ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
A Synoptic and Theoretical Account of Character (Digits and Capital Letters) Reversal in Writings by Typically Developing Children
Author: Fischer, Jean-Paul
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Writing Processes,Handwriting,Young Children,Memory,Generalization,Neurology,Educational Psychology,Orthographic Symbols,Handedness,Gender Differences,Psychomotor Skills,Brain Hemisphere Functions,Character Recognition

Reversing characters (digits and letters) when writing, and complete mirror writing, raise one of the oldest and most mysterious questions in developmental and educational psychology: Why do five-year-old children write symbols (e.g., [reversed E] for E) they have neither learnt nor seen? Attempts to draw up a complete explanatory theory of character reversal in writings by typically developing children were long hindered by the existence of a seemingly satisfactory explanation (left-hand writing), the failure to bring together research in neuropsychology and educational psychology, and the failure to consider the shape and structure of the characters. The present paper remedies this situation by describing a new, comprehensive theory based on recent neuropsychological findings and extensive empirical observations. The theory assumes that a character's orientation, detected in the early visual processing area, is deleted (or made inaccessible) by the mirror generalization process during transfer to memory. Consequently, there is a period, usually around age five, during which children have representations of the characters' shapes but not their orientations. Hence, when asked to write a character, children have to improvise its orientation, and the orientation they choose (implicitly, non-consciously) is often derived from the writing direction in their culture.
Integrating Reading and Writing: Supporting Students&apos; Writing from Source
Author: Cooney, Adeline
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College Freshmen,Writing Instruction,Writing Skills,Skill Development,Critical Thinking,Communities of Practice,Foreign Countries,Communication Skills,Teamwork,Information Sources,Teaching Methods,Reading Skills,Writing Assignments,Research,Search Strategies,Information Seeking

Writing from sources is an important academic skill but students find it a difficult skill to learn. The lesson study method was used to design and evaluate learning and teaching strategies aimed at improving students' writing from sources skills. The team developed a seven-part lesson plan and associated learning activities and practice opportunities which was delivered over 12 hours. The lesson was delivered to first-year students (n = 150) taking a Critical Skills module. Students' writing was analysed to identify how they approached integrating sources into their writing. Analyses of student texts suggest significant improvement in some skills, for example, finding, interpreting and synthesising content across sources. Other skills showed less marked improvement, for example, critiquing sources and creating new text. This paper shares the lesson and makes suggestions for future iterations of the lesson.
Quantification of Influences on Student Perceptions of Group Work
Author: Butt, Adam
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Attitudes,Cooperative Learning,College Students,Teamwork,Curriculum Design,Group Dynamics,Demography,Prior Learning,Influences

How students perceive group work is closely correlated with the benefits of group work experience. However, a great variety of influences affect student perceptions of group work. This study quantifies the impact of various influences on the effective working, learning assistance and enjoyment of group work. This is done by analysing 206 responses to a survey of students in a course in actuarial science. A mixed ordered logit model is used to explicitly quantify the effect of various exogenous and endogenous influences on perceptions of group work. Student perceptions of group work are most heavily influenced by course design decisions regarding the scaffolding provided to groups, the expectation about whether or not they will enjoy group work, and their role undertaken in the group, including their level of effort (but not quality) relative to other group members. Implications for teaching practice are discussed.
The Role of Self-Determination Theory in Developing Curriculum for Flipped Classroom Learning: A Case Study of First-Year Business Undergraduate Course
Author: Narendran, Roshni
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Self Determination,Curriculum Development,Blended Learning,Case Studies,College Freshmen,Business Administration Education,Active Learning,Personal Autonomy,Independent Study,Cooperative Learning,Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),Competence,Sense of Community,Outcomes of Education,Foreign Countries

This study examines the influence of adopting a student-centered active learning approach based on self-determination theory (SDT) to develop independent and motivated first-year Australian business undergraduates. Existing literature demonstrates how active learning approaches can help to improve student motivation. However, there are no empirical studies to assess the influence of active learning classroom activities on student academic performance during their first year of tertiary studies. The aim of our study is to contribute to knowledge by integrating self-determination theory, and 'at-home ethnographic' research approach to reflect on how active learning-classroom strategies can help tertiary business students become independent learners and improve their academic performance. The active learning-classroom approach included a scaffolded assessment structure; timely and ongoing tutor feedback on assessment criteria and learning outcomes of the scaffolded assessments; and social/peer-based learning activities within and outside of the classroom to support student performance. The authors draw on an 'at-home ethnographic' research approach, which allowed the teaching team to use their observations during the 13 weeks of teaching, and team reflections, to describe not only what they witnessed, but also their experiences of how students interacted, and what they did within the classroom environment. The study shows that students became autonomous and positively benefited from the scaffolded assessment structure while evolving to become competent, independent learners due to the continuous feedback they received on their assessments, and to the active peer learning within and outside of the classroom. Moreover, the group assessments provided a platform to engage with academic literature, which, in turn, helped students to challenge their understanding of the concepts by engaging in critical analysis with their peers. The findings can help future tertiary learning designers to develop first year assessments that will support students to become independent learners and reduce the level of attrition during the first year of tertiary education.
Launching Integrative Experiences through Linked Courses: The Future Educators Learning Community (FELC)
Author: Brown, Jamie
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Communities of Practice,Teacher Collaboration,Preservice Teacher Education,Preservice Teachers,Teamwork,Learner Engagement,Student Development,Teacher Leadership,Faculty Development,Assignments,Courses,Interpersonal Communication,Program Effectiveness

This article describes the first implementation of the Future Educators Learning Community, and particularly, the impact of three linked courses and instructor collaboration. With supporting literature and the context and background of this learning community as the foundation, our experiences are structured into three distinct categories: preparing, implementing, and reflecting upon our journey. Pertinent logistics are discussed as well as the importance of ongoing communication and collaboration in response to real-time feedback from students. Throughout this initial implementation, recurring themes emerged that extended meaning for both students and instructors. The article concludes with important lessons learned, as well a poetic representation of the initial Future Educator Learning Community.
An Analysis of Learning Outcomes in a Freshman Seminar Learning Community That Utilizes Peer Mentoring at a Community College
Author: Hill, George J.
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Community Colleges,Two Year College Students,First Year Seminars,Peer Teaching,Mentors,Outcomes of Education,Cooperative Learning,Communities of Practice,Learner Engagement,Program Effectiveness

While there has been research on the effects of utilizing Peer Mentors within Learning Communities with regards to retention data, little research has been done to show the effects that Peer Mentoring has on learning outcomes within a Learning Community. Using anecdotal evidence from peer mentors working within a Learning Community at an urban community college, we describe the effects that individual mentors have had on individual first-semester students. For a preliminary quantitative analysis, a pre post survey was given to two groups of Learning Community students, one group which had peer mentors attached to their Learning Communities (PMLC), and one which did not (non-PMLC). Using an independent t-test, we were able to show that there were some improvements in familiarity from pre to post in both groups and that, in some cases, the PMLC group showed greater improvement than the non-PMLC group, the results were not statistically significant.
An Evaluation of Shared Governance in Public Universities in Kenya: Students Lens
Author: Aluoch, Asesa Amondi Edna
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Governance,Participative Decision Making,State Universities,Organizational Effectiveness,Student Participation,Foreign Countries,Educational Legislation,Educational Policy,College Students,Student Attitudes,Conflict Resolution,Student Unions,Student Leadership

Shared governance is an ideal form of Institutional governance providing all stakeholders with opportunity to participate, fostering acceptance of decisions and effectiveness of organization. This paper evaluates the current state of shared governance as the ideal form of Institutional Governance in public Universities, in line with the provisions of the individual University Statutes drawn from the University Act 2012. There have been continued complaints, claims of un-involvement and dissatisfaction evident in many riots and demonstrations that have characterized higher educational institutions, despite the Kenyan Government's concerted efforts to increase and ensure student participation in the Public Universities Governance. The purpose of the study therefore was to evaluate the state of university governance in public universities in Kenya. The study employed descriptive research design. The study was carried out in seven public universities in Kenya that had university charter by the year 2012. Stratified random sampling technique was used to sample 194 student leaders from 362 based on the offices within the student council. Quantitative data was collected using a survey research tool: questionnaire. The findings of the study on students' involvement in share governance revealed that universities exercise shared governance within the organizational structure with a mean rating of 2.85, access to information (3.18) and conflict resolution (3.48). However, traditional governance was practiced in influence on resources (2.30) being a subscale of shared governance. I make a case therefore for student involvement in shared governance as envisaged by the legislation. The paper concludes that structures of shared governance provides overall, opportunities for students participation and these exists in the organization to increase shared decision-making across all four subscales of shared governance. However, the University Management need to improve on the students official authority to influence resources specifically in order to realize shared governance as envisaged in The University Act 2012 and their individual University Statutes in order to full promote the benefits of shared governance.
My Classroom: Tanzania
Author: Werner, Riah
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Secondary Education,Public Schools,Rural Schools,Access to Education,English (Second Language),Language of Instruction,Teaching Methods,Learner Engagement,Secondary School Teachers,Classroom Environment,Teacher Competencies,Teacher Certification

Mboni Secondary is a government-run school in a rural part of Northern Tanzania. Following the British system, the school provides four years of O-level lower-secondary education to students who have already completed seven years of primary education. While some of the school's 238 students come from the villages near the school, others live farther away, with travel times of over an hour between their homes and the school. Catherine Njau prides herself on being a modern teacher and is constantly trying new ways to encourage her students to communicate in English during class. She takes a proactive approach to finding new techniques to try in her classroom. She searches the Internet on her laptop. Students move, sing, play games, and speak loudly. Even the students who are normally disengaged become lively when she teaches. She takes the noisiness of her classroom as a sign of success, since it shows that her students are building their confidence. Ms. Njau sees herself as a role model for her students, and describes the many ways she is always learning and sharpening her own teaching skills so that she can teach her students to change their communities, and the whole society in which they live.
Developing Mathematical Mindsets: The Need to Interact with Numbers Flexibly and Conceptually
Author: Boaler, Jo
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics,Numbers,Spatial Ability,Geometric Concepts,Mathematical Concepts,Children,Mathematics Instruction,Teaching Methods,Student Attitudes,Student Motivation,Mathematics Anxiety,Brain,Mathematics Activities,Educational Games

Babies and infants love mathematics. Give babies a set of blocks, and they will build and order them, fascinated by the ways the edges line up. Children will look up at the sky and be delighted by the V formations in which birds fly. Count a set of objects with a young child and then move the objects and count them again, and they will be enchanted by the fact they still have the same number. Ask children to make patterns with colored blocks, and they will work happily making repeating patterns--one of the most mathematical of all acts. We want to see patterns in the world and to understand the rhythms of the universe. The joy and fascination young children experience with mathematics are quickly replaced by dread and dislike when they start school mathematics and are introduced to a dry set of methods they think they just have to accept and remember. Successful math users have an approach to math as well as mathematical understanding that sets them apart from less successful users. They approach math with the desire to understand it and to think about it, and with the confidence that they can make sense of it. Successful math users search for patterns and relationships and think about connections. They approach math with a mathematical mindset, knowing that math is a subject of growth and that their role is to learn and think about new ideas. The outcome of the misguided school emphasis on memorization and testing can be seen in the numbers of students dropping out of mathematics and in the math crisis we currently face. This article discusses techniques to develop mathematical mindsets in students so that they are willing to approach math with sense making and intuition.
A Case Study of Using Mobile Applications and Peripherals to Encourage &quot;Real-Life&quot; Critical Analysis in Human Physiology
Author: Peart, Daniel J.
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Case Studies,Physiology,Teaching Methods,Problem Based Learning,Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Quality Assurance,Comparative Analysis,Computer Software,Metabolism,Benchmarking,Foreign Countries,Student Attitudes,Outcomes of Education,Science Instruction,Undergraduate Students,Formative Evaluation

This paper shares a practice of encouraging critical analysis in science students by comparing mobile applications and peripherals to traditional tools to record physiological variables such as heart rate and blood pressure. A progressive series of case studies is described with learning outcomes mapped to the benchmark statement for Bioscience from the United Kingdom's Quality Assurance Agency. A student reflection and staff commentary of the practice is also offered.
Factors Affecting the Team Formation and Work in Project Based Learning (PBL) for Multidisciplinary Engineering Subjects
Author: Bani-Hani, Ehab
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Problem Based Learning,Teaching Methods,Interdisciplinary Approach,Engineering Education,Teamwork,Student Attitudes,Preferences,Decision Making,Friendship,Work Ethic,Personality Traits,Social Influences,Cultural Influences,Gender Differences,Religious Factors,Ethnicity,Communication Skills,Undergraduate Students

The main challenges facing a project based learning (PBL) facilitator in our institution is addressed here in team forming for multidisciplinary PBL subjects of diploma students in mechanical and civil engineering. These challenges include the type of projects, how to team up students, how to proceed with planning, how to swap planning outputs among teams, and how to proceed with implementation of a project. Having executed several multidisciplinary subjects over few years in our institution, a survey was conducted from the facilitators and students at the school of engineering to identify the main concerns of both facilitators and students in creating teams and maintaining teamwork to tackle a real life engineering problem. A questioner consist of 7 questions were distributed and the answers were collected from 10 facilitators and 60 students from both diploma programs. Analyzing the data collected from the survey, the ideal number of students in each team was identified as four students per team; two students from each discipline. Moreover, students believe that they can perform better if they are allowed to select their teammates rather than be grouped randomly by the facilitator. The preferences of students on selecting their teammates was based on the criteria of friendship, hardworking, flexibility in personal character, or being helpful. Moreover, the results of survey indicate that the social/cultural issues such as gender, religion, and ethnicity are also important in forming the teams.
Random Allocation of Students into Small Groups in Problem-Based Learning Can Create Significant Between-Group Variation during the Assessment Process
Author: Work, Timothy
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Small Group Instruction,Cooperative Learning,Problem Based Learning,Tutors,Student Evaluation,Scores,College Students,Zoology,Group Dynamics,Grades (Scholastic),Evaluation Methods

In problem-based learning large cohorts of students are divided into smaller groups that pursue learning objectives with separate instructors called tutors. This presents challenges for tutors tasked with providing similar educational experiences and assessment of multiple groups of students. Here we evaluated between-group variation in test scores that are attributable solely to the random sampling without replacement process used to form smaller groups. We then compared this with the actual between-group variation in test scores in a university-level zoology class over 4 years. We found the variation attributable exclusively to group formation accounted for a 14.4-16.2 point differential between groups whereas differences in empirical test scores attributable to group formation and other factors such as tutor capacity and group dynamics ranged from 12-18 points and rarely exceeded the variation inherent solely to group formation. This implies ad-hoc strategies for reducing variation between groups at the assessment phase will have limited success.
Assessment for Project-Based Courses
Author: Fugate, James
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Projects,Active Learning,Teaching Methods,Student Evaluation,Tests,Academic Achievement,Deafness,Technical Education,Drafting,Computer Assisted Instruction,Formative Evaluation,Interior Design,Elective Courses

A project-based course is where students engage in a series of projects, which help lead students to a defined level of skill as specified in the course goals. Unlike a traditional lecture course where students are given examinations to assess the level of student knowledge and understanding, a project-based course may not include any formal examination. The assessment of student progress is often based on the quality of course projects. For this research, students in project-based courses were given a formal exam at the end of the course. The objective of the exam was to determine if there was a discrepancy between student performance on the exam and their projects. While the majority of students performed remarkably similarly on their exam and projects, a number of students (25%) did perform quite differently. This study demonstrated that examinations are still a critical tool for assessing student skill level in project-based courses.
The Effect of Tactile Illustrations on Comprehension of Storybooks by Three Children with Visual Impairments: An Exploratory Study
Author: Bara, Florence
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Manipulative Materials,Illustrations,Picture Books,Childrens Literature,Tactual Perception,Visual Impairments,Reading Comprehension,Young Children,Story Reading,Recall (Psychology)

In tactile illustrated books, the reader has to explore the tactile picture in order to interpret its meaning and to associate it with the text content. As is the case with sighted children, tactile illustrations could be beneficial for language and literacy development of visually impaired children (that is, those with blindness or low vision), and should help them in understanding and remembering the story (Stratton &amp; Wright, 1991). However, the identification of tactile illustrations is not simple, and it varies according to the characteristics of the tactile pictures, the level of visual experience of the participants. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the presence or absence of illustration as well as the effect of the type of illustration on the processing of information in a short story. In this exploratory study, three 6-year-old children with different levels of visual impairment participated in a joint book-reading task. During the task, the children needed to listen to the story and to explore the illustration. How the child interacted with the adult and with the book during reading, and what he was able to recall about the story, were examined as clues to the process of understanding the story.