Instructional Text Research Articles

Cross-modal recipe retrieval based on unified text encoder with fine-grained contrastive learning

Cross-modal recipe retrieval is vital for transforming visual food cues into actionable cooking guidance, making culinary creativity more accessible. Existing methods separately encode the recipe Title, Ingredient, and Instruction using different text encoders, then aggregate them to obtain recipe feature, and finally match it with encoded image feature in a joint embedding space. These methods perform well but require significant computational cost. In addition, they only consider matching the entire recipe and the image but ignore the fine-grained correspondence between recipe components and the image, resulting in insufficient cross-modal interaction. To this end, we propose Unified Text Encoder with Fine-grained Contrastive Learning (UTE-FCL) to achieve a simple but efficient model. Specifically, in each recipe, UTE-FCL first concatenates each of the Ingredient and Instruction texts composed of multiple sentences as a single text. Then, it connects these two concatenated texts with the original single-phrase Title to obtain the concatenated recipe. Finally, it encodes these three concatenated texts and the original Title by a Transformer-based Unified Text Encoder (UTE). This proposed structure greatly reduces the memory usage and improves the feature encoding efficiency. Further, we propose fine-grained contrastive learning objectives to capture the correspondence between recipe components and the image at Title, Ingredient, and Instruction levels by measuring the mutual information. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of UTE-FCL compared to existing methods.

Effects of just-in-time inquiry prompts and principle-based self-explanation guidance on learning and use of domain texts in simulation-based inquiry learning

Although scientific inquiry with simulations may enhance learning, learners often face challenges creating high demand for self-regulation due to an abundance of information in simulations and supplementary instructional texts. In this research, participants engaged in simulation-based inquiry about principles of electric circuits supplemented by domain-specific expository text provided on-demand. They received just-in-time inquiry prompts for inquiry behaviors, guidance to self-explain electrical principles, both, or neither. We examined how these interventions influenced participants’ access of text information and achievement. Undergraduates (N = 80) were randomly assigned to one of four groups: (1) inquiry prompts and principle-based self-explanation (SE) guidance, (2) inquiry prompts without principle-based SE guidance, (3) principle-based SE guidance without inquiry prompts, or (4) control. Just-in-time inquiry prompts facilitated learning rules. However, there was no main effect of principle-based self-explanation guidance nor an interaction involving both interventions. Effects of just-in-time inquiry prompts were moderated by prior knowledge. Although principle-based self-explanation guidance promoted re-examination of text-based domain information, reading time did not affect posttest scores. These findings have important implications for instructional design of computer-based adaptive guidance in simulation-based inquiry learning.

“Making Sure the Books Check Every Box”: Preservice Teachers Learning to Select Texts for Reading Instruction

ABSTRACT A key consideration in providing effective reading instruction is the selection of a text. However, little is known about how preservice teachers are prepared to understand text complexity and how they leverage that knowledge in their text selection practices. Accordingly, this design/development study explored how preservice teachers (n = 81) gained declarative knowledge of text complexity, procedural knowledge of text selection practices, and conditional knowledge of activity, reader, and text considerations in their teacher education program. Findings indicate that following a two-course reading methods sequence in which they selected texts for small group instruction, typically performing preservice teachers gave the most attention to activity considerations (e.g. lesson-to-text match, instructional sequence) and the least attention to reader considerations (e.g. student interest). When noting text features teachers considered important, they described word-level features such as multisyllabic words, vocabulary, and decodability as most influencing text complexity. Furthermore, preservice teachers who held more declarative knowledge of text complexity tended to be more critical of text leveling systems whereas those with less knowledge of text complexity tended to view levels as an acceptable method of selecting texts. Together these findings suggest an emergent learning continuum on the topic of text selection for teacher education.

The Effectiveness of Google Sites in Differentiated Instruction to Increase Students’ Learning Motivation and Reading Comprehension on English Narrative Texts

This research explores the impact of using Google Sites for Differentiated Instruction on the learning motivation and reading comprehension of Grade XI students at SMK Negeri 4 Banjarmasin. The study aims to enhance literacy by integrating digital media into English narrative text instruction. A quasi-experimental design was employed, with an experimental group using Google Sites and a control group using conventional methods. Data were collected through pre-tests and post-tests measuring reading comprehension and questionnaire to describe learning motivation. The Independent Sample T-Test, Mann Whitney Test and N-Gain, and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) were used for statistical analysis. The results indicated that the experimental group showed significant improvements in both learning motivation and reading comprehension compared to the control group. The use of Google Sites provided a personalized and engaging learning experience, contributing to these positive outcomes. In conclusion, integrating Google Sites into Differentiated Instruction effectively enhances students' motivation and reading comprehension. This approach addresses individual learning needs and leverages technology to create a more interactive educational environment. The study suggests broader implementation of digital tools in education to improve literacy skills and student engagement.

The approximators about, at least and nearly as interpersonal devices in nineteenth-century women’s instructive texts

This paper aims at describing how about, at least and nearly are used in the nineteenth-century subcorpus of the Corpus of Women’s Instructive Texts in English, which gathers instructional texts exclusively written by women. While still retaining their approximative sense, about, at least and nearly have a large potential to build and maintain writer-reader interpersonal relationships. The most frequent collocational patterns have been firstly identified by using corpus tools to later analyse the major pragmatic functions of specific examples following Zhang’s (2015) framework for elastic language. Findings reveal that collocations with numerical expressions are common to about, at least and nearly while other patterns only emerge with about and nearly. It also seems that pattern and function are tightly interwoven. In general, the approximators surveyed here fulfill a variety of interpersonal functions, most notably, just-right elastic, rapport elastic, mitigating elastic, self-protection elastic, and intensifying elastic.

The Use of Audio-Visual Media on Student Learning Interest in Explanatory Text Material

Background. The use of audio-visual media in education has gained increasing attention due to its potential to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. In Indonesian language instruction, particularly in teaching explanatory text material, there is a need to explore innovative methods to improve student interest and comprehension. Purpose. This study aims to evaluate the impact of using audio-visual media on students' interest in learning explanatory text material in class VII-A SMP Negeri 2 Hiliduho. Method. A qualitative research method with a descriptive approach was employed. The study involved 20 students from class VII-A SMP Negeri 2 Hiliduho. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation techniques. Results. The use of audio-visual media significantly increased students' interest and understanding of explanatory text material. Students demonstrated improved ability in determining appropriate terms and adjusting explanatory texts to their proper structure and characteristics. Audio-visual media, such as PowerPoint presentations and videos, made the material more engaging and comprehensible, facilitating a more efficient learning process. Students using audio-visual media showed higher levels of engagement compared to those who did not, as they were able to follow the learning flow more effectively. Conclusion. The findings suggest that audio-visual media play a crucial role in enhancing the learning experience for students studying explanatory text material. Teachers reported that these tools aided in more effective content delivery. The increased student engagement and improved understanding of the material highlight the potential of audio-visual media as a valuable instructional tool in Indonesian language education, particularly for explanatory text instruction.

Exploring large language model for generic and robust state-of-charge estimation of Li-ion batteries: A mixed prompt learning method

State-of-charge (SOC) estimation is important to ensure safe functioning of Li-ion batteries (LIBs). However, distinct measurements, harsh temperatures, and dynamic operations pose challenges in estimating intricate SOC changes of multiple LIBs with one estimator. Hence, this paper proposes a novel mixed prompt learning method to explore a large-scale pretrained language model (PLM) for SOC estimation. A new hard prompt generator is proposed to translate LIB data into instruction and answer text, eliciting the inherent representational capability of PLM to jointly learn the sequential patterns and contextual semantics of measurements through language modeling for accurate SOC estimation. A new soft prompt adapter is proposed to encode task-specific information of different LIBs into a small set of independent vectors, ensuring PLM adaptation with minimal parameters while maintaining good generalization. By integrating soft prompt vectors along the forward propagation, the hidden states of PLM are dynamically regulated to characterize volatile and variable SOC for robust estimation. Extensive experiments show that by leveraging mixed hard-soft prompts, PLM can make accurate, generic, and robust estimates for multiple LIBs simultaneously in subzero temperature, charge-pause-discharge, and low-capacity discharge scenarios, with the average MAE, RMSE, and MAX of all tasks as low as 1.20 %, 1.51 %, and 5.29 %, respectively.

An instructional model text mapping with poetry text description

The Indonesian language learning method at Junior High School (SMP) Negeri Padangpanjang was generally boring and traditional. A solution is required to create products that are successful, efficient and enjoyable to use in classroom learning activities. A solution is required to make goods that are effective, efficient and entertaining to use in classroom learning activities. The product trial took place at SMP Negeri 3 Padangpanjang. The 4-D development phase was done in this study. During the conceptualization and development phases of this study, junior high school teachers and students were involved. In addition, experts participate in the process of evaluating products. A variety of methods are used including tests, questionnaires, observations and interviews. The main syntax of OMEMPAT is created by the descriptive text mapping learning model with the help of poetry text such as (1) orientation (2) reading and listening to poetry (3) mapping the contents of the descriptive text (4) presenting the results of the descriptive text mapping and (5) reflecting on the learning process. The three criteria of validity, practicability and efficacy were used to assess the quality of the learning model. The descriptive text mapping learning model which is supported by poetry texts needs to be put into practice. Teachers must create learning models that enable students to engage in educational activities while enjoying.

The neural and cognitive basis of expository text comprehension

As science and technology rapidly progress, it becomes increasingly important to understand how individuals comprehend expository technical texts that explain these advances. This study examined differences in individual readers’ technical comprehension performance and differences among texts, using functional brain imaging to measure regional brain activity while students read passages on technical topics and then took a comprehension test. Better comprehension of the technical passages was related to higher activation in regions of the left inferior frontal gyrus, left superior parietal lobe, bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and bilateral hippocampus. These areas are associated with the construction of a mental model of the passage and with the integration of new and prior knowledge in memory. Poorer comprehension of the passages was related to greater activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the precuneus, areas involved in autobiographical and episodic memory retrieval. More comprehensible passages elicited more brain activation associated with establishing links among different types of information in the text and activation associated with establishing conceptual coherence within the text representation. These findings converge with previous behavioral research in their implications for teaching technical learners to become better comprehenders and for improving the structure of instructional texts, to facilitate scientific and technological comprehension.

Stimulating The Reading Proficiency Of 10th Grade Students Through The Application Of Wordwall In Recount Text

The study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the Wordwall application in stimulating reading skills among tenth-grade students at X-10 in SMA 1 Sutojayan. It employs a pre-experimental design with a one-group pre-test and post-test methodology, following a quantitative research framework. The process includes three stages: 1) pre-test, 2) treatment, and 3) post-test. To ensure data reliability, tests were piloted on students with similar proficiency levels. Data collection involved administering tests, and statistical analysis. Results showed a significant improvement in student reading achievement, with scores increasing from 77.24 to 86.24 after implementing the Wordwall application for recount text instruction. The paired sample t-test showed the distinction (p = 0.000), underscoring the Wordwall application's effectiveness in enhancing recount text reading achievement among tenth-grade students at X-10 in SMA Negeri 1 Sutojayan Blitar.

Retrieval-based concept mapping makes a difference as a retrieval practice activity: a study with high school students

IntroductionWhile specific sequences of retrieval-based activities have been shown to have a powerful effect on learning, no previous study has examined this issue in children or adolescents. Here, we aimed to determine whether the benefit of concept mapping as an initial retrieval activity observed previously with college students in a lab setting may also be found in younger and less experienced students in a more naturalistic school setting.MethodsAfter a short training in concept mapping, participants (N = 60) read an educational text and then engaged in a sequence of two learning activities that required them to retrieve relevant ideas from the text. One of the activities involved free recall by writing down as many ideas as possible and the other involved creating a concept map, both of them in the absence of educational texts. Critically, we manipulated the order in which the activities were performed.ResultsA mediation analysis with success during retrieval practice as the mediator revealed both a direct effect of retrieval sequence and an indirect effect. Creating a concept map first and then freely recalling by writing paragraphs significantly improved performance on a 2-week delayed learning test, as compared to performing the same activities in the inverse order, even when doing concept mapping first led to lower success rates during practice.DiscussionThese results support the idea that concept learning from instructional texts can be modulated by the sequence of retrieval activities performed and point to the educational value of retrieval-based concept mapping as a first learning activity within a series across different learners and educational settings.

Wit and wisdom: using computational humor to communicate about economics

This paper explores the potential of large language models to enhance economics education through computational humor. We employ OpenAI’s GPT-4 model to infuse humor into summaries of three Nobel laureates’ contributions to economics and conduct a small empirical exercise with undergraduate students to test the pedagogical efficacy of computational humor. The results suggest that computer-generated humor may be an effective learning aid: the results of the students who rate the humorous versions of the instructional texts as genuinely funny are significantly better than the results of their peers who are not amused. Encouragingly for teachers who try to be funny but fail, we do not find evidence that ineffectual humor is detrimental to learning.

Особенности структуры и языковой реализации категориальной ситуации необходимости в немецкоязычных инструктивных текстах со специфическим субъектом действия – животным

The research aim is to identify the specific structure of the modal categorial situation of necessity and the peculiarities of linguistic means usage to represent it in German-language instructional texts featuring a specific subject – an animal. Within the framework of the categorial situation concept, the modal value of necessity is examined, and the structural features of the necessity categorial situation in the analyzed texts are characterized. The linguistic means used in the German language to express it were highlighted, and the specifics of their usage for different models of necessity situations were described and analyzed. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the first attempt to model the categorial situation of necessity and define the linguistic features of these models in instructional texts in the German language – manuals on care and upbringing of animals, where subjects include not only humans but also animals. Two structural models with different types of action subject were identified, where the determination of necessity and the level of obligatoriness influence the choice of linguistic means to express modal necessity in the studied German texts.

Literacy preservation for education of Niujiao Qin in Aba Prefecture, China

This study delves into the intricate dynamics of Niujiao Qin education, a traditional musical practice deeply rooted in the region's cultural heritage. Through a comprehensive exploration of historical insights, current educational practices, the role of literacy, and the challenges and opportunities facing Niujiao Qin education, this research sheds light on the evolution and significance of this ancient art form. Historical analysis reveals the enduring legacy of master musicians and their role in passing down musical knowledge through generations. Current educational methods showcase a harmonious blend of tradition and innovation, adapting to meet the needs of modern learners while preserving cultural authenticity. The significance of literacy in Niujiao Qin education underscores the importance of written notation systems and instructional texts in facilitating learning and independent study. Despite challenges such as limited infrastructure and evolving learning preferences, opportunities for innovation and collaboration abound, offering pathways to enhance educational access and quality. Through community engagement and forward-thinking initiatives, stakeholders can ensure the continued vitality and relevance of Niujiao Qin education, safeguarding cultural heritage for future generations.

Податковий закон у контексті податкового законодавства Німеччини

The study of the structural-compositional, lexical-semantic and communicative-pragmatic characteristics of the texts of the tax laws of the Federal Republic of Germany made it expedient to first present the results of the study of their compositional structure. This was facilitated by two factors: 1) any addressee to whom instructional texts are directed, in particular the reader of tax texts, pays primary attention to the appearance of the works (their vertical and horizontal structure) in order to determine those fragments that are of immediate interest for achieving a specific goals; 2) structural elements are easier to define than semantic ones, often inaccessible at the surface level. The collegial author tries to create such a text of the tax law that it would be part of the cultural «potential» of the addressee, would reflect and document institutionally fixed forms of communication, and would also prevent the emergence of serious legal problems. The creation of any text is directly related to the realization of the author's intention using pragmatic means, that is, a collegial author, creating texts of tax laws, takes into account the communication situation and consciously chooses language and speech means to convey the necessary information to the collective addressee, ensures the semantic and communicative unity of the text, members it compositionally, directs information to a certain type of addressee. The intention of the addressee/author is aimed not only at the correct construction of the text, but also at ensuring its understanding by the addressee/recipient. Texts of tax legislation are characterized by communicative and pragmatic features due to the observance/violation of cooperative maxims of quantity, relevance, quality and method of use/ style, realization of the collegial author's intention, cooperative macro-strategy, strategies, tactics, linguopragmatic techniques of impersonalization, mitigation and nominalization.

Social ties and negotiation of lexical norms in Old English: The vocabularies of vices

This paper aims to document the coinage and diffusion of sin-lexemes and to evaluate the extent of their regional, chronological, and social reach. It starts by tracing the genesis of these concepts and lexemes in Latin and Old English texts, with a particular focus on their usage during the Benedictine reforms in the second half of the tenth century. Special attention is given to the works of Ælfric of Eynsham (c. 950-1010) and Archbishop Wulfstan (d. 1023), who are known to have collaborated on texts for religious instruction. In addition, the paper examines evidence from anonymous treatises such as the Capitula Theodulfi (c. 800, translated into English around the time of Ælfric and Wulfstan), as well as the works of Byrhtferth of Ramsey (c. 970-1020) and penitential literature. Despite the strong link between Ælfric and Wulfstan, comparisons with other contemporary authors, and especially penitentials, reveal that Ælfrician vocabulary did not achieve widespread adoption. This lack of uniformity may have contributed to the limited survival of Old English sin-lexemes into the Middle English period.

InstructNet: A novel approach for multi-label instruction classification through advanced deep learning.

People use search engines for various topics and items, from daily essentials to more aspirational and specialized objects. Therefore, search engines have taken over as people's preferred resource. The "How To" prefix has become familiar and widely used in various search styles to find solutions to particular problems. This search allows people to find sequential instructions by providing detailed guidelines to accomplish specific tasks. Categorizing instructional text is also essential for task-oriented learning and creating knowledge bases. This study uses the "How To" articles to determine the multi-label instruction category. We have brought this work with a dataset comprising 11,121 observations from wikiHow, where each record has multiple categories. To find out the multi-label category meticulously, we employ some transformer-based deep neural architectures, such as Generalized Autoregressive Pretraining for Language Understanding (XLNet), Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers (BERT), etc. In our multi-label instruction classification process, we have reckoned our proposed architectures using accuracy and macro f1-score as the performance metrics. This thorough evaluation showed us much about our strategy's strengths and drawbacks. Specifically, our implementation of the XLNet architecture has demonstrated unprecedented performance, achieving an accuracy of 97.30% and micro and macro average scores of 89.02% and 93%, a noteworthy accomplishment in multi-label classification. This high level of accuracy and macro average score is a testament to the effectiveness of the XLNet architecture in our proposed 'InstructNet' approach. By employing a multi-level strategy in our evaluation process, we have gained a more comprehensive knowledge of the effectiveness of our proposed architectures and identified areas for forthcoming improvement and refinement.

A 20 Year Guided Reading Research Synthesis: Examining Student Data

ABSTRACT Guided reading is a teaching practice many teachers utilize to provide differentiated reading instruction to small groups of learners. During guided reading, students read instructional leveled texts with teacher support. This research synthesis examines student-centered outcomes resulting from guided reading instruction over 20 years spanning from 2000 to 2020. The research question posed was: What peer-reviewed research on guided reading has been conducted with K-12 students from 2000 to 2020? The authors utilized four inclusion criteria points and a conceptual definition of guided reading as filters to identify 11 studies from a pool of 295 potential articles. An overview of the selected studies highlights their varied design and focus. Through an iterative analytic approach, the authors identified three conceptual areas of focus across the studies: (a) guided reading as an instructional practice versus another instructional practice, (b) student 190 performance in guided reading, and (c) student engagement, motivation, attitudes, and perceptions.

“Spain is a Contradiction”: Katharine Lee Bates’ Quest for Modernity in Spanish Highways and Byways

ABSTRACT This article explores Katharine Lee Bates’ travel book Spanish Highways and Byways (1900), written out of a collection of commissioned articles published in the New York Times immediately after the Spanish-American War. Her travelogue not only provides the reader with details about the Spanish architectural and natural landscape, but it also works as an instructive text to comment on the social and political panorama of Spain at a time of national crisis. Following the path initiated by Alberto Egea in “Rewriting Stereotypes on Spain: Unveiling the Counter-Picturesque in Katharine Lee Bates” (2019), I argue that Spanish Highways and Byways describes the creation of an emerging modern Spain, influenced by the intellectual movements that shaped Spanish politics of the fin-du-siècle. Bates’ text is key to understand the Spanish-American War and its effects on the Spanish population; more importantly, it shows the author’s engagement in aspects such as the education of women or workers’ rights. In my discussion, I examine how Bates negotiates with her position as an American outsider in Spain and how she takes advantage of this position to build bridges between the two nations at a time of conflict.t

Are Textbooks Authentic From a Developmental Perspective? A Corpus Analysis of Word Use in Chinese Textbooks in US Universities

Abstract There is a prevailing belief that second language (L2) textbooks should strive for authenticity, aiming to accurately and reliably represent natural language use. However, assessing the authenticity of language textbooks is not a straightforward task, as it requires both a comparison between instructional texts and real-world language use and a consideration of the comparison within the broader context of language development. This study employs a corpus-based approach to examine word use in 31 widely used commercial textbooks across different proficiency levels, which serve as the primary resource for teaching, learning, and assessment in Chinese language programs at US universities. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, Zipf’s law analysis, and descriptive statistics, we found supportive evidence for the authenticity of word use in Chinese textbooks from a developmental perspective. Specifically, our findings reveal a nuanced gradation in the distribution of words across proficiency levels within these Chinese textbooks. Moreover, as proficiency levels increase, there is a discernible register shift in word use from spoken to written discourse. These observations carry significant implications for the utility of textbooks in Chinese language programs, particularly in the realms of instruction and assessment.