High School In Southern Taiwan Research Articles

Research on information searching strategies in high school students’ quality of argumentative essay writing

ABSTRACT Several studies have explored the effects of cognitive tools, such as scaffolding, on the quality of argumentation in online argumentation activities. However, although information searching is the most popular online activity, few studies have investigated the roles of online information resources in the quality of argumentation. This study explored the role of information searching strategies in the quality of argumentative essay writing. Participants were 91 eighth-grade students from two classes at a junior high school in southern Taiwan. Results showed that students’ online argumentation and information searching behaviours were clustered into three strategies, namely “browsing for discussion,” “browsing without discussion,” and “less information seeking.” The results also demonstrated that students who adopted the “browsing without discussion” strategy had higher quality argumentation skills in claims, grounds, warrants, and rebuttals than those students who used the “less information seeking” strategy. Students who used the “browsing for discussion” strategy had higher quality argumentation skills in rebuttal than those students with the “less information seeking” strategy. Hence, this study highlights the positive role of students’ information searching strategies for explaining the quality of argumentative essay writing.

Case Study of Bilingual Program in Junior High School in Southern Taiwan

The national policy for bilingual education was declared in 2017 in Taiwan. Since then, Taiwan has been on the way to becoming a bilingual nation by 2030. Relevant plans, workshops, and immersion teaching activities have been proposed and challenged teachers in Taiwan. Based on such outcomes, we investigate students’ attitudes toward bilingual programs and the importance of code-switching and mixing in teaching. The data analysis and findings indicate that 1) students’ English proficiency does not affect their attitudes toward the bilingual program, 2) there are no gender differences in the attitudes toward the bilingual program, 3) teachers usually code-switch and mix when asking students questions, explaining the steps and main ideas, and repeating the instructions or descriptions, and 4) the code-switching and mixing are essential when students learn the course content in the bilingual class. According to such findings, teachers can supplement their bilingual teaching. Besides, foreign teachers are considerably helpful in building a proper bilingual learning environment. With them, students participate in language learning more actively. This study result can be a reference for educational administrations for their planning.

Delay discounting, time perspective, and self-schemas in adolescent alcohol drinking and disordered eating behaviors

Delay discounting, time perspective, and self-schemas are well-known predictors of health risk behaviors among adolescents. However, the associations between these constructs and their influence on such behaviors are yet to be examined. This study aimed to determine the relationships among three cognitive constructs, namely, delay discounting, time perspective, and self-schemas, and determine the associations of these constructs with alcohol drinking (alcohol use and alcohol problems) and disordered eating behaviors in adolescents. Participants were 436 eighth-graders from three public junior high schools in southern Taiwan, who answered an anonymous questionnaire assessing self-schema, delay discounting, time perspective, and health risk behaviors. Generalized linear models with robust estimation were performed to estimate the effects; gender was the covariate. Delay discounting was associated with alcohol use (OR = 1.15), but not alcohol problems and disordered eating behaviors. Present-Hedonistic time perspective was associated with alcohol use (OR = 2.01), alcohol problems (IRR = 2.23), and disordered eating behaviors (Exp(b) = 1.38); while Future time perspective was associated with alcohol problems (IRR = 2.18). Drinker self-schema was associated with alcohol use (OR = 1.62) and alcohol problems (IRR = 1.71). Fat/overweight self-schema was associated with overall disordered eating (Exp(b) = 1.03). Thus, the findings suggest that each of the three constructs is independently associated with drinking and disordered eating behaviors, and these associations vary according to the specific type of behavior. Future research identifying the underlying mechanisms linking these constructs to the abovementioned behaviors can be useful for developing targeted intervention strategies.

Physical Computing Strategy to Support Students’ Coding Literacy: An Educational Experiment with Arduino Boards

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of introduction of the physical computing strategy of Arduino Boards in a program design course on coding literacy and the effectiveness of the application in technical high school students. This study selected two classes of twelfth-grade students enrolled in a program design course at a technical high school in Southern Taiwan as the samples. One class was the control group (43 students), and the other was the experimental group (42 students). During the 18-week course, the control group carried out a DBL (design-based learning) programming project, and the experimental group carried out the DBL programming project using the physical computing strategy of Arduino boards. Pre- and posttests and a questionnaire survey were carried out, while ANCOVA (analysis of covariance) was used for evaluation purposes. In the course, students in the experimental group were randomly selected for semi-structured interviews to understand their learning status and to perform qualitative analysis and summarization. This study proposed the physical computing strategy of Arduino boards, featuring staged teaching content, practical teaching activities, and real themes and problem-solving tasks. The results show that the coding literacy of students in the different teaching strategy groups was significantly improved. However, in the Arduino course on DBL programming, the students in the experimental group had a significantly higher learning efficiency in coding literacy than those in the control group. Moreover, according to the qualitative analysis using student interviews, Arduino boards were found to improve students’ motivation to learn coding and to aid in systematically guiding students toward improving their coding literacy by combining their learning with DBL theory. Thus, Arduino technology can be effectively used to improve students’ programming abilities and their operational thinking in practically applying programming theories.

Moderating Effects of Friendship and Family Support on the Association Between Bullying Victimization and Perpetration in Adolescents.

School bullying can cause severe mental health problems for both victims and perpetrators. However, the association between bullying victimization and perpetration has rarely been discussed, and no study has investigated the effects of social support, such as friendship and family support, in moderating this association. Therefore, the authors examined the moderating effects of friendship and family support on the association between bullying victimization and perpetration in adolescents. Data were obtained from the 2009 Project for the Health of Adolescents. Through multistage stratified cluster sampling, 13 junior and 10 senior high schools in southern Taiwan were selected, resulting in a representative sample of 6,445 students from grades 7 to 12. School bullying and family support were examined using the Chinese version of the School Bullying Experience Questionnaire and the Family adaptability, partnership, growth, affection, resolve instrument, respectively. Friendship support was measured using the subscale of the Taiwanese Quality of Life Questionnaire for Adolescents and adolescents' number of friends, time spent with friends, and friend distributions. Linear regression modeling and the Johnson-Neyman technique were used to examine the moderating effects of friendship and family support on the association between bullying victimization and perpetration. For active bullying, having fun and talkative friends and friends outside school negatively moderated the intensity of the association between bullying victimization and perpetration (regression coefficients: -0.02 to -0.05), whereas, for passive bullying, only friends outside school negatively moderated the intensity of the association (regression coefficient: -0.05). By contrast, some components of friendship support positively moderated the associations. These findings suggest that higher friendship quality and having more friends outside of school attenuate the association between bullying victimization and perpetration in adolescents, thus increasing the understanding of the moderating role that social support play in such associations.

The Effect of a Pedagogical STEAM Model on Students’ Project Competence and Learning Motivation

The development of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Liberal Arts, and Mathematics) curricula has emerged in the past decade. A pedagogical STEAM (Scaffolding, Tutoring, Engaging, Argumentation, and Modeling) model was proposed in this study to implement interdisciplinary STEAM curricula. The effects of this model on students’ project competence and learning motivation were evaluated. A quasi-experimental design was adopted in the study. One hundred fourteen participants were recruited from a high school in southern Taiwan. There were 57 students in the experimental group (27 males; 30 females) and 57 in the comparison group (35 males; 22 females). The results revealed that the implementation of the pedagogical STEAM model was able to enhance the project competence and learning motivation of the students in the experimental group. Qualitative data from student interviews also revealed that the students had positive perceptions of the model. The main implication of this study is that the pedagogical STEAM model has the potential to be used as a teaching guide for the high school interdisciplinary curricula.

Effectiveness of a school-based social marketing intervention to promote adolescent sexual health

Objective: Schools should design holistic sex education programmes to improve sex knowledge and enhance positive sexual attitudes among adolescents. A school-based social marketing sex education programme named Starting from love – Go! Go! Go! was designed. This study determined the effectiveness of the intervention to promote adolescent sexual health in junior high schools in Southern Taiwan. Method: A one-group pretest–posttest design was utilised. Cluster random sampling was used to select participants (seventh-grade students aged 13–14 years) from 24 junior high schools. Results: A total of 1,407 seventh-grade participants completed the survey. Among the 1,407 participants, 714 were boys and 693 were girls. The results revealed that the total average sexual knowledge score of the participants was 1.55 points higher after the interventions, indicating significantly increased sexual knowledge ( p < .001). The sexual attitudes of participants after the interventions significantly improved compared with those beforehand ( p < .001). Moreover, the sexual knowledge and attitudes of participants exhibited a positive correlation ( r = .357, p < .001). Conclusion: The proposed school-based social marketing sex education programme holds the potential to improve sexual knowledge and enhance positive sexual attitudes of the junior high school students and the educational efficacy of sex education with respect to sex-related concerns.

A study of the learning experience from an emerging technology integrated curriculum

This study aims to explore the learning effect of emerging technology integration in a senior high schoolcurriculum as implemented by the High Scope Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, R.O.C.Through senior high school teachers’ inquiry instruction and interaction with students, it explores students’learning experience in an emerging technology integrated curriculum and further probes into subjects’perception and effect of the experience. The research questions are: (1) What are the subjects’ pastexperience with emerging technology? (2) What is the subjects’ feedback from participating in an emergingtechnology integrated curriculum practiced by teachers? (3) What is students’ personal reflection afterparticipating in an emerging technology integrated curriculum? This study adopts qualitative research ofin-depth interviews, and the subjects are 6 students in one senior high school in southern Taiwan. Since thesubjects are senior high school students who participate in an emerging technology integrated curriculumand the recorded interviews and observations are based on their agreement, this study practices purposivesampling. The research tool is the researcher’s self-designed interview outline. The study is based onmultiple sources such as in-depth interviews, observations, and feedback. The main findings of this study areas follows: 1) senior high school students’ past behavior with emerging technology is rare; 2) teachersproposed practice courses that include immediate feedback and interaction, and these courses are the mostpopular with students. Teachers’ questions and encouragement and students’ problem-solving process resultin students having a positive learning effect; 3) with experience from participating in competitions, studentsdevelop personal reflection and confidence. External praises lead to the construction of personal positiveself-concept; 4) important self-reflection includes acquisition of new knowledge, passion in attempts,demand for a great amount of originality and ideas, etc.

Developing EFL learners’ morphological awareness: Instructional effect, teachability of affixes, and learners’ perception

Abstract Morphological instruction has been proved to be facilitative of second language learners’ vocabulary learning. However, studies on the effect of teaching affixes on Chinese EFL learners’ vocabulary learning were relatively less explored. Therefore, this study was aimed at investigating the effect of teaching six affixes on Chinese EFL learners’ vocabulary learning, the teachability of affixes, and the learners’ perception toward the instruction. The participants were 40 seventh-graders from two intact classes in a junior high school in southern Taiwan. One class of 20 students served as the control group, and the other class of 20 students was assigned as the experimental group to receive the six-session training of affixes. Instruments were a morpheme identification task, a vocabulary translation test, students’ learning journals, and a questionnaire of perception toward the instruction. The results indicated the positive effect of instruction on the experimental group’s receptive learning of the affixes. In addition, the data also showed the students’ positive perception toward morphological instruction. This study concluded with theoretical implications for future studies and pedagogical implications for teaching affixes.

A case study of action research on communicative language teaching

In English as a foreign language (EFL) context, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been advocated to train students’ communicative competence to improve their oral skills for decades. Nevertheless, whether CLT is appropriate for different levels of EFL learners is still debatable, especially when ‘no native language (L1)’ or ‘target language (L2) only’ in the classroom is the topic. From preschool education to higher education in Taiwan, English-only instruction in EFL classroom is recommended in order to boost effective interaction. According to some studies, some student learners are proactive and communicative speakers in CLT classroom, while others are reticent and shy learners. This study was to investigate the effects of practicing CLT in a mixed English conversion class, to examine whether L1 should be used in CLT classroom timely and if students improve their learning attitudes after a two-cycle individual action research (AR) was conducted. Twenty-seven first graders at a public senior high school in southern Taiwan participated in this study. Methodological triangulation was used to collect data through observation, oral tests, questionnaires and interviews to ensure the validity. The findings indicated that CLT was welcomed in the class and L1 would be helpful and could reduce students’ anxiety when they were lack of confidence in CLT classroom; after the teaching strategies were modified, most of the students had positive learning attitudes and became active learners. Other factors affecting the success of CLT like students’ proficiency level, personality and motivation were also found.

Why don’t they do it? A study on the implementation of extensive reading in Taiwan

AbstractThe study aims to verify whether extensive reading (ER) is able to promote senior high school students’ English reading motivation and foster positive attitude towards reading in English. It further explores the teachers’ perceptions of and the challenges faced in the implementation of ER activities. An ER activity was held for 12 weeks with 258 participants from 4 senior high schools in Southern Taiwan. Focus group interviews were then carried out with 72 randomly selected participants, after which individual interviews were conducted with 6 English teachers from these participating schools. Findings reveal that despite the challenges encountered in implementing the activity, the English teachers observed its benefits and were willing to encourage students to read extensively. The majority of the student participants also held positive attitudes towards the ER activity. Their positive attitudes, however, did not lead to the enhancement of their motivation in reading extensively due to the heavy w...

Development and validation of the short-form Adolescent Health Promotion Scale.

BackgroundHealth-promoting lifestyle choices of adolescents are closely related to current and subsequent health status. However, parsimonious yet reliable and valid screening tools are scarce. The original 40-item adolescent health promotion (AHP) scale was developed by our research team and has been applied to measure adolescent health-promoting behaviors worldwide. The aim of our study was to examine the psychometric properties of a newly developed short-form version of the AHP (AHP-SF) including tests of its reliability and validity.MethodsThe study was conducted in nine middle and high schools in southern Taiwan. Participants were 814 adolescents randomly divided into two subgroups with equal size and homogeneity of baseline characteristics. The first subsample (calibration sample) was used to modify and shorten the factorial model while the second subsample (validation sample) was utilized to validate the result obtained from the first one. The psychometric testing of the AHP-SF included internal reliability of McDonald’s omega and Cronbach's alpha, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and construct validity with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).ResultsThe results of the CFA supported a six-factor model and 21 items were retained in the AHP-SF with acceptable model fit. For the discriminant validity test, results indicated that adolescents with lower AHP-SF scores were more likely to be overweight or obese, skip breakfast, and spend more time watching TV and playing computer games. The AHP-SF also showed excellent internal consistency with a McDonald’s omega of 0.904 (Cronbach’s alpha 0.905) in the calibration group.ConclusionThe current findings suggest that the AHP-SF is a valid and reliable instrument for the evaluation of adolescent health-promoting behaviors. Primary health care providers and clinicians can use the AHP-SF to assess these behaviors and evaluate the outcome of health promotion programs in the adolescent population.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-1106) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Scaffolding Students’ Online Critiquing of Expert- and Peer-generated Molecular Models of Chemical Reactions

In this study, we developed online critiquing activities using an open-source computer learning environment. We investigated how well the activities scaffolded students to critique molecular models of chemical reactions made by scientists, peers, and a fictitious peer, and whether the activities enhanced the students' understanding of science models and chemical reactions. The activities were implemented in an eighth-grade class with 28 students in a public junior high school in southern Taiwan. The study employed mixed research methods. Data collected included pre- and post-instructional assessments, post-instructional interviews, and students' electronic written responses and oral discussions during the critiquing activities. The results indicated that these activities guided the students to produce overall quality critiques. Also, the students developed a more sophisticated understanding of chemical reactions and scientific models as a result of the intervention. Design considerations for effective model critiquing activities are discussed based on observational results, including the use of peer-generated artefacts for critiquing to promote motivation and collaboration, coupled with critiques of scientific models to enhance students' epistemological understanding of model purpose and communication.

Randomized study of school‐based intensive interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed adolescents with suicidal risk and parasuicide behaviors

The aim of the present study was to examine the intervention effects of intensive interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed adolescents with suicidal risk (IPT-A-IN) by comparison with treatment as usual (TAU) at schools. A total of 347 students from one-fifth of the classes of a high school in southern Taiwan completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Hopelessness Scale for screening for suicidal risk. Of them, 73 depressed students who had suicidal risk on screening were randomly assigned to the IPT-A-IN or TAU group. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to examine the effect of IPT-A-IN on reducing the severity of depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety and hopelessness. Using the pre-intervention scores as covariates, the IPT-A-IN group had lower post-intervention severity of depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety and hopelessness than the TAU group. Intensive school-based IPT-A-IN is effective in reducing the severity of depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety and hopelessness in depressed adolescents with suicidal risk.

Factors Predictive for Incidence and Remission of Internet Addiction in Young Adolescents: A Prospective Study

The aim of the study is to determine the incidence and remission rates for Internet addiction and the associated predictive factors in young adolescents over a 1-year follow-up. This was a prospective, population-based investigation. Five hundred seventeen students (267 male and 250 female) were recruited from three junior high schools in southern Taiwan. The factors examined included gender, personality, mental health, self-esteem, family function, life satisfaction, and Internet activities. The result revealed that the 1-year incidence and remission rates for Internet addiction were 7.5% and 49.5% respectively. High exploratory excitability, low reward dependence, low self-esteem, low family function, and online game playing predicted the emergency of the Internet addiction. Further, low hostility and low interpersonal sensitivity predicted remission of Internet addiction. The factors predictive incidence and remission of Internet addiction identified in this study could be provided for prevention and promoting remission of Internet addiction in adolescents.

Family Factors of Internet Addiction and Substance Use Experience in Taiwanese Adolescents

The aim of the study is to examine the differences in the diversity of family factors between adolescents with and without Internet addiction and substance use experience. A total of 3662 students (2328 boys and 1334 girls) were recruited from seven junior high schools, six senior high schools, and four vocational high schools in southern Taiwan. Internet addiction and substance experience were classified according to the score of Chen Internet Addiction Scale Questionnaires for Experience of Substance use. The family factors assessed included perceived family satisfaction, family economic status, parents' marriage status, care-givers, the frequency of intra-family conflict, families' habitual alcohol use, and perceived parents' or care givers' attitude toward adolescents' substance use. This study demonstrated that the characteristics of higher parent-adolescent conflict, habitual alcohol use of siblings, perceived parents' positive attitude to adolescent substance use, and lower family function could be used develop a predictive model for Internet addiction in the multiple logistic regression analysis. The former three family factors were also sufficient in themselves to develop a predictive model for substance use experience. The results revealed that adolescent Internet addiction and substance use experience shared similar family factors, which indicate that Internet addiction and substance use should be considered in the group of behavioral problem syndromes. A family-based preventive approach for Internet addiction and substance use should be introduced for adolescents with negative family factors.

Tridimensional Personality of Adolescents with Internet Addiction and Substance Use Experience

This study aimed to examine the differences in personality characteristics between adolescents with and without Internet addiction and substance use experience as defined by the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), and to compare personality characteristics among groups of adolescents with both Internet addiction and substance use experience (comorbid group), those with only Internet addition (Internet addiction group), those with only substance use experience (substance experience group), and those without Internet addiction or substance use experience (control group). In the cross-sectional investigation, we recruited 3662 students (2328 boys and 1334 girls) from high schools in southern Taiwan. Our investigation was conducted using the TPQ, the Chen Internet Addiction Scale, and Questionnaires for Experience in Substance Use. Adolescents with Internet addiction were more likely to have substance use experience. High novelty seeking (NS), high harm avoidance (HA), and low reward dependence (RD) predicted a higher proportion of adolescents with Internet addiction. High NS, low HA, and low RD predicted a higher proportion of adolescents with substance use experience. Of the 4 groups, the Internet addiction group had the highest HA scores and the comorbid group had the lowest HA scores. Adolescents with high NS and low RD should be provided with effective strategies for preventing Internet addiction and substance use. In addition, the Internet addiction group and the comorbid group should be provided with different preventative strategies focused on HA.

The prevalence of betel chewing among the students of the different senior high schools in southern Taiwan.

A cross-sectional study was designed to determine the prevalence of betel chewing and the high-risk groups among the students of the first and second grades in five types of senior high schools in southern Taiwan. The results reveal that more male than female students were betel chewers: the prevalence rate of current chewers is from 0.96% to 16.15% among male students compared with that of 0% to 5.58% among female students. The students in the vocational schools was found have the higher prevalence rate of betel chewing. The students in the agricultural schools are the highest-risk group for betel chewing. The highest odds were found in the agricultural school students when they were compared with the general school students. It is 31.74 for the current chewers and 5.93 for the ex-chewers.