Instructional Concepts Research Articles

Beyond the Letter of the Law: Accessibility, Universal Design, and Human-Centered Design in Video Tutorials

This article demonstrates how Universal and Human-Centered Design approaches can be applied to the process of library video tutorial creation in order to enhance accessibility. A series of questions that creators should consider in order to focus their design process is discussed. These questions break down various physical and cognitive limitations that users encounter, providing a framework for future video creation that is not dependent on specific software. By approaching accommodations more holistically, videos are created with accessibility in mind from their conception. Working toward the ideal of a video tutorial that is accessible to every user leads to the creation of more clearly worded, effective learning objects that are much more inclusive, making instructional concepts available to users of all abilities.

Влияние шва бетонирования на работу конструкции

The buildings made of monolithic reinforced concrete currently enjoy great popularity. Along with a great number of advantages of monolithic building, which are repeatedly listed in the works of many authors, there are many unexplored issues which require detailed consideration. The technological concrete joints are among them. The joints are inevitable in the process of construction of almost any monolithic building and their quality affects the reliability of buildings and structures. Despite regular use of the concept of cold joint and clear instructions in building standards on the technology of joint production, most organizations do not follow the correct technology of concreting the elements. As a result, the strength and stiffness characteristics of the construction deteriorate, because the linkage value of new concrete with the old one is significantly lower than in monolith. In order to conduct experimental studies the reinforced concrete beams of rectangular section were produced. As a result of testing, it was determined that the presence of a concrete joint significantly reduces the stiffness and carrying capacity of the structures. It is confirmed by the fact that the received deflections of solid beams without joint are significantly lower than the deflections of beams with cold joint. It also noted that the deflections of the beams manufactured following the normative technology are lower, than the deflections of the beams, manufactured with violation of the rules. Basing on the obtained results, it was concluded, that more detailed study of the work of a construction with cold joints in concrete is required. The reason for it is in the changing for the worse of the strength and stiffness characteristics of structural element, which is made produced with a joint, while in the process of real designing, the monolith buildings are calculated as solid monolithic, without joints.

A traditional versus a constructivist conception of assessment

This paper reports a study on conceptions of assessment held by students and instructors. The conceptions of assessment are considered to be one of the four interrelated sets of conceptions which together constitute the conception of education. The three other sets are the conceptions of (1) knowledge, (2) learning, and (3) instruction. Conceptions of knowledge were measured using an adapted version of the Epistemic Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ). Conceptions of learning and instruction were measured with the Teaching and Learning Conceptions Questionnaire (TLCQ) developed by Elliott (2002)1, and Chan (2004)2. Since no instrument was available to measure conceptions of assessment, an experimental Conceptions of Assessment Scale (CAS) was developed and tested. Students filled out a 32-item forced-choice version, while instructors filled out a 25-item version in a four-point rating format. On all three instruments a dichotomy was created to distinguish subjects with ‘traditional’ conceptions from the ones with more ‘constructivist’ views. Results indicate that students and instructors hold different conceptions of assessment. Students have more traditional conceptions of assessment than instructors. With regard to conceptions of knowledge, students are more traditional than instructors. The conceptions of teaching and learning also show students to be more traditional than instructors. With respect to the congruency of conceptions of education, students seem to be equally (in) consistent as the instructors. An important implication of the present study is to pay more attention to the alignment between the educational philosophy of an institute and the conceptions of education held by its students and instructors.1 Chan K-W, Elliott RG. 2002. Exploratory study of Hong Kong teacher education students' epistemological beliefs: cultural perspectives and implications on beliefs research. Contemporary Educational Psychology 27: 392–414.2 Chan K-W. 2004. Pre-service teachers' epistemological beliefs and conceptions about teaching and learning: cultural implications for research in teacher education. Paper presented at the NZARE AARE Conference, Auckland. Australian Journal of Teacher Education 29(1): 1–13.

Instructional Supervisory Practices of Zimbabwean School Heads

Schools in developing countries including Zimbabwe face a host of problems related to the twin concepts of poor classroom instruction and low student achievement. According to (Boaduo, 2011a, Glanz, 2010), developing countries face common problems in providing sufficient education of high quality to their learners. Typically these challenges breakdown to matters of instructional supervision, teaching behaviours and general low learner performance. Given this context, it becomes necessary to construct new frameworks in the following aspects: teacher effectiveness, progressive models of supervision and effective leadership styles (Pajak, 2008). According to Boaduo (2011b), the search for instructional supervisory strategies that can deal with the lesson delivery capacities of teachers and poor performance of students of developing countries should be intensified. This study was therefore principally directed at investigating the instructional practices of Zimbabwean school heads of schools. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. The target population comprised of all teachers in primary schools in three of Zimbabwe's educational provinces of the Midlands, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South. The random sample procedure was employed. A total of seven hundred and forty eight (748) respondents were used of which three hundred and ninety-two (392) were female and three hundred and fifty-six (356) were male. The main findings indicated that the majority of heads did not understand the concept of instructional supervision. The study, further, revealed that teachers had negative attitudes towards instructional supervision; that heads of schools engage in the most current and pressing issues like financial management, sporting and grounds development at the expense of instructional supervision. The recommendations are that heads should use effective models of instructional supervision and commitment to long term process of staff development including the prioritization of their operations so that the bulk of their time is taken up by instructional supervision related activities to improve the worth of their teachers.

Virtual Guidance Ultrasound: A New Instructional Concept for Untrained Scanners

Successful acquisition of high-quality ultrasound images for medical diagnoses and scientific research entails several years of intensive training. This time commitment, combined with training requirements for space flight operations, precludes astronauts from proficiently conducting ultrasound examinations without assistance. Therefore, experts in the Johnson Space Center Cardiovascular Laboratory developed a technique called Remote Guidance in which astronauts who possess limited ultrasound training before they launch perform ultrasound examinations in space while receiving real-time feedback about ultrasound probe positioning, scanning technique, study protocol, and image quality through two-way, real-time communication with sonographers on the ground. For instances when time and distance make two-way communication impractical, such as during a mission to Mars or an asteroid, we have developed a form of “just-in-time training” called Virtual Guidance that allows astronauts to autonomously obtain diagnostic ultrasound images by viewing ultrasound tutorials using audio-video glasses while simultaneously performing ultrasound scans. We recently conducted two trials in which we demonstrated the ability of untrained scanners to complete carotid artery and ophthalmic examinations using Virtual Guidance as their only form of instruction. Virtual Guidance can be an important training tool to ensure high-quality ultrasound imaging for scientific and medical applications during future space exploration missions and also could be valuable on Earth in remote areas or applications when a trained sonographer is not readily accessible.

Concept Development in Learning Physics: The Case of Electric Current and Voltage Revisited

In learning conceptual knowledge in physics, a common problem is the development and differentiation of concepts in the learning process. An important part of this development process is the re-organisation or re-structuring process in which students’ conceptual knowledge and concepts change. This study proposes a new view of concept development with explicit attention given to concept development from the level of knowledge-as-pieces to the level of knowledge-as-theory. The proposed new picture is based on the view that concepts are complex constructs essentially embedded in a larger system of knowledge. Three closely connected aspects require our attention: (1) conceptions of concepts, (2) conceptions of knowledge systems, and finally, (3) conceptions of the process of change. The potential advantages of this prospective are demonstrated through the re-analysis of the concept development in the well-known case of electric current and voltage. The results show that in the concept development process, both causal knowledge and coherence of the knowledge system play crucial roles. Finally, the study points out how the theoretical position proposed here directly impacts conceptions of learning and instruction as well as what solutions are sought for problems in learning—or even what is considered a problem or success in learning.

‘It's insanely useful!’ Students’ use of instructional concepts in group work and individual writing

This study investigates students’ work on analyzing a literary text, a cartoon strip, with focus on their use of instructional, analytical concepts. Excerpts from a group conversation and from individually written texts are analyzed from a sociocultural, dialogical perspective. The analysis of the conversation shows how such concepts help the students to study the text more closely and maintain an analytical focus. The use of concepts thus helps the students understand the text and what text analysis is about. The students’ written texts show that they build on the understanding developed in the group discussion. The analytical focus in the discussion helps them maintain the understanding developed in group when they write individually. Thus, the use of analytical concepts contributes to mediating between group reasoning and individual writing.

Faculdades da alma e suas implicações para a educação: saberes divulgados no século XIX

Este artigo descreve resultados de uma pesquisa que buscou investigar como o tema das faculdades da alma e de suas implicações no desenvolvimento humano e na educação da pessoa foi divulgado, ao final do século XIX, pela imprensa periódica. Esperando contribuir para a história da psicologia e da educação, o artigo apresenta a análise de escritos sobre educação moral e educação estética de uma Secção Scientífica ou Pedagógica assinada por José Miguel de Siqueira e publicada no jornal O Baependyano (1877-1889). Inicialmente, são feitas breves descrições do periódico e de sua posição na conjuntura da época, bem como do lugar em que foi publicado. Em seguida, tratamos da definição de pedagogia apresentada pelo jornal, levando em consideração as apropriações de autores estrangeiros comumente presentes no campo da educação. A pedagogia considerada moderna é definida em tais escritos como a expansão e o desenvolvimento das forças animais, racionais e morais do ser humano; sua finalidade seria a formação do homem social pronto para o trabalho e para o serviço da sociedade e do Estado. Partindo dessa discussão, abordamos as concepções de educação espontânea, educação regular e instrução contidas no periódico. A educação é entendida como a unidade entre cultura e instrução, sendo a cultura a principal responsável pelo direcionamento das faculdades da alma e pela formação moral; a instrução, por sua vez, é tomada como aquisição de conhecimentos, mas também desempenha um papel importante na formação de hábitos e costumes.

Integrating anchored instructional strategy and modularity concept into Interactive multimedia PowerPoint presentation

This study is based on the cognitive theory of multimedia learning to propose an alternative presentation integrating anchored strategy and modularity concept into a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation for classroom learning. With the anchored instructional strategy and rich visual interactivity, the presentation helps students to acquire more information and remember more ideas. In addition, incorporated hyperlinks and modular design strategies, teachers can easily select the particular slide they need to help student with their questions, thereby reducing their information load. This method can support students’ cognitive process with the comprehension of the content being taught so as to enhance their learning attitude and performance. In this study, an exploratory test was conducted with 83 students in a university of technology. The results indicated that the students in the experimental group had a better learning effectiveness for lectures with interactive PowerPoint presentation than that of the control group. Key words: Cognitive theory of multimedia learning, anchored instructional strategy, modularity concept, hyperlink, interactive PowerPoint presentation.

Piano students' conceptions of learning, teaching, assessment, and evaluation

Artistic domains of knowledge, such as music performance, have not raised the interest of researchers focused on conceptual change. By adopting the framework of implicit theories, this article addresses the conceptions of learning and instruction held by students at professional music conservatories. More specifically, our aims were to study the conceptions of learning, teaching, and assessment/evaluation held by piano students at three developmental/instructional levels, and analyze whether their conceptions constitute theoretically consistent profiles. The participants, 215 students of Intermediate and Tertiary levels, were selected according to three levels of the combined variable “Age/Level of Instruction”. Data were collected through a multiple-choice questionnaire, and analyzed with descriptive and non-parametric methods. The findings suggested that: a) students' conceptions tend to be more sophisticated as their age and education level increase; b) each developmental/instructional group is typically associated to different conceptions; c) three increasingly sophisticated profiles of conceptions can be identified among these students. Implications for conceptual change research and limitations of the study are discussed. Further lines of research are suggested.

Emergence and outlook of competence-based education in European education systems: an overview

This contribution takes stock on the emergence of competence-based education in European Union (EU) countries. The article explains how economic constraints but also educational motives led educational policies and systems in the EU to shift to competence-based education. The related instructional frame and concepts are presented, as are the major EU-level initiatives. This article also highlights ways to be explored for further progress, especially in the fields of peer assessment, co-teaching and reflexive practice.

LA IMPLANTACIÓN DE LOS NUEVOS GRADOS: PROPUESTAS DE MEJORA

En el presente curso academico (2009-10), la mayor parte de las unidades departamentales en la Facultad de Filologia de la Universidad de La Laguna han iniciado una etapa de transicion a la integracion en el Espacio Europeo de Educacion Superior (EEES), mediante la implantacion paulatina de los nuevos grados. Este proceso supone un reto importante para todos los miembros de la comunidad universitaria, puesto que comporta unos cambios significativos en la concepcion de la formacion academica. La nueva concepcion de la ensenanza tiene fundamentalmente en cuenta el volumen del trabajo global realizado por el estudiante, incluyendo el esfuerzo dedicado al estudio autonomo. Asimismo, la consideracion del aprendizaje a partir de competencias nos conduce a planificar nuestras asignaturas teniendo en cuenta el perfil profesional y las caracteristicas particulares del alumnado. Esto requiere nuevas metodologias y metodos de evaluacion mas complejos que deben quedar claramente especificados en las guias docentes. Por otra parte, la accion tutorial cobra gran relevancia en este contexto, entendida como un sistema de ayuda a los estudiantes en el ambito informativo, orientativo y formativo, no solo desde una perspectiva academica sino tambien personal, social y profesional. De este modo, la funcion docente e investigadora en el EEES debe ampliarse para cubrir otros aspectos que favorezcan el desarrollo integral de los estudiantes. El presente ensayo examina el concepto de formacion academica en el marco del EEES en oposicion al enfoque docente actual, asi como las repercusiones que este concepto tiene en la planificacion docente y en la funcion que debe desempenar el profesor universitario en el nuevo proceso de ensenanza-aprendizaje. Del mismo modo, se hace una valoracion de las dificultades percibidas tras la finalizacion de la imparticion de las ensenanzas correspondientes al primer curso y se ofrecen propuestas de mejora para tener en cuenta en los cursos sucesivos.

Preschool Teachers' Sense of Community, Instructional Quality, and Children's Language and Literacy Gains

Research Findings: This study investigated relations among preschool teachers' (n = 75) sense of community, classroom language and literacy instructional quality, and children's (n = 398) gains in vocabulary and print concept knowledge during an academic year. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results indicated that teachers' language and literacy instructional quality significantly predicted children's gains in print concept knowledge. Also, HLM results revealed significant interactions among teachers' sense of community, language and literacy instructional quality, and vocabulary and print concept knowledge gains. Higher levels of teachers' sense of community were associated with greater gains in children's vocabulary and print concept knowledge when children were in classrooms with higher quality language and literacy instruction. Practice or Policy: Findings underscore the importance of evaluating both language and literacy instructional quality and teachers' sense of community when considering high-quality preschool education.

Promoting Children's Communication: A Kindergarten Teacher's Conception and Practice of Effective Mathematics Instruction

Communication is certainly not a new notion from the socioconstructivists' point of view, and expert teachers already recognize the importance of language as an essential tool in the dynamic process of teaching mathematics. However, dramatic differences exist in early childhood teachers' personal understandings and practices in mathematics education. Through a qualitative case study, this article explores an experienced kindergarten teacher's conception and practice of effective mathematics instruction in promoting children's communication. Data were collected through classroom observations, semistructured interviews, and classroom documents. The findings reveal that the teacher's conception of the use of communication derives from her own beliefs and teaching experience about how to develop children's mathematical thinking. The constraints of the public school system also challenge the teacher's effective mathematics instruction to engage children in rich communication. From these findings, implications are discussed for teacher educators and early childhood teachers.

The design of a learning environment based on the theory of multiple intelligence and the study its effectiveness on the achievements, attitudes and retention of students

Abstract Multiple intelligences theory (MIT) which takes into account students’ individual differences has an important role in the teaching and learning process. In this study a novel learning environment based on MIT which takes students’ interests and needs into an account has been developed. Many activities were carried out depending on students’ intelligence types. The effects of different activities on students’ achievements, attitudes toward chemistry and retention of knowledge in periodical features’ variety at the 10th class were measured and compared. The comparison between experimental group, which was instructed through MIT learning strategies and materials, and control group thought by traditional methods was observed. The research was applied in the first semester of 2009-2010 education years. The study carried out on 75 high school students in Izmir. The application of the study was lasted for 8 weeks containing methods and tests’ practices. Following MIT assessment survey, achievement test and attitude scales were used to analyze its effectiveness. Based on the theories and literature data, an instructional material included concept maps, puzzles, stories, classical music in background, group games, and photos about periodic features’ variety as an alternative to traditional written material. As a result of statistical analysis there were significant differences between achievement post-test and attitudes post-test towards chemistry course of control and experimental groups. Consequently, instructional methods needed to be varied so students could use their intellectual strengths to better understand topics, increase their intrinsic motivation, intervention and encourage active student engagement to improve learning at middle school level.

Self-Study and Cooperation of Pupils in Project Based Instruction

Self-Study and Cooperation of Pupils in Project Based Instruction This paper is focused on the use of cooperative and individualized concepts of instruction in project based learning. Part of the paper includes partial results of the questionnaire survey carried out within the grant project KEGA No. 031-035 SUT — 4 "Project models of teaching at the secondary vocational schools".

Lest We Forget Our Past: A Leader in Curriculum Development—Ralph Winfred Tyler

In the history of education, every generation brings forth someone who has a lasting impact on the current and future generations of educators. Ralph Winfred Tyler was one of those people. His life spanned nearly the entire 20th century, and his concepts of curriculum and instruction transcended this long and fruitful existence. They are found today embedded in the accountability and reform movements. This article is a short celebration of his contributions and life lest, in our hurry to improve our schools, we forget this bit of heritage.

Five Teachers’ Range of Views on the Iraq war

The significance of this qualitative study is in showing, for the first time, what American teachers are teaching about the Iraq war and their conceptions of controversy and balanced instruction in the context of their lessons. Through in-depth interviews, five high school social studies teachers’ lessons related to the Iraq war were examined and analyzed through the lenses of Issues-Centered Education and teachers’ curriculum gatekeeping. Findings show that teachers’ conception of controversy and balanced instruction influences the way they teach about public controversies. Furthermore, the Iraq war controversy provides a unique opportunity to see how the Iraq war is taught during war time.

Are There Any Places That Students Use Their Heads? Principles of High-Quality Japanese Mathematics Instruction

Previous research gives evidence that Japanese mathematics teachers “may have a more detailed and widely shared theory about how to teach effectively” when compared to their U.S. counterparts (Jacobs & Morita, 2002). This study explores the conceptions and cultural scripts of a group of Japanese mathematics teachers by analyzing the conversations between cooperating teachers and student teachers. It describes 6 principles of high-quality instruction that arose in at least half the conversations we analyzed. Each of these principles is examined in detail. Finally, some advantages of having a strong, shared conception of high-quality instruction and focusing on widely applicable instructional principles are presented.

Preservice Teachers’ Conceptions and Enactments of Project-Based Instruction

We present results of an investigation of preservice secondary mathematics and science teachers’ conceptions of project-based instruction (PBI) and their enactments of PBI in apprentice (student) teaching. We evaluated their thinking and implementations within a composite framework based on the work of education researchers. We analyzed survey responses, both qualitatively and statistically, from three cohorts of preservice teachers both before and after apprentice teaching. In addition we interviewed and observed a subset of these future teachers. We found that in general the preservice teachers held superficial views of PBI, as compared to the researcher framework. Participants reported time and curriculum restrictions as major barriers; however, teachers for whom enactment of PBI was presented as an explicit goal, and who were given support toward that end, were more likely to enact authentic implementations, regardless of previous reservations about PBI. Without this additional scaffolding, even teachers with high affinity for PBI were unlikely to implement it authentically.