'Language learning' Search Results
Validating Professional Learning Communities Practice Model in a Malaysian Context
confirmatory factor analysis exploratory factor analysis malaysia professional learning communities...
Despite the ubiquity of professional learning communities (PLCs) among researchers, studies on PLCs have widely differed in terms of dimensions used to conceptualise them. Thus, the study aimed to validate the conceptual model consisting of PLCs practices. The study employed a quantitative method using a survey. Firstly, a pilot test was conducted in which 103 school-teachers were involved in completing a questionnaire. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) had determined six dimensions and 20 elements of PLCs practices. Then, the field study was conducted using the new questionnaire. The survey involved 386 school-teachers from 25 High Performing Schools (HPS). The result revealed that: I) Based on the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), multidimensional PLCs practice model is evidence in the Malaysian context. They are operationalised in six dimensions including visions, missions and values, professional leadership, collective and collaborative culture, sharing of best practices, conducive school climate, and strategic alliances among stakeholders and, ii) The level of PLCs implementation in HPS is high for all the dimensions. The practical implications from the study and future research recommendations were also discussed.
Teacher Competences for Teaching English as a Foreign Language in the First Educational Cycle of Primary Education
early language learning foreign language primary school teacher teaching competences...
Foreign language teaching in the Slovenian educational context begins in the first grade (age 6). Many studies report a lack of qualified teachers at this stage of learning around the world and numerous authors emphasise the misconception that basic linguistic and didactic knowledge of teachers is sufficient for teaching children. All three Slovenian public universities are aware of this problem and offer pre-service and in-service programmes for (student) teachers who want to specialise in teaching English to young learners. In the present article, we focus on the subject-specific teacher competences for teaching English in the first three years of primary education; namely, linguistic, subject didactic and intercultural competences. We explore teachers’ self-assessment of these competences and their perception of certain elements pertaining to them. The study seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) What subject-specific competences do teachers consider essential for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? (2) To what extent do teachers believe they have developed certain subject-specific competences? (3) What are teachers’ attitudes toward certain subject-specific competences that the teacher needs for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? The results of the quantitative survey, in which 100 teachers participated, show that teachers perceive their subject didactic competence to be the most developed and their intercultural competence to be the least developed. Moreover, they consider that a basic level of English is not sufficient for teaching English in the first grades.
Parental Involvement and High School Dropout: Perspectives from Students, Parents, and Mathematics Teachers
academic performance mathematics teachers parental involvement high school dropout self-determination theory...
Students drop out of schools for many reasons, and it has negative effects on the individual and society. This paper reports a study using data published in 2015 from the Educational Longitudinal Study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics to analyze the influence of parental involvement on low-achieving U.S. students’ graduation rates from high school. Findings indicate that both students and parents share the same perspective on the need for parental involvement in their academic progress. For low-achieving high school students, parental involvement in academic work is a positive factor influencing students’ graduation from high school.
Exploring the Challenges of Tertiary Students in Non-Laboratory Courses After the First Year of Emergency Remote Teaching
education in covid-19 emergency remote teaching filipino college students students’ challenges in covid-19...
Shortly after the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic began, studies on the challenges faced by tertiary students during Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) became available. However, the data sets were harvested early, as many countries began implementing ERT in response to the pandemic in March 2020. Many recent studies have failed to distinguish between the challenges faced by students enrolled in the laboratory and non-laboratory courses. There is still a dearth of literature on the difficulties encountered by students enrolled in non-laboratory courses following the first year of ERT implementation. The purpose of this paper was to examine the various challenges faced by tertiary students enrolled in non-laboratory courses following the conclusion of the first year of ERT implementation. Contextualized in two state-owned higher education institutions in northern Luzon, this study employed a fundamental qualitative approach, with focus group discussions (FGDs) serving as the primary data collection technique. Five major themes emerged from the FGDs with 42 purposively selected tertiary students. These themes presented in the spider web illustration include (1) student-focused challenges, (2) instructional material-related challenges, (3) instructor-emanating challenges, (4) technology-related challenges, and (5) student support-related challenges. This article concludes that these issues must be dealt with immediately to facilitate the implementation of ERT in non-laboratory courses. These difficulties may also be dimensions of concerns about distance education, particularly in non-urban areas of the Philippines. The themes also provide some actual pictures of the student challenges in the initial year of ERT in college. This paper highlighted some implications for pedagogy and educational management, as well as future research directions.
The Relationship Between School Principals' Cultural Intelligence Level and Teachers' Job Satisfaction and Intention to Leave the Job
cultural intelligence intention to leave job satisfaction school principals...
This research aims to determine the relationship between school principals' cultural intelligence level and teachers' job satisfaction and intention to leave. The relational survey model was used in this study. The data of the research were collected from 800 teachers working in public middle schools in the central districts of Mersin Province in the 2020-2021 academic year. The data were collected through Personal Information Form, Cultural Intelligence Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale, and Intention to Leave Scale. The data were analyzed through correlation analysis, Structural Equation Modeling and Sobel Test. According to the results of the research, a strong, positive and significant relationship was found between the cultural intelligence level of school principals and the job satisfaction of teachers. A strong, negative, and significant relationship was determined between the cultural intelligence level of school principals and teachers' intention to leave. A strong, negative, and significant relationship was determined between teachers' job satisfaction and their intention to leave. It was found that the cultural intelligence level of school principals negatively predicted teachers' intention to leave. It was also determined that cultural intelligence levels of school principals negatively predicted teachers' intention to leave through job satisfaction, and teachers’ job satisfaction was a partial mediator of the relationship between the cultural intelligence levels of school principals and teachers' intention to leave. It was suggested that candidates with high cultural intelligence levels should be given priority in the appointment process of school principals.
Learning of Biographical Writing for Coping with Ethnic Prejudice in a Culturally Diverse Society
biographical writing ethnic prejudice multicultural education religious prejudice...
The purpose of this paper is to explore if the learning of biographical writing contributes to the positive views and attitudes towards others of different groups. The paper used the Research and Development approach by designing and implementing a learning model of biographical writing. The subjects of this study were 200 seventh-grade students having different ethnic and religious backgrounds from nine junior high schools. The data-collecting method was pretest-posttest. The results of the study demonstrated that the average scores of the aspects of student empathy, student positive attitudes towards ethnic differences, and student positive attitudes towards religious differences increased in all the schools investigated. The increase of average score in the aspect of student empathy, positive attitudes towards ethnic differences, and positive attitudes towards religious differences could be classified into three categories: high, medium, and low. Most of the schools under study experienced medium and low increases of average score in all aspects.
Current State of High-School Students’ Multiliteracy after a Year of Online Lessons in the Context of Chile
information and communication technologies learning strategies multiliteracy online lessons...
The worldwide pandemic Coronavirus disease, affected every aspect of people’s lives due to being locked at their homes, therefore many difficulties began to appear, especially in education. Scholars were the leading group that has been affected the most due to the online lessons that began from one day to another, without any kind of previous training specifically in these types of contexts at home. According to some national diagnostical studies, most of the students could not achieve the minimum educational objectives in mathematics and language, which are the essential subjects in Chilean education. In this study, in which qualitative phenomenology analysis was used, the aim was to reveal the current state of students after a whole year of online lessons in terms of personal technological use and personal perceptions about e-learning. In this study, in which the criterion sampling was used, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 adolescents from different sorts of schools who experienced online lessons using their previous personal knowledge in Information and Communication Technologies. The data were analyzed in Nvivo node tree, which revealed six main themes that define the experience and personal perception of the participants: adaptation to the new order, learning by their own, how to use better the technology, use of social media, new ways of personal knowledge sharing, importance of classmates. It is believed that the results obtained from this study will contribute to schools’ view of learning and teaching education in the 21st century and to improve students’ experiences in online lessons.
Supervisors’ Perspectives on Graduate Students’ Problems in Academic Writing
error analysis jordanian phd students writing dissertations written feedback...
Writing is very important for learners; it is a dynamic and creative skill. Although studies on students’ problems when writing a dissertation among Native Speakers (NS) are widely done, studies on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) are limited, especially those which examine problems faced while writing dissertations among Ph.D. EFL learners, in particular, Jordanian Ph.D. candidates. Studies on the supervisors' perspectives of writing a dissertation are scarce among EFL learners, particularly Arab learners. This study aims at focusing on supervisors' perspectives of writing dissertations among Jordanian Ph.D. students who are studying abroad. This study is a qualitative case study. The researchers interviewed nine Malaysian supervisors who supervised 21 Jordanian Ph.D. candidates. The results show that six main themes emerged from the supervisors' perspectives, and they are grammatical mistakes, lack of vocabulary and verbs reporting, personal effects, lack of motivation, writing apprehension, and the problem with generic thesis structure. This paper contributes with a comprehensive analysis of the theoretical perspectives on problems Ph.D. students face when writing a dissertation. The study also fills in the gap in the field of supervisors' perspectives of writing a dissertation. Based on the results found, the researchers suggest a number of recommendations and further research that might help supervisors understand the reasons behind such difficulties.
Is Segregated Language Support Fit for Purpose? Insights From German Language Support Classes in Austria
newcomer education pull-out language classes segregated language support classes structured immersion students with a migration background...
In Austria, segregated German language support classes (GLSC) were introduced in the school year 2018/19 to intensively support students who had previously little or no contact with German, the official language of instruction. These classes have been widely criticised; however, a formal evaluation of their effects has yet to be published. In absence of this evaluation, this article describes the language support model as it currently exists in Austria and reviews existing evidence about its efficacy. The literature review synthesises findings from educational research undertaken in other contexts that offer insight into features of ‘good practice’ in language support models. The article then explores the extent to which GLSC comply with these features. As such, this review allows insights into ways of ensuring students’ language and socio-emotional development – all central aspects of academic success – in language support models. It therefore allows research-informed understanding of the effects of the newly implemented model of German support classes in Austria and makes recommendations for further development.
The Influence of Gender and Interest on the Use of Learning Strategies in Biology Lessons
biology lessons gender interest in biology learning strategies...
For biology students, the diversity, complexity, and abundance of content in this field yield a heavy study load. Hence, appropriate learning strategies are key in supporting learners’ academic success. In biology, the factors gender and interest hold a unique position within the natural sciences, as there is an academic imbalance to the disadvantage of male students. In the present study, we examined the influence of gender and interest as well as its interdependences on the students’ use of learning strategies for biology learning. A total of 180 seventh through tenth grade students (Mage=14.47; SD=1.35; 60% female) from four general-track secondary schools located in Germany participated in this study. Data on the students’ level of interest and the use of learning strategies in biology lessons were collected. We used multivariate analysis of covariance with the students’ age as the covariate to analyse our data. Results revealed a significant effect of gender on the students’ use of the learning strategies rehearsal, organisation, effort, and time management. With regard to elaboration and effort, the effects of interest were found to be significant. The gender gap regarding learning strategy use was narrower for students with high levels of interest. These findings might have implications for beneficial teacher behaviour in biology.
The Development of Historical Thinking Assessment to Examine Students’ Skills in Analyzing the Causality of Historical Events
causality historical events historical thinking skills...
This research aimed to develop a historical thinking assessment for students' skills in analyzing the causality of historical events. The development process of Gall and colleagues and Rasch analysis models were used to develop an assessment instrument consisting of two processes, including the analysis of the framework of cause and consequence, the validity, reliability, and difficultness test. This research involved 150 senior high school students, with data collected using the validation sheet, tests, and scoring rubric. The results were in the form of an essay test consisting of six indicators of analyzing cause and consequence. The instruments were valid, reliable, and suitable for assessing students’ skills in analyzing the causality of historical events. The developed instruments were paired with a historical thinking skills assessment to improve the accuracy of the information about students' level of historical thinking skills in the learning history.
Implementing Synchronous Online Flipped Learning for Pre-service Teachers During COVID-19
covid-19 flipped learning higher education pre-service teachers synchronous and asynchronous online learning...
Most research has examined flipped learning within the context of face-to-face (F2F) instruction. However, previous research has not effectively explored the possibility of how online synchronous flipped learning influences pre-service teachers (PSTs) in teacher education programs during Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Recognizing the gap in the literature, this paper explored three aspects of online synchronous flipped learning by understanding 1) PSTs' learner engagement, 2) self-directed learning, and 3) learner satisfaction in a Korean university. The data was collected from Korean PST's interviews, reflection notes, and course evaluations. The thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data sources. The study findings showed that PSTs favored a synchronous online FL because it encouraged them to engage in various collaborative activities through Zoom breakout sessions. Also, pre-class materials from online FL can positively enhance the PSTs' self-directed learning process. Based on these findings, this study provides suggestions on how to effectively implement online synchronous flipped learning in teacher education programs.
Observed Quality of Formative Peer and Self-Assessment in Everyday Mathematics Teaching and its Effects on Student Performance
everyday mathematics teaching formative assessment learning process peer assessment self-assessment...
The positive effect of peer assessment and self-assessment strategies on learners' performance has been widely confirmed in experimental or quasi-experimental studies. However, whether peer and self-assessment within everyday mathematics teaching affect student learning and achievement, has rarely been studied. This study aimed to determine with what quality peer and self-assessment occur in everyday mathematics instruction and whether and which students benefit from it in terms of achievement and the learning process. Two lessons on division were video-recorded and rated to determine the quality of peer and self-assessment. Six hundred thirty-four students of fourth-grade primary school classes in German-speaking Switzerland participated in the study and completed a performance test on division. Multilevel analyses showed no general effect of the quality of peer or self-assessment on performance. However, high-quality self-assessment was beneficial for lower-performing students, who used a larger repertoire of calculation strategies, which helped them perform better. In conclusion, peer and self-assessment in real-life settings only have a small effect on the student performance in this Swiss study.
Moderating the Neuropsychological Impact of Online Learning on Psychology Students
higher education neuropsychological impact online learning psychology students...
The purpose of the study was to identify what neuropsychological effect online learning had on psychology students and how it could be moderated. The study was descriptive and combined qualitative and quantitative methods to address the research questions. The study relied on three phases such as baseline study, experiment, and reporting. The experiment utilised neuropsychology tests adopted from the NeurOn platform. It was found that the Psychology students’ perceptions of e-learning and their emotional reaction to them were found not to be appreciative. The practices in breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga were proved to be able to moderate the impact of online learning on the experimental group students’ attentional capacities, memory processes, and cognition abilities. The above findings were supported by the results obtained for the neuropsychology tests and the experimental group students’ self-reflections yielded from the use of the MovisensXS App. The students confirmed that breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga reduced study stress and burnout caused by e-learning and improved their academic performance. The focus group online discussion also showed that integration of breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga helped the experimental group students keep emotional balance, concentrate on their studies easier, remember more information, and meet deadlines in completing assignments. The education scientists are suggested to study how the e-learning curriculum could be reshaped so that it used relaxation practices on regular basis.
Using Explicit Instruction of the International Phonetic Alphabet System in English as a Foreign Language Adult Classes
adult learners english as a foreign language explicit instruction international phonetic alphabet vietnamese learners...
The effects of international phonetic alphabet (IPA) instruction on English as a foreign language (EFL) adult learners’ pronunciation have been well-recognized. However, not many studies on the topic were conducted in the Vietnamese context. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate (1) the impact of IPA learning on Vietnamese EFL adult learners’ pronunciation and (2) adult learners’ perceptions of the effects of learning the IPA system on their pronunciation. The study was designed as an experimental study, following a mixed-methods approach, using the pre-and-post-tests, questionnaires, and interviews to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Thirty-eight adult learners took part in this investigation; they were divided into two groups, nineteen in the control and nineteen in the experimental group. The experimental study lasted ten weeks before the questionnaires and interviews were administered with the participants in the experimental group. The results demonstrated a significant improvement in adult learners’ pronunciation in the experimental group. The participants in the experimental group also highly perceived the positive effects of learning the IPA system on their pronunciation. Pedagogical implications and suggestions were presented at the end of the paper.
Motivation and Grit Affects Undergraduate Students’ English Language Performance
english language performance english learning motivation grit psychology...
This study aims to explore non-English speaking major student’s perceptions of Motivation and Grit and the relationship between these two factors and students’ English language performance at a public university in China. The research was conducted by quantitative research design to collect 624 non-English speaking Major students’ answers to multiple questionnaires at a public university in China. Data analysis is used by SPSS and AMOS. The study shows that Motivation and Grit all have a positive correlation with English language performance. One major conclusion of this study is Grit has the most significant effect on the English language performance of non-English speaking major students in multiple regression analysis and is also the best predictor of the relationship between these two factors and English language performance in the path analysis in Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis. The finding also revealed that male students’ perception of motivation and grit is slightly stronger than that of female students. These findings highlight the need for English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher to understand students’ affective factors in learning English, and hence help them utilize different teaching methods to enhance students’ English learning and promote sustainable development of English learning in a public Chinese university.
Students’ External Representation Patterns of Suspending Objects in Static Fluid
external representation pattern floating sinking static fluid suspending...
This study aims to explore the pattern of external representation of suspending objects in a static fluid. The study used a qualitative descriptive method involving 57 elementary, junior, senior school, and university students. Data collection implemented a 30-item test covering the dominant context of suspending and partially floating and sinking. Some of phenomenographic steps were adapted in data analysis. Based on the data analysis, it can be concluded that there is a dominant external representation pattern, where there is a simplification of the depiction of suspending objects. Suspending position tends to be locked in a limited area, namely in the middle of the depth of the liquid. In the context of suspending objects' cuts, the cuts were generally represented by an upward shifting pattern. Factors that influence the pattern of representation are the involvement of intuition in conceptualizing the phenomena presented, and the conceptual aspect of density has not been integrated into the reasoning process for compiling external representations, both diagrams, and texts. Research limitation is presented in this article.
The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on 9th Grade Students’ Mathematics Achievement
covid-19 high-school mathematics spain...
In this research, the influence of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on 9th grade students’ mathematics achievement is analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods. A posttest only with control group design was used to compare the mathematics marks of 9th grade students from the previous school year (before the pandemic, control group) and the current school year (during the pandemic, experimental group). Seventy-three students from a public high school in Spain attending class on alternate days participated in the study. Three focus group sessions were held with students, and five semi-structured interviews were conducted—two with teachers and three with students’ families. Results show statistically significant differences in students’ mathematics achievement, with students enrolled in 9th grade the previous (pre-pandemic) year outscoring their peers currently enrolled in 9th grade (during the pandemic) by 22.17%. An overall negative effect size of Hedge’s g = -1.11 was reported. Although significant statistical differences between groups were reported for both male and female students, the effect was 42.31% larger for male students (Hedge’s g = -1.11) than for females (Hedge’s g = -0.78). The qualitative information supported the quantitative results. Changes in educational settings, students’ lack of motivation, monotony, and students’ level of responsibility were qualitatively reported as factors that may explain this phenomenon. The main conclusion of this study is that the COVID-19 pandemic may be significantly and negatively affecting 9th grade students’ mathematics achievement.
Validating Student’s Green Character Instrument Using Factor and Rasch Model
green character instrument factor and rasch analysis...
Many researchers have separately developed instruments to measure environmental characteristics such as attitudes, values, and knowledge. However, there is no instrument used to measure all these aspects in one comprehensive instrument. This study is meant to develop and validate a green character instrument which reveals student behavior and awareness of the environment. The instrument consists of 40 statement items consisting of 5 aspects, namely private pro-environmental behavior, public pro-environmental behavior, environmental knowledge, environmental values, and environmental attitudes. It was implemented on 1,398 students from 15 universities in Indonesia. The instrument content validation was analyzed by three experts using content validity index (CVI). The construct validity was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and RASCH analysis. The content validity results obtained CVI scores ranging between 0.8 and 0.9 with a good category, while item reliability was in a fairly good category with a high level of separation index. Construct validation resulted in 34 items (4 items were eliminated after Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and 2 items were eliminated after RASCH analysis) spread over five constructs, namely environmental behavior, environmental knowledge, environmental values, environmental attitudes, and environmental habits. The resulting instrument has a good level of item difficulty, with a well understood response set which can be understood easily by respondents, and without bias. Therefore, it can be used to measure the students’ green character on both male and female.
Video Lectures in Online EFL Flipped-Classroom: Effectiveness, Students’ Evaluation and Experiences
covid-19 efl flipped classroom students’ experience video lecture...
The online flipped classroom has become increasingly applied to provide students with active learning. This search aimed to investigate the effectiveness of video lectures in an online flipped learning on students’ learning outcomes, students' video evaluation, and their experience in an online flipped classroom. This study employed mixed-method research implementing a quasi-experimental design using quantitative and qualitative data collection: pre-test and post-test, a questionnaire and interview. The participants were 78 Indonesian undergraduate students taking English as a foreign language (EFL) content course at one of the universities in Indonesia. The findings revealed that the students’ learning outcomes in the flipped classroom outperformed those in the control group. The students’ evaluation of the video lectures was high, and their evaluation was consistent with how they positively perceived the video lectures in the flipped classroom. This investigation showed the roles of video lectures on the students' participation and active learning in the flipped classroom during Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic time.