Relationships among Special Education Teachers' Knowledge,Instructional Practice and Students' Performance in Reading Fluency

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among (1) special education teachers’ knowledge for teaching reading fluency, (2) the specific instructional practices they used in fluency instruction, and (3) gains of students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) on a performance measure of oral reading fluency (ORF). Analyses based on multilevel linear modeling and analysis of covariance indicated that for 42 special education teachers teaching third, fourth, and fifth graders with SLD in intensive reading groups, teachers’ knowledge for teaching reading fluency predicted student gains on ORF measures, but did not predict their instructional practice. Furthermore, teacher practice did not predict student gains on ORF. Practical implications and future research are discussed.     

The Decline in Adult Activities Among U.S. Adolescents, 1976–2016

The social and historical contexts may influence the speed of development. In seven large, nationally representative surveys of U.S. adolescents 1976–2016 (N = 8.44 million, ages 13–19), fewer adolescents in recent years engaged in adult activities such as having sex, dating, drinking alcohol, working for pay, going out without their parents, and driving, suggesting a slow life strategy. Adult activities were less common when median income, life expectancy, college enrollment, and age at first birth were higher and family size and pathogen prevalence were lower, consistent with life history theory. The trends are unlikely to be due to homework and extracurricular time, which stayed steady or declined, and may or may not be linked to increased Internet use.     

How Useful is Braille Music?: A Critical Review

This article discusses the usefulness of Braille music as a mediational means for musicians with visual impairment (MVI). Specifically, three broad issues are the focus of this study: (1) three notions as the conceptual frameworks, namely, mediation, appropriation and mastery; (2) three criteria of the usefulness of Braille music, including adaptability, learnability and availability; and (3) three alternative channels to Braille music: auditory input, haptic sense and technical devices. Based on this structure, the author interviewed nine music teachers and seven students with visual impairment at a specialised school for the blind in Korea. The major findings of this research are as follows. Firstly, Braille music alone cannot be a sufficient tool for practice, and the combination of alternative tools is expected. Secondly, the current level of development, diffusion and employment of Braille music in Korea is not satisfactory. Thirdly and finally, more effort should be invested to make Braille music more adapted to the needs and conditions of MVI, more appropriate to learn and utilise, and more available to be accustomed to.     

Microbridge structures for uniform interval control of flowing droplets in microfluidic networks

Precise temporal control of microfluidic droplets such as synchronization and combinatorial pairing of droplets is required to achieve a variety range of chemical and biochemical reactions inside microfluidic networks. Here, we present a facile and robust microfluidic platform enabling uniform interval control of flowing droplets for the precise temporal synchronization and pairing of picoliter droplets with a reagent. By incorporating microbridge structures interconnecting the droplet-carrying channel and the flow control channel, a fluidic pressure drop was derived between the two fluidic channels via the microbridge structures, reordering flowing droplets with a defined uniform interval. Through the adjustment of the control oil flow rate, the droplet intervals were flexibly and precisely adjustable. With this mechanism of droplet spacing, the gelation of the alginate droplets as well as control of the droplet interval was simultaneously achieved by additional control oil flow including calcified oleic acid. In addition, by parallel linking identical microfluidic modules with distinct sample inlet, controlled synchronization and pairing of two distinct droplets were demonstrated. This method is applicable to facilitate and develop many droplet-based microfluidic applications, including biological assay, combinatorial synthesis, and high-throughput screening.     

The incorporation of hands-on tasks in an online course: an analysis of a blended learning environment

This article describes the design and evaluation of a blended online/face-to-face course completed by more than 6000 learners throughout the United States of America and internationally. The educational impact was monitored using a variety of evaluation strategies. The results, in terms of achieved knowledge and overall satisfaction, indicate that a focus on online instruction combined with face-to-face, hands-on activities showed statistically significant improvement in the learners' understanding of the course material, while also validating the impact of the curriculum in their workplace. As illustrated through the blended course design, this study further showed that online learners with greater improvement in their pre- and posttest scores also exhibited significantly greater likelihood in demonstrating competency in several areas during the hands-on portion of the course. In particular, participants working in the information systems field exhibited the highest mean difference score (21.49) on the pre- and the posttests, while those working in the laboratory had the lowest (12.17). Likewise, the odds that participants who reviewed the course contents sought to further understand their job roles was 58.2 times greater for those in information systems, while it was only 19.0 times greater for laboratory staff, than those who did not review their job roles.     

High School Teachers' Use of Data to Inform Instruction

The expectation that teachers will use student achievement data to improve their instruction is a major feature of national and local reform agendas. The theory of action behind data-driven decision making is a mostly causal model of professional action, whereby teachers diagnose weaknesses and implement solutions. The purpose of this article is to examine how high school teachers, situated within their policy and work contexts, use data to inform instructional decisions. Using a framework that draws upon sense-making and co-construction theories on reform implementation, we analyze qualitative data gathered in 4 urban public high schools in the United States. Findings reveal that the process of data use by teachers is complex, multilayered, and influenced by teacher interpretations and social interactions. Teachers used a variety of forms of data to inform their decision making and struggled to reconcile policies promoting data-driven decision making with local beliefs and practices. Implications for research and policy are discussed.     

A comparison of US and Korean students' mathematics skills using a cognitive diagnostic testing method: linkage to instruction

The purposes of the present study were (a) to compare US and Korean 8th graders' mastery of knowledge and skills in the mathematics test of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 using a cognitive diagnostic testing method and (b) to find links between teachers' instruction and students' mastery of mathematics knowledge and skills. The participants included 740 US and 439 Korean 8th graders who took the Booklet 3 mathematics test. The results showed substantial differences between the US and Korean students' performance in problem restructuring and reasoning, measurement, and geometry. The most helpful instructional strategy for both Korean and US students was encouraging students' independent problem solving. Reviewing, re-teaching, and clarifying content were especially effective for the US students. Implications for teaching and learning are discussed.     

A cross-national analysis of the student- and school-level factors affecting the demand for private tutoring

Private tutoring has become a worldwide phenomenon, yet there is little empirical evidence for the main factors leading the demand for private tutoring across nations. Using data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study of 2003, this study classified the countries into four different groups according to the proportion of student participation in private tutoring and student achievement. Then, the study explored student- and school-level factors influencing the demand for private tutoring. From the HGLM analysis, the results revealed that the demand for private tutoring in Korea and Taiwan, which have higher participation rates in private tutoring and high-school-quality levels, is mostly explained by student-level variables (educational aspirations, instrumental motivation, self-confidence, and father’s education) and school context variables (the community size and school SES). Meanwhile, the demand for private tutoring in the Philippines and Romania, both of which have high incidences of private tutoring and low-school-quality levels, varies widely among schools, and many of the school process variables (e.g., the use of remedial classes, amount of school homework, frequency of tests, and the use of grouping by ability) account for the relationships with private tutoring.     

The Impact of Media Use and Cultural Exposure on the Mutual Perception of Koreans and Japanese1 The present research has been conducted by the Research Grant of Kwangwoon University in 2004

This study examines how the use of a foreign country's media and culture influences perceptions of that country. A total of 315 Korean and 290 Japanese college students were surveyed in 2002 to facilitate the author's analysis of the flow of cultural products between Korea and Japan and the impact of their use. Between countries cultural products flow in one direction because of differences in market size and cultural competitiveness. This paper aims to reconfirm the asymmetric flow of cultural products between Korea and Japan. Its results reveal that Korean college students spend 25.40% of their media usage time consuming Japanese media products, whereas only 1.79% of Japanese students devote any time at all to Korean products. Next, studying both domestic and foreign media use, the author examined the effects of asymmetric cultural consumption on how Koreans and the Japanese perceive each other. Perception of a country is described in terms of three variables: cultural affinity, product purchase intention, and preference for the country. Use levels of foreign media, cultural exposure to the foreign country, and social demographics were hypothesized to influence these variables. Traveling experience to the counterpart country and preference for that country's food were measured to represent cultural exposure. Gender was a significant variable influencing cross-cultural perception. For Japanese students, first-hand exposure to Korean culture affected their perception of Korea significantly, whereas Korean students were more strongly affected by media use. Interestingly, Korean students’ domestic media use negatively affected their cultural proximity to Japan, while Japanese students’ domestic media use positively affected their intentions to purchase Korean products.