Classroom Lessons Research Articles

Pre-Service Teachers Learning to Teach English to Very Young Learners in Macau: Do Beliefs Trump Practice?

The global importance of English and therefore the teaching of the English language has made the English language curriculum an integral part of all levels of teacher education, including early childhood education. The purpose of this study was to first explore the beliefs about the teaching of English to very young learners held by pre-service pre-primary teachers in Macau and then to see whether these beliefs were reflected in their microteaching. Qualitative content analysis performed on the written reflections and transcriptions of the microteaching videos of 75 pre-service pre-primary teachers found that their beliefs about classroom practices, lesson planning, and English as a foreign language (EFL) learners and learning were the most predominant beliefs exhibited in their reflections and were evidenced in their microteaching. Less predominant, but still salient, were their beliefs about the goals of language learning, assessment, teaching, pedagogical knowledge, and content. No observable practices were found regarding the pre-service teachers’ beliefs about the role of teaching, learning to teach, microteaching, the self, the subject, hearsay, self-assessment, and schooling. The current study found that with only limited exposure to EFL teaching methodology from a single course, the pre-service pre-primary teachers were able to implement some of their beliefs about several important aspects of teaching English to very young learners.

Gamification elements and online resources for teaching english lexics to future engineers at technical university

The paper is devoted to gamification as one of the leading trends in all branches of human activity, including education. A modern young professional should have a formed foreign language communicative competence to perform professional duties in the most effective way. In addition, knowledge of a foreign language contributes to the harmonious development of the individual and provides a basis for further achievements. The aim of this paper is to define the concept of gamification in educational discourse, to identify its key characteristics, as well as the differences from the concept of game. In the practical part of the paper, the authors made an attempt to determine the effectiveness of gamification and online sources for teaching English vocabulary to engineering students. In addition, a list of specific online resources that can be used in the classroom is given. This research was carried out using theoretical and practical methods. The theoretical methods are the analysis of the Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Education and other regulatory documents, regulating the learning process at the university, as well as reviewing and systematizing the theoretical and practical works of researchers in this area. The results of the practical part of the research were obtained through pedagogical observation, questionnaires, testing and experiment, as well as through a frontal conversation and an individual interview. The research results can be applied in teaching English to bachelor students of all technical areas of training, as part of a refreshment course for undergraduates of non-linguistic specialties. In addition, it should be noted that the use of gamification is possible both in classroom lessons and in the independent work of students.

Self-repair in EFL learners’ speech in two contrasting institutional school settings in China: An activity theory informed analysis

This article uses activity theory to consider how L2 learners' self-repair behaviour takes shape in their situated learning contexts. It compares and investigates EFL learners from two secondary schools in China that differed in their L2 pedagogical systems and overall educational cultures: a mainstream public school and a private school that provides an international curriculum. Data from classroom interactions, lesson observations and interviews with teachers and students were triangulated. Analysis of data reveals that tension or affordance could arise out of the interaction within or between different constituents of an activity system of a school setting. This exerts further mediating influences on L2 learners' self-repair behaviour, including the frequencies, underlying problems, strategies used and changes incurred. This paper concludes by suggesting that EFL practitioners should be more mindful of students’ self-repair features in order to reflect on possible sources of tension that can stem from different elements of an activity system, to consider potential forms of conflict resolution, and to create an environment that is conducive for the creation of affordances for learning. Further research using activity theoretical reconceptualization and the concept of expansive learning is called for.

Investigation of a Limited but Explosive COVID-19 Outbreak in a German Secondary School.

The role of schools as a source of infection and driver in the coronavirus-pandemic has been controversial and is still not completely clarified. To prevent harm and disadvantages for children and adolescents, but also adults, detailed data on school outbreaks is needed, especially when talking about open schools employing evidence-based safety concepts. Here, we investigated the first significant COVID-19 school outbreak in Hamburg, Germany, after the re-opening of schools in 2020. Using clinical, laboratory, and contact data and spatial measures for epidemiological and environmental studies combined with whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis, we examined the causes and the course of the secondary school outbreak. The potential index case was identified by epidemiological tracking and the lessons in classrooms with presumably high virus spreading rates and further infection chains in the setting. Sequence analysis of samples detected one sample of a different virus lineage and 25 virus genomes with almost identical sequences, of which 21 showed 100% similarity. Most infections occurred in connection with two lesson units of the primary case. Likely, 31 students (12–14 years old), two staff members, and three family members were infected in the school or the typical household. Sequence analysis revealed an outbreak cluster with a single source that was epidemiologically identified as a member of the educational staff. In lesson units, two superspreading events of varying degrees with airborne transmission took place. These were influenced by several parameters including the exposure times, the use of respiratory masks while speaking and spatial or structural conditions at that time.

Lesson Experiment Cycles: Examining Factors that Affect Prospective Teachers’ Learning of Area Measurement

For teachers to provide students with meaningful instruction in area measurement, teachers need robust understandings of area. Here, I describe two cycles of a lesson experiment used to investigate prospective teachers’ understandings of area units in an undergraduate mathematics class. For each cycle, I collected and analyzed the prospective teachers’ written work and videotaped class discussions. The first cycle yielded a learning trajectory for helping prospective teachers better understand area units, which led to more teachers attaining the lesson goals in the second cycle. The paper articulates these classroom lessons and the lesson experiment process for fellow mathematics instructors and teacher educators.

Aula prática sobre compostagem no ensino remoto emergencial: um relato de experiência

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 made social isolation necessary. Therefore classroom lessons were canceled and the emergency remote teaching was started. In this scenario practical laboratory classes were suspended, in many cases due to the difficulty of carrying them out at a distance. We are aware of the importance that practical classes have for effective learning, where students are able to visualize the phenomena in a concrete way and relate them to the reality in which they are inserted. The present work aimed to report the experience of teaching an online practical class on composting, for the 1st year class of an integrated technical course in Agriculture. The subject in question provides the students with a practical understanding of the importance of recycling organic wastes, as well as promoting effective environmental education in the high school context. For this an introductory class on the subject was given and then a class, showing the necessary steps to make a compost bin. The composting experiment was carried out by students participating at the Pedagogical Residency Program, CAPES. The participation of students and interest in the topic were observed, however many students were not present, due to technological problems or the need to work. This made it impossible to analyze the practice with the whole class, and highlighted some problems generated by the pandemic in education. It was concluded that the practical class on composting contributed significantly to teacher training.

Development and Validation of the School Counselor Classroom Management Inventory

School counseling classroom lessons provide all K–12 students with Tier 1 preventive supports. Educators use classroom management strategies to best deliver classroom lesson content to K–12 students, although the existing literature for school counselors in particular is sparse (e.g., Goodman-Scott, 2019; Runyan et al., 2019). We describe the creation and validation of the first known assessment on school counseling classroom management: the School Counseling Classroom Management Inventory, resulting in a five-factor model. Our discussion includes strategies for school counselors at the preservice, practicing, district, and counselor education levels to best use this inventory to serve students in K–12 schools.

School Virus Infection Simulator for customizing school schedules during COVID-19

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic raged worldwide, schools strived to provide consistent education to their students. In such situations, schools require customized schedules that can address the health concerns and safety of the students to safely reopen and remain open. School schedules can be customized in many ways, and different approaches’ impact on education and effectiveness in reducing infectious risks are different. To address this issue, we developed the School Virus Infection Simulation-Model (SVISM) for teachers and education policymakers. By taking into account the students’ lesson schedules, classroom volume, air circulation rates in the classrooms, and infectability of the students, SVISM simulates the spread of infection at a school. We demonstrate the impact of several school schedules in self-contained and departmentalized classrooms and evaluate them in terms of the maximum number of students infected simultaneously, and the percentage of face-to-face lessons. The results show that the impact of increasing the classroom ventilation rate is not as stable as that of customizing school schedules. In addition, school schedules can differently impact the maximum number of students infected simultaneously, depending on whether classrooms are self-contained or departmentalized. We found that the maximum number of students infected simultaneously under a certain schedule with 50 percentage of face-to-face lessons in self-contained classrooms is higher than the maximum number of students infected simultaneously having schedules with a higher percentage of face-to-face lessons; this phenomenon was not found in departmentalized classrooms. These results show that the SVISM can help teachers and education policymakers plan school schedules appropriately to reduce the maximum number of students infected simultaneously, while also maintaining a certain rate of face-to-face lessons.

Vanučionička nastava prirode i društva

The paper offers a critical analysis of the basic characteristics, as well as didactic-methodological values and shortcomings of the out of the classroom lessons of Science and Social Studies. The goal of the analysis is to discover the possibilities that this type of teaching and learning provides in the operationalization of the goals and outcomes of the teaching content of this school subject and other teaching content, especially in terms of two types of classroom teaching: school in nature and ambiental teaching. Although these are two different types of educational work, both school in nature and ambiental teaching, if well-planned and professionally implemented, offer numerous opportunities in all phases of the teaching process. The ultimate goal is the mental engagement of students as an indicator of quality teaching.

Factors Affecting Learners’ Participation through the Integration of Padlet in a Tertiary ESL Classroom

Learners’ participation in the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom is one of the factors supporting teaching and learning sessions in the classroom. Learners’ participation, involvement and interaction are the most vital element in creating a conducive classroom, particularly for tertiary learners. In line with the usage of teaching resources in this digital age, the implementation of technology in a classroom gives a positive impact that can assist with the participation of learners in a classroom. Hence, the purpose of this study is to identify factors affecting learners’ participation in using Padlet for learning ESL and their perception of the benefits and challenges of using Padlet in enhancing English language learning. A questionnaire was distributed to 100 ESL tertiary learners in one of the private colleges based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The data were collected using questionnaires through google form and then analysed using descriptive statistical analysis. According to the findings, it was indicated that the factors of motivation, learning engagement and usefulness influenced learners to participate in ESL classroom lessons and activities. Similarly, the findings showed a positive view on the perception of the participants in using Padlet as a learning tool in the ESL classroom.

ORGANIZING AND CONDUCTING FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES USING THE DIGITAL POTENTIAL OF THE ТECHNICAL UNIVERSITY (FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF TEACHING GERMAN DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC)

Statement of the problem. Nowadays, "digital media" is not just a term in everyday life, it is a common phenomenon. In connection with the emerging problem of combating coronavirus, there is a need to formulate new requirements for the educational design of higher education and/or make appropriate changes to them. Digital technologies provide the potential, on the one hand, to provide new ways of learning and support learning processes, and on the other hand, to prepare students for life and work in a "digitized" world. Consequently, teachers also need new competency profiles in order to reflect and use digital opportunities and digital tools in a timely manner. The article analyzes the information openness of universities in accordance with the requirements of the current legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of education. The organization of the educational activities of universities and the ensuring of the access of students and research and teaching staff to the information and educational resources are considered. The stages of developing the digital learning blocks within the framework of the university training courses are defined. The results of the research. Using the example of teaching the German language at a technical university, the functional strategies have been studied when planning and conducting distance and classroom classes. Conclusions obtained. When planning the classes it is necessary to consistently divide the individual competencies into distance and classroom lessons. Here, the starting point is a model in which students switch themselves between the distance and classroom studies in longer phases, such as weekly lessons.

The Effect of Cognitive Acceleration Programme on Critical Thinking of Science Students at Secondary Level

Abstract
 This study was conducted to determine the effect of Cognitive Acceleration Programme on the critical thinking skills of 9th graders. The posttest only non-equivalent control group design was used. Two sections of class 9th were selected conveniently for experimentation. There were 80 participants (girls) in the experiment. There were 30 intervention lessons in the experimental classrooms. The posttest was designed based on Cornell Critical thinking test. Test was validated by experts from the Faculty of Education, Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad. The data were analyzed by the SPSS. The independent sample t-statistics were applied for control and experimental groups separately. The t-value for the comparison of performance of experimental and control group in sub-skills of critical thinking i.e., inference, deduction, assumption, interpretation, and argumentation showed significant difference. The results showed that critical thinking skills can be developed significantly through cognitive acceleration programme. So, the thinking science activities were recommended to science educators to incorporate into the classroom to accelerate critical thinking of students.
 Keywords: Cognitive Acceleration, Critical Thinking, Inference, Deduction, Assumption, Interpretation, Argumentation

Implementing task-based teacher training: Narratives from language classrooms

This paper aims to document the impact of task-based teacher training on the classroom teaching of two native-speaker English Teaching Assistants (ETAs). The data are drawn from a 30-hour teacher training course offered to the ETAs who taught in two different government schools in Hyderabad, India, as part of the United States India Education Foundation’s Fulbright Fellowship Programme. The training offered to the ETAs consisted of eight modules: teaching vocabulary and grammar, developing listening, speaking, reading and writing and classroom management and lesson planning. Training was offered through tasks, responses to prompts, and case studies. It also included analysis of critical moments that emerged from the everyday teaching of the ETAs. Constructs such as teacher decision-making (Borg, 2006), critical reflection (East, 2014) and pre-service teacher mentoring (Gardiner 2017) have been used to build the theoretical support for the study. A Challenge-Input-Implementation (CII) model is developed to interpret and analyze the data. The data are gathered from three tools: a) reflective journals of ETAs which recorded pertinent issues that emerged from their everyday teaching and possible solutions to these; b) trainer’s field notes that identified critical areas from lesson observation and post-observation conferences; and c) cognitive information sheet which documents ETAs perceptions of how their learning from the training impacted their teaching and what they would like to explore further in their future teaching careers. Findings revealed areas where trainees needed more support (e.g., class control), as well as the strengths that they have developed in instruction delivery (e.g., the ability to make the class interactive).

THE DEVELOPMENT OF KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE APPLYING FLIPPED CLASSROOM CONCEPT IN COVID-19 SITUATION


 This research was collaboratively conducted with Indonesian students aimed to 1) develop and evaluate the efficiency of Flipped Classroom management, 2) investigate the efficiency of Flipped Classroom management, 3) Study the positive attitude of kindergarten students applying flipped classroom concept and 4) Study the parents’ satisfaction. The target groups consisted of 17 kindergarten students learning by using Flipped Classroom lesson plans in Covid-19 situation. The Flipped Classroom lesson plans for teaching in Covid - 19 situation in the 1st semester of Academic year 2021 were used for teaching from June to October 2021. The research tools were Flipped Classroom lesson plans consisted of 4 plans for 4 weeks and assessment form. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, index of efficiency, effectiveness index and relative gain scores.
 The results of the research were as follows. 1) For the evaluation of the use of Flipped Classroom lesson plans for kindergarten 1 students, each of the lesson plans was average scored 3.7 – 4.3. Overall, the lesson plans were average scored at high level (x̄= 4.0, S.D.=0.93), the efficiency index (E1/E2) was 62.25/82.83 which was lower than the criteria. 2) The index of efficiency of Flipped Classroom lesson plans was 0.5454, and the students' improvement increased 54.54 percent. 3) The students’ attitude for learning with flipped classroom lesson plans was highly effective (x̄ =9.94, SD = 0.51) and 4) Parents’ satisfaction after using flipped classroom with kindergarten students was highly satisfying (x=2.32, SD = 0.66)

Learning “what it’s like to be someone else apart from yourself”: developing holistic empathy with process drama

ABSTRACT A small, but growing, number of studies explore the connections between process drama pedagogy and the development of empathy. In our view, empathy involves affective and cognitive processes of the heart and the mind. In this article, we report findings from a year-long New Zealand research project with four primary school teachers who integrated process drama pedagogy into their programmes. Through a relational lens, we analysed classroom lessons, teacher interviews, research group meetings, student focus group interviews and student writing samples. Three vignettes detail how process drama pedagogy fostered emotionally charged experiences within rich contexts. We argue process drama pedagogy developed students’ cognitive and affective processes, which fostered student capacity to explore diverse perspectives and develop holistic empathy.

MODERN APPROACHES TO TEACHING TELECOMMUNICATIONS DISCIPLINES

Background. The directions and methods of training telecommunications personnel are constantly evolving in accordance with the growing volume of information exchange in society. Telecommunications as a display of the means and methods of information transmission have come a long way from purely radio engineering systems to heterogeneous systems with a complex network infrastructure and intelligent methods of information processing. Accordingly, the approaches to the training of telecommunications personnel are also changing. If in the early 80s preference in training was given to radio technologies, now it is network and software technologies.
 Objective. The purpose of this work is to present the possibilities of increasing the efficiency of the educational process in standard and mixed modes, structuring subjects in accordance with the requirements of the modern labor market.
 Methods. The unpredictable deep essence and uncertainty of the information space of the professions for which higher education prepares students today leads to a change in the teaching paradigm. Methods and structuring of building the learning process with obtaining the maximum effect of the student's readiness for their practical activities are investigated.
 Results. Possible ways of implementation of new requirements for personnel training for the new paradigm of the unified industry "Information Technologies and Telecom" are presented; the main directions of the formation of the general structure of training of telecommunications personnel on the example of the educational program "Engineering and programming of infocommunications"; recommendations for the organization of the educational process in full-time and remote modes. It is shown that with the correct organization of the educational process, blended learning can improve the quality of learning, especially in the context of reducing the hours of "classroom lessons" by transferring part of the educational process to the online environment.
 Conclusions. University graduates constitute the potential foundation of today's specialist market. Nevertheless, the problem of their professional adaptation, at the moment, remains relevant. Therefore, the paper proposes to solve this problem using the presented multilateral approach.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING SKILLS OF PRIMARY 3 STUDENTS IN COVID-19 SITUATION THROUGH FLIPPED CLASSROOM CONCEPT INTEGRATING WITH CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH


 The English language has become a very crucial part of everyone's life. English communicative skill especially speaking skill is an important foundation for students to interact with others. Now that in the crisis of COVID-19 situation, face-to-face teaching is not available. As the result, the lack of speaking competency can lead to ineffective communication. The purposes of this study were (1.) to develop and verify the efficiency of the Flipped Classroom lesson plan for Primary 3 students (2.) to investigate the effectiveness of the Flipped Classroom lesson plan for Primary 3 students (3.) to study the result of student’s English-speaking skill after learning by Flipped Classroom Concept and to examine students’ satisfaction on flipped classroom teaching. A mixed research method was used, collecting data through various sources, including pre-and post-tests on speaking skills, a questionnaire (“Students’ satisfaction on learning by Flipped Classroom Concept”), the teacher’s in-class observations. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics for data analysis including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, average efficiency value, index of efficiency, and relative gain scores. The results of the research were as follows. 1) For the evaluation of the use of Flipped Classroom lesson plans for Primary 3 students, each of the lesson plans was averagely scored 4.44 – 4.50. Overall, the lesson plans were averagely scored at a high level (x̄= 4.46, S.D.= 0.89), the efficiency (E1/E2) was 82.74/84.3 which was higher than the preset criteria. 2) The index of efficiency of Flipped Classroom lesson plans was 0.57692, and the students' improvement increased 57.69 percent. 3) The students’ English-speaking skills analyzed from the relative gain scores of English-speaking skill development results showed that the percentage of pretest scores was 62.9 and the percentage of posttest score was 84.3, and the percentage of growth score was 62.14 of which was interpreted as high level. The results show that not only did students’ English-speaking skills were improved significantly but also the lesson was more engaging and active after the Flipped Classroom Concept was employed in their classroom. The findings of this study may benefit educators who are interested in applying technology in teaching English-speaking skills.

EFFECT OF APPLING FLIPPED CLASSROOM ON ENGLISH ACHIEVEMENT OF PRIMARY 5 STUDENTS IN COVID-19 SITUATION

This research was collaboratively conducted with Indonesian students and aimed to 1) develop and evaluate the efficiency of Flipped Classroom management, 2) investigate the efficiency of Flipped Classroom management, and 3) examine learning achievement in English of Primary 5 students at Ban Nonkokkha school in Covid-19 situation. The target groups consisted of 32 students learning by using Flipped Classroom lesson plans in Covid-19 situation. The Flipped Classroom lesson plan for teaching in Covid - 19 situation in semester 1 of Academic year 2021 were used to collect the data from June to October 2021. The research tools were Flipped Classroom lesson plans consisted of 12 plans for 12 hours, pretest and posttest. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics for data analysis including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, average efficiency value, index of efficiency, and relative gain scores. The results of the research were as follows. 1) For the evaluation of the use of Flipped Classroom lesson plans for Primary 5 students, each of the lesson plans was averagely scored 3.67 – 4.33. Overall, the lesson plans were averagely scored at high level (x̄= 4.25, S.D.=0.60), the efficiency (E1/E2) was 83.03/78.54 which was higher than the preset criteria. 2) The index of efficiency of Flipped Classroom lesson plans was 0.6741, and the students' improvement increased 67.41 percent. 3) The students' learning achievement analysed from the relative gain scores of learning achievement results showed that the percentage of pretest scores was 34.17 whereas the percentage of posttest score was 78.54, and the percentage of growth score was 67.34 of which was interpreted as high level. When classifying based on the criteria, it was found that there were 7 students scored very high growth, 21 students’ high growth, and 4 students scored moderate growth.

Dydaktyka polonistyczna online w czasach kwarantanny

In the paper I discuss the most important trends observed in teaching the Polish language in online TV lessons during the quarantine period. Polish lessons during the Covid-19 pandemic are an important source of knowledge about methodological and didactic trends in Polish schools. They enable the study of contemporary educational habits, as well as ways of their mediatization. Remote education engages teachers and students differently than classroom lessons. I am askingif it creates new didactic perspectives or if it turns out to be just a prosthesis of a traditionally functioning school. I make an analytical review of online Polish language lessons for secondary schools of April, May and June 2020. I note that during the pandemic, an attractive and functional approach to distance learning was not developed, but one methodological tendency was highlighted, namely presentismand providing information.

Teaching for Emergent Disciplinary Drawing in Science? Comparing Teachers’ and Children’s Ways of Representing Science Content in Early Childhood Classrooms

AbstractThis classroom-based study aims to contribute knowledge about children’s opportunities to make use of drawing to make meaning in science. Employing a social semiotic approach to drawing, we examine what ways of representing science content that are (1) made available by the teacher and (2) adopted in children’s drawings. We analysed observation data from 11 science lessons in early childhood classrooms (children aged 3 to 8 years), including the drawings that children made during those lessons (129 drawings in total). Our findings suggest that the semiotic resources that teachers provide have a large impact on how children represent science content in their drawings. Moreover, we interpret that teachers strive to support children’s ‘emergent disciplinary drawing’ in science, since they predominantly provided semiotic resources where the science content was generalised and decontextualised. Finally, we propose that ‘emergent disciplinary drawing’ is incorporated as an element of science pedagogy in ECE practice and ECE teacher education.