Alternative Teaching Practices Research Articles

Experiences of teachers and students on school closures and its consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nyarugusu refugee camp, Tanzania.

Tanzania has experienced several waves of COVID-19 since it was first detected in the country. During the first wave, Tanzania took several measures to prevent wider virus transmission with school closures being one of them. All areas and institutions were targeted, including the refugee camps in Kigoma region. Despite the abundant evidence generated in relation to the effects of the pandemic and associated school closures globally, there has been a paucity of literature exploring the experiences of teachers and students in humanitarian settings. We conducted a qualitative study to explore COVID-19 related school closures in Nyarugusu refugee camp. We aimed to describe teachers' and students' experiences and perceived consequences of school closures. In-depth interviews with teachers and students were conducted in September 2020 in Burundian and Congolese schools in the context of a cluster randomised trial of EmpaTeach, a school-based violence prevention intervention. A total of 44 individuals (29 teachers and 15 students) were interviewed. A phenomenological theoretical framework was used to guide the content analysis. Findings indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic was generally seen as frightening by refugees. Study participants understood the importance of school closures to prevent transmission of the virus, but various negative consequences were reported by both teachers and students. These included perceived mental health difficulties such as stress, depression and anxiety associated with the worry of infection, idleness, and disruption of education. Participants also perceived an increase in occurrences of early marriages and unplanned pregnancies, which they thought contributed to increased school dropout. Participants identified the main causes of such outcomes as a lack of parental supervision, children's lack of restraint and poor character, and a lack of alternative teaching practices (such as online or remote learning) to keep the students busy while at home. Children were held accountable for their faults with little support from the adults. Our findings suggest that there is an urgent need to strengthen child protection programming to support children and their communities during emergencies and provides protective environments such as school and education. There is a critical need to develop preparedness plans for future pandemics to support child safety, academic development and wellbeing.

Developing an alternative curriculum for mathematics teaching in a detention faculty adopting an ethnomathematics perspective

In Greece, as more or less all over the world, the curriculum is a matter of central authority and teachers can only apply it in their classrooms, without any connection to the whole curriculum development process. Students’ population in prison schools, and especially young prisoners, often show school denial, poor performance, academic inadequacy, and failure, leading to low self-esteem (Mallett, 2014). Common barriers to participation are lack of motivation —often because of the absence of any means for meaning-making and identity formation in prison— and previous negative education experiences (Liebling, 2011) especially in secondary school when they frequently begin to truant. Working, as teacher, for long time in the secondary school of a youth detention center in Greece, I faced the challenge to reconsider the formal curriculum. Following an ethnomathematics perspective, an alternative curriculum is developing aiming to meet young prisoners’ needs and expectations as a matter of social justice, taking into consideration the need of techniques and strategies that can help to untangle and respond to above structures as part of ongoing research, policy, and practice. The young detainees following the official curriculum applied in the mainstream classes are faced with various problems, such as lack of appropriate schoolbooks, the need to motivate and successfully address educational, psychological and environmental difficulties, and the need for developing a framework for alternative teaching practices and materials based on a multicultural education with the teaching and learning of mathematics, as is the case in the field of ethnomathematics is dictated.

University Educators’ Professional Learning in a PBL Pedagogical Development Programme

This study explored university teachers’ professional learning when participating in a pedagogical development (PD) programme. The PD programme, entitled the Aalborg Certificate on Basics of PBL and Curriculum Change, had a workload of 150 hours and ran for four months, involving 23 teachers from Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá, Colombia). The programme comprised four modules, delivered in a blended mode, and followed a problem- and project-based learning (PBL) approach, as well as being based on PBL principles. This investigation conceptualizes professional learning from the complex learning theory perspective, describing it as a complex dynamic system involving knowledge, motivations, values, attitudes, and beliefs dependent on social and individual contextual factors, and how these can lead to the implementation of alternative teaching practices in classroom (e.g., PBL). Building on that, this work addresses the following research questions: (1) What knowledge and beliefs have the PD programme participants developed about PBL? (2) In which ways do the developed knowledge and beliefs impact participants’ change towards PBL? This analysis takes a qualitative approach and uses multiple sources of data, namely participants’ portfolios and reflection essays, as well as a qualitative survey. The results show the participants developed a deep understanding of PBL principles and practices by experiencing them through the PD programme, and that reflective practice enables continuous professional learning and development. Additionally, their perceived challenges were related to time, as well as institutional support and infrastructures, in addition to student and teacher training.

Comparison of Learning Facilitated by Traditional and Virtual Case Studies for Teaching the Nursing Approach to Care

Aim: The objective of this study is to investigate the adoption of these two strategies for teaching the steps of the care process to Moroccan nursing students. We attempt to answer the following questions: What is the preference of nursing students between traditional case studies and virtual case studies? What are their suggestions for improving teaching practices? According to their point of view, which of the teaching strategies is more conducive to the appropriation of knowledge and the development of skills related to the care process? Background: Case-based learning has long been one of the active teaching strategies widely used by nursing educators. However, the constraints inherent to traditional case study learning have prompted educators to seek alternative teaching practices. Today, virtual case studies are recognised as one of the most recommended and innovative teaching approaches to address these constraints in the nursing context. Objective: the present study aims to explore students' perceptions of traditional case studies and virtual case studies as facilitated learning methods for teaching the nursing process. Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey at the Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques Casablanca in 2021 among first-year polyvalent nursing students. The course ‘Conceptualization and Care Planning’ was taught based on these two different pedagogies. Results: Comparing the means via a t-test of the paired samples showed that there was a significant difference for all items (p-value<0.005) between learning facilitated by traditional case studies and virtual case studies. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that virtual case studies are an innovative and well-received educational tool for nursing students compared to traditional case studies.

Teaching local history with the use of De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, brainstorming; and role play in primary school, multicultural classes- an example of application in Greek school

Τhis study presents an example of an intercultural teaching practice of cultivating of critical thinking and intercultural/ historical literacy in the context of local history learning. The practice was created by the author in the framework of the European eTwinning project “The young time travelers of history” (which was awarded with the Greek National Quality Label and the European one) and was presented as an example of good practice in teacher seminars at the local level. This practice combines a simplified form of De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats with role-playing and brainstorming and emerged from the study of the social-historical background of a primary school multicultural class in which was implemented. Finally, this specific study aims to be an example for the creation of other innovative, alternative teaching practices in local history learning.

Students' perspectives of digital transformation of higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina

AbstractSince the COVID‐19 pandemic prompted numerous global changes, educational institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina were forced to adapt their educational approaches, with schools and universities implementing alternative teaching and learning practices. Thus, this study aimed to investigate students' perspectives on the digital transformation of higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including their preferences for hybrid, online, or face‐to‐face teaching models, their internet habits and readiness for e‐learning, their attitudes and satisfaction with online learning, and their computer anxiety. The research sample consisted of 330 students studying in a variety of fields and academic years at both public and private universities. The data was gathered via an online questionnaire. A multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed a significant effect of students' field of study, year of study, and university status on their preferences for hybrid, online, and face‐to‐face classes. However, the MANOVA test revealed that the aforementioned factors have an insignificant effect on students' internet habits and readiness for e‐learning, attitudes and satisfaction with online learning, and computer anxiety, all of which have an insignificant impact on student's academic achievement as determined by standard multiple regression analyses. Additionally, multivariate analysis revealed that students' preferences for hybrid, online, and face‐to‐face classes have a significant influence on their internet habits and readiness for e‐learning, attitudes, and satisfaction with online learning, and computer anxiety. The findings of this study may aid in a better understanding of tertiary education's digital transformation and the improvement of educational policy, curricula, and instructional and learning strategies.

How Media Literacy Education through Multimedia Tools Can Empower Learners with Autism

The United Nations recognize and celebrate diversity and promote the rights and welfare of Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) people. Ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2008 reaffirmed the fundamental principle of universal human rights. UNCRPD provides an effective tool to promote an inclusive and caring local and global society and ensure that the autism community leads full and meaningful lives. Besides, the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 Quality Education aims to enable upward socioeconomic mobility and poverty eradication through education for all. Since there is increasing interest in international opportunities and the promotion of scholarship as the world shrinks and creates new challenges and opportunities, this study aims to engage in the conversation related to the education of people with autism locally and globally. ASD is a neurological condition, but communication, social, and functional challenges are primarily due to an impoverished environment in all realms of life. This paper advances ways ASD learners can benefit from media literacy education (MLE). It shares how MLE can lead to new, alternative, and inclusive teaching practices that empower ASD learners.

Distance mathematics teaching in Flanders, Germany, and the Netherlands during COVID-19 lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic has confronted mathematics teachers with the challenge of developing alternative teaching practices—in many cases at a distance through digital technology—because schools were closed. To investigate what distance practices in secondary mathematics education have emerged and how teachers experienced them, we set out online questionnaires in Flanders—the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium—, Germany, and the Netherlands. The questionnaire focused on teaching practices, teacher beliefs, didactics, and assessment. Data consisted of completed questionnaires by 1719 mathematics teachers. Results show that the use of video conferencing tools increased massively, while the use of mathematics-specific tools that teachers used before the lockdown reduced substantially. Further findings are that teachers' confidence in using digital technologies increased remarkably during the lockdown and that their experiences and beliefs only marginally impacted their distance learning practices. Also, we observed some differences between the three countries that might be explained by differences in educational policies and in technological facilities and support. For future research, it would be relevant to investigate long-term changes in teachers’ practices, as well as students’ views and experiences related to the teacher’s practices.

English Instructors’ Experiences of Emergency Remote Teaching in Medical Universities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Background: English instructors have faced numerous challenges following the COVID-19 outbreak and the sudden shift from inperson to online instruction. This vogue of alternative teaching practices is presently open to rigorous scrutiny. The current study attempted to shed light on the challenges facing the instructors of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at medical universities, and their strategies in handling emergency remote teaching during the pandemic. Methods: A qualitative content analysis was conducted to gather data from self-reflections and semi-structured interviews with 52 EAP instructors working at different Iranian medical universities in the spring and summer of 2020. The contents of the reflections and interviews were coded by the researchers based on the procedures of sequential explanatory strategy, and the major themes were extracted and categorized. Results: The findings point to the lack of required facilities and infrastructure, inadequate technological literacy, and poor internet quality as the major challenges facing the instructors. It was also revealed that the teachers viewed the enhancement of technological literacy and provision of required facilities as the main priorities in addressing the challenges. Conclusion: It was found that the EAP instructors had different perceptions of emergency remote teaching and potential solutions to the associated challenges. The findings offer practical recommendations for enhancing English proficiency among medical students. The results also highlight the necessity of offering EAP teacher training courses focused on developing the technological literacy of the instructors. To continue this line of research, a more in-depth study of students’ perceptions and experiences of online EAP classes is recommended.

The impact of student timetables and commuting on student satisfaction

Widening participation has encouraged students from a diverse range of backgrounds into university with more students commuting (many being Black and Minority Ethnic, BME). Since timetabling forms a major way by which students identify and interact with their learning environment understanding its influence is important. This project aimed to identify the experiences of students with their timetables using questionnaires and focus groups to determine perceptions and relationship to travel to university by ethnicity, gender, age and level of study. Five hundred and fifty students participated across levels 4 to 6 at Kingston University. There was a strong negative correlation between travel time and ‘the timetable works efficiently for me’ (Question 16, National Student Survey). Students from ethnic backgrounds on average were found to travel double the distances of their White counterparts to get to university. In addition, timetable satisfaction was also reflected in the modes of transport used and in perceptions of expected timetabled hours (i.e., whether too many or too few hours scheduled) based on travel times. We identified a number of inclusive priorities to help improve the timetable for student groups including having later starts to days and one guaranteed day free per week. In addition, the COVID-19 world has temporarily reduced the need for most students to commute and can be regarded as a positive disruptor for future commuting students. Certainly, it will be important to find a new balance in applying the identified priorities and the realised alternative COVID-19 teaching practices for creating more inclusive, flexible and blended learning environments to achieve the ultimate student-centred timetable.

Instructional Materials and Alternative Teaching Practices in Physical Education

In physical education (PE) learning, one of the main problems faced by PE teachers is the lack of facilities and equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to find a better solution to solve this problem. This study used a descriptive evaluative and comparative research design to determine the level of achievement of the context, input, process, and product evaluation components in the learning program. This research was conducted in 3 selected schools in the Maguindanao Division-1, Philippines. The results show that books are used "widely" by sports teachers and journals are used for printed materials while electronic journals are never used for non-print references. Furthermore, overhead projectors, fitness centers, lockers, kick pads, jumping pits, punching bags, megaphones, and signage are teaching materials that have never been used in the delivery of lessons by sports teachers, local material development and alternative games are rarely used by PE teachers. Sports teachers invite alumni to help with sporting activities, and they also tap old players to help in the basketball game even though they never use beeps but only whistle. The level of use of printed materials by schools differed significantly between schools. So are results with non-printed or electronic material. In addition, researchers suggest that schools provide additional and up-to-date sports books for teachers and students, and, schools should provide other teaching materials that will assist teachers in teaching in the classroom.

A study on faculty perspective towards alternative teaching practices (E-Learning — Blackboard) during COVID 19

Background/Objectives: The novel coronavirus causing COVID 19 has emerged at the end of 2019 as a threat to the health and wellbeing of millions of people within a few weeks of its outbreak. Globally, many institutions replace traditional teaching with online mode. A sudden transition of teaching has its merits and demerits. Keeping this in view, the present study is focused to assess the perception of the faculty Alternative teaching practices (ELearning– Blackboard) concerning COVID 19. Methods: A semi-structured survey questionnaire was used for data collection. The analysis was based on 42 faculties who had been working in selected colleges at Jizan province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Descriptive statistics are used to analyze the data.Findings: The findings of the study related to the faculty perspective were grouped into four categories. In the first category of analyzing perception of faculties towards the E-learning platform, it was found that all the faculties were using university platforms for E-learning. Due to a lack of previous experience nearly half of them experienced technical difficulties. In the second category, the perception of faculties about E-learning course delivery. It was mentioned that the student’s response was found less in the online class. It was further noted that online teaching was least effective for laboratory-based and clinical based courses. The third category emphasized E-learning difficulties experienced by faculties. The fourth category was the faculties’ perception of effective teaching mode. Majority of them disagreed to the statement that “Classroom teaching could be completely replaced by online teaching mode”.Novelty: While E-learning is on its pace in the field of education in the present generation. It may be a supplement for regular classroom teaching rather than a complete replacement, particularly practical oriented subjects. Keywords: COVID 19; E-Learning; traditional teaching; alternative teaching practices

Integration of Structures in Students’ Design solutions: A Tool for Assessment

Traditional teaching practices are often questioned over their failure to generate interest and profound understanding of structures among students that further affect its integration in design solutions. Alternative teaching practices though claim to be more effective, need a sound evaluation measured through assessment of the level of integration of structures in design solutions- the ultimate objective of such courses. This paper evaluates the integration of structures in design solutions of architecture students. The integration assessment framework used for evaluation is based on building systems approach across three dimensions of performance, physicality and visual. It has been developed after comparing four prior frameworks with a 4-point scale and customized to suit the context of the academic environment. The framework offers flexibility in its use for different technical knowledge levels for each successive year of Bachelor of architecture program. The expert opinion followed by testing on design samples from all the program years further refined the framework. The study was then scaled up to include students from first to fourth years for three architecture schools that have completely different institutional environment. The findings revealed that including structural resolution in a design studio mandate may result in higher resolution of structures in design solutions but it is the building typology and student interest that may result in higher visual integration of structures in design solutions. Furthermore, the institutional environment effects can be seen in the setting of studio mandates where architecture school in technical campus laid more emphasis on resolutions of structures and services when compared to other architecture schools

An Effective Approach to Teaching English to Science-Major Students in Science Universities: Hassan II University as a Case Study

This paper aims to shed light on the distinct challenges that Moroccan science-major postgraduates are facing, particularly at the end of their academic year, to publish their end-of-term projects in English. The article also uncovers certain weaknesses and misconceptions concerning the existing instructional methods. As an assistant professor with substantial experience teaching science-major students, a few alternative teaching practices will be discussed and recommended in the teaching of English in Moroccan universities, instead of the overused, traditional methods. In doing so, university students were interviewed and asked to rate some of what they thought were the best activities in English classes. As regards the research methodology, surveys and interviews were conducted first hand. The questionnaires were structured in advance with students who attend English classes. Through this instrument, data was collected on the students’ attitudes and their vision of the best practices in English classes, in particular when teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The students showed a great preference for English for Specific Purposes over general English lessons due to the scientific nature of their studies, hence jobs. Also, because these lessons are taught at university level, the participants expressed favorable views about debates and open discussions. These and other findings aim at enriching the literature on education at tertiary levels and on the field of ESP.

Astrochemistry as a Gateway to Teaching and Learning Threshold Concepts in Physical Chemistry

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of astrochemistry examples in teaching the potential threshold concepts (TCs) of physical chemistry that are contained in the recently published Physical Chemistry Anchoring Concepts Content Map (PChem-ACCM). The paper provides a brief overview of how selected astrochemical examples can be utilized to teach and learn suggested TCs that are commonly encountered in the three main overarching areas of physical chemistry curriculum, namely: chemical kinetics, quantum chemistry, and thermodynamics. Using astrochemical examples to decipher the abstract nature of the many fundamental physical chemistry concepts, which are usually accompanied by rigorous mathematical treatments, provides a rich ground in which to implement alternative teaching pedagogies and practices that can help the learner master the associated TCs.

Alternative education in Palestinian-Arab society in Israel: Rationale and characteristics

The past two decades have witnessed the emergence of alternative schools in Palestinian-Arab society in Israel. Drawing on data from interviews and observations at two prominent alternative schools, we examine the rationale for establishing alternative schools in Palestinian-Arab society in Israel and their characteristics. The analysis reveals that discontent with the state-mandated curriculum, the lack of autonomy, and the excessive focus on academic achievement in mainstream schools were the main reasons for establishing alternative schools. The analysis identified six major themes that distinguish these schools from mainstream schools: interpersonal relationships; alternative teaching practices; alternative subjects and extracurricular activities; strengthening students’ sense of Palestinian national and cultural identity; active parental engagement; and committed, motivated teachers. The findings are discussed in relation to mainstream schools in Palestinian-Arab society in Israel.

Impact of Flipped-Classroom Exercises on Large Organic Chemistry Classes

Event Abstract Back to Event Impact of Flipped-Classroom Exercises on Large Organic Chemistry Classes Dana Lashley1* and Daniel J. McNeil1 1 College of William & Mary, United States Flipped-Classroom exercises were tested on large organic chemistry classes at the College of William and Mary. It was hypothesized that students who engage with the flipped-classroom model would perform better on exams compared to a control group. This approach was repeated over 3 years with both Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 classes. Results showed that students taking part in the flipped-classroom exercise scored significantly better on topics perceived as more difficult such as Alkene Addition reactions or Aldol reaction. However there was no significant difference between the test group and the control group for the simpler topics of Electrophilic Aromatic Substitutions (benzene reactions). Acknowledgements College of William and Mary Chemistry Department Keywords: Organic Chemistry, Organic chemistry courses, Flipped (inverted) learning model (FLM), Chemical Education, Teaching, Alternative teaching practices, Large class pedagogy, Large classes, Chemistry Teaching and Learning, Pre-medical education, Inverted classroom, stem education Conference: National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) 45th Annual Conference , Orlando, Florida, United States, 17 Sep - 20 Sep, 2018. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Organic Chemistry Citation: Lashley D and McNeil DJ (2019). Impact of Flipped-Classroom Exercises on Large Organic Chemistry Classes. Front. Chem. Conference Abstract: National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) 45th Annual Conference . doi: 10.3389/conf.fchem.2018.01.00002 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 27 Sep 2018; Published Online: 17 Jan 2019. * Correspondence: Prof. Dana Lashley, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, United States, DLashley@wm.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Dana Lashley Daniel J McNeil Google Dana Lashley Daniel J McNeil Google Scholar Dana Lashley Daniel J McNeil PubMed Dana Lashley Daniel J McNeil Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Perceptions of Play

Playful and kinaesthetic learning approaches are used in numerous early years (birth to 5 years old) learning environments, however studies in HE STEM disciplines are uncommon. This study aimed to explore the use of Play-Doh in an undergraduate anatomy module as a method of enhancing engagement. 63 students attended the ‘kinaesthetic play' lecture, where students worked in teams to make a variety of epithelial cell types using Play-Doh. Before and after the activity, students were asked to ‘choose one word to describe how you feel'. Before the activity, 48.3% of responses were negative (E.g. confused, worried, childish). However, after the activity not a single negative response was recorded. 98% of students reported that they enjoyed the activity and 84% reported that the activity increased their understanding. This data suggests a utility for kinaesthetic playful practice in STEM teaching. Overcoming initial student perceptions towards alternative teaching practices is a challenge to be considered during session design.

University Pedagogy: A New Culture is Emerging in Greek Higher Education

The aim of this paper is to highlight University Pedagogy as a field that focuses on academics’ teaching role in Greek higher education. EU has recognized the need of improvement of the teaching skills of academics and urges the member states to recognize them as an important element of their professional profile. Only recently academics in Greece have launched the debate on innovative teaching and learning methods and practices. A Symposium that took place in 2016 and a significant empirical research are presented, because they are considered to mark the beginning of an emerging university culture, which incorporates the concern on teaching and learning excellence within higher education approaches in our country. The results of these initiatives indicate that critical self-reflection on teaching can lead to the transformation and to the adoption of alternative teaching practices, since the critically reflective process is a crucial point for the enhancement of an academic’s pedagogical, curricular and instructional knowledge.

Virtually No Effect? Different Uses of Classroom Computers and their Effect on Student Achievement

AbstractMost studies find little to no effect of classroom computers on student achievement. We suggest that this null effect may combine positive effects of computer uses without equivalently effective alternative traditional teaching practices and negative effects of uses that substitute more effective teaching practices. Our correlated random effects models exploit within‐student between‐subject variation in different computer uses in the international TIMSS test. We find positive effects of using computers to look up information and negative effects of using computers to practice skills, resulting in overall null effects. Effects are larger for students with high socioeconomic status and mostly confined to developed countries.