CROSS THE “i,” DOT THE “t”

This short study of the writing assistance colleges and universities give international students provided sufficient information to warrant additional research. As expected, former students who returned to their countries of origin were less articulate than were those who pursued careers or enrolled in graduate school in the US. The oldest participant who remained in the US had the most developed language skills, while the oldest participant who returned to the country of origin had the least developed language skills. Participants who are current graduate students were more inclined to “think in English” than were former students who repatriated. The following brief summary reflects suggestions for improvement from study participants. In all cases, attention to individual concerns and feedback are essential to successful experience. International students who speak English as a second language recommended the following improvements: (a) voluntary, specialization-based mentoring partnerships and study groups; (b) institution-paid professional tutors, ESL interns, or graduate student assistants; (c) culturally aware advisors and faculty; (d) a mandated writing course based on department philosophy, and expectations for student goals, major papers, and journal articles; and (e) a staff person to assist with writing major papers

Toward the development of a construct of faculty scholarship

The purpose of this study was to investigate and clarify the nature and form of faculty scholarship. The two major stages of the study involved: (1) specification of the content domain of faculty scholarship, and (2) identification of the dimensions of faculty scholarship and exploration of relationships between these dimensions and other variables. The first stage of the study, in which the content domain of faculty scholarship was specified, involved the participation of 50 faculty members from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Participants nominated individuals they considered scholarly, and described the characteristics that prompted them to consider their nominees scholarly. Through these descriptions, an extensive listing of the components of scholarship was formulated

Policy implications of achievement testing using multilevel models: the case of Brazilian elementary schools

Large-scale educational assessment has been established as source of descriptive, evaluative and interpretative information that influence educational policies worldwide throughout the last third of the twentieth century. In the 1990s the Brazilian Ministry of Education developed the National Basic Education Assessment System (SAEB) that regularly measures management, resource and contextual school features and academic achievement in public and private institutions. In 2005, after significant piloting and review of the SAEB, a new sampling strategy was taken and Prova Brasil became the new instrument used by the Ministry to assess skills in Portuguese (reading comprehension) and Mathematics (problem solving), as well as collecting contextual information concerning the school, principal, teacher, and the students. This study aims to identify which variables are predictors of academic achievement of fifth grade students on Prova Brasil. Across a large sample of students, multilevel models tested a large number of variables relevant to student achievement. This approach uncovered critical variables not commonly seen as significant in light of other achievement determinants, including student habits, teacher ethnicity, and school technological resources. As such, this approach demonstrates the value of MLM to appropriately nuanced educational policies that reflect critical influences on student achievement. Its implications for wider application for psychology studies that may have relevant impacts for policy are also discussed

Effects of increased self-regulated learning opportunities on student teachers’ metacognitive and motivational development

This intervention study focused on the relationships between student teachers’ self-regulated learning (SRL) opportunities, their use of metacognitive learning strategies and their motivation for learning. Results indicate that student teachers’ use of metacognitive learning strategies increases significantly in learning environments with increased SRL opportunities. In opposite to these findings, no significant difference was shown between student teachers’ motivation for learning before and after the research period. However, student teachers’ expectancy, a component within the motivational construct, did increase significantly in the research period. Finally, minor significant positive correlations were found between the metacognitive and motivational constructs measured. In general, the level of SRL opportunities turns out to be a moderate predictor of student teachers’ use of metacognitive learning strategies and motivation for learning, both important constructs for their academic career

The ‘Self-Regulated Learning Opportunities Questionnaire': a diagnostic instrument for teacher educators' professional development

Many recent studies have stressed the importance of students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) skills for successful learning. Although primary teacher educators are aware of the importance of SRL for their students, they often find it difficult to implement SRL opportunities in their teaching. To support teacher professional development, an SRL model was described in a previous theoretical study. In the present article, this SRL model is elaborated towards the ‘SRL Opportunities Questionnaire’ (SRLOQ) that can be applied by primary teacher educators as a diagnostic instrument for classroom settings. A four-phase research design is applied consisting of scale development, score validation, further validation of the SRLOQ in primary teacher education, and a confirmatory factor analysis. Finally, a single case study is described that illustrates the usefulness of the SRLOQ in classroom practice

ANALISIS EKSPOR PINANG DI KABUPATEN TANJUNG JABUNG BARAT

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah mengetahui dan menganalisis perkembangan ekspor pinang Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Barat dilihat dari volume dan nilai ekspor pinang periode  2001-2014 dan untuk mengetahui dan menganalisis faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi ekspor pinang Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Barat periode 2001-2014.  Data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini merupakan data sekunder. Alat analisis yang digunakan adalah regresi linier berganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa rata-rata perkembangan volume ekspor pinang adalah 31,15%, sedagkan rata-rata perkembangan volume ekspor pinang  di Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Barat adalah 58,74% . Hasil regresi linier berganda menunjukkan bahwa variable produksi pinang dan nilai tukar rupiah secara bersama-sama tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap volume ekspor pinang Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Barat periode 2004 – 2014 sedangkan secara parsial ternyata variabel produksi memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap volume ekspor pinang di Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Barat periode 2004 – 2014 sementara nilai tukar rupiah tidak memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap volume ekspor pinang di Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Barat periode 2004 – 201