Cognitive apprenticeship : teaching the craft of reading, writing, and mathtematics

Includes bibliographical references (p. 25-27)This research was supported by the National Institute of Education under Contract no. US-NIE-C-400-81-0030 and the Office of Naval Research under Contract No. N00014-85-C-002

Learner autonomy : the first language/ second language : some reflections on the nature and role of metalinguistic knowledge

Learner autonomy is classically defined as "the ability to take charge of one's learning" (Holec 1981:3). Such an ability presupposes a positive attitude towards the process, content and goals of learning, and is sustained and strengthened by a developing capacity for "detachment, critical reflection, decision-making, and independent action" (little 1991:4). The freedom that characterizes the autonomous learner is not absolute, but conditional and constrained. Learning, whether developmental/ experiential or formal, is always embedded in an interactive, social process (self- instruction entails an internalization of this process, so that our capacity for learning on our own develops out of our experience of learning in interaction with others; cf. Uttle 1991:5). This explains the paradox that learner autonomy can be fully understood as a theoretical construct and effectively pursued as a pedagogical goal only when we take full account of the social context in which learning takes place. The argument in favour of fostering learner autonomy has been conducted in both social and psychological terms. In adult education, for example, there has been a tendency to stress "the need to develop the individual's freedom by developing those abilities which will enable him to act more responsibly in running the affairs of the society in which he lives" (Holec 1981:1.). The link between educational purpose and political ideal could scarcely be plainer. Other explorations of the theory and practice of learner autonomy, by contrast, have focussed on the psychological dimension of learning, emphasizing that we can only ever learn on the basis of what we already know, and that no two individuals have exactly the same store of knowledge.peer-reviewe

Conceptual Validation of Project Based Learning in Buffer Solution

This research was applied to the project learning model of supporting learning materials at high school SMAN 3 Jambi City. The learning model in the 2013 curriculum must fulfill the five steps scientific approach namely Observing, Asking, Experimenting, Collecting data, and Communicating, which is the goal of a learning model like this to make students understand learning well, educational design-based research that adopts the substance of the formative evaluation type with the characteristics of substance experts in procedural assessment, one-on-one evaluation, small group evaluation and field presentation. The concept of formative evaluation can be integrated with research and development method. The Project Based Learning (PjBL) model in Buffer Solution was using a development process type with a hybrid theory-based approach and directing eight-step practice. The theoretical steps are identifying data sources, collecting data and analyzing data, while the practical steps are generating model ideas, describing models, validating concepts and practitioners and formulating recommendations for testing models. The product was validated by a team of experts which includes practitioner validation to see the practicality of using the product being developed. A small group test was carried out to see the application of the product being developed. The results showed that learning chemistry using the PjBL model could increase the activity and results of students' chemistry learning on the concept of buffer solutions. The increase in student chemistry learning outcomes in the buffer solution concept can also be observed based on the value in general of the learning outcomes obtained by students in cycle I of 68.09 increased to 74.81 in cycle II and % completion in the classical way from 39.39 percent increased to 87.88 percent and this fulfills the marker of success is classical completeness reaching 85 percent with Minimum Completeness Criteria of 70

Research in mathematics education: A contemporary perspective

The twelve chapters in this book-all but two written by researchers in Australian universities-provide ample evidence of the impressive contributions currently being made by Australia to research in mathematics education. The authors\u27 fields of inquiry are diverse: they include discussion of the roles of language and imagery, problem posing and problem solving, students\u27 beliefs and students\u27 thinking, gambling and mental computation. T!1eir methodologies are no less diverse, incorporating descriptions of both quantitative and qualitative research projects, including action research in classrooms, theoretical perspectives and the development of theoretical models, reviews of research, surveys, clinical interviews and descriptions of new research tools

Using digital stories to improve writing skills of students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Writing is an important medium to express one\u27s ideas and needs and is an integral part of the curriculum in secondary schools. Within an accountability system, students are expected to compose narrative, persuasive, and informational essays for state and district level assessments. Students with ASD demonstrate developmental delays in language and communication skills, including verbal and written language, thus, writing is a difficult area and challenge in their learning. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of computer-assisted instruction using digital stories to teach expressive writing to students with ASD. A total of six students with autism participated in the study. A single subject design with AB phases was used to compare the level of total words written, total words and sentences correctly written, and quality of writing. During the baseline, participants were evaluated by their free writing with assigned topics, and during the intervention, students were shown six stories with digital pictures and wrote a total of six compositions in response to each story. The results showed an increase of their total words written, total words and sentences correctly written, and improvement in their writing quality. Computer-assisted instruction using digital pictures seemed to benefit students with ASD in learning writing

Metacognition and transfer within a course or instructional design rules and metacognition

A metacognitive strategy for doing research, included transfer, was taught in a course of nine afternoons. The success of this course raised some questions. How do the students learn? How does metacognition play a role? The course was designed in accordance with several instructional principles. The course was divided into three domains in which the strategy was introduced, practised, and applied respectively. Literature research revealed four possible metacognitive variants that correlate so it was supposed that implementing them all helped to reach the objectives of the course. The relation of the metacognitive variants with the instructional principles is described. To study learning the students were divided into three groups (weak, moderate, good) by their marks for other courses. The performance of the groups in each domain was monitored by their marks, scoring of metacognitive skills, questionnaires, observations, and time keeping. The moderate students scored as high as the good ones for the strategy in the last domain, a unique result. The metacognitive development of the other metacognitive skills was not linear. The conclusions are that the success of this course can be explained by a system of double sequencing and an interaction of all metacognitive variants, and that instructional design rules for metacognitive and cognitive objectives are differen

Teachers of mathematics teach mathematics differently : a case study of two teachers

This thesis investigates the different approaches adopted by two teachers for teaching mathematical content at the upper primary level of education. Questions have been raised by researchers about the impact teachers\u27 philosophical background may have on their perception of how mathematics should be taught. Similarly questions have been asked about the role of content in mathematics education in relation to the process of education. The two teachers held different beliefs about what they were doing when they were teaching mathematics and why they were teaching that way. Their methodological emphases were different; one could be described as being more learner-centred and the other as more content-centred. This case study research analysed classroom observations, and interviews with the teachers and the students, collected over a twelve month period. The results indicated a difference in perception being expressed by the students in each class, about the mathematics they were being taught and its function in their own lives. The outcomes of this study were concerned with the impact of each teaching methodology. The qualitative nature of the research provides readers with data which may help them to make informed choices about approaches to teaching mathematics. Most importantly this study highlights the factors which may have an impact on how a teacher elects and/or feels constrained to deliver set mathematics curriculum

Discovery Learning with Scaffolding To Promote Mathematical Creative Thinking Ability And Self-Efficacy

Mathematical creative thinking ability and self-efficacy are a combination of abilities students need to have when studying mathematics. Mathematical learning is expected to improve both abilities. However, teachers still use conventional learning such as direct teaching, which results in a low increase in students' mathematical creative thinking abilities and self-efficacy. So we need alternative student-centred learning and teachers as facilitators who provide scaffolding. The study was conducted to obtain a description of the discovery learning process with scaffolding which aims to improve the ability to think creatively and self-efficacy. Two quasi-experimental designs with three class groups were used: The Matching-only Pretest-posttest Control Group Design was used to measure mathematical creative thinking skills, and The Matching-only Posttest-only Control Group Design was used to measure the self-efficacy scale. Based on the results of one-way ANOVA, the mathematical creative thinking ability of students discovery learning with scaffolding is better than discovery learning and conventional learning. Likewise, this happens to 'self-efficacy, based on the one-way ANOVA that students' self-efficacy of discovery learning with scaffolding is better than discovery learning and conventional learning. The learning process of discovery learning with scaffolding has a positive impact on the improvement of mathematical creative thinking abilities and self-efficac

The Implementation of Strategy-Based Instruction to Improve Students' Writing Skills

Learning strategy becomes an essential factor in the success of language learning. It is the first step for language learners to enhance their own learning because the learning strategies are tools for active, self-directed involvement, and essential to develop communicative competence (Oxford, 1990). Therefore, students need to be introduced to the various types of learning strategies through integrated strategy-based instruction. This research is aimed at improving students' writing skills, which is focused on the improvement of students' English grammatical competence through Strategy-Based Instruction (SBI). In this classroom action research, the students were engaged in a weekly integrated writing strategy-based instruction or training. They employed some learning strategies to improve their writing skills, i,e. writing difficult or new words and grammatical patterns on some small pieces of cards or mobile phones, using electronic dictionary, discussing their feeling with the lecturer, and practicing peer review, with a guided editing checklist. The findings show that there was an increase in the students' awareness to use strategies (i.e. using mechanical techniques, highlighting, making efforts to find out how a word works in context by checking it in the dictionary, discussing the indiscipline attitude to the lecturer, and practicing peer review with a guided editing checklist). The finding also shows that the students' grammatical competence as one of competences needed in writing improved