Profiles of more and less successful L2 learners: A cluster analysis study     

Richard L. Sparks  Jon Patton  Leonore Ganschow 《Learning and individual differences》2012,22(4):463-472

This retrospective study examined L1 achievement, intelligence, L2 aptitude, and L2 proficiency profiles of 208 students completing two years of high school L2 courses. A cluster analysis was performed to determine whether distinct cognitive and achievement profiles of more and less successful L2 learners would emerge. The results of nonhierarchical (k — means clustering) revealed three distinct cognitive and achievement profiles. Participants in the high-achieving cluster scored above average range generally on all L1 and L2 measures; students in the average-achieving cluster scored average range generally on all L1 and L2 measures; and those in the low-achieving cluster scored low to below average range generally on all measures except IQ. Findings suggest that students' level of achievement in L1 skills developed prior to L2 exposure is strongly related to and consistent with their L2 aptitude and proficiency, level of attainment in L2 is moderated by level of attainment in L1, and L2 learning runs along a continuum of learners with stronger to weaker language skills.  相似文献   

Exploring the effect of task instructions on topic beliefs and topic belief justifications: A mixed methods study     

Matthew T. McCrudden  Phillip C. Sparks 《Contemporary educational psychology》2014

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate whether task instructions that asked adolescents to evaluate the merit of both sides of a controversial issue would affect their topic beliefs and topic belief justifications after they read belief-consistent and belief-inconsistent information. In the quantitative phase, we conducted an experiment in which high school students (n = 45) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions and received their respective pre-reading task instructions. Quantitative analyses showed that task instructions affected topic beliefs and belief justifications. However, inspection of topic belief scores within each condition indicated that some individuals’ beliefs became weaker, whereas others’ became stronger. In the qualitative phase, we conducted interviews to explain why this occurred. The interview data revealed two distinct reader profiles: belief-reflection and belief-protection. The data sets were complementary: the quantitative data indicated group differences in topic beliefs and belief justifications, and the qualitative data allowed us to explain differences within and across groups.  相似文献   

Building a game-enhanced formative assessment to gather evidence about middle school students’ argumentation skills     

Song  Yi  Sparks  Jesse R. 《Educational technology research and development : ETR & D》2019,67(5):1175-1196

Educational technology research and development - In this paper, we describe an effort to develop and evaluate an innovative formative assessment to gather evidence about middle school...  相似文献   

Predicting Foreign Language Reading Achievement in Elementary School Students     

Janina?Kahn-HorwitzEmail author  Joseph?Shimron  Richard?L.?Sparks 《Reading and writing》2005,18(6):527-558

This study examined whether factors affecting first language reading acquisition also affect English Foreign Language (EFL) reading acquisition. Hebrew (L1) and EFL reading related measures were administrated to 145 fourth graders from the north of Israel who were beginning their first year of English instruction. Results from a Linear Structural Equational Analysis (LISREL) showed that the Hebrew independent variable consisting of morphological and phonological awareness, orthographic ability, and word reading (accuracy and speed) predicted EFL knowledge of letter sounds and names, word attack and reading comprehension. In addition to the Hebrew independent variable, English word recognition (accuracy and speed) predicted English reading comprehension. These results support the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH), which argues for core linguistic abilities that influence first and subsequent language reading acquisition.  相似文献   

Preparing student teachers for alternative assessment in science     

Norman Herr  Margaret Holzer  Megan Martin  Roxie Esterle  Connie Sparks 《Journal of Science Teacher Education》1995,6(1):27-32

This material is based upon work supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation California State University Student Teaching Development Project (DOE-9250027) and the W. M. Keck Foundation. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding ordanizations.  相似文献   

Pressing Issues in College Counseling: A Survey of American College Counseling Association Members     

Timothy B. Smith  Brenda Dean  Suzanne Floyd  Christopher Silva  Momoko Yamashita  Jared Durtschi  Richard A. Heaps 《Journal of College Counseling》2007,10(1):64-78

The authors conducted a survey of members of the American College Counseling Association to ascertain the experiences and opinions of college counselors on several pressing issues within the college counseling profession. Survey results from 133 respondents indicated that counseling centers may benefit from increasing the number of group counseling interventions by increasing the multicultural competence of services provided, by implementing crisis/disaster mental health initiatives, and by more effectively consulting with other professionals on campus.  相似文献   

The effects of multisensory structured language instruction on native language and foreign language aptitude skills of at-risk high school foreign language learners     

Richard Sparks  Leonore Ganschow  Jane Pohlman  Sue Skinner  Marjorie Artzer 《Annals of dyslexia》1992,42(1):25-53

Research findings suggest that most students who have foreign language learning problems have language-based difficulties and, in particular, phonological processing problems. Authors of the present study examined pre- and posttest scores on native language and foreign language aptitude tests of three groups of at-risk high school students enrolled in special, self-contained sections of first-year Spanish. Two groups were instructed using a multisensory structured language (MSL) approach. One of the groups was taught in both English and Spanish (MSL/ES), the other only in Spanish (MSL/S). The third group (NO-MSL) was instructed using more traditional second language teaching methodologies. Significant gains were made by the MSL-ES group on measures of native language phonology, vocabulary, and verbal memory and on a test of foreign language aptitude; the MSL/S group made significant gains on the test of foreign language aptitude. No significant gains on the native language or foreign language aptitude measures were made by the NO-MSL group. Implications for foreign language classroom instruction of at-risk students are discussed.  相似文献   

Characteristics of a cognitive tool that helps students learn diagnostic problem solving     

Jared A. Danielson  Eric M. Mills  Pamela J. Vermeer  Vanessa A. Preast  Karen M. Young  Mary M. Christopher  Jeanne W. George  R. Darren Wood  Holly S. Bender 《Educational technology research and development : ETR & D》2007,55(5):499-520

Three related studies replicated and extended previous work (J.A. Danielson et al. (2003), Educational Technology Research and Development, 51(3), 63–81) involving the Diagnostic Pathfinder (dP) (previously Problem List Generator [PLG]), a cognitive tool for learning diagnostic problem solving. In studies 1 and 2, groups of 126 and 113 veterinary students, respectively, used the dP to complete case-based homework; groups of 120 and 199, respectively, used an alternative method. Students in the dP groups scored significantly higher (p = .000 and .003, respectively) on final exams than those in control groups. In the third study, 552 veterinary students responding to a questionnaire indicated that the dP’s gating and data synthesis activities aided learning. The dP’s feedback and requirement of completeness appear to aid learning most.  相似文献   

Working for Independence by Working Together: a case study of an information technology consultancy with a secondary mathematics department     

Libby Jared 《Technology, Pedagogy and Education》2013,22(3):307-318

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the research reported in this paper was to investigate strategies to aid teachers in delivering the mathematical component of the English National Curriculum with the help of electronic databases and spreadsheets. It is widely realised within mathematics that information technology remains a relatively neglected part of the curriculum in some schools. The provision of short courses in using spreadsheets and databases as part of a traditional inservice package is often considered to be unsuccessful as a means of enabling teachers to deliver the material back in the classroom. It could be argued that for progress to be made, an expert must spend time working in situ in the school with the teacher(s). Clearly an expert cannot provide such support for every department that requires assistance, so there is a need to develop generally applicable strategies as a springboard for their own means. This paper reports on a case study designed to start the process of developing such strategies.  相似文献   

The Wonderful World of Radio-TV     

Kenneth R. Sparks  Joseph Keeley  James Aronson  Walter Cronkite  Fred W. Friendly  Phyllis Feinstein 《Communication Booknotes Quarterly》2013,44(10):1-4

Kenneth R. Sparks' A Bibliography of Doctoral Dissertations in Television and Radio (School of Journalism, Newhouse Communications Center, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N. Y. 13210, $3.50 paperback)

Joseph Keeley's The Left Leaning Antenna: Political Bias in Television (Arlington House, $8.95)

James Aronson's Packaging the News: A Critical Survey of Press, Radio, TV. (Little New World Paperbacks, available from International Publishers, 381 Park Ave. South, New York 10016, $1.45 paperback)

Walter Cronkite and Fred W. Friendly's I Can Hear It Now: The Sixties (Columbia Records M3X 30353, $9.95 for the set)

Phyllis Feinstein's All About Sesame Street (Tower T-075-19, 75¢)

Bruce F. Elving's FM Station Atlas (contact the author c/o WUWM Radio, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisc. 53201, $2.00)

Takeo Furo's The Function of Television for Children and Adolescents (Tokyo: Sophia University: available in this country from Charles E. Tuttle, Rutland, Vt., $9.50)

Richard Averson and David Manning White's Electronic Drama. Television Plays of the Sixties (Beacon Press, $9.95)

Bernard Wilkie's The Technique of Special Effects in Television (Hastings House, $16.50)

Action For Children's Television issued occasionally for a membership fee of $5.00 per year

Cable Television: Communications Medium of the Seventies (Samson Science Corp., Quantam Science Corp., 245 Park Ave., New York 10017, $195)  相似文献