How High Achievers Learn That They Should Not Become Teachers

In this article, Zid Mancenido examines how high-achieving students are socialized to believe that they should not become K–12 classroom teachers. Research has well established that academically successful students are often disinterested in teaching as a career, yet there has been little attention to how this disinterest is developed through the process of career exploration. To address this gap in the literature, Mancenido conducts a narrative inquiry based on interviews with high-achieving recent college graduates and graduating seniors. He presents six representative vignettes to demonstrate how high achievers learn through explicit and implicit signals that teaching is not appropriate for someone like them. This process is social, with parents and peers playing a significant role in shaping beliefs. These findings suggest that policy efforts to recruit more high achievers into teaching may benefit from more focus earlier in the career exploration pipeline.

Zone of proximal development and scaffolding required by junior high school students in solving mathematical problems

Introduction. Mathematics comprises grading concepts. It means that one specific concept can be interrelated to another concept, which embodies a continuous process. Mathematics instruction at schools is ordinarily delivered from the easiest to the hardest concepts and requires a considerably deep understanding of each concept. By acquiring the understanding, it is quite certain that students can solve mathematical problems effectively.Aim. The current research aimed to analyse and describe the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and scaffolding required by junior high school students in mathematical problem-solving. There is also an attempt to describe the actual level of competence possessed by students, and to determine the level of scaffolding needed to develop students’ learning competencies.Methodology and research methods. The present research employed a qualitative method within the descriptive approach. The research sample consisted of six students who attended the ninth grade at Muhammadiyah Junior High School 1 in Malang, Indonesia. The participants were grouped based on their mathematical competence levels, i.e. two high-achievers, two average-achievers, and two low-achievers. The data collection technique is done by giving tests, interviews, and observations. As for the teaching material, geometry was chosen as the main theme, covering the topic “Volumes of a Tube and a Ball”.Results. This research revealed that ZPD of the high-achievers was effective to help them solve mathematical problems independently. Conversely, the average- and low-achievers were found to be problematic at solving mathematical problems independently. The teachers must review and restructure the scaffolding strategies, dealing intensively with students who are less competent in solving mathematical problems.The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that previous studies have described efforts to improve the quality of learning through scaffolding (Siyepu S., 2013). This study describes in full the scaffolding process in the classroom: identification of students’ actual abilities and potential abilities after implementing instructional scaffolding.Practical significance. Referring to the results of the research, it is suggested that teachers should be so heedful about their students’ ZPD and thus more appropriate scaffolding treatments can be applied. In addition, teachers are strongly recommended doing self-training in scaffolding and keeping the instruction for their students to analyse their answers repeatedly to avoid a fallacy in operations. Besides, teachers should prepare their students to be good problem-solvers by exposing them to various exercises. For further studies, it is highly expected that more relevant research should be conducted from different viewpoints, i.e. investigating the effective scaffolding strategies.

Learner Autonomy and EFL Learning at the Tertiary Level in Vietnam

<p>There has been a growing interest in the role of learner autonomy (LA) in language teaching and learning. Over the last twenty years, researchers have extensively explored LA in a range of settings and have developed various approaches to fostering it both as a means to language learning and as an end in itself. This study attempts to investigate LA in the Vietnamese EFL context, and to explore the relationship between LA and language learning results. In this study, LA was conceptualised and operationally defined as learner self-initiation and learner self-regulation. The research was composed of three phases. The pilot study looked at the range of activities, and the amount of time devoted to learning English by 388 Vietnamese English majors of different levels of academic achievement. It identified differences in LA among students of different year levels as well as LA at two types of tertiary institutions in Vietnam. In the first phase, an exploratory correlational study was conducted among 177 students to comprehend features of LA as demonstrated by these students, their preferred self-initiated activities both inside and outside the classroom, and the relationship between each aspect of LA and language proficiency. In the second phase, an intervention study was conducted with the participation of 37 students in an experimental group, and 54 students in two control groups. Phase two explored the efficacy of a learner-based approach to promoting LA with a focus on strategy-based instruction. The three phases revealed several important findings. The pilot study discovered that the level of autonomy was related to students' level of academic achievement but not to their year level. In addition, autonomy seemed to be affected by the social setting in which it was exercised. In Phase one, the findings revealed that Vietnamese learners' self-initiation efforts mainly concentrated on covert learning in class. Outside the classroom, these learners preferred to undertake receptive rather than productive activities, and tended to avoid social interaction. Moreover, most aspects of LA positively and significantly correlated with EFL proficiency measures. Lastly, the task-specific training of self-regulation in Phase two resulted not only in significantly improved writing scores but also in greater LA. However, these metacognitive skills in writing did not seem to transfer to other areas of language learning, although improvements in writing were maintained in a delayed test. Overall, the study suggests that LA appears to be linked positively to language proficiency. High achievers are more likely to be autonomous learners. Most importantly, training learners in metacognitive regulation improved learners' writing ability and their autonomy in learning.</p>

Learner Autonomy and EFL Learning at the Tertiary Level in Vietnam

<p>There has been a growing interest in the role of learner autonomy (LA) in language teaching and learning. Over the last twenty years, researchers have extensively explored LA in a range of settings and have developed various approaches to fostering it both as a means to language learning and as an end in itself. This study attempts to investigate LA in the Vietnamese EFL context, and to explore the relationship between LA and language learning results. In this study, LA was conceptualised and operationally defined as learner self-initiation and learner self-regulation. The research was composed of three phases. The pilot study looked at the range of activities, and the amount of time devoted to learning English by 388 Vietnamese English majors of different levels of academic achievement. It identified differences in LA among students of different year levels as well as LA at two types of tertiary institutions in Vietnam. In the first phase, an exploratory correlational study was conducted among 177 students to comprehend features of LA as demonstrated by these students, their preferred self-initiated activities both inside and outside the classroom, and the relationship between each aspect of LA and language proficiency. In the second phase, an intervention study was conducted with the participation of 37 students in an experimental group, and 54 students in two control groups. Phase two explored the efficacy of a learner-based approach to promoting LA with a focus on strategy-based instruction. The three phases revealed several important findings. The pilot study discovered that the level of autonomy was related to students' level of academic achievement but not to their year level. In addition, autonomy seemed to be affected by the social setting in which it was exercised. In Phase one, the findings revealed that Vietnamese learners' self-initiation efforts mainly concentrated on covert learning in class. Outside the classroom, these learners preferred to undertake receptive rather than productive activities, and tended to avoid social interaction. Moreover, most aspects of LA positively and significantly correlated with EFL proficiency measures. Lastly, the task-specific training of self-regulation in Phase two resulted not only in significantly improved writing scores but also in greater LA. However, these metacognitive skills in writing did not seem to transfer to other areas of language learning, although improvements in writing were maintained in a delayed test. Overall, the study suggests that LA appears to be linked positively to language proficiency. High achievers are more likely to be autonomous learners. Most importantly, training learners in metacognitive regulation improved learners' writing ability and their autonomy in learning.</p>

Links Between Disadvantage and Educational Achievement in a Low-income Urban Setting in Bangalore, India

This study focused on the experiences that contributed to the academic achievement of students in disadvantaged settings in India. In India, young people in disadvantaged neighbourhoods are at higher risk of underachievement and dropping out of school. However, some of them achieve highly despite their adverse circumstances and experience. Through interviews with 12 high achievers and their school principal, this study explored the perceived factors that contributed to their academic achievement. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, and findings indicate a combination of protective factors at different levels – individual, family, school, and community – that contribute to resilience and achievement. The supportive relationships that these adolescents have at the different levels contribute to their achievement directly and indirectly. The findings are discussed in relation to theory with future considerations for Indian-centred research that can inform interventions in disadvantaged and low-income urban communities.

Identification of Preferred Learning Style of Medical and Dental Students Using VARK Questionnaire

Students have unique preferences when it comes to knowledge acquisition, information processing, retention in memory, and recall. This study is aimed at examining the preferred learning styles of medical and dental undergraduate students of Pakistan. It is also aimed at investigating the influence of gender, preclinical or clinical academic year, and academic record on the preferred learning style. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Pakistan. The learning styles of undergraduate students were identified using visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire. Students were also asked about their satisfaction towards teaching style of their teachers in institute. Descriptive statistics were done to characterize the learning styles of the students. The Fisher test and chi-square test were used to compare the learning preferences between genders and public/private sector students and among preclinical/clinical years. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. A total of 1473 students participated in the study. Among the students, 39.37% preferred unimodal learning style whereas 60.62% preferred multimodal style. Kinesthetic (K) and visual (V) were the most preferred unimodal styles. The preferred learning styles of female students are aural (A), visual (V), and kinesthetic (K), whereas male students preferred visual (V) and kinesthetic more (K). Students with lower academic record chose unimodal styles in comparison to high achievers that chose multimodal styles. Students of clinical year preferred multimodal and quadmodal styles in comparison to preclinical year students. An alarming 78% of students were dissatisfied with their teacher’s instructional style. Majority of students prefer multimodal learning styles over unimodal style. Gender, public/private sector, and academic record have influence on the preference of learning styles. Majority of the students are dissatisfied with their teacher’s instructional style and rely on social media platforms for understanding. Academics need to adapt their teaching methods according to student preferences in order to get better graduates.

A Classification Analysis of the High and Low Levels of Global Competence of Secondary Students: Insights from 25 Countries/Regions

The reinforcement of global competence is vital for students to thrive in a rapidly changing world. This study explores the synergistic effects of both student and school factors on the classification of secondary students with high and low levels of global competence. Data are selected based on 208,556 secondary students from 6902 schools in 25 countries/regions and extracted from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 datasets. Different from previous research, in this study, data science techniques, i.e., decision trees (DTs) and random forests (RFs), are adopted. Classification models are built to discriminate high achievers from low achievers and to discover the optimal set of factors with the most powerful impact on the discrimination of these two groups of achievers. The results show that both models have satisfactory classification abilities. According to the factor importance rankings in terms of discriminating global competence disparities, student factors play a major role. They especially emphasize students’ capacities to examine global issues, students’ awareness of intercultural communication, and teachers’ attitudes toward different cultural groups.

Effect of the REACT strategy on senior high school students’ achievement in molecular genetics

Molecular genetics, a key concept in biology, is found to be very difficult for students at the senior high school level. A situation largely blamed on teachers' instructional approaches. Since the Relating, Experiencing, Applying, Cooperating and Transferring (REACT) strategy is reported to be an effective pedagogical approach for improving students' understanding of science concepts, in this paper, we sought to explore its effectiveness on Senior High School students' achievement in molecular genetics in Ghana. To do this, the embedded mixed methods research design was employed. Two intact biology classes selected through simple random sampling were assigned as experimental and control groups and taught with the REACT strategy and the conventional approach respectively. Quantitative data were obtained with pre-test-post-test control group design and analysed with Independent sample t-test and ANOVA. The qualitative data on students’ perception of learning with the REACT strategy was obtained through interviews and analysed thematically. The findings showed that the REACT strategy was more effective for teaching molecular genetic compared with the conventional approach. Although REACT could not bridge the gap between low and high achievers in that group, the performance of low achievers in the REACT group was at par with high achievers in the conventional group. Students perceived the opportunity to search and share information as well as relate new concepts to prior learning provided by the REACT strategy to have facilitated their understanding of concepts in molecular genetics. It is recommended that biology teachers use the REACT strategy to teach concepts students find problematic.

OBSTACLES PREVENTING HIGH ACHIEVERS FROM LOW SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS TO ENTER UNIVERSITIES: A REVIEW

All students, regardless of socioeconomic status, deserve equitable access to universities. However, many high-achieving students are excluded from this privilege, most of whom come disproportionately from families on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder. This study aims to identify the barriers that influence high achievers from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds to pursue higher education. A total of ten relevant articles from prominent publication databases were chosen for this review. The results show that the majority of researchers believe that parents' negative attitudes, parents' low expectations, first-in-family, vogue career identity, financial factor, and thinking style factor are the primary impediments to high achievers from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds attending university. The results also enable university career counsellors to assist high achievers from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds to overcome any obstacles to effectively join universities and fulfil their educational goals.