The influence of university students’ learning beliefs on their intentions to use mobile technologies in learning: a study in China and Spain

Educational technology research and development - As an emerging learning method, mobile technologies allow students to gain knowledge via both formal and informal learning. In spite of the...     

“I Forgot I Wasn’t Saving the World”: the Use of Formative and Summative Assessment in Instructional Video Games for Undergraduate Biology

This study examined the role of formative and summative assessment in instructional video games on student learning and engagement. A 2 (formative feedback: present vs absent) × 2 (summative feedback: present vs absent) factorial design with an offset control (recorded lecture) was conducted to explore the impacts of assessment in video games. A total of 172 undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of four instructional video game conditions or the control. Results found that knowledge significantly increased from the pretest for players in all game conditions. Participants in summative assessment conditions learned more than players without summative assessment. In terms of engagement outcomes, formative assessment conditions did not significantly produce better learning engagement outcomes than conditions without formative assessment. However, summative assessment conditions were associated with higher temporal disassociation than non-summative conditions. Implications for future instructional video game development and testing are discussed in the paper.     

The influences of language of literacy instruction and vocabulary on the spelling of Spanish–English bilinguals

The relation of language of instruction and vocabulary to the English spelling of bilingual first graders receiving either English or Spanish literacy instruction and of monolinguals in English literacy instruction was explored. Only bilingual students in Spanish literacy instruction (SLI) exhibited Spanish-influenced spelling, indicating a powerful effect of language of literacy instruction. SLI without English literacy instruction (ELI) may be a prerequisite for the appearance of Spanish influences in English spelling. Spanish-influenced spelling appears to be a normal developmental phenomenon only for those bilingual first graders who have received no ELI. The students in ELI, on average, wrote more orthographically plausible English pseudowords than students in SLI, indicating that the students in SLI simply had not yet learned conventional spelling patterns in English. In addition, children with good Spanish vocabulary showed more Spanish-influenced spelling, while English vocabulary predicted more orthographically plausible English spellings. The relationship between English vocabulary and English spelling was similar for children instructed in Spanish and English. English vocabulary and literacy instruction both made unique, positive contributions to English pseudoword␣spelling, while Spanish literacy instruction played a more important role than Spanish vocabulary in the production of Spanish-influenced spelling in English.     

Temporal resolution of auditory perception and verbal working memory in 15 children with language impairment

We investigated temporal resolution of auditory perception (TRAP), verbal working memory, and speech perception in 15 children with language impairment (LI) in comparison with a control group of 99 typical children. A computerized two-choice test was used to assess these three abilities. No deficits in TRAP were found in the LI group, and the thresholds were similar for both study groups. It was interesting that the variability was high for both groups and that the control group's performance was poorer than reported in some previously published studies. There were significant differences in the two groups' performance on speech perception and verbal working memory. Working memory was the most sensitive of these two measures.     

Temporal integration and temporal backward associations in human and nonhuman subjects

Two experiments are reported that demonstrate temporal integration of independently acquired temporal relationships, including backward associations, in both human (Experiment 1) and nonhuman (rats, Experiment 2) subjects. The experiments were designed and analyzed in the framework of the temporal coding hypothesis (e.g., Matzel, Held, & Miller, 1988; Savastano & Miller, 1998) as a strategy toward illuminating the use of temporal information and assessing the existence of temporal backward associations. Both experiments provided evidence of retrieval of associations to an event that was expected to occur prior to the moment in time at which a stimulus was presented (i.e., backward associations). In addition, Experiment 1 constitutes the first controlled demonstration of temporal integration by human subjects.     

Early Adolescents’ Food Selection After Evaluating the Healthiness of Remote Peers’ Food Choices

This study investigates whether asking early adolescents to evaluate the food choices of remote peers improves their own food selection. Participants were students from fifth (N = 219, M_age = 9.30 years) and sixth grades (N = 248, M_age = 10.28 years) of varying nationalities living in the United Arab Emirates (race and ethnicity were not collected). Students saw peers’ healthy or unhealthy food choices before picking their own food. In some conditions, students also critically evaluated the healthiness of the peers’ choices. Evaluation of peer choices led to healthier decisions (d = .53) to the point that it offsets the negative impact of observing unhealthy peer choices. This effect is larger for sixth graders compared to fifth graders.     

The Nature of Science and Citizenship: a Delphi Analysis

Research in Science Education - The relationship between science and society has, for many years, been the subject of debate in different fields, and various proposals have been made regarding the...     

The Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F): Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses at item level

The underlying structure of the Revised Two factor version of the Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F), a 20-item instrument for the evaluation of students’ approaches to learning (SAL), was examined at item level using two independent groups of undergraduate students enrolled in the first (n=314) and last (n=522) years of their studies. The methods used were (a) Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) assisted by rigorous procedures such as Velicer’s MAP test, parallel analysis and the Schmid Leiman solution with the first sample; and (b) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the second sample. The results of EFA indicated that the latent structure of the R-SPQ-2F is best described by two factors and the results of CFA suggested that out of four a priori structural models, the best fit was achieved by a simple first-order two-factor model. Taken together, these results seemed to converge, suggesting (a) that SAL might be defined as a co-variation between a motive and its intended strategy, these not necessarily being divided into separate first-order factors (subscales), and (b) that the underlying structure of the R-SPQ-2F is apparently non-hierarchical, being best described by a parsimonious first-order two-factor model in which Deep and Surface learning approaches are each measured by their ten corresponding items.     

Morningness/eveningness and school performance among Spanish adolescents: Further evidence

Adolescents shift their time of day preferences from morning to evening during puberty when school schedule becomes earlier. Given that a better performance is obtained when individuals are tested at times that are in synchrony with their chronotype, and optimal sleep duration is positively associated with academic performance, evening-types may obtain worse school performance because of both morning school schedule and a decrease of total sleep time. A group of 1133 adolescents (aged 12–16) participated in this study. School performance was evaluated using subjective level of achievement and self-reported grades measures. Controlling for total sleep time, more evening oriented young adolescents (12–14 years) performed significantly worse in school achievement. Girls among 15–16 years performed significantly better than boys. These results have important implications for intervention and prevention programs during school years.     

Effect of Ball Mass on Dribble,Pass, and Pass Reception in 9–11-Year-Old Boys' Basketball

The objective of the study was to analyze the effect of ball mass on dribble, pass, and pass reception in real game situations in 9–11-year-old boys' basketball. Participants were 54 boys identified from six federated teams. The independent variable was ball mass, and dependent variables were number of dribbles, passes, and pass receptions. Three situations were established in which the participants played four games with each of the following: (a) regulation ball (485 g, 69–71 cm), (b) ball of smaller mass (440 g, 69–71 cm), and (c) ball of greater mass (540 g, 69–71 cm). Four observers recorded data from observing game videos using a computerized register instrument. Participants executed more dribbles, passes, and pass receptions with the 440-g ball when compared to the regulation (p < .05) and 540-g ball (p < .01). Reduction of ball mass seems to have enabled the children to go from paying attention to aspects related to ball handling to aspects of game interpretation.