ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Psychological Approaches to the Study of Play
Author: Bergen, Doris
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Play,Psychology,Research Methodology,Researchers,Psychologists,Psychological Studies,Behavior,Animals,Child Development,Play Therapy,Teaching Methods,Cultural Influences,Gender Differences,Racial Differences,Ethnic Groups,Socioeconomic Status,Cultural Differences,Neuropsychology,Technology

In this survey of the research on psychological approaches to play, the author outlines its various focuses on the similarities and differences in the thinking and behavior of individuals and groups in relation to play and on the environmental factors that influence these. She notes that although psychologists often use standard experimental research methods to study play, they also conduct studies based on direct observations, interviews, and other qualitative activities. These researchers, she notes, have been particularly interested in testing theories of play, developing systems to explain playful behavior, and understanding how play influences education and child rearing and their effect on development and learning. The author also surveys researchers from other disciplines, such as philosophy, ethology, anthropology, linguistics, and education, who have studied the psychology of play. They, she concludes, often employ research methods similar to those used by psychologists, and thus their work, too, has contributed to a psychological understanding of the thinking and behavior related to play and the environments that encourage it.
Conceptualizing How Mature Teachers Can Influence Students' Growth in Learning
Author: Maynes, Nancy
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Focus Groups,Teacher Characteristics,Experienced Teachers,Teacher Influence,Teacher Education Programs,Teacher Effectiveness,Faculty Development,Teacher Attitudes,Teacher Competencies,Foreign Countries,College Faculty,Preservice Teachers

This article has two purposes. First, it reports the first year results from focus group methodology conducted to determine how teacher characteristics may influence students' learning. Second, the article establishes a framework to support ongoing research related to the professional maturation of teachers. Both of these research outcomes are presented in diagram format. Plans for further research into the teacher characteristics that were identified by the first year of research into this topic are presented and discussed.
Teachers as Researchers: A Discovery of Their Emerging Role and Impact through a School-University Collaborative Research
Author: Chow, Ken Chi Kin
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Role,Teacher Researchers,Faculty Development,Elementary School Teachers,Research Projects,Inquiry,Student Projects,Focus Groups,Qualitative Research,Knowledge Level,School Culture,Experiential Learning,Teaching Methods,Curriculum Design,Foreign Countries,College School Cooperation,Teacher Collaboration,College Faculty,Administrator Role,Parent Role

This study explored the impact of the role of teacher-researchers on in-service teachers' professional development, as well as the reasons behind the lack of a teacher-as-researcher ethos in schools. In the study, teachers from four Hong Kong primary schools participated in a school-university collaborative research project that promotes collaborative inquiry project-based learning (inquiry PjBL). During the project implementation period, the teachers took the dual role of the teacher and researcher. Six focus group interviews were conducted with the teachers to collect in-depth qualitative data on their experiences. The impact of this experience on teacher professionalism was examined from four dimensions: knowledge enrichment, school culture, teaching practice and curriculum design. The study provides evidence for the benefits of teacher research and sheds light on how university-school collaboration could contribute to engaging teachers in action research in their everyday classroom.
Understanding the Linkage Gap between L2 Education Researchers and Teachers
Author: Knouzi, Ibtissem
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Second Language Learning,Educational Research,Guidelines,Transfer of Training,Educational Researchers,Journal Articles,Dialogs (Language),Computer Mediated Communication,Discourse Analysis,Language Usage,Research Utilization,Second Language Instruction,Language Teachers,Theory Practice Relationship,Barriers,Computational Linguistics,Foreign Countries

This paper reports on the results of a study that analyzed second language practitioners' and researchers' on-line interactions about six published articles written by the researcher participants. The project used Lavis et al.'s (2003) knowledge transfer framework and Graham et al. (2006) knowledge to action framework as foundations to create a shared space (an online forum) to facilitate dialogue and bring the two groups together, with the intent to enhance research access and utilization. We use text-linguistic analysis procedures to analyze the linguistic and ideational choices evident through the texts produced by the two groups online to understand how they shaped the direction and content of the interaction. The results reveal differences in the word choice and foci of the two groups and highlight the usefulness and limitations of the online forum. Discussion of the relevance of different aspects of the knowledge transfer frameworks used might enlighten future efforts to bridge the linkage gap.
Well-Being and Human-Animal Interactions in Schools: The Case of &quot;Dog Daycare Co-Op&quot;
Author: Pinto, Laura Elizabeth
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Well Being,Animals,Interaction,High School Students,Cooperative Learning,Qualitative Research,Interviews,Vocational Education,Friendship,Learner Engagement

This study draws on Martha Nussbaum's (2000) account of the nature of human well-being in order to explore the role of animals in formal education settings. Nussbaum's capabilities approach identifies the ability &quot;to have concern for and live with other animals, plants and the environment&quot; (p. 80) as a necessary component for well-being. Yet, this condition of well-being remains largely unexplored in education despite research that suggests many potential social and health benefits of dog-human interaction. This paper describes the effects of a unique, Canadian school-based cooperative education program in which students work with animals for high school credit. The qualitative research design is based on interviews, students' own stories of the impact of animal interaction--particularly in light of other challenges they faced academically and socially. Research results, support other empirical accounts of positive effects of animals in education settings, and offer insight into the nature of human-animal interaction as a component of well-being within a vocationally-oriented program.
Bringing Policy and Practice to the Table: Young Women's Nutritional Experiences in an Ontario Secondary School
Author: Gray, Sarah K.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Females,Nutrition,Secondary School Students,Intervention,Health Behavior,Health Promotion,Food,Eating Habits,Semi Structured Interviews,Student Attitudes,Educational Environment,Foreign Countries,Governance,Physical Education,Educational Policy,Nutrition Instruction,Parent Influence,Qualitative Research

In recent years, media, health organizations and researchers have raised concern over the health of Canadian children and adolescents. Stakeholders have called on the government to confront the problem. Schools are seen as an ideal location for developing and implementing large-scale interventions because of the ease of access to large groups of children and adolescents. Within Ontario, new nutrition policies, such as the School Food and Beverage Policy (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010) have been implemented, in an attempt to change the current health status of children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the eating behaviours and nutrition knowledge of young women in an Ontario secondary school. Twenty semi-structured interviews with young women between the ages of 14 and 17 years old were used to examine the reproduction, negotiation and resistance to the nutrition messages received by the young women within the school environment. The interviews revealed the influence parents have on the nutrition knowledge and behaviours of their children, the inability of adolescents to apply learned nutrition knowledge and the ineffectiveness of the school environment in influencing eating behaviours.
Curricular Critique of an Environmental Education Policy: Implications for Practice
Author: Karrow, Douglas D.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Environmental Education,Educational Policy,Criticism,Foreign Countries,Integrated Curriculum,Models,Classification,Teaching Methods,Policy Analysis,Epistemology,Interdisciplinary Approach

This paper provides a curricular critique of an environmental education policy framework called &quot;Acting Today, Shaping Tomorrow&quot; (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009). Answers to the following two curricular questions: &quot;What should be taught?&quot; and &quot;How it should be taught?&quot; frame the critique. Scrutiny of the latter of the two questions through an examination of the conventional argument for integrated curriculum models and their relevance to K-12 environmental education comprises the first part of the critique. The second part of the critique examines utilization of a typology of integrated curriculum models to analyze an environmental education policy framework within the jurisdiction of Ontario, Canada. In conclusion, Ontario's environmental education policy framework tends toward an integrated curriculum model referred to as &quot;selective infusion&quot; illustrating a disconnect between curriculum theorists and designers. The implications for integrated curricular practice are identified, limitations of the critique are highlighted, and recommendations for improving the policy framework from a pragmatic curricular perspective are summarized.
A Study of Online English Language Teacher Education Programmes in Distance Education Context in Pakistan
Author: Farooq, Muhammad U.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Distance Education,Teacher Education Programs,Blended Learning,Educational Quality,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Access to Education,Language Teachers,Online Courses,Computer Mediated Communication,Open Universities,Masters Programs,Costs,Program Improvement,Teaching Methods,Student Attitudes,Student Characteristics,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Statistical Analysis,Pretests Posttests,Foreign Countries

Technology-based initiatives have transformed the process of teaching and learning activities at formal institutions generally and distance education institutions particularly. Distance education is at the heart of the digital age making maximum use of the emerging technologies. Researchers have favoured computer mediated communications (CMC) for improving the quality of teacher education in developing countries by providing access to more and better educational resources. The researchers designed a CMC-ELT blended model and offered online English language teacher education courses at post-graduate level. A group of students enrolled in MA TEFL programme of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) Islamabad Pakistan, was selected randomly and was guided through CMC-ELT blended model. The results of the study showed that the online support in distance education enhanced students' performance in terms of access, interaction and cost. The effective use of online support in distance education can improve the quality of English language teaching programmes in Pakistan.
Listening to Voices at the Educational Frontline: New Administrators' Experiences of the Transition from Teacher to Vice-Principal
Author: Armstrong, Denise E.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Qualitative Research,Assistant Principals,Teacher Promotion,Intention,Barriers,Administrator Role,Semi Structured Interviews,Secondary Schools,Comparative Analysis,Work Environment,Stress Variables,Interpersonal Relationship,Principals,Foreign Countries

This qualitative study explored the transition from teaching to administration through the voices of four novice vice-principals. An integrative approach was used to capture the interaction between new vice-principals, their external contexts, and the resulting leadership outcomes. The data revealed that in spite of these new administrators' intention to create better schools for all students, they encountered multiple factors that hindered their ability to achieve their leadership goals. Key obstacles included the ambiguous legal and institutional configuration of the vice-principalship, inadequate preparation for challenging front line managerial and disciplinary roles, and inappropriate transitional support. Through listening to new vice-principals voices and providing relevant preparation and coordinated supports, school districts, policy makers, professional associations, and regulatory bodies can improve this transition and address some of the leadership challenges facing schools.
Retention and Retrieval of Unidirectional, Paired-Associate Verbal Input
Author: Ozcan, Mehmet
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Vocabulary Development,Retention (Psychology),Recall (Psychology),Linguistic Input,Context Effect,Students,Language Teachers,Statistical Analysis

This study is designed to investigate whether the sequence of input is influential in the recollection of the retained information. Eighty first year students, 40 girls and 40 boys, studying in ELT department participated in the study. Three tasks were administered to the participants. In the first test three different lists of words and their counterparts are given. The participants were asked to learn the words in a column and their counterparts in the next one. They were informed that they were going to be given a test two days later. In the second test, administered two days later following the first one, they were given the lists as the sequence of the words was reversed. In the third test, the participants were given the words &quot;tea,&quot; &quot;window,&quot; &quot;spill&quot; and &quot;break&quot; as a free association test. While the failure in the recollection of paired-associate words in Forward Recall tests was low, it was significantly high in Backward Recollection tests. The findings show that the sequence of the input at the time of retention is crucial in the recollection of the information stored in memory.
Individual Differences in Written Corrective Feedback: A Multi-Case Study
Author: Li, Su
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Case Studies,Error Correction,Feedback (Response),Writing Instruction,Interviews,Student Motivation,Individual Differences,Quasiexperimental Design,College Students,Language Tests,Learning Strategies,Pretests Posttests

Written corrective feedback (WCF) has been a long time practice in L2 writing instruction. However, in many cases, the effects are not satisfactory. There have been controversies about it both theoretically and empirically. This paper reports a multi-case study exploring individual differences that impact learners' responses to WCF. Four students' compositions in an English course with writing components were examined. Then, the students were interviewed. The results of analyses reveal, though all the four students were motivated to study by a compulsory provincial English test, students of significantly lower proficiency were motivated to significantly more independent learning activities after class. As a result, they achieved significantly greater improvement. It is also revealed that WCF did not lead to simplified writing in terms of lexical diversity and structural complexity, for the students knew the grading criteria for the written task in the compulsory test. Moreover, this study shows that Ferris (1999) classification of treatable and untreatable errors should be used with reference to the students' present zone of proximal development (ZPD). Finally, pedagogical suggestions are provided.
The Effect of Gloss Type and Mode on Iranian EFL Learners' Reading Comprehension
Author: Sadeghi, Karim
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Reading Comprehension,English (Second Language),English Instruction,Computer Assisted Instruction,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Language Tests,Language Proficiency,Pretests Posttests,Statistical Analysis,Multimedia Instruction,Instructional Effectiveness,Teaching Methods,Intermode Differences,Technology Integration,Achievement Gains,College English

This study investigated the effects of three kinds of gloss conditions that is traditional non-CALL marginal gloss, computer-based audio gloss, and computer-based extended audio gloss, on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, three experimental and one control groups, each comprising 15 participants, took part in this study. In order to ensure that the participants were from the right proficiency level, KET (Key Language Test) was used to select upper-intermediate proficiency learners. Participants in each group read two passages under one of the three mentioned conditions, with no gloss offered for control group. They all completed one pretest, one reading session, and one post-test. The data were analyzed using t-tests and one-way ANOVA. Statistical analyses of the results revealed that extended audio gloss group, who were provided with the voice of a speaker to read the meaning of the target word, as well as one example sentence, significantly outperformed the other groups. The results of this study provide some insights for teachers and administrators to review their curricula, approaches, and educational tools, and to consider the possibility of incorporating CALL technology into their teaching.
Difficulties Students Face in Understanding Drama in English Literature at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG)
Author: Shakfa, Mahmoud Dawoud Ali
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Drama,Correlation,Questionnaires,English Literature,Qualitative Research,Surveys,Majors (Students),Islam,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Figurative Language,Literary Devices,Student Attitudes,Undergraduate Students,Student Characteristics,Marital Status,Teaching Methods,Foreign Countries

The present paper explores the problems of English Language and Literature junior and senior majors, who are enrolled in a drama course at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG). The course emphasizes the significance of drama. Morgan (1987: 7) defines drama as an &quot;art of communication,&quot; which is essential in teaching literature. A survey was administered and the questionnaire consisted of open and closed questions to have both quantitative and qualitative information of what each participant attributes to each facet of the study. The participants of the study consisted of 133 randomly selected students, which is 39% of the population of the current study. The population included both male and female students of &quot;English Literature in the 20th Century&quot; in the second semester (2006-2007). The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, T-test independent sample, Spearman correlation, means and percentages, as well as Alpha Cronbach and Split-half. Findings showed that a majority of the students agreed that &quot;reading drama is more common than watching it.&quot; Students face this major difficulty in learning drama. Over 70% of the students agreed that &quot;students feel frustrated with the length of a play,&quot; &quot;extensive use of symbolism, similes, metaphor,&quot; and &quot;writing style&quot; were serious problems. Further research is strongly recommended to be conducted particularly in IUG, to fill in the gap among issues students face such as cultural, communicative, and linguistic facets in learning drama. The removal of these obstacles can benefit different aspects of learning and teaching drama and literature. These implications can be multi-dimensional in terms of linguistic, cultural, and communicative aims.
The Effect of the Graphic Organizer Strategy on University Students' English Vocabulary Building
Author: Al-Hinnawi, Arwa N.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Instructional Materials,College Students,Vocabulary Development,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Comparative Analysis,Pretests Posttests,Statistical Analysis,Language Tests,Instructional Effectiveness,Computer Software

This study aimed at investigating the effect of the graphic organizer strategy on vocabulary building and vocabulary incremental growth of Jordanian university EFL students. One hundred and two students participated in the study which lasted for one academic semester of four months. Each student enrolled in one of two intact and equally-sized classes of a general English Language course. One of the classes was assigned to an experimental group, whose students were taught eight specific features of vocabulary items using the GO strategy. The eight features were the word's spelling, pronunciation, part of speech, meaning in the first language, meaning in the foreign language, synonym, antonym and using it in an example sentence. The other class was assigned to a control group, whose students were taught the same vocabulary items using traditional instruction. A pre-test and a post-test were administered to all students whose responses were analyzed using adjusted means, standard errors and an ANCOVA. Results revealed that the experimental group students outperformed those students in the control group concerning their vocabulary building. To decide whether the GO strategy had an incremental growth in students' vocabulary building, students of both groups sat for three separate evaluative tests. Students' responses were analyzed using Microsoft Excel sheets and results showed that this strategy significantly improved students' vocabulary growth over time.
Self-Efficacy in Second/Foreign Language Learning Contexts
Author: Raoofi, Saeid
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Self Efficacy,Literature Reviews,Social Cognition,Predictor Variables,Student Attitudes,Context Effect,Language Research,Learning Strategies

This study reviews the empirical literature of self-efficacy, a central component of social cognitive theory, in the area of second language learning by focusing on two research questions: first, to what extent, has self-efficacy, as a predicting variable, been explored in the field of second language learning? Second, what factors affect learners' self-efficacy beliefs in learning a foreign/second language? On addressing the research questions, 32 articles published between 2003 and 2012 were selected. The articles were classified into two main categories--effects of self-efficacy and factors affecting self-efficacy. Then each category was divided into certain subcategories for discussion. The findings of the review revealed that several factors enhance the level of students' self-efficacy, and self-efficacy is a strong predictor of performance in different language skills and tasks. Limitations of the empirical studies discussed and directions for further investigation are also presented.