Using concept mapping to improve poor readers’ understanding of expository text

The present study examined whether the use of concept mapping is more effective in teaching expository material in comparison to a traditional, lecture only, approach. Its objective was threefold. First, to determine if multimedia concept mapping produces differential learning outcomes compared to digital text-based concept mapping. Secondly, to compare the above experimental approaches to traditional teaching and finally to demonstrate if there are significant differences in the level of satisfaction reported by children under the three instructional approaches used. Thirty fifth grade children participated from which three groups of poor readers were formed, matched on age, gender and reading ability. The two experimental groups were taught with the use of digital text-based and multimedia concept maps respectively and the control group was subjected to the traditional teaching method of expository material. Each group had three sessions of instruction on three different expository texts. The results indicated that concept mapping can be an effective means for teaching expository content. However, there were no differential learning outcomes when adding multimedia elements to concept maps. Moderate satisfaction was reported for all three approaches. The findings coincide with the body of literature emphasizing the importance of concept mapping in the learning and instruction of children with reading difficulties. The study’s results inform potential educators on the use of multimedia with poor readers in elementary school.     

Differentiating the Sources of Taiwanese High School Students’ Multidimensional Science Learning Self-Efficacy: An Examination of Gender Differences

The main purpose of this study was to investigate Taiwanese high school students’ multi-dimensional self-efficacy and its sources in the domain of science. Two instruments, Sources of Science Learning Self-Efficacy (SSLSE) and Science Learning Self-Efficacy (SLSE), were used. By means of correlation and regression analyses, the relationships between students’ science learning self-efficacy and the sources of their science learning self-efficacy were examined. The findings revealed that the four sources of the students’ self-efficacy were found to play significant roles in their science learning self-efficacy. By and large, Mastery Experience and Vicarious Experience were found to be the two salient influencing sources. Several gender differences were also revealed. For example, the female students regarded Social Persuasion as the most influential source in the “Science Communication” dimension, while the male students considered Vicarious Experience as the main efficacy source. Physiological and Affective States, in particular, was a crucial antecedent of the female students’ various SLSE dimensions, including “Conceptual Understanding,” “Higher-Order Cognitive Skills,” and “Science Communication.” In addition, the variations between male and female students’ responses to both instruments were also unraveled. The results suggest that, first, the male students perceived themselves as having more mastery experience, vicarious experience and social persuasion than their female counterparts. Meanwhile, the female students experienced more negative emotional arousal than the male students. Additionally, the male students were more self-efficacious than the females in the five SLSE dimensions of “Conceptual Understanding,” “Higher-Order Cognitive Skills,” “Practical Work,” “Everyday Application,” and “Science Communication.”     

A note on the Marcinkiewicz integral operators on Fp^a,q

In this paper, we shall prove that the Marcinkiewicz integral operator #n, when its kernel Ω satisfies the L^1-Dini condition, is bounded on the Triehel-Lizorkin spaces. It is well known that the Triehel-Lizorkin spaces are generalizations of many familiar spaces such as the Lehesgue spaces and the Soholev spaces. Therefore, our result extends many known theorems on the Marcinkiewicz integral operator. Our method is to regard the Marcinkiewicz integral operator as a vector valued singular integral. We also use another characterization of the Triehel-Lizorkin space which makes our approach more clear.     

Towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: Revisiting language of instruction in Tanzanian secondary schools

Research has been conducted on the detrimental effects of using a foreign language for learning in Tanzania’s secondary schools. While most studies recommend the use of a familiar language for instruction, the use of a foreign language in secondary education in Tanzania has been maintained. This has many consequences on the quality of education, and contributes to student dropout. Presenting a study carried out in the semi-rural areas of Dar es Salaam region in Tanzania, this article examines the extent to which language of instruction (LOI) contributes to school dropout. It postulates that the use of a foreign language for teaching and learning in Tanzanian secondary schools hinders the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study’s findings, drawn from exploratory and qualitative narrative research, indicate that, notwithstanding the presence of several other factors, the use of a foreign language as LOI is a major contributor to student dropout. The use of an unfamiliar language of instruction contributes to students’ lack of interest in and disengagement from learning, which ultimately pushes them out of the school system. This is because students usually perform poorly when an unfamiliar language is used as the language of examination and in classroom interaction. The study also reveals that the voices of both teachers and students are not in consonance with what would be expected in an ideal classroom teaching and learning environment. Student dropout from secondary education caused by an inappropriate LOI leads to myriad further problems which, in turn, negatively affect realisation of the SDGs in Tanzania. This article, therefore, concludes that LOI needs to be strongly factored into the development agenda. In order to ensure equitable access to quality secondary education, as required by SDG 4, the Government of Tanzania needs to adopt a language policy that promotes effective teaching and equal access to quality education in secondary schools.     

Reinhard Werth: Legasthenie und andere Lesestörungen. Wie man sie erkennt und behandelt

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Assessing Standards in the “Real” Kindergarten Classroom

The importance of using standards as key components in the curriculum is documented in both popular and professional literature. One aspect of integrating standards into the curriculum is the role of assessment. The focus of this paper is to prepare early childhood teachers to assess children's knowledge of the standards within the routines and centers provided in the kindergarten learning environment. Teachers can use this information to develop authentic assessment strategies which typically occurs in a child's learning during center and group time.     

Recordkeeping in local government in norway 1950–2000

In the Skandinavian countries local government agencies provide a big part of the puclic services and have a great impact on society. They are seldom considered in archival research. This paper discusses the practises of municipal recordkeeping in Norway 1950–2000, focusing on how the administrative, legal and technological factors may have affected the content and structures of the archives.