ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Linking Learning Styles and Learning on Mobile Facebook
Author: Chen, Yu-ching
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Correlation,Cognitive Style,Online Courses,Social Networks,Individual Differences,Age Differences,Gender Differences,Outcomes of Education,Web 2.0 Technologies,Peer Evaluation,Feedback (Response),Self Efficacy,Student Attitudes,Teaching Methods,Business Administration Education,College Students,Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis,Computer Mediated Communication,Quasiexperimental Design,Pretests Posttests,Interviews

With continued development of related technologies, Web 2.0 has become an important site of learning innovation. In particular, social networking sites such as Facebook, which have become popular, have the potential to function as an educational tool enabling peer feedback, interaction, and learning in a social context. Preparing appropriate environments for learners with different needs is essential to learning in general and online learning in particular. Yet, in order to create such learning environments, educators must understand differences in students' learning styles. Although some research focuses on the effects of individual differences such as age and gender on the use of social networking sites, experimental research related to students' learning styles is still limited. This study used Kolb's Learning Style Model to investigate differences in student learning outcomes and satisfaction using mobile Facebook for learning, according to learning style. Results showed that participants with &quot;Assimilating&quot; and &quot;Diverging&quot; learning styles performed better than those with &quot;Accomodating&quot; and &quot;Converging&quot; learning styles did and had higher self-efficacy, observational modelling and habit strength toward learning in mobile Facebook. The paper also makes suggestions for integrating mobile Facebook into class and recommendations for future research.
Mobile Learning: Moving Past the Myths and Embracing the Opportunities
Author: Brown, Tom H.
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Electronic Learning,Open Education,Distance Education,Educational Opportunities,Misconceptions,Educational Benefits,Educational Change,Constructivism (Learning),Andragogy,Educational Theories,Futures (of Society)

Mobile learning (mLearning) in the open and distance learning landscape, holds promise and provides exciting new opportunities. In order to understand and embrace these opportunities within various contexts and circumstances it is imperative to understand the essence of the phenomenon. In this regard, we first need to understand the core fundamentals of mLearning and gain insight in what mLearning entails. Using critical reflection, this paper clarifies what mLearning is by invalidating myths and misperceptions related to mLearning. Acknowledging the lessons learnt through past experience, the authors then explore the opportunities that mLearning provides. mLearning challenges and risks are discussed to assist those who are keen to embrace these opportunities, in avoiding unnecessary risks and pitfalls. The paper concludes by sharing a few thoughts on the future of mLearning. These perspectives on mLearning seek to provide an overview of what mobile learning entails, recognise the achievements of mobile learning to date, and stimulate an appetite to embrace the opportunities in open and distance learning, while minimising the potential negative effects of technological, social and pedagogical change.
Student Media Usage Patterns and Non-Traditional Learning in Higher Education
Author: Zawacki-Richter, Olaf
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Technology Uses in Education,Electronic Learning,Foreign Countries,College Students,Student Surveys,Educational Media,Access to Computers,Use Studies,Multivariate Analysis,Nontraditional Students,Web 2.0 Technologies,Social Networks,Student Characteristics,Instructional Design

A total of 2,338 students at German universities participated in a survey, which investigated media usage patterns of so-called traditional and non-traditional students (Schuetze &amp; Wolter, 2003). The students provided information on the digital devices that they own or have access to, and on their usage of media and e-learning tools and services for their learning. A distinction was made between external, formal and internal, informal tools and services. Based on the students' responses, a typology of media usage patterns was established by means of a latent class analysis (LCA). Four types or profiles of media usage patterns were identified. These types were labeled entertainment users, peripheral users, advanced users and instrumental users. Among non-traditional students, the proportion of instrumental users was rather high. Based on the usage patterns of traditional and non-traditional students, implications for media selection in the instructional design process are outlined in the paper.
An Item Response Theory Analysis of the Community of Inquiry Scale
Author: Horzum, Mehmet Baris
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Item Response Theory,Communities of Practice,Inquiry,Measures (Individuals),Rating Scales,Construct Validity,Reliability,Electronic Learning,Distance Education,Universities,Goodness of Fit,Models,Item Analysis,Cognitive Processes,Structural Equation Models,Maximum Likelihood Statistics

The aim of this study is to examine validity and reliability of Community of Inquiry Scale commonly used in online learning by the means of Item Response Theory. For this purpose, Community of Inquiry Scale version 14 is applied on 1,499 students of a distance education center's online learning programs at a Turkish state university via internet. The collected data is analyzed by using a statistical software package. Research data is analyzed in three aspects, which are checking model assumptions, checking model-data fit and item analysis. Item and test features of the scale are examined by the means of Graded Response Theory. In order to use this model of IRT, after testing the assumptions out of the data gathered from 1,499 participants, data model compliance was examined. Following the affirmative results gathered from the examinations, all data is analyzed by using GRM. As a result of the study, the Community of Inquiry Scale adapted to Turkish by Horzum (in press) is found to be reliable and valid by the means of Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory.
Perceived Usability Evaluation of Learning Management Systems: Empirical Evaluation of the System Usability Scale
Author: Orfanou, Konstantina
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Usability,Computer Software Evaluation,Educational Technology,Electronic Learning,Integrated Learning Systems,User Satisfaction (Information),Benchmarking,Gender Differences,Internet,Self Efficacy,Scores,College Students,Student Attitudes,Validity,Reliability,Factor Analysis,Foreign Countries,Questionnaires

Perceived usability affects greatly student's learning effectiveness and overall learning experience, and thus is an important requirement of educational software. The System Usability Scale (SUS) is a well-researched and widely used questionnaire for perceived usability evaluation. However, surprisingly few studies have used SUS to evaluate the perceived usability of learning management systems (LMSs). This paper presents an empirical evaluation of the SUS questionnaire in the context of LMSs' perceived usability evaluation. Eleven studies involving 769 students were conducted, in which participants evaluated the usability of two LMSs (eClass and Moodle) used within courses of their curriculum. It was found that the perceived usability of the evaluated LMSs is at a satisfactory level (mean SUS score 76.27). Analysis of the results also demonstrated the validity and reliability of SUS for LMSs' evaluation, and that it remains robust even for small sample sizes. Moreover, the following SUS attributes were investigated in the context of LMSs evaluation: gender, age, prior experience with the LMS, Internet self-efficacy, attitude towards the Internet and usage frequency of the LMS.
Guidelines towards the Facilitation of Interactive Online Learning Programmes in Higher Education
Author: Mbati, Lydia
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Higher Education,Online Courses,Electronic Learning,Constructivism (Learning),Phenomenology,Facilitators (Individuals),Observational Learning,Teacher Student Relationship,Distance Education,Open Universities,Interviews,College Faculty,Academic Persistence,Student Motivation,College Students,Qualitative Research

The creation of online platforms that establish new learning environments has led to the proliferation of institutions offering online learning programmes. However, the use of technologies for teaching and learning requires sound content specialization, as well as grounding in pedagogy. While gains made by constructivism and observational learning are well documented, research addressing online practices that best encourage constructivist and observational learning in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) contexts is limited. Using a phenomenological methodological approach, this research explored the lived experiences of online learning programme facilitators at an Open and Distance Learning higher education institution. The findings of this research study revealed that facilitators did not use constructivist and observational learning pedagogies to a large extent in their interaction with students. It is concluded that during the curriculum planning phase, facilitators should decide on methods and media to arouse the students' attention and stimulating constructivist and observational learning amongst students during online courses. This also implies a more reasonable facilitator-student ratio because large numbers of students per facilitator proves not feasible in online learning. The paper concludes by providing guidelines for the facilitation of interactive online learning programmes.
&quot;Remember to Hand out Medals&quot;: Peer Rating and Expertise in a Question-and-Answer Study Group
Author: Ponti, Marisa
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Peer Evaluation,Rewards,Study,Communities of Practice,Group Activities,Programming Languages,Cooperative Learning,Group Dynamics,Mixed Methods Research,Self Evaluation (Individuals),Recognition (Achievement),Questioning Techniques,Coding,Content Analysis,Ethnography,Observation

This article reports on an exploratory study of giving medals as part of a peer rating system in a question-and-answer (Q&amp;A) study group on Python, a programming language. There are no professional teachers tutoring learners. The study aimed to understand whether and how medals, awarded to responses in a peer-based learning environment, can work as a mechanism to assess the value of those responses when traditional markers of expertise are not always clearly defined and identifiable. Employing a mixed-method approach, the analysis examined (a) the content of the answers that were awarded medals and their perceived immediate value and (b) the nature of the networked relationships resulting from participants' interactions. The findings suggest that the peer rating system makes visible what the participants find immediately valuable and allocates a form of recognition that extends the &quot;legitimation code&quot;, which refers to the credentials that make someone competent and worthy of recognition.
Developing Critical Thinking Skills: Assessing the Effectiveness of Workbook Exercises
Author: Wallace, Elise D.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Critical Thinking,Thinking Skills,Skill Development,Instructional Effectiveness,Workbooks,Assignments,Intervention,College Freshmen,First Year Seminars,Cognitive Tests,Scores

To address the challenge of developing critical thinking skills in college students, this empirical study examines the effectiveness of cognitive exercises in developing those skills. The study uses Critical Thinking: Building the Basics by Walter, Knudsvig, and Smith (2003). This workbook is specifically designed to exercise and develop critical thinking skills. The authors use it as the intervention tool. Freshman students enrolled in a first-year experience course participated in the study; one group used the book, the other did not. Students spent a few weeks in class working through the problems, and at the end of the semester, both groups completed the iCritical Thinking Skills Test. Analysis of final test scores prove the effectiveness of exercises on improving the critical thinking skills of college freshmen.
Differentiating Instruction: As Easy as One, Two, Three
Author: Shepherd, Carol
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Individualized Instruction,Prior Learning,Teaching Methods,Enrichment,Basic Skills

Using the &quot;Three Phase Lesson&quot; model, teachers identify prior knowledge that the student must possess in order to be successful in learning the new concepts. Teachers then delineate specific components inherent in the concepts that need to be mastered and identify tasks which will enable the student to practice these new concepts.
The Campus-Wide Presentation: An Experiential Approach to Increasing Student Learning, Growth and Marketability
Author: Redcross, Natalie Ryder
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Experiential Learning,Academic Achievement,Student Development,Public Relations,Textbooks,Goal Orientation,Curriculum,Publicity,College Students,College Faculty,Marketing

The purpose of this article is to describe and encourage an approach to a public relations course that can be applied to any discipline. Grounded in the experiential learning theory, students prepare for 16 weeks to present an issue-based campaign to a targeted, live audience at an oncampus venue. Using the course textbook and required readings as a guide, students are taught to &quot;do&quot; as the readings instruct, rather than be bound to merely memorizing the material. During the semester, the goal of the student evolves from earning a good grade, to attracting and enlightening an audience though public relations. While the project was assigned to public relations students, renditions of the described approach can be creatively applied to other disciplines interested in students acquiring real world experience outside of internships, within the safety net of their own campus.
Academic Motivation and Approaches to Learning in Predicting College Students' Academic Achievement: Findings from Turkish and US Samples
Author: Çetin, Baris
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Student Motivation,College Students,Academic Achievement,Grade Point Average,Elementary Education,Preschool Education,Early Childhood Education,Correlation,Rating Scales,Questionnaires,Statistical Distributions,Cognitive Style,Comparative Analysis

The aim of this study is to determine if approaches to learning and academic motivation together predict grade point averages (GPAs) of students who study at Primary School Education and Preschool Education in Turkey and of students who study at Early Childhood Education in the US. The first group of participants included 166 third- and fourth-year students at Georgia Southern University's Early Childhood Education Department during the 2014 spring semester. The second group of participants included 455 third- and fourth-year students who study at Canakkale 18 Mart University's Primary School Education and Preschool Education Departments during the 2013 spring semester. It was found that approaches to learning and academic motivation together did not predict GPA of students who studied in Turkey or the US.
The Role of Positive Regard in Self-Regulated Learning: An Analysis of Student Evaluation Data
Author: Harder, Joseph T.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Student Relationship,Learning Strategies,Outcomes of Education,Distance Education,Comparative Analysis,Student Motivation,Metacognition,College Students,College Faculty

Learning outcomes in classroom settings are impacted by many components of the course structure and delivery. One of these is positive regard from the instructor as perceived by students. Similarly, perceived positive regard is an important aspect of learning outcomes in a distance education environment, although the ways in which regard are shown are much different. The present study seeks to quantify the impact of perceived positive regard on learning outcomes in both classroom and distance modalities and compare the results for similarities and differences. Data from the Student Instructional Report, both classroom and distance versions, from the authors' institution is used to validate the relationships among positive regard, motivation, and learning outcomes shown in Eflides's (2011) metacognitive and affective model of self-regulated learning (MASRL). Analysis of data from one academic year of available data does support these relationships, with some differences found between distance and traditional classroom settings. Support and suggested direction for future research on the role of positive regard in distance learning are offered.
K-12 Participation Is Instrumental in Enhancing Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Experience
Author: Ahn, Changwoo
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Research,Ecology,Sustainability,Science Education,Environmental Education,Elementary School Science,Outreach Programs,Middle School Students,High School Students,Periodicals,Peer Evaluation,Critical Reading,Hypothesis Testing,Outdoor Education,Laboratory Experiments,Field Instruction,Soil Science,Research Papers (Students)

This article reports a case of incorporating a field-based ecological project as a resource into an undergraduate research and scholarship (RS) intensive course. Student research projects were conducted in an outdoor experimental compound with wetland mesocosms as well as in local created wetlands to study soil organic matter content as part of an on-going research project that focuses on the abilities of wetland in sequestering carbon. The course, designated as a RS intensive course by the university in both biology and environmental science, was also newly designed with a K-12 outreach component for training undergraduates in science education and communication. The public presentation component required all participating undergraduates to present and communicate their semester-long science project outcomes to and with K-12 students invited from local middle and high schools at the end of the semester. This activity challenged the students to review their study backgrounds, concepts, and results thoroughly to be able to explain them to and answer a variety of questions from K-12 students. The activity seemed to enhance research and scholarship experiences among the undergraduate students, being more effective than presenting to their own peers in a classroom setting. The students also learned all major steps in doing science, including exercises in literature review, building hypotheses, lab/fieldwork and data analysis. The experience obtained and approach taken in the study may be considered and adopted in reinforcing undergraduate RS experiences at other institutions and in other disciplines.
Going beyond Equations with Disciplinary Thinking in First-Year Physics
Author: Syed, M. Qasim
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Physics,Science Instruction,Engineering Education,Energy,Magnets,College Science,Thinking Skills,Coding,Difficulty Level,Cognitive Processes,Teaching Methods,Scientific Principles,Case Studies,Intuition,Experiential Learning,Foreign Countries,College Students,Reflection,Reports

Students in first-year physics courses generally focus on hunting for suitable equations and formulas when tackling a variety of physical situations and physics problems. There is a need for a framework that can guide them to disciplinary ways of thinking and help them begin to think like physicists. To serve this end, in this study, a framework of disciplinary thinking in physics was presented to the students and incorporated in the delivery of a first-year course on electricity and magnetism for engineering students. The framework consisted of three types of thinking: principle-based thinking (PBT), case-based thinking (CBT), and experiential-intuitive thinking (EIT). The students' experiences of learning this framework were tracked through weekly reflection reports, which were analyzed using a coding scheme comprised of the following four categories of increasing cognitive complexity for each type of thinking: mentioning the type of thinking learned without elaboration (code A), mentioning the type of thinking learned with elaboration (code B), applying the type of thinking learned (code C) and making meaning of the type of thinking learned (code D). Examples of students' reflections for these codes for each type of thinking are included. The students most predominantly reflected on PBT followed by CBT with a very few reflections on EIT. Within both PBT and CBT, most reflections fell under the code B. Overall, the results are encouraging and point to a students' shift from formula hunting to the thinking framework based strategies.
Performance Screens for School Improvement: The Case of Teacher Tenure Reform in New York City
Author: Loeb, Susanna
Date: 2015-05-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Tenure,Urban Schools,Teacher Effectiveness,Public School Teachers,Teacher Persistence,Educational Improvement,Educational Policy

Tenure is intended to protect teachers with demonstrated teaching skills against arbitrary or capricious dismissal. Critics of typical tenure processes argue that tenure assessments are superficial and rarely discern whether teachers in fact have the requisite teaching skills. A recent reform of the tenure process in New York City provides an unusual opportunity to learn about the role of tenure in teachers' career outcomes. We find the reform led to many fewer teachers receiving tenure. Those not receiving tenure typically had their probationary periods extended to allow them an opportunity to demonstrate teaching effectiveness. These &quot;extended&quot; teachers were much more likely to leave their schools and be replaced by a teacher who was judged to be more effective.