Educational Technology

The objective of this study is to observe facilitation styles during the process of collaborative writing among students in a private university-college in Malaysia. Participants in this study comprised fourteen Year Two Bachelor of Social Science students. They formed two case study groups in performing their writing tasks. Data was obtained from various instruments such as video recordings, interviews, diary entries and observations. The findings showed two totally different approaches used in leading collaborators. Both approaches, in hand, successfully promoted teamwork. In addition, significant outcomes from collaboration were observed. It can be concluded that positive output from collaboration is very much dependent on the high commitment level of collaborators.

The present paper pinpoints on not-so-very-important activity in today’s competitive era i.e. free play. There is a tremendous amount of change seen in today’s child in comparison to children almost a decade ago. Most importantly, the population for whom the paper is emphasized is children, which are particularly invaluable as they transit from one stage to another and that too so swiftly that their play time has declined, and how this lack of play affects their cognitive, physical and emotional development, eventually leading to rise of anxiety, depression and problems of attention and self control. Hence, there is a need for parents, child psychologists, paediatrics as well as school management to play a pro-active role in extending the time spend on play i.e. simply free play in order to produce effects such as cohesion, harmony and well-being among children.

People concerned with educational matters do not consider theories as ends in themselves but as means to achieve ends (Ellis, 1990). This paper is the outcome of a study conducted according to Gardner (1983, 1993, 2005)’s Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory. The objective, however, is to coordinate classroom activities with language students’ intelligences in order to assist students cope with the limitations associated with the learning context and for them to have better achievements. To do this, a validated modified version of Silver and Strong (1998)’s MI Indicator has been employed and 119 university students have been subjected to MI analysis. The results gained as the outcome of factor analysis, descriptive statitics, T-test and correlation furnished a pool of information to draw on in order to employ effective learning activities.

Worldwide, English is being recognized as a world language. Thus, the need for learning this language keeps being one of the major requirements expected from learners at all levels of study. Many people believe that the earlier children start learning it, the better they will perform. As such, there has been a growing push to introduce this language to children in primary school classrooms. The underlying assumption, held by many, is that learners will be more successful if they begin studying English at an early age. As it is the case in many countries where early start to English language teaching and learning has become a phenomenon over the past decades with a high enthusiasm for ‘the younger the better’, Tunisia is no exception in this regard. In fact, the process of promoting English has always been undeniable, resulting in its introduction as a second, additional or sometimes distinctively foreign language with an ultimate goal of gaining wider access to science, technology and global trade. The present paper sets out to clarify the situation of teaching English to young learners in Tunisian primary schools as one manifestation of a whole strategy of reform and innovation targeting the educational system in Tunisia, and to explore some pedagogical concerns associated with this experience in terms of teachers’ professional qualifications necessary to meet the requirements of the reforms.

To examine the relationship between time management with staff and manager burnout in the Department of Youth and Sports in Alborz province. For this purpose using descriptive – correlation method 171 people from the staff and managers in the Departments of Youth and Sports in Alborz province were investigated and questionnaires were distributed among them, from among whom 150 people perfectly completed and returned the questionnaires. To gather data, standardized questionnaire of Makan time management and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were used. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used, which consisted of Pearson correlation test, simple regression, Multivariate regression and independent t-test. The findings from the results showed that the three dimensions of job burnout among the staff in the Department of Youth And Sports in Alborz province were low and their job burnout could be ranked as low. It was also found that only two subscales of operational planning and prioritization of objectives and activities had a significant negative relationship with job burnout. The regression analysis also showed that time management subscales explain 37% of the burnout changes. Inverse significant relationship only exists between the feeling of lack of personal efficiency with time management while no significant relationship was observed between emotional atrophy and de-characterization with time management and that managers suffered less job burnout compared with other staff.

Performance of students in MCQ examination depends on the attention span of students. Students’ understanding on test item depends on their focus time. Small attention span means students will attempt fewer item of test tools as they will face problem is understanding them. It has been found that attention of students is best at the start of the MCQ test and minimum towards the last items of the test tool. It has been found that there are refocus peaks in regular interval, where students regains their focus during MCQ test. It has been also found that pattern of attention span and refocus time doesn’t depend on difficulty level of test tool.

The inability of the pupils to read and comprehend in English language effectively remains a challenge to learners of English as a second language particularly at primary school level. This calls for early intervention in teaching through use of instructional materials that enhance high levels of retention. The purpose of this paper therefore was to establish the extent to which the instructional materials are available for use in the teaching of English reading comprehension skills in public primary schools. The Research Design used was descriptive survey design. 8 public primary schools were selected through purposive sampling. A total 16 teachers participated in the study. Information was collected using questionnaires and classroom observation checklist. Findings reveal that English language course books were the main resources available in the classroom in most schools with 14 out of 16 teachers indicating that they were available and adequate. This study suggests that the government should increase Free Primary Education Funding allocations to allow schools purchase a variety of teaching resources other than course books.

Training is a vital in crystallizing acceptable technological classroom practices. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to discover the perceptions of Indigenous Amerindian preservice teachers about the adoption of digital technology in the classroom. Rogers’s diffusion of innovation theory and David and Venkatesh technology of acceptance model served as theoretical precepts to understand indigenous Amerindian preservice teachers’ perceptions about the use of digital technology, perceived barriers, and the coping and adopting mechanism throughout their pedagogical practices. Ten indigenous Amerindian preservice teachers participated in this qualitative study. Semistructured, interviews were the primary data collection tool. Open coding was used to generate themes, and analyzed emergent coding. The findings of this indicated that the rate of adoption of digital technology could accelerate if (a) training is strategic, (b) reduction of institutional barriers, and (c) professional practices are aligned for educational growth. Indigenous Amerindian preservice teachers may be served well to acquire the skills and overcome the technological barriers to better prepare learners beyond the classroom. Even though internet access would facilitate indigenous Amerindians in Guyana to develop technology literacy skills and access educational resources, some preservice teachers have a low rate of technology adoption in the classroom. This study may contribute to knowledge to the field of digital technology and furthers understanding of pedagogical practices. The findings may contribute to positive social change in that professional development centers can improve skills that provide flexible learning for IAPT to integrate digital technology beyond the classroom. and serve as a catalyst to promote growth by capacity building.

It is a reality that teachers need motivation to perform, which would only be possible through retaining them. This study is conducted to understand the major factors which affect the retention of teachers in management institutions in Bengaluru and ways to convert that into Professional, Academic and Co-curricular performance. The data was collected from 261 teachers coming under Bangalore University through a structured questionnaire. Initially ten factors of retention were considered and deduced to three factors using factor analysis. It was found that Effective Leadership, Empowerment and Work Environment are the major factors of retention. Effective leadership was also found to impact Professional, Academic and Co-curricular Performance of teachers.

The purpose of this study is to find out whether Senior High school teachers integrate assessment in the teaching and learning of Mathematics. Acquisition of Scientific and Mathematical knowledge is based on effective use of assessing students’ learning outcome. Therefore, there simply cannot be any meaningful learning of mathematics without using assessment. In this study Assessment Practices means what teachers use assessment to do in the teaching learning of Mathematics. A sample of 160 teachers in two districts in the Central Region were used. This comprised of 92 Beginning and 68 Experienced teachers. Questionnaire was the main research instruments used in this study. The questionnaire was administered to 160 mathematics teachers in the two districts in the Central Region of Ghana. The design used in this study is a cross-sectional survey. Data collected from the respondents were analysed using frequencies, percentages means and standard deviations. It was found out that majority (136 out of 160) of the Senior High School mathematics teachers do not frequently integrate assessment in the teaching and learning of mathematics. They rather see assessment as an added on activity which mainly comes at the end of the teaching learning process. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Senior High School mathematics teachers be equipped to carry out assessment practices that will enhance students learning in mathematics.