NIE Data Repository (National Institute of Education)
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Related Data for: Heterogeneity in children at risk of math learning difficulties
No full textThis study recruited 428 Singaporean children at risk of math learning difficulties (MLD; Mage = 83.9 months, SDage = 4.35 months; 41% female). Using a factor mixture model that considered both quantitative and qualitative differences in math ability, two qualitatively different groups were identified: one with generalized difficulties across different math skills and the other with more focal difficulties in arithmetic fluency. Reading, working memory capacity, and numeracy (number line estimation skills and numerical discrimination) uniquely explained group membership. Children within each group differed in the extent of difficulties they exhibited, with numeracy variables differentially contributing to math ability in each group. Findings speak against a dimensional view of MLD and underscore the conceptual limitations of using basic numeracy performance to profile learning difficulties
Related Data for Thesis/Dissertation: Effect of the timing of low-dose caffeine on 3-point shooting accuracy in college basketball players
No full textIn recent years, the popularity of caffeine as an ergogenic aid has been increasing due to its widely known abilities in enhancing many aspects of sports performance. Yet, there exist several debates about utilising caffeine to improve sporting performance, including the optimal ingestion timing. Past studies have focused on administering caffeine an hour before the onset of exercise so that its peak concentration corresponds with the start of exercise. However, in sports competitions, athletes would not be fatigued during the early stages of their competitions. Hence, the possibility exists that the manipulation of caffeine ingestion time is an important determinant in understanding its ergogenic properties. Specifically, in basketball where multiple movements are repeated at high intensity, the use of caffeine to enhance performance may be more evident in the later parts of the game when fatigue becomes apparent. Notational analyses have identified the importance of 3-point shooting accuracy as a key indicator of success in basketball games, with literature highlighting that fatigue reduces shooting accuracy. Therefore, the primary aim of this thesis was to determine if ingesting a low dose caffeine at different times would affect 3-point shooting accuracy. The secondary aim of this thesis was to identify if ingesting caffeine at different times would affect vertical jump height, sprint timing, completion time of a simulated basketball test, heart rate, rate of perceived exertion, blood glucose and lactate concentrations as well as self-confidence, motivation, feeling, felt arousal and aggression.
Eighteen male, college-level basketball players (24.4 ± 1.5 years; 181.7 ± 9.5 cm; 80.9 ± 13.5 kg) underwent three conditions, each involving the ingestion of two pills, in a randomised order separated by one week: (a) placebo (maltodextrin) and placebo (PP); (b) caffeine and placebo (CP), and (c) placebo and caffeine (PC). Pills were ingested 75 minutes and 15 minutes before performing four quarters of the Basketball Exercise Simulation Test (BEST) and subsequent shooting protocol. Each quarter required the participants to complete 16 rounds of the BEST before shooting ten shots from five different positions on the 3-point line. The number of successful shots was counted. Regardless of pre-exercise caffeine ingestion timing, caffeine did not improve 3-point scores, vertical jump height nor sprint timing. The BEST completion timing improved following caffeine ingestion. Caffeine did not affect heart rate, rate of perceived exertion, self-confidence, motivation, feeling, felt arousal and aggression while ingesting caffeine earlier resulted in increased blood glucose and lactate concentrations. No major side effect(s) were reported.
In conclusion, pre-exercise low dose caffeine ingestion does not affect 3-point shooting accuracy but may be useful in reducing fatigue in game-like situations. Given that there was a wide intra-individual variation in response, athletes and coaches need to develop individual caffeine ingestion strategies to optimise its use as an ergogenic aid for basketball
Related Data for: “I expect boredom”: Students' experiences and expectations of multiliteracies learning
No full textMultiliteracies has been incorporated in the curriculum of many education systems around the world. Beyond the broadening of focus in literacy to include multimodal meaning-making, multiliteracies pedagogies are also associated with certain pedagogical shifts, such as a focus on bridging the students' out-of-school literacy practices with what and how they are learning in school. This often involves appropriating social media as well as introducing popular culture topics in the classroom. This article discusses the students' perspectives of these ideas to inform the teacher's design of multiliteracies learning. Drawing on data collected through surveys and focus group discussions from a multi-phased research project on multiliteracies in Singapore, we reflect on the students' expressions of their experiences and expectations on multiliteracies learning. In particular, we surface an instrumental view of learning where concerns over examinations and future career prospects cloud the students' learning. We also identify a desire among the students to keep their worlds of home and schools separate. While the discussion of the students' perspectives is anchored in the context of Singapore, the implications contribute to the global discourse among curriculum planners, educational researchers and teacher practitioners who are interested in improving the design of multiliteracies learning in their contexts
Related Data for: Influence of basketball shoe midsole inserts featuring different mechanical rebound properties on biomechanical loading and subjective perception during a side-cutting maneuver
No full textThis study examined the influence of basketball shoe midsole inserts with different forefoot and rearfoot rebound properties on biomechanical loading and subjective perception during a side-cutting maneuver. Eleven male basketball players executed side cutting in four shoe conditions mechanically characterized for their rearfoot/forefoot rebound: compliant/compliant, springy/springy, compliant/springy, and springy/compliant. Lower extremity kinetics and kinematics (normalized to body mass), as well as subjective perception, were measured. During the weight-acceptance phase, there were no differences between shoes in all biomechanical variables, except a slightly greater ankle range of motion (1.2° greater than the other three shoes) in the frontal plane for shoe compliant/springy. During the push-off phase, shoe springy/springy led to a greater ankle plantarflexion moment (1.21 Nm/kg greater than the other three shoes, p < 0.001) and knee internal rotation moment (0.09 Nm/kg greater than the other three shoes, p = 0.012), while shoe compliant/springy resulted in a greater ankle range of motion in the frontal plane (1.4° greater than the other three shoes, p < 0.001). Perception data showed no statistically significant difference among any shoes. In conclusion, springy inserts of basketball shoe midsoles induced a biomechanical loading effect. Perception of players being unaffected indicates the importance of biomechanical evaluation to examine the effects of the given shoe modifications during side cutting
Related Data for: Effectiveness of a passive military exoskeleton in off-loading weight during static and dynamic load carriage: A randomised cross-over study
No full textBackground Load carriage imposes high physical stresses on the human body, increasing the risk of injuries. This study assessed the effectiveness of a passive military exoskeleton in off-loading the weight placed on the body during heavy load carriage under static standing and dynamic walking conditions. Methods Eight full-time regular personnel of the Singapore Armed Forces enrolled in the study. Static loading tests included nine trials of 10-s quiet standing while carrying different loads (0–55 kg) with and without the exoskeleton. For dynamic loading, participants walked on a treadmill on flat, inclined, and declined surfaces while carrying two different loads (25 kg, 35 kg) with and without the exoskeleton. In-shoe normal ground reaction forces (GRF) were recorded during quiet standing and treadmill walking. Differences in total force with and without the exoskeleton during static loading were compared using Wilcoxon one-sample signed ranked tests against zero (no weight off-load) as a reference. Statistical parametric mapping test was used to compare the walking in-shoe GRF-time series with and without exoskeleton use for each load and surface condition. Results Exoskeleton use was effective in off-loading loads of 2.3–13.5 kg during static quiet standing but the response varied substantially across loads and among the participants. Statistical analysis revealed no meaningful differences in the walking in-shoe GRF with and without exoskeleton use. The results were largely consistent across flat, inclined, and declined surfaces, and both 25-kg and 35-kg loads. Conclusions The passive military exoskeleton was effective in off-loading some load from the human body during static quiet standing but not dynamic walking on flat and sloped surfaces. The varied response across loads and participants calls for better design and fitting of the military exoskeleton to individual users
Related Data for: What makes adolescents want to read? Examining adolescents’ contemporary print and new media (fiction) leisure reading through mobile ethnography
No full textDrawing on data from a mobile ethnography study of 12 adolescents from one secondary school, this article proposes to examine the everyday digital reading resources and practices of Singapore adolescent youths to better understand the print and new media (fiction) leisure reading habits of adolescents. Mobile ethnography, with its capacity to capture adolescents’ actual reading through images, texts, and video recordings, provides a new way to document and understand the changing reading habits of adolescents. Participants documented their print and digital reading on a smartphone app over four days, followed by a photo-elicitation interview. Findings showed that these adolescents read for pleasure and were self-directed readers who invested time in reading various new media fiction texts such as ebooks, Japanese manga and fanfiction. Practices of new media reading include cross-media consumption, engagement in fandom behaviours, and interest-driven searching for diverse reading materials. Adolescents are motivated to read when the reading experience promises immersive entertainment. A good story, ease of access to interesting content and potential for multiple media engagements encourage adolescents’ volitional reading. Implications for curriculum and future research on adolescent volitional reading are discussed
Related Data for: Engaging learners in synchronous online learning
No full textEngagement is positively correlated with many educational outcomes. However, engaging learners in online learning is often challenging. In this study, a conceptual framework comprising five interrelated factors (instructors, learners, content, technology, and environments) was proposed. The purpose of the study was to explore how learners could be engaged by following the conceptual framework in synchronous online learning. Fifty-five adult learners took part in the study. Specific strategies were applied in four classes. A survey with 38 five-point Likert scale items and an open-ended question was administered. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed. Results showed that instructors, learners, and content were the core factors affecting learners’ engagement. Comparatively, the learners’ engagement was less affected by the factors of technology and environments. Results further showed that useful strategies to engage learners included providing opportunities for instructors and peers to interact frequently; having relevant content that could apply to practice; involving interactive activities like group discussions and peer feedback; and having informal conversations with individual learners. This study suggests that future studies can investigate facilitating synchronous online discussions, establishing social connectedness, and using technology to monitor learners’ engagement automatically
Related Data for: Does the teacher matter? University students’ physiological responses in online interactions with an AI-chatbot and a human teacher
No full textAs generative AI (Gen AI) chatbots become more common as learning partners, questions remain about students’ emotional and physiological responses to them. This study used a multimodal design to compare university students’ experiences during a 25‑minute brainstorming session with either a human teacher or Gen AI chatbot. Thirty participants wore EmbracePlus sensors to record heart rate, electrodermal activity (EDA), and skin temperature while completing the task, and completed mood questionnaires before and after brainstorming. Analyses compared mood change scores (controlling for age and gender) and examined physiological data for both temporal patterns and total activation (area-under-the-curve; AUC). While both groups reported improved mood, students brainstorming with a human teacher showed greater gains in positive mood, whereas the chatbot group reported increased stress and discouragement, and exhibited higher cumulative cardiovascular activation. Although physiological change trajectories did not differ by condition, specific AUC measures were associated with mood: higher pulse AUC was linked to negative moods, and higher skin temperature AUC to positive moods. These findings suggest that while human facilitation produces stronger emotional benefits, GenAI chatbots can sustain comparable physiological engagement and serve as valuable complementary tools. Physiological signals also reveal distinctive patterns between bodily states and learning experiences, underscoring the value of integrating multimodal data into research on AI‑mediated education
Related Data for: Teaching and learning geography with mobile technologies and fieldwork
No full textThe Delors Report of 1996 to UNESCO shared a holistic and integrated vision of education, which included the four pillars of learning to know, learning to do, learning to be and learning to live together. This vision encapsulates the aspirations of geographical education for the 21st century, as outlined in the 2016 International Charter on Geographical Education. Teaching about the real world and its environmental challenges without taking students into the real world appears to run counter to these aspirations. With rapid developments in technological affordances, children are also increasingly distracted from ‘learning to be’ in the real world by mobile devices. This chapter argues how and why the use of mobile technologies and learning in the field needs to be developed in tandem, and considers the implications for future research and practice, including cross-fertilisation of ideas between school and academic geography
Related Data for: Bidding for successful academic enculturation: The story of a home-trained, home-based non-Anglophone scientist
No full textAcademic enculturation, or the socialisation into a target academic community, is a crucial event in the trajectory development of aspiring scholars. It is a protracted process subject to the interplay of a constellation of factors. With the aim of uncovering potential contributors to positive enculturative outcomes, this paper reports on the case of Wang, a home-trained, home-based Chinese scientist who earned full professorship at the relatively young age of 36. An in-depth, semi-structured interview is conducted in which Wang gives retrospective accounts of significant experiences in his journey. A range of supplementary information, including representative publications, an up-to-date list of scholarly achievements, and his personal webpage at the official institutional website, is also collected to corroborate and add nuance to Wang’s self-told story. Data are analysed using the method of inductive content analysis and discussed within the framework of situated learning theories. Varying extents of mutual engagement with/as the master and mutually facilitative dual engagement in target communities are found to characterise Wang’s enculturative success. Implications are drawn on how similarly positioned novice researchers can be supported in their quest for enculturation during and beyond graduate studies