Formative assessment with interactive whiteboards: A one-year longitudinal study of primary students’ mathematical performance

Exploring mediational roles for self-stigma in associations between types of problematic use of internet and psychological distress in youth with ADHD

BACKGROUND

Several studies have linked the problematic use of the Internet (PUI) to psychological distress. Youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are considered a particular disadvantaged population with a high risk of developing PUI, psychological distress, and self-stigma. Nonetheless, the interrelationships of PUI, self-stigma, and psychological distress in adolescents with ADHD are not well understood.

AIMS

This study investigated whether self-stigma mediates relationships between different forms of PUI, such as problematic gaming (PG), problematic social media use (PSMU), problematic smartphone use (PSPU), and psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress), in children with ADHD.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

We recruited 100 youth with ADHD (mean age=10.80 [SD=3.07] years; 84 boys) from psychiatric outpatient clinics in Taiwan. All participants were assessed for PUI (via Internet Gaming Disorder-Short Form for PG, Bergan Social Medica Addiction Scale for PSMU, and Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale for PSPU), self-stigma (via Self-Stigma Short-Scale), and psychological distress (via Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale).

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

The results of path and bootstrapping analyses indicated that self-stigma mediated the associations between PSMU and PSPU, but not PG, and depression, anxiety, and stress.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

This study expands the extant literature by revealing that self-stigma mediates the association between specific forms of PUI and psychological distress in adolescents with ADHD. Interventions aimed at reducing self-stigma and PUI, particularly PSMU and PSPU, may help decrease psychological distress among adolescents with ADHD.

A review of ICT-enabled learning for schoolgirls in Asia and its impacts on education equity

The education pathways and opportunities of schoolgirls in Asia are facing different challenges. The empirical studies have implemented Information and Communication Technology-enabled learning to expand such pathways and opportunities and promote education inclusiveness and equity. Through the Gender Analysis Framework, this review paper focuses on exploring and discussing how ICT-enabled learning may expand schoolgirls' education pathways and opportunities in Asia for inclusive and equitable education. This review covers 30 studies that adopted ICT-enabled learning, synthesizes, and presents four key ICT-enabled learning approaches: Emerging technologies-enabled learning, Digital game-based learning, Mobile-enabled learning, and Computer-assisted learning. Our result discusses about how different approaches in this review (in)directly impact on schoolgirls' access to assets, their practice and participation in learning activities, belief and perception of their own and other stakeholders', and how policies accommodate these approaches. The review further suggests several guidelines to develop an inclusive learning environment enabled by ICT to education pathways and opportunities of schoolgirls, thereby enhancing education inclusiveness and equity.

Sustaining Teaching with Technology after the Quarantine: Evidence from Chinese EFL Teachers’ Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge

Given that little is known about English teachers’ technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), this study examined teachers’ TPACK of using interactive whiteboards (IWBs) by contextualizing the research in the Chinese EFL context. Surveys and multi-case interviews were conducted among secondary school EFL teachers. The results revealed that Chinese EFL teachers generally perceived themselves to be competent in TPACK, with content knowledge achieving the highest value (5.545) and technological knowledge having the lowest value (5.147). In addition, teachers with higher professional titles perceived themselves as having lower TPACK. Barriers to using IWBs in English teaching include a lack of using efficacy regarding IWBs, traditional teaching beliefs, insufficient technical support and training, defects in IWBs for English teaching and time constraints. This study enriched technology adoption literature and informed policymakers and educational institutions of the necessity to provide specialized training to improve teachers’ TPACK and take measures to reduce teachers’ non-teaching-related tasks to ensure sustainable technology adoption in English teaching.

Associations Between Online Learning, Smartphone Addiction Problems, and Psychological Symptoms in Chinese College Students After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background

Smartphone-based online education gained popularity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Although recent studies have highlighted the association between problematic smartphone use (PSU) and mental health symptoms, the potential role of online learning in this relationship remains unclear. This study aimed to analyze the relationships between higher education modes, PSU, and related psychological symptoms in university students.

Methods

A total of 1,629 Chinese university students from five provinces completed a web-based questionnaire survey between March 2020 and October 2021. Demographic characteristics and learning conditions were recorded. All participants completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version, Patient Health Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and Athens Insomnia Scale. Multiple regressions models and stratified analyses were used to examine the association between online education mode, PSU, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia.

Results

The prevalence of PSU was 58.5%. Students who relied primarily on online learning had a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms (29.95% vs. 22.24%), anxiety symptoms (25.13% vs. 18.91%), and insomnia symptoms (75.89% vs. 70.27%) than those who relied on traditional face-to-face learning (Ps < 0.05). After adjusting for covariates, subjects with PSU were more likely to report depressive symptoms (AdjOR = 3.14, 95% CI = 2.26–4.37), anxiety symptoms (AdjOR = 3.73, 95% CI = 2.13–4.59), and insomnia symptoms (AdjOR = 2.96, 95% CI = 2.23–3.92) than those without PSU. Furthermore, the associations of PSU with depressive symptoms (OR = 4.66 vs. 2.33, P for interaction = 0.015) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 6.05 vs. 2.94, P for interaction = 0.021) were more pronounced in the online learning group.

Conclusion

Our study provides preliminary evidence that Chinese university students have serious smartphone addiction problems, which are associated with depressive, anxiety, and insomnia symptoms. Online learning is found to exacerbate PSU and mental health problems. Our findings provide valuable information for targeted psychological interventions in the post-COVID-19 era.

Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions of the Introduction of ICT: The Relationship between Motivation and Use in the Teaching Function

Digital self-efficacy and the amount of perceived support from the school can improve teachers’ motivation to increase the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the classroom. Likewise, attitude, perception, gender, and experience of mathematics teachers are factors that influence their use of ICT. This study aimed to analyze the profiles of mathematics teachers, determine the existence of differences between them, and identify the sample size necessary to detect significant differences. A total of 73 high school teachers were included in this cross-sectional study. Teaching practice, ICT resources, ICT in the classroom, skills, and uses of ICT were assessed through a validated 19-item questionnaire. Statistical analysis revealed that the required sample to detect significant differences was 53 subjects. Further, 67.21% of the mathematics teachers surveyed in Melilla were younger than 40 years of age, and 62.30% had less than 6 years of teaching experience. In addition, 81.97 and 47.54% of mathematics teachers stated that they consider themselves to have sufficient ICT resources at home for their work and in the classroom, respectively. Through different clusters, mathematics teachers can be identified and classified according to their motivational and competence profiles in pedagogical and digital areas. In addition, young teachers with some teaching experience had positive perceptions of technology, as reflected by high scores in the motivation indicator for ICT.

Changes in Students' Understanding of and Visual Attention on Digitally Represented Graphs Across Two Domains in Higher Education: A Postreplication Study

Domain-specific understanding of digitally represented graphs is necessary for successful learning within and across domains in higher education. Two recent studies conducted a cross-sectional analysis of graph understanding in different contexts (physics and finance), task concepts, and question types among students of physics, psychology, and economics. However, neither changes in graph processing nor changes in test scores over the course of one semester have been sufficiently researched so far. This eye-tracking replication study with a pretest–posttest design examines and contrasts changes in physics and economics students’ understanding of linear physics and finance graphs. It analyzes the relations between changes in students’ gaze behavior regarding relevant graph areas, scores, and self-reported task-related confidence. The results indicate domain-specific, context- and concept-related differences in the development of graph understanding over the first semester, as well as its successful transferability across the different contexts and concepts. Specifically, we discovered a tendency of physics students to develop a task-independent overconfidence in the graph understanding during the first semester.

The Training and Use of ICT in Teaching Perceptions of Melilla’s (Spain) Mathematics Teachers

Currently, information and communication technology (ICT) has acquired an important role in education. The incorporation of ICT by mathematics teachers has been a challenge as it requires an improvement in their knowledge of the use of new technologies. We aimed to examine the most relevant items of the indicators related to teaching mathematics and ICT, to estimate the relationships between teachers individually and by clusters, and to analyze the incidence of age variables, teaching experience, and gender in this study. A total of 73 high school teachers were included in this cross-sectional study. A validated questionnaire was used to assess mathematics and teaching practice, use, resources, and domain of ICT. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to determine the associations among variables of the present study. The application of ICT to teaching was associated with the use of ICT resources in the classroom and indicated that teachers made more choice in selecting a variety of software than electing different hardware devices. Teachers combined technology with educational platforms to improve student learning in mathematics. The general perception of mathematics teachers about their digital competence does not match with models employed in the classroom. Gender was not an influencing factor.

Student Perceptions of Formative Assessment and Cooperative Work on a Technical Engineering Course

Formative Assessment and Cooperative Work (FACW) is a teaching methodology that promotes student learning based on peer support, both in solving problems and identifying the mistakes made through feedback. The perceptions of 49 mechanical engineering students at the University of Burgos are analyzed in this article with regard to their first practical experience of FACW methodology in a technical subject, characterized by a highly complex content and a strong link between theoretical and practical concepts. The responses of the students to two blocks of open questions were evaluated in a qualitative, mixed, and statistical analysis. Various aspects that the students raised in relation to FACW could therefore be studied, such as their points of view towards: (1) The usefulness of FACW teaching modality; and (2) their preferences regarding the optimum teaching modality. The results showed that, although the students expressed favorable opinions towards FACW, they did not consider, in general, that teamwork was necessary for optimal learning, revealing a clear dependence on formal classroom presentations for the explanation of theoretical concepts. Students considered that theoretical concepts could not be autonomously acquired. Therefore, the application of the FACW teaching methodology to these courses could be especially beneficial to favor autonomous learning and to develop teamwork skills, training engineers with the right knowledge and skills today for tomorrow’s world.