Education Commons^™

Fostering Creativity: Ontario Teachers’ Perceptions, Strategies, And Experiences, Catharine M. Dishke Hondzel

Catharine Dishke Hondzel

This study provides a broad overview of perceptions elementary school teachers hold regarding creativity, the strategies those teachers use to foster creative thinking and behaviour in their students, and the environmental challenges and opportunities they navigate when striving to develop 21st century skills in students. Earlier research examining teachers’ perceptions and creativity-fostering behaviours have typically asked teachers to describe their classroom practices, or self-report their perceptions regarding creative children or children’s creative actions. Using a mixed-methods approach, in this study 22 Grade 5-7 teachers working in Ontario completed an online questionnaire which measured their creativity-fostering behaviours. Following the survey, 12 …

Cross-Grade Analysis Of Chinese Students' English Learning Motivation: A Mixed-Methods Study, Qian-Mei Zhang, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This mixed-methods study investigated the changes in Chinese students’ motivation to learn English from elementary to high school and explored the reasons for these changes at different school levels. A motivational questionnaire was designed and administered to 3,777 elementary, junior high, and high school students, and followup interviews were then conducted with nine students in order to investigate their perceptions of their motivations. Seven subcomponents of motivation were identified. The statistical results revealed that junior high school students had the highest learning motivation, followed by those in elementary school and those in high school. The interview data indicated that parents’ …

Theory Guided Professional Development In Early Childhood Science Education, Soo-Young Hong, Julia Torquati, Victoria J. Molfese

Soo-Young Hong

The importance of early and developmentally appropriate science education is increasingly recognized. Consequently, creation of common guidelines and standards in early childhood science education has begun (National Research Council (NRC), 2012), and researchers, practitioners, and policy makers have shown great interest in aligning professional development with the new guidelines and standard. There are some important issues that need to be addressed in order to successfully implement guidelines and make progress toward accomplishing standards. Early childhood teachers have expressed a lack of confidence in teaching science and nature (Torquati, Cutler, Gilkerson, & Sarver, in press) and have limited science and pedagogical …

Celebrating Student Scholars: An Introduction, Maureen A. Scully, Esther Kingston-Mann

Maureen Scully

The essays in this issue of Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge have received awards in The Kingston-Mann Student Achievement Awards for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship. Written by undergraduate students who address deeply urgent and important issues, each essay possesses a clear, distinctive voice. The authors do not turn away from difficult questions and do not waffle, even when they are dealing with questions and data that are ambiguous or contradictory. Although faculty may be accustomed to academic articles rife with qualifiers, indirect points, jargon, and a limited concern for relevance, the essays included here are …

High School To College Transition: A Profile Of The Stressors, Physical And Psychological Health Issues That Affect The First-Year On-Campus College Student, Terence Hicks, Samuel Heastie

Terence Hicks, Ph.D., Ed.D.

The purpose of this article is to provide identified stressors, physical and psychological health issues that affect first year campus college students as they transition from high school to college. The Health Behaviors, Self-Rated Health and Quality of Life (QOL) questionnaire was administered to 514 university college students. Results from this study determined that there were significant differences among student life stressors and physical and psychological health status between first-year on-campus and first-year off-campus college students. Most importantly this study documented compelling information regarding selection of roommate, poor housing, chronic and temporary diseases, injury and prescription medicine among college students …

Session B - Measuring Learning In Complex Environments, Michael Timms

Dr Michael J Timms

Concurrent Session Block 1

Reading In Online Environments, Juliette Mendelovits

Juliette Mendelovits

Juliette Mendelovits examines the results of an international assessment of 15-year-old students’ ability to read digital texts.

Session O - Do Boys And Girls Read Differently Online? Evidence From Pisa 2009 Digital Reading Assessment, Tom Lumley, Dara Ramalingam, Juliette Mendelovits

Juliette Mendelovits

Concurrent Session Block 3

Session P - Challenges And Opportunities For Neuroscience : How To Explain The Connection Between Socio-Cultural Practices And Cognition?, David Clarke, Hilary Hollingsworth

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

Concurrent Session Block 3

Session J - Learning And Fearing Mathematics : Insights From Psychology And Neuroscience, Sarah Buckley, Kate Reid

Dr Kate Reid

Concurrent Session Block 2

Session J - Learning And Fearing Mathematics : Insights From Psychology And Neuroscience, Sarah Buckley, Kate Reid

Dr Sarah Buckley

Concurrent Session Block 2

Inhibition & Mental Effort: A Moderation Hypothesis, David Anthony Yeigh

Dr Tony Yeigh

This investigation addresses the relationship between cognitive inhibition as an executive function of the working memory system and cognitive load as the mental effort experienced in relation to classroom learning. The argument advanced and tested is that cognitive inhibition moderates cognitive load, and thereby provides an explanatory mechanism for extrinsic forms of cognitive load. The implications of this relationship are identified and discussed in relation to instructional design.

The relevant literature shows a limited appreciation of the importance of the role played by cognitive inhibition in relation to cognitive load, and, indeed, in relation to learning outcomes in general. Against …

Towards A Learning For Disaster Resilience Approach: Exploring Content And Process, Neil Dufty

Neil Dufty

This paper is a first attempt to scope the possible content and learning processes that could be used in a holistic Learning for Disaster Resilience (LfDR) approach as a possible improvement to current disaster education, communications and engagement practices. The research found that LfDR should not only cover public safety aspects, but also learning about the community itself, including how to reduce its vulnerabilities and strengthen resilience. In relation to learning process, a review of learning theory found four broad learning theory groups - behavioural, cognitive, affective, social – that have relevance to LfDR. The research identified a range of …

Professional Development Of History Content And Skills: Measuring Effects On Teachers And Students, Teresa J. Wanser

Teresa J Wanser

National and local standards in history are evolving from standards on history content to standards on critical thinking and analyzing historical documents. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of professional development received by K-12 teachers on infusing historical thinking skills into their history instruction. Changes in teacher use and application as well as impacts on students’ self-efficacy were examined. Forty-eight (48) teachers from a mid-western public school district participated in an accredited masters of historical studies degree program at a mid-western liberal arts university. The two and one-half years masters degree program infused historical thinking skills …

Finding Evidence Of Metacognition In An Eportfolio Community: Beyond Text, Across New Media, Kathryn Wozniak, Jose Zagal

Kathryn Wozniak

Finding evidence of how metacognition is demonstrated in educational ePortfolios is often limited to written artifact analysis and ignores new media such as images, video, links, and navigation schema. This study seeks to begin to fill this gap through a qualitative content analysis of 30 learners’ ePortfolios developed in a networked ePortfolio community. We found evidence of learners’ metacognition in their choices, integration, and organization of new media content in the ePortfolio. We propose that intentional analysis of learners’ choices and arrangement of new media can help educators and researchers find additional evidence of metacognition beyond text within digital learning …

The Development Of The Lunchtime Enjoyment Of Activity And Play Questionnaire, Brendon P. Hyndman, Amanda Telford, Shahid Ullah, Caroline Finch, Amanda Benson

Dr Brendon P Hyndman

BACKGROUND: Enjoyment of physical activity is as an important determinant of children’s participation in physical activity. Despite this, there is an absence of reliable measures for assessing children’s enjoyment of play activities during school lunchtime. The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the reliability of the Lunchtime Enjoyment of Activity and Play (LEAP) Questionnaire. METHODS: Questionnaire items were categorized employing a social-ecological framework including intrapersonal (20 items), interpersonal (2 items), and physical environment/policy (17 items) components to identify the broader influences on children’s enjoyment. An identical questionnaire was administered on 2 occasions, 10 days apart, to 176 …

English Learning Demotivation Studies In The Efl Contexts: State Of The Art, Yoon-Kyoung Kim, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This paper reviews the studies conducted on English learning demotivation in the EFL contexts. Demotivation research in the EFL contexts is significant given the learners’ less opportunities to use the target language outside school and consequent difficulties in maintaining their interest in learning it. In order to look into how this issue of demotivation has been addressed, the previous EFL demotivation studies are analyzed based on (a) their research methods and (b) perspectives on the definition of demotivation. The research methods adopted by the previous research include quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. In terms of different underlying assumptions on what …

Same Environment, Different Affordances: Ecological Analysis Of Four Different Learners In A University Context, Miso Kim, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This study investigates the subjective realization of objective environmental factors and learners’ agency in constructing their meaning potential. According to van Lier’s (2000, 2002, 2004) ecological perspective, the environment is yet an unrealized set of potential, and affordance is what was felt meaningful to the learner. Also, learners actively construct their terms and conditions of learning with their agency (Lantolf & Pavlenko, 2001). Based on van Lier’s ecological framework, two pairs of students enrolled in two same English classes were recruited. Life history, semi-structured interview, and task recall data revealed that for some students, affordance of the English classroom was …

The Place Of Education In Building Disaster Resilience: A Strategic Examination, Neil Dufty

Neil Dufty

No abstract provided.

Increasing College Football Attendance: An Exploratory Study Of Fan Typology, Oscar T. Mcknight, Ronald Paugh, Jordan Mcknight, Wenhui Jin

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

No sport enjoys more popularity in the USA than football. However, not every college can fill their stadium. This study examined spectator typology and college football attendance. Four typologies emerged as well as a chronology of expectations for game events. Presented is PUNT a sport marketing strategy to increase football game attendance.

The Importance Of Connected Communities To Flood Resilience, Neil Dufty

Neil Dufty

No abstract provided.

Reviewing Total Flood Warning Systems, Neil Dufty, Steven Molino

Neil Dufty

No abstract provided.

Preparing Students For Careers That Do Not Yet Exist, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee

Glenn W. "Max" McGee

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), as a self-described "teaching and learning laboratory for imagination and inquiry," has a history of pursuing innovations closely aligned with the vision and framework of the National Science Education Standards. Innovations include both methods and materials for inquiry-based student instruction as well as for delivering professional development for pre-service and practicing teachers. Instructional innovations described include yearlong student inquiry and research projects (SIR), self-paced physics instruction, student-driven energy and engineering projects, instruction in innovation and entrepreneurialism, and a host of student-led outreach activities to "ignite and nurture creative, ethical, scientific minds of students …

A Rasch Analysis Of The Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale, Eric D. Teman Ph.D.

Eric D Teman, J.D., Ph.D.

The conceptualization of a distinct construct known as statistics anxiety has led to the development of numerous rating scales, including the Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS), designed to assess levels of statistics anxiety. In the current study, the STARS was administered to a sample of 423 undergraduate and graduate students from a midsized, western United States university. The Rasch measurement rating scale model was used to analyze scores from the STARS. Misfitting items were removed from the analysis. In general, items from the six subscales represented a broad range of abilities, with the major exception being a lack of items …

The Effect Of Languaging On Korean Students' L2 Learning Motivation: A Classroom-Based Mixed Methods Approach, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This paper focuses on the effect of languaging activity on students' L2 learning motivation. Swain (2006, p. 98) defines languaging as "the process of making meaning and shaping knowledge and experience through language." To date, most of languaging research investigated its impact on L2 learners' cognition. I endeavor to extend its original notion to the domain of motivation. Based on Dörnyei's (2009) L2 Motivational Self-System, the effect of languaging on students' L2 selves and their teachers' reflection will be investigated in this paper.

In Spring 2012, three English teachers implemented four different languaging conditions for their students: 1) written languaging …

An Activity Theory Analysis Of Second Language Motivational Self-System: Two Korean Immigrants' Esl Learning, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This paper analyzes two recent Korean immigrants’ ESL learning motivation using Dörnyei’s (2009) Second Language (L2) Motivational Self-System, which is synthesized with Engeström’s (1999) Activity Theory (AT) framework. Over a ten month period, the author conducted semi-structured monthly interviews and stimulated recall tasks. The findings of this case study suggest the following: 1) when sociocultural factors are mediated by L2 learners’ beliefs, these factors may directly influence learners’ ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self; 2) learners’ sensitivity with inclusive attitudes can transform the L2 learning environment into meaningful affordances; and 3) if there is no tension among elements in …

Dissertation - Brief Research Summary, Catharine M. Dishke Hondzel

Catharine Dishke Hondzel

Creativity is an essential, but elusive human skill (or set of skills). As humans, we know there is something special about those who are highly creative – we build museums and art galleries to showcase these talents, and love to see our students come up with new and useful ideas. What we sometimes have trouble understanding is what conditions or environments foster creativity, and which ones prevent creativity from developing. And everyone has a theory! The purpose of this research study was to better understand, from the perspective of teachers, what exactly creativity is, and what teachers think encourages or …