While the effect of Readers Theater (RT) on English oral reading fluency has been extensively investigated, research on the effect of RT on adolescents' English reading and listening comprehension was scant and yielded different results. This research aimed to explore how RT instruction influenced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students,…

An online system leveraging self-explanation was developed. The theoretical basis and design principles guiding the development of the system were explicated. Four evaluation studies were conducted to assess the student-generated explanations component accompanying student-generated questions (SQG) and the embedded designs. The analyzed data…

The present research examined the effectiveness of digital storytelling (DST) on foreign language learners' English speaking and creative thinking. In this study, DST was realized in the form of an interdisciplinary project integrated in a partnership between an English course and a computer course, with the class time of the former devoted to the…

The research aim was to examine the effects of a Critique-Driven Inquiry (CDI) intervention on primary and secondary school students' critical thinking and scientific inquiry competency. Twenty-five 4th grade Taiwanese students from a typical primary school were selected to participate in experimental group 1 (EG1), while 28 7th grade students…

Background: STEM education has become a focus of research and teaching interest in recent years. However, not all scholars agree on the definition and purpose of STEM education. This paper summarizes related past research and suggests that, according to the requirements of Taiwan's educational environment, STEM education should focus on the…

Researchers and language teachers have become increasingly aware of the importance of multi-word items in developing fluency and sounding native-like in English. Nevertheless, understanding and using English phrasal verbs can be challenging and limiting for learners in an EFL environment; offering opportunities to maximise their use of phrasal…

Teaching English in a classroom setting where EFL learners were usually sitting at desks and doing English learning tasks using paper and pencil is inefficient. It has considerable potential problems that could lead to students learning in a passive state. More specifically, the teaching materials are inconsistent with students' authentic…

The central dogma of biology is difficult to learn because its microscopic processes cannot be visualized. This study aimed to devise two inquiry activities: 'Button Code' and 'Beaded Bracelet Making,' involving the concepts of DNA replication and protein synthesis based on the Metacognitive Learning Cycle (MLC) for students, and to explore the…

Given the increasing emphasis of communicative competence in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts and the lack of validation research on speaking assessments for adolescent EFL learners, in the current study we examined the validity of the TOEFL Junior® speaking test, a relatively new speaking assessment developed by Educational Testing…

The current study investigated the effects of interactive picture-book read-alouds on middle school EFL students' word inference ability and attitudes toward reading in English. To this end, two classes of seventh-grade students from a public middle school in Taiwan participated and were randomly divided into two groups: an interactive…

This study investigated how a literacy buddy approach may influence the English learning and creative writing of adolescent learners in a rural Taiwanese school. A group of seventh-grade and eighth-grade students took part in a winter camp, wherein they read and wrote picture books collaboratively. Based on the students' feedback, this approach…

This study involved using teaching strategies from the ARCS Motivational Model to develop new interdisciplinary curricular modules and ability assessments that combine Atayal culture with information technology. The purpose was to explore whether, through pedagogy based on the ARCS motivational model, indigenous middle-school students had a…

In this study, we have synthesized the research on visualization and representation to propose a model consisting of 4 major components of visualization competence in learning science: constructing, interpreting, transforming, and critiquing visualizations. We have developed and validated an assessment that measures students' visualization…

The purpose of this study was, first, to understand the item hierarchy regarding students' understanding of scientific models and modeling (USM). Secondly, this study investigated Taiwanese students' USM progression from 7th to 12th grade, and after participating in a model-based curriculum. The questionnaire items were developed based on 6…

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' understanding of groundwater as a system, and to further examine whether and how their understanding is related to attitudes towards groundwater use and conservation. A total of 676 junior high school students completed a groundwater survey including a drawing activity and a questionnaire. An…