ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Elaborative Feedback to Enhance Online Second Language Reading Comprehension
Author: Bown, Andy
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reading Comprehension,Feedback (Response),Teaching Methods,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Quasiexperimental Design,Academic Discourse,Reading Materials,Comparative Analysis,Instructional Effectiveness,College Students,Foreign Countries,Pretests Posttests,Computer Assisted Instruction,Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Statistical Analysis

Many higher education students across the world are studying in situations where a high proportion of the academic materials they encounter are online reading texts written in their second language. While the online medium presents a number of challenges to L2 readers, it also enables the provision of a range of support mechanisms, such as instant feedback. This quasi-experimental study investigated the use of two types of feedback, elaborative and knowledge of response, and compares their effectiveness for enhancing online second language reading comprehension. The participants were 113 Emirati students of L2 English at a higher education college in the United Arab Emirates. Data were collected using a pre-test and a post-test measure of reading comprehension and an online reading comprehension exercise containing either elaborative or knowledge of response feedback. The results of the quasi-experiment showed no significant difference between the effects of the two feedback types on comprehension of an online reading text for the sample as a whole. Equally, for the high-proficiency readers, feedback type had no significant effect on text comprehension. However, with regard to the low-proficiency readers, those receiving elaborative feedback performed significantly better on the post-test than those who received knowledge of response feedback. The findings suggest that elaborative feedback can enhance online L2 reading comprehension but that it needs to be tailored specifically to the needs of the L2 readers it is intended to support.
Bridging the Gap between Curriculum Planning Policies and Pre-Service Teachers&apos; Needs
Author: Castro-Garces, Angela Yicely
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teachers,Preservice Teacher Education,Compliance (Legal),Educational Policy,Educational Planning,Student Teacher Attitudes,Student Needs,Questionnaires,Likert Scales,Educational Quality,Curriculum Design,Foreign Countries

The challenge and satisfaction of being a teacher is doubled when one has the precious task of being a teacher trainer, as our practices replicate exponentially, touching the lives of people we do not even get to meet. Accordingly, this article presents the analysis of a process that brought tensions to a teacher training program because of the need to comply with the guidelines of the National Ministry of Education while considering pre-service teachers' needs. Thus, a descriptive analysis was done, through a questionnaire, with the objective of portraying pre-service teachers' perceptions about the curriculum that underlies their teaching training program, and characterizing their contributions in the face of a new curriculum design. The gains obtained out of the participants' insights were key in understanding their feelings and provided a good source of information for the new curriculum. The results suggest that pre-service teachers' perceptions broaden teacher trainers' horizons and enrich curriculum planning as a step towards meaningful and inclusive learning.
Cognitive Diagnostic Research on Chinese Students&apos; English Listening Skills and Implications on Skill Training
Author: Chen, Huilin
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Secondary School Students,Listening Skills,Skill Development,Second Language Instruction,Cognitive Processes,Listening Comprehension,Correlation,Models,Achievement Tests,Case Studies

By analyzing the test data of 2718 secondary school students in Guangzhou China on 15 listening items from Guangzhou English Achievement Examination (2015) through G-DINA model, the study explored the relationships among the listening comprehension skills. Based on the test specifications and listening skill taxonomies in existence, 5 experts in language skills and language testing conducted item content analysis independently for the 15 listening items, defined 5 listening attributes, and constructed the Q-matrix. After analyzing latent classes and their posterior probabilities, the study discovered the relationship among the listening skills. According to the listening skill relationship, the study provides insights on the sequence of listening skill training. The efficiency of training may be improved when closely related listening skills are instructed and practiced at the same time. The study also demonstrates that the compensatory and saturated G-DINA model caters to the characteristics of listening comprehension skills and can be applied to tests involving highly interactive and hierarchical skills.
The Effects of L2 Experience and Vowel Context on the Perceptual Assimilation of English Fricatives by L2 Thai Learners
Author: Kitikanan, Patchanok
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Vowels,Native Language,Thai,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Pronunciation,Majors (Students),Nonmajors,Comparative Analysis,Auditory Discrimination,Phonetics,Phonology,Auditory Perception,College Students,Statistical Analysis,Foreign Countries

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of vowel context and language experience in the perceived similarity between L2 English fricatives and Thai sounds. The target English sounds being investigated were the sounds /v, f, w, ?, t?, s, ð, d, z, ?, t??/. These sounds were elicited from four native English speakers in words in onset position and followed by three vowel contexts: high, low and back. Subjects were 54 Thai students divided into two groups: English-major and non-English-major. These Thai learners were asked to identify the sounds they heard with the Thai sounds that were closest in their perception. The findings showed that 1) all shared sounds were matched with the same L1 categories, suggesting that the existence of L2 sounds in the L1 sound system supports the perception; 2) most non-shared sounds, except English /?/ were matched to Thai sounds that were suggested in previous literature; 3) the perceived similarity of English /?/ and the L1 Thai sounds showed the effect of the vowel context in that this sound was mostly matched with Thai /f/ in the high and low vowel contexts whereas in the back vowel context, it was matched with Thai /s/; 4) the perceived similarities of both shared and non-shared sounds were affected by vowel context and language experience. The findings of this study shed light on the importance exploring perceived similarities and differences in the phonetic level rather than the phonological one.
The Acquisition of English Word Stress by Mandarin EFL Learners
Author: Liu, Dan
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Mandarin Chinese,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,College Students,Oral Reading,Second Language Instruction,Coding,Suprasegmentals,Syllables,Audio Equipment,Tone Languages,Pronunciation,Interviews

Compared with the study of acquisition of syntax and morphology, there is a relative lack of research on the acquisition of phonology, the L2 acquisition of word stress in particular. This paper investigates the production of word stress by 70 Chinese college students in their reading aloud. Altogether 350 minutes' recordings were collected and coded. The result shows that improper assignment of word stress most likely occurs in two-syllable words and three-syllable words and on the first syllable. The factors which account for these problems are learners' insensitivity to syllabic structure of English words and lack of knowledge of rules on English word stress.
An Educational Neuroscience Perspective on Tutoring: To What Extent Can Electrophysiological Measures Improve the Contingency of Tutor Scaffolding and Feedback?
Author: Mercier, Julien
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Neurosciences,Tutoring,Measurement Techniques,Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),Feedback (Response),Cognitive Processes,Hypothesis Testing,Access to Information,Instructional Effectiveness,Psychophysiology

The efficacy of tutoring as an instructional strategy mainly lies on the moment-by-moment correspondence between the help provided by a tutor and the tutee's learning needs. The model presented in this paper emphasizes the pivotal role of monitoring and regulation, both by the tutor and the tutee, in attaining and maintaining affective and cognitive states conducive to student's learning. This perspective highlights the hypothesis that the scarcity of the information that the tutor and tutee have access to during natural interaction leads to suboptimal learning interactions. As a potential response to this lack of information, it is argued that methodologies from cognitive and affective neuroscience can provide pertinent information during or after a learning interaction, and that this information can significantly empower students and tutors. Projected empirical research could lead to a dramatic reinterpretation of 35 years of already fruitful tutoring research.
Neuro Emotional Literacy Program: Does Teaching the Function of Affect and Affect Regulation Strategies Improve Affect Management and Well-Being?
Author: Patten, Kathryn E.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Emotional Response,Affective Behavior,Questionnaires,Parents,Pretests Posttests,Workshops,Parent Education,Brain,Emotional Development,Self Control,Child Rearing,Likert Scales,Elementary School Students

Although research on Emotion Regulation (ER) is developing at a rapid rate, much of it lacks a clear theoretical framework and most focuses on a narrow set of ER strategies. This work presents the details of a pilot project, the Neuro Emotional Literacy Program (NELP), designed for parents and based on the Somatic Appraisal Model of Affect (SAMA). This 6-week parent program used two self-report questionnaires, the Positive Negative Affect Schedule Short-Form (PANAS-SF) and the newly created Personal Affect Regulation Capacity Inventory (PARCI) to collect pre- and post-workshop data. Pilot project data analysis indicates that parents' knowledge of the function and actuation of brain-body affect and expansion of their practice to include several ER strategies helps improve emotion management and promotes positive affect, as measured by PANAS-SF and PARCI.
Cognitive Load and Attentional Demands during Objects&apos; Position Change in Real and Digital Environments
Author: Zacharis, Georgios K.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Undergraduate Students,Females,Cognitive Processes,Difficulty Level,Attention,Computer Simulation,Brain,Cognitive Measurement,Short Term Memory,Spatial Ability,Physical Environment,Simulated Environment,Educational Experiments

Studies showed that two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) educational content contributes to learning. Although there were many studies with 3D stereoscopic learning environments, only a few studies reported on the differences between real, 2D, and 3D scenes, as far as cognitive load and attentional demands were concerned. We used electroencephalographic measurements to study and compare the theta (?), alpha (a), beta (ß) and gamma (?) frequency bands of 36 adult female participants. The participants observed three environments with the same content, a real, a 3D and a 2D environment. Brain activity was recorded for each environment and their two versions, i.e., a before version and an after version, where the position of specific objects changed. Our study's findings indicated that all participants perceived the three environments, their depicted objects, and the change of the objects' position. The participants' cognitive load and attentional demands were higher in all environments before the change of the objects' position. Working memory load, working and spatial memory, were also higher in the two digital environments (3D and 2D) before the change of the objects' position. However, the opposite was observed in the case of the real environment. This was attributed to the participants observing the real environment firstly. Overall, we propose that empirical studies with biometric data on cognitive load and attentional demands will support the design of better learning environments.
Does Test Preparation Mean Low-Quality Instruction?
Author: Blazar, David
Date: 2017-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Test Preparation,Educational Quality,Accountability,Teacher Effectiveness,Observation,Teacher Surveys,Prediction,Mathematics Instruction,Elementary School Mathematics,Mathematics Tests,High Stakes Tests,Educational Policy,Regression (Statistics),Teaching Methods,Hypothesis Testing,Grade 4,Grade 5

Critics of test-based accountability warn that test preparation has a negative influence on teachers' instruction due to a focus on procedural skills. Others advocate that the adoption of more rigorous assessments may be a way to incentivize more ambitious test preparation instruction. Drawing on classroom observations and teacher surveys, we do find that test preparation activities predict lower quality and less ambitious mathematics instruction in upper-elementary classrooms. However, the magnitudes of these relationships appear smaller than the prevailing narrative has warned. Further, our findings call into question the hypothesis that test rigor can serve as a lever to elevate test preparation to ambitious teaching. Therefore, improving the quality of mathematics instruction in the midst of high-stakes testing likely will require that policymakers and school leaders undertake comprehensive efforts that look beyond the tests themselves.
Considering Interest and Action: Analyzing Types of Questions Explored by Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships
Author: Thompson, Karen D.
Date: 2017-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Researchers,Interpersonal Relationship,Incidence,Data Collection,Data Analysis,Research Design,Teamwork,Research Utilization,Educational Improvement,Research Methodology,Evaluation,Teacher Researchers,College Faculty,Teachers,Educational Research

Researcher-practitioner partnerships have gained increasing prominence within education in recent years, yet scholarship on partnerships and tools to guide partnerships' work remain in their infancy. Drawing on our own work in a partnership as well as analysis of abstracts for the 41 partnerships funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and the Spencer Foundation, we analyze the prevalence of four types of research questions--data quality, information gathering, evaluation, and design questions--within partnerships and reflect on the constraints and affordances of each question type for partnerships. We argue that explicitly considering the extent to which possible questions are of high interest and are actionable for both researchers and practitioners may increase the likelihood that the needs of both parties will be met and that partnerships can truly serve as a tool for meaningful improvement in education.
Impacts of Early Childhood Education on Medium- and Long-Term Educational Outcomes
Author: McCoy, Dana Charles
Date: 2017-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Outcomes of Education,Meta Analysis,Research Design,Statistical Significance,Student Placement,Special Education,Grade Repetition,High School Students,Graduation Rate,Expenditure per Student,Well Being,Regression (Statistics)

Despite calls to expand early childhood education (ECE) in the United States, questions remain regarding its medium- and long-term impacts on educational outcomes. We use meta-analysis of 22 high-quality experimental and quasi-experimental studies conducted between 1960 and 2016 to find that on average, participation in ECE leads to statistically significant reductions in special education placement (d = 0.33 SD, 8.1 percentage points) and grade retention (d = 0.26 SD, 8.3 percentage points) and increases in high school graduation rates (d = 0.24 SD, 11.4 percentage points). These results support ECE's utility for reducing education-related expenditures and promoting child well-being.
An Interpretation of Mary in the Shadow of Colonialism in Doris Lessing&apos;s--&quot;The Grass Is Singing&quot;
Author: Zhang, Yechun
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Novels,Foreign Policy,Minority Groups,Coping,Cultural Influences,Ideology,Social Influences,Whites,Cultural Awareness,Racial Bias,Consciousness Raising,Foreign Countries,Blacks

Doris Lessing, one of the most popular writers of British literature in the second half of the twentieth century, is famous for her changeable styles of works and different perspectives all over the world. Reviewing from Doris Lessing's works, Marginal Man is the main clue in her literary creation. Most of characters she created in her works are living in the cracks of changeable era and cultural transformation. From the race of blacks and whites to the free female under the colonial background in 1950s and 60s; and then from the spiritual alienation under culture shock in 1970s and 80s to the difficult living conditions of the middle-aged and the aged in her later works, all of these characters are the unique microcosm of the Marginal Man created by means of blending Lessing's own experiences and emotional imagery. All of these novels transmit the rise and fall of deep culture and the sense of vicissitudes of life. This thesis elaborates Mary, a Marginal Man in Doris Lessing's &quot;The Grass is Singing&quot; from three points of view--Mary's drifting, Mary's Constraints and Fears, Mary's Fleeing and Awakening. From it, we can understand that fleeing as her surviving way is to get rid of the shackles of life, moreover she bares the double loss coming from the external world and the innermost, and then she eventually makes for resistance and comes to her spiritual salvation in order to seek for her spiritual home. This thesis makes a good reflection on the real living conditions of marginal groups and guides people to establish correct social values to realize the social problems caused by marginal people and make some measures to solve some of them.
A Bridging Approach to Boost Doctoral Enrollment in a HBCU: An Exploratory Qualitative Study
Author: Birore, Charles M. S.
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Doctoral Programs,Declining Enrollment,Enrollment Management,Social Work,Sustainability,Focus Groups,Interviews,Student Surveys,Student Attitudes,Teacher Shortage,Student Educational Objectives,Masters Programs,School Holding Power,Change Strategies,Black Colleges,Qualitative Research

A declining enrollment in doctoral social work programs not only affects the sustainability of the programs, but also impacts the knowledge-based economy in the long run. The shortage of doctoral-prepared faculty, interwoven with the current national shortage of social workers, will limit effective service delivery, and generation of knowledge base for direct practice and policy advocates. Little is known about the barriers and strategies in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Two focus groups with in-depth interviews were conducted among Master of Social Work (MSW) students at a four-year public university. The study resulted in a wide range of identifiable strategies to boost the doctoral enrollment in the social work program, including more summer courses, more online courses, more flexible class time, higher integration of technology in the classroom and better curriculum structure. Findings suggest that non-traditional becomes the new traditional. With the advancement in smartphone and wireless technology, the University can reposition the program, seek for ways to serve the new traditional student population, and improve the infrastructure to accommodate students' digital needs.
A Review of Protocols in Higher Education; How My Experience Made Me Question the Process
Author: Ryan, Brendan M.
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Protocol Analysis,Higher Education,Learning Experience,Grading,Student Rights,Teacher Student Relationship,Grievance Procedures,Scoring Formulas,Evaluation Criteria,Accountability,Teacher Qualifications,Expertise,Course Descriptions,Conflict Resolution

This paper is a discussion and critical review of grading practices at a large flagship public university. In this paper, I examine the rights a student has when calling into question the authority and decision-making abilities of teachers in a classroom setting. Following my recent experience with a professor (noted at the beginning of this paper), I began to question the legitimacy of interactions between students and teachers. The paper examines the way in which the system of Higher Education lacks due process for students who wish to appeal to their teachers about their grades. Ultimately my goal is to help facilitate conversations about academic review, including how professors can use syllabi and grading matrixs to protect themselves and their students, and well as ensure that conflicts can be avoided.
The Effects of Learning-Style Based Activities on Students&apos; Reading Comprehension Skills and Self-Efficacy Perceptions in English Foreign Language Classes
Author: Balci, Özgül
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Cognitive Style,Self Efficacy,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Reading Comprehension,English (Second Language),Learning Activities,Comparative Analysis,Self Evaluation (Individuals),Teaching Methods,Pretests Posttests,Scores,Reading Tests,Correlation,Language Tests,Measures (Individuals),Foreign Countries,Guidelines,Evaluation Methods,College Freshmen,Quasiexperimental Design,Statistical Analysis

This study investigated the effects of learning-style based activities on students' reading comprehension skills and self-efficacy perceptions in English foreign language classes. A quasi-experimental, matching-only pretest-posttest control group design was utilized. The study was conducted with freshmen university students majoring in Elementary Mathematics Education at Necmettin Erbakan University in the fall semester of academic year 2012-2013. English was one of their compulsory courses and their self-reported language level was A1/A2 in terms of the self-assessment grid included in the Language Passport which is one of the three components of the European Language Portfolio. A total of 39 students in the experimental group and 39 in the control group participated in the study. The learning-style based activities were implemented in the experimental group, while the control group continued with routine classroom instruction without any attention to their learning styles. Both groups received three one-hour sessions weekly, for a total of eight weeks. Both the Reading Comprehension post-test scores and the Self-Efficacy Scale for English post-test scores were significantly different in favor of the experimental group. Also, a significant moderate positive correlation was found between English reading comprehension achievement and English self-efficacy. It can be concluded that learning-style based activities enhanced reading comprehension skills and English self-efficacy perceptions during this study.