Search results for: teaching primary science

Authors: Shyamani Hettiarachchi, Gopi Kitnasamy

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Background: The potentially high level of physical need and dependency experienced by children with cerebral palsy could affect the quality of life (QOL) of the child, the caregiver and his/her family. Poor QOL in children with cerebral palsy is associated with the parent-child relationship, limited opportunities for social participation, limited access to healthcare services, psychological well-being and the child's physical functioning. Given that children experiencing disabilities have little access to remedial support with an inequitable service across districts in Sri Lanka, and given the impact of culture and societal stigma, there may be differing viewpoints across respondents. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Tamil version of the Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life for Children (CPQOL-Child) Questionnaire. Design: An instrument development and validation study. Methods: Forward and backward translations of the CPQOL-Child were undertaken by a team comprised of a physiotherapist, speech and language therapist and two linguists for the primary caregiver form and the child self-report form. As part of a pilot phase, the Tamil version of the CPQOL was completed by 45 primary caregivers with children with cerebral palsy and 15 children with cerebral palsy (GMFCS level 3-4). In addition, the primary caregivers commented on the process of filling in the questionnaire. The psychometric properties of test-retest reliability, internal consistency and construct validity were undertaken. Results: The test-retest reliability and internal consistency were high. A significant association (p < 0.001) was found between limited motor skills and poor QOL. The Cronbach's alpha for the whole questionnaire was at 0.95.Similarities and divergences were found between the two groups of respondents. The child respondents identified limited motor skills as associated with physical well-being and autonomy. Akin to this, the primary caregivers associated the severity of motor function with limitations of physical well-being and autonomy. The trend observed was that QOL was not related to the level of impairment but connected to environmental factors by the child respondents. In addition to this, the main concern among primary caregivers about the child's future and on the child's lack of independence was not fully captured by the QOL questionnaire employed. Conclusions: Although the initial results of the CPQOL questionnaire show high test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the instrument, it does not fully reflect the socio-cultural realities and primary concerns of the caregivers. The current findings highlight the need to take child and caregiver perceptions of QOL into account in clinical practice and research. It strongly indicates the need for culture-specific measures of QOL.

Keywords: cerebral palsy, CPQOL, culture, quality of life

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Authors: Ghazi Alotaibi

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The current study examined and described the views of secondary school students and their parents on their reasons for seeking private tutors in English. These views were obtained through two group interviews with the students and parents separately. Several causes were brought up during the two interviews. These causes included difficulty of the English language, weak teacher performance, the need to pass exams with high marks, lack of parents’ follow-up of student school performance, social pressure, variability in student comprehension levels at school, weak English foundation in previous school years, repeated student absence from school, large classes, as well as English teachers’ heavy teaching loads. The study started with a description of the EFL educational system in Saudi Arabia and concluded with recommendations for the improvement of the school learning environment.

Keywords: english, learning difficulty, private tutoring, Saudi, teaching practices, learning environment

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Authors: Sofia Cramerotti, Angela Cattoni, Laura Biancato, Dario Ianes

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The recognition of specific standards for new professionals, within the teaching profile, is a necessary process in order to foster an innovative school vision in accordance with the change that school is experiencing. In line with the reform of the national education and training system and with the National Training Plan for teachers, our Research and Development department developed a training project based on a framework (Syllabus) of skills that each 'Expert Teacher' should master in order to fulfill what the different specific profiles request. The syllabus is a fundamental tool for a training process consistent with the teaching profiles, both to guide the to-become teachers entering in service and to provide the in-service teachers with a system of evaluation and improvement of their skills. According to the national and international literature about professional standards for teachers, we aggregated the skills of the syllabus in three macro areas: (1) Area of professional skills related to the teacher profile and their continuous training; (2) area of teaching skills related to the school innovation; (3) area of organizing skills related to school participation for its improvement. The syllabus is a framework that identifies and describes the skills of the expert teacher in all of their roles. However, the various skills take on different importance in the different profiles involved in the school; some of those skills are determining a role, others could be secondary. Therefore, the characterization of the different profiles is represented by suitably weighted skills sets. In this way, the same skill could differently characterize each profile. In the future, we hope that the skills development and training for the teacher could evolve in a skills development and training for the whole school staff ('Expert Team'). In this perspective, the school will, therefore, benefit from a solid team, in which the skills of the various profiles are all properly developed and well represented.

Keywords: framework, skills, teachers, training

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Authors: Nora El-Bilawia

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This paper discovers the challenges and/or opportunities to implementing multiple intelligence (MI) practices in English as foreign language (EFL) classrooms at Egyptian public schools as part of the government’s educational reform plan. It is found that Egyptian EFL teachers value the use of MI’s ways of teaching as means for active and higher order thinking. However, teachers believed they were underprivileged, as the government did not provide appropriate trainings, tools, or means to integrate MI in their daily lessons. They also conferred challenges they face due to some Egyptian schooling cultural practices. At the end of this chapter, a proposed need for a paradigm shift in the schooling culture in Egypt to implement practical changes in schools to promote hope in education such as the use of MI teaching tools. This study promotes cross-cultural understanding of educational opportunities and efforts for equal learning outcomes around the globe.

Keywords: professional development, schooling culture, acculturation, equitable education

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Authors: Ruwan Gunawardane

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Second language teaching and learning is a complex process in which various factors are identified as having a negative impact on the competency in English among undergraduates of Sri Lanka. One such issue is the lack of intrinsic motivation among them to learn English despite the fact that they all know the importance of English. This study attempted to ascertain how the intrinsic motivation of undergraduates to learn English can be improved through reading out of curiosity. Humans are curious by nature, and cognitive psychology says that curiosity facilitates learning, memory, and motivation. The researcher carried out this study during the closure of universities due to the outbreak of the coronavirus through ‘Online Reading Café’, an online reading programme introduced by himself. He invited 1166 students of the Faculty of Science, University of Ruhuna, to read 50 articles taken from CNN and the BBC and posted at least two to three articles on the LMS of the faculty almost every day over a period of 23 days. The themes of the articles were based on the universe, exploration of planets, scientific experiments, evolution, etc., and the students were encouraged to collect as many words, phrases, and sentence structures as possible while reading and to form meaningful sentences using them. The data obtained through the students’ feedback was qualitatively analyzed. It was found that these undergraduates were interested in reading something out of curiosity, due to which intrinsic motivation is enhanced, and it facilitates competence in L2.

Keywords: English, competence, reading, curiosity

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Authors: Agah Tugrul Korucu, Mustafa Mucahit Gundogdu, Tarık Gencturk, Ahmet Yucel

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Countries are developing big projects and supplying financial resource for developing technological substructure and integrating technology into the education. In Turkey, the Ministry of Education, with the aim of integrating ICT into learning and teaching processes, created a project named increasing occasions and normalizing the technology movement. FATIH Project with this project, the aim is to create teaching environments which are enriched with technology. In orientating people with the technology and integrating technology into the education, teacher and teacher candidates have a big responsibility. While teachers are using technology in lesson, the devices in class and the methods developed are important factors. The aim of this research is to examine awareness, and foresight about FATIH Project in different aspects. This study was conducted during the practice period of the second semester in the 2014-2015 academic years. The working group of the research was created from 209 teacher candidates which are from different teaching departments in the Ahmet Kelesoglu Education Faculty of Necmettin Erbakan University. Scanning model was used in this research. In research, as a getting data tool evaluation of “opinion about FATIH Project: awareness, foresight and expectation scale” which was developed by Karal et. al.; personal information form which was developed by researchers were used. Cronbach coefficient which is the reliability of the scale is 0.91. In analyzing the data, statistical package program average, standard deviation, percentage, correlation, t-test and variance analysis test were used.

Keywords: Fatih Project, information and communication technologies, information technology integration, views on the Fatih Project, technology integration in education

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Authors: Mohsen Shirani, Shadi Asadzandi, Micaela Demichela

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This paper presents the results of a study to assess crucial aspects and the strength of the scientific basis of a typically interdisciplinary, applied field: food supply chain risk assessment research. Our approach is based on an advanced scientometrics analysis with novel elements to assess the influence and dissemination of research results and to measure interdisciplinary. This paper aims to describe the quantity and quality of the publication trends in food supply chain risk assessment. The population under study was composed of 266 articles from database web of science. The results were analyzed based on date of publication, type of document, language of the documents, source of publications, subject areas, authors and their affiliations, and the countries involved in developing the articles.

Keywords: food supply chain, risk assessment, scientometrics, web of science

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Authors: Randa M. Ali, Naguiba F. Loutfy, Osama M. Awad

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Background: Leishmaniasis is a worldwide disease, affecting 88 countries, it is estimated that about 350 million people are at risk of leishmaniasis. Overall prevalence is 12 million people with annual mortality of about 60,000. Annual incidence is 1,500,000 cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) worldwide and half million cases of visceral Leishmaniasis (VL). Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess primary health care physicians knowledge (PHP) and attitude about leishmaniasis and to assess awareness of local inhabitants about the disease and its vector in four areas in west Alexandria, Egypt. Methods: This study was a cross sectional survey that was conducted in four PHC units in west Alexandria. All physicians currently working in these units during the study period were invited to participate in the study, only 20 PHP completed the questionnaire. 60 local inhabitant were selected randomly from the four areas of the study, 15 from each area; Data was collected through two different specially designed questionnaires. Results: 11(55%) percent of the physicians had satisfactory knowledge, they answered more than 9 (60%) questions out of a total 14 questions about leishmaniasis and sandfly. The second part of the questionnaire is concerned with attitude of the primary health care physicians about leishmaniasis, 17 (85%) had good attitude and 3 (15%) had poor attitude. The second questionnaire showed that the awareness of local inhabitants about leishmaniasis and sandly as a vector of the disease is poor and needs to be corrected. Most of the respondents (90%) had not heard about leishmaniasis, Only 3 (5%) of the interviewed inhabitants said they know sandfly and its role in transmission of leishmaniasis. Conclusions: knowledge and attitudes of physicians are acceptable. However, there is, room for improvement and could be done through formal training courses and distribution of guidelines. In addition to raising the awareness of primary health care physicians about the importance of early detection and notification of cases of lesihmaniasis. Moreover, health education for raising awareness of the public regarding the vector and the disease is necessary because related studies have demonstrated that if the inhabitants do not perceive mosquitoes to be responsible for diseases such as malaria they do not take enough measures to protect themselves against the vector.

Keywords: leishmaniasis, PHP, knowledge, attitude, local inhabitants

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Authors: Joseph K. A. Johnson

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Hypertension affects 20 percent of the people within the ages 55 upward in Ghana. Of these, almost one-third are unaware of their condition. Also at the age of 55, more men turned to have hypertension than women. After that age, the condition becomes more prevalent with women. Hypertension is significantly more common in African Americans of both sexes than the racial or ethnic groups. This study was conducted to determine the causes of high blood pressure in Ashanti Region, Ghana. The study employed One Hundred and Seventy (170) respondents. The sample population for the study was all the available respondents at the time of the data collection. The research was conducted using primary data where convenience sampling was used to locate the respondents. A set of questionnaire were used to gather the data for the study. The gathered data was analysed using principal component analysis. The study revealed that, personal description, lifestyle behavior and risk awareness as some of the causes of high blood pressure in Ashanti Region. The study therefore recommend that people must be advice to see to their personal characteristics that may contribute to high blood pressure such as controlling of their temper and how to react perfectly to stressful situations. They must be educated on the factors that may increase the level of their blood pressure such as the essence of seeing a medical doctor before taking in any drug. People must also be made known by the public health officers to those lifestyles behaviour such as smoking and drinking of alcohol which are major contributors of high blood pressure.

Keywords: high blood pressure, principal component analysis, hypertension, public health

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Authors: Salsabeel F. M. Alfalah, Jannat F. Falah, Nadia Muhaidat, Amjad Hudaib, Diana Koshebye, Sawsan AlHourani

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Educational technology is changing the way how students engage and interact with learning materials. This improved the learning process amongst various subjects. Virtual Reality (VR) applications are considered one of the evolving methods that have contributed to enhancing medical education. This paper utilizes VR to provide a solution to improve the delivery of the subject of Embryology to medical students, and facilitate the teaching process by providing a useful aid to lecturers, whilst proving the effectiveness of this new technology in this particular area. After evaluating the current teaching methods and identifying students ‘needs, a VR system was designed that demonstrates in an interactive fashion the development of the human embryo from fertilization to week ten of intrauterine development. This system aims to overcome some of the problems faced by the students’ in the current educational methods, and to increase the efficacy of the learning process.

Keywords: virtual reality, student assessment, medical education, 3D, embryology

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Authors: Naqvi Shraddha Rathi

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During the aging process, physical frailty may develop. A more sedentary lifestyle, a reduction in metabolic cell mass and, consequently, lower energy expenditure and dietary intake are important contributors to the progression of frailty. A decline in intake is in turn associated with the risk of developing a suboptimal nutritional state or multiple micro nutrient deficiencies.The tantalizing potential of nanotechnology is to fabricate and combine nano scale approaches and building blocks to make useful tools and, ultimately, interventions for medical science, including nutritional science, at the scale of ∼1–100 nm.

Keywords: aging, cells frailty, micronutrients, biochemical reactivity

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Authors: Caroline Smith, Professor Debi Bhattacharya, Sion Scott

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Introduction: Oropharyngeal Dysphagia (OD) effects around 15% of older people, however it is often unrecognised and under diagnosed until they are hospitalised. There is a need for primary care healthcare practitioners (HCPs) to assume a proactive role in identifying and managing OD to prevent adverse outcomes such as aspiration pneumonia. Understanding the determinants of primary care HCPs undertaking this new behaviour provides the intervention targets for addressing. This realist review, underpinned by the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), aims to synthesise relevant literature and develop programme theories to understand what interventions work, how they work and under what circumstances to facilitate HCPs to prevent harm from OD. Combining realist methodology with behavioural science will permit conceptualisation of intervention components as theoretical behavioural constructs, thus informing the design of a future behaviour change intervention. Furthermore, through the TDF’s linkage to a taxonomy of behaviour change techniques, we will identify corresponding behaviour change techniques to include in this intervention. Methods & analysis: We are following the five steps for undertaking a realist review: 1) clarify the scope 2) Literature search 3) appraise and extract data 4) evidence synthesis 5) evaluation. We have searched Medline, Google scholar, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, Scopus and PsycINFO databases. We are obtaining additional evidence through grey literature, snowball sampling, lateral searching and consulting the stakeholder group. Literature is being screened, evaluated and synthesised in Excel and Nvivo. We will appraise evidence in relation to its relevance and rigour. Data will be extracted and synthesised according to its relation to Initial programme theories (IPTs). IPTs were constructed after the preliminary literature search, informed by the TDF and with input from a stakeholder group of patient and public involvement advisors, general practitioners, speech and language therapists, geriatricians and pharmacists. We will follow the Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Syntheses: Evolving Standards (RAMESES) quality and publication standards to report study results. Results: In this ongoing review our search has identified 1417 manuscripts with approximately 20% progressing to full text screening. We inductively generated 10 IPTs that hypothesise practitioners require: the knowledge to spot the signs and symptoms of OD; the skills to provide initial advice and support; and access to resources in their working environment to support them conducting these new behaviours. We mapped the 10 IPTs to 8 TDF domains and then generated a further 12 IPTs deductively using domain definitions to fulfil the remaining 6 TDF domains. Deductively generated IPTs broadened our thinking to consider domains such as ‘Emotion,’ ‘Optimism’ and ‘Social Influence’, e.g. If practitioners perceive that patients, carers and relatives expect initial advice and support, then they will be more likely to provide this, because they will feel obligated to do so. After prioritisation with stakeholders using a modified nominal group technique approach, a maximum of 10 IPTs will progress to test against the literature.

Keywords: behaviour change, deglutition disorders, primary healthcare, realist review

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Authors: M. Zezou

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This paper focuses on the design of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) about Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and more specifically about how teachers can use CLIL as an educational approach incorporating technology in their teaching as well. All the four weeks of the MOOC will be presented and a step-by-step analysis of each lesson will be offered. Additionally, the paper includes detailed lesson plans about CLIL lessons with proposed CLIL activities and games in which technology plays a central part. The MOOC is structured based on certain criteria, in order to ensure success, as well as a positive experience that the learners need to have after completing this MOOC. It addresses to all language teachers who would like to implement CLIL into their teaching. In other words, it presents the methodology that needs to be followed so as to successfully carry out a CLIL lesson and achieve the learning objectives set at the beginning of the course. Firstly, in this paper, it is very important to give the definitions of MOOCs and LMOOCs, as well as to explore the difference between a structure-based MOOC (xMOOC) and a connectivist MOOC (cMOOC) and present the criteria of a successful MOOC. Moreover, the notion of CLIL will be explored, as it is necessary to fully understand this concept before moving on to the design of the MOOC. Onwards, the four weeks of the MOOC will be introduced as well as lesson plans will be presented: The type of the activities, the aims of each activity and the methodology that teachers have to follow. Emphasis will be placed on the role of technology in foreign language learning and on the ways in which we can involve technology in teaching a foreign language. Final remarks will be made and a summary of the main points will be offered at the end.

Keywords: CLIL, cMOOC, lesson plan, LMOOC, MOOC criteria, MOOC, technology, xMOOC

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Authors: Freddy Rodriguez Saza, Erika Sanabria, Jair Tibana

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Currently, the important role of neurosciences in the professional training of the physical educator is known, highlighting in the teaching-learning process aspects such as the nervous structures involved in the adjustment of posture and movement, the neurophysiology of locomotion, the process of nerve impulse transmission, and the relationship between physical activity, learning, and cognition. The teaching-learning process of neurosciences is complex, due to the breadth of the contents, the diversity of teaching contexts required, and the demanding ability to relate concepts from different disciplines, necessary for the correct understanding of the function of the nervous system. This text presents the results of the application of a didactic environment based on the Allosteric Learning Model in morphophysiology students of the Faculty of Military Physical Education, Military School of Cadets of the Colombian Army (Bogotá, Colombia). The research focused then, on analyzing the change in the cognitive structure of the students on neurosciences. Methodology. [1] The predominant learning styles were identified. [2] Students' cognitive structure, core concepts, and threshold concepts were analyzed through the construction of Pathfinder Associative Networks. [3] Didactic Units in Neuroscience were designed to favor metacognition, the development of Executive Functions (working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control) that led students to recognize their errors and conceptual distortions and to overcome them. [4] The Teacher's Professional Knowledge and the role of the assessment strategies applied were taken into account, taking into account the perspective of the Dynamizer, Obstacle, and Questioning axes. In conclusion, the study found that physical education students achieved significant learning in neuroscience, favored by the development of executive functions and by didactic environments oriented with the predominant learning styles and focused on increasing cognitive networks and overcoming difficulties, neuromyths and neurophobia.

Keywords: allosteric learning model, military physical education, neurosciences, pathfinder associative networks, teacher professional knowledge

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Authors: Lawrence Meda, Christopher Dumas, Moses Moyo, Zayd Waghid

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As a result of some schools embracing technology to enhance students’ learning experiences in the digital era, the Faculty of Education at a University of Technology in South Africa has mandated lecturers to scale up their utilisation of technology in their teaching. Lecturers have been challenged to utilise the institution’s Learning Management System - Blackboard among other technologies - to adequately prepare trainee teachers to be able to teach competently in schools. The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which lecturers are utilising Blackboard to enhance their teaching. The study will be conducted using a quantitative approach, and its paradigmatic position will be positivist. The study will be done as a case study of the university’s Faculty of Education. Data will be extracted from all 100 lecturers’ Blackboard sites according to their respective modules, and it will be analysed using the four pillars of Blackboard as a conceptual framework. It is presumed that there is an imbalance on the lecturers’ utilisation of the four pillars of Blackboard as the majority use it as a content dumping site.

Keywords: blackboard, digital, education, technology

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Authors: Abuzer Akgün, Ümit Duruk

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This study was carried out in a period of four weeks thanks to voluntarily participation of twenty eight pre-service teachers enrolled diverse departments in Faculty of Education. The purpose of the study was to point out how pre-service teachers views on environmental education were affected by field trips. Prior to data collection, four open-ended questions were prepared and administered to all pre-service teachers in the working group. Data gathered at first and final week of the field trip were compared in a qualitative approach using content analysis. In conclusion, it is obvious that most of the participants don’t feel themselves quiet enough about environmental education and state this reason as a providing justification to participate voluntarily in the study. In the secondary school teaching context, they mostly emphasize on the vital importance of the environmental awareness level of the pupils in the schools. They also seem to think that they get a detailed knowledge of environmental education and claim that they will use this knowledge in order to bring up next generations in their professional career as teachers. Lastly, they state that observing the deteriorating materials directly in their own settings, might be more effective as regards improving environmental awareness.

Keywords: science education, environmental education, environmental issues, field trip method

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Authors: Mirzahmedov Ismoiljon Karimjon Ugli, Juraeva Shakhnoza Abdumalik Kizi

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The article deals with the current scientific problems of natural geography related to the development of new pedagogical technologies and their implementation in the educational process. The use of recommended interactive methods in independent study is considered very effective and is a very useful method for students, especially for students who work more on themselves. Today's demand is to make young people talented, intelligent, innovative, as well as mature and well-rounded individuals, as a result of the work carried out in the field of education today. This is how creating tables of different contents and filling them out shows the student's talent and desire for innovation. Also, the techniques and methods necessary for today's student are shown, the role of the teacher in conducting lessons meaningfully, the suitability of the method used by the teacher for the lesson, factors affecting the quality of education, and natural issues of the use of methods based on the specific features of geography are highlighted.

Keywords: teaching methods, educational process, educational technologies, education, problem, didactics, natural geography

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Authors: Luca Vascelli, Silvia Iacomini, Giada Gueli, Francesca Cavallini, Carlo Cavallini, Federica Berardo

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The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of training on Big 6 + 6 motor skills to promote daily living skills. Precision teaching (PT) suggests that improved speed of the component behaviors can lead to better performance of composite skills. This study assessed the effects of the repeated timed practice of component motor skills on speed and accuracy of composite skills related to daily living skills. An 18 years old adolescent with intellectual disability participated. A pre post probe single-subject design was used. The results suggest that the participant was able to perform the component skills at his individual aims (endurance was assessed). The speed and accuracy of composite skills were increased; stability and retention were also measured for the composite skill after the training.

Keywords: big 6+6, daily living skills, intellectual disability, precision teaching

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Authors: Alice Brites, Gerd Sparovek, Jean Paul Metzger, Ricardo Rodrigues

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The segregation between science and policy in decision making process hinders nature conservation efforts worldwide. Scientists have been criticized for not producing information that leads to effective solutions for environmental problems. In an attempt to bridge this gap between science and practice, we conducted a project aimed at supporting the implementation of the Brazilian Native Vegetation Protection Law (NVPL) implementation in São Paulo State (SP), Brazil. To do so, we conducted multiple open meetings with the stakeholders involved in this discussion. Throughout this process, we raised stakeholders' demands for scientific information and brought feedbacks about our findings. However, our main scientific advice was not taken into account during the NVPL implementation in SP. The NVPL has a mechanism that exempts landholders who converted native vegetation without offending the legislation in place at the time of the conversion from restoration requirements. We found out that there were no accurate spatialized data for native vegetation cover before the 1960s. Thus, the initial benchmark for the mechanism application should be the 1965 Brazilian Forest Act. Even so, SP kept the 1934 Brazilian Forest Act as the initial legal benchmark for the law application. This decision implies the use of a probabilistic native vegetation map that has uncertainty and subjectivity as its intrinsic characteristics, thus its use can lead to legal queries, corruption, and an unfair benefit application. But why this decision was made even after the scientific advice was vastly divulgated? We raised some possible reasons to explain it. First, the decision was made during a government transition, showing that circumstantial political events can overshadow scientific arguments. Second, the debate about the NVPL in SP was not pacified and powerful stakeholders could benefit from the confusion created by this decision. Finally, the native vegetation protection mechanism is a complex issue, with many technical aspects that can be hard to understand for a non-specialized courtroom, such as the one that made the final decision at SP. This example shows that science and decision-makers still have a long way ahead to improve their way to interact and that science needs to find its way to be heard above the political buzz.

Keywords: Brazil, forest act, science-based dialogue, science-policy interface

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Authors: Mohammad Saleem, Neeta Kumar, Anita Sharma, Sazina Muzammil

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It is observed that some of the dental students in our setting take less interest in medical subjects. Various teaching methods are focus of research interest currently and being tried to generate interest among students. An approach of interactive integrated tutorial was used to assess its feasibility in teaching medical subjects to dental undergraduates. The aim was to generate interest and promote active self-learning among students. The objectives were to (1) introduce the integrated interactive learning method through two departments, (2) get feedback from the students and faculty on feasibility and effectiveness of this method. Second-year students in Bachelor of Dental Surgery course were divided into two groups. Each group was asked to study physiology and pathology of a common and important condition (anemia and hypertension) in a week’s time. During the tutorial, students asked questions on physiology and pathology of that condition from each other in the presence of teachers of both physiology and pathology departments. The teachers acted only as facilitators. After the session, the feedback from students and faculty on this alternative learning method was obtained. Results: Majority of the students felt that this method of learning is enjoyable, helped to develop reasoning skills and ability to correlate and integrate the knowledge from two related fields. Majority of the students felt that this kind of learning led to better understanding of the topic and motivated them towards deep learning. Teachers observed that the study promoted interdepartmental cross-discipline collaboration and better students’ linkages. Conclusion: Interactive integrated tutorial is effective in motivating dental students for better and deep learning of medical subjects.

Keywords: active learning, education, integrated, interactive, self-learning, tutorials

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Authors: Svetlana Polskaya

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The study deals with the issue of using the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) concept when teaching Master Program students majoring in neuromarketing and entrepreneurship. Present-day employers expect young graduates to conduct professional communication with their English-speaking peers and demonstrate proper knowledge of the industry’s terminology and jargon. The idea of applying CLIL was the result of the above-mentioned students possessing high proficiency in English, thus, not requiring any further knowledge of the English language in terms of traditional grammar or lexis. Due to this situation, a CLIL-type program was devised, allowing learners to acquire new knowledge of entrepreneurship and neuromarketing spheres combined with simultaneous honing their English language practical usage. The case study analyzes CLIL application within this particular program as well as the experience accumulated in the process.

Keywords: CLIL, entrepreneurship, neuromarketing, foreign language acquisition, proficiency level

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Authors: H. van Rensburg, B. Adcock, B. Al Mansouri

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This paper discusses the impact of pedagogical and learning differences on Arabic international students’ (AIS) learning when they come to study in Australia. It describes the difference in teaching and learning methods between the students’ home countries in the Arabic world and Australia. There are many research papers that discuss the general experiences of international students in the western learning systems, including Australia. However, there is little research conducted specifically about AIS learning in Australia. Therefore, the data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with AIS who are learning at an Australian regional university in Queensland. For that reason, this paper contributes to fill a gap by reporting on the learning experiences of AIS in Australia and, more specifically, on the AIS’ pedagogical experiences. Not only discussing the learning experiences of AIS, but also discussing the cultural adaptation using the Oberg’s cultural adaptation model. This paper suggests some learning strategies that may benefit AIS and academic lecturers when teaching students from a completely different culture and language.

Keywords: arabic international students, cultural adaption, learning differences, learning systems

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Authors: Adel Ben Mohamed

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The widespread use of the English language around the world has pushed many countries to consider such a language as a top priority in their educational system. One of these countries is the Sultanate of Oman. In this frame, the Omani government has allocated huge budgets as well as resources in order to implement the English language in its education system. The importance of English is prevalent in Oman. This is clearly noticeable through remarkable signs. For instance, most of the official documents in Oman are in both Arabic (the mother tongue) or English. In addition to that, there is a mushroom of English language institutes all over the country. In 2020, there are over fourteen English language institutes and centers in Oman (esl base, 2020). Moreover, these days most of the Omani parents are sending their children for tuition to learn the English language. Hence, it is apparent that the Sultanate of Oman is giving a great value to the importance of English in attaining various goals. However, in the world of work, what is more, important today is fluency rather than accuracy. Therefore, many people go for communication English rather than technical English. For example, Oman Daily Observer newspaper published a job advertisement of a sale assistant on 23rd of November 2020, recommended that speaking very well English is a must to be hired for the position (Oman Observer, 2020). In line with this and because of the great importance of the English language in Oman, the ministry of higher education has placed much emphasis on this official foreign language. Therefore, in the Omani educational system, all post -secondary students must sit for one year in one of the higher education institutions as a General Foundation Programmes (GFP) prior to moving to their respective majors in diploma level. Accordingly, the implementation of any teaching approach is determined by different factors: some are directly linked to teachers while others are related to organizational variables.

Keywords: teaching approaches, communicative, ability, investigating

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Authors: Kim Kennedy, Daren Gibson, Stephanie Flukes, Chandra Diwakarla, Lisa Spalding, Leanne Pilkington, Andrew Redfern

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Introduction: It is well known that patients with Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) are at increased risk of subsequent head and neck cancers due to various aetiologies. Aim: We sought to determine the factors contributing to an increased risk of subsequent HNC primaries, and also to evaluate whether Aboriginal patients are at increased risk. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of 320 HNC patients from a single centre in Western Australia, identifying 80 Aboriginal patients and 240 non-Aboriginal patients matched on a 1:3 ratio by site, histology, rurality, and age. We collected patient data including smoking and alcohol consumption, tumour and treatment data, and data on subsequent HNC primaries. Results: A subsequent HNC primary was seen in 37 patients (11.6%) overall. There was no significant difference in the rate of second primary HNCs between Aboriginal patients (12.5%) and nonAboriginal patients (11.2%) (p=0.408). Subsequent HNCs, were strongly associated with smoking and alcohol consumption however, with 95% of patients with a second primary being ever-smokers, and 54% of patients with a second primary having a history of excessive alcohol consumption. In the 37 patients with multiple HNC primaries, there were a total of 57 HNCs, with 29 patients having two primaries, six patients having 3 HNC primaries, one patient with four, and one with six. 54 out of the 57 cancers were in ever smokers (94.7%). There were only two multiple HNC primaries in a never smoker, non-drinker, and these cases were of unknown etiology with HPV/p16 status unknown in both cases. In the whole study population, there were 32 HPV-positive HNCs, and 67 p16-positive HNCs, with only two 2 nd HNCs in a p16-positive case, giving a rate of 3% in the p16+ population, which is actually much lower than the rate of second primaries seen in the overall population (11.6%), and was highest in the p16-negative population (15.7%). This suggests that p16-positivity is not a strong risk factor for subsequent primaries, and in fact p16-negativity appeared to be associated with increased risk, however this data is limited by the large number of patients without documented p16 status (45.3% overall, 12% for oropharyngeal, and 59.6% for oral cavity primaries had unknown p16 status). Summary: Subsequent HNC primaries were strongly associated with smoking and alcohol excess. Second and later HNC primaries did not appear to occur at increased rates in Aboriginal patients compared with non-Aboriginal patients, and p16-positivity did not predict increased risk, however p16-negativity was associated with an increased risk of subsequent HNCs.

Keywords: head and neck cancer, multiple primaries, aboriginal, p16 status, smoking, alcohol

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Authors: Setenay Nil Doğan, Ece Oztan

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Research and development (R&D) as a term denotes the innovative studies conducted systematically to increase knowledge and its practices. As R&D intensity of Turkey (0,84%) is quite below the EU average intensity score, it has displayed a continuous increase since the 2000s. Also, the development of human capital in R&D has been one of the basic aims of National Strategy of Science, Technology, and Innovation, and National Innovation System 2023 of Turkey. R&D is considered to one of the fields in which the gender gap is wide. The reflections of the analogy of leaky pipeline, a term used for vertical differentiation in academy can also be observed in those scientific activities related with the private sector. In the private sector, the gender gap becomes wider: the percentage of female researchers in the universities (41%) decreases to 24% in the private sector. Though half of the undergraduates and gradutes are female in Turkey, a widening gender gap is observed in terms of employment in R&D. Given this background, this paper will focus on gendered dynamics of careers in R&D through the interviews conducted with 25 female and 25 male employees, working in a university technopark and some of the large RD centers in Turkey working in several sectors such as electronics, automotive etc. Focusing on some aspects of gender differences in terms of career experiences in R&D and innovation, mobility, participation to the projects, patents and inclusion to other innovatory activities, home-work balance, it aims to explore the relationships between science, technology, innovation and gender.

Keywords: gender, innovation, R&D, science, technology

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Authors: Javier Barrachina, Piedad Garrido, Manuel Fogue, Julio A. Sanguesa, Francisco J. Martinez

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It is very common to observe, especially in Computer Science studies that students have difficulties to correctly understand how some mechanisms based on Artificial Intelligence work. In addition, the scope and limitations of most of these mechanisms are usually presented by professors only in a theoretical way, which does not help students to understand them adequately. In this work, we focus on the problems found when teaching Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs), which imitate the principles of natural evolution, as a method to solve parameter optimization problems. Although this kind of algorithms can be very powerful to solve relatively complex problems, students often have difficulties to understand how they work, and how to apply them to solve problems in real cases. In this paper, we present two interactive graphical applications which have been specially designed with the aim of making Evolutionary Algorithms easy to be understood by students. Specifically, we present: (i) TSPS, an application able to solve the ”Traveling Salesman Problem”, and (ii) FotEvol, an application able to reconstruct a given image by using Evolution Strategies. The main objective is that students learn how these techniques can be implemented, and the great possibilities they offer.

Keywords: education, evolutionary algorithms, evolution strategies, interactive learning applications

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Authors: Santiago Moll Lopez, Erica Vega Fleitas, Dolors Rosello Ferragud, Luis Manuel Sanchez Ruiz, Jose Antonio Moraño Fernandez

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Game-based learning (GBL) is becoming popular in education. Learning through games offers students a motivating experience related to the social aspect of games. Among the significant positive outcomes are promoting positive emotions and collaboration, improving the assimilation of concepts, and creating an attractive and dynamic environment standout. This work presents a study of the design and implementation of games created with RPG Maker MZ software with a Sci-Fi storytelling environment for developing specific and transversal skills in a Mathematics subject at the Beng in Aerospace Engineering. Games were applied during regular classes and as a part of a Flip-Teaching methodology to increase the motivation and the assimilation of mathematical concepts in an engaging way. The key features of the games were the introduction of avatar design and the promotion of collaboration among students. Students' opinions and grades obtained in the activities and exams showed increased motivation and a significant improvement in their performance compared with other groups or past students' performances.

Keywords: game-based learning, rol games, mathematics, science fiction

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Authors: Joy Chadwick

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There is no doubt that classrooms of today are more complex and diverse than ever before. Preparing teacher candidates to meet these challenges is essential to ensure the retention of teachers within the profession and to ensure that graduates begin their teaching careers with the knowledge and understanding of how to effectively meet the diversity of students they will encounter. Creating inclusive classrooms requires teachers to have a repertoire of effective instructional skills and strategies. Teachers must also have the mindset to embrace diversity and value the uniqueness of individual students in their care. This qualitative study analyzed teacher candidates' experiences as they completed a fourteen-week teaching practicum while simultaneously completing a university course focused on inclusive pedagogy. The research investigated the challenges and successes teacher candidates had in navigating the translation of theory related to inclusive pedagogy into their teaching practice. Applying threshold concept theory as a framework, the research explored the troublesome concepts, liminal spaces, and transformative experiences as connected to inclusive practices. Threshold concept theory suggests that within all disciplinary fields, there exists particular threshold concepts that serve as gateways or portals into previously inaccessible ways of thinking and practicing. It is in these liminal spaces that conceptual shifts in thinking and understanding and deep learning can occur. The threshold concept framework provided a lens to examine teacher candidate struggles and successes with the inclusive education course content and the application of this content to their practicum experiences. A qualitative research approach was used, which included analyzing twenty-nine course reflective journals and six follow up one-to-one semi structured interviews. The journals and interview transcripts were coded and themed using NVivo software. Threshold concept theory was then applied to the data to uncover the liminal or stuck spaces of learning and the ways in which the teacher candidates navigated those challenging places of teaching. The research also sought to uncover potential transformative shifts in teacher candidate understanding as connected to teaching in an inclusive classroom. The findings suggested that teacher candidates experienced difficulties when they did not feel they had the knowledge, skill, or time to meet the needs of the students in the way they envisioned they should. To navigate the frustration of this thwarted vision, they relied on present and previous course content and experiences, collaborative work with other teacher candidates and their mentor teachers, and a proactive approach to planning for students. Transformational shifts were most evident in their ability to reframe their perceptions of children from a deficit or disability lens to a strength-based belief in the potential of students. It was evident that through their course work and practicum experiences, their beliefs regarding struggling students shifted as they saw the value of embracing neurodiversity, the importance of relationships, and planning for and teaching through a strength-based approach. Research findings have implications for teacher education programs and for understanding threshold concepts theory as connected to practice-based learning experiences.

Keywords: inclusion, inclusive education, liminal space, teacher education, threshold concepts, troublesome knowledge

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Authors: Asma Ben Abdallah

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Interlanguage Pragmatics (ILP) Instruction has brought a lot of enlightenment for Foreign Language Teaching and has secured itself a deserved position in SLA research. In the Tunisian context, ILP instruction remains less explored for academics and educational practitioners. In our experience as teachers, both at secondary school and at university levels, the instruction and assessment of pragmatics seem to be contentious. This paper firstly introduces the theoretical models of Interlanguage pragmatics Instruction and focuses on their implications for foreign language teaching. This study builds on the work of Ben Abdallah (2015) that investigated the effects of pragmatic Instruction on Tunisian EFL Learners where pragmatic Instruction has been approached from the perspective of students and their learning strategies. The data for the present study, however, come from Tunisian EFL teachers by investigating their pragmatics practices and their perceptions of pragmatic instruction. The findings indicated that EFL teachers have pragmatic awareness; yet, their reflections revealed that their awareness was mostly on theoretical pragmatic knowledge, and not explicitly brought into practical pragmatic applications. The paper concludes by promoting pragmatics instruction with the suggestion that EFL teachers should teach pragmatics in class.

Keywords: interlanguage pragmatics theory, pragmatics, pragmatic instruction, SLA

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Authors: Fadila Hadjeris

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The study aims at investigating the functions of English-Arabic code switching in English as a foreign language classroom oral discourse and the extent to which they can contribute to the flow of classroom interaction. It also seeks to understand the views, beliefs, and perceptions of teachers and learners towards this practice. We hypothesized that code switching is a communicative strategy which facilitates classroom interaction. Due to this fact, both teachers and learners support its use. The study draws on a key body of literature in bilingualism, second language acquisition, and classroom discourse in an attempt to provide a framework for considering the research questions. It employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods which include classroom observations and questionnaires. The analysis of the recordings shows that teachers’ code switching to Arabic is not only used for academic and classroom management reasons. Rather, the data display instances in which code switching is used for social reasons. The analysis of the questionnaires indicates that teachers and pupils have different attitudes towards this phenomenon. Teachers reported their deliberate switching during EFL teaching, yet the majority was against this practice. According to them, the use of the mother has detrimental effects on the acquisition and the practice of the target language. In contrast, pupils showed their preference to their teachers’ code switching because it enhances and facilitates their understanding. These findings support the fact that the shift to pupils’ mother tongue is a strategy which aids and facilitates the teaching and the learning of the target language. This, in turn, necessitates recommendations which are suggested to teachers and course designers.

Keywords: bilingualism, codeswitching, classroom interaction, classroom discourse, EFL learning/ teaching, SLA

Procedia PDF Downloads 460