An enhanced concept map approach to improving children’s storytelling ability

Storytelling is an imperative and innovative pathway to enhance learning due to the fact that such activity prompts learners to reflect to construct meaning based on their observations and knowledge. Therefore, to develop and enhance students’ storytelling ability has become an important issue for both educators and researchers. Since storytelling involves complex cognitive processes, this study proposed an enhanced concept map approach featured with story grammars to help children develop stories. By gathering the stories developed by 114 third-graders, this study aimed to investigate whether the concept map approach can enhance their storytelling ability. It is found that the children, who used the concept map with story grammars, can develop stories with more complex structure, clearer subjects, more creative ideas, and abundant contents than those only using the concept map without the grammars. Such findings support that the concept map and story grammars can be an effective approach for developing learner-centered storytelling tools which help students develop and apply the knowledge about storytelling.     

A case study on using prediction markets as a rich environment for active learning

In this paper, prediction markets are presented as an innovative pedagogical tool which can be used to create a Rich Environment for Active Learning (REAL). Prediction markets are designed to make forecasts about specific future events by using a market mechanism to aggregate the information held by a large group of traders about that event into a single value. Prediction markets can be used to create decision scenarios which are linked to real-world events. The advantages of this approach in the cognitive and affective domains of learning are examined. The unique ability of prediction markets to enable active learning in large group teaching environments is explored. Building on this theoretical work, a detailed case study is presented describing how a prediction market can be deployed as a pedagogical tool in practice. Empirical evidence is presented exploring the effect prediction market participation has on learners in the cognitive domain.     

Programmed instruction versus meaningful learning theory in teaching basic structured query language (SQL) in computer lesson

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two different methods on primary school teacher candidates’ academic achievements and attitudes toward computer-based education, and to define their views on these methods. Both the first experimental group, programmed instruction (PI), and the second experimental group, meaningful learning (ML), included 36 students separately. While a significant difference was found between the groups regarding academic achievements, no significant difference was found between the groups’ attitude scores. There was no significant difference between the academic achievements of the students according to their genders in both groups. In addition, while there was no significant difference between the pre-test and post-test attitudes of students in the PI group, a significant difference was determined in the ML group. Generally, in the PI group, students considered the method effective but boring. Besides, students in the ML group had positive views on the method.     

Online annotation – Research and practices

Annotation can be a valuable exercise when trying to understand new information. The technique can be used to create a ‘condensed’ version of the original information for later review and to add additional information into the existing document. The growth in web-based learning materials and information sources has created requirement for systems that allow annotations to be attached to these new sources and, potentially, shared with other learners. This paper discusses annotation in an educational context and introduces some of the web annotation systems currently available. It also provides an overview of the development of a new system, eLAWS, by the authors, based upon the Web Service architecture. Finally, the paper provides suggestions for the future development of e-Learning Annotation tools.     

Expectations and reality: Evaluating patterns of learning behaviour using audit trails

Developers of educational multimedia programs have expectations about the way in which they will be used. These expectations can be broadly categorised as either functional (primarily related to the interface) or educational (related to learning designs, processes and outcomes). However, student users will not always engage with educational multimedia in the ways developers envisage and the adoption of a particular learning design, however well implemented, does not guarantee particular learning processes or outcomes. We investigated the relationship between intended and actual user behaviour by analysing detailed electronic records of user activities (audit trails) within a multimedia program in which medical students adopt the role of a doctor in a simulated clinical interview. Audit trails of 294 users across three years were analysed, focussing on two critical learning activities (interviewing and note taking). Cluster and χ² analyses revealed four distinct types of users: ‘confused or strategic’ (12.9%), ‘disengaged’ (40.8%), ‘expected’ (26.5%) and ‘diligent’ (19.7%). Our work in the future will focus on using audit trails in investigations of students learning processes and outcomes in educational multimedia environments.     

Learning science via animated movies: Its effect on students’ thinking and motivation

Some researchers claim that animations may hinder students’ meaningful learning or evoke misunderstandings. In order to examine these assertions, our study investigated the effect of animated movies on students’ learning outcomes and motivation to learn. Applying the quantitative methodology, two pre- and post-questionnaires were administered: Science thinking skills and Motivation to learn science. Students’ overall achievement in science was examined by their report card scores. The research population (N = 1335) was divided into experimental (N = 926) and control (N = 409) groups from 11 elementary schools. Findings indicated that the use of animated movies promoted students’ explanation ability and their understanding of scientific concepts. Findings also indicated that students who studied science with the use of animated movies developed higher motivation to learn science, in terms of: self-efficacy, interest and enjoyment, connection to daily life, and importance to their future, compared to the control students. Following the definition of multimedia, the students who study with the use of animated movies, applied all three learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. The use of multimedia and the fact that the students were engaged in exploring new concepts, that were relevant to their daily life experiences, can explain the positive results.     

Psychological safety and social support in groupware adoption: A multi-level assessment in education

In this paper, the authors propose that psychological safety, a sense of interpersonal trust and being valued in a work team, is an important determinant of groupware technology adoption in an educational setting. They develop and test a model of antecedents and consequences of psychological safety. Data were collected from 361 university students, organized in 36 teams. Results of multi-level regression analysis reveal positive individual-level effects of perceived tutor support and perceived peer support on psychological safety. Furthermore, our findings show a positive unique group-level effect of perceived tutor support on psychological safety, where an individual’s level of self-consciousness strengthens this positive impact. In addition, findings of structural equation modeling demonstrate that both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use partially mediate the positive effect of psychological safety on groupware usage. Psychological safety also shows a positive direct effect on groupware usage. Finally, a student’s offline communication frequency with his tutor and peers appears to strengthen the impact of psychological safety on perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and groupware usage.     

The effects of augmented virtual science laboratories on middle school students' understanding of gas properties

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) emphasize authentic scientific practices such as developing models and constructing explanations of phenomena. However, research documents how students struggle to explain observable phenomena with molecular-level behaviors with current classroom experiences. For example, physical laboratory experiences in science enable students to interact with observable scientific phenomena, but students often fail to make connections to underlying molecular-level behaviors. Virtual laboratory experiences and computer-based visualizations enable students to interact with unobservable scientific concepts, but students can have difficulties connecting to actual instantiations of the observed phenomenon. This paper investigates how combining physical and virtual experiences into augmented virtual science laboratories can help students build upon intuitive ideas and develop molecular-level explanations of macroscopic phenomena. Specifically, this study uses the Frame, a sensor-augmented virtual lab that uses sensors as physical inputs to control scientific simulations. Eighth-grade students (N = 45) engaged in a Frame lab focused on the properties of gas. Results demonstrate that students using the Frame lab made progress developing molecular-level explanations of gas behavior and refining alternative and partial ideas into normative ideas about gases. This study offers insights for how augmented virtual labs can be designed to enhance science learning and encourage scientific practices as called for in the NGSS.     

When educational agents meet surrogate competition: Impacts of competitive educational agents on students' motivation and performance

The design of educational agents increasingly attracts researchers' attention recently. One of major reasons is that educational agents could enhance student learning in various aspects. Although research in this area has mushroomed, such research mainly emphasizes on students in higher education. It is still unclear how educational agents influence young student learning. In addition, competition is a significant element, but fewer studies take competition into account while designing educational agents. Although some studies have indicated that educational agents in competitive environments has positive effects on students' perception and attribution, its impacts on students' motivation and performance are unclear. Thus, the study develops an integrative agent that combines educational and competitive elements for young students, and further examines its influences, in terms of motivation and learning performance. The results revealed that such competitive educational agents could enhance students' motivation and learning performance.     

Adaptive educational hypermedia accommodating learning styles: A content analysis of publications from 2000 to 2011

Implementing instructional interventions to accommodate learner differences has received considerable attention. Among these individual difference variables, the empirical evidence regarding the pedagogical value of learning styles has been questioned, but the research on the issue continues. Recent developments in Web-based implementations have led scholars to reconsider the learning style research in adaptive systems. The current study involved a content analysis of recent studies on adaptive educational hypermedia (AEH) which addressed learning styles. After an extensive search on electronic databases, seventy studies were selected and exposed to a document analysis. Study features were classified under several themes such as the research purposes, methodology, features of adaptive interventions and student modeling, and findings. The analysis revealed that the majority of studies proposed a framework or model for adaptivity whereas few studies addressed the effectiveness of learning style-based AEH. Scales were used for learning style identification more than automatic student modeling. One third of the studies provided a framework without empirical evaluation with students. Findings on concrete learning outcomes were not strong enough; however, several studies revealed that suggested models influenced student satisfaction and success. Current trends, potential research gaps and implications were discussed.     

Exploring the relation between visualizer-verbalizer cognitive styles and performance with visual or verbal learning material

A student might find a certain representational format (e.g., diagram, text) more attractive than other formats for learning. Computer technology offers opportunities to adjust the formats used in learning environments to the preferences of individual learners. The question addressed in the current study was: does the match between a student’s preference regarding the format of learning materials have any relation with performance when learning with a specific format? For example, do learners with a preference for visual materials indeed perform better with visual learning materials? In a study with a pre-test post-test design, 48 participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. Both conditions completed a mathematical learning task about combinatorics and probability theory. In one condition learning materials were mainly diagram-based in the other condition they were mainly text-based. Afterward, the relations between cognitive style (visualizers-verbalizers), cognitive abilities (e.g., spatial and verbal ability), and learning performance were examined. The findings showed that cognitive style and learning outcomes were unrelated, for example, learners with a preference for visual materials do not necessarily perform better with visual learning materials. Learning results seem to be influenced by cognitive ability (in particular spatial visualization) and the extent to which a format affords cognitive processing, rather than a match between used and preferred format. It is argued that students should not choose on the basis of their preference, because it might lead them to selecting a format that is less effective for learning.     

Assessing e-learning 2.0 system success

Traditional e-learning systems support “one-way” communication. Teachers provide knowledge for learners, but they are unable to use a student’s learning experiences to benefit the class as a whole. To address these problems, this study explores e-learning success factors via the design and evaluation of an e-learning 2.0 system. This study develops a theoretical model to assess user satisfaction and loyalty intentions to an e-learning system using communication quality, information quality, system quality, and service quality. The empirical results show that communication quality, information quality, and service quality significantly and positively affect user satisfaction and loyalty intentions to use the e-learning system for sharing experience, communicating with others, and getting feedback.     

The influences of a two-tier test strategy on student learning: A lag sequential analysis approach

Recently, programming skills have become a core competence. Many teaching strategies were developed to improve programming skills. Among them, online tests were widely applied to enhance students learning. Nonetheless, they may not be able to engage students in deep thinking and reflections. Thus, a two-tier test strategy was proposed to address this issue. However, previous research mainly focused on investigating the effectiveness of the two-tier test strategy but there is a lack of studies that investigate why the two-tier test approach is effective. To this end, we developed an online test, where the two-tier test strategy was implemented. Additionally, an empirical study was conducted to explore the influences of the two-tier test approach on students' learning performance and behavior patterns. Pre-test and post-test scores were applied to assess students' learning performance while a lag sequential analysis was used to analyze behavior patterns. Regarding learning performance, the proposed two-tier test can improve students' programming skills. Regarding behavior patterns, the two-tier test approach facilitates students to develop a learning by reviewing strategy, which is useful to improve their programming skills.     

The effect of scaffolding students’ context-generating cognitive activity in technology-enhanced case-based learning

This study investigates the hypothesis that students’ learning and problem-solving performance in ill-structured domains can be improved, if elaborative question prompts are used to activate students’ context-generating cognitive processes, during case study. Two groups of students used a web-based learning environment to criss-cross and study case-based material in the software project management domain. The experimental group was additionally prompted to consistently answer a set of questions based on a model of context-generating processes, meant to engage students in deeper processing of information presented in cases. Students were also classified as having either “complex” or “simple” EB profile (based on their epistemological beliefs record), thereby establishing a 2 × 2 factorial design. Results indicated that scaffolding treatment had a significant main effect on students’ performance, with the experimental group performing better in both domain knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer post-test items. There is also tentative indication that EB profile and scaffolding treatment interact, with complex-EB learners benefiting most from the scaffolded condition. Overall, the study provides evidence that it is possible to improve individual learning in a technology environment for case-based learning, by implementing appropriate questioning strategies that trigger students to activate their context-generating cognitive processes, while studying the contextually rich material of cases.     

‘Pretty Lights’ and Maths! Increasing student engagement and enhancing learning through the use of electronic voting systems

University classes in Mathematics are traditionally perceived to be uninspiring and devoid of active student–lecturer communication. Large undergraduate classes further compound the difficulty of engaging students and enabling viable student–lecturer feedback. At the Mathematics Education Centre, Loughborough University, some staff members have been using electronic voting systems (EVS) to enliven the classroom and enable large numbers of students to respond to questions in real time during class. In this paper, we present an evaluation case study, based on student perceptions, of the impact of EVS use on student learning and engagement. The results show that majority of students are hugely positive about the usefulness and overall advantageousness of EVS use in classes. Results also show that EVS use does increase the likelihood of students participating and engaging in class, as even students who do not view EVS as being particularly useful stated that they are more likely to participate in classes where EVS are used than otherwise. However, there seems to be no correlation between EVS use and improvement (or otherwise) in student grades.     

The effects of UZWEBMAT on the probability unit achievement of Turkish eleventh grade students and the reasons for such effects

This study aimed at determining the effects of UZWEBMAT (Turkish abbreviation of Adaptive and INtelligent WEB based MAThematics teaching–learning system) on the probability unit academic achievement of students and the underlying reasons for these effects. The study was conducted in an Anatolian High School located in a district of Trabzon province, Turkey in the fall semester of the academic year 2011–2012. The research sample consisted of 106 eleventh grade students and 2 mathematics teachers. Semi-experimental method was used in the study. Pre-Probability Unit Achievement Test (pre-PUAT), Post-Probability Unit Achievement Test (post-PUAT), Scale for Evaluation of the UZWEBMAT by Students (SEUS), Student Interview Form (SIF), and Teacher Interview Form (TIF) were used for collecting data. Research results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group (EG) students between the academic achievement of the EG students and that of the control group (CG) students. In addition, male EG students were found to be more successful than female EG students. However, no statistically significant relationship was found between the learning styles and the academic achievements of the EG students with different learning styles (visual–auditory–kinesthetic). In addition, no statistically significant relationship was detected between the genders and the academic achievements of the EG students having different learning styles. It was concluded that the higher achievement of the EG students resulted from the fact that they received education in accordance with their learning styles via UZWEBMAT, the learning objects included in UZWEBMAT had appropriate structural characteristics, students enjoyed learning in that environment, and students had continuous interest in the lesson.     

Advancing young adolescents’ hypothesis-development performance in a computer-supported and problem-based learning environment

Hypothesis development is a complex cognitive activity, but one that is critical as a means of reducing uncertainty during ill-structured problem solving. In this study, we examined the effect of metacognitive scaffolds in strengthening hypothesis development. We also examined the influence of hypothesis development on young adolescents’ problem-solving performance. Data was collected from sixth-grade students (N = 172) using a computer-supported problem-based learning environment, Animal Investigator. The findings of the study indicated that participants using metacognitive scaffolds developed significantly better hypotheses and that hypothesis-development performance was predictive of solution-development performance. This article discusses further educational implications of the findings and future research.     

Computer support for learning mathematics: A learning environment based on recreational learning objects

In this paper, we introduce an electronic collaborative learning environment based on Interactive Instructors of Recreational Mathematics (IIRM), establishing an alternative approach for motivating students towards mathematics. The IIRM are educational software components, specializing in mathematical concepts, presented through recreational mathematics, conceived as interactive, recreation-oriented learning objects, integrated within the environment. We present the architecture of the learning environment which integrates communication services that support the interaction processes of the learning community, through instant messaging, chat rooms, and multi-player math games. Through the environment’s interface of their personal workspace, students have access to several easy-to-use mechanisms that allows them to customize its content, its layout, and its appearance. At internal levels, the functionality of IIRM is enhanced with features supported by the environment infrastructure. We evaluated different aspects of the learning environment in three short, motivation-oriented math courses given to Mexican high-school students. The results indicate that the use of the IIRM-based electronic learning environment, positively affects student attitudes towards mathematics. We believe that this approach has the potential to promote the mathematics learning process, basically on its motivational aspects.