Vocabulary Instruction Using Mobile Applications to Improve Vocabulary Breadth of English Major Chinese Undergraduate Students

Vocabulary is crucial in English language learning and teaching as acquisition of vocabulary is a primary requisite for English language use. In today’s technological advancement where mobile applications affect all aspects of people’s lives, designing a vocabulary instruction using mobile applications to improve students’ vocabulary breadth is in line with the development of the time and can meet technophile students’ preferences in learning English language. This research aimed to develop vocabulary instruction using mobile applications to improve the vocabulary breadth of sophomore English majors in a private international university in China (experimental group, N=30; control group, N=27). This research was an explanatory sequential design and employed a mixed method combining quantitative and qualitative methods to answer research questions. The instruction, which comprised of selected language learning principles as the foundation, was designed by putting into account the findings of the learners’ needs. The mobile applications were applied during the process of vocabulary instruction. The results revealed that the experimental group who were taught vocabulary using mobile applications outperformed the control group who were taught vocabulary using the conventional method of teaching on the posttest scores of vocabulary breadth on both receptive and productive vocabulary at the significance level of .05. The semi-structured interview results indicated that students held positive attitudes towards learning vocabulary with mobile applications, vocabulary learning activities, and the effects of improvements in vocabulary breadth. The findings yield pedagogical implications on vocabulary learning and teaching using mobile applications

The Influence of Aesthetics in an E-learning Environment

Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Education degree in the College of Education and Human Service Professions, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2012Committee names: Lynn Brice (Chair), Julie M. Williams. This item has been modified from the original to redact the signatures present.This study sought to explore the influence of aesthetic considerations upon learning in an e-learning environment. The findings, while inconclusive for a notable gain in summative assessment scores between the high- and low-aesthetic study groups, did provide insight into practical guidelines that faculty and course designers can employ when designing e-learning environments. Given the advent of touch screens, smart phones, tablets, and smaller screen real estate on which learning can take place, designers are provided with numerous opportunities for exploration of the topic of aesthetics. As technological affordances expand and devices become more ubiquitous, the ID field will necessarily become even more focused upon the user and their experience.University of Minnesota Duluth. College of Education and Human Service Profession

Investigation of the effects of group composition and conference structure on group creativity and induvidual perceptions of transactional distance in university students

PhD ThesisThe main purpose of this study was to investigate online collaborative activities based on the differences of individual students, to enhance creativity in small groups and reduce transactional distance (TD) in an online learning environment. The relationships among gender, thinking styles, individual creative ability and group creativity were also explored. Both experimental and survey data were collected to provide a rich understanding of the related issues. Different grouping and structuring strategies were developed and manipulated in this work. The 3 x 3 factorial quasi-experimental design employed a pretest-posttest comparison group, with two independent variables: thinking styles and conference structure. The dependent variables were group creativity and student perceptions of transactional distance. One hundred and thirty-eight second year students from three intact classes at Southern Taiwan University were selected as the participants for the main study. Four research instruments were used to collect data: the Thinking Styles Inventory (TSI), the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA), the Creative Product Semantic Scale (CPSS), and the individual’s perceptions of transactional distance questionnaire. The findings confirmed that male students tended to prefer the legislative thinking style more than the female ones. There was no significant difference between male and female students in the overall creative ability. However, the male students had significantly higher creative ability with regard to originality. The findings also supported Sternberg’s argument that ability is different from style. In addition, this study found that there was no significant association between the average group member creative ability and the overall group creative performance. As for the test results for the influences of the two proposed factors in terms of group composition and conference structure on group creativity, no significant differences were found for these two factors or their interaction on group creativity. In addition, group composition and conference structure had no significant interaction effect on any dimension of transactional distance, but two main effects were significant. Group composition had a significant effect on the learner autonomy dimension of transactional distance. The level of conference structure had a significant effect on individual perceptions of interaction, conference structure and interface transactional distance. Moreover, in the context of the present study, using synchronous online conferencing, a high degree of TD - interaction was associated with a high degree of TD - conference structure, TD - learner autonomy and TD - interface

Comfort And Physical Classroom Design: Using Student Voice To Inform School Leadership

This qualitative phenomenological study considered the comfort of students in the secondary physical classroom, seeking ways to meet the needs of 21st Century learners and to provide an equitable environment for all learners. A student survey was conducted on elements of the physical classroom space and interviews were conducted to further delve into student comfort in the classroom. As part of the interviews, students drew an ideal classroom space to further share their thoughts and ideas. Interviewees and respondents articulated the need for individual space in the classroom, for temperature control, and for the reduction of noise to optimize the learning environment. Interviewees sought a visually stimulating environment, and one in which technology was integrated, but not overwhelming. To that end, interviewees suggested that the physical classroom space should be flexible and offer a variety of study environments for students to both focus and relax. Interviewees indicated that this physical classroom environment would better meet their needs to collaborate and communicate with their peers, placing the teacher in an interactive, but supportive role in the classroom. A student comfort taxonomic structure was developed, formed from motivation theory, satisfaction and human comfort theory, and a taxonomic structure of comfort used in nursing. Through the researcher’s reflection and interaction with these data as an educational leader, a series of questions based on a taxonomic structure of student comfort was developed to assess students’ physical comfort, environmental comfort, sociocultural comfort, and psychospiritual comfort across a continuum of relief, ease, and transcendence. This research, and the resulting student comfort taxonomic structure and questions derived from that structure can be used by teachers, school leaders, site managers, architects, and designers to assess student comfort in the physical classroom space

At-Risk Boys\u27 Engagement in the iEngage Model

There is a growing problem with male under-achievement in public education. Boys who are unsuccessful in elementary and middle school are likely to drop out in high school. Engaging at-risk boys could alleviate school dropouts and the resulting consequences. The purpose of this study was to explore at-risk boys\u27 engagement in a middle school model employing collaborative learning, problem-based learning, and technology. The study was framed on the self-determination theory and the idea that competence, autonomy, and relatedness are vital for engagement. A qualitative case study approach was used to explore teachers\u27 views of at-risk boys\u27 engagement. Eleven teachers who implemented the middle school model in a southeastern school district were interviewed individually and then participated in focus group discussions. Interviews and discussion data were coded to identify words and phrases describing engagement and disaffection. Results indicated that collaborative learning was a factor for at-risk boys\u27 disaffection. Problem-based learning and technology use were factors for engagement when implemented with appropriate strategies. These results and the participants\u27 recommendations suggest that individual instruction and coaching during preliminary research are effective supports to put in place before addressing a final project in a problem-based learning project. This study contributed to positive social change in middle school education, benefiting at risk-boys, their families, and communities, by informing current teaching methods and learning environments that are best suited to engage at-risk boys, help them succeed in school, and give them the opportunity to reach their innate potential

Gaming in Action

The «Gaming in Action» project, which brought the publicaion of this book, involved institutions from different countries that deal with adult education. For almost three years, the partners worked with teachers and trainers who applied innovative pedagogical scenarios of game-based learning and gamification, all oriented from a rigorous pedagogical perspective. The project's main goal was to increase the acquisition of pedagogical innovation skills in these models and incorporate them into their pedagogical practices. The project searched to highlight the need for quality pedagogical training in a new, technologically digital, era: in this, education has less to do with reproducing information passively and has more to do with the development of creativity, critical thinking, problem- solving and decision-making.Erasmus Plus "Gaming in Action – engaging adult learners with games and gamification" Project number: 2018-1-TR01-KA204-05931