Journal of Advances in Education Research

7

Authors: Mulay Kalyani, Kang Ying-Qi, Aoyama Rie, Chong Shang-Chee, Tung Serena, Chan Yiong-Huak, Rajgor Dimple D, Kiing Jennifer Sie-Hee

We aimed to determine if providing mid posting and end posting verbal feedback to residents in their developmental and behavioural pediatric posting would improve their end of posting competency scores and overall satisfaction with the posting. Data of 17 residents were retrospectively reviewed and ACGME Competency scores were compared. The residents experiencing the new training also provided additional feedback about the training. The ACGME competency scores for the residents who were given mid posting feedback were significantly higher than those who experienced the old training program and did not receive mid posting feedback [Mean (SD) 7.34(0.8) vs 6.81(1.3), P<0.001]. The residents reported a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and felt they had sufficient time to address their training needs after the mid-posting feedback. [Mean (SD) 7.56(1.0) & 7.67(1.1) respectively]. Mid posting constructive verbal feedback is a simple intervention which can be implemented in any area of resident training.

10

Authors: Hsin-Hui Lin, Liping Wei, Mei-Chih Wang

This national study investigates the depth of reading development in kindergarten and first grade by analyzing the students’ emerging skills on early reading proficiencies. T-tests conducted will test the differences in reading Item Response Theory (IRT) scores between the English Language Learners (ELL) and the English Only Learners (EOL) groups. Children’s learning outcomes in reading performance and proficiencies have shown differences between the EOLs and ELLs groups. The EOL children did better than ELL children in development of reading IRT scale scores and reading proficiencies in all three rounds of assessments. The reading gap seemed to widen between the groups as the children finished first grade. Early intervention in reading will help ELL students catch up with the learning pace and provide them with the opportunities to maximize student development in reading.

12

Authors: Mei-Shiu Chiu

The aim of this study was to understand preservice teachers’ changes in their perceived teaching efficacy and theories of mathematics teaching by repeated field-teaching. A mathematics (teaching) methods course was designed to include repeated field-teaching with multiple supports, including course instructors, school teachers, peers, and a course website. The course website was used to organize all course reading materials, discussion, work submission, and research data collection. Compared with that after first filed-teaching, the preservice teachers’ teaching efficacy increased after the second field-teaching in pedagogy-content coordination, fluent teaching process, effective solution to student difficulties, and problem posing. In addition, their theories of effective mathematics teaching changed from teacher-centered, theoretical, and procedural approaches to student-centered, practical, and thematic ones.

13

Authors: Sarah Rummel, James Rye, Sarah Selmer, Melissa Luna

Practical action research--an iterative and inquiry-based sequence of study--can help guide collaboration in university-school partnerships, in this case, towards the integration of garden-based learning with core disciplines in the elementary curriculum. The study focuses on grade 3 mathematics instruction about measurement and data, the integration of science standards such as structure and function, and math-science practices of attending to precision, modeling, conducting investigations, and interpreting data. Students collect, graph, and make meaning of data as well as solve a problem related to buoyancy of garden produce. Student performance revealed that the majority of students achieved mastery at the distinguished level in producing scaled graphs; and that considerable scaffolding is necessary for students to adequately attend to precision. A field-tested learning cycle is provided, which can be adapted by elementary teachers for classroom instruction and by teacher educators to model for preservice teachers mathematics-science integration that incorporates school gardening.

15

Authors: Marie Evens, Jan Elen, Fien Depaepe

An important goal of teacher education (TE) is to improve pre-service teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), pedagogical knowledge (PK) and content knowledge (CK). It is not always clear what kind of opportunities to learn (OTL) in TE contribute to pre-service teachers’ knowledge development. We compared different cohorts (N = 360) in TE, and studied the effects of OTL (PCK, PK, CK, and practical experiences) on pre-service teachers’ PCK, PK and CK (in the domain of French as a foreign language). Second and third year students outperformed first year students on PCK, PK and CK (measured through quantitative test instruments). Positive effects of PCK OTL on PCK and PK are found, as well as positive effects of CK OTL on CK.

6

Authors: Hafedh Azaiez, John R. Slate

In this study, differences in reading and mathematics performances based on principal longevity at the same campus were examined. Data were obtained from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) surveys in which information was collected from parents, teachers, and principals. Data were collected from 9,196 campuses across the United States. For purposes of this investigation, information from only the principal component of the ECLS-K was analyzed. For both reading and mathematics, inferential analyses revealed the presence of statistically significant differences based on principal tenure. Students at campuses where principals had six or more years of experience at that campus had statistically significantly higher average reading and mathematics performance than at campuses where principals had less than six years of experience at that campus. School district officials responsible for principal assignment and transfer may consider these findings when making decisions about changing principal’s placement.

8

Authors: Aviva Klieger, Amira Rochsar

Teaching via inquiry has been found to be a strategy suitable for the development of argument skills. The influence of the impartation of argumentation skills on the quality of the High school students’ written argumentation was tested in the present study. Twenty written arguments in bio-inquiry papers were analysed by using two complementary tools: Toulmin’s Argument Pattern to analyse the components and a modification of Toulmin’s Argument Pattern to evaluate the quality of the written arguments. The various tools enabled us to pinpoint the differences between two groups: one group that did not receive scaffolds for constructing arguments and a group that received scaffolds for writing arguments. The findings indicate that impartation of argumentation skills improves the argumentation abilities and level. Students who received scaffolds for writing an argument wrote more and different types of arguments for each claim and wrote a higher quality argumentation in bio-inquiry papers.

10

Authors: Jennifer Rider

Relationships are central to teaching and learning in higher education contexts. Positive relationships between faculty and students can be built on ethics of care (Noddings, 2005). By increasing rhetorical awareness in online communication with students, faculty can reflect on how discourse forms may mask forms of care toward students (Blommaert, 2005). This study uses a selfanalysis of discourse to focus on how higher-education faculty uses technological tools to incorporate ethics of care into their relationships with students. In exploring the question "What themes of care can be present in digital discourse?" fourteen themes of care emerged from the data analysis. The findings offer considerations for discourse use and five tenets for building care into online communication with students.

12

Authors: Mei-Shiu Chiu

This study aimed to identify the psychological capitals (PsyCaps) and cultural capitals (CulCaps) of high school students who chose to study advanced science. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 47 high school students in Taiwan to obtain the life experiences and rationales that motivated them to study science. Qualitative analysis of the science student data showed that PsyCaps and CulCaps tended to function in pairs and follow a PsyCap–CulCap configuration: interest (optimism)–materials, confidence (self-efficacy)–scores, resilience (control)–strategies, value– authorities, and hope (goal)–designs. The configuration was operated by the mechanism: ideal form of professional self abstracted from domain and social comparisons. Teachers can invite students to reflect on the PsyCap–CulCap configuration to guide them toward appropriate decisions on pursuing a career in science.

5

Authors: Rolf Erhardt, M. Eng., Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Schmitt

In the year 2002 Germany ratified the Lisbon Convention which contained the recognition of prior learning. After some changes in the state law on universities and colleges regarding the access to higher education it is now possible for people with advanced vocational training to access higher education. Furthermore, professional skills may be credited toward the study course. Usually, this recognition does not lead to a shortened duration of study. Aalen University developed a model in the area of engineering sciences with a reduced duration of study lasting 7 to 5 semesters. The first group recently graduated.

6

Authors: Jane Finn, Alexandra Hutchinson

The Friendship House is an establishment where students without disabilities live with same aged individuals with intellectual disabilities. After years of this side-by-side living, a standardized assessment entitled the Transition Planning Inventory (TPI) was given to all stakeholders including roommates with and without disabilities and the parents of individuals with disabilities. Outcomes showed those adult living skills that were satisfactory as well as areas of needed improvement for those individuals with disabilities. Results gleaned from this research will help determine and identify critical transition planning areas for the individuals with intellectual disabilities whose goal is to live independently.

10

Authors: Joseph M. Furner

Getting young people excited about mathematics is critical in our high-tech world. Teachers today need to encourage students to be confident in their ability to solve problems, to think and use their imaginations, to understand mathematical concepts, to be creative, and see math as a human endeavor. The author believes that as students feel less anxious about, and more confident in their abilities to do math their performance will improve. Math anxiety has become a growing concern in the United States as well as in many other countries around the globe. Educators need to address this alarming problem and work toward developing mathematically confident young people for a world where Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields dominate the globe. Using children’s literature and fairy tales to teach math may help in addressing the improvement of attitudes toward mathematics and help students to be more creative and imaginative in a world with endless possibilities and with advancing technologies. Bibliotherapy is also discussed.

11

Authors: Maria Cecilia Mollica, Hadinei Ribeiro Batista

In this paper, we discuss new possibilities for e-learning and studies on language from a virtual tool. We emphasize the use of computational tools for the creation and treatment of data in order to elucidate and put into thesis advantages and challenges from such methodology, especially in relation to textual production. This study is an experiment with the virtual tool Sabere1, designed specifically for the purpose of the research in thesis. Sabere was thought for pedagogical purpose, supporting e-learning and setting up cybercorporaii with fine-grained control of social variables. This tool, besides providing social services in education, allows the construction of corpora for different purposes and areas of knowledge. In this study, we will focus on research conducted in the field of language (especially those regarding social variables), particularly on studies on textual production and revision in different genres and text types. As an innovative goal, we seek to point out new guidelines in sociolinguistics, cognitive linguistics and policies on education, carrying out analysis on language and mind. Beyond this, we look forward to discussing new public policy on e-learning and academic research.

22

Authors: Billie Eilam, Dorit Reisfeld

Calls for school curricula to increase students’ exposure to complex systems are clearly warranted, given the topic’s learnability and the increasing prevalence of such systems. This study deepens our understanding of 16 ninth graders’ system thinking by identifying some cognitive aspects involved in the acquisition process while studying specially designed simulation-based curriculum for a full semester. Students manipulated two simulation-types: (a) providing a top-down view of the system behavior – based on the system dynamics model, and (b) providing a bottom-up view of the same system – based on the agent-based model. Contrasting these simulation outputs scaffold students’ ability to relate the system macro and micro levels. We focused on complex system conceptual knowledge (dynamic equilibrium) and diverse system thinking modes (stochastic or dynamic thinking) by examining students’ written and computerized products and pre-posttests results. A significant improvement in most students’ system thinking abilities has been found. Implications for school science instruction are discussed.

5

Authors: Dan Peterson

Every year thousands of successful foreign students attend American high schools, sponsored by many organizations. These students have experienced an education in two countries, so they have a specific, participatory knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of two very different systems. Using a survey designed for this study, the students in this study compared American high schools with the high schools in their home countries. Initially the foreign students rated their home high school higher than their American high school, but by the end of the school year, they rated American high schools higher than their home country high school. The results indicate many strengths of American schools and also indicate areas of improvement needed from this unique perspective of foreign students.

7

Authors: Karen Haley, Jean Henscheid, Becky Boesch, Lindsey Blem

Completing a graduate assistantship (GA) is one key experience that can provide both work experience and socialization to a career as well as provide financial assistance in exchange for services. This qualitative study explored the motivation of GAs through an “orientation to work” lens. The findings show that GAs exhibit a high extrinsic motivation (positive or negative) toward their work, and graduate administrative assistants exhibit a higher positive intrinsic motivation to work than graduate teaching assistants or graduate research assistants.

11

Authors: Georgios Stamelos, Georgios Aggelopoulos

This paper negotiates interdisciplinarity as a tool of European policy transfer. As a case study, it focuses on the master programs in the Greek University. Policy transfer theory is used as an analytical tool for exploring the results of research on interdisciplinary master programs funded by the European support framework for Greece. We try to focus on the role of policy makers on a national level and on the key actors on the local level (university). We argue that the policy makers create the necessary conditions by modifications to the legislative framework. The University and its key-actors have adopted interdisciplinarity as a supplementary institutional funding and with care so as not to disturb the internal institutional structure and its power relations. So, as Dolowitz & Marsh argue we observe hybrid construction for interdisciplinary master programs. This point is converse with Bomberg and Peterson's reasoning that «policy transfer does not occur by chance, but often produces unintended results.