ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Explore Elementary Teachers' Professional Knowledge of Guiding Science Fair Product by Using Different Instruction Model
Author: Lu, Chow-Chin
Date: 2013-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary School Teachers,Science Fairs,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Science Instruction,Case Method (Teaching Technique),Science Projects,Student Projects,Inservice Teacher Education,Methods Courses

This research is about using two different instruction models, "theory course combined with sample introduction" and "theory course combined with case method teaching", to instruct elementary teachers on how to guide the science fair product in two courses (16 and 12 teachers in each class) and observe their guiding tactics after the instructed classes. The results show that: (1) Elementary teachers who have taken "theory course combined with sample introduction" course consider that: (a) Introducing the samples can let them clearly understand the process of how to guide students to do their science fair project; and (b) Following the description sample to make their science fair project topic, extend these topic form original science courses, draw the conception map and flow table, handle the scientific experiment, and then teach students to be familiar with the content of science fairs project; (2) In-service teachers who have chosen "theory course combined with case method teaching" course consider that: (a) Case-method teaching helps them understand the contents of the curricula; and (b) It provides them models to observe and imitate. With such an increase of awareness, knowledge transference had been brought out. Thus, professional knowledge would be promoted. Both teachers who have accepted these courses had hiatus when guiding students to develop their product: (1) Teachers are inadequately comprehending the basic scientific theory of subjects of their science fair project; (2) Scientific verification is not scientificalness; (3) Verify facts which are already known; and (4) Be careless about the control variable. (Contains 3 tables.)
Development and Validation of Teaching Practice Evaluation Instrument for Assessing Chemistry Students' Teaching Skills
Author: Ezeudu, F. O.
Date: 2013-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Postsecondary Education,Student Teachers,Chemistry,Secondary School Science,Teaching Methods,Teaching Skills,Student Teaching,Teacher Evaluation,Teacher Behavior,Factor Analysis,Interrater Reliability,Construct Validity

The study was designed to develop and factorially validate an instrument for measuring teaching practice skills of chemistry student-teachers in University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Two research questions guided the study. The design of the study was instrumentation. All the chemistry student-teachers in the Department of Science Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, involved in teaching practice in November 2011 formed the population for the study. No sampling technique was used as all the population formed the sample for the study. The instrument known as TPEF (teaching practice evaluation form) was developed. It was used to collect data for answering the research questions. The instrument was face validated and subjected to factor analysis using rotated component matrix to establish the construct validity. FL (factor loading) range of 0.35 and above (Meredith, 1969) was used for the extraction of the valid items. Internal consistency reliability coefficient of the instrument was established using Kendall's coefficient of concordance. The result of the analysis shows that TPEF was valid and reliable. It also shows that there was agreement among the raters. Based on these findings, the educational implications were discussed and recommendations made including that teachers in tertiary institutions should use this instrument in assessing chemistry student-teachers during their teaching practice due to its validity and reliability in assessing teaching practice skills in chemistry. A Teaching Practice Evaluation Form for Chemistry Students is appended. (Contains 2 tables.)
A Supervisor's Roles for Successful Thesis and Dissertation
Author: Mhunpiew, Nathara
Date: 2013-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Graduate Students,Supervisors,Role,Masters Theses,Doctoral Dissertations,Student Research,Success,Technical Support,Supervisor Supervisee Relationship,Guidance,Mentors,Intellectual Development

The success of a thesis or a dissertation for a graduate student relies upon the roles of their supervisor. The student not only needs to be equipped with the knowledge, but also be able to manage others and external factors at the same time. The journey during the period of conducting research is mixed with various tasks. Five supportive roles of a supervisor involving the supervision system are specific technical support, broader intellectual support, administrative support, management, and personal support brings about the output of the study. A supervisor's roles for successful thesis and dissertation is reported by using the survey on graduate students in the universities in Thailand probing for the current practices of supervisor and the expectation of student towards the supervisor's roles. The reflection from the students' perspective can help develop relationship between supervisor and student for undertaking a successful thesis and dissertation. (Contains 2 tables.)
Class-Size Policy: The STAR Experiment and Related Class-Size Studies. NCPEA Policy Brief. Volume 1, Number 2
Author: Achilles, Charles M.
Date: 2012-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Grade Repetition,Class Size,Small Classes,Dropout Rate,Elementary School Students,Teacher Student Relationship,Longitudinal Studies,Test Results,Learner Engagement,Disadvantaged Youth,Minority Group Students,Teacher Student Ratio,Males,School Effectiveness

This brief summarizes findings on class size from over 25 years of work on the Tennessee Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) randomized, longitudinal experiment, and other Class-Size Reduction (CSR) studies throughout the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, Sweden, Great Britain, and elsewhere. The brief concludes with recommendations. The STAR research shows that small classes (15-17 pupils) in kindergarten through third grade (K-3) provide short- and long-term benefits for students, teachers, and society at large. Although all students benefit; poor, minority, and male students reap extra benefits in terms of improved test outcomes, school engagement, and reduced grade retention and dropout rates. Differing formulas for counting students and teachers are a major impediment to understanding and using small classes correctly: a pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) is a division problem, class size is an addition problem. The two are not the same, and thus PTR data cannot be used as a substitute for actual class-size data. (Contains 2 tables, 4 resources and 13 footnotes.)
A Theoretical Synthesis of Knowledge Sharing and Educational Leadership for Sustaining Learning Communities
Author: Rungrojngarmcharoen, Kanog on
Date: 2013-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Instructional Leadership,Knowledge Management,Communities of Practice,Sustainability,Theories,Synthesis,Content Analysis,Models,Stakeholders

Knowledge is one of the crucial and dominant economic resources in order to obtain sustainable advantages in any community. The world is now shifting faster thanks to the advanced development of digital connectivity and increasing access to knowledge. Leaders of a community, society, or country must contemplate what factors concerned in the emergent era of valuable network that fosters learning communities. To some extent, learning communities benefit each individual member and the community as a whole as they generate economic prosperity as well as improve students' academic and social achievement. They even enhance interdisciplinary studies in higher education levels. Hence, it is of essence to have a strong learning community which requires all stakeholders to actively participate in sharing common values, beliefs, and knowledge in order to pass on their wisdom from generation to generation and embracing a strong sense of loyalty and belonging among themselves, so as to achieve together both individual needs and shared missions of the community. With the aim of sustaining a learning community, it necessitates synthesizing the creative mechanism of knowledge sharing with the application of authentic educational leadership that encompasses a process of influencing, sharing knowledge of new concepts, practices, ideas, insights, abilities, and values for personal development and of facilitating ongoing learning, communicating certain values and useful information for people's well-being in a community, enhancing academic progress, and inculcating sound awareness of continuous lifelong education. The purposes of this study through content analysis are to raise the awareness of the eminent power of sharing knowledge that requires a strong sense of educational leadership and to emphasize the significance of sustaining learning communities for the academic achievement of learners in particular and for the intellectual well-being of people in a community in general. (Contains 1 figure.)
Web-Browsing Competencies of Pre-Service Adult Facilitators: Implications for Curriculum Transformation and Distance Learning
Author: Theresa, Ofoegbu
Date: 2013-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Preservice Teachers,Adult Educators,Internet,Web Sites,Computer Literacy,Web Browsers,Competence,Distance Education,Gender Differences,Electronic Learning,Questionnaires

The study investigated the Web-browsing competencies of pre-service adult facilitators in the southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Survey design was adopted for the study. The population consists of all pre-service adult facilitators in all the federal universities in the southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Accidental sampling technique was used in selecting 234 pre-service adult facilitators. The instrument for data collection was a four-point scale questionnaire titled &quot;WEBCQ&quot; (Web-browsing Competencies Questionnaire). WEBCQ consists of 43 Web-browsing competencies. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was established by using Crombach Alpha which came up to 0.78. Two research questions and one null hypothesis guided the study. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while t-test statistics was used to analyze the null hypothesis. The findings of the study showed that the pre-service adult facilitators have Web-browsing competencies to an average level and that male adult facilitators have significantly higher competencies than their female counterparts. Based on the findings, some recommendations were made which include that the country just like most developed nations should embrace the innovative distance learning in the form of online learning, e-learning, virtual classroom, and online counseling knowing that most of the current pre-service facilitators have average Web-browsing competence. (Contains 3 tables.)
Physics and Everyday Life--New Modules to Motivate Students
Author: Holubova, Renata
Date: 2013-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Physics,Interdisciplinary Approach,Relevance (Education),Student Motivation,Learner Engagement,Learning Motivation,Learning Modules,Daily Living Skills,Hands on Science,Molecular Structure,Technology,Science Education,Crime,Science Activities,Praxis,Curriculum Development

The question &quot;how to improve the interest of students to study physics&quot; has been discussed in the author's previous papers too. Within the framework of the project, the author prepared various new interdisciplinary projects to demonstrate how inventions in physics are used in everyday life. Now, about one year later, the author found out that students were most addressed with the modules physics and crime scene investigation physics in the kitchen, as usually with non-traditional simple experiments. The aim of this paper is to introduce the modules and discuss possible reasons of this situation. (Contains 3 figures.) [This article was prepared with the support of the European Community.]
An Attitudinal Study:  Perceptions of Teachers, Parents and Public School Stakeholders Concerning the IEP Process and Development
Author: Carter, Emanuel
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Disabilities,Learning Problems,Stakeholders,Individualized Education Programs,Parent Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Special Needs Students,Student Needs,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Parents,School Districts,Parent School Relationship,Public Schools,Surveys,Measures (Individuals)

The Individual Education Plan (IEP) process plays a vital role in the instructional process of the individual with ELN (exceptional leaning needs). The IEP process helps to level the playing field for students with ELN against those students that do not have diagnosed learning problems. From the parents to the students to the IEP staff, they all play a vital role in developing an individual plan for the success for the students with ELN. This study will investigate the perception that the IEP staff has on the parents who are involved with the IEP process. The perceptions will not only come from just the student's teacher, but also from administrators, and counselors. This is an important topic because the IEP process was implemented from government legislative, to make sure all students who have a diagnosed ELN receive a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. The findings in this study can be used in the future of education to improve the relationship between parents and stakeholders that are involved in the IEP process. A survey is appended. (Contains 1 table.)
Process Inquiry: Analysis of Oral Problem-Solving Skills in Mathematics of Engineering Students
Author: Trance, Naci John C.
Date: 2013-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Engineering Education,College Students,Mathematics Skills,Problem Solving,Inquiry,Difficulty Level,Word Problems (Mathematics),Algebra,Misconceptions,Reading,Comprehension,Speech Communication,Foreign Countries

This paper presents another effort in determining the difficulty of engineering students in terms of solving word problems. Students were presented with word problems in algebra. Then, they were asked to solve the word problems orally; that is, before they presented their written solutions, they were required to explain how they understood the problem, and to give the processes they wanted to use in order to obtain the answer. Responses of students for each word problems would be noted. Discussions were recorded so that all responses were accounted for. Using NEA (Newman's error analysis), student's problems on reading, comprehension, transformation, and process skills can be determined by the teacher before the encoding of the solution is done. Also, the teacher directly addresses whatever misconceptions are made by the student in the process as well as of other students who are thinking the same way. More than 70% of the errors found were comprehension and transformation errors. Thus, students were given remedial classes to minimize their comprehension and transformation errors. (Contains 4 tables.)
Looking Forward with LIFE: Literacy Initiative for Empowerment. Global LIFE Mid-Term Evaluation Report 2006-2011
Author: Hanemann, Ulrike
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Program Effectiveness,Adult Literacy,Needs Assessment,Nonformal Education,Literacy Education,Empowerment,Goal Orientation,Evidence,Comparative Analysis,Educational Quality,Females,Capacity Building,Educational Policy,Educational Innovation,Advocacy,Foreign Countries

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (2006-2015)--LIFE--to tackle the literacy challenge. This is a collaborative effort to accelerate literacy efforts in thirty five of the world's most challenged countries and thereby to unlock progress to reach all of the Millennium Development Goals. Now underway for five years, it is time to review the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment. This is the goal of this global mid-term evaluation report, which draws on prior national and regional evaluation processes and the evidence of existing research, to provide strategic directions for the remaining implementation of the initiative. This evaluation confirms the value of LIFE to literacy development. The majority of LIFE countries recorded an increase in adult literacy rates by an average of 3.1 percent, compared with 1.9 percent at global level over the same period, from 1995-2004 to 2005-2009. One focus of LIFE is a concerted effort to empower women and girls. The evaluation reveals here a mixed picture that shows there is still much to do. The evaluation confirms the need for an increased commitment to literacy that is backed by adequate resources to scale up and deliver programmes of high quality. This underlines the importance of policies of capacity development for improved literacy and nonformal education at national and sub-national levels. Appended are: (1) Objectives of the LIFE mid-term evaluation process; (2) Countries participating in LIFE; (3) LIFE logframe matrix; (4) Partnership and coordination structure for LIFE; and (5) Situation analysis and needs assessment studies. (Contains 5 tables, 1 diagram, 13 boxes, and 90 footnotes.)
Beating the Drums for Attention: Proceedings and Outcomes of the Socrates/Grundtvig Network &quot;International Adult Learners Week in Europe&quot; (IntALWinE)
Author: Bochynek, Bettina, Ed.
Date: 2007-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Adult Learning,Adult Students,Adult Educators,Foreign Countries,Cooperation,Learning Activities,Instructional Materials,Awards,Program Evaluation,Educational Policy,Educational Innovation,Conferences (Gatherings)

&quot;Beating the Drums for Attention&quot; is the metaphorical title chosen to reflect the continuous effort carried out by adult educators to promote learning, to encourage a joyful approach to it and to motivate learners to be part of and actively influence the overall reflexive process they are involved in. What carries the whole movement is the united commitment of its members to spread learning in creative ways and to share their innovative, authentic and unique learning paths. Out of the national adult learners weeks and learning festivals, an international event has developed. The European chapter is the strongest and most active, supported by the Socrates/Grundtvig Programme of the European Union, and a dynamic network of talented coordinators. The present publication is the final product of the collective work of the International Adult Learners Week in Europe (IntALWinE), giving an account of the activities carried out and the results achieved in the framework of the Socrates/Grundtvig network. Following this introduction and overview, the publication includes a series of suggestions and examples of good practice collected by the IntALWinE partners for the improvement of learning festivals. They are structured in five categories around events and activities, promotional material, awards, cooperation and evaluation. Two sets of policy recommendations will be presented in the next chapters: one produced by the network partners and the other one drafted by the adult learners involved in the network activities. In the centre page, readers will find the IntALWinE Country Windows, and on the final page the contacts of IntALWinE partners.
Global Report on Adult Learning and Education
Author: Chisholm, Lynne, Ed.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Educational Attainment,Adult Education,Adult Literacy,Adult Learning,Educational Change,Classification,Income,Conferences (Gatherings),Agriculture,Epistemology,Research and Development,Public Opinion,Access to Education,Civil Rights,Educational Trends,Advocacy,Educational Legislation,Educational Policy,Educational Finance,Expenditures,Illiteracy,Participation,Educational Quality,Governance

In the 21st century, the rapid pace and complexity of economic, technological and cultural changes require women and men to adapt and re-adapt throughout their lives--all the more so in the context of globalisation. In this era of the knowledge society--where production structure is shifting towards greater knowledge use and away from reliance on physical capital, manufacturing and agricultural production--growth in personal, national and regional incomes is increasingly defined by the ability to create, manage, disseminate and innovate in knowledge production. The new information and communication technologies (ICTs) intensify the rate of exchange of information. They also allow users to participate actively in virtual networks that can easily be mobilised to shape public opinion. The critical role of adult education in the development of society has long been recognised. Since the First International Conference on Adult Education in 1949, UNESCO member states have dedicated themselves to ensuring that adults are able to exercise the basic right to education. Over the course of these 60 years the landscape of adult education has evolved. This "Global Report" aims to describe the current position. First it sets out to document trends in key areas of adult education at the global level, intended to serve as a reference document for policymakers, practitioners and researchers. Second, it provides an advocacy tool to promote the importance of adult education as well as to share effective practice. Finally, as one of the key inputs to CONFINTEA VI, it will provide evidence to support the outcome document of the meeting. Appended are: (1) Laws or policies on adult learning and education, as reported in National Reports prepared for CONFINTEA VI; (2) Estimated educational attainment of the population aged 25 years and older for countries with available data by region, sub-region and income group, latest year available; (3) Proportion of adults aged 16 to 65 participating in organised forms of adult learning and education during the year preceding the interview, by country groupings and various classification variables, multiple sources and (1994-2003); (4) Classification of regions and countries by EFA Development Index (EDI), 2006; (5) Actual versus recommended expenditure on adult education; and (6) Estimated adult literacy rate and number of adult illiterates for countries with available data, by region, sub-region and income group, latest year available within two reference periods (1988-1997 and 1998-2007). (Contains 6 figures, 20 tables, 37 boxes, and 8 online resources.