American Journal of Educational Research

In this paper, we propose an approach to determining accountability of teachers for organizing an adaptive project-based learning (PBL) environment. The environment enables customization on performance of students. The certain phases of teacher accountability are determined. Teachers would be accountable for preparing instructional material, teaching a subject through a relevant sample-project, guiding collaborative performance of group projects, and defining course study results. The first phase associated with holding teachers accountable for preparing instructional materials for teaching of subject while performance of a sample-project by every student and performing group projects and comprises: specification of a subject, specification of the sample-project and group projects, setting initial assessments of studying of a subject. The second phase aimed at holding teachers accountable for promoting development of subject-relevant knowledge during the sample-project performance and fostering adoption of specificity of adaptive PBL by students and comprises: submitting subject material while performance of the sample-project; facilitating learning by doing, assessing of students' knowledge after completion of the sample-project. The third phase aimed at holding teachers accountable for inducing development of higher-order knowledge and collaborative skills of students and comprises: fostering self-formation of knowledge heterogeneous collaborative groups; assigning projects of different complexity levels for collaborative groups; support of forming a structure of project tasks; setting adaptive assessments of knowledge and the fixed assessment of the collaborative skill. The fourth phase pertains to teachers’ accountability for defining results of the adaptive PBL, and includes: assessing student knowledge after completing the sample-project and group projects; assessing collaborative skills; defining complex summative assessment of students.

American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(5), 420-426. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-5-10
Pub. Date: April 16, 2016

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Producing Silencing: Portuguese Teaching/Learning in Rural Schools in the Italian Colonial Region, Brazil

by Dra. Carmen Maria Faggion and Dra. Terciane Ângela Luchese

Original Research

The teaching of Portuguese in schools in Italian immigration regions in Brazil became compulsory after 1937 as determined by Getúlio Vargas’s dictatorial government. This also occurred in the colonial region, in the south of Brazil, although children only spoke Italian dialects in rural areas. After Brazil entered World War II, Italian was prohibited and Portuguese was to replace it. Using accounts recorded in Memory Banks and Historical Archives, the objective of this paper is to analyze testimonies of students and teachers of that time, and try to reconstruct this subtractive teaching. Some teachers, however, used the Italian dialect of the region (Talian) to explain the Portuguese language. On the other hand, some pupils mentioned punishments that where given because they used Italian words. It is concluded that school had a crucial role in spreading the Portuguese language, and in starting the process of silencing Italian, which has been highly successful so far, despite a few attempts to rehabilitate Talian.

American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(5), 412-419. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-5-9
Pub. Date: April 16, 2016

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The Relationship between Mobile Cellphone Dependency, Mental Health and Academic Achievement

by Maryam Amidtaher, Saeed Saadatmand, Zainab Moghadam, Goona Fathi and Roghayeh Afshar

Original Research

Introduction and background: investigating mobile cellphone addiction among students regarding to increasing mobile use among them is necessary. We should examine vary psychological and academic aspects. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between Mobile cellphone dependency, mental health and academic achievement in students. Materials and Methods: The outline of this research in terms of data collection methods are descriptive and correlational studies. The population in this study consisted of all male and female high school students in Kermanshah in 2014-2015 school year. 340 students (182 females and 158 males) were selected by simple random sampling and questionnaire responded dependence 8on mobile phone and a list of 25 symptoms. The mean scores for the second term were considered as an indicator of academic achievement. For data analysis, Pearson correlation and stepwise regression were used. Results: The results showed that the mobile dependence and have a significant relationship deprivation tolerance, life dysfunction, compulsion-persistence and mental health with academic achievement. Multiple regression analysis showed that the components of the life dysfunction, compulsion-persistence, and deprivation tolerance predicted 23.9% of changes in academic achievement. Also, life dysfunction, compulsion-persistence, and deprivation tolerance predicted 20.1% of mental health changes. Conclusion: Students who are more dependent on mobile experience more psychopathology, academic failure in their lifetime.

American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(5), 408-411. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-5-8
Pub. Date: April 16, 2016

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Organizational Commitment of Higher Secondary School Teachers

by P. Srinivasan and K. Selvi

Original Research

In the present study, the investigators tried to find out the level of organizational commitment. In their day-to-day work, teachers can and do make huge difference to children’s lives directly through the curriculum they teach and indirectly through their behavior. The sample consisted of 300 teachers. The sample was taken using random sampling technique. Data was collected with the help of Teachers Organizational Commitment Scale (TOCS) by Sajid Jamal and Abdul Raheem (2014). The data obtained were analyzed statistically with the help of Mean, Standard Deviation and t – test. The statistical analyses were made with SPSS 21[7]. The findings suggested that the organizational commitment of teachers is high. There is no significant difference between male and female higher secondary school teachers. There is a significant difference between urban and rural higher secondary school teachers.

American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(5), 404-407. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-5-7
Pub. Date: April 15, 2016

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An Application of the Generalized Rectangular Fuzzy Model to Critical Thinking Assessment

by Igor Ya. Subbotin and Michael Gr. Voskoglou

Original Research

The authors apply the Generalized Rectangular Model (GRM) for assessing students’ critical thinking skills. GRM is a variation of the center of gravity (COG) defuzzification technique. The COG technique was properly adapted and used several times in the past by the present authors as an assessment method, called here the Rectangular Model (RM). The central idea of the GRM is the “movement” to the left of the rectangles appearing in the membership function’s graph of the RM, thus making the adjacent rectangles to share common parts. This treatment reflects better than RM the ambiguous assessment cases of student scores being at the boundaries between two successive assessment grades (e.g. something like 84-85% being at the boundaries between A and B) and therefore belonging to the common parts of the above rectangles. In fact, in GRM, assuming that these scores belong to both of the successive assessment grades, we consider twice the common parts of the rectangles for calculating the COG of the level’s section lying between the resulting graph and the OX axis. Our results are illustrated on the data of a classroom application performed in one of the Los Angeles Unified District High Schools and connecting the students CT skills with their language competencies.

American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(5), 397-403. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-5-6
Pub. Date: April 15, 2016

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Effective Online Discussion Forums as a Legal Learning Space

by Suriyakumari Lane

Original Research

E-learning is popular in institutions of higher education. There are many forms of e-learning. Academics post module handbooks, lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations, seminar questions, past examination questions, current coursework questions on module websites. Some have links to journal articles, chapters of books etc. placed on module websites, after copyright clearance has been obtained. Universities may have an e-library with various legal and other databases containing primary sources such as law reports and secondary sources such as journal articles. The various online sources of information are very useful to students, as they can do the learning at home, without having to attend classes (where they are unable to do so owing to various reasons) or physically go to the library to access hard copy law reports and journals. However, accessing sources of information in an online environment and reading content relevant to the learning topic is isolated learning. Studies have shown that more effective learning takes place in collaborative learning environments through discussion with other students and with tutors. In recognition of learning through group discussion, on ground seminars are organised. However, low attendance at on ground seminars is an increasing problem. Even when students attend, many of them have not done the reading necessary to effectively participate in the discussion. Their object in attending the seminar is to listen to the tutor and the few students who have done the required reading and contribute to the discussion. It is questionable whether for most students on ground seminars are an effective form of learning. In this paper I argue that a more effective form of learning is an online discussion forum. The research methodology is theoretical (based on a literature review) and empirical. I teach in an asynchronous text-based online learning environment with students and instructors from all over the world. The students and instructors can access the discussion forum at a time convenient to them. In contrast, in on ground teaching environments, students are required to attend and participate in the learning environment according to a timetable designed by the institution. The paper will first present a literature review on online discussion forums to lay down a theoretical framework, outlining the benefits and disadvantages of an online discussion forum and the requirements for creating an effective online discussion forum. Thereafter empirical evidence will be presented from the work done by the author in an online and on ground learning environment. In addition to classroom observations by the author, student perception of the learning environments will be evaluated by means of an end of module questionnaire, with quantitative and qualitative analysis by the author. The outcome that this paper hopes to achieve is to improve online discussion forums that currently exist in institutions which use such forums as a learning method and encourage academics in on-ground institutions to adopt blended learning (a mixture of face-to-face and online learning). The essential requirements for an effective online discussion forum will be set out.

American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(5), 392-396. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-5-5
Pub. Date: April 12, 2016

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Causes of Female Undergraduate Students’ Low Achievement in Arabic Grammar and Rhetoric from the Perspective of Female Teachers and Female Students themselves at Najran University

by Haifa Awwad Alhawamdeh and Afaf Abd Elmunim Hussein

Original Research

The present study aims to investigate the causes of low achievement of undergraduate female students at the University of Najran in the Arabic language grammar and rhetoric from the perspective of the teachers and female students themselves. The descriptive analytical approach used in this study, which applied to all first-grade female students majoring in Arabic language in the College of Arts and Sciences for Girls at the University of Najran. The sample consisted of (250) female students who are studying in the secondary stage in the city of Najran and (50) female teachers. Four questionnaires about the causes of low achievement in Arabic grammar and rhetoric distributed to the female students and teachers. The study indicated that there are particular causes that led to the low achievement of the students in Arabic grammar and rhetoric from the perspective of the female teachers and students. The study made some recommendations.

American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(5), 383-391. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-5-4
Pub. Date: April 11, 2016

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The Influence of Mathematical Communication on Students’ Mathematics Performance and Anxiety

by Laila S. Lomibao, Charita A. Luna and Rhoda A. Namoco

Original Research

Challenging students to communicate both orally and in writing in mathematics class help deepen their conceptual understanding, improve mathematics performance and reduce anxiety towards mathematics. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of mathematical communication on the mathematics performance and anxiety of high school students in Bulua National High School. Pretest-posttest quasi-experimental control group and qualitative research design were employed. Interviews were also done to verify responses for triangulation. Results of the analysis revealed that the students exposed to mathematical communication approach have significantly higher achievement, conceptual understanding and significantly reduced anxiety compared to the Dynamic Learning Program (DLP) approach. Hence, mathematical communication is effective in improving students’ achievement, conceptual understanding, and reducing anxiety.

American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(5), 378-382. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-5-3
Pub. Date: April 09, 2016

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Developing Pictographs for Increasing Adherence in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

by Marziyeh Hasani, Narges Khanjani, Mohammad Reza Mahmoodi, Mohammad Mehdi Fadakar, Abedin Iranpour and Mohammad Hossein Gozashti

Original Research

Introduction: The compliance of low literate and illiterate patients might be improved and disease complications prevented by using pictographs. This study was carried out using qualitative methods to design pictographs for increasing adherence in low literate and illiterate patients with diabetes mellitus. Material and methods: An action research was carried out after facing compliance problems in illiterate diabetic patients. A professional graphic designer designed pictographs under the supervision of health education, endocrinology and nutrition specialists, in two cycles and after conducting interviews with 23 low literate and illiterate patients. The data was analyzed by qualitative methods. Results: After a long and durable process and 23 interviews [with 16 illiterate and 7 low literacy persons[ and 2 cycles, 10 pictographs for correct medicine consumption, 8 for foot care, 4 for diet, 113 for food substitutes and 1 for physical exercises were created, which were acceptable and understandable for most patients. Conclusion: Pictographs might be helpful for increasing adherence in illiterate or low literate patients who have problems with written instructions. In the present study we designed some pictographs to help these patients. It is necessary to carry out studies to prove the efficacy of these pictographs in improving patient adherence through quantitative methods.

American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(5), 371-377. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-5-2
Pub. Date: April 08, 2016

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Perception and Utilization of Electronic Resources by Undergraduate Students: The Case of the Federal University of Technology Library, Akure

by Cecilia Funmilayo Daramola

Original Research

The research was carried out to assess the perception of the undergraduate students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure on the use of e-resources in the library. A total of 180 undergraduate students were randomly selected from the students who visited the e-resources section of the University within a period of eight months in 2015 (January – August). A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents; the data was analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, Likert type scale and means. The study revealed that the undergraduate students that visited the e-resources unit of the University were relatively young with a mean age of 22 years; male students visited the e-resources more than the female students. The e-resources in FUTA library are mainly used by male students that cut across most of the schools in the University. The major reasons for utilizing the e-resources were for assignment and research purposes. The E-resource frequently used was the e-journals, e-book and e-magazines. Although the students have positive perception of the e-resources, the most significant challenge faced by the students was insufficient computers in the e-library. Based on the findings, the study recommends that female students should be motivated to use the e-resources like their male counterparts. More computers should be provided in the library to cater for the needs of the students.

American Journal of Educational Research. 2016, 4(5), 366-370. DOI: 10.12691/education-4-5-1
Pub. Date: April 06, 2016

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