Stress mindset, coping strategies, and well-being of secondary students in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic
The present study explored the association between stress mindset and well-being of students during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic. The study also sought to examine how the relationship between students’ stress-mindset and well-being can be mediated by students’ coping strategies. The study applied a cross-sectional survey design, with secondary students (N = 617) from Singapore as participants. The results of parallel mediation analyses suggest that students who endorse a stress-is-enhancing mindset also tend to apply engagement coping strategies and that the use of such coping strategies serve as a potential mediator of the relationship between the students’ stress-is-enhancing mindset and well-being. The stress-is-debilitating mindset was found to have a positive relationship with depressive symptoms; this relationship was not significantly mediated by coping. The findings suggest that endorsing a stress-is-enhancing mindset, along with the use of engagement coping, may serve as a protective factor to promote adolescents’ well-being when experiencing high stress.
A two-tiered approach to supporting pupils with reading difficulties in primary 3 mainstream classrooms
Navigating challenges during COVID-19 pandemic: Experiences and coping strategies of Singapore students
Objectives This study explores the experiences and coping strategies of secondary students as they engaged in learning activities during the pandemic. It investigated the sources of student stress during the pandemic, and the extent to which the pandemic influenced the stress that they usually experience. Method Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit details of the students’ lived experiences as they navigated learning via an online platform, their coping strategies in managing stress. Results With regards to academic experiences, many students found online learning challenging and ineffective and were concerned about their examinations. Under social experiences, many students shared that they missed social and recreational activities during the “circuit breaker”. However, some students demonstrated resilience and were able to see the benefits of going through the pandemic. More students reported academic-related than social-related stress. The students coped with stress in three ways: (1) disengagement, (2) taking active steps and (3) turning to others. Conclusion Academic concerns were a major source of distress among adolescents. Insights that were drawn from the results of the study can be utilized to support students in managing stress and mitigate its adverse effects on student learning and functioning. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: (1) The pandemic has a more serious impact on adolescents’ mental health and emotional well-being and many adolescents experience anxiety during this period. (2) Positive reappraisal, strengths use and emotional processing are some strategies used by adolescents to cope with stress during the pandemic. What this topic adds: (1) Although many students found online learning stressful and ineffective, some students in this study had meaningful and positive experiences during the period when they had online lessons at home. (2) Despite the challenges, some students demonstrated resilience and were even able to see the benefits arising from going through the pandemic. Others appreciated spending more time with their family members. (3) Adolescents coped with stress experienced during the pandemic in three ways: (1) disengagement, (2) taking active steps and (3) turning to others.
Technology-based tools for teaching early literacy skills: A multimethod approach with learning simulations and intervention.
A two-tiered approach to supporting pupils with reading difficulties in P3 mainstream classrooms
This study seeks to address the problem of providing additional support to pupils with reading difficulties by raising teacher competence in providing high quality reading instruction so that teachers can address the needs of struggling readers as early as possible. If classroom teachers assume active responsibility for delivering reading instruction consistently prior to referring pupils for psycho-educational assessment, struggling readers can be helped before their difficulties impede their learning.
Results of a pilot study conducted in 2013 by the principal investigator of the current proposed study using a Start-Up Grant (SUG) provide further insights into the current situation in school. A peer tutoring programme was modified from the Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) programme (Fuchs, Fuchs, Mathes, & Simmons, 1997 ) based on feedback from teachers. It was implemented in three classes using STELLAR (or Strategies for English Language Learning and Reading) materials in a pilot school. Findings from the study suggested that peer tutoring generally benefitted pupils who were able to read fairly independently. However, for pupils whose reading ability was significantly below that of their peers, another tier of support was needed. Based on the results of SUG study, a two-tiered approach was proposed as a framework to support pupils with reading difficulties. What is unique about the current study compared to other learning support programme available in schools in Singapore is the application of academic problem solving. The LSP and Reading Remediation Programme use a standard protocol approach. While the standard protocol approach is generally effective, the data-based decision making component of the academic problem solving allows teachers to provide interventions which are targeted to address individual students’ reading difficulties based on their progress monitoring data. Using academic problem solving, we were able to use progress monitoring data to determine students’ reading difficulties and the extent to which they were responding to interventions. Interventions which were targeted to address specific reading difficulties were then delivered and monitored.
Turning achievement around: Predictors of academic resilience of academically at-risk students in Singapore
This three-wave longitudinal study underscores the importance of identifying elements in school settings that can help academically at-risk students--those who are likely to follow a trajectory of low achievement or academic failure-- to develop academic resilience. The study utilised both quantitative (i.e., survey questionnaires and standardised achievement tests) and qualitative (i.e., open-ended questions and semi-structured interviews) approaches, and focused on two subject domains--English Language (EL) and Mathematics (Maths). The participants of the study were 1305 students from 22 schools in Singapore. These students were considered as potentially at-risk academically as their aggregate scores in the Primary School Leaving Examination were lower than the cohort’s mean score. From this pool of students, students facing different levels of academic risk (i.e., low, moderate and high) in EL or Maths were identified on the basis of their school grades and scores in standardised achievement tests at the end Secondary One (S1). Low language or numeracy proficiency on entry to secondary school, which is a critical transition phase in students’ life, was considered as a significant risk factor that can directly predispose students towards continued poor academic performance in later years.
The profiles of the students in the three risk groups were compared in relation to their background characteristics and the focal variables of this study: socio-emotional strengths (i.e., emotional awareness, empathy, goal setting, social competence, and emotional regulation), academic motivation (i.e., amotivation, extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation), perceived relatedness with teachers (i.e., student-to-teacher communication, teacher trust and teacher alienation), and perceived teacher autonomy and competence support. The results of the study suggest that, compared to students facing low academic risk, students facing high academic risk tended to report lower emotional awareness, goal setting and perceived teacher support; and higher amotivation, teacher alienation, and student-to-teacher communication. These variables can be considered as potential foci of interventions that can be implemented before or at the beginning of secondary school in order to preclude students from facing high levels of academic risk or to mitigate the effects of academic risk factors.
This study applied a dual approach in defining academic resilience. Using a trait-based approach, subjective academic resilience was defined as the students’ capacity to effectively handle challenges, adversities, pressures and setbacks in school setting; it was measured using students’ self-ratings on items acting as indicators of trait-based or dispositional form of academic resilience. Using a process- based approach, objective academic resilience was defined as the achievement of positive academic outcomes despite the presence of challenging situations or risk factors (i.e., low achievement on entry to S1). In this study, a positive academic outcome is assessed in Secondary Three (S3): It corresponds to at least a passing grade in EL (or Maths) and/or a score in standardized achievement tests in Reading (or Maths) above the 23rd percentile of the norming population.
Focusing on objective academic resilience, high-risk students who achieved positive academic outcomes in S3 were considered as resilient, and those who remained at a high-risk status were considered as less resilient. Compared to the less resilient students, the resilient students tended to report a greater improvement in goal setting, emotional awareness, and student-to-teacher communication and had a more stable perceived teacher trust over three years. The resilient students tended to have lower amotivation and teacher alienation than their less resilient peers. There were also indications that the resilient students were more competent in setting goals and in working towards their goals; they also tended to frame failure and deal with failure more positively, and to report receiving more competence and relatedness support than their less resilient peers. The key sources of support that helped students deal with academic challenges were mainly peers, followed by family members and teachers.
The results of the study also indicate that student-to-teacher communication and students’ goal-setting ability (particularly, a positive change), perceived teacher competence support, and students’ emotional regulation were the most consistent positive predictors of academic resilience in both objective and subjective forms. The aforementioned factors were found as significant predictors of academic resilience more consistently and strongly in relation to EL than Maths.
Response and non-response to intervention for reading difficulties: What role do cognitive correlates play?
Within the field of learning disabilities many intervention studies find that treatment resisters remain despite gains in our understanding of best practices and effective treatment for reading development and disability. In this study we examine good vs. poor responders in an intervention study with 147 early primary grade students in a learning support programme. Students were assessed for reading accuracy and fluency after completion of a tablet-based reading intervention, and classified as responders vs. non-responders based on criterion referenced scores for word reading accuracy and fluency. Differences between the two groups were evaluated for the rate of growth on literacy measures over the intervention phase, their cognitive attributes at pre-intervention, and their in-lesson performance on the tablet-based intervention activities. Findings show the responder group had initial superior performance on decoding and spelling measures, as well as broad abilities related to nonverbal reasoning, working memory, phonological awareness and rapid symbol naming. Further, the gap in performance on decoding and spelling measures increased over time, with the non-responder group showing some improvement in these skills, but to a significantly smaller degree than the responder group. Different approaches to phonics intervention in the study resulted in the same proportion of non-responders. Further, children’s confusions with specific sound-symbol associations over the course of the interventions suggest potential challenges that teachers may highlight.
Using pedagogical principles to design a MOOC for parents and educators
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have gained attention because they offer the prospect of mass-scale, globally accessible, high-quality education. The coronavirus pandemic has led to a surge of interest in MOOC as learning across the globe had to be moved online. Yet, designing online courses intended for a wide audience is challenging. To facilitate the design of good online courses, it is imperative to have in place a set of principles that is able to guide the creation and presentation of course content. Extant in the literature are design principles for the use of technologies in education. However, these principles have not been extensively applied to actual MOOC development and design. Given the challenges involved in designing MOOCs, establishing a set of design principles is critical for improving learner outcomes. This chapter will examine the rise of MOOCs as well as their importance and benefits. It will describe the different types of MOOCs. Various educational psychology theories and pedagogical principles that can be applied to the development of MOOCs will be discussed. The chapter will illustrate some of these pedagogical principles and technical aspects by means of a case study of a MOOC that was designed for parents and educators.
Nurturing positivity: A positive psychology intervention to enhance well-being, engagement, and achievement among at-risk students.
Nurturing grateful and connected twenty-first century learners: Development and evaluation of a socially oriented gratitude intervention
This study aimed to develop and examine the effects of a socially oriented gratitude intervention (SOGI) on secondary students’ gratitude level and interpersonal relationships. To these ends, we used a quasi-experimental research design: The experimental group (n=46) participated in the two-week intervention during a class subject focusing on character and citizenship education (CCE) while the wait-list control group (n=57) went on with regular CCE activities. All participants completed a questionnaire a week before and a month after the implementation of the SOGI and control activities. The changes in relatedness scores were statistically significant in relation to parents and peers, but not in relation to teachers. In particular, the experimental group generally maintained the quality of their relationship with their parents and peers while the control group reported a decline in these relationship domains. The change in gratitude levels did not differ significantly between the experimental group and control group, but the effect size associated with the mean gratitude change of the experimental group was found to be larger than that of the control group and comparable to what is commonly reported in other published gratitude intervention studies. The students’ feedback reveals the social, cognitive and affective benefits of the SOGI.