Global Citizens in the 21st-Century Classroom: A Mixed-Methods Study of Motivational Aspects of Global Awareness

The present global setting is increasingly driven by the interdependence of heightened environmental, political, socio-economic, and technological forces. As a result, today’s students need a variety of skills to succeed on both professional and personal levels. A wide and increasing array of scholars strongly advocates for students to achieve enhanced global awareness to become global citizens and to successfully navigate this challenging global environment. The growing importance of global awareness and understanding students’ motivational behaviors toward its attainment strongly inspired the purpose of this dissertation study. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was utilized for this dissertation study to examine how an ethnically, racially, and socio-economically diverse group of high school students (n = 172) reported their motivational characteristics associated with their global awareness levels as a result of participating in a global-themed curriculum program. Data collection and analyses were grounded in Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), which includes intrinsic and varied extrinsic nuances and descriptions of the respective roles of these forms of motivation in cognitive and social development. As a means to assess the participating students’ levels of motivation and global awareness, an electronic survey was administered, including the following measures: (a) the Situational Motivational Scale (SIMS) (Guay, Vallerand, & Blanchard, 2000), (b) the Programme for International Student Assessment – Global Competence Student Information Questionnaire (PISA; Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2018), and (c) a demographic questionnaire. The student sample’s quantitative data were obtained from this online survey instrument. The qualitative data were taken from focus group discussions, during which students (n = 23) reflected on various motivators for their enrollments and participations in their respective global-themed courses. Based on the quantitative data analyses, the student sample possessed motivational characteristics to participate in their respective global-themed courses, as highlighted in the SIMS’ Intrinsic Motivation and Identified Regulation subscales scores. In addition, the respective data scores for several PISA subscales, namely, Awareness of Global Issues, Student’s Engagement with Others, Re: Global Issues, Interest in Learning About Other Cultures, and Global Competence Activities at School, revealed the strongest tendency toward measurements of the students’ global awareness. Moreover, various correlation and multiple regression analyses of the independent and dependent quantitative data variables showed evidence of the student sample’s global awareness. The qualitative data analysis revealed various interrelated factors that led to the development of the students’ global awareness and the many perceived benefits they had received from participating in those courses, including improved academic skills and heightened global perspectives that led to the development of enhanced empathy and desires to become social cause advocates. The integrated data analyses revealed that the SIMS Intrinsic Motivation and Identified Regulation subscales data related to students’ participations in the global-themed courses were supported by the qualitative results anchored in motivations to seek more in-depth knowledge about global studies, and to participate in higher-level curricula to earn college credits. Components of the highest-scoring PISA subscales, such as the ability to discuss and to analyze topical global issues like the global climate crisis and the technological revolution, and keeping abreast of newsworthy global events via social media platforms, which indicated important elements of global awareness, were clearly supported in the qualitative data. The findings of this study reinforced the necessity for students to become better prepared to face the numerous challenges within an increasingly interconnected and competitive working world. This dissertation has important implications for researchers in the field of educational psychology and educators engaged in the creation and delivery of 21st-century skills and global awareness-inspired curricula. The following are recommendations to include opportunities for developing global awareness: (a) create learning environments to foster innate psychological personal needs such as competency, autonomy, and relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2000); (b) promote foreign language learning, including realistic experiences to reinforce the numerous benefits of that important skill; and, (c) embrace empathy and tolerance toward others, leading to demonstrated needs for social cause advocacy as important extensions of global awareness development

A CORRELATIONAL STUDY BETWEEN LEARNING MOTIVATION AND SATISFACTION IN ONLINE COURSES

Purpose of the study: The current study was carried out to find out the correlation between Learning Motivation and Learning Satisfaction of graduate students enrolled in English online courses in Alama Iqbal Open University which is one of the oldest distance education institutes of Pakistan having 1.7 million enrolments every year. Methodology:  Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS) measuring four types of motivation. The scale consists of 16 items. 150 students were selected through a convenient sampling method from the two-degree programs studying English Language as a compulsory offered online by the University. The data collected was quantitative in nature and it was analysed through Pearson correlation. Main Findings: Pearson correlation of the data reveals that there exists a strong positive correlation between different types of Learning Motivation and Learning Satisfaction. The data reveal a strong correlation between motivation and satisfaction and tutor and tutorial and weak correlation Course content and organization. Applications of this study: The study suggests that through the use of more advanced technology and more integrated technology these educational goals for distance learners can be achieved. Therefore, while preparing lessons teachers should keep in mind the maximum utility of resources, use of internet and multimedia in the most effective way to relate them to course contents for the attainment of objectives of the course. Novelty/Originality of this study: Online distance education is not a very common research area in Pakistan. Only a handful of studies have been conducted especially considering the motivation and satisfaction of these students. Hence it is a first-hand study of its kind, and the results will be useful for Higher Education Institutes

On track for graduation: an investigation of causal factors related to student outcomes in a credit recovery program in a metro Atlanta school district, 2016

This study examined the relationship between credit recovery outcomes and select causal factors. In this study, credit recovery was defined as the extent to which students successfully complete the following courses: coordinate algebra, biology, physical science, and analytic geometry. Independent variables explored in this research were student motivation, student engagement, self-regulation, blended learning models, and formative assessments. A mixed method design was used to triangulate the quantitative data with the teachers perceptions data collected from the qualitative data. The qualitative data examined how teachers used formative assessments to improve student learning, the perception of the effectiveness of the program, and how credit recovery helped students to graduate from high school. The quantitative data found that there was no significant relationship between the independent variables in the study and credit recovery outcomes. Additionally, the data revealed that there was no significant relationship between teacher perceptions and credit recovery outcomes. Although there was no significant relationship between the dependent and independent variables in the study, the data did indicate there was a significant relationship between gender and credit recovery outcomes. The study found there was a highly significant relationship between formative assessments and student motivation, validating what research has already demonstrated about the effectiveness of formative assessments and its potential to engage and motivate students. The research also found that there was a highly significant relationship between blended learning and student motivation, suggesting implications for how blended learning can be used to engage and motivate students in credit recovery programs. KEY TERMS: Credit Recovery, High School Graduation, Online Learning, Curriculum and Instruction, Online and Distance Educatio

Teacher Immediacy Behaviors and Students’ Public Speaking Anxiety: More and Less Helpful than Anticipated

Public speaking anxiety inhibits students in the basic course classroom, whether face-to-face, hybrid or online, and beyond. Equipping instructors with the tools necessary to empower students to manage that anxiety and excel in their basic communication course is a goal of scholars and practitioners. In this study, the researchers examine applying and testing a math anxiety model (i.e., Kelly at al., 2015) to the challenge of public speaking anxiety. We expanded the original model by examining instructor verbal immediate behaviors alongside their nonverbal immediate behaviors. We also tested the Instructional Beliefs Model (IBM; Weber et al., 2011), which indicates that student beliefs (i.e., perceived immediacy mediates the relationship between student characteristics (i.e., intrinsic motivation) and instructor behaviors (i.e., verbal and nonverbal immediate behaviors) and the instructional outcome (i.e., public speaking anxiety) The data best fit the adapted math anxiety model; however, the influences were extremely low. This calls into question whether instructor immediate behaviors and student public speaking anxiety have been examined together many times before, but never published due to statistically insignificant results or low effect sizes

Investigating acceptability of a training programme in precision medicine for frontline healthcare professionals: a mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND Precision Medicine offers tailored prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management to patients that considers genomics, lifestyle and environmental factors. If implementation of Precision Medicine is to advance, effective, focused upskilling of frontline healthcare professionals through quality continuing professional development is needed. This study reports on an evidence-based approach to needs assessment to investigate the current level of knowledge of Precision Medicine, acceptable content for training, the perceived potential of a more precision approach to patient care and motivation to participate in a training programme among pharmacists, advanced practice nurses and general practitioners. Investigating perceived needs can avoid a top-down approach and support a design that is fit for purpose to targeted professions. METHODS This study reports on 2 focus groups (n = 12) delivered in French and German with equal professional participation of the targeted professions. The research objectives were investigated in two phases. During the first phase, a literature review and expert consultations were conducted to develop a definition of PM, patient cases and content for training. In a second phase, these investigations were further explored using focus groups to investigate acceptable learning objectives, the potential of PM to relevant professions and motivation of participants. Quantitative investigations using rating scales and visual analogues were incorporated. The focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed by intelligent verbatim and translated to English. NVivo was used for data analysis and interpretation following a hybrid approach using the Framework Method and thematic analysis. The analytical framework, Implementation Science, was applied to organise and present research data. RESULTS Precision Medicine is considered a new topic area, largely unfamiliar to frontline healthcare professionals.. There was acceptance of a more precision approach to care among all participants with perceived positive implications for patients. Valuable insight was gathered on acceptable content and form for training. All participants expressed concerns on readiness within their professions which included an insufficient system infrastructure, a lack of time to attend needed training, a lack of clarity for use in practice and the time needed to build a support network. CONCLUSIONS A precision approach to patient care is on the horizon for health care professionals not only in hospital settings but also at the community level. Our results conclude that an adaptable and flexible training programme in PM is timely, contextually relevant and conducive to the needs of targeted health professions for successful implementation. A training programme in PM will require support across sectors and stakeholders, supporting insurance models, educated patients and integrated care supported by innovative technology. Implementation Science outcomes are a useful strategy towards design of an effective training programme that can have measurable impact in practice

Learning Motivation of University Students in Online and Classroom Teaching: Insights from Teaching during Covid-19

In this paper, I present and discuss the findings of an intentional and systematic inquiry into the learning motivation of university master’s students taking the same course in online and classroom-based formats during the Covid-19 pandemic. Through capturing the students’ motivation using Keller’s Instructional Materials Motivation Survey at two points during the semester and analyzing the students’ course evaluations and the reflective reports of tutors, I uncover various factors influencing students’ motivation. Among these are the structuredness of instructions, technical difficulties, perceived effort of the teachers, novelty of tools, and the social relationships between students. I conclude my discussion with a proposition for designing motivating blends for online higher education students