Wang, Qiyun

Pair programming (PP) is a useful approach to fostering computational thinking for young students. However, there are many factors impacting on the effectiveness of PP. The period of switching roles between the driver and the navigator is often ignored by researchers. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the impact of the switching period on PP. We conducted a PP experiment in four classes in the sixth grade in a primary school. The results indicated that (a) the semi-free switch was more effective for the learning achievement than the fixed periods, and the preference for adopting the fixed time interval to switch roles existed in previous studies seems to be a kind of prejudice; (b) students who switched roles every 5 minutes and semi-freely were more enjoyable than those who switched roles in every task and in every class session. Moreover, the period of switching roles in every class session decreased students’ enjoyment after PP; (c) the frequency of switching roles decreased significantly, but the negotiation between the driver and the navigator became more active with time going in the semi-free class. Implications for teaching are also discussed.

The current challenge faced by most beginning teachers is the disparity between the theories of classroom management exposed to in pre-service, and the practices in complex and ill-structured classroom situations. Such a theory-practice gap has led to the need to re-examine the existing instructional approach used in teacher learning and helping them develop deep understanding and meaningful learning for teachers. This proposed study explores case-based learning and related areas, beginning teachers’ case-based learning for self-analysis, discussion and reflection. It also explores how technology can be used to support teachers' case-based learning. The affordances of technology and design of technology-mediated learning environment will also be presented.

This paper reviews the main benefits and challenges teachers, students and institutes may face while using blended synchronous learning and some possible strategies to overcome them. This paper also looks at the main factors to consider for designing effective blended synchronous learning. For example, having common display across all users, choosing a suitable platform and features, modes of blended synchronous learning. Strategies like: enhancing students’ and teachers’ e-learning competence, explaining the structure of the course to students, teachers’ preparation and delivery of lessons and support from various parties, can be used to effectively carry out blended synchronous learning.

The purpose of this study was to verify a Chinese version of Community of Inquiry (CoI) instrument with learning presence and explore the casual relationships of the factors in the instrument. This study first examined the reliability and validity of the instrument. All four presences had acceptable levels of reliability (all Cronbach's a>.765 or higher). The confirmatory factor modelling approach was used to assess its validity. Then, the study used path analysis and regression analysis to explore the causal relationships of the presences. The key findings showed that teaching and social presences directly influenced the perceptions of learning presence. Learning presence was a partial mediating variable of interactional relationship within CoI constructs.

This paper explores three potential affordances (social, technical and pedagogical) of wikis in the context of designing 32 teachers’ learning of classroom management cases. Two learning environments were designed and two groups of the teacher-participants posted their own written and audio cases, identified problems, discussed and proposed solutions with the input of their peers, in the respective wikis hosted in Google Sites® and Learning Activity Management System® (LAMS). The teachers’ perceptions of the wikis’ affordances to support their case-based learning were surveyed quantitatively. The five point Likert scale survey ranked technical affordance highest, followed by social affordance and pedagogical affordance. Qualitative data from their online discussions and reflection logs were also analyzed to probe the variations in perceived affordances. Participants experienced ease of use and freedom from technical difficulties in achieving their learning goals (interaction with peers and sharing of resources). This paper discusses further work in harnessing wikis’ affordances for designing more effective case-based learning environments to cater for diverse learners. It also provides suggestions for further research into wiki pedagogy.

Modern Educational Technology is a common course in many normal universities in China. The Modern Educational Technology Center (METC) of East China Normal University (ECNU) decided to improve the course for pre-service teachers at the end of 2010. The enhanced course has some additional features, such as emphasising knowledge and skills transfer, adopting a 4C/ID model to improve the course content, focusing on common technologies as well as cutting-edge technologies, and creating a supportive learning environment by using an online platform. The METC piloted this course in the first semester of 2011. Feedback was collected from a tentative survey, the student teachers’ evaluation of teaching, and their online reflections. The result indicated that the participants became more confident in designing micro e-learning courses and more interested in the field of educational technology after they completed this course. This paper describes the conceptual framework of the course, its new features, and the evaluation results.

Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs on classroom management contribute significantly to student learning and development. Despite its importance, research in this aspect, however, has still been stymied by the difficulty of measuring teachers’ classroom management attitudes and beliefs. Psychometrically sound instruments to measure teachers’ classroom management attitudes and beliefs are still unavailable for use in Asian classrooms. In view of such reality, this study was intended to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Attitudes and Beliefs of Classroom Control Inventory-Adapted (ABCC-A) in Singapore schools. Construct validation of ABCC-A was conducted in three studies. Participants’ responses to the 27-item ABCC inventory from the first-phase data collection (N = 512) were used in study 1 and study 2. Participants and their responses to the revised ABCC-A inventory from the second-phase data collection were used in study 3. In study 1, half of the first-phase data collection sample (N 1 = 259) was randomly selected for the exploratory factor analysis and reliability test. In the study 2, the other half of first-phase sample (N 2 = 253) will be used for the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) test. In study 3, participants (N 3 = 41) who completed the revised ABCC-A, teacher efficacy scale, and questionnaire on teacher interaction questionnaires in the second-phase data collection will be used for convergent and discriminate validity tests. The CFA of ABCC-A revealed a good model fit of instruction management and people management subscales and acceptable evidence of invariance among different groups of beginning teachers in Singapore primary and secondary schools.

A four-stage online collaborative learning approach to supporting teachers' professional development was proposed and described in this paper. This study investigated primary school teachers' interactive networks and social knowledge construction behavioral patterns in online collaborative learning activities. The subject of this study was 83 primary school Chinese teachers who were participating in a structured online professional development program that was 6 months in duration. By combining social network analysis, content analysis and lag sequential analysis, results showed that interactive networks generated in two rounds of online collaborative learning activities were low reciprocal, and loosely connected with a low cohesiveness. There was no significant difference of behavior distributions between core and peripheral members. Moreover, teachers' social knowledge construction behavioral patterns presented different characteristics in different rounds of activities. In addition, this study identified certain problems in teachers' online learning. Finally, some implications for the design of teacher education programs, limitations and further research plans are proposed.

Computational thinking (CT) is a fundamental skill for students, and assessment is a critical factor CT in education. However, there is a lack of effective approaches to CT assessment. Therefore, we designed the Three-Dimensional Integrated Assessment (TDIA) framework in this paper. The TDIA has two aims: one was to integrate three dimensions (directionality, openness, and process) into the design of effective assessment tasks; and the other was to assess comprehensively the three dimensions of CT including computational concepts, practices, and perspectives. Guided by the TDIA framework, we designed three pairs of tasks: closed forward tasks and closed reverse tasks, semi-open forward tasks and semi-open reverse tasks, and open tasks with a creative design report and open tasks without a creative design report. To further confirm each task’s applicability and its advantages and disadvantages, we conducted a test experiment at the end of the autumn semester in 2014 in a primary school for three weeks. The results indicated: (a) the reverse tasks were not more superior than the forward tasks; (b) the semi-open tasks and the open tasks were more effective than the closed tasks, and the semi-open tasks had higher difficulty and discrimination than the others; (c) the self-reports provided a helpful function for learning diagnosis and guidance; (d) the scores had no significant difference between the schoolboys and the schoolgirls in all six tasks; and (e) the six tasks’ difficulty and discrimination were all acceptable, the semi-open tasks had higher difficulty and discrimination than the others. To effectively apply them, the following suggestions for teachers to design computational tasks are proposed: motivating students’ interest and enthusiasm; incorporating semi-finished artifacts; involving learning diagnosis and guidance; and including multiple types of tasks.