The effect of two educational technology tools on student engagement in Chinese EFL courses
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ABSTRACT: Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41239-021-00263-0.
SUBMITTER: Teng Y
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8159523 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:This article reports the development and validation of an instrument, the Technology-Based Self-Regulated English Learning Strategies Scale (TSELSS), in terms of its multifaceted structure of self-directed use of technology in English learning among Chinese university EFL students. TSELSS was developed through a three-phase process, focusing on the domain of self-regulated English learning in technology-assisted conditions. The first phase involved the generation of an item pool, the second a pilot study (N = 164) aimed at identifying the factor structure of TSELSS using exploratory factor analysis, and the third an examination of the psychometric properties of the revised TSELSS using confirmatory factor analysis with another independent sample of students (N = 525). Furthermore, the concurrent validity of TSELSS was investigated through correlations with students' English language self-efficacy and English learning outcomes. The final version of the scale is made up of five types of technology-based self-regulated English learning strategies: motivational regulation strategies, goal setting and learning evaluation, social strategies, technology-based English song and movie learning, and technology-based vocabulary learning. The TSELSS can be used as an evaluation tool to appraise EFL students' technology-based self-regulated English learning experience, and as a research tool to investigate more associations between technology-based self-regulated strategic English learning and other contextual and learner individual factors.
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Project description:Since the coming of Positive Psychology in the field of second language acquisition (SLA), the significance of emotion, especially positive emotion, has been well recognized by researchers. Educational research has indicated that both emotion and engagement play fundamental roles in learning process and psychological wellbeing, but research on their relationship is scant in SLA. The present study contributed to the development of Positive Psychology in SLA by investigating the relationships between achievement emotions, behavioral engagement, and self-reported English achievements. 633 students from four senior high schools in China participated in the study. Data collected through questionnaires revealed: (1) Participants reported a medium to high level of foreign language enjoyment (FLE), foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA), and behavioral engagement; females had a higher level of FLE and behavioral engagement than males; the participants reported more anxiety and less enjoyment than western samples; (2) significant correlations were found between FLE, FLCA, behavioral engagement, and self-reported achievement; (3) significant mediating effects of behavioral engagement were found between both achievement emotions and self-reported achievement, and the mediating effect of engagement was stronger between FLCA and self-reported achievement. The findings extended the nomological network of achievement emotions, developed our insights into the complex relationships between emotions, learner engagement and language achievement, and revealed the mediating effects of behavioral engagement. Finally, directions for future study and implications for foreign language educators were provided.
| S-EPMC9295811 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A critical area of emphasis for science educators is the identification of effective means of teaching and engaging undergraduate students. Personal microbiome analysis is a means of identifying the microbial communities found on or in our body. We hypothesized the use of personal microbiome analysis in the classroom could improve science education by making courses more applied and engaging for undergraduate students. We determined to test this prediction in three Brigham Young University undergraduate courses: Immunology, Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory, and Genomics. These three courses have a two-week microbiome unit and students during the 2016 semester students could submit their own personal microbiome kit or use the demo data, whereas during the 2017 semester students were given access to microbiome data from an anonymous individual. The students were surveyed before, during, and after the human microbiome unit to determine whether analyzing their own personal microbiome data, compared to analyzing demo microbiome data, impacted student engagement and interest. We found that personal microbiome analysis significantly enhanced the engagement and interest of students while completing microbiome assignments, the self-reported time students spent researching the microbiome during the two week microbiome unit, and the attitudes of students regarding the course overall. Thus, we found that integrating personal microbiome analysis in the classroom was a powerful means of improving student engagement and interest in undergraduate science courses.
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Project description:Anxiety can impact overall performance and persistence in college. Student response systems (SRSs), real-time active-learning technologies used to engage students and gauge their understanding, have been shown to elicit anxiety for some students. Kahoot! is an SRS technology that differs from others in that it involves gamification, the use of gamelike elements. Recent studies have explored the impact of active-learning strategies on student anxiety across different institutions, but there is little known about how Kahoot! impacts student perceived anxiety, especially in comparison with other active-learning strategies. In two complementary yet parallel studies of introductory biology courses at a western research-intensive institution (n = 694) and a southeastern research-intensive institution (n = 60), we measured students' perceived anxiety. We then explored how students were influenced by nongraded Kahoot! play and other elements of instruction. Using previously developed and course-specific pre- and post-course surveys, we found students at both universities agreed that nongraded Kahoot! play caused less anxiety compared with other pedagogical practices, such as working in small groups or reading the textbook. After playing Kahoot!, lower-performing students demonstrated greater engagement and lower levels of anxiety compared with their peers, suggesting that Kahoot! may be a particularly engaging active-learning strategy for these students.
| S-EPMC8734391 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Students experience different levels of autonomy based on the mediation of self-regulated learning (SRL), but little is known about the effects of different mediation technologies on students' perceived SRL strategies. This mixed explanatory study compared two technology mediation models, Icourse (a learning management system) and Icourse+Pigai (an automatic writing evaluation system), with a control group that did not use technology. A quasi-experimental design was used, which involved a pre and post-intervention academic writing test, an SRL questionnaire, and one-to-one semi-structured student interviews. The aim was to investigate 280 Chinese undergraduate English as a foreign language (EFL) students' academic writing performance, lexical complexity, and perceptions of self-regulated strategies in academic writing. One-way ANCOVA of writing performance, Kruskal-Wallis test of lexical complexity, ANOVA of the SRL questionnaire, and grounded thematic content analysis revealed that, first, both Icourse and Icourse+Pigai provided significant support for the development of SRL strategies vs. the control group, although there was no significant difference between the two groups. Second, Icourse+Pigai-supported SRL was more helpful for improving students' academic writing performance because it enabled increased writing practice and correction feedback. Third, Icourse+Pigai-supported SRL did not significantly improve students' lexical complexity. In conclusion, we argue that both learning management systems and automated writing evaluation (AWE) platforms may be used to assist students' SRL learning to enhance their writing performance. More effort should be directed toward developing technological tools that increase both lexical accuracy and lexical complexity. We conclude that the technical tools used in this study were positively connected to the use of SRL techniques. However, when creating technologically mediated SRL activities, students' psychological study preferences should be considered.
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Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate student perceptions of chiropractic cultural authority, role in healthcare and use of terms at two chiropractic institutions, the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) and Parker University (Parker).MethodsA unique survey was developed and administered electronically to Year 2-3 students (n=387) at CMCC and as a paper-based surveys to trimester 4-5 (comparison with Year 2) and 6-7 (comparison with Year 3) (n=277) students at Parker. Responses were anonymous. The survey assessed the likelihood that students at both chiropractic programs would use eight different chiropractic terms. The survey also assessed their preference toward different options with respect to chiropractic's cultural authority.ResultsResponse rates were 36.2% and 78.1% at CMCC and Parker, respectively. Students at both institutions reported that chiropractic cultural authority was 'neuromusculoskeletal' (NMSK); however, CMCC students was more favorable toward 'musculoskeletal' (MSK) care compared to Parker students, whereas students at Parker favored 'wellness' (59.7%) compared to CMCC students (46.4%). Students at CMCC were more likely to use 'impingement' and 'joint dysfunction' whereas Parker students were more likely to use 'innate intelligence' and 'vertebral subluxation'. Both institutions were equally likely to use 'spinal lesion'.ConclusionThis survey found significant cultural authority differences between institutions. While this adds to the emerging need in the literature to evaluate the impact of curriculum and co-curriculum within chiropractic training programs on professional identity, explanations were not evaluated.
| S-EPMC6493211 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Prior studies have reported inconsistent findings with regard to the effects of small-group student talk on developing individual students' English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) writing ability. To further explore the question under discussion, we designed a quasi-experimental study that included a pretest, a posttest, and a delayed posttest, and implemented it in two English-major groups at a university in China. We randomly assigned the students to an intervention group and a comparison group to investigate whether employing structured small-group student talk as collaborative prewriting discussions would effectively facilitate individual students' EFL writing development and whether such effects could be retained. The immediate and sustained effects after the quasi-experimental study was completed were measured by the analytic scores on five components of the writing task (content, organization, vocabulary, language, and mechanics) and the holistic writing scores cumulated of all these components. Statistical analyses revealed that the two groups were significantly distinguished by their analytic and holistic scores, indicating that students in the intervention group outperformed their comparison group peers in writing performance. The effects of collaborative prewriting discussions in the form of structured small-group student talk were found statistically significant in facilitating students' writing improvement in the content, organization, vocabulary, and language use, but not mechanics. The effects on content, organization, and vocabulary were retained as seen from the delayed posttest, while those on language use were not. The comparison group showed little improvement in their writing performance across the three tests. We concluded this study with a discussion on the implications for English-as-a-second/foreign-language (L2) writing instruction.
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Project description:Effective communication between clinicians and patients has been shown to improve patient outcomes, reduce malpractice liability, and is now being tied to reimbursement. Use of a communication strategy known as "scripting" has been suggested to improve patient satisfaction in multiple hospital settings, but the frequency with which medical students use this strategy and whether this affects patient perception of medical student care is unknown. Our objective was to measure the use of targeted communication skills after an educational intervention as well as to further clarify the relationship between communication element usage and patient satisfaction.Medical students were block randomized into the control or intervention group. Those in the intervention group received refresher training in scripted communication. Those in the control group received no instruction or other intervention related to communication. Use of six explicit communication behaviors were recorded by trained study observers: 1) acknowledging the patient by name, 2) introducing themselves as medical students, 3) explaining their role in the patient's care, 4) explaining the care plan, 5) providing an estimated duration of time to be spent in the emergency department (ED), and 6) notifying the patient that another provider would also be seeing them. Patients then completed a survey regarding their satisfaction with the medical student encounter.We observed 474 medical student-patient encounters in the ED (231 in the control group and 243 in the intervention group). We were unable to detect a statistically significant difference in communication element use between the intervention and control groups. One of the communication elements, explaining steps in the care plan, was positively associated with patient perception of the medical student's overall communication skills. Otherwise, there was no statistically significant association between element use and patient satisfaction.We were unable to demonstrate any improvement in student use of communication elements or in patient satisfaction after refresher training in scripted communication. Furthermore, there was little variation in patient satisfaction based on the use of scripted communication elements. Effective communication with patients in the ED is complicated and requires further investigation on how to provide this skill set.
| S-EPMC5942029 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundGamification in medical education has gained popularity over the past several years. We describe a virtual escape box in emergency medicine clerkship didactics to teach chest pain and abdominal pain and compare this instructional method to a traditional flipped classroom format.MethodsA virtual escape box was designed at our institution and incorporated into the mandatory two-week emergency medicine clerkship. The game consisted of a PDF with four cases containing puzzles to unlock a final clue. Likert scale surveys were administered to assess participants' perceptions of the escape box format; of clerkship didactics as a whole; and of the clerkship overall. These responses were compared to the prior year's evaluations on flipped classroom didactics and clerkship.ResultsOne hundred thirty-four learners participated in the escape box and completed the survey. Eighty-six percent strongly agreed with feeling more engaged with the escape box, 84% strongly agreed with learning something new, 81% strongly agreed with finding the escape box to be satisfying, 78% strongly agreed with being able to apply knowledge gained, and 74% strongly agreed with wanting more escape boxes incorporated into medical education. The escape box showed a higher average score (3.6 ± 0.63) compared to chest pain (3.5 ± 0.67) and abdominal pain (3.2 ± 0.77) flipped classroom sessions (p = 0.0491) for the category of "lecturer explaining content clearly and at the proper level of complexity." For the category of "lecturer provided effective instructional materials," the escape box showed higher scores (3.6 ± 0.63) compared to flipped classroom for chest pain (3.4 ± 0.77) and abdominal pain (3.1 ± 0.80) (p < 0.001).ConclusionsEscape boxes are adaptable to a virtual format and can teach abstract concepts such as teamwork and communication in addition to traditional lecture content. Ratings of didactics were higher for the escape box compared to the flipped classroom, while ratings of overall clerkship experience were not found to change significantly.
| S-EPMC9250221 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study aimed to analyze the learning style of dentistry students in self-instructional courses to assist in pedagogical planning and to choose the most appropriate educational resources for the students' learning profile. A sample of 122 students who responded to the Learning Styles Questionnaire was analyzed. For statistical purposes, correlation analysis, chi-square test, odds ratio, and Student's t-test were performed. In the analyzed sample, there was a higher prevalence of students in the theoretical and reflector styles, and a lower prevalence of students in the activist and pragmatic styles. An analysis of educational resources demonstrated the predominance of theoretical and reflective content. The data show a statistically significant reduction of about 74% in the chances of passing for the activist-pragmatists group compared to other students (χ2(1, N = 122) = 5.795, p < 0.05, odds ratio = 0.26). On the other hand, reflector students who exhibited a lower preference for the activist style had a higher chance of course completion, with a 3.33-fold increase in the likelihood of passing the course (χ2(1, N = 122) = 5.637, p < 0.05, odds ratio = 3.33). These findings highlight the importance of considering students' learning styles in educational planning and resource selection to optimize student performance. Further research is warranted to explore the implications of these findings and to investigate additional factors that may influence student success in self-instructional courses.
| S-EPMC10374043 | biostudies-literature