Search results for: teachers of students with intellectual disabilities

Authors: Akano Benedict Ubawuike

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This study investigated the effects of pre-laboratory discussion on physics students’ acquisition of science process skills. The study design was quasi-experimental and purposive sampling technique was applied in selecting two schools in Kontagora Town for the research based on the availability of a good physics laboratory. Intact classes already grouped by the school for the sake of small laboratory space and equipment, comprising Thirty (30) students, 15 for experimental group in School A and 15 for control in school B were the subjects for the research. The instrument used for data collection was the lesson prepared for pre – practical discussion and researcher made Science Process Skill Test (SPST ) and two (2) research questions, and two (2) research hypotheses were developed to guide the study. The data collected were analyzed using means and t-Test statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that pre-laboratory discussion was found to be more efficacious in enhancing students’ acquisition of science process skills. It also revealed that gender, had no significant effect on students’ acquisition of science process skills. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that teachers should encourage students to develop interest in practical activities by engaging them in pre-laboratory discussion and providing instructional materials that will challenge them to be actively involved during practical lessons. It is also recommended that Ministries of Education and professional organizations like Science Teachers' Association of Nigeria (STAN) should organize workshops, seminars and conferences for physics teachers and Physics concepts should be taught with practical activity so that the students will do science instead of learning about science.

Keywords: physics, laboratory, discussion, students, acquisition, science process skills

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Authors: Yolanda Ramirez, Angel Tejada, Agustin Baidez

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This paper shows the general perceptions of Spanish university stakeholders in relation to the university’s annual reports and the adequacy and potential of intellectual capital reporting. To this end, a questionnaire was designed and sent to every member of the Social Councils of Spanish public universities. It was thought that these participants would provide a good example of the attitude of university stakeholders since they represent the different social groups connected with universities. From the results of this study we are in the position of confirming the need for universities to offer information on intellectual capital in their accounting information model.

Keywords: intellectual capital, disclosure, stakeholders, universities, annual report

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Authors: Galih Mediana

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Boarding school can helps students to turn all good qualities into habits. The process of forming one's personality can be done in various ways. In addition to gaining general knowledge at school during learning hours, teachers can instill values in students which can be done while in the dormitory when the learning process has ended. This shows the important role that must be played by boarding school’s teachers. Transformational leadership and a culture of innovation are things that can instill innovative behavior in teachers. This study aims to determine the effect of perceptions of transformational leadership and a culture of innovation on innovative work behavior among Islamic boarding school teachers. Respondents in this study amounted to 70 teachers. To measure transformational leadership, a modified measuring tool is used, namely the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) by Bass (1985). To measure innovative work behavior, a measurement tool based on dimensions from Janssen (2000) is used. The innovation culture in this study will be measured using the innovation culture factor from Dobni (2008). This study uses multiple regression analysis to test the hypothesis. The results of this study indicate that there is an influence of perceptions of transformational leadership and innovation culture factors on innovative work behavior in Islamic boarding school’s teachers by 57.7%.

Keywords: transformational leadership, innovative work behavior, innovation culture, boarding school, teacher

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Authors: Jenn Gallup, Onur Kocaoz, Onder Islek

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In their pursuit of postsecondary transitions, individuals with disabilities tend to experience, academic, behavioral, and emotional challenges to a greater extent than their typically developing peers. These challenges result in lower rates of graduation, employment, independent living, and participation in college than their peers without disabilities. The lack of friendships and support systems has had a negative impact on those with a disability transitioning to postsecondary settings to include, employment, independent living, and university settings. Establishing friendships and support systems early on is an indicator of potential success and persistence in postsecondary education, employment, and independent living for typically developing college students. It is evident that a deficit in friendships and supports is a key deficit also for individuals with disabilities. To address the specific needs of this group, a mentor program was developed for a transition program held at the university for youth aged 18-21. Pre-service teachers enrolled in the special education program engaged with youth in the transition program in a variety of activities on campus. The mentorship program had two purposes: to assist young adults with disabilities who were transitioning to a workforce setting to help increase social skills, self-advocacy, supports and friendships, and confidence; and to give their peers without disabilities who were enrolled in a secondary special education course as a pre-service teacher the experience of interacting with and forming friendships with peers who had a disability for the purposes of career development. Additionally, according to researchers mobile technology has created a virtual world of equality and opportunity for a large segment of the population that was once marginalized due to physical and cognitive impairments. All of the participants had access to smart phones; therefore, technology was explored during this study to determine if it could be used as a compensatory tool to allow the young adults with disabilities to do things that otherwise would have been difficult because of their disabilities. Additionally, all participants were asked to incorporate technology such as smart phones to communicate beyond the activities, collaborate using virtual platform games which would support and promote social skills, soft-skills, socialization, and relationships. The findings of this study confirmed that a peer mentorship program that harnessed the power of technology supported outcomes specific to young adults with and without disabilities. Mobile technology and virtual game-based platforms, were identified as a significant contributor to personal, academic, and career growth for both groups. The technology encouraged friendships, provided an avenue for rich social interactions, and increased soft-skills. Results will be shared along with the development of the program and potential implications to the field.

Keywords: career outcomes, mentorship, soft-skills, technology, transition

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Authors: Meenakshi Srivastava, Anke A. De Boer, Sip Jan Pij

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Teacher’s preparedness towards special educational needs (SEN) of the students in regular schools is an important factor in making education inclusive as a goal to provide education for all. The current study measured the long term effects of an in-service teacher training programme which focused on the inclusion of students with a range of SEN. The programme was on three particular aspects: teachers’ attitudes, their knowledge about SEN and knowledge about teaching methods. A refresher course was also organized for participants of the initial training programme. The long term effects were examined by teachers using a self-report questionnaire (n = 38). The wider effects of the initial training were recorded by interviewing school principals (n = 4). Repeated measures of ANOVA revealed significant effects: more positive attitudes and increased knowledge about SEN among teachers who took the refresher course (n = 18) compared to those who had not (n = 19). Principals also found a more positive attitude, sensitivity and increased awareness about SEN among the participants.

Keywords: inclusion, students with special educational needs, teacher training, follow-up, attitudes change

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Authors: S. Silva

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Some professions had an increased risk for occupational stress and less quality of working life. Among several professions this risk is particularly preoccupant in teachers, namely high school teachers. This study aims to characterize the work stress in teachers and understand how the work stress influences their quality of working life. One hundred teachers, 60 women and 40 men with mean age of 43,2 years (SD=7,8), from North Portugal teaching in several high schools filled in the following questionnaires: Social-Demographic Questionnaire, Teacher Stress Questionnaire and the Survey of Professional Life, during January to March 2015. The results of our study show that high school teachers have several occupational stressors (M=5) and poor perceived quality of working life. They are unsatisfied with their current job and they refer to a considerable job frustration. 33% referred to no expectations about a better future in these profession and 40% have no career development. There is a strong negative correlation between stress and teacher quality of working life (r=-.775). Moderate levels of stress are related to more favorable quality of working life (r=.632). Stress, frequent in teachers, is a significant predictor of poor quality of working life. There are several stressors affecting the teachers’ performance. Career development is not considered among this professional class and it seems related to current job frustration. Considering the role of high school teacher in the development and learning of students, these results should be taken in consideration when planning the graduation and interventions with teachers.

Keywords: career, quality of working life, stress, teachers

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Authors: Yahia A. M. AlKhoudary

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This Study presents the outcome of an investigation to evaluate the importance of autonomous learning as a means of motivation. However, very little research done in this field. Thus, the aims of this study are to ascertain the needs of the learners and to investigate their attitudes and motivation towards the mode of learning. Various suggestions made on how to improve learners’ participation in the learning process. A survey conducted on a sample group of 60 Omani College students. Self-report questionnaires and retrospective interviews conducted to find out their material-type preferences in a self-access learning context. Achieving autonomous learning system, which learners is one of the Ministry of Education goals in the Sultanate of Oman. As a result, this study presents the outcome of an investigation to evaluate the students’ performance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). It focuses on the effect of autonomous learning that encourages students to learn English, a research conducted at Buraimi city, the Sultanate of Oman. The procedure of this investigation based on four dimensions: (1) sixty students are selected and divided into two groups, (2) pre and posttest projects are given to them, and (3) questionnaires are administered to both students who are involved in the experiment and 50 teachers (25 males and 25 females) to collect accurate data, (4) an interview with students and teachers to find out their attitude towards autonomous learning. Analysis of participants’ responses indicated that autonomous learning motivates students to learn English independently and increase the intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation to improve their English language as a long-life active learning. The findings of this study show that autonomous learning approach is the best remedy to empower the students’ skills and overcome all relevant difficulties. They also show that secondary school teachers can fully rely on this learning approach that encourages language learners to monitor their progress, increase both learners and teachers’ motivation and ameliorate students’ behavior in the classroom. This approach is also an ongoing process, which takes time, patience and support to be lifelong learning.

Keywords: Omani, autonomous learning system, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), learning approach

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Authors: Jonathan W. Shute

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Truancy – unexcused absences from school and class – continues to challenge educators throughout the world, including in Oceania. Traditionally, the focus of attendance issues has been on students, parents, and social factors. While these factors obviously contribute to truancy, research suggests that most truants are rational decision-makers who claim to be bored and intellectually unfulfilled, choosing to avoid specific classes and teachers. For this study, 2,536 Junior and senior high school students were surveyed from six high schools in the following island nations: Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati, and Fiji. From these data, patterns and characteristics emerged which seem to influence truancy from the truant’s perspective, and which may enlighten teachers in their practice. For lasting solutions to an age-old challenge, the 21st century educational community should consider sharing the responsibility for truancy by focusing on pedagogy practices as a possible explanation for truancy. Specific ideas are suggested to inform teacher effectiveness and therefore keep our students in school and class. This research does not focus on the effectiveness of Teacher Education Programs from which teachers arrive in their careers or the potential cultural, linguistic, and political trends and policies that may or may not influence truancy. While these are critical topics to be researched, this research focuses on students’ opinions and perspectives of why they choose to truant from entire days of school or from specific classes.

Keywords: truancy, student engagement, effective pedagogy, student perspectives

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Authors: Alain Gholam

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Visual thinking routines are principles based on several theories, approaches, and strategies. Such routines promote thinking skills, call for collaboration and sharing of ideas, and above all, make thinking and learning visible. Visual thinking routines were implemented in the teaching methodology graduate course at the American University in Dubai. The study used mixed methods. It was guided by the following two research questions: 1). To what extent do visual thinking inspire learning in the classroom, and make time for students’ questions, contributions, and thinking? 2). How do visual thinking routines inspire learning in the classroom and make time for students’ questions, contributions, and thinking? Eight student teachers enrolled in the teaching methodology course at the American University in Dubai (Spring 2017) participated in the following study. First, they completed a survey that measured to what degree they believed visual thinking routines inspired learning in the classroom and made time for students’ questions, contributions, and thinking. In order to build on the results from the quantitative phase, the student teachers were next involved in a qualitative data collection phase, where they had to answer the question: How do visual thinking routines inspire learning in the classroom and make time for students’ questions, contributions, and thinking? Results revealed that the implementation of visual thinking routines in the classroom strongly inspire learning in the classroom and make time for students’ questions, contributions, and thinking. In addition, student teachers explained how visual thinking routines allow for organization, variety, thinking, and documentation. As with all original, new, and unique resources, visual thinking routines are not free of challenges. To make the most of this useful and valued resource, educators, need to comprehend, model and spread an awareness of the effective ways of using such routines in the classroom. It is crucial that such routines become part of the curriculum to allow for and document students’ questions, contributions, and thinking.

Keywords: classroom display, student engagement, thinking classroom, visual thinking routines

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Authors: Gidado Lawal Likko

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The study examined the relationship of achievement goals, metacognitive awareness and academic success among students of colleges of education in North Western Nigeria. The study was guided by three objectives. The first two were to find out whether students’ achievement goals and metacognitive awareness correlate with their academic success. 358 students comprising 242 males (67.6%) and 116 females (32.4%) were studied. Correlation survey was employed in the conduct of the study. The instruments used to collect data were students’ bio data form, achievement goals inventory (Roedel, Schraw and Plake, 1994), metacognitive awareness inventory (Schraw & Dennison, 1994) and students’ CGPA (NCCE minimum standard, 2013) was used as the index of academic success. Pearson Product Moment and regression analysis were the statistical techniques used to analyze the data. Results of the analysis indicated that students’ achievement goals (r=0.554, p=0.004) and metacognitive awareness (r= 0.67, p=0.001) positively correlated with their academic success. Similarly, significant relationship exists between achievement goals and metacognitive awareness (r=0.77, p=0.000). Part of the recommendations is the need for the management of all colleges of education to have educational interventions aimed at developing students’ metacognitive awareness which will foster purposeful self-regulation of their learning. This could be achieved by periodic assessment of students’ metacognitive awareness which will serve as feedback as they move from one educational level to another.

Keywords: academic success, goal orientation, metacognitive awareness, prospective teachers

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Authors: Nihal Esam Abuzinadah, Areej Abbas Malibari, Arwa Abdulaziz Allinjawi, Paul Krause

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Deaf and hearing-impaired students face many obstacles throughout their education, especially with learning applied sciences such as computer programming. In addition, there is no clear signs in the Arabic Sign Language that can be used to identify programming logic terminologies such as while, for, case, switch etc. However, hearing disabilities should not be a barrier for studying purpose nowadays, especially with the rapid growth in educational technology. In this paper, we develop an Avatar based system to teach computer programming to deaf and hearing-impaired students using Arabic Signed language with new signs vocabulary that is been developed for computer programming education. The system is tested on a number of high school students and results showed the importance of visualization in increasing the comprehension or understanding of concepts for deaf students through the avatar.

Keywords: hearing-impaired students, isolation, self-esteem, learning difficulties

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Authors: Muqaddas Butt, Allah Bakhsh Malik

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The changing educational environment, the diverse educational needs of students, the high expectations from the public, and the policy reports demand a strong change & innovation in the curriculum. Effective change and innovation could not be possible without the involvement of two major tenants i.e. teachers and educational managers. Thus, the locus of this research was to explore the secondary school principals and teachers priorities regarding change and innovation in curriculum. The main research objectives were included to explore the secondary school teachers’ and principals’ views about existing Humanities group curriculum; to identify their priorities regarding change and innovation in curriculum and to make a comparison between the priorities of both (the teachers & principals). A total sample of 150 Secondary school teachers and 24 principals from Federal Government Secondary Schools was drawn. The data was obtained through a five point Likert scale questionnaire. The findings indicated a huge difference between principals and teachers priorities. Related to prevailed curriculum, teachers showed more satisfactory views than principals. It was also found that the principals in comparison with teachers showed more inclination towards change and innovation and emphasized on an interdisciplinary, practical and ICT Integrated curriculum. Inclusion of local environmental issues; creativity based and practical activities based curriculum; and orientation to citizenship education into curriculum were some of the aspects highly prioritized by both teachers and principals.

Keywords: curriculum change, curriculum innovation, humanities curriculum, curriculum priorities

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Authors: Kazi Enamul Hoque

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Initiatives on sustainable development are currently aggressively pursued throughout the world. The Malaysian government has developed key policies and strategies for over 30 years to achieve the nation’s policy objectives which are designed to mitigate the issues of security, energy efficiency and environmental impact to meet the rising energy demand. Malaysia’s current focus is on developing effective policies on renewable energy (RE) in order to reduce dependency on fossil fuel and contribute towards mitigating the effects of climate change. In this light mass awareness should be considered as the highest priority to protect the environment and to escape disaster due to climate change. Schools can be the reliable and effective foundation to prepare students to get familiar with environmental issues such as renewable and non-renewable energy sources. Teachers can play a vital role to create awareness among students about the advantages and disadvantages of using different renewable and nonrenewable energy resources. Thus, this study aims to investigate teachers’ knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards renewable energy through a survey aiming a sustainable energy future. Five hundred sets of questionnaires were distributed to the school teachers in Malaysia. Total 420 questionnaires were returned of which 410 were complete to analyze. Finding shows that teachers are very familiar with the renewable energy like solar, wind and also geothermal. Most teachers were not sure about the Photovoltaics and biodiesel. Furthermore, teachers are also aware that primary energy in Malaysia is imported fossil fuels. Most teachers heard about the renewable energy in Malaysia and only few claims that they did not hear of such things and the others said that they never heard of it. The outcomes of the study will assist the energy policy makers to use teachers to create mass awareness of energy usages for future planning.

Keywords: Malaysia, non-renewable energy, renewable energy, school teacher

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Authors: Cate MacMillan, Nicholas J. Stevens, Johanna Rosier, Steven Boyd

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Choosing where to live is an important decision for anybody, however, this decision is more complex if you are an adult with intellectual disability. Our research asked adults with intellectual disability, parents and carers and disability, housing and built environment decision makers what they considered important in deciding where to live. If medical advances continue to improve the longevity of adults with intellectual disability, many of these adults will outlive their parents. With appropriate community support, and in appropriately designed neighbourhoods, many will be able to live independently. Our research suggests that the key to achieving independent living as an adult with intellectual disability is not so much about the house but the type of neighbourhood and its design. This paper presents the results of interviews and details a practical approach which will better inform urban development decision-makers in establishing safe, inclusive and accessible neighbourhood design.

Keywords: inclusion, independent living, intellectual disability, neighbourhoods, systems thinking, urban design and planning

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Authors: Joko Nurkamto

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A lesson plan is a part of the planning phase in a learning and teaching system framing the scenario of pedagogical activities in the classroom. It informs a decision on what to teach and how to landscape classroom interaction. Regardless of these benefits, the writer has witnessed the fact that lesson plans are viewed merely as a teaching document. Therefore, this paper will explore teachers’ beliefs and practices in designing lesson plans. It focuses primarily on how both teachers and students negotiate lesson plans in which the students are deemed to be the agents of instructional innovations. Additionally, the paper will talk about how such lesson plans are enacted. To investigate these issues, document analysis, in-depth interviews, participant classroom observation, and focus group discussion will be deployed as data collection methods in this explorative case study. The benefits of the paper are to show different roles of lesson plans and to discover different ways to design and enact such plans from a socio-interactional perspective.

Keywords: instructional innovation, learning and teaching system, lesson plan, pedagogical activities, teachers' beliefs and practices

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Authors: Bâlc Denisa-Maria

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This paper aims to present some ways of preserving a language heritage in the global era. Teaching a second language to foreign students does not imply only teaching the grammar and the vocabulary in order to reach the 4 skills, but it means constant work on developing strategies to make the students aware of the heritage that the language they learn has. Teachers and professors need to be aware of the fact that language is in constant change, they need to adjust their techniques to the digital era, but they also have to be aware of the changes, the good and the bad parts of globalizations. How is it possible to preserve the patrimony of a certain language in a globalized era? What transformations does a language face in time? What does it mean to preserve the heritage of a language through L2 teaching? What makes a language special? What impact does it have on the foreign students? How can we, as teachers, preserve the heritage of our language? Would it be everything about books, films, music, cultural events or what else? How is it possible to include digital programs in your teaching and preserving the patrimony of a language at the same time? How does computational linguistics help us in teaching a certain language? All these questions will be tackled during the essay, with special accent on the definition of a language heritage, the new perspectives for teachers/ professors, everything in a multimodal and complex way of presenting the context. The objectives of this research are: - to present some ways of preserving the heritage of a certain language against globalization - to illustrate what preservation means for L2 teaching - to encourage teachers to be aware of their language patrimony The main contributions of my research are on moving the discussion of preserving a certain language patrimony in the context of L2 teaching.

Keywords: preservation, globalization, language heritage, L2 teaching

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Authors: Fatiha Guessabi

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Students of the Tahri Muhammed University of Bechar shifted to the virtual platform using E-learning platforms when the lockdown started due to the Coronavirus. This paper aims to explore the advantages and inconveniences of online learning and teaching in EFL classes at Tahri Mohammed University. For this investigation, a questionnaire was addressed to EFL students and an interview was arranged with EFL teachers. Data analysis was obtained from 09 teachers and 70 students. After the investigation, the results show that some of the most applied educational technologies and applications are used to turn online EFL classes effectively exciting. Thus, EFL classes became more interactive. Although learners give positive viewpoints about online learning/teaching, they prefer to learn in the classroom.

Keywords: advantages, disadvantages, COVID19, EFL, online learning/teaching, university of Bechar

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Authors: Lama Bendak

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Parents and teachers face major problems dealing with attention deficit hyperactivity students. One solution is by changing the school to a less restrictive one or leaving school for good. The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance and role of individual educational plans (IEP) in helping cycle one ages six to nine attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) students on the behavioral level. We have adopted the qualitative approach experimental where the total number of the students in our field of study was 66 from four schools. We have limited our study to cycle one students; that is grades 1, 2 and 3, whose ages range from 5.5 to 8.5. We divided the students into two groups where the controlled group was 36 students, and the experimental group was 30 students. The measuring instrument or tool that we used in our study is The SNAP-IV Teacher and Parents Rating Scale and was filled by class teachers. We did the pretest during the first trimester of the school year. Then we applied the Individual Educational Plans IEP's for two trimesters. Then we did the posttest and submitted the results for analysis, where we used the ANCOVA. The results of this study showed that the IEP's efficacy in helping ADHD students on the behavioral aspect showed statistical differences and varied depending on the initial level of difficulty of the student.

Keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, individual educational plans, behavioral charts, SNAP-IV teacher and parents rating scale

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Authors: Agah Tugrul Korucu

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Significant changes have taken place for the better in the bulk of information and in the use of technology available in the field of education induced by technological changes in the 21st century. It is mainly the job of the teachers and pre-service teachers to integrate information and communication technologies into education by means of conveying the use of technology to individuals. While the pre-service teachers are conducting lessons by using technology, the methods they have developed are important factors for the requirements of the lesson and for the satisfaction levels of the students. The study of this study is to examine the satisfaction levels of pre-service teachers as regards e-learning in a technological environment in which there are lesson activities conducted through an online learning environment in terms of various variables. The study group of the research is composed of 156 pre-service teachers that were students in the departments of Computer and Teaching Technologies, Art Teaching and Pre-school Teaching in the academic year of 2014 - 2015. The qualitative research method was adopted for this study; the scanning model was employed in collecting the data. “The Satisfaction Scale regarding the E-learning Process”, developed by Gülbahar, and the personal information form, which was developed by the researcher, were used as means of collecting the data. Cronbach α reliability coefficient, which is the internal consistency coefficient of the scale, is 0.91. SPSS computerized statistical package program and the techniques of medium, standard deviation, percentage, correlation, t-test and variance analysis were used in the analysis of the data.

Keywords: online learning environment, integration of information technologies, e-learning, e-learning satisfaction, pre-service teachers

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Authors: Ismail Celik, Pavlo Antonenko, Seyit Ahmet Kiray, Ismail Sahin

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The aim of the present study was to thoroughly investigate the teachers’ interactive whiteboards (IWBs) use within the scope of the technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) framework based on the school practice observations of in-service teachers collected by pre-service teachers. In this study, teachers’ use of IWBs in their classes was investigated by using phenomenography, which is a qualitative research method design. The participants of this study consisted of teachers working in a province of Turkey. Within the scope of the study, 337 teachers from 61 different schools were observed by preservice teachers during School Experience classes. The teachers use the IWBs to review the points not understood by the students, to share knowledge, to enhance motivation, to maintain student participation/practice and for in-process, formative assessment. The problems teachers face while using the IWBs can be IWB-based (touchscreen problems/frozen image/lack of software), administration-based, student-based and teacher-based (lack of knowledge of use, need for technical support). It is considered that technological knowledge (TK) is important in solving the problems experienced with IWBs, and technological pedagogy knowledge (TPK) and technological content knowledge (TCK) are important in using the IWBs in an interactive and pedagogically meaningful way that uses IWBs affordances and is relevant to the instructional objectives.

Keywords: TPACK, technology integration, interactive whiteboard, technology in education

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Authors: Rahm Sibylle

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The core element in most European teacher training concepts consists in practical periods where teacher students may review the chosen profession before going on to their theoretical studies. In Germany, teacher students learn in practical studies about everyday teaching and learning in schools. Teacher students appreciate opportunities to explore school practice and to feel responsible for students’ learning. In practical studies, teacher students often idealize their teacher mentors (and consequently tend to imitate their teaching style) or contrarily feel disappointed about school practice. Concepts of empowerment through practical experience in school-based academic teacher training have to be developed. Our Swiss-German research project COPRA (Coaching in practical periods; funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and the German Research Foundation (DFG), aims at gaining resilient results about the effectiveness of (peer) coaching in practical school periods. To explore innovative ways of accompanying novice teachers in practical periods we consider different cultures of teacher training institutions. School cultures, including teachers’ beliefs and teaching traditions involve different training cultures as starting positions for our intervention study. In our qualitative study, we describe typologies of teacher training institutions by analyzing group discussions with teacher students, mentor teachers and university lecturers concerning participation, cooperation, and relationships. In our paper, we present the design of our intervention study, our coaching concept as well as typologies of teacher training cultures. We discuss opportunities for teacher students to learn through domain-specific (peer) coaching on the background of these typologies.

Keywords: teacher training (practical periods), teacher students' coaching, training cultures (typologies), COPRA (coaching in practical periods)

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Authors: Kaycee Bills

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Action research is a method of inquiry useful in solving social problems in social work. This study seeks to address a significant problem: higher education’s use of traditional instructional methods in social work education. Ineffective techniques, such as lecturing, fail to account for students’ variable learning needs. In contrast to traditional pedagogy, universal design for learning (UDL) is a robust framework that '[improves] and [optimizes] teaching and learning for all people' (CAST, 2018), including students with disabilities. For this project, the research team interviewed the UDL and Accessibility Specialist at their institution for two reasons: (1) to learn how to implement UDL practices in their classrooms, and in turn, (2) to motivate other faculty members at their institution to consider enacting UDL principles. A thematic analysis of the interview’s transcript reveals themes relevant to practicing UDL. Implications for future practice, as well as the researcher’s reflections on the research process, are shared in the discussion section.

Keywords: disabilities, higher education, inclusive education, universal design for learning

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Authors: Racheal Ayanga, Nancy Katumba Muwangala, Jane Babirye, Harriet Kivumbi

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Background: Deaf adolescents are vulnerable. Deafness limits their access to resources that are accessed by their hearing peers. There is minimal attention placed on the SRH needs of persons with disabilities, especially in developing countries. We sought to assess barriers to access of SRH education and services for deaf adolescents in Uganda. Methods: We performed a cross sectional study using a questionnaire on knowledge of and access to SRH education and services from a selected sample of deaf adolescents aged 13-19 years at Wakiso Secondary school for the deaf. A consecutive sample of eligible participants was asked to join the study after obtaining informed consent until the target sample size was reached. Results: From 01 Jul 2022 to 30 Jan 2023, 70 quantitative interviews were conducted. Participants’ mean age was 17 years, and 66% were female. 89% had heard about several components of SRH. 99% reported a need for education and services but had challenges with access 85% of the time. 54% reported receipt of education and services from government or private facilities, and the rest from friends, parents, siblings, teachers and the internet. Conclusion: Government needs to look into availing tailored, sustainable SRH education/services to deaf adolescents at health facilities and teach health workers sign language. SRH education to parents, teachers and communities of deaf adolescents improves access in hard-to-reach areas. Integration of services into routine health care is key in creating and improving models of access to wider communities of persons with disabilities to improve their mental health.

Keywords: sexual and reproductive health, deaf, adolescents, education, services, disabilities, mental health, hard-to-reach areas

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Authors: Sabrina N. Jafralie, Arzina Zaver

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Responding to religious diversity and the need for social change, the Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) Program was introduced as a mandatory subject for all students in Quebec, Canada. Now that the Quebec provincial government has announced the end of the ERC program, it time to discuss and assess both challenges and successes in it's implementation especially its impact on social change. Though many studies have been written around the wider concepts of religious education and religious literacy in the public system, few studies have included voices from educators. Jafralie and Zaver's qualitative research study examines the potentials and struggles of the ERC Program, and by doing so, raise important considerations around the effective teaching of.  The findings point to several consistent themes that teachers grapple with in regards to curriculum and pedagogy and highlights that in-service teachers are not thoroughly prepared to teach about ethics and religion, nor are teacher education programs effectively preparing pre-service teachers entering the field to deal with the complexities of teaching about religion or social change in their classrooms. The authors suggest avenues in which teacher education for teachers can look like in order for students and teachers to engage meaningfully with religious diversity and be agents of social change. 

Keywords: Pedagogy, Professional Development, Quebec, Teaching

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Authors: Ersin Bozkurt, Şükran Erdoğan

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The purpose of the study is to explore how pre-service teachers perceive buoyancy force effecting an object in a liquid and identify their misconceptions. Pre-service teachers were interviewed to reveal their understandings of an object's floating, suspending and sinking in a liquid. In addition, they were asked about how an object -given its features- moved when it is provided with an external force and when it is released. The so-called circumstances were questioned in a different planet contexts. For this aim, focused group interview method was used. Six focused groups were formed and video recorded during the interval. Each focused group comprised of five pre-service teachers. It was found out pre-service teachers have common misunderstanding and misconceptions. In order to eliminate this conceptual misunderstandings, conceptual change texts were developed and further suggestions were made.

Keywords: computer simulations, conceptual change texts, physics education, students’ misconceptions in physics

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Authors: Aroona Hashmi

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Student’s success in Mathematics and Science depends upon their learning attitude towards both subjects. It also influences the participation rate of the learner. The present study was based on a survey of high school students about their attitude towards Mathematics and Science at Secondary level. Students of the both gender constitute the population of this study. Sample of the study was 276 students and 20 teachers from 10 Government schools from Lahore District. Questionnaire and interview were selected as tool for data collection. The results showed that Pakistani students’ positive attitude towards learning Mathematics and Science. There was a significance difference between the students’ attitude towards learning Mathematics and no significance difference was found in the students’ attitude towards learning Science at Secondary level.

Keywords: attitude, mathematics, science, secondary level

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Authors: Jaejun Jong

Abstract:

Many teachers in South Korea conduct research to improve the quality of their instruction. Unfortunately, many researchers generalize the results of measurements based on one subgroup to other students or to the entire population, which can cause problems. This study aims to determine examples of possible problems resulting from generalizing measurements based on one subgroup to an entire population or another group. This study is needed, as teachers’ instruction and class quality significantly affect the overall quality of education, but the quality of research conducted by teachers can become questionable due to overgeneralization. Thus, finding potential problems of overgeneralization can improve the overall quality of education. The data in this study were gathered from 145 sixth-grade elementary school students in South Korea. The result showed that students in different classes could differ significantly in various ways; thus, generalizing the results of subgroups to an entire population can engender erroneous student predictions and evaluations, which can lead to inappropriate instruction plans. This result shows that finding the reasons for such overgeneralization can significantly improve the quality of education.

Keywords: generalization, measurement, research methodology, teacher education

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Authors: Mohsine Jebbour

Abstract:

The ultimate aim of this study was to analyze a second-year baccalaureate textbook of English to see to what extent it includes elements of critical thinking. A further purpose was to assess the extent to which the teachers’ teaching practices help students develop some degree of critical thinking. The literature on critical thinking indicated that all the writers agree that critical thinking is skilled and dispositional oriented, and most of the definitions highlight the skill and disposition to select, collect, analyze and evaluate information effectively. In this study, two instruments were used, namely content analysis and questionnaire to ensure validity and reliability. The sample of this study, on the one hand, was a second year textbook of English, namely Ticket to English. The process of collecting data was carried out through designing a checklist to analyze the textbook of English. On the other hand, high school students (second baccalaureate grade) and teachers of English constituted the second sample. Two questionnaires were administered—One was completed by 28 high school teachers (18 males and10 females), and the other was completed by 51 students (26 males and 25 females) from Fez, Morocco. The items of the questionnaire tended to elicit both qualitative and quantitative data. An attempt was made to answer two research questions. One pertained to the extent to which the textbooks of English contain critical thinking elements (Critical thinking skills and dispositions, types of questions, language learning strategies, classroom activities); the second was concerned with whether the teaching practices of teachers of English help improve students’ critical thinking. The results demonstrated that the textbooks of English include elements of critical thinking, and the teachers’ teaching practices help the students develop some degree of critical thinking. Yet, the textbooks do not include problem-solving activities and media analysis and 86% of the teacher-respondents tended to skip activities in the textbooks, mainly the units dealing with Project Work and Study Skills which are necessary for enhancing critical thinking among the students. Therefore, the textbooks need to be designed around additional activities and the teachers are required to cover the units skipped so as to make the teaching of critical thinking effective.

Keywords: critical thinking, language learning strategies, language proficiency, teaching practices

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Authors: Nur Amalina Dayana Abd Aziz

Abstract:

Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning in any syllabus in the world. Recently, a new assessment system, School-Based Assessment (SBA) was introduced and implemented in the Malaysian education system to promote a more holistic, integrated and balanced assessment system. This effort is part of the reformation made in the Government Transformation Plan (GTP) to produce a world-class human capital as we are reaching and achieving the Vision 2020 in the near future. However, this new change has raised awareness and concerns from teachers, students, parents and non-profit organizations on how the new assessment is to be implemented and how it is affecting the students and teachers particularly. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the issues that teachers face in implementing SBA in primary schools, the measures taken to address the issues and to propose ways of managing school-based assessment. Five national primary schools focusing in the urban areas in the Selangor state are chosen for this study to carry out. Data for the study will be gathered from interviews with teachers from each school, surveys and classrooms observation will be conducted in each school, and relevant documents are collected from the selected schools. The findings of this study will present the current issues that teachers from various types of national primary schools are facing and what actions they took to overcome the problems in carrying out SBA. Suggestions on how to better manage school-based assessment for teachers are also provided in this paper.

Keywords: community of practice, curriculum, managing change, school-based assessment

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Authors: Qin Yao

Abstract:

Content and language integrated instruction provides second language learners instruction in subject matter and language, and is greatly valued, particularly in the language immersion classroom where a language other than students’ first language is the vehicle for teaching school curriculum. Corrective feedback is an essential instructional technique for teachers to integrate a focus on language into their content instruction. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature on immersion—the lack of studies examining corrective feedback in Chinese immersion classrooms, by studying learning opportunities brought by oral corrective feedback in a Chinese immersion classroom. Specifically, it examines what is the distribution of different types of teacher corrective feedback and how students respond to each feedback type, as well as how the focus of the teacher-student interactional exchanges affect the effect of feedback. Two Chinese immersion teachers and their immersion classes were involved, and data were collected through classroom observations interviews. Observations document teachers’ provision of oral corrective feedback and students’ responses following the feedback in class, and interviews with teachers collected teachers’ reflective thoughts about their teaching. A primary quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data revealed that, among different types of corrective feedback, recast occurred most frequently. Metalinguistic clue and repetition were the least occurring feedback types. Clarification request lead to highest percentage of learner uptake manifested by learners’ oral production immediately following the feedback, while explicit correction came the second and recast the third. In addition, the results also showed the interactional context played a role in the effectiveness of the feedback: teachers were most likely to give feedback in conversational exchanges that focused on explicit language and content, while students were most likely to use feedback in exchanges that focused on explicit language. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate recasts are preferred by Chinese immersion teachers, confirming results of previous studies on corrective feedback in non-Chinese immersion classrooms; and clarification request and explicit language instruction elicit more target language production from students and are facilitative in their target language development, thus should not be overlooked in immersion and other content and language integrated classrooms.

Keywords: Chinese immersion, content and language integrated instruction, corrective feedback, interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 411