Contexts of reading instruction: Implications for literacy skills and kindergarteners’ behavioral engagement

This observational study examined kindergarteners’ (n = 170) exposure to literacy instruction in their classrooms (n = 36), child-by-instruction interactions, and behavioral engagement in relation to literacy skills. Time spent in four instructional contexts was coded according to who managed children's attention (teacher-managed, TM or child-managed, CM), and the content focus (basic skills such as teaching letters and their sounds, or meaning-focused such as discussing a book); children's behavioral engagement and off-task behavior were also coded live five times over the year. Word-reading and phonological awareness skills were assessed in fall and spring. Hierarchical Linear Modeling results indicated that kindergarteners with lower initial skills gained more in word-reading, but not phonological awareness, when they were exposed to relatively more time in TM basic skills instruction. In contrast, more time in CM meaning-focused instruction did not interact with initial skills to predict either outcome. Engagement analyses indicated that students were more likely to be off-task in CM than in TM contexts. Children who spent more time off-task during TM contexts had lower spring scores on both outcomes. Discussion explores the implications of this work for both literacy learning and behavioral engagement in the transition year of kindergarten.     

Classroom and technology-supported help seeking: The need for converging research paradigms

Contributions to this special section represent advances in understanding help seeking as a self-regulated learning strategy that occurs in classrooms, during computer-mediated communications, and when using intelligent systems that provide help to improve learners’ help-seeking skills and knowledge acquisition. Collectively, the research and development contributes information relevant for all phases of the help-seeking process. My comments focus on: (a) features of technology-supported help seeking that have implications for motivation, (b) the need for increased attention to the instructional context in which technology-supported help seeking occurs, (c) a necessary convergence of classroom and technology-supported help-seeking research paradigms, and (d) reconsideration of help seeking as a social-interactive strategy.     

Student satisfaction with Canadian music programmes: the application of the American Customer Satisfaction Model in higher education

The purpose of this project is to empirically investigate several antecedents and consequences of student satisfaction (SS) with Canadian university music programmes as well as to measure students’ level of programme satisfaction. For this, the American Customer Satisfaction Model was tested through a survey of 276 current Canadian music students. The results indicate that customer satisfaction is strongly affected by programme quality, is slightly impacted by its perceived value but is not influenced by prior student expectations. Satisfaction strongly increases programme loyalty and positive word‐of‐mouth, marginally raises tuition change loyalty, and slightly decreases complaining behaviour. Contrary to expectations, tuition‐related constructs play only a minor role in the model. Therefore, money is a marginal factor in the educational environment; this empirically demonstrates the flaws underlying the premises of the students‐as‐customers metaphor. The resulting satisfaction index may facilitate the comparison among institutions. It was also found that the level of SS with Canadian music programmes was somewhat lower than those with services in other industries.     

Teacher enthusiasm: Dimensionality and context specificity

Enthusiasm is considered an important characteristic of effective teachers. However, the conceptualization of the term in the research literature is inconsistent. Whereas most studies use the term “enthusiasm” to describe features of instruction, some have used it to describe a characteristic of teachers. This research seeks to clarify the concept of teacher enthusiasm, examining its dimensionality and context specificity. The study draws on three samples of teachers who were administered questionnaire measures of enthusiasm. In two samples (N = 205 and 332), it was possible to match teacher data with data on the students taught. In another sample (N = 113), additional measures of work-related wellbeing were implemented. Confirmatory multigroup factor analyses showed that two dimensions of teacher enthusiasm can be distinguished, namely enthusiasm for teaching and enthusiasm for the subject. These dimensions differed in their meaning and context specificity. Whereas teaching enthusiasm was systematically linked to occupational wellbeing and to classroom variables, subject enthusiasm related only moderately to other measures of occupational wellbeing and was independent of characteristics of the classes taught.     

生态教育视野中的大学英语后续课程建构

从教育生态学的角度看,当前大学英语后续课程在课程设置、教学模式、评估体系等方面存在制约其发展的非生态因素。为此提出课程设置应与教育生态因子协同发展,更新课堂教学模式,注重营造和谐情感,使课堂生态主体成为平等的价值主体,创建个性化学习小组,将形成性评估与终结性评估有机结合等生态化课程建设构想。     

外语院校图书馆电子资源用户满意度调查及改进策略

以基于用户满意度的图书馆电子资源质量评价模型为基础设计调查问卷,从馆藏电子资源满足师生用户教学科研的需求程度出发,对上海外国语大学的电子资源建设现状及用户满意度进行调查,收集用户的反馈信息和意见建议,并在此基础上提出针对性的改进措施,以期为外语类院校图书馆进一步完善电子信息资源建设提供参考。     

基于顾客满意度的改进设计决策模型

由于科学技术发展越来越快,产品生命周期缩短,生产成本降低空间缩小,技术创新空间降低,各企业对顾客满意度的关注度越来越高,但是随着产品生命周期的缩短,产品更新换代速度的加快,企业对于产品改计的切入点寻找难度增加,改进成本也随之提高,本文从顾客满意度的角度,对卡诺(Kano)模型进行改进,引入优先指数,将待改进指标进行排序,使企业的改进方向更为明确,为改进决策起导向作用。     

基于灰色关联度分析的高校教育服务学生满意度评价研究

在对江西六所高校教育服务学生满意度调查问卷进行统计的基础上,本文从高校的教学服务、图书馆服务、管理与支持、后勤服务等方面切入,将灰色关联度理论引入高校教育服务学生满意度评价中,得出高校教育服务学生满意度的灰色关联度评价法具有操作简便、效率高、所需数据少和揭示问题清晰等特点,并借助计算机对高校进行评价的可行方法。     

利用美术课课堂训练如何培养学生思维能力

思维能力是后天培养和训练的结果,利用美术课课堂训练可以培养学生的思维能力。在改革开放潮流中,每个人都在寻求新的课堂教育模式,人们常说：＂艺术的生命就在于创新＂,课堂教学亦然。而培养学生创新的思维更是美术课程今后的教学发展方向。美术课中应培养学生的创新思维,以学生发展为主。     

An analysis of friendship networks, social connectedness, homesickness, and satisfaction levels of international students

International students continue to grow in number worldwide, prompting researchers to look for ways to make the study abroad experience more fruitful. One avenue of research has focused on friendship formation, the significant role it plays in the study abroad experience, and the unique friendship combinations made possible by the study abroad experience. International students form friendships with individuals from their own country, from other countries, and from the host country. Research has found that international students often have more friends from their home country; however, research has also demonstrated a relationship between having more host country friends and satisfaction, contentment, decreased homesickness, and social connectedness. The current study looks to further explore these relationships through a social network lens by examining friendship network ratios, strength, and variability of the three friendship groups. A friendship network grid was developed to assess where international students’ friends are from and how strong those friendships are. Eighty four international students completed a survey examining the relationship between friendship networks, social connectedness, homesickness, contentment, and satisfaction. Contrary to prior research, international students did not report having a higher ratio of individuals from their home country in their friendship networks. However, international students with a higher ratio of individuals from the host country in their network claimed to be more satisfied, content, and less homesick. Furthermore, participants who reported more friendship variability with host country individuals described themselves as more satisfied, content, and more socially connected. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.