ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
&quot;A Gigantic Pedagogical Leap&quot;: The Process of Shifts during Three Learning Study Projects in Swedish Early Childhood Education
Author: Ljung-Djärf, Agneta
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Preschool Teachers,Foreign Countries,Play,Educational Practices,Preschool Children,Geometric Concepts,Meetings,Learning Processes,Educational Change,Teaching Methods,Toys,Learning Theories,Video Technology,Pretests Posttests,Learning Activities,Interviews

Swedish early childhood education (ECE) offers a curriculum-based preschool for children aged one to five, and a preschool class for children aged six years. Activities in these programs have traditionally been based on play and having fun, avoiding structured activities with formal learning objectives. Due to indications that Swedish ECE has failed to use its resources to stimulate children's learning, the revised ECE curriculum now contains discernible learning objectives. This study analyses the process by which preschool teachers shifted their emphasis when participating in an learning study based on three projects conducted in Swedish ECE practice. In total, 14 preschool teachers, 95 children (2-6-year-olds), and five researchers participated. The objects of learning were: (1) 3D geometrical forms (2-3-year-olds), (2) organic decomposition (4-5-year-olds), and (3) the concept &quot;twice as&quot; (6-year-olds). The empirical material comprises 278 pre-, post-, and delayed post-tests, twelve planning meetings, and nine teaching activities. The results indicate that, during the projects, the initial focus on mere play expanded to include a focus on the object of learning. Three modes of change were discerned in how (1) the activities were framed, (2) the learning was perceived, and (3) the learning activities were conducted.
Predicting College Success: The Relative Contributions of Five Social/Personality Factors, Five Cognitive/Learning Factors and SAT Scores
Author: Hannon, Brenda
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Grade Point Average,Academic Achievement,College Students,College Entrance Examinations,Personality Traits,Regression (Statistics),Self Efficacy,Epistemology,Knowledge Level,Predictor Variables,Social Influences,Cognitive Style,White Students,Hispanic American Students,Correlation,Scores

To-date, studies have examined simultaneously the relative predictive powers of two or three factors on GPA. The present study examines the relative powers of five social/personality factors, five cognitive/learning factors, and SAT scores to predict freshmen and non-freshmen (sophomores, juniors, seniors) academic success (i.e., GPA). The results revealed many significant predictors of GPA for both freshmen and non-freshmen. However, subsequent regressions showed that only academic self-efficacy, epistemic belief of learning, and high-knowledge integration explained unique variance in overall GPA (19%-freshmen, 23.2%-non-freshmen). Further for freshmen, SAT scores explained an additional unique 10.6% variance after the influences attributed to these three predictors was removed whereas for non-freshmen, SAT scores failed to explain any additional variance. These results highlight the unique and important contributions of academic self-efficacy, epistemic belief of learning and high-knowledge integration to overall GPA beyond other previously-identified predictors.
A Comparative Study of the Effect of Computer-Based Instruction and Problem-Solving Instruction on the Students' Creativity
Author: Fard, Adnan Eshrati
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Comparative Analysis,Problem Solving,Creativity,Scores,Computer Assisted Instruction,Males,Junior High School Students,Pretests Posttests,Questionnaires,Mathematics Instruction,Computer Software,Statistical Analysis

The current study aimed to identify the appropriate method of teaching creativity through comparing computer-based instruction with problem-solving instruction. A sample of 50 male students studying in the second grade of junior high school was chosen and divided into two equal groups. Both groups filled out the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) in pre- and post-test stages. They also completed the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) as a covariate variable. The results of covariance analysis revealed that the mean value for creativity score was higher for the students provided with the computer-based method of instruction than that of their counterparts provided with the problem-solving method of instruction while the effect of intelligence was controlled. The scores obtained for the fluency component of creativity and those for flexibility, originality, and elaboration components also increased more through problem-solving and computer-based method of instruction, respectively. To sum up, employing computer-based method of instruction resulted in a further increase in the students' creativity.
Transforming Teaching and Learning at University of Ghana through Community Service-Learning: Listening to the Voices of Students
Author: Tagoe, Michael A.
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Student Attitudes,Service Learning,Mixed Methods Research,Questionnaires,Case Studies,Educational Improvement,Universities,Educational Change,Interviews,Positive Attitudes,Program Implementation,Educational Benefits,Factor Analysis,Classification,Validity,College Students

Universities all over the world are undergoing change to improve teaching, learning and service. These changes have been motivated by call for universities to connect more to communities to address their problems. One of the means of ensuring that universities and communities engage mutually in a partnership where students, faculty and community members create and co-create knowledge to find solution to problems is through community service-learning. Although community service-learning has been incorporated in several universities in the United States and lately in South Africa, it is not common amongst universities in Ghana. This paper examines students' perception towards community service-learning. The study adopted a mixed methods case study approach and collected data using questionnaire and in-depth interview. The findings reveal students' positive perception towards community service-learning which could eventually have an impact on the University of Ghana's decision to implement service-learning programmes.
Participation Rates in a Worksite Wellness Program Using E-Mail Wellness Messages
Author: Anenson, Larry W.
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Mail,Health Promotion,Motivation,Employees,Physical Health,Mental Health,Emotional Response,Spiritual Development,Social Influences,Environmental Influences,Quasiexperimental Design,Statistical Analysis,Wellness,Gender Differences

The purpose of this study was to determine which days of the work week had the largest rate of opened e-health messages, whether detailed or basic e-health messages were more likely to be opened, if motivation influenced the rate of message opening, and if the rate of opening messages declined over time. Ninety-one city employees (52 male and 39 female) of a medium-sized Midwestern city in the United States participated in the study. Participants were divided into four groups according to desire to receive wellness email messages and amount of information provided in the message. These groups were motivated-detailed (n = 25), motivated-basic (n = 23), unmotivated-detailed (n = 20), and unmotivated-basic (n = 23). A total of 38 weekly messages focused on one of seven dimensions of wellness: physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, social, environmental, or occupational wellness. The basic e-health message consisted of an e-mail with health tips for the specific topic; whereas the detailed message included the basic message plus links to games, surveys, and websites to supplement the basic message. A total of five to six e-health messages for each wellness dimension were sent by a scheduled rotation. Day of the week showed no differences in frequency of opening messages Employees who wanted to receive the messages were more likely to participate. Basic messages were more likely to be opened. Overall, there was a steady decline in the number of messages opened. It was concluded that sending basic e-health messages any day of the week to employees who desire such information may be most effective.
Pronunciation in Foreign Language: How to Train? Effects of Different Kinds of Training in Perception and Production of the Italian Consonant / ?/ by Adult German Learners
Author: Macedonia, Manuela
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Pronunciation,German,Sensory Integration,Perceptual Development,Role,Speech,Cues,Phonemes,Articulation (Speech),Imitation,Sensory Training,Psychomotor Skills,Auditory Discrimination,Italian,Second Language Learning,Native Speakers,Auditory Perception,Acoustics,Auditory Stimuli,Task Analysis,Pretests Posttests,Accuracy,Age Differences,Adult Learning,Foreign Countries

This study investigates the role of perception and sensory motor learning on speech production in L2. Compared to natural language learning, acoustic input in formal adult instruction is deprived of multiple sensory motor cues and lacks the imitation component. Consequently, it is possible that inaccurate pronunciation results from training. Inaccuracy manifests itself in the use of suppletive sounds. For the Italian phoneme /?/ [gl] like in &quot;paglia&quot; (It. straw), native Germans often produce the suppletive phoneme /l/. The Motor Theory of Speech Perception provides theoretical underpinning for the interdependency between perception and production: Thereafter, speech is perceived by reference to the articulator gestures necessary to produce it. Furthermore, imitation is a mechanism driving learning, particularly language acquisition. Accordingly, we hypothesized that training with sensory motor cues together with imitation induces the development of articulatory motor programs. They enable learners to accurately discriminate and pronounce the Italian phoneme /?/. In a between subjects experiment, we trained 49 native Germans to perceive and produce minimal pairs of syllables containing /?/ and /l/ embedded in vocalic contexts. Participants were randomly divided into three subgroups according to the following training conditions: 1) acoustic/imitation (AI), 2) audiovisual/motor task (AVM), and 3) audiovisual/imitation (AVI). The stimuli, consisting of audio files and video clips, were presented in two training blocks totalling 408 stimuli and responses per participant. Responses in stimulus discrimination and reproduction were recorded. The results show that participants discriminated both sounds /?/ and /l/, pre-and post-training equally well. Sound discrimination reached ceiling, independently of the training participants had received. However, training did not improve production accuracy which persisted in being inaccurate until the end of the experiment. We attribute the results in production to insufficient training, and we discuss the findings in terms of age-related resiliency in L2 learning.
Evaluating the Role of Writing in the First and Second Year University Foreign Language Curriculum
Author: Hubert, Michael D.
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,College Faculty,Writing Instruction,Communicative Competence (Languages),Language Teachers,Course Descriptions,Writing Assignments,Case Studies,Observation

Approaches to foreign language (FL) instruction have changed a great deal in the past fifty years, the most fundamental change being the shift from a focus solely on language form to a focus on communicative competence (CC). Although most FL instructors now appear to focus on CC in the teaching of speaking, they do not necessarily apply CC to writing in the same way. The study reported here attempts to describe the role currently played by writing in the first and second-year FL curriculum by detailing the methods used by 10 professors working at 7 different universities across the United States to teach FL writing in these courses. Results indicate that &quot;writing-to-learn&quot; activities make up a large majority of the writing methods used, but that &quot;learning-to-write&quot; activities that foster CC in writing have also been successfully integrated into the beginning FL curriculum.
Enabling Tailored Music Programs in Elementary Schools: An Australian Exemplar
Author: McFerran, Katrina Skewes
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Music Education,Elementary Schools,Case Studies,Musical Instruments,Disadvantaged Schools,Disadvantaged Youth,Foreign Countries,School Policy,Immigrants,Interviews,Parents,Teacher Attitudes,Principals,Attitude Measures,Music Teachers,Qualitative Research,Student Attitudes,Parent Attitudes,Administrator Attitudes

Participation in meaningful school music programs is the right of all children. Although music education is widely supported by policy, significant gaps exist in practice in most developed Western countries. These gaps mean the extrinsic and intrinsic benefits associated with participation in tailored programs are not equally available to all learners. School leaders have a critical role to play in determining the degree to which appropriate music programs are resourced in their schools and serve as both gate-keepers and enablers of these opportunities. The exemplary case study reported in this article describes a unique program that makes an interesting and complete contribution to knowledge. A string ensemble program in a socio-economically disadvantaged school provided &quot;great opportunities to study music&quot; that were &quot;fun&quot; and &quot;calming&quot; because of the &quot;encouraging&quot; approach adopted by teachers, except in relation to performances, which were &quot;nerve-wracking&quot;. Learners, parents, teachers and leadership were all &quot;proud&quot; of the achievements of these young people, who often struggled in other academic areas and had escaped considerable trauma in their home countries. The results suggest that relevant music programs are not necessarily tied to a particular genre of music, but rather to the ways in which leaders and facilitators identify whether extrinsic or intrinsic benefits should be targeted and then tailor program designs to meet those needs.
Effective Teaching and Learning in Interprofessional Education in Child Welfare
Author: Whiteley, Robert F.
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Child Welfare,Instructional Effectiveness,Nursing Students,Social Work,Preservice Teachers,Workshops,Likert Scales,Interdisciplinary Approach,Interprofessional Relationship,Educational Needs,Questionnaires,Teaching Methods,Educational Practices,Student Attitudes,Achievement Gains,Foreign Countries

This article reports on research regarding interprofessional education (IPE) in child welfare conducted in 2009 and 2010. Pre service nursing, social worker and teacher education candidates participated in a workshop that &quot;exposed&quot; (Charles, Bainbridge &amp; Gilbert, 2010) students to IPE in child welfare. This paper addresses a gap in literature in IPE in child welfare. Literature in IPE precedes a description of the workshop followed by an explanation of the integrated expert presentation, case study, modeling, reflection and small and large group processes. Results of the survey administered to workshop attendees are presented. Likert scaled questions indicate a high degree of satisfaction with the workshop organization, pedagogy and objectives. Responses to the open-ended questions align closely with the Thistlethwaite and Moran (2010) learning outcomes framework. It is clear that pre-service students learned with, from and about each other's discipline. 2 tables and an extensive reference list are included.
Identity and Learning of Mathematics for Adult First Nations Students
Author: Shields, Tracy Jill
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: High School Equivalency Programs,Indigenous Populations,Mathematics Instruction,Adult Learning,Canada Natives,Foreign Countries,Ethnography,Semi Structured Interviews,Coding,Attendance,Learning Problems,Role Models,Educational Environment,Bullying,Cultural Influences,Indigenous Knowledge,Culturally Relevant Education,Educational Quality,Student Experience,Elementary Secondary Education

The main goals of this article are twofold. The first is to explore whether the General Education Development (GED) program has the potential to meet the academic requirements cited by the scholarship in the area of mathematics for First Nations upgrading programs. Secondly, this paper explores how the GED program influences identity in students who are several years behind mainstream mathematics programs and who are interested in securing their high school credential equivalencies. Research was carried out in one First Nations community through a study of 11 adult students working toward the writing of their GED mathematics examination. Ethnography was justified as a methodology as it allows all aspects of Indigenous Methodology requirements within its framework. The study used interviews relevant to the early life experiences of the participants and observations and artifacts throughout the GED program itself.
Hear What Employees Are Not Saying: A Review of Literature
Author: Gonzales, Melissa
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Literature Reviews,Employees,Teacher Behavior,Communication Strategies,Work Environment,Employer Employee Relationship,School Districts,Administrator Role,Organizational Communication,Teachers,Leadership Responsibility,Elementary Secondary Education

A once organized, effective and, creative school teacher goes from &quot;Teacher of the Year&quot; candidate to an employee in need of improvement, without any notice of decline. The discouraged teacher begins to struggle with working relationships, schedules, and communication with students, parents, and colleagues. Why did the teacher never ask for help and how did the downfall go unnoticed? Added stressors, raised expectations and communication climate are variables worth noting as districts consider developing support systems and avenues of communication for teachers. The open door policy is convincing only if teachers feel safe and encouraged to discuss concerns, interests or suggestions. Organizations acknowledge communication issues cause problems, but the limited understanding about relationships and interactions between managers and employees remains (Lukaszewski, 2006). This manuscript reviews research-based knowledge regarding employee/organizational communication. Particular attention is given to internal communications and existing support systems within school districts available to teachers. The topic is defined and internal organizational and campus communication is summarized. Benefits of open communication are considered, followed by a brief description of open communication theories, models and approaches. Roles of administrators, including barriers and ramifications of ineffective communication climates within organizations and campuses are discussed. The literature review concludes with views pertaining to measurements of communication performance initiatives.
&quot;The Joy of Reading&quot;--An Intervention Program to Increase Reading Motivation for Pupils with Learning Disabilities
Author: Tovli, Esther
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Intervention,Reading Motivation,Grade 2,Elementary School Students,Special Education,Learning Disabilities,Childrens Literature,Cultural Awareness,Cultural Background,Schemata (Cognition),Language Enrichment,Control Groups,Reading Habits,Reading Skills,Outcomes of Education,Reading Instruction,Foreign Countries

This study aimed to examine the effect of an intensive reading intervention on reading motivation. The intervention program, (&quot;Joy of Reading&quot;), was implemented in six 2nd grade special education classes for pupils with learning disabilities, compared to a control group (n = 108 pupils in total). The intervention program was created based on learning principles that were proven effective among children with learning disabilities, included intensive exposure to daily structured reading activities, encouraging pupils' involvement in various reading and writing activities. The reading activities included traditional children's literature from all over the world, exposing the pupils to different cultures while being sensitive to their own cultural values. Additional components, such as systematic exposure to schema story discourse, linguistic enrichment and social values, were added through various activities. At the end of the school year, both groups were assessed (the intervention and control groups) using three measures: Book preference, Quality of reading and Quantity of reading. The results indicate a significant difference between the intervention group and the control group in all three measures, confirming the hypothesis that intensive, systematic and structured exposure to reading helps pupils with learning disabilities adopt reading habits as an enjoyable way to spend time. The results also show a relatively more active reading routine is established enabling the improvement of readers' ability to reconstruct stories, analyze what they read, recommend it to their peers, and explain their choice.
Factors Associated with Head Start Staff Participation in Classroom-Based Professional Development
Author: Trivette, Carol M.
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Disadvantaged Youth,Preschool Education,Preschool Teachers,Teaching Assistants,Teacher Attitudes,Occupational Aspiration,Developmentally Appropriate Practices,Faculty Development,Teacher Characteristics,Classroom Techniques,Work Environment,Teacher Participation,Predictor Variables,Statistical Analysis,Structural Equation Models

Factors associated with Head Start staff participation in a classroom-based professional development project to promote their use of evidence-based child learning opportunity practices and evidence-based responsive teaching procedures were examined in a study of 36 teachers and teacher assistants in 19 different classrooms. The factors constituting the focus of investigation included work climate, staff belief appraisals (career aspirations, personal motivation, Developmentally Appropriate Practices beliefs), staff receptiveness to the professional development training, staff judgments of the social validity of the practices constituting the focus of training, and staff background characteristics (age, education, years of experience). Results showed that Head Start staff members' personal beliefs, receptiveness to the training, and their judgments of the social validity of the classroom practices constituting the focus of training were related to staff judgments of their participation in the training which in turn were related to their active engagement in learning to use the classroom practices. The implications of the findings for practice are described in terms of the need to use methods and procedures that actively engage staff in professional development opportunities.