The effects of using an alternative method for teaching badminton to post secondary level students in Taiwan

The effect of teaching method in physical education is an important issue and has been a concern of the expert teacher. Teachers are expected to create a model of teaching in their field; therefore, it is reasonable to question what is the effect of an alternative teaching method on student performance in physical education. This study explores whether teaching methods with advanced planning, behavior and belief in high enthusiasm, use of instructional strategies and evaluation, together termed a systematic teaching approach, used in a physical education activity would provide an effective environment for learning which supports student achievement in the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains. This study also investigated whether there was a difference in performance between students who were taught with a systematic teaching approach and students who were taught with the traditional teaching model. Information was collected using two performance skills, a written test, and one questionnaire. The 68 participants were randomly assigned into either an experimental group or a control group. Two teachers were assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. The teaching experiment took place at Tamsui Oxford University College in Taiwan and lasted eight weeks. ^ Research questions were analyzed using the t-test. Results indicated that a significant difference in students' performance was found between the experimental group and the control group on both the skill tests and the paper test. Analysis of student attitude toward their teacher and their course on the questionnaire indicated a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group. ^ The findings of this study imply that students who were taught with a systematic teaching style were significantly superior to students who were taught with the traditional model on these measures. This finding supports the contention that effective teaching in physical education is related to advanced planning, high enthusiasm, instructional strategy and evaluation and that all physical education teachers should implement these planning elements in the development of the teaching strategies. ^

The choice not to use computers: A case study of community college faculty who do not use computers in teaching

The primary purpose of this investigation is to study the motives of community college faculty who decide not to use computers in teaching. In spite of the fact that many of the environmental blocks that would otherwise inhibit the use of the computers have been eliminated at many institutions, many faculty do not use a computer beyond its word-processing function. For the purpose of the study non-adoption of computers in teaching is defined as not using computers for more than word-processing. ^ The issues in the literature focus on resistance and assume a pro-innovation and pro-adoption bias. Previous research on the questions is primarily surveys with narrowly focused assumptions. This qualitative research directly asks the participants about their feelings, beliefs, attitudes, experiences, and behaviors in regard to computers in teaching. Through the interview process a number of other correlated issues emerge. ^ The investigation was conducted at Miami-Dade Community College, a large urban multicampus institution, in Miami-Dade, Florida. It was conducted through a series of in-depth phenomenological interviews. There were nine interviews; eight within the profile; two were pilots; and one was an extreme opposite of the profile. Each participant was interviewed three times for about 45 minutes. ^ The results indicate that the computer conflicts with the participants' values in regard to their teaching and their beliefs in regard to the nature of knowledge, learning, and the relationship that they wish to maintain with students. Computers require significant changes in the values, beliefs, and consequent behaviors. These are changes that the participants are not willing to make without overwhelming evidence that they are worth the sacrifice. For the participants, this worth is only definable as it positively improves learning. For even the experts the evidence is not there. Unlike the innovator, the high end computer user, these participants are not willing to adopt the computer on faith. ^

An evaluation of English language instruction in universities/colleges in Taiwan

The purpose of this study is about to survey the effectiveness of English teaching in universities/colleges in Taiwan and provide suggestions to the educational authorities for upgrading or improving the English language teaching techniques or methods currently in use. On the one hand, the suggestions of English teachers in universities/colleges are the main concerns in this study. On the other hand, equal attention is given to the opinions and learning attitudes of the students, including the interaction between the teachers and the students.^ A social investigation methodology, consisting of questionnaire and data analysis, is devoted to this evaluation and analysis of teaching effectiveness. Among the significant findings reported in this study is the fact that both students and teachers consider evaluation of teaching effectiveness as a very important aspect of English Language programs at the university/college level. Another significant finding is that students are less concerned about the grades earned or awarded in English Language courses and more concerned about how much they learned in these classes.^ The analysis and suggestions based on the results for English teaching evaluation of universities/colleges in this dissertation can help teachers modify their teaching techniques and methods, the students to adjust their learning attitudes, and the authorities to schematize the English teaching plan that can facilitate the teaching goals to be realized. ^

Effects of a modified English listening comprehension curriculum on students' achievement in English listening comprehension at Tamsui Oxford University College in Taiwan

Due to increased international trade, English as a foreign language is important to Taiwan. However, ESL teaching and learning in Taiwan emphasizes reading and writing skills only. ESL teaching in Taiwan causes students to lack competence in complete communication. Improving students' listening and speaking is a vital issue in Taiwan. ^ The purposes of this study are to determine the effects of a modified curriculum for the English listening comprehension course, to investigate whether the modified curriculum results in a significant improvement in student's listening comprehension, and to determine whether students were motivated to increase listening comprehension ability as a result of the new listening activities. An experimental and a control group, randomly assigned, received either the modified or the traditional curriculum at Tamsui Oxford University College (TOUC) in Taiwan over a fourteen week period of time. ^ A Michigan Listening Comprehension posttest was used to determine the difference in achievement between the two groups. A final examination was conducted to compare the two groups' achievement and to determine whether the goal of increasing listening comprehension achievement by using a modified curriculum was met. Subjects completed two questionnaires, one common form prior to class and another unique form for each group at the end of instruction. ^ Frequency distribution, chi-square, t-test for independent samples and analysis of covariance were used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that there were no significant differences in students' attitude and interest in English listening comprehension between those who were taught with an English listening modified curriculum compared with those students who were taught with a traditional curriculum. The findings also indicated that there was a difference in the final examination with the control group taught using the traditional curriculum scoring higher than the experimental group taught using the modified curriculum for performance in English listening comprehension, but there was no difference in scores on the Michigan Listening Comprehension Test (posttest). In addition, it was found that learning attitude and motivation influence students' learning. ^

A hermeneutic phenomenology of graduate education students' understandings of instructor power in a higher education classroom

Higher education is a distribution center of knowledge and economic, social, and cultural power (Cervero & Wilson, 2001). A critical approach to understanding a higher education classroom begins with recognizing the instructor's position of power and authority (Tisdell, Hanley, & Taylor, 2000). The power instructors wield exists mostly unquestioned, allowing for teaching practices that reproduce the existing societal patterns of inequity in the classroom (Brookfield, 2000). ^ The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore students' experiences with the power of their instructors in a higher education classroom. A hermeneutic phenomenological study intertwines the interpretations of both the participants and the researcher about a lived experience to uncover layers of meaning because the meanings of lived experiences are usually not readily apparent (van Manen, 1990). Fifteen participants were selected using criterion, convenience, and snowball sampling. The primary data gathering method were semi-structured interviews guided by an interview protocol (Creswell, 2003). Data were interpreted using thematic reflection (van Manen, 1990). ^ Three themes emerged from data interpretation: (a) structuring of instructor-student relationships, (b) connecting power to instructor personality, and (c) learning to navigate the terrains of higher education. How interpersonal relationships were structured in a higher education classroom shaped how students perceived power in that higher education classroom. Positive relationships were described using the metaphor of family and a perceived ethic of caring and nurturing by the instructor. As participants were consistently exposed to exercises of instructor power in a higher education classroom, they attributed those exercises of power to particular instructor traits rather than systemic exercises of power. As participants progressed from undergraduate to graduate studies, they perceived the benefits of expertise in content or knowledge development as secondary to expertise in successfully navigating the social, cultural, political, and interpersonal terrains of higher education. Ultimately, participants expressed that higher education is not about what you know; it is about learning how to play the game. Implications for teaching in higher education and considerations for future research conclude the study.^