Development of an instrument for assessing senior high school students’ preferred and perceived laboratory classroom environment

This study aimed to develop an instrument, named the inquiry-based laboratory classroom environment instrument (ILEI), for assessing senior high-school science students’ preferred and perceived laboratory environment. A total of 262 second-year students, from a senior-high school in Taiwan, were recruited for this study. Four stages were included in the development of the ILEI: (1) item formulation, (2) content validation, (3) construct validation and (4) reliability calculation. The study revealed that the ILEI was valid and reliable. Most students showed a preference for a student-directed and teacher-guided hybrid learning environment. The development of the ILEI is likely to help researchers and teachers to more effectively understand student views of the laboratory classroom environment. Our profound hope is to utilise ILEI to improve teachers’ assessment and students’ learning in inquiry-based laboratory classroom environments.     

A walsh series direct method for solving variational problems

This paper establishes a clear procedure for the variational problem solution via the Walsh functions.technique. First the Walsh functions are introduced and their properties briefly summarized. Then an operational matrix is derived for integration use. The variational problems are solved by means of the direct method using the Walsh series. An illustrative example and a practical application to a heat conduction problem are included.     

Study of a multigenerational learning program in Taiwan

The aim of the Multigenerational Learning Program (MLP) is to increase multigenerational interactions through activities, which will help all learners including middle aged to older adults, university students, and children to improve multigenerational understanding, and increase their positive attitudes toward each other. The MLP activities were conducted between February 2012 and June 2014. A total of 196 middle aged to older adults, 10 university students and 163 children participated in multiple sessions. The authors’ survey results revealed that the participating children’s attitude toward the adults and elder generations became somewhat more positive from pre-test to post-test, but not significantly. Interestingly, it was also shown that elder participants’ attitudes toward the children did not change significantly from pre-test to post-test. Furthermore, all participants enjoyed participation in the MLP and demonstrated strong interest in repeating the program.

The Multigenerational Learning Program (MLP) undoubtedly has a role to play in the social context of the Taiwan today. Taiwan has an aging population, as the birth rate has declined and people are living longer in the meanwhile (Hong, Hwang, Liang, & Chang, 2008). Recently, it has been argued that Taiwanese societies hold negative stereotypes and misconceptions about the elderly and the aging process including traits like physical and mental deterioration, depression, irritability, dependence, inactivity, and isolation. Such negative views could lead to age-based discrimination (Hong et al., 2008). Unfortunately, developing positive attitudes toward older adults has become increasingly difficult, given that many children do not have the opportunities they once had for continued contact with the elderly due to changing family structures, increasing in single-parent and two working-parent families, and often, families relocate to communities that offer more job opportunities (Martin, Springate, & Atkinson, 2010).     

Terminal iterative learning control for discrete-time nonlinear systems based on neural networks

The terminal iterative learning control is designed for nonlinear systems based on neural networks. A terminal output tracking error model is obtained by using a system input and output algebraic function as well as the differential mean value theorem. The radial basis function neural network is utilized to construct the input for the system. The weights are updated by optimizing an objective function and an auxiliary error is introduced to compensate the approximation error from the neural network. Both time-invariant input case and time-varying input case are discussed in the note. Strict convergence analysis of proposed algorithm is proved by the Lyapunov like method. Simulations based on train station control problem and batch reactor are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.     

Weather observers: a manipulative augmented reality system for weather simulations at home,in the classroom,and at a museum

This study focused on how to enhance the interactivity and usefulness of augmented reality (AR) by integrating manipulative interactive tools with a real-world environment. A manipulative AR (MAR) system, which included 3D interactive models and manipulative aids, was designed and developed to teach the unit “Understanding Weather” in a natural science course, and to bridge a formal learning environment (i.e. school), non-formal (i.e. at a museum), and informal learning environments (i.e. home). Sixty-four sixth-grade students (12–13 years old) from four classes in Taipei City were enrolled in a seven-week general studies course entitled “Natural and Life Science and Technology”, and they were divided into an experimental group (31 students who used the MAR system) and a control group (33 students who used multimedia teaching resources). After seven weeks of experiments, the results revealed that integrating the MAR system into inquiry-based field study made a greater positive impact on the students' academic achievement and motivation compared to the multimedia teaching resources installed on a tablet PC. Additionally, there were two interesting findings: (1) the MAR system offered effective learning materials relative to the multimedia teaching resources and (2) manipulative aids were an effective learning tool for interactivity and usefulness of AR. Besides, there were two meaningful suggestions associated with designing and developing the AR educational system for future researchers and designers, namely make it easy to use and include manipulative aids.     

Children’s Participation in a Virtual Epidemic in the Science Classroom: Making Connections to Natural Infectious Diseases

This study investigated students’ understanding of a virtual infectious disease in relation to their understanding of natural infectious diseases. Two sixth-grade classrooms of students between the ages of 10 and 12 (46 students) took part in a participatory simulation of a virtual infectious disease, which was integrated into their science curriculum. The results from our analyses reveal that students perceived the simulation as similar to a natural infectious disease and that the immersive components of the simulation afforded students the opportunity to discuss their understandings of natural disease and to compare them to their experiences with the virtual disease. We found that while the virtual disease capitalized on students’ knowledge of natural infectious disease through virtual symptoms, these symptoms may have led students to think of its transfer more as an observable or mechanical event rather than as a biological process. These findings provide helpful indicators to science educators and educational designers interested in creating and integrating online simulations within classroom environments to further students’ conceptual understanding.     

Students' use of writing strategies and their English writing achievements in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of students' use of writing strategies in light of their English writing achievements in Taiwan. This research used a cognitive approach to examine the process of writing. Forty student writers (including 20 low and 20 high achievers) in Taiwan participated in this study. Strategies used for writing by high and low achievers as revealed by a concurrent think-aloud protocol and immediate retrospective interviews with students were investigated, analysed, and compared. Results indicated that compared to low-achieving student writers, high-achieving student writers were more aware of and focused more on formulating their position statement in planning, generating text, and revising and editing their text, such as changing the meaning and fixing grammatical and spelling errors during their review. The findings are discussed in light of writing strategies and implications for writing pedagogy and teacher education.