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Two university writing classes (N=49) in Japan completed three writing tasks that focused on marginalised communities utilising Google Drive and TEDxKyoto Talks as part of a writing portfolio assessment. Participants also completed a voluntary reflective survey. The reflective survey results indicated that students demonstrated an increased awareness of the communities discussed and a desire to undertake further similar exercises. Furthermore, the portfolio responses indicated that the students were capable of tackling complex topics effectively in the L2 writing classroom when combining TEDx Talks with Google Drive. This indicates that tasks which focus on issues of social importance utilising Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) inside the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing classroom can be both pedagogically and socially meaningful. [For the complete volume, "CALL for Widening Participation: Short Papers from EUROCALL 2020 (28th, Online, August 20-21, 2020)," see ED610330.]

Homework is considered as a substantial process of learning especially for engineering education. However, due to the fast development of network technology, students now can easily find solution manuals on the internet. While some students use solution manuals to study, there are quite a few students who just copy homework solutions and lose opportunities to learn. This paper proposes a self-assessment based homework model. In addition to finishing homework students need to correct their homework by using solutions and assess their performance using autopsies designed by the instructor. To test the efficiency of this model, an experimental study was carried out in "Control of Mechanical System" class with an enrollment of 39 students at California State University, Los Angeles. The results suggest that the proposed homework assignment model is effective.

Lower division engineering courses are important yet hard to teach as many students find these highly abstracted material hard to comprehend. Recent studies have suggested that flipped classroom teaching has potential to improve the teaching and learning of lower division engineering courses. While some educators are optimistic about the potential impact that flipped classroom teaching might provide, there are still many challenges to overcome during implementation. One of the major challenges faced by course developers, especially first-time developers, is to manage the heavy workload needed to design an effective practice that is suitable for their unique student body. This paper presents an iterative framework to help ease the adoption and continuous improvement of flipped classroom teaching, so that students' learning experience can be optimized over time. The framework is composed of two phases -- the initial design phase and the iterative tuning phase. In the initial design phase, a strategy that allows an instructor to quickly convert the existing course materials used for other lecturing methods into those suitable for flipped classroom teaching is introduced. This process involves designing a course structure according to its objectives, rearranging course content, and patching additional resources. Then, the iterative tuning for improvement will be explained, with a focus on identifying and addressing the most critical areas for improvement. Since the course instructor only focuses on resolving the most critical issues every semester, the workload becomes manageable. The flipped classroom teaching of a lower division mechanical engineering course "ME 2040 -- Circuit Analysis for Mechanical Engineers" is used as example to explain details about the utilization of the proposed course development and implementation process. Towards the end, the effectiveness of the development process in improving students' learning outcomes is discussed.

The Futures in Quality Education Workforce (FQEW) program provides current teacher aides and school secretaries an alternative pathway to becoming credentialed teachers. Offered by the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College in conjunction with 12 local school districts, the program offers alternative coursework and alternative scheduling of courses. Paraprofessionals currently working in the classroom may count their current work experience as observation hours, and student teaching is waived for them, thereby accelerating program completion. Interviews with 26 primarily Mexican American paraprofessionals participating in the program and two focus groups indicate that the FQEW project must continue to ensure that an adequate number of courses are available at times convenient to students (evening and summer). Students must receive appropriate counseling so they do not feel lost or discouraged and they clearly understand the steps needed to complete the program. Support must continue in the area of the student teaching waiver and allowing field-based observation hours in the current job setting. Program staff must continue to monitor students desiring to enter the teacher education program and provide assistance and support for passing the Texas Academic Skills Program test, which is necessary to meet admission requirements. The project must continue to address the financial, academic, and social barriers encountered by paraprofessionals working toward becoming credentialed teachers. (Contains 26 references) (TD)

Located along the U.S. Mexico border, colonias are unincorporated areas with no building codes, city taxes, or infrastructure. Most colonia residents live in poverty. Involving rural colonia residents from Hildago County, Texas, in a concerted effort to solve their problems became a central focus for a task force of educational and social reformers. All agreed that a community resource center was needed where colonia residents could meet, discuss community needs, and implement strategies to improve their living conditions. Such centers provide a place for community service workshops, instruction in English and citizenship, GED classes, student tutorial and computer assistance, boys and girls club activities, federal/state health and social service clinics, and empowerment of rural citizens. The task force visited a nearby community center similar to what they envisioned and then trained colonia residents who were actively involved in their communities as group facilitators. At subsequent meetings, these facilitators helped colonia residents identify their three most important needs, select representatives for the community center, focus on community-centered planning, and feel that they each had a part to play. The facilitators were instrumental in generating community support and ownership of the project. The idea caught the imagination of many individuals, organizations, and politicians who committed funding, land, and services to the project. The task force turned decision-making power over to a board elected from colonia residents. The center has taken tangible form and is now in the architectural phase. (TD)

This short-term longitudinal study examined antecedents (academic achievement and achievement goal orientations) of undergraduates' cost perceptions, and the relations between cost perceptions and later achievement. Two waves of data were collected in one semester from 86 diverse students enrolled in a general education biology course for non-science majors. The results of path analyses suggested that prior biology exam achievement negatively predicted cost perceptions. Mastery approach goals negatively predicted costs while both performance avoidance goals and performance approach goals were positive predictors. Cost perceptions did not significantly predict achievement goal orientations or academic achievement in the course. The results provide preliminary empirical evidence of factors that shape perceived costs. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Whereas relevance-writing interventions have shown effects on students' achievement, a persistent finding is that interventions benefit students with low, but not high, outcome expectancies--a phenomenon that Schwartz et al. (2016) termed the half empty question. In the current mixed-methods study, we investigated the role of undergraduate students' patterns of engagement in a relevance-writing intervention and their relations to biology course achievement. Ninety-six students who were administered four relevance writing assignments were found to manifest two patterns: Students who completed at least 50% of the intervention in a timely manner outperformed those who completed less-then-50% or completed it late, regardless of their pre-intervention motivation. A closer look into individual students' patterns showed diverse perceptions about the relevance-writing tasks.

Intervention research that supported the benefit of students' construction of relevance through writing has commonly defined relevance narrowly as utility value -- perceived instrumentality of the content to the student's career goals. In comparison, we employed a broad multidimensional conception of relevance. We also investigated how the content may influence relevance constructions. Qualitative content analysis of 38 undergraduate introductory biology students' relevance writing about the concepts of Evolution and Organismic diversity supported the dimensional variability of relevance constructions including the self-aspect connected to the content, the kind of connection made, and the type of perceived value, with some notable differences between the two biology concepts. We discuss the theoretical and educational implications of this content-specific and multidimensional conception of relevance.

The study investigated the following: (1) the relationship of problem solving appraisal to narcissistic vulnerability, locus of control, and depression; (2) the differences in problem solving appraisal, locus of control, and depression in first-time and repeat offenders; and (3) the prediction of problem solving appraisal by narcissistic vulnerability, locus of control, and depression in delinquents. Delinquent male adolescents (N=146) voluntarily completed a packet of instruments which included a revised measure of problem solving appraisal and measures of narcissistic vulnerability, locus of control, and depression. Results suggested a significant relationship between facets of problem solving appraisal and narcissistic vulnerability, locus of control, and depression in delinquent adolescents. These findings indicate that youth who appraise themselves as less confident and who have a tendency to avoid problem situations are more apt to experience depression, to possess an external locus of control, and to exhibit narcissistic vulnerability along the idealized sector. No significant differences in problem solving appraisal were detected between first-time and repeat offenders. Both groups appraised themselves as ineffective problem solvers. For repeat offenders, problem solving appraisal is predicted by peer-group dependence which would suggest that repeat offenders who appraise themselves as ineffective problem solvers tend to rely on their peers to sustain self-esteem. (RJM)

This paper presents findings of a study that examined female college students' perceptions of a successful manager in traditional and nontraditional sex-dominated occupations--nursing and management, respectively. The influence of the subjects' own sex-role orientation and self-efficacy were investigated. It was hypothesized that the traditional group of nursing students would have a feminine sex-role orientation, perceive the successful manager in masculine terms, and have low self-efficacy for the supervisory position. Management students were expected to have a more egalitarian sex-role orientation and to perceive the successful manager in more egalitarian terms, and have a higher self-efficacy for the management positions. Data were collected through a questionnaire of 164 female college students from several colleges in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties (66 from business/management classes and 98 from nursing programs). Instruments included the Schein Descriptive Index, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, and a general scale of self-efficacy. Findings supported the sex-role orientations hypothesis. Nursing students did have a more feminine sex-role identification. The hypothesis for self-efficacy was also supported, and management students exhibited higher self-efficacy for the management position. However, no differences were found in the way the two groups perceived the successful manager. Two figures and one table are included. (LMI)

The working of the educational system in a welfare state was examined in a longitudinal study of a cohort (initially 1,029) of students followed from age 7 to age 23 years. An initial sample included 329 males and 342 females, of whom 352 had working class careers and 319 had middle class careers. Relationships among social origin, gender, and career were analyzed; school performance, differentiation, and careers were determined for a final sample of 655 young adults. Social background had a heavy impact on career. Two-thirds of the working class children remained in a working class career, and two-thirds of the middle class children stayed in the middle class. Working class children were more likely to remain in the same career position, with less shifts of class position, than were middle class children. Class position shifts were also more common among women than men. In primary schools, differences in cognitive performance among students increased and students followed different career paths. Student perspectives on schooling in retrospect indicated more school acceptance among middle class students and among those with middle class careers. The results highlight the need to view the impact of the educational system in terms of cultural responses and social mobility in the welfare state. Three tables and two diagrams present study data. A 53-item list of references is included. (SLD)

Life trajectories and education in a welfare state were examined from two points of departure. The ways in which education as a system is related to social origin, gender, and career were analyzed in a longitudinal study following a cohort of 671 students (329 males and 342 females) in a Swedish community through the educational system and into the labor market from age 7 to age 23 years. A total of 352 of these students had working class careers, and 319 of these students had middle class careers. Data for 655 of the students underwent more detailed statistical analyses. Secondly, students' concepts of education were examined through criticisms and visions of a better school life as found in the life stories of 26 26-year-old participants in the longitudinal study. The functioning of the system of education in the society is described and contrasted with the lived experiences of persons in different careers and positions in society. The impact of education on the lives of citizens of the welfare state and the meaning of school experiences in the reproduction of education and educational change are reviewed. Three tables and three graphs illustrate the study. An appendix contains results of covariance analyses of performance dependent on social background, career, gender, and school and earlier performance; and subjects' criticisms and visions of education. (SLD)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of self-pacing instruction in a science methods course on teachers' achievement and attitudes toward science. A second purpose was to examine "open and closed" mindedness and achievement in science methods instruction. Twenty pre-service elementary school teachers were randomly selected and assigned to two treatment groups. One group received self-pacing instruction; the other group was taught in a normal classroom setting. Both groups received science instruction based on a modular package. The research design used is the one proposed by Campbell and Stanley as the Post-Test Only Control Group Design. Data were analyzed by t-test and Pearson product-moment correlations. The results indicate that teachers who were taught utilizing a self-pacing technique did not achieve significantly better or have attitudes that were different from those who were not self-paced. These results indicate the need for educators to examine self-pacing under different learning environments. (Author/BR)

This study of the school-related factors that influence the persistence or withdrawal of Hispanic American high school students did not validate Tinto's model of dropout behavior. Tinto's model (1975) is based on a sequence of the following variable clusters: (1) background characteristics; (2) external factors; (3) academic integration; (4) social integration; and (5) commitment to school. An adaptation of Tinto's model was applied to a sample of high school student volunteers in Chicago (Illinois) that included 98 Puerto Rican, 189 Mexican, and 6 other Hispanic American students. The following findings are discussed: (1) school-related variables did not predict persistence/withdrawal behavior for the total sample, or for the male, female, Mexican, or Puerto Rican subgroups; (2) school-related variables influenced the school commitment of Mexican males; (3) external factors influenced the persistence/withdrawal for the total sample and for males and females separately; (4) school commitment variables positively influenced persistence for males but not for females; (5) Puerto Rican students appeared to be positively influenced by pre-high school achievement and negatively influenced by external factors, whereas Mexican students were more likely to be positively influenced by personal commitment; and (6) patterns of persistence behavior varied by Hispanic subgroup and by sex. The following materials are appended: (1) a list of 65 references; (2) seven tables of statistical data; (3) one figure; and (4) a categorization of the survey and data items. (FMW)

While the community-junior college is the single most viable institution to meet the challenges of diverse students, the specific needs of the Spanish-speaking student are currently being met marginally or not at all. Student profiles at selected institutions indicate that there has been a continuing increase in minority enrollments, both of males and females, in public and private institutions. This is reflective of efforts made by many institutions to attract new clients, but should not be equated with the development of instructional strategies to meet their needs, nor are the figures reflective of the holding power of the institutions. Studies indicate that linguistic factors are of major importance in producing successful educational outcomes; the fact that only 5.23% of Hispanic males enrolled in community colleges complete their associate degree work may indicate that adequate bilingual programs have not been provided. Twelve data tables derived from government sources present information on comparative changes in enrollments, by sex, institutional level, ethnic background of those in public and private institutions, educational status of two-year college entrants, community college growth, associate degrees awarded, minority group representation in higher education, household languages, and enrollment and dropout information by language usage. (AYC)

To assess the effect of summer vacation on the overall reading ability of first through fifth graders, as measured by norm-referenced and criterion-referenced reading tests, a study was conducted involving 84 children. In the spring testing, the researcher administered the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, Form 1, and the Wisconsin Tests of Reading Skill Development, Form 1, the last two weeks prior to summer vacation. In the fall testing, Form 2 of the same tests was given. A summer activities questionnaire was administered to exclude children who had received reading instruction during the summer. Three hypotheses were formulated: (1) there is no difference between spring and fall mean scores of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test; (2) there is no difference between spring and fall variance scores on the Gates-MacGinitie; (3) there is no difference in the spring and fall mean scores measured by the Wisconsin Tests of Reading Skill Development. Hypotheses one and two were accepted, and three was accepted with qualifications. The results suggest that no significant loss in reading ability occurs over the summer vacation; therefore, teachers using objective-based reading programs need not conduct massive retesting or reteaching in the fall. (Tables of findings are included.) (FL)

Social change goals and objectives may be achieved by social change advocates through the policy development process. Policy is defined as a set of decisions governing the behavior and actions of institutions and individuals. The legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government comprise the major policy institutions. The bureaucracy of the executive branch and public interest groups also play a significant role in shaping policy. In the policy development process of the congressional branch, change advocates can intervene at three central points: the subcommittee, full committee, and full body deliberations. In the executive branch, intervention points include regulations, budget, and program planning activities. Litigation is the primary vehicle to obtain policy guidance in the courts. Commitment to obtaining effective organization, leadership, and resources to effect change is of primary importance. The major purpose of organizations providing policy guidance is to defend and promote the interests of their constituencies through the linking of data, research and evaluation findings, information, and communication with political sophistication. Elements fundamental to the policy change effort involve building the organization; knowing the political processes; networking local, regional, and national communications; and developing coalitions between change advocates and organizations. (Author/KC)

Inservice programs that are likely to accomplish their objectives are characterized by: (1) differentiated training experiences; (2) teachers in active roles; (3) an emphasis on demonstration, supervised trials, and feedback; (4) sharing and mutual assistance; (5) activities linked to a general effort of the school; (6) teachers who choose goals for themselves; and (7) self-initiated, self-directed training activities. This study compared these desirable program characteristics as they existed in both centralized (district-based) programs and decentralized (school-based) programs. A survey conducted in 128 schools in Texas revealed greater overall satisfaction with programs classified as decentralized than with those identified as centralized. Recommendations are offered for general improvement of inservice programs. A copy of the survey instrument is appended. (JD)

The process for initiating an inservice program begins with the appointment of an Inservice Education Steering Committee (IESC), composed of teachers, teacher aides, parents, and administrators. In the first phase of the model, the IESC reaches a consensus on what inservice education is, why it is needed, and who plans and conducts it. In the second phase, teaching competencies are identified and classified. A needs assessment is conducted in the third phase. The information gathered from the needs assessment is used to plan workshops and to provide for leadership and the continuation of the program. The fifth and last phase is concerned with personalizing training for each individual and grouping teachers according to stated needs. Each group plans a training program and submits its request to the IESC. After approval, further planning is done by each group, including arranging for consultants, travel, and providing substitutes. Six attachments provide information on Teacher Corps goals and competencies, IESC functions, characteristics of inservice programs, and teaching skills and behaviors. (FG)

A cooperative effort was made by the faculty of South Carolina State College to strengthen student skills perceived as critical to successful performance on standardized tests required for admission to teacher preparation programs and teaching certification. The areas of language skills, reading comprehension, critical thought, and test-taking were identified as important. Instructors examined objectives and evaluation procedures for each course in a teacher education program area and generated an overall assessment plan for each course and teacher education program. An Objectives Intent Review Form was used for each objective. This form involved stating the course objective, indicating the cognitive level, describing the ideal procedures for assessing its attainment, and determining whether its attainment could be measured with an objective-type test item. Objectives were restated, and faculty members were trained on the principles of test item construction, including instruction on desirable and undesirable test item characteristics and specification of item-writing principles. The result of this endeavor was a certain amount of modification of the curriculum to make it more pertinent to the types of examinations students will encounter prior to and during their careers. (JD)

This paper presents the three year process used in developing a teacher evaluation model for the Fort Worth (Texas) Independent School District. Based on Dr. Richard Manatt's School Improvement Model for Teacher Performance Evaluation, the purposes of the model were to improve teaching skills and to enable valid and reliable judgements concerning promotion, retention and termination of professional employees. The process involved (1) the selection and training of the nine teachers and nine administrators for the Teacher Evaluation Committee; (2) inservice training for evaluation of teachers through nine workshops; (3) establishing behavior criteria and standards in four performance areas (instructional skills, organizational and classroom management skills, professional performance, and interpersonal skills) and developing formative and summative evaluation instruments; (4) inservice administrator training on using the new instruments; (5) pilot testing the evaluation process with volunteer teachers; (6) analyzing the questionnaire and interview data from the pilot test; (7) field testing the revised evaluation process; and (8) making revisions for compliance with State of Texas House Bill 72 in regard to assigning teachers to career ladder levels based on observable, job-related behavior. Copies of the formative and summative evaluation report forms are appended. (BS)

Integrative learning is an application of the theory of multiple intelligence to teaching strategies and learning environments. Teachers in various parts of the country who have used integrative learning principles in their classrooms have noted dramatic gains in students' test scores and significant reductions in the amount of time required for learning. Integrative learning is reaching out to and succeeding with disadvantaged populations where traditional teaching has not succeeded, and has been seen as a means of drastically reducing the time needed for learning certain skills. The National Academy of Sciences has recommended accelerated learning as one of three approaches promising a breakthrough in learning development. The next step is to create a national program of accelerated literacy based on the principles of integrative learning. The cornerstone of the project should be efforts to reach out and succeed in teaching literacy in societies and cultures where traditional teaching has failed. Under the new program, everyone involved in the literacy movement from policymakers to trainers must be made to realize that there are at least four other types of intelligence besides those traditionally held in the Western view. These are the kinesthetic-body, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and musical forms of intelligence. Appropriate approaches for tapping these intelligences (including the use of animation and folklore) must be incorporated into the new literacy program. (MN)

Mexican American teenagers' perceptions of sexual norms are influenced by marianismo and machismo, as well as friends and family. Within that social context, religion, especially Catholicism, influences those norms as well. Both females and males are socialized to gendered norms about sex and sexual expectations. Women are taught, in part, to satisfy men's sexual desires, but also to remain virgins. This study was conducted to investigate Mexican American High School students' perceptions of sex and gender norms. From a survey of 348 students, this study created two regression models to examine perspectives on sex and gender norms for women. The first regression model, which examined a Female Sex Norms Index, reflected increased liberal perspectives about women and sex for grade level (p<0.001) and LGBTQ identification (p<0.001). Students are more likely to reflect more liberal beliefs when they perceive more liberal perspectives of their parents (p<0.05) and their friends (p<0.05). However, growing up in a very religious family (p<0.05) was significantly related to more conservative perspectives on gender-based sex norms for women. The second regression model, which focused on an Assertive Female Sex Norms Index, again found that grade level (p<0.05) and LGBTQ status (p<0.05) were significantly and positively related to more liberal perspectives, whereas growing up in a very religious family was related to significantly more conservative perspectives (p<0.05). Overall, both models suggest that increasing grade level, a proxy for age, and LGBTQ status relate to more liberal perspectives on women and sex norms. Growing up in a religious family, on the other hand, related to significantly more conservative perspectives of Mexican American High School students. Gender was not significant in either model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]