The Motivation to Write Profile-College: A Tool to Assess the Writing Motivation of Teacher Candidates

Writing is an important aspect of literacy regardless of the grade or discipline. State standards have defined the writing genres, crafts, and skills that are to be taught by teachers in PK-12 classrooms. However, in addition to standards, research indicates that a teacher’s own conception of writing is crucial to establishing classroom conditions necessary for young writers to grow, explore and take risks. If this is the job of PK-12 educators, then it is essential for higher education instructors to understand and explore the writing conceptions of teacher candidates. One of these critical conceptions is the motivation to write. The Motivation to Write Profile-College (MWP-C) was designed and validated to assess the writing motivation of teacher candidates. The profile can inform the important conversations necessary to ensure that teacher candidates are fully prepared to teach writing as motivated writers themselves

The Relationship Between Teachers\u27 Experience and their Self-Efficacy Regarding the Implementation of Self-Regulated Learning Practices

Twenty-first century learners are growing in a world of rapid change that requires them to be lifelong learners. Due to the uncertainties of the future, education must shift to meet the needs of the new generation. Literature revealed that self-regulated learners have the capabilities of holding themselves accountable for their learning and adjusting to new environments. Thus, the purpose of the proposed study was to explore if there is a relationship between teachers’ years of experience and their self-efficacy toward implementing self-regulated learning practices. A quantitative correlation research design was used to determine if the two variables share a relationship. Using the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale to implement Self-Regulated Learning (TSES-SRL), 262 K-12 public school teachers from the same district zone completed the online survey. A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (Pearson’s r) was used to assess if the two variables were linearly related, and if so, the degree of linearity. Results showed that there was not a statistically significant relationship between teachers’ years of experience and their overall teacher self-efficacy regarding the implementation of self-regulated instructional practices. Being that teachers determine the learning environment, it is imperative to conduct more studies that have teacher self- efficacy for self-regulated practices as key construct

Engaging students in chemistry and physics with an active methodology

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) play an important role in the global economy through technological innovation, creation, and problem-solving in this century. But it is difficult to capture students’ attention to it, and the loss of students in the STEM field hinders society's development, and Portugal is no exception. The students feel that this field is difficult, they feel disappointed as the academic outcomes are more difficult to obtain in the upper secondary, and they easily give up on this area and/or choose other fields. To mesmerize students in the science area and reinforce their positive emotions a project was elaborated based on flipped classrooms with a laboratory station model and started in September 2021. A study case was designed to perceive the impact of the laboratory station methodology and flipped classrooms on the motivation of upper-secondary science students. Self-response questionnaires were applied before and after an intervention phase where students had flipped classrooms and laboratory stations, experimental classes, during one school year. This research concludes that this teaching methodology allows students to maintain motivation throughout the school year. The teacher´s attitudes regarding school, learning and teaching processes, influence students and can trigger positive emotions concerning overcoming school difficulties and barriers they found during their learning journey. It is essential to disseminate these results, as they can help teachers to face the difficulties of engaging students in the learning process in the science field. As the limitation of this study is the small sample (26 students), this study will be replicated with new students in 10th grade and students who were part of this study will continue to be followed as this methodology will continue to be applied in 11grade.publishersversionpublishe

English teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and students learning approaches

This study aimed at investigating the direct and indirect effects that teachers' self-efficacy beliefs exert on students' learning approaches via affecting their perceptions of classroom structure. The sample included 40 English teachers and 240 first-grade female students from high schools in Iran. To collect data, three questionnaires were applied: (a) Self-Efficacy Beliefs Questionnaire was answered by the teachers, and (b) Study Process Questionnaire and Survey of Classroom Structure Goals were given to the students. Path analysis revealed that, via Motivating Tasks, Mastery Evaluation, and Autonomy Support, teachers' self-efficacy beliefs had an indirect and positive effect on students' deep learning approaches but an indirect and negative effect on their surface learning approaches. Also, teachers' self-efficacy beliefs affected students' deep learning approaches directly and positively but their surface learning approaches directly and negatively. Moreover, it was found that Motivating Tasks, Mastery Evaluation, and Autonomy Support had direct and positive effects on students' deep learning approaches but direct and negative effects on their surface learning approaches. All the relationships between model variables were statistically significant. The results tend to verify that students' perception of classroom structure plays a mediating role between teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and students' learning approaches

Student engagement with self-instructional course materials : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in Distance and On-line Learning at Massey University, Extramural, New Zealand

This study is concerned with understanding how students engage with self-instructional materials on campus and at a distance within the context of the hybrid course offered at ABC College. This study examines the interrelationship of (a) time engaged with course materials, (b) the perceived value of course materials, (c) student approaches to engagement and (d) the integration of the course materials into the student learning experience in order to construct an understanding of student engagement with course materials. This study employed multiple case studies which formed a holistic collective case study. Data on student engagement with the course materials was collected using a questionnaire instrument. The resulting data was analysed using descriptive statistics to create a picture of how students engaged with the course materials. Correlation statistics were used to identify possible relationships between the items. Emerging themes were then explored in focus groups. Subsequent analysis of the focus group data explored the causation and interrelationships between themes resulting in an understanding of student engagement with the course materials. The findings from this study suggests that student engagement with self-instructional course materials (readings, learning guide, multimedia, etc.) are the result of complex interactions between a student's preferred approach to engagement, their locus of control and the method of integration of the course materials. The majority of participants preferred to engage with the course materials using a deep approach. Participants with an external locus of control reflected the assumptions and approaches they perceived from the method of integration. Participants with an internal locus of control engaged with the course materials using their preferred approach unless they were convinced that another approach served their needs better. The majority of participants exhibited an external locus of control. When a presentation or supplemental method of integrating was used, participants were more likely to engage with the course materials using a surface approach to engagement. They were also more likely to spend less time engaging with the course materials and place a lower value on the course materials. When a discussion or springboard method of integration was used participants were more likely to engage the course materials using a deep approach to engagement. They were also more likely to spend more time engaging with the course materials and place a higher value on the course materials

Effects of Movement, Growth Mindset and Math Talks on Math Anxiety

Mathematical anxiety is prevalent in our schools. This research provides insight into how mathematical anxiety develops and how it affects students throughout their lives. This study focuses on the mathematical anxiety and mathematical self-concept of five second grade classes at an economically disadvantaged school in rural North Texas. The study looked to see if adding the interventions of movement, mathematical growth mindset and math talks to a classroom would improve the mathematical self-concept of the children in the classrooms which participated. The study contained three classrooms of students who participated in the interventions and two classrooms which were used as a control group. All five second grade classrooms completed a pre and post-intervention survey of mathematical self-concepts. The three main categories measured by the survey were math self-concept, comfort using different mathematical strategies and comfort level with discussing and using math concepts in front of peers. The children received mathematical movement lessons on Mondays, growth mindset journaling and discussions on Tuesdays and mental math number talks on Wednesdays. After the four-week study, the results showed an overall gain in positive responses for the three categories, which were measured for this study in the intervention group. The control group did not show as much of a positive gain as the intervention group did, and in some cases actually went down in positive responses

INTEGRATING ONLINE TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Online education/e-learning has been increasingly adopted globally as it has served as the only tool accessible for teachers and students to maintain undisrupted learning during the coronavirus outbreak. The relevance of the article is determined by the need to define effective ways to implement online education in foreign language classes to produce a positive effect on the learning outcome. The purpose of the article is to present ways of providing English-as-a-foreign-language learners with an online course designed in the learning management system Moodle and aimed at enhancing students' foreign language skills. The work uses a logical method (theoretical), the study of the experience of educational organizations and personal pedagogical experience at Pskov Branch of the Academy of Federal Penal Service of Russia (empirical). The study described the diversity of Moodle structure particular tasks, its assessment procedure and present military students’ feedback about the impact of the course on their foreign language acquisition, developing learners' autonomy and soft skills. It explored what problems English-as-a-foreign-language learners had with their English language learning and what support they needed to gain the maximum benefits from the online learning environment. The outcome of the online education was a substantial increase in the learners' autonomy and an integrative development of foreign language skills and soft skills.

Web-Based Instruction and Learning: Analysis and Needs Assessment

An analysis and needs assessment was conducted to identify kindergarten through grade 14 (K-14) customer needs with regard to using the World Wide Web (WWW) for instruction and to identify obstacles K-14 teachers face in utilizing NASA Learning Technologies products in the classroom. The needs assessment was conducted as part of the Dryden Learning Technologies Project which is a collaboration between Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), Edwards, California and Tne Pennsylvania State University (PSU), University Park, Pennsylvania. The overall project is a multiyear effort to conduct research in the development of teacher training and tools for Web-based science, mathematics and technology instruction and learning

Classroom structures, cultrally-derived values and students' motivational orientations: a comparative study of two types of primary schools in Hong Kong

At a time when policy-makers in Hong Kong are pushing for educational reforms, there seems to be an increasing interest for both the Government and parents to use success stories of our western counterparts as a point of reference in guiding reforms. The general purpose of this study was to examine the subtle interplay of factors (e.g. classroom structures, culturally-derived values, teachers' perceptions of 'what counts’ in education, students' perceptions of their learning, government policy and resources allocation etc) that might contribute to students' motivation orientations. Two primary classrooms, one from each education system (a local school and an international school in Hong Kong), were analysed. Subjects for this study were 80 students who completed a questionnaire and 20 students and 5 teachers who were interviewed individually by the researcher. They were chosen from two Key stage 2 classes in each of the two targeted schools. One specific focus of this investigation was to examine whether there were any significant differences in students' motivational orientations in the two classes of students (who came from two types of schools) studied. A second specific focus was to examine whether there were any differences in the classroom structures and practices between the two classes of students and, if so, to find out to what extent did they account for the differences in students' motivation orientation. The third specific focus was to examine the extent to which culturally derived values served to affect teachers’ interpretation of their professional values and definitions of good educational practices, which in turn defined how they structured their classroom. The last focus was to examine the extent to which culturally derived values served to affect students’ perceptions of the classroom instruction, and their definition of 'how learning should happen' in the classroom. Findings from this study could shed light on whether policy makers are heading for the right direction in education reforms

Factors affecting the flipped classroom in the educational context of Vietnam

In the context of the implementation of the 2018 General Education Program, teachers are required to implement a teaching model oriented to the development of students’ quality and competence. Teachers are encouraged to adapt the flipped classroom model of teaching in schools as its advantages are suitable for novel teaching strategies. This study focuses on analyzing factors affecting the application of this model in the teaching and learning process by collecting feedback from 351 teachers from various cities in Vietnam. The questionnaire included Likert-type questions analyzed by IBM SPSS Statistics version 20 for quantitative analysis and an open question for qualitative analysis with context and personal information. The research-oriented factors focus on the group of potential internal factors (perception, proficiency, desire and readiness of teachers) and the group of external factors (infrastructure, facilities and support resources, training programs). The results showed that those factors include the school’s infrastructure and information communication technology (ICT) condition, the teacher’s ICT competence as well as competence-related teaching and assessment methodologies and the students’ internet access conditions. Finally, the study offers suggestions on how to apply this model in teaching practice to meet the requirements of educational innovation in Vietnam