Examining students’ affective commitment toward country: a case study of a Singapore primary school

The purpose of this study was to examine students’ affective commitment toward Singapore. Affective commitment refers to the sense of attachment to the nation state. The sample was taken from 286 students in a primary school. In the first section of the paper, we described the design of a Likert-type Affective Commitment to Country questionnaire. Factor analyses (principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis) showed evidence of construct validity for the 10-item scale, and an overall Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of 0.91. In the second section, we reported the statistics related to the students’ affective commitment scores. Overall, a positive affective commitment toward the country was found. Results of our t-test analyses revealed that no statistically significant difference was found between boys and girls for each of the questionnaire items. However, students who had higher academic achievement reported significantly higher scores than their lower ability counterparts with regard to six items of the questionnaire. Suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The use of weblogs in higher education settings: A review of empirical research

“Weblogs” or “blogs” are increasingly visible in higher education settings. Some scholars suggest that blogs are useful because of their reflective nature. However, as this review indicates the research regarding blogs is largely self-report data (surveys, interviews) or content analyses. This review summarizes results of this existing research on weblogs in higher education settings. Limitations of existing empirical studies are discussed and some directions for future research related to the use of blogs in higher education settings are suggested.     

Integrating technology into K-12 teaching and learning: current knowledge gaps and recommendations for future research

Although research studies in education show that use of technology can help student learning, its use is generally affected by certain barriers. In this paper, we first identify the general barriers typically faced by K-12 schools, both in the United States as well as other countries, when integrating technology into the curriculum for instructional purposes, namely: (a) resources, (b) institution, (c) subject culture, (d) attitudes and beliefs, (e) knowledge and skills, and (f) assessment. We then describe the strategies to overcome such barriers: (a) having a shared vision and technology integration plan, (b) overcoming the scarcity of resources, (c) changing attitudes and beliefs, (d) conducting professional development, and (e) reconsidering assessments. Finally, we identify several current knowledge gaps pertaining to the barriers and strategies of technology integration, and offer pertinent recommendations for future research.

Development of an Instrument to Measure Preservice Teachers' Technology Skills,Technology Beliefs,and Technology Barriers

The purpose of this study was to develop and field-test the Technology Skills, Beliefs, and Barriers scale and to determine its validity and reliability for use with preservice teachers. Data were collected from 176 preservice teachers enrolled in a field-based teacher education program located at a major Southwestern university in the United States. Results demonstrated that the scale is a valid and reliable measure of teachers' technology skills, beliefs, and barriers and has implications for preservice teacher technology preparation.     

Information technology,mathematics achievement and educational equity in developed economies

The present study examined how access to home and school IT resources impacted student mathematics achievement. Data comprised 144,395 secondary school students from 7,308 schools in 22 developed economies who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012. Results of hierarchical linear modelling showed that after controlling for student and school covariates, student achievement benefited from their access to home IT resources (main effect), and from the access to both home IT resources and highly educated mothers (interactive effect). Furthermore, IT resource shortages in school had a detrimental impact on student achievement (main effect), and the shortage accentuated the negative effects of school shortage in qualified teachers on achievement (interactive effect). Lastly, the results showed that students with less home academic and cultural resources were more impacted by IT resource access when compared to peers from advantaged families.     

The impact of the use of response pad system on the learning of secondary school physics concepts: A Singapore quasi-experiment study

Although a number of researchers have examined response pad systems (RPSs) in higher education, there has been very little research at the K-12 level. This paper investigated the impact of using an RPS in the learning of physics concepts in a secondary school in Singapore. Two classes ( n  = 35 students in each class) of secondary five students participated in this study. One of the classes used an RPS while the other did not. Both classes completed a pretest and a posttest which tested the students in the application of the physics concepts taught. Results suggested that the class that used an RPS performed better in the posttest compared to the class that did not use the system. In addition, we explored the teacher and students' perceptions of using the RPS.     

Secondary analysis of large-scale assessment data: an alternative to variable-centred analysis

International large-scale assessments are now part of the educational landscape in many countries and often feed into major policy decisions. Yet, such assessments also provide data sets for secondary analysis that can address key issues of concern to educators and policymakers alike. Traditionally, such secondary analyses have been based on a variable-centred approach that gives rise to league tables. In the study reported here, a person-centred analysis is used as an alternative to the traditional approach. Data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) were analysed to investigate Asian students' attitudes to their future civic participation. Cluster analysis with validity measures showed that 4 distinct groups of students were identified within the societies studied thus highlighting the diversity within the samples. These results cannot be achieved with a conventional variable approach to analysis, and they suggest the usefulness of exploring alternative approaches to secondary data analysis.     

Investigating the effects of gamification-enhanced flipped learning on undergraduate students’ behavioral and cognitive engagement

ABSTRACT

In recent years, flipped learning has attracted much attention around the world. This instructional approach is appealing because it can free up class time for knowledge application activities with help from the instructor and peers. However, its implementation can be fraught with challenges. Student disengagement in out-of-class activities, for example, is one of the major challenges of flipped learning. The purpose of this study is to examine whether gamification can enhance student engagement in a flipped course. A comparison study was conducted, involving two classes of undergraduate students in an Information Management course. The results indicated that students in the gamification-enhanced flipped learning group (n?=?48) were more likely to complete the pre-class and post-class activities on time than those in the non-gamified flipped learning group (n?=?48). Students in the gamification-enhanced flipped learning group also produced higher quality artifacts than the non-gamified flipped learning group in the pre-class thinking activities. Moreover, students in the gamification-enhanced flipped learning group scored significantly higher in the post-course test than did their non-gamified counterparts.     

Empirical study of motivators and barriers of teacher online knowledge sharing

The focus of this study was to understand knowledge flows among teachers by examining what types of knowledge was shared by teachers, as well as what motivates or hinders teachers to share knowledge online. We examined an electronic mailing list (listserv) supporting a community of practice of literacy teachers. Data were gathered on the teachers in the listserv through online observations. Additional data were collected through semi-structured telephone interviews with 20 teachers. Findings suggest that two motives of community involvement––collectivism, and principlism appear to be the main motivators for knowledge sharers to share knowledge, while lack of knowledge and competing priority appear to be the main barriers. Practical implications for knowledge sharing and suggestions for future research are discussed. The findings of this study inform teachers, listserv moderators, teacher associations, as well as researchers of educational technology who are interested in knowledge sharing among teachers within communities of practice mediated by computer networks.