Development Of Instructional Materials Research Articles

Implementing Interest Based Instructional Materials to Minimize EFL Learners’ Speaking Skills De-motivating Factors

The study aimed to investigate de-motivating factors in speaking in Indonesian EFL learning context and to propose solution to overcome speaking problems in teaching learning process. The description and discussion of findings are based on the results of a longitudinal mixed-method research in teaching Speaking Classes in an English Education Department at University in Indonesia. A qualitative inquiry was implemented to map the de-motivating factors faced by the EFL learners and Classroom Action Research (CAR) design was conducted to improve speaking ability. The results of the study reveal that there are fifteen de-motivating factors that impede the improvement of the speaking ability. The results of the intervention during the CAR cycles, cycle 1 and 2, prove that the implementation of Interest Based Instructional Materials (IBIM) improves the speaking ability. The implementation of IBIM encourages learners to activate their previous knowledge of instructional topics and build up their beliefs in presenting speaking tasks. The improvement in the speaking ability is affected by the role of teachers both during the pre-teaching phase and during the teaching learning process. The implication for the design and the development of instructional materials in Speaking Classes are discussed.

Design and Evaluation of Demonstration Tools for Newton’s Law of Motion

In the absence of readily available teaching resources and laboratories, science teachers are often challenged to improvise instructional tools and materials. This study is aimed to design and evaluate indigenous toy carts intended for teaching Newton’s Law of Motion. Fifteen science teachers from two public high schools were asked to evaluate the developed indigenous toy carts using an evaluation form. A randomly selected intact class of Grade 8 students was also asked to perform a physics activity using the instructional tools developed by the researchers and evaluate the experience using an adopted Intrinsic Motivation Inventory. The demonstration tools were rated at most as acceptable by science teachers on constructional appearance and economy; ease of construction and scientific rigor and usability. Majority of the Grade 8 students found the activity with the indigenous carts interesting and enjoyable. It is recommended that science teachers be given more training and workshops on instructional tools and materials development to enhance the science experience of students.

DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH TEACHING MATERIALS CHARGED BASED CHARACTER EDUCATION USING INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA MACROMEDIAFLASH (CASE STUDY COURSE LEARNING ENGLISH TEACHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT MI madrasah)

Elementary school teacher education Department, an education institute that produces teachers for Islamic Elementary School, is demanded to give competence to students about instuctional material that can be created by teachers, in order to make an appropriate instructional material when they be a teacher and take a part in society. The material is an appropriate material that is suitable for 2013 curriculum; it is a material that can produce Indonesian people be more producive, creative, and inovative through reinforcement of integrated attitude, skill, and knowledge. In order to have comprehensive understanding about development of instructional material and lesson plan based on competence, fulfill relevancy, adequacy and novelty, the students in Teaching English for Young Learners subject is supplied multimedia instructional material, so the students can notice frame of instructional material in English Instructional and its teaching learning process. Based on that problem, then instructional material based on interactive multimedia for English Subject Character Education based is developed. It uses macromediaflash program application. It is equiped with interesting animation, audio, video, and evaluation about development of instructional material and lesson plan. Key Words: english material, character education, interactive multimedia, macromediaflash

Online Learning Tools for Middle School Science

This article reports on how design-based research methodology was used to guide a line of intervention research that developed, implemented, revised, and evaluated online learning science curricula for middle school students, including general education students and English language learners (primarily of Hispanic origin). The iterative, design-based research approach was carried out in two stages with multiple steps per stage: (a) stage 1, or informed exploration, identified and described the problem under investigation; and (b) stage 2, or enactment, redesigned previously developed online science units, implemented each unit in case studies, and completed a feasibility evaluation. The present paper focuses primarily on the second stage, demonstrating the process by which online science units were repeatedly refined with input from stakeholders, and then examined for their feasibility to implement, usefulness for helping teachers engage with students, and potential to effectively deepen science knowledge. Data were drawn from multiple sources, including teacher logs, student and teacher surveys, student notebooks, content assessments, and focus groups. Results indicate that the online science units were feasible to implement, usable, and helpful. The data-driven, design-based research methodology proved to be both practical and efficacious, and underscored the critical importance of involving all stakeholders in the process of curriculum creation and refinement. This work offers a model for the development of constructivist science instructional materials for English learners using online, multimedia technology.

Perceived Gaps and the Use of Supplemental Materials in Postsecondary American Sign Language Curricula

In the 1990s, American Sign Language (ASL) began gaining widespread acceptance as a foreign language in higher education, but instruction, programming, teaching, and learning are still in the process of becoming mature fields. This survey study was designed to assess perceived gaps in current ASL curricula, how and to what extent instructors are supplementing the curricula, how ASL labs are implemented and to what degree supplemental lab materials are needed, and whether outcomes and standards are being applied in ASL instruction. For the future development of instructional materials, implications and recommendations are provided that follow the American Sign Language Teachers Association's Standards for Learning American Sign Language. Additionally, recommendations are made for new instructional materials to be based on research and for the implementation of integrated standards, content-based instruction, and task-based language teaching.

Analisis Kondisi Awal Pembelajaran Fisika SMAN Kota Padang (Dalam Rangka Pengembangan Bahan Ajar Fisika Multimedia Interaktif Berbantuan Game)

Abstract Low understanding of the students in learning physics suspected because physics learning patterns have not been able to optimize students' critical thinking skills. As known, the critical thinking is the key to academic success of a student. Currently, lack of critical thinking skills of students as one of the clear indicators of low quality of education. If this is allowed, then the physics learning outcomes in the future will be very apprehensive. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve critical thinking skills using interactive multimedia teaching materials based on discovery learning aided games. The development of teaching materials are using ADDIE Model. The first step of this model is analysis, i.e. preliminary study of physics learning how to condition that has lasted until today. Based on the analysis of the field findings, will be designed Interactive Multimedia Instructional Materials, and then will be the development of Instructional Materials. In this paper, we will present the results of the initial needs analysis to develop the interactive multimedia teaching materials based on discovery learning aids game for physics learning in the future. Keywords: Critical Thinking, Discovery Learning, Game, Interactive Multimedia, Physics Learning

Capturing Chemical Identity Thinking

Chemical identity, the idea that every substance has at least one property that makes it unique and able to be differentiated from other substances, is core to the practice of chemistry. Such practice requires using properties to classify as well as to differentiate. Learning which substance properties are productive in chemical identity thinking is not easy, however, because many features of substances compete for a learner’s attention. Assessments that utilize open-ended questions can reveal ways that students use chemical identity thinking to classify and differentiate substances. On the basis of our previously published hypothetical learning progression of chemical identity, we developed a set of four open-ended questionnaires, which can be used to uncover students’ chemical identity thinking. In attending to literature on the development of qualitative research instruments, as well as design-based instructional materials development frameworks, a four-phase process of development was generated that i...

The design and development of creative instructional materials: the role of domain familiarity for creative solutions

The design and development processes of instructional materials might be considered simple and clear because the pre-established instructional goals can lead the way. However, in practice, there are lots of issues to be considered during these processes. The quality of the material, appropriate visual design, usability, and acceptable amount of cognitive load are some of these issues. On the other hand, an instructional material needs to be as original as possible. In this study, we focused on the creativity of the instructional materials designed and developed by second year students from the Computer Education and Instructional Technologies (CEIT) department. We divided students into two groups: (1) CEIT students designing and developing materials about Information Technology (IT); (2) CEIT students designing and developing materials about Math. The main aim of this study is to understand how CEIT students’ instructional materials differ when they design and develop materials, which are out of their field of experience. In other words, we tried to compare how the creativity of materials change when students create materials with familiar domain (IT) in comparison to unfamiliar domain (Math). Students worked on ten instructional materials such as digital story, animation, and worksheet for 14 weeks. The materials of students were evaluated in terms of creativity, and then they were interviewed. The students worked in groups of 4–5, and during the material development period, we as researchers observed and took notes about the whole process. The findings indicated that materials developed in familiar domain were higher in creativity than those of the unfamiliar. Students’ explanations of creativity and their evaluations about the process helped us to understand the reasons of the produced materials’ creativeness. Technical skills, authentic contributions, material type, and the boundaries of the content or familiarity were found as the primary factors affecting the design and development of creative instructional materials.

Improvement of Vocational Education Curriculum Implementation through Instructional Materials Production and Utilization in Upper Basic Education in Nigeria

This article describes the development of curriculum as it relates to vocational education in Nigeria Upper Basic Education Curriculum. The definition of Curriculum development was highlighted to reflect contemporary concepts of curriculum integration. Curriculum development was stressed to include the rudiments necessary in its stages of development. Instructional materials production and utilization in broad terms of audio-visual aids were also treated. The work however drew up the role and relevant position of evaluation in curriculum development. The paper concluded with the need to have the development, production and utilization of instructional materials as a communication channel in the teaching-learning processes of vocational education.

An Application of Flipped Classroom Method in the Instructional Technologies and Material Development Course

A natural outcome of change in technology, new approaches towards teaching and learning have emerged and the applicability of the flipped classroom method, a new educational strategy, in the field of education has started to be discussed. It was aimed with the study to examine the effect of using flipped classroom method in academic achievements and motivations of students and reveal the student opinions. The quasi-experimental method was used in this study and the participants were 50 sophomores that studying Elementary Mathematics Education in a state university. The results of the study shows that flipped classroom method does not have a significant effect on improving students' perceptions of technology use, and the students in the experimental group were more successful and had higher levels of motivation than the students in the control group. It was also revealed that the students had positive thoughts about the implementation of flipped classroom method.

RELATIONSHIP AMONG BRAIN HEMISPHERIC DOMINANCE, ATTITUDE TOWARDS L1 AND L2, GENDER, AND LEARNING SUPRASEGMENTAL FEATURES

<p>Oral skills are important components of language competence. To have good and acceptable listening and speaking, one must have good pronunciation, which encompasses segmental and suprasegmental features. Despite extensive studies on the role of segmental features and related issues in listening and speaking, there is paucity of research on the role of suprasegmental features in the same domain. Conducting studies which aim at shedding light on the issues related to learning suprasegmental features can help language teachers and learners in the process of teaching/learning English as a foreign language. To this end, this study was designed to investigate the relationship among brain hemispheric dominance, gender, attitudes towards L1 and L2, and learning suprasegmental features in Iranian EFL learners. First, 200 Intermediate EFL learners were selected from different English language teaching institutes in Hamedan and Isfahan, two provinces in Iran, as the sample. Prior to the main stage of the study, Oxford Placement Test (OPT) was used to homogenize the proficiency level of all the participants. Then, the participants were asked to complete the Edinburgh Handedness Questionnaire to determine their dominant hemisphere. They were also required to answer two questionnaires regarding their attitudes towards L1 and L2. Finally, the participants took suprasegmental features test. The results of the independent samples t-tests indicated left-brained language learners’ superiority in observing and learning suprasegmental features. It was also found that females are better than males in producing suprasegmental features. Furthermore, the results of Pearson Product Moment Correlations indicated that there is significant relationship between attitude towards L2 and learning suprasegmental features. However, no significant relationship was found between attitude towards L1 and learning English suprasegmental features. The findings of this study can provide English learners, teachers and developers of instructional materials with some theoretical and pedagogical implications which are discussed in the paper.</p>

Realities of mobile learning technologies in foreign language classes

While it is common to assume that our current undergraduates are digital native who are naturally proficient and expect the use of technology, the research base that supports those assumptions is limited. This is especially true of students in foreign language classes. Much of the national research that has been conducted has not focused on specific subsets of students. It is important to address this paucity of research, as instructors, textbook publishers, and other stakeholders must make informed decisions regarding the design and development of curriculum and instructional materials. This article reports a study conducted in exploration of the ownership and use of mobile devices by students in foreign language courses. The study used survey methodology and focus group protocols to investigate what technological devices students have and use for personal and academic activities. Salient findings include the reaffirmation of the need to maintain appropriate pedagogy in light of the latest and greatest technological developments, distinctions between the use of technology for content consumption versus content production, and a distinct preference for a separation between personal and academic activities among digital natives.

The Development of Investigative Learning Materials Using Computer Assisted Instruction in the Topic of Reflection for Grade VII

Despite its importance, there are still many problems encountered in the learning of the topic of reflection in school. One of the solutions for these problems is the implementation of learning approaches that fit the modern curricula and the development of good quality instructional materials. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the quality of investigative instructional material with computer assisted instruction for the topic of reflection in Grade VII. The result of the analysis suggested that the investigative instructional material for the topic of reflection in Grade 7 is of good quality because it fulfills the following criteria: (1) the teacher was capable to manage the lesson well, (2) the students were actively involved during the lesson, (3) the students gave positive response to the instructional material, (4) the achievement test is valid, reliable, and sensitive; and (5) the validator claimed that the developed instructional material is valid.

Using Threshold Concepts To Improve BMB Instruction – An Evidence Based Approach

Threshold concepts (TCs) as a theoretical framework was proposed by Meyer and Land as a means to improve instruction by focusing on those concepts that would move students from novice to expert understanding of a discipline. TCs are concepts that, when mastered, represent a transformed understanding of a discipline, without which the learner cannot progress. We identified five TCs for biochemistry through a collaborative effort involving over 70 faculty members and 50 undergraduate students at five diverse institutions. The TCs are steady state, biochemical pathway dynamics and regulation, the physical basis of interactions, thermodynamics of macromolecular structure formation, and free energy. Experts deemed these concepts important for understanding biochemistry and students exhibited limited understanding of the concepts. Efforts are underway to develop instructional materials and assessment instruments for these TCs. Specifically, we have analyzed student responses from assessment instruments related to steady state and the thermodynamics of structure formation piloted at diverse institutions in the United States in order to inform development of instructional materials. Ultimately data collected from these implementations will be used in a feedback loop to revise instructional materials and improve teaching and learning in undergraduate biochemistry courses.Support or Funding InformationNational Science Foundation DUE‐1224868

Cultivating Early Trajectories of Participation A Blended Learning Environment for Business German

The essay forwards suggestions for developing a blended learning environment to insert genre‐based language for specific purposes (LSP) subject matter into the undergraduate second language development curriculum. Specifically, the essay will highlight: (1) the development of an overarching narrative for structuring the LSP subject matter; (2) the formulation of performance objectives for the modules that will deliver the subject matter; (3) the development of a learning strategy for the modules, including their alignment with the existing program curriculum and the use of bimonthly face‐to‐face labs; and (4) the development and implementation of instructional materials, including the creation of study aids and open educational digital resources.

Communication Skills Needs of Technical English I Students: Basis for the Development of Instructional Materials

<div> Engineering Technology students have difficulty communicating their thoughts. This study examined the language needs of Engineering Technology students of Mindanao State University, General Santos City, with the end goal of developing instructional materials for use in Technical English 1 subject. This is a descriptive study that involves all freshmen students during the first semester of AY 2012-2013. A validated and reliability tested needs analysis questionnaire was used in examining the language needs of the respondents. Listening, speaking, reading and writing skills warrant the focus in the English 1 subject.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Keywords:</strong> Communication skills, language needs, instructional materials, General Santos City, Philippines.</div>

Preface

<p>Responding to the changing needs of the society and to the sign oftimes, the University of the Immaculate Conception Research and Publication Center presents Volume 19 Number 1 of the UIC Research Journal. This edition includes 15 research reports which delve into various disciplines subdividedin four sections: Education, Engineering and Technology, Higher Education Research, and Health, Pharmacy & Chemistry and Environment.</p><p>This journal imparts findings and discussion that shed light to differentperspectives not only in the academic realm but also to society at large.</p><p>Section One is composed of three studies in the field of education.The study entitled Campus Journalism Related Factors and Journalistic Meritsof Student Publications in Selected Tertiary Schools in Davao City by Dr. MonaLaya, Prof. Jan Vincent Laroya and Prof. John Rey Aleria explores the campusrelated factors and how they affect the proficiency of campus journalists. Also,Dr. Charlie Dayon and Ms. Joan Natad sought to find the learning styles and proficiency in communication of the students in their Study Learning Styles andBasic Communication Skills while Prof. Armando Parantar attempted to explore the relevance and importance of note-taking to students in his investigation entitled The Essence of Note-taking.</p><p> </p><p>Dealing with the current trends on climate and environment vis-à-vis government economic thrusts and development, Section Two is comprised of studies dealing with issues on engineering and technology. Researchers Engr. Aylmer Ronnel Sombilla, Mr. Aaaron Paul Paciente, Ms. Cristy Marie Masalta,Mr. Martin Sorolla, Mr. Carlwen Jave Pausta and Mr. Manuel Rey Villanueva unveil the effects of aviation noise to the lives of the people living near the airport in their investigation entitled Level of Aviation Noise: Their Effects on the Inhabitants near Francisco Bangoy International Airport. Professors Ma. Teresa Gravino, Princy Luga, and Lucila Lupo deal on measures to prepare the communities to future disasters by measuring the climate literacy of the people in near the shores in their paper entitled Climate Literacy of Davao City Residents in Coastal Areas and there is also collaboration of Engr. Ruben Ruiz and Dr. Renan Limjuco who suggest a faster way to travel from Toril to the city proper in their study A Coastal Road as an Alternate Route for the Decongestion of Traffic from Toril to Downtown of Davao City.</p><p>Aiming for greater heights in the research track, the Section Three includes articles from the graduate and post-graduate programs. To supplement the need to better the communication skills of students, Prof. Wilvena Pernia in her study Communication Skills Needs of Technical English I Students: Basis for the Development of Instructional Materials aimed to make an effective instructional tool for students enrolled in English 1. Unveiling the power of print media to persuade people to buy beauty products, Prof. Edroslyn Fernandez analyzed the use of persuasive language in advertising in her paper Discourse Analysis of Persuasive Language in Philippine Print Advertising. Ms. Joan Natad in her study entitled Exposure to the English Linguistic Environment, Affective Filters and the Writing Competence of Students examined the influence of exposure to the English linguistic environment and affective filters on the writing competence of students enrolled in an English Proficiency Program while Dr. Rhodora Ranalan using thematic analysis in her article Trends and Themes in Graduate Research Papers in UIC: Towards a Compendium of Research Outputs from 2007 to 2012 ventured on unveiling the trends and themes of researches in the graduate school. Bridging the gaps and strengthening the bonds with fellow researchers in other institutions, this section also features two studies from a neighboring school in Davao region. Dr. Nelia Pacaña in her study entitled Professional Image, Anger Management and Instructional Leadership of Non-Sectarian School Administrators determined whether professional image and anger management influence leadership of the administrators in non-sectarian schools in Region XI while Dr. Prescila Baquerfo in her paper Competing Standpoints of Code-Switching in Classroom Instruction of the Pre-Secondary Teachers discussed the standpoints of teachers in code-switching in classroom instructions.</p><p>Section Four displays the unfolding of new insights in the field of health. Prof. Kenny James Merin assessed the toxicity of a mangosteen xanthone capsule available in the market in his investigation entitled Preliminary Acute Toxicological Analysis and Profiling of a Commercially Available Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) Xanthone Capsule while Ms. Ma. Azeneth Josol-Jagape compared the heavy metal loads of both locally and imported manufactured food supplement capsules. Ms. Regina Joy Malonzo, Dr. Thelma Alderite and Ms. Maribeth Galindo measured the level of awareness, attitude and openness of the students of UIC as well as their parents on the issue of HIV/AIDS.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Renan P. Limjuco </strong></p><p>Editor in Chief</p><p><strong>John Rey A. Aleria </strong></p><p>Associate Editor</p>

The Persistence of Language: Constructing and Confronting the Past and Present in the Voices of Jane H. Hill. Edited by Shannon T. Bischoff, Deborah Cole, Amy V. Fountain, and Mizuki Miyashita. Culture and Language Use, no. 8. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2013. Pp. xxx + 440. $133.00.

<i>The Persistence of Language: Constructing and Confronting the Past and Present in the Voices of Jane H. Hill</i>. Edited by Shannon T. Bischoff, Deborah Cole, Amy V. Fountain, and Mizuki Miyashita. Culture and Language Use, no. 8. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2013. Pp. xxx + 440. $133.00.

Fred P. Ellison and Portuguese Program Development

Fred P. Ellison and Portuguese Program Development Margo Milleret The written record of Ellison’s involvement in Portuguese program development begins in 1964 when he became chairman of the Portuguese Language Development Group that met at several Modern Language Association meetings before being accepted by the AATSP in 1967. The record ends in the Fall 2003 edition of The Portuguese Newsletter in an interview conducted by Libby Ginway of the University of Florida. That record constitutes forty years of writing and collecting survey data, publishing reports, and advocating for Portuguese teaching and curriculum development in the US. Most of the writing appeared in this journal Hispania, the publication of the AATSP, an organization to which Ellison remained loyal during his long career. Ellison remarked in several places that AATSP was the organization that added the “P” to its name in 1944 and thus recognized Portuguese as a co-participant. There are five concerns that Ellison addressed in his Hispania publications that will be reviewed in this short essay along with an update on the status of those concerns today more than ten years after the 2003 interview, and more than fifty years after Ellison’s first reports in Hispania. The essays are listed in the Works Cited at the end in order to avoid redundancy. The first concern that Ellison expressed was the difficult relationship that Portuguese had with Spanish in the AATSP and in the profession. Ellison wrote at length of living under the shadow of Spanish. He talked of the hegemony of Spanish, the subservience of Portuguese to Spanish, and the wish for an individuality for Portuguese. He also noted that he and others felt that Portuguese was not receiving its fair share in the AATSP organization. Ellison worked hard to change that relationship and joined with the other members of the Portuguese Language Development Group to push for change in the by-laws of the AATSP. Among the changes sought and won were representation on the Executive Council for Portuguese (one seat, not three as requested), a national newsletter, and a greater percentage of articles in Hispania. What Ellison did not accomplish was a significant change in the relationship between the two language professionals. Ellison felt Portuguese should be an equal partner in the organization, but that has yet to happen. To its credit, AATSP did host its yearly conference in 2002 in Brazil, and has focused attention on gathering teaching materials for Portuguese for its website. It now sponsors Phi Lambda Beta Portuguese Honorary Society for colleges and universities and has supported the development of an on-line National Portuguese Exam for high school students. Its yearly conference program also highlights the panels for Luso-Brazilian studies in opening pages. Ellison’s second concern was the development of instructional materials for all levels of college education, including for bilingual speakers of Portuguese. While Modern Portuguese did help alleviate the demand for a beginning language text in the 1970s, Ellison called for textbooks that would meet the needs of students pursuing Portuguese at the intermediate and advanced levels. One subtopic within this concern about good textbooks that Ellison expressed several times, was the need for greater linguistic research of the Portuguese language that would serve as a strong foundation for Portuguese teaching materials. This type of research is underway, but due to the narrow focus of many US graduate programs on literature and culture, it still lags behind the work currently being done in other languages. Technology has greatly increased [End Page 530] access to teaching materials as has the appearance of several new publishing houses. However, heritage students on both coasts and elsewhere are still without the appropriate materials to meet their growing numbers. Thirdly, Ellison recognized that Portuguese needed to be taught at all levels and not just for heritage and immigrant students. Students studying Portuguese in K–12 provide potential audiences for college-level courses and therefore guarantee more stable enrollments and more advanced level courses. Teaching Portuguese in K–12 also would make the language more of an equal to Spanish and more available to students everywhere. Ellison called on the AATSP to do more to promote the teaching of Portuguese at the...

On the Failure of Psychology to Advance Self-Help: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a Case Example

O’Donohue et al. (J Contemp Psychother, doi: 10.1007/s10879-015-9308-1 , 2015) raised concerns regarding the possible overselling of a self-help book for diabetes management that was based on the methods of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Gregg and Hayes (J Contemp Psychother, doi: 10.1007/s10879-015-9312-5 , 2015) responded in defense of the book by referencing a broad and progressive research program. The exchange between O’Donohue et al., on the one hand, and Gregg and Hayes, on the other, calls attention to decades long interest in how psychologists can advance the development and ethical marketing of self-help instructional materials. We examine the research base referenced by Gregg and Hayes, along with other claims they advanced, and conclude that the developers of ACT self-help have often neglected to follow basic and empirically grounded guidelines, proposed in the 1970s, for the professional development and judicious marketing of such programs. We conclude by considering broader concerns from the perspective of the practicing clinician as pertains to self-help programs and their use.