ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Research on the Integration of STEM Education into the Rural Elementary School Science Curriculum: An Example from Rural Elementary Schools in Western China
Author: Qiao, Xiuping
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: STEM Education,Elementary School Science,Elementary School Students,Grade 5,Curriculum Implementation,Instructional Effectiveness,Rural Schools,Hands on Science,Scientific Literacy,Knowledge Level,Skill Development,Foreign Countries

Due to the limitation of social economic conditions, the teaching effect of science in rural elementary schools remains unsatisfactory and poorly studied. This research integrates STEM education into rural elementary school science courses to explore whether STEM courses are effective in improving students' knowledge and ability, asking: Are STEM courses better than traditional science courses in improving students' knowledge and abilities? An experimental study of STEM curriculum teaching was conducted in science education at Jiujiang elementary School in Shuangliu County, Chengdu, China. The experimental group receiving STEM classes had increased total score, basic knowledge, and ability expansion compared to the control group receiving traditional classes. This showed that the integration of STEM education into rural elementary school science courses is feasible and effective.
The Development of an e-Workload Distribution System: A Focus on the Fair Distribution of Teaching Workloads of Lecturers
Author: Ariffin, Asma Hanee
Date: 2020-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Faculty Workload,College Faculty,College Administration,Job Satisfaction,Teacher Effectiveness,Expertise,Management Information Systems,Databases,Systems Development,Foreign Countries,Human Resources

Studies have shown excessive teaching workloads of teachers and lecturers have become a contentious issue in the academic realm, making them physically and emotionally strained. Therefore, this study was carried out to develop a workload distribution management system called &quot;e-WLOAD&quot; to help the management of universities in distributing workloads that are fair and acceptable to all lecturers. In this study, the researchers used the Evolutionary Prototyping method for the development of &quot;e-WLOAD.&quot; A series of interviews involving a head of a department, a faculty dean and an academic registrar as well as the analysis of the Academic Workload Guidance Document of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and the academic Annual Performance Assessment Report were carried out to reveal the relevant criteria for the distribution of lecturers' workloads, namely Status, Minimum and maximum credits, Lecturer classification, Current Teaching Status, and Teaching Load Requirements. After running the system, the results of the functionality test indicated that the prototype had fulfilled all system requirements successfully based on such distribution criteria.
University Freshman Mentoring Effectiveness and Scale Enhancement
Author: Chong, Yenwan
Date: 2020-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,College Freshmen,Mentors,Program Effectiveness,Employment Potential,COVID-19,Pandemics,Measures (Individuals),Likert Scales,Test Reliability,Test Validity,Knowledge Level,Role Models,Career Planning,Social Support Groups

Graduate unemployment has worsened following the global crisis caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and has created increased pressures on universities to enhance their graduates' employability. Past studies have indicated that mentoring programs can positively impact student soft skills development and employability. While undergraduate mentoring programs have mushroomed, research on undergraduate mentoring has not kept pace. This study used a mixed methods approach to examine the effectiveness of a public university's initiative in mentoring new undergraduates. Using the College Student Mentoring Scale (CSMS), this study found that the university's undergraduate mentoring initiative is moderately effective. The CSMS assessed four mentoring dimensions, namely academic subject knowledge support, degree and career support, psychological and emotional support as well as role modelling. The results of this study highlighted the mentoring functions that are considered as least effective so that informed and targeted efforts can be undertaken to enhance university freshman mentoring. Findings from this study suggest that a new dimension namely mentor-mentee compatibility, competencies and expectations could be added to the College Student Mentoring Scale (CSMS) to enhance concept operationalization. A limitation of this study is that it is based on mentees' perspectives only. Future research could include the perspectives of mentors as well.
The Impact of Entrepreneur Education on Business Performance
Author: Mahmood, Rosman
Date: 2020-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Entrepreneurship,Business Administration Education,Foreign Countries,Alumni,College Role,Business,Predictor Variables

The importance of entrepreneurial role in supporting the country's economic growth has been recognized by experts in the field of entrepreneurship. Today the importance of entrepreneurship has become increasingly important where it has turned into a priority for developing countries including Malaysia. Now, there are many higher educational institutions that are aware of the importance of applying entrepreneurial skills in higher education. Therefore, public universities have to implement entrepreneurship education to encourage students to venture into entrepreneurship. This study examined the effects of entrepreneurship education in influencing business performance among ITM/UiTM graduates. A total of 250 graduates from various businesses in Malaysia participated voluntarily in this study by completing survey questionnaires. A series of statistical analysis were applied including descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple regressions analysis using the SPSS software. The results of the study indicate that university curriculum, relational factor, society factor, and entrepreneurship values were found to have significant influences on business performance. However, the results revealed that the university role has no significant influence on business performance. The findings of this study contribute to entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship literature by adding new empirical evidence on the relationship between university curriculum, relational factors, society factor, and entrepreneurship values on business performance. In terms of managerial implications, the findings help HEI's in organizing entrepreneurship education dimensions, particularly in strategizing, marketing, decision making, and positioning themselves in the business industry.
Educational Responses to the COVID-19 Outbreak in South Korea
Author: Byun, Sooyeon
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: COVID-19,Pandemics,School Closing,Educational Technology,Access to Education,Distance Education,Online Courses,Barriers,Educational Quality,Equal Education,Program Effectiveness,Disease Control,Elementary Secondary Education,Preschool Education,Family Influence,Child Care Centers,Teacher Competencies,Parent Attitudes

This paper investigates South Korean educational responses to school closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic, viewed with a risk and resilience framework. The COVID-19 crisis emerged and worsened right before the beginning of the new school year (March 2) in South Korea, and immediately led to students' limited access to educational facilities. Well-established IT infrastructure and national curriculum facilitated the adoption of distance learning in South Korean schools. However, educational inequality due to family influences, and financial instabilities in early care and education settings disrupted students' optimal learning during the changes. The situation brought both benefits and challenges to South Korean education system. The adoption of distance learning potentially downgraded overall educational quality, but it also provided opportunities to improve educational content and professional development for teachers, and to promote individualized learning for students. Despite some challenges, distance learning was an effective alternative for South Korean schools during the COVID-19 crisis. More practical and research efforts are needed in order to reduce educational inequality and maximize the effectiveness of distance learning.
How Do Multicultural Family Mothers Perceive Child&apos;s English Education?
Author: Siv, Sreypov
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mother Attitudes,Multicultural Education,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),Social Integration,Foreign Countries,Parent Child Relationship,Language Proficiency,Economic Factors,Parent Participation,Immigrants,Marriage,Occupations

The number of multicultural families has been increasing in Korea recently, and it is reported that students from multicultural family experience multiple struggles in English learning. With an awareness of mothers' role in child's education, this study aims to investigate multicultural family mothers' perception of English education and the extent of those mothers' involvement in their child's English learning. For the purpose of this investigation, the present study collected survey data from 115 multicultural family mothers with varying national backgrounds, and interviews were conducted with 10 mothers. The results of this study reveal that the multicultural family mothers were well aware of the importance of English skills and knowledge with a belief in the practical value of English as a gatekeeper to materialistic, symbolic resources. However, the mothers were not that actively involved in child's English learning for several reasons, including their limited English proficiency and economic burden. Based on the findings, the present study offers practical suggestions for assisting multicultural family children's English education and their social integration.
Lexical Richness in EFL Undergraduate Students&apos; Academic Writing
Author: Ha, Hye Seung
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Vocabulary Skills,Language Usage,Writing Skills,Academic Language,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),Scores,Teaching Methods,Correlation,Predictor Variables,Essays,Persuasive Discourse,Language Fluency,Foreign Countries,Language Tests,Females,Writing Instruction,Required Courses,Writing Ability,Written Language

Lexical richness makes an important contribution to L2 writing quality. To explore its importance, the study aims to identify and explain how lexical richness manifests in argumentative essays written in the final exam of reading and writing class by thirty-five undergraduates. The lexical richness consists of four interrelated elements: lexical diversity, density, sophistication, and fluency. Detailed text analysis can identify these elements in EFL students' academic writing. The correlation analysis showed that the use of lexical diversity, sophistication, and fluency all affect writing quality and can be seen differently in a text depending on different score ranges, vocabulary knowledge and linguistic performance. Further, the regression analysis revealed that the lexical sophistication was found to be the most significant predictor that contributes to writing quality. In sum, the lexical richness displayed in written text is a result of a person's underlying vocabulary knowledge. This study ends with a pedagogical implication for teaching lexical richness in EFL academic coursework.
Structural Use of Lexical Bundles in the Rhetorical Moves of L1 and L2 Academic Writing
Author: Hong, Ji-yoon
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Academic Language,Longitudinal Studies,Computational Linguistics,Phrase Structure,Applied Linguistics,Specialists,Graduate Students,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Difficulty Level,Teaching Methods,Second Language Instruction,Research Papers (Students),Interlanguage,Foreign Countries

This corpus-driven longitudinal study investigates the structural use of lexical bundles in published research article (RA) introductions in applied linguistics written by English experts and Korean graduate students across two different levels of study. Frequency-based bundles were retrieved from a corpus of 200 published RA introductions and two corpora of 46 and 49 introductions of term papers written at two time points of the first and fourth semester of graduate course. In a further step, the structures of the bundles in different rhetorical moves of RA introductions were analyzed to reveal the developmental patterns in bundle use. The analyses show that the Korean graduate students are in the developmental process of academic writing featured by a shift from clausal style to phrasal style as their academic level advances. The results also suggest that the students have difficulty in appropriate bundle use in specific rhetorical moves even at the later academic level of graduate coursework. The pedagogical implications of L2 students' developmental order are discussed.
Effects of Rubric-Referenced Self-Assessment Training on Korean High School Students&apos; English Writing
Author: Kim, Jinsook
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: High School Students,Self Evaluation (Individuals),Scoring Rubrics,Foreign Countries,Writing Evaluation,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),Teaching Methods,Writing (Composition),Writing Instruction,Scores,Comparative Analysis,Essays,Student Attitudes,Learning Strategies,Metacognition,Revision (Written Composition)

The present study attempts to provide empirical and qualitative evidence to support the feasibility of rubric-referenced self-assessment to promote learning in a Korean high school EFL context. Over four rubric-referenced self-assessment lessons, with the help of a teacher's instructions, students wrote a first draft and assessed it using a scoring rubric. Drawing on this self-assessment, they wrote a second draft, also followed by a self-assessment as well as a self-assessment diary. As quantitative data, the scores of the first draft of the first class were compared with those of the second draft of the fourth class. Survey questionnaires, interviews, self-assessment diaries, and essay self-assessments served as qualitative data. The findings are, first, rubric-referenced self-assessment showed positive effects on students' writing quality. Second, students came to perceive the effectiveness of rubric-referenced self-assessment. Lastly, rubric-referenced self-assessment positively influenced students' learning strategies and attitudes. These results imply that rubric-referenced self-assessment promotes learning in a Korean high school EFL context, leading students to become self-regulated learners that take responsibility for their own learning.
Challenges and Trials: Implementing Localized TBLT for Novice L2 Learners throughout Three Semesters
Author: Kim, Nayoung
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Task Analysis,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Language Usage,Native Language,Novices,College Students,Writing (Composition),Barriers,Textbooks,Language Tests,Needs Assessment,English (Second Language),Foreign Countries

The purpose of this study is to investigate the constraints on implementing task-based language teaching (TBLT) and strategies that make TBLT feasible with novice second language (L2) learners in college. When the researcher (a bilingual teacher) struggled to implement tasks into traditional English courses with almost 210 novice undergraduates throughout three separate semesters, a number of constraints were identified for the task syllabus, and TBLT was modified and adapted to a localized college-level context. The study was conducted over three 16-week-semesters, and its process was recorded in field notes. The findings demonstrated that there were four major constraints on implementing TBLT: 1) irrelevant topics in the coursebooks, 2) novice learners' writing dependence and limited use of the second language, 3) excessive use of the first language, and 4) an irrelevant examination system. As four strategies to adapt TBLT in a local college context, the following were practiced and suggested: 1) a needs analysis is necessary, 2) instead of task-supported language teaching, a new hybrid form of TBLT and presentation-practice-production might work, 3) teaching English in English is necessary but specifying strategies for selective use of first language (L1) is needed, and 4) relevant tests are necessary. It is hoped that these findings will enrich the actual process from adoption to adaptation of localized TBLT for novice L2 learners in Korean colleges.
A Search for EFL College Students&apos; Culture-Related Rhetorical Templates of Argumentative Writing
Author: Huh, Myung-Hye
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Persuasive Discourse,Writing (Composition),College Students,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),Transfer of Training,Decision Making,Student Attitudes,Essays,Cultural Context,Educational Environment,Cultural Traits,Contrastive Linguistics,Majors (Students),Teacher Education Programs,Foreign Countries,Student Characteristics,Writing Strategies,Thinking Skills,Cultural Influences,Text Structure

This study investigated EFL college students' culture-related templates of written texts along the possibility of inter-cultural transfer. We designed a case study to explore how certain cultural assumptions contribute to EFL students' rhetorical decisions while writing an argumentative writing. The participants were four EFL college students. Multiple data sources include background questionnaires, argumentative essays, and in-depth retrospective interviews. To analyze rhetorical choices in the participants' writing, we identified choices of argumentation subtypes, and introduction and conclusion components. We also categorized the location of the writer's main claim and thesis statement. The interview data were qualitatively analyzed to see what rhetorical resources participants draw from the cultural/educational contexts, and which factors had influenced the participants' rhetorical strategy. Data analyses indicate that each participant manipulated different rhetorical structures to strengthen the rhetorical impact of their writing. Indeed, the complex constellation of individual participants' cultural resources was at play in their L2 writing. This study contributes to our understanding of the rhetorical templates of L2 texts as constructs that are always in process, and therefore adaptable and negotiable.
Alternative Vocabulary Learning Approaches in EFL Setting: Bottom-Up or Top-Down?
Author: Lee, Jeong-Won
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Vocabulary Development,Teaching Methods,Learning Strategies,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Language Processing,Retention (Psychology),Instructional Effectiveness,Knowledge Level,College Students,Student Attitudes,Foreign Countries

The present study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of bottom-up (BU) and top-down (TD) approaches on EFL learners' vocabulary learning, the difference in the effects of the two approaches depending upon their level of vocabulary proficiency, and their perception of the approaches. For this study, 122 college students were divided into two approach groups and to two levels in each group depending upon their level of vocabulary knowledge. They were trained with either of the approaches for one semester. The results were that 1) there was no statistically significant differences between the BU and TD approaches, even though the two approaches were effective to improve the students' vocabulary knowledge; 2) high-level students failed to show any significant differences between the two approaches in the two tests, whereas low-level students in the BU group performed significantly better than those in the TD group in the production test; and 3) they preferred the BU or TD approach to the traditional method in vocabulary learning, and they listed some advantages and disadvantages of the approaches.
Examination of Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Preservice Turkish Language Education Teachers on Educational Internet Use
Author: Ince, Bekir
Date: 2020-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Self Efficacy,Preservice Teachers,Language Teachers,Turkish,Internet,Use Studies,Foreign Countries,Technology Uses in Education

This study was conducted to examine the self-efficacy belief levels of preservice Turkish language education teachers on educational internet use in terms of various variables. The sample of the study was selected based on the non-random purposive sampling method and 197 preservice Turkish language education teachers who agreed to participate in and answer the questions in the scale generated the sample of the study. The study was conducted as a survey research and the data was collected via &quot;Educational Internet Usage Self-Efficacy Beliefs Scale&quot; which was developed by Akgün et al. (2017) and which consists of 26 items in 5-point-likert scale. The findings of the study present that the self-efficacy belief levels of preservice Turkish language education teachers on educational internet usage do not differ significantly according to the gender, class level and age variables. On the other hand, the self-efficacy belief levels of the preservice Turkish language education teachers on educational internet usage differ significantly according to computer using experience, weekly internet using time period, having an education on educational internet use and perceptions on the level of competence in using FATIH Project technologies within the education. It is highly recommended that similar studies with different and wider samples should be conducted in the future.
Examining the Effects of a Self-Improvement Instruction on Empathetic Thinking and Communication Skills
Author: Akgül, Mehmet Saban
Date: 2020-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Instructional Effectiveness,Individual Development,Skill Development,Communication Skills,Thinking Skills,Empathy,Student Improvement,Student Attitudes,College Students,Foreign Countries

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of self-improvement instruction on empathetic thinking and communication skills. It was conducted with pre-test -- post-test quasi-experimental design with no control group. The participants were 44 associate's degree students studying at Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat. The participants were given a 30-hour self-improvement instruction after the pre-test, in order to determine the change in their empathetic thinking and communication skills level. The instruction contained the concepts behavior, communication, empathy and self-criticism, reinforced by precedents and dramas. Subsequently, post-tests were performed. The results showed that the participants' communication and empathetic thinking skills were positively significantly different after the self-improvement instruction. Basing on this finding, effects of self-improvement instruction on various skills may be researched.