Asia Pacific Education Review最新文献

Promoting continuous learning behavior is a key challenge for online learning. The present paper empirically examines the effects of course network characteristics including course network size, course network diversity, and course strong ties on continuance behavior, considering the moderating impacts of social learning and social exposure. Ordinary least squares regression is employed to validate the effects, using a data set of 2190 users and information on 65,080 courses that was collected from the Chinese University MOOC, which is the largest MOOC platform in China. The results show that those who registered for smaller course size, greater network diversity, and stronger ties between courses are more likely to engage in continuous learning in MOOCs. Further, social learning weakens and social exposure strengthens the positive relationship between course network diversity and continuance behavior. And the negative impact of course network size on continuance behavior is alleviated by social exposure. This research provides a deep understanding of continuance behavior in MOOCs and guidelines for reducing the high dropout rate in online learning.

Attention to the disconnection between culture and mathematics has been addressed then and now (Wilder (in: Graves et al., Proceedings of the international congress of mathematicians, American Mathematical Society, 1950; Liu in Taiwan Journal of Mathematics Education, 8:79–88, 2021b). Recently, studies, workshops, and contests about an approach to relating culture and mathematics, such as incorporating mathematics history or mathematics writings in class, have emerged. However, although the effectiveness of such an approach was proved, employing it as instruction was still significantly ignored, not to mention the approach to creating mathematics literary writings—the goal that the Mathematics-Literature Contest aimed to achieve. Additionally, no empirical studies have systematically assessed the contest, especially from the cultural perspective. Through teachers’ and students’ perceptions, this qualitative case study aims to examine the impact of mathematics literary writings on the development of mathematics teaching/learning and the mathematics culture represented in the contest. Ten teachers and 20 students were interviewed. Data were analyzed by following Yin’s five phases (2016). The study visualizes an evolutionary model of the contest, signifying the development of mathematics culture simultaneously. Results demonstrated that the contest caused teachers and students, who constituted the internal force, to consolidate the mathematics culture, which was enriched by the external force—to reinterpret the connection between mathematics as well as culture and the reform of general education. The developed mathematics culture included elements other than mathematics, such as the Chinese writings and their interactions with mathematics and life experiences. The findings hold implications for mathematics and general education: An interdisciplinary curriculum design can help cultivate teachers’ and students’ intellectual acumen; higher education communities worldwide must follow the trend.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of intervention using graphic organizers on the cognitive and affective improvement of students with intellectual disability (ID), with learning disability (LD), without disability, and at-risk learners in Korea. A total of 49 peer-reviewed journals and dissertations for the last 20 years were included for conducting this meta-analysis. The overall effect size of intervention using a graphic organizer was .78 (d) (95% CI [.63, .94], ({tau }^{2}) = .28) using a random-effects model. In order of strongest to weakest effects, at-risk learners (d = 1.38), students with LD (d = 1.15), students with ID (d = .76), and students without disability (d = .52). Among student variables, there is no statistically significant difference by school level, but by school type. Among intervention variables, instruction in math (d = 1.43) and Korean (d = .96); cognitive mapping (d = 1.05); 1–19 times, 1–9 weeks, 3–5 times per week; and small-size groups were the most effective intervention conditions. While several variables showed significant subgroup differences, meta-regression analyses revealed that only group size and frequency were significant moderators after controlling for other factors. In summary, intervention using a graphic organizer was more effective for students with disability and at-risk students than it was for students without disability.

In our previous study (Gomersall & Floyd, in Asia Pacific Education Review 24:447–459, 2022), we reported that a group of Myanmar students, who studied online for their high school qualifications during COVID-19, reported drawing on a range of factors to enable them to overcome the adversity and continue their education. Moreover, they claimed that they had benefited from the online experience and were ready to progress to university. This study returns one year later to interview some of the original participants to see if their perceptions became reality. In addition, a group of students from the 2020 cohort are also interviewed so that a comparison can be made between the last group of students who studied ‘normally’ before COVID-19, and those who experienced online learning for the first time. This study addresses a gap in the literature by examining student perspectives of the ways in which they thrived as a result of digitally enhanced learning. We conclude that learning online enabled students to develop personally, enhance their digital skills, and acquire skills and knowledge that could be utilised again in the future. Moreover, those who studied online in both high school and university found the process of commencing online studies at university easier, which supports the tentative conclusion that even in low resource settings, it would be beneficial for schools to explore integrating more digital skills into the classroom.

This study aimed to identify the effects of peer relationship instructions between students with and without disabilities in inclusive education settings in South Korea. We conducted a meta-analysis using journal articles published over the last 20 years. From a total of 1419 student data within 33 primary studies, we found an overall effect size of 0.78 (Hedges’ g), which indicates a strong effect size of intervention efforts on peer relations of students with disabilities. With respect to outcomes, we found higher effect sizes (g = 0.82) particularly on collaboration than self-directedness (g = 0.47). We also found that instructions were highly effective for both students with (g = 0.93) and without disabilities (g = 0.76). It would be encouraged for educators to put consistent effort into implementing instructions that target to improve peer relationships and consider instruction variables such as length of program while balancing the quantitative and qualitative aspects of peer relationship.

This study utilized time series analysis to investigate the development of and the longitudinal relationship between grit and peer learning among high school students in an EFL classroom over a 36-week period. Based on autocorrelation, partial correlation, and developmental trajectories, we found the dynamic development of the two constructs, which however, developed in contrasting fashions. The findings based on cross-correlation and vector autoregressive model revealed that persistence of effort (PE) positively influenced peer learning, while the effects of consistency of interest (CI) on peer learning were not significant. Interestingly, negative lagged effects of both PE and CI on peer learning were also observed, indicating that the relationship between grit and peer learning is complex and context-dependent. This study highlights the importance of meticulously designing peer-learning activities to meet individual student needs and providing appropriate pedagogical support, while also recognizing the critical role of PE in promoting peer learning.

Causal inference involves determining whether a treatment (e.g., an education program) causes a change in outcomes (e.g., academic achievement). It is well-known that causal effects are more challenging to estimate than associations. Over the past 50 years, the potential outcomes framework has become one of the most widely used approaches for defining, identifying, and estimating causal effects. In this paper, we review the potential outcomes framework with a focus on potential outcomes notation to define individual and average causal effects. We then show how three canonical assumptions, Unconfoundedness, Positivity, and Consistency, may be used to identify average causal effects. The identification results motivate methods for estimating causal effects in practice, which include model-based estimators, such as regression, inverse probability weighting, and doubly robust estimation, and procedures that target covariate balance, such as matching and stratification. Examples and discussion are grounded in the context of a running example of a study aimed at assessing the causal effect of receipt of special education services on 5th grade mathematics achievement in school-aged children. Practical considerations for education research are discussed.

Instructional video has become an important teaching resource. In related studies, researchers have found that the playback speed of instructional videos affects learning effect. However, it is not clear whether the learning effect obtained when learners choose different playback speeds is affected by the interactive design of the video (e.g., such as pre-embedded questions). Therefore, in this study, behavioral tests and eye-movement techniques were used to investigate the learning outcomes and cognitive processing of 90 participants based on instructional video playback speed (1.0×, 1.25×, and 1.5×) and question embedding types (no-question embedding and pre-embedded questions). The results showed that the pre-embedded questions not only improved learners' attention to the main content of the video, but also enhanced learning performance. An appropriate increase in playback speed (1.25× speed) is beneficial to learners' cognitive processing and learning depth, but excessive speed (1.5× speed) can be detrimental. Pre-embedding questions can broaden the range of speed acceptable to learners while maintaining learning efficiency. There was no significant difference in learning outcomes between 1.0, 1.25, and 1.5 times speed when questions were pre-embedded. However, the learning effect of 1.5 times speed was considerably lower than that of 1.0 times and 1.25 times speed when no questions were embedded. This study not only provides a new research perspective for the related research of instructional videos, but also provides a reference for the design and development of teaching video, so as to meet learners' individual needs and improve the effectiveness of online learning.

Causal mediation analysis has gained increasing attention in recent years. This article guides empirical researchers through the concepts and challenges of causal mediation analysis. I first clarify the difference between traditional and causal mediation analysis and highlight the importance of adjusting for the treatment-by-mediator interaction and confounders of the treatment–mediator, treatment–outcome, and mediator–outcome relationships. I then introduce the definition of causal mediation effects under the potential outcomes framework and different methods for the identification and estimation of the effects. After that, I highlight the importance of conducting a sensitivity analysis to assess the sensitivity of analysis results to potential unmeasured confounding. I also list various statistical software that can conduct causal mediation analysis and sensitivity analysis and provide suggestions for writing a causal mediation analysis paper. Finally, I briefly introduce some extensions that I made with my colleagues, including power analysis, multisite causal mediation analysis, causal moderated mediation analysis, and relaxing the assumption of no post-treatment confounding.