of whether discussion is a crucial variable in teachers' learning from cases has not been tested empirically. This study investigated what teachers understood from just reading and writing about a case, compared to what they thought when also discussing it. The quality, form, and content of the thinking of 8 student teachers, 8 beginning teachers, and 8 experienced teachers was examined. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of participants' writing and oral discourse from the case discussions were undertaken. The work of Piaget and Vygotsky provide the theoretical basis for interpreting how discussion affected teachers' thinking about cases.     

Teachers’ views on organizational and pedagogical approaches to early bilingual education: A case study of bilingual kindergartens in Germany and Israel

The article focuses on bilingual kindergartens in Germany and Israel offering education in both host (German or Hebrew) and immigrant (Russian) languages. The main questions are how teachers of bilingual kindergartens understand and explain the organizational and pedagogical principles of the kindergartens and how they negotiate home and host country pedagogical experience. The methodological background of the study is Critical Discourse Analysis. The results reveal differences in the organizational and pedagogical principles that can be attributed to the preschool education policies in Germany and Israel, the status of the Russian language, and the specific characteristics of the kindergartens.     

Using pencil‐and‐paper lexical‐decision tests to assess word decoding skill: aspects of validity and reliability

The viability of a pencil‐and‐paper version of the lexical‐decision (LD) task to assess children's word decoding skill was investigated. Participants in this study were Dutch second and third graders. Lexical decision and oral reading appear to be highly correlated, in second grade more than in third grade. Retest reliability of the LD tests is sufficient, at least for screening purposes, to good. The correlation with tests designed to measure pencil‐and‐paper test‐taking skills shows that such skills at most play a minor role. Materials of different phonological and morphological structure caused systematic differences in score level, but a single factor suffices to explain common reading test variance. LD scores appear not to be particularly subject to inappropriate strategies.     

Face‐to‐face versus online tuition: Preference,performance and pass rates in white and ethnic minority students

Attainment in higher education tends to be poorer in ethnic minority students than in white students. This study examined whether this attainment gap was affected by the introduction of online tuition. Data were obtained from students who had taken courses in either arts or management with the UK Open University and had opted for either face‐to‐face or online tuition. The arts courses had a higher proportion of white students and lower proportions of Asian and black students than the management courses. Nevertheless, white and ethnic minority students gave similar reasons for choosing face‐to‐face tuition or online tuition. In the management courses but not in the arts courses, the pass rate was lower in students who had received online tuition than in students who had received face‐to‐face tuition. Regardless of the discipline or mode of tuition, black students tended to obtain lower marks and lower pass rate than white students, but Asian students did not. It is concluded that online tuition is an appropriate form of student support in both campus‐based and distance education but that the attainment gap in ethnic minority students probably does not arise from the nature and quality of their interactions with teachers and other students.     

Using Thematic Analysis to Facilitate Meaning‐Making in Practice‐Led Art and Design Research

This article argues that thematic analysis could aid artist‐researchers in enhancing the arguments they construct in their fields of interest as they move through research projects. It discusses some of the distinctive features and obstacles of practice‐led research in art and design and relates them to the use of thematic analysis. Artistic research often includes acts of interpretation, where the artist‐researcher reflects on his or her artistic work process and the context of the artefacts created during the process. A systematic thematic approach is important for the whole process, because it supports the separate work periods of artmaking and conceptualising and binds them to the study. In its theoretical freedom, thematic analysis provides a flexible and useful research tool that can bridge the two realms of knowing in practice‐led research, potentially providing a rich and synthesised account of the creative experience. The benefits of thematic analysis will be demonstrated by examining two examples.     

The impact of bilingual dictionaries on lexical sophistication and lexical accuracy in tests of L2 writing proficiency: A quantitative analysis

Writing assessment essentially juxtaposes two elements: how ‘good writing’ is to be defined, and how ‘good measurement’ of that writing is to be carried out. The timed test is often used in large-scale L2 writing assessments because it is considered to provide reliable measurement. It is, however, highly inauthentic. One way of enhancing authenticity in a way that might also promote good writing is to include access to support resources in the test. This article reports a study into whether allowing a bilingual dictionary enhances good writing in German writing tests. Participants (n = 47) took two tests, one with and one without a bilingual dictionary. The essays of sub-sets of the participants were compared in terms of lexical sophistication, lexical accuracy and test score. Lexical sophistication was measured by means of the Lexical Frequency Profile (Laufer & Nation, 1995). Lexical accuracy was determined through a quantitative analysis of words looked up in the dictionary. The results revealed an increase in lexical sophistication in ‘with dictionary’ tests but frequent misuse of look-ups. There was also no improvement in test scores. Subsequent issues for the use of dictionaries in writing tests are raised.     

Using memes and memetic processes to explain social and conceptual influences on student understanding about complex socio‐scientific issues

This study investigated seventh grade learners' decision making about genetic engineering concepts and applications. A social network analyses supported by technology tracked changes in student understanding with a focus on social and conceptual influences. Results indicated that several social and conceptual mechanisms potentially affected how and why ideas were taken up in the learning system of the classroom. Mechanisms included copying or memetic processes such as “do as the smart students do” and friendship selection. Study outcomes are compared with the broader literature on memes and memetic processes to reveal general evolutionary ideas such as the development of prestige, identity versus problem‐solving strategies, extended phenotypes, and memeplexes. Educational implications for this research are also addressed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 900–921, 2008     

Formalist thinking and language arts instruction: teachers’ and students’ beliefs about truth and caring in the teaching conversation

Two studies illustrate the concern that the connection between teachers’ beliefs and their instructional practices can be a troublesome one if beliefs are informed by formalist thinking related to truth and caring in the teaching conversation. Twenty-seven middle school language arts teachers and 216 8th grade students were asked what they thought would constitute appropriate responses to a middle school student’s request for feedback about his poem. In spite of their training and experience, the instructional strategies of the teachers were guided by formalist beliefs about what they believed to be sound pedagogy. As a consequence, they minimized the importance of what the student actually said in his poem. Honest criticism and instruction were minimized. Teachers interpreted caring as helping the child to feel good about his work and about himself independent of the work’s merits. In contrast, students called out for honesty and for academic instruction and interpreted caring as receiving academic help. Few expressed formalist principles, and most argued that their teachers need not surrender truth, criticism, or instruction to express care and concern. They also revealed that they could, and would, see through their teachers’ efforts at impression management. Findings are interpreted within a framework provided by S. Cavell (1969)’s criteria for reciprocal conversation.     

The effects of bilingualism on learning to read English: evidence from the contrast between Urdu‐English bilingual and English monolingual children

Learning to read in a shallow alphabetic orthography such as Urdu may depend primarily on phonological processing skills, whilst learning to read in a deeper orthography, such as English, may place more reliance on visual processing skills. This study explores the effects of Urdu on the acquisition of English literacy skills by comparing the reading, memory and phonological processing skills of bilingual Urdu‐English and monolingual English children (7–8 years). The bilingual children had more difficulty in reading irregular English words, but were better at reading regular words and nonwords compared to the monolinguals. The poor performance of the bilingual children with irregular English words was linked to their poor visual memory skills, whilst their good performance with regular words and nonwords was related to the presence of enhanced phonological skills. The results demonstrate the transfer of first language skills to reading development in a second language. In English, first language skills can facilitate the development of either lexical or non‐lexical routes to reading.     

Behavioral momentum in academics: Using embedded high‐p sequences to increase academic productivity

The use of high‐probability (high‐p) request sequences has enjoyed support in the applied behavioral literature as a method to increase compliance. Based on the theory of behavioral momentum, high‐probability sequences increase the rate of responding, and subsequent rate of reinforcement, within a response class. This increase in density of reinforcement results in increased responding for the response class as a whole. Early research in this area had focused mainly on compliance issues for individuals with developmental disabilities. However, more recently the utility of high‐p sequences has been examined within the context of academics. The purpose of these two experiments was to examine the use of high‐p sequences with two academic tasks—letter‐writing and mathematics problem completion. The results of these studies suggest that high‐p sequences can be used to increase academic productivity. Moreover, the addition of experimenter‐delivered reinforcers to existing high‐p sequences enhances overall behavioral persistence. Theoretical and applied implications of persistence and behavioral momentum are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 789–801, 2004.     

Engaged food science: Connecting K‐8 learners to food science while engaging graduate students in science communication

Connecting the public to concepts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an essential for technological advancement and inspiring future scientists, impacting both the communicator and the audience's understanding of scientific topics. Without proper communication of scientific knowledge, acceptance and implementation of new technologies can be hindered. Additionally, increasing public awareness about current scientific issues through STEM engagement permits more informed policy and consumer choices, especially in the field of food science where many new food technologies are met with initial resistance by the consuming public. Here, we describe an event that introduced topics in food science to the nonexpert public, including K‐8th grade participants and their adult caregivers in an informal learning environment. This program consists of six activities that collectively introduce three areas in food science: food chemistry, food microbiology, and process engineering. Protocols are provided for each activity including a materials list (with the option to scale up or down according to event duration, event space allowances, and number of participants), learning objectives and discussion points that are adaptable to different age groups, event spaces, or budgets. Each activity has a participatory component to ensure both audience member and instructor engagement. A program designed for food science communication empowers young scientific minds to better understand complex scientific topics and could inspire them to envision a possible career in STEM fields, with the additional benefit of providing graduate students an exciting medium through which they may practice their science communication skills, potentially benefiting not only their personal academic and professional skills but also broader societal needs.     

Using Contests to Provide Business Students Project‐Based Learning in Humanitarian Logistics: PSAid Example

Business students appreciate working on classroom projects that are both enjoyable and useful in preparing them for future careers. Promoting competition among project teams is also used as a method to motivate students. The Humanitarian Logistics Project (HLP) teaches undergraduate students the logistical implications of unsolicited material donations in disaster relief. To encourage competition, students are organized into teams of three and tasked with designing humanitarian public service announcements (PSAs) that improve their understanding of humanitarian issues in the general public. These announcements are then submitted to the national PSAid (Public Service Announcements for International Disasters) contest for American college students. The exercise is rigorous because it requires students to collect logistical data and use it to communicate the principle of smart compassion to the public in a creative fashion. Moreover, not only do students learn about topics related to humanitarian logistics by competing with other college students nation‐wide, but also do they make a socially responsible contribution to the public. Analysis of survey data shows that students’ learning outcomes from the HLP are significantly greater than those for other supply chain topics covered in class, and that student satisfaction with the HLP is high.