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The increase in the use of educational technologies in Australian high schools has sparked this investigation into how Year 9 (13 to 14 years of age) students experience and negotiate a new technology enhanced learning environment in a bilingual classroom setting. The paper is about examining the students' language practices in German and English while using a Managed Learning Environment (MLE). The study aims to unearth how such translanguaging practices (using both German and English to communicate in bilingual education settings) contribute to and shape self-regulated learning in a scientific open inquiry process. This is corroborated by insights into student reflections on using the MLE in two languages, with data gained from a student survey. The study further analyses the relationship between bilingual language practices and adaptive tool use. The effectiveness of online learning environments depends on the students' adaptive tool-use (Barzilai & Zohar, 2006; Lust, Vandewaetere, Elen, & Clarebout, 2014) and the ability to engage in self-regulatory learning practices (Zimmerman, Bembenutty, & Schunk, 2013). Data were collected via voice recordings, a student-designed questionnaire and focus group interviews with 22 Year 9 students covering 18 Biology lessons during 6 weeks, over two consecutive years. The study revealed that students' self-regulatory practices during open inquiry processes developed in specific ways through the exposure to a bilingual classroom setting, e.g. by being exposed to unknown terms in German which led them to search for translations and then on to further self-initiated and self-regulated research to find explanations online However, when biology content knowledge was pre-prepared (in the second language of German) by the teacher in guided customized simulations on a computer software tool, students seem to favor such guided practices over self-initiated and self-regulated research as shown during the open inquiry task. However, independent of the specifics of bilingual language use in open or guided inquiry, the tool-use also appeared to be reliant on students' prior disposition. Consequently, results of this study might have interesting implications for the future customization of online learning spaces for high school students and educators in bilingual settings as well as other fields. [For full proceedings, see ED571332.]

Because of its religious significance, Al-Najaf City is considered one of Iraq's most popular tourist destinations. As a result, there is a lot of congestion on its metropolitan streets and crossings. Thus, this study aims to enhance the functionality of a few chosen intersections in the city of Al-Najaf. Three intersections—Al-Salam, Al-Jameea-Wafaa, and Al-Almany Hospital—are chosen with various attributes to accomplish this purpose. Using a video-capturing technique, peak-time field traffic quantities, signal timings, and phasing were ascertained. A satellite picture and field survey were used to identify the geometric design features. Video recording from both fixed and portable cameras is used to compute the traffic volumes needed for the study over six days during peak hours. To ascertain the percentages of noise and pollutants at the majority of the crossings under study, pollution, and noise devices were also employed. As an evaluation tool, the planning transport SIDRA 8 program was employed. With a level of service of F for every intersection, the results indicated a considerable delay in the studied intersections. Following that, recommend a network to enhance LOS and decrease delays at the intersections that were chosen for this investigation. By moving the LOS from F to D and from F to E for several links, the proposed network reduces congestion. The construction of overpasses for the Al-Salam and Jameea-Wafaa crossings is also recommended by this study, as it demonstrates greater improvement than the network option by lowering CO2 emission levels at each of the improved intersections and improving the LOS from F to D or better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper analysis of Grade 3 mathematics teaching in South Africa shows evidence of associations between teaching and learning outcomes in an adapted learning study. The intervention dealt with partitioning and part-part-whole relations, taking a structural approach within tasks and representations. Our analysis of this teaching emphasizes simultaneity of examples, and connections within and across examples and representations. This analysis indicated differences in enactment of a jointly planned lesson that related to different patterns of learning outcomes between the three classes. Episodes of teaching containing work with representations marked by connections and simultaneity closed gaps in learning outcomes seen in the pre-test. [For the complete proceedings, see ED597799.]