Current Teaching Practices Research Articles

Current pedagogical practices employed by Technical Vocational Education and Training college's mathematics lecturers

Current pedagogical practices employed by Technical Vocational Education and Training college's mathematics lecturers

Leveraging Educational Blogging to Assess the Impact of Collaboration on Knowledge Creation

The landscape of education has changed drastically over the past two decades. There has been an ongoing shift from traditional classroom teaching practices to cope with the changing circumstances and requirements of today’s learners. The catalysts for such advancements have been the rapid adoption and use of internet-based technologies, which have dramatically transformed both teaching and learning. One such advancement which has excellent potential to be utilized as an effective learning tool in higher education is blogs. Classroom blogging presents a unique opportunity to not only deliver a form of distance education, but also encourage collaboration and participation among learners. This study explores the potential of educational blogging in higher education as a supplement to the current pedagogical practices. More specifically, it aims to gauge from a learner’s perspective the perceived benefits blogs can provide in scenarios where traditional learning practices are not feasible as a consequence of individual convenience or other forms of restriction due to pandemics, and natural disasters. This study further presents an effective design for a blog highlighting some salient features which can enhance the effectiveness of blogs for the learners followed by a discussion, which serves to highlight the several benefits of classroom blogging and presents arguments to show how the integration of this innovative tool into the curriculum can result in enhanced experiential learning, and development of soft skills.

Has Demographic Revolution Come to a Halt? An Approximation to Successful Aging and the Need for Socio-Educational Action in the New Normal

In the recent years, there has been an increasing interest in how the aging process in integrated in current societies. The existing body of research on aging suggests that society must promote support for successful aging, which implies living more and living better. In this way, extensive research shows that older adults need to be engaged in social participation (Raymond and Grenier, 2015), and therefore, in recent years, older adult education has become a decisive part of the different policies applied to achieve successful aging. The purpose of this paper is to review the different ways in which society acts when facing aging, with special attention devoted to the Spanish situation. This study examines demographic revolution and the different implications that it poses for quality of live and successful aging. A revision of the main aging theories and recommendations to achieve successful aging are provided. Socio-educational actions linked to successful aging promotion are presented, highlighting some university programmes specifically designed for older adults. This lifelong learning scheme has the potential to revolutionize current educational practice to socially integrate older adults in postmodern societies.

Sustainable Practices in Pattern-Making at Local Fashion Institutions: A Qualitative Study

Pattern making is one of the most important skill-based courses in fashion education, where students learn clothing construction through drafting, draping, and creating basic patterns for garment productions. Issues in fashion sustainability, such as textile waste and fast fashion, lead to this research. However, practices of sustainable innovation in local higher education institutions are still low compared to other countries. The objective of this research paper is to explore the current sustainable practices in teaching and learning pattern-making skills. A qualitative approach has been adopted to explore the current practices of teaching and learning in some local fashion institutions, and 21 fashion educators participated in semi-structured interview sessions. The results from the thematic analyses show six elements of sustainable innovation which currently being practised: minimization technique, pattern manipulation, upcycling, draping, digital learning, and innovative tools are part of the sustainable innovation practices.
 Keywords: Higher Education Research, Education for Sustainable Development, Innovation

Educational practices of indigenous qene bet schools and its implications to the modern educational practices

This study explored indigenous educational practices of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Qene Bet education and its implications to the modern educational practices. The study employed a qualitative approach with an ethnographic design. Three Qene Gubae Bets, one in Bahir Dar City administration and the other two in West Gojjam administrative Zone, were selected using purposive sampling for this study. Data was gathered through field observations, semi-structured interviews and focused group discussion from Yenetas(Qene Teachers) and students. Twenty-four participants have participated in the study. Data is analyzed and results are presented based on thematic approach. The findings indicate that Qene Bet church schools have their own indigenous pedagogical practices such as Qene “Qotera” (self-study), Qene “Negera” (oral presentation and defense) and Qene “Zerefa” (creating and presenting original Qene poems) that demands student centered and deep learning approaches. The findings also indicate that the practices of cooperative learning, peer learning, reflective learning, pace learning, critical interpretation, argumentative oral defense, differentiated instruction, self and peer assessment and scaffolding are central to the Qene education system. The study concluded that Qene Gubae Bet schools pedagogical practices have valuable insights for the current pedagogical practices of contemporary schools in Ethiopia.

Effects of monolingual and bilingual subtitles on L2 vocabulary acquisition

Abstract This study investigates the differential effects of monolingual (L1 or L2) and bilingual (L1+L2) subtitles on students’ receptive vocabulary acquisition. In light of the widespread use of bilingual subtitles in videos in language classrooms with limited supportive literature available, this study aims at examining the pedagogical effects of bilingual subtitles on receptive vocabulary acquisition in the L2 classroom. A seven-week quasi-experimental study was conducted among four year-3 English-major classes in a Chinese university: three treatment groups and one control group. Adopting a counterbalanced design, students in the treatment classes were exposed to three types of subtitles within three videos. They were then tested on recall and recognition of the vocabulary target items encountered in the videos. The results demonstrate a significant advantage for bilingual subtitling in videos in terms of students’ vocabulary recognition and recall at post-test, and this advantage is maintained at the delayed post-test. Implications of the study are discussed in the context of current pedagogical practices such as a wider L1 use in the L2 classrooms.

Implementation Degree of Quality Standards in the Special Education Program at Al-Balqa Applied University from the perspective of Faculty Members

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the implementation degree of quality standards in the special education program at Al-Balqa Applied University.
 Methods: The descriptive strategy was applied. A random cluster sample of 56 faculty members from Balqa Applied University made up the study sample. The Jordanian Universities Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority's Manual of Jordanian Quality Assurance Standards for the Educational Sciences Program served as the foundation for the creation of the instrument.
 Results: According to the indicators of the standards for the three aspects of the standards, the study found that Al-Balqa Applied University's special education program applied quality standards to a high degree. However, the findings also revealed weaknesses in the policies that govern student transfer, a strained relationship between faculty members and library and database staff, and the absence of a more thorough, in-depth analysis. The demographics of faculty members' gender and academic rank are linked to how strictly quality standards are applied in Balqa Applied University's special education program.
 Conclusions: The study suggested updating academic materials for special education programs to achieve depth and current practices in special education, introducing periodic assessment procedures of special education programs, developing appropriate policies for students transferring from other academic programs, and strengthening the communication channel and relationship context among special education program's faculty members and workers in library and databases.

Online teaching and learning practices in teacher education after COVID-19: lessons learnt from the literature

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education institutions and teacher education programmes to transition from face-to-face to remote teaching. In this new educational environment, universities and schools had to make changes to address emerging teaching and learning needs. This literature review study provides an overview of research on teaching and learning practices published after the outbreak of COVID-19 in the context of teacher education. It aims to examine their characteristics after the pandemic and analyse issues that have affected their development. Based on the inclusion criteria, 28 papers were considered in the analysis. Findings point to the social and collaborative dimension of teaching, the caring component and the adoption of a more democratic and inclusive approach to teaching and learning. Personal and contextual factors and the challenges encountered related to poor interaction and difficulties in assessing students’ performance are also identified. Implications for rethinking current online teaching and learning practices in the context of teacher education are discussed.

Design education: Interdisciplinary perspectives

This editorial presents the Special Issue for the 8.2 volume of the journal of Design, Business & Society titled ‘Design Education: Interdisciplinary Perspectives’. It discusses how design education intersects with the learning sciences and other disciplinary perspectives and introduces the selection of articles that present current design teaching and learning practices and perspectives from across the globe.

The radical inclusive curriculum: contributions toward a theory of complete education

This paper contributes to curriculum theory from the perspective of a fundamental critique of education. Its objective is two-fold: to analyze both traditional and critical approaches to the curriculum and the types of education that flow from them and to propose changes that could result in significant improvements to the curricula through the radical and inclusive approach. The principles of pedagogy are redefined from the standpoint of this approach, aiming to enhance the educational potential of the curricula. The method of the paper is hermeneutic and dialectical, critically disputing the utility of curriculum theory and of the international policies that drive current educational practice. The essay’s arguments are developed throughout in the dialogical space between the critique and the proposed changes. These arguments are oriented toward complementarity and aim to redefine education and the curriculum in terms of complexity and a higher level of consciousness. The conclusions suggest that the radical and inclusive approach can produce significant, thoroughgoing change in curricula, education, and pedagogy.

Learning to coach: An ecological dynamics perspective

A constraints-led approach (CLA), based on an ecological dynamics rationale for athlete learning and development has been applied to analyses of individual and team sports. To date, such an approach has yet to be applied to the learning of coaches. Here, we propose how applying a CLA in education and professional development programmes can shape emerging behaviours of coaches as they interact with constraints of representative environments to adapt their practice. A core concept within ecological dynamics for coach education is the conceptual differentiation between knowledge of (direct perception) and knowledge about (indirect perception) the environment. Current coach education and development practices focus primarily on the acquisition and transmission of knowledge about, which over-relies on provision of (abstract) verbal and visual augmented corrective information found in manuals. Reconsidering coaches’ behaviours as emerging under constraints provides a coach developer opportunities to identify and manipulate key individual, environmental and task constraints. This approach guides attention to relevant and alternative affordances (opportunities for action) when coaching, and promotes continuous self-regulation of coach learning, supported by an experienced mentor. Learning to coach through a CLA could result in an extensive appreciation of multiple sources of knowledge, resulting in a continuously deepening fit between the coach and their performance environment. An ecological perspective of a coach learning to adapt to the constraints of a performance environment offers an alternative to current formalised coach development practice.

Enhancing the 4Cs among college students of a communication skills course in Tanzania through a project-based learning model

The development of technology has changed the way people communicate in academic contexts as well as working places, for example from print messages to screened messages, and from face-to-face classroom and office meetings to virtual classes and offices. This has prompted the shift from traditional teaching practices to student-centered in which students are guided by their teachers to develop skills for 21st Century careers through the Project-Based Learning model. However, in Tanzania colleges, the teaching of a Communication Skills Course perpetuates traditional teaching practices, which could reduce the chance for students to participate in global democratic activities. Consequently, the present study aimed at exploring how to enhance the 4 C’s (critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity) among the college students of the Communication Skills Course in Tanzania through the Project-Based Learning model. Qualitative participatory action research with two cycles was adopted. Data from ten students, one teacher, and the curriculum were collected through observation, document analysis, and reflective journals. Data were analyzed thematically. Findings show that current teaching practices for Communication Skills Course in Tanzania colleges hardly enhance the development of the 4 C’s among students. It was also observed that the implementation of PBL resulted in enhancing the 4 C’s among college students in Tanzania colleges. However, large class sizes, poor technological infrastructure, and lack of facilities are among the challenges experienced during the implementation of PBL in enhancing the 4Cs. The study recommends the reformation of current teaching practices, to focus on developing skills needed to cope with students’ real-life contexts, instead of focusing on content knowledge. Also, the study calls for the adoption of PBL in Tanzania colleges in teaching Communication Skills to develop necessary skills for the 21st Century. To cope with any potential challenges, the study suggests that there should be collaborative efforts among education stakeholders.

Theatre as a Means for Teaching a Second Language

This paper discusses theatre as a way to enhance and/or revitalize the language classroom both in second and foreign language contexts. Theatre and drama have been identified as creative pedagogical approaches to engage students to interact in situations and realistic scenarios in which their second language would be used in an accessible, safe way that adequately prepares them for language use in the real world. Using theatre and drama as instructional support does not disregard current language teaching practices, but provides educators options to enhance their teaching and learning spaces. I hope the discussion presented here will inspire educators to integrate theatre into their classroom contexts because when language is accessible, approachable, and relevant in a fun and meaningful way, language learning and acquisition are achievable.

Current Educational Practices within Resident Rotations across Radiation Oncology Residency Programs

<h3>Purpose/Objective(s)</h3> Limited information is available about the structure and components of radiation oncology residency rotations. We hypothesize that there is variation in rotations between and within residency programs. We evaluated various educational elements of radiation oncology rotations among United States residents. <h3>Materials/Methods</h3> We developed and distributed an anonymous online survey to current radiation oncology residents (PGY2 – PGY5) in ACGME-accredited residency programs in 2021 - 2022. Questions address rotation design, educational sessions, and attending feedback. <h3>Results</h3> A total of 117 residents completed the survey (overall response rate, 15%). Respondents consisted of more junior than senior residents (60% PGY2 or PGY3 vs. 40% PGY4 or PGY5) and a higher proportion of men than women (68% vs. 32%). Seventy-seven percent of responding residents (90/117) stated that half of their rotations or fewer featured regular educational sessions outside of didactics, and 62% (72/117) of all respondents stated they wanted more routine educational sessions. Over a quarter (27%, 32/117) said that no attending had ever evaluated one of their patient encounters, either directly or remotely, during real or simulated encounters. While all respondents said that at least some attendings provide feedback on contours (in-person or remotely), only 52% (61/117) replied that this occurs during every rotation. <h3>Conclusion</h3> A striking number of residents receive insufficient evaluation and feedback in patient encounters and contouring, two significant components of radiation oncology practice. More than half of respondents are seeking more dedicated education from teaching faculty members. Although the impact of these practices on resident development is unclear, we have identified potential deficiencies in radiation oncology residency education.

Health, Libraries, Research and Education

Researchers in LIS have been working on projects related to health and wellness in various environments, whether related to medical libraries, public libraries, health information behavior, or health information-related community interventions. At the same time, researchers have explored new methods to educate students on both research and on health and wellness as it relates to LIS. It is our goal to bring together the two and create a collaborative panel in which both the panelists and audience participate in a dialog that highlights our research and our engagement with our students over the past couple of years examining health information and practices in our libraries, communities, and classrooms.&#x0D; This non-traditional panel focuses on health and wellness research and its impact on student education and engagement in research activities. The session aims to provide an opportunity for both the organizers and the audience to share their research and/or research agendas and engage in conversations and feedback that can contribute to a cohesive understanding as to what researchers are doing in the area of health and wellness. Our objective is also to discuss current pedagogical practices or student engagement opportunities related to these topical areas. Some examples will be physical and mental health programs and services in public libraries, health literacy courses taught by LIS students in public libraries, health insurance education, using the OCLC Call to Action Opioid toolkit with public libraries, public library staff as health information facilitators, and much more.&#x0D; The session will begin with the Health SIG members presenting their research through five-minute lightning talks. While the panelists describe their research, they will begin creating a visualization on Google Jamboard that represents the research being discussed. After these first presentations, the audience will be invited to share their own research, which will also be added to the collaborative board. Throughout this process, participants will be invited to offer constructive feedback on each contributor’s ideas. Through this process, we hope to create an exciting, interactive session in which the SIG members and the audience will have the opportunity to share research and teaching strategies and potentially find new collaborators.

Framing Behaviorist Theory toward Situational Language Teaching (SLT)

The changing of foreign language teaching methodology happens over the years due to the shift of the changes of language teaching’s goals in different periods and in different places regarding the nature of language and the nature of learning. The aims of the paper are contextualizing behaviorist theory for Situational language teaching (SLT) and its relevance in current language teaching from practical experiences. The paper follows a narrative approach to review the previous works of literature on behaviorist theory, SLT, and its implementation. The findings are behaviorist theory becomes the fundamental learning theory of SLT that flourishes in SLT’s teaching and learning activities in the classroom. Influenced by behaviorist theory, SLT becomes a teaching method that provides more guided repetition and substantive activities. In addition, along with the existence of the trend of communicative language teaching and scientific approach, SLT is still implemented by teachers for various education levels to achieve teaching objectives. In conclusion, unfashionable methods do not mean that they are not able to apply in current teaching practice. Some modification activities can be created to attain meaningful learning. Therefore, it is suggested that in applying certain methods in teaching practice, practitioners or teachers should consider the following question: who the learners are, what their current level of language proficiency is, what their goals want to be achieved through learning activities, what sort of communicative need they have, and so forth.

Implementation of a Near-Peer Surgical Anatomy Teaching Program into the Surgery Clerkship

The objective of this study was to describe theimplementation of Clinical Anatomy Mentorship Program (CAMP), a novel near-peer surgical anatomy teaching program, into the KU School of Medicine (KUSOM) Surgery Clerkship curriculum. Prospective qualitative and quantitative study. Single institution, tertiary care hospital. All M3s at KUSOM on their surgery clerkship were eligible for inclusion for the learner cohort, n = 106. A group of M4s self-identified as CAMP mentors were eligible for inclusion for the teacher cohort, n = 40. M3s have statistically significant higher self-efficacy(p < 0.001)scores after participating in CAMP. Among open-ended comments written by M3s, significant themes highlighted that CAMP taught them a much-needed refresher on anatomy, gave them an introduction to surgical anatomy, and felt peer-to-peer teaching created a safe environment to ask questions. M4 mentors reported statistically significant (p < 0.001) increases in self-efficacy andconfidence in teaching skills after teaching CAMP sessions. Among open-ended comments written by M4 mentors, significant themes highlighted that CAMP helped them develop their teaching skills and confidence in the operating room. In line with current medical education practices, KUSOM has significantly decreased anatomy in the curriculum. We responded to this shift by implementing CAMP, designed to address specific medical student needs for a surgically oriented anatomy instruction. CAMP has been effective at addressing student concerns about anatomy knowledge gaps. CAMP has enhanced self-efficacy, anatomy knowledge, and operating room exposure in M3s, and self-efficacy, teaching skills, surgical anatomy knowledge, and surgical confidence in M4s.

Problems Faced in Teaching Iban Traditional Poems Amongst Teachers: A Need Analysis

The importance of pedagogical content amongst teachers in enhancing students’ performance had been highlighted in the literature. However, there were issues and lack of knowledge in teaching literature and challenges in teaching style which proved ineffective in enhancing students’ performance in Iban literature. Therefore, there was a need to develop a pedagogical module of teaching Iban traditional poems based on 21st-century education. To develop a comprehensive pedagogical module, it was aimed to identify the need of the module’s development based on teacher’s view. Hence, this article focuses on the need analysis phase attempted to identify issues and challenges as well as their current teaching and learning practices in Iban traditional poems lessons. Six teachers have been interviewed and data were analyzed using content analysis. The studies revealed that the current issues are lack of knowledge in literature itself and limited teaching resources. The impacts of these issues then become a challenge in delivery the lesson as some of the teachers were not familiar with the traditional poems. They were also selected in teaching Iban because of their races and not based on their option. As a result, the development of the pedagogical module of Iban traditional poems in the next stage of the research needs to integrate with narrative and multimedia.

Media Systems as a Communicative Model of Current Educational Practices

Media communication systems are actively used in the current educational practice in the prevailing conditions of distance education and various blended learning forms. Since the pandemic began, media systems have been significantly improved and integrated into the educational process as digital tools that fully define the communication models of educational stakeholders. This article aims at a practical evaluation of the media systems’ use as communicative models of educational practices. The research methodology included a qualitative content analysis of educational media (platforms, social media, educational services) to classify communication models by the type of media systems used in education. The results show the dynamic of media systems development as the basis of communicative models of current educational practices. The study offers a classification of communicative models by the media type used in education: based on platforms, online services such as Student Response Systems (SRS); based on platforms – virtual educational services; based on social media; based on video conferences. Each communicative model has different communication goals and tools.

Leveling the playing field: strategies to improve equity and inclusion in dance auditions

We contend that improvements are needed in current dance audition practices in higher education regarding inclusivity, equitability, and diversity. As a case study, we critically evaluated and modified audition practices at Ball State University with a specific goal to generate strategies and future considerations that provide a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse audition experience. Findings showed that current audition practices at Ball State, with the re-ordering and inclusion of West African dance forms, positively impacted the audition experience for students overall, and the examination of our audition practices, past and present, has provided ample information to consider for future dance auditions at large. Strategies and considerations presented aim to aid educators and institutions to provide equal opportunity and a more inclusive and diverse audition experience.