Nationally, nearly 40% of full-time community college students drop out before the second year, and drop-out rates for part-time students are even more astounding. In 2008, nearly 60% of part-time community college students dropped out before year two. As community colleges embrace President Obama’s call for a 50% increase in completion by 2020, it is imperative that community college leaders find ways to retain and graduate students. A number of community and technical colleges utilize the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) to quantitatively measure early campus connections. Building on the institutional early connection benchmark score, this study qualitatively describes first-year, persisting, full- and part-time students’ perceptions of early campus experiences and the role that early connections play in their decision to persist. The study employs a qualitative research approach via a single case study. Twenty-four, first-year, second semester, consecutively enrolled, full- and part-time students, who mirrored the college’s population participated in semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Findings indicate that early connections, as defined by the SENSE were not instrumental in persistence; however, a number of other factors were impactful: academic support; social influences; family support; and academic success. This study may provide information that will enhance the understanding of community college student perceptions related to factors that encourage persistence, and it may provide community colleges that operate within similar conditions, resources, and constraints with useful information as they design early connection strategies. / text

The aim of the study is to investigate some teachers´and students´perceptions of how the teaching of the subject Swedish is designed to motivate the development of students´ language, reading and writing when one to one is used. The study has a the communicative relationally oriented perspective on teaching. The method that has been used to answer the purpose of this study is qualitative and is based on semi structured interviews with some teachers´and students´. The result of the study shows that computers should be seen as an important part of the teaching design to increase students motivation to schoolwork when teachers are forming the teaching. The computer can be seen as a motivational boost for both teachers and students in teaching, but above all, the study shows it facilitates in students´ language-, reading- and writing development. The teachers´ perception is that the major benefits of one to one teaching with computers lies in the ability to adapt for students in need of support. The teachers have different perceptions on how computers can be used in teaching. Nevertheless, they are based essentially on the same motivational factors to increase students motivation for schoolwork, wich are the same as they always have used. Both teachers and students have an idea that other factors appear to be as important as the computer in order for them to be motivated; the importance of the teacher, the importance of the teaching to be structured, and that the teaching is based on the interest of the students, that it feels relevant and can be related to, are also important motivational factors in one to one teaching with computers. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka några lärares och elevers uppfattningar om hur svenskundervisningen är utformad för att motivera eleverna i deras språk-, läs- och skrivutveckling i en-till-en-undervisning med datorer. Studien har sin teoretiska utgångspunkt i det kommunikativa relationsinriktade perspektivet på lärande. Metoden som använts är kvalitativ och för att besvara studiens syfte har semistrukturerade intervjuer med några lärare och elever genomförts. Resultatet visar att datorn bör ses som en viktig del i lärares utformande av undervisning när det gäller att öka elevers motivation till skolarbete. Datorn kan ses som motivationshöjande för lärare och elever i undervisning, men framförallt visar studien att den underlättar i elevers språk-, läs- och skrivutveckling. Lärarnas uppfattning är att de stora fördelarna med en-till-enundervisning med datorer ligger i möjligheten att anpassa för de elever som är i behov av stöd på olika sätt. Lärarna har olika syn på hur datorn kan användas i undervisningen. Trots detta utgår de från i stort sett samma motivationshöjande faktorer för att öka elevernas motivation till skolarbetet, vilka är samma som de alltid har utgått från. Såväl lärarna som eleverna har en uppfattning om att andra faktorer framstår som minst lika viktiga som datorn för att de ska bli motiverade; lärarens betydelse, vikten av strukturerad undervisning, samt att det man arbetar med utgår från elevers intresse, att det känns relevant och går att relatera till är även de viktiga motivationshöjande faktorerna i en-till-en-undervisning med datorer.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-07T15:10:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1227594 bytes, checksum: 3ee9e7d40fcc53b79139f45d17e66aea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-14 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This paper presents an analysis of the initial effects of the implantation of the Integration Program of Professional Education with the Basic Education in the Modality Young and Adult Education (PROEJA), in the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Paraiba Campus Cajazeiras, from the perception of the teachers involved in the Program. The students who participated of the first class of the Integrated Course of Qualification in Microcomputers Operation, implanted in the referred institution in 2007 were privileged. The inventoried themes along the research were discussed from the official documents about Young and Adult Education, as the Law CNE/CEB nº 11/2000 (BRAZIL, 2000), from the Base Document of PROEJA (BRAZIL, 2007) and from other authors who discuss PROEJA, such as: Moura (2006), Santos (2006), Machado (2006) and authors who treat EJA, such as: Freire (2000), Gadotti (2007), Arroyo (2007), Paiva (2009) among others. The goals pursued, during the research, consisted of: describing the process of implantation of PROEJA in the referred Institution, emphasizing its main challenges; highlighting traces which characterize the students of the pioneer class of PROEJA in IFPB Campus Cajazeiras, identifying its initial expectances regarding the Program, to confront them with the expectances lived in the classroom and analyzing the school results referent to the referred class, highlighting the difficulties faced by the students who have remained in the program. Based, mainly, in a qualitative approach, this investigation had its data collected through a semistructured interview, complemented with information extracted from an individual file and a diagnostic evaluation, both applied to the students during the course. The analyzed data reveal that the implementation of PROEJA in the locus of the research has happened in the middle of a series of difficulties, both related to the school context and the life and work context of the students which, summed up, make it difficult for the individuals of EJA to be included in the school space and to be able to complete successfully high school integrated to a quality professional formation. / Este trabalho apresenta uma análise dos efeitos iniciais da implantação do Programa de Integração da Educação Profissional com a Educação Básica na Modalidade Educação de Jovens e Adultos (PROEJA), no Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia da Paraíba - Campus Cajazeiras, a partir da percepção dos discentes envolvidos no Programa. Foram privilegiados os educandos que participaram da primeira turma do Curso Integrado de Qualificação em Operação de Microcomputadores, implantada na referida instituição em 2007. Os temas inventariados no decorrer da pesquisa foram discutidos a partir dos documentos oficiais sobre Educação de Jovens e Adultos, a exemplo do Parecer CNE/CEB nº11/2000 (BRASIL, 2000), do Documento Base do PROEJA (BRASIL, 2007) e de autores que discutem o PROEJA, como: Moura (2006), Santos (2006), Machado (2006) e ainda autores que tratam da EJA, como: Freire (2000), Gadotti (2007), Arroyo (2007), Paiva (2009) entre outros. Os objetivos perseguidos, durante a pesquisa, consistiram em: descrever o processo de implantação do PROEJA na referida Instituição, enfatizando os seus principais desafios; destacar traços que caracterizam os alunos da turma pioneira do PROEJA no IFPB-Campus Cajazeiras, identificando as suas expectativas iniciais em relação ao Programa, para confrontálas com as experiências vivenciadas em sala de aula e analisar os resultados escolares referentes à referida turma, destacando as dificuldades enfrentadas pelos alunos para permanecerem no programa. Pautada, principalmente, em uma abordagem qualitativa, esta investigação teve seu dados coletados por meio de entrevista semiestruturada, complementada com informações extraídas de uma ficha individual e de uma avaliação diagnostica, ambas aplicadas aos alunos durante a realização do curso. Os dados analisados revelam que a implementação do PROEJA no lócus da pesquisa tem se dado em meio a uma série de dificuldades, tanto relacionadas ao contexto escolar quanto ao contexto de vida e de trabalho dos educandos que, somadas, dificultam que os sujeitos da EJA sejam incluídos no espaço da escola e consigam completar com êxito o ensino médio integrado a uma formação profissional de qualidade.

Skolans uppdrag är att främja identitetsutveckling, som syftar till att eleverna ska bli ansvarstagande, initiativtagande, självständiga och aktiva samhällsmedborgare.  Genom critical literacyundervisning kan lärare ge elever möjlighet att utveckla sin förmåga att arbeta kritiskt med genus, etnicitet, maktrelationer, klass och identitet. Elever möter många olika litterära och multimodala texter både i och utanför skolan. Studien syftar därmed till att öka kunskapen om elevers uppfattningar av critical literacy. Syftet ämnas uppnås genom två olika frågeställningar:  ·       Hur uppfattar elever texter utifrån de olika aspekterna som ingår i critical literacy, till exempel genus, makt och etnicitet?  ·       Hur upplever elever critical literacyundervisningen?  Studien är en kvalitativ studie, vars datainsamling är gjord genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju elever i årskurs 2 – 3. En fenomenografisk ansats användes för att undersöka elevernas uppfattningar. Materialet analyserades genom en tematisk analys, men den sociokulturella teorin genomsyrar arbetet. Studiens slutsatser är att eleverna hade skilda uppfattningar av critical literacy och de olika aspekterna. Många av de elever som deltog i studien diskuterade inte böcker och filmer med andra, om det inte var så att de uppmanades till det. I mötet med olika texter använde eleverna strategier som att läsa mellan raderna för att skapa mening, men de är inte medvetna om att de gör det. Eleverna gör intratextuella och intertextuella kopplingar, men anser själva att de inte tar erfarenheterna med sig. Elevernas uppfattningar av undervisningen skilde sig också åt, slutsatsen som kan dras av det är att de elever som läste mycket och som diskuterade de olika aspekterna under intervjuerna uppfattade critical literacymoment i undervisningen mer än de andra eleverna. Eleverna exemplifierade olika metoder som de använder i undervisningen för att bearbeta texter. / The schools’ mission is to promote identity development, which aims for the students to take the initiative and to be responsible, independent and active members of the society. Though critical literacy practices, the teachers can give their students the opportunity to develop the ability to stand critical to gender, ethnicity, power relations, class and identity. The students encounter many different literary and multimodal texts, both within and outside of school. Hence, the study aims to increase the knowledge about students perceptions of critical literacy. The aim will be accomplished by answering the following questions:  ·       How do the students perceive texts on the basis of the different aspects of critical literacy, for example gender, power and ethnicity?  ·       How do the students perceive the critical literacy practices within their education?    The study is a qualitative study, and the data collection is done through semi-structured interviews with seven elementary students in year 2 – 3. Phenomenography was used to investigate the participants perceptions. The data was analyzed through a thematic analysis, but the sociocultural theory was used throughout the study. The conclusions are that the students had different perceptions of critical literacy and the different aspects of it. Many of the participating students did not discuss books and movies with others, if they were not instructed to do so. The students use strategies, like reading between the lines, to make meaning of different texts, but they are unaware of their ways to comprehend the content. They make intratexual and intertextual connections, but when asked, they do not bring the experience into their everyday life. The student perceptions of the education did also vary a lot, the conclusion that could be drawn from that is that the students which read more and who discussed the different aspects during the interviews did have a bigger perception of the critical literacy practices than the other students. During the interviews, the student gave different examples of methods which were used in the classroom when they processed texts.

For many decades, college English teaching in China has been teacher-centered, mainly focusing on the enhancement of students’ four basic English language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, with little attention paid to the cultivation of students’ higher order thinking skills (Tang, 2016; Wang, Xu, & Zhou, 2016). The teacher-centered teaching approach has led to the problem that after having learned English for many years, students cannot speak English fluently (Dai, 2001). There has been a call for promoting the student-centered teaching model in China (NACFLT, 2000). One relatively new approach to support student-centered active learning is flipped instruction (Egbert et al., 2015). In a flipped classroom, the transmission of information in a traditional face-to-face class is moved out of class time, and the class time is devoted to engaging students in active learning to foster deeper understanding of course content and problem-solving skills. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the effects of the flipped classroom model on the learning of Chinese undergraduate students in a college English class. Using a purposeful sampling strategy, I selected a flipped English class in a private college in Shanghai, China, which can be regarded as a pioneer in promoting the flipped classroom model in China. I identified six second-year college students to be my respondents. During the six weeks of study in the fall semester of 2019, I collected data from multiple sources including one individual semi-structured open-ended interview with the instructor and each of the student participants, classroom observation, and documentation such as the teacher’s teaching plans, students’ journal entries, course projects, word maps and worksheets (both online or written ones). With a holistic analysis of the data collected, I explored students’ perceptions of the learning experiences in the flipped college English class, which lent an insight into the effects of the flipped classroom model on students’ learning. This study found that the teacher partly flipped her English class. Most of the learning of vocabulary and grammar was moved out of class. The learning of the articles in the textbook was partly flipped, with the initial understanding of the article done before class and the in-depth text analysis carried out in class. In class time, the teacher created an active learning environment with a variety of activities, encouraging students to think and speak English. The flipped learning tasks prepared students for the active learning in class, and the post-class learning tasks engaged students in further learning and thinking. All the six students regarded the teaching model as “original” and “helpful”. They perceived improved learning in the active learning environment in class. In addition, they perceived enhanced autonomy in learning, improvement in their English listening and speaking proficiency, and opportunities for cultivating higher order thinking skills. However, they were also faced with challenges in learning which they attributed to their low proficiency level of English listening and speaking. There was one outlier who preferred the traditional way of teaching and learning English, though he acknowledged the value of the teaching model adopted in this partly flipped English class.

No description available.

Many students in South Africa are unable to cope with the academic demands of tertiary education as they are not fully prepared for Higher Education (HE). Various inefficiencies in the South African HE system have been identified, including low throughput rates, student dissatisfaction, unsatisfying graduation rates, learner dropouts, learner repetition, motivation, self–efficacy, attitude, personality differences, maturation, the retention of failing learners and unit costs. Student performance and satisfaction cause concern for the government and the HE sector. The purpose of this study is to understand student satisfaction amongst Open Distance Learning BEd Hons students. It further aims to improve student satisfaction and quality in the programme by recognising the context sensitive needs, expectations and experiences of students from different cultural–language groups, as well as constructing guidelines to improve satisfaction. The purposeful sampling consisted of Second year BEd Hons teacherstudents enrolled for open distance learning at the School for continuing teacher education (SCTE). A total of 34 students participated in the study. This number comprised of fifteen students from the focus–group interviews and nineteen students who completed open–ended questionnaires. Students were chosen according to three criteria dimensions: major language groups, gender and number of years teaching experience. This study followed a qualitative investigation of two semi–structured, open–ended focus–group interviews in the format of conversations, as well as documentary analysis of the teaching and learning policy of the North West University (NWU), and an open–ended questionnaire. The data were taperecorded for accurate transcription and analysed by using Atlas.ti. Through the use of Atlas.ti, I constructed categories of recurring patterns in the dataset, and explored the relationships of these categories. Different strategies were used to enhance validity and reliability respectively. The findings indicated that students’ satisfaction with HE environment is influenced by the quality of the programmes offered to them, communication between lecturers/facilitators and students, environment at the learning centres and the support that students received from HEI. The students in their capacity as clients with Higher education institutions (HEIs) are influenced by the support they receive from their work environment, as well as the level of appreciation they receive from HEI regarding their own culture and values. They also value iii the environment they experience during course facilitations at the HEIs. The various student attributes also play a significant part in their satisfaction levels towards the HEIs. Findings also highlighted that students were not satisfied with the support they received from the Open distance learning (ODL) unit. It is clear that the students’ perception of the quality of the programme influences their level of satisfaction. Students are mostly satisfied with the quality of the programme but they feel the communication as well the support from HEI and ODL is not adequate. The students indicated that HEI and ODL do not display sufficient understanding and concern for students. They feel there should be a greater commitment from HEI and ODL to understand and consider the profiles of the students. HEI and ODL should actively consider the background, culture, values, attributes, and personal, as well as domestic circumstances of their students. The BEd Hons programme is a valuable and popular programme, but the responsibility rests with both HEI and ODL to ensure that both the quality and delivery of this programme are enhanced and improved so as to guarantee higher levels of satisfaction amongst students. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Many students in South Africa are unable to cope with the academic demands of tertiary education as they are not fully prepared for Higher Education (HE). Various inefficiencies in the South African HE system have been identified, including low throughput rates, student dissatisfaction, unsatisfying graduation rates, learner dropouts, learner repetition, motivation, self–efficacy, attitude, personality differences, maturation, the retention of failing learners and unit costs. Student performance and satisfaction cause concern for the government and the HE sector. The purpose of this study is to understand student satisfaction amongst Open Distance Learning BEd Hons students. It further aims to improve student satisfaction and quality in the programme by recognising the context sensitive needs, expectations and experiences of students from different cultural–language groups, as well as constructing guidelines to improve satisfaction. The purposeful sampling consisted of Second year BEd Hons teacherstudents enrolled for open distance learning at the School for continuing teacher education (SCTE). A total of 34 students participated in the study. This number comprised of fifteen students from the focus–group interviews and nineteen students who completed open–ended questionnaires. Students were chosen according to three criteria dimensions: major language groups, gender and number of years teaching experience. This study followed a qualitative investigation of two semi–structured, open–ended focus–group interviews in the format of conversations, as well as documentary analysis of the teaching and learning policy of the North West University (NWU), and an open–ended questionnaire. The data were taperecorded for accurate transcription and analysed by using Atlas.ti. Through the use of Atlas.ti, I constructed categories of recurring patterns in the dataset, and explored the relationships of these categories. Different strategies were used to enhance validity and reliability respectively. The findings indicated that students’ satisfaction with HE environment is influenced by the quality of the programmes offered to them, communication between lecturers/facilitators and students, environment at the learning centres and the support that students received from HEI. The students in their capacity as clients with Higher education institutions (HEIs) are influenced by the support they receive from their work environment, as well as the level of appreciation they receive from HEI regarding their own culture and values. They also value iii the environment they experience during course facilitations at the HEIs. The various student attributes also play a significant part in their satisfaction levels towards the HEIs. Findings also highlighted that students were not satisfied with the support they received from the Open distance learning (ODL) unit. It is clear that the students’ perception of the quality of the programme influences their level of satisfaction. Students are mostly satisfied with the quality of the programme but they feel the communication as well the support from HEI and ODL is not adequate. The students indicated that HEI and ODL do not display sufficient understanding and concern for students. They feel there should be a greater commitment from HEI and ODL to understand and consider the profiles of the students. HEI and ODL should actively consider the background, culture, values, attributes, and personal, as well as domestic circumstances of their students. The BEd Hons programme is a valuable and popular programme, but the responsibility rests with both HEI and ODL to ensure that both the quality and delivery of this programme are enhanced and improved so as to guarantee higher levels of satisfaction amongst students. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Background: Clinical instructors are expected to be excellent practitioners with great teaching skills. They play a vital role in teaching the next generation of respiratory therapists (RTs). Because clinical instructors impact the learning process of teaching the next generation, it is important to identify the effective teaching characteristics that contribute to the clinical success of the student from the perspective of RT faculty. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify effective behavioral teaching characteristics of clinical instructors that are deemed most and least important by RT faculty in the State of Georgia. METHODS: Data were collected through a descriptive survey. The survey was adapted and emailed to all RT faculty members listed on The Georgia Society for Respiratory Care (GSRC) website. The survey consisted of three main domains: professional competence, relationship with students, and personal attributes. Thirty-five behavioral teaching characteristics were presented on a five-point Likert scale according to importance. RESULTS: Nineteen responses were received out of forty emailed surveys, with a response rate of 47.5%. The majority of participants indicated a master degree as their highest degree. Almost 58% of the participants teach at programs that offer associate degree. The study findings indicated faculty members’ perceptions ranking of the most important behavioral teaching characteristics hold a lot of similarities and some differences. Among all provided teaching characteristics, “Facilitate critical thinking in clinical practice was perceived as the most important behavioral teaching characteristic with mean scores and S.D of (M 4.89, S.D ±0.31), respectively. In the domain of relationship with students, “Encourage students to feel free to ask questions or ask for help” was ranked the highest by the participants with a mean of 4.57 and S.D of ±0.50. In the personal attributes domain, “Able to collaborate with other disciplines” was ranked as the most important characteristic with mean scores and S.D respectively (M 4.68, S.D ±0.47). CONCULSION: Faculty from different program levels (associate, baccalaureate and master) agreed that “Facilitate critical thinking in clinical practice” was the most important characteristic. Based on these findings, it is highly recommend that clinical instructors strive to improve their attitudes toward students as the best way to achieve the goals of clinical teaching. They also showed the need for respiratory therapy programs to foster and to promote uniformly identified effective behavioral teaching characteristics.

Abstract This empirical study investigates how students in secondary school 7-9 learn the English language outside of school, in an informal setting, and how they can benefit from it in a formal setting in school. The usage of digital technology is more common nowadays amongst youngsters than it used to be before. Digital technology has become a part of young people’s daily lives, whether it is for social media, schoolwork, gaming or blogging. Most students in Swedish secondary schools have their own computers, mobile phones, and have the opportunity to borrow an iPad from school, if needed. For this reason, it is relevant and interesting to investigate how students use their informal knowledge of English in a school setting, and how teachers take advantage of that knowledge. The research focused primarily on how the incorporation of extramural English can be used as a motivating factor for students to develop their English language in a formal setting. The results showed that students who are given the opportunity to use their previous knowledge in the classroom, appeared to be more encouraged to engage in classroom activities. They were also more motivated to work with the assignments handed to them. Teachers who involved students’ interests and previous knowledge in the classroom were experienced in the use of different media in the classroom and had good knowledge about students’ daily lives and experiences, something that helped them establish a positive teacher-student relationship. Keywords: extramural English, out-of-school English, teaching materials, motivation, informal- and formal settings, students’ perceptions.