Integrating Student Led Conferences into an Elementary Classroom

Improving student learning and responsibility using student led conferences was studied. A guide for implementing student led conferences in an elementary school was developed and has been implemented at Camelot Elementary School. The results of the guide support that student led conferences can be utilized by general education teachers to enhance their students ability to develop an understanding of their learning and its processes. Through student led conferences, students learn to effectively set personal academic goals, improve their communication skills and become more active in their learning. The use of student led conferences has also provided evidence that participation and involvement of parents in their child\u27s educational development increases

Authentic learning in interactive multimedia environments

The instructional technology community is in the midst of a philosophical shift from a behaviourist to a constructivist framework, a move that may begin to address the growing rift between formal school learning and real-life learning. One theory of learning which has the capacity to promote authentic learning is that of situated learning. The purpose of the study was to investigate the way students learn from an interactive multimedia package and learning environment based on a situated learning model. To do this, it was necessary to identify the critical characteristics of a situated learning model based on the extensive literature on the subject. An interactive multimedia learning environment for university level students was then designed according to these characteristics of a situated learning model. The learning environment comprised an interactive multimedia program on assessment in mathematics, together with recommended implementation conditions in the classroom. Specifically, the research sought to investigate the way preservice teachers used interactive multimedia based on a situated learning model, how they responded to the critical elements of the situated learning environment, what types of higher-order thinking they used as they worked with the program, and whether learning transferred to their professional teaching practice in schools. The research took the form of an interpretive, qualitative study. The major methods of data collection were videotaping of preservice teachers using the interactive multimedia program, observation, and interviews with both the preservice teachers and their supervising teachers in schools. Data was analysed using techniques of qualitative analysis recommended by Eisner (1991) and Miles and Huberman (1994). Findings suggest that the use of the situated learning model was a successful alternative to the system models frequently used for the development of interactive multimedia, and one that enabled students to freely navigate a complex resource. When implemented with all the characteristics defined in the model, it appeared to provide an effective framework for the design of an environment for the acquisition of advanced know ledge. Students used a substantial amount of higher-order thinking, relatively little social and lower order talk, and a moderate amount of procedural talk as they worked with the assessment program. While on their professional practice in schools, the students used a variety of assessment techniques to assess children\u27s learning, and they were able to speak knowledgably and confidently about the issue of assessment, supporting the view that they had incorporated their learning deeply into their cognitive structures. According to the beliefs of the students themselves, the multimedia program appeared to influence the types of strategies they employed and their thinking about assessment as they taught mathematics and other classes during their professional practice. The major implication of the research is that new learning theory can inform the instructional design of interactive multimedia. For implementation in contexts of advanced knowledge acquisition, an instructional design model based on situated learning is an effective substitute for the traditional instructional systems model. Further implications are that excessive intervention by the developer in providing interaction between the program and the learner is not necessary, and that multimedia materials are best designed and implemented socially, not as independent instruction for individual learners. At the conclusion of the thesis, extensive recommendations for further research, both systemic and analytic, are provided

An Exploratory Study of Self-Efficacy\u27s Network of Relationships.

This study explored the construct of self-efficacy and provided information about its relationships with intelligence, academic achievement, social skills, and family variables. Specifically, a correlational analysis examined the associations with academic and social self-efficacy, intelligence, academic achievement, and social skills. Exploratory univariate analyses investigated whether self-efficacy beliefs differed for students with varying family structures. Multiple regression analyses were utilized to determine significant predictors of self-efficacy. The results of the analyses indicated that academic self-efficacy was significantly correlated with intelligence, three areas of academic achievement, and social skills. Social self-efficacy was significantly correlated with social skills and two areas of academic achievement. No differences in self-efficacy beliefs for students with varying family structures were found. Additionally, the multiple regression analyses provided evidence that intellectual ability, academic achievement, social skills, and family income could significantly predict academic self-efficacy, and that social skills and mathematics achievement were the best predictors of academic self-efficacy. The combined variables also significantly predicted social self-efficacy, and social skills and written language achievement were the best predictors of social self-efficacy. Both regression analyses accounted for a sizeable amount of variance and reached significance

Whole language curriculum for English learners in elementary schools

The purpose of this project is to propose a pedagogy that adds, builds, and uses the student\u27s language and culture to speak, read and write English. This project establishes the need for a comprehensive model of instruction for English learners in elementary schools

Investigating and representing inquiry in a college mathematics course

Recent calls by the National Research Council and the National Science Foundation have stressed the need for excellence in undergraduate mathematics and science education with emphasis placed on inquiry learning. The purposes of this qualitative study include (1) the examination of the pursuit of inquiry in two collegiate mathematics classrooms incorporating methods of mathematical modeling and (2) the generation of a quantitative representation of characteristics of an inquiry environment;Instructors and students in two classes of laboratory-based calculus for life sciences majors were observed. To capture descriptions of the environments and students\u27 mathematical modeling skills, the classes surrounding three science investigations were audio or video recorded; interviews were conducted with one instructor and six students in the researcher\u27s class; and copies of students\u27 lab reports were obtained. Transcripts were coded using various scales to produce graphical images of the classroom environments;The data were used to describe and document the effects of both classroom environments. Instructors\u27 goals and time factors influenced the development of inquiry, mathematical modeling, symbol and language use, and the amount of reflection. In both classes when time was of minimal concern, the class pursued students\u27 questions, developed students\u27 modeling methods and notation, and consistently and frequently linked the mathematics and science contexts. When pressured by time to cover specific mathematical topics, the class pursued instructors\u27 questions and methods and less frequently linked the mathematics and science contexts. Most students in both classes retained a process conception of mathematical modeling as they could apply the developed methods but relied on instructor prompts to relate the mathematics and science contexts;The pictorial representations of the classroom environments illustrated that both classes had periods reflecting a constructivist inquiry environment. The graphs highlighted the classes\u27 implementation of multiple cycles of inquiry, periods of consistency and inconsistency in connecting the mathematics and science, and intervals in which students\u27 or instructor\u27s ideas dominated discussion. Class observations suggested that the pictures lacked clarity in identifying periods of agreement or disagreement of the resonating concepts of students and instructors. Recommendations are made for future examination and representation of inquiry environments

The Effect of Individual or Group Guidelines on the Calibration Accuracy of High School Biology Students

The effect of individual or group guidelines on the calibration accuracy of high school biology students was investigated. The study was conducted with 102 International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program biology students in a public school setting. The study was carried out over three testing occasions. Students worked in group or individual settings with and without calibration guidelines. Four intact classes were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: groups calibrating without guidelines; groups calibrating with guidelines; individuals calibrating without guidelines; individuals calibrating with guidelines. The students participated in the calibration activities one block before they actually took each of the three tests. On the day of each test, immediately before taking the test, each student made predictions as to what they thought they would score on the test. Immediately after taking the test each student made postdictions on what they thought they scored on the test. Calibration accuracy was determined by calculating the difference between prediction and postdiction scores and the actual test score achieved. The results indicated that students who calibrated in groups showed trends of more accurate calibration predictions. Although one testing intervention showed significant results for postdiction accuracy, the other two testing interventions showed varied results. Students who calibrated in groups achieved higher scores on tests than did students who calibrated individually. In addition, guidelines were shown to be a significant factor in increasing achievement for students who calibrated individually. For students calibrating in groups guidelines had little impact. The results support the need for more research in metacognition and calibration techniques in order to improve student academic success

A Data Science Maturity Model Applied to Students' Modeling

Maturity models define a series of levels, each representing an increased complexity in information systems. Data Science appears in the Business Intelligence (BI) and Business Analytics (BA) literature. This work applies the _IABE maturity model, which includes two additional levels: Data Engineering (DE) at the bottom and Business Experimentation (BE) at the top. This study uses the _IABE model for students' modeling in the ModEst project. For this purpose, the Public Administration organism is the Directorate-General for Statistics of Education and Science (DGEEC) of the Portuguese Education Ministry. DGEEC provided vast data on two million students per year in the Portuguese school system, from pre-scholar to doctoral programs. This work presents the comprehensible _IABE maturity model to extract new knowledge from the DGEEC dataset. The method applied is _IABE, where after the DE level, wh-questions are formulated and answered with the most appropriate techniques at each maturity level. This work's novelty is applying the maturity model _IABE to a unique dataset for the first time. Wh-questions are stated at the BI level using data summarization; at the BA level, predictive models are performed, and counterfactual approaches are presented at the BE level. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-06-08 Full Text: PD

The description analysis and evaluation of the process experienced a teacher-researcher in implementing responsive evaluation as a mode of assessment of literacy development in a whole language classroom

This research inquiry sets out to describe, analyse and evaluate the process a teacher/researcher experienced in the implementation of Responsive Evaluation as a means of assessing literacy development in a whole-language classroom