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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 December 2016

Jennifer Ball and Muna Kashoob

Most teachers in the Gulf would agree that Arab learners struggle more with reading and writing than listening and speaking. One little considered possible influence on this is…

Abstract

Most teachers in the Gulf would agree that Arab learners struggle more with reading and writing than listening and speaking. One little considered possible influence on this is the particular visual processing requirements of English. This article suggests why visual processing or visual cognition might be a particular difficulty for Arab students reading English. It offers a simple classroom checklist that may assist teachers to notice if visual processing strain could be effecting their student’s attention, motivation and performance.

Details

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2077-5504

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 February 2022

Abduljalil Nasr Hazaea and Sultan Saleh Ahmed Almekhlafy

Students of mixed-ability learning together in one class is a challenge for all educators, especially in English as foreign language (EFL) contexts. Timed reading activity (TRA…

2023

Abstract

Purpose

Students of mixed-ability learning together in one class is a challenge for all educators, especially in English as foreign language (EFL) contexts. Timed reading activity (TRA) is an activity that can help educators address the learning needs of students in such a context. The present study investigated the effectiveness of the TRA in enhancing EFL students' reading rate and reading comprehension as well as in making them aware of potentially wrong reading strategies that they may be using.

Design/methodology/approach

A classroom intervention was designed for a group of preparatory year (PY) students at a Saudi university. The study sample consisted of one intact class of 29 students. Data were collected from pre- and post-tests of students' reading rate and reading comprehension as well as progress charts. In addition, a questionnaire was used to identify the reading strategies used by the students.

Findings

The results showed that the TRA generally enhanced the reading comprehension and the reading rate of EFL mixed-ability students as well as raised their awareness of their use of wrong fast reading strategies.

Originality/value

The results of the study support the use of TRA as a remedial reading activity in EFL mixed-ability classes.

Details

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2077-5504

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 17 June 2020

Camilla Nilvius

This article theoretically analyzes how response to intervention (RTI) can be used as a tool in lesson study (LS) to enhance student learning and how RTI can be made more…

2684

Abstract

Purpose

This article theoretically analyzes how response to intervention (RTI) can be used as a tool in lesson study (LS) to enhance student learning and how RTI can be made more user-friendly by teachers in LS. The focus is on how RTI can be adapted to teachers' daily work by including it in the LS model and how LS can benefit by introducing a scientific approach in analyzing student learning outcomes through RTI. The article also highlights how this approach can contribute to learning for children with special educational needs (SEN).

Design/methodology/approach

This theoretical paper describes and compares the characteristics of the LS model with the RTI framework. The comparison highlights the design of models related to teachers’ development and learning outcomes. The benefits and challenges with the models are described. A previous research study related to the models is also briefly reviewed.

Findings

There are benefits and challenges with both the RTI and LS models but parts of the models appear to complement one another to some extent. Teachers' professional development and a better control of learning outcomes could be gained by combining the models. This could also lead to educational improvement.

Originality/value

There has been almost no research about a combined LS and RTI model.

Details

International Journal for Lesson & Learning Studies, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 September 2020

Hui Situ, Carol Tilt and Pi-Shen Seet

In a state capitalist country such as China, an important influence on company reporting is the government, which can influence company decision-making. The nature and impact of…

5912

Abstract

Purpose

In a state capitalist country such as China, an important influence on company reporting is the government, which can influence company decision-making. The nature and impact of how the Chinese government uses its symbolic power to promote corporate environmental reporting (CER) have been under-studied, and therefore, this paper aims to address this gap in the literature by investigating the various strategies the Chinese government uses to influence CER and how political ideology plays a key role.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses discourse analysis to examine the annual reports and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports from seven Chinese companies between 2007 and 2011. And the data analysis presented is informed by Bourdieu's conceptualisation of symbolic power.

Findings

The Chinese government, through exercising the symbolic power, manages to build consensus, so that the Chinese government's political ideology becomes the habitus which is deeply embedded in the companies' perception of practices. In China, the government dominates the field and owns the economic capital. In order to accumulate symbolic capital, companies must adhere to political ideology, which helps them maintain and improve their social position and ultimately reward them with more economic capital. The findings show that the CER provided by Chinese companies is a symbolic product of this process.

Originality/value

The paper provides contributions around the themes of symbolic power wielded by the government that influence not only state-owned enterprises (SOEs) but also firms in the private sector. This paper also provides an important contribution to understanding, in the context of a strong ideologically based political system (such as China), how political ideology influences companies' decision-making in the field of CER.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 34 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 February 2022

Zena T. Lloyd, Daesang Kim, J.T. Cox, Gina M. Doepker and Steven E. Downey

This experimental study aimed to examine the effects of annotating a historical text as a reading comprehension strategy on student academic achievement in an eighth-grade social…

6117

Abstract

Purpose

This experimental study aimed to examine the effects of annotating a historical text as a reading comprehension strategy on student academic achievement in an eighth-grade social studies class.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-method design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data sequentially. First, the authors collected quantitative data with a series of pre- and post-tests from all student participants during a six-week instructional time frame. Next, the authors collected quantitative and qualitative data with a survey from teacher and intervention group student participants. Quantitative data were analyzed to evaluate the mean differences in participants' test scores and survey responses. Finally, qualitative data from open-ended survey questions were transcribed and analyzed using an inductive approach to supplement the quantitative findings and develop a holistic picture of the participants' learning experiences.

Findings

The results showed that the annotating strategy increased student engagement, reading comprehension and thus academic achievement in social studies. Annotating helped students visualize key points, break down complex texts and slow down when reading complex historical texts. As a result, it helped students focus, think critically and discourse to understand complex content.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted with eighth-grade students in one middle school in South Georgia.

Practical implications

The findings of this study provide evidence that the reading comprehension strategy of annotating is a valuable teaching and learning tool for daily use in social studies classrooms.

Social implications

Educators must prepare students to use reading comprehension strategies such as annotating in all content areas and not only in a traditional academic setting.

Originality/value

This study adds to the current body of research and undergirds reading comprehension strategies used to improve the learning outcomes in content other than reading.

Details

Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-7604

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 10 September 2021

Patricio Cortes-Rodriguez, Renzo Rondanelli-Delpiano, Paola Santander-Meneses and Ricardo Vilches-Vargas

Background: This article presents a methodology to categorize scientific publications according to the targets of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United…

Abstract

Background: This article presents a methodology to categorize scientific publications according to the targets of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. For the above, a dataset with bibliographic and descriptive attributes of 2,379 articles from 2017 by co-authors affiliated to the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, was used.

Methods: The methodology considered three relevant and consecutive milestones: establishment of the reading level that was applied for each publication record, which considers a proportional amount of information; assignment of one of the 18 categories identified for the analysis of the information, which include the 17 SDGs and the option “unclassified” and one of the 169 subcategories corresponding to the specific goals; and, finally, recording the status of the review process carried out, which allowed control of the progress and quality of the cross-review.

Results: The results show that 58.6% of the articles contribute to a primary target, of these 233 contribute to a secondary target; goals 3, 4, 9, and 11 are the most frequent in the process of assigning SDGs. There is an 81% increase in the use of alphanumeric targets when they are assigned as secondary targets. At the same time, cross-checking is shown to be beneficial when allowing the reclassification of 190 articles to some of the targets. Finally, it is established that levels 2 and 3 enabled better classification, given that the contents considered provide more information; however, it is significant that through level 1, 355 articles were categorized as “unclassified”.

Conclusions: It is concluded that the methodology allows for a conclusive, exhaustive, rigorous, extensive, and varied classification through the different milestones and actions carried out, providing strategic information for decision making and research management in the academy-society relationship.

Details

Emerald Open Research, vol. 1 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3952

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2077-5504

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 December 2014

Cathy Downs and LuAnne Ktiri-Idrissi

Emotional and interpretive responses to three short stories were noted in two study populations of similar age: Qatari students in a post-highschool foundation program preparing…

Abstract

Emotional and interpretive responses to three short stories were noted in two study populations of similar age: Qatari students in a post-highschool foundation program preparing to attend branch campuses of western universities located in Qatar, and American students, many of Mexican-American heritage, from a small college in a rural setting in South Texas. It has long been thought that reading literature from a foreign culture confers educational value on the reader; in this investigation the nature of that ‘value’ was placed under study. Written responses to quiz questions or assignments were used as data; responses critical of or affirming of character, setting, plot, and literary tropes were particularly noted. Our data show that readings from an author whose culture was similar to the reader’s created interest and urged both intellectual and affective types of understanding, such as remembering, grieving, healing, forgiving, and feeling pride. Readings from ‘classic’ literature presented in historical context strongly enabled critical discussion among students in a multicultural setting, since the author’s absence from the scene ‘allows’ free conversation about his or her work without fear of insulting the author’s culture. Readings by contemporary writers from outside the reader’s culture, or ‘multicultural literature’, may cause some readers to shy away from the challenge of understanding another culture or to voice stereotypes instead of seeking ideas. Readings from outsider cultures, however, and the affective distancing of ‘othering’, enable the well-prepared educator and student to discuss how culture patterns our lives.

Details

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2077-5504

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 December 2015

Mohammed Goma Tanko

Very little work has been published on teaching for social justice in the Middle East. This paper demonstrates how a group of Arab women’s reading and writing of their world was…

Abstract

Very little work has been published on teaching for social justice in the Middle East. This paper demonstrates how a group of Arab women’s reading and writing of their world was facilitated by using a social justice pedagogy based on Gutstein’s (2006) model. The study involved 20 Middle Eastern women (ages ranging from 16-36). The findings suggest that the students have developed significant abilities to use mathematics as a tool to read and write their world. In addition, the findings show that, like their counterparts elsewhere in the world, these young women are also interested in social justice issues. This is particularly significant because of current ongoing social developments in the Middle East.

Details

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2077-5504

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 March 2022

Abdulhameed Aldurayheem

This study examines the test's predictive validity of English language performance and compares test constructs to identify the most effective predictors of English language…

2251

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the test's predictive validity of English language performance and compares test constructs to identify the most effective predictors of English language performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected and analysed from test scores of students enrolled in the foundation year (N = 84) and level 2 (N = 127) in the faculty of English at a Saudi university using correlation and regression tests.

Findings

The findings revealed that the General Aptitude Test (GAT) is effective in predicting English performance for students in level 2 and that the error detection task is the most effective predictor of performance in English reading.

Practical implications

The study provides support for the validity of the GAT as a university admission requirement for English language courses in the Arabic-speaking world.

Originality/value

This study examines the GAT's power using a fine-grained approach by deriving scores from its breakdown constructs to predict the performance of English skills at the university level.

1 – 10 of over 4000