Modeling Teacher Supports Toward Self-Directed Language Learning Beyond the Classroom: Technology Acceptance and Technological Self-Efficacy as Mediators

This study explored the contributions of teacher supports toward students’ self-directed language learning beyond the classroom and investigated whether technology acceptance and technological self-efficacy could be the mediators between teacher supports and students’ self-directed language learning in a sample of Chinese undergraduate students. A total of 197 freshmen students in one university in Eastern China participated in the questionnaires concerning teacher supports, technology acceptance, technological self-efficacy and self-directed language learning. The study highlighted the results: (1) perceived usefulness mediated the relationship between teacher affective supports and students’ self-directed language learning as well as the relationship between teacher capacity supports and students’ self-directed language learning; (2) technological self-efficacy mediated the relationship between teacher affective supports and students’ self-directed language learning as well as the relationship between teacher behavior supports and students’ self-directed language learning; and (3) perceived easy of use had no noticeable mediating functions, but exerted an indirect influence on students’ self-directed language learning. These findings extended previous researches by considering both the external factors (i.e., teacher supports) and the internal factors (i.e., technology acceptance and technological self-efficacy) of influencing students’ self-directed language learning, thereby contributing to enhancing our understanding of the joint drive of the inherent and extrinsic power mechanisms. This study indicated the significance of elevating teachers’ awareness of the substantial supports in enhancing students’ self-directed language learning beyond the classroom and would inform that the future research on teachers’ compliance in relation to technology use be converted from institutional mandates into teachers’ conscientious behaviors.

Bringing Data-Based Individualization to Scale: A Call for the Next-Generation Technology of Teacher Supports

The purpose of this narrative synthesis of the curriculum-based measure (CBM) instructional utility literature is to deepen insight into the supports required to enrich teachers’ instructional decision-making within curriculum-based measure –data-based individualization (CBM-DBI) in ways that enhance the learning outcomes of students with intensive intervention needs, including students with learning disabilities. We begin by summarizing a recent meta-analysis of CBM-DBI studies focused on academic outcomes. We then reconsider studies from that meta-analysis to further explore the supports required to enrich teachers’ instructional decision-making within CBM-DBI and improve student learning. We next draw conclusions and propose a renewed program of instructional utility CBM-DBI research for capitalizing on technology’s potential to enhance productive instructional decision-making for students who require intensive intervention, fulfill DBI’s potential, and bring CBM-DBI to scale.

Motivation as a necessary factor in the organization of non-linguistic students’ scientific work

Students’ scientific work is an integral element of the training of creative specialists, so the motivation for the implementation of this type of work is a necessary task at the modern stage of the development of education. The article presents approaches to students’ scientific work (an instructional technique with the help of which the teacher supports and manages educational activities to deepen and expand their knowledge and skills; active pedagogy, which contributes to the development of students’ research; active learning of students with an emphasis on the development of their intellectual and research skills; one of the most important means of improving the quality of training and education of future specialists, etc.). The main driving motivational factors of scientific work are identified (desire to obtain subjectively new knowledge, development of cognitive and creative abilities, desire to understand the essence of certain phenomena and reveal them to other participants of the educational process, desire for self-realization, etc.). Main types of scientific work when teaching the English language to students of the non-linguistic specialties are presented (summary and annotation in English, preparation and defence of abstracts on relevant topics, preparation of theses or articles with their subsequent publication, encouraging students to participate in scientific conferences in English). Our own experience in organizing the scientific work of students is described (defining the topic of the abstract according to the working programs of the faculties, holding conferences at the faculties and the All-Ukrainian scientific students’ conference). Scientific work of this format contributes to the formation of students' positive motivation for self-education and self-development; regular participation in scientific work develops the need for self-education, creative growth, and ability to solve problems independently.

Virtual and reality: risk and protective factors of cyber and offline relational victimization

Background Cyber victimization (CV) and offline relational victimization (ORV) both impede adolescent development and might pose self-harm or suicide. The aim of this work is to examine the risk and protective factors of the two experiences across gender. Methods A total of 1,712 junior and senior high school students who came from 34 schools randomly sampled from northern Taiwan. The study included multi-facet supports (i.e. maternal, paternal, grandparent, peer, and teacher supports), positive and negative peer connections, smartphone addiction and family characteristics (i.e. parental marital status and self-perceived financial status) as predictors. Results 10.3% of the participants reported CV more than once (56.8% girls) and 35.2% of them reported ORV more than once (52.4% girls) in the last three months. Results of logistic regression models showed that smartphone addiction positively related to CV (boys: OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.1-1.6; girls: OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.3-2.0) and ORV (boys: OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.1-1.4; girls: OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.1-1.3) regardless gender. Negative peer connection related to ORV only among boys (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.7-1.7). Low-level self-perceived financial status related to having CV (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.4-5.5) and ORV (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.2-3.4) only among girls. Interestingly, paternal support is the only significant protective factor among three family supports. Paternal support negatively associated with CV (OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.6-0.9) and ORV of boys (OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.7-0.9) as well as ORV of girls (OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.6-0.9). Furthermore, teacher support negatively associated with girls' CV (OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.6-0.9) and boys' ORV (OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.7-0.9). Conclusions The study identified a few gender-specific risk factors. For both gender, to prevent CV and ORV, supporting adolescents to avoid smartphone addiction is critical. Enhancing paternal support and teacher support can be effective in preventing adolescents' cyber and offline relational victimization. Key messages Paternal and teacher supports, rather than other sources of supports, are protective factors of cyber victimization and offline relational victimization among adolescents. Smartphone addiction, regardless of gender, not only positively associated with cyber victimization but also positively related to offline relational victimization.

Digital Making in Educational Projects

Digital Making as an Educational Project is an innovative educational experience that has been carried out with students of the Primary Education and Social Education degrees for three consecutive years. The experience introduces digital making as an activity in which students create an object using digital technology. In the process, they not only gain an insight into how the technology works, but also learn the content and competences of the curriculum. This innovative teaching practice was carried out as action research in order to improve traditional higher education practices. In this sense, the proposal puts the student at the centre of the process as the author and protagonist of their own learning process. The experience is based on their own interests: they decide what to make based on a given context. The students work in groups and look for what they need to learn to overcome a particular challenge, while the teacher supports the process as a facilitator, offering guidance and resources when necessary. The evaluation of the whole process is regulated via a group diary (a shared online document) and an individual diary (a blog) that the students produce. The final evaluation is not only of the printed product; the students also produce a video in the form of storytelling, in which they explain how the process evolved from the initial idea to the final impression of the object. They also reflect on what they have learned, how teamwork has worked and what possibilities they believe digital making offers in the primary and non-formal educational contexts in which they will work. All of the processes are compiled in the students’ blogs, as well as in the teachers’ field notebooks. The experience was executed in collaboration with the Digital Fabrication Centres of Barcelona. The results were organised to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of using technologies to improve higher education offering an approach in which students are at the centre of the whole process. Strengths: strong student motivation, promotion of self-directed and collaborative learning and learning by doing, and familiarisation with a transforming integration of technology as protagonists. Weaknesses: hesitance and resistance to facing the challenge, management of scarce time, large time investment by the teachers, and the difficulty of achieving in-depth reflection on how digital fabrication could be introduced in educational contexts such as primary school and non-formal contexts.

The use of electronic feedback to strengthen teacher intervention beliefs, knowledge, attitudes and intentions

The present study examined the efficacy and usefulness of an electronically delivered feedback intervention on overall teacher perceptions of classroom-based behavior interventions, implementation behavior and intentions. Participants consisted of 95, full and part-time elementary and secondary teachers across 13, public K-12 educational institutions in Missouri. Following an initial assessment, teachers were randomized to either a feedback intervention condition or control condition (i.e., business-as-usual). Findings indicated that teachers who received the intervention, which consisted of an emailed individualized feedback profile and access to a website with electronic resources, reported significantly increased self-efficacy and perceptions of evidence-based interventions at the 2-month follow-up, compared to teachers assigned to the control condition. Despite the lack of statistical significance across the other measured variables, effect sizes comparable to existing feedback and motivational interviewing literature, were found. Additionally, of the teachers who received the intervention, the majority provided positive feedback about its usefulness and feasibility, and reported being willing to recommend the use of the intervention to others. Limitations and future directions regarding the use of electronically-based teacher supports to enhance classroom behavior management, are discussed.

Teacher Supports to Facilitate the Implementation of the Good Behavior Game

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a well-established intervention for decreasing problem behaviors in the classroom. Although the GBG has a long history of both empirical support and real-world implementation, the specific types of supports teachers find useful in implementing evidence-based interventions is an area that has received increasing research attention. To help administrators, coaches, and other stakeholders devote resources with an eye toward effective implementation, this column describes training, coaching, and data collection to support the implementation of the GBG.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Exclusionary School Discipline: Implications for Administrators Leading Discipline Reform Efforts

School discipline and school safety are primary areas of concern for school administrators. This article summarizes the research literature regarding suspension in response to nonviolent and subjective offenses for racial/ethnic minorities. Steps that administrators can follow in applying a root cause analysis with a focus on school practices are provided. The following three areas of professional development and teacher support are offered to facilitate changes in school practices: (1) implicit bias, (2) empathy training, and (3) classroom consultation/teacher supports.

Enhanced Student Engagement Through Active Learning and Emerging Technologies

Active learning and emerging technologies are enhancing student learning though an explicit intentional educational design such as Flipping the Classroom and Project Based Learning to empower students. In this chapter, the authors describe an active learning classroom and emerging technologies that support learning for the 21st century. Using vignettes, the authors model how the metacognitive teacher supports the use of emerging technologies for active learning using the Metacognitive Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (M-TPACK) (Wilson, Zygouris-Coe, Cardullo, & Fong, 2013). Finally, the authors describe Blooms Taxonomy (Bloom et al., 1956) for active learning and make connections to emerging technologies and the level of integration using the SAMR Model: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (Puentedura, 2006).