Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to Information Quality

Building upon a process-and context-oriented information quality framework, this paper seeks to map and explore what we know about the ways in which young users of age 18 and under search for information online, how they evaluate information, and how their related practices of content creation, levels of new literacies, general digital media usage, and social patterns affect these activities. A review of selected literature at the intersection of digital media, youth, and information quality -- primarily works from library and information science, sociology, education, and selected ethnographic studies -- reveals patterns in youth's information-seeking behavior, but also highlights the importance of contextual and demographic factors both for search and evaluation. Looking at the phenomenon from an information-learning and educational perspective, the literature shows that youth develop competencies for personal goals that sometimes do not transfer to school, and are sometimes not appropriate for school. Thus far, educational initiatives to educate youth about search, evaluation, or creation have depended greatly on the local circumstances for their success or failure

Survey and analysis of the usefulness of the social studies guide for New Hampshire elementary schools

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Reading Next: A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy

Outlines fifteen key elements that educators can use to develop an effective adolescent literacy intervention program. Focuses on elements of interventions that are most promising for students that struggle with reading and writing after third grade

Addressing school quality: some policy pointers from rural north India

This briefing identifies key issues influencing children's learning outcomes and provides policy pointers for remedial action. The study summarized here was undertaken in two states of north India whose educational challenges are comparable to or worse than those of many African and South Asian countries. Thus the findings potentially have utility not only in India but more widely

Addressing the Health and Physical Activity Needs of Girls in the Boston Metropolitan Area

This report examines girls' level of participation in sports and physical activity in the Boston metropolitan area and its relation to girls' health. Girls' sports and physical activity delivery systems, as well as public policy affecting the availability of such systems are reviewed

Characteristics of four highly-regarded literacy teachers in rural and urban elementary schools

How does geography play a role in student learning and teacher instruction? Limited research efforts reveal that the needs of students in rural areas are quite distinct from other settings (Muijs & Reynolds, 2003; Rice, 2003). It is not until exclusive qualities are determined in both rural and urban environments that instructional plans can be geared to each student body. Addressing these sociocultural issues is crucial with an increasingly diverse population of students nationwide. Spradley’s (1980) Developmental Research Sequence and ethnographic interviews of four classroom teachers within rural and urban schools are the primary methods utilized throughout this inquiry. The participants are selected based on their school-wide reputation for being highly regarded literacy teachers. Several instructional techniques found are unique to rural and urban areas. Administrators, specialists, and classroom teachers should find the results of this investigation useful. Implications reach across grade levels as models of effective literacy instruction can be developed

TEACHER-EVALUATORS’ NARRATIVE ACCOUNTS IN ASSESSING SELF-LEARNING MODULES (SLM)

This study aims to describe the narrative accounts of teacher-evaluators in assessing the quality of SLMs. This study uses a narrative research approach to examine five teacher-evaluators from the Koronadal City Division. As part of Bruner's theoretical framework, individuals produce new ideas or concepts based on prior information. Their expertise is needed to choose and process data. This study applies this approach because the cognitive structure organizes perceptions and helps individuals go beyond knowledge because evaluating self-learning material quality teaches teachers new concepts (SLMs). The finding reveals that participants feel honored and pressured, some are ready to carry out any assignment, and some are happy and excited. Participants indicated the advantage indicated learning new things and meaningful experiences, while the disadvantage indicated adding workloads. This research may support and motivate teacher-evaluators to tailor instruction to meet individual needs. Whether they differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, ongoing assessment and flexible grouping make this a successful approach to assessing students' SLMs quality. This study would provide a framework to build certain tasks, activities, or modules to motivate teachers and help them focus attention, organize information for understanding and remembering, monitor and assess learning, encourage self-monitoring, and self-correct tools for reflecting on and assessing their own learning in evaluating the quality assurance of SLM's.  Article visualizations

INTELLIGENT PERSONAL ASSISTANTS IN THE CLASSROOM: IMPACT ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

Intelligent personal assists are as a software tool utilized by millions of consumers to interact with their smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer, or smart speaker. As more mobile and computer operating systems offer the feature, more classrooms and ultimately students will have access to one of these tools, either on a school-purchased device or a personal device. The aim of this study was to look at a specific implementation of Siri, an intelligent personal assistant platform, in upper elementary and middle school science classrooms. The researcher utilized the lense of student engagement to measure the impact of the implementation of Siri. To that end, the research proposed the research question: Does implementation of the intelligent personal assistant Siri via purposeful introduction and instruction increase engagement of middle school science students or upper elementary students? The research question is answered utilizing a quasi-experimental model that measures engagement via the Engagement Versus Disaffection with Learning-Student Report instrument, pre- and post-treatment. The treatment involved teachers introducing Siri to treatment groups and then encouraging appropriate use. The researcher analyzed results utilizing descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-test, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. The researcher found only one statistically significant result out of 24 tests conducted. After analysis of changes in student use and student perception of engagement across all tests, along with an analysis of effect sizes, the research was not able to find persuasive evidence to reject the null hypothesis

The Impact of Professional Development Training in Autism and Experience on Teachers\u27 Self-Efficacy

Regular education teachers\u27 self-efficacy may be negatively impacted due to a lack of professional development and experience teaching students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Research links teacher self-efficacy with increased student academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine to what degree training on ASD during and following teacher certification and experience had on overall teacher self-efficacy. This one-shot case study was based upon Bandura\u27s theoretical construct of self-efficacy and secondarily on Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk Hoy, and Hoy\u27s theory of self-efficacy. The Teachers\u27 Sense of Efficacy Scales (TSES) was used to collect data from regular education teachers with experience teaching students with ASD in 1st through 3rd grades in a Southern California school district. After the data were assessed for accuracy, missing data, and outliers, the analysis was conducted on 36 cases. MANOVAs were conducted to assess differences on overall self-efficacy. Separate ANOVAs were used since the overall self-efficacy and the subscores were highly correlated. Though the sample in this study was small (n = 36) for data analysis, the effect size showed that training experience and grade levels had a moderate to large effect on teacher self-efficacy (.16, .13, .13 respectively). Therefore teacher self-efficacy has a positive impact on student achievement. Implications for positive social change are self-efficacious teachers increase the academic achievement of students with ASD. In this way, such students can become self-sustaining, dynamic members of the work force and community