A concept map approach to developing collaborative Mindtools for context‐aware ubiquitous learning

Recent advances in mobile and wireless communication technologies have enabled various new learning approaches which situate students in environments that combine real‐world and digital‐world learning resources; moreover, students are allowed to share knowledge or experiences with others during the learning process. Although such an approach seems to be promising and innovative, researchers have indicated several problems when applying it to practical applications, in particular, the lack of proper strategies or tools to assist the students to learn collaboratively in such a learning scenario with abundant content. Students might feel interested when using the mobile devices to learn; however, without proper assistance or guidance, their learning achievements are usually disappointing. To cope with this problem, this study proposes a concept map‐oriented Mindtool for collaborative ubiquitous learning. Experimental results from a natural science course in an elementary school show that this approach not only enhances learning motivation but also improves the learning achievements of the students.     

EFL teachers’ perceptions of English language policy at the elementary level in Taiwan

Due in large part to the trends towards economic globalization, English has become the most widely disseminated and ubiquitous international language. The purpose of the study was to investigate what Taiwan’s EFL teachers at the elementary level believe about the policy of English as a compulsory subject and how they perceive the benefits and obstacles of the policy’s implementation. Ten elementary English teachers in Tainan City and its suburban areas participated in this study. Data were collected through teachers’ interviews, classroom observation and document analysis. Results found that all ten teachers agreed with the policy for English as a compulsory subject at the elementary level. They observed both positive and negative sides of this top‐down policy. Classroom observation and interview data revealed that EFL teachers had to plan their English classes with the constraints on a large class of students with mixed levels of proficiency, limited teaching hours and resources. Parents’ expectations of and attitudes towards English learning also became an obstacle.     

Confirmatory factor analyses comparing parental involvement frameworks with secondary students

Given the lack of research on measurement models used to operationalize parental involvement with secondary students, the goal of this research is to examine the measurement properties of the three‐domain conceptualization of parental involvement including school‐based involvement, home‐based involvement, and academic socialization, compared to a more nuanced six domain conceptualization school‐based (1) school/parent communication, (2) attending school activities, home‐based (3) home activities, (4) homework help, academic socialization, (5) parent–child communication about education, and (6) parental aspirations for child's education. When comparing the fit among the models, the six‐factor model had best fit indices and indicated varied correlations among the subdomains. The six‐factor model allowed for more nuanced variations among the subdomains that may be helpful when assessing parental involvement with high school students.     

Intervening or Ignoring: Learning about teaching in new times

In response to the rise of collaborative learning within education, two teacher educators redesigned their courses to explore the complexities of pedagogy within a New Learning framework. Multi‐age grouping provided opportunities for pre‐service teachers to work with others from different year levels on an interdisciplinary assessment task. As a result of this approach to teaching and learning, pre‐service teachers were challenged and resistance arose. These acts of student resistance provided opportunities for examining the dynamics and complexity of collaborative learning and the implications this has for teachers in new times. In particular, it explores the tension around intervening and ignoring students' resistances created by engaging in new learning pedagogy.     

Exploring classroom assessment practices: the case of teachers of English as a foreign language

The research investigated the factors which underlie the perceptions and usage of alternative assessment procedures among EFL teachers in Israel. The research was conducted within the framework of an earlier model by Hargreaves and colleagues comprising four perspectives – technological, cultural, political and postmodern – to account for teachers’ assessment practices and beliefs. The sample included 113 EFL teachers who responded to a self‐report questionnaire. The model’s four perspectives were validated using a two‐stage factor analysis. Results show that the predominant factor related to the usage of alternative assessment is the technological one, followed by the cultural and postmodern perspectives. The political perspective yielded mixed results. The findings highlight the complexity of teachers’ assessment practices reflecting not merely a testing approach but a social and educational paradigm encompassing micro constraints (technological), macro influences (political), ideologies and commonly‐held beliefs (cultural) as well as evidence of critical pedagogy (postmodern).     

Efficacy of teacher in‐service training for attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) evidence many problems in the classroom. Teacher in‐service training is routinely used to inform school professionals about a number of special topics; however, the efficacy of such in‐service training for ADHD has not been established. The present study examined the efficacy of brief in‐service training focused on evidence‐based assessment and treatment of ADHD. Teachers from six schools (N = 142) in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area were randomly assigned at the school level to receive in‐service training immediately or to a waitlist control group that received in‐service training 1 month later. Measures of ADHD knowledge and use of behavior modification techniques were obtained at pre‐‐ and post‐‐in‐service intervention. Results indicated that the in‐service training resulted in increased ADHD knowledge. Special education teachers also reported increased use of behavior modification techniques resulting from the in‐service training. Clinical and research implications are presented. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A sex education programme for mothers in Iran: Does preschool children’s sex education influence mothers’ knowledge and attitudes?

Mothers have an important role to play in teaching their children about sexual issues and shaping children’s sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. In many cases, however, mothers themselves need help and support. This study was conducted to examine the effects of a sex education programme on the knowledge and attitudes of the mothers of pre-school children. Eighty mothers of pre-school children were randomly divided into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group received an education and training programme delivered over two 2-h sessions. The control group received no such intervention. Researcher-constructed knowledge and attitude questionnaires were completed by both groups before and one month after the intervention. Findings showed no significant differences between the two groups in terms of knowledge and attitudes before the training. After the education and training intervention, however, there was a significant increase in the mean score for both knowledge and attitudes in the experimental group compared to the control group. Study findings suggest that the sex education programme for the mothers of pre-school children can improve their knowledge and attitudes.     

Evaluating students' science notebooks as an assessment tool

The idea of using science notebooks as a classroom assessment tool is not new. There is general agreement that science notebooks allow teachers to assess students' conceptual and procedural understanding and to provide the feedback students need for improving their performance. In this study we examined the use of science notebooks as an unobtrusive assessment tool that can also be used by individuals outside the classroom (for example, school district personnel), and as a means for obtaining information about students' learning and their opportunities to learn. More specifically, in this study students' science notebooks were used as a source of data about the (a) implementation of a curriculum's intended activities, (b) students' performance, and (c) quality of teachers' feedback. Our results indicated that: (1) Students' science notebooks can be reliably scored. Unit implementation, student performance, and teacher feedback scores were highly consistent across raters and units. (2) High and positive correlations with other performance assessment scores indicated that the student performance score can be considered as an achievement indicator. And (3) low performance scores across the two units revealed that students' communication skills and understanding were far away from the maximum score and did not improve over the course of instruction during the school year. This result may be due, in part, to the fact that no teacher feedback was found in any of the students' notebooks across the six classrooms studied. This may reflect some characteristics of the teachers' assessment practices that may require further professional development.