A Technology-Supported Learning Experience to Facilitate Chinese Character Acquisition

Chinese character Learning has been identified as one of the most challenging issues for English-speaking learners of Chinese due to the distinctions between the Chinese writing system and alphabetic languages in terms of orthography, phonology and semantics. In order to support Western students in overcoming the challenges associated with Chinese character learning a contextualized, socio-cultural approach to character learning was designed. Aimed at novice learners of Chinese, this design draws on social constructivism and Universal Design for Learning--contextualizing the learning experience and affording students to work on acquiring characters via several distinct avenues. The project-based inquiry design supports the exploration of Chinese character learning through six research-based learning tools and strategies. These tools include: educational technologies designed specifically for learning Chinese characters, pinyin & typing, making connections between different levels of linguistic components, stroke animation, handwriting, radical positioning, and character gamification. This learning experience design integrates multiple technology tools, awareness of culture, hands-on activities, and interactive multimodal web technologies that draw on constructivist theories and approaches to language acquisition

A Technology-Supported Learning Experience to Facilitate Chinese Character Acquisition

Chinese character Learning has been identified as one of the most challenging issues for English-speaking learners of Chinese due to the distinctions between the Chinese writing system and alphabetic languages in terms of orthography, phonology and semantics. In order to support Western students in overcoming the challenges associated with Chinese character learning a contextualized, socio-cultural approach to character learning was designed. Aimed at novice learners of Chinese, this design draws on social constructivism and Universal Design for Learning--contextualizing the learning experience and affording students to work on acquiring characters via several distinct avenues. The project-based inquiry design supports the exploration of Chinese character learning through six research-based learning tools and strategies. These tools include: educational technologies designed specifically for learning Chinese characters, pinyin & typing, making connections between different levels of linguistic components, stroke animation, handwriting, radical positioning, and character gamification. This learning experience design integrates multiple technology tools, awareness of culture, hands-on activities, and interactive multimodal web technologies that draw on constructivist theories and approaches to language acquisition

A review of technology-enhanced Chinese character teaching and learning in a digital context

The acquisition of Chinese characters has been widely acknowledged as challenging for learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) due to their unique logographic nature and the time and effort involved. However, recent advancements in instructional technologies demonstrate a promising role in facilitating the teaching and learning of Chinese characters. This paper examines studies exploring technology-enhanced character teaching and learning (TECTL) through a systematic literature review of relevant publications produced between 2010 and 2021. The synthesized findings shed insights on the research undertaken in the TECTL field, identifying a focus on characters’ component disassembling, re-assembling, and associations among orthography, semantics, and phonology. In addition, learners’ perceptions toward the use of technology and the benefits of various types of technological tools are also discussed in detail. Implications for TECTL are also put forward for future pedagogical practice and exploration

\u3ci\u3eThe Nebraska Educator,\u3c/i\u3e Volume 3: 2016 (complete issue)

There are not many student-run academic journals, so The Nebraska Educator is excited to provide a forum for researchers, scholars, policymakers, practitioners, teachers, students, and informed observers in education and related fields in educational settings in the United States and abroad. Now in our third year, it is exciting to see the work that continues to be accomplished when those interested in educational research have a venue to share their contributions. To date, articles published in the previous two volumes of our journal have been downloaded more than 7,000 times by readers all across the globe. The Nebraska Educator has four main goals with its published research: (1) to familiarize students with the publication process, (2) to faciliate dialogue between emerging scholars, educators, and the larger community, (3) to promote collegiality and interdisciplinary awareness, and (4) to establish a mechanism for networking and collaboration. This publication would not have been possible without the guidance and assistance from faculty, staff, and graduate students across the College of Education and Human Sciences. We are also grateful for the work of Paul Royster at Love Library, who assisted us with the final formatting and online publication of our journal. In addition, we would like to thank the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education’s Graduate Student Assocation, whose financial contributions helped to launch our journal. The Nebraska Educator is an open-access peer-reviewed academic education journal at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This journal is produced by UNL graduate students and publishes articles on a broad range of education topics that are timely and have relevance at all levels of education. We seek original research that covers topics which include by are not limited to: (a) curriculum, teaching, and professional development; (b) education policy, practice, and analysis; (c) literacy, language, and culture; (d) school, society, and reform; and (e) teaching and learning with technologies. If you are interested in submitting your work to The Nebraska Educator, please submit online using: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nebeducator/ Contents of Volume 3 Examining doctoral attrition: A self-determination theory approach, by Mark Beck Korea and the Dominican Republic: A transnational case study-analysis, by Aprille Phillips Transitional Adjustment Intervention for International Students in U.S. Colleges, by Zhuo Chen Language, Literacy, and Dewey: “Experience” in the Language Arts Context, by Jessica Masterson Fostering Metacognition in K-12 Classrooms: Recommendations for Practice, by Markeya S. Peteranetz A Technology-Supported Learning Experience to Facilitate Chinese Character Acquisition, by Xianquan Liu and Justin Olmanso

Master of Science

thesisThe current study utilized a meta-analysis review to investigate the sensitivity of several cognitive load measures. Specifically, the study examined whether self-rating, single-task performance, dual-task performance, eye-track, or physiological measures are most sensitive to changes in cognitive load. Additionally, the sensitivity of load measures was analyzed in relation to several variables such as age, research design, and learning content. After the initial search, 224 publications were identified and coded for inclusion in the meta-analysis. A random-effects model was employed, and the results demonstrated that cognitive load sensitivity varied by measure type. The load sensitivity among the study characteristics of age, content area, and research design also varied corresponding to specific cognitive load measure types. The number of self-rating items used to assess cognitive load did not significantly vary between single item and multiple item scales. Lastly, cognitive load sensitivity did not vary significantly among the measures in relation to peak and overall load. The last result may be biased by a small sample size of peak measures (n = 8)