ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Impacts of Action Research-Oriented Upgrading Training on Initial and Early Reading Comprehension Performances of Students
Author: Anshu, Alemu Hailu
Date: 2019-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Action Research,Early Reading,Reading Comprehension,Foreign Countries,Preservice Teachers,Preservice Teacher Education,Elementary Education,Grade 2,Grade 3,Reading Skills,Textbooks,Intervention

This article reports impacts of action research-oriented upgrading training given to teachers on early reading performances of Grades 2 &amp; 3 students. Initially a baseline assessment was conducted to determine the initial reading performances of the students, and a survey was conducted to identify the training and experience teachers had in teaching initial and early reading skills. Based on the findings of the baseline assessment and the survey made, a training module was prepared focusing on the nature of teaching of initial and early reading skills, and initial up-grading training was given for nine days. Six months later, impact assessment of the initial training was conducted to see improvements in students' reading performances, and school visits were made to see changes of initial and early reading teaching practices and to investigate further training gaps that teachers might have needed. The training module was revised based on the feedbacks received from the initial impact assessment and the observations made. Based on the noticed training gap, refreshment training was given for the same teachers for five days. Six months later, an overall impact assessment was conducted to see an overall reading skills improvement of the students because of the trainings the teachers received. The finding shows that students' reading performances greatly improved because of the action research-oriented up-grading trainings. Percentages of Grade 2 students who failed to identify alphabets (62.6%) and who scored zero in early reading comprehension test (47%) reduced to 34.4% and 38.3% after the initial training, respectively, and dropped to 1.3% and 29.8% after the refresher training. Similarly, percentages of Grade 3 students (49.15%) who failed to read common words in the textbook dropped to 14.5% and 6.9% after the initial training and the refresher trainings, respectively.
Teaching Vocabulary through Wiki to First Secondary Graders
Author: Al-Johali, Khalid Yahya E.
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Vocabulary,Web 2.0 Technologies,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Computer Uses in Education,Secondary School Students,Foreign Countries,Second Language Learning,Instructional Effectiveness,Pretests Posttests

Vocabulary is a fundamental component of any language. Learning vocabulary plays a crucial role in learning English language. Whereas wiki is a promising Web 2.0 technology that can be used innovatively in EFL instruction. This study aimed at examining the effectiveness of wiki-based instruction on vocabulary learning of first secondary graders. It was carried out in Sabya, Jazan, Saudi Arabia in 2018. It followed the quasi-experimental design of one experimental group. Fifty-seven Saudi teenage EFL students participated in a researcher-designed wiki-based vocabulary course in a random male school. The course consisted of twelve lessons to teach 80 words picked from the grade's English Schoolbook (Mega Goal 2) to ensure their importance and benefit to students. Vocabulary pre-test and post-test along with a closed observation card were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, paired samples and one-sample t-tests were used for analysis. It was found that wiki had slight positive effect on vocabulary learning. Results demonstrated that students achieved significantly better marks in their post-test but with a very low effect size (0.32). In addition, wiki was observed as usable, motivating, vocabulary enlarging assistant, and can be perceived positively by students. In the contrary, it was observed that the students' collaborative work level was low. Accordingly, wikis can be a good vocabulary teaching tool if well-designed and well-implemented after training both teachers and students.
A Story-Based Analysis of Elementary Fourth Graders&apos; Views on Respecting Differences
Author: Gürdogan-Bayir, Ömür
Date: 2019-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary School Students,Grade 4,Student Attitudes,Prosocial Behavior,Empathy,Moral Values,Individual Differences,Childrens Art

Respecting differences involves showing respect to individuals just because they are human beings and seeing every difference as natural. It is among the values that children need to acquire at early ages. Thus, there has been a need to reveal students' views on this value. The primary aim of this study was to examine elementary school students' views on respecting differences. Qualitative research method was employed in the study, and the participants were elementary fourth graders. The data were gathered through a story formed by the researcher, and questions related to it in moral, intellectual and empathetic dimensions. The students were also asked to create a poster about respecting differences. Descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the students' answers, and content analysis was performed to examine their posters. The results showed that the students answered the questions in the moral dimension in a way that reflected their developmental characteristics. In addition, they perceived respecting differences mostly in the context of physical differences. In the empathetic dimension, the students stated how they would feel in the sample case provided. In their posters, they did not address universal values to a great extent. In this respect, sources such as current issues, sample cases and problems can be used in instructional processes to develop multiple perspectives regarding this value.
Investigating the Psychological Resilience of Fathers with Mentally Handicapped Children
Author: Efilti, Erkan
Date: 2019-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Fathers,Resilience (Psychology),Intellectual Disability,Children,Educational Attainment,Parent Background,Employed Parents,Family Size,Age Differences

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychological resilience of fathers with mentally handicapped children. The study utilized the relational survey model, which is one of the quantitative research models. The unit of analysis of the study was the fathers of children with special educational needs. &quot;The Resilience Scale for Adults&quot; was implemented to construct survey questionnaire and measure the psychological resilience of fathers, as the data collection tool. The study findings depict that the fathers with mentally handicapped children have the highest social competence among the 26-35 age group. The results provide that the group with the highest level of psychological resilience is the group having college or vocational school graduation grade in terms of the educational status of the participants. As for the variable of the job status of fathers, the findings postulate that the future perception level of the employed group is higher than the non-employed group. As a result of the analysis, no statistically significant relationship was found between the psychological resilience levels of total and other sub-dimensions and the total number of children in the family.
Metaphors on Open-Ended Question and Multiple-Choice Tests Produced by Pre-Service Classroom Teachers
Author: Çiftçi, Sabahattin
Date: 2019-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Multiple Choice Tests,Test Format,Preservice Teachers,Figurative Language,Student Attitudes,Foreign Countries,Classification

Open-ended exams and multiple-choice exams are two types of examinations that are highly preferred in educational sciences. They have several advantages in terms of their characteristics, and they also have some limitations. These advantages and limitations affect the use of these exams both in national exams and in the exams administered by teachers in their classes. The purpose of the present research is revealing the perceptions of the candidates of the classroom teachers by means of metaphors. The research was carried in accordance with qualitative research methods and designs. The research was designed according to phenomenology. The study group consisted of 355 pre-service classroom teachers. According to the findings of the present research, pre-service classroom teachers produced 240 metaphors related to open-ended and multiple-choice exams. The metaphors produced by the pre-service classroom teachers related to the classical open-ended exams were grouped under 13 categories, while the metaphors for multiple choice exams were grouped under a total of 10 categories. The most frequently used metaphors produced for open-ended examinations were &quot;freedom in answering&quot; (24.5%), &quot;requiring knowledge&quot; (20.4%) and &quot;negative association&quot; (11.2%), while for the multiple-choice exams these were &quot;offering options&quot; (28.8%) and &quot;chance success&quot; (20.4%).
The Inefficiency of Vocabulary Instruction
Author: McQuillan, Jeffrey Lawrence
Date: 2019-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teaching Methods,Vocabulary Development,Recreational Reading,Reading Comprehension,Direct Instruction,Time Factors (Learning),Reading Rate,Instructional Effectiveness,Elementary Secondary Education

Several researchers have advocated explicit instruction of vocabulary in order to help students improve their reading comprehension, especially low-achieving readers who need to &quot;catch-up&quot; to their age peers. Very few studies, however, have attempted to compare the time efficiency of direct instruction to its alternatives. In this review, I calculate the efficiency of vocabulary instruction in 14 studies taken from a recent research review (Wright &amp; Cervetti, 2017). I then compare those results with estimates of vocabulary acquisition via a likely alternative source of vocabulary growth, free reading. Free reading was found to be 1.7 times more efficient than direct instruction in building vocabulary in short-term treatments, and 12 times as efficient for long-term treatments.
The Effect of Conceptual Change Texts on the Level of Conceptual Understanding of Students
Author: Sel, Burcu
Date: 2019-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Concept Formation,Comprehension,Social Studies,Grade 4,Elementary School Students,Government (Administrative Body),Misconceptions,Instructional Effectiveness,Concept Teaching,Reading Materials,Foreign Countries,Pretests Posttests

This study aimed to investigate the effect of conceptual change texts on the conceptual understanding of local government concepts pertinent to the &quot;power, management and society&quot; learning field, as well as the &quot;People and Administration&quot; unit on the fourth-grade social studies course. In the study, a semi-experimental design with pre-/post-test control groups was adopted and samples were obtained from easily accessible samples from non-probability sampling types. The sample consisted of 34 students. As a means of collecting data, a two-stage conceptual understanding test was employed for the level of conceptual understanding, as developed by the researcher. In the analysis of data, dependent group/independent groups' t-test and covariance analysis were employed. It was found that the achievement scores of the last test made after the experimental process, based on the conceptual change texts, yielded a significant difference in favour of the experimental group. As a result of the research, in comparison with the activities carried out according to the current curriculum, it is possible to say that the conceptual change texts make a positive contribution to the level of the conceptual understanding of the students.
Major Problems in Street Life of People at &apos;Risk&apos;, the Case of Selected Areas of Harari Region, Ethiopia
Author: Kassaw, Endris Seid
Date: 2019-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Crime,At Risk Persons,Incidence,Gender Differences,Age Differences,Educational Attainment,Migrants,Homeless People,Drug Abuse,Sexual Abuse,Sexual Harassment,Aggression,Conflict,Violence,Children,Adolescents,Adults

The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of major problems in street life of people at 'risk', the case of Harari Region, Ethiopia. Participants' sex, age and level of education were taken to be variables of the study. The researcher used descriptive survey method to study the problem. Study participants were selected using snowball and purposive sampling methods, and data were also collected by using questionnaire, interview, focus group discussion, observation and document review. Data collected through questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics; and data collected through interview, focus group discussion, observation and document review were analyzed qualitatively using narration. The study revealed that the prevalence of major problems in the study area were identified as migration (20.6%), begging (15.3%), drug abuse 11.8%), commercial sex work (11%) sexual abuse/harassment (10.4%), human trafficking (10.2%), conflict and aggression (9.2%) and traditional harmful practices (8.8%). Although there were differences in some specific problems, generally, more females than males, as well as more children than youths were faced with problems in street life of people at 'risk'. Furthermore, more participants having elementary educational background than high school were also faced with problems. Study population, their families, community at large and other concerned bodies are recommended to get trainings and support in areas of conflict management, family education, community based empowerment, vocational education, advancing employment and job opportunity, rehabilitation, community health care initiatives, business education, entrepreneurship and recreational entertainment, psycho social support, and income generation initiatives.
The Effectiveness of Oral Assessment Techniques Used in EFL Classrooms in Saudi Arabia from Students and Teachers Point of View
Author: Alharbi, Asma F.
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Oral Language,Language Skills,Evaluation Methods,Student Evaluation,College Students,College Faculty

Assessing learners' oral skills are considered as a crucial process in most EFL teaching and learning programs. However, it can be challenging for teachers to make a valid, reliable, and fair assessment. This study aimed to investigate Saudi college students' and teachers' point of views toward the effectiveness of oral assessment techniques used to assess learners speaking-skills in the EFL classroom. Two different questionnaires were administered to 12 EFL teachers and forty-two students' who are majoring in English at the Languages and Translation College at King Saud University. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from respondents, treated statistically, analyzed and revealed in the following sections. The findings of the study revealed that EFL teachers are using a variety of communicative oral assessment techniques and are utilizing effective assessment procedures in assessing their students' speaking skills. For students, the results revealed that students are generally satisfied with the assessment techniques and procedures that, teachers use in assessing their language performance. Recommendations and suggestions are offered for all concerned parties.
The Effects of Reading Racetracks on the Sight Word Recognition of Four Elementary School Students with Learning Difficulties
Author: Grünke, Matthias
Date: 2019-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reading Instruction,Sight Method,Elementary School Students,Foreign Countries,Word Recognition,Teaching Methods,Visual Aids,Word Lists,Reading Fluency,Learning Disabilities,Intervention

Many children with different kinds of learning problems struggle with reading. To help them combat their challenges, easy-to-implement interventions are needed. Reading racetracks have proven to be effective tools to increase sight word fluency in students with disabilities. The purpose of this single-case study was to evaluate this technique, for the first time, in a context outside of the United States. Four elementary school children with various learning difficulties received nine to twelve individual intervention sessions from one of two graduate students. The results indicated that reading fluency of 30 common two-syllable German words rose remarkably in all four participants. Even though the treatment was a little less effective for one female student, diagnosed with intellectual/developmental delays, than for the other three students, performance gains were still noteworthy. This study provides further evidence that reading racetracks are an effective practice to build fluency in children with disabilities.
Role of Prosodic Reading in Listening Comprehension
Author: Keskin, H. Kagan
Date: 2019-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Listening Comprehension,Elementary School Students,Grade 3,Foreign Countries,Oral Reading,Suprasegmentals,Reading Instruction,Reading Fluency

This study aims to determine how listening comprehension levels of students are affected by listening to prosodic and non-prosodic readings vocalized by a computer and human. Third-grade students of four different classes at a primary school were randomly selected in a city center in the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey to participate in the study (n=91). Four equivalent classes formed the listening groups of the research in listening comprehension. The groups were (1) the group listening to the model prosodic reading, (2) the group listening to the computer prosodic reading, (3) the group listening to the model non-prosodic reading, and (4) the group listening to the computer non-prosodic reading. Two stories were used in the measurement of listening comprehension, and comprehension skills were measured with open-ended questions. The data obtained were analyzed with the Kruskal Wallis and Conover-Iman tests. Logistic Regression Analysis (LRA) was performed to reinforce the results and increase distinctiveness. According to the results, inferential comprehension scores of the students who listened to the prosodically-vocalized texts differed from other groups significantly. Meanwhile, literal comprehension scores of all students in the listening groups did not differ. The LRA results indicated that the inferential comprehension scores were a significant predictor of the listening groups. Consequently, the relationship between prosody and inferential comprehension was found to be significant in this study. The results also showed that it is necessary to attach particular importance to prosody in listening activities and to use prosodic models suitable for students in reading activities in the early grades of the primary school.
The Usage of Meaning Identification Technique in Measuring Reading Comprehension Skills
Author: Esmer, Baris
Date: 2019-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reading Comprehension,Elementary School Students,Grade 4,Public Schools,Foreign Countries,Readability,Test Validity,Test Reliability,Measurement Techniques,Sentences,Personal Narratives,Reading Tests,Cloze Procedure,Word Recognition

In this study, it is aimed to determine at what level the Meaning Identification Technique (MIT) can measure the reading comprehension skills of the 4th grade primary school students and to test the validity and reliability of the MIT test with different types of texts. In the study carried out in the survey model, MIT and Sentence Verification Technique (SVT) tests, which were developed by the researcher and are peculiar to narrative and informative texts, were used. The readability of the texts was tested with Cloze Tests (CT) developed specifically for each type of text. The study was carried out with the participation of 87 primary school 4th grade students in two primary schools randomly selected among the public schools in the city of Ankara. The results of the study demonstrated that MIT tests measure reading comprehension skills as reliable as SVT tests. While there was a significant difference between comprehension and the numbers of reading in narrative texts, it was found that there was no significant difference with the numbers of reading in informative texts. A great majority of students (approximately 75%) felt the need to read two or more times while making sense of the text. On the other hand, MIT tests are a significant predictor of Turkish course achievements.
The Relation between Social Learning and Visual Culture
Author: Yilmaz, Meliha
Date: 2019-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Environment,Socialization,Correlation,Learning Theories,Observational Learning,Visual Learning,Social Media,Television,Modeling (Psychology),Commercial Art,Audiences,Imitation,Reinforcement,Cultural Traits,Behavior Change,Context Effect,Visual Arts,Cognitive Processes

With the developing technology, acceleration of visual production and increasing of peoples' relation with generated visuals (painting, photograph, video, computer games, poster, etc.), is a situation which affect perceptual and behavioral characteristic of people. As a result of connection with generated visuals, changes at the perception and behavior of people remind social learning and visual culture terms which have relation with seeing and visuality fields. Relation between the social learning theory, which states that learning occurs through observation in social environment, and visual culture subject is a mystery. Due to this reason, the research aims to investigate relation between social learning and visual culture. Theoretical structures of the social learning and visual culture terms were pointed out in this research, and relation between these two terms were argued at theoretic level. In consequence of this research, it was seen that experiences, people obtain from connection with visual culture forms in their daily life, and social learning have connections. It was realized that visual culture forms supply vicarious livings to the observers prone to observe and imitate of behaviors that have model characteristic. It was seen that the livings, acquired observational learning from visual culture forms, is a shaping factor for individuals' attitudes and actions. In the study, it was seen that examining the visual culture as an environmental factor in the context of social learning will help to understand and illuminate the changing, transforming and deriving aspects of human behavior in the 21st century.