ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Investigating Faculty Learning in the Context of Community-Engaged Scholarship
Author: Jameson, Jessica Katz
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College Faculty,Learning,Faculty Development,State Universities,Capacity Building,School Community Relationship,Scholarship,Competence,Measures (Individuals),Reflection,Pretests Posttests

This study investigates faculty learning resulting from a faculty development program implemented at North Carolina State University to build capacity for community-engaged scholarship (CES). Previous work done under the auspices of Community Campus Partnerships for Health is extended by modifying an extant scale used to assess CES competencies and adding a retrospective pre-test to account for response-shift bias. This study also builds upon earlier work on assessment of student learning through the use of reflection by examining reflection products written by faculty at three points during the 12-month program. Quantitative analysis of responses to the CES competencies scale indicated a significant response-shift bias (participants overestimated their knowledge about CES at the start of the program). Qualitative investigation of participants' reflection products suggests they learned new language for CES, achieved new discoveries about their community-engaged work, and often redefined their scholarly identities through the lens of engaged scholarship. Implications of this study include the value-added by examining faculty learning through reflection products as well as self-report scales, the need to build faculty capacity for learning through reflection, and the proposal of new strategies for documenting faculty learning from faculty development programs. (Contains 2 tables.)
Does Service-Learning Increase Student Learning?: A Meta-Analysis
Author: Warren, Jami L.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Meta Analysis,Service Learning,Student Improvement,Achievement Gains,Instructional Effectiveness,Outcomes of Education

Research studies reflect mixed results on whether or not service-learning increases student learning outcomes. The current study seeks to reconcile these findings by extending a meta-analysis conducted by Novak, Markey, and Allen (2007) in which these authors examined service-learning and student learning outcomes. In the current study, 11 research studies satisfying particular criteria were included. Results suggest that service-learning does in fact increase student learning (d = 0.332). Results from moderator analyses suggest that service-learning has a positive influence on student learning outcomes irrespective of the way learning was measured. (Contains 1 table and 1 note.)
Dance Performance: Giving Voice to the Community
Author: Ferro, Simone
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Oral History,Local History,Dance,Dance Education,College Students,Service Learning,School Community Relationship

This project used oral history contributed by community story-tellers as source material for choreographic work performed in the community. The oral histories focused on four major areas: arrival (migration), social life, spirituality, and segregation/civil rights. Public performances took place at the university, local schools, and the community center in the neighborhood on which the choreographic narrative was based. The project involved processes for representing a multigenerational, multiracial community history while at the same time meeting the pre-professional educational needs of student dancers. These processes, some known in community theater and community dance projects, provide a basis for reflection on combining student and community goals in dance and other performing arts.
A Collaborative Cross Number Puzzle Game to Enhance Elementary Students' Arithmetic Skills
Author: Chen, Yen-Hua
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Arithmetic,Teaching Methods,Mathematics Education,Grade 4,Instructional Effectiveness,Foreign Countries,Elementary School Mathematics,Student Motivation,Games,Puzzles,Mathematical Concepts,Pretests Posttests,Mathematics Achievement,Comparative Analysis,Mathematics Skills

In traditional mathematics education, students have typically been asked to solve lots of tedious and uninteresting exercises for developing the arithmetic skills of addition and subtraction. The paper provides an account of learning arithmetic skills in a more interesting way through the collaborative playing of a puzzle game. 83 students in three classes in Grade 4 were asked to solve arithmetic problems with three different methods: via playing an adapted &quot;cross number puzzle&quot; game on Group Scribbles (GS) collaboratively, via playing the same game on GS individually, and via the traditional method of teaching and learning, i.e. with no games at all. Analysis of the pre and post learning achievement data reveals that the two classes who played the game performed better than the control class, with the collaborative class students achieving better than the individual class students. By playing the game, low-ability students, in particular, made the most significant progress in arithmetic capability and in building up their confidence in doing arithmetic calculations. (Contains 14 tables and 11 figures.)
A Community of Practice Approach to Learning Programming
Author: Chen, Gwo-Dong
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Knowledge Level,Programming,Blended Learning,Communities of Practice,Science Process Skills,Teaching Methods,Problem Based Learning,Computer Software,Learning Activities,Guidelines,Curriculum Implementation,Case Studies,Educational Strategies,Learning Strategies,Instructional Innovation

In programming courses, teaching students who have varied levels of knowledge and skills the requisite competencies to perform in real-world software development teams is indeed difficult. To address this problem, this paper proposes a community of practice (CoP) approach and provides some guidelines to simulate a real-world CoP in a blended learning environment. It simulates not only the role structure and tasks but also the participation process. The design of this approach is based on the situated learning perspective that considers learning to be a trajectory in which learners move from legitimate peripheral participation to full participation in CoPs. The results from the data analysis and questionnaires indicated that the students were very engaged in this activity and believed that this approach helped them to develop necessary programming knowledge and skills. This study also reports certain constraints and suggestions for teachers who want to adapt this approach for their courses. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)
A Digital Game-Based Learning System for Energy Education: An Energy COnservation PET
Author: Yang, Jie Chi
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Learning Motivation,Learning Strategies,Energy Conservation,Energy Education,Efficiency,Graduate Study,Computer Assisted Instruction,Instructional Design,Educational Games,Computer Games,Computer System Design,College Students,College Instruction,Student Attitudes,Instructional Effectiveness,Questionnaires,Data Analysis,Pretests Posttests,Animals,Conservation Education,Computer Simulation,Simulated Environment,Video Technology,Computer Interfaces,Outcomes of Education,Observation

Energy education has been conducted to equip learners with relevant energy conservation knowledge for many years. However, learners seldom put the knowledge into practice and even have few ideas about how to reduce energy consumption. To this end, there is a need to address this issue to improve the efficiency of energy education. One of the strategies is digital game-based learning, which can enhance learning motivation and interaction with learners. In this vein, this study develops an Energy COnservation PET (ECOPET) system using a game-based learning strategy. With the use of a pet avatar, learners were encouraged to use home-energy conservatively in a playful and engaging way. The aim is not simply to teach learners how to reduce energy use, but to engage them in adopting appropriate energy conservation measures. An empirical study was conducted to examine if the ECOPET system could promote learners' understanding of energy conservation. The results demonstrated that the system significantly promoted learners' self-awareness, learning motivation, as well as willingness to conserve energy. (Contains 4 tables and 5 figures.)
A Study on Teaching Quality of Taiwan Government Training Civil Servants with Educational Technology
Author: Hsiao, Luke H. C.
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Effectiveness,Educational Technology,Information Technology,Foreign Countries,Human Resources,Global Approach,Government Employees,Labor Force Development,Instructional Effectiveness,Correlation,Questionnaires

When economic globalization, informatization, and marketization are rapidly developing, the world is reaching the globally industrial society based on information technology. In such a fierce competition, human resource is gradually placed on the critical role. This study aims to: (1) understand the present situation of Educational Technology and Teaching Quality; (2) discuss the correlations between Educational Technology and Teaching Quality; and (3) investigate the differences of Educational Technology and Teaching Quality among civil servants with various demographic variables. With the questionnaire of Educational Technology and Teaching Quality, civil servants in Taiwan are selected as the research subjects. Total 1,000 copies are distributed and 672 valid ones are retrieved, with the retrieval rate 67%. Suggestions are further proposed for the reference of governmental branches in Taiwan and future research. (Contains 7 tables.)
An Evaluation Study of a CALL Application: With BELT or without BELT
Author: Genc, Humeyra
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Computer Assisted Instruction,Blended Learning,Interviews,Field Studies,Content Analysis,Student Surveys,Attitude Measures,Teacher Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Instructional Effectiveness,English (Second Language),Classroom Environment,Language Proficiency,Private Schools,Grade 6,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Urban Schools,Computer Software,Computer Software Evaluation,Teaching Methods,Questionnaires,Qualitative Research,Data Analysis

The present study tried to evaluate the 6th grade students' attitudes towards the use of a CALL program which is called BELT Success used in English language learning course in a private school, the relationship to students' attitudes to their English language proficiency level, and finally teachers` experiences and opinions towards the use of BELT Success in the classroom environment. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used for the study. The data was obtained through BELT attitude questionnaire, field notes, unstructured group interview for students and semi-structured teachers interview. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and content analysis were used to analyze quantitative and qualitative data. The results obtained from instruments revealed encouraging evidence that 6th grade students have a moderate positive attitude towards the use of BELT Success in English language course, additionally, students' language learning skills such as listening, reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary are improved by the system, students gain self-confidence, and there is no statistically significant difference between groups representing different English language proficiency levels based on attitude towards the use of BELT Success into instruction. (Contains 3 tables.)
Attitudes of Teacher Candidates Studying at Technical Education on Ability to Take the Role of a Teacher
Author: Simsek, Cengiz
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Attitudes,Technical Education,Communication Skills,Likert Scales,Preservice Teachers,Gender Differences,Parent Background,Educational Attainment,Majors (Students),Teacher Role,Student Surveys,Statistical Analysis,Foreign Countries,Higher Education

In this research, attitudes of teacher candidates (N = 583) studying at the Faculty of Technical Education on ability to take general roles of teachers are analyzed with respect to class, gender, educational level of parents, reason to do major at the university, feeling themselves appropriate to the major, seeing themselves adequate, and desire to change the major. In the research, where 5 point likert scale was used, it is designated that at the level that teacher candidates can &quot;absolutely&quot; take general teaching roles, especially in &quot;communication skills&quot; group, they have (M = 4,35). It has been observed that this situation does not show any difference in class 1 and 2 as well as in 3 and 4. The attitudes of candidates in class 3 and 4 in taking general roles of teachers change with respect to department and gender. (Contains 10 tables and 2 figures.)
Cluster Analysis of Adolescent Blogs
Author: Liu, Eric Zhi-Feng
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Factor Analysis,Adolescents,Web Sites,Electronic Publishing,Web 2.0 Technologies,Content Analysis,Multivariate Analysis,Literary Genres,Performance Factors,Language Styles,Cluster Grouping,Cohort Analysis

Emerging web applications and networking systems such as blogs have become popular, and they offer unique opportunities and environments for learners, especially for adolescent learners. This study attempts to explore the writing styles and genres used by adolescents in their blogs by employing content, factor, and cluster analyses. Factor analysis was used to identify the factors that influence the genres of adolescents' blogs, and cluster analysis was used to divide the adolescents' blogs into the topic balanced group and the expression of feelings group. The findings revealed that the two groups of adolescents showed a difference in blog background, genres, and use of Internet language variables. Additionally, female adolescent bloggers tended to post more articles than male bloggers. Furthermore, the number of posted articles between female and male adolescents varied in some genres. (Contains 11 tables and 1 figure.)
Effectiveness of Automated Chinese Sentence Scoring with Latent Semantic Analysis
Author: Liao, Chen-Huei
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Program Effectiveness,Scoring,Personality,Sentences,Grade 4,Test Scoring Machines,Chinese,Grade 6,Automation,Comparative Analysis,Language Tests,Writing Tests,Writing Evaluation,Computer Assisted Testing,Computational Linguistics,Natural Language Processing,Computer System Design,Correlation

Automated scoring by means of Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) has been introduced lately to improve the traditional human scoring system. The purposes of the present study were to develop a LSA-based assessment system to evaluate children's Chinese sentence construction skills and to examine the effectiveness of LSA-based automated scoring function by comparing it with traditional human scoring. Twenty-seven fourth graders and thirty-one six graders were assessed on single-character sentence making test (subtest 1) and two-character words sentence making test (subtest 2). The outcomes of LSA-based automated scoring methods in three Chinese semantic spaces generated from three type weighting functions were compared to the traditional human scoring. The results showed that LSA-based automated scoring in three different Chinese semantic spaces and traditional human scoring were highly correlated in single-character sentence making test and moderately correlated in two-character words sentence making test. The Chinese semantic space generated from Log-IDF outperformed the other two types of weighting function in the present study. (Contains 5 tables and 3 figures.)
Effects of Reflective Thinking in the Process of Designing Software on Students' Learning Performances
Author: Hsieh, Pei-Hsuan
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Computer Software,Computer Software Evaluation,Programming,Computer Science Education,Animation,Web Sites,Design Requirements,Teaching Methods,College Students,College Instruction,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Comparative Analysis,Questionnaires,Usability,Qualitative Research,Data Analysis,Pretests Posttests,Reflection,Outcomes of Education,High Achievement,Low Achievement,Student Evaluation,Diaries,Evaluation Criteria

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of reflective thinking effects in the process of designing software on students' learning performances. The study contends that reflective thinking is a useful teaching strategy to improve learning performance among lower achieving students. Participants were students from two groups: Higher achieving students were the control group, and lower achieving students were the experimental group. The experimental group students wrote weekly diaries demonstrating reflective thinking in the processes of designing software. The study's results show the evaluation scores of the two groups of students' software designs were comparable. The abilities of the experimental group to comment on a design improved. This shows that a reflective thinking strategy did have positive effect on improving lower achieving students' learning performances, especially in the process of software design. Discussion of the results and suggestions for future study appear at the end of this study. (Contains 7 tables and 2 figures.)
Elementary EFL Teachers' Computer Phobia and Computer Self-Efficacy in Taiwan
Author: Chen, Kate Tzuching
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Information Technology,Evidence,Self Efficacy,Teaching Methods,Anxiety,Foreign Countries,Computer Attitudes,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Teacher Attitudes,Correlation,Elementary School Teachers,Language Teachers,Second Language Instruction,Computer Literacy

The advent and application of computer and information technology has increased the overall success of EFL teaching; however, such success is hard to assess, and teachers prone to computer avoidance face negative consequences. Two major obstacles are high computer phobia and low computer self-efficacy. However, little research has been carried out in this area, especially from instructors' perspectives. This study aimed to determine the levels of computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy, and their correlations to classroom teaching among 300 elementary EFL teachers in Taiwan. Data were collected through survey method. Results indicated that teachers have moderate to high computer phobia and low computer self-efficacy. It is evidenced that computer phobia is negatively associated with computer self-efficacy. Also, it was found that teachers who frequently used computers showed lower computer phobia. Male teachers perceived themselves as having higher computer self-efficacy, and younger teachers tended to have a lower level of computer phobia and higher computer self-efficacy. High accessibility of computers at school for teachers would significantly lower computer anxiety and raise computer self-efficacy. In addition to investigating these two specific factors, evidence and implications for practice and directions for further research are also discussed. (Contains 6 tables.)
Employing Design and Development Research (DDR): Approaches in the Design and Development of Online Arabic Vocabulary Learning Games Prototype
Author: Sahrir, Muhammad Sabri
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Educational Research,Semitic Languages,Usability,Formative Evaluation,Vocabulary Development,Novices,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Computer Software,Computer Software Evaluation,Design Requirements,College Students,College Instruction,Student Attitudes,Instructional Effectiveness,Qualitative Research,Data Analysis,Instructional Design,Web Based Instruction,Educational Games,Computer Games,Mixed Methods Research

The design and development research, first proposed by Brown and Collins in the 1990s, is currently among the well-known methods in educational research to test theory and validate its practicality. The method is also known as developmental research, design research, design-based research, formative research and design-cased and possesses conceptual underpinning and practical aspects of the &quot;what&quot; and &quot;how&quot; of &quot;doing&quot;. This paper describes the design and development of a web-based Arabic vocabulary learning games prototype incorporating the methods and approaches of DDR for elementary learners in Centre for Foundation Studies (CFS), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). The effort in generating this learning prototype attempts to design, develop and integrate a game-based learning application in an online platform. It is meant to provide an interactive learning experience for learners who have been through traditional non-computer based Arabic teaching and learning methods. Their feedbacks and responses are then gathered and analysed as the formative evaluation for the design and development principles. The exploration of the potential of use for the game-based learning prototype in teaching and learning in real setting by various experts, learners and teachers was also among the steps taken to evaluate the usability and practicality of the prototype during the design and development phases. (Contains 4 tables and 6 figures.)
Examining the Relationship between Teachers' Attitudes and Motivation toward Web-Based Professional Development: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach
Author: Chien, Hui-Min
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Stimulation,Professional Development,Internet,Teacher Attitudes,Usability,Elementary School Teachers,Structural Equation Models,Teacher Motivation,Web Based Instruction,Positive Attitudes,Measures (Individuals),Foreign Countries,Psychological Needs,Anxiety,Rating Scales,Interests,Expectation,Interpersonal Competence,Factor Analysis,Correlation

This study was conducted to investigate elementary school teachers' attitudes and motivation toward web-based professional development. The relationship between teachers' attitudes and motivation was explored using the AWPD (Attitudes toward Web-based Professional Development) and MWPD (Motivation toward Web-based Professional Development) surveys, respectively. The AWPD consisted of five scales, including &quot;Perceived usefulness&quot;, &quot;Perceived ease of use&quot;, &quot;Affection&quot;, &quot;Anxiety&quot;, and &quot;Behavior&quot;. The MWPD also consisted of five scales, including &quot;personal interest&quot;, &quot;social stimulation&quot;, &quot;external expectation&quot;, &quot;practical enhancement&quot;, and &quot;social contact&quot;. Data gathered from 322 elementary school teachers were examined through structural equation modeling. The results indicate that, in general, the teachers' attitudes and their motivation toward web-based professional development were significantly positively correlated with each other. It was also found that teachers with higher motivation have more positive attitudes toward web-based professional development. (Contains 4 tables.)