Teaching Social Studies for Newcomer English Language Learners: Toward Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Through this case study the author explores how an exemplary teacher utilized social studies curriculum and pedagogy to engage English language learners (ELLs) in learning in a culturally relevant and meaningful way and discusses practical implications for teaching and learning.     

Effects of video-based flipped class instruction on subject reading motivation

Video-based flipped class instruction can strengthen the learning motivation of students. The effectiveness of flipped class instruction on teaching effectiveness and subject satisfaction has been evaluated previously. The present study aims to examine the impact of two aspects of subject reading motivation. A total of 100 secondary school students were recruited from 4 classes of 25 students (ie, video-based flipped Mathematics class, traditional Mathematics class, video-based flipped Liberal Studies (LS) class and traditional LS class) in two local secondary schools. The same teachers taught both the traditional and video-based flipped classes in their subject. The students filled in questionnaires which measured: motivation for general reading; motivation for subject reading; academic subject satisfaction and perceived teaching effectiveness of the teachers. Analysis of covariance controlling for motivation for general reading revealed that students in the flipped classes reported significantly lower motivation for subject reading including reading curiosity, reading importance and reading compliance (t (1,98) = 10.52, p < 0.001; t (1,98) = 7.68, p < 0.001; t (1,98) = 20.39, p < 0.001, respectively). However, students in the flipped classes reported significantly higher satisfaction and teaching effectiveness than those in the traditional classes (t (1,98) = −15.61. p < 0.001; t (1,98) = −11.98, p <0.001, respectively). A partial correlation controlling for motivation for general reading indicated that motivation for subject reading was negatively associated with academic subject satisfaction and perceived teaching effectiveness of teachers (rs ranged from −0.51 to −0.62, p < 0.001). Video-based flipped class instruction was not only related to increased academic subject satisfaction and teaching effectiveness but also associated with lower motivation for subject reading. These findings suggest that video-based flipped class instruction had limited capability to strengthen the learning motivation of students.     

Examining Arguments Generated by Year 5, 7, and 10 Students in Science Classrooms

A critical component of science is the role of inquiry and argument in moving scientific knowledge forward. However, while students are expected to engage in inquiry activities in science classrooms, there is not always a similar emphasis on the role of argument within the inquiry activities. Building from previous studies on the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH), we were keen to find out if the writing structure used in the SWH approach helped students in Year 5, 7, and 10 to create well constructed arguments. We were also interested in examining which argument components were important for the quality of arguments generated by these students. Two hundred and ninety six writing samples were scored using an analysis framework to evaluate the quality of arguments. Step-wise multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine important argument components. The results of this study suggest that the SWH approach is useful in assisting students to develop reasonable arguments. The critical element determining the quality of the arguments is the relationship between the student’s written claims and his or her evidence.     

Examining pre‐service teachers' attitudes towards children with autism in the USA

Autism is a developmental disorder which affects a growing number of children worldwide. Since the disorder was first discovered by Leo Kanner almost seven decades ago there has been a lot of research trying to unravel this otherwise esoteric disorder. That research has contributed to better understanding of the disorder, shifting of conceptualisations as well as changing of professionals' and families perceptions and attitudes towards the disorder. Together, these changes have helped to promote better outcomes among children with autism. This study was designed to examine pre‐service teachers' attitudes towards children with autism. Results indicated that pre‐service teachers had positive attitudes towards children with autism. The pre‐service teachers' attitudes were found to be influenced by their gender, academic major and different types of exposure to children with autism.     

Prospective tourists’ risk perceptions and intentions to travel to a mega-sporting event host country with apparent risk

ABSTRACT

While the global appeal of the Olympic Games has attracted a massive amount of attention, this increased focus has resulted in heightened risk occurring around the event. Prospective tourists’ growing anxiety related to terrorism and political instability regarding a travel destination could have serious implications on tourism. This article aims to examine the relationship between tourists’ risk perceptions and their intention to travel to an Olympic host country with apparent risks of terrorism and political instability during and around the event period using the case of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games. Terrorism risk was found to have a negative impact on travel intention while political instability did not. The results suggest that potential terrorism risk is a vulnerable point for the host country, and host organisations’ collaborative risk management strategies for minimising potential threats and generating a safe destination image are necessary to attract a higher number of visitors around and during the Olympics. This study contributes to the sport and event tourism literatures by focusing on a specific case. As a result, the findings enable the authors to highlight the impact of terrorism and political instability on travel intentions of prospective tourists to a host country with apparent risks. More specifically, this research discusses the reason(s) for the impact of terrorism and political instability risks on the travel intentions, and calls upon the efforts of future Olympics and mega-sporting event host countries to mitigate the loss of international visitors and to boost global tourism during and after the event.     

Enhancing early numeracy skills with a tablet-based math game intervention: a study in Tanzania

Educational technology research and development - The study presents results of a tablet-based math game intervention to enhance early numeracy skills of children in Tanzania. Standard level 1...     

Effects of the Physical Environment on Cognitive Load and Learning: Towards a New Model of Cognitive Load

Although the theoretical framework of cognitive load theory has acknowledged a role for the learning environment, the specific characteristics of the physical learning environment that could affect cognitive load have never been considered, neither theoretically nor empirically. In this article, we argue that the physical learning environment, and more specifically its effects on cognitive load, can be regarded as a determinant of the effectiveness of instruction. We present an updated version of the cognitive load model of Paas and Van Merriënboer (Educational Psychology Review, 6:351–371, 1994a), in which the physical learning environment is considered a distinct causal factor that can interact with learner characteristics, learning-task characteristics, or a combination of both. Previous research into effects of the physical learning environment on cognitive performance that could inspire new cognitive load research is discussed, and a future research agenda is sketched.     

The influence of student and course characteristics on monotonic response patterns in student evaluation of teaching in South Korea

Using multilevel models, this study examined the effects of student- and course-level variables on monotonic response patterns in student evaluation of teaching (SET). In total, 11,203 ratings taken from 343 general education courses in a Korean four-year private university in 2011 were analyzed. The results indicated that 96 % of variance of monotonic response patterns could be explained by student characteristics, such as gender, academic year, major, grade point average, SET score, and perceptions about course difficulty, while controlling for course-level variables. Furthermore, 4 % of variance of monotonic response patterns was derived from course characteristics, including faculty age and class size, while controlling for student-level variables. The findings suggest that Korean higher education institutions need to take proper measures to encourage students to participate more actively and sincerely in SET for the best and proper use of the evaluation’s outcomes.