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1 – 10 of 273Julia Morinaj, Kaja Marcin and Tina Hascher
Current challenges in the educational sector along with age-related changes during early adolescence contribute to an increased sense of school alienation (SAL) among students…
Abstract
Current challenges in the educational sector along with age-related changes during early adolescence contribute to an increased sense of school alienation (SAL) among students. Some of the central concerns of SAL are failure to participate in classroom and socially deviant behaviors. This study examined the change in and cross-lagged relationships among alienation from learning, teachers, and classmates, and different self-reported learning and social behaviors across 508 secondary school students spanning a one-year interval from Grade 7 to Grade 8. The results revealed a slight increase in SAL and a decline in classroom participation. Earlier SAL predicted students’ later in-class participation and delinquent behavior, but not vice versa. The three alienation domains were shown to have different relationships with targeted learning and social behaviors: Alienation from learning and from teachers negatively predicted student classroom participation. Alienation from teachers and from classmates contributed to subsequent delinquent behavior. The study results emphasized the importance of SAL for students’ participation in classroom activities as well as in disruptive behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings for educational research and practice are discussed.
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Åge Diseth, Ståle Pallesen, Anders Hovland and Svein Larsen
The present study seeks to compare scores on factors from the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) with scores on an abbreviated version of the Approaches and Study Skills…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study seeks to compare scores on factors from the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) with scores on an abbreviated version of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) and examination grade among undergraduate psychology students. The purpose is to investigate the relationship between course experience and approaches to learning, and to examine their relative importance as predictors of academic achievement.
Design/methodology/approach
Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modelling were utilised in order to find measurement models for each of the constructs and to test hypothesised structural relations between these constructs.
Findings
The original CEQ and ASSIST factors were reproduced. A model in which course experience factors predicted SAL was supported, but the same model did not provide evidence for any indirect or mediator effect between course experience, approaches to learning and academic achievement. Indirect empirical support for a hypothesised causal link between course experience and approaches to learning was found.
Research limitations/implications
Weak relations between the predictor variables (course experience/approaches to learning) and academic achievement limited the possibility of identifying mediator effects, and future research should address this issue.
Practical implications
Lecturers and course designers should take into account that students' approaches to learning are influenced by course experience, especially with respect to the adoption of a surface approach to learning.
Originality/value
This paper included a comparison between course experience, approaches to learning, and academic achievement, whereas most previous research has not included academic achievement. The utilisation of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling gave a stronger test of construct validity than exploratory analyses, and it facilitated the testing of hypothesised structural models.
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To test the belief that only experienced librarians can effectively teach bibliographic instruction, and compare the effectiveness of active learning methods versus usual practice.
Abstract
Purpose
To test the belief that only experienced librarians can effectively teach bibliographic instruction, and compare the effectiveness of active learning methods versus usual practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Undergraduate learning was quantitatively measured using a pre‐ and post‐assessment instrument. Two groups of library instructors, degreed librarians and graduate Library Science students participated, reporting the percentage of scripted, active‐learning instruction techniques used in classes.
Findings
There was no significant difference in undergraduate learning gains, regardless of instructor type. However, all library instructors using at least 80 percent of the scripted, active‐learning techniques showed more undergraduate learning than those instructors who did not use as many active learning techniques. In addition, undergraduate assessment showed few learning gains after participation in two library instruction sessions.
Research limitations/implications
An exclusively female undergraduate population was studied.
Practical implications
It is not the experience of the teacher, but rather the teaching methods used that increase student learning, indicating the need for continuing professional development in this area. Additionally, two library instruction sessions, even when integrated into a course, show few student learning gains. Consequently, other instructional approaches must be considered.
Originality/value
Effective library instructors will be those who integrate active learning methods into their practice. Experience does not equal effectiveness.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is viewed by students and teachers and its value as a vehicle to promote self-directed…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is viewed by students and teachers and its value as a vehicle to promote self-directed independent learning.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed methods approach was adopted in three stages. Stages 1 and 2 structured questionnaires were issued to students and teachers were interviewed in a third and final stage. The second questionnaire relating to students’ views were analysed for statistical reliability using the χ2-test.
Findings
The research suggests that EPQ is a possible vehicle to promote independent learning and negates some of the more negative aspects associated with classroom-based learning.
Research limitations/implications
This research was based on research undertaken at two Sixth Form Colleges (SFCs). Although insightful and a useful description, it cannot claim to reflect the experience of EPQ at every institution in the SFC sector.
Originality/value
The SFC sector is rarely reported on in the academic literature. This paper also reports on a relatively new and important initiative within the sector and offers a possible view of the future in the classroom.
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Yijin Chen, Yue Qiu, Hanming Lin and Yiming Zhao
This study aims to explore the influence of topic familiarity on the four stages of college students' learning search process.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the influence of topic familiarity on the four stages of college students' learning search process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study clarified the effects of topic familiarity on students' learning search process by conducting a simulation experiment based on query formulation, information item selection, information sources and learning output.
Findings
The results characterized users' interaction behaviors in increasing topic familiarity through their use of more task descriptions as queries, increased reformulation of queries, construction of more purposeful query formulation, reduced attention to a topic's basic concept content and increased exploration of academic platform contents.
Originality/value
This study proposed three innovative indicators which were proposed to evaluate the effects of topic familiarity on college students' learning search process, and the adopted metrics were useful for observing differences in college students' learning output as their topic familiarity increased. It contributes to the understanding of a user's search process and learning output to support the optimization function of learning-related information search systems and improve their effect on the user's search process for learning.
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I-Chin Wu, Pertti Vakkari and Bo-Xian Huang
Recent studies on search-as-learning (SAL) have recognized the significance of identifying users' learning needs as they evolve for acquiring knowledge during the search process…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent studies on search-as-learning (SAL) have recognized the significance of identifying users' learning needs as they evolve for acquiring knowledge during the search process. In this study, the authors clarify the extent to which search behaviors reflect the learning outcome and foster the users' knowledge of Chinese art.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted an exploratory-sequential mixed-methods approach using simulated work task situations to collect empirical data. The authors used two types of simulated learning tasks for topics related to painting and antique knowledge. A lot of 25 users participated in this evaluation of digital archives (DAs) at the National Palace Museum (NPM) in Taiwan. For each set of topics, a close-ended task related to lower-level learning goals and an open-ended task related to higher-level learning goals.
Findings
The learning criteria reflect changes in the users' knowledge structure, revealing the SAL process. Furthermore, users achieved better task performance on the higher-level creative-learning task, which suggests that they met more learning criteria, exhibited a greater variety of search patterns when exploring the topics via interaction with various sources. Finally, there is a close relationship between creative-learning tasks, prior knowledge, keyword search actions and learning outcomes.
Originality/value
The authors discuss implications with respect to the design of DAs in practice and contributions to the body of SAL knowledge in DAs of online museums. For future reference, the authors provide implications for the development of learning measures from the perspective of user search behavior with associated learning outcomes in the context of DAs.
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The average mark in the mid-semester examination of a group of total quality management students turned out to be 52 percent with a SD of 11 percent. They are to score a minimum…
Abstract
Purpose
The average mark in the mid-semester examination of a group of total quality management students turned out to be 52 percent with a SD of 11 percent. They are to score a minimum of 60 percent to enable them graduate with a diploma. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the vital Xs or variables that will help improve a student’s score from 52 to 60 percent.
Design/methodology/approach
The main objective of the study is to relate variables that will improve the learning outcome, hence the author chose a structural equation modeling using 15 latent constructs (Pintrich et al., 1991) to identify the vital Xs.
Findings
Results show that students study time, learning motive, and learning strategy will have significant effect on the learning outcome.
Research limitations/implications
This study is restricted to students in a particular university in Ghana, and may not necessarily be applicable universally.
Practical implications
This study used the (Pintrich et al., 1991) Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire to gather information about student’s study habits, learning skills, and motivation for schoolwork. Students who participated in the study were provided with the necessary feedback to help improve on their examination scores.
Originality/value
This study contributes to literature by examining how the attitude(s) of the student in the classroom has a significant effect on the learning outcome.
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Recently, practitioner literature in English education has taken up the issue of writing-related shame in classrooms, calling for teachers to help students develop resilience. One…
Abstract
Purpose
Recently, practitioner literature in English education has taken up the issue of writing-related shame in classrooms, calling for teachers to help students develop resilience. One possible approach for nurturing shame resilience around writing is dialogic collaging: students make and dialogically engage with collages and with colleagues to explore the self-as-writer and to connect with others around writing struggles and joys. The purpose of this paper is to share and critically reflect on this pedagogical approach.
Design/methodology/approach
To share, interpret and consider the limitations and implications of the dialogic collaging pedagogy in service of writing-related shame resilience, the authors offer a multi-voiced narrative about one classroom instantiation of college, from the perspective of a university writing teacher and a student of writing.
Findings
On the interpretation, this story unfolds three central themes as follows: dialogic collaging can help students to develop a more realistic and situated sense of self-as-writer. That is, students can come to appreciate how “becoming a writer” is a process they – and others around them – are already in, rather than an unreachable achievement at which they will inevitably fail. The stance of playfulness nurtured through the dialogic collage process can provide a helpful distance between self and writing. These processes may – under certain conditions – support shame resilience.
Research limitations/implications
The conclusion reflects on whether more explicit attention to shame could be fruitful and on the dynamics of teacher vulnerability in writing classrooms.
Practical implications
The authors hope to inspire writing teachers – particularly in secondary, post-secondary and adult education – to engage with dialogic collaging as part of their pedagogical repertoires.
Originality/value
Dialogic collaging is a pedagogical approach not previously discussed in the literature on secondary and post-secondary writing instruction, offering one promising way to address writing-related shame. It can make visible and build solidarity around how others are also in the midst of a process of becoming – as writers and/or with writing. This appreciation can help nurture a more realistic, playful and shame-resilient stance toward self-as-writer.
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Jose Luis Arquero, Carmen Fernández-Polvillo, Trevor Hassall and John Joyce
The individual characteristics of students can have a strong influence on the success of the adopted innovations in terms of their transferability and sustainability. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
The individual characteristics of students can have a strong influence on the success of the adopted innovations in terms of their transferability and sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to compare the motivations and approaches to learning on degrees with differing vocational components.
Design/methodology/approach
Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and approaches to learning framework were used as theoretical background. Questionnaires were used to generate data. The sample was composed by 270 students enroled on differing degrees in term of motivation (accounting and nursing).
Findings
The results reveal differences in the approaches to learning and motivation between nursing and accounting students. Nursing degree seem to attract more internally motivated students, presenting significantly higher scores in terms of deep approach and lower scores on surface approach. Significant relationships where found between motivation and approaches.
Research limitations/implications
Data are obtained from students studying at a specific university in two degrees.
Practical implications
The result suggest that different degrees could attract students with different motivations and approaches to learning. Educators must be aware of which type of students are being attracted to their classrooms, because the inconsistencies between the students’ motives and approaches, the way the contents are presented, the pedagogy and the assessment system could result in poorer learning and failure to transfer or sustain innovations.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the very scarce literature linking motivation and approaches. The implications for curriculum design and delivery and specifically for assessment design are of interest for educators.
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José Luis Arquero Montaño, José María González González, Trevor Hassall, John Joyce, Eleni Germanou and Sophia Asonitou
The purpose of this article is to identify the impact of differing teaching contexts on the approaches to learning of accounting undergraduates in different European countries by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to identify the impact of differing teaching contexts on the approaches to learning of accounting undergraduates in different European countries by the use of a study process questionnaire.
Design/methodology/approach
The questionnaire used was Biggs’ R‐SPQ‐2F (Biggs et al.). This is a 20‐item questionnaire that identifies the learning styles of individual students in terms of deep and surface approaches.
Findings
Significant differences were found in the approaches to learning of the students in the countries concerned. The differences were rooted in two subcomponents: motive and strategy. Gender differences were also identified.
Originality/value
A major factor in the development process of future accountants is the education process that they undertake. This study identifies a methodology that is capable of comparing accounting students in different countries and potentially identifying the underlying reasons why the quality of the learning outcomes achieved may differ under differing educational systems.
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