Reflection on Session 5

We had a group presentation in the morning and it was being recorded. In fact, I was nervous when I presented my slides on the results and conclusion because I had diffculties interpreting the meaning of the statistical data such as cronbach alpha coefficient, total proportion of variance, simple correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, etc. In addition, one of the articles that our group has chosen was written by Dr Quek, hence we were very worried that we may have misinterpreted the findings and reported it wrongly. Anyway, everything went on smoothly eventually... I think so... Haha... At least Dr Quek did not mention that we have reported any findings wrongly. In fact, she commented that we have done a good job! Besides that, Dr Quek also shared with us some background info of the researchers and the problems that they met when carrying out the research.

In the afternoon, each group was tasked to do write up for different portions of our written report. Our group was assigned to do the portion on findings. However, we had a very big problem because none of us was able to use the SPSS to analyse the data and we had no idea what data to analyse because we had never used SPSS before and as I mentioned earlier, most of the statistical data seems foreign to me. The most enriching part of the lesson was when Dr Quek explained and interpreted the important statistical data to us such as p value, item mean, scale mean, and plotting of graph. This is so that we can analyse and generate out the necessary results to be used for our report writing. Our group was also being offered help by group 5 who taught us how to use SPSS to analyse data.

My Reflections on the read articles

After reading so many articles on educational and learning environment researches/issues including the below-mentioned articles, I realized that there are some close links between the current module with MED 871 Educational Inquiry I and MED 841 Individual Differences and Learning, which I have taken before. Why do I say that? Firstly, most if not all of the articles that I have read in this module are research reports. I have lesser fear when I read through the reports because I found the formats familiar as I have done quite a few literature reviews in the module MED 871, and I can get a better overview of some of the reports because the format is simple, for example: Introduction, Objectives, Literature Review, Methods, Data Analysis, Discussions and Conclusion. Terms like quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, triangulation, validity, reliability, ANOVA, MANOVA, etc, are what I have learnt beforehand and am applying them to the current module to aid my understanding of the reports. However, I still have problem interpreting and understanding the meaning of statistical data such factorial validity, factor analysis, simple correlation and multiple correlation results.

As for the concepts learnt in MED 841, they can also be applied to my current module to further enhance my teaching strategies and my students’ learning environments. For instance, having read the reports on learning environment research given by Dr Quek, I realized that I have been neglecting the importance of my teaching environment, which is the students’ learning environment, which can eventually affect their learning outcomes in terms of academic performances, attitudes, etc. For example, two of the important areas of focus of a learning environment are the Student Responsibility / Freedom in QTI (mentioned in Dr Quek’s article, 2005) and Teacher Support in WIHIC (mentioned in Castillo’s article, 2005). Firstly, at times, in order to facilitate learning, students also need teachers to give them the responsibility and freedom for their own activities. However, we have to ensure that they behave well and have self-discipline. If not, we may need to use mediation of Self-Regulation and Control of Behaviour. Secondly, most of the students need teachers’ support in order to learn better, hence we may need to use mediations of Intentionality and Reciprocity, Meaning, and Competence, etc.

In conclusion, though the readings in the current module is a lot, I started to find it satisfying and useful as I am getting to see a bigger and clearer picture of how the theories and concepts learnt in this Masters of Education program can make me more knowledgeable and enhance my current and future teaching strategies.

Summary on the article 3

Grade-Level, Gender and Ethnic Differences in Attitudes and Learning Environment in High School Mathematics by Gloria E. Castillo, Marie M. Peiro and Barry J. Fraser

Here is an overview of the study that we have used for our group assignment:
A research was done in South Florida, with 600 participants selected from a high school based on their grade-level, gender and ethnicity differences. The objective was to find out whether these three factors might affect attitudes and learning environment perceptions of these students. The research questions were: (1) Are modified versions of the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire and an attitude questionnaire valid and reliable when used with Grades 9 – 10 mathematics classes? (2) Are there differences in the learning environment perceptions and attitudes of high school mathematics students according to (a) grade level, (b) gender, (c) ethnicity? (3) Is there a relationship between the nature of the classroom environment as assessed with the WIHIC and students’ attitudes? In addition to the quantitative and qualitative data collection methods used, triangulation was also used to improve the validity of the findings. The results obtained were generally meaningful and positive with regards to all the research questions where the modified versions of the instruments used and data collected were valid and reliable.


This study has provided important and useful information to other researchers in terms of the significant findings on the validity and reliability of the modified versions of the instruments used here i.e. WIHIC and an attitude questionnaire, which can be used in other future research studies of the similar field to obtain more important data and results so that learning environments can be further enhanced for the students to learn better. This study has also provided more insights to how ethnic, gender and grade-level differences in high school can affect the students’ perceptions of the learning environment and attitudes toward mathematics. This is crucial as little research has been done on examining these three factors. Next, the results obtained can also be valuable to the educators, educational policy-makers, parents, community members to decide on funding the local, state and federal venues to increase educational reform with regards to the three factors. Lastly, hopefully the study can help the researchers to find out solutions to increase the percentage of women working in science-related and mathematics-related careers in USA.

Summary on the article 2

Student Perceptions of Chemistry Laboratory Learning Environments, Student-Teacher Interactions and Attitudes in Secondary School Gifted Education Classes in Singapore by Quek Choon Lang, Angela F.L.Wong and Barry J. Fraser

Here’s an overview of the study that we have used for our group assignment:
A research was done in Singapore, with 497 participants selected from 3 independent single-sex secondary schools. They were selected based on their gender and stream differences i.e. gifted and non-gifted. The research questions were: (1) To validate the Chemistry Laboratory Environment Inventory (CLEI) and Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI). (2) To investigate stream and gender differences in classroom environment perceptions on (a) the actual and preferred forms of the CLEI, (b) the actual form of the QTI. (3) To investigate associations between student attitudes to chemistry and students’ perceptions on (a) the CLEI, (b) the QTI. Only quantitative data collection method was used. The results obtained were generally meaningful and positive with regards to all the research questions where the instruments used and data collected were valid and reliable.

This study was the first to be conducted in the gifted chemistry laboratory learning environments in Singapore. It has proven to be very valuable to the administrators, students, educators, other stakeholders. Especially to the teachers, they can now obtain more information on the teaching of the gifted and about the psychosocial aspects of the chemistry laboratory learning environment for the gifted. In addition, the study assists the chemistry teachers in doing some evaluation on the laboratory environment such as making it better-equipped, with clear rules and guidelines given and more open-ended i.e. applying and infusing creativity, critical thinking skills and be more lively in approach, the extent and quality of interactions with the students such as being more dynamic and more interpersonal, and the teaching approaches applied.

Summary on the article 1

Learning environment, attitudes and conceptual development associated with innovative strategies in middle-school mathematics by Philip I. Ogbuehi and Barry J. Fraser

The study was done in California, which researched on the effectiveness of applying innovative teaching strategies to enhance the classroom environment, students’ attitudes and conceptual development to Linear Equations in Mathematics. Personally, I agreed with the author that students tend to develop disinterest in Algebra and lose focus in Mathematics class especially when they find difficulties in grasping and understanding the concept and not knowing how and when to apply the learnt concept in daily life. Hence, they find it boring and non-meaningful.

There were mainly 101 student participants who were divided into two groups i.e. the experimental group which went through the innovative teaching strategies (i.e. more of student-centered learning), and the control group which went through the traditional teaching method (i.e. more of teacher-centered learning). In this study, graphical approach was used to teach Linear Equations where visual representation can help students to better visualize and understand the concept. Quantitative data collection was carried out using the instruments: Constructivist Classroom Learning Environment Survey (CLES), What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC), and Test of Mathematics Related Attitudes (TOMRA). Some qualitative data collection was also done but not discussed in the article. Lastly, an achievement pretest and posttest were carried out to further evaluate the effectiveness of the innovative and traditional teaching strategies.

All the three instruments have been validated either in USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, and /or Korea, etc. The data obtained also showed strong support towards the factorial validity of the modified versions of the instruments. The results showed that the experimental group experienced higher and more favorable pretest-posttest changes than the control group in terms of their classroom environment perceptions i.e. Task Orientation, attitudes to mathematics i.e. Normality of Mathematicians, Enjoyment of Mathematics, and achievement. Simple correlation for class means was very significant for Personal Relevance, Shared Control, Involvement and Task Orientation for Enjoyment of Mathematics. Students generally enjoyed their classes when they can control and get involved in the class.

In conclusion, this study has provided meaningful data and results to the teachers who can now further improve and create a learning environment that can increase the student enjoyment of the subject matter through focusing on personal relevance, student control, involvement and task orientation. However, the limitation of this study was that the sample size was relatively small, and the selected student participants were not diverse and representative of the full range of schools and students in California.

Reflection on Session 4

Dr Quek went through the slides on assessing classroom learning environment with us. The objectives are to discover what to assess in the learning environment, to evaluate the learning environment, and to examine a case study. Generally there are 3 approaches to evaluate the learning environment (LE) i.e. invite trained observers, use ethnographic and naturalistic inquiry methods, and obtain teachers’ and students’ perceptions. However, the common approach used is obtaining perceptions from teachers and students as this involves lower or no cost and resources are readily available. What interests me is the brief history of the research on learning environment where I found out that research on this topic has already started in the 1930s which is 70 years ago which involves famous researchers such as Lewin, Murray, Walberg and Moo. We also went through a list of instruments used in the LE research, the components in the WIHIC questionnaire, and a hands-on activity on the use of WIHIC for our individual write-up assignment. In addition, we also went through a sample assignment where mistakes are pointed out to us so that we will not make the same mistakes in our assignment. Overall, it was a fruitful lesson where I can start trying to write my assignment now.

Reflection on Session 3

Wow! It was another overwhelming session! The lesson pace was quite fast. Personally, I think an effective learning environment will encourage the students to actively participate in the tutorial discussions and freely post their queries as they feel that the environment is non-threatening. They are not afraid of making mistakes but are willing to learn from their friends. This will encourage more of student-centred learning environment. However, an ineffective learning environment will discourage the students from paying attention in class and reluctant to participate in the tutorial discussions. Hence, it will be more of teacher-centred learning environment.

We also had our group discussion on our session 2 group collaboration activity using the articles on Maths learning environment and Chemistry learning environment. In addition, we discussed on “Does the assessment-centered learning environment exist in Singapore context and why?”

Lastly, Dr Quek went through to explain the following with us in class: What are the key components of a learning environment, what are the inter-relationships of components in learning environment, and how to differentiate various types of learning environment. It was really useful for me. She also asked us if we would like to be observed by a detached observer (alpha press) or a group of people (beta press) in our lesson (the two new terms learnt in this session and also from my reading on the article: Science Learning Environments: Assessment, Effects and Determinants by Barry Fraser – Alpha press and Beta press). My answer was I would prefer the beta press as this group of people would know the learning environment better and they are readily available in school. However, being observed by alpha press has its own advantage as well such as he or she would have a different and non-bias perception of the learning environment and feedbacks. Currently, our department has carried out a few termly surveys to gather feedbacks from our students regarding our lectures, revision packages, and individual teaching approaches and learning environments. I find this to be useful as I can find out what is it that I have done that encouraged more effective learning and what improvement do I have to focus on in creating a better learning environment for my students. However, I feel that some feedbacks can be bias and non-constructive as the students may have some misunderstanding towards the teacher beforehand.

Reflection on Session 2

I only found the articles on Maths Learning Environment and D & T Learning Environment in the pile of reading articles given by Dr Quek. Thought we can only read these 2 articles (with no choice) for the preparation of our Group Collaboration in session 2 and Student-led Seminar in session 4. However, later I was told that we have to google search for the remaining articles. Anyway, our group could not start the group collaboration activity on time because of this and we won't sure what have to be included for the group collaboration activity. Hence, I spent my time for session 2 reading up on the remaining articles for session 1 and continue to give my reflections in Wiki.

Most importantly after reading the articles and giving my reflections for session 1, I learnt more about what is a psycho-social classroom learning environment and what components are involved in this. In addition, I also read about the changes in learning environments from 30 years ago till now. Presently, we have online learning environment, project-based education, problem-based learning, and case-based learning. In fact, my department has been using simple online learning i.e. LMS to upload notes, solutions, quizzes. And for 'A' level, we also have project-based learning i.e. H1 Project Work.

Adding on to my reflection on Session 1

Adding on to my reflection on session 1, after listening to the podcast, I found that it is very different from other common podcasts or e-learning lectures where there is no background music being played. Personally, I found that the music is smoothing and it makes me awake and arouse my attention in the podcast. For this, I may regard it as an effective learning environment for me.

In addition, from the podcast I realized that there are 5 main components involved in a learning environment i.e. sch climate, sch culture, perception, sch learning environment and classroom learning environment. What are involved in a learning environment? They are person, personal needs and human behavior. Hence, we have to take into account of all these factors when we want to create a positive learning environment

Reflection on Session 1

I understand that the research articles given are going to be useful for our future teaching and research, however there are a lot of readings to be done and it is not easy to be 'digested'. I have problem finishing all articles within the given timeframe.

Reflection on Pre-Session

I found the lesson too overwhelming with a lot of new applications such as blog and wiki to be learnt and used. Although information was quite overloaded, I supposed that the new applications would further assist me in my teaching and interaction with my students to create a more effective learning platform.

Hey ladies! Which 2 articles would u like to reflect on?

Hello! Shall we select 2 articles from session 2 to read and then reflect on?

BE HAPPY!!!

BE HAPPY!!!!