Background: Painting is the foundational expression across all art forms and is one of the key creative practices for fostering students' aesthetic ability and creativity within fine arts courses. Collaborative painting in the form of socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL) can be recognized as an effective strategy for enhancing creativity…

Background: Information regarding how the Special Olympics programs affect volunteers' self-esteem and attitudes towards individuals with intellectual disability (ID) is limited. We conducted a quasi-experimental study to address this gap. Method: The intervention group participants (n = 120) were Chinese volunteers for the Special Olympics Eunice…

The rapid advances of China's universities in major international league tables are generally believed to be an accomplishment of Project 985. A quasi-experimental study was, therefore, undertaken to test the belief and to evaluate the effectiveness of this policy intervention, using 15-year panel data between 1998 and 2013. Results from a…

A semantic diagram tool is proposed in this study in order to structure collaborative problem solving (CPS) based on cognitive load theory (CLT). To investigate its effects on transaction cost and the deepening of user understandings, a comparative quasi-experiment was designed and conducted with 49 participants from a university in East China.…

This paper examines the effects of roommates on students' academic outcomes exploiting the randomized roommate assignment system at a selective Chinese university. Unlike earlier studies that could not measure students' academic quality precisely, this paper makes two important improvements in measuring their English proficiency and overall…

This study used a quasi-experimental design to investigate the impact of Rapid Reading Skills Training (RRST) on some reading outcomes for primary school students in central China and also examined the influence of cognitive flexibility on intervention outcomes. A sample of 108 students (mean age = 11.75 years) were recruited. Students' cognitive…

The popularity of the Internet has toppled people's thinking models and teaching styles as well as influenced the operation of school education. In teaching processes, computers could attract students' attention through vivid images, bright colors and characters, and sound to further promote their learning concentration and interests. Research on…

We conducted an intervention-based study in secondary classrooms to explore whether the use of geometric transformations can help improve students' ability in constructing auxiliary lines to solve geometric proof problems, especially high-level cognitive problems. A pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design was employed. The participants were…

Scholars debate whether corrective feedback contributes to improving L2 learners' grammatical accuracy in writing performance. Some researchers take a stance on the ineffectiveness of corrective feedback based on the impracticality of providing detailed corrective feedback for all L2 learners and detached grammar instruction in language…

The pedagogical values of corpora for ELT have been widely acknowledged and exploited, but their direct application in classroom teaching has entailed many difficulties. This project aims to investigate the impact of the pedagogical application of corpora on the vocabulary ability of intermediate-level ESL learners in mainland China. This…

The study reported here examined college students' academic self-efficacy, 'academic press' and learning achievement, as well as the association between these three variables within learning contexts using interactive whiteboard-based instruction. A quasi-experimental study was conducted using a sample (n = 103) of first-year college students in…

Thematic progression (TP) patterns used in English leaner essays provide clues as to how they organize information and develop important concepts in their essays. This quasi-experimental research proved that instruction in TP produced positive effects on Chinese college students' use of linear progressions, constant progressions and new Themes.…

Under the waves of the Internet and the trend of era, information technology is a door connecting to the world to generate the multiplier effect of learning. Students' learning should not be regarded as the tool to cope with school examinations. The frequent contact with computers, networks, and relevant information allow students enjoying the…

The Theme is a major aspect of how speakers construct their messages in a way which makes them fit smoothly into the unfolding language event. Thematic choice provides clues as to how English learners organize information and shape their texts. Previous studies reveal that English learners deviated from English native speakers in their thematic…

A year after the earthquake in Sichuan, China, a strength-based arts and play support program was launched to promote the well-being of young survivors, and this study was designed to examine its effectiveness. It was hypothesized that participation in the program would have direct positive effects on general self-efficacy and peer support, and…