Setting expectations: Building the blocks of phonemic awareness

Young learners require developmental benchmarks to improve awareness of the phonemes in a new language. This study aimed to extend our understanding of Japanese elementary school students’ general and specific phonemic awareness across four years of English instruction. A public elementary school 3rd-6th year students in Japan (n=261, ages=8–12) participated in this study. The phoneme-identity test used consisted of fifteen items employing words during students' regular English classes. The effect of year on achievement and the difference between grades was tested. There was a significant effect of students' year on test score (p<.05). While there were no statistically significant difference years 4-5, and between years 5-6, students’ phonemic awareness increased two-year increments. Moreover, patterns of specific phoneme difficulties were identified. The present study provides preliminary guidelines for understanding the intersection between first and foreign languages, instructional context and their shared contribution towards listening and reading development in primary schools.

“Mistakes are just information”: A case study of a highly successful violin pedagogue

This study examined the instructional context, pedagogical techniques, interpersonal dynamics, and personal characteristics of a teacher and her collegiate students in a renowned private violin studio. Through lesson observations, interviews, and analysis of artifacts, the following themes emerged: (1) a nurturing, non-judgmental environment, characterized by “neutral” teacher feedback; (2) clearly defined learning expectations, lesson structure, and work habits that are mutually understood by student and teacher; (3) a clear emphasis on learning to practice effectively in the student’s own time, including “practicing practicing” within the lesson; and (4) explicit instruction on how to teach others. Analysis of the data suggests that this studio might be best understood through Bruner’s conception of a spiral curriculum, as the structure and content of all student lessons were virtually the same regardless of student level, but the complexity of the tasks increases greatly as students progress.

The effects of contextual factors on Universitario lecturer's performance

The purpose of this paper is to identify the set of conditions of the instructional context that lecturers take into account in the design of university teaching. The main results show the existence of six relevant instructional conditions, which we have named: a) Content, subject, lecturers and students; b) Teaching innovation and educational resources; c) Course design; d) Attitude of students; e) Characteristics of students and f) Lecturer-subject relationship. We conclude by evaluating the contributions made by the paper to the available knowledge of the subject and pointing out some challenges for future research. Keywords: Basic knowledge for teaching, conditions of teaching, instructional design Keywords: Conditions of teaching, basic knowledge for teaching, instructional design.

An investigation of accessible and inclusive instructional field practices in US geoscience departments

This study examines current accessible field-based instructional strategies across geoscience departments in the United States that support students with visual, hearing, and mobility disabilities. A qualitative questionnaire was administered to geoscience instructors from over 160 US geology departments. Outcomes from the data analysis were used to categorize accessible instructional practices into three distinct pedagogical methods: modifications, accommodations, and options for accessible instructional design. Utilizing the lens of critical disability theory, we then investigated how the identified teaching practices varied in inclusion, as some strategies can often be more exclusionary towards individual students with disabilities. Although from a US perspective, the outcomes of this study offer practical suggestions for providing accessible and inclusive field experiences that may inform a global geoscience instructional context.

Assertive Speech Acts Performed by Teacher in EFL Classes

One of the factors affecting language teaching and learning is the way how the communication process between teacher and learners takes place in the classroom. In a language instructional context, the teacher’s language serves several functions: transactional, interactional, regulatory, as a language model, and linguistic input. These multiple functions give rise to the performance of varied speech acts. This paper tries to reveal the variety of assertive acts and how they are performed by the teachers. After the data were collected by observation and recording and analyzed using a qualitative technique, it was revealed that the assertive speech acts are realized in terms of informing, describing, exemplifying, explaining, concluding, summarizing, commenting, responding, extending, giving feedbacks, giving clues, announcing a topic, announcing a task, and controlling/shifting a topic. The performance of those acts is always consistent with the main purpose of EFL, i.e., elevating the learners’ competence (knowledge and ability) of the target language.

Applying lean six sigma to grading process improvement

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain how the lean six sigma (LSS) methodology can be implemented in a teaching context to positively impact the experience of both the instructor and student. The paper focuses on: describing the application of the LSS methodology in streamlining the grading process; reporting the findings; and examining possibility of deploying the LSS methodology in additional aspects in the education sector. Design/methodology/approach The observations presented in this paper stem from a small-scale case study of LSS implementation in an instructional context. Findings The implementation of LSS methodology allowed the authors to generate a feedback system that is focused, scaffolding and cumulative while meeting the goal of requiring less time to produce for the instructor. Research limitations/implications This paper is based on an empirical study of a single process intervention with only a small sample in a single instructional context; therefore, the research results may lack generalizability. Further testing of the proposed propositions is encouraged. Practical implications The paper includes an analysis of current practice and implications for the deployment of DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) method. A combination of lean and six sigma techniques were deployed in a post-secondary class setting to demonstrate how different techniques can be used to improve instructional processes. Originality/value This paper produces one more example for LSS implementation in an educational–instructional context for a small but growing base of literature.

Synthesis of Framework of Virtual Immersive Learning Environments (VILEs) Based on Digital Storytelling to Enhance Deeper Learning for Undergraduate Students

This study aimed to synthesize theoretical and designing framework of Virtual Immersive Learning Environments (VILEs) based on digital storytelling to enhance deeper learning for undergraduate students. Documents analysis and survey research were employed in this study. The procedures were as follows: (1) to examine and analyze the principles, theories and related researches, (2) to study instructional context, (3) to synthesize the theoretical framework, and (4) to synthesize the designing framework. The results revealed that the theoretical framework comprised of four bases was as follows: (1) immersive technology, (2) digital storytelling, (3) Stories evaluation and (4) deeper learning. The designing framework consisted of 4 elements, were as follows: (1) VILEs based on digital storytelling to enhance deeper learning, (2) Supporting Cognitive, (3) Supporting Interpersonal and (4) Support Intrapersonal.

Developing the rotational synchronous teaching (RST) model: Examination of the connected classroom climate

The multiple synchronous smart classroom learning environment (MSSC) is an alternative educational context that describes several active learning classrooms, connected through synchronous broadcasting technology. MSSC provides conceptually new capabilities to maximise both student learning and instructor efficiency. However, MSSC lacks an empirically validated instructional model, which limits effectiveness, particularly in relation to student interaction. Therefore, this study designed, developed, and implemented the rotational synchronous teaching (RST) model: a practical instructional approach for simultaneously teaching large student audiences, while maintaining smaller interactive classroom atmospheres. The RST model was tested in a mixed method research design that relied on survey (n = 305) and interview (n = 8) data of college students collected at the conclusion of the spring semester 2017. The effects of this RST model on student connected classroom climate obtained results matching previous research in traditional face-to-face classroom contexts. These preliminary findings indicate that the MSSC can effectively cultivate social interaction among students in a large instructional context with an approapriate instructional approach. The results of this study also suggest the need to expand future research toward comparative methodologies that examine additional variables, including academic achievement.

Pragmatic Markers Produced by Multilingual Speakers: Evidence From a CLIL Context

The purpose of this study is to investigate the production of pragmatic markers (PMs) by multilingual students in a CLIL context. Previous studies have analyzed pragmatic competence in multilingual settings (e.g., Cenoz, 2003; Martín-Laguna & Alcón-Soler, 2015; Portolés, 2015; Safont & Portolés, 2016). However, to the best of our knowledge, no previous study has investigated the use of PMs across languages at the oral level in the multilingual classroom. As suggested by Nashaat-Sobhy (2017, p. 69), there is a need for studies that support or refute whether CLIL helps students communicate more appropriately. In an attempt to fill this gap, the overall aim of this research study is to explore how multilingual students use PMs across languages –namely Spanish, Catalan and English- in terms of frequency and type of PM. Participants were 19 Spanish students in an instructional context where three languages are in contact, namely English, Catalan and Spanish. They completed a language background questionnaire and comparable oral decision-making tasks carried out in pairs, one task in each of the target languages. The analysis explored the frequency and type of PMs (i.e. textual and interpersonal markers). Findings revealed significant differences in the frequency and type of both interpersonal and textual PMs across the three languages, shedding some light on the particular characteristics of the pragmatic competence of multilingual learners in a CLIL setting.