Abstract
Because the average students are the prevailing part of the student population, it is important but difficult for the educators to help average students by improving their learning efficiency and learning outcome in school tests. We conducted a quasi-experiment with two English classes taught by one teacher in the second term of the first year of a junior high school. The experimental class was composed of average students (N=37), while the control class comprised talented students (N=34). Therefore the two classes performed differently in English subject with mean difference of 13.48 that is statistically significant based on the independent sample T-Test analysis. We tailored the web-based intelligent English instruction system, called Computer Simulation in Educational Communication (CSIEC) and featured with instant feedback, to the learning content in the experiment term, and the experimental class used it one school hour per week throughout the term. This blended learning setting with the focus on vocabulary and dialogue acquisition helped the students in the experimental class improve their learning performance gradually. The mean difference of the final test between the two classes was decreased to 3.78, while the mean difference of the test designed for the specially drilled vocabulary knowledge was decreased to 2.38 and was statistically not significant. The student interview and survey also demonstrated the students’ favor to the blended learning system. We conclude that the long-term integration of this content oriented blended learning system featured with instant feedback into ordinary class is an effective approach to assist the average students to catch up with the talented ones.
Highlights
Average students in the primary and secondary education are referred to as the students whose performance in the classroom is normal, while the gifted or talented students outperform the average ones in the classroom tests
Though the computer hardware and software have evolved through several generations from 1940s up to date, this definition still can designate the nature of computer application in instruction with all kinds of forms, no matter what it is called, such as Computer Based Education (CBE), Computer Based Instruction (CBI), electronic learning (e-learning ), Web Based Learning (WBE), etc
The fact that the only instructional difference between the two classes was that the ordinary class adopted one school hour blended learning every week with our Computer Simulation in Educational Communication (CSIEC) vocabulary and dialogue system, while the control class did not, we can come to the conclusion that the blended learning with our CSIEC system, or the integration of the vocabulary and dialogue assessment system into the ordinary English instruction, improves the students’ test performance, and especially the vocabulary acquisition
Summary
Average students in the primary and secondary education are referred to as the students whose performance in the classroom is normal, while the gifted or talented students outperform the average ones in the classroom tests. Because the average students are the prevailing part of the student population, it is an important and difficult task for the educators to help the average students by stimulating their learning interests, improving their learning efficacy and the learning outcome that can be achieved in school exams and tests. Though the computer hardware and software have evolved through several generations from 1940s up to date, this definition still can designate the nature of computer application in instruction with all kinds of forms, no matter what it is called, such as Computer Based Education (CBE), Computer Based Instruction (CBI), electronic learning (e-learning ), Web Based Learning (WBE), etc. A new term, called blended learning or blending learning, has been adopted and widely used to replace the old-fashioned notation CAI and to describe the instructional design that blends the traditional classroom and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In order to ensure the consistency in this paper, we just use the term CAI to represent all kinds of computer’s application in instruction
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