Mexican American English in Context: Accommodation to Other Available Norms in Lower Michigan

Recent studies have examined the effects of regional varieties on the English ofMexican Americans outside the Southwest (Hartford 1978; Frazer 1996; Gordon2000; Wolfram, Carter, and Moriello 2004; Roeder 2006). The present study is an examination of the vowel systems of Mexican Americans in two communities in Lower Michigan - the Lansing area, where the Northern Cities Shift (NCS) is afeature of the predominant local dialect, and Berrien County in southwest Michigan,which has not shown extensive NCS influence. The findings reveal a kiteshapedpattern in the lower vowels of the Lansing speakers, which is attributableto a new variety of Mexican American English influenced strongly by tbe NCS.The degree of accommodation to this pattern by Mexican Americans in BerrienCounty - where the Mexican American community is less well established - correlates with their length of residence in the area

Predicting Math Success in an Online Tutoring System Using Language Data and Click-Stream Variables: A Longitudinal Analysis

Previous studies have demonstrated strong links between students\u27 linguistic knowledge, their affective language patterns and their success in math. Other studies have shown that demographic and click-stream variables in online learning environments are important predictors of math success. This study builds on this research in two ways. First, it combines linguistics and click-stream variables along with demographic information to increase prediction rates for math success. Second, it examines how random variance, as found in repeated participant data, can explain math success beyond linguistic, demographic, and click-stream variables. The findings indicate that linguistic, demographic, and click-stream factors explained about 14% of the variance in math scores. These variables mixed with random factors explained about 44% of the variance

Note-Taking and Science Inquiry in an Open-Ended Learning Environment

Note-taking is important for academic success and has been thoroughly studied in traditional classroom contexts. Recent advancements of technology have led to more students taking notes on computers, and in different situations than are common in traditional instructional contexts. However, research on computer-based note-taking is still an emerging area, and findings from these studies are mixed. In this exploratory study, we conducted multilevel analysis to comprehensively investigate the relationship between note-taking measures and subsequent student success at science inquiry among middle school students, using two scenarios of an open-ended learning environment named Virtual Performance Assessments. Analysis revealed an advantage for content elaborative note-taking over content reproductive note-taking conditional on the source of notes taken, but other measures were less consistent between the two scenarios. Implications of the findings and limitations of this research are also discussed

Cross-System Transfer of Machine Learned and Knowledge Engineered Models of Gaming the System

Abstract. Replicable research on the behavior known as gaming the system, in which students try to succeed by exploiting the functionalities of a learning environment instead of learning the material, has shown it is negatively correlated with learning outcomes. As such, many have developed models that can automatically detect gaming behaviors, towards deploying them in online learning environments. Both machine learning and knowledge engineering approaches have been used to create models for a variety of software systems, but the development of these models is often quite time consuming. In this paper, we investigate how well different kinds of models generalize across learning environments, specifically studying how effectively four gaming models previously created for the Cognitive Tutor Algebra tutoring system function when applied to data from two alternate learning environments: the scatterplot lesson of Cognitive Tutor Middle School and ASSISTments. Our results suggest that the similarity between the systems our model are transferred between and the nature of the approach used to create the model impact transfer to new systems. Keywords: Gaming the system, Cognitive Tutors, ASSISTments, machine learning, cognitive modeling, cross-system transfer Introduction In intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) and other learning environment, student disengagement often manifests in a behavior known as gaming the system. This behavior, which is neither clearly off-task nor on-task, is defined as "attempting to succeed in an educational environment by exploiting properties of the system rather than by learning the material and trying to use that knowledge to answer correctly&quot

Becoming Better Versed: Towards the Design of a Popular Music-based Rhyming Game for Disadvantaged Youths

: This study examines patterns of rhyme identification among English Language Learners (ELLs) towards the development of an educational game, JOLLY, intended to improve phonemic awareness among school-aged children in the Philippines. Leveraging on students’ intrinsic interest in Western popular music, we ask students to identify rhyming words from among the song lyrics. We find that the extent to which an English phoneme is similar to a Tagalog phoneme determines how likely it is to be identified. From these findings, we draw implications on how JOLLY’s underlying domain model can be structured with each song as a learning object and each learning object consisting of an inventory of phonemes to be mastered. We also recommend the use of open, possibly social, student models to help learners track their progress and that of their peers

An Investigation of Affect Within Ibigkas!: An Educational Game for English

We investigated the affective states (both individual and shared emotions) of students using a collaborative and educational game for English called Ibigkas! Our goal was two-fold: (1) To determine the incidence and persistence of affective states exhibited by the students when working individually and in groups, and (2) to adapt the Baker Rodrigo Ocumpaugh Monitoring Protocol for collaborative learning situations. Our findings for this study are as follows: (1) in single-player mode, students exhibited greater engaged concentration, pride, and frustration and less excitement, delight, and confusion compared to the multiplayer mode; (2) that individual emotions can be distinct from group emotions; (3) that negative emotions like frustration and blame/guilt were only felt at the individual level and were not observed as shared by all the members of the group; (4) affective states tended to persist more within an individualized game setting compared to the collaborative game setting where there was a greater number of opportunities to experience a wider range of emotions, hence the low chance of persistence; (5) students within an individualized setting spent more time solving the game rounds, had fewer incorrect answers, even as they experienced more frustration, and finally, (6) students within a collaborative setting had fewer errors when they had a higher incidence of excitement and had more errors when they appeared to be concentrating due to the presence of the “gaming the system” behavior

Contextual factors affecting hint utility

Abstract Background Interactive learning environments often provide help strategies to facilitate learning. Hints, for example, help students recall relevant concepts, identify mistakes, and make inferences. However, several studies have shown cases of ineffective help use. Findings from an initial study on the availability of hints in a mathematics problem-solving activity showed that early access to on-demand hints were linked to lack of performance improvements and longer completion times in students answering problems for summer work. The same experimental methodology was used in the present work with a different student sample population collected during the academic year to check for generalizability. Results Results from the academic year study showed that early access to on-demand-hints in an online mathematics assignment significantly improved student performance compared to students with later access to hints, which was not observed in the summer study. There were no differences in assignment completion time between conditions, which had been observed in the summer study and has been attributed to engagement in off-task activities. Although the summer and academic year studies were internally valid, there were significantly more students in the academic year study who did not complete their assignment. The sample populations differed significantly by student characteristics and external factors, possibly contributing to differences in the findings. Notable contextual factors that differed included prior knowledge, grade level, and assignment deadlines. Conclusions Contextual differences influence hint effectiveness. This work found varying results when the same experimental methodology was conducted on two separate sample populations engaged in different learning settings. Further work is needed, however, to better understand how on-demand hints generalize to other learning contexts. Despite its limitations, the study shows how randomized controlled trials can be used to better understand the effectiveness of instructional designs applied in online learning systems that cater to thousands of learners across diverse student populations. We hope to encourage additional research that will validate the effectiveness of instructional designs in different learning contexts, paving the way for the development of robust and generalizable designs

Towards the Development of a Computer-based Game for Phonemic Awareness

In this paper, we discuss some of the results of a participatory design workshop used to elicit design guidelines for an education game for phonemic awareness intended for use by disadvantaged students. Using a grounded theory approach, we analyze facilitators’ observations from the workshop and related findings to well-established game design guidelines. We were able to align facilitators’ observations with these guidelines in order to prescribe ways to support student participation, mitigate student disengagement, support various team roles and dynamics, and accommodate a variety of game play strategies

Portraits of underprivileged Filipino second language learners: Towards the development of computer-based educational game

This study determined the portraits of underprivileged language learners in attempt to design educational software for them. Toward this goal, we conducted an ethnographic study which involved surveys and interviews of the informants (i.e., teachers). Textual analysis on the responses of the informants revealed that underprivileged language learners can be classified into four types. Implications to computer-based educational game design are also offered