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Management education, continuously evolving since the 1990s, recognizes the need to develop proficient management professional's adept at strategic decision-making. The present research delves into the effectiveness of a management course for first-year students at a chosen School of Management, underlining its paramount importance in ensuring student retention and bolstering departmental stability. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of traditional physical and online learning methods in a management course for first-year students at a university in Taiwan, focusing on students' satisfaction with their learning performance. The study aims to compare the educational efficacy of these two instructional modes and analyze the variations in student performance and satisfaction. The methodology involved a longitudinal design with data collection from first-year students in 2022 (online learning) and 2023 (physical learning). The research employed pre-test and post-test evaluations, regression analysis, and Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) to assess the impact of course units on students' learning satisfaction. This study employed regression analysis to determine the influence of enhancing "Management Basis" and "Management Operations" on satisfaction. The results revealed that online learning outperformed physical learning in terms of overall student satisfaction, particularly in understanding "Management Basis" and "Management Operations." However, physical learning demonstrated higher improvements in student scores and satisfaction, particularly in areas requiring detailed explanations and hands-on engagement, such as "Control Tools.". The novelty of this research lies in its comparative approach to evaluating two distinct learning environments during a critical period marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings offer valuable insights into how different teaching modalities impact student satisfaction and learning outcomes, providing guidance for educators to refine instructional strategies to enhance student learning efficacy across different formats. The study underscores the importance of adapting teaching methods to suit the specific demands of online and physical learning environments.

This study explored the views of 63 Taiwanese pre-service teachers who had participated in a workshop about the value of integrating drama-based approaches in their practical science learning. It was primarily designed to investigate the pedagogical approach of Heathcote and other founders of process drama. In addition, it examined specific claims that it immerses learners in an enjoyable and social learning environment (Poston-Anderson, 2008; Lin, 2017) and that learners can practice core scientific skills such as making predictions, observing, and then validating their predictions (Weisberg et al., 2016). Following the workshop, participants completed an anonymized online questionnaire. Descriptive data analysis indicated that most participants (75%) strongly agreed that integrating drama-based approaches into practical science teaching was satisfying. Of the remainder, 20.7% agreed, 2.1% neither agreed nor disagreed, 2.2% disagreed, and none strongly disagreed with this statement. Moreover, 34.9% of the participants lacked opportunities to experience improvisation and integration of drama-based teaching in practical science. The study indicated that a drama-based approach can be a highly effective strategy for enhancing practical science teaching among pre-service teachers. Furthermore, the findings provide valuable insights into the factors influencing drama-based teaching in practical science. They suggest it could be an excellent strategy to stimulate learners' interest in science and interdisciplinary science-related subjects and improve their science skills. Teachers could thus provide young children with similar drama-based teaching in practical science activities to promote their learning of science. Finally, the study offers a set of important recommendations for future pedagogical policymaking and further research by drama-based practitioners.

The increasing internationalization of Higher Education Institutions has facilitated universities from East Asian countries like Taiwan, Korea, and China to value university rankings more in enhancing their admissions and reputation. Especially when Taiwan and China are all considered belonging to Chinese social community, returnee doctorates are assumed to possess international experience that is theoretically helpful to improve their research productivity and university employers generally prefer foreign-trained doctorates. However, there is little research to prove that returnee doctorates are more productive than local doctorates because of more frequent international mobility. This research examines a University in Taiwan, a prominent academic research university, credible for its research productivity. From the perspective of bibliometrics, this study used the Scopus International Academic Database to identify publications, citations, and Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) as credible indicators of research productivity, controlling for personal background, doctoral training, international mobility, and research collaboration. We hope that the differences in research productivity between local and returnee doctorates can be measured more comprehensively and objectively. The results of this study found that there is a significant difference in the higher FWCI score of research publications between local and returnee doctorates, and further found that there is a significant positive relationship between local doctorates, published papers during doctoral studies, prestige of supervisors, and international and domestic research collaboration on research productivity. Those that identified international mobility in careers had a stronger impact on research productivity compared to those of the doctorate educating stage, and both international and domestic research collaboration were important for research productivity. The results based on empirical analysis broke the myths of returnee doctorate corresponding to high research productivity in this study, and can serve as a reference for faculty recruitment and research environment enhancement in research-oriented universities in Taiwan and other Asian countries. Policy implications are also discussed.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions adopted several technology-driven platforms (such as Google Meet) as an alternative to traditional in-person classrooms. Researchers have been concerned about the evaluation of learning satisfaction and continuous learning intentions. As such, the purpose of this research was to investigate how the implementation of Google Meet affected the learning flow experience of Taiwan students amid the pandemic. The hedonic (perceived enjoyment, perceived vividness, perceived interactivity) and utilitarian (system quality, service quality, information quality) factors were integrated into the perspective of learning flow. Furthermore, this study also examined how flow experiences influence satisfaction and continuous learning intention. The structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data gathered from a sample of 213 students. According to the findings, hedonic and utilitarian factors all significantly influenced flow experiences. As learning flow increased in remote learning, satisfaction and continuous learning intention were also increased. The results can provide significant implications for flow and learning theory, and offer concrete suggestions for teaching practices and education learning platforms.

The aim of this study was to identify process-related indicators for grading group essays. The research participants were students registered in a teacher-training course using an instructional design with face-to-face and digital blended learning. The course required the students in small collaborative groups to design, implement, and evaluate a teaching program using creative pedagogical designs, which were documented using group essays. Four indicators relating to group essays along the course process were collected: (A) group essay grades assessed by different agents, (B) students' other course grades or behaviours (i.e., multiple assessments) as well as (C) comment behaviours and (D) version history behaviours through an online co-editing system (i.e., Google Docs). Statistical analysis results indicated that the instructor's group essay grades were related to the group essay grades assessed by out-group peers (i.e. peers from other groups), online group comment frequencies, and online group comment interaction density.

In recent years, smart healthcare technologies used to facilitate precision medicine in clinical practice have increasingly become a topic of discussion. Nurses and nurse preceptors are critical professionals in hospitals, and are also the frontline staff using smart healthcare. The purpose of this study was to investigate nurses' and nurse preceptors' perceptions of smart healthcare (including learning motivation, learning attitudes, and personal innovativeness) and the differences in their conceptions of learning in smart healthcare technology contexts. The research findings showed that nurse preceptors had higher mean scores than nurses for learning motivation, learning attitudes, and personal innovativeness in smart healthcare, especially for learning attitudes and personal innovativeness. The nurse preceptors' conceptions of learning in smart healthcare technology contexts were also more diverse than those of nurses. The main differences are that nurses' drawings showed a healthcare setting where learners (both patients and nurses) use computers to connect to cloud services for online visits, and where patients can engage in online health education learning activities via computers or mobile devices. The nurse preceptors' drawings focused on the delivery of nursing knowledge and skills to learners via VR technologies, helping diagnose patients, analyzing medical data, and predicting healthcare through smart healthcare technologies.

In the late nineteenth century, Protestant missionaries introduced modern education for the blind people in Taiwan and Korea. They developed various tactile reading systems to enhance literacy and provided handicraft training for self-sufficiency. When these regions came under Japanese colonial rule in the first half of the twentieth century, the colonial government introduced Japanese Braille and massage training for blind students. However, most of these training programmes fell short in effectively equipping blind individuals for sustaining their livelihoods upon completing their education. As a result, paradoxically, tactile reading systems initially designed to discourage blind individuals from participating in traditional fortune-telling practices ended up inadvertently catalysing the modernisation of these longstanding traditions. This case study highlights the intricate and diverse nature of special education in East Asia.

In a conventional art course, it is important for a teacher to provide feedback and guidance to individual students based on their learning status. However, it is challenging for teachers to provide immediate feedback to students without any aid. The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has provided a possible solution to cope with this problem. In this study, a deep learning-based art learning system (DL-ALS) was developed by employing a fine-tuned ResNet50 model for helping students identify and classify artworks. We aimed at cultivating students' accurate appreciation knowledge and artwork creation competence, as well as providing instant feedback and personalized guidance with the help of AI technology. To explore the effects of this system, a quasi-experiment was implemented in an artwork appreciation course at a university. A total of 46 university students from two classes who took the elective art course were recruited in the study. One class was the experimental group adopting DL-ALS learning, while the other was the control group adopting conventional technology-supported art learning (CT-AL). The results showed that in comparison with CT-AL, learning through the DL-ALS could facilitate students' learning achievement, technology acceptance, learning attitude, learning motivation, self-efficacy, satisfaction, and performance in the art course.

The mediators of real-world executive functions in autism during the transition into adulthood are mainly unknown. This study aimed to identify the mediators for the behavioral and cognitive domains of real-world executive functions in late adolescent and young adult autistic populations. We followed up 289 autistic children (aged 11.6 ± 3.8, male 82.2%) and 203 non-autistic controls (10.7 ± 2.9, 66.5%) to their ages of 16.9 ± 4.7 and 15.8 ± 3.9, respectively. The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, comprising two global scales (Behavioral Regulation Index and the Metacognitive Index), was used to assess real-world executive functions at Time 2. Mediators of behavior regulation and metacognition were explored among a wide range of clinical correlates and parental bonding. We found that the autistic group had lower executive functions than the non-autistic group with lower behavior regulation and metacognition subscores. Several childhood factors were significant mediators. Multiple mediation analyses revealed that childhood inattention remained a significant mediator for both behavior regulation and metacognition in late adolescence, and peer problems were the specific mediators of metacognition. Our findings suggest several childhood factors may mediate real-world executive functions during late adolescence. Treating common mediators such as inattention may improve real-world executive functions in autistic individuals during adulthood.

Considering the significance of lifelong learning in advancing active aging in aging societies, the ability to engage in self-directed learning plays a crucial role for adults. There are many self-directed learning (SDL) tools available that measure the SDL abilities of nursing students and healthcare professionals. However, fewer SDL tools specifically designed for middle-aged and older adults have been developed. The purpose of this research was to examine and confirm the factor structure and the internal consistency of the SRSSDL-adult scale, specifically for middle-aged and older adult learners enrolled in senior learning centers. A cross-sectional method was adopted. Both Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were conducted to assess the structural validity of the scale. The internal consistency was determined using the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. The results indicated that the five factors -- learning needs assessment skills, learning planning skills, learning execution skills, self-assessment skills, and interpersonal skills -- showed acceptable levels of reliability. The revised 25-item SRSSDL-adult scale was found to be a valid measure of middle-aged and older adults' self-directed learning abilities in the context of senior education programs. The findings of this study have the potential to be utilized by educational institutions and educators involved in senior education programs.

This study aimed to examine the effects of an AI-based object detection translation (AI-based ODT) application (app) on EFL students' vocabulary learning. We developed a system that utilized strategies to facilitate learners' vocabulary learning. The app applied dual code theory to present the objects in picture, word, and pronunciation formats. Seventy-two elementary school students were divided into lower-ability and higher-ability groups according to their English proficiency, and were then randomly assigned to the control and experimental conditions based on their ability. The learners' learning performance in the control and experimental conditions was compared using a pre-test--post-test design. Through two-way ANOVA analysis, we observed that in the experimental group the higher-ability students benefited more from the AI-based ODT app technology than did the lower-ability students. This significant difference could be taken as evidence of the positive effect of the AI-based ODT app technology, particularly for higher-ability students.

With the rapidly growing body of medical knowledge, physicians must engage in lifelong learning. Physicians' orientation toward lifelong learning is of crucial importance. This study aimed to explore the effects of job characteristics on physicians' lifelong learning. A multicenter study collecting data from physicians from three medical centers in Taiwan was performed. A total of 321 physicians were surveyed with the Chinese version of the Job Content Questionnaire (C-JCQ) and the revised Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning (JeffSPLL) to assess their job characteristics (i.e., job demands, job control, social support) and orientation toward lifelong learning. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to validate both questionnaires. Hierarchical regression was utilized to explore the relationship of job characteristics and predictors with physicians' lifelong learning. The results revealed that job demands ([beta] = 0.10), job control (beta] = 0.19), social support from supervisors (beta] = 0.16), the interaction of job demands × job control (beta] = - 0.11) and the interaction of job demands × social support from colleagues (beta] = 0.13) were significantly (p < 0.05, p < 0.001) related to lifelong learning. Moreover, physicians in the active group (high demand, high control) possessed a stronger orientation toward lifelong learning (mean = 3.57) than those in the low-strain group (mean = 3.42), high-strain group (mean = 3.39) and passive group (mean = 3.20). In conclusion, examining physicians' job demands, job control and social support helps us to understand their orientation toward lifelong learning and may provide insight to improve educational strategies.

In recent years, governments have paid much more attention to online learning platforms. This study establishes a high-performance agricultural digital learning platform (hereafter referred to as the Platform), in an attempt to (1) achieve learning diversity, improve users' learning ability and willingness to learn, and unblocking geo-restrictions, and (2) design cloud-based e-learning materials and assess their learning effectiveness through the use of satisfaction surveys. A cloud-based high-efficiency online course platform for the agricultural community uses a real-time streaming analysis to determine the network string flow during users' video playback and enables dynamic allocation to obtain the best server effectiveness. Users can remain motivated while taking high-quality online courses. With the establishment of cloud-based course materials, and the specificity of agricultural information, we hope to improve users' learning motivation and learning effectiveness. Furthermore, this study uses satisfaction surveys and the UTAUT model to assess the research findings according to whether the users' performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions have a positive impact on the perceived satisfaction and perceived usefulness. We verified this point and inferred that digital learning can support the agricultural community significantly.

Background: As individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities age, their siblings are more likely to assume caregiving responsibilities. However, little is known about experiences of East Asian siblings with respect to their caregiving and future-planning within their own country, as well as other East Asian countries. Methods: Using a national survey, this study explored experiences of 576 siblings across South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Results: A common factor across the three countries was that siblings were less engaged in advocacy and future-planning activities and felt less competent to play the role of caregiving. Korean siblings reported more negative views about disability, while Japanese siblings reported less engagement in future-planning and Taiwanese siblings reported greater involvement in caregiving. Conclusion: Based on 'universalism without uniformity', it is recommended to develop culturally sensitive sibling-targeted intervention based on each country's context.

Aim and background: The aim of this study was to investigate students' attitudes, rationales, and approaches to making open educational resource (OER) videos (a form of OERs) on sustainable development (SD) in order to identify students' competencies and effective pedagogical designs. Method: Students registering for a teacher training course were invited to design and create pedagogies, make OER videos, and share the videos on YouTube on five SD topics: sustainable lifestyle, campus, community, enterprise, and earth development. The students provided their weekly journals and a final reflection on the whole process of making the OER videos on SD. This study used qualitative data analysis and text mining methodologies to analyse students' process data of making OER videos on SD. Results and discussion: The analysis results revealed that making OER videos on SD needed students' ideational, inquiry, societal, and disciplinary competencies. Inferred pedagogical suggestions for practitioners to support students in making digital products on SD are to follow a linear pathway from ideational creation, inquiry process, societal transformation, to transdisciplinary reflection.

In response to the needs of an international workforce, English for Specific Purpose courses are being promoted in higher education, and instructors are turning to learning technology to help design the instruction. In this paper, a needs analysis was conducted to guide the design of the system, materials and activities for context-aware ubiquitous language learning (CAULL) and English for Fitness Purposes (EFP) in a fitness center as part of a Design-Based Research project. The data collection methods included on-site observations, semi-structured interviews, and a questionnaire. The participants included 82 undergraduate students, seven physical education (PE) instructors, and six non-PE faculty members who frequently used the fitness center. All data forms were then triangulated and analyzed. The results show that all three groups consistently agreed that they need receptive language skills as well as specific terminology for fitness. Furthermore, it was suggested that the oral communication skills for EFP learners should also be developed for sharing ideas, experience, and suggestions. They pointed out that vocabulary related to diverse topics such as warm-up and cool-down stretches, cardiovascular exercises, and weight training are needed. Furthermore, participants reported that the CAULL system should be hypermedia-based, and contain a portfolio and a user-friendly interface. The findings were used to develop a blue print for a CAULL system based on design principles. The findings are of interest to context-aware language learning researchers, instructional designers, and the field of English for Specific Purposes.

The crystal structure is an important topic in the STEM field and the basic knowledge to determine the material structure and its behaviour. There is a wealth of literature on three-dimensional (3D) and augmented reality (AR) technology to represent 3D crystal environments to provide a new way of visualisation and to foster spatial skills. This article aimed to develop and evaluate an AR system for teaching Bravais Crystals in Natural Science, especially the potential of AR as an innovative teaching tool to encourage spatial skills. The users were satisfied with the AR system (Mean = 4.3, SD = 0.49) to learn spatial representation techniques in a cooperative learning environment. The AR system provided excitement and motivation and was attractive and flexible while allowing the students to engage in independent learning.

In recent years, flipping classrooms has become a popular topic of discussion. However, few previous studies have focused on the effect of the flow experience on programming self-efficacy. To address this gap, the present researchers developed a model that included six research hypotheses. The study applied a flipped classroom model to a programming course in order to examine the relationship between self-efficacy, flow experience, and learning performance in a flipped programming course. The research model was empirically examined using a survey to collect data from 46 college students in Taiwan. Programming courses were conducted for 180 minutes once a week, with six weeks of total teaching time. The findings of this study indicate that there is a positive relationship between programming self-efficacy and enjoyment, engagement, and flow control. The study also revealed that certain important implications and factors to improve the design and delivery of such courses.

Higher education plays an important role in preparing future citizens and leaders with the capacity to address systemic issues behind complex problems such as climate change. There have however been few attempts to assess systems-related competencies in the context of complex problems. This study adapted an existing scenario-based assessment tool to measure Taiwanese undergraduate students' systems thinking competency in the context of climate change. This tool included a climate-related problem scenario and eight follow-up prompts along with a scoring rubric. The scenario was set in a contextual setting familiar to students in Taiwan. Using this tool and an additional knowledge survey, we investigated undergraduate students' (N = 110) systems thinking competency and its relationship to their content knowledge, and further examined the effect of an interdisciplinary climate change course on students' systems thinking and content knowledge. Data analysis revealed a modest level of systems thinking competency among the students, and a significant, positive association between the competency level and content knowledge. Participating in the semester-long course positively influenced student learning outcomes. However, the effect was focused on STEM students. These results provide important implications for teaching and learning of systems thinking competency in the context of complex issues.

This study introduced computerized collaboration scripts with an intergroup competition mechanism to foster students' within-group collaboration in a multi-touch tabletop classroom, investigating whether the scripting effects could be further improved by integrating intergroup competition. As such, this study utilized an experimental design to investigate the effects of intergroup competition on student teamwork performance, collaborative skills and learning achievement. A real-time intergroup competition mechanism was designed and integrated into a scripted multi-touch platform that supported collaborative designs. Forty-nine fifth-grade students from two classes at an elementary school in Taiwan were assigned to distinct groups, with and without intergroup competition. The participating students were required to accomplish a tessellation-related design project in small groups on a multi-touch platform. The findings showed that the students learning with the scripts under intergroup competition on multi-touch tabletop displays demonstrated better teamwork performance, collaborative skills and learning achievement than their counterparts who did not experience intergroup competition. These findings provide empirical evidence as to the effectiveness of integrating collaboration scripts with intergroup competition to computer-supported collaborative learning in multi-touch technology enhanced classrooms, delivering a better understanding of how learning with computerized collaboration scripts can be improved and how group awareness is related to this learning setting.

The Yuan T. Lee Foundation Science Education for All (YTLF) has implemented a science camp for students with visual impairments in central Taiwan since 2009. The implementation of the camp serves as an informal science education practice model that informs curriculum design and development, personnel preparation and organization, as well as perceptions toward students with visual impairments. This article gives an overall introduction to the implementation of the camp in addition to the ideas and the outcomes.

The present study created picture books featuring elements of hope theory and conducted a practical teaching program to explore the application of hopeful thinking picture books for economically disadvantaged children, specifically, to understand the teachers' teaching practices of picture book creation. On the basis of hope theory, the current study employed economic disadvantage as the creative background for designing picture books that incorporate elements of hopeful thinking and developed a teaching plan based on the picture books. The results indicated that the picture books had a solid theoretical foundation of hope, and were relevant to preschool children's real experiences and development. Through teachers' storytelling and discussion of the story content, children could express ideas based on their own experiences, set specific goals, and devised feasible methods for handling adversity to achieve goals. Therefore, the picture books were considered suitable for classroom teaching. In addition, expert teachers serving as coaches conducted classroom observations and teaching evaluations to explore how effectively positive thinking was integrated into the picture books and teaching activities, and to assess the guidance of children in using positive thinking strategies during story discussion. Through professional assessment, feedback, and teacher self-reflection, hope theory can be effectively applied for picture book creation. The picture book The Piggy's Home created in this study can help teachers guide economically disadvantaged children in thinking positively, and teachers can refine the guidance process.

Given the inquiry-based nature of research projects, this study aims to investigate how graduate students in business administration majors are being involved in developing, achieving, and completing their master theses. Taking into account of two perspectives including the individual factors and collective environment supported by ICTs, the research purpose is to explore the perception of diverse innovation and to validate its critical determinants while using cloud technologies to collaborate as the research premise. In such an open learning environment (OLE), we adopt a sequential research design to 288 management students of two management colleges in central Taiwan. The research participants were at their three phases, i.e., concept, intermediate, and closure, for their thesis projects. Based on the PLS-SEM analysis, the extent of being in community of practice (CoP) was validated statistically as a partial mediator in the two paths: between self-efficacy (SE) and immerse in knowledge ecology (KE), and between self-determination (SD) and KE. Similarly, the perception of individual self-efficacy (SE) identified as another partial mediator between SD and CoP. The differential effect resultant of the time phase on determinants and consequences is also examined. Regardless of the generalized caveats that result from using a non-randomized, regional sample pool, the contribution of this study remains its practical and academic implications in management education and knowledge ecology enhanced in the OLE.

Ability grouping, organizing classes homogeneously by L2 proficiency, has been commonly used in Taiwanese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes. This quasi-experimental (within-subjects design) study examined proficiency gains of 785 Taiwanese university students over three years enrolled in a general English (GE) program that employed ability grouping. The standardized test used for this study was the "College Students English Proficiency Test" (CSEPT). The results indicated students gained in English proficiency over time, from entry into the program to their last year of English instruction. Further post hoc analysis of the long-term proficiency changes showed that students with an observed A2 (CEFR) proficiency, upon entry, had more pronounced gains, over the three years, than their A1 and B1 counterparts. The study concluded that a leveled English curriculum maximized the learning experience for A2 level students and allowed them continuous proficiency gains. However, the fact that B1 level students did not show consistent progress is perhaps due to plateau effect when their test scores hit the graduation benchmark. As for the A1 students, their lack of achievement may be due to their low self-esteem. The pedagogical implication suggests the need to revisit the leveled (ability grouping) English curriculum for A1 and B1 level learners.

A web design course has complex and diverse skills, which may attract students with an interest in technology and art fields to learn to program. It makes a need to have a flexible learning framework to develop all students to learn in a programming course. This study was designed to develop students' learning achievement and computational thinking (CT) abilities by using a Design Thinking (DT)-Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) engineering design framework in a flipped web programming course. The participants were 41 students (males = 17, females = 24) coming from a Taiwan University. All of the students (20-21 years old) had e-learning-related backgrounds in a teacher's college. The experiment was conducted for 14 weeks. The flipped learning and flipped DT-CDIO course each had a total teaching time of 6 weeks, and the midterm exam and final exam each took one week. We used a questionnaire and formative assessment to examine the students' computational thinking ability and learning achievement before and after the course was applied. The results showed the students significantly improved their learning achievement and computational thinking ability. There were no significant gender differences in learning achievement. Some gender differences could be seen in some dimensions of CT ability. This study shows that the DT-CDIO framework brings many benefits to promote interdisciplinary learning by attracting STEAM talent and providing evidence to support the importance of flipped web programming courses.

In order to support teachers preparing their teaching resources, a teaching ecosystem for developing an online service system to acquire teaching materials, the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan, implemented an Integrated Course Service System (ICSS) to assist teachers in searching for instructional resources from distributed Educational Six Learning Networks (ESLN) of MOE. The study designed the ICSS and developed an instrument to investigate the satisfaction for the teachers of primary schools, junior high schools and senior high schools. By analyzing 253 teachers, the results show that demographics, such as age, school level, teaching experience and position, have significant effects on the ICSS satisfaction. Further, the teachers were found to be satisfied with the system content, system accuracy, report format, ease of use, system timeliness and community building offered by the ICSS that helps us to understand the teachers' online behavior in more detail for the popularization of the course service system.

This study developed a scale to assess high school students' programming disposition. The scale was developed by utilizing a standardized test development process. The three constructs of the scale, namely confidence, persistence and flexible thinking, consisted of 9 items (3 items on each construct). Participants for the formal test of the scale were 1,332 students from 11 high schools. The validity and reliability of the programming disposition scale were validated via internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, discriminant validity, criterion-related validity, correlation coefficient of each subscale and confirmatory factor analysis. The analysis results showed that this scale is valid and reliable. The scale can serve as an assessment tool to assist teachers to instruct students learning programming, and help students determine whether taking programming courses in high school or pursuing programming-related majors in university. The effects of individual differences on programming disposition were also discussed to provide feasible educational implications.

Non-disabled siblings of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) usually experience trajectories to gradually intensify their involvement in caregiving. However, non-disabled siblings in Asian countries have been woefully overlooked in research despite the fact that Asian countries hold over half of the world's population and have a set of family values different from Western countries. This exploratory study examined experiences and perspectives of Taiwanese non-disabled siblings of individuals with IDD across lifestages. The researcher used a phenomenological approach to examine in-depth interviews with 30 Taiwanese non-disabled siblings of adults with IDD. Common themes emerged under three lifestages (i.e., minimal caregiver role, anticipating caregiver role, and joint/primary caregiver role), indicating that filial piety remained the core value for Taiwanese families. Taiwanese non-disabled siblings described a love-hate relationship with the adults with IDD. They reported feeling anxious about the lack of discussion with their parents. Finally, they talked about taking care of the adults with IDD as fulfilling filial obligations to their parents. In addition to the sibling subsystem, future researchers and practitioners should take the parental subsystem into account to understand and support non-disabled siblings.

Purpose: This study was to investigate whether there is an age dependent effect on the association between ADIPPOR1 SNP and hypertriglyceridemia for each gender. Materials and Methods: 116 individuals aged 20 and above who claimed to be healthy were enrolled and grouped into male and female populations. Blood samples were taken to determine hypertriglyceridemia and genomic variants. Sample t-tests were performed for basic comparison. To ascertain the contribution of genetic variants and age to lipid metabolism, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the correlates for hypertriglyceridemia adjusting for life styles. Results: For males, individuals with hypertriglyceridemia tended to be younger (p-value = 0.02), less stressed (0.05), and have a higher proportion of ADIPOR1 minor allele carriers (0.03). However, no significant differences were found in age, stress, diet, and genetic variances in females. In regression analysis, males showed age-gene correlation with 1.5 times higher detection of hypertriglyceridemia risk when both factors were considered. In contrast, females showed no correlation between age-gene. In addition, age was positively associated with hypertriglyceridemia in females while males showed an inverse association. Conclusion: Our findings presented data that suggests age may be a contributing factor to the association between ADIPOR1 and hypertriglyceridemia in males while age showed a significant inverse association with hypertriglyceridemia. Thus, age-gene correlation may be implied during primary practice to encourage lifestyle adjustments by screening for ADIPOR1 SNP minor allele carriers to prevent cerebrovascular disease in males.

While existing research has well-recognized educational plan as an important predictor of students' educational achievement, the alignment of educational plan and achievement should not be taken for granted. As plan-achievement misalignment is liable to negative psychological and social consequences, this study aims to examine the extent to which parents vis-à-vis teachers could guide students into plan-achievement alignment. Specifically, this study is set within two comparable cases of Taiwan and Hong Kong to explore whether the relative importance of parents' and teachers' guidance would differ according to the institutional contexts of education systems. Methodologically, society-specific (multinomial) logistic regression analyses are conducted based on the data of the "Taiwan Education Panel Survey" and the "Hong Kong Survey on High School Students' Aspirations for Higher Education and Employment." In Taiwan, we find students not only received more guidance from parents, but parents' guidance was also more effective in helping them reach plan-achievement alignment. By contrast, teachers are found to have played a key role in these regards in Hong Kong. The findings provide support to our propositions that the relative importance of parents' and teachers' guidance may vary by the opportunity structures of post-secondary education and the level of school-based parental involvement.

Aim and background: This study investigated the effects of information and communication technology (ICT) use patterns, moderated by socioeconomic status (SES), on science and mathematics achievements. This investigation aims to address the issue of whether ICT use has 'conditioned' (linear and quadratic) effects on achievements with SES as social conditions, based on a posited Conditioned Ecological Techno-process (CET) model. Method: Data from the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment for Taiwan were analyzed using regression analysis focusing on the effect of three ICT use patterns (leisure, educational, and school). Results: The results support the CET model in the quadratic effects of all the three ICT use patterns on both achievements in addition to the positive linear effects of educational ICT use and the negative linear effects of leisure and school ICT use patterns. The moderation effect of SES only occurs with leisure ICT use on science achievement. Discussion: The findings suggest that moderate frequent ICT use predicts the highest achievements. SES may aggravate the negative effect of leisure ICT use on science achievement.

Background: Although higher education continues to pay great attention to teaching climate change, relatively little is known about how university students understand and perceive climate change and its teaching and learning, and how their understanding and perceptions may change over the course of climate change instruction. Purpose: The study was embedded in the context of a Taiwanese public university which has been actively integrating a climate change agenda into the curriculum. The purpose of the study was to examine students' knowledge of and views on climate change and its teaching, and the influence of climate-related instruction on their knowledge and views. Sample: A total of 146 university students were solicited through four semester-long general environmental studies courses, all of which included some climate change instruction. Design and methods: Participating students completed both preand post-course surveys including Likert-type, multiple choice and open-ended questions for the purpose of examining their views about climate change and the teaching of this issue. Results: The vast majority of students demonstrated a high level of certainty about the reality of the happening of global warming as well as concern about this issue. However, their actual knowledge about its causes was alarmingly poor, and action-related perceptions were rather negative. Participating in an environmental course had only a limited impact on their views; significant improvement was only observed in their subjective knowledge and concern about the issue. Nevertheless, students' responses regarding university teaching about climate change exhibited a strong interest in and support for their university to take an active role in combating the problem. Conclusion: These findings raise questions about the focus of, and approaches to, climate education in higher education, and serve as important basis for promoting curricular and instructional innovation in the field of climate change education.

In the Taiwan EFL context particularly, little attention has been given to investigating the effects of wikis on EFL writing performance. Therefore, this study suggests a wiki-based collaborative writing activity in the writing process of creative English writing. In addition, the students' perceptions of wiki collaborative writing were also measured. In this one-group pretest-post-test study, 32 learners at a public university in central Taiwan were invited to participate. The participants were selected using convenience sampling, a non-probability sampling technique. Instruments used to collect the data were online student background questionnaires, writing pre- and post-tests, and a student online questionnaire on wiki collaborative writing. The data from the wiki collaborative writing questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The result of the study is expected to be able to enhance students' writing performance and to encourage them to have strong motivation and good attitudes toward English writing. The students enjoyed being involved in online collaborative writing and learned to give comments and receive feedback in groups. It is thought to be a useful practice to enable students to socially interact to gain more knowledge, insights, and experience.

With the advances in mobile network technology, the use of portable devices and mobile networks for learning is not limited by time and space. Such use, in combination with appropriate learning strategies, can achieve a better effect. Despite the effectiveness of mobile learning, students' learning direction, progress, and achievement may differ. Thus, the enhancement of learners' opinions on the usability and interactivity during mobile learning are challenging issues to overcome. This study developed a sharing mind map-oriented mobile learning system integrated with valuable information preserved in a digital archiving system. In addition to the functions of traditional mind maps, this system also enabled students to complete and record relevant information that they had found onto the mind map and further improve the integrity of their own knowledge. To investigate the effectiveness of this teaching approach, this study added digital archive data and used mind map sharing to help learners develop knowledge. By using the proposed approach, students were able to perform self-assessment on learning content, choose appropriate learning directions, and progress according to their level of learning. At the same time, they could collaboratively learn with peers to engage themselves more deeply in their learning. That is, their learning motivation could be constantly triggered through the observations and sharing of mind maps from one to another. This study selected sixth graders as its research subjects in two classes at the school where one researcher works. There were 31 and 30 valid samples in the experimental group and control group, respectively, with a total of 61 students. The experimental group was conducted by using sharing mind map with corresponding geographical archived information to investigate the effectiveness of sharing mind map (SMM) in mobile learning; on the other hand, the control group was conducted by using a traditional learning approach. The outcomes indicate that students' learning performance could be enhanced by using archived information SMM mobile learning.

Due to the rapid changes in global economic environments, enterprises have to continually enhance their business competitiveness. To improve business, planning educational training has been regarded as a channel to educate outstanding employees. Recently, most of the companies in the securities industry in Taiwan have adopted web-based educational training as a form of employee training. However, low e-learning acceptance on the part of employees is the essential obstacle when enterprises attempt to promote web-based continuing learning. Previous studies have shown that hardiness and Internet self-efficacy may be important factors that influence whether an individual will continue with web-based learning when facing pressure. Securities practitioners are required to deal with high pressure and persist in enhancing their professional knowledge in their working environment; therefore, continuing learning is crucial to maintaining the quality of professional service. The present study recruited securities practitioners as the research participants, and examined the effects of hardiness and Internet self-efficacy on their attitudes towards web-based learning when they were participating in web-based learning. The findings revealed that securities practitioners' hardiness and Internet self-efficacy both had direct positive effects on their attitudes towards web-based continuing learning. Meanwhile, their Internet self-efficacy had a mediating effect on the relationships between hardiness and attitudes towards web-based continuing learning.

This study employed drawing and co-word analysis techniques to explore students' preferences for AI-assisted learning environments. A total of 64 teacher education students from a university in Taiwan participated in the study. The participants were asked to describe their perceptions of AI-assisted learning in the form of drawings and text descriptions. In order to analyze the content of the students' drawings, a coding scheme was developed based on the activity theory framework. Based on the results of the analysis, it was found that students placed more importance on personalized guidance and appropriate learning content provision. In addition, students acknowledged that AI technology can be used flexibly in different fields and situations. Interestingly, more than half of the students agreed that robots play important roles in AI-assisted learning. This indicates that the students expected a social AI learning companion. However, it was found that students' expectations of an AI learning environment were less connected to the real environment and did not reveal learning activities with higher order thinking. In addition to the need for accurate and fast AI computing, this result indicated that professional instructional guidance is also an expectation that students have of AI education.

Educators believe that STEM activities allow students to use multiple skills to solve real-world problems; therefore, it has been recognized as an effective way to apply academic knowledge to life's problems. While many studies have examined the effectiveness and perceptions of students' learning through STEM activities, little research has been conducted on teachers' perceptions of STEM activities. In particular, there has been little research on teachers' preferences for STEM learning. Therefore, in this study, two questionnaires were employed to investigate the teachers' preferences for and perceptions of STEM learning and teaching. The questionnaire of teachers' preferences for STEM learning consisted of four scales, namely, activity flexibility, technology support, classroom interaction and teaching assistance, while the questionnaire of perceptions of STEM learning included higher order thinking, collaboration, and attitude toward STEM learning. A total of 307 teachers from 25 high schools in Taiwan filled in the questionnaire after conducting STEM activities. From the result of structural equation modeling it was found that teachers' perception of collaboration was the key element connecting the teachers' preference for STEM activities and attitude toward STEM learning. In addition, the teachers' preference for technical support and classroom interaction positively correlated with their perceptions of higher order thinking and collaboration, while activity flexibility and teaching assistance positively correlated with their attitude toward STEM learning. According to the results, it was found that teachers' perceptions of STEM learning were pluralistic and differed according to their preferences.

This study aims to investigate gender differences in effective parenting strategies for adolescent mathematics achievement growth, taking into account socioeconomic status (SES), based on a bioecological model. Latent growth curve modeling examines longitudinal data (n = 4163) from the Taiwan Education Panel Survey. The analysis reveals that girls' performance fits to a quadratic development model; boys' performance better fits to a linear model. At early adolescence, mothers' monitoring is the only common effective parenting strategy for both genders. At later adolescence, fathers need to monitor boys but to play a peripheral role (e.g., school participation and rescued discussion) for girls; mothers play direct roles (e.g., listening and persuasion) for boys, but a rational or light-minded role (e.g., discussion and letting-conflict-go) for girls. SES matters mostly in early adolescence. The findings generally support the bioecological model in terms of differential model fit and effective parenting strategies between genders.

This study used an ecological approach to studying adolescent mathematics ability development by classifying their mathematics ability growth trajectories and examining contextual measures differentiating the identified classes. Longitudinal student and parent data were collected for Taiwanese students in Grades 7, 9, 11, and 12 (n = 4,163). Growth mixture modelling identified 4 growth classes: low-increase, middle-flat, middle-increase, and high-increase. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that girls' mathematics ability improved and that boys started as middle or high mathematics achievers. Moreover, mathematics ability related to socioeconomic status and academic programmes, persistent parental monitoring related to desirable ability development, and student-perceived teaching quality related to student ability. High-increase students reduced their engagement in leisure activities when preparing for examinations, but they felt little mathematics frustration, whereas the opposite was true for low-increase students.

Research on students' understanding of the greenhouse effect and global warming has been focused on identifying and overcoming misconceptions. However, to date, very few studies have looked into the ways in which student conceptions are organised and interrelated from a model-based perspective. In this study, we investigated student-generated drawings (N = 130) of the greenhouse effect from two universities in Taiwan. The goals were to explore student mental models, which underlie and organise their visual representations, and further examine whether and how these mental models are associated with other important climate-related knowledge. For our purposes, computer-based grouping was used instead of the common practice of human expert-based inspection. Four mental models emerged in the process of factor analysing salient characteristics of student drawings, and showed some commonalities and differences compared with previous findings. Further correlation analysis revealed significant, positive relationships between the "Textbook-like" model and climate system knowledge, and between the "Sources" (of greenhouse gases) model and climate action knowledge. These results provided some fresh insight into existing knowledge about student mental models of the greenhouse effect. The relationships of students' conceptualisation of the greenhouse effect and global warming can serve as a basis for instructional considerations in climate change education.

This study posits a bioecological positivity to success (BEPS) model and examines how diverse bioecological factors predict graduates' career success. The BEPS model with an emphasis on hard (e.g. science, technology, engineering and mathematics [STEM]) and soft (e.g. interpersonal and critical thinking) skills generate a hypothetical model: positive aspects of person (mathematical/hard and affective/soft abilities), process (effective hard and soft competencies learning in higher education) and proximal contexts (original family income and present employment status) predict graduates' career success (job income and perceived extrinsic, intrinsic and autonomy satisfaction) in early adulthood. Gender, studying STEM, and study years are also included as predictors in the path analysis as control. Path analyses examine the model with cohort data from the Taiwan Education Panel Survey (TEPS) and its follow-up (TEPS-B), which are longitudinal studies of a group of young people (n = 2,700) since grade 7 till age 24-25 years old. Results reveal that soft skills and employment play the most significant roles in graduates' career success. Hard skills play a minor role. Findings support the BEPS model and provide implications for educational practices and policymaking to emphasise on soft skills learning, employability and entrepreneurship education.

This study serves to develop a multidimensional scale for assessing the digital fluency of preadolescents. The researchers applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate the constancy of the classified factors and to elucidate relationships among factors in the Digital Fluency Scale. A total of 224 sixth-grade (aged 11-12) elementary school students studying in Taiwan were included in the first sample set for developing the Digital Fluency Scale using EFA to explore its factor structure. The participants of the second sample set using CFA numbered 442 elementary school students. CFA was used to elucidate the relationships among factors in this Digital Fluency Scale, with results indicating that a four-factor digital fluency comprised collaboration and research, digital citizenship, critical thinking and innovation design fit the data well. The Digital Fluency Scale included 15 items; the CFA result supported the four-factor model, with the best fit showing validity and reliability. The students had the highest score in digital citizenship, followed by innovation design, critical thinking, and collaboration and research. Female preadolescents had better digital fluency than male preadolescents.

The purpose of this study is to explore the difficulties of immigrants' children from Southeastern Asia on learning Chinese phonetic symbols and provide further instructors a reference while educating them in early childhood. The participants are native Taiwanese children (N = 40) and immigrant children from Southeastern Asia (N = 34) at the first grade in ten elementary schools in Taiwan. The result demonstrates that the first grade immigrants' children easily made errors on recognizing consonants and vowels in the part of "Chinese phonetic symbol test". For pronunciation, the immigrant children got a high percentage of making mistakes on falling-rising sounds.

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of a pedagogical model of digital games on students' scientific competencies that are advocated by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). As a single game-based learning strategy may not be enough to enhance such competencies, the online game in the current study incorporated the design of the proposed pedagogical gamification, assessment, modeling, and enquiry (GAME) model. The participants were 69 sixth grade students at one primary school in Taiwan. A quasi-experimental design was adopted. The experimental group students learned with the GAME model, whereas the comparison group students only learned with traditional learning way. The results showed that the learning gain in scientific competencies of the experimental group was better than those of the comparison group. This study revealed that the GAME model has potential to promote students' PISA scientific competencies. It is suggested that the integral GAME model may serve as one kind of strategies to enhance students' scientific competencies.

The purpose of the study is to reveal counseling professionals' (CPs) opinions and reflections on primary mental health care services (primary services) (PSs) provided by university counseling centers (UCCs) in Taiwan. The average age of the 12 CPs participated in the study is 42 years old with an average UCC service length of 8.75 years. In-depth interview and phenomenology method were employed to collect and analyze data. The result shows that participants recognize the importance of PSs in improving the mental health of campus members, preventing mental diseases, and providing intervention for those with signs of early symptoms. PSs include mental education, campaigns, information sharing, counseling, student volunteer and faculty training, integration of campus mental health recourses, and counseling administrative matters. The study results suggest that CPs' pre-service and on-the-job training should focus more on PSs, and learn to employ various channels to provide PSs to meet the needs of campus members. Future studies could discuss theories and models of establishing PSs based on characteristics of campus and campus members, design of PSs projects meeting the needs of students and campus cultures, and measuring and tracking the execution results.

An integration of horticultural therapy and aromatherapy can be beneficial to physical and psychological well-being of undergraduates. Through learning the basics of herbal plants and ways to plant and smell them, and through massaging, smelling, and taking bath with natural herbal essential oils, undergraduates can enjoy the pleasant feeling triggered by herbal fragrance, release their pressure, and revive energy. The integrated therapy allows undergraduates to feel their body and mind, adjust the balance of the body, embrace their inner feelings, and enhance self-perception and interpersonal relations. It is a holistic therapy to take care of both physical and psychological well-being of undergraduates.

Based on the ecological theories of educational technology, this study explored models for effective information and communication technology (ICT) use on learning outcomes, mediated by outside-school ICT use and socioeconomic status (SES), using structural equation modeling (SEM). Four models were developed based on empirical findings and validated using the 2012 Taiwanese sample of the Program for International Student Assessment to demonstrate model exploration. The four models measure the effects of ICT use on learning outcomes from (A) parallel ICT use, (B) inside-school ICT use with outside-school ICT use mediation, (C) Model A with SES mediation, and (D) Model B with SES mediation. Data analysis results indicate that the four models fit empirical data; Models C and D (with SES mediation) are superior to Models A and B based on fit indices; Models A and B are superior to Models C and D based on information criteria; and Models B-D (with mediation) provide more educational meaning than does Model A (without mediation). The results suggest new variables (i.e. outside-school ICT use and SES) and a modeling technique focusing on mediation effects (i.e. SEM) may be used to promote educational technology development by improving the effect of inside-school ICT use on traditional learning outcomes.

Family caregivers play a critical role in dietary care and the nutritional status of people with dementia. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a family care-based dementia dietary educational program (DDEP) on family caregivers' nutritional knowledge, healthy eating behavior and nutritional status of people with dementia. A total of 57 pairs of participants completed this longitudinal experimental study. Group A received routine care. Group B received the DDEP. Three outcomes were measured at pretest (T1), posttest (T2) and follow-up test (T3). Generalized estimating equations and regression were used to analyze the data. The scores of the caregivers' nutritional knowledge significantly increased after receiving the DDEP in group B, and this increase was better than in group A. The posttest and follow-up test scores of healthy eating behavior were significantly higher than the pretest scores in both groups. The scores of nutritional status in group B increased from the pretest to the follow-up test, although there was no significant difference between the two groups. Some demographic factors played significant roles in the caregivers' nutritional knowledge and healthy eating behavior. In sum, the DDEP improved the caregivers' nutritional knowledge and healthy eating behavior for dementia. The demographic factors of family caregivers should be considered when providing nutritional information to enhance the nutritional status of people with dementia. The DHPDEP should be incorporated into the in-service education and training courses for nurses or dietitians who work with people with dementia.

The purpose of this study is to investigate students' mental models of the marine environment and to further examine how these models are related to their perceptions of marine problems. One hundred twenty-eight ninth grade students from a large harbor city in southern Taiwan completed a survey including a drawing activity and a set of two-tier questions. Using a four-factor rubric to analyze student drawings, we found that students' mental models of the marine environment are generally partial and unconnected. In particular, the human component was often missing in the drawing. Students showed a strong awareness of marine problems; however, their awareness is focused on waste pollution. Moreover, correlation analysis showed that students' mental models are associated with the scope of the perceived problems.

The present study aims to incorporate a group leadership promotion approach into collaborative learning tasks in the hope of developing students' creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, we recruited 59 cross-professional students from a university in northern Taiwan, and divided them into an experimental group (6 sub-groups) and a control group (6 sub-groups). The experimental group students learned with the group leadership promotion approach, while the control group learned with conventional blended learning approach. The results show that the students could better develop their creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, and learning achievement via the group leadership promotion approach. Lastly, sequential analysis of their behaviors indicated that students' interaction with group leadership in online collaborative learning can promote many more creative ideas and comments, enhance reaching a consensus and making conclusions, and finally, facilitate completion of the group learning tasks.