Evaluating Students’ Perception of Teaching Learning Computer Programming: A Study in a Bruneian Technological University

The present study is part of one of the pioneering government funded research, conducted in one of the institutions of higher learning in Brunei Darussalam. The study validates the existing instrument through survey (factor analysis) among cohort of students in a programming class. The study results not only endorse the reasons of declining the art and science of teaching/learning computer programming but also have brought an interesting finding of pedagogy. The results indicate that teaching and learning strategies are more teacher-centered (mean=3.85) rather than student-centered (mean = 2.87). This is in contrast to modern approach of teaching-learning, where problem-based or constructivist approach dominates. Further 67% of the students considered lack of motivation, 80% considered the curriculum is less practical and 50% thought it was more teacher-centered, as key reasons of this decline. Based on the findings some recommendations were made to the relevant authorities to improve the practice

ALEKS Constructs as Predictors of High School Mathematics Achievement for Struggling Students

Educators in the United States (U.S.) are increasingly turning to intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) to provide differentiated math instruction to high school students. However, many struggling high school learners do not perform well on these platforms, which reinforces the need for more awareness about effective supports that influence the achievement of learners in these milieus. The purpose of this study was to determine what factors of the Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS), an ITS, are predictive of struggling learners\u27 performance in a blended-learning Algebra 1 course at an inner city technical high school located in the northeastern U.S. The theoretical framework consisted of knowledge base theory, the zone of proximal development, and cognitive learning theory. Three variables (student retention, engagement time, and the ratio of topics mastered to topics practiced) were used to predict the degree of association on the criterion variable (mathematics competencies), as measured by final course progress grades in algebra, and the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSATm) math scores. A correlational predictive design was applied to assess the data of a purposive sample of 265 struggling students at the study site; multiple regression analysis was also used to investigate the predictability of these variables. Findings suggest that engagement time and the ratio of mastered to practiced topics were significant predictors of final course progress grades. Nevertheless, these factors were not significant contributors in predicting PSATm score. Retention was identified as the only statistically significant predictor of PSATm score. The results offer educators with additional insights that can facilitate improvements in mathematical content knowledge and promote higher graduation rates for struggling learners in high school mathematics

Participation in a Full Service School After Hours Enrichment Program: An Assessment of Students\u27 Academic and Social Progress

Full service school programs are developed to address the unmet social, academic, medical, and economic needs of the students and communities they serve. Even though two schools may both be considered full service , they can still look very different in practice, depending on the specific needs of the community. Although the idea of full service community schools has existed for over a century (Dryfoos, Quinn, & Barkin, 2005), the empirical research base is scant. This study addresses the academically related domains outlined by Kronick (2005): attendance and tardiness, and academic grades. An experimental group and a control group were used. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted on the math and reading grade data. A Mann-Whitney U test was conducted on the attendance and tardiness data. It was found that after receiving the treatment the experimental group had statistically significantly higher reading grades than the control group. Math grades were higher in the experimental group then in the control group, post-treatment. No significant between-group differences were found with either the attendance or the tardiness data. Implications, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed

The effects of using visuals to support vocabulary development in urban students

The purpose of this action research study was to use visuals to support vocabulary development in urban students. Since visual support is an affective technique for English language learners, the study was designed to see if this same theory applies to urban students. The participants were a group of eight urban kindergarteners in a large urban school. The intervention took place over an eight-week period. During the first four weeks, students received regular instruction with limited visual support, provided by the reading series. In the next four weeks, students were taught vocabulary words using extra visual support related to the selected vocabulary. The visuals included photographs, still pictures, video clips, realia, other items deemed as appropriate. The results showed students acquired vocabulary words when learning was supported by realistic visual support

Ethics, technology, and standard practice in communication centers: Proposing a continuing education credit program based on lessons learned from law, business, and healthcare

Communication centers on university campuses can benefit from an examination of the service and relationship-centered elements of the legal profession, business, and healthcare. Meaningful parallels are presented in three areas: standard practice and education, ethics, and technology. Based on its findings, this article argues centers consider adopting a continuing education credit program. A framework for the program is provided, presenting four categories related to intended outcomes: communication skills, professional development, interpersonal training, and ethics. The program is an intervention concerned with quality and may have the potential to improve a center’s training methods, the tutoring process, and the organization as a whole.

Maximizing the Learning Outcomes of Cocurricular Civic Engagement in Higher Education

My experience as an undergraduate college student was marked by many challenges. A constant source of support throughout that time was my participation in cocurricular community service activities – without those experiences I would never have completed my degree. After graduating I pursued a career in which I could continue my involvement with such programs, which, for the purposes of this paper, I will refer to as higher education civic engagement (HECE). There has been one issue that I have been particularly drawn to in HECE work — how to maximize what students learn when they participate in cocurricular civic engagement activities. Finding strategic and effective ways to support student learning outcomes from such experiences is challenging for a number of reasons. This paper begins with a reflection on how the Critical and Creative Thinking (CCT) program has contributed both to my personal development and to this project specifically. I then review the challenges HECE programs face in promoting student learning, followed by a review of best practices for cocurricular and civic engagement programs. I then offer four frameworks for conceptualizing student learning in HECE programs. Next is the core of this synthesis, a planning model that programs can use to strategically support and track student learning, adapted from the Service-Learning Course Design Workbook edited by Jeffrey Howard. Finally, I conclude by reflecting on this synthesis as a whole and considering possible follow-up steps to this project