Aging IQ Intervention with Older Korean Americans: A Comparison of Internet-Based and In-Class Education

Using the translated contents of the National Institute on Aging (NIA)'s Aging IQ, an educational intervention was delivered to older Korean Americans. The educational program was delivered via two different modalities, Internet-based education (n = 12) and in-class education (n = 11), and the overall feasibility and efficacy were evaluated by the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. A high level of completion and overall satisfaction with the program was observed in both groups. Both groups also exhibited a significant improvement in their knowledge about aging after the completion of the educational program. However, at the one-month follow-up, the Internet-based group showed a greater retention of the knowledge gained. The findings not only support the value of education on aging for older ethnic minorities but also suggest the use of the Internet as an integral modality of intervention delivery.     

Effects of learner–instructor relationship-building strategies in online video instruction

Although research has demonstrated that an increased rapport between instructors and learners can positively relate with increased learning gains, perhaps mediated by the positive attitudes toward the course and self-efficacy beliefs in the coursework, little has been done to test what instructional strategies might increase this rapport in online video-based instruction. This study compared online video-based instruction that made use of relationship-building strategies with online video-based instruction that did not use those strategies. The two instructions were identical in every other way. The results show that the attitudes of the college students were positively affected by the relationship building strategies in a statistically significant way (p = .025) and that learning gains were also positively affected at a very near-significant level (p = .052). The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Effectiveness of a satellite educational television program for Ethiopian secondary education

This study examined the actual practice and effectiveness of a satellite educational TV program in Ethiopian secondary schools. Participants in the survey were 228 students and 63 teachers from secondary schools. The results of the data analysis indicate that Ethiopian students and teachers scored highly in the evaluation areas. Levels of students’ general satisfaction with the satellite educational TV program were not equal for the variables of location and gender. It was also found that for students, learning demand, learning content, and class management were factors affecting their satisfaction with the satellite educational TV programs. For teachers, learning content and class management were the factors. The statistical mean difference in the satisfaction with the satellite educational TV program was between students and teachers. These findings suggest that the satellite educational TV program has the possibility of improving the quality of education in Ethiopian secondary schools.     

Scientific Inquiry Self-Efficacy and Computer Game Self-Efficacy as Predictors and Outcomes of Middle School Boys’ and Girls’ Performance in a Science Assessment in a Virtual Environment

Journal of Science Education and Technology - The primary aim of the study was to examine whether performance on a science assessment in an immersive virtual environment was associated with changes...     

Empowering Prospective Teachers to Become Active Sense-Makers: Multimodal Modeling of the Seasons

Situating science concepts in concrete and authentic contexts, using information and communications technologies, including multimodal modeling tools, is important for promoting the development of higher-order thinking skills in learners. However, teachers often struggle to integrate emergent multimodal models into a technology-rich informal learning environment. Our design-based research co-designs and develops engaging, immersive, and interactive informal learning activities called “Embodied Modeling-Mediated Activities” (EMMA) to support not only Singaporean learners’ deep learning of astronomy but also the capacity of teachers. As part of the research on EMMA, this case study describes two prospective teachers’ co-design processes involving multimodal models for teaching and learning the concept of the seasons in a technology-rich informal learning setting. Our study uncovers four prominent themes emerging from our data concerning the contextualized nature of learning and teaching involving multimodal models in informal learning contexts: (1) promoting communication and emerging questions, (2) offering affordances through limitations, (3) explaining one concept involving multiple concepts, and (4) integrating teaching and learning experiences. This study has an implication for the development of a pedagogical framework for teaching and learning in technology-enhanced learning environments—that is empowering teachers to become active sense-makers using multimodal models.

     

Mastery Motivation in Children with Intellectual Disability: Is there Evidence for a Down Syndrome Behavioural Phenotype?

The main purpose of the current study was to provide empirical evidence to support or refute assumptions of phenotypic deficits in motivation for children with Down syndrome (DS). Children with moderate intellectual disability (MID) associated with etiologies other than DS were recruited in an extension of a previous study that involved children with DS and typically developing children. The participants were 29 children with MID and 33 children with DS who were matched on mental age to 33 typically developing children, aged 3–8 years. Mastery motivation was assessed on task measures of curiosity, preference for challenge and persistence, as well as parental reports. There were no significant group differences on the mastery motivation tasks. Parental ratings of mastery motivation differed, with typically developing children generally being rated more highly than each of the disability groups. The view that motivational deficits are part of the DS behavioural phenotype was not supported.