Post-test Comparison Research Articles

The Effects of Short-Term Emotional Intelligence Training on Preschool Teachers in Poland

The development of emotional intelligence (EI) in preschool teachers is important because of the influence on classroom environment, student engagement and child development. This cluster sample experimental study included teachers (all female) in public and private nursey and preschools in Warsaw, Poland. The treatment group (N = 60) interventions included three monthly workshop training in EI that was supported by daily exercises for four weeks following the training in contrast to the control group (N = 44) that did not receive any intervention. Pretest-posttest comparisons as measured by the Polish Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) indicated treatment group increases in three of the four EI abilities (facilitation, knowledge and regulation) as well as the MSCEIT Strategic area. In posttest comparisons the treatment group was significantly higher than controls on the facilitation and regulation abilities and the strategic area. Results suggest that targeted interventions for teachers can improve EI abilities with short term training and hold promise for improved teacher development.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of rehabilitation of people diagnosed with schizophrenia using clinical tools, psychological tests, QEEG, and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

The aim of the study was to evaluate the level of cognitive and social functioning in two groups of schizophrenia patients using clinical tools, psychological tests, QEEG, and changes in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) activity in subjects' serum. Randomly selected men diagnosed with schizophrenia were enrolled in the study and divided into two groups. Gr. 1 was formed by patients who did not undergo a structured rehabilitation program, while Gr. 2 was formed by patients undergoing standard rehabilitation, as provided in theprogramof the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Unit. Both groups underwent a comparative analysis of demographic parameters and based on: PANSS, AIS, GSES, and BCIS, psychological tests CTT-1, CTT-2, d2, QEEG, and changes in blood BDNF levels. To assess the effect of rehabilitation, the results obtained in both groups were compared after 12 weeks and their analysis was performed in accordance with assumptions for the experimental project. The study presents research hypotheses and pre-test and post-test comparisons of the groups, on the basis of selected research tools. The data obtained in measurement 1 indicate that both groups did not differ significantly in terms of: age, education, place of residence, treatment at outpatient facilities, medicines taken, and suicide attempts. Differences concerned: marital status, children, number of hospitalizations, and employment status. Furthermore, no significant differences were found for the studied groups concerning: serum levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, values obtained on the PANSS, AIS, and GSES, and alpha/theta, theta/beta and theta/SMR ratios. The analyses performed in measurement 2 indicate that structured rehabilitation influences reduce negative symptoms, cause an increase in BDNF levels, cause an improvement in cognitive and social functioning and positively influence the perception speed and accuracy. The positive effect of structured rehabilitation influences allows to say that rehabilitation represents a necessary part of the comprehensive psychiatric treatment and should already be implemented during the first episode of the illness.

Comparative Assessment of Problem Based and Web- based Learning in Neurophysiology

Background and Aim: Neurophysiology concepts are difficult to understand in the first hearing and to apply in clinical situations too. To fill this gap, the teaching- learning methods have to be modified. This study introduces two learning methods in this scenario and comparatively assesses them. The objective of the study was to compare the problem- based and web - based learning methods in Neurophysiology. And To find the effects of problem- based and web - based learning methods. Methods: The quasi-experimental study was carried out on I MBBS students of MOSC Medical College, Kolenchery, who were divided randomly into two groups: Problem-based Learning group (PBL) and Web-based Learning (WBL) group. Pre and Post- test were administered to the two groups and individual feedback was collected online. Results: The pre and post test marks in the 2 groups did not show any significant difference by Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test (p=0.636 for the PBL group and p=0.051 for the WBL group). Inter-group Post-test score comparison by Mann-Whitney U test gave a non-significant result (p-value=0.056). Conclusion: This indicates that there is no significant intra- or inter- group improvement in the scores obtained. Feedback responses collected from both groups showed proportionately higher number of students wanting more topics to be taken in a similar manner.

Effects of Deciphering in Piano Education Based on Work Analysis

In this study “Piano Lesson Analysis Form” was developed and intended to provide a thorough analysis in the work of a piano piece, at the time of the study or before playing it. This developed form allowed us to determine what is effecting the skills of the students in sight reading. In this study, which has pre-test and post-test control group design, the assessments were made with between-groups and within-groups comparisons. In the study, results in the first period of both groups were obtained and sight reading study was made. After these implementations, the other piano pieces that were deciphered by the experimental group and the homework assignments of the piano lessons studied throughout the semester and examined with “Piano Piece Analysis Form for the Piano Lessons”. Based on the results of pre-test and post-test comparisons, it is observed that there was a significant difference in terms of the sight reading skills.
 Key words: Piano Education, Work Analysis Form, Deciphering, Deciphering in Piano Education, Work Analysis in Piano Education.

Use of Demo Kits as Strategy for Enhancing Senior Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement in Computer Studies in Ogun State, Nigeria

Demo kits are experimental devices that promote physical observation of the concepts being discussed by the teachers. They are used to compensate the impossibility of demonstrating the objects due to their size or lack of their availability. This study examined the use of demo kits as strategy for enhancing senior secondary school students’ achievement in computer studies in Nigeria. The study adopted pre-test and post-test comparison group quasi-experimental research design using 2 x 2 factorial matrix. The population for the study was made up of all senior secondary (SS 2) students in Ijebu-North Local Government Area, Ogun State. The sample for the study was drawn from two public senior secondary schools that met the selection criteria using intact classes. The schools were randomly assigned into experimental or comparison groups. The gathered data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The major findings of the study revealed a significant main effect of the strategy that the students exposed to the use of demo kits performed significantly better than those in the comparison group which learnt using the conventional method of teaching. The results also indicated no significant gender difference in students’ performance in computer studies after the exposure to the use of demo kits. It is, therefore, recommended that teachers adopt the use of demo kits to teach computer studies when computer systems are not available for use instead of insisting on the teaching of the subject in well-equipped computer laboratories.

EXAMINATION OF STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT WITH R-SPQ-2F OF LEARNING APPROACH IN FLIPPED SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE COURSE

The students’ engagement was deemed significant to research due to the changing study structures from course-based to student-centered and competence-based in sustainable science higher education. Still, its change and coping strategies is considered as somewhat unfamiliar learning environment. Research examined students’ engagement to the learning approach of a flipped-classroom model for sustainable science course with the Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F). It assesses research proposals, which students are utilizing to learning, and engagement and individual abilities as well. The research was conducted with the students enrolled in the “Atmospheric Pollution” course of the Environmental Science undergraduate program (n=64). The results obtained through the R-SPQ-2F showed the students’ number reaching higher “deep approach” in their learning increased at the course end, while it can be observed that the students’ number marking “surface approach” below the mean value was slightly lower (pre- and post-test comparison). It can be concluded that students are employing more engagement in their works and enhancing their personal skills as well with the teaching methodology. Results obviously specified that the study structure change was a phase into correct emphasis to improve students’ engagement in the flipped sustainable science education. Keywords: engagement, science learning, R-SPQ-2F, flipped-classroom, sustainable education, study approach.

IMPLEMENTING GUESSING MEANING FROM CONTEXT PROCEDURE FOR VOCABULARY LEARNING IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN INDONESIA

AbstractVocabulary learning often implies that there is no other way of learning than to memorize the words. This research showed that guessing meaning from context procedure can accommodate students in learning new vocabulary items. Since students were not equipped with a dictionary all of the time, it is essential to seek for an alternative in learning vocabulary. One of the alternative techniques in vocabulary learning was guessing meaning from context. The purpose of the study was to investigate the implementation of the guessing the meaning from the context in junior high schools in Yogyakarta. The research participants of this study were 30 students from different classes from a junior high school in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The researcher conducted a pre-test at the beginning and a post-test at the end of the research. The result of the pre-test and post-test showed that there was an increase of students’ vocabulary mastery. The questionnaire was used to confirm the result of pre-test and post-test comparison. The result of the questionnaire showed that guessing meaning from context procedure was helpful for the students to understand word meaning.

Computational Story: Learning Media for Algorithm and Programming Based o n Computational Thinking

The subject of algorithm and programming is one of the important knowledge that need to be mastered by students in computer science. To learn it, students are required to have several skills, such as logic, critical thinking, problem solving, etc. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to design and build multimedia applications to support critical thinking, called computational stories, on studying basic programming with a problem-posing model approach by involving cases in everyday life. In this application, students are given some cases in the form of code with the C programming language. Then, students are asked to arrange a correct story line from the choices available. From this research experiment, the results show that this multimedia can improve critical thinking based on comparison of pre-test and post-test results with an average of 32.9 to 72.47. With an average gain value of 0.58 included in the medium category.

Sukuk Issuance in the Emerging Markets A Relative Evaluation

The Sukuk market in Malaysia runs parallel with the conventional bonds market and provides investors with investment options whereby the market trading is open to all. Indeed, Malaysia has proven itself as a center of choice for foreign corporations to issue Sukuk as well as to invest in these areas, as it offers one of the most diverse (in terms of types of securities, tenures, asset classes, structures, issuers and risk profiles), innovative and sophisticated array of investment choices in the global market. Thus, the objectives of this study are to investigate the significant mean different of amount Sukuk issue between Malaysia and across emerging market economies. The secondary data will be utilized to achieve the study objective for almost 10 countries that issue Sukuk from 2000 until 2015. The data then will be analyzed by using ANOVA or post Hoc test comparison as well as Levene’s test. The results prove that Malaysia is a leader in the Sukuk market in terms of largest Sukuk issuer and Sovereign Sukuk and there is a significant mean different between Sukuk issuance by Malaysia and other countries

DIFFERENCES IN INCREASING VO2 MAX BETWEEN BRISK WALKING AND HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING (HIIT) IN YOUNG ADULTS

Background: Sedentary lifestyle is widely adopted by the society. Sedentary lifestyle is associated with limited physical activity, thereby increasing the risk of diseases, as well as reducing fitness. Fitness is assessed with VO2Max. However, people with sedentary lifestyle are reluctant to exercise, thus the authors want to see whether briskwalking, an easy exercise and HIIT, a short-time exercise can increase VO2Max. Research Method: Quasi-experimental research with a pre-test and post-test comparison group design. 60 young adult women were divided into three groups, namely brisk walking, HIIT, and control by using purposive sampling. The brisk walking group did brisk walking and HIIT did HIIT aerobics for six weeks, three times in every week. The control group was not treated. All subjects performed VO2Max pretest and posttest with Cooper test. Result: The VO2Max value for brisk walking and HIIT increased by averages of 9.83±3.93 and 8.84±4.76, while the control decreased by -3.97±4.02 The result from paired t-test and Wilcoxon shows significancy thus indicating a significant difference of VO2 max value before and after the treatments towards the brisk walking, HIIT, and control groups. After the Mann Whitney test is performed, no significant difference is found between brisk walking and HIIT, whereas there is a significant difference between brisk walking and control, and also between HIIT and control. Conclusion: Brisk walking and HIIT can increase VO2Max. However, there was no difference in the increase between brisk walking and HIIT.Key Words: VO2Max, brisk walking, HIIT

Effects of electromyostimulation training on jumping and muscle strength in football players

Purpose: Electromyostimulation is a popular training to increase muscle strength during the last years. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of electromyostimulation training on jumping and muscle strength in football players. Material: Volunteered 23 football players between the ages of 18 to 24 were divided into experimental and control groups with simple random sampling. Both groups continued to regular training. Experimental group had additional electromyostimulation training for 6-week, 3-time a week, and 20min a day. Pre- and post-training squat and countermovement jumps, peak torques of dominant and non-dominant knee extensor and flexor muscles were tested. Angular velocities of isokinetic dynamometer were 60, 180, and 300ºs-1. Pre- and post-test comparisons within the groups were analyzed. Results: There were no significant differences between pre- and post-test for isokinetic knee strength parameters at all angular velocities of EG. However, control group had significant pre- and post-test differences in dominant and non-dominant knee extension and flexion peak torque values. Conclusions: EMS and regular training in-season had no effect on the isokinetic strength parameters. On the other hand, the regular training in-season has increased isokinetic strength. Electromyostimulation training additional to regular training may have detrimental effects on outcomes of concurrent training in football players.

A study to evaluate the effectiveness of educational package on breastfeeding in terms of knowledge, attitude and practices among primi mothers in selected hospitals of district ambala, Haryana

Introduction: Breastfeeding is a special gift from a mother to her baby. It is the normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. To achieve millennium development goals, it is expected to reduce the neonatal mortality by two third of present rate. A newborn baby has only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of its mother, food from her breasts and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastfeeding satisfies all three. Material and Method: A quasi experimental study using posttest comparison group design was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of educational package on breastfeeding in terms of knowledge, attitude and practices among sixty primi mothers selected by using purposive sampling technique in selected Hospitals of District Ambala, Haryana. Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice was done by using structured knowledge questionnaire, attitude scale, observational checklist and reliability was 0.65, 0.87, and 0.96 respectively. Educational package I was administered at latent phase of labour and educational package II was administered to the mother postnatal. Mother was supported for correct technique till the time she gained proficiency and gave one correct demonstration for breast feeding. Posttest for knowledge and attitude was taken on second day and posttest for practice was taken on third day after delivery. Follow up was done on 6th week through telephonic interview method. Findings: Findings of the study indicated that mean knowledge score (20.63+4.08), mean attitude score (38.57+4.85) and mean practice score (16.73+1.96) in the experimental group was significantly higher than mean knowledge score (11.53+4.61), mean attitude score (28.83+5.62), mean practice score (11.93+4.06) respectively in the comparison group. Positive non-significant correlation was found between knowledge, attitude and practice score of primi mothers in the experimental group. Findings also indicated

Using Wordless Picture Book as a Contributive Learning Media to Enhance the Student's Writing Ability

This research aims to know enhancement the Student's writing ability by using wordless picture book as a contributive learning media. The benefits of using wordless picture book show that the students enhance their writing ability and create their creative writing and thinking skill. The researcher applied quasi-experimental method, with two groups namely experimental and control class. The experimental class consists of 30 students and control clas consists of 30 students. The subjects of the research were 60 students from two classes taken from students of SMP Negeri 10 Parepare. The research instrument was writing test in which the comparison of pre-test and post-test decided the enhancement of the Student's writing ability. The results of the data analysis showed that the Student's writing ability getting significantly improvement. It was proved by the mean score of pre-test was 46.93 and the post-test was 80.00. It indicates that the use of wordless picture book can enhance the Student's writing ability at SMP Negeri 10 Parepare. Besides, after analyzing the data by using the t-test formula, the result of t-test value in post-test was 6.02 and t-table value was 1.671. It meant that the t-test value was higher than t-table value. It clarified H1 was accepted and H0 was rejected and the students who were taught by using wordless picture book were better than the students who were taught by using wordless picture book.

Learners’ Conceptual Knowledge Development and Attitudinal Change towards Calculus Using Jigsaw Co-operative Learning Strategy Integrated with GeoGebra

This study examined the influence of the jigsaw co-operative learning strategy integrated with GeoGebra (JCLGS), on Ethiopian undergraduate statistics and chemistry learners’ conceptual knowledge development and attitudinal change towards calculus. The post-positivism quantitative methods approach employed in a non-equivalent pre-and post-test comparison group quasi-experimental design. The samples had drawn using two-stage random sampling techniques. The sample size was 150 in both the experimental and comparison groups. Data were collected by using the calculus classroom achievement test and the five points Likert-scale attitude questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, an independent-samples t-test and Two-Way ANOVA for repeated measures using SPSS 23.0. The results showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups of pre-post test scores on the Two-Way ANOVA, F(1,148)=106.913; η2=.419 ; p<.01. The finding also implies that the blended learning strategy grounded in Vygotsky’s social constructivism cognitive development learning theory had big practical significance on learners’ conceptual knowledge development. Learners viewed the JCLGS as enjoyable and interesting. It was also a socially interactive and collaborative environment that allows learners’ to be reflective, share prior experience and knowledge and independent learners. It encourages them to have a positive attitude towards calculus and GeoGebra. Because of this finding, mathematics and science educators are advised to model a similar blended learning strategy in a classroom instructional setting. It will benefit their learners to adequately construct conceptual knowledge and positively change their attitude towards mathematics.

Smart Learning Environment for Enhancing Digital Literacy of Thai Youth: A Case Study of Ethnic Minority Group

Digital literacy is needed for digital transformation. It is challenging to provide an appropriate digital literacy lesson for all people to satisfy their different goals. Therefore, the proper way of teaching and learning digital literacy requires personalized learning. Nowadays, the ethnic minority group can have equal access to a vast opportunity from the Internet through the smartphone. However, the Internet can also be harmful to them without proper protection. Therefore, it is necessary to promote digital literacy for them. This study proposes a smart learning environment for enhancing digital literacy of Thai youths from the ethnic minority group. The proposed smart environment modifies the objective distance, which is the distance between the satisfied and the current competency of each learner, for providing a personal learning path. There are 5 learning objects included. The experiment is conducted with 103 students who are the ethnic minority group in Chiang Rai province, Thailand. The comparison of post-test and pre-test reveals that the students can enhance their digital literacy after learning with the developed learning environment. Overall, the students agree on the provided personalized support. More specifically, they strongly agree that the provided content is suitable for their performances.

Number line unidimensionality is a critical feature for promoting fraction magnitude concepts

Children’s ability to estimate fractions on a number line is strongly related to algebra and overall high school math achievement, and number line training leads to better fraction magnitude comparisons compared with area model training. Here, we asked whether unidimensionality is necessary for the number line to promote fraction magnitude concepts and whether left-to-right orientation and labeled endpoints are sufficient. We randomly assigned second- and third-graders (N = 148) to one of four 15-min one-on-one, experimenter-led trainings. Three number line trainings had identical scripts, where the experimenter taught children to segment and shade the number line along the horizontal dimension. The number line conditions varied only in the vertical dimension of the training number line: pure unidimensional number line (17.5 cm horizontal line), hybrid unidimensional number line (17.5 × 0.6 cm rectangle), and square number line (17.5 × 17.5 cm). In the area model condition, children were taught to segment and shade a square (17.5 × 17.5 cm) along both dimensions. The conditions significantly differed in posttest fraction magnitude comparison accuracy (a transfer task), controlling for pretest accuracy, reading achievement, and age. In preregistered analyses, the hybrid unidimensional number line condition significantly outperformed the square area model condition and the square number line condition. In exploratory analyses accounting for training protocol fidelity, these results held and the pure unidimensional number line also outperformed the area model condition on fraction magnitude comparisons. We argue that unidimensionality is a critical feature of the number line for promoting fraction magnitude concepts because it aligns with a key concept—that real numbers, including fractions, can be ordered along a single dimension.

The Application of Multimedia Humor in Malay Language Narrative Writing

By adopting a Dick and Carey model, thepurpose of this study was to develop a multimedia humour model for the teaching of Malay narrative writing and test the effectiveness of the model in the classroom. This study was conducted to a group of 29 students at SekolahMenengahKebangsaan Syed Mashor, Batang Kali, Selangor. The research design was quasi experimental involving single group pre-test and post-test design. Following this design, participants were selected, pre-tested, and exposed to the multimedia video (animation) and then post-tested. The instrument used in this research was the writing test on Malay narrative focusing on cleanliness. Descriptive quantitative analysis was employed on the findings (frequency, percentage and mean) followed by a comparison of pre-test and post-test. The findings show that there were significant differences between the pre and post-test. In the post-test, the mean score for the participants after receiving the intervention were higher than the mean scores for the pre-test. The findings also reveal that the use of visual images (animation), sound and graphic through multimedia video for teaching Malay narrative writing help the students to improve their vocabularies and writing skills. Thus, teachers may also adopt this type of learning approach to attract student’s attention towards the subject and hence, improve their academic performance of a particular subject.

Impact of Metacognition on Clinical Judgment and Competence in Simulation-Based Blended Learning

This article used a within-subjects pre- and post-test comparison design to verify the impact of metacognition on clinical judgment and clinical competence in simulations using blended learning for nursing students. The study participants were 56 nursing students in their 4th year of college. The metacognition score of the participants for this study was not statistically significant. The differences in clinical judgment score and clinical competence scores reached statistical significance (t=-13.76, p=&amp;lt;0.001; t==-9.06, p=&amp;lt;0.001). Post-learning, the difference in clinical judgment score among 3 metacognition groups was statistically significant (F=3.76, p=0.029). The differences in clinical competence score among 3 metacognition groups pre- and post-test were statistically significant (F=3.87, p=0.027; F=6.09, p=0.004).

Improving Staff Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Provision of Psychosocial Support to NICU Parents Through an Online Education Course

This study sought to determine whether NICU staff would demonstrate improved knowledge and attitudes about their ability to provide psychosocial support to parents as a result of taking an online education course. This was a time series pre–posttest comparison of responses provided to a 33-item survey among NICU staff before and after taking an online education course on providing psychosocial support to parents. Content in the 7-hr course covered the categories as described in the article “Interdisciplinary Recommendations for the Psychosocial Support of NICU Parents”. Two NICUs participated in this project: St. John’s Regional Medical Center (SJRMC), a 16-bed Level III community NICU with 250 admissions annually, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), a Level IV academic NICU with 102 beds. Staff at both NICUs, including nurses, were invited to take the online course and participate in the study. Participants provided demographic information, then took a 33-item survey before (pretest) and after (posttest) taking the comprehensive course called “Caring for Babies and Their Families,” using a Likert-type scale of 1–6 (1 = strongly disagree, 6 = strongly agree). Pre- and posttest scores were analyzed using nonparametric paired t tests. Of the 114 staff who registered for the course and provided demographic information, 87.9% were nurses; mean years of NICU service was 9.6. All survey items showed posttest mean scores higher than pretest mean scores; in 30/33 (90.9%) these differences were significant, p < 0.05. Night shift staff and staff with shorter periods of NICU service had lower pretest scores on several items; these differences were eliminated on the posttest. Educational needs for staff were identified on both the pretest and posttest. Ninety percent of participants would recommend the course to their peers. This education course was highly effective in improving staff knowledge and attitudes about how to support NICU parents and in eliminating differences between day and night staff and between those with shorter versus longer periods of service in the NICU. Areas in need of additional education were identified.

Fostering children’s creative thinking skills with the 5-I training program

Creative thinking is an important 21st century skill. To prepare children for our complex and fast-changing world, it is essential to cultivate their creative thinking skills. The objective of the current study was to develop and examine the effectiveness of a brief, domain-unspecific creativity training program: the 5-I training program. Children (N = 172) aged 7–12 years participated in the training, which consisted of eight creativity exercises performed in a training session of two hours. The effectiveness of the training on stimulating children’s creative thinking skills was assessed by means of a pretest and posttest comparison using three creativity tasks (Alternative Uses Task, drawing task and guessing task). For each task several measures of creative performance were examined (e.g., fluency, flexibility, infrequency, elaboration). Following the creativity training, improvements were observed on the three creativity tasks. The effectiveness of the 5-I training program was found for all measures of creative performance, except for flexibility. Implications for educational settings are discussed.