Sample records for activity learners measure

  1. Providing Deep Learning through Active Engagement of Adult Learners in Blended Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDonough, Darlene

    2014-01-01

    Malcolm Knowles (2011) indicates that adult learners are most likely to be actively engaged in learning when they are given some choice and control over the learning process. When the curriculum relates to the adult learner's interests, is individualized, and authentic; the adult learner becomes actively engaged in the process by making a…

  2. Learners' Perceptions of Instructional Design Practice in a Situated Learning Activity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woolf, Nicholas; Quinn, James

    2009-01-01

    This case study investigated learners' perceptions of value from participating in a learning activity designed to model professional instructional design practice. Learners developed instructional design products for a corporate client in the context of a classroom-based course. The findings indicate that learners perceived different kinds of…

  3. The Development and Evaluation of an Achievement Test for Measuring the Efficacy of Task-Based Writing Activities to Enhance Iranian EFL Learners' Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nejad, Ferdows Mohsen; Khosravian, Fereshteh

    2014-01-01

    The present study examined the reliability of an achievement test to measure the efficacy of task-based writing activities to improve Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension at the intermediate level in a private language institute in Ilam, Iran, namely Alefba language institute. To achieve the goal, the techniques for evaluating reliability…

  4. Language Learning Activities of Distance EFL Learners in the Turkish Open Education System as the Indicator of Their Learner Autonomy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Altunay, Dilek

    2013-01-01

    This study investigates the noncompulsory language learning activities performed by a group of distance EFL learners in the Turkish Open Education System. Performance of these activities has been considered as an indicator of their learner autonomy. The data were collected through an online questionnaire and interviews. The study shows that in…

  5. Acquisition of Mathematical Language: Suggestions and Activities for English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cirillo, Michelle; Bruna, Katherine Richardson; Herbel-Eisenmann, Beth

    2010-01-01

    In this article, we describe aspects of mathematical language that could be problematic to English-language learners, provide recommendations for teaching English-language learners, and suggest activities intended to foster language development in mathematics. (Contains 1 figure.)

  6. The effect of curricular activities on learner autonomy: the perspective of undergraduate mechanical engineering students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duarte, M.; Leite, C.; Mouraz, A.

    2016-01-01

    This study researches how first-year engineering students perceived the influence of curricular activities on their own learning autonomy, measured with an adaptation of the Personal Responsibility Orientation to Self-direction in Learning Scale (PRO-SDLS). Participants were questioned to assess the influence of the teacher's role. The results indicate that learners' characteristics (motivation and self-efficacy) contribute more to learner autonomy (LA) than the teaching-learning transaction (control and initiative), as in the original PRO-SDLS validation. The most autonomous learners presented higher values in all LA components and dimensions, but the differences were greater in motivation and initiative. The participants with higher LA were not as dependent on the teacher, regarding assessment, the completion of classroom tasks and deadlines. Regardless of the degree of autonomy in learning, all participants viewed teachers as the main source of information. Therefore, LA plays an important role in teaching activities planning. Suggestions for adjustments and more flexible learning scenarios are formulated.

  7. Promoting Physics Among Female Learners in the Western Cape Through Active Engagement (abstract)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arendse, Gillian J.

    2009-04-01

    In 2006 the author organized a one-day intervention aimed at promoting physics among female learners at the University of Stellenbosch. The activities included an interactive lecture demonstration promoting active engagement, a hands-on session, and short presentations by female physicists addressing issues such as balancing family and career, breaking the stereotypes, and launching a successful career in physics. Each learner was expected to evaluate the program. In 2007 the author joined forces with Hip2B2 (Shuttleworth Foundation) to host a competition among grade-10 learners with the theme, ``promoting creativity through interactivity.'' The author was tasked by the Hip2B2-team to assist with a program for female learners planned for August 2008, coinciding with our national celebration of Women's Day. The event targeted 160 learners and took place in Durban, East London, Cape Town, and Johannesburg. The author shares some of the learners' experiences and personal triumphs.

  8. Modeling Learner Satisfaction in an Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement Course Using Structural Equation Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Toral, S. L.; Barrero, F.; Martinez-Torres, M. R.; Gallardo, S.; Duran, M. J.

    2009-01-01

    The prevailing tendency in modern university reforms is towards "how people learn," following a learner-centered approach in which the learner is the main actor of the teaching-learning process. As a consequence, one of the key indicators of the teaching-learning process is the measurement of learner satisfaction within the classroom.…

  9. Spoken Language Activation Alters Subsequent Sign Language Activation in L2 Learners of American Sign Language.

    PubMed

    Williams, Joshua T; Newman, Sharlene D

    2017-02-01

    A large body of literature has characterized unimodal monolingual and bilingual lexicons and how neighborhood density affects lexical access; however there have been relatively fewer studies that generalize these findings to bimodal (M2) second language (L2) learners of sign languages. The goal of the current study was to investigate parallel language activation in M2L2 learners of sign language and to characterize the influence of spoken language and sign language neighborhood density on the activation of ASL signs. A priming paradigm was used in which the neighbors of the sign target were activated with a spoken English word and compared the activation of the targets in sparse and dense neighborhoods. Neighborhood density effects in auditory primed lexical decision task were then compared to previous reports of native deaf signers who were only processing sign language. Results indicated reversed neighborhood density effects in M2L2 learners relative to those in deaf signers such that there were inhibitory effects of handshape density and facilitatory effects of location density. Additionally, increased inhibition for signs in dense handshape neighborhoods was greater for high proficiency L2 learners. These findings support recent models of the hearing bimodal bilingual lexicon, which posit lateral links between spoken language and sign language lexical representations.

  10. EGameFlow: A Scale to Measure Learners' Enjoyment of E-Learning Games

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fu, Fong-Ling; Su, Rong-Chang; Yu, Sheng-Chin

    2009-01-01

    In an effective e-learning game, the learner's enjoyment acts as a catalyst to encourage his/her learning initiative. Therefore, the availability of a scale that effectively measures the enjoyment offered by e-learning games assist the game designer to understanding the strength and flaw of the game efficiently from the learner's points of view.…

  11. Assessing Learner Satisfaction by Simultaneously Measuring Learner Attitude, Motivation, Loyalty and Service Quality in English Academies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huong, Vu Thi; Casadesus, Marti; Marimon, Frederic

    2017-01-01

    The aims of this study are threefold in their approach to English academy teaching: (i) to assess learner satisfaction, (ii) to assess the impact of satisfaction on loyalty and (iii) to assess the three constructs that we considered to be the antecedents of learner satisfaction: learner motivation, learner attitude and service quality. To collect…

  12. A Development of Game-Based Learning Environment to Activate Interaction among Learners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takaoka, Ryo; Shimokawa, Masayuki; Okamoto, Toshio

    Many studies and systems that incorporate elements such as “pleasure” and “fun” in the game to improve a learner's motivation have been developed in the field of learning environments. However, few are the studies of situations where many learners gather at a single computer and participate in a game-based learning environment (GBLE), and where the GBLE designs the learning process by controlling the interactions between learners such as competition, collaboration, and learning by teaching. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to propose a framework of educational control that induces and activates interaction between learners intentionally to create a learning opportunity that is based on the knowledge understanding model of each learner. In this paper, we explain the design philosophy and the framework of our GBLE called “Who becomes the king in the country of mathematics?” from a game viewpoint and describe the method of learning support control in the learning environment. In addition, we report the results of the learning experiment with our GBLE, which we carried out in a junior high school, and include some comments by a principal and a teacher. From the results of the experiment and some comments, we noticed that a game may play a significant role in weakening the learning relationship among students and creating new relationships in the world of the game. Furthermore, we discovered that learning support control of the GBLE has led to activation of the interaction between learners to some extent.

  13. Development of a Scale to Measure Learners' Perceived Preferences and Benefits of Data-Driven Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mizumoto, Atsushi; Chujo, Kiyomi; Yokota, Kenji

    2016-01-01

    In spite of researchers' and practitioners' increasing attention to data-driven learning (DDL) and increasing numbers of DDL studies, a multi-item scale to measure learners' attitude toward DDL has not been developed thus far. In the present study, we developed and validated a psychometric scale to measure learners' perceived preferences and…

  14. Learner-Interface Interaction for Technology-Enhanced Active Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sinha, Neelu; Khreisat, Laila; Sharma, Kiron

    2009-01-01

    Neelu Sinha, Laila Khreisat, and Kiron Sharma describe how learner-interface interaction promotes active learning in computer science education. In a pilot study using technology that combines DyKnow software with a hardware platform of pen-enabled HP Tablet notebook computers, Sinha, Khreisat, and Sharma created dynamic learning environments by…

  15. Multiple Measurements Regarding the Competence of the Andragogical Learner

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boone, Timothy Keith

    2013-01-01

    Evidence suggests that many adult learners have not developed the competencies needed to fully function effectively in today's society. Questions remain, however, on the levels of influence exerted on self-direction and motivation among this population. The purpose of this correlational study using a multiple measurements assessment approach was…

  16. Interactions between and among Heritage Language Learners and Second Language Learners during Collaborative Writing Activities: How Learners Attend to Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walls, Laura

    2013-01-01

    This study investigates the dynamics in the Spanish classroom between heritage language learner (HLL) dyads, second language learner (L2L) dyads, and mixed HLL-L2L dyads. Specifically, it examines oral, written and embodied discourse that informs our understanding of how learners attend to language. Analysis for this dissertation examined…

  17. Characterizing Engineering Learners' Preferences for Active and Passive Learning Methods

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Magana, Alejandra J.; Vieira, Camilo; Boutin, Mireille

    2018-01-01

    This paper studies electrical engineering learners' preferences for learning methods with various degrees of activity. Less active learning methods such as homework and peer reviews are investigated, as well as a newly introduced very active (constructive) learning method called "slectures," and some others. The results suggest that…

  18. Measuring Voice in Poetry Written by Second Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hanauer, David I.

    2015-01-01

    There is increasing usage of creative writing in the ESL/EFL classroom based on the argument that this pedagogy develops writer's voice, emotional engagement, and ownership. Within the context of teaching poetry writing to second language learners, the current article develops a scientific approach to ways in which voice can be measured and then…

  19. The Child as an Active Learner: Views, Practices, and Barriers in Chinese Early Childhood Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tang, Fengling

    2006-01-01

    The Chinese view of the child is in the process of changing from the dependent child of traditional Chinese society to the child as an active learner in contemporary China. The view of the child as an active learner forces early childhood practitioners to rethink the features of the child's learning and development, individuality, and needs and…

  20. Constructing Interpretative Views of Learners' Interaction Behavior in an Open Learner Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Papanikolaou, Kyparisia A.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we discuss how externalizing learners' interaction behavior may support learners' explorations in an adaptive educational hypermedia environment that provides activity-oriented content. In particular, we propose a model for producing interpretative views of learners' interaction behavior and we further apply this model to…

  1. Learners' Interpersonal Beliefs and Generated Feedback in an Online Role-Playing Peer-Feedback Activity: An Exploratory Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ching, Yu-Hui; Hsu, Yu-Chang

    2016-01-01

    Peer feedback affords interaction and critical thinking opportunities for learners in online courses. However, various factors prevent learners from taking advantage of these promising benefits. This study explored learners' perceptions of the interpersonal factors in a role-playing peer-feedback activity, and examined the types of peer feedback…

  2. Facebook Activities and the Investment of L2 Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shafie, Latisha Asmaak; Yaacob, Aizan; Singh, Paramjit Kaur Karpal

    2016-01-01

    The article discusses the investment of L2 learners in the English language on Facebook that they portrayed through their Facebook activities. It studied four informants consisted of diploma students in a Malaysian university. The study consisted of 14 weeks of online observation and semi-structured interviews. Data were collected from online…

  3. Training Learners to Use Quizlet Vocabulary Activities on Mobile Phones in Vietnam with Facebook

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tran, Phuong

    2016-01-01

    Mobile phone ownership among university students in Vietnam has reached almost 100%, exceeding that of Internet-capable desktop computers. This has made them increasingly popular to allow learners to carry out learning activities outside of the classroom, but some studies have suggested that learners are not always willing to engage in activities…

  4. The Development of a Brief Measure of Learner Autonomy in University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Macaskill, Ann; Taylor, Elissa

    2010-01-01

    A great deal of attention is paid to the requirement for university students to become autonomous learners. A review of the literature revealed a lack of relatively short psychometrically sound measures of autonomous learning despite its purported importance. This study aimed to develop a brief, psychometrically sound, measure of autonomous…

  5. Autonomous Learner Model Resource Book

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Betts, George T.; Carey, Robin J.; Kapushion, Blanche M.

    2016-01-01

    "Autonomous Learner Model Resource Book" includes activities and strategies to support the development of autonomous learners. More than 40 activities are included, all geared to the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical development of students. Teachers may use these activities and strategies with the entire class, small groups, or…

  6. We are what we do: Examining learner-generated content in the anatomy laboratory through the lens of activity theory.

    PubMed

    Doubleday, Alison F; Wille, Sarah J

    2014-01-01

    Video and photography are often used for delivering content within the anatomical sciences. However, instructors typically produce these resources to provide instructional or procedural information. Although the benefits of learner-generated content have been explored within educational research, virtually no studies have investigated the use of learner-generated video and photograph content within anatomy dissection laboratories. This study outlines an activity involving learner-generated video diaries and learner-generated photograph assignments produced during anatomy laboratory sessions. The learner-generated photographs and videos provided instructors with a means of formative assessment and allowed instructors to identify evidence of collaborative behavior in the laboratory. Student questionnaires (n = 21) and interviews (n = 5), as well as in-class observations, were conducted to examine student perspectives on the laboratory activities. The quantitative and qualitative data were examined using the framework of activity theory to identify contradictions between student expectations of, and engagement with, the activity and the actual experiences of the students. Results indicate that learner-generated photograph and video content can act as a rich source of data on student learning processes and can be used for formative assessment, for observing collaborative behavior, and as a starting point for class discussions. This study stresses the idea that technology choice for activities must align with instructional goals. This research also highlights the utility of activity theory as a framework for assessing classroom and laboratory activities, demonstrating that this approach can guide the development of laboratory activities. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.

  7. Investigating Learner Attitudes toward E-Books as Learning Tools: Based on the Activity Theory Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liaw, Shu-Sheng; Huang, Hsiu-Mei

    2016-01-01

    This paper investigates the use of e-books as learning tools in terms of learner satisfaction, usefulness, behavioral intention, and learning effectiveness. Based on the activity theory approach, this research develops a research model to understand learner attitudes toward e-books in two physical sizes: 10? and 7?. Results suggest that screen…

  8. Generating Language Activities in Real-Time for English Learners Using Language Muse

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burstein, Jill; Madnani, Nitin; Sabatini, John; McCaffrey, Dan; Biggers, Kietha; Dreier, Kelsey

    2017-01-01

    K-12 education standards in the U.S. require all students to read complex texts across many subject areas. The "Language Muse™ Activity Palette" is a web-based language-instruction application that uses NLP algorithms and lexical resources to automatically generate language activities and support English language learners' content…

  9. Supporting Learners' Experiment Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Riesen, Siswa; Gijlers, Hannie; Anjewierden, Anjo; de Jong, Ton

    2018-01-01

    Inquiry learning is an educational approach in which learners actively construct knowledge and in which performing investigations and conducting experiments is central. To support learners in designing informative experiments we created a scaffold, the Experiment Design Tool (EDT), that provided learners with a step-by-step structure to select…

  10. An observation tool for instructor and student behaviors to measure in-class learner engagement: a validation study

    PubMed Central

    Alimoglu, Mustafa K.; Sarac, Didar B.; Alparslan, Derya; Karakas, Ayse A.; Altintas, Levent

    2014-01-01

    Background Efforts are made to enhance in-class learner engagement because it stimulates and enhances learning. However, it is not easy to quantify learner engagement. This study aimed to develop and validate an observation tool for instructor and student behaviors to determine and compare in-class learner engagement levels in four different class types delivered by the same instructor. Methods Observer pairs observed instructor and student behaviors during lectures in large class (LLC, n=2) with third-year medical students, lectures in small class (LSC, n=6) and case-based teaching sessions (CBT, n=4) with fifth-year students, and problem-based learning (PBL) sessions (~7 hours) with second-year students. The observation tool was a revised form of STROBE, an instrument for recording behaviors of an instructor and four randomly selected students as snapshots for 5-min cycles. Instructor and student behaviors were scored 1–5 on this tool named ‘in-class engagement measure (IEM)’. The IEM scores were parallel to the degree of behavior's contribution to active student engagement, so higher scores were associated with more in-class learner engagement. Additionally, the number of questions asked by the instructor and students were recorded. A total of 203 5-min observations were performed (LLC 20, LSC 85, CBT 50, and PBL 48). Results Interobserver agreement on instructor and student behaviors was 93.7% (κ=0.87) and 80.6% (κ=0.71), respectively. Higher median IEM scores were found in student-centered and problem-oriented methods such as CBT and PBL. A moderate correlation was found between instructor and student behaviors (r=0.689). Conclusions This study provides some evidence for validity of the IEM scores as a measure of student engagement in different class types. PMID:25308966

  11. Measurement for Work. Teaching Guide and Sample Learning Activities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Angel, Margo; Bolton, Chris

    This document is intended to help Australian technical and further education instructors in New South Wales (TAFE NSW) identify teaching principles and learning activities that they can use to help adult learners master the mathematics processes, knowledge, and skills needed to perform basic measurement tasks in today's workplace. The materials…

  12. Transformational Processes and Learner Outcomes for Online Learning: An Activity Theory Case Study of Spanish Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Terantino, Joseph M.

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the actions of online language learners from an activity theoretical perspective. It also attempted to explain how the students' learning outcomes evolved from their online learning experiences. This explanation placed an emphasis on the learners' previous experiences, defining their activity…

  13. Beginning Learners' Development of Interactional Competence: Alignment Activity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tecedor, Marta

    2016-01-01

    This study examined the development of interactional competence (Hall, 1993; He & Young, 1998) by beginning learners of Spanish as indexed by their use of alignment moves. Discourse analysis techniques and quantitative data analysis were used to explore how 52 learners expressed alignment and changes in participation patterns in two sets of…

  14. Flipping the Classroom for English Language Learners to Foster Active Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hung, Hsiu-Ting

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes a structured attempt to integrate flip teaching into language classrooms using a WebQuest active learning strategy. The purpose of this study is to examine the possible impacts of flipping the classroom on English language learners' academic performance, learning attitudes, and participation levels. Adopting a…

  15. Development of a Cognate Awareness Measure for Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malabonga, Valerie; Kenyon, Dorry M.; Carlo, Maria; August, Diane; Louguit, Mohammed

    2008-01-01

    This paper describes the development and validation of the Cognate Awareness Test (CAT), which measures cognate awareness in Spanish-speaking English Language Learners (ELLs) in fourth and fifth grade. An investigation of differential performance on the two subtests of the CAT (cognates and noncognates) provides evidence that the instrument is…

  16. Investigative Research: How It Changes Learner Status.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kenny, Brian

    1993-01-01

    What matters about an educational activity is how learners respond to it. This article examines a program concerned with the learners' needs, through the expression of learners' own meanings, and advances the concept of investigative research as a suitable vehicle for more autonomous learning, through a change in learner status. (26 references)…

  17. Differences in Language Skills: Heritage Language Learner Subgroups and Foreign Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kondo-Brown, Kimi

    2005-01-01

    Using both proficiency tests and self-assessment measures, this study investigated (a) whether 3 subgroups of Japanese heritage language (JHL) learners would demonstrate language behaviors distinctively different from those of traditional Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) learners, and (b) which domains of language use and skills would…

  18. Investigating the Use of Inquiry & Web-Based Activities with Inclusive Biology Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bodzin, Alec M.; Waller, Patricia L.; Edwards, Lana; Darlene Kale, Santoro

    2007-01-01

    A Web-integrated biology program is used to explore how to best assist inclusive high school students to learn biology with inquiry-based activities. Classroom adaptations and instructional strategies teachers may use to assist in promoting biology learning with inclusive learners are discussed.

  19. Active Learning for Discovery and Innovation in Criminology with Chinese Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Jessica C. M.; Wu, Joseph

    2015-01-01

    Whereas a great deal of literature based upon the context of Western societies has concluded criminology is an ideal discipline for active learning approach, it remains uncertain if this learning approach is applicable to Chinese learners in the discipline of criminology. This article describes and provides evidence of the benefits of using active…

  20. Fluency-dependent cortical activation associated with speech production and comprehension in second language learners.

    PubMed

    Shimada, K; Hirotani, M; Yokokawa, H; Yoshida, H; Makita, K; Yamazaki-Murase, M; Tanabe, H C; Sadato, N

    2015-08-06

    This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigated the brain regions underlying language task performance in adult second language (L2) learners. Specifically, we identified brain regions where the level of activation was associated with L2 fluency levels. Thirty Japanese-speaking adults participated in the study. All participants were L2 learners of English and had achieved varying levels of fluency, as determined by a standardized L2 English proficiency test, the Versant English Test (Pearson Education Inc., 2011). When participants performed the oral sentence building task from the production tasks administered, the dorsal part of the left inferior frontal gyrus (dIFG) showed activation patterns that differed depending on the L2 fluency levels: The more fluent the participants were, the more dIFG activation decreased. This decreased activation of the dIFG might reflect the increased automaticity of a syntactic building process. In contrast, when participants performed an oral story comprehension task, the left posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) showed increased activation with higher fluency levels. This suggests that the learners with higher L2 fluency were actively engaged in post-syntactic integration processing supported by the left pSTG. These data imply that L2 fluency predicts neural resource allocation during language comprehension tasks as well as in production tasks. This study sheds light on the neural underpinnings of L2 learning by identifying the brain regions recruited during different language tasks across different modalities (production vs. comprehension). Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  1. Innovative Strategies for Empowering Your Students to Become Active, Responsible Learners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hufnagel, B.

    2011-09-01

    The economy continues to sputter along, and the repercussions are now hitting hard at publicly-funded colleges and universities, with enrollment increasing and funding decreasing. Funding agencies are starting to look at retention and completion rates as a way to allocate scarce dollars. Improving these rates is also one way to increase the future stream of tuition; students who can't pass introductory classes like ASTRO101 won't enroll and pay tuition for the next level, and they won't complete their degree. So what can you, a mere professor of astronomy, do? Tired of the "What do you want me to know?" questions? Provide your students with learner-centered structures to help them learn more deeply. Do your students resist active-engagement techniques and hate group work? Share empowerment strategies for helping students become active, responsible learners who can thrive in a learner-centered environment. Do you think that it's wrong for the freshman classes to be over-crowded, yet your sophomore classes don't get enough students or don't even exist? After using the proven curriculum of On Course, college and universities across the country have improved their retention across a wide range of disciplines (http://www.OnCourseWorkshop.com/Data.htm). Experience a sample of the fun and engaging activities developed over two decades to help students (1) accept personal responsibility, (2) discover self motivation, (3) master self-management, (4) use interdependence, (5) gain self-awareness, (6) adopt lifelong learning, (7) develop emotional intelligence, and (8) believe in themselves. Since this is only a one-hour workshop, we will focus on choices one and four: to be successful, students need to see themselves as the primary cause of their outcomes and experiences and to build mutually supportive relationships in our classroom and labs. Outcomes: (1) one ASTRO101 Course-ready activity to help students accept personal responsibility; (2) one ASTRO101 Course

  2. Study Partners Recommendation for xMOOCs Learners

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Bin; Yang, Dan

    2015-01-01

    Massive open online courses (MOOCs) provide an opportunity for people to access free courses offered by top universities in the world and therefore attracted great attention and engagement from college teachers and students. However, with contrast to large scale enrollment, the completion rate of these courses is really low. One of the reasons for students to quit learning process is problems which they face that could not be solved by discussing them with classmates. In order to keep them staying in the course, thereby further improving the completion rate, we address the task of study partner recommendation for students based on both content information and social network information. By analyzing the content of messages posted by learners in course discussion forum, we investigated the learners' behavior features to classify the learners into three groups. Then we proposed a topic model to measure learners' course knowledge awareness. Finally, a social network was constructed based on their activities in the course forum, and the relationship in the network was then employed to recommend study partners for target learner combined with their behavior features and course knowledge awareness. The experiment results show that our method achieves better performance than recommending method only based on content information. PMID:25663836

  3. Synthesizing Technology Adoption and Learners' Approaches towards Active Learning in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chan, Kevin; Cheung, George; Wan, Kelvin; Brown, Ian; Luk, Green

    2015-01-01

    In understanding how active and blended learning approaches with learning technologies engagement in undergraduate education, current research models tend to undermine the effect of learners' variations, particularly regarding their styles and approaches to learning, on intention and use of learning technologies. This study contributes to further…

  4. Fashion Design: Designing a Learner-Active, Multi-Level High School Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nelson, Diane

    2009-01-01

    A high school fashion design teacher has much in common with the ringmaster of a three-ring circus. The challenges of teaching a hands-on course are to facilitate the entire class and to meet the needs of individual students. When teaching family and consumer sciences, the goal is to have a learner-active classroom. Revamping the high school's…

  5. The Learner's Place in e-Learning Project Management

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bartz, Janet

    2010-01-01

    An e-learning project is a balance of time, cost, and scope measured against learner engagement. With this measure, the learner is part of every stage in the project's development. Assessing decisions with regards to learner impact will contribute to a more engaging and therefore successful project. To illustrate this concept, this paper will…

  6. The Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning Activities in Enhancing EFL Learners' Fluency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alrayah, Hassan

    2018-01-01

    This research-paper aims at examining the effectiveness of cooperative learning activities in enhancing EFL learners' fluency. The researcher has used the descriptive approach, recorded interviews for testing fluency as tools of data collection and the software program SPSS as a tool for the statistical treatment of data. Research sample consists…

  7. Do Specific Classroom Reading Activities Predict English Language Learners' Later Reading Achievement?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swanson, H. Lee; Orosco, Michael J.; Kudo, Milagros Fatima

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between elementary classroom (N = 50) reading activities in Year 1 and reading performance (i.e., passage comprehension, letter-word identification, and word attack) 1 year later for English language learners (ELLs; N = 270). A cross-classification hierarchical model indicated that compared to other reading…

  8. Collaborative Dialogue in Learner-Learner and Learner-Native Speaker Interaction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dobao, Ana Fernandez

    2012-01-01

    This study analyses intermediate and advanced learner-learner and learner-native speaker (NS) interaction looking for collaborative dialogue. It investigates how the presence of a NS interlocutor affects the frequency and nature of lexical language-related episodes (LREs) spontaneously generated during task-based interaction. Twenty-four learners…

  9. A Learner-led, Discussion-based Elective on Emerging Infectious Disease

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Objective. To implement a learner-led, discussion-based course aimed at exposing second-year pharmacy learners to the study of emerging infectious diseases from a global health perspective and to assess the role and importance of pharmacists in the management of disease outbreaks. Design. Learners examined literature pertinent to an emerging infectious disease in a 3-credit, discussion-based course and participated in peer discussion led by a designated learner. Instructional materials included journal articles, audio-visual presentations, documentaries, book chapters, movies, newspaper/magazine articles, and other materials. Learning outcomes were measured based on the ability of learners to perform critical thinking and analysis, communicate with their peers, and participate in class discussions. Assessment. The course was offered to 2 consecutive cohorts consisting of 14 and 16 learners, respectively. Overall, every learner in the first cohort achieved a final grade of A for the course. In the second cohort, the overall grade distribution consisted of grades of A, B, and C for the course. Learner evaluations indicated that the active-learning, discussion-based environment significantly enhanced interest in the topic and overall performance in the course. Conclusion. The elective course on emerging infectious diseases provided in-depth exposure to disease topics normally not encountered in the pharmacy curriculum. Learners found the material and format valuable, and the course enhanced their appreciation of infectious diseases, research methodology, critical thinking and analysis, and their roles as pharmacists. PMID:26430268

  10. A Learner-led, Discussion-based Elective on Emerging Infectious Disease.

    PubMed

    Mathias, Clinton

    2015-08-25

    Objective. To implement a learner-led, discussion-based course aimed at exposing second-year pharmacy learners to the study of emerging infectious diseases from a global health perspective and to assess the role and importance of pharmacists in the management of disease outbreaks. Design. Learners examined literature pertinent to an emerging infectious disease in a 3-credit, discussion-based course and participated in peer discussion led by a designated learner. Instructional materials included journal articles, audio-visual presentations, documentaries, book chapters, movies, newspaper/magazine articles, and other materials. Learning outcomes were measured based on the ability of learners to perform critical thinking and analysis, communicate with their peers, and participate in class discussions. Assessment. The course was offered to 2 consecutive cohorts consisting of 14 and 16 learners, respectively. Overall, every learner in the first cohort achieved a final grade of A for the course. In the second cohort, the overall grade distribution consisted of grades of A, B, and C for the course. Learner evaluations indicated that the active-learning, discussion-based environment significantly enhanced interest in the topic and overall performance in the course. Conclusion. The elective course on emerging infectious diseases provided in-depth exposure to disease topics normally not encountered in the pharmacy curriculum. Learners found the material and format valuable, and the course enhanced their appreciation of infectious diseases, research methodology, critical thinking and analysis, and their roles as pharmacists.

  11. Participatory Multimedia Learning: Engaging Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kiili, Kristian

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to present a participatory multimedia learning model for use in designing multimedia learning environments that support an active learning process, creative participation, and learner engagement. Participatory multimedia learning can be defined as learning with systems that enable learners to produce part of the…

  12. Popular Culture, English Out-of-Class Activities, and Learner Autonomy among Highly Proficient Secondary Students in Hong Kong

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chan, Hoi Wing

    2016-01-01

    This paper reports on how and why proficient learners of English in Hong Kong participated in popular culture, out-of-class activities, with an emphasis on their development of learner autonomy. Autonomy in language learning is defined as an individual's ability and responsibility to take charge of his or her own learning [1]. Out-of-class…

  13. Trusting early learners with critical professional activities through emergency medical technician certification.

    PubMed

    Brenner, Judith; Bird, Jeffrey; Ginzburg, Samara B; Kwiatkowski, Thomas; Papasodero, Vincent; Rennie, William; Schlegel, Elisabeth; Ten Cate, Olle; Willey, Joanne M

    2018-03-08

    Two dominant themes face medical education: developing integrated curricula and improving the undergraduate medical education (UME) to graduate medical education (GME) transition. An innovative solution to both of these challenges at the Zucker School of Medicine has been the application of the cognitive apprenticeship framework in requiring emergency medical technician (EMT) certification during the first course in medical school as the core on which to build an integrated curriculum and provide entrustable clinical skills. Beginning with the Class of 2011, student feedback about the short-term impact of the experience was collected annually. In addition, perceptions of near graduates and alumni were surveyed in 2017 to explore the long-term impact of the experience. Theme analysis was conducted via inductive coding. Both first-year and more experienced learners report the value of the EMT curriculum as an integrated component of the first course of medical school. Reported positive long-term impacts included the first-hand observation of social determinants of health and interprofessionalism. Negative comments by early learners focused on course logistics, whereas older learners recalled the variability of clinical experiences during ambulance runs. The integration of the EMT curriculum as a core component of the first course serves multiple purposes: 1) it provides the foundation of a spiral learning approach; 2) it contextualizes the basic sciences within clinical practice; 3) it provides opportunities for students to engage in authentic clinical activities under the guidance of mentors; 4) it introduces students to the interdisciplinary nature of medicine; and 5) it serves as the first entrustable professional activity (EPA) for our students.

  14. Fostering learners' reflection and self-assessment.

    PubMed

    Westberg, J; Jason, H

    1994-05-01

    In most medical schools and residency programs, little or no attention is given to fostering learners' reflection or self-assessment. Yet learners who do not value or who are not effective at these skills are unlikely to extract the maximum benefit from their education. They are at risk of becoming unsafe physicians. To be optimally helpful, teachers need access to the diagnostic information about learners that is provided by their reflections and self-assessments. There are major barriers to learners being reflective and self-assessing. Medicine is dominated by unreflective doing. In the fiercely competitive environment of many teaching programs, many learners correctly perceive that it is unsafe to reveal their fears and deficiencies. Learners often retain this cautious posture even after moving to programs where it is unnecessary. Many learners and teachers have grown accustomed to authoritarian educational approaches in which teachers decide what the learners need and unilaterally evaluate their performance. In this review of the available literature, we summarize the compelling reasons for fostering reflection and self-assessment and for helping learners become their own coaches. Specific strategies and tools for creating programs that foster these values and activities are presented.

  15. The Relationship between Reading Proficiency and Reading Strategy Use: A Study of Adult ESL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Jiuhan; Nisbet, Deanna

    2014-01-01

    This article explores the relationship between reading strategy use and reading proficiency among 121 adult ESL learners. Reading strategy use was measured by the SORS, and reading proficiency was determined by the CASAS Reading Test and BEST Literacy Test. Findings of the study reveal that (a) adult ESL learners are active strategies users; (b)…

  16. THE HUMAN BEHAVIOR RATING SCALE-BRIEF: A TOOL TO MEASURE 21ST CENTURY SKILLS OF K-12 LEARNERS.

    PubMed

    Woods-Groves, Suzanne

    2015-06-01

    Currently there is a call for brief concise measurements to appraise relevant 21st century college readiness skills in K-12 learners. This study employed K-12 teachers' ratings for over 3,000 students for an existing 91-item rating scale, the Human Behavior Rating Scale, that measured the 21st century skills of persistence, curiosity, externalizing affect, internalizing affect, and cognition. Teachers' ratings for K-12 learners were used to develop a brief, concise, and manageable 30-item tool, the Human Behavior Rating Scale-Brief. Results yielded high internal consistency coefficients and inter-item correlations. The items were not biased with regard to student sex or race, and were supported through confirmatory factor analyses. In addition, when teachers' ratings were compared with students' academic and behavioral performance data, moderate to strong relationships were revealed. This study provided an essential first step in the development of a psychometrically sound, manageable, and brief tool to appraise 21st century skills in K-12 learners.

  17. Motivation Classification and Grade Prediction for MOOCs Learners

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Bin; Yang, Dan

    2016-01-01

    While MOOCs offer educational data on a new scale, many educators find great potential of the big data including detailed activity records of every learner. A learner's behavior such as if a learner will drop out from the course can be predicted. How to provide an effective, economical, and scalable method to detect cheating on tests such as surrogate exam-taker is a challenging problem. In this paper, we present a grade predicting method that uses student activity features to predict whether a learner may get a certification if he/she takes a test. The method consists of two-step classifications: motivation classification (MC) and grade classification (GC). The MC divides all learners into three groups including certification earning, video watching, and course sampling. The GC then predicts a certification earning learner may or may not obtain a certification. Our experiment shows that the proposed method can fit the classification model at a fine scale and it is possible to find a surrogate exam-taker. PMID:26884747

  18. Motivation Classification and Grade Prediction for MOOCs Learners.

    PubMed

    Xu, Bin; Yang, Dan

    2016-01-01

    While MOOCs offer educational data on a new scale, many educators find great potential of the big data including detailed activity records of every learner. A learner's behavior such as if a learner will drop out from the course can be predicted. How to provide an effective, economical, and scalable method to detect cheating on tests such as surrogate exam-taker is a challenging problem. In this paper, we present a grade predicting method that uses student activity features to predict whether a learner may get a certification if he/she takes a test. The method consists of two-step classifications: motivation classification (MC) and grade classification (GC). The MC divides all learners into three groups including certification earning, video watching, and course sampling. The GC then predicts a certification earning learner may or may not obtain a certification. Our experiment shows that the proposed method can fit the classification model at a fine scale and it is possible to find a surrogate exam-taker.

  19. A Machine Learning Approach to Measurement of Text Readability for EFL Learners Using Various Linguistic Features

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kotani, Katsunori; Yoshimi, Takehiko; Isahara, Hitoshi

    2011-01-01

    The present paper introduces and evaluates a readability measurement method designed for learners of EFL (English as a foreign language). The proposed readability measurement method (a regression model) estimates the text readability based on linguistic features, such as lexical, syntactic and discourse features. Text readability refers to the…

  20. The Learners' Mental Models of Television in Mathematics.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sumalee, Chaijaroen

    1999-01-01

    Examines the learners' mental models of television in actual media classroom activity by which knowledge was constructed. Findings revealed how media capabilities and the instructional designs that employ them interact with the learners and the task characteristics to influence the formation of the learners' mental models and their learning…

  1. The Effects of Pre-Reading Activities on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moghaddam, Nahid Nemati; Mahmoudi, Asgar

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of three types of pre-reading activities (movie-watching, vocabulary presentation, and pre-reading summarization) on the reading comprehension of 76 elementary-level EFL Iranian learners. The participants were randomly assigned to one control and three experimental conditions and then a pretest was given to…

  2. Learner-Content, Learner-Instructor, and Learner-Learner Interaction in a Web-Enhanced, Internet Videoconference AP Calculus Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Einfeld, Dana Hobbs

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this action research was to investigate how the use of technology promotes interaction to foster high school students' mathematical understanding. This mixed method study is guided by social-constructivist theory (Vygotsky, 1978) and framed within Moore's (1989) model of learner-content, learner-instructor, and learner-learner…

  3. Predictive Validity of Curriculum-Based Measures for English Learners at Varying English Proficiency Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Jennifer Sun; Vanderwood, Michael L.; Lee, Catherine Y.

    2016-01-01

    This study examined the predictive validity of curriculum-based measures in reading for Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) at various levels of English proficiency. Third-grade Spanish-speaking EL students were screened during the fall using DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (DORF) and Daze. Predictive validity was examined in relation to spring…

  4. The Development of Expert Learners in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rahman, Saemah; Mahmud, Zuria; Yassin, Siti Fatimah Mohd; Amir, Ruslin; Ilias, Khadijah Wan

    2010-01-01

    The term "expert learner" refers to students who are actively engaged with the materials learned and take responsibility for their own learning. Literature reviews suggested the use of metacognitive approach to help develop students to become expert learners. Research on development of expert learners can be traced from movements that…

  5. Modeling the effects of multicontextual physics instruction on learner expectations and understanding of force and motion systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deese Becht, Sara-Maria Francis

    1999-11-01

    The purpose of this study is two-fold involving both practical and theoretical modeling components. The practical component, an experiential-learning phase, investigated a study population for effects that increasing levels of multicontextual physics activities have on student understanding of Newtonian systems of motion. This contextual-learning model measured learner convictions and non-response gaps and analyzed learner response trends on context, technology, challenge, growth, and success. The theoretical component, a model-building phase, designed a dynamic-knowing model for learning along a range of experiential tasks, from low to high context, monitored for indicators of learning in science and mathematics: learner academic performance and ability, learner control and academic attitude, and a learner non- response gap. This knowing model characterized a learner's process-of-knowing on a less to more expert- like learner-response continuum using performance and perspective indices associated with level of contextual- imagery referent system. Data for the contextual-learning model were collected on 180 secondary subjects: 72 middle and 108 high, with 36 physics subjects as local experts. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups differing only on context level of force and motion activities. Three levels of information were presented through context-based tasks: momentum constancy as inertia, momentum change as impulse, and momentum rate of change as force. The statistical analysis used a multi-level factorial design with repeated measures and discriminate analysis of response-conviction items. Subject grouping criteria included school level, ability level in science and mathematics, gender and race. Assessment criteria used pre/post performance scores, confidence level in physics concepts held, and attitude towards science, mathematics, and technology. Learner indices were computed from logit- transforms applied to learner outcomes

  6. Help Seeking: Agentic Learners Initiating Feedback

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fletcher, Anna Katarina

    2018-01-01

    Effective feedback is an essential tool for making learning explicit and an essential feature of classroom practice that promotes learner autonomy. Yet, it remains a pressing challenge for teachers to scaffold the active involvement of students as critical, reflective and autonomous learners who use feedback constructively. This paper seeks to…

  7. Predictive Validity of Early Literacy Measures for Korean English Language Learners in the United States

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Han, Jeanie Nam; Vanderwood, Michael L.; Lee, Catherine Y.

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the predictive validity of early literacy measures with first-grade Korean English language learners (ELLs) in the United States at varying levels of English proficiency. Participants were screened using Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF), DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency…

  8. Can pluralistic approaches based upon unknown languages enhance learner engagement and lead to active social inclusion?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dahm, Rebecca

    2017-08-01

    One way to foster active social inclusion is to enable students to develop a positive attitude to "foreignness". Creating a situation where mainstream students are less wary of foreign languages and cultures, and where newcomers feel their linguistic background is being valued, provides favourable conditions for the inclusion of these newcomers in the classroom and in society. However, language classrooms in French schools rarely take any previously acquired linguistic knowledge into account, thus unconsciously contributing to the rift between multilingual learners (e.g. 1st- and 2nd-generation immigrant children, refugees, children of parents with different mother tongues) and French learners. Native French learners' first experience of learning another language is usually when English is added as a subject to their curriculum in primary school. In some schools in France, English lessons now include the simulation of multilingual situations, designed in particular for the French "quasi-monolingual" students to lose their fear of unknown languages and "foreignness" in general. But the overall aim is to help both groups of learners become aware of the positive impact of multilingualism on cognitive abilities. However, to achieve long-term effects, this awareness-raising needs to be accompanied by maximum engagement on the part of the students. This article explores an instructional strategy termed Pluralistic Approaches based upon Unknown Languages (PAUL), which was designed to develop learning strategies of quasi-monolingual students in particular and to increase learner engagement more generally. The results of a small-scale PAUL study discussed by the author seem to confirm an increase in learner engagement leading to an enhancement of learning outcomes. Moreover, PAUL seems indeed suitable for helping to prepare the ground for social inclusion.

  9. Fragile Identities: Exploring Learner Identity, Learner Autonomy and Motivation through Young Learners' Voices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lamb, Terry Eric

    2011-01-01

    Recent research in the fields of motivation and learner autonomy in language learning has begun to explore their relationships to the construct of identity. This article builds on this through the voices of a group of six learners of French or German in a secondary school in England, over a two-year period. These young learners initially reveal a…

  10. Reading Component Skills of Learners in Adult Basic Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacArthur, Charles A.; Konold, Timothy R.; Glutting, Joseph J.; Alamprese, Judith A.

    2010-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to investigate the reliability and construct validity of measures of reading component skills with a sample of adult basic education (ABE) learners, including both native and nonnative English speakers, and to describe the performance of those learners on the measures. Investigation of measures of reading components…

  11. Self-Esteem among Adult Literacy Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lipnevich, Anastasiya; Beder, Hal

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate adult literacy education learners' self-esteem and to examine the relationship between self-esteem and measures of achievement in reading and math. The rationale for the present study stemmed from the lack of research into adult literacy students' self-esteem levels. More than 200 learners enrolled in…

  12. Computing of Learner's Personality Traits Based on Digital Annotations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Omheni, Nizar; Kalboussi, Anis; Mazhoud, Omar; Kacem, Ahmed Hadj

    2017-01-01

    Researchers in education are interested in modeling of learner's profile and adapt their learning experiences accordingly. When learners read and interact with their reading materials, they do unconscious practices like annotations which may be, a key feature of their personalities. Annotation activity requires readers to be active, to think…

  13. Improving the EFL Learners' Speaking Ability through Interactive Storytelling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marzuki; Prayogo, Johannes Ananto; Wahyudi, Arwijati

    2016-01-01

    This present research was aimed to improve the EFL learners' speaking ability and their classroom activities through the implementation of Interactive Storytelling Strategy. Therefore, this study was directed to explore the beneficial of Interactive Storytelling that closely related to the EFL learners' everyday activities at their home and…

  14. Between the Social and the Selfish: Learner Autonomy in Online Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Tim

    2013-01-01

    This paper explores what it means to be an autonomous learner in an online social context. Using distinctions originally drawn by Jürgen Habermas, it argues that classic accounts of learner autonomy as teleological action are inadequate to explain learner activity in group settings. It points out that learners in such settings display attitudes…

  15. Predictive Validity of Curriculum-Based Measures in the Reading Assessment of Students Who Are English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muyskens, Paul; Betts, Joseph; Lau, Matthew Y.; Marston, Doug

    2009-01-01

    The inclusion of English Language Learners as a subgroup in the No Child Left Behind legislation has leant additional importance to the need for valid and efficient measures of reading for students whose first language is not English. This study examines the use of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) reading fluency as a predictor of later reading…

  16. The Indonesian EFL Learners' Motivation in Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salikin, Hairus; Bin-Tahir, Saidna Zulfiqar; Kusumaningputri, Reni; Yuliandari, Dian Puji

    2017-01-01

    The motivation will drive the EFL learners to be successful in reading. This study examined the Indonesian EFL learners' motivation in reading activity based on Deci and Ryans' theory of motivation including intrinsic and extrinsic. This study employed mixed-method design. The data obtained by distributing questionnaire and arranging the group…

  17. Developing Computational Methods to Measure and Track Learners' Spatial Reasoning in an Open-Ended Simulation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mallavarapu, Aditi; Lyons, Leilah; Shelley, Tia; Minor, Emily; Slattery, Brian; Zellner, Moria

    2015-01-01

    Interactive learning environments can provide learners with opportunities to explore rich, real-world problem spaces, but the nature of these problem spaces can make assessing learner progress difficult. Such assessment can be useful for providing formative and summative feedback to the learners, to educators, and to the designers of the…

  18. Adult Learners' Week in Australia.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cross, John

    2002-01-01

    Promotional materials and activities for Australia's Adult Learners Week, which are shaped by a variety of stakeholders , include media strategies and a website. Activities are evaluated using a market research company and website and telephone hotline statistics. (SK)

  19. Benchmarking the Degree of Implementation of Learner-Centered Approaches

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blumberg, Phyllis; Pontiggia, Laura

    2011-01-01

    We describe an objective way to measure whether curricula, educational programs, and institutions are learner-centered. This technique for benchmarking learner-centeredness uses rubrics to measure courses on 29 components within Weimer's five dimensions. We converted the scores on the rubrics to four-point indices and constructed histograms that…

  20. Learner-Content-Interface as an Approach for Self-Reliant and Student-Centered Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nicolay, Robin; Schwennigcke, Bastian; Sahl, Sarah; Martens, Alke

    2015-01-01

    Conceptualization and implementation of computer supported teaching and training is currently not tailored to the paradigm of learner centration. Many technical solutions lack transparency and consistency regarding the supported learner activities. An insight into learners activities correlated to learning tasks is needed. In this paper we outline…

  1. Cross-Language Activation in Children's Speech Production: Evidence from Second Language Learners, Bilinguals, and Trilinguals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Poarch, Gregory J.; van Hell, Janet G.

    2012-01-01

    In five experiments, we examined cross-language activation during speech production in various groups of bilinguals and trilinguals who differed in nonnative language proficiency, language learning background, and age. In Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 5, German 5- to 8-year-old second language learners of English, German-English bilinguals,…

  2. Learning Strategies Used by Successful Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thu, Tran Hoang

    2009-01-01

    This study examines the language learning strategies employed by successful learners of English as a foreign and second language. Two successful English learners whose first languages are Mandarin were interviewed, and asked to complete a questionnaire and a self-evaluation measure to indicate their perceived level of language proficiency as well…

  3. The Validity and Reliability of Rhythm Measurements in Automatically Scoring the English Rhythm Proficiency of Chinese EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Jin; Lin, Jianghao; Li, Xinguang

    2015-01-01

    This article aims to find out the validity of rhythm measurements to capture the rhythmic features of Chinese English. Besides, the reliability of the valid rhythm measurements applied in automatically scoring the English rhythm proficiency of Chinese EFL learners is also explored. Thus, two experiments were carried out. First, thirty students of…

  4. How Do Novice and Expert Learners Represent, Understand, and Discuss Geologic Time?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Layow, Erica Amanda

    This dissertation examined the representations novice and expert learners constructed for the geologic timescale. Learners engaged in a three-part activity. The purpose was to compare novice learners' representations to those of expert learners. This provided insight into the similarities and differences between their strategies for event ordering, assigning values and scale to the geologic timescale model, as well as their language and practices to complete the model. With a qualitative approach to data analysis informed by an expert-novice theoretical framework grounded in phenomenography, learner responses comprised the data analyzed. These data highlighted learners' metacognitive thoughts that might not otherwise be shared through lectures or laboratory activities. Learners' responses were analyzed using a discourse framework that positioned learners as knowers. Novice and expert learners both excelled at ordering and discussing events before the Phanerozoic, but were challenged with events during the Phanerozoic. Novice learners had difficulty assigning values to events and establishing a scale for their models. Expert learners expressed difficulty with determining a scale because of the size of the model, yet eventually used anchor points and unitized the model to establish a scale. Despite challenges constructing their models, novice learners spoke confidently using claims and few hedging phrases indicating their confidence in statements made. Experts used more hedges than novices, however the hedging comments were made about more complex conceptions. Using both phenomenographic and discourse analysis approaches for analysis foregrounded learners' discussions of how they perceived geologic time and their ways of knowing and doing. This research is intended to enhance the geoscience community's understanding of the ways novice and expert learners think and discuss conceptions of geologic time, including the events and values of time, and the strategies used

  5. EFL Proficiency in Language Learning and Learner Autonomy Perceptions of Turkish Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ünal, Süleyman; Çeliköz, Nadir; Sari, Irfan

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study is to determine the relationships of Turkish-English Language Teaching (ELT) learners' perceptions of learner autonomy with ELT learner's proficiency level in language learning. Particularly, the study aimed at investigating to what extent ELT learners' autonomy perceptions are affected by proficiency level of learners.…

  6. Measuring and Perceiving Changes in Oral Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency: Examining Instructed Learners' Short-Term Gains

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tonkyn, Alan Paul

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports a case study of the nature and extent of progress in speaking skills made by a group of upper intermediate instructed learners, and also assessors' perceptions of that progress. Initial and final interview data were analysed using several measures of Grammatical and Lexical Complexity, Language Accuracy and Fluency. These…

  7. Teacher Perceptions of Learner-Learner Engagement at a Cyber High School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Borup, Jered

    2016-01-01

    Distance education has historically contained little or no learner-learner interactions. Currently the Internet allows for unprecedented levels of learner-learner interaction and has the potential to transform how students learn online. However, many courses offered online focus more on flexibility and independence than on interaction and…

  8. Elementary School EFL Learners' Vocabulary Learning: The Effects of Post-Reading Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Atay, Derin; Kurt, Gokce

    2006-01-01

    As language learning involves the acquisition of thousands of words, teachers and learners alike would like to know how vocabulary learning can be fostered, especially in EFL settings where learners frequently acquire impoverished lexicons, despite years of formal study. Research indicates that reading is important but not sufficient for…

  9. Learner Satisfaction in Online Learning: An Analysis of the Perceived Impact of Learner-Social Media and Learner-Instructor Interaction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andersen, Jeffery C.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between general course satisfaction, learner-instructor interaction, and the learner-social media interaction scores of participants. This study used an online survey with 60 questions to gather the participants' demographic data, learner-instructor interaction data, learner-social…

  10. Measuring Group Work Dynamics and Its Relation with L2 Learners' Task Motivation and Language Production

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Poupore, Glen

    2016-01-01

    While learners of a second language (L2) are increasingly interacting in small groups as part of a communicative methodological paradigm, very few studies have investigated the social dynamics that occur in such groups. The aim of this study is to introduce a group work dynamic measuring instrument and to investigate the relationship between group…

  11. The Effect of Reading on Second-Language Learners' Production in Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Collentine, Karina

    2016-01-01

    Tasks provide engaging ways to involve learners in meaningful, real-world activities with the foreign language (FL). Yet selecting classroom tasks suitable to learners' linguistic readiness is challenging, and task-based research is exploring the relationship between learners' overall abilities (e.g., reading, grammatical) and the complexity and…

  12. Developing Responsible Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gautum, Satyen; Jangam, Sachin; Loh, Kai Chee

    2018-01-01

    Developing responsible learners is one of the key education challenges of our time. Education literature suggests that for students to see themselves as active and necessary participants in their own learning, it is important that they view themselves as stakeholders in education. This research aims at exploring the effectiveness of instructional…

  13. Factors Driving Learner Success in Online Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vu, Phu; Cao, Vien; Vu, Lan; Cepero, Jude

    2014-01-01

    This study examined factors that contributed to the success of online learners in an online professional development course. Research instruments included an online survey and learners' activity logs in an online professional development course for 512 in-service teachers. The findings showed that there were several factors affecting online…

  14. Examining Learner Engagement Strategies: Australian and Canadian Teachers' Self-Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallagher, Tiffany L.; Bennett, Sheila; Keen, Deb; Muspratt, Sandy

    2017-01-01

    The Learning and Engagement Questionnaire (LEQ) measures instructional and environmental variables associated with learner engagement. The present study sought to determine the suitability of the LEQ to measure learner engagement with a sample of Canadian teachers and to further investigate the factorial structure in comparison with the Australian…

  15. Independence Pending: Teacher Behaviors Preceding Learner Problem Solving

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roesler, Rebecca A.

    2017-01-01

    The purposes of the present study were to identify the teacher behaviors that preceded learners' active participation in solving musical and technical problems and describe learners' roles in the problem-solving process. I applied an original model of problem solving to describe the behaviors of teachers and students in 161 rehearsal frames…

  16. Identifying and Enhancing the Strengths of Gifted Learners, K-8: Easy-to-Use Activities and Lessons

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maccagnano, Ann Marie

    2007-01-01

    Educators can identify children's strengths early on and gain insight into each student's unique abilities by using the numerous ideas and informal assessments in this exciting guide. Gifted and talented specialist Ann Maccagnano offers K-8 teachers challenging activities and engaging lessons to develop and nurture gifted learners' talents.…

  17. Negative Evidence in Language Classroom Activities: A Study of Its Availability and Accessibility to Language Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pica, Teresa; Washburn, Gay N.

    2002-01-01

    This study identified and described the ways in which negative evidence was made available and accessible to learners during two widely practiced classroom activities. One was a teacher-led discussion that emphasized communication of subject matter content. The other was a teacher-led sentence construction exercise that focused on application of…

  18. 41 CFR 50-202.3 - Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers. 50-202.3 Section 50-202.3 Public Contracts and Property... handicapped workers. Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers may be employed at less...

  19. 41 CFR 50-202.3 - Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers. 50-202.3 Section 50-202.3 Public Contracts and Property... handicapped workers. Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers may be employed at less...

  20. 41 CFR 50-202.3 - Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers. 50-202.3 Section 50-202.3 Public Contracts and Property... handicapped workers. Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers may be employed at less...

  1. 41 CFR 50-202.3 - Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 1 2011-07-01 2009-07-01 true Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers. 50-202.3 Section 50-202.3 Public Contracts and Property... handicapped workers. Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers may be employed at less...

  2. 41 CFR 50-202.3 - Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 1 2012-07-01 2009-07-01 true Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers. 50-202.3 Section 50-202.3 Public Contracts and Property... handicapped workers. Learners, student learners, apprentices, and handicapped workers may be employed at less...

  3. Annotation-Based Learner's Personality Modeling in Distance Learning Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Omheni, Nizar; Kalboussi, Anis; Mazhoud, Omar; Kacem, Ahmed Hadj

    2016-01-01

    Researchers in distance education are interested in observing and modeling learners' personality profiles, and adapting their learning experiences accordingly. When learners read and interact with their reading materials, they do unselfconscious activities like annotation which may be key feature of their personalities. Annotation activity…

  4. Improving EFL Learners' Reading Levels through Extensive Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mermelstein, Aaron David

    2014-01-01

    Today there is an increasing amount of research promoting the effectiveness of extensive reading (ER) towards increasing learners' vocabulary, comprehension, reading speed, and motivation towards reading. However, little has been done to measure the effects of ER on learners' reading levels. This quantitative study examined the effects of ER on…

  5. Re-Awakening the Learner: Creating Learner-Centric, Standards-Driven Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stoll, Copper; Giddings, Gene

    2012-01-01

    Transformation of public education requires the reawakening of the sleeping giant in the room: the learners. Students, teachers, and principals must develop a learner-centric, standards-driven school. "Reawakening the Learner" is a guide to creating just such an environment. Continua describe the journey of teachers, teacher leaders, and…

  6. Expanded Perspectives on Autonomous Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oxford, Rebecca L.

    2015-01-01

    This paper explores two general perspectives on autonomous learners: psychological and sociocultural. These perspectives introduce a range of theoretically grounded facets of autonomous learners, facets such as the self-regulated learner, the emotionally intelligent learner, the self-determined learner, the mediated learner, the socioculturally…

  7. Why Do Learners Choose Online Learning: The Learners' Voices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ilgaz, Hale; Gulbahar, Yasemin

    2017-01-01

    Offering many advantages to adult learners, e-Learning is now being recognized--and preferred--by more and more people, resulting in an increased number of distance learners in recent years. Numerous research studies focus on learner preferences for online learning, with most converging around the individual characteristics and differences, if not…

  8. Differences in HIV knowledge and sexual practices of learners with intellectual disabilities and non-disabled learners in Nigeria

    PubMed Central

    Aderemi, Toyin J; Pillay, Basil J; Esterhuizen, Tonya M

    2013-01-01

    Introduction Individuals with intellectual disabilities are rarely targeted by the current human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) response, thereby reducing their access to HIV information and services. Currently, little is known about the HIV knowledge and sexual practices of young Nigerians with intellectual disabilities. Thus, this study sought to compare the HIV knowledge and sexual practices of learners with mild/moderate intellectual disabilities and non-disabled learners (NDL) in Nigeria. Findings could help in the development of HIV interventions that are accessible to Nigerian learners with intellectual impairments. Methods This cross-sectional, comparative study utilized a survey to investigate HIV knowledge and sexual practices among learners with mild/moderate intellectual disabilities and NDL in Nigeria. Learners with mild/moderate intellectual disabilities (n=300) and NDL (n=300) within the age range of 12 to 19 years drawn from schools across Oyo State, Nigeria, completed a structured questionnaire to assess their knowledge of HIV transmission and sexual practices. Results Significantly more learners with mild/moderate intellectual disabilities (62.2%) than NDL 48 (37.8%) reported having sexual experience (p=0.002). Of the sexually experienced female learners with mild/moderate intellectual disabilities, 28 (68.3%) reported history of rape compared with 9 (2.9%) of female NDL (p=0.053). Intellectual impairment was significantly associated with lower HIV transmission knowledge scores (p<0.001). Learners with mild/moderate intellectual disabilities were less likely than NDL (p<0.001) to have heard about HIV from most of the common sources of HIV information. In addition, when compared with non-disabled learners, learners with mild/moderate intellectual disabilities were significantly more likely to have reported inconsistent condom use with boyfriends/girlfriends (p<0.001), with casual sexual partners (p<0.001) and non-use of condom during last sexual

  9. Building a Dynamic Online Learning Community among Adult Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Minjuan; Sierra, Christina; Folger, Terre

    2003-01-01

    Examines the nature of learning communities constructed among a diverse group of adult learners in an international online graduate-level course. Discusses independent work, team tasks, the variety of computer-mediated communication tools used, and implications for promoting adult learners' active participation in online learning and instructional…

  10. Practices and Prospects of Learner Autonomy: Teachers' Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al Asmari, AbdulRahman

    2013-01-01

    Language learning process works through the learners' own reflection on how they learn and it makes learners active in the sense that they learn to analyze their learning strategies. So they start making decisions, e.g., whether to improve them or not, and in which way. Generally, this trait is missing in traditional language teaching process and…

  11. A Learner Corpus-Based Study on Verb Errors of Turkish EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Can, Cem

    2017-01-01

    As learner corpora have presently become readily accessible, it is practicable to examine interlanguage errors and carry out error analysis (EA) on learner-generated texts. The data available in a learner corpus enable researchers to investigate authentic learner errors and their respective frequencies in terms of types and tokens as well as…

  12. Nurse learners--do nurse tutors know them?

    PubMed

    Moule, P

    1995-04-01

    Research was undertaken to establish the social profile of Project 2000 (Diploma) learners, and to determine when, and with whose influence, learners make decisions to enter nursing. The image of nursing held by the group was sought and nurse tutors perceptions of the group were obtained, using a questionnaire method. Results analysed using statistical measures and content analysis showed that the majority of learners came from middle socio-economic backgrounds, generally decided to enter nursing whilst at school, and were influenced by nursing role models and the media. The learners perceptions and expectations of nursing were influenced by their experiences and showed some differences when compared with tutor responses. The findings from this small study imply the need for the dissemination of accurate and appropriate recruitment information to school personnel and career advisors. Effective marketing which addresses influences of the media and nursing role models should be employed, and finally nurse tutors need to be conversant with course content and learner expectations to facilitate effective recruitment policies and curriculum development.

  13. Providing Effective Learner Support for Part-Time Learners. Research Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barker, Philip; Crawley, Jim

    2005-01-01

    Learner support, defined as the strategies which empower learners to establish and fulfill their learning, career and personal potential, continues to be a key issue in current thinking in the post-16 education sector. An earlier project report from the West Country Learning and Skills Research Network (WCLSRN) showed that part-time learners were…

  14. The Planning Illusion: Does Active Planning of a Learning Route Support Learning as Well as Learners Think It Does?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bonestroo, Wilco J.; de Jong, Ton

    2012-01-01

    Is actively planning one's learning route through a learning domain beneficial for learning? Moreover, can learners accurately judge the extent to which planning has been beneficial for them? This study examined the effects of active planning on learning. Participants received a tool in which they created a learning route themselves before…

  15. Learner Personas in CALL

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heift, Trude

    2007-01-01

    In examining the titles of this year's conference presentations, the author noticed quite a few papers that focus on learner-specific issues, for instance, papers that address learning styles, learner needs, personality and learning, learner modeling and, more generally, pedagogical issues that deal with individual learner differences in…

  16. A Comprehensive Review of Learner-Control: The Role of Learner Characteristics.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Michael D.

    This paper reviews findings from over 70 published studies investigating various facets of learner-control in computer-based instruction (CBI). General conclusions about the relative effectiveness of learner-control versus program-control are equivocal. Across these studies, however, are strong suggestions that individual learner differences can…

  17. The effects of data-driven learning activities on EFL learners' writing development.

    PubMed

    Luo, Qinqin

    2016-01-01

    Data-driven learning has been proved as an effective approach in helping learners solve various writing problems such as correcting lexical or grammatical errors, improving the use of collocations and generating ideas in writing, etc. This article reports on an empirical study in which data-driven learning was accomplished with the assistance of the user-friendly BNCweb, and presents the evaluation of the outcome by comparing the effectiveness of BNCweb and a search engine Baidu which is most commonly used as reference resource by Chinese learners of English as a foreign language. The quantitative results about 48 Chinese college students revealed that the experimental group which used BNCweb performed significantly better in the post-test in terms of writing fluency and accuracy, as compared with the control group which used the search engine Baidu. However, no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of writing complexity. The qualitative results about the interview revealed that learners generally showed a positive attitude toward the use of BNCweb but there were still some problems of using corpora in the writing process, thus the combined use of corpora and other types of reference resource was suggested as a possible way to counter the potential barriers for Chinese learners of English.

  18. Maximising Asian ESL Learners' Communicative Oral English via Drama

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gill, Chamkaur

    2016-01-01

    This paper proposes that activities based on a variety of drama-based techniques could be valuable in giving Asian ESL learners opportunities to use communicative spoken English confidently and without restraint during their time in English-language-speaking countries. These learners often get anxious when in situations where they are required to…

  19. Comparing Learner Community Behavior in Multiple Presentations of a Massive Open Online Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallagher, Silvia Elena; Savage, Timothy

    2015-01-01

    Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) can create large scale communities of learners who collaborate, interact and discuss learning materials and activities. MOOCs are often delivered multiple times with similar content to different cohorts of learners. However, research into the differences of learner communication, behavior and expectation between…

  20. Comparing Learner Community Behavior in Multiple Presentations of a Massive Open Online Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallagher, Silvia Elena; Savage, Timothy

    2016-01-01

    Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) can create large scale communities of learners who collaborate, interact and discuss learning materials and activities. MOOCs are often delivered multiple times with similar content to different cohorts of learners. However, research into the differences of learner communication, behavior and expectation between…

  1. Learner Councils in South African Schools: Adult Involvement and Learners' Rights

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hunt, Frances

    2014-01-01

    Each secondary school in South Africa is legally obliged to establish a representative council of learners, a democratically elected, learner-only council. This article looks at how the representative councils of learners are realised in practice in four secondary schools. Three research questions focus on the practice of representative councils…

  2. Focus on Form, Learner Uptake and Subsequent Lexical Gains in Learners' Oral Production

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alcon-Soler, Eva

    2009-01-01

    This descriptive study reports findings on the relationship between focus on form, learner uptake and subsequent lexical gains in learners' oral production. The data for the study consisted in 17 45-minute audio-recorded teacher-led conversations, 204 learners' diaries (17 sessions x 12 learners) reporting what they had learned after each…

  3. Listening to Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ravenhall, Mark

    This booklet looks at the role of learner feedback in the quality improvement process. It suggests how adult and community learning (ACL) providers can adapt and improve their practice to meet the needs of learners in the changed policy context. Chapter 1 explores why providers should listen to learners and finds that listening to learners…

  4. Measuring Self-Directed Learning: A Diagnostic Tool for Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khiat, Henry

    2015-01-01

    Self-directed learning is an important form of adult learning (Caffarella, 1993; Knowles, 1975; Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2005; Merriam, 2001; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). The strategies of self-directed learning allow adult learners to cope better with their studies while fulfilling family, work and other commitments. This study…

  5. Developing "Assessment Capable" Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frey, Nancy; Fisher, Douglas; Hattie, John

    2018-01-01

    For students, the authors argue, the ability to assess their own learning--that is, to actively understand their own progress and trajectory--can have a significant impact on achievement levels. The authors discuss factors associated with "assessment-capable learners" and offer examples of how to foster such characteristics in classrooms.

  6. Effectiveness of a Learner-Directed Model for e-Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Stella; Barker, Trevor; Kumar, Vivekanandan Suresh

    2016-01-01

    It is a hard task to strike a balance between extents of control a learner exercises and the amount of guidance, active or passive, afforded by the learning environment to guide, support, and motivate the learner. Adaptive systems strive to find the right balance in a spectrum that spans between self-control and system-guidance. They also concern…

  7. Exploring the Unknown: The Autonomy of Saudi EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alrabai, Fakieh

    2017-01-01

    This study addresses a new area of research in Saudi Arabia. Using a sample of 630 Saudi students, it investigates learners' level of autonomy and its relationship to academic achievement in English as a foreign language (EFL). Learners' level of autonomy was measured by a survey, whereas their achievement was evaluated using standardized…

  8. Resolving Struggling Learners' Homework Difficulties: Working with Elementary School Learners and Parents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Margolis, Howard

    2005-01-01

    Struggling learners and their parents often are exasperated by homework. They find it difficult, frustrating, and laborious, producing resistance, slipshod work, stress at home, and conflicts between struggling learners, parents, and school personnel. The author (1) identifies several causes of struggling learners' homework difficulties, (2)…

  9. Impacts of the Problem-Based Learning Pedagogy on English Learners' Reading Comprehension, Strategy Use, and Active Learning Attitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Lu-Fang

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated whether an English reading course integrated with the problem-based learning approach could foster foreign language learners' reading comprehension ability, strategy use, and their active learning attitudes. The pedagogy was featured with the small group scaffolding. Two intact English classes in a Taiwanese university were…

  10. From Passive to Active Learners: The "Lived Experience" of Nurses in a Specialist Nephrology Nursing Education Programme

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bridger, Jane

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: This study aims to explore the lived experience of learning for a group of staff nurses in the Middle East, who undertook a post-registration nursing education programme in the speciality of nephrology nursing (the NNP) between 2001 and 2002. The broad-based curriculum seeks to develop the staff nurses into active learners, able to…

  11. Exploring Lifelong Learners Engaged in an Astronomy-Related Massively Open Online Course

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buxner, Sanlyn; Impey, Chris David; Wenger, Matthew; Formanek, Martin; Romine, James M.

    2016-01-01

    Massively open online courses (MOOCs) are becoming increasingly popular ways to reach diverse lifelong learners all over the world. Although MOOCs resemble more formal classes (e.g. videos of content, quizzes, activities), they are often used by informal audiences from home. Recently, MOOCs have become more utilized by universities to conduct outreach as they explore how to use MOOCs to reach new potential learners. Despite the rapid adaption of MOOCs, little is known about individuals who choose to take a MOOC, how they interact with the course materials, and what motivates them to finish the course.We present results of a study of lifelong learners engaged in an astronomy "101" MOOC. Through analysis of registered learners' behaviors as well as self-reported responses to a survey about science, we were able to characterize a subset of the learners engaged in the MOOC during its first offering. Overall, 25363 learners from over 100 countries registered for the MOOC. Of those, 14900 accessed at least one part of the course. Learners were recruited to complete a survey of their knowledge and attitudes towards science. Of the learner group who opened the course, 2889 individuals completed the survey, 2465 of those were able to be linked to their usage of the MOOC through a unique identifier.Learners represented a wide-range of ages, professions, and previous science experience. The best predictors for MOOC completion were engagement in the first activity and first writing assignment and engagement in the online forum. Learners were very interested in science prior to their registration, had higher basic science knowledge that most undergraduate students enrolled in a parallel astronomy course, and used online searches and science sites to get their information about science. As we reach out to a worldwide audience to learners in these massively open online courses, understanding their motivations and behaviors will be essential. This work is helping us understand and

  12. Recasts, Metalinguistic Feedback, and Learners' Perceptions: A Case of Persian EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rassaei, Ehsan; Moinzadeh, Ahmad

    2014-01-01

    In the current study, we present the results of an experiment with 30 Persian EFL learners in which we explored the learners' perceptions of recasts and metalinguistic corrective feedback. The participant learners received either recasts or metalinguistic feedback for their errors during task-based interactions with their interlocutors and then…

  13. Chinese Learners of English See Chinese Words When Reading English Words.

    PubMed

    Ma, Fengyang; Ai, Haiyang

    2018-06-01

    The present study examines when second language (L2) learners read words in the L2, whether the orthography and/or phonology of the translation words in the first language (L1) is activated and whether the patterns would be modulated by the proficiency in the L2. In two experiments, two groups of Chinese learners of English immersed in the L1 environment, one less proficient and the other more proficient in English, performed a translation recognition task. In this task, participants judged whether pairs of words, with an L2 word preceding an L1 word, were translation words or not. The critical conditions compared the performance of learners to reject distractors that were related to the translation word (e.g., , pronounced as /bei 1/) of an L2 word (e.g., cup) in orthography (e.g., , bad in Chinese, pronounced as /huai 4/) or phonology (e.g., , sad in Chinese, pronounced as /bei 1/). Results of Experiment 1 showed less proficient learners were slower and less accurate to reject translation orthography distractors, as compared to unrelated controls, demonstrating a robust translation orthography interference effect. In contrast, their performance was not significantly different when rejecting translation phonology distractors, relative to unrelated controls, showing no translation phonology interference. The same patterns were observed in more proficient learners in Experiment 2. Together, these results suggest that when Chinese learners of English read English words, the orthographic information, but not the phonological information of the Chinese translation words is activated. In addition, this activation is not modulated by L2 proficiency.

  14. Measuring Opportunity to Learn and Academic Language Exposure for English Language Learners in Elementary Science Classrooms. CRESST Report 767

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martinez, Jose Felipe; Bailey, Alison L.; Kerr, Deirdre; Huang, Becky H.; Beauregard, Stacey

    2010-01-01

    The present study piloted a survey-based measure of Opportunity to Learn (OTL) and Academic Language Exposure (ALE) in fourth grade science classrooms that sought to distinguish teacher practices with ELL (English language learner) and non-ELL students. In the survey, participant teachers reported on their instructional practices and the context…

  15. When Are Powerful Learning Environments Effective? The Role of Learner Activities and of Students' Conceptions of Educational Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerjets, Peter H.; Hesse, Friedrich W.

    2004-01-01

    The goal of this chapter is to outline a theoretical and empirical perspective on how learners' conceptions of educational technology might influence their learning activities and thereby determine the power of computer-based learning environments. Starting with an introduction to the concept of powerful learning environments we outline how recent…

  16. The Nature and Level of Learner-Learner Interaction in a Chemistry Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tawfik, Andrew A.; Reeves, Todd D.; Stich, Amy E.; Gill, Anila; Hong, Chenda; McDade, Joseph; Pillutla, Venkata Sai; Zhou, Xiaoshu; Giabbanelli, Philippe J.

    2017-01-01

    Similar to other online courses, massive open online courses (MOOCs) often rely on learner-learner interaction as a mechanism to promote learning. However, little is known at present about learner-learner interaction in these nascent informal learning environments. While some studies have explored MOOC participant perceptions of learner-learner…

  17. Learner and Faculty Support

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guan, Sharon; Stanford, Daniel

    2016-01-01

    This chapter identifies effective ways to address learner and faculty support. It introduces methods for building a successful learner support system by providing sufficient resources and proactively addressing learner motivation. It also addresses effective faculty support through institutional policies, resources, training, and course…

  18. Adult Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brodzinski, Frederick R., Ed.; Shriberg, Arthur, Ed.

    1984-01-01

    Presents nine articles which provide a broad overview of issues and concerns related to the delivery of student services to adult learners. Specific topics include needs and interests of adult learners, marketing, special technology, adult resource centers, adult support groups, and the role of the chief student affairs officer. (JAC)

  19. Recognition of Learner's Personality Traits through Digital Annotations in Distance Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Omheni, Nizar; Kalboussi, Anis; Mazhoud, Omar; Kacem, Ahmed Hadj

    2017-01-01

    Researchers in distance education are interested in observing and modelling of learner's personality profile, and adapting their learning experiences accordingly. When learners read and interact with their reading materials, they do unselfconscious activities like annotation which may be a key feature of their personalities. Annotation activity…

  20. Preparing Learners for e-Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Piskurich, George M., Ed.

    This book presents methods business organizations and educational institutions can use to prepare their learners to become successful e-learners. "Preparing e-Learners for Self- Directed Learning" (Long) discusses self-direction as a prerequisite to e-learning and gives a list of ways to help enhance learners' self-directedness.…

  1. The Impact of Vocabulary Enhancement Activities on Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention among Male and Female EFL Learners in Iran

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharafi-Nejad, Maryam; Raftari, Shohreh; Bijami, Maryam; Khavari, Zahra; Ismail, Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed; Eng, Lin Siew

    2014-01-01

    In general, incidental vocabulary acquisition is represented as the "picking up" of new vocabularies when students are engaged in a variety of reading, listening, speaking, or writing activities. Research has shown when learners read extensively incidental vocabulary acquisition happens. Many EFL students cannot be involved in reading…

  2. The Effect of Self-Assessment on EFL Learners' Self-Efficacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baleghizadeh, Sasan; Masoun, Atieh

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated the continuous influence of self-assessment on EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' self-efficacy. The participants, divided into an experimental and a control group, were 57 Iranian EFL learners in an English-language institute. The participants' self-efficacy was measured through a questionnaire that was the same…

  3. Active Ageing and Universities: Engaging Older Learners. Research Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phillipson, Chris; Ogg, Jim

    2010-01-01

    This report reviews the engagement of older learners (defined as those aged 50 and over) in education and training with particular reference to their involvement in higher education. The ageing of populations was one of the most important trends in the 20th century and will raise major challenges in this century. Appended are: (1) Selected UK…

  4. Motivational Orientations and Second Learner Variables of East Asian Language Learners in the United States.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Jean Sook Ryu

    2003-01-01

    College Students enrolled in East Asian language classes were surveyed about their language learning motivational orientations (MOs). MOs were classified and measured on seven subscales; integrative, instrumental, heritage-related, travel, interest, school-related, and language use. Learners were highly influenced by interest, language use, and…

  5. Phantasmagoria of the Global Learner: Unlikely Global Learners and the Hierarchy of Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doerr, Neriko Musha

    2017-01-01

    Though the concept "global learner" has become a buzzword in education, few have critically analysed it. This article examines three types of "unlikely global learners" who are not usually considered global learners even though they could be, according to a current definition: Maori- English bilingual students in Aotearoa/New…

  6. Promoting Learner Engagement when Working with Adult English Language Learners. CAELA Network Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Susan Finn

    2010-01-01

    Teachers of adults learning English often compete with many demands on learners' attention. Concerns about family, jobs, money, and transportation; fatigue; and negative past experiences with education are some of the factors that might inhibit an adult learner's full engagement in class. In a study of learner engagement in adult literacy…

  7. Guiding Learners into Reengagement through the SCALE Environment: An Empirical Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Verginis, Ilias; Gouli, Evangelia; Gogoulou, Agoritsa; Grigoriadou, Maria

    2011-01-01

    The paper presents the facilities offered by the open learner model maintained in the web-based, adaptive, activity-oriented learning environment SCALE (Supporting Collaboration and Adaptation in a Learning Environment), in order to guide online students who become disengaged and support their reengagement. The open learner model (OLM_SCALE)…

  8. Learner-Information Interaction: A Macro-Level Framework Characterizing Visual Cognitive Tools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sedig, Kamran; Liang, Hai-Ning

    2008-01-01

    Visual cognitive tools (VCTs) are external mental aids that maintain and display visual representations (VRs) of information (i.e., structures, objects, concepts, ideas, and problems). VCTs allow learners to operate upon the VRs to perform epistemic (i.e., reasoning and knowledge-based) activities. In VCTs, the mechanism by which learners operate…

  9. Learner Agency and the Use of Affordances in Language-Exchange Interactions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahn, Tae youn

    2016-01-01

    Language exchange refers to a learning partnership between two learners with different native languages who collaborate to help each other improve their proficiency in the other's language. The purpose of this study is to examine the ways in which language-exchange participants activate learner agency to construct opportunities for learning in…

  10. The Application of Video Clips with Small Group and Individual Activities to Improve Young Learners' Speaking Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muslem, Asnawi; Mustafa, Faisal; Usman, Bustami; Rahman, Aulia

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated whether the application of video clips with small groups or with individual teaching-learning activities improved the speaking skills of young EFL learners the most; accordingly a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test design was done. The instrument used in this study was a test in the form of an oral test or…

  11. Design Considerations for Today's Online Learners: A Study of Personalized, Relationship-Based Social Awareness Information

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heo, Misook

    2009-01-01

    This article examined online learners' preferences in personalized, relationship-based social awareness information sharing in course management systems. Three hundred seventy-seven online learners' willingness to share social awareness information was measured through a national survey. Results indicated that today's online learners are open…

  12. Learners' perspectives on the provision of condoms in South African public schools.

    PubMed

    de Bruin, W E; Panday-Soobrayan, S

    2017-12-01

    A stubborn health challenge for learners in South African public schools concerns sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). In 2015, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) proposed the provision of condoms and SRHR-services to learners in schools. This study aimed to contribute to the finalisation and implementation of DBE's policy by exploring learners' perspectives on the provision of condoms and SRHR-services in schools. Sixteen focus group discussions were conducted with learners (n = 116) from 33 public schools, to assess their attitudes, social influences, and needs and desires regarding condom provision and SRHR-services in schools. The majority of learners did not support condom provision in schools as they feared that it may increase sexual activity. Contrarily, they supported the provision of other SRHR-services as clinics fail to offer youth-friendly services. Learners' sexual behaviour and access to SRHR-services are strongly determined by their social environment, including traditional norms and values, and social-pressure from peers and adults. Learners' most pressing needs and desires to access condoms and SRHR-services in school concerned respect, privacy and confidentiality of such service provision. Implementation of DBE's policy must be preceded by an evidence-informed advocacy campaign to debunk myths about the risk of increased sexual activity, to advocate for why such services are needed, to shift societal norms towards open discussion of adolescent SRHR and to grapple with the juxtaposition of being legally empowered but socially inhibited to protect oneself from HIV, STIs and early pregnancy. Provision of condoms and other SRHR-services in schools must be sensitive to learners' privacy and confidentiality to minimise stigma and discrimination.

  13. Decreasing Cognitive Load for Novice EFL Learners: Effects of Question and Descriptive Advance Organizers in Facilitating EFL Learners' Comprehension of an Animation-Based Content Lesson

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Huifen; Chen, Tsuiping

    2006-01-01

    Cognitive load can be defined as the amount of mental effort that performing a specific task imposes on a learner's cognitive system. It can be measured by the number of new concepts embedded in a learning task. English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, with their limited English proficiency and minimal entry knowledge of a subject matter,…

  14. Learner-Oriented Virtual Learning: A Booster to Primary School Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Singaravelu, G.

    2013-01-01

    The present study enlightens the impact of Learner- Oriented-Virtual Learning in enriching knowledge in Environmental Education at primary level.To achieve the expected competency in Biodiversity, various approaches were adopted in the class room transaction which were not fruitful. Hence the researcher practiced the Learner-Oriented-Virtual…

  15. Naming abilities in low-proficiency second language learners.

    PubMed

    Borodkin, Katy; Faust, Miriam

    2014-01-01

    Difficulties in second language (L2) learning are often associated with recognizable learning difficulties in native language (L1), such as in dyslexia. However, some individuals have low L2 proficiency but intact L1 reading skills. These L2 learners experience frequent tip-of-the-tongue states while naming in L1, which indicates that they have a weakness in retrieval of phonological codes of words. The authors hypothesized that if naming ability is shared across languages, this difficulty would reemerge in L2 naming, which was tested using the tip-of-the-tongue experimental paradigm. Consistent with this hypothesis, low-proficiency L2 learners (n = 15) reported more tip-of-the-tongue states, more frequently mispronounced correctly retrieved words, and benefited less from phonological cuing compared to high-proficiency L2 learners (n = 23). It is notable that low-proficiency L2 learners performed worse than individuals with dyslexia (n = 16) on some of these measures, despite the same level of L2 proficiency. These results indicate that L2 naming difficulties of low-proficiency L2 learners are a manifestation not merely of their low L2 proficiency but rather of a general weakness in phonological word form retrieval, which is shared across languages. More broadly, the study provides further evidence for the existence of a distinct profile of cognitive weaknesses characteristic of the behavioral phenotype of low-proficiency L2 learners.

  16. Fostering learners' interaction with content: A learner-centered mobile device interface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abdous, M.

    2015-12-01

    With the ever-increasing omnipresence of mobile devices in student life, leveraging smart devices to foster students' interaction with course content is critical. Following a learner-centered design iterative approach, we designed a mobile interface that may enable learners to access and interact with online course content efficiently and intuitively. Our design process leveraged recent technologies, such as bootstrap, Google's Material Design, HTML5, and JavaScript to design an intuitive, efficient, and portable mobile interface with a variety of built-in features, including context sensitive bookmarking, searching, progress tracking, captioning, and transcript display. The mobile interface also offers students the ability to ask context-related questions and to complete self-checks as they watch audio/video presentations. Our design process involved ongoing iterative feedback from learners, allowing us to refine and tweak the interface to provide learners with a unified experience across platforms and devices. The innovative combination of technologies built around well-structured and well-designed content seems to provide an effective learning experience to mobile learners. Early feedback indicates a high level of satisfaction with the interface's efficiency, intuitiveness, and robustness from both students and faculty.

  17. Toward a Unified Modeling of Learner's Growth Process and Flow Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Challco, Geiser C.; Andrade, Fernando R. H.; Borges, Simone S.; Bittencourt, Ig I.; Isotani, Seiji

    2016-01-01

    Flow is the affective state in which a learner is so engaged and involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter. In this sense, to help students in the skill development and knowledge acquisition (referred to as learners' growth process) under optimal conditions, the instructional designers should create learning scenarios that favor…

  18. MAI (Multi-Dimensional Activity Based Integrated Approach): A Strategy for Cognitive Development of the Learners at the Elementary Stage

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Basantia, Tapan Kumar; Panda, B. N.; Sahoo, Dukhabandhu

    2012-01-01

    Cognitive development of the learners is the prime task of each and every stage of our school education and its importance especially in elementary state is quite worth mentioning. Present study investigated the effectiveness of a new and innovative strategy (i.e., MAI (multi-dimensional activity based integrated approach)) for the development of…

  19. Explicit and Implicit Feedback, Modified Output, and SLA: Does Explicit and Implicit Feedback Promote Learning and Learner-Learner Interactions?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adams, Rebecca; Nuevo, Ana Maria; Egi, Takako

    2011-01-01

    Research on interactional feedback has typically focused on feedback learners receive from native speakers (i.e., NS-learner contexts). However, for many second language (L2) learners, the majority of their opportunities to engage in interaction occur with other learners (i.e., learner-learner contexts). The literature has suggested that feedback…

  20. Creative, Kinesthetic Activities to Motivate Young Learners to Communicate: A Conversation with Paula Garrett-Rucks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Devall, Kelly Davidson

    2015-01-01

    This article presents a question and answer session in which Paula Garrett-Rucks discusses how creativity and kinesthetics motivate young language learners, the type of characteristics she might consider for different age groups in planning lessons, her views on the goals of world language teachers of young learners, and what a typical lesson…

  1. Learner Centric in M-Learning: Integration of Security, Dependability and Trust

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mahalingam, Sheila; Abdollah, Faizal Mohd; Sahib, Shahrin

    2014-01-01

    The paper focus on learner centric attributes in a m-learning environment encounters the security measurements. In order to build up a systematic threat and countermeasure for protecting the learners as well as providing awareness and satisfaction in utilizing the mobile learning system, a security model need to be overhauled. The brief literature…

  2. How Do Detergents Work? A Qualitative Assay to Measure Amylase Activity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Novo, M. Teresa; Casanoves, Marina; Garcia-Vallvé, Santi; Pujadas, Gerard; Mulero, Miquel; Valls, Cristina

    2016-01-01

    We present a practical activity focusing on two main goals: to give learners the opportunity to experience how the scientific method works and to increase their knowledge about enzymes in everyday situations. The exercise consists of determining the amylase activity of commercial detergents. The methodology is based on a qualitative assay using a…

  3. Model Learner Outcomes for Service Occupations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grote, Audrey M.

    This guide to model learner outcomes for service occupations contains four chapters: (1) education values, learner values, philosophy, mission, and goals; (2) introduction, goals, and eight program-level learner outcomes; (3) general learner outcomes and outcomes for housing occupations, child care occupations, cosmetology and personal services,…

  4. Diagnostic Assessment of Disadvantaged Vocational Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gemmill, Perry R.; Kiss, Mary Ellen

    This learning activity package (LAP) titled Diagnostic Assessment of Disadvantaged Vocational Learners is one of a series designed to develop competencies needed by vocational teachers working with disadvantaged students. Each LAP concentrates on one general vocational teacher competency and contains the following sections: an introduction, a…

  5. Examining the Use of Online Storytelling as a Motivation for Young Learners to Practice Narrative Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beckmann Wells, Patricia

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the use of online storytelling as a motivation for young learners to practice narrative skills, measured through active choice, persistence and mental effort (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). Web analytics was used to track 24 home schooled participants of an online application to teach a 21st…

  6. Can an Interactive Digital Game Help French Learners Improve Their Pronunciation?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cardoso, Walcir; Rueb, Avery; Grimshaw, Jennica

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the effects of the pedagogical use of an interactive mobile digital game, Prêt à Négocier (PàN), on improving learners' pronunciation of French as a Second Language (FSL), using three holistic measures: comprehensibility, fluency, and overall pronunciation. Two groups of FSL learners engaged in different types of game-playing…

  7. L2 (IM)Politeness in the Synchronous Chat of Elementary School Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howard, Craig D.; Do, Jaewoo

    2017-01-01

    Participation in interactive games, especially those in immersive environments, is often employed in learning contexts to stochastically develop L2 learners' language ability. However, typical measures of language ability often do not reflect pragmatic competencies. This study juxtaposes two elementary school ESL learners' language ability, and…

  8. Outcomes of Introducing Early Learners to Interprofessional Competencies in a Classroom Setting.

    PubMed

    Lockeman, Kelly S; Lanning, Sharon K; Dow, Alan W; Zorek, Joseph A; DiazGranados, Deborah; Ivey, Carole K; Soper, Shawne

    2017-01-01

    assessment measures revealed a disconnect between student ratings targeting interprofessional socialization and faculty ratings targeting the products of their teamwork. Although students provided positive feedback to their teammates through peer assessment, and the attitudinal scale showed a small but significant increase in positive attitudes toward IPE, the videos they created did not demonstrate a deep understanding of barriers to interprofessional practice. This large-scale IPE activity for early learners supported progress toward interprofessional socialization, but student learning was inconsistently demonstrated in teamwork products. Course planners should augment self- and peer-reported interprofessional socialization measures with faculty-generated behavioral outcome assessments. Such triangulation produces a more robust data set to inform decisions about curricular revisions and development.

  9. An Instructional Theory for Learner Control: Revisited.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chung, Jaesam; Davies, Ivor K.

    This study develops a prescriptive theory of learner control for educators to support the learner's decision making in the learning process and to manage more efficiently their instructional processes. The theoretical framework of learner control in conjunction with the self-regulation of learning, learner characteristics, and learner motivation…

  10. Hypermedia Design as Learner Scaffolding

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shapiro, Amy M.

    2008-01-01

    A number of available resources offer guidance about hypermedia design strategies, many of which rely on principles of user-centered design. Many recent efforts, however, have focused more on developing "learner-centered" hypermedia. Learner-centered hypermedia is designed to help learners achieve their educational goals, rather than offer mere…

  11. Thai Learners' Linguistic Needs and Language Skills: Implications for Curriculum Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ulla, Mark B.; Winitkun, Duangkamon

    2017-01-01

    Learners' success in language learning always has implications for curriculum and instruction. Thus, it is important to take into account the kinds of learning experiences that these learners will find helpful in learning English as a foreign language; and, highlight them when planning a curriculum and adapting classroom activities. This study,…

  12. The Lifelong Learner.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gross, Ronald

    Designed to provide a general guide and stimuli for lifelong learning, this book examines all the positive factors of independent study. Lifelong learning is defined as self-directed growth free from the traditional schooling procedures. Chapters discuss the following: the lifelong learner; profiles of such learners in action; how to be…

  13. Building Community through Mentoring Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Plante, Jarrad; Truitt, Joshua

    2016-01-01

    The Volunteer UCF Community Connectors and Community Builders Program provides a connection between students and their community. The goal is to develop meaningful service opportunities for UCF students that contribute measurable results and systemic change through capacity building among adult learners. The ongoing, sustainable service experience…

  14. The Influence of Learner Readiness on Student Satisfaction and Academic Achievement in an Online Program at Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kirmizi, Özkan

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to measure the self-perceptions of distance education learners in terms of learner readiness and to determine the predictors of satisfaction and success in distance education. Learner readiness consists of five sub-dimensions: (1) computer/internet self-efficacy, (2) self-directed learning, (3) learner control, (4)…

  15. Doing Your Part To Help Your Child Become SMART (Successful, Motivated, Autonomous, Responsible, Thoughtful): Six Workshops on Parenting SMART Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sattes, Beth; Walsh, Jackie; Hickman, Mickey

    A SMART Learner is a lifelong learner who can adapt to rapid change and who possesses characteristics associated with success in and out of school. These workshop materials to help parents help their children become SMART learners provide: information from current research and best practice; learning activities that will actively engage parents in…

  16. Preservice elementary teachers' development of PCK-readiness about learners' science ideas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smithey, Julie Faye

    Preservice elementary teachers face many daunting challenges as they learn to teach science. Teacher educators try to design methods courses that help them meet these challenges and prepare them for the experiences they will have as student teachers and new teachers. Because they often do not spend much time with students, it is a general assumption that preservice teachers are unable to develop pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) with respect to their learners. Rather than focus on what they are unable to do, however, this dissertation explores how a methods course might foster consideration of learners' science ideas, an important component of PCK. Perhaps preservice teachers can learn to develop PCK-readiness, thus putting them in a good position to develop rich usable PCK once they have more experience in the classroom. This study follows a class of preservice teachers through an elementary science methods course. It describes the trajectories of eight focus preservice teachers' thinking about their learners. It also explores how the entire class made sense of a set of activities designed to foster consideration of learners' ideas. Results indicate that with scaffolds, preservice teachers are able to think in complex ways about their learners' ideas, including considering how to use those ideas in instruction. The trajectories of the preservice teachers varied but generally showed growth in thinking about learners' ideas, although some were focused on or influenced by particular aspects while others made more consistent growth in several areas. Generally, the course activities supported thinking about how to deal with learners' ideas but not the characteristics of those ideas. This study contributes to the field by providing a description of how a range of preservice teachers engaged with the activities in the methods course. In addition, it describes the kind of influence that a methods course might have on preservice teachers' development of a crucial aspect

  17. The Attitudes of Field Dependence Learners for Learner Interface Design (LID) in e-Learning Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sözcü, Ömer Faruk; Ipek, Ismail; Kinay, Hüseyin

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the study is to explore relationships between learners' cognitive styles of field dependence and learner variables in the preference of learner Interface design, attitudes in e-Learning instruction and experience with e-Learning in distance education. Cognitive style has historically referred to a psychological dimension…

  18. Motivating Literacy Learners in Today's World

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fletcher, J., Ed.; Parkhill, F., Ed.; Gillon, G., Ed.

    2010-01-01

    "Motivating Literacy Learners in Today's World" provides insights into a broad spectrum of children's literacy learning. Motivation is the key theme and the authors show how this can be achieved through reading for pleasure; in writing activities at a number of levels; and through oral language development. Chapters include: (1)…

  19. Twelve tips on writing a discussion case that facilitates teaching and engages learners.

    PubMed

    Cohen, David A; Newman, Lori R; Fishman, Laurie N

    2017-02-01

    The authors share twelve practical tips on writing a case that engages learners in active learning and discussion. They first advise that, during the initial preparation of the case, authors should (1) identify the case goals and objectives, and (2) identify the level of the learners. When writing the case, authors should (3) use active and colorful language; (4) use patients' own descriptions rather than medical language; (5) allow the learners to interpret data themselves; (6) allow for natural discovery rather than presenting information chronologically; and (7) be realistic about interruptions in patient care. In addition, case authors should pay attention to methods that enhance discussion by (8) creating barriers to diagnostic or treatment options; (9) promoting questions and discussion over answers; (10) using cues to assure discussion flow and knowledge exploration; and (11) omitting details or inserting informational distractors. Finally, well-crafted questions are essential during the case presentation to engage learners in higher-order thinking; and to (12) stimulate curiosity and reflection.

  20. Comparison of Word Recognition Strategies in EFL Adult Learners: Orthography vs. Phonology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sieh, Yu-cheng

    2016-01-01

    In an attempt to compare how orthography and phonology interact in EFL learners with different reading abilities, online measures were administered in this study to two groups of university learners, indexed by their reading scores on the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). In terms of "accuracy," the less-skilled…

  1. The learner's perspective in GP teaching practices with multi-level learners: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Thomson, Jennifer S; Anderson, Katrina; Haesler, Emily; Barnard, Amanda; Glasgow, Nicholas

    2014-03-19

    Medical students, junior hospital doctors on rotation and general practice (GP) registrars are undertaking their training in clinical general practices in increasing numbers in Australia. Some practices have four levels of learner. This study aimed to explore how multi-level teaching (also called vertical integration of GP education and training) is occurring in clinical general practice and the impact of such teaching on the learner. A qualitative research methodology was used with face-to-face, semi-structured interviews of medical students, junior hospital doctors, GP registrars and GP teachers in eight training practices in the region that taught all levels of learners. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Qualitative analysis was conducted using thematic analysis techniques aided by the use of the software package N-Vivo 9. Primary themes were identified and categorised by the co-investigators. 52 interviews were completed and analysed. Themes were identified relating to both the practice learning environment and teaching methods used.A practice environment where there is a strong teaching culture, enjoyment of learning, and flexible learning methods, as well as learning spaces and organised teaching arrangements, all contribute to positive learning from a learners' perspective.Learners identified a number of innovative teaching methods and viewed them as positive. These included multi-level learner group tutorials in the practice, being taught by a team of teachers, including GP registrars and other health professionals, and access to a supernumerary GP supervisor (also termed "GP consultant teacher"). Other teaching methods that were viewed positively were parallel consulting, informal learning and rural hospital context integrated learning. Vertical integration of GP education and training generally impacted positively on all levels of learner. This research has provided further evidence about the learning culture, structures and teaching

  2. Ten Helpful Ideas for Teaching English to Young Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shin, Joan Kang

    2006-01-01

    This article offers ten suggestions for teaching young learners between the age of 7 and 12 based on language-teaching principles. They include supplementing activities with visuals, realia and movement; involving students in making visuals and realia; moving from activity to activity; teaching in themes; using stories and contexts familiar to…

  3. The Differential Effects of Implicit and Explicit Feedback on Second Language (L2) Learners at Different Proficiency Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Shaofeng

    2009-01-01

    The present study investigates the differential effects of explicit and implicit feedback on L2 learners at different proficiency levels as measured by L2 development and learner uptake, which is defined as the learner's responses following feedback. Twenty-three learners of Chinese as a foreign language at two different levels of proficiency at a…

  4. A Multi-Perspective Investigation into Learners' Interaction in Asynchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Çardak, Çigdem Suzan

    2016-01-01

    This article focusses on graduate level students' interactions during asynchronous CMC activities of an online course about the teaching profession in Turkey. The instructor of the course designed and facilitated a semester-long asynchronous CMC on forum discussions, and investigated the interaction of learners in multiple perspectives: learners'…

  5. Chinese Learners of English See Chinese Words When Reading English Words

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ma, Fengyang; Ai, Haiyang

    2018-01-01

    The present study examines when second language (L2) learners read words in the L2, whether the orthography and/or phonology of the translation words in the first language (L1) is activated and whether the patterns would be modulated by the proficiency in the L2. In two experiments, two groups of Chinese learners of English immersed in the L1…

  6. English Language Learners and English-Only Learners' Response to Direct Vocabulary Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crevecoeur, Yvel C.; Coyne, Michael D.; McCoach, D. Betsy

    2014-01-01

    We examined data from an 18-week kindergarten vocabulary intervention study to determine whether treatment outcomes had differential effects that favored English language learners (ELLs) or English-only learners (EOLs) and whether the relationship between initial English general receptive vocabulary knowledge and response to vocabulary…

  7. Dynamic Learner Profiling and Automatic Learner Classification for Adaptive E-Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Premlatha, K. R.; Dharani, B.; Geetha, T. V.

    2016-01-01

    E-learning allows learners individually to learn "anywhere, anytime" and offers immediate access to specific information. However, learners have different behaviors, learning styles, attitudes, and aptitudes, which affect their learning process, and therefore learning environments need to adapt according to these differences, so as to…

  8. Learners' perceptions of learners regarded as having a homosexual orientation in an independent secondary school environment.

    PubMed

    Mostert, Hendrik P; Myburgh, Chris; Poggenpoel, Marie

    2012-10-04

    In schools today discrimination based on sexual orientation takes place on a regular basis. This form of discrimination leads to aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual, as well as towards those with a homosexual orientation. For more than 15 years South Africa has been a democratic country with laws that protect learners who have a homosexual orientation. Nevertheless, aggression and discrimination towards these learners still occur in schools. Aggression often leads to verbal and physical bullying of the victims by perpetrators. The objectives of this research were to explore and describe Grade 11 learners' experiences of aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual as well as those with a homosexual orientation in an independent secondary school environment. The research design was qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual in nature. The data for this investigation consisted of essays based on a published newspaper photograph, phenomenological group interviews, observations and field notes. Tesch's method of data analysis was used, and an independent coder assisted. Three themes were identified, discussed and supported by a literature control: that learners experience that it is right and acceptable to have a homosexual orientation; that they experience ambivalence towards homosexual orientation of learners; and experienced feelings that it is wrong to have a homosexual orientation. Recommended guidelines are provided to address aggression towards learners perceived to be homosexual and those with a homosexual orientation.

  9. Learner Agency in Language Learning: The Story of a Distance Learner of EFL in China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xiao, Junhong

    2014-01-01

    Learner agency plays a key role in self-regulated learning. Yet, there is a paucity of research into its role in the distance learning context. Using reflective narratives written by a distance learner of English in China, this longitudinal case study aims to investigate the ways in which learner agency mediates the language learning in the…

  10. Toward a Framework for Learner Segmentation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Azarnoush, Bahareh; Bekki, Jennifer M.; Runger, George C.; Bernstein, Bianca L.; Atkinson, Robert K.

    2013-01-01

    Effectively grouping learners in an online environment is a highly useful task. However, datasets used in this task often have large numbers of attributes of disparate types and different scales, which traditional clustering approaches cannot handle effectively. Here, a unique dissimilarity measure based on the random forest, which handles the…

  11. Influence of Speech Anxiety on Oral Communication Skills among ESL/EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khan, Said Muhammad

    2015-01-01

    The realization of speech anxiety among ESL/EFL learners is important. Once understood, these feelings of fear or nervousness may be relieved and the desired objectives of learning the target language may be achieved. The study has attempted to measure the level of anxiety among ESL/EFL learners at HITEC University, Taxila, Pakistan. The current…

  12. On the Awareness of English Polysemous Words by Arabic-Speaking EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alnamer, Sulafah Abdul Salam

    2017-01-01

    This study measures the extent to which Arabic-speaking EFL learners are aware of polysemy in English. It also investigates whether the English proficiency level of Arabic-speaking EFL learners plays a role in their ability to distinguish between the various meanings of English polysemous words, and whether they face problems when they encounter…

  13. A New Approach of an Intelligent E-Learning System Based on Learners' Skill Level and Learners' Success Rate

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mohamed, Hafidi; Lamia, Mahnane

    2015-01-01

    Learners usually meet cognitive overload and disorientation problems when using e-learning system. At present, most of the studies in e-learning either concentrate on the technological aspect or focus on adapting learner's interests or browsing behaviors, while, learner's skill level and learners' success rate is usually neglected. In this paper,…

  14. ECG Rhythm Analysis with Expert and Learner-Generated Schemas in Novice Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blissett, Sarah; Cavalcanti, Rodrigo; Sibbald, Matthew

    2015-01-01

    Although instruction using expert-generated schemas is associated with higher diagnostic performance, implementation is resource intensive. Learner-generated schemas are an alternative, but may be limited by increases in cognitive load. We compared expert- and learner-generated schemas for learning ECG rhythm interpretation on diagnostic accuracy,…

  15. Constructing Proxy Variables to Measure Adult Learners' Time Management Strategies in LMS

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jo, Il-Hyun; Kim, Dongho; Yoon, Meehyun

    2015-01-01

    This study describes the process of constructing proxy variables from recorded log data within a Learning Management System (LMS), which represents adult learners' time management strategies in an online course. Based on previous research, three variables of total login time, login frequency, and regularity of login interval were selected as…

  16. Developmental Differences in Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) Reading Aloud Growth Rates between English-Speaking Students and English Language Learners in Grade 8

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yeo, Seungsoo; Park, Sohee

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the developmental difference in curriculum-based measurement (CBM) reading aloud performance between Grade 8 English-speaking students and English language learners (ELLs) using two theories of reading development: compensatory model and cumulative model. Fifty non-ELLs and 133 ELLs were administered the…

  17. An Activity-Theoretic Study of Agency and Identity in the Study Abroad Experiences of a Lesbian Nontraditional Learner of Korean

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Lucien

    2016-01-01

    This is an activity-theoretic study of agency and identity in the study abroad experiences of a Korean learner named Julie-a 50-year-old lesbian, feminist, and non-traditional student from the USA. During 6-weeks in Seoul, Julie struggled to gain participation and to define her identity in a setting that was hostile towards homosexuality. These…

  18. Using Netbooks to Support Mobile Learners' Investigations across Activities and Places

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gaved, Mark; Collins, Trevor; Mulholland, Paul; Kerawalla, Lucinda; Jones, Ann; Scanlon, Eileen; Littleton, Karen; Blake, Canan; Petrou, Marilena; Clough, Gill; Twiner, Alison

    2010-01-01

    We explore how small-format laptops ("netbooks") have been used within evidence-based investigations undertaken by secondary school students, to what extent these are suitable for effectively supporting learners across different locations and contexts, and their implications for open learning. Over the course of seven trials with 300…

  19. Preparing Teachers To Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners in Urban Schools: The Learner-Centered Framework.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCombs, Barbara L.

    This paper suggests the need for a research-validated framework to help preservice and inservice teachers and higher education faculty understand fundamental learner needs that must be met in any setting and any reform effort. It describes a learner-centered framework based on the research-validated "Learner-Centered Psychological…

  20. Multidimensional Learner Model In Intelligent Learning System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deliyska, B.; Rozeva, A.

    2009-11-01

    The learner model in an intelligent learning system (ILS) has to ensure the personalization (individualization) and the adaptability of e-learning in an online learner-centered environment. ILS is a distributed e-learning system whose modules can be independent and located in different nodes (servers) on the Web. This kind of e-learning is achieved through the resources of the Semantic Web and is designed and developed around a course, group of courses or specialty. An essential part of ILS is learner model database which contains structured data about learner profile and temporal status in the learning process of one or more courses. In the paper a learner model position in ILS is considered and a relational database is designed from learner's domain ontology. Multidimensional modeling agent for the source database is designed and resultant learner data cube is presented. Agent's modules are proposed with corresponding algorithms and procedures. Multidimensional (OLAP) analysis guidelines on the resultant learner module for designing dynamic learning strategy have been highlighted.

  1. Effective instruction for English learners.

    PubMed

    Calderón, Margarita; Slavin, Robert; Sánchez, Marta

    2011-01-01

    The fastest-growing student population in U.S. schools today is children of immigrants, half of whom do not speak English fluently and are thus labeled English learners. Although the federal government requires school districts to provide services to English learners, it offers states no policies to follow in identifying, assessing, placing, or instructing them. Margarita Calderón, Robert Slavin, and Marta Sánchez identify the elements of effective instruction and review a variety of successful program models. During 2007-08, more than 5.3 million English learners made up 10.6 percent of the nation's K-12 public school enrollment. Wide and persistent achievement disparities between these English learners and English-proficient students show clearly, say the authors, that schools must address the language, literacy, and academic needs of English learners more effectively. Researchers have fiercely debated the merits of bilingual and English-only reading instruction. In elementary schools, English learners commonly receive thirty minutes of English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction but attend general education classes for the rest of the day, usually with teachers who are unprepared to teach them. Though English learners have strikingly diverse levels of skills, in high school they are typically lumped together, with one teacher to address their widely varying needs. These in-school factors contribute to the achievement disparities. Based on the studies presented here, Calderón, Slavin, and Sánchez assert that the quality of instruction is what matters most in educating English learners. They highlight comprehensive reform models, as well as individual components of these models: school structures and leadership; language and literacy instruction; integration of language, literacy, and content instruction in secondary schools; cooperative learning; professional development; parent and family support teams; tutoring; and monitoring implementation and outcomes

  2. Improving Learners' Oral Fuency through Computer-Mediated Emotional Intelligence Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abdolrezapour, Parisa

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that emotional intelligence (henceforth, EI) has a significant impact on important life outcomes (e.g., mental and physical health, academic achievement, work performance, and social relationships). This study aimed to see whether there is any relationship between EI and English as a foreign language (EFL) learners'…

  3. The Beliefs of Two Expert EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mercer, Sarah

    2011-01-01

    Much of the research into "expert" language learners has focused largely on their learning strategies or styles. Less attention has been paid to other expert learner characteristics, such as learner beliefs. However, the importance of learners' beliefs in guiding their behaviours and how they interpret their experiences is widely recognised. This…

  4. A Learner Centered Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ballard, Florence N.

    This paper proposes a learner-centered educational system, focusing on aspects that are intrinsically associated with the modern educational system, such as the curriculum, school community, parents, learners, and educational support personnel. It examines: primary level preparation (literacy, numeracy, and basic knowledge; examination and…

  5. Workplace Learning in Malaysia: The Learner's Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muhamad, Mazanah; Idris, Khairuddin

    2005-01-01

    This paper offers a scenario of workplace learning as practiced in Malaysia. Based on survey research, the article describes learner profiles, learning provision and pattern. The analysis shows that Malaysians participate in formal workplace learning as part of their employment activities. Workplace learning in Malaysia is contextual, promoted by…

  6. Facilitative Effects of Learner-Directed Codeswitching: Evidence from Chinese Learners of English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhu, Xiye; Vanek, Norbert

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the interaction between learner-oriented codeswitching (CS) practices and the degree to which intermediate Chinese L2 learners of English engage in classroom interaction. The guiding questions are whether the teacher's CS use facilitates classroom interaction at moderate L2 proficiency, and if so, at which specific stages of…

  7. An Analysis of Spanish L2 Learners' Orientation through Activity Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tocaimaza-Hatch, C. Cecilia

    2015-01-01

    Orientation is defined as the way in which individuals view a task and the means they devise to fulfill it (Appel & Lantolf, 1994; Roebuck, 2000). This study investigated the orientation of twelve learners enrolled in a fourth-semester Spanish L2 university course through the analysis of their interactions during a collaborative…

  8. Predicting Learners Styles Based on Fuzzy Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alian, Marwah; Shaout, Adnan

    2017-01-01

    Learners style is grouped into four types mainly; Visual, auditory, kinesthetic and Read/Write. Each type of learners learns primarily through one of the main receiving senses, visual, listening, or by doing. Learner style has an effect on the learning process and learner's achievement. It is better to select suitable learning tool for the learner…

  9. Chinese English Learners' Strategic Competence.

    PubMed

    Wang, Dianjian; Lai, Hongling; Leslie, Michael

    2015-12-01

    The present study aims to investigate Chinese English learners' ability to use communication strategies (CSs). The subjects are put in a relatively real English referential communication setting and the analyses of the research data show that Chinese English learners, when encountering problems in foreign language (FL) communication, are characterized by the frequent use of substitution, approximation, circumlocution, literal translation, exemplification, word-coinage, repetition, and the infrequent use of cultural-knowledge and paralinguistic CSs. The rare use of paralinguistic strategies is found to be typical of Chinese English learners. The high frequency of literal translation, one first language (L1)-based strategy in our study sample, suggests that FL learners' use of L1-based CSs may depend more upon the developmental stage of their target language than the typology distance between L1 and the target language. The frequency of repetition reveals one fact that the Chinese English learners lack variety and flexibility in their use of CSs. Based on these findings, it was indicated that learners' use of CSs is influenced by a variety of factors, among which the development stage of their interlanguage and their cultural background are identified as two important factors. Some implications are finally suggested for the English foreign language teaching practice in China.

  10. Creating a Global Community of Learners in Nursing and Beyond: Caring Science, Mindful Practice MOOC.

    PubMed

    Sitzman, Kathleen L; Jensen, Andrea; Chan, Sang

    The aim was to examine the usefulness of a massive open online course (MOOC) on caring and mindfulness to a broad international audience that included nurses, allied health professionals, and others. MOOCs in higher education have been evident since 2008. Very few MOOCs on nursing topics have appeared since that time. Exploration was needed regarding how MOOCs could be employed to share nursing knowledge with national and international communities. Two "Caring Science, Mindful Practice" MOOC sessions were examined. Demographics, learner satisfaction, course flow, and perceived usefulness of content were analyzed. Learners from varied backgrounds participated. Higher than expected course activity levels and completion rates suggested effective learner engagement. Excellent course ratings demonstrated that content and delivery methods were effective. Active learners communicated specific plans to apply new knowledge in the future. MOOCs facilitate learning where participants learn about topics of interest in nursing and beyond.

  11. A Latent Transition Analysis of English Learners with Reading Disabilities: Do Measures of Cognition Add to Predictions of Late Emerging Risk Status?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swanson, H. Lee

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this cohort sequential study was to extend previously reported latent transition analyses conducted by Swanson, Kudo, and Guzman-Orth (2016) by determining the role of cognitive measures in identifying English learners (EL) at risk for late emerging reading disabilities (LERD). To this end, EL students (N = 450) in Grades 1, 2, and…

  12. Associations of MC3R polymorphisms with physical activity in South African adolescents.

    PubMed

    Yako, Yandiswa Y; Hassan, Mogamat S; Erasmus, Rajiv T; van der Merwe, Lize; Janse van Rensburg, Susan; Matsha, Tandi Edith

    2013-08-01

    There is evidence demonstrating that the contribution of sedentary behavior and effect of physical activity on metabolic phenotypes is mediated by polymorphisms in genes. The type and frequency of physical activity was assessed by means of structured questionnaires in 1555 South African school learners. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and lipids were measured using standard procedures. The effect of different types and frequency of physical activity on obesity-related traits was assessed in relation to MC3R T6K and V81I genotypes in 430 of the learners. Levels of total cholesterol were significantly lower in learners carrying the MC3R T6K and V81I minor alleles, after adjusting for age, race, gender, and each specific physical activity category. An activity-by-genotype interaction was also detected: learners heterozygous for the V81I polymorphism and performed house chores often had reduced total cholesterol. Though no association was observed between frequency of physical activity and BMI, television viewing was significantly associated with an increase in height, weight and marginally with waist circumference. Our findings suggest that physical activity even in the form of house chores has a positive effect on metabolic traits and this effect is further enhanced in the presence of MC3R polymorphisms.

  13. The Effect of Task-Based Activities on EFL Learners' Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nahavandi, Naemeh

    2011-01-01

    Nowadays, preparing learners to communicate successfully in language classes is of utmost importance. But teachers face a lot of difficulties in teaching English in EFL contexts. One of the major problems is students' unwillingness to take part in reading classes. Reading classes seem boring for students who find no occasion to show their ability…

  14. Online Social Networks as Formal Learning Environments: Learner Experiences and Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Veletsianos, George; Navarrete, Cesar C.

    2012-01-01

    While the potential of social networking sites to contribute to educational endeavors is highlighted by researchers and practitioners alike, empirical evidence on the use of such sites for formal online learning is scant. To fill this gap in the literature, we present a case study of learners' perspectives and experiences in an online course…

  15. The Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners' Self-Regulatory Vocabulary Strategy Use and Their Vocabulary Size

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amirian, Seyed Mohammad Reza; Mallahi, Omid; Zaghi, Damoon

    2015-01-01

    Self-regulation is referred to as learners' self-generated ideas and actions which are systematically directed towards achieving educational goals and require learners' active participation in the learning process (Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994). The present study investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL students' self-regulation capacity…

  16. Learning Science Using AR Book: A Preliminary Study on Visual Needs of Deaf Learners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Megat Mohd. Zainuddin, Norziha; Badioze Zaman, Halimah; Ahmad, Azlina

    Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that is projected to have more significant role in teaching and learning, particularly in visualising abstract concepts in the learning process. AR is a technology is based on visually oriented technique. Thus, it is suitable for deaf learners since they are generally classified as visual learners. Realising the importance of visual learning style for deaf learners in learning Science, this paper reports on a preliminary study of on an ongoing research on problems faced by deaf learners in learning the topic on Microorganisms. Being visual learners, they have problems with current text books that are more text-based that graphic based. In this preliminary study, a qualitative approach using the ethnographic observational technique was used so that interaction with three deaf learners who are participants throughout this study (they are also involved actively in the design and development of the AR Book). An interview with their teacher and doctor were also conducted to identify their learning and medical problems respectively. Preliminary findings have confirmed the need to design and develop a special Augmented Reality Book called AR-Science for Deaf Learners (AR-SiD).

  17. English Learner and Non-English Learner Students with Disabilities: Content Acquisition and Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wanzek, Jeanne; Swanson, Elizabeth; Vaughn, Sharon; Roberts, Greg; Fall, Anna-Mária

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of Promoting Adolescent Comprehension Through Text (PACT), a content knowledge and comprehension treatment for English learner and non--English learner students with disabilities who were provided instruction in general education social studies classrooms. Eighth-grade students with disabilities in the treatment…

  18. Through the Learners' Eyes: Reconceptualizing the Heritage and Non-Heritage Learner of the Less Commonly Taught Languages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Jin Sook

    2005-01-01

    This study investigates how learners of the less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) (i.e., Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Swahili, Yoruba) perceive their identities as heritage or non-heritage language learners. A survey of 530 college-level language learners reveals that heritage and non-heritage…

  19. Emotional Intelligence of Self Regulated Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rathore, Ami

    2018-01-01

    The study was conducted on self regulated learners of senior secondary school. The main objectives of the study were to find out significant dimensions of emotional intelligence held by self regulated learners. To compare the emotional intelligence dimensions of self regulated learners, in terms of subject and gender. To find out the relationship…

  20. Interrelations in the Development of Primary School Learners' Creative Imagination and Creative Activity When Depicting a Portrait in Visual Art Lessons

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Šlahova, Aleksandra; Volonte, Ilze; Cacka, Maris

    2017-01-01

    Creative imagination is a psychic process of creating a new original image, idea or art work based on the acquired knowledge, skills, and abilities as well as on the experience of creative activity. The best of all primary school learners' creative imagination develops at the lessons of visual art, aimed at teaching them to understand what is…

  1. Effects of Community Service-Learning on Heritage Language Learners' Attitudes toward Their Language and Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pascual y Cabo, Diego; Prada, Josh; Lowther Pereira, Kelly

    2017-01-01

    This study examined the effects of participation in a community service-learning experience on Spanish heritage language learners' attitudes toward their heritage language and culture. Quantitative and qualitative data from heritage language learners demonstrated that engagement in community service-learning activities as part of the Spanish…

  2. Language-Related Computer Use: Focus on Young L2 English Learners in Sweden

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sundqvist, Pia; Sylvén, Liss Kerstin

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents findings from a study investigating young English language learners (YELLs) in Sweden in 4th grade (N = 76, aged 10-11). Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire and a one-week language diary. The main purpose was to examine the learners' L2 English language-related activities outside of school in general, and their…

  3. Goals, the Learner, and the Language Arts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ediger, Marlow

    Teachers, principals, and supervisors need to determine the kinds of learners being taught in the school/class setting. Are pupils good by nature, bad, or neutral? Concepts held pertaining to each pupil assist in determining objectives, learning activities, and evaluation techniques. The Puritans believed that individuals were born evil or sinful.…

  4. Enhanced musical rhythmic perception in Turkish early and late learners of German

    PubMed Central

    Roncaglia-Denissen, M. Paula; Schmidt-Kassow, Maren; Heine, Angela; Vuust, Peter; Kotz, Sonja A.

    2013-01-01

    As language rhythm relies partly on general acoustic properties, such as intensity and duration, mastering two languages with distinct rhythmic properties (i.e., stress position) may enhance musical rhythm perception. We investigated whether competence in a second language (L2) with different rhythmic properties than a L1 affects musical rhythm aptitude. Turkish early (TELG) and late learners (TLLG) of German were compared to German late L2 learners of English (GLE) regarding their musical rhythmic aptitude. While Turkish and German present distinct linguistic rhythm and metric properties, German and English are rather similar in this regard. To account for inter-individual differences, we measured participants' short-term and working memory (WM) capacity, melodic aptitude, and time they spent listening to music. Both groups of Turkish L2 learners of German perceived rhythmic variations significantly better than German L2 learners of English. No differences were found between early and late learners' performance. Our findings suggest that mastering two languages with different rhythmic properties enhances musical rhythm perception, providing further evidence of shared cognitive resources between language and music. PMID:24065946

  5. Trend-Setters and Other Types of Lifelong Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    du Bois-Reymond, Manuela

    Learners may be categorized as follows: (1) intrinsically motivated intellectuals; (2) extrinsically motivated mass learners, as represented by modern school youth; (3) extrinsically motivated learners in continuous requalification; and (4) intrinsically motivated "trendsetters." Although intrinsically motivated learners tend to be found…

  6. Are Online Learners Frustrated with Collaborative Learning Experiences?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Capdeferro, Neus; Romero, Margarida

    2012-01-01

    Online education increasingly puts emphasis on collaborative learning methods. Despite the pedagogical advantages of collaborative learning, online learners can perceive collaborative learning activities as frustrating experiences. The purpose of this study was to characterize the feelings of frustration as a negative emotion among online learners…

  7. How Do Chinese ESL Learners Recognize English Words during a Reading Test? A Comparison with Romance-Language-Speaking ESL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Hongli; Suen, Hoi K.

    2015-01-01

    This study examines how Chinese ESL learners recognize English words while responding to a multiple-choice reading test as compared to Romance-language-speaking ESL learners. Four adult Chinese ESL learners and three adult Romance-language-speaking ESL learners participated in a think-aloud study with the Michigan English Language Assessment…

  8. Transformation in Higher Education: A Learner-Needs Segmentation Leads to Improved Learner Satisfaction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rogers, Gayla; Finley, Donna S.; Patterson, Margaret

    2006-01-01

    Segmentation is a marketing concept that can be applied in a post-secondary context. This article delineates the outcome of applying a learner-needs segmentation that resulted in significantly improved learner satisfaction scores in a professional faculty at a large public university. Our original work described the purpose and value of…

  9. Choosing to Interact: Exploring the Relationship between Learner Personality, Attitudes, and Tutorial Dialogue Participation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ezen-Can, Aysu; Boyer, Kristy Elizabeth

    2015-01-01

    The tremendous effectiveness of intelligent tutoring systems is due in large part to their interactivity. However, when learners are free to choose the extent to which they interact with a tutoring system, not all learners do so actively. This paper examines a study with a natural language tutorial dialogue system for computer science, in which…

  10. Affective Factors Influencing Fluent Performance: French Learners' Appraisals of Second Language Speech Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kormos, Judit; Préfontaine, Yvonne

    2017-01-01

    The present mixed-methods study examined the role of learner appraisals of speech tasks in second language (L2) French fluency. Forty adult learners in a Canadian immersion program participated in the study that compared four sources of data: (1) objectively measured utterance fluency in participants' performances of three narrative tasks…

  11. Speaking out on Behalf of the Voiceless Learners: Written Corrective Feedback for English Language Learners in Iran

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nemati, Majid; Alavi, Sayyed Mohammad; Mohebbi, Hassan; Masjedlou, Ali Panahi

    2017-01-01

    To date, L2 researchers have studied the effect of feedback on improving L2 learners' writing from different perspectives. However, there are a lot of aspects which are not comprehensively researched yet, such as L2 learners' and teachers' perceptions and practices about feedback. To close the gap, this study investigates language learners'…

  12. Can Learning a Foreign Language Foster Analytic Thinking?-Evidence from Chinese EFL Learners' Writings.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Jingyang; Ouyang, Jinghui; Liu, Haitao

    2016-01-01

    Language is not only the representation of thinking, but also shapes thinking. Studies on bilinguals suggest that a foreign language plays an important and unconscious role in thinking. In this study, a software-Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count 2007-was used to investigate whether the learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) can foster Chinese high school students' English analytic thinking (EAT) through the analysis of their English writings with our self-built corpus. It was found that: (1) learning English can foster Chinese learners' EAT. Chinese EFL learners' ability of making distinctions, degree of cognitive complexity and degree of thinking activeness have all improved along with the increase of their English proficiency and their age; (2) there exist differences in Chinese EFL learners' EAT and that of English native speakers, i. e. English native speakers are better in the ability of making distinctions and degree of thinking activeness. These findings suggest that the best EFL learners in high schools have gained native-like analytic thinking through six years' English learning and are able to switch their cognitive styles as needed.

  13. Spoken Language Activation Alters Subsequent Sign Language Activation in L2 Learners of American Sign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Joshua T.; Newman, Sharlene D.

    2017-01-01

    A large body of literature has characterized unimodal monolingual and bilingual lexicons and how neighborhood density affects lexical access; however there have been relatively fewer studies that generalize these findings to bimodal (M2) second language (L2) learners of sign languages. The goal of the current study was to investigate parallel…

  14. Educational Needs and Learning Conditions of Adult Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davie, Lynn; And Others

    A review of research in the past ten years documents adult learners' perceptions of their educational needs and their patterns of participation in adult educational activities. The populations studied include older adults, women, immigrants, native Canadians, undereducated adults, and handicapped adults. Each population is studied separately with…

  15. The Effect of Critical Reading Strategies on EFL Learners' Recall and Retention of Collocations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    NematTabrizi, Amir Reza; Saber, Mehrnoush Akhavan

    2016-01-01

    The study was an attempt to measure the effect of critical reading strategies, namely; re-reading, questioning and annotating on recall and retention of collocations by intermediate Iranian EFL learners. To this end, Nelson proficiency test was administered to ninety (n = 90) Iranian EFL learners studying at Zaban Sara language institute in…

  16. Profiling Learners' Achievement Goals when Completing Academic Essays

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ng, Chi-Hung Clarence

    2009-01-01

    This study explored adult learners' goal profiles in relation to the completion of a compulsory academic essay. Based on learners' scores on items assessing mastery, performance-approach, and work-avoidance goals, cluster analyses produced three distinct categories of learners: performance-focused, work-avoidant, and multiple-goal learners. These…

  17. The Implementation of Integrated Natural Science Textbook of Junior High School be Charged on Character-based Shared Models to Improve the Competence of Learners' Knowledge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rahmiwati, S.; Ratnawulan; Yohandri

    2018-04-01

    The process of science learning can take place if there is an attempt to create an active learning atmosphere and can improve the knowledge competence of learners. One of the efforts made is to use learning resources. Textbooks are a learning resource used by learners. This study aims to describe the increase of knowledge’s competence of learners with integrated Natural Science (IPA) textbook of Junior High School (SMP) be charged on character-based shared model. The method used pre-test, post-test design with one group using the class as a research subject. Pre-test was given before treatment to measure student’s initial understanding of the problem, while the post-test was given to measure student’s final understanding.The subject of this research is students of class VII SMP N 13 Padang. Result of gain score is 0,73. The result showed competence student’s knowledge increased significantly and high categorized.

  18. Learner Washback Variability in Standardized Exit Tests

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pan, Yi-Ching

    2014-01-01

    In much of the world, the issue of accountability and measurement of educational outcomes is highly controversial. Exit testing is part of the movement to ascertain what students have learned and hold institutions and teachers to account. However, compared to the large number of teacher washback studies, learner washback research is lacking…

  19. Work-Based Curriculum to Broaden Learners' Participation in Science: Insights for Designers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bopardikar, Anushree; Bernstein, Debra; Drayton, Brian; McKenney, Susan

    2018-05-01

    Around the globe, science education during compulsory schooling is envisioned for all learners regardless of their educational and career aspirations, including learners bound to the workforce upon secondary school completion. Yet, a major barrier in attaining this vision is low learner participation in secondary school science. Because curricula play a major role in shaping enacted learning, this study investigated how designers developed a high school physics curriculum with positive learning outcomes in learners with varied inclinations. Qualitative analysis of documents and semistructured interviews with the designers focused on the curriculum in different stages—from designers' ideas about learning goals to their vision for enactment to the printed materials—and on the design processes that brought them to fruition. This revealed designers' emphases on fostering workplace connections via learning goals and activities, and printed supports. The curriculum supported workplace-inspired, hands-on design-and-build projects, developed to address deeply a limited set of standards aligned learning goals. The curriculum also supported learners' interactions with relevant workplace professionals. To create these features, the designers reviewed other curricula to develop vision and printed supports, tested activities internally to assess content coverage, surveyed states in the USA receiving federal school-to-work grants and reviewed occupational information to choose unit topics and career contexts, and visited actual workplaces to learn about authentic praxis. Based on the worked example, this paper offers guidelines for designing work-based science curriculum products and processes that can serve the work of other designers, as well as recommendations for research serving designers and policymakers.

  20. Survey of factors influencing learner engagement with simulation debriefing among nursing students.

    PubMed

    Roh, Young Sook; Jang, Kie In

    2017-12-01

    Simulation-based education has escalated worldwide, yet few studies have rigorously explored predictors of learner engagement with simulation debriefing. The purpose of this cross-sectional, descriptive survey was to identify factors that determine learner engagement with simulation debriefing among nursing students. A convenience sample of 296 Korean nursing students enrolled in the simulation-based course completed the survey. A total of five instruments were used: (i) Characteristics of Debriefing; (ii) Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare - Student Version; (iii) The Korean version of the Simulation Design Scale; (iv) Communication Skills Scale; and (v) Clinical-Based Stress Scale. Multiple regression analysis was performed using the variables to investigate the influencing factors. The results indicated that influencing factors of learning engagement with simulation debriefing were simulation design, confidentiality, stress, and number of students. Simulation design was the most important factor. Video-assisted debriefing was not a significant factor affecting learner engagement. Educators should organize and conduct debriefing activities while considering these factors to effectively induce learner engagement. Further study is needed to identify the effects of debriefing sessions targeting learners' needs and considering situational factors on learning outcomes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  1. Mediated Vocabulary in Native Speaker-Learner Interactions during an Oral Portfolio Activity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tocaimaza-Hatch, C. Cecilia

    2016-01-01

    This project investigated vocabulary learning from a sociocultural perspective--in particular, the way in which lexical knowledge was mediated in Spanish second language (L2) learners' and native speakers' (NSs') interactions. Nine students who were enrolled in an advanced conversation course completed an oral portfolio assignment consisting of…

  2. Activities for Challenging Gifted Learners by Increasing Complexity in the Common Core

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKeone, Alyssa; Caruso, Lenora; Bettle, Kailyn; Chase, Ashley; Bryson, Bridget; Schneider, Jean S.; Rule, Audrey C.

    2015-01-01

    Gifted learners need opportunities for critical and creative thinking to stretch their minds and imaginations. Strategies for increasing complexity in the four core areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies were addressed using the Common Core and Iowa Core Standards through several methods. Descriptive adjective object…

  3. "Disadvantaged Learners": Who Are We Targeting? Understanding the Targeting of Widening Participation Activity in the United Kingdom Using Geo-Demographic Data from Southwest England

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrison, Neil; Hatt, Sue

    2010-01-01

    This paper analyses the definition of the appropriate target group for widening participation activities advanced by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in their "Targeting Disadvantaged Learners" advice to Aimhigher and higher education providers. This definition includes components of area deprivation and higher education…

  4. Strategies for Improving Learner Metacognition in Health Professional Education

    PubMed Central

    Medina, Melissa S.; Castleberry, Ashley N.

    2017-01-01

    Metacognition is an essential skill in critical thinking and self-regulated, lifelong learning. It is important for learners to have skills in metacognition because they are used to monitor and regulate reasoning, comprehension, and problem-solving, which are fundamental components/outcomes of pharmacy curricula. Instructors can help learners develop metacognitive skills within the classroom and experiential setting by carefully designing learning activities within courses and the curriculum. These skills are developed through intentional questioning, modeling techniques, and reflection. This article discusses key background literature on metacognition and identifies specific methods and strategies to develop learners’ metacognitive skills in both the classroom and experiential settings. PMID:28630519

  5. Phonemic awareness of English second language learners

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Background The PA skills of phonological blending and segmentation and auditory word discrimination relate directly to literacy and may be weak in English second language (EL2) learners. In South Africa, literacy skills have been found to be poor in especially EL2 learners. Objectives The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of vowel perception and production intervention on phonemic awareness (PA) and literacy skills of Setswana first language (L1) learners. These learners are English second language (EL2) learners in Grade 3. Method The present study employed a quasi-experimental, pre-test–post-test design. Results The findings of low–literacy skill levels concurred with previous investigations. However, post-test results of intervention in PA seemed to improve the literacy skills of EL2 learners. Conclusion PA skills should be a crucial part of the literacy curriculum in South Africa. PMID:28155282

  6. Sexual risk behaviours of high school female learners in Mbonge subdivision of rural Cameroon.

    PubMed

    Tarkang, Elvis Enowbeyang

    2015-01-01

    Since female learners in high schools in Cameroon fall within the age group hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, it is assumed that these learners might be exposed to sexual risk behaviours. However, little has been explored on the sexual risk behaviours of high school female learners in Cameroon. This study aimed at examining the sexual risk behaviours of high school female learners in Mbonge subdivision of rural Cameroon. A cross sectional design was adopted, using a self-administered questionnaire for data collection. Respondents were selected through disproportional stratified simple random sampling resulting in 210 female grade 10 to grade 12 learners from three participating high schools in Mbonge subdivision, Cameroon. Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated using SPSS version 20 software program. Majority of the respondents, 54.0% reported being sexually active, of whom only 39.8% used condoms during first sex; 49.5% used condoms during last sex and 29.6% used condoms consistently. Up to 32% of the sexually active respondents had multiple sexual partners in the past one year before the study, while 9.3% had multiple sexual partners during the study period. The mean age of first sex was 15.6 years. Lack of parental control, religion, academic profile, poverty, place of residence and perception of risk of HIV infection were the main factors significantly associated with sexual risk behaviours. The findings indicate that sexual risk behaviours exist among high school female learners in Mbonge, Cameroon. There is need for campaigns and interventions to bring about sexual behaviour change.

  7. Sexual risk behaviours of high school female learners in Mbonge subdivision of rural Cameroon

    PubMed Central

    Tarkang, Elvis Enowbeyang

    2015-01-01

    Introduction Since female learners in high schools in Cameroon fall within the age group hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, it is assumed that these learners might be exposed to sexual risk behaviours. However, little has been explored on the sexual risk behaviours of high school female learners in Cameroon. This study aimed at examining the sexual risk behaviours of high school female learners in Mbonge subdivision of rural Cameroon. Methods A cross sectional design was adopted, using a self-administered questionnaire for data collection. Respondents were selected through disproportional stratified simple random sampling resulting in 210 female grade 10 to grade 12 learners from three participating high schools in Mbonge subdivision, Cameroon. Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated using SPSS version 20 software program. Results Majority of the respondents, 54.0% reported being sexually active, of whom only 39.8% used condoms during first sex; 49.5% used condoms during last sex and 29.6% used condoms consistently. Up to 32% of the sexually active respondents had multiple sexual partners in the past one year before the study, while 9.3% had multiple sexual partners during the study period. The mean age of first sex was 15.6 years. Lack of parental control, religion, academic profile, poverty, place of residence and perception of risk of HIV infection were the main factors significantly associated with sexual risk behaviours. Conclusion The findings indicate that sexual risk behaviours exist among high school female learners in Mbonge, Cameroon. There is need for campaigns and interventions to bring about sexual behaviour change. PMID:26090007

  8. Measuring Teachers and Learners' Perceptions of the Quality of Their Online Learning Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gómez-Rey, Pilar; Barbera, Elena; Fernández-Navarro, Francisco

    2016-01-01

    This article explores the quality of the online learning experience based on the Sloan-C framework and the Online Learning Consortium's (OLC) quality scorecard. The OLC index has been implemented to evaluate quality in online programs from different perspectives. Despite this, the opinions of learners are ignored, and it is built using feedback…

  9. Active Learning Works! Until It Doesn't: Measuring the Effectiveness of Activity-Based Learning Exercises on Information Anxiety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Halpern, Rebecca

    2016-01-01

    This study served to investigate how information literacy instruction can alleviate information anxiety in online learners. While there has been much research to demonstrate that hands-on or activity-based learning is beneficial in reducing library anxiety, those studies have not been conducted for the online classroom. Using a required,…

  10. Improving Learner Handovers in Medical Education.

    PubMed

    Warm, Eric J; Englander, Robert; Pereira, Anne; Barach, Paul

    2017-07-01

    Multiple studies have demonstrated that the information included in the Medical Student Performance Evaluation fails to reliably predict medical students' future performance. This faulty transfer of information can lead to harm when poorly prepared students fail out of residency or, worse, are shuttled through the medical education system without an honest accounting of their performance. Such poor learner handovers likely arise from two root causes: (1) the absence of agreed-on outcomes of training and/or accepted assessments of those outcomes, and (2) the lack of standardized ways to communicate the results of those assessments. To improve the current learner handover situation, an authentic, shared mental model of competency is needed; high-quality tools to assess that competency must be developed and tested; and transparent, reliable, and safe ways to communicate this information must be created.To achieve these goals, the authors propose using a learner handover process modeled after a patient handover process. The CLASS model includes a description of the learner's Competency attainment, a summary of the Learner's performance, an Action list and statement of Situational awareness, and Synthesis by the receiving program. This model also includes coaching oriented towards improvement along the continuum of education and care. Just as studies have evaluated patient handover models using metrics that matter most to patients, studies must evaluate this learner handover model using metrics that matter most to providers, patients, and learners.

  11. Effects of an Online Learning Community on Active and Reflective Learners' Learning Performance and Attitudes in a Face-to-Face Undergraduate Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhan, Zehui; Xu, Fuyin; Ye, Huiwen

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an Online Learning Community (OLC) on active and reflective learners' learning performance and attitude in a face-to-face undergraduate digital design course. 814 freshmen in an introductory digital design course were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: one offered students an OLC,…

  12. Impact of Consciousness-Raising Activities on Young English Language Learners' Grammar Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fatemipour, Hamidreza; Hemmati, Shiva

    2015-01-01

    Grammar Consciousness-Raising (GCR) is an approach to teaching of grammar which learners instead of being taught the given rules, experience language data. The data challenge them to rethink, restructure their existing mental grammar and construct an explicit rule to describe the grammatical feature which the data illustrate (Ellis, 2002). And…

  13. Interaction of African American Learners Online: An Adult Education Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kang, Haijun; Yang, Yang

    2016-01-01

    This study examines how various life factors and personal attributes affect African American adult learners' use of the three types of learning interaction-learner-content, learner-instructor, and learner-learner. Multivariate multiple regression analyses were used. The aggregate effect of life factors on African American adult learners' use of…

  14. Engaging Teachers as Learners: Modeling Professional Development for Adult Literacy Providers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hanna, Mary Barbara; Salzman, James A.; Reynolds, Sharon L.; Fergus, Katherine B.

    2010-01-01

    As professional developers for the Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) system in Ohio, the authors have focused their efforts over the last several years on more actively engaging adult basic education teachers as learners in the professional development they offer. By creating activities that engage teachers in active learning with their adult…

  15. Dimensionality in Language Learners' Personal Epistemologies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nikitina, Larisa; Furuoka, Fumitaka

    2018-01-01

    This study aimed to examine dimensionality in language learners' epistemic beliefs. To achieve this, a survey was conducted using a newly-developed research instrument-"Language Learners' Epistemic Beliefs" (LLEB) questionnaire. Based on a review of literature, it was proposed that language learners' epistemic beliefs would cluster in…

  16. Learner perception of oral and written examinations in an international medical training program

    PubMed Central

    Weiner, Scott G.; Anderson, Philip D.; Irish, Julie; Ciottone, Greg; Pini, Riccardo; Grifoni, Stefano; Rosen, Peter; Ban, Kevin M.

    2010-01-01

    Background There are an increasing number of training programs in emergency medicine involving different countries or cultures. Many examination types, both oral and written, have been validated as useful assessment tools around the world; but learner perception of their use in the setting of cross-cultural training programs has not been described. Aims The goal of this study was to evaluate learner perception of four common examination methods in an international educational curriculum in emergency medicine. Methods Twenty-four physicians in a cross-cultural training program were surveyed to determine learner perception of four different examination methods: structured oral case simulations, multiple-choice tests, semi-structured oral examinations, and essay tests. We also describe techniques used and barriers faced. Results There was a 100% response rate. Learners reported that all testing methods were useful in measuring knowledge and clinical ability and should be used for accreditation and future training programs. They rated oral examinations as significantly more useful than written in measuring clinical abilities (p < 0.01). Compared to the other three types of examinations, learners ranked oral case simulations as the most useful examination method for assessing learners’ fund of knowledge and clinical ability (p < 0.01). Conclusions Physician learners in a cross-cultural, international training program perceive all four written and oral examination methods as useful, but rate structured oral case simulations as the most useful method for assessing fund of knowledge and clinical ability. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12245-009-0147-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. PMID:20414377

  17. Exploring high school learners' perceptions of bullying.

    PubMed

    Blake, Patricia; Louw, Johann

    2010-12-01

    Learners' perceptions of aspects of school life that are sufficiently serious to interfere with their schoolwork were investigated. Bullying was a form of behaviour that was singled out for inclusion and further exploration in the study. Learners from three coeducational Western Cape Education Department schools were surveyed: 414 Grade 8 and 474 Grade 9 learners completed an anonymous, voluntary self-report questionnaire. Factors identified as most frequently interfering with their schoolwork included classmates not listening in class, feeling overwhelmed by schoolwork, teacher absenteeism, and verbal fighting. When asked specifically about bullying, 40% of learners indicated that they frequently experienced bullying at school-although they ranked it as much lower when compared to other potentially problematic school experiences. Furthermore, although the majority of learners indicated they thought teachers considered bullying a problem, few felt there was anything that school staff could do to counteract bullying effectively. These findings suggest that learners perceive bullying as an unavoidable part of school experience and have normalised this aggressive behaviour.

  18. Profiling Perceptual Learning Styles of Chinese as a Second Language Learners in University Settings.

    PubMed

    Sun, Peijian Paul; Teng, Lin Sophie

    2017-12-01

    This study revisited Reid's (1987) perceptual learning style preference questionnaire (PLSPQ) in an attempt to answer whether the PLSPQ fits in the Chinese-as-a-second-language (CSL) context. If not, what are CSL learners' learning styles drawing on the PLSPQ? The PLSPQ was first re-examined through reliability analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with 224 CSL learners. The results showed that Reid's six-factor PLSPQ could not satisfactorily explain the CSL learners' learning styles. Exploratory factor analyses were, therefore, performed to explore the dimensionality of the PLSPQ in the CSL context. A four-factor PLSPQ was successfully constructed including auditory/visual, kinaesthetic/tactile, group, and individual styles. Such a measurement model was cross-validated through CFAs with 118 CSL learners. The study not only lends evidence to the literature that Reid's PLSPQ lacks construct validity, but also provides CSL teachers and learners with insightful and practical guidance concerning learning styles. Implications and limitations of the present study are discussed.

  19. Advising Adult Learners. NACADA Task Force Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Polson, Cheryl; And Others

    A study examined the scope of existing services for adult learners attending universities and colleges. Survey instruments designed to gather data on institutional support for adult learner services, special target groups identified by individual institutions, and institutional barriers confronted by adult learners on campus were mailed to a…

  20. Collaborative Revision in L2 Writing: Learners' Reflections

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Memari Hanjani, Alireza

    2016-01-01

    L2 learning literature has reflected on the problems surrounding the application of teacher written feedback and peer feedback in EFL contexts. To address the disadvantages of these feedback forms, this exploratory case study examined EFL learners' reactions to a collaborative revision activity. Interview data were collected from eight native…

  1. An Analysis of Learners in Introductory Astronomy Massive Open Online Courses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buxner, Sanlyn; Formanek, Martin; Impey, Chris David; Wenger, Matthew

    2016-06-01

    We describe learners enrolled in three iterations of introductory astronomy massive open online courses (MOOCs). These courses are offered through commercial providers and facilitated by an instructional team at the University of Arizona. We describe an ongoing study of those who enroll, engage in, and complete these courses. The course has undergone several revisions, including integrating pedagogical techniques, found to be effective for in-person courses, to increase engagement including peer review, online discussions, and the use of cohorts. In its current version, learners enroll on a continual basis and complete 11 weeks of course content; they watch videos, complete content quizzes, submit writing assignments, complete peer review of other students’ work, and complete online citizen science projects. Tens of thousands of students has signed up for these courses but completion rates are much lower, around 10%. We have collected survey data from over 8,500 of these learners to assess their basic science knowledge, attitudes towards science and technology, motivations for taking the courses, and information about other ways they engage in science related activities. We present information about these learners, including their demographics, motivations, how they use the courses, and what factors lead to increased engagement and completion. Additionally, we present how survey data from these learners compare to 26 years of data we have collected from parallel group of undergraduate non-science major students enrolled in astronomy courses at the University of Arizona. Overall, we find that learners who enroll in the MOOCs have more interest in science and higher basic science knowledge that undergraduates who pay tuition for a similar course. Our work is helping us understand how to better serve learners in MOOCs and bridge more traditional courses with these types of courses.

  2. Faculty Perspectives and Needs in Supporting Adult English Learners: Linking Measurement to Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shore, Jane; Lentini, Jennifer; Molloy, Hillary; Steinberg, Jonathan; Holtzman, Steven

    2015-01-01

    Results from a survey of 227 adult English learner (EL) faculty in community and technical colleges in the United States reveal a clear desire to better serve adult ELs, but a lack of resources specifically designed to do so. Faculty want and need more resources to support the teaching and learning process, in the form of thoughtful assessments,…

  3. The Learner-Centered Curriculum: Design and Implementation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cullen, Roxanne; Harris, Michael; Hill, Reinhold R.

    2012-01-01

    Most of the scholarship on learner-centeredness is focused on individual classroom pedagogy, but this book takes learner-centeredness beyond the classroom and asks academic leaders to consider the broader implications of making their institutions fully learner-centered. Systemic change is needed, and curriculum is at the heart of what higher…

  4. An Open Learner Model for Trainee Pilots

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gakhal, Inderdip; Bull, Susan

    2008-01-01

    This paper investigates the potential for simple open learner models for highly motivated, independent learners, using the example of trainee pilots. In particular we consider whether such users access their learner model to help them identify their current knowledge level, areas of difficulty and specific misconceptions, to help them plan their…

  5. Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual-Spatial Learner.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silverman, Linda Kreger

    This book describes the unique characteristics of visual-spatial learners and teaching techniques designed for this population. Following a quiz to identify visual-spatial learners, chapters address: (1) how visual-spatial learners think and the plight of being non-sequential; (2) the power of the right hemisphere, eye movement patterns, and…

  6. Demonized Learners in Sociocultural Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Joanna

    2016-01-01

    Within the frameworks of Sociocultural theory, particularly Vygotskian sociocultural theory and ZPD, Lave and Wenger's CoP, and contemporary sociocultural theory, this paper seeks to examine the unfavourable scholarly portrayal of learners and their identities based on learners' behaviours, attitudes, and beliefs about the social element of…

  7. Person-Oriented Approaches to Profiling Learners in Technology-Rich Learning Environments for Ecological Learner Modeling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jang, Eunice Eunhee; Lajoie, Susanne P.; Wagner, Maryam; Xu, Zhenhua; Poitras, Eric; Naismith, Laura

    2017-01-01

    Technology-rich learning environments (TREs) provide opportunities for learners to engage in complex interactions involving a multitude of cognitive, metacognitive, and affective states. Understanding learners' distinct learning progressions in TREs demand inquiry approaches that employ well-conceived theoretical accounts of these multiple facets.…

  8. "Can We Do That Again?" Engaging Learners and Developing beyond the "Wow" Factor in Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Astall, Chris; Bruce, Warren

    2010-01-01

    Adding Mentos to an open bottle of Diet Coke can produce a fountain of liquid and froth extending several metres high. This activity can engage a wide audience of learners in a relevant and meaningful way, provide a model for creative science teaching, and help to develop learners' attitudes towards school science as a subject. In this paper, the…

  9. Instructional Practices That Promote Reading Proficiency for English Language Learners in Grades 3 and 5

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smiley-Blanton, Regina

    2010-01-01

    The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that all public school students, including English language learners, achieve proficiency in reading, math, and science by 2014 as measured on state assessments. English language learners enrolled in public schools for the first time receive a 1-year deferment from these state assessments in subjects…

  10. Learner Groups in Massive Open Online Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arora, Skand; Goel, Manav; Sabitha, A. Sai; Mehrotra, Deepti

    2017-01-01

    The open nature of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) attracts a large number of learners with different backgrounds, skills, motivations, and goals. This has brought a need to understand such heterogeneity in populations of MOOC learners. Categorizing these learners based upon their interaction with the course can help address this need and…

  11. Encouraging Learners to Create Language-Learning Materials

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moiseenko, Veronika

    2015-01-01

    Student-produced materials are a powerful tool for promoting learner autonomy. They challenge the traditional paradigm of education because the very concept of learner-produced materials is based on trust in the student-centered learning process; when developing materials, learners do not rely on the teacher to make every decision. In this…

  12. Don’t Assume Deaf Students are Visual Learners

    PubMed Central

    Marschark, Marc; Paivio, Allan; Spencer, Linda J.; Durkin, Andreana; Borgna, Georgianna; Convertino, Carol; Machmer, Elizabeth

    2016-01-01

    In the education of deaf learners, from primary school to postsecondary settings, it frequently is suggested that deaf students are visual learners. That assumption appears to be based on the visual nature of signed languages—used by some but not all deaf individuals—and the fact that with greater hearing losses, deaf students will rely relatively more on vision than audition. However, the questions of whether individuals with hearing loss are more likely to be visual learners than verbal learners or more likely than hearing peers to be visual learners have not been empirically explored. Several recent studies, in fact, have indicated that hearing learners typically perform as well or better than deaf learners on a variety of visual-spatial tasks. The present study used two standardized instruments to examine learning styles among college deaf students who primarily rely on sign language or spoken language and their hearing peers. The visual-verbal dimension was of particular interest. Consistent with recent indirect findings, results indicated that deaf students are no more likely than hearing students to be visual learners and are no stronger in their visual skills and habits than their verbal skills and habits, nor are deaf students’ visual orientations associated with sign language skills. The results clearly have specific implications for the educating of deaf learners. PMID:28344430

  13. Learner Resistance in Metacognition Training? An Exploration of Mismatches between Learner and Teacher Agendas

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jing, Huang

    2006-01-01

    This paper examines how and why learner resistance (to the teacher's goals and expectations) occurred in a metacognition-training (MT) project, which aimed to enhance reflection and autonomy in EFL learning. MT was integrated into a regular EFL reading course for second-year BA TEFL undergraduates at a Chinese university. Learner resistance in the…

  14. High School Learners' Mental Construction during Solving Optimisation Problems in Calculus: A South African Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brijlall, Deonarain; Ndlovu, Zanele

    2013-01-01

    This qualitative case study in a rural school in Umgungundlovu District in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, explored Grade 12 learners' mental constructions of mathematical knowledge during engagement with optimisation problems. Ten Grade 12 learners who do pure Mathemat-ics participated, and data were collected through structured activity sheets and…

  15. Adults as Learners. Increasing Participation and Facilitating Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cross, K. Patricia

    The literature on adult learners is reviewed, and two models of adult learning are developed. Demographic, social, and technological trends that stimulate the increasing demand for learning opportunities are examined, and the views of those who see dangers in new pressures on adults to participate in organized learning activities are considered.…

  16. ESL Teachers' Perceptions about English Learners' Reading Motivation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Protacio, Maria Selena; Jang, Bong Gee

    2016-01-01

    The role of motivation in engaging students in reading activities and thus improving their reading achievement has been widely reported for the past decades. However, despite the increasing numbers of English learners (ELs) in the United States, little is known about how teachers perceive their motivation to read. Focus group methodology was used…

  17. Assistive Software for Disabled Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, Sharon; Baggaley, Jon

    2004-01-01

    Previous reports in this series (#32 and 36) have discussed online software features of value to disabled learners in distance education. The current report evaluates four specific assistive software products with useful features for visually and hearing impaired learners: "ATutor", "ACollab", "Natural Voice", and "Just Vanilla". The evaluative…

  18. Chinese English Learners' Strategic Competence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Dianjian; Lai, Hongling; Leslie, Michael

    2015-01-01

    The present study aims to investigate Chinese English learners' ability to use communication strategies (CSs). The subjects are put in a relatively real English referential communication setting and the analyses of the research data show that Chinese English learners, when encountering problems in foreign language (FL) communication, are…

  19. Higher order thinking skills competencies required by outcomes-based education from learners.

    PubMed

    Chabeli, M M

    2006-08-01

    Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) brought about a significant paradigm shift in the education and training of learners in South Africa. OBE requires a shift from focusing on the teacher input (instruction offerings or syllabuses expressed in terms of content), to focusing on learner outcomes. OBE is moving away from 'transmission' models to constructivistic, learner-centered models that put emphasis on learning as an active process (Nieburh, 1996:30). Teachers act as facilitators and mediators of learning (Norms and Standards, Government Gazette vol 415, no 20844 of 2000). Facilitators are responsible to create the environment that is conducive for learners to construct their own knowledge, skills and values through interaction (Peters, 2000). The first critical cross-field outcome accepted by the South African Qualification Framework (SAQA) is that learners should be able to identify and solve problems by using critical and creative thinking skills. This paper seeks to explore some higher order thinking skills competencies required by OBE from learners such as critical thinking, reflective thinking, creative thinking, dialogic / dialectic thinking, decision making, problem solving and emotional intelligence and their implications in facilitating teaching and learning from the theoretical perspective. The philosophical underpinning of these higher order thinking skills is described to give direction to the study. It is recommended that a study focusing on the assessment of these intellectual concepts be made. The study may be qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods in nature (Creswell 2005).

  20. Content and Language Integrated Learning Next in Asia: Evidence of Learners' Achievement in CLIL Education from a Taiwan Tertiary Degree Programme

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Wenhsien

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates learners' performance in a Taiwanese tertiary content and language integrated learning (CLIL) programme. Learners' English proficiency was measured immediately after entering the programme and before their industrial placement, i.e. after two years. As in previously reported cases, the learners showed a significant…

  1. An Analysis of Lexical Errors of Korean Language Learners: Some American College Learners' Case

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kang, Manjin

    2014-01-01

    There has been a huge amount of research on errors of language learners. However, most of them have focused on syntactic errors and those about lexical errors are not found easily despite the importance of lexical learning for the language learners. The case is even rarer for Korean language. In line with this background, this study was designed…

  2. Not another boring lecture: engaging learners with active learning techniques.

    PubMed

    Wolff, Margaret; Wagner, Mary Jo; Poznanski, Stacey; Schiller, Jocelyn; Santen, Sally

    2015-01-01

    Core content in Emergency Medicine Residency Programs is traditionally covered in didactic sessions, despite evidence suggesting that learners do not retain a significant portion of what is taught during lectures. We describe techniques that medical educators can use when leading teaching sessions to foster engagement and encourage self-directed learning, based on current literature and evidence about learning. When these techniques are incorporated, sessions can be effective in delivering core knowledge, contextualizing content, and explaining difficult concepts, leading to increased learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. The Adult Learner: Some Things We Know

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fogarty, Robin J.; Pete, Brian M.

    2007-01-01

    This book addresses the "warrior" who rises to the challenge of teaching the adult learner. The discussion is designed as a catalyst for dialogue about the adult learner and to uncover the complexities of teaching this rare and riveting species. This book is organized around three interlocking themes: some things we know about the adult learner;…

  4. Learner Control in Hypermedia Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scheiter, Katharina; Gerjets, Peter

    2007-01-01

    Contrary to system-controlled multimedia learning environments, hypermedia systems are characterized by a high level of interactivity. This interactivity is referred to as learner control in the respective literature. For several reasons this learner control is seen as a major advantage of hypermedia for learning and instruction. For instance,…

  5. Connecting Online Learners with Diverse Local Practices: The Design of Effective Common Reference Points for Conversation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Friend Wise, Alyssa; Padmanabhan, Poornima; Duffy, Thomas M.

    2009-01-01

    This mixed-methods study probed the effectiveness of three kinds of objects (video, theory, metaphor) as common reference points for conversations between online learners (student teachers). Individuals' degree of detail-focus was examined as a potentially interacting covariate and the outcome measure was learners' level of tacit knowledge related…

  6. The Influence of Biographical Factors on Adult Learner Self-Directedness in an Open Distance Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Botha, Jo-Anne; Coetzee, Mariette

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between self-directedness (as measured by the Adult Learner Self-Directedness Scale) and biographical factors such as age, race, and gender of adult learners enrolled at a South African open distance learning (ODL) higher education institution. Correlational and inferential statistical analyses were used. A…

  7. Shared Pedagogical Understandings: Schoolwide Inclusion Practices Supporting Learner Needs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abawi, Lindy; Oliver, Mark

    2013-01-01

    Educational perspectives that recommend inclusion of children with special needs into mainstream classrooms remain a controversial topic. The Melbourne Declaration declares that all young Australians should be supported to become successful learners; confident and creative individuals; and active and informed citizens. So the question remains how…

  8. High Ability and Learner Characteristics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hindal, Huda; Reid, Norman; Whitehead, Rex

    2013-01-01

    The outstandingly able learner has been conceptualised, in terms of test and examination performance, as the learner showing superior academic performance which is markedly better than that of peers and in ways regarded as of value by wider society. In Kuwait, such superior examination performance leads to a classification regarded as being…

  9. Learner Beliefs about Sociolinguistic Competence: A Qualitative Case Study of Four University Second Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Jinsuk; Rehner, Katherine

    2015-01-01

    This article explores the beliefs about second language (L2) sociolinguistic competence of four university-level advanced L2 learners. It places particular emphasis on 1) how these university learners conceptualized L2 sociolinguistic competence; 2) how they thought about two different language learning contexts (viz., the L2 classroom versus…

  10. Learners' Satisfaction Level with Online Student Portal as a Support System in an Open and Distance eLearning Environment (ODeL)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Secreto, Percia V.; Pamulaklakin, Rhodora L.

    2015-01-01

    Learner support in an open, distance and online learning is defined as "all activities and elements in education that respond to a known learner or group of learners, and which are designed to assist in the cognitive, affective, and systemic realms of the learning process" (Brindley, et. al, 2004). Teaching and tutoring, advising and…

  11. An Analysis of Learners' Intentions toward Virtual Reality Learning Based on Constructivist and Technology Acceptance Approaches

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Hsiu-Mei; Liaw, Shu-Sheng

    2018-01-01

    Within a constructivist paradigm, the virtual reality technology focuses on the learner's actively interactive learning processes and attempts to reduce the gap between the learner's knowledge and a real-life experience. Recently, virtual reality technologies have been developed for a wide range of applications in education, but further research…

  12. Sensitizing ESL Learners to Genre

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swami, Jasti Appa

    2008-01-01

    This article evaluates the efficacy of explicit genre-based instruction by sensitizing the ESL learners to the concept of genre. The main questions addressed are: How does sensitizing ESL learners to the rhetorical move structure of a genre, the communicative purposes of these moves, and linguistic features that realize these moves help them to…

  13. Hearing "Learner Voice" in Health Promoting Schools through Participatory Action Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sonn, Brenda; Santens, Anneleen; Ravau, Sarah

    2011-01-01

    The participation of learners in school life and learner voice is important for learner development and the implementation of school interventions. In this paper we argue that learner participation and learner voice in school-community interventions contribute to learners' development of a critical consciousness and to their understanding of…

  14. Motivation and Interlanguage Pragmatics in Iranian English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khorshidi, Hassan Rasouli; Nimchahi, Abdolreza Bagherzadeh

    2013-01-01

    It is generally believed that interlanguage pragmatics and motivation play important roles in learning. Motivation is important because it determines the extent of the learner's active involvement and attitude toward learning. The major purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of integrative and instrumental motivation on the…

  15. L1 Influence on the Use of English Deictic Motion Verbs for Chinese EFL Learners and French EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ziyan, Xu

    2013-01-01

    Based on Sloin's (1996b) thinking for speaking approach, the study examines L1 influence on the use of English deictic Motion verbs for Chinese EFL learners and French EFL learners. The aim is to find out whether language learners will be influenced by the particular Thinking for Speaking acquired in L1 in the process of L2 acquisition. It is…

  16. Learner-Centred Teaching Contributes in Promising Results in Improving Learner Understanding and Motivation: A Case Study at Malaysia Tertiary Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yap, Wei-Li; Neo, Mai; Neo, Tse-Kian

    2016-01-01

    In Malaysia, traditional teaching is still a common approach among many lecturers. There have been many studies that have reported its limitations and many lecturers have started to adopt a more learner-centred teaching approach to promote better learner understanding and learner motivation. Throughout this effort, it is noticed there are…

  17. Errors in Inflectional Morphemes as an Index of Linguistic Competence of Korean Heritage Language Learners and American Learners of Korean

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, So-Young

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the linguistic competence in Korean of Korean heritage language learners (HLLs), compared to English-speaking non-heritage language learners (NHLLs) of Korean. It is unclear and controversial as to whether heritage languages learners are exposed to early but are interrupted manifest as L1 competence or share more…

  18. Exploring Work-Based Foundation Skills in the ABLE Classroom. Instructional Activities and Resources for the Adult Learner [and] Supplemental Handouts for Modules. Version 1.2.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carman, Priscilla; Van Horn, Barbara; Hamilton, KayLynn; Williams, Mary Kay

    This guide contains activities and resources to help adult learners develop the work-based foundation skills and knowledge areas included on the Foundation Skills Framework wheel (Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy 2000). Its four sections (basic employability skills, basic workplace knowledge, basic workplace skills, and lifelong learning…

  19. Learner Agency within the Design of an EAP Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seppälä, Riina

    2015-01-01

    To meet the demands of today's society and working life, higher education should support the development of learner agency. How the agency of individual learners emerges in university courses and what kind of agency empowers the learners to face new challenges should be considered. In this article, the focus is on learner agency enabled and…

  20. Heutagogic approach to developing capable learners.

    PubMed

    Abraham, Reem Rachel; Komattil, Ramnarayan

    2017-03-01

    The twenty-first century higher education sector has come a long way after undergoing continuous metamorphosis from pedagogy to andragogy. Most of the educational approaches adopted in medical schools are directed towards developing more of competencies and less of capability, which is the ability to use competencies in novel contexts. Competencies alone are not sufficient to thrive in the present day work place as medical profession subsumes complex contexts; it is in this scenario that, medical educators are entrusted with the challenging task of developing "capable learners". In the heutagogical approach, learners are required to decide upon what to learn and how to learn and therefore the control of the learning process is on the learner and the role of the teacher becomes that of a navigator. This paper highlights the current higher educational practices based on heutagogy, considers its application in the context of Problem-based learning and also discusses a few challenges in incorporating this approach in the existing undergraduate medical curriculum. The article proposes the use of social media in order to support learner autonomy, which in turn improves learners' cognitive engagement with content and tasks, thereby assisting the development of attributes associated with capability.

  1. Delivering Instruction to Adult Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cantor, Jeffrey A.

    This guide to working with adult learners approaches the job of the instructor from a threefold perspective that focuses on the role of the instructor as a professional, the needs of the learner, and the instructional process and related technology. Chapter 1 examines the role of an effective instructor as a behavior model and change agent.…

  2. Profiling Mobile English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Byrne, Jason; Diem, Robert

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to use an app-embedded survey to profile language learner demographics. A total of 3,759 EFL language learners from primarily eight L1 backgrounds (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Thai) responded to the survey embedded within a popular English grammar app. This app has over 500,000…

  3. Parental perceptions of the learner driver log book system in two Australian states.

    PubMed

    Bates, Lyndel; Watson, Barry; King, Mark Johann

    2014-01-01

    Though many jurisdictions internationally now require learner drivers to complete a specified number of hours of supervised driving practice before being able to drive unaccompanied, very few require learner drivers to complete a log book to record this practice and then present it to the licensing authority. Learner drivers in most Australian jurisdictions must complete a log book that records their practice, thereby confirming to the licensing authority that they have met the mandated hours of practice requirement. These log books facilitate the management and enforcement of minimum supervised hours of driving requirements. Parents of learner drivers in 2 Australian states, Queensland and New South Wales, completed an online survey assessing a range of factors, including their perceptions of the accuracy of their child's learner log book and the effectiveness of the log book system. The study indicates that the large majority of parents believe that their child's learner log book is accurate. However, they generally report that the log book system is only moderately effective as a system to measure the number of hours of supervised practice a learner driver has completed. The results of this study suggest the presence of a paradox, with many parents possibly believing that others are not as diligent in the use of log books as they are or that the system is too open to misuse. Given that many parents report that their child's log book is accurate, this study has important implications for the development and ongoing monitoring of hours of practice requirements in graduated driver licensing systems.

  4. Conceptualizing Language Learners: Socioinstitutional Mechanisms and Their Consequences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kibler, Amanda K.; Valdés, Guadalupe

    2016-01-01

    Through examination of one recently manufactured term for language learners (Long-term English Learners) and review of a century of "MLJ" articles, we examine varying "socioinstitutional" conceptualizations of second/foreign/heritage language learners as shaped by educational institutions and related stakeholders over time,…

  5. Creating Space for Learner Autonomy: An Interactional Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Szczepek Reed, Beatrice

    2017-01-01

    This paper is concerned with teachers' and learners' collaborative pursuit of learner autonomy in a highly asymmetrical education setting, the music masterclass. Evaluations are identified as a potential opportunity for the mutual construction of learner autonomy. The analysis shows that, while teaching professionals mitigate interactional…

  6. FipsOrtho: A Spell Checker for Learners of French

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    L'Haire, Sebastien

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents FipsOrtho, a spell checker targeted at learners of French, and a corpus of learners' errors which has been gathered to test the system and to get a sample of specific language learners' errors. Spell checkers are a standard feature of many software products, however they are not designed for specific language learners' errors.…

  7. Older Lifelong Learners' Motivations for Participating in Formal Volunteer Activities in Urban Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yamashita, Takashi; López, Erick B.; Soligo, Marta; Keene, Jennifer R.

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, volunteering has received increasing attention as a unique form of learning, one which may complement lifelong learning programs for older adults. This study examined the underlying volunteer motivations as well as formal volunteer behaviors among older adult lifelong learners. Data from 277 members of the Osher Lifelong Learning…

  8. The adult learner: is it necessary to understand for teaching in anesthesiology.

    PubMed

    Gaiser, Robert R

    2010-01-01

    Educators came to realize what internists and pediatricians have known all along: adults and children are not the same. They differ in physiology, pharmacology, and learning. To approach teaching of the adult learner as one would a child is likely to fail. To effectively design and execute a curriculum for the adult, the teacher must consider the role of personal experience, learning preparedness, learning orientation, and motivation to learn. Although these principles may seem novel, they represent good judgment when teaching the adult. The key factor for the educator is to determine the needs of the adult (which is typically based upon personal experience) and then design and implement a curriculum based upon these needs. This approach is backward from the approach used in children in which the curriculum is established without any input from the learner. One other means to improve success is to foster personal reflection upon the teaching by the adult learner. This reflection may develop from carefully phrased questions, from activities in applying the knowledge, or from within the learner. By helping the learner to reflect, the true goals of the teaching may be achieved and the teacher is rewarded by having a more knowledgeable provider, who is able to use and to question the new knowledge. The cycle of adult learning is completed but also starts again.

  9. Actors and Avatars: Why Learners Prefer Digital Agents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Donovan, Paul

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare learner experiences of recorded instructional videos (DVDs) with Machinima. Design/methodology/approach: In this exploratory study, sets of learning sequences in management skills training were delivered to 32 learners using both methods, and learner reactions were gathered using post-event…

  10. Online English Language Learners' Perceptions of Portfolio Assessment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baturay, Meltem Huri

    2015-01-01

    Portfolio assessment has been implemented in many core disciplines for quality assurance and consistent assessment of learner outcomes. For English language learning, for which varying proficiency levels of learners exist, portfolios are suggested to assess individual learners' progress. The current study was carried out in an online English…

  11. An Interview Study of Learner Motivation and Learner Involvement in Mandatory College-Level Academic Writing Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vanniarajan, Swathi M.

    2011-01-01

    Scholarship in applied linguistics has not sufficiently addressed learner motivation in mandatory writing classes in postsecondary settings. The data collected through short interviews from 20 students enrolled in a mandatory academic writing program at the junior/senior level in a California State University indicated that learner motivation in…

  12. Fostering Learner Autonomy: Power and Reciprocity in the Relationship between Language Learner and Language Learning Adviser

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ciekanski, Maud

    2007-01-01

    Developments in lifelong learning and learner autonomy have given fresh impetus to the debate about learning without formal teaching. This paper concerns the educational relationship between learner and adviser in self-directed schemes. Two French self-directed language learning set-ups were observed, one situated at university level (Systeme…

  13. Prospective Teachers' Metaphorical Conceptualizations of Learner

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saban, Ahmet

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the metaphorical images that prospective teachers in Turkey formulated to describe learners. Participants (N = 2847) completed the prompt "A student is like ... because ..." to indicate their conceptualizations of learner. Data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Altogether 98 well-articulated…

  14. The Cerebral Basis for Language Learner Strategies: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Takeuchi, Osamu; Ikeda, Maiko; Mizumoto, Atsushi

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we validate Macaro's (2006) model of strategy use among language learners by assessing the amount of neural activity around the prefrontal cortex, the supposed locus of working memory (WM). We also examine whether WM activation during first language (L1) strategy deployment is lower than WM activation during second language (L2)…

  15. Oral Dialogue Journals and Iranian EFL Learners' Pronunciation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beh-Afarin, Seyed Reza; Moradkhan, Dennis; Monfared, Amirhossein

    2009-01-01

    This study focused on the impact of oral dialogue journals on Iranian EFL learners' pronunciation. Three classes of intermediate learners, after being reassured of their homogeneity, were randomly assigned to treatment (14 students), control (9 students), and placebo (10 students) groups. Learners in the treatment group had to respond to the…

  16. The Adult Learner in the Online Writing Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoy, Cheryl A.

    2010-01-01

    Because a gap in scholarly literature exists concerning the adult learner in the online writing course, I researched the effects of the online learning environment on adult learners in an online intermediate writing course offered through the Adult Learner Services Program at Bowling Green State University. This dissertation argues that online…

  17. Advancing Learner Autonomy in TEFL via Collaborative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jacobs, George M.; Shan, Tan Hui

    2015-01-01

    The present paper begins by situating learner autonomy and collaborative learning as part of a larger paradigm shift towards student-centred learning. Next are brief discussions of learner autonomy and how learner autonomy links with collaborative learning. In the main part of the paper, four central principles of collaborative learning are…

  18. Developing Learners' Second Language Communicative Competence through Active Learning: Clickers or Communicative Approach?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Agbatogun, Alaba Olaoluwakotansibe

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of clickers, the communicative approach and the lecture method on the communicative competence development of learners who were taught English a second language (ESL). Ninety nine pupils from three primary schools participated in the study. Quasi-experimental non-randomised pre-test posttest…

  19. Investigating ESL Learners' Lexical Collocations: The Acquisition of Verb + Noun Collocations by Japanese Learners of English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miyakoshi, Tomoko

    2009-01-01

    Although it is widely acknowledged that collocations play an important part in second language learning, especially at intermediate-advanced levels, learners' difficulties with collocations have not been investigated in much detail so far. The present study examines ESL learners' use of verb-noun collocations, such as "take notes," "place an…

  20. A Dynamic Analysis of Why Learners Develop a Preference for Autonomous Learners in Computer-Mediated Communication

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rienties, Bart; Tempelaar, Dirk; Giesbers, Bas; Segers, Mien; Gijselaers, Wim

    2014-01-01

    A large number of studies in CMC have assessed how social interaction, processes and learning outcomes are intertwined. The present research explores how the degree of self-determination of learners, that is the motivational orientation of a learner, influences the communication and interaction patterns in an online Problem Based Learning…

  1. The Effect of Flipped Model of Instruction on EFL Learners' Reading Comprehension: Learners' Attitudes in Focus

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karimi, Mehrnoosh; Hamzavi, Raouf

    2017-01-01

    The present study aimed at investigating the effect of flipped model of instruction on EFL learners' reading comprehension ability. Moreover, this study aimed at identifying EFL students' attitudes toward flipped model of instruction. To this end, 60 EFL learners studying at an accredited private language institute in Isfahan were first…

  2. The Good Language Learner: Another Look.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reiss, Mary-Ann

    1985-01-01

    A study of the learning techniques and strategies of successful learners revealed these strategies: monitoring which often involves silent speaking, attending to form and meaning, guessing, practicing, motivation to communicate, and mnemonics. It also revealed a high tolerance for ambiguity in successful learners. (MSE)

  3. Eye Movements of Online Chinese Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stickler, Ursula; Shi, Lijing

    2015-01-01

    Although online tutorials are becoming commonplace for language teaching, very few studies to date have provided insights into learners' behaviours in synchronous online interactions from their own perspective. This study employs eyetracking technology to investigate ten learners' attention during synchronous online language learning in a…

  4. Online Games for Young Learners' Foreign Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Butler, Yuko Goto; Someya, Yuumi; Fukuhara, Eiji

    2014-01-01

    Young learners' use of instructional games in foreign language learning is not yet well understood. Using games that were part of the learning tools for an online assessment, Jido-Eiken, a standardized English proficiency test for young learners in Japan, we examined young learners' game-playing behaviours and the relationship of these behaviours…

  5. Gender agreement violations modulate beta oscillatory dynamics during sentence comprehension: A comparison of second language learners and native speakers.

    PubMed

    Lewis, Ashley Glen; Lemhӧfer, Kristin; Schoffelen, Jan-Mathijs; Schriefers, Herbert

    2016-08-01

    For native speakers, many studies suggest a link between oscillatory neural activity in the beta frequency range and syntactic processing. For late second language (L2) learners on the other hand, the extent to which the neural architecture supporting syntactic processing is similar to or different from that of native speakers is still unclear. In a series of four experiments, we used electroencephalography to investigate the link between beta oscillatory activity and the processing of grammatical gender agreement in Dutch determiner-noun pairs, for Dutch native speakers, and for German L2 learners of Dutch. In Experiment 1 we show that for native speakers, grammatical gender agreement violations are yet another among many syntactic factors that modulate beta oscillatory activity during sentence comprehension. Beta power is higher for grammatically acceptable target words than for those that mismatch in grammatical gender with their preceding determiner. In Experiment 2 we observed no such beta modulations for L2 learners, irrespective of whether trials were sorted according to objective or subjective syntactic correctness. Experiment 3 ruled out that the absence of a beta effect for the L2 learners in Experiment 2 was due to repetition of the target nouns in objectively correct and incorrect determiner-noun pairs. Finally, Experiment 4 showed that when L2 learners are required to explicitly focus on grammatical information, they show modulations of beta oscillatory activity, comparable to those of native speakers, but only when trials are sorted according to participants' idiosyncratic lexical representations of the grammatical gender of target nouns. Together, these findings suggest that beta power in L2 learners is sensitive to violations of grammatical gender agreement, but only when the importance of grammatical information is highlighted, and only when participants' subjective lexical representations are taken into account. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All

  6. Effect of a performance improvement CME activity on management of patients with diabetes.

    PubMed

    Bird, Gary C; Marian, Kathy; Bagley, Bruce

    2013-01-01

    Primary care in the United States faces unprecedented challenges from an aging population and the accompanying prevalence of chronic disease. In response, continuing medical education (CME) initiatives have begun to adopt the principles of performance improvement (PI) into their design, although currently there is a dearth of evidence from national initiatives supporting the effectiveness of this methodology. The specific aim of this study was to demonstrate the value of a national PI-CME activity to improve the performance of physicians treating patients with diabetes. We analyzed data from the American Academy of Family Physicians' METRIC® PI-CME activity in a cohort of family physician learners. The study utilized the 3-stage design standard approved for PI-CME. Baseline and follow-up performance data across a range of clinical and systems-based measures were compared in aggregate. Data were assessed for 509 learners who completed the activity. Statistically significant changes occurred both for self-assessment of a range of practice aspects and for diabetes care measures. Learners recognized that the organization of their practices had improved, and mechanisms were in place for better staff feedback, as well as aspects of patient self-management. Based on the clinical data obtained from 11 538 patient charts, 6 out of 8 diabetes measures were significantly improved. The activity appears to have had a positive, measurable impact on the medical practice of learners and suggests that, when appropriately designed and executed, PI-CME on a national scale can be a useful vehicle to influence performance change in physicians and to inform future CME activities. Copyright © 2013 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

  7. English Language Learners' Epistemic Beliefs about Vocabulary Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ziegler, Nathan E.

    2014-01-01

    There is a growing body of work that examines the epistemic beliefs of learners and the role those beliefs play in the development of their critical thinking and other cognitive processes (Hofer, 2001). This study examines the epistemic beliefs of English language learners, a population of learners that is relatively understudied on the topic of…

  8. Adult Language Learners: Context and Innovation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Ann F. V., Ed.; Strong, Gregory, Ed.

    2009-01-01

    "Adult Language Learners: Context and Innovation" presents instructional practices that are particularly successful with adults. Adult language learners are goal oriented and direct their learning to fulfill particular needs or demands: to advance their studies, to progress up the career ladder, to follow business opportunities, to pass…

  9. Integrating Scaffolding Strategies into Technology-Enhanced Assessments of English Learners: Task Types and Measurement Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolf, Mikyung Kim; Guzman-Orth, Danielle; Lopez, Alexis; Castellano, Katherine; Himelfarb, Igor; Tsutagawa, Fred S.

    2016-01-01

    This article investigates ways to improve the assessment of English learner students' English language proficiency given the current movement of creating next-generation English language proficiency assessments in the Common Core era. In particular, this article discusses the integration of scaffolding strategies, which are prevalently utilized as…

  10. The Effect of Teaching Memory Strategies on Iranian EFL Learner's Vocabulary Retention in Terms of Learners' Multiple Intelligences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abbassi, Adele; Hassaskhah, Jaleh; Tahriri, Abdorreza

    2018-01-01

    This study targeted to explore the effect of memory strategy on EFL learners' vocabulary retention with a consideration of learners' multiple intelligences. In this study, the memory strategy consisted of three parts of grouping, acronym and images. The participants of this study were 80 male and female EFL learners of intermediate level who…

  11. Long-Term Learning, Achievement Tests, and Learner Centered Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salinas, Moises F.; Kane-Johnson, Sarah E.; Vasil-Miller, Melissa A.

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of achievement tests to measure long-term learning at the higher education level in traditional verses learner-centered classrooms. Volunteer instructors who use comprehensive achievement tests as an important component of their grading system were asked to complete an instrument that…

  12. Integrating Learning Styles and Personality Traits into an Affective Model to Support Learner's Learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leontidis, Makis; Halatsis, Constantin

    The aim of this paper is to present a model in order to integrate the learning style and the personality traits of a learner into an enhanced Affective Style which is stored in the learner’s model. This model which can deal with the cognitive abilities as well as the affective preferences of the learner is called Learner Affective Model (LAM). The LAM is used to retain learner’s knowledge and activities during his interaction with a Web-based learning environment and also to provide him with the appropriate pedagogical guidance. The proposed model makes use of an ontological approach in combination with the Bayesian Network model and contributes to the efficient management of the LAM in an Affective Module.

  13. Enhancing EFL Learners' Writing Skill via Journal Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tuan, Luu Trong

    2010-01-01

    "Frequently accepted as being the last language skill to be acquired for native speakers of the language as well as for foreign/second language learners" (Hamp-Lyons and Heasly, 2006: 2), English writing, for a number of EFL learners, appears to be challenging. This paper sought to investigate if learners can grow out of the writing…

  14. Working Together Online to Enhance Learner Autonomy: Analysis of Learners' Perceptions of Their Online Learning Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eneau, Jerome; Develotte, Christine

    2012-01-01

    This study concerns the development of autonomy in adult learners working on an online learning platform as part of a professional master's degree programme in "French as a Foreign Language". Our goal was to identify the influence of reflective and collaborative dimensions on the construction of autonomy for online learners in this programme. The…

  15. Creating Cartoons: A Learner-Centered Approach to Comprehending Texts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malu, Kathleen F.; McNeal, Kelly

    2017-01-01

    In this article the authors describe how a specific technique--having learners create cartoons based on a reading passage--helped learners explore their understanding of reading passages and helped the teachers reflect on what the learners had comprehended.

  16. Age of acquisition modulates neural activity for both regular and irregular syntactic functions

    PubMed Central

    Hernandez, Arturo E.; Hofmann, Juliane; Kotz, Sonja A.

    2007-01-01

    Studies have found that neural activity is greater for irregular grammatical items than regular items. Findings with monolingual Spanish speakers have revealed a similar effect when making gender decisions for visually presented nouns. The current study extended previous studies by looking at the role of regularity in modulating differences in groups that differ in the age of acquisition of a language. Early and late learners of Spanish matched on measures of language proficiency were asked to make gender decisions to regular (-o for masculine and –a for feminine) and irregular items (which can end in e,l,n,r,s,t and z). Results revealed increased activity in left BA 44 for irregular compared to regular items in separate comparisons for both early and late learners. In addition, within group-comparisons revealed that neural activity for irregulars extended into left BA 47 for late learners and into left BA 6 for early learners. Direct comparisons between-groups revealed increased activity in left BA 44/45 for irregular items indicating the need for more extensive syntactic processing in late learners. The results revealed that processing of irregular grammatical gender leads to increased activity in left BA 44 and adjacent areas in the left IFG regardless of when a language is learned. Furthermore, these findings suggest differential recruitment of brain areas associated with grammatical processing in late learners. The results are discussed with regard to a model which considers L2 learning as emerging from the competitive interplay between two languages. PMID:17490895

  17. Valuing the Advanced Learner: Differentiating up

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Manning, Sandra; Stanford, Barbara; Reeves, Stacy

    2010-01-01

    In today's educational climate, differentiated instruction is a common practice for students who need remediation; what is less common is to Differentiate Instruction for the advanced learner. Contrary to popular perceptions, advanced learners do not automatically differentiate instruction on their own. Students who have the potential to excel…

  18. Career Guidance for Special Needs Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Francis A., Jr.

    1982-01-01

    A career guidance institute for educators working with handicapped and disadvantaged learners included 10 hours of seminar/classroom guidance experiences devoted to theory. Each participant then undertook a 40-hour work internship designed to provide experiences and information about entry-level jobs that special needs learners could perform. (SK)

  19. Identifying Successful Learners from Interaction Behaviour

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCuaig, Judi; Baldwin, Julia

    2012-01-01

    The interaction behaviours of successful, high-achieving learners when using a Learning Management System (LMS) are different than the behaviours of learners who are having more difficulty mastering the course material. This paper explores the idea that conventional Learning Management Systems can exploit data mining techniques to predict the…

  20. Democracy Through Learner-Centered Education: a Turkish Perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yilmaz, Kaya

    2009-01-01

    Aimed at documenting the problems and constraints confronting learner-centered instruction in Turkey, this article first explains the link between democracy and education and the role of learner-centered instruction in realizing democratic ends. By drawing on John Dewey's ideas and Turkish scholars' perspectives on Turkish education, the article then presents the problems and constraints that pose threats to the implementation of learner-centered instruction in Turkey. The author also explains the problems within the Turkish educational system and teacher education programmes, and the challenges that in-service teachers and students may experience with learner-centered instruction.

  1. Toward Modeling the Learner's Personality Using Educational Games

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Essalmi, Fathi; Tlili, Ahmed; Ben Ayed, Leila Jemni; Jemmi, Mohamed

    2017-01-01

    Learner modeling is a crucial step in the learning personalization process. It allows taking into consideration the learner's profile to make the learning process more efficient. Most studies refer to an explicit method, namely questionnaire, to model learners. Questionnaires are time consuming and may not be motivating for learners. Thus, this…

  2. Channeling Children's Energy through Vocabulary Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schindler, Andrea

    2006-01-01

    In this article, the author shares vocabulary development activities for young learners. These activities channel students' energy and make learning more effective and fun. The author stresses the importance of giving young learners a good language-learning experience, and the challenges of teaching young learners who are not literate in their L1.…

  3. Learner-centred teaching in a non-learner-centred world: An interpretive phenomenological study of the lived experience of clinical nursing faculty.

    PubMed

    Oyelana, Olabisi; Martin, Donna; Scanlan, Judith; Temple, Beverley

    2018-08-01

    With the growing complexities in the contemporary health care system, there is a challenge of preparing nurses for the practice demands. To this end, learner-centred teaching has emerged in many nursing curricula in Canada and evidence indicates its effectiveness in developing the essential practice skills in nursing students. It is important to examine the experience of the clinical faculty members who implement learner-centred teaching, as doing so would provide an insight to the factors that may hinder the implementation of learner-centred teaching in the practice settings. This phenomenological study aimed to address two research questions: what does learner-centred teaching mean to clinical nurse faculty? What is the lived experience of clinical nursing faculty who incorporate learner-centred teaching? Ten clinical nurse faculty members who had at least two years of clinical teaching experience volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide and audio recorder. Additional data sources included a demographic survey and a reflective journal. Multiple sub-themes emerged from this study from which three significant themes were consolidated: diversity of meanings, facilitators of LCT, and barriers to LCT. However, an overarching theme of "learner-centred teaching in a non-learner-centred world" was coined from participants' accounts of their experiences of barriers in incorporating LCT in the practice settings. A collaborative effort between faculty and the stakeholders is paramount to a successful implementation of learner-centred teaching in practice settings. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  4. Longitudinal Study on Fluency among Novice Learners of Japanese

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hirotani, Maki; Matsumoto, Kazumi; Fukada, Atsusi

    2012-01-01

    The present study examined various aspects of the development of learners' fluency in Japanese using a large set of speech samples collected over a long period, using an online speaking practice/assessment system called "Speak Everywhere." The purpose of the present study was to examine: (1) how the fluency related measures changed over…

  5. Learner-Valued Interactions: Research into Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ley, Kathryn; Gannon-Cook, Ruth

    2014-01-01

    Online learners provide feedback that does not always match with the expectations of what university administration would expect from their feedback. Learners do not value all instructional features and conditions equally, nor do they view many of the instructional and technology features as being necessarily helpful. This paper presents research…

  6. Flexible Querying of Lifelong Learner Metadata

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Poulovassilis, A.; Selmer, P.; Wood, P. T.

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses the provision of flexible querying facilities over heterogeneous data arising from lifelong learners' educational and work experiences. A key aim of such querying facilities is to allow learners to identify possible choices for their future learning and professional development by seeing what others have done. We motivate and…

  7. East-Asian Teaching Practices through the Eyes of Western Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Rainbow Tsai-Hung

    2014-01-01

    Many East-Asian countries are actively positioning themselves as receiving countries of international students. Consequently, the number of international students in these countries is steadily growing. Given the differences between Eastern and Western conceptions of teaching and learning, it could be expected that Western learners studying in the…

  8. Fostering Active Processing of Instructional Explanations of Learners with High and Low Prior Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Acuna, Santiago R.; Garcia Rodicio, Hector; Sanchez, Emilio

    2011-01-01

    Despite the potential advantages of instructional explanations, evidence indicates that they are usually ineffective. Subsequent work has shown that in order to make instructional explanations effective indeed, one successful strategy is to combine them with indications of the limitations in learners' understanding that they are intended to…

  9. Interactive TV: An Effective Instructional Mode for Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Li-Ling; Iris, Carole

    2004-01-01

    The inclusion of interactive television (iTV) programs for learning is an emerging genre in education. Literature has concluded that any aspect of learning requires some form of interaction or feedback to be most effective. As television (TV) evolves from being a passive to an active medium, it has the potential to engage learners and reach a mass…

  10. E-learning for medical education: reflections of learners on patients.

    PubMed

    Walsh, Kieran

    2018-01-01

    There is a growing research interest in how healthcare professionals learn online. This paper reports an analysis of reflections that relate to patients from users of an e-learning resource, BMJ Learning. Healthcare professionals who use BMJ Learning are encouraged to reflect on their learning. Over one year, all of the learners' reflections that related to patients were captured by the programme's software and were analysed using thematic analysis. A number of key themes emerged from this analysis: many learners reflected on patients in the context of their disease; many learners reflected on how they had put their learning into action or planned to put their learning into action for the benefit of patients; many learners reflected on how they would pass on what they had learned to patients; learners greatly appreciated patients contributing to the learning. Learners predominantly reflect about patients in the context of their disease. The reflections demonstrate that learners are keen to put their learning into action for the benefit of their patients. Learners' reflections show a keen interest in the patient-centredness of the learning resources.

  11. Reading comprehension and its underlying components in second-language learners: A meta-analysis of studies comparing first- and second-language learners.

    PubMed

    Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Lervåg, Arne

    2014-03-01

    We report a systematic meta-analytic review of studies comparing reading comprehension and its underlying components (language comprehension, decoding, and phonological awareness) in first- and second-language learners. The review included 82 studies, and 576 effect sizes were calculated for reading comprehension and underlying components. Key findings were that, compared to first-language learners, second-language learners display a medium-sized deficit in reading comprehension (pooled effect size d = -0.62), a large deficit in language comprehension (pooled effect size d = -1.12), but only small differences in phonological awareness (pooled effect size d = -0.08) and decoding (pooled effect size d = -0.12). A moderator analysis showed that characteristics related to the type of reading comprehension test reliably explained the variation in the differences in reading comprehension between first- and second-language learners. For language comprehension, studies of samples from low socioeconomic backgrounds and samples where only the first language was used at home generated the largest group differences in favor of first-language learners. Test characteristics and study origin reliably contributed to the variations between the studies of language comprehension. For decoding, Canadian studies showed group differences in favor of second-language learners, whereas the opposite was the case for U.S. studies. Regarding implications, unless specific decoding problems are detected, interventions that aim to ameliorate reading comprehension problems among second-language learners should focus on language comprehension skills.

  12. Individual Differences in Learner Controlled CAI.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Judd, Wilson A.; And Others

    Two assumptions in support of learner-controlled computer-assisted instruction (CAI) are that (1) instruction administered under learner control will be less aversive than if administered under program control, and (2) the student is sufficiently aware of his learning state to make, in most instances, his own instructional decisions. Some 130…

  13. Technology: An Additional Tool for Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smart, Linda; Fennessy, Ben

    It is increasingly necessary to encourage lifelong learning in order to keep pace with the Information Age. As learners increasingly take charge of their own learning, however, they will require support to enable them to achieve their goals--and a variety of learning opportunities will need to be created. Learners' interests, imagination, and…

  14. Testing ESL Learners' Knowledge of Collocations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bonk, William J.

    This study reports on the development, administration, and analysis of a test of collocational knowledge for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners of a wide range of proficiency levels. Through native speaker item validation and pilot testing, three subtests were developed and administered to 98 ESL learners of low-intermediate to advanced…

  15. Development and Validation of the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile Questionnaire (IBLPQ)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, Allan; Lee, Moosung; Bryant, Darren A.

    2016-01-01

    The Learner Profile (LP) frames International Baccalaureate (IB) learning outcomes across the three programme levels and, as such, plays a key role in measuring the success of the rapidly growing number of IB schools in the Asia-Pacific Region. Our aim was to develop an instrument to measure the IBLP and validate the instrument through a series of…

  16. Validation of learning style measures: implications for medical education practice.

    PubMed

    Chapman, Dane M; Calhoun, Judith G

    2006-06-01

    It is unclear which learners would most benefit from the more individualised, student-structured, interactive approaches characteristic of problem-based and computer-assisted learning. The validity of learning style measures is uncertain, and there is no unifying learning style construct identified to predict such learners. This study was conducted to validate learning style constructs and to identify the learners most likely to benefit from problem-based and computer-assisted curricula. Using a cross-sectional design, 3 established learning style inventories were administered to 97 post-Year 2 medical students. Cognitive personality was measured by the Group Embedded Figures Test, information processing by the Learning Styles Inventory, and instructional preference by the Learning Preference Inventory. The 11 subscales from the 3 inventories were factor-analysed to identify common learning constructs and to verify construct validity. Concurrent validity was determined by intercorrelations of the 11 subscales. A total of 94 pre-clinical medical students completed all 3 inventories. Five meaningful learning style constructs were derived from the 11 subscales: student- versus teacher-structured learning; concrete versus abstract learning; passive versus active learning; individual versus group learning, and field-dependence versus field-independence. The concurrent validity of 10 of 11 subscales was supported by correlation analysis. Medical students most likely to thrive in a problem-based or computer-assisted learning environment would be expected to score highly on abstract, active and individual learning constructs and would be more field-independent. Learning style measures were validated in a medical student population and learning constructs were established for identifying learners who would most likely benefit from a problem-based or computer-assisted curriculum.

  17. Which Dictionary? A Review of the Leading Learners' Dictionaries.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nesi, Hilary

    Three major dictionaries designed for learners of English as a second language are reviewed, their elements and approaches compared and evaluated, their usefulness for different learners discussed, and recommendations for future dictionary improvement made. The dictionaries in question are the "Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary," the…

  18. Learner Factors in a High-Poverty Urban Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Olivares-Cuhat, Gabriela

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this pilot study is to gain more insight into learner factors prominent in high-poverty urban schools and to suggest pedagogical approaches appropriate to this environment. To this end, three surveys were administered to students attending a high-poverty, urban middle school in order to measure their learning style preferences,…

  19. Slow Learners' Attitudes toward Fundamental Freedoms.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Curtis, Charles K.

    1981-01-01

    This article reports a study that compared slow learners' attitudes toward the freedoms described in the Canadian Bill of Rights with those of vocational and academic students. As a group, slow learners in Canada scored significantly below vocational and academic students, and the scores for each group suggested only a slight libertarian bias.…

  20. Learners' Dictionaries: State of the Art. Anthology Series 23.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tickoo, Makhan L., Ed.

    A collection of articles on dictionaries for advanced second language learners includes essays on the past, present, and future of learners' dictionaries; alternative dictionaries; dictionary construction; and dictionaries and their users. Titles include: "Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow; or Vaticinations on the Learners' Dictionary"…

  1. Comparing Core-Image-Based Basic Verb Learning in an EFL Junior High School: Learner-Centered and Teacher-Centered Approaches

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yamagata, Satoshi

    2018-01-01

    The present study investigated the effects of two types of core-image-based basic verb learning approaches: the learner-centered and the teacher-centered approaches. The learner-centered approach was an activity in which participants found semantic relationships among several definitions of each basic target verb through a picture-elucidated card…

  2. Cue generation: How learners flexibly support future retrieval.

    PubMed

    Tullis, Jonathan G; Benjamin, Aaron S

    2015-08-01

    The successful use of memory requires us to be sensitive to the cues that will be present during retrieval. In many situations, we have some control over the external cues that we will encounter. For instance, learners create shopping lists at home to help remember what items to later buy at the grocery store, and they generate computer file names to help remember the contents of those files. Generating cues in the service of later cognitive goals is a complex task that lies at the intersection of metacognition, communication, and memory. In this series of experiments, we investigated how and how well learners generate external mnemonic cues. Across 5 experiments, learners generated a cue for each target word in a to-be-remembered list and received these cues during a later cued recall test. Learners flexibly generated cues in response to different instructional demands and study list compositions. When generating mnemonic cues, as compared to descriptions of target items, learners produced cues that were more distinct than mere descriptions and consequently elicited greater cued recall performance than those descriptions. When learners were aware of competing targets in the study list, they generated mnemonic cues with smaller cue-to-target associative strength but that were even more distinct. These adaptations led to fewer confusions among competing targets and enhanced cued recall performance. These results provide another example of the metacognitively sophisticated tactics that learners use to effectively support future retrieval.

  3. Learner Performance in Multimedia Learning Arrangements: An Analysis across Instructional Approaches

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eysink, Tessa H. S.; de Jong, Ton; Berthold, Kirsten; Kolloffel, Bas; Opfermann, Maria; Wouters, Pieter

    2009-01-01

    In this study, the authors compared four multimedia learning arrangements differing in instructional approach on effectiveness and efficiency for learning: (a) hypermedia learning, (b) observational learning, (c) self-explanation-based learning, and (d) inquiry learning. The approaches all advocate learners' active attitude toward the learning…

  4. Dual Language Learners in the Early Childhood Classroom. National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education (NCRECE) Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howes, Carollee, Ed.; Downer, Jason T., Ed.; Pianta, Robert C., Ed.

    2011-01-01

    The school readiness of young dual language learners depends on high-quality preschool programs that meet their needs--but how should schools promote and measure the progress of children learning two languages? Find out what the research says in this authoritative resource, which investigates the experiences of dual language learners in preschool…

  5. Ontario's Old Growth: A Learner's Handbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stabb, Mark

    This handbook was written in response to an identified need for more public information on Ontario's old growth forests. It is meant to be taken into old growth stands, where the learner can see, touch, and study the natural ingredients of old growth forests. Much of the handbook is a guide to forest history, helping the learner to discover…

  6. Big Bang! An Evaluation of NASA's Space School Musical Program for Elementary and Middle School Learners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haden, C.; Styers, M.; Asplund, S.

    2015-12-01

    Music and the performing arts can be a powerful way to engage students in learning about science. Research suggests that content-rich songs enhance student understanding of science concepts by helping students develop content-based vocabulary, by providing examples and explanations of concepts, and connecting to personal and situational interest in a topic. Building on the role of music in engaging students in learning, and on best practices in out-of-school time learning, the NASA Discovery and New Frontiers program in association with Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Marshall Space Flight Center, and KidTribe developed Space School Musical. Space School Musical consists of a set of nine songs and 36 educational activities to teach elementary and middle school learners about the solar system and space science through an engaging storyline and the opportunity for active learning. In 2014, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory contracted with Magnolia Consulting, LLC to conduct an evaluation of Space School Musical. Evaluators used a mixed methods approach to address evaluation questions related to educator professional development experiences, program implementation and perceptions, and impacts on participating students. Measures included a professional development feedback survey, facilitator follow-up survey, facilitator interviews, and a student survey. Evaluation results showed that educators were able to use the program in a variety of contexts and in different ways to best meet their instructional needs. They noted that the program worked well for diverse learners and helped to build excitement for science through engaging all learners in the musical. Students and educators reported positive personal and academic benefits to participating students. We present findings from the evaluation and lessons learned about integration of the arts into STEM education.

  7. A comparison of in-class learner engagement across lecture, problem-based learning, and team learning using the STROBE classroom observation tool.

    PubMed

    Kelly, P Adam; Haidet, Paul; Schneider, Virginia; Searle, Nancy; Seidel, Charles L; Richards, Boyd F

    2005-01-01

    Having recently introduced team learning into the preclinical medical curriculum, evidence of the relative impact of this instructional method on in-class learner engagement was sought. To compare patterns of engagement behaviors among learners in class sessions across 3 distinct instructional methods: lecture, problem-based learning (PBL), and team learning. Trained observers used the STROBE classroom observation tool to measure learner engagement in 7 lecture, 4 PBL, and 3 team learning classrooms over a 12-month period. Proportions of different types of engagement behaviors were compared using chi-square. In PBL and team learning, the amount of learner-to-learner engagement was similar and much greater than in lecture, where most engagement was of the learner-to-instructor and self-engagement types. Also, learner-to-instructor engagement appeared greater in team learning than in PBL. Observed engagement behaviors confirm the potential of team learning to foster engagement similar to PBL, but with greater faculty input.

  8. Digging Deeper into Learners' Experiences in MOOCs: Participation in Social Networks outside of MOOCs, Notetaking and Contexts Surrounding Content Consumption

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Veletsianos, George; Collier, Amy; Schneider, Emily

    2015-01-01

    Researchers describe with increasing confidence "what" they observe participants doing in massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, our understanding of learner activities in open courses is limited by researchers' extensive dependence on log file analyses and clickstream data to make inferences about learner behaviors. Further, the…

  9. Personality Types and Learners' Interaction in Web-Based Threaded Discussion

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, JeongMin; Lee, Youngmin

    2006-01-01

    This study examined the effects of group composition based on the learners' personality types as measured by the Myers-Briggs type indicator as they interacted in threaded discussions. Three groups comprised introverts, extroverts, and mixed introvert-extrovert classifications. Ninety-six participants were divided into 24 groups of 4 participants…

  10. Instructing English Language Learners: Assessing the State of Our Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldenberg, Claude; Quach, Sara Rutherford

    2010-01-01

    Although schools and districts are increasingly required to provide various supports and instructional programs for English Language Learners (ELLs), standardized measures of these students' academic achievement continue to be low. This article summarizes key findings of two major reviews of the research on educating ELLs that were completed in…

  11. The effect of learner's control of self-observation strategies on learning of front crawl.

    PubMed

    Marques, Priscila Garcia; Corrêa, Umberto Cesar

    2016-02-01

    This study investigated the effect of learner's control of self-observation strategies on motor skill learning. For this purpose, beginner and intermediate learner swimmers practised the front crawl. Seventy college students took part in this experiment. They comprised 40 novice learners, both male (n=19) and female (n=21), with an average age of 20.7 years (±0.44), and 30 intermediate learners, both male (n=17) and female (n=13), with an average age of 21.1 years (±0.86). The design involved a pretest (one day), four acquisition sessions (four days), and a retention test (one day). They were divided into three groups: (1) choice, which could choose to watch a video with their best or overall performance during practise; (2) yoked, which were paired to those of the choice group; and (3) control (did not watch any video). The measures included the performance of front crawl and self-efficacy. The results showed that: (1) beginners who chose a type of observation strategy had superior motor skill learning; (2) for intermediate learners, self-observation promoted better motor learning, regardless of the control of choices; (3) self-observation improved self-efficacy beliefs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. A Longitudinal Study of Progress in Vocabulary Size of Japanese EFL Senior High School Learners: A Comparison of the General and Commercial Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akase, Masaki; Uenishi, Koji

    2015-01-01

    The purposes of this study are (1) to longitudinally measure the receptive vocabulary size (VS) of Japanese EFL senior high school learners; (2) to investigate how the learners develop their VS; and (3) to describe the longitudinal developmental patterns of VS of each learner during their three years of high school. Kasahara's (2005) VS tests, a…

  13. Learner Autonomy via Asynchronous Online Interactions: A Malaysian Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaur, Ranjit; Sidhu, Gurnam Kaur

    2010-01-01

    The integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in course offerings in institutions of higher learning (IHLs) is the catalyst towards empowering learners to become autonomous lifelong learners. In an effort to produce quality and independent learners, Learning Management Systems (LMS) are seen as a means to assist educators in…

  14. Teachers' Choice and Learners' Preference of Corrective Feedback Types

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yoshida, Reiko

    2008-01-01

    Corrective feedback (CF) has been investigated in relation to learners' error types that trigger CF and learners' responses to CF. These research findings generally suggest that recasts, the most frequently used type of CF, did not trigger learners' reformulation of their erroneous utterances very frequently. In these studies, however, teachers'…

  15. Supporting learner-centered technology integration through situated mentoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rosenberg, Marian Goode

    Situated mentoring was used as a professional development method to help 11 high school science teachers integrate learner-centered technology. The teachers' learner-centered technology beliefs and practices as well as their perception of barriers to learner-centered technology integration were explored before and after participating in the mentoring program. In addition, the participants' thoughts about the effectiveness of various components of the mentoring program were analyzed along with the mentor's observations of their practices. Situated mentoring can be effective for supporting learner-centered technology integration, in particular decreasing the barriers teachers experience. Goal setting, collaborative planning, reflection, and onsite just-in-time support were thought to be the most valuable components of the mentoring program.

  16. Staging a performance: learners' perceptions about direct observation during residency.

    PubMed

    LaDonna, Kori A; Hatala, Rose; Lingard, Lorelei; Voyer, Stephane; Watling, Christopher

    2017-05-01

    Evidence strongly supports that direct observation is a valid and reliable assessment tool; support for its impact on learning is less compelling, and we know that some learners are ambivalent about being observed. However, learners' perceptions about the impact of direct observation on their learning and professional development remain underexplored. To promote learning, we need to understand what makes direct observation valuable for learners. Informed by constructivist grounded theory, we interviewed 22 learners about their observation experiences. Data collection and analysis occurred iteratively; themes were identified using constant comparative analysis. Direct observation was widely endorsed as an important educational strategy, albeit one that created significant anxiety. Opaque expectations exacerbated participants' discomfort, and participants described that being observed felt like being assessed. Consequently, participants exchanged their 'usual' practice for a 'textbook' approach; alterations to performance generated uncertainty about their role, and raised questions about whether observers saw an authentic portrayal of their knowledge and skill. An 'observer effect' may partly explain learners' ambivalence about direct observation; being observed seemed to magnify learners' role ambiguity, intensify their tensions around professional development and raise questions about the credibility of feedback. In turn, an observer effect may impact learners' receptivity to feedback and may explain, in part, learners' perceptions that useful feedback is scant. For direct observation to be valuable, educators must be explicit about expectations, and they must be aware that how learners perform in the presence of an observer may not reflect what they do as independent practitioners. To nurture learners' professional development, educators must create a culture of observation-based coaching that is divorced from assessment and is tailored to developing learners

  17. The Role of Private Speech in Cognitive Regulation of Learners: The Case of English as a Foreign Language Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sarab, Mohamad Reza Anani; Gordani, Yahya

    2015-01-01

    Investigations into the use of private speech by adult English foreign language (EFL) learners in regulating their mental activities have been an interesting area of research with a sociocultural framework. Following this line of research, 30 advanced adult EFL learners were selected via the administration of Oxford quick placement test and took a…

  18. Automated Error Detection for Developing Grammar Proficiency of ESL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feng, Hui-Hsien; Saricaoglu, Aysel; Chukharev-Hudilainen, Evgeny

    2016-01-01

    Thanks to natural language processing technologies, computer programs are actively being used not only for holistic scoring, but also for formative evaluation of writing. CyWrite is one such program that is under development. The program is built upon Second Language Acquisition theories and aims to assist ESL learners in higher education by…

  19. Effects of Text, Audio and Learner Control on Text-Sound Association and Cognitive Load of EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Enciso Bernal, Ana Maria

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of concurrent audio and equivalent onscreen text on the ability of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) to form associations between textual and aural forms of target vocabulary words. The study also looked at the effects of learner control over an audio sequence on the association of textual and…

  20. Supporting Learner Autonomy: Developing Practice through the Production of Courses for Distance Learners of French, German and Spanish

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murphy, Linda

    2008-01-01

    The development of autonomous learners is an important goal for language teaching programmes. However, achievement of this goal depends on teachers creating an environment where learners can experience autonomy in order to become more autonomous, a process referred to by Little (2003) as "autonomization". In distance learning, course…

  1. Better Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bianchi, Lynne

    2003-01-01

    Developing children's capacity to learn is at the forefront of all endeavours in schools. Teachers strive to capitalise on a wide range of teaching styles and innovations to stimulate, motivate and engage their children to become "better learners". Since September 1999, the Centre for Science Education at Sheffield Hallam University has…

  2. A Critique of the Literature on Parenting Gifted Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jolly, Jennifer L.; Matthews, Michael S.

    2012-01-01

    Despite numerous calls for research on parents of gifted learners, researchers have given only cursory treatment to the topic. In this article, the authors review and synthesize 53 sources, published since 1983, on parents of gifted learners. Existing research on parents of gifted learners may be categorized into three thematic areas that include…

  3. Preferences for Interactional Feedback: Differences between Learners and Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaivanpanah, Shiva; Alavi, Sayyed Mohammad; Sepehrinia, Sajjad

    2015-01-01

    The present study examines Iranian language learners' views on different types of oral corrective feedback and explores the relationship with learners' language proficiency. It then compares the learners' views with those of their teachers. The study is based on a 36-item questionnaire completed by 154 English as a foreign language (EFL) learners…

  4. Status of teaching elementary science for English learners in science, mathematics and technology centered magnet schools

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Alyson Kim

    According to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (2001), one in three students speaks a language other than English. Additionally, the Commission stated that a student is considered to be an English learner if the second language acquisition is English. In California more than 1.4 million English learners enter school speaking a variety of languages, and this number continues to rise. There is an imminent need to promote instructional strategies that support this group of diverse learners. Although this was not a California study, the results derived from the nationwide participants' responses provided a congruent assessment of the basic need to provide effective science teaching strategies to all English learners. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of elementary science teaching practices used with English learners in kindergarten through fifth grade in public mathematics, science, and technology-centered elementary magnet schools throughout the country. This descriptive research was designed to provide current information and to identify trends in the areas of curriculum and instruction for English learners in science themed magnet schools. This report described the status of elementary (grades K-5) school science instruction for English learners based on the responses of 116 elementary school teachers: 59 grade K-2, and 57 grade 3-5 teachers. Current research-based approaches support incorporating self-directed learning strategy, expository teaching strategy, active listening strategies, questioning strategies, wait time strategy, small group strategy, peer tutoring strategy, large group learning strategy, demonstrations strategy, formal debates strategy, review sessions strategy, mediated conversation strategy, cooperative learning strategy, and theme-based instruction into the curriculum to assist English learners in science education. Science Technology Society (STS) strategy, problem-based learning strategy, discovery learning

  5. Constructivist Pedagogy in Strategic Reading Instruction: Exploring Pathways to Learner Development in the English as a Second Language (ESL) Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Lawrence Jun

    2008-01-01

    The study explored English as a Second Language (ESL) learner development. In particular, it focused on investigating learners' understanding of reading and their willingness to be engaged in strategic reading in participatory classroom activities. It also examined possible effects of such pedagogy on reading performance. The context was a…

  6. An adult learner's learning style should inform but not limit educational choices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barry, Margot; Egan, Arlene

    2017-12-01

    Adult learners are attracted to learning opportunities (e.g. course offers) which seem promising in terms of allowing them to match their choices to their own perceived predispositions. To find out more about their personal learning style, some adult learners may fill in a questionnaire designed by researchers who aim (and claim) to enable both course providers and learners to optimise learning outcomes. The evaluation of these questionnaires measures learning styles using indicators developed for this purpose, but the results are not conclusive and their utility is therefore questionable. This narrative review critically examines some of the research which explores the usefulness of considering students' learning styles in adult education. The authors present a discussion - which remains hypothetical - on why the use of learning styles measures continues to be popular despite the absence of rigorous research findings to support this practice. Factors discussed by the authors include confirmation bias (making choices which confirm our prejudices) and user qualification (limiting availability to trained users, e.g. psychologists) as well as limited resources and skills in evaluating research, paired with educators' quest to implement evidence-focused techniques. The authors conclude that while learning styles assessments can be useful for the purpose of reflection on strengths and weaknesses, they should play a limited role in educational choices.

  7. An adult learner's learning style should inform but not limit educational choices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barry, Margot; Egan, Arlene

    2018-02-01

    Adult learners are attracted to learning opportunities (e.g. course offers) which seem promising in terms of allowing them to match their choices to their own perceived predispositions. To find out more about their personal learning style, some adult learners may fill in a questionnaire designed by researchers who aim (and claim) to enable both course providers and learners to optimise learning outcomes. The evaluation of these questionnaires measures learning styles using indicators developed for this purpose, but the results are not conclusive and their utility is therefore questionable. This narrative review critically examines some of the research which explores the usefulness of considering students' learning styles in adult education. The authors present a discussion - which remains hypothetical - on why the use of learning styles measures continues to be popular despite the absence of rigorous research findings to support this practice. Factors discussed by the authors include confirmation bias (making choices which confirm our prejudices) and user qualification (limiting availability to trained users, e.g. psychologists) as well as limited resources and skills in evaluating research, paired with educators' quest to implement evidence-focused techniques. The authors conclude that while learning styles assessments can be useful for the purpose of reflection on strengths and weaknesses, they should play a limited role in educational choices.

  8. Reading Processing Skills among EFL Learners in Different Proficiency Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dhanapala, Kusumi Vasantha; Yamada, Jun

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to understand how EFL learners in different reading proficiency levels comprehend L2 texts, using five-component skills involving measures of (1) vocabulary knowledge, (2) drawing inferences and predictions, (3) knowledge of text structure and discourse organization, (4) identifying the main idea and summarizing skills, and (5)…

  9. A Model for the Education of Gifted Learners in Lebanon

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sarouphim, Ketty M.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to present a model for developing a comprehensive system of education for gifted learners in Lebanon. The model consists of three phases and includes key elements for establishing gifted education in the country, such as raising community awareness, adopting valid identification measures, and developing effective…

  10. Learner Centered Classroom in Science Instruction: Providing Feedback with Technology Integration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yilmaz, Ozkan

    2017-01-01

    "Learner centered" term points out environments that attention to the learners brings to the educational setting. This term includes teaching practices: effort to uncover what learners think in a specific problem on hand, talking about their misconceptions and, giving them situations to readjust their ideas. In Learner centered…

  11. Learners' Approaches to Solving Mathematical Tasks: Does Specialisation Matter?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Machaba, France; Mwakapenda, Willy

    2016-01-01

    This article emerged from an analysis of learners' responses to a task presented to learners studying Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy (ML) in Gauteng, South Africa. Officially, Mathematics and ML are two separate learning areas. Learners from Grade 10 onwards are supposed to take either one or the other, but not both. This means that by…

  12. Young Learner Perspectives on Four Focus-on-Form Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shak, Juliana; Gardner, Sheena

    2008-01-01

    Recent studies suggest that focus-on-form (FonF) instruction has a positive effect on the second language proficiency of young learners. However, few have looked at learner perspectives on different FonF tasks, particularly in those young learners. This study investigates children's attitudes towards four FonF task-types in three Primary 5 English…

  13. Parental Involvement and the Impact on Hispanic English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Helo-Trevino, Mayra

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate if the participation of Hispanic parents of English Language Learners in school activities influence their children's education. This was done by deliberately taking steps to recruit parents to participate in their child's academics and school affairs. The data that was used to test if involvement of…

  14. Effects of the Types of Error, Proficiency Level of the Learners and Nature of the Recasts on the Uptake of Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yuksel, Dogan; Inan-Karagul, Banu; Fidan, Dilek

    2017-01-01

    This current study examined the effects of the type of errors learners make (that is, phonological, lexical and grammar), proficiency level of the learners (that is, A1, A2, B1, B2 and C1) and nature of the recasts (that is, long and short) on the uptake of the learners. The data of this study came from the video-recordings of A1, A2, B1, B2 and…

  15. National Adult Learners Satisfaction-Priorities Report. Research Report, 2011

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Noel-Levitz, Inc, 2011

    2011-01-01

    The 2011 National Adult Learners Satisfaction-Priorities Report presents the responses to the Adult Learner Inventory[TM] (ALI) of 29,679 students from 61 four-year private and public as well as 4,749 students from 18 two-year community and technical colleges. The results include adult learner responses over a three-year time period, from fall of…

  16. Candles, Corks and Contracts: Essential Relationships between Learners and Libraries.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burge, Elizabeth J.; Snow, Judith E.

    2000-01-01

    Current relationships between libraries and adult learners are shaped by technology adoption, learner demographics, constructivist learning, and institutional pressures. Future relationships must emphasize learner-centered action over technological efficiency, stronger learning leadership, and greater integration of libraries in educational…

  17. The Effects of Pragmatic Consciousness-Raising Activities on the Development of Pragmatic Awareness and Use of Hearsay Evidential Markers for Learners of Japanese as a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Narita, Ritsuko

    2009-01-01

    The present study investigates the effectiveness of pragmatic consciousness-raising (PCR) activities in the L2 pragmatic acquisition of hearsay evidential markers by learners of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL). PCR is essentially an inductive approach to facilitating awareness of how language forms are used appropriately in a given context.…

  18. TRANSLATE: New Strategic Approaches for English Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodwin, Amanda P.; Jiménez, Robert

    2016-01-01

    This teaching tip shares a research-based instructional model that uses translation to improve the English reading comprehension of English Learners. Within this instruction, English learners work collaboratively in small groups and use translation to facilitate understandings of their required English language arts curriculum. Students are taught…

  19. Video Self-Modeling for English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boisvert, Précille; Rao, Kavita

    2015-01-01

    Teachers of English language learners (ELLs), expected to address grade-level standards and prepare ELLs for standardized assessments, have the difficult task of designing instruction that meets the range of needs in their classrooms. When these learners have experienced limited or interrupted education, the challenges intensify. Whereas…

  20. Preparing English Learners for Effective Peer Review in the Writers' Workshop

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Soo Hyon

    2015-01-01

    English Language Learners (ELLs) often face challenges when participating in peer review activities in writers' workshops. This article identifies some of the potential difficulties that ELL writers may experience, and provides teachers with strategies to address these problems. The author describes a simple three-step peer review training model…

  1. Developing a Scale on the Usage of Learner Control Strategy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kutlu, M. Oguz

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to develop a Likert-like scale in order to measure teachers' usage level of learner control strategy. This study was carried out with 219 State primary school teachers who were class teachers, Turkish teachers, English teachers, Mathematics teachers, Science teachers, Social Sciences teachers, Religion and Moral teachers…

  2. Elderly Learners and Massive Open Online Courses: A Review

    PubMed Central

    Williams, Shirley Ann

    2016-01-01

    Background Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have become commonplace in the e-learning landscape. Thousands of elderly learners are participating in courses offered by various institutions on a multitude of platforms in many different languages. However, there is very little research into understanding elderly learners in MOOCs. Objective We aim to show that a considerable proportion of elderly learners are participating in MOOCs and that there is a lack of research in this area. We hope this assertion of the wide gap in research on elderly learners in MOOCs will pave the way for more research in this area. Methods Pre-course survey data for 10 University of Reading courses on the FutureLearn platform were analyzed to show the level of participation of elderly learners in MOOCs. Two MOOC aggregator sites (Class Central and MOOC List) were consulted to gather data on MOOC offerings that include topics relating to aging. In parallel, a selected set of MOOC platform catalogues, along with a recently published review on health and medicine-related MOOCs, were searched to find courses relating to aging. A systematic literature search was then employed to identify research articles on elderly learners in MOOCs. Results The 10 courses reviewed had a considerable proportion of elderly learners participating in them. For the over-66 age group, this varied from 0.5% (on the course “Managing people”) to 16.3% (on the course “Our changing climate”), while for the over-56 age group it ranged from 3.0% (on “A beginners guide to writing in English”) to 39.5% (on “Heart health”). Only six MOOCs were found to include topics related to aging: three were on the Coursera platform, two on the FutureLearn platform, and one on the Open2Study platform. Just three scholarly articles relating to MOOCs and elderly learners were retrieved from the literature search. Conclusions This review presents evidence to suggest that elderly learners are already participating in MOOCs

  3. Elderly Learners and Massive Open Online Courses: A Review.

    PubMed

    Liyanagunawardena, Tharindu Rekha; Williams, Shirley Ann

    2016-01-07

    Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have become commonplace in the e-learning landscape. Thousands of elderly learners are participating in courses offered by various institutions on a multitude of platforms in many different languages. However, there is very little research into understanding elderly learners in MOOCs. We aim to show that a considerable proportion of elderly learners are participating in MOOCs and that there is a lack of research in this area. We hope this assertion of the wide gap in research on elderly learners in MOOCs will pave the way for more research in this area. Pre-course survey data for 10 University of Reading courses on the FutureLearn platform were analyzed to show the level of participation of elderly learners in MOOCs. Two MOOC aggregator sites (Class Central and MOOC List) were consulted to gather data on MOOC offerings that include topics relating to aging. In parallel, a selected set of MOOC platform catalogues, along with a recently published review on health and medicine-related MOOCs, were searched to find courses relating to aging. A systematic literature search was then employed to identify research articles on elderly learners in MOOCs. The 10 courses reviewed had a considerable proportion of elderly learners participating in them. For the over-66 age group, this varied from 0.5% (on the course "Managing people") to 16.3% (on the course "Our changing climate"), while for the over-56 age group it ranged from 3.0% (on "A beginners guide to writing in English") to 39.5% (on "Heart health"). Only six MOOCs were found to include topics related to aging: three were on the Coursera platform, two on the FutureLearn platform, and one on the Open2Study platform. Just three scholarly articles relating to MOOCs and elderly learners were retrieved from the literature search. This review presents evidence to suggest that elderly learners are already participating in MOOCs. Despite this, there has been very little research into their

  4. Methods of Teaching Reading to EFL Learners: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sanjaya, Dedi; Rahmah; Sinulingga, Johan; Lubis, Azhar Aziz; Yusuf, Muhammad

    2014-01-01

    Methods of teaching reading skill are not the same in different countries. It depends on the condition and situation of the learners. Observing the method of teaching in Malaysia was the purpose of this study and the result of the study shows that there are 5 methods that are applied in classroom activities namely Grammar Translation Method (GTM),…

  5. Coping with Demotivation: EFL Learners' Remotivation Processes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Falout, Joseph

    2012-01-01

    When foreign language education is compulsory, competitive, or coercive, how learners cope with stress can determine outcomes, including value of the subject, persistence on task, and level of proficiency. The development of adaptive or maladaptive coping processes toward situated learning goals is influenced by learners' beliefs about themselves…

  6. Reading Assessment and Instruction for All Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schumm, Jeanne Shay, Ed.

    2006-01-01

    Weaving together the latest knowledge and best practices for teaching children to read, this indispensable text and professional resource provides a complete guide to differentiated instruction for diverse learners. Uniquely integrative, the book places the needs of English language learners and students with disabilities front and center instead…

  7. Mathematics. Suggested Learner Outcomes: Grades 9-12.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oklahoma State Dept. of Education, Oklahoma City.

    This publication provides suggested learner outcomes for guiding instruction and evaluation of students in grades 9-12 in Oklahoma. The goals are intended to provide teachers, administrators, school boards, parents, and other concerned citizens with a clear understanding of expected minimum learner outcomes for each mathematics course. Teachers…

  8. Revitalizing a Curriculum for School-Age Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hayes, David, Ed.; Sharkey, Judy, Ed.

    2008-01-01

    At its core, a curriculum is what happens among learners and teachers in the classroom. TESOL's Language Curriculum Development Series describes how teachers, curriculum developers, and administrators have developed, adapted, or renewed a language curriculum. In doing so, they have responded creatively and realistically to learners' needs. The…

  9. The Education of Learners with CHARGE Syndrome

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Deuce, Gail

    2017-01-01

    CHARGE syndrome, although a low incidence condition, is now recognised as a leading cause of congenital deafblindness among genetic conditions. Anecdotal reporting has suggested that learners with CHARGE syndrome are distinct from the wider deafblind population. This study investigates the education of learners with CHARGE syndrome, while also…

  10. Online Learner's "Flow" Experience: An Empirical Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shin, Namin

    2006-01-01

    This study is concerned with online learners' "low" experiences. On the basis of Csikszentmihalyi's theory of flow, flow was conceptualised as a complex, multimentional, reflective construct composing of "enjoyment", "telepresence", "focused attention", "engagement" and "time distortion" on the part of learners. A flow model was put forward with…

  11. Ten Tips for Engaging the Millennial Learner and Moving an Emergency Medicine Residency Curriculum into the 21st Century

    PubMed Central

    Toohey, Shannon L.; Wray, Alisa; Wiechmann, Warren; Lin, Michelle; Boysen-Osborn, Megan

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Millennial learners are changing the face of residency education because they place emphasis on technology with new styles and means of learning. While research on the most effective way to teach the millennial learner is lacking, programs should consider incorporating educational theories and multimedia design principles to update the curriculum for these new learners. The purpose of the study is to discuss strategies for updating an emergency medicine (EM) residency program’s curriculum to accommodate the modern learner. Discussion These 10 tips provide detailed examples and approaches to incorporate technology and learning theories into an EM curriculum to potentially enhance learning and engagement by residents. Conclusion While it is unclear whether technologies actually promote or enhance learning, millennials use these technologies. Identifying best practice, grounded by theory and active learning principles, may help learners receive quality, high-yield education. Future studies will need to evaluate the efficacy of these techniques to fully delineate best practices. PMID:27330668

  12. Ten Tips for Engaging the Millennial Learner and Moving an Emergency Medicine Residency Curriculum into the 21st Century.

    PubMed

    Toohey, Shannon L; Wray, Alisa; Wiechmann, Warren; Lin, Michelle; Boysen-Osborn, Megan

    2016-05-01

    Millennial learners are changing the face of residency education because they place emphasis on technology with new styles and means of learning. While research on the most effective way to teach the millennial learner is lacking, programs should consider incorporating educational theories and multimedia design principles to update the curriculum for these new learners. The purpose of the study is to discuss strategies for updating an emergency medicine (EM) residency program's curriculum to accommodate the modern learner. These 10 tips provide detailed examples and approaches to incorporate technology and learning theories into an EM curriculum to potentially enhance learning and engagement by residents. While it is unclear whether technologies actually promote or enhance learning, millennials use these technologies. Identifying best practice, grounded by theory and active learning principles, may help learners receive quality, high-yield education. Future studies will need to evaluate the efficacy of these techniques to fully delineate best practices.

  13. A Case Study of Peer Review Practices of Four Adolescent English Language Learners in Face-to-Face and Online Contexts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vorobel, Oksana

    2013-01-01

    Peer review is a complex collaborative activity, which may engage English language learners in reading, writing, listening, and speaking and carry many potential benefits for their language learning (Hu, 2005). While many research studies focused on peer review practices of adult language learners in academic settings in the USA or abroad in…

  14. The Dimensionality of Spanish in Young Spanish-English Dual-Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2015

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This study examined the latent dimensionality of Spanish in young Spanish-English dual-language learners (DLLs). Method: Two hundred eighty-six children participated. In their prekindergarten year, children completed norm-referenced and experimental language measures in Spanish requiring different levels of cognitive processing in both…

  15. Reading component skills of learners in adult basic education.

    PubMed

    MacArthur, Charles A; Konold, Timothy R; Glutting, Joseph J; Alamprese, Judith A

    2010-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to investigate the reliability and construct validity of measures of reading component skills with a sample of adult basic education (ABE) learners, including both native and nonnative English speakers, and to describe the performance of those learners on the measures. Investigation of measures of reading components is needed because available measures were neither developed for nor normed on ABE populations or with nonnative speakers of English. The study included 486 students, 334 born or educated in the United States (native) and 152 not born or educated in the United States (nonnative) but who spoke English well enough to participate in English reading classes. All students had scores on 11 measures covering five constructs: decoding, word recognition, spelling, fluency, and comprehension. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test three models: a two-factor model with print and meaning factors; a three-factor model that separated out a fluency factor; and a five-factor model based on the hypothesized constructs. The five-factor model fit best. In addition, the CFA model fit both native and nonnative populations equally well without modification, showing that the tests measure the same constructs with the same accuracy for both groups. Group comparisons found no difference between the native and nonnative samples on word recognition, but the native sample scored higher on fluency and comprehension and lower on decoding than did the nonnative sample. Students with self-reported learning disabilities scored lower on all reading components. Differences by age and gender were also analyzed.

  16. Hybrid E-Learning Acceptance Model: Learner Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahmed, Hassan M. Selim

    2010-01-01

    E-learning tools and technologies have been used to supplement conventional courses in higher education institutions creating a "hybrid" e-learning module that aims to enhance the learning experiences of students. Few studies have addressed the acceptance of hybrid e-learning by learners and the factors affecting the learners'…

  17. Life Skills Curriculum for Senior Adult Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leon County Schools, Tallahassee, FL.

    This life skills curriculum helps adult basic educators meet the needs of senior adult learners. An introduction contains the following sections: purpose statement; description of the senior adult learner; tips to remember on teaching senior adults; physiology of aging; teaching the hearing impaired; and teaching the visually impaired. The life…

  18. "Harry Potter" and the English Language Learner.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coatney, Kathy

    2001-01-01

    Describes one teacher's success with using "Harry Potter" in a program to teach elementary school English language learners. Provides comprehension strategies incorporated to help learners understand the story. Highlights the importance of creating a classroom environment with a low level of anxiety, the implications of the program, and the value…

  19. Dealing with Disruptive Behavior of Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dobmeier, Robert; Moran, Joseph

    2008-01-01

    The adult education literature on disruptive behavior of adult learners was reviewed and a survey on disruptive behavior of adult learners was conducted with adult educators. The findings are synthesized in a conceptual framework for understanding the types and causes of disruptive behavior, which fall into the categories of inattention,…

  20. Learner Satisfaction with Massive Open Online Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gameel, Bahaa G.

    2017-01-01

    This study investigates factors that influence learners' satisfaction with massive open online courses (MOOCs). Framed by the theory of independent learning and teaching, the three types of interaction model, and the technology acceptance model, this study analyzed data collected from 1,786 learners enrolled in four MOOCs. Results show that the…

  1. Model Learner Outcomes for Agriculture/Agribusiness Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Minnesota State Dept. of Education, St. Paul.

    Chapter 1 of this document contains sets of statements adopted by the Minnesota State Board of Education or Minnesota State Legislature. They represent the hierarchy used by Department of Education staff to develop model learner outcomes for each subject area. Contents include learner values, education system values, philosophy of education,…

  2. Attitudes of EFL Learners towards the Internet

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aydin, Selami

    2007-01-01

    Related literature indicates that the Internet has an important role and great potential in foreign language learning. It is also obvious that attitudes of learners affect learning process significantly. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of foreign language learners and to find the relationship between attitudes and subject variables.…

  3. Examining the Challenges of Learner-Centered Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aslan, Sinem; Reigeluth, Charles M.

    2016-01-01

    Learner-centered education has been touted as an improvement over teacher-centered educational systems. However, educators and researchers need to be cautious about its problems, in addition to considering its benefits. The authors set out to identify challenges to learner-centered education through the eyes of educators in a truly…

  4. Successfully Applying Team Teaching with Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Laughlin, Kevin; Nelson, Peggy; Donaldson, Susan

    2011-01-01

    Team teaching is a great strategy to convey systems thinking to students, families, and communities and to help learners gain multiple perspectives. Learners benefit from the professional interaction among skilled instructors. This article uses a program of land stewardship to demonstrate the advantages of team teaching. Both the advantages and…

  5. Promising Instructional Practices for English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prince, Johanna

    2018-01-01

    Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this exploratory case study was to understand how teachers, working with English Language Learners (ELLs), expanded their knowledge and instructional practices as they implemented a one-to-one iPad® program. Background: English Language Learners experience linguistic, cultural, and cognitive shifts that can be…

  6. Treating the Non-Learner: Penicillin or Placebo?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDonald, Carl B.; Cotroneo, Keith

    Non-learners are externally controlled students conditioned to expect both failure and success. They are aware of their basic skill deficiencies yet know that passive behavior in high school classrooms has resulted in passing grades. Given the nature of the non-learner, developmental educators cannot achieve positive results through manipulating…

  7. A Critical Realist Orientation to Learner Needs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ayers, David F.

    2011-01-01

    The objective of this essay is to propose critical realism as a philosophical middle way between two sets of ontological, epistemological, and methodological assumptions regarding learner needs. Key concepts of critical realism, a tradition in the philosophy of science, are introduced and applied toward an analysis of learner needs, resulting in…

  8. The Use and Misuse of Academic Words in Writing: Analyzing the Writing of Secondary English Learners and Redesignated Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cons, Andrea Marie

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the specific ways secondary English learners (ELs) and redesignated fluent English-proficient learners (RFEPs) use academic vocabulary that assesses interpretive reading and analytical writing ability. The research examines how ELs and RFEPs, formerly ELs, differ in use and misuse of academic words. The study extends…

  9. Evaluation of a learner-designed course for teaching health research skills in Ghana

    PubMed Central

    Bates, Imelda; Ansong, Daniel; Bedu-Addo, George; Agbenyega, Tsiri; Akoto, Alex Yaw Osei; Nsiah-Asare, Anthony; Karikari, Patrick

    2007-01-01

    Background In developing countries the ability to conduct locally-relevant health research and high quality education are key tools in the fight against poverty. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel UK accredited, learner-designed research skills course delivered in a teaching hospital in Ghana. Methods Study participants were 15 mixed speciality health professionals from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana. Effectiveness measures included process, content and outcome indicators to evaluate changes in learners' confidence and competence in research, and assessment of the impact of the course on changing research-related thinking and behaviour. Results were verified using two independent methods. Results 14/15 learners gained research competence assessed against UK Quality Assurance Agency criteria. After the course there was a 36% increase in the groups' positive responses to statements concerning confidence in research-related attitudes, intentions and actions. The greatest improvement (45% increase) was in learners' actions, which focused on strengthening institutional research capacity. 79% of paired before/after responses indicated positive changes in individual learners' research-related attitudes (n = 53), 81% in intention (n = 52) and 85% in action (n = 52). The course had increased learners' confidence to start and manage research, and enhanced life-long skills such as reflective practice and self-confidence. Doing their own research within the work environment, reflecting on personal research experiences and utilising peer support and pooled knowledge were critical elements that promoted learning. Conclusion Learners in Ghana were able to design and undertake a novel course that developed individual and institutional research capacity and met international standards. Learning by doing and a supportive peer community at work were critical elements in promoting learning in this environment where tutors were scarce

  10. A Pathway to Learner Autonomy: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hu, Pingying; Zhang, Jiaxiu

    2017-01-01

    Concepts of learner autonomy and the self-determination theory provided a theoretical rationale for the action program for learner autonomy. The action program incorporated satisfying learners' basic psychological needs into English Foreign Language (EFL) course education. The action program was implemented for one academic year. Both qualitative…

  11. Learners' Experiences of Learning Support in Selected Western Cape Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bojuwoye, Olaniyi; Moletsane, Mokgadi; Stofile, Sindiswa; Moolla, Nadeen; Sylvester, Fredrick

    2014-01-01

    The study explored Western Cape primary and secondary school learners' experiences regarding the provision and utilization of support services for improving learning. A qualitative interpretive approach was adopted and data gathered through focus group interviews involving 90 learners. Results revealed that learners received and utilized various…

  12. An Investigation of Pronunciation Learning Strategies of Advanced EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hismanoglu, Murat

    2012-01-01

    This paper aims at investigating the kinds of strategies deployed by advanced EFL learners at English Language Teaching Department to learn or improve English pronunciation and revealing whether there are any significant differences between the strategies of successful pronunciation learners and those of unsuccessful pronunciation learners. After…

  13. Educating English Learners: What Every Classroom Teacher Needs to Know

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nutta, Joyce W.; Strebel, Carine; Mokhtari, Kouider; Mihai, Florin M.; Crevecoeur-Bryant, Edwidge

    2014-01-01

    In "Educating English Learners," Joyce W. Nutta and her colleagues offer practical tools for helping schools and teachers successfully integrate English learners into mainstream classrooms. Drawing on the One Plus model presented in their award-winning book, "Preparing Every Teacher to Reach English Learners," the authors now…

  14. The Spiritual Journey: Black Female Adult Learners in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones Tinner, LaShanta Y.

    2013-01-01

    This study explored the experience of Black female adult learners and how spirituality influenced their academic journeys. Research concerning Black female adult learners in higher education is ostensibly partial. These data offered an extended understanding of Black female adult learners' academic experiences, while also investigating common…

  15. The Evolving Military Learner Population: A Review of the Literature

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ford, Kate; Vignare, Karen

    2015-01-01

    This literature review examines the evolving online military learner population with emphasis on current generation military learners, who are most frequently Post-9/11 veterans. The review synthesizes recent scholarly and grey literature on military learner demographics and attributes, college experiences, and academic outcomes against a backdrop…

  16. Urban school leadership for elementary science education: Meeting the needs of English Language Learners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alarcon, Maricela H.

    Science education reform and state testing accountability call upon principals to become instructional leaders in science. Specifically, elementary school principals must take an active role in science instruction to effectively improve science education for all students including English Language Learners. As such, the research questioned posed in this study centered on How are elementary school principals addressing the academic needs of Latino Spanish-speaking English language learners within science education? This study employed a qualitative research design to identify the factors contributing to the exemplary performance in science, as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), for English Language Learner students in three high poverty bilingual elementary schools based on a multiple case study. As part of the data collection process, interviews were conducted with three school principals, three science academic support teachers, and two 5th grade bilingual teachers. Additionally, observations were acquired through school principal shadowing. The findings revealed four attributes necessary for effective instructional leadership in science education. First, Positive School Culture was defined as the core that linked the other three instructional leadership attributes and thus increased their effectiveness. Second, Clear Goals and Expectations were set by making science a priority and ensuring that English language learners were transitioning from Spanish to English instruction by the fifth grade. Third, Critical Resourcing involved hiring a science academic support teacher, securing a science classroom on campus, and purchasing bilingual instructional materials. Fourth, principal led and supported Collaboration in which teachers met to discuss student performance based data in addition to curriculum and instruction. These research findings are vital because by implementing these best practices of elementary school principals, educators

  17. A Student Orientation Program to Build a Community of Learners

    PubMed Central

    Santanello, Cathy R.; Gupchup, Gireesh V.

    2007-01-01

    Objectives To describe and evaluate a new student orientation program designed to lay the foundations for a community of learners. Design A weeklong orientation program structured as the first week of an 18-week fall semester was held for the first-professional year class. Each of the activities supported program objectives and developed elements of a community of learners. Assessment Students' reflective portfolios, daily evaluations and final program evaluations provided evidence of development of a community of learners. Positive student observations included the use of technology, a discussion of the curriculum and experiential education, the use of reflective portfolios, and presentations from pharmacy practitioners. Students also appreciated becoming acquainted with the faculty, staff, and their peers in a non-threatening atmosphere. Some of the aspects rated as least helpful were the learning styles exercise, library tour, history of pharmacy session, and the overall length of the orientation. Summary A model for a new student orientation program that builds the foundations for the development of a community of learning, which is vital to preparing students to provide pharmaceutical care in interdisciplinary teams and become critical thinkers, was successfully established. This model could be implemented at other schools of pharmacy. PMID:17429513

  18. Pairing the Adult Learner and Boutique Wineries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holyoke, Laura; Heath-Simpson, Delta

    2013-01-01

    This study explored connections between adult learners and their experiences in the context of small boutique wineries operating in the start-up phase of the organizational life cycle. The research objective was to gain insight regarding the pairing of adult learners with the entering of a specialty industry. Fourteen individuals from four…

  19. User-Centered Design through Learner-Centered Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Altay, Burçak

    2014-01-01

    This article initially demonstrates the parallels between the learner-centered approach in education and the user-centered approach in design disciplines. Afterward, a course on human factors that applies learner-centered methods to teach user-centered design is introduced. The focus is on three tasks to identify the application of theoretical and…

  20. Adult Learning and Learners. PREL Briefing Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Timarong, Alvina; Temaungil, Marianne; Sukrad, Wilma

    A survey of literature on adult learning and learners conducted for Palau Community College (PCC), Koror, Palau, found a lack of literature specific to the United States-affiliated Pacific region. Background information was compiled on development of formal education in Palau. A survey was administered in fall 2001 to adult learners working toward…

  1. English Language Learners in a Digital Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prince, Johanna

    2017-01-01

    English language learners (ELLs) experience linguistic, cultural, and cognitive shifts that can be challenging and at times lead to isolation for ELLs. While education technology may be an instructional resource and engage learners, devices alone do not shift instructional practices or lead to student gains. This case study was performed at an…

  2. Scaffolding Learner Autonomy in Online University Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ribbe, Elisa; Bezanilla, María José

    2013-01-01

    This paper deals with the question in what ways teachers and course designers can support the development and exertion of learner autonomy among online university students. It advocates that a greater attention to learner autonomy could help more students to complete their course successfully and thus contribute the decrease of the high dropout…

  3. Model Learner Outcomes for Home Economics Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rogers, Cheryl, Ed.; And Others

    Chapter 1 of this document contains sets of statements adopted by either the Minnesota State Board of Education or the Minnesota State Legislature. They represent the hierarchy used by Department of Education staff as they develop model learner outcomes for each subject area. Contents include learner values, education system values, philosophy for…

  4. Video Chat vs. Face-to-Face Recasts, Learners' Interpretations and L2 Development: A Case of Persian EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rassaei, Ehsan

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of two modes of corrective feedback, namely, face-to-face recasts and computer-mediated recasts during video-conferencing on Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' second language (L2) development. Moreover, the accuracy of the learners' interpretations of recasts in the two modalities was…

  5. Are K-12 Learners Motivated in Physical Education? A Meta-Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Senlin; Chen, Ang; Zhu, Xihe

    2012-01-01

    Previous studies devoted to K-12 learner motivation in physical education share a general assumption that students may lack motivation. This meta-analytic study examined published original studies (n = 79) to determine students' motivation level and the association between motivation and outcomes. Original means of motivation measures were…

  6. Language Learners' and Teachers' Perceptions of Task Repetition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahmadian, Mohammad Javad; Mansouri, Seyyed Abbas; Ghominejad, Shiva

    2017-01-01

    This study examined how English language learners and teachers perceive and interpret task repetition (TR), and whether teachers' and learners' views about this pedagogic practice correspond. In addition, the study explored learners' cognitive and affective engagement with TR. We asked eight experienced language teachers to use a structured…

  7. Automated Assessment of Speech Fluency for L2 English Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yoon, Su-Youn

    2009-01-01

    This dissertation provides an automated scoring method of speech fluency for second language learners of English (L2 learners) based that uses speech recognition technology. Non-standard pronunciation, frequent disfluencies, faulty grammar, and inappropriate lexical choices are crucial characteristics of L2 learners' speech. Due to the ease of…

  8. [Dichotic perception of Mandarin third tone by Mexican Chinese learners].

    PubMed

    Wang, Hongbin

    2014-05-01

    To investigate the relationship between the advantage ear (cerebral hemisphere) of Spanish-speaking Mexican learners and the third Chinese tone. Third tone Chinese vowel syllables were used as experimental materials with dichotic listening technology to test the Spanish-speaking Mexican Chinese learners (20-32 years old) who studied Chinese about 20 h. In terms of error rates to identify the third Chinese tone, the Spanish-speaking Mexican Chinese learners's reaction to the third tone suggested that their left ears were the advantageous ear (the right cerebral hemisphere) (Z=-2.091, P=0.036). The verbal information of tones influenced the perception of Mexican Chinese learners' mandarin tones. In the process of learning mandarin tones, Mexican Chinese learners gradually formed the category of tones.

  9. Assessment of teacher interruptions on learners during oral case presentations.

    PubMed

    Yang, Glen; Chin, Rachel

    2007-06-01

    Studies have only recently begun to investigate the effects of interruptions on physicians in the emergency department (ED). To determine the frequency and nature of interruptions by the training physician that occur when medical trainees do oral case presentations (OCPs) in the ED. This was an observational study. Learner OCPs to attending emergency physicians were observed in the ED of an urban Level 1 trauma center at a major teaching hospital. A single investigator followed attending physicians blinded to the study objective in a nonrandomized convenience sampling of all ED shifts, recording information regarding teacher interruptions during new patient presentations. Learners completed a brief questionnaire after each OCP. A total of 196 OCPs were observed. The mean (+/-SD) duration of OCPs was 3.30 (+/-1.85) minutes, and the mean (+/-SD) number of interruptions was 0.75 (+/-0.60) per minute and 2.49 (+/-1.95) per OCP. The number of interruptions (per OCP) and duration of OCP varied by learner level of training, with more experienced learners giving shorter presentations and being interrupted less often. Frequency (per minute) of interruptions did not vary by learner level. In 40.3% of OCPs, attending physicians interrupted to give an assessment and/or a plan before the learner had done so, but 8.3% of interrupted learners believed that teacher interruptions were "disruptive" to their OCP. Attending emergency physicians frequently interrupt learners during new patient OCPs, with the number of interruptions varying by learner level of training. Teacher interruptions appear to have minimal, if any, detrimental effect on the perceived effectiveness of OCPs as a learning experience.

  10. Multimodal Children's E-Books Help Young Learners in Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morgan, Hani

    2013-01-01

    Many children struggle with reading and are seldom engaged in this process when teachers assign them to read. Young learners may lack motivation to read an dislike this activity because they have had frequently have unpleasant experiences with reading. If educators fail to provide support for struggling readers, these pupils will likely experience…

  11. Initial Perceptions of Open Higher Education Students with Learner Management Systems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Altunoglu, Asu

    2017-01-01

    Learner management systems (LMS) are used in open education as a means of managing and recording e-learning facilities as well as improving student engagement. Students benefit from them to become active participants in the decision-making process of their own learning. This study aims to investigate the initial perceptions of students…

  12. Radio Waves and Curriculum Pathways: Jamaican "At Risk" Learners Construct Media

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feraria, Paulette J.

    2018-01-01

    This paper explores radio play as an alternative space for learning language and literacy for Jamaican students labeled as 'at-risk' learners. Through the creation of a make-believe radio station in the classroom, students developed oral language skills as a necessary precursor for social literacy. They connected reading and writing activities and…

  13. Battling Obesity in K-12 Learners from an Exercise Physiology Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rattigan, Peter; Biren, Greg

    2007-01-01

    Physical education practitioners and programs have the opportunity and obligation to help children become physically educated, healthy, and active adults. This article discusses the battle against obesity in K-12 learners from an exercise physiology perspective and focuses on the fact that practitioners have all the tools they need to battle this…

  14. MALL in the Wild: Learners' Designs for Scaffolding Vocabulary Learning Trajectories

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Underwood, Joshua; Luckin, Rosemary; Winters, Niall

    2014-01-01

    This study aims to inform the design of mobile apps for vocabulary learning. Learning vocabulary involves developing, connecting, and sustaining various types of knowledge and skills. Learners do not typically acquire these all at once, but rather over the course of distinct episodes of activity. Yet, little is known about learning experience…

  15. Disproportionality of English Learners with Emotional and/or Behavioral Disorders: A Comparative Meta-Analysis with English Learners with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gage, Nicholas; Gersten, Russell; Sugai, George; Newman-Gonchar, Rebecca

    2013-01-01

    Disproportionate representation of English learners in special education has been a longstanding and ongoing concern. However, research examining disproportionate representation of English learners receiving special education services for emotional and/or behavioral disorders (EBD) has been limited. To address this gap, a meta-analysis of…

  16. ICT Usage by Distance Learners in India

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Awadhiya, Ashish Kumar; Gowthaman, K.

    2014-01-01

    Open Universities across the world are embracing ICT based teaching and learning process to disseminate quality education to their learners spread across the globe. In India availability and access of ICT and learner characteristics are uneven and vary from state to state. Hence it is important to establish the facts about ICT access among…

  17. Learner Autonomy Scale: A Scale Development Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Orakci, Senol; Gelisli, Yücel

    2017-01-01

    The goal of the study is to develop a scale named "Learner Autonomy Scale" (LAS) for determining the learner autonomy of the students toward English lesson. The proposal scale, composed of 29 items, was applied to two study groups in Turkey. The group of Exploratory Factor Analysis that aims to determine the psychometric properties…

  18. Adult Part-Time Learners in the Eighties.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eliason, N. Carol

    Numerous issues and questions related to the adult, part-time student are addressed in this research review, especially as they pertain to the community college. The paper begins by comparing the demographic characteristics of adult learners and non-learners and then points to several sub-populations which might be better served by the community…

  19. Educator Competencies for Personalized, Learner-Centered Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolfe, Rebecca E.; Poon, Jennifer Davis

    2015-01-01

    Learner-centered approaches have captured the imagination and loyalty of educators since the time of Dewey and the Progressive Movement, yet they have never been implemented at scale. What marks this era as different is the renewed interest in personalized, learner-centered education of today. It builds from a powerful combination of economic,…

  20. Vocabulary Growth of the Advanced EFL Learner

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ozturk, Meral

    2015-01-01

    This article reports the results of two studies on the vocabulary growth of advanced learners of English as a foreign language in an English-medium degree programme. Growth in learners' written receptive and productive vocabularies was investigated in one cross-sectional and one longitudinal study over three years. The effect of word frequency on…

  1. Online Metacognitive Tasks for EFL Distance Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garcia-Sanchez, Soraya

    2016-01-01

    Online courses have benefited from the adequate use of digital resources that allow learners to be the center of their own learning process. More often online instructors not only aim at what students have to individually do but learners are also engaged in interacting with the educational community by means of a variety of metacognitive…

  2. Profiling Language Learners in Hybrid Learning Contexts: Learners' Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lintunen, Pekka; Mutta, Maarit; Pelttari, Sanna

    2017-01-01

    This article discusses formal and informal foreign language learning before university level. The focus is on beginning university students' perceptions of their earlier learning experiences, especially in digital contexts. Language learners' digital competence is a part of their everyday lives, but its relationship to learning in and outside…

  3. English and Socio-Economic Disadvantage: Learner Voices from Rural Bangladesh

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamid, M. Obaidul; Baldauf, Richard B., Jr.

    2011-01-01

    L2 education research has shown immense interest in learners and their views of L2 learning. Nevertheless, the different directions of learner-focused research have been inadequate in highlighting learners' learning experiences in relation to their social backgrounds, particularly in the developing world. Drawing on the first author's PhD…

  4. Chinese Learners' Acquisition of English Verbs: A Corpus-Driven Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Linxiao; Jo, Hie-myung

    2012-01-01

    Limited research has investigated advanced language learners' acquisition of English verbs. The current study examines and compares the acquisition pattern of English verbs among Chinese second language (L2) learners at both intermediate and advanced levels to answer the following questions: (1) Do L2 learners acquire regular verbs and irregular…

  5. The effect of a computer-related ergonomic intervention program on learners in a school environment.

    PubMed

    Sellschop, Ingrid; Myezwa, Hellen; Mudzi, Witness; Mbambo-Kekana, Nonceba

    2015-01-01

    The interest in school ergonomic intervention programs and their effects on musculoskeletal pain is increasing around the world. The objective of this longitudinal randomized control trial was to implement and measure the effects of a computer-related ergonomics intervention on grade eight learners in a school environment in Johannesburg South Africa (a developing country). The sample comprised of a control group (n= 66) and an intervention group (n= 61). The outcome measures used were posture assessment using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment tool (RULA) and the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Measurements were done at baseline, three months and six months post intervention. The results showed that the posture of the intervention group changed significantly from an Action Level 4 to an Action level 2 and Action level 3, indicating a sustained improvement of learners' postural positions whilst using computers. The intervention group showed a significant reduction in the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain from 42.6% at baseline to 18% six months post intervention (p< 0.003). In conclusion, the results indicated that a computer-related intervention program for grade eight learners in a school environment is effective and that behavioural changes can be made that are sustainable over a period of six months.

  6. Lurking and L2 Learners on a Facebook Group: The Voices of the Invisibles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shafie, Latisha Asmaak; Yaacob, Aizan; Singh, Paramjit Kaur Karpal

    2016-01-01

    This qualitative research investigates the practice of lurking among English as a second language (ESL) learners in a Facebook group discussion. Lurking is a term used to describe the activity of following and observing any online discussions or activities without contributing to the discussions. Lurkers are often accused of being invisible and…

  7. Awakening the Learner Within: Purposeful Prompts and Lifelong Learning Measures in a First-Year Composition Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Tara; Shaffer, Suzanne C.

    2017-01-01

    Lifelong learning skills have been shown to benefit students during and after college. This paper discusses the use of the Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI) in a first-year composition course. Reflective writing assignments and pre- and post-semester ELLI data were used to assess student growth as lifelong learners over the course of a…

  8. Overcoming Barriers for "Niche" Learners Through Distance Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Lawrence G.; Hyatt, Sue Y.; Brennan, Joyce; Bertani, Raymond; Trevor, Thomas

    1999-01-01

    Focuses on students who fit into "niches," and discusses how the Chattanooga State Technical Community College's distance-learning program accommodates these learners. Describes five "niche" learner categories: students with disabilities, power-line maintenance technicians, emergency-service personnel, truckers, and industrial…

  9. A Systematic Review of Pedagogical Agents' Persona, Motivation, and Cognitive Load Implications for Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schroeder, Noah L.; Adesope, Olusola O.

    2014-01-01

    After more than a decade of pedagogical agent research, this review synthesizes the affective implications of learning with pedagogical agents. The review investigates different affective measures within 99 pedagogical agent outcome measures. The results suggest that learners may prefer pedagogical agents compared to non-agent control conditions,…

  10. Learner Identities in the Context of Undergraduates: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawson, Alison

    2014-01-01

    Background: A "learner identity" can be broadly defined as how an individual feels about himself/herself as a learner and the extent to which he/she describes himself/herself as a "learner." The literature suggests that those from non-traditional backgrounds may struggle to adapt to a university environment with all its related…

  11. Shopping [for] Power: How Adult Literacy Learners Negotiate the Marketplace

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ozanne, Julie L.; Adkins, Natalie Ross; Sandlin, Jennifer A.

    2005-01-01

    Little empirical evidence exists on how adult literacy learners act as consumers. Yet, adult literacy programs often employ a "functional" approach to consumer education and assume that adult learners are deficient in consumer skills. Data from a qualitative study of the consumer behaviors of adult literacy learners are used to explore how adult…

  12. How Setting Goals Enhances Learners' Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Listening Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ballesteros Muñoz, Liliana; Tutistar Jojoa, Silvana

    2014-01-01

    This article outlines a study that explores the relationship between SMART goal setting (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based) and learning English in Colombia concerning a foreign language learners' self-efficacy beliefs in listening. The participants were seventh and ninth grade students of two schools in Bogotá, Colombia.…

  13. Cultivating Effective Corpus Use by Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kennedy, Claire; Miceli, Tiziana

    2017-01-01

    While there is widespread agreement on the expected benefits of hands-on access to corpora for language learners, reports abound of the difficulties involved in realising those benefits in practice. A particular focus of discussion is the challenge of transferring the skills of the corpus linguist to learners, so that they can explore this type of…

  14. Learner Views about a Distance Education Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Durak, Gurhan; Ataizi, Murat

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to investigate the views of learners experienced in the Distance Learning Platform (DLP), which was prepared according to an online course design model. The participants of the study were 19 learners who took the programming languages course (via the DLP for 14 weeks). Before the application, the preparation of the DLP…

  15. Profiles of English Learners (ELs). Fast Facts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Office of English Language Acquisition, US Department of Education, 2015

    2015-01-01

    The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page PDF sheets, by topic, with graphics, plus key contacts. The topics for this report on profiles of English Learners (ELs) include: (1) Percentage of Total School Population, Grades Pre-K through 12, Represented by ELs, by State,…

  16. The Adult Learner: From a Narrative Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barnett, Jennifer A.

    2013-01-01

    Each year there seems to be an increase in the number of mature students enrolled in my Bachelor of Education (BEd) classes. These mature learners experience stress. As there is a need to better comprehend the experiences of the adult learner enrolled in a one-year intensive tertiary education programme, I enrolled in university as a student, and…

  17. Can Code Switching Enhance Learners' Academic Achievement?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Simasiku, Liswani; Kasanda, Choshi; Smit, Talita

    2015-01-01

    There has been a high failure rate of Grade 10 learners in the year end examinations in the Caprivi Education Region of Namibia over a number of years. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the use of mother tongue in English medium classrooms enhanced learners' academic achievement.The study investigated 12 teachers at 12 schools…

  18. Examination of Learner and Situation Level Variables: Choice of Speech Act and Request Strategy by Spanish L2 Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuriscak, Lisa

    2015-01-01

    This study focuses on variation within a group of learners of Spanish (N = 253) who produced requests and complaints via a written discourse completion task. It examines the effects of learner and situational variables on production--the effect of proficiency and addressee-gender on speech-act choice and the effect of perception of imposition on…

  19. More than a "Basic Skill": Breaking down the Complexities of Summarizing for ABE/ESL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ouellette-Schramm, Jennifer

    2015-01-01

    This article describes the complex cognitive and linguistic challenges of summarizing expository text at vocabulary, syntactic, and rhetorical levels. It then outlines activities to help ABE/ESL learners develop corresponding skills.

  20. Learner-Content Interaction in Distance Education: The Weakest Link in Interaction Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xiao, Junhong

    2017-01-01

    Interaction is a recurrent theme in the literature on distance education. Much of the research along these lines is dedicated to reciprocal interpersonal interaction, that is, learner-learner and learner-instructor interaction. But there is far less research interest in learner-content interaction despite its fundamental and critical role in…

  1. Investigating the Measurement of Grammatical Knowledge and Civics Content Knowledge in the Context of an English-for Specific-Purposes Program Designed for Adult Learners with Low English Proficiency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dakin, Jee Wha

    2010-01-01

    In the context of adult learners with low English proficiency enrolled in an organization offering instruction in both language and civics content, the purpose of the study was to determine. (1) the nature of grammatical knowledge in the context in the learners' second language (L2) and the nature of civics content knowledge in the learners' first…

  2. Adult Learners' Use of Flexible Online Resources in a Blended Programme

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cornelius, Sarah; Gordon, Carole

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a case study of a blended programme for adults and discusses findings from a mixed-methods investigative study of learners' and tutors' experiences of the programme. The programme employs a set of flexible online resources, which are activity-based and designed to provide choice in study routes and modes of learning. Our…

  3. Automatic Annotation Method on Learners' Opinions in Case Method Discussion

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Samejima, Masaki; Hisakane, Daichi; Komoda, Norihisa

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to annotate an attribute of a problem, a solution or no annotation on learners' opinions automatically for supporting the learners' discussion without a facilitator. The case method aims at discussing problems and solutions in a target case. However, the learners miss discussing some of problems and solutions.…

  4. A Model to Manage EFL Learners with ADHD and Dyslexia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akbasli, Sait; Sahin, Mehmet; Gürel, Merve

    2017-01-01

    In EFL or ESL classrooms there may be those learners labeled as "slow learners" who struggle to concentrate and thus experience failure inevitably. In this study, we deal with dyslexia and inattention (ADHD) because current research suggests behind the slowness of such learners may lie a disorder that can be controlled. We am going to…

  5. A Framework for Learner Agency in Online Spoken Interaction Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knight, Janine; Barbera, Elena; Appel, Christine

    2017-01-01

    Learner agency, the capability of individual human beings to make choices and act on these choices in a way that makes a difference in their lives (Martin, 2004), is instrumental in second language learning because attainment is only arrived at by learner choice (Pavlenko & Lantolf, 2000). If attainment is understood as learner engagement in…

  6. Left to their own devices: medical learners' use of mobile technologies.

    PubMed

    Ellaway, Rachel H; Fink, Patricia; Graves, Lisa; Campbell, Alanna

    2014-02-01

    Although many medical learners and teachers are using mobile technologies within medical education, there has been little evidence presented describing how they use mobile devices across a whole curriculum. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) introduced a new mobile device program in 2010. Incoming undergraduate medical learners received a laptop and an iPad and learners entering year three of the four-year program received a laptop and an iPhone. A survey was sent to all learners to gather information on their use of and attitudes toward these devices. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to analyze the data and to generate a series of themes that synthesized student behaviors, perceptions and attitudes. Context and learner autonomy were found to be important factors with learners using multiple devices for different purposes and adopting strategic approaches to learning using these devices. The expectation that school-issued devices would be regularly and enthusiastically used to replace more traditional study media was not reflected in practice. Learners' approaches to using mobile devices are heterogeneous as is the extent to which they use them. Learners adapt their use of mobile devices to the learning cultures and contexts they find themselves in.

  7. Teaching English to Young Learners Through Indonesian - Translated Songs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sukirmiyadi

    2018-01-01

    As an international language, English is taught and learnt by almost all of the people in the world. In Indonesia for example, English has been introduced since the learners are studying at the elementary school. Even many of the Kindergarten Schools too, have already introduced this language to their students. However, we cannot deny that teaching foreign language is not such an easy thing due to the fact thatmany of the learners are not capable of speaking English very well although they have been learning it for more than ten years (Elementary: 6 years, Junior and Senior High School: 6 years). In line with this problem, this study aims at providing a solution by offering one teaching technique which seems to make the learners (especially young learners) enjoy learning through singing songs (Kasihani, 1999).Furthermore, Phillips(1995) said that young learners really enjoyed learning and singing songs with highly motivating. Based on those two researches andin efforts to make it easier in English language learning, especially to young learners, the writer translated the very common and popular Indonesian kid songs into English. Thesetranslated songswere then used to teach the students of Kindergarten up to Elementary ones of the first and second grade. This meant that before a teacher started to teach, s/he had to translate the Indonesian kid songsat first into English.Due to its popularity and familiarity, it was expected that this teaching technique would be more effective and efficient to apply especially to young learners.

  8. Learner Outcomes in Science in South Africa: Role of the Nature of Learner Difficulties with the Language for Learning and Teaching Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oyoo, Samuel Ouma

    2017-08-01

    Paul Leslie Gardner pioneered the study of student difficulties with everyday words presented in the science context (Gardner 1971); several similarly designed studies (e.g. Cassels and Johnstone 1985; Tao in Research in Science Education, 24, 322-330, 1994; Farell and Ventura in Language and Education, 12(4), 243-254, 1998; Childs and O'Farell in Chemistry Education: Research and Practice, 4(3), 233-247, 2003) have since been reported in literature. This article draws from an exploratory study of the difficulties South African High School physical science learners encounter with everyday English words when presented in the science context. The participants (1107 learners and 35 respective physical science teachers) were drawn from 35 public secondary schools in Johannesburg area of South Africa. Data were obtained through a word test to participant learners followed by group interviews but face-to-face interviews with each physical science teacher. This study has revealed that in similar ways as have been reported in each of the studies so far, South African learners also face difficulties with meanings of everyday words presented in a science context. The main source of difficulties encountered was learner inability to distinguish between the meanings of familiar everyday words as used in everyday parlance from the `new' meanings of the same everyday words when used in the science context. Interpretations of learner interview responses revealed that fewer difficulties would have been experienced by learners if science teachers generally explained the context meanings of the words as used during science teaching. The findings suggest that focusing on contextual proficiency more than on general proficiency in the language of learning and teaching (LOLT) during teaching perhaps holds more promise for enhanced learning and achievement in science. Steps necessary to raise teacher awareness of the potential impact of context on meanings of everyday words of the LOLT

  9. EFL Instructors' Perception and Practices on Learner Autonomy in Some Turkish Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dogan, Gizem; Mirici, Ismail Hakki

    2017-01-01

    Learner autonomy has become a central ability to develop in learners for a fruitful language learning/teaching process in EFL classes. Particularly, in this world of knowledge, teaching learners how to access resources and how to use them for their learning needs has become increasingly important. Teachers' perception on learner autonomy is…

  10. Learner Acquisition and Its Relationship with Constructivist Learner Roles in a Secondary Education Chemistry Curriculum in Québec/Canada

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aydin, Abdullah

    2013-01-01

    This study aims to identify constructivist learner roles in acquisitions in the secondary education chemistry curriculum of the province of Québec/Canada. This research used document analysis as a qualitative research method. According to our findings; the "learner roles" in curriculum correspond with the "student roles"…

  11. The Contributions of Vietnamese Learners of English to ELT Methodology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tomlinson, Brian; Dat, Bao

    2004-01-01

    This article reports a survey of 300 intermediate-level EFL adult learners' views about the instruction they receive and of 15 of their teachers at the National University of Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City. Its main focus is on how learners can contribute to ELT methodology. The article reviews the literature on learner cultures and perceptions in…

  12. Spacing Effects in Vocabulary Learning: Young EFL Learners in Focus

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lotfolahi, Amir Reza; Salehi, Hadi

    2017-01-01

    This study used a novel method to explore different schedules of spacing in young EFL learners. In doing so, we taught young EFL learners English-Farsi word pairs using different spacing schedules (massed vs. spaced). In the massed condition, learners studied five-word pairs in session one and five-other word pairs one week later. In the spaced…

  13. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 1995.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ford, Bridgie Alexis, Ed.

    1995-01-01

    This first serial issue addresses topics and issues impacting educational services for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners. The issue contains three research-into-practice articles, an interview section called "In the Oral Tradition," and three teacher-generated articles which delineate learner-enhancing practices for…

  14. Swahili Learners' Reference Grammar. African Language Learners' Reference Grammar Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thompson, Katrina Daly; Schleicher, Antonia Folarin

    This reference grammar is written for speakers of English who are learning Swahili. Because many language learners are not familiar with the grammatical terminology, this book explains the basic terminology and concepts of English grammar that are necessary for understanding the grammar of Swahili. It assumes no formal knowledge of English grammar…

  15. Predictive Validity and Accuracy of Oral Reading Fluency for English Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vanderwood, Michael L.; Tung, Catherine Y.; Checca, C. Jason

    2014-01-01

    The predictive validity and accuracy of an oral reading fluency (ORF) measure for a statewide assessment in English language arts was examined for second-grade native English speakers (NESs) and English learners (ELs) with varying levels of English proficiency. In addition to comparing ELs with native English speakers, the impact of English…

  16. English Learners (ELs) and NAEP. Fast Facts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Office of English Language Acquisition, US Department of Education, 2015

    2015-01-01

    The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page PDF sheets, by topic, with graphics, plus key contacts. The topics for this report on English Learners (ELs) and NAEP include: (1) 2013 Reading Scores for Grades 4, 8, and 12: ELs vs. Non-ELs; (2) 2013 Mathematics Scores for Grades 4,…

  17. Vocabulary Breadth in French L2 Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    David, Annabelle

    2008-01-01

    Vocabulary is one of the building blocks of language and is a necessary component of learners' development. This paper aims to describe the development of the L2 lexicon from the first year of learning French as a foreign language at school to the last year of undergraduate studies at university by setting out what learners know and how this…

  18. Serving Young Dual Language Learners in Illinois

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meléndez, Luisiana; Chamberlain, Patricia

    2018-01-01

    Between 2000 and 2010, the foreign born population in Illinois increased by over 200,000, and the number of young dual language learners (DLLs) also grew. By 2015, DLLs were thought to account for more than a quarter of the state's three- and four-year-olds. In addition, more K-12 children in Illinois were being designated as English learners and…

  19. Older Adult Learners: A Comparison of Active and Non-Active Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sloane-Seale, Atlanta; Kops, Bill

    2007-01-01

    This paper reports on a 2004 follow-up study conducted in partnership with the University of Manitoba Continuing Education Division and local senior's organizations. The partnership was formed in 2002-03 to promote applied research on lifelong learning and older adults, develop new and complement existing educational activities, and explore new…

  20. An Investigation of Comprehension Processes among Adolescent English Learners with Reading Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lesaux, Nonie K.; Harris, Julie Russ

    2017-01-01

    This mixed-methods study examines the reading skills and processes of early adolescent Latino English learners demonstrating below-average reading comprehension performance (N = 41, mean age = 13 years). Standardized measures were used to estimate participants' word reading and vocabulary knowledge, and interviews were conducted to examine reading…