The relationship between school violence and student proficiency

School violence has recently become a central concern among teachers, students, students' parents and policymakers. Violence can induce behaviors on educational agents that go against the goals of improving the quality of education and increasing school attendance. In fact, there is evidence that school environmental characteristics and student performance and behavior at school are related. Although school violence may have a direct impact on students’ performance, such impact has not yet been quantified. In this paper, we investigate this issue using Brazilian data and show that, on average, students who attended more violent schools had worse proficiency on a centralized test carried out by the Brazilian Ministry of Education, even when we controlled for school, class, teachers and student characteristics. We also show that school violence affects more the students from the bottom of the proficiency distribution. Furthermore, we find out that besides the direct effect on student proficiency, it seems that school violence has an indirect effect on it operating through teacher turnover. Indeed, we show that the occurrence of violent episodes in a school decreases the probability of a class in that school having only one teacher during the academic year, and increases the probability of that class having more than one teacher (teacher turnover).

La rétroaction corrective écrite en francisation au Québec : les techniques, les types d’erreurs et la compétence des apprenants à l’écrit

La rétroaction corrective (RC) se définit comme étant un indice permettant à l’apprenant de savoir que son utilisation de la L2 est incorrecte (Lightbown et Spada, 2006). Les chercheurs reconnaissent de plus en plus l’importance de la RC à l’écrit (Ferris, 2010). La recherche sur la RC écrite s’est grandement concentrée sur l’évaluation des différentes techniques de RC sans pour autant commencer par comprendre comment les enseignants corrigent les textes écrits de leurs élèves et à quel point ces derniers sont en mesure d’utiliser cette RC pour réviser leurs productions écrites. Cette étude vise à décrire quelles techniques de RC sont utilisées par les enseignants de francisation ainsi que comment les étudiants incorporent cette RC dans leur révision. De plus, elle veut aussi vérifier si les pratiques des enseignants et des étudiants varient selon le type d’erreur corrigée (lexicale, syntaxique et morphologique), la technique utilisée (RC directe, indirecte, combinée) et la compétence des étudiants à l’écrit (faible ou fort). Trois classes de francisation ont participé à cette étude : 3 enseignants et 24 étudiants (12 jugés forts et 12 faibles). Les étudiants ont rédigé un texte qui a été corrigé par les enseignants selon leur méthode habituelle. Puis les étudiants ont réécrit leur texte en incorporant la RC de leur enseignant. Des entrevues ont aussi été réalisées auprès des 3 enseignants et des 24 étudiants. Les résultats indiquent l’efficacité générale de la RC à l’écrit en langue seconde. En outre, cette efficacité varie en fonction de la technique utilisée, des types d’erreurs ainsi que du niveau de l’apprenant. Cette étude démontre que ces trois variables ont un rôle à jouer et que les enseignants devraient varier leur RC lorsqu’ils corrigent.

Seeing How it Sounds: Observation, Imitation and Improved Learning in Piano Playing

Research in various fields has shown that students benefit from teacher action demonstrations during instruction, establishing the need to better understand the effectiveness of different demonstration types across student proficiency levels. This study centres upon a piano learning and teaching environment in which beginners and intermediate piano students (N=48) learning to perform a specific type of staccato were submitted to three different (group exclusive) teaching conditions: audio-only demonstration of the musical task; observation of the teacher's action demonstration followed by student imitation (blockedobservation); and observation of the teacher's action demonstration whilst alternating imitation of the task with the teacher's performance (interleaved-observation). Learning was measured in relation to students' range of wrist amplitude (RWA) and ratio of sound and inter-sound duration (SIDR) before, during and after training. Observation and imitation of the teacher’s action demonstrations had a beneficial effect on students' staccato knowledge retention at different times after training: students submitted to interleaved-observation presented significantly shorter note duration and larger wrist rotation, and as such, were more proficient at the learned technique in each of the lesson and retention tests than students in the other learning conditions. There were no significant differences in performance or retention for students of different proficiency levels. These findings have relevant implications for instrumental music pedagogy and other contexts where embodied action is an essential aspect of the learning process.

Enabling computer access: Introduction to the Test of Mouse Proficiency

As the use of technological devices in everyday environments becomes more prevalent, it is clear that access to these devices has become an important aspect of occupational performance. Children are increasingly required to competently manipulate technology such as the computer to fulfil occupational roles of student and player. Occupational therapists are in a position to facilitate the successful interface between children and standard computer technologies. The literature has supported the use of direct manipulation interfaces in computing that requires mastery of devices such as the mouse. Identification of children likely to experience difficulties with mouse use will inform the development of appropriate methods of intervention promoting mouse skill and further enhance participation in occupational tasks. The aim of this paper is to discuss the development of an assessment of mouse proficiency for children. It describes the construction of the assessment, the content of the test, and its content validity.

El Misterio de la biblioteca Mil.lènium o cómo promover relaciones colaborativas desde la participación del alumnado = The Mystery of the Mil.lènium Library: How to Promote Collaborative Relationships Through Student Participation

La pedagogía crítica acentúa la falta de neutralidad de la escuela respecto a las relaciones de poder que existen en la sociedad. Su propuesta consiste en modificar las relaciones de poder en el aula en el sentido de transformar las relaciones coercitivas –las que reproducen las relaciones existentes– en relaciones colaborativas partiendo del reconocimiento y la participación de los alumnos en las actividades escolares. Desde esta perspectiva, uno de los objetivos de las actividades es que los niños produzcan «textos identitarios», entendidos como artefactos que los alumnos se pueden apropiar para promover su desarrollo cognitivo. El artículo muestra el trabajo educativo integrado desde Educación Infantil hasta 6.º de Primaria de una escuela de la provincia de Girona en la que el 97% de los alumnos es de origen extranjero y cuyo propósito es incrementar las habilidades lingüísticas orales y escritas en la lengua escolar, así como la utilización de otros lenguajes multimedia. La unidad didáctica consiste en la elaboración de un cuento a lo largo de un curso escolar por parte de todo el alumnado con la ayuda de los profesores, de dos autores y de tres ilustradores. Cada ciclo escolar decide los personajes y el escenario y explicita textualmente el transcurso de la acción. Los ilustradores producen las imágenes y los autores posibilitan la transición de aquello que ha elaborado un ciclo al producto del siguiente. La actividad basada en la participación y la utilización de procedimientos democráticos de decisión se inserta en la propuesta educativa y lingüística de la escuela, así como en sus concreciones curriculares. Los resultados muestran que los textos construidos por los niños se apoyan en sus «fondos de conocimiento» sociales y familiares y constituyen una fuente de progreso en la consecución de las competencias básicas y en la construcción de valores democráticos

Utilising student profiles in mathematics course arrangements

This thesis develops a method for identifying students struggling in their mathematical studies at an early stage. It helps in directing support to students needing and benefiting from it the most. Thus, frustration felt by weaker students may decrease and therefore, hopefully, also drop outs of potential engineering students. The research concentrates on a combination of personality and intelligence aspects. Personality aspects gave information on conation and motivation for learning. This part was studied from the perspective of motivation and self-regulation. Intelligence aspects gave information on declarative and procedural knowledge: what had been taught and what was actually mastered. Students answered surveys on motivation and self-regulation in 2010 and 2011. Based on their answers, background information, results in the proficiency test, and grades in the first mathematics course, profiles describing the students were formed. In the following years, the profiles were updated with new information obtained each year. The profiles used to identify struggling students combine personality (motivation, selfregulation, and self-efficacy) and intelligence (declarative and procedural knowledge) aspects at the beginning of their studies. Identifying students in need of extra support is a good start, but methods for providing support must be found. This thesis also studies how this support could be taken into account in course arrangements. The methods used include, for example, languaging and scaffolding, and continuous feedback. The analysis revealed that allocating resources based on the predicted progress does not increase costs or lower the results of better students. Instead, it will help weaker students obtain passing grades.

Digital proficiency and digital inclusion: Comparison between students of computer science, public relations and engineering

New information and communication technologies may be useful for providing more in-depth knowledge to students in many ways, whether through online multimedia educational material, or through online debates with colleagues, teachers and other area professionals in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. This paper focuses on participation in online discussion in e-learning courses for promoting learning. Although an important theoretical aspect, an analysis of literature reveals there are few studies evaluating the personal and social aspects of online course users in a quantitative manner. This paper aims to introduce a method for diagnosing inclusion and digital proficiency and other personal aspects of the student through a case study comparing Information System, Public Relations and Engineering students at a public university in Brazil. Statistical analysis and analysis of variances (ANOVA) were used as the methodology for data analysis in order to understand existing relations between the components of the proposed method. The survey methodology was also used, in its online format, as a research instrument. The method is based on using online questionnaires that diagnose digital proficiency and time management, level of extroversion and social skills of the students. According to the sample studied, there is no strong correlation between digital proficiency and individual characteristics tied to the use of time, level of extroversion and social skills of students. The differences in course grades for some components are partly due to subject 'Introduction to Economics' being offered to freshmen in Public Relations, whereas subject 'Economics in Engineering' is offered in the final semesters of Engineering and Information Systems courses. Therefore, the difference could be more tied to the respondent's age than to the course. Information Systems students were observed to be older, with access to computers and Internet at the workplace, compared to the other students who access the Internet more often from home. This paper presents a pilot study aimed at conducting a diagnosis that permits proposing actions for information and communication technology to contribute towards student education. Three levels of digital inclusion are described as a scale to measure whether information technology increases personal performance and professional knowledge and skills. This study may be useful for other readers interested in themes related to education in engineering. © 2013 IEEE.

Promoting Student Collaboration in a Detracked, Heterogeneous Secondary Mathematics Classroom

Detracking and heterogeneous groupwork are two educational practices that have been shown to have promise for affording all students needed learning opportunities to develop mathematical proficiency. However, teachers face significant pedagogical challenges in organizing productive groupwork in these settings. This study offers an analysis of one teacher’s role in creating a classroom system that supported student collaboration within groups in a detracked, heterogeneous geometry classroom. The analysis focuses on four categories of the teacher’s work that created a set of affordances to support within group collaborative practices and links the teacher’s work with principles of complex systems.

Large-scale testing of proficiency in English: Back to multiple choice?

The paper analyses whether that a properly designed multiple choice test can discriminate with a high level of accuracy if a student in our context has reached a B2 level according to the CEFRL.

Automaticity in L2 learning: Correlation between vocabulary proficiency and response time in word recognition

Automaticity (in this essay defined as short response time) and fluency in language use are closely connected to each other and some research has been conducted regarding some of the aspects involved. In fact, the notion of automaticity is still debated and many definitions and opinions on what automaticity is have been suggested (Andersson,1987, 1992, 1993, Logan, 1988, Segalowitz, 2010). One aspect that still needs more research is the correlation between vocabulary proficiency (a person’s knowledge about words and ability to use them correctly) and response time in word recognition. Therefore, the aim of this study has been to investigate this correlation using two different tests; one vocabulary size test (Paul Nation) and one lexical decision task (SuperLab) that measures both response time and accuracy. 23 Swedish students partaking in the English 7 course in upper secondary Swedish school were tested. The data were analyzed using a quantitative method where the average values and correlations from the test were used to compare the results. The correlations were calculated using Pearson’s Coefficient Correlations Calculator. The empirical study indicates that vocabulary proficiency is not strongly correlated with shorter response times in word recognition. Rather, the data indicate that L2 learners instead are sensitive to the frequency levels of the vocabulary. The accuracy (number of correct recognized words) and response times correlate with the frequency level of the tested words. This indicates that factors other than vocabulary proficiency are important for the ability to recognize words quickly.

The effects of video games on the receptive vocabulary proficiency of Swedish ESL students

Playing video games is an activity that takes up an increasing amount of children’s and adolescent’s spare time. While some previous studies have highlighted the negative aspects of video games, little research has been carried out on the linguistic learning opportunities that video games present. This study primarily investigates if Swedish second language learners of English can increase their vocabulary proficiency in English with the use of video games. In order to answer the research questions, two quantitative data elicitation methods are used: a questionnaire which aims to gather attitudinal and behavioral data, and a Vocabulary Levels Test which elicits data about the participants’ receptive vocabulary proficiency. The participants consist of 25 students at an upper secondary school in Stockholm. The results show that participants who played video games scored higher on the Vocabulary Levels Test, indicating a higher receptive vocabulary proficiency. Furthermore, the results show that participants who played moderate to frequent amounts of time performed better in the Vocabulary Levels Test than infrequent players. The results also show that video games emphasizing co-operation and communication are preferable to use for vocabulary acquisition. Additionally, the study discusses if video games could be integrated into the Swedish upper secondary school system.

Parents Acquiring Learning Strategies (PALS): How Empowering Hispanic Parents Increases Parental Involvement and Student Achievement

Some Hispanic parents in Miami-Dade County show limited involvement in the educational process of their children. Currently, Miami-Dade County Public schools consists of an increasingly high number of language minority students who come from homes where parents are limited in their English proficiency. Consequently, these parents have difficulty assisting their children with schoolwork and often feel they lack adequate skills to involve themselves in school curricula. The lack of parental involvement by this population has a negative impact on students’ learning and their academic achievement. The purpose of this study is to impact the level of participation of these families and to study its ultimate effect on students’ academic achievement.

Student's second-language grade may depend on classroom listening position

The purpose of this experiment was to explore whether listening positions (close or distant location from the sound source) in the classroom, and classroom reverberation, influence students' score on a test for second-language (L2) listening comprehension (i.e., comprehension of English in Swedish speaking participants). The listening comprehension test administered was part of a standardized national test of English used in the Swedish school system. A total of 125 high school pupils, 15 years old, participated. Listening position was manipulated within subjects, classroom reverberation between subjects. The results showed that L2 listening comprehension decreased as distance from the sound source increased. The effect of reverberation was qualified by the participants' baseline L2 proficiency. A shorter reverberation was beneficial to participants with high L2 proficiency, while the opposite pattern was found among the participants with low L2 proficiency. The results indicate that listening comprehension scores-and hence students' grade in English-may depend on students' classroom listening position.

European student mobility and intercultural learning at a portuguese university

The purpose of this study is to understand, impact and evaluate the development of intercultural communicative competencies among European credit-seeking exchange students and other sojourners through purposeful intercultural pedagogy. This pedagogy encompasses intentional intercultural- educational approaches which aim to support and enhance sojourners’ intercultural learning throughout the study abroad cycle (pre-departure, in-country and reentry phases). To test and validate these pedagogies a 20-hour intervention was designed and implemented among two cohorts of 31 sojourners during the in-country phase of their sojourn in Portugal. The process to develop and validate the intercultural intervention was driven by a mixed-methods methodology which combined quantitative and qualitative data to triangulate, complement and expand research results from a pragmatic stance. The mixed methods research design adopted is multi-phased and encompasses a multi-case study and an evaluative component. The multi-case component is embodied by sojourner cohorts: (1) the primary case study involves 19 incoming students at the University of Aveiro (Portugal) as participants in the European exchange program Campus Europae; (2) the second case study comprises three incoming Erasmus students and nine highly skilled immigrants at the same university. All 31 sojourners attended two intermediate Portuguese as Foreign Language classrooms where the intervention was employed. Data collection was extensive and involved collecting, analyzing and mixing quantitative and qualitative strands across four research phases. These phases refer to the: (1) development, (2) implementation and (3) evaluation of the intervention, as well as to (4) a stakeholder analysis of the external value of the intervention and of the Campus Europae program. Data collection instruments included pre and posttest questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Results confirm the intercultural effectiveness of the intervention and the positive impact upon research participants’ intercultural gains. This impact was, however, greater in case study 2. Among explanatory variables, three stand out: (1) participant meaning-making abilities, (2) host language proficiency and related variables, and (3) type of sojourn or exchange programs. Implications for further research highlight the need to systematize purposeful intercultural pedagogy in sojourner populations in general, and in European credit student mobility in particular. In the latter case, these pedagogies should be part of the design and delivery of credit-bearing exchange programs in pre- departure, in-country and re-entry phases. Implications for practice point to the urge to improve intercultural practices in: macro (higher education institutions), mezzo (exchange programs) and micro (sojourner language classrooms) contexts where this research took place, and wider social scenarios they represent.