Cognitive vs. metacognitive scaffolding strategies and EFL learners’ listening comprehension development

Studies have documented the significance of scaffolding as a sociocultural theory driven type of assistance for the development of English as foreign language (EFL) learners’ language skills in general; however, the comparative efficacy of various cognitive and/or metacognitive scaffolding procedures for EFL learners’ listening comprehension development and progress has received scant attention. As a partial attempt in this regard, this study investigated the comparative efficacy of cognitive and metacognitive scaffolding strategies for EFL learners’ listening comprehension development. For this purpose, 90 intermediate level EFL learners aged 15 to 20 were selected to participate in this study. The participants’ actual proficiency level was assessed using a sample TOEFL Junior Standard test and relatively homogeneous classes of nearly 15 learners were formed and randomly assigned to two experimental conditions and a control one. The listening section of TOEFL Junior standard test was used as the pre- and posttest. While the learners in both experimental conditions worked in groups of three or four learners on some listening comprehension tasks, the participants of the first experimental condition received cognitive scaffolding strategies, and the second experimental group members were treated using metacognitive scaffolding strategies, the control group members received teacher-fronted non-scaffolding instruction. In addition to a listening comprehension posttest, a semi-structured interview was given to a number of participants of each experimental condition to explore their attitudes towards given scaffolding strategies. The analyses verified that metacognitive scaffolding strategies had a significant superior effect on EFL learners’ listening development compared to cognitive scaffolding strategies and non-scaffolding instruction. Furthermore, the analyses revealed that the EFL learners were generally more pleased with the metacognitive scaffolding procedures and viewed them as instructive, innovative, and effective for finding problems, better comprehension and increased readiness.

THE EFFECTS OF A VIRTUAL LABORATORY AND META-COGNITIVE SCAFFOLDING ON STUDENTS' DATA MODELING COMPETENCES

Previous studies on the effectiveness of virtual laboratories for learning have shown inconsistent results over the past decade. The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of a virtual laboratory and meta-cognitive scaffolding on students' data modeling competences. A quasi-experimental design was used. Three classes of eighth graders from southern Taiwan participated in this research and were assigned to the Experimental Group Ⅰ (EG Ⅰ), the Experimental Group Ⅱ (EG Ⅱ), and the Control Group (CG). EG Ⅰ (n=25) received the virtual laboratory and meta-cognitive scaffolding in the teaching and learning. EG Ⅱ (n=28) received the virtual laboratory only in the teaching and learning. The CG (n=27) received the lecture with the cookbook laboratory. The teaching unit was Heat and Specific Heat, and the teaching time for the three groups was six lessons (of 45 minutes each). The Data Modeling Competences Test (DMCT) designed by the research team was used as the data collection instrument. The results showed that the virtual laboratory and meta-cognitive scaffolding had effects on students' data modeling competences. This research shows the importance of the meta-cognitive scaffolding strategy for virtual laboratories when conducting data modeling teaching. Keywords: data modeling, quasi-experimental design, meta-cognitive scaffolding, virtual laboratory

A Dual-Scaffolding Framework Integrating Peer-Scaffolding and Cognitive-Scaffolding for an Augmented Reality-Based Educational Board Game: An Analysis of Learners’ Collective Flow State and Collaborative Learning Behavioral Patterns

The design and application of educational board games have been emphasized in game-based learning. The integration of educational board games and augmented reality (AR) can help provide extensive cognitive-scaffolding for learners. This study proposed a dual-scaffolding framework that integrated peer-scaffolding and cognitive-scaffolding for an AR educational board game. This study also conducted an empirical analysis to evaluate this framework. Forty-four college students participated in this study. The researchers investigated these learners’ flow, acceptance, and their collaborative learning behavioral patterns with the sequential analysis. Moreover, this study explored the correlation of flow and acceptance and investigated learners’ behavioral pattern differences between high collective flow groups and low collective flow groups (collective flow referred to the mean of flow from group members). The results showed that there was a positive correlation between learners’ flow and acceptance. These learners’ behavioral patterns also showed that both peer-scaffolding and cognitive-scaffolding facilitated their problem-solving process. Moreover, the study found that high collective flow groups had more reflection and analysis behaviors than low collective flow groups in game-based learning.

Teacher-student eye contact during scaffolding collaborative mathematical problem-solving

Teacher’s gaze communicates consciously and unconsciously her pedagogical priorities to the students. By creating and responding to eye contact initiatives, people can communicate both status and affection. This research explores the frequency of teacher-student eye contacts and their connection to teachers’ scaffolding intentions. The data consisted of mobile gaze tracking recordings of two teachers and stationary classroom videos during three collaborative mathematical problem-solving lessons. The quantitative analysis showed that most of the teacher gazes on student faces did not lead to dyadic eye contacts and those gazes that did, occurred often during affective and cognitive scaffolding. These results offer us novel and important insight in the nonverbal part of scaffolding interaction.