Search

This research presents a novel reading fluency (rf) measurement formula that accounts for both reading rate and comprehension. Possible formulas were investigated with 68 participants in a strategic reading course in an IEP at a small Pacific Island university. The selected formula's scores demonstrated concurrent validity through strong correlation (r[66] = 0.680, p < 0.001) with the Adaptive Reading Test (ART), an assessment aligned with ACTFL's proficiency levels. Furthermore, when ART scores were regressed onto formula scores, formula scores accounted for 49% of the variance in ART scores (R[superscript 2] = 0.488, F[1, 66] = 62.88, p < 0.001); these results were comparable to a model in which comprehension and rate were the independent variables (R[superscript 2] = 0.514, F[2, 65] = 34.38, p < 0.001). The formula appears preferable to currently available alternatives and ensures that high performance in reading rate cannot compensate for low performance in comprehension nor vice versa. An Excel workbook for exploring formula variants and tracking learners' fluency is provided to readers of Reading in a Foreign Language.

Written scientific communication, such as laboratory reports, are important components of undergraduate education within the sciences. Since most Horticultural Science majors offer lecture- and lab-based courses, students often write laboratory reports for many courses across the curriculum and these reports comprise a large percentage of the writing assignments in these classes. Instructors link learning objectives with laboratory reports to reinforce course content. Students have noted inconsistencies across horticulture courses in requirements for laboratory report writing, which often leads to confusion. Thus, development of a grading rubric would improve the continuity of expectations of laboratory report writing and grading within a Horticultural Science curriculum for instructors teaching courses requiring laboratory reports. When focusing just on laboratory writing in the curriculum, surveys and interviews indicated that a disconnect exists between what instructors expect of their students and what the stated learning outcomes were for their courses. Student's ability to analyze results was seen as both a strength and weakness, as reported from faculty responses. In lower division courses, analyzing results from student's experiments was a weakness while in upper division courses faculty responses were mixed as to whether students had the skills to sufficiently analyze results from their experiments. When a grading rubric was trialed, students indicated that use of the same rubric in other Horticultural Science courses would demystify the process of conducting research and communicating it effectively in laboratory reports. For this work to expand, one or more standard rubrics need to be developed for use by Horticultural Science courses within an institution to enhance our students' abilities to become competent writers in this form of scientific communication. A baseline rubric for courses at the 3000 level was developed to serve as a template to further this process.

This study investigates multiple intelligences in relation to online video experiences, age, gender, and mode of learning from a rural Australian university. The inter-relationships between learners' different intelligences and their motivations and learning experience with the supplementary online videos utilised in their subjects are investigated. These videos were accessed by students using a variety of digital devices, including mobile devices and in lecture theatres. Quantitative responses using online surveys were collected from 111 students. Measures included McKenzie's Multiple Intelligences Inventory and the Online Video Experience Inventory. The Online Video Experience Inventory resulted in two sub-scales, namely, motivation and learning experience. Overall multiple intelligences was significantly positively correlated with learning experience but not student motivation. Although the findings revealed a significant difference between the MI profiles of respondents and their age category, it was revealed that all students are lower in Existential intelligence. Further analyses between gender and the MI subscales also indicated significant differences between gender and Logical-Mathematical and Intrapersonal intelligences. However, a negligible significant relationship was found between the two sub-scales of the Learning Experience Inventory and age of the participants.

Strawberries are among the most consumed fruits in the U.S. and demand for locally grown fruit is high. Although most production in Minnesota is dominated by June-bearers, new techniques for growing day-neutral strawberries are becoming increasingly prevalent. These techniques include in-ground plasticulture and soilless tabletop production, and growers are generally advised to remove stolons (runners) from day-neutral plants. There is relatively little information available to confirm that this practice, and its attendant labor increase, is a necessity in soilless tabletop production. This study's objective was to determine whether this practice is necessary to maximize yield and fruit quality, using the day-neutral Fragaria xananassa cultivar 'Cabrillo'. Plants in the runner removal treatment had significantly higher yields for both fruit weight and fruit number than plants without runner removal. We, therefore, recommend that growers remove runners periodically from day-neutral strawberry plants grown in outdoor soilless tabletop systems to achieve economically viable yields.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the course of researching and writing the first-ever book length biography of Edward Graeme Robertson's (1903–1975) eventful life and career in Australasian neurology, a rare 1933 cinema film recording of National Hospital staff at Queen Square has recently been rediscovered. Graeme completed his residency in neurology at Queen Square in the early 1930s and maintained close connections with his colleagues in London, thoughtfully recording them at different times using early movie cameras. Two versions of Graeme's 1933 film have been preserved, and there are also other color clips of his colleagues from later in life in the UCL Neurology archives and Robertson family collection. These remarkable films contain images of several historically significant neurologists, including Gordon Morgan Holmes (1876–1965), Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson (1878–1937), Derek Denny-Brown (1901–1981), Macdonald Critchley (1900–1997), and several others. We provide a contextual summary of the many clips recorded alongside an in-depth inventory of all the personalities represented in the 1933 film. Selected photographs are used to indicate the contents of these remarkable films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details results from a three-year study investigating how to help students in Singapore write vivid compositions in Mandarin, the Chinese "mother tongue". Mastery of the mother tongue by Singaporean students has become an important government priority in recent years. The strategies employed by this study included the use of information and communications technology (ICT) mediated scaffolds such as collaborative mind maps and online peer editing to help students learn micro-writing strategies. This paper outlines the process of using various scaffolds to support students to learn and apply the action chain micro-writing strategy. A class of 31 Primary 4 from a neighbourhood school participated in this study. Findings indicated that students were very enthusiastic about writing in the ICT-mediated environment. Contrary to the teacher's initial belief, students could be scaffolded to write action chains quickly. Findings highlighted the potential of scaffolding students in learning small chunks of writing strategy in an ICT-mediated environment that enabled them to practice these strategies in their composition writing until they could master and apply them. These micro-writing strategies gradually built up to a complex set of skills, including expressive writing. Moreover, students enjoyed working in groups and editing their peers' work online. This showed that peers could be engaged as scaffolders in the classroom to free up the teacher's time, allowing the teacher more time to spend with students who were not performing well.

Peer review is not included in undergraduate horticultural curricula. Our research objectives in an 8- year study, which ranged from 2000 to 2007 in two sections (2000-2002 non-peer reviewed and 2003-2007 peer-reviewed) of Greenhouse Management students at the University of Minnesota were to determine whether iterative peer reviews would result in improved learning, enhanced writing, refined revision processes, and higher written paper/course grades for undergraduate and professional horticulture students, as well as the effects of double blinding, whether years affected any parameter and the validity/reliability of peer reviews. Both sections were assigned a semesterlong, 3-phase writing-intensive assignment. Principle findings that emerged were: (a) after engaging in iterative structured peer-reviews, student final grades in the peer review group exceeded those in 2/3 of non-peer reviewed years; (b) students quickly identified superior papers; (c) while students grasped the peer review process and matched their editing skills with the instructor and teaching assistants by Phase II, a lag time (Phase III) occurred before it significantly increased their grades; (d) graded paper scores were not different across years; (e) anonymity of peer reviews had no effect; and (f) students were initially able to recognize writing issues in peers' drafts and address them in their own writing. Inclusion of more than 2 peer reviews into horticulture courses is highly recommended.

This article offers five instructional enhancements that help students become better readers. These classroom practices coincide with five key elements of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading instruction: "extensive practice and exposure to print," "commitment to building student motivation," "attention to reading fluency," "vocabulary building," and "comprehension skills practice and discussion." The classroom practices can be used in addition to a prescribed reading curriculum, for as little as ten minutes per week, to improve students' reading abilities. (Contains 3 figures.)