6,373 research outputs found

    Toward a Multifaceted Heuristic of Digital Reading to Inform Assessment, Research, Practice, and Policy

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    In this commentary, the author explores the tension between almost 30 years of work that has embraced increasingly complex conceptions of digital reading and recent studies that risk oversimplifying digital reading as a singular entity analogous with reading text on a screen. The author begins by tracing a line of theoretical and empirical work that both informs and complicates our understanding of digital literacy and, more specifically, digital reading. Then, a heuristic is proposed to systematically organize, label, and define a multifaceted set of increasingly complex terms, concepts, and practices that characterize the spectrum of digital reading experiences. Research that informs this heuristic is used to illustrate how more precision in defining digital reading can promote greater clarity across research methods and advance a more systematic study of promising digital reading practices. Finally, the author discusses implications for assessment, research, practice, and policy

    Estimation and Visualization of Digital Library Content Similarities

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    We present a semantic similarity-based recommender service. Our experimental application and validation domain consists of K-12 engineering learning resources. Given a learning resource, we must determine which educational standards it addresses and vice versa, find resources that align with a given standard. One approach to this problem suggests transitively inferring standard alignment from the semantic similarity of other, previously aligned resources. We investigate a bigram-based similarity estimator and a Sammon map-based user interface for visualizing the resulting similarity space. Validation was performed using resources in TeachEngineering.org, a K-12 STEM digital library. Target classifications were derived from author-generated tables of content for these resources. Testing shows good performance of the similarity measure, both in its correspondence to the collection’s table of contents and in the form of a two-dimensional Sammon map. The results provide evidence for the feasibility and practicality of using automated similarity measures in standards alignment and similar problems

    Scoping review of positive mental health research for students in vocational education and training

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    Context: In this scoping review, we examine the knowledge base concerning positive mental health studies for students in vocational education and training (VET). The VET student population embraces approximately 30-52% of secondary school students in the Nordic countries, and 40% of the global student population. The risk of early school leaving (ESL) is substantially higher in VET than in general education and mental health may be a relevant factor in this matter. Yet, an overview of mental health studies in VET is lacking and therefore, this article aims to map empirical research studies that have explored positive mental health in VET students. The positive mental health framework, with its origin in Antonovsky\u27s (2002) salutogenesis and positive psychology, focuses on factors that promote mental health and wellbeing rather than taking on a pathological perspective. Methods: For our scoping review, we searched four databases, and 19 articles were found eligible for inclusion. These articles were systematically screened by means of a coding scheme to identify the following information: Country of origin of the study, its aim, research design, measures, conceptualization of mental health, and main findings. Results: The evidence suggests that positive mental health is understood as a multifaceted concept, and wellbeing is the dimension that is explored most often, followed by resilience and quality of life. The majority of the included studies used a validated questionnaire to assess various aspects of positive mental health, and most of them sought to explore correlations between different dimensions of positive mental health. Main findings of the studies suggest that a supportive school environment, physical activity, and a strong vocational identity may contribute to positive mental health for students in VET. Furthermore, correlations have also been identified between environmental factors and positive mental health. Finally, findings from the review illustrate how even small-scale interventions may have far-reaching effects, due to the interrelatedness of the different dimensions within the positive mental health construct. Conclusion: Findings from this review illustrate that numerous factors may affect the wellbeing of students in VET. In particular, a strong vocational identity, a supportive school environment, and physical activity may contribute to positive mental health. These findings suggest that VET teachers may promote the wellbeing of their students by providing a supportive psychosocial learning environment at school. (DIPF/Orig.

    Digital educational resources supporting higher education students' learning

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    Com este artigo apreciou-se a importância atribuída à utilização de recursos educativos digitais, bem como a frequência de utilização desses recursos a partir de dados obtidos por questionário, numa amostra de estudantes do ensino superior. Aprofundou-se o conceito de recurso educativo digital e apresentaram-se os resultados da avaliação da importância dos recursos educativos digitais no apoio à aprendizagem de estudantes de licenciatura, em aspetos associados a estratégias de aprendizagem, motivação e tarefas de aprendizagem. Concluiu-se que a maioria dos sujeitos da amostra atribuiu grande importância a todos os aspetos apreciados, tendo-se verificado diferenças significativas entre os estudantes de 1.º ano e os de 2.º ano, relativamente ao item estudar individualmente, tendo-lhe atribuído maior importância os de 2.º ano. A frequência de utilização dos recursos educativos digitais foi analisada relativamente a diversos recursos, sendo os mais utilizados, muitas vezes ou sempre, por mais de metade dos sujeitos da amostra, motores de pesquisa, redes sociais e sites de vídeo. Comparando os resultados por grupos de estudantes há diferenças significativas, entre os grupos de 1.º ano e de 2.º ano, nas variáveis enciclopédias online, blogues, repositórios científicos e plataformas de elearning e entre os grupos de estudantes de 2.º ano e de 3.º ano, na variável redes sociais.The aim of this work was to assess the importance given to the use of digital educational resources as well as the use frequency of such resources. Data was obtained through a questionnaire conducted within a sample of higher education students. We fleshed out the concept of digital educational resource and presented the results regarding the assessment of the importance of digital educational resources as a support to license degree students' learning. We analyzed aspects associated with learning strategies, motivation, and learning tasks. We concluded that most of the sample subjects gave great importance to all the aspects assessed. Significant differences were found between 1st and 2nd year students regarding the item study individually, as 2nd year students were found to give this item more importance. The use frequency of digital educational resources was analyzed with regard to various resources. The most used, many times or always, by more than half of the sample subjects were search engines, social networks, and video sites. Comparing the results by groups of students, significant differences were found between the groups of 1st year and 2nd year students in the variables online encyclopedias, blogs, scientific repositories, and e-learning platforms. Significant differences were also found between the groups of 2nd and 3rd year students in the social networks variable.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Scoping Review of Positive Mental Health Research for Students in Vocational Education and Training

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    Context: In this scoping review, we examine the knowledge base concerning positive mental health studies for students in vocational education and training (VET). The VET student population embraces approximately 30-52% of secondary school students in the Nordic countries, and 40% of the global student population. The risk of early school leaving (ESL) is substantially higher in VET than in general education and mental health may be a relevant factor in this matter. Yet, an overview of mental health studies in VET is lacking and therefore, this article aims to map empirical research studies that have explored positive mental health in VET students. The positive mental health framework, with its origin in Antonovsky's (2002) salutogenesis and positive psychology, focuses on factors that promote mental health and wellbeing rather than taking on a pathological perspective.  Methods: For our scoping review, we searched four databases, and 19 articles were found eligible for inclusion. These articles were systematically screened by means of a coding scheme to identify the following information: Country of origin of the study, its aim, research design, measures, conceptualization of mental health, and main findings.  Results: The evidence suggests that positive mental health is understood as a multifaceted concept, and wellbeing is the dimension that is explored most often, followed by resilience and quality of life. The majority of the included studies used a validated questionnaire to assess various aspects of positive mental health, and most of them sought to explore correlations between different dimensions of positive mental health. Main findings of the studies suggest that a supportive school environment, physical activity, and a strong vocational identity may contribute to positive mental health for students in VET. Furthermore, correlations have also been identified between environmental factors and positive mental health. Finally, findings from the review illustrate how even small-scale interventions may have far-reaching effects, due to the interrelatedness of the different dimensions within the positive mental health construct.  Conclusion: Findings from this review illustrate that numerous factors may affect the wellbeing of students in VET. In particular, a strong vocational identity, a supportive school environment, and physical activity may contribute to positive mental health. These findings suggest that VET teachers may promote the wellbeing of their students by providing a supportive psychosocial learning environment at school.

    Mid-Scale Instrumentation: Regional Facilities to Address Grand Challenges in Chemistry

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    A regional workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia, September 29-30, 2016. To determine what needs and opportunities might exist for mid-scale instrumentation (MSI), two workshops were held in fall of 2016 to explore opportunities within the discipline that could be provided by such investment. One workshop was convened to explore the need for co-localization of existing instrumentation at a regional or cyber-enabled facilities (addressed in this report, “Mid-Scale Instrumentation: Regional Facilities to Address Grand Challenges in Chemistry”). In this report, we identify different areas where investment in such MSI facilities would be highly beneficial. These appear as six “grand challenges” that can be summarized here as follows: 1. Structure and dynamics at interfaces 2. Highly parallel chemical synthesis and characterization 3. Transient intermediates 4. New science arising from the characterization of heterogeneous mixtures 5. Multi-scale dynamics of complex systems: integrating transport with reaction 6. Structure-function relationship in disordered and/or heterogeneous system

    MI as a predictor of students’ performance in reading competency

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    The purpose of this study was to examine whether performance in MI could predict the performance in reading competency. The other objectives were to identify the components of MI which are correlated with the reading test scores, and to determine the relationship between the multiple intelligences and reading proficiency. A descriptive and ex post facto design was employed to ascertain relationships among the variables. The participants were 128 randomly chosen pre-university students (grade12, 18-19 years old) of both genders studying in Tehran in the academic year 2008-2009. Three instruments were utilized in this study: 1) a demographic questionnaire; 2) the Persian version of Mckenzie’s MI Inventory; and 3) a standardized reading proficiency test which was selected from retrieved paper-based TOEFL® tests. Results of the correlation analysis revealed no significant relationship between the two variables of MI and reading scores of the students. Furthermore, the results of the correlation analysis revealed that there was a low significant, negative relationship between musical-rhythmic intelligence and reading which suggests that when the reading score of a student increases, musical-rhythmic intelligence of the same student decreases and vice versa. Overall, three categories of MI (musical-rhythmic, verbal-linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic) were found to be predictive of reading proficiency
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