ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Early Prediction of Students' Grade Point Averages at Graduation: A Data Mining Approach
Author: Tekin, Ahmet
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Prediction,Grade Point Average,Undergraduate Students,College Graduates,Data Collection,Academic Achievement,Regression (Statistics),Computer Science Education,Educational Technology,Comparative Analysis,Accuracy,Correlation,Research Methodology,Student Improvement,Student Needs,Dropouts,Student Placement,Scores,Computation

Problem Statement: There has recently been interest in educational databases containing a variety of valuable but sometimes hidden data that can be used to help less successful students to improve their academic performance. The extraction of hidden information from these databases often implements aspects of the educational data mining (EDM) theory, which aims to study available data in order to shed light on more valuable, hidden information. Data clustering, classification, and regression methods such as K-means clustering, neural networks (NN), extreme learning machine (ELM), and support vector machines (SVM) can be used for to predict aspects of the educational data. EDM outputs can ultimately identify which students will need additional help to improve their grade point averages (GPAs) at graduation. Purpose of Study: This study aims to implement several prediction techniques in data mining to assist educational institutions with predicting their students' GPAs at graduation. If students are predicted to have low GPAs at graduation, then extra efforts can be made to improve their academic performance and, in turn, GPAs. Methods: NN, SVM, and ELM algorithms are applied to data of computer education and instructional technology students to predict their GPAs at graduation. Findings and Results: A comparative analysis of the results indicates that the SVM technique yielded more accurate predictions at a rate of 97.98%. By contrast, the ELM method yielded the second most accurate prediction rate (94.92%) evaluated based on the criterion of correlation coefficient. NN reported the least accurate prediction rate (93.76%). Conclusions and Recommendations: The use of data mining methodologies has recently expanded for a variety of educational purposes. The assessment of students' needs, dropout liability, performance, and placement test improvement are some important emerging data mining applications in education. Since educational institutions have several seemingly unsolvable domain-related problems, this study's results reveal that EDM can assist with how educational institutions analyze and solve these problems. Furthermore, ensemble models can be used to obtain improved results, while feature selection algorithms can be used to reduce the computational complexity of the prediction methods.
The Needs of Inclusive Preschool Teachers about Inclusive Practices
Author: Akalin, Selma
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Inclusion,Preschool Teachers,Teacher Education Programs,Disabilities,Preschool Children,Program Development,Semi Structured Interviews,Teacher Attitudes,Special Needs Students,Individualized Education Programs,Behavior Problems,Foreign Countries,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis

Problem Statement: Since the law related to the inclusion of children with special needs was passed, the number of children with special needs in preschool classrooms has increased each year. Preschool teachers face serious challenges when they teach children with diverse abilities in the same environment. Although most of them support the idea of preschool inclusion, preschool teachers usually do not want children with special needs in their classrooms because of their lack of knowledge and skills regarding inclusive practices. It has been established that teachers are the most important component of inclusion, and in order to increase the success of inclusive practices, they should be prepared to teach in heterogeneous classrooms that include children with and without disabilities. Purpose of Study: To develop and implement an effective and functional training program for inclusive preschool classroom teachers, we aimed to thoroughly examine the needs of preschool teachers with regard to supporting the development of children with disabilities in their classes. Method: In the first part of our study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 teachers, and in the second part, in-depth interviews were held with four of the teachers from the first group. All of the teachers who participated in this study had one or more children with special needs in their classrooms. After completion of the interviews, the data from the two groups were analyzed separately. Findings and Results: The analyses of both groups of data indicated that teachers mainly needed knowledge, skills, experience, and support when assessing the performance of children with special needs, working with their parents, preparing individualized education programs (IEPs), adapting and modifying their curriculum, and dealing with behavioral problems. Conclusions and Recommendations: To make preschool inclusion successful and to have special needs children gain the expected benefits, teachers need to be provided with functional teacher training programs that foster positive attitudes and provide them with a meaningful experience. If preschool teachers in Turkey had access to these types of programs in both pre-service and in-service education, the quality of preschool inclusion would improve immensely.
Problematic Internet Use and Body Mass Index in University Students
Author: Sari, Serkan Volkan
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Body Composition,College Students,Foreign Countries,Physical Activity Level,Correlation,Questionnaires,Gender Differences,Obesity,Internet,Sampling,Schemata (Cognition),Statistical Analysis

Problem Statement: Today, immobility and resulting weight gain constitutes one of the greatest problems among young people. The greatest problem for individuals spending a lot of time on the Internet is immobility. The result of this status is spending less energy than the amount required daily. Immobility is considered a cause of being overweight, and being overweight creates a vicious cycle by leading to further lack of mobility. Purpose of Study: The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between the level of problematic Internet use (PIU) among Turkish university students and their body mass indexes (BMI). Methods: The study sample consists of 525 university students studying at different departments (Elementary, Fine Arts and Turkish Language Education) at Fatih Faculty of Education at Karadeniz Technical University during the 2010-2011 academic year. Participants were selected through stratified sampling. Accordingly, in this study the departments were determined randomly from Faculty of Education. Distribution of the sample by gender was 234 males (44.6%) and 291 females (55.4%). The mean age of the students was 21.8 (SD = 0.72). Racial distribution of participants was homogenous. Questionnaires were administered to students in groups, in a class environment, by the author. Participation was voluntary. In total, six hundred students participated in this study. Seventy five of them had to be excluded for not responding properly to all questionnaires, so the final sample consisted of 525 participants. Findings and Results: The results indicate a significant relationship between BMI and PIU. A significant difference was determined between the students' BMIs (moderate or severe weakness, normal, weight, semi-obese and obese) and their PIU levels. Levels of PIU in those with obesity-level BMIs were found to be higher than the other groups. Conclusions and Recommendations: These results reveal that the use of communication technologies such as the Internet has a number of negative consequences for university students. In respect to the duration of students' daily Internet use, students may benefit from having to plan how and when they will use the Internet, in order to limit how frequently they use the Internet and to use it effectively.
Videos as an Instructional Tool in Pre-Service Science Teacher Education
Author: Sonmez, Duygu
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teacher Education,Science Teachers,Student Teaching,Educational Technology,Video Technology,Observation,Influence of Technology,Teaching Methods,Educational Practices,Teacher Effectiveness,Undergraduate Students,Questionnaires,Data Collection,Attention Control,Novices,Qualitative Research,Foreign Countries

Problem Statement: Student teaching is an integral part of teacher education. While it provides preservice teachers with real classroom experience, though, it is limited in that it does not provide shared experience. Used as instructional tools, videos provide a shared common experience in a controlled environment to pre-service teachers in teacher education. Video use as a part of teacher education requires that student teachers be skilled in observation and ability to notice. However, in many cases, pre-service teachers' observation skills and ability to discern the effects of different strategies are neither questioned nor investigated. Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of video use on pre-service teachers' ability to observe and evaluate teaching practices and explore how that ability develops. Methods: This study was conducted with the participation of 26 senior pre-service science and technology teachers who were enrolled in a teacher practice course during the fall semester of their fourth-year undergraduate education program. Three different videos were used as instructional tools; participating pre-service teachers were asked to evaluate the teaching practice in each video. A three-item questionnaire was used for data collection purposes. Findings and Results: The findings of the study suggest that, initially, pre-service teachers failed to notice details and were only partially able to recognize the main features of a teaching practice. Most participant comments focused on what the teacher was doing rather than on students. As time progressed, participants' ability to notice instructional strategies was found to be developed through use of videos. Conclusions and Recommendations: Through use of videos, pre-service teachers' selective attention and ability to perceive details of a teaching practice was found to be improved. Since the ability to notice is an important skill for novice teachers, based on the finding of this study, video use is recommended as a part of teacher education.
Developing EAL Learners' Intercultural Sensitivity through a Digital Literacy Project
Author: Galante, Angelica
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English for Academic Purposes,Communicative Competence (Languages),Cultural Awareness,Foreign Countries,Technological Literacy,Adult Students,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Foreign Students,Intercultural Communication,Interpersonal Communication,Video Technology,Editing,Discussion,Writing (Composition),Cultural Pluralism,Beliefs,Self Concept,Immigrants,Teaching Methods

Language and culture are informally integrated in many English as an Additional Language (EAL) programs, but cultural discussions are often regarded from the perspective of a particular dominant culture. Although this integration is crucial for the development of communicative competence, practical applications are still challenging as language teachers tend to know more about linguistic items than cultural aspects (Celce-Murcia, 2007). This article describes a digital literacy project implemented with language learners in an adult EAL program. Using Bennett's (1993) DMIS model for intercultural sensitivity, the project invited international students and newcomers to Canada to explore and expand on their understanding of intercultural relationships while studying in a multicultural EAL class. The learners engaged in 5 steps to complete the project (reflective discussion, script writing, video recording scenes, editing, and final reflection), with a short movie serving as the digital product. The digital literacy project is proposed as a potential tool for integrating intercultural sensitivity into EAL programs and engaging learners in discussions about diversity in cultural values, beliefs, and behaviours as a way to affirm their cultural and intercultural identities.
Exploring Linguistic Identity in Young Multilingual Learners
Author: Dressler, Roswita
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Bilingual Students,German,Bilingualism,Identification (Psychology),Young Children,Elementary School Students,Expertise,Heredity,Cultural Influences,Teacher Role,Culturally Relevant Education,Social Development,Emotional Development,Student Development,Questionnaires,Art Activities,Self Concept,Freehand Drawing,Ethnicity,Language Usage

This article explores the linguistic identity of young multilingual learners through the use of a Language Portrait Silhouette. Examples from a research study of children aged 6-8 years in a German bilingual program in Canada provide teachers with an understanding that linguistic identity comprises expertise, affiliation, and inheritance. This article also provides additional concrete examples of how teachers can openly reference linguistic identity with students and help children to see stronger connections between home and school learning. The validation and understanding of linguistic identity is beneficial to young children's emotional, social, and educational development.
A Practice-Oriented Definition of Post-Process Second Language Writing Theory
Author: Kalan, Amir
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Second Language Learning,Writing Instruction,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,College Students,Writing Processes,Definitions,Linguistics,Literature Reviews,Search Strategies

This article is a synthesis of the scholarly literature on the post-process approach to teaching second language (L2) writing, particularly college and university composition in English as an additional language. This synthesis aims to offer a definition of post-process L2 writing that can readily lend itself to practice and be more accessible to practitioners. All the publications that had either substantially or marginally discussed post-process theory since 1990 were systematically reviewed in order to answer the following question: What is a definition of post-process L2 writing theory that can readily lend itself to pedagogy and actual practice for helping college and university writers of English as an additional language?
Rater Behaviour When Judging Language Learners' Pragmatic Appropriateness in Extended Discourse
Author: Sydorenko, Tetyana
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Evaluators,Discourse Analysis,Pragmatics,Evaluation Criteria,Speech Acts,Intonation,Cultural Awareness,Native Speakers,Second Language Learning,English (Second Language),Video Technology,Cues,Task Analysis,Computer Assisted Testing,Rating Scales,Comparative Analysis,Pretests Posttests,Statistical Analysis,Qualitative Research

The criteria by which raters judge pragmatic appropriateness of language learners' speech acts are underexamined, especially when raters evaluate extended discourse. To shed more light on this process, the present study investigated what factors are salient to raters when scoring pragmatic appropriateness of extended request sequences, and which specific aspects of performance they attend to as appropriate or inappropriate. Three judges evaluated request sequences using a 6-point scale, marked appropriate and inappropriate elements of each request, and explained how they approached the rating of each response. It was found that all raters oriented to the appropriateness of a request sequence as a whole, paying attention not only to the request proper but also to all follow-up moves, including appreciation and closing. Additionally, raters oriented to the surrounding context: the same expressions, such as a specific appreciation statement, were rated as appropriate in some contexts and inappropriate in others. Raters also oriented to pragmatic competence broadly, paying attention not only to appropriate pragmatic strategies and expressions in a particular context, but also to such aspects as intonation and cultural knowledge. Finally, while native and near-native speaker tendencies were observed, target speaker norms were not. Implications for pragmatics teaching and assessment are discussed.
Speaking English and the Loss of Heritage Language
Author: Cohen, James
Date: 2015-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Spanish,Academic Achievement,Qualitative Research,Adolescents,Immigrants,High School Students,Language Skill Attrition,Language Maintenance,Social Mobility,Student Characteristics,Language Role,Semi Structured Interviews

In this qualitative study, we explored the perspectives of three adolescent immigrants regarding learning English in an American High School. We learned that 1) academically English was the primary venue of instruction and considered the primary pathway to educational success. 2) The students claimed their ability to communicate in English had surpassed their ability to communicate in Spanish, and 3) Although they still appeared to maintain belief in the power of the English language as a pivotal point of access to success and upward mobility, they also began to question English's unequivocal priority in their educational careers.
An Explanatory Item Response Theory Approach for a Computer-Based Case Simulation Test
Author: Kahraman, Nilüfer
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Item Response Theory,Licensing Examinations (Professions),Performance Based Assessment,Computer Simulation,Predictor Variables,Test Items,Reaction Time,Multiple Choice Tests,Computer Assisted Testing,Statistical Analysis

Problem: Practitioners working with multiple-choice tests have long utilized Item Response Theory (IRT) models to evaluate the performance of test items for quality assurance. The use of similar applications for performance tests, however, is often encumbered due to the challenges encountered in working with complicated data sets in which local calibrations alone provide a poor model fit. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the item calibration process for a performance test, computer-based case simulations (CCS), taken from the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) Step 3® examination may be improved through explanatory IRT models. It was hypothesized that explanatory IRT may help improve data modeling for performance assessment tests by allowing important predictors to be added to a conventional IRT model, which are limited to item predictors alone. Methods: The responses of 767 examinees from a six-item CCS test were modeled using the Partial Credit Model (PCM) and four explanatory model extensions, each incorporating one predictor variable of interest. Predictor variables were the examinees' gender, the order in which examinees encountered an individual item (item sequence), the time it took each examinee to respond to each item (response time), and examinees' ability score on the multiple-choice part of the examination. Results: Results demonstrate a superior model fit for the explanatory PCM with examinee ability score from the multiple-choice portion of Step 3. Explanatory IRT model extensions might prove useful in complex performance assessment test settings where item calibrations are often problematic due to short tests and small samples. Recommendations: Findings of this study have great value in practice and implications for researchers working with small or complicated response data. Explanatory IRT methodology not only provides a way to improve data modeling for performance assessment tests but also enhances the inferences made by allowing important person predictors to be incorporated into a conventional IRT model.
The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire: Evaluation of Psychometric Properties among Turkish University Students
Author: Totan, Tarik
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Empathy,Psychometrics,Likert Scales,College Students,Item Analysis,Factor Analysis,Test Validity,Test Reliability,Turkish,Correlation

Problem statement: Today, it is widely accepted that empathy is a multidimensional factor that facilitates human relations. The common idea that empathy comprises more than one component has created diversity in the assessment of the said factor; many researchers have developed empathy scales that include different dimensions. However, uni-dimensional assessments minimize differences between assessments and develop an accepted core assessment tool. Purpose of Study: The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) is a self-report style, uni-dimensional, 16-item, five-point Likert type scale developed to assess the empathy levels of individuals. The objective of this study is to adapt the TEQ into Turkish and to analyze its psychometric properties in a sample of Turkish university students. Methods: Study participants included 698 university students from Ege and Sakarya University. In the research, the Emphatic Tendency Scale and the Basic Empathy Scale were used as data collection tools along with the TEQ. In the adaptation of the questionnaire, a linguistic equivalence study was performed first. The psychometric properties of the TEQ were analyzed through item analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, criterion-related validity, internal consistency and test-retest methods. Results: As a result of the linguistic equivalency study, a positively significant correlation was found between the original form and the Turkish form of the questionnaire. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results demonstrated that the questionnaire had a uni-dimensional structure. Within the scope of the criterion-related validity, positively significant correlations were found between the TEQ, Emphatic Tendency Scale and Basic Empathy Scale. The TEQ's internal consistency coefficient and test-retest reliability coefficient were 0.79 and 0.73 respectively. The findings of this study showed that the Turkish form of the TEQ was a valid and reliable assessment tool to assess the empathy levels of university students.