This case study aimed to apply the values-engaged approach to evaluate the impact of the Self-Regulated Strategy Development writing program (SRSDP) on the Grade 5 students, including the application of writing self-regulated strategy, writing motivation, and writing performance. The participants consisted of 26 Grade 5 students from the same class. The SRSDP had been implemented for 12 weeks. During the research period, based on the core perspective of values-engaged approach to evaluation, the researchers, particularly concerned with the experience and perception of those least well-served students. The data were collected through quantitative and qualitative approaches, composing of the Scales of Writing Self-Regulated Strategy, Writing Motivation, and Writing Performance, students’ worksheets, feedback sheets, and group focused interview. Quantitative Data analyses included descriptive analysis and dependent sample t-test. Qualitative data analyses consisted of organizing data, coding data, and analyzing and interpreting data. The study found that SRSDP provided remarkable positive influences on lower-level and middle-level students’ writing performance and their application of the application of writing self-regulated strategy. SRSDP also brought wonderful writing and learning experiences to the lower-level students. Based on the findings, the conclusion and discussion were also made in the study.

The purpose of the study aimed to investigate the impacts of the SDPP (Students' Dialogue Praxis Program) on students' learning. SDPP was based on the perspectives and strategies of learning community (LC) advocated by Manabu Sato and LC related studies. The core concepts of SDPP included the dialogues with teaching materials, with the peers, and with oneself and majorly included three kinds of learning activities, learning by doing, collaborative learning, and reflective learning. The participants consisted of 106 eight graders from the same junior high school located in central Taiwan. Of 106 participants, 53 students who were the experimental group attending SDPP and 53 students who were the control group not taking any such intervention program. Results found that the experimental group acquired the scores from the communications survey, learning attitude survey, and critical thinking survey significantly higher than those of the control group. The study confirmed that SDPP made remarkable positive impacts on students' communicative capability, learning attitude, and critical thinking ability. Based on the findings, the suggestions for the teachers were also made in this study.

This study aimed to apply program theory-driven evaluation to design, implement, and evaluate Geography Learning Community Program ( GLCP) and focused on investigating the impacts of GLCP on students' communicative capability, learning attitude, and critical thinking ability. Program theory in this study was based on philosophy of Learning Community advocated by Manabu Sato, Japanese Scholar. The participants consisted of 25 eight-grade students. Based on eighth grade Geography textbook, the authors cooperatively designed 4 unit teaching materials, and implemented them for 12 weeks. During the research period, the data were collected through teaching reflection journals, classroom observations, student worksheets, student learning reflections, semi-structured interviews, communicative capability survey, learning attitude survey, and critical thinking survey. Data analyses ISSN 2329-9150 2017 http://jsss.macrothink.org 96 included both qualitative and quantitative methods. Both the analyses of quantitative and qualitative data indicated that GLCP could promote student's interpersonal relationships, learning attitudes, and students' critical thinking abilities. Journal of Social Science Studies

For the past two decades, language center in almost every university in Taiwan has attempted to implement the notion of independent learning through online learning resources. To many student learners, the easy and inexpensive access of Internet has made innumerable learning resources provided by language centers available for self-access language learning. However, whether students have cultivated self-access learning ability through appropriate learning practices online is the main point that school authorities are eager to find out. In order to ISSN 2329-9150 2016 http://jsss.macrothink.org 169 know the effectiveness of self-access learning in online resource-based context, many universities take different ways to evaluate students' achievement. Since evaluations of self-access learning are important for student learners to know if they gradually and individually move towards autonomy, their assessments must be more objective. The purpose of this one-year study, therefore, was to examine whether selected online learning resources and evaluation methods affected students' self-access learning attitudes and whether students cultivated self-access learning ability and learned successfully in online resource-based context. To gather the data, one hundred and twelve non-English majored students from a university of Southern Taiwan were recruited as samples and two types of objective evaluation, an assessment test and online learning records, were used in this study. Major findings indicated that language students' self-access learning attitudes improved and they did make progress in online resource-based context. However, the training for students toward self-access learning needs to be strengthened. Suggestions were also included in this paper. Journal of Social Science Studies