ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Relationships between Scientific Process Skills and Scientific Creativity: Mediating Role of Nature of Science Knowledge
Author: Ozdemir, Gokhan
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Science Process Skills,Creativity,Scientific Principles,Knowledge Level,Middle School Students,Grade 7,Structural Equation Models,Correlation,Multivariate Analysis,Statistical Analysis,Foreign Countries

The purpose of this study is to explore the strength of relationships between 7th grade students' Scientific Process Skills (SPS), Nature of Science (NOS) beliefs, and Scientific Creativity (SC) through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). For this purpose, data were collected from 332 students of two public middle school students in Turkey. SPS, Nature of Scientific Knowledge Scale (NSKS) and SC instruments were used as data collection tools. Zero-order and partial correlation analysis, MANCOVA and ANCOVA analyses were conducted on the data. Two models were hypothesized. In Hypothesized Model 1, it was considered that SPS both directly and indirectly through subscales of NSKS predicted SC; whereas, in Hypothesized Model 2, it was considered that the SPS directly predicted SC. SEM analysis was conducted to test the two hypothesized models. Sobel's z tests were conducted to examine the significance of the mediator roles of NSKS's subscales in the relationships between SPS and SC. Results indicated that the relationships between SPS and SC were partially mediated by only the Testable subscale of NSKS; likewise, this relationship was partially mediated by second-order factor NSKS. Finally, we found that the Creative subscale of NSKS has a moderator role on predictive power of the SPS on the SC. Classroom implications obtained from the results are discussed in the paper.
Effective Intervention across Socioeconomic Classes for Improvement in Language Outcomes
Author: Kanwal, Afia
Date: 2017-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Intervention,Socioeconomic Status,Language Skills,Engineering Education,Language Proficiency,Statistical Analysis,College Students,Speech Skills,Writing Skills

Students in higher education bring with them a difference of linguistic abilities that is often due to the difference in socioeconomic status and early schooling. The lack of linguistic capacity hampers academic pace and introduces discrepancies in performance of learners. This paper examines the persistence of socioeconomic differences being translated in educational institutes and their influence on language outcomes and it investigates the role of effective intervention through an action research model by Zuber-Skerritt (1992) called CRASP. It is an experimental study based on a sample of 300 engineering students which examines initial and final evaluation of language proficiency through intervention. The tools used to gather data include demographics, language test of writing and speaking skills and sequential assessment. The results showed that intervention is helpful for enhancing language proficiency nonetheless; the improvement rate is nearly negligible and requires a long-term plan to impact early disadvantage of exposure.
Acquisition of Zero Relative Clauses in English by Adult Turkish Learners of English
Author: Ordem, Eser
Date: 2017-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Adults,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Turkish,Grammar,Word Order,Sentences,Language Usage,Translation,College Students

Studies on acquisition of relative clauses by first and second language learners have evoked considerable interest in recent decades. In line with such studies, in this present study we aim to show the possible effect of first language (Turkish) on second language (English) in zero relative clause constructions. English uses certain stranded prepositions in zero relative clauses, whereas Turkish uses the same suffix in non-subject relative clause constructions. This observation in two typologically different languages led the study to claim that Turkish word order in non-subject relative clauses affects the acquisition of zero relative clauses in English. Fifty sentences in Turkish were prepared and composed of five categories. Each category consisted of ten sentences. Each category referred to one of the five cases in Turkish. These cases were accusative, locative, ablative, dative and instrumental. The participants (N=91) were asked to translate these Turkish sentences into English. The results showed that the participants tended to omit prepositions in English zero relative clauses except the construction that did not entail any preposition. Therefore, the study implies that Turkish language learners may be under the effect of their mother tongue while producing zero relative clauses in English.
The Effect of Active-Participant Experiments upon the Skills of Nursery Class Students to Recognize Measuring Instruments
Author: Sapsaglam, Ozkan
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preschool Education,Science Activities,Science Process Skills,Measurement,Early Childhood Education,Skill Development,Scientific Concepts,Action Research,Pretests Posttests,Observation,Preschool Teachers,Science Experiments,Visual Stimuli,Foreign Countries,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis

Preschool children learn through their senses. Children learn language, daily life skills, concepts and many other things through their senses. Thus, preschool educational environments and preschool educational activities should stimulate children's senses. In this context, preschool science activities and experiments have positive effects upon children's development and learning as they contain skills aimed at various senses like observation, relationship establishment, interpretation, inference and discussion. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of active-participant experiments upon the skills of preschool children to recognize and accurately select measuring instruments that are encountered in daily life and used in measuring various magnitudes. In the study, action research method was used. The study was conducted in the school year of 2015-2016 with totally 19 children (8 male and 11 female) aged 48-60 months. A total of 6 experiments (mass, weight, volume, length, temperature and time) were performed in 3 weeks to measure two magnitudes each week. In order to collect the study data, the researchers developed a measuring instrument of totally 6 questions, 3 of which were distracting. As a result of the study, it was determined that the experiments were effective upon the skills of children to recognize and accurately select measuring instruments that were used in measuring daily life magnitudes like mass, weight, volume, length, temperature and time.
Nature of Science as Portrayed in the Middle School Science and Technology Curriculum: The Case of Turkey
Author: Izci, Kemal
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Scientific Principles,Science Curriculum,Textbooks,Science and Society,Alignment (Education),Misconceptions,Social Influences,Cultural Influences,Grade 6,Grade 7,Grade 8,Middle Schools,Secondary School Science,National Curriculum

Representation of nature of science (NOS) within curricula including standards, grade level expectations, and textbooks and their alignment with each other to achieve teaching NOS is crucial. Thus, the aims of the study were to a) assess how NOS is portrayed in standards, grade level expectations and a teacher edition of seventh grade textbook of science and technology curriculum of Turkey and demonstrate b) how they aligned with each other to support teaching of NOS. A conceptual analysis was used to achieve the aims of the study by focusing on aspects of NOS , namely: the empirical, tentative, inferential, creative, theory-laden, and social dimensions of NOS; myth of &quot;The Scientific Method&quot;; nature of theories and laws; and social and cultural embeddedness of science. Analyses indicated that the targeted NOS aspects were insufficiently portrayed in these documents in that some important aspects of NOS (e.g., scientific theories and laws) are not included while some others (e.g., inferential and theory-driven) are implicitly represented. The findings also showed that the alignment between the curriculum and the textbook is not adequate to transfer the aims of the curriculum for NOS into classroom practices. Implications for curriculum developers and textbook publishers were also discussed.
Learning Designers in the &quot;Third Space&quot;: The Socio-Technical Construction of MOOCs and Their Relationship to Educator and Learning Designer Roles in HE
Author: White, Steven
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Online Courses,Large Group Instruction,Higher Education,Teacher Role,Instructional Design,Case Studies,Social Theories,Social Influences,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Foreign Countries,Semi Structured Interviews

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are frequently portrayed as &quot;agents of change&quot; in higher education (HE), impacting on institutional practices, processes and structures throughout HE. However, these courses do not &quot;fit&quot; neatly with the established aims and functions of universities, and accounts of technology-led change in universities predominate, simplistically emphasising technologically determinist narratives with incidental social effects. This study aims to explore the consequences of introducing these courses into HE in terms of the roles of educators, learning designers and the socio-technical construction of MOOCs. The research takes a socio-technical perspective, combining the established analytical strategy of Socio-Technical Interaction Networks (STIN) with the social theoretical &quot;third space&quot; framework of HE activity. The paper reports on the first of three institutional cases studies, finding that learning designers occupy a hub-like position in the networks of actors involved in MOOC development within an emergent &quot;third space&quot; between academic and managerial roles. The analysis also reveals how the massive and open elements of these courses elicit involvement of seemingly peripheral actors, who exert a strong influence on course production processes and content, with educators taking a less central role. This work adds a socio-technical element to understandings of third space activity in higher education, and can inform the planning and development of online education projects in accounting for changing roles in HE where massiveness and openness are combined in a course.
Support Services at Spanish and U.S. Institutions: A Driver for International Student Satisfaction
Author: Perez-Encinas, Adriana
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Foreign Students,Student Personnel Services,Student Satisfaction,College Students,Comparative Analysis,Student Surveys

Many institutions of higher education are promoting campus internationalization as a core principle through international student mobility and, as a result, have expanded rapidly in enrollment. To effectively serve this growing population, many campuses have had to strengthen their student support services. However, while many have well-developed programs for students in general, not all services are designed to specifically cover the needs of international students. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview on research conducted on the topic of international student satisfaction with university support services as a means to ensure a positive student experience. It also provides a new research approach for comparing how support services for international students are structured at Spanish and U.S. institutions.
Relationship of Middle School Student STEM Interest to Career Intent
Author: Christensen, Rhonda
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Middle School Students,Student Attitudes,STEM Education,Career Choice,Occupational Aspiration,Correlation,Intention,Student Surveys,Student Characteristics,Gender Differences,Pretests Posttests,Comparative Analysis,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Questionnaires,Likert Scales

Understanding middle school students' perceptions regarding STEM dispositions, and the role attitudes play in establishing STEM career aspirations, is imperative to preparing the STEM workforce of the future. Data were gathered from more than 800 middle school students participating in a hands-on, real world application curriculum to examine the relationship of the students' interest in STEM and their intentions to pursue a career in a STEM field. Among the middle school students who completed surveys for the MSOSW project, 46.6% expressed a desire to pursue a career in STEM at the time of the post test. Regarding alignment of positive interest in STEM with intent to purse a STEM career, middle school students who have stated that they plan to pursue a career in STEM, also show higher dispositions toward STEM and STEM career measures. Gender differences were also examined, resulting in the finding that middle school males generally have greater intent to pursue a career in STEM, and also show more positive interest in STEM areas. However, females appear to more positively react to the project activities presented in this study than males, so over the course of a project year females tend to &quot;catch up.&quot; This is true regarding assessed STEM interest as well as stated intent to pursue a career in STEM. These findings provide additional contributions to the growing base of knowledge about the importance of middle school aspirations for STEM careers.
Effect of Cooperative Learning Strategy on Students' Acquisition and Practice of Scientific Skills in Biology
Author: Chatila, Hanadi
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Cooperative Learning,Biology,Skill Development,Science Process Skills,Science Instruction,Comparative Analysis,Pretests Posttests,Science Achievement,Foreign Countries,Grade 7,Grade 10,High School Students,Quasiexperimental Design

Recent research findings have shown that cooperative learning improves students' thinking skills as it allows them to communicate actively with each other (Johnson, Johnson and Smith, 2014). Therefore, cooperative learning has been proposed by many educators to be implemented in classrooms to produce lifelong learners and critical thinkers (Lunenburg, 2011). The current study investigates the effect of cooperative learning in Biology classroom, on students' learning and achievement of scientific skills. A convenient sample of 120 students from two grade levels, seven and ten, participated in the study in a private school in Beirut, where biology was taught to each class of the two different grades using two different teaching methods: cooperative learning (experimental group) and individualistic-direct learning (control group). Pre- and post- tests were administrated to both groups of each grade to compare students' achievement particularly in scientific skills items before and after intervention. Results of the study show that cooperative learning has a significant effect on students' achievement in learning and practicing scientific skills in grade ten, however no significant effect was shown in the acquisition of new scientific skills for grade seven students.
The Analysis of Fourth Grade Primary Students' Reader Self-Perceptions in Terms of Gender and Preschool Educational Background
Author: Sagirli, Muhittin
Date: 2017-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Grade 4,Elementary School Students,Reading Skills,Public Schools,Foreign Countries,Self Concept,Statistical Analysis,Preschool Education,Correlation,Surveys,Gender Differences

The aim of this study was to analyse perceptions of fourth grade primary school students on their reading ability. In study, screening model was used as a quantitative research method. The sample of this research was selected by convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 556 fourth grade students who received education in 8 public schools in 2014-2015 academic year in Tuzla, Pendik, Çekmeköy and Kadiköy districts in Istanbul. A &quot;personal information form? and a &quot;Reading Self-Perception Scale? were used as data collection tools in this study. It is found that the readability level of scales and their sub-dimensions? was convenience for the research according to item analysis. The data collected by personal information form and Reader Self-Perception Scale was analysed with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) 23 statistical package program. For the analysis frequency and percentage distribution, mean square and standard deviation values, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and independent samples t-test were used. The general reader self-perception of fourth graders is at positive level. The highest level of reader self-perceptions is at &quot;progress? The general self-perception levels of students vary by gender. The reader self-perceptions level of female students is higher than the reader self-perceptions level of male students. The reader self-perceptions of students vary by pre-school educational background. The students who have pre-school educational background have higher level of reader self-perception with its sub-dimensions than the students who don't have pre-school educational background.
An Investigation into Logical Thinking Skills and Proof Writing Levels of Prospective Mathematics Teachers
Author: Özdemir, Emine
Date: 2017-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Teachers,Preservice Teachers,Validity,Mathematical Logic,Logical Thinking,Mixed Methods Research,Thinking Skills,Foreign Countries,Statistical Analysis,Knowledge Level

The cognitive development of prospective teacher needs to be taken into estimate so that proofs are presented in forms that are potentially meaningful for them. This requires educators and mathematicians to rethink consider the use of types of proof related to the logical thinking improvement of the singular. The purpose of the study is to identify the proof writing levels of prospective teachers and to reveal the difference between varying proof writing levels and logical thinking skills. In this study mixed research design was used and the sample was selected through criterion sampling. &quot;The Proof-Writing Scale&quot; and &quot;The Test of Logical Thinking&quot; were used as data tools. The proofs written by the prospective teachers for the theorems included in the Proof-Writing Scale were subjected to a descriptive analysis. The proofs were assigned in accordance with Balacheff's taxonomy. As a result of the study, the distribution of the proofs written by the prospective mathematics teachers to the theorems was as follows: pragmatic proofs (35%), intellectual proofs (49%) and demonstration proofs (16%). There was a significant difference, in terms of their logical thinking skills, among the prospective teachers who had varying levels of proof-writing.
The Impact of Using Representation Modes within Writing to Learn Activities on the Scientific Process Skills of the Fifth Grade Students
Author: Memis, Esra Kabatas
Date: 2017-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Writing Skills,Grade 5,Science Process Skills,Elementary School Students,Foreign Countries,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Writing Assignments,Learning Modalities,Science Instruction,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis,Pretests Posttests

The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of using multimodal representation modes in the writing practices done by the fifth grade students on their scientific process skills. A combined research method which had both quantitative and qualitative characteristics was used in the research and the groups were chosen as control and experimental groups. 32 5th grade students at an elementary school in the North of Turkey formed the study group. Scientific Process Skills Test and writing activities for learning were used as data collection tools in the study. When the unit was completed, the students were asked to tell their peers about the subjects in the unit with a writing activity in the summary writing type. While the students in the experimental group were obliged to use the representation modes in these writing to learn activities, the students in the control group were asked only to complete the writing activity. In this process, the students performed three writing activities, one preparation and two real practice activities. The criteria determining the content and the features of these writing activities (purpose, subject, interlocutor, writing type and page limit) were standards explained in the instructions distributed to the students. The most basic discrepancy between the groups was the request of using of multimodal representations for the students in the experimental group. The writing activities performed within the scope of the study were scored after they were evaluated in consideration of the criteria determined by the researchers. The Cronbach's alpha credibility coefficient of the scientific process skill test applied as the preliminary test in the beginning of the practice and the post-test at the end of it was determined as 72. The results of the research indicate that using multimodal representations make statistically significant differences on behalf of the experimental group in the scientific process skills of the students.
The Blended Learning Environment: A Viable Alternative for Special Needs Students
Author: Rivera, Jennifer Hall
Date: 2017-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Blended Learning,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Special Education,Disabilities,Conventional Instruction,Online Courses,Models,Barriers,Technology Integration

The traditional classroom provides a classical medium for educating students by allowing an open forum of communication between the pupil and teacher. The last twenty-five years have opened a new realm of possibilities in education through the use of technology and virtual supplemental resources, designed to engage learners in all academic levels. As general education and special needs teachers strive to provide the special education student with learning disabilities a constructive, enriching learning experience, the concept of a blended classroom has proven to be successful in achieving this goal. A blended learning environment provides special needs students with a two-fold benefit, a physical, face-to-face teacher of whom to ask questions and seek guidance, in addition to the assets of virtual resources.
Incorporating Learning Characteristics into Automatic Essay Scoring Models: What Individual Differences and Linguistic Features Tell Us about Writing Quality
Author: Crossley, Scott A.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Essays,Scoring,Writing Evaluation,Natural Language Processing,Standardized Tests,Scores,Surveys,Individual Differences,Accuracy,Writing Instruction,Syntax,Vocabulary Development,Data Analysis,Researchers,Computational Linguistics,Writing Attitudes,Intelligent Tutoring Systems,Reading Comprehension,Writing Apprehension,Statistical Analysis,Correlation,High School Students,Student Attitudes,Multiple Regression Analysis,Reading Tests

This study investigates a novel approach to automatically assessing essay quality that combines natural language processing approaches that assess text features with approaches that assess individual differences in writers such as demographic information, standardized test scores, and survey results. The results demonstrate that combining text features and individual differences increases the accuracy of automatically assigned essay scores over using either individual differences or text features alone. The findings presented here have important implications for writing educators because they reveal that essay scoring methods can benefit from the incorporation of features taken not only from the essay itself (e.g., features related to lexical and syntactic complexity), but also from the writer (e.g., vocabulary knowledge and writing attitudes). The findings have implications for educational data mining researchers because they demonstrate new natural language processing approaches that afford the automatic assessment of performance outcomes.