Group items tagged

This study examined the impact of Web-Based Learning Tools (WBLTs), also known as learning objects, in middle school mathematics and science classrooms. Survey, qualitative, and student performance data were collected from a sample of 18 teachers and 443 students. Teachers were very positive about the learning benefits, design of WBLTs, and increased engagement of their students. Students were moderately positive about these same features. Student learning performance with respect to remembering, understanding, applying and evaluating concepts increased significantly when WBLTs were used. Qualitative data suggested that a number of students enjoyed the visual supports, ease of use, and interactivity of WBLTs as well using technology to learn. Some students noted that the WBLTs used in class were not challenging enough and that the help features and the design of certain WBLTs were deficient. Overall, it is reasonable to conclude that WBLTs, if selected carefully, can be a positive and effective learning tool in a middle school environment. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

The development and progress of distance education through online technologies has grown over the past ten years. Though community colleges across the United States have seen the largest increase, are its faculty members prepared to teach online? The following study examines strategies administrators may use to train faculty who teach online courses at the community college level.

While some instructors think online teaching will be a breeze, the truth is that the best teachers work very hard to connect with students. Here are seven tips from an online insider.

Journal article describing factors that make a difference in second language acquisition (SLA) in children. Includes study on SLA in children at an International School in Beijing. Not as helpful as I hoped in determining how to improve SLA.

Evaluation of Synchronous Online Tutoring for Students at Risk of Reading Failure This study examined the effects of online reading instruction for at-risk fourth-grade students in Philadelphia. The authors used a multiple baseline design to assess the extent to which the students increased their oral reading rate given systematic supplemental online reading instruction. Tutoring consisted of 4 sessions per week with 50-min lessons of instruction delivered over Adobe ConnectTM. Analysis of the multiple baseline across participants revealed gains in oral reading fluency for all participants when placed into the synchronous online tutoring program. Participating students and tutors reported an awareness of increased reading skills and value of synchronous online instruction. Teachers and parents generally reported that students demonstrated increased reading skills after receiving instruction.

"The article presents ways to prepare and put some pizzazz into the science fair. Such ways include the need to provide examples of science fair projects to students, one that is not so good and the other one that is good. It notes that a question contest be conducted in a library and awards be given not only to the best project but also to the best question."

"This article describes the development and evaluation of STARstreams, a pilot effort to utilize videos and online discussions in a conflict resolution curriculum that acknowledges the inherent socio-personal aspects of conflict. " - 5th and 6th graders

Student-Centered Teaching in a Standards-Based World: Finding a Sensible Balance GEORGE E. DEBOER Interesting article discussing the tension between student centered approaches and standard-based curriculum.

While this paper set out to discover what activities and/or interaction channels might be expected to lead to more highly engaged students, what it found was a bit different. After first creating a scale to measure online student engagement, and then surveying 186 students from six campuses in the Midwest, the results indicate that there is no particular activity that will automatically help students to be more engaged in online classes. However, the results also suggest that multiple communication channels may be related to higher engagement and that student-student and instructor-student communication are clearly strongly correlated with higher student engagement with the course, in general. Thus, advice for online instructors is still to use active learning but to be sure to incorporate meaningful and multiple ways of interacting with students and encouraging/requiring students to interact with each other. (Contains 4 tables.)

Flexibility in learning provides a student room for volitional control and an array of strategies and encourages persistence in the face of difficulties. Autonomy in and control over one's learning process can be seen as a condition for self-regulated learning. There are a number of categories and dimensions for flexible learning; following professional publications, time, location, lesson content, pedagogy method, learning style, organization, and course requirements are all elements to consider. Using these categories and the dimensions of flexible learning, we developed and validated a questionnaire for an open and distance learning setting. This article reports on the results from a study investigating the relationship between flexible learning and self-regulated learning strategies. The results show the positive effects of flexible learning and its three factors, time management, teacher contact, and content, on self-regulated learning strategies (cognitive, metacognitive, and resource-based). Groups that have high flexibility in learning indicate that they use more learning strategies than groups with low flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses a variety of criticisms of Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory as well as the Mozart Effect and Emotional Intelligence theory.

The writer discusses an innovative teacher certification program offered through Voyager Expanded Learning and the University of North Texas that models a new way of teaching and learning with technology at the core. With online curriculum, differentiated instruction, project-based learning, and team learning at its heart, the program aims to improve the quality of instruction by providing a model of learning that was not available when the majority of current classroom teachers received training.