Browsing by Subject "Computer-assisted instruction--United States"
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Item The effects of culturally-based computer software on the motivation and academic engagement of African American English speakers(2005) Green, Satasha L.; Sorrells, Audrey McCrayThere is a need to respond to the educational demands of African American English (AAE) speakers based on standardized measures (Carnoy, Loeb & Smith, 2001). There is also a need to fill the gaps in our existing knowledge base of the effects of culturally and linguistically responsive intervention on achievement and mediating factors, including motivation to learn and academic engagement. Otherwise, AAE speakers may receive inadequate instruction to meet their needs and may be at risk for further remediation or special education placement. Without interventions that address unique needs academically and effectively, achievement disparities are likely to continue (Gay, 2000; Harris, 1991; Perry & Delpit, 1998). Therefore, the question is What can be done to improve the academic achievement and more specifically, reading achievement of AAE speakers? According to Rickford (2001), poor performance in reading is symptomatic of a disinterest in reading and may require providing AAE speakers with instruction and evaluation that are culturally and linguistically responsive (Delpit & Perry, 1998). For example, the use of cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students may make learning more relevant and effective. Also, many educators have argued that curriculum, instruction, reading materials, and computer-assisted instruction that are based upon an Afro-centric model of education are likely more congruent with African American students ways of knowing and learning (Banks & Banks, 2001, 1995). The purpose of this study was to examine the use of a computer software program, Culturally And linguistically Responsive Reading (CARR), on the motivation of African American students’ who speak AAE motivation to read and levels of academic engagement in reading. The student participants were selected AAE speakers receiving special education services and/or “at-risk” for special education placement who are reading below grade level. The study was primarily evaluative (Gay, 1985). It involved a 12-week open-trial during which seven students were exposed to CARR. While being exposed to CARR, measures were collected of the students’ academic engagement with an additional qualitative component of interviews. The results from this study suggest that the CARR tutorial software may be effective in reading motivation and academic engagement of AAE speakers in special education and/or “at-risk for special education placement reading below grade level. Student interview responses revealed that AAE speakers in special education or “at-risk” of special education placement reading below grade level had positive perceptions about CARR. All students in the study perceived, as a result of using CARR that their reading motivation and academic engagement improved.Item The effects of databases as cognitive tools in a multimedia problem-based learning environment(2005) Li, Rui; Liu, Min, Ed. D.Computer-based cognitive tools can offer learners an intellectual partnership that transcends the limitation of human cognition, such as limitations to memory, thinking, and problem solving. Databases, for example, can function as cognitive tools because of their organized and searchable nature. The purpose of this study is to examine the potential of databases to function as cognitive tools to promote cognitive skill acquisition, share learners’ cognitive load, and impact learning. A total of 98 students from 6 intact sixth grade science classes at a suburban middle school in the southern United States participated in the study. 57.9% of the participants were Caucasian, 24% were Hispanic, 18% were African American, and 0.01% were Asian. The six classes were assigned to one of three treatment conditions: (a) online database, (b) paper-based database, (c) no database. All groups completed a 3-week instructional program using the same version of Alien Rescue, a multimedia learning environment, which contains the same content and tools. Measures of task difficulty rating, instructional efficiency, transfer, and factual knowledge recall were administered to evaluate learners’ cognitive load, cognitive skills, and overall performance. Students in online database groups received positive and higher instructional efficiency scores, which indicated a more efficient allocation of cognitive load. Online database groups also received significantly higher scores on cognitive skill transfer test than did students in both paper-based database and non-database groups. In addition, students in online database groups scored significantly higher on achievement tests than both the paper-based database and non-database groups. The results support researcher’s hypothesis that the online database tool can reduce learners’ extraneous cognitive load and increase learners’ germane cognitive load; support the transfer of cognitive skills; and help learners perform better in a multimedia learning environment. However, future research is needed to confirm the results and to further investigate the effects of individual differences on learning using database tools.Item Engaging middle school students as multimedia designers: exploring students' project design skills and psychological sense of community(2005) Anselm, Yu-ping Hsiao; Liu, Min, Ed. D.Item Laptops as practice : a case study examining communities of practice in a ubiquitous computing environment(2008-05) Rowland, Joseph Damon, 1968-; Resta, Paul E.The purpose of this study was to examine a ubiquitous/pervasive computing initiative from a Community of Practice perspective. It sought to understand how faculty fit technology use into the already paramount goals they had for their students learning, and how that technology’s role became a part of that essential domain. Furthermore, it sought to determine the extent to which a community of practice emerged around the use of technology as a central practice. Using case study methodology with mixed-methods data collection strategies, this study explored practice among faculty participating in a ubiquitous laptop initiative within a pre-kindergarten through fourth-grade teacher preparation program. This program was part of a college of education in a major research university in the southern United States. Doing so involved an examination of the roles of participants, primarily faculty, in the community or communities to identify the primary domains of concern, and to determine to what extent the use of laptops in the classroom has itself become a practice around which a community has emerged. Findings from this study suggested that instructors were, to varying extents, involved in an emerging community of practice that included the use of technology, specifically laptops, to enhance the development of elementary school teachers. This community of practice was heavily dependent upon infrastructure provided by the administration of the college and the ubiquitous laptop initiative. At the same time, these instructors were less involved with a domain that included teaching teachers to use technology, or Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Mishra & Koehler, 2006).Item A psychosocial/educational intervention for decreasing gender stereotypes in technology(2003-08) Bravo, Melinda Josephina; Gilbert, Lucia AlbinoItem Teacher persistence in the use of curriculum-based telementoring as an instructional practice(2001-12) Dimock, K. Victoria; Harris, JudiThis study examined the experiences of six teachers who continued using curriculum-based telecomputing as an instructional activity over several years. Each teacher conducted three or more telementoring projects through the Electronic Emissary, a service that matches K –12 teachers and students with subject matter experts using electronic mail. Participants worked in both urban and rural elementary, middle, and high schools across the United States, with a wide range of student populations. Because obstacles to the use of technology and telecomputing in the classroom are often cited in literature, this study focused on teachers who have been successful in their use of such tools and sustained that use over a substantial period of time. Constructivist inquiry was employed as the research strategy for this study as it provided a process for understanding persistence with educational telecomputing by seeking the perspectives of the participants about their lived experiences. Telephone interviews were conducted over a two-year period. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded using a constant comparative method, summarized by the researcher, then reviewed by participants. Other sources of data included logs of participants’ electronic communications, participant-authored project summaries, and the content of Web pages developed to display students’ work. These data were combined with the interview data, coded similarly, and analyzed so that themes emerged over the course of the study. These themes showed that administrative support, ready access to technology including the Internet, and collaborative colleagues created supportive contexts for participating teachers. In addition, the relatively low-risk environment of online communication, the willingness of participating subject matter experts and teachers to share personal information, and the support of Electronic Emissary facilitators created supportive online contexts. The nature of persistence in participants’ use of telementoring in their classroom practice was closely linked to their teaching philosophies, their goals for students, previous successes with telementoring, and the personal and professional benefits they received from participating in telementoring projects. Findings suggest that persistence may be predicated upon a supportive context, predicted benefits for students, and congruence between an educational practice and teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching.Item What's in a name?: students' use of anonymity within next-generation classroom networks(2005) Davis, Sarah Margaret; Stroup, Walter M.Next-generation classroom networks are poised to become a significant presence in schools. In contrast with current networks which connect students to the Internet and information or knowledge outside of the classroom, next-generation networks harness and share the knowledge within classrooms, sharing and aggregating data among all the members. To date, no systematic research has been done to show if anonymity is an important design element in network-supported learning. This project looked at anonymity of input across a series of classroom activities seeking to answer three research questions. First, did activity type influence students’ use of anonymity? Second, did activity type influence students’ perception of the utility of anonymity? Finally, did student statements about the use and utility of anonymity match their actions? A research project was conducted in two pre-calculus classrooms (n=29) at an urban high school on the East Coast. Next-generation classroom networks facilitate a kind of activity defined as generative activities (Stroup, Ares, & Hurford, 2004; Stroup, Ares, Hurford, & Lesh, in press-b; Stroup, Ares, & Hurford, in press-a). These activities have at the core of instruction, data and information submitted by the students. In this way, students “generate” all of the materials used in the lesson. All digital artifacts from each activity were collected, students completed a questionnaire at the end of each activity and video taped interviews were conducted with the students at the completion of the four activities. Statistical analysis of the digital artifacts revealed no significant differences for use of names by activity or gender. Therefore it was concluded that activity type did not influence students’ use of anonymity. The students’ responses on the questionnaire were evaluated using both qualitative and quantitative methods which made evident that students perceived the activities to be significantly different. From analysis of the video tapes, the most common type of statement made by students dealt with anonymity being important for risk mitigation (avoid embarrassment, lack of confidence, etc.). Finally, all three forms of data were compared and it was found that students comments about how, why and when they used anonymity did not always match their actions.