Instruction Level Research Articles

Robot-Assisted Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis included 27 empirical studies to explore the effectiveness of robot-assisted language learning (RALL) as well as the moderating effects of a number of variables. The comparison of 64 effect sizes from 2,637 participants indicated significant variability between the independent samples. The overall results showed that the combined linguistic and affective gain of RALL was significant. The results of moderator analysis showed that most moderators, including place of the study, type of robot, publication type, instructional level of the learners, design of the study, time points of assessment, learning setting, second language (L2) proficiency level, type of assessment, language domain, and the non-RALL condition had no significant effects on learning outcomes. However, the moderating effect of the participants’ age was significant as RALL was found to be more effective for elementary school students (7–12 years old). The findings provide insights into the design of effective robots for second language acquisition (SLA) that support learners with certain characteristics.

Hunting for quantum-classical crossover in condensed matter problems

The intensive pursuit for quantum advantage in terms of computational complexity has further led to a modernized crucial question of when and how will quantum computers outperform classical computers. The next milestone is undoubtedly the realization of quantum acceleration in practical problems. Here we provide a clear evidence and arguments that the primary target is likely to be condensed matter physics. Our primary contributions are summarized as follows: 1) Proposal of systematic error/runtime analysis on state-of-the-art classical algorithm based on tensor networks; 2) Dedicated and high-resolution analysis on quantum resource performed at the level of executable logical instructions; 3) Clarification of quantum-classical crosspoint for ground-state simulation to be within runtime of hours using only a few hundreds of thousand physical qubits for 2d Heisenberg and 2d Fermi-Hubbard models, assuming that logical qubits are encoded via the surface code with the physical error rate of p = 10−3. To our knowledge, we argue that condensed matter problems offer the earliest platform for demonstration of practical quantum advantage that is order-of-magnitude more feasible than ever known candidates, in terms of both qubit counts and total runtime.

The speaking proficiency outcomes of face‐to‐face and online intensive summer LCTL programs

AbstractThis article is the first large‐scale study to document the speaking proficiency outcomes of intensive programs in less commonly taught languages in US higher education. Speaking proficiency was measured by pre‐ and postprogram ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interviews (N = 484) in 14 languages: Arabic, Bengali, Brazilian Portuguese, Hindi, Indonesian, Kazakh, Persian, Tamil, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Urdu, Uyghur, and Uzbek. The intensive programs are usually taught face‐to‐face but were offered fully online during the COVID‐19 pandemic. No significant difference in speaking proficiency outcomes, as measured by the ACTFL OPI, was found between the face‐to‐face and online formats. Students at all levels of instruction made significant gains in speaking proficiency, with greater gains made by students in Level 1 than at Levels 2‐3, and with wide variation within instructional levels. The average speaking proficiency outcomes were Advanced Low (Level 3), Intermediate High (Level 2), and between Intermediate Low and Intermediate Mid (Level 1).

Compassion Fatigue, Resilience, and Endurance of Special Educators in Rural P–12 and Higher Education

The effects of mental health challenges in the United States are growing and affect both Grades P–12 special education teachers and faculty at institutions of higher education (IHE). Educators struggle with compassion fatigue and associated burnout. With educators leaving the field for a plethora of reasons, it is vital to examine factors that support those who remain in education. Thus, we analyzed factors that support the retention of educators at both levels of instruction. In a qualitative analysis of data from survey respondents ( N = 200), we examined the resiliency and endurance of practicing rural P–12 special educators and faculty at IHEs. Results from inductive content analysis indicate that factors leading to persistence in education begin with educators finding meaning in their teaching. Educators who demonstrate career endurance have a strong sense of self-efficacy in their teaching abilities, receive emotional benefits from their students, and have quality opportunities to mentor and collaborate with others. By contrast, some educators indicate burnout is a key factor for leaving the field, and reported reasons include low pay, paperwork, poor work/life balance, lack of respect, and the mental health of themselves and their students. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations for research and practice.

Analysis of Arabic Teaching at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Miftahul Ulum Angsokah Timur Madura in the Perspective of Effective Instruction (QAIT Model) Robert E. Slavin

Effective instruction is a determinant of success in learning Arabic. With it, learning objectives can be achieved more quickly and are more enjoyable, whereas without them, learning objectives will take longer and tend to be boring. Slavin offers a theory in determining whether learning can be assessed as effective or not, namely by Quality of Instruction, Appropriate Levels of Instruction, Incentive, and Time (QAIT). Therefore, researchers want to know whether learning at Madrasah Miftahul Ulum Angsokah Timur Madura is effective or not by analyzing it with the theory offered by Slavin. This research uses qualitative methods and includes field research. The data collection uses interviews and observations which will then be analyzed using the Miles and Huberman models. The results of this research show that learning at Madrasah Miftahul Ulum Angsokah Timur Madura is effective on one side and less effective on the other side based on Slavin theory, namely effective on the incentive and time side and not on the quality and appropriateness side.

Assessing an Instructional Level During Reading Fluency Interventions: A Meta-Analysis of the Effects on Reading

The current study meta-analyzed 27 effects from 21 studies to determine the effect assessment of text difficulty had on reading fluency interventions, which resulted in an overall weighted effect size ( ES) = 0.43 (95% CI = [0.25, 0.62], p < .001). Using reading passages that represented an instructional level based on accuracy criteria led to a large weighted effect of ES = 1.03, 95% CI = [0.65, 1.40], p < .01), which was reliably larger ( p < .05) than that for reading fluency interventions that used reading passages with an instructional level based on rate criteria (weighted ES = 0.29, 95% CI = [0.07, 0.50], p < .01). Using reading passages based on leveling systems or those written at the students’ current grade level resulted in small weighted effects. The approach to determining difficulty for reading passages used in reading fluency interventions accounted for 11% of the variance in the effect ( p < .05) beyond student group (no risk, at-risk, disability) and type of fluency intervention. The largest weighted effect was found for students with reading disabilities ( ES = 1.14, 95% CI = [0.64, 1.65], p < .01).

Evaluating a method of creating artificial caries in typodont teeth for teaching Class III cavity preparations.

The purpose of the study was to report a step-by-step process of creating artificial caries typodont teeth and to determine the perception and efficacy of their use in preclinical operative training. Artificial caries material comprised of commercially available hide glue and chocolate powder for more realistic coloring was embedded into the distolingual of #9 ModuPRO plastic typodont teeth. First-year dental students having no clinical experience in excavating Class III cavity preparations were divided into two groups. Group BA prepared conventional typodont teeth (CTT) first, then artificial caries typodont teeth. Group AB prepared the ACT first, then CTT. The preps were scored employing a rubric used in the operative dentistry course class. A feedback questionnaire was conducted to rate students' satisfaction regarding the use of ACT and CTT. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare the scores between groups ACT-CTT and CTT-ACT and the Chi-Square test was used to evaluate the positive and negative questionnaire responses. The two groups showed no significant difference in grades and no significant changes in their scores regardless of which order they prepped the teeth (P>0.05). The questionnaire heavily favored the use of artificial caries typodont teeth (P<0.05). The artificial caries typodont teeth protocol described in this study was feasible when implemented at the preclinical laboratory instruction level with positive questionnaire feedback from dental students.

Second Language Learning Difficulty of Chinese Grammar: A Rasch Analysis of Teachers’ Perceptions

Abstract This study examined second language (L2) learning difficulty of 13 Chinese grammatical constructions on the basis of teachers’ perceptions and associated the L2 learning difficulty of Chinese grammatical constructions with teacher-perceived learner grammatical competence and with the instructional levels. A total of 77 experienced teachers were invited to rate the learning difficulty of 13 Chinese grammatical constructions with reference to L2 learners at four instructional levels at college. Utilizing the Rasch rating scale model, this study established an L2 Chinese grammar learning difficulty hierarchy and revealed that the learning difficulty hierarchy mostly overlapped with the acquisitional order of Chinese grammar found in L2 Chinese research and with the instructional order in a widely used Chinese textbook. This study enriches our understanding of the multifaceted nature of L2 learning difficulty and the idiosyncratic learning difficulty and pattern associated with each Chinese grammatical construction in L2 development. Implications for Chinese instruction, material development, and assessment are provided.

What insights can response times provide for education research?

ABSTRACT The main objective of this methodological article is to discuss the contribution of response times as a tool in education research. The use of response times in research is largely a legacy of the work carried out in cognitive psychology, which has made it possible to describe the cognitive processes involved in information processing. In education, research that incorporates response times into its methodological design often has two main objectives: 1) evaluate the automation of basic learning and 2) infer the cognitive processes involved in academic learning, such as working memory and inhibitory control. This article addresses and discusses specific research designs that use response times across various academic disciplines and instructional levels, offering a comprehensive overview of the potential applications of response times in education research. In light of this overview, utilizing response times in education research not only emerges as relevant but also serves to complement existing methodological tools. For instance, such designs can aid in identifying the relative difficulty of different types of learning, understanding the underlying reasons for such variations, and offering valuable insights for developing learning sequences and pedagogical interventions that are more consistent with learning processes.

Decoding Student Success in Higher Education: A Comparative Study on Learning Strategies of Undergraduate and Graduate Students

&#x0D; &#x0D; Learning management systems (LMS) provide a rich source of data about the engagement of students with courses and their materials that tends to be underutilized in practice. In this paper, we use data collected from the LMS to uncover learning strategies adopted by students and compare their effectiveness. Starting from a sample of over 11,000 enrollments at a Portuguese information management school, we extracted features indicative of self-regulated learning (SRL) behavior from the associated interactions. Then, we employed an unsupervised machine learning algorithm (k-means) to group students according to the similarity of their patterns of interaction. This process was conducted separately for undergraduate and graduate students. Our analysis uncovered five distinct learning strategy profiles at both the undergraduate and graduate levels: 1) active, prolonged and frequent engagement; 2) mildly frequent and task-focused engagement; 3) mildly frequent, mild activity in short sessions engagement; 4) likely procrastinators; and 5) inactive. Mapping strategies with the students' final grades, we found that students at both levels who accessed the LMS early and frequently had better outcomes. Conversely, students who exhibited procrastinating behavior had worse end-of-course grades. Interestingly, the relative effectiveness of the various learning strategies was consistent across instruction levels. Despite the LMS offering an incomplete and partial view of the learning processes students employ, these findings suggest potentially generalizable relationships between online student behaviors and learning outcomes. While further validation with new data is necessary, these connections between online behaviors and performance could guide the development of personalized, adaptive learning experiences.&#x0D; &#x0D;

Clinical evaluation, useability, and utility of the Work Ability Screening Profile II (WASP II)

Introduction:&#x0D; The Work Ability Screening Profile (WASP) was conceptualised and developed by occupational therapists at the University of Durban Westville to provide a basic vocational screening assessment. Its purpose was to screen competence in generic work skills which reflected performance in activities essential to workplace participation relevant to the South African context. The assessment was revised in 2005 and renamed the WASP II. It was decided this screening assessment tool would be continuously reviewed using action research with clinicians involved in the ongoing evaluation so ensure validity and reliability for the population with which it is used. This study considered the clinical evaluation, useability and utility of the WASP II in order to inform further revision.&#x0D; Method: A cross sectional survey was used to gather data from 70 occupational therapy clinicians familiar with or using the WASP II in clinical practice.&#x0D; Results: A sample of 70 respondents indicated the WASP II was suitable to assess current work ability and production speed with a variety of clients with physical and mental health dysfunction. Ten of the 12 subtests were used by at least 40% of the time by the 28 respondents who used the WASP II frequently. These respondents reported good to adequate useability in terms of cost, sensitivity to clients’ educational level and ease of understanding instructions, incorporation into clinical practice contexts while supporting clinical reasoning and judgement. The accommodation of clients’ language and provision of standard scores were indicated as inadequate. Utility was considered adequate for all aspects including discrimination of moderate to severe dysfunction, informing the choice of other assessmentsas well as supporting vocational rehabilitation intervention. The WASP II outcomes were also understood by other service providers, employers, referring parties as well asclients.&#x0D; Conclusion: While the WASP II was considered appropriate for use in the South African context and has adequate useability and utility, some subtests need to be updated and revised in terms of the standard times and content validity for current practice in the work environment.&#x0D; Implications for practice:&#x0D; The WASP II has useability&#x0D; &#x0D; aligned with generic work skills of acquiring information or following d irections numeracy, conveying information and written communication &#x0D; for with those with work experience and with scholars and students yet to enter the workplace The WASP II has utility in relation to • cost and clients’ educational levels &#x0D; detailed instructions on the task layout but some standardisation needs to be interpreted with care &#x0D; sensitivity to all aspects of assessment of generic work skills, except discrimination of mild dysfunction&#x0D;

The Effect of Regional Financial Autonomy on Economic Growth in Aceh Province

The condition of regional financial independence in Aceh Province is not optimal, so it is expected to affect economic growth. Previous studies have only descriptively explored the condition of the regional financial independence level in Aceh Province. They did not analyze how it affects economic growth. It is important to study this because Aceh is highly dependent on the transfer of funds from the central government. Therefore, this study will investigate the effect of financial independence, degree of fiscal decentralization, and revenue effectiveness as indicators of regional financial independence on economic growth in Aceh Province, Indonesia. The panel data regression method is used to analyze the data, where this study uses panel data consisting of 23 districts/cities in Aceh Province as cross-section data and time series data in an annual form from 2018 to 2022. The data applied were sourced from the Aceh Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and the Directorate General of Fiscal Balance. The findings show that financial independence has a negative and significant effect on economic growth, the degree of fiscal decentralization has a positive and significant effect on economic growth, and revenue effectiveness is not significant on economic growth. It is recommended that district/municipal governments in Aceh Province maximize financial independence to avoid being at the instructive level by increasing PAD and reducing dependence on external funds.

Assessing written production in L2 Mandarin Chinese: fluency and accuracy

Abstract This study utilized T-unit and character-unit indices to assess learners’ written production and evaluate their writing development in second language (L2) Chinese. Through a cross-sectional design, three L2 Chinese learner groups at different instructional levels completed a timed letter-writing task within 30 min. Guided by prior research, respective T-unit and character-unit measures were selected to assess fluency and accuracy of the collected writing data. The results showed that fluency was overall positively related to learners’ instructional level, regardless of the indices (T-unit vs. character-unit). Hence, T-units per minute and characters per minute are considered both valid tools to assess fluency in L2 Chinese writing. However, only errors per character, among the accuracy measures, was found to decline linearly with the increasing level, thus suggested to be valid for tapping accuracy development in L2 Chinese writing. Based on the findings, implications regarding the assessment of L2 Chinese texts were discussed.

Early Language Reading Interventions and Reading Skills of Elementary Grade One Pupils in Zambales, Philippines

Learning to read and write is crucial in child’s development during entering formal schooling in grade one. These skills are identified to as language and literacy skills. It also predicts the child’s success later in school as well as in life. Reading and writing were both encompassed in early language literacy which are the foundation skills of a child and it develops as the child grows. This study aimed to determine the effects of the reading intervention strategies used by grade one teachers on the reading performance of grade one pupils in terms of word recognition, reading speed and reading comprehension. The participants in this study were the 23 grade one teachers coming from the 11 schools of the San Antonio District. Findings of the study came up with the following conclusions: Typical teachers of Grade I in San Antonio always use reading intervention strategies in terms of oral language, alphabet knowledge and word recognition, and often use strategies for phonological awareness, fluency and comprehension. The teachers used various activities exclusively for word recognition, fluency and reading comprehension. The learners have a high level of word recognition skills, are fast readers and with an instructional level of comprehension. A positive linear relationship exists between the reading intervention strategies and the learners' level of reading skills. After the investigation on the relationship between the reading intervention strategies and learner’s reading skills, the researcher recommends the following actions.

Instruction Level Parallelism and Memory Synchronization

The simultaneous or parallel execution of a series of instructions within a computer program is known as instruction-level parallelism, or ILP. ILP stands for the average number of instructions executed throughout each stage of this parallel execution, to be more precise. The architecture known as instruction level parallelism (ILP) allows for the execution of several operations in parallel within a single process, each with its own set of resources, including address space, registers, identifiers, state, and program counters. It describes compiler design strategies and processors intended to carry out operations in parallel to increase processor performance, such as memory load and store, integer addition, and float multiplication.

No Time Like the Present: Recommendations for Educators to Improve Engineering Student Time Management and Decision Making

A research study investigating the connections from time management &amp; decision making to various outcomes in engineering education has been completed. A synthesis of study results and literature has resulted in several recommendations, with associated specific actions in four implementation categories: professors, students, programs, and researchers. The results uncovered a wide variety of time management strategies which may be successfully employed, with the most important aspect being having control over one’s time. Anecdotal implementation of one recommendation — keeping deadlines within a standard “workweek” — appears to have had noticeable positive results at another institution. Although the study was conducted on engineering students, the results may be applicable to a wider university audience, especially those with high levels of classroom instruction and/or deliverables.

Evaluation of the Level of Food Security in Households in the Health Area of Lwiro, Health Zone of MITI-MURHESA in 2022

Study framework: health area of Lwiro in the health zone of Miti-Murhesa, in DR Congo. General objective: The general objective of the present work was to contribute in ameliorating household food security in order to reduce sanitary risks linked to food insecurity in the health area of Lwiro, health zone of Miti-Murhesa in Democratic Republic of Congo. Material and method: In order to fulfill the specific objectives of this work, we appealed to the technique of simple random sampling on 358 households. Sampling was done using a questionnaire. MS Excel and SPSS were used for data analyses and treatment. Results: After data analyses and treatment it was observed that, most of those who were investigated had no level of instruction, that is 31,2% with the size of the household less that 7 people, and 17,3% had a low food diversification score that is ¼, that means haven consumed a group of food amongst the 4 main groups of food during the week that preceded the investigations. Conclusion: Food insecurity is at its best in the health zone of Miti-Murhesa. This is a reason to recommend to the population of this health zone to diversify their feeding, in order to ameliorate their level of food security and their nutritional state.

Considerations for mathematical backgrounds and goals of music students in introductory acoustics courses

Many music institutions include an introductory course in acoustics as prerequisites for certain classes and/or requirements for graduation of a degree program. With the topic involving science, there are mathematical concepts that are naturally introduced to the students. For instruction of music students this may result in challenges as the range of their mathematical background is generally larger. Aside from difficulties in the coursework, it is also common where students will not utilize the mathematical concepts from the course throughout their career. Therefore, it is crucial to survey the typical level of the students' interests and skills in mathematics to align it with the course objectives and determine the methods of instruction. This presentation will focus on modifying the level of mathematical instruction based on the goals of typical music students and the real-world applications of the learned content.

Towards an Early Physics approach for secondary students

Some traditional approaches to teaching Physics at the secondary level of instruction have disclosed their limits, especially in distance learning. A consequence of such limits seems to be a somewhat diffused lack of students’ scientific abilities, mainly caused by their learning difficulties. To overcome the shortcoming of tradition, we stimulated some teachers to get involved in a new teaching approach to develop their awareness of these limits and difficulties and exploit their PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge). This approach explores and intercepts the main learning features and needs in the first years of Physics studies. For that reason and the analogy in Math Education, we named it Early Physics.

Integrating ICT in Private High School, Badin A Case Study

In this study, ICT integration at the instructional level was introduced in one school of Khoski District, Badin. This study aimed to investigate how ICT is integrated at the faculty level in an institution of a rural area of lower Sindh. A qualitative case study was an appropriate method for this study because it was focused on a real-life situation and the researchers had no control over the events. The data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, observations, and official documents. The selection of the participants was based on purposeful sampling. School faculty was chosen because the school was is in the process of ICT integration. Results suggested that to integrate ICT effectively in an institution there should be a proper technology integration plan with day wise agenda and a proper authorisation plan for management with an estimated budget. The government should take an interest in ICT integration with the help of NGOs and private school teams for a digitalized education system in Pakistan.