ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Examining the Relationship between Digital Game Preferences and Computational Thinking Skills
Author: Yildiz, Hatice Durak
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Secondary School Students,Thinking Skills,Computation,Video Games,Correlation,Student Surveys,Questionnaires,Scores,Foreign Countries,Creativity,Preferences,Cooperation,Critical Thinking,Statistical Analysis

The purpose of this study is to identify whether computational thinking skills among secondary school students differ depending on the type of digital games they play. The participants of this study were 202 secondary school students at 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades during 2016-2017 academic year. Correlational survey method was used during this study. Furthermore, there were three different data collection instruments used. The first one was &quot;Personal Information Form&quot;. The second one was &quot;Computational Thinking Skills Scale&quot; and the third data collection instrument was &quot;Questionnaire for Type of Games Played with Digital Tools&quot;. Results indicated that students scored higher compared to other sub-scales while their scores from the critical thinking sub-scale was the lowest. The most frequently played game category of the students was found to be dress up/make-up games.
Reliability and Validity of the Youth Empowerment Scale--Mental Health in Youth Departing Residential Care and Reintegrating into School and Community Settings
Author: Huscroft-D'Angelo, Jacqueline
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Empowerment,Test Validity,Test Reliability,Youth,Mental Health,Residential Care,Mental Disorders,Measurement Techniques,Predictor Variables,Therapy,Rehabilitation Programs,Randomized Controlled Trials,Secondary School Students,At Risk Persons,Disabilities,Academic Ability,Student Behavior,Surveys,Likert Scales,Scores,Individual Characteristics,Interpersonal Competence,Learner Engagement,Student Motivation,Study Skills

Empowerment has been established as an important factor in resilience in adolescence. It has also been deemed critical for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders to achieve successful outcomes across academic, social, and behavioral domains, especially during a major transition. There is currently one measure used to evaluate empowerment in youth with mental health difficulties, yet it is unclear if this is a reliable measure for youth in therapeutic residential care. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of this measure of empowerment in a sample of youth departing therapeutic residential care (N = 138) and to examine whether or not specific factors contribute to varied levels of empowerment. Findings indicate that the empowerment measure is reliable and valid for use with youth departing therapeutic residential care. Overall, youth report high levels of empowerment at discharge from care. None of the predictors in the three multivariate general linear models were statistically significant. Limitations and implications are discussed.
Using Generalizability Theory to Examine the Dependability of Scores from the Learning Target Rating Scale
Author: McLaughlin, Tara W.
Date: 2017-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Generalization,Scores,Rating Scales,Evaluation Methods,Data Collection,Scoring,Learner Engagement,Early Childhood Education,Educational Objectives,Preschool Teachers,Skill Development,Measurement,Reliability

The Learning Target Rating Scale (LTRS) is a measure designed to evaluate the quality of teacher-developed learning targets for embedded instruction for early learning. In the present study, we examined the measurement dependability of LTRS scores by conducting a generalizability study (G-study). We used a partially nested, three-facet model to estimate the variance of LTRS scores due to teachers, children, learning targets, and raters. We used these variance components to conduct a decision study (D-study) to investigate how data collection and scoring design affected the dependability of scores and to help inform future use. Findings supported the dependability of LTRS scores when used with one rater and when at least six learning targets are obtained from teachers. We discuss potential refinements for the LTRS based on the G- and D-studies and implications for using it in practice.
English Grammar and Thai University Students: An Insurmountable Linguistic Battle?
Author: Saengboon, Saksit
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Grammar,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,College Students,Barriers,Student Attitudes,Interviews,Language Tests,Scores,Language Proficiency,Communicative Competence (Languages),Sentences,Comprehension,Graduate Students,Semi Structured Interviews

This study aimed at investigating English grammar knowledge of a group of Thai university students. The three main research questions revolved around their knowledge of English grammar, the kinds of difficulties they had encountered in using the grammar as well as their perceptions of the roles of grammar in using English. The participants were administered two types of grammar test: one was the grammar production test (20 items), and the other was the grammar recognition test (40 items). The average scores of the tests were relatively low: 7.30/20 and 21.13/40, respectively. The interview results suggested that the participants viewed grammar as important in learning and using English effectively. They also reported that appropriate teaching of grammar was beneficial as long as the communicative use of the grammar was emphasized. Further, a thorough analysis of sentence structures, which was one of the foci of the lesson learned, helped them to gain a better understanding of English sentences, enabling them to read academic texts more effectively. In short, the participants believed that grammar was essential and was something that was not insurmountable albeit the low scores reported above.
Acting the Intangible: Hints of Politeness in Non-Verbal Form
Author: Jumanto, Jumanto
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Nonverbal Communication,Prosocial Behavior,Qualitative Research,Literature Reviews,Verbal Communication,Foreign Countries,Social Behavior,Behavior Standards

This review paper has explored politeness in non-verbal form to come to hints for indicating the ideology. Politeness in non-verbal form is researched by reviewing verbal politeness theories through interpretive techniques, and then the data in form of interpreted hints based on the reviews are analyzed by employing a coding technique. The six non-verbal hints of politeness found out based on the theoretical reviews are silence for politeness, gestures for politeness, gifts for politeness, observance of norms, rules, and regulations for politeness, adjusted behavior for politeness, and performance for politeness. The hints expectedly provide a sufficient account for non-verbal politeness in interactions or communication between a speaker and a hearer. The findings also encourage promoting harmony among speakers of languages in non-verbal interactions or communication, especially in formal situations or in the general public. The hints are hopefully also worth considering in the context of English language teaching and learning across languages and cultures in the world.
Exploring Students&apos; Learning Needs: Expectation and Challenges
Author: Poedjiastutie, Dwi
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Needs Assessment,Educational Needs,Mixed Methods Research,Language Proficiency,English (Second Language),English for Special Purposes,Student Needs,Student Educational Objectives,Student Attitudes,Preferences,College Second Language Programs,Educational Practices,Language Acquisition,Foreign Countries,Student Surveys,Focus Groups

Needs analysis is not new in education or academic circles. Many scholars and educators in different parts of the world see this approach as a valuable tool for program development and review as it is a mechanism that can be used to link the students' present academic learning with their future needs. This is also true with respect to language programs--the focus of the current study. At the target university, which is located in Indonesia, students are taught English following an ESP approach. Despite the program being in existence for 22 years, it is apparent there are problems with it as upon graduation many students have achieved only minimal English proficiency. To explore why this might be occurring the current study was undertaken using a mixed methods approach, specifically, large-scale, quantitative data was obtained using surveys circulated to 1000 students. This was complemented by qualitative data obtained from focus group discussions. The findings from the analysis of these two components are presented in the current paper. The findings show students at the target university have pragmatic reasons for learning English. Those include international collaboration, better life opportunities, business establishment international employment competitive, better international test outcomes, cultural awareness, and understanding English journals and books.
A Continuum of Teachers&apos; e-Learning Practices
Author: Sadeck, Osman
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Technology Integration,Teaching Methods,Technological Literacy,Electronic Learning,Grounded Theory,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis,Questionnaires,Interviews,Foreign Countries,Innovation

The introduction of technologies into the teaching and learning environment has implied changes to the way education plays out in an e-Environment. Previous research has highlighted the many barriers and challenges in integration technology into teaching and learning. Technology is said to be underutilised. However there are studies that have identified that teachers are using technology in their work. Little is known about the extent of this use of technology. Accordingly less is known about teachers' e-Learning practices. This paper seeks to highlight the patterns in teachers' e-Learning practices. Using a blend of inductive and deductive techniques data was collected from a sample of teachers known to be using technology in their work. The study was framed by the: (i) Development in use and stages of teaching and learning with technologies (UNESCO) and (ii) Technological skills developmental levels (DoE). The data from the study has highlighted patterns in the use and practice of technology integration in school education. These patterns could be mapped to continuums of use and practice. It has been found that teachers used technology for a variety of purposes: personal, administration, teaching and learning at different frequencies and at varying levels of intensity. Teachers were found to use technology for e-Teaching and e-Learning progressively and in ways that was aligned to their comfort zones. The way teachers' used technology was found to be progressive from simple to innovative.
Reading Categories Identified in the Reading Activities of a Caregiver and a Middle-Class Child
Author: Isabel, Borja-Alarcón
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Young Children,Caregivers,Reading,Case Studies,Reading Attitudes,Cognitive Processes,Emotional Response,Personal Autonomy,Reading Strategies,Emergent Literacy,Qualitative Research,Grandparents,Audio Equipment,Reading Aloud to Others,Foreign Countries

This paper aims to report the findings of a research project, developed from the need to make contributions about the characteristics that emerge, when a three-year-old child and his caregiver carry reading activities out. By the use of recordings and students' artifacts, in order to collect data; and analyzing the information collected through categorization, this case study revealed that both, the child and the caregiver, exposed reading attitudes and actions which have relationships with intake process, cognitive processes, emotional statements, autonomy, and the application of strategies to understand the text. In addition to this information, this study concluded that reading processes are complex and there is a considerable need to develop research around this topic.
EFL Learners&apos; Perceptions, Practices and Achievement with the Online Learning Program &quot;Tell Me More&quot;
Author: Gyamfi, George
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Student Attitudes,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Questionnaires,Focus Groups,Student Surveys,Scores,Language Proficiency,Correlation,Usability,Teaching Methods,Web Based Instruction,Mixed Methods Research,Foreign Countries

The study examined EFL learners' perceptions, practices and achievement with the online language-learning program &quot;Tell Me More&quot; (TMM). A questionnaire and semistructured focus group interview were used for data collection. A sample of 340 EFL learners were surveyed for their perceptions and practices; of them, 10 were further selected for an in-depth semi-structured focus group interview. Data on the learners' scores at four proficiency levels were analyzed for learners' achievement. The results indicated that the learners perceived TMM moderately useful and easy to use for learning English. With regard to learners' practices, they multitasked and sometimes left the program on to count the hours of use. The Pearson's correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between learners' perception of the usefulness and ease of use of TMM. However, there was no correlation between learners' perceptions and practices. The analysis of learners' scores indicated an improvement in achievement for learners at the beginner and advanced proficiency levels, while learners at the intermediate and intermediate+ proficiency levels had a drop in their achievement. The findings do not only expand the knowledge base of learners' perceptions, practices, and achievement with computer-assisted language learning programs but also guide institutions on how to make effective use of educational technologies to improve learning practices and performance.
Assessing the Utilization Level of E-Learning Resources among ODL Based Pre-Service Teacher Trainees
Author: Olaniran, Sunday O.
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teachers,Preservice Teacher Education,Trainees,Electronic Libraries,Electronic Publishing,Electronic Learning,Distance Education,Online Surveys,Student Teacher Attitudes,Use Studies,Statistical Analysis,Semi Structured Interviews,Questionnaires,Incidence,Usability,Information Sources,Foreign Countries

Electronic resources have become a dominant feature of higher education, both traditional and distance learning based. Unlike in the past when universities relied majorly on the physical library and hard copy of books, e-books accessible through e-libraries are the dominant features of this century's institutions of higher learning. This study investigated pre-service teacher trainees by distance and the utilization of e-learning resources. A survey research design was used to carry out the study. One hundred and forty-four (144) pre-service teachers by distance from three institutions offering teacher training programmes by distance in South Africa completed the anonymous web based survey designed to gather data which provide answers to the five (5) research questions in the study. The results revealed a high utilization of e-resources to learn but a low utilization of e-resources to teach among the respondents. The study recommends institutional based training on the techniques of accessing and utilizing e-learning resources for pre-service teacher trainees in ODL institutions.
The Connotations of Language Teacher Autonomy
Author: Han, Ligang
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Professional Autonomy,Second Language Instruction,Language Teachers,Definitions,Personal Autonomy

With the research on the development of learner autonomy in foreign language education, teacher autonomy has become a hot topic in the research of foreign language teacher education. However, it is the most difficult question to define language teacher autonomy and any answer to it is likely to be subjective. On the basis of expounding upon the different definitions concerning the research on teacher autonomy in language teaching and learning, the focus of the present paper is to clarify the connotations of language teacher autonomy and a working definition is made.
Perceptions of Teachers about Information and Communication Technologies (ICT): A Study of Metaphor Analysis
Author: Bas, Gokhan
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Figurative Language,Secondary School Teachers,Information Technology,Phenomenology,Teacher Attitudes,Gender Differences,Teacher Surveys,Incidence,Technological Literacy,Foreign Countries,Qualitative Research,Content Analysis

This study aimed to examine metaphorical conceptions of high school teachers (n = 224) in Turkey about information and communication technologies (ICT). Phenomenological research design was adopted to examine teachers' perceptions about ICT in the current study. The results of the study showed that teachers produced a total of 46 valid metaphors clustered under five (knowledge source, guide, reform, plant, and problem) main conceptual categories. Although teachers produced a large number of metaphors, there was no significant differences between their metaphorical conceptions about ICT with regard to gender.
Design of a Three-Dimensional Cognitive Mapping Approach to Support Inquiry Learning
Author: Chen, Juanjuan
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Cognitive Mapping,Inquiry,Active Learning,Abstract Reasoning,Hypothesis Testing,Science Education,Science Process Skills,Problem Solving,Computer Simulation,High School Students,Grade 11,Pretests Posttests,Questionnaires,Likert Scales,Semi Structured Interviews,Academic Achievement,Positive Attitudes,Anxiety,Self Esteem,Scores,Achievement Gap

The use of external representations has the potential to facilitate inquiry learning, especially hypothesis generation and reasoning, which typically present difficulties for students. This study describes a novel three-dimensional cognitive mapping (3DCM) approach that supports inquiry learning by allowing learners to combine the information on a problem, the subject knowledge, and the hypothesizing and reasoning process involved in the exploration in a single image. The study also investigates the influences of the 3DCM approach on knowledge achievement and learner perceptions within an online inquiry-learning context. Forty-eight 11th-grade students used 3DCM to complete an inquiry task. Data were collected from multiple sources, including pre- and post-tests, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that the students showed high levels of academic achievement, positive attitudes toward inquiry learning, low levels of anxiety, and medium levels of confidence. A post-hoc test indicated that the students at a low academic level had acquired significantly more knowledge than either the high-level or medium-level students, thus narrowing the academic gap between low-level, medium-level, and high-level students. In addition, the participants' attitudes and degree of confidence were found to be positively related to their inquiry skills, such as hypothesis generation and reasoning. The implications of the study and directions for future work are also discussed.
Exploring the Effectiveness of Implementing Seminars as a Teaching and an Assessment Method in a Children&apos;s Literature Course
Author: Al'Adawi, Sharifa Said Ali
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Childrens Literature,Seminars,Student Attitudes,Teaching Methods,Evaluation Methods,College Students,Learner Engagement,Instructional Effectiveness,Observation,Questionnaires,Foreign Countries,Action Research

The classroom environment should support students' autonomy through teaching and assessment methods. This article highlights students' perceptions about the value of implementing seminars as a teaching and an assessment method in a children's literature course in a college of applied sciences (XCAS). Additionally, preparation considerations and limitations of such implementation are discussed. Findings indicted the positive effects of seminars in enriching classroom learning and students' responsibility for their own learning which can be achieved through training for teachers and students. Practical implications of seminar implementations for future use are outlined and a conceptual framework is suggested based on the findings.
Research on College English Teachers&apos; Information Literacy in Information Environment
Author: Du, Yan-xia
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College English,English Teachers,Information Literacy,Foreign Countries,Technology Integration,Faculty Development,English Curriculum

The new technology revolution based on Internet, information and communication technology has triggered an upsurge of educational information in the world, including English learning and teaching. The improvement of teacher's information literacy is the key to the success of the current educational informatization reform. From the perspectives of the concept of information literacy and the particularity of English teachers' professional development, this paper makes a series of questionnaires. Survey results show that there are some problems in the present situation of English teachers' information literacy. Therefore, this paper puts forward the following strategies to improve teachers' information literacy: improving self-development consciousness, perfecting modern information technology training system, improving the integration ability of information technology and English classroom, and accelerating the development of English teaching resources platform.
Interactive Whiteboards in Mathematics Spaces: An Examination of Technology Integration in An Urban Middle School
Author: Young, Jamaal
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Middle School Students,Technology Integration,Urban Schools,Secondary School Mathematics,Mathematics Achievement,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Matched Groups,Gender Differences,Racial Differences,Academic Ability,Effect Size,Achievement Gap,Quasiexperimental Design,Statistical Analysis,Visual Aids,Computer Uses in Education,Regression (Statistics)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of integrating Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) technology on middle school mathematics achievement in an urban school. Propensity score matching was used to create a comparable control group in order to isolate the effects of IWB technology on mathematics achievement. An initial experimental group (n = 716) of ethnically diverse urban students receiving IWB instruction was matched to a control population (n = 856) based on propensity scores generated from demographic and ability data. Student achievement data were analyzed with 2 × 4 ANOVA to access treatment main effects and the effects of demographic variables such as gender, ethnicity, and ability. Ethnicity was a significant moderator of the effects. Specifically, a positive effect size was observed for White students, and the achievement gap was also reduced for Hispanic students. Implications for mathematics pedagogy with an IWB are provided based on these conclusions.