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Automatic item generation in various STEM subjects using large language model prompting
No full textThe open access publication is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2024.100344Large language models (LLMs) that power chatbots such as ChatGPT have capabilities across numerous domains. Teachers and students have been increasingly using chatbots in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects in various ways, including for assessment purposes. However, there has been a lack of systematic investigation into LLMs’ capabilities and limitations in automatically generating items for STEM subject assessments, especially given that LLMs can hallucinate and may risk promoting misconceptions and hindering conceptual understanding. To address this, we systematically investigated LLMs' conceptual understanding and quality of working in generating question and answer pairs across various STEM subjects. We used prompt engineering on GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 with three different approaches: standard prompting, standard prompting with added chain-of-thought prompting using worked examples with steps, and the chain-of-thought prompting with coding language. The questions and answer pairs were generated at the pre-university level in the three STEM subjects of chemistry, physics, and mathematics and evaluated by subject-matter experts. We found that LLMs generated quality questions when using the chain-of-thought prompting for both GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 and when using the chain-of-thought prompting with coding language for GPT-4 overall. However, there were varying patterns in generating multistep answers, with differences in final answer and intermediate step accuracy. An interesting finding was that the chain-of-thought prompting with coding language for GPT-4 significantly outperformed the other approaches in generating correct final answers while demonstrating moderate accuracy in generating multistep answers correctly. In addition, through qualitative analysis, we identified domain-specific prompting patterns across the three STEM subjects. We then discussed how our findings aligned with, contradicted, and contributed to the current body of knowledge on automatic item generation research using LLMs, and the implications for teachers using LLMs to generate STEM assessment items
Singlish in TikToks
No full textA growing body of research within World Englishes has mapped multilinguals’ language use in digital and social media. While some studies have carried questions and methodologies of offline sociolinguistics into the digital realm, there is increasing recognition that online communication must be studied as digital social practice where different Englishes act as resources in the expression of identities and the negotiation of social meanings and relationships. This study contributes to this body of scholarship by examining the use of Singlish in a corpus of 50 TikToks produced by 21 Singaporean content creators. A quantitative investigation of features established the most frequently used pragmatic, lexical and morpho-syntactic features, while the qualitative discourse analysis examined how these features were drawn upon in the expression of stances and identities. Results support theorizations of Singlish as shifting assemblages of features in multiple scales of the indexical order.Accepted versio
Driving programme quality with pedagogical leadership: A case study in Singapore
No full textThe open access publication is available at https://doi.org/10.29173/ijll64The preschool education landscape in Singapore comprises diverse operators that offer various care and educational services for children from birth to six years of age. This diversity has resulted in varying levels of quality and standards in early childhood education. Since positive child outcomes are strongly linked to high quality early childhood educational programmes, this paper discusses how a competent preschool leader establishes quality programmes through pedagogical leadership. The authors posit pedagogical leadership as a key driver for programme quality. By examining the effectiveness of pedagogical leadership using a case study, this article offers valuable insights into the roles and practices of a childcare centre principal that contribute to good teaching and learning practices in her centre curriculum. The case study investigates the enactment of pedagogical leadership through multiple perspectives – the principal, a kindergarten one teacher, six kindergarten one children and eight parents. Employing purposeful sampling, an exemplary childcare centre with the Singapore Preschool Accreditation Framework (SPARK) Commendation Award was chosen for this study. Data collection included artefacts, classroom observations, questionnaires, interviews and a survey. Analytic induction, coding and qualitative content analysis were used for data analysis. Through detailed descriptions, the narrative account provides insights into how an effective pedagogical leader has advanced programme and centre quality. Overall, the findings illustrate how this pedagogical leader had led her centre to achieve the SPARK Commendation Award for teaching and learning, and provided high quality programmes for the children in the centre
International comparative studies in mathematics education: A scoping review of the literature from 2014 to 2023
No full textThe open access publication is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-025-01700-4This article presents a scoping review of the recent body of cross-national comparative studies in mathematics education from 2014–2023. Following qualitative content analysis of the full texts of 286 journal articles based on a deductive–inductive coding procedure, we identified four main themes: 1) curriculum and textbooks, 2) mathematics teacher education, 3) student mathematics learning, and 4) classroom practices. We first present a descriptive analysis of the general characteristics of the reviewed studies, including the research methods used, target school years, and geographic locations, before discussing the details of the four themes. We also suggest future research directions for each theme
Relationship of smartphone addiction with cyberbullying, alcohol use, depression, and anxiety among university students
No full textSmartphone addiction is one of the major social issues among young people these days. The current study aims to identify the determinants of smartphone addiction and examine the association between smartphone addiction and multiple behavioral/psychological problems. The study sample consisted of 1105 university students from Singapore. Students in the high-risk smartphone use group reported higher levels of smartphone addiction, cybervictimization, and depressive and anxiety symptoms. Depressive and anxiety symptoms showed a positive association with smartphone addiction. Additionally, both depressive and anxiety symptoms had significant indirect effects when assessing two separate simple mediation models. When testing the parallel mediation model, the indirect effect of cybervictimization on smartphone addiction occurred through anxiety but not depression. Based on these findings, the current study proposed the implementation of routine screening and the provision of multi-level services in education settings. Nevertheless, the study has limitations related to the study population and the use of self-reported questionnaires.Accepted versio
Anglophone illegibility: The Anglophone writer and local literature in 1970s Singapore
No full textAmidst the expanding study of Commonwealth writing in the 1970s, local anglophone writers in Singapore encountered an unexpected wave of resistance from state and public discourses. Taking as its starting point a parliamentary speech that labelled anglophone poets as “the arty-crafty dodgers of reality,” this essay explores the precursors and further responses to Devan Nair’s speech in the university journal Commentary. Reading associated texts written by the participants in these forums, I argue that the local anglophone writer was caught between cultural decolonization and the developmentalist role of standard English alongside the English literary canon. Variously labelled as immoral, contrarian and uncommitted to the nation, the Singapore writer in English was subject to a curious brand of localized anglophone illegibility in a multilingual context. Adding to current discussions on the global anglophone, my essay discusses anglolocalism by contrast and presents other sites outside of literary studies, such as creative writing and English language teaching, where the figure of the postcolonial anglophone writer was rehabilitated.Accepted versio
Acute physiological and perceptual responses to three blood flow restricted interval exercise protocols: A randomised controlled trial
No full textBlood flow restriction (BFR) may enhance the acute training stimulus of exercise. This study examined acute physiological and perceptual responses to three lower-limb BFR + interval exercise protocols. Twenty-four club/university male athletes (age 25 ± 3.5, VO2max 47.0 ± 5.5ml∙kg∙min-1) completed four experimental conditions in a randomised crossover manner: (i) high-intensity control (HI) – 100% maximal aerobic power (Wmax); (ii) high-intensity recovery occlusion (HIRO) – 100%Wmax, 80% limb occlusion pressure (LOP) during rest; (iii) moderate-intensity low occlusion (MILO) – 70%Wmax, 50%LOP during exercise; and (iv) moderate-intensity high occlusion (MIHO) – 70%Wmax, 80%LOP during exercise. All interval exercise protocols were three sets of five × 30-s cycling, 30-s unloaded active recovery with 3-min seated rest between sets. During recovery, HIRO condition indicated lower tissue saturation index, higher deoxyhaemoglobin, oxyhaemoglobin and total haemoglobin levels than other conditions (all p < 0.05). HIRO exhibited significantly higher heart rate (HR) from set 2 and blood lactate (bLa) at 5-min post-exercise than other conditions (all p < 0.05). Higher vastus lateralis muscle activity was exhibited on the last exercise repetition of HIRO than HI (p < 0.05). MIHO elicited significantly higher deoxygenation, lower muscle activation but similar HR and bLa than HI during exercise; and higher perceived pain and exertion than other conditions (all p < 0.05). Applying BFR during rest between high-intensity interval exercise sets increases physiological stresses without affecting exercise intensity or perceptual responses; applying BFR during moderate-intensity exercise may increase both physiological and perceptual responses beyond those of high-intensity exercise.Accepted versio
