Classroom Experience Research Articles

REINSURANCE WITH R: PRICING, RESERVING, SOLVENCY AND PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS

The lack of education and training has been highlighted as one of the highest factors stifling the growth of the re/insurance industry in Africa. Although reinsurance is offered as a course in the insurance/actuarial undergraduate and postgraduate study programs, many higher institutions of learning in Nigeria lack the sufficient mathematical and technical faculty expertise required to thoroughly deliver the reinsurance subject matter particularly at the masters and doctorate levels. As a result of the general absence of the required expertise in the re/insurance field of study, only a couple of universities offer postgraduate programs in insurance within Nigeria. The ripple effect of this gap is consequently felt in the re/insurance sector. This paper, therefore, is meant to serve as a teaching aid to boost the postgraduate teaching and classroom experience in reinsurance and to strengthen the technical capacity of researchers in this field. First, contributions to literature from the Nigerian academic landscape is reviewed and then the computational aspect is implemented. The study aims to bridge the gap between theory and application. Both simulated and real data are used to illustrate the different concepts in reinsurance with techniques ranging from Monte Carlo simulations to various statistical distributions. The R language has been adopted because of its ease of use.

Student Veterans’ Perspectives of Higher Education Contexts: Beyond the Non-traditional Student

An increase in student veterans on campuses creates issues similar to the growing population of other nontraditional students, yet unique experiences for this population. Although higher education environments are working to provide on-campus support for military populations, student veterans continue to report issues with communication, understanding, and support for their military service. This study investigated student veteran experiences of the higher education classroom on a southeastern university campus. Overall, the majority of participants reported positive interactions with professors but struggled with peers and schedules. Included are implications for working with student veterans in higher education.

Voice as an interactional accomplishment in art making about social issues

ABSTRACT Background Art making is a personal and social process in which learners make meaning for themselves and audiences through the production of artifacts. In classrooms, this personal and social process is made concrete through dialogue. Methods This paper presents an illustrative case study of how sixth-grade student, Jo, developed voice through interaction with peers in a classroom context while making art about social issues. Interaction analysis methods supported inquiry into Jo’s talk about art making as she talked with peers in designed conversation spaces (i.e., intentional structures and opportunities to talk about artwork while making it). Findings Jo’s voice development illustrates the collaborative nature of voice as an interactional accomplishment; having a unique voice is something students might strive to achieve as artists, yet that voice is co-constructed through collective social interaction as students take up, appropriate, and build on others’ ideas. Artistic and political dimensions of art making were generative. Contribution Pedagogical implications are discussed for designing socially supported learning experiences in arts classrooms. What Jo’s case makes evident is that voice can be supported in classrooms through intentional pedagogical choices that create the conditions for that voice to develop through interactions with peers and materials.

Mathematics textbook: motivation, experiences, and didactical aspect from authors’ perspectives

ABSTRACT Textbooks play a vital role in the Nepali education system since they are one of the main resources for teaching and learning mathematics. Because of poor physical infrastructure and inadequate educational resources, both teachers and students heavily rely on textbooks. In this regard, this study investigated the mathematics textbook authors' experiences and motivation, and what types of didactical knowledge were utilised while writing textbooks. A convenient yet purposeful sampling method was utilised to select four participants. The data analysis unveiled that each textbook author had different types of motivation and experiences, and only one participant was aware of the ideas of didactical knowledge and utilised them to some extent in textbooks. The writing process was more influenced by the examination, mathematical content, and classroom experiences. As a result, textbooks seemed to be content-heavy and examination-oriented. Additional professional development programmes likely would help authors to produce more effective textbooks in Nepal.

Pre‐K attendance and social development: The moderating role of kindergarten classroom experiences

AbstractMany studies have established that there are important life‐long benefits of attending pre‐K. At the same time, recent research suggests that pre‐K attenders may enter and exit kindergarten exhibiting less optimal social and learning behaviours than their non‐attending peers, and little attention has been paid to what factors may contribute to these patterns of development after children enter kindergarten. The current study will address these gaps in knowledge using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2011 to examine the social and learning behaviours of pre‐K attenders and nonattenders at kindergarten entry and exit. Moreover, we will determine the extent to which children's social and behavioural skills change at differential rates across the kindergarten year as a function of pre‐K attendance and their kindergarten classroom experiences, with a focus on the academic rigour, activity settings and teacher‐student relationships.

Illuminative evaluation of an intercultural-competence-focused first-year writing curriculum

This article explores illuminative evaluation as a method to reflectively assess a pilot implementation of an intercultural-competence-focused first-year writing curriculum at a US large public university. The goal of this curriculum is to promote integration of diverse student populations on our university campus, while developing all students’ intercultural competence and writing skills. In this article, we present practitioner reflections on classroom experiences and collaborative design of our approach to data analysis. These reflections show how an illuminative, context-rich approach to an early phase of a writing pedagogy research project shapes a holistic curricular evaluation. Illuminative evaluation drew our attention to the interaction between teaching and curriculum evaluation as well as to how this approach promotes an invitational and exploratory approach to teacher research.

Students’ Perceptions of Active Learning Classrooms from an Informal Learning Perspective: Building a Full-Time Sustainable Learning Environment in Higher Education

Under the influence of education for sustainable development, active learning classrooms, as the new learning environment in higher education, have become increasingly diversified and flexible, with a greater emphasis on student experience and engagement. Most research on these learning environments is centered on formal learning analysis and discussion, whereas empirical research on the perception of informal learning in active learning classrooms outside of class time is lacking. Based on informal learning perceptions, this study explored the strengths and weaknesses of active learning classroom spatial environments using a mixed quantitative and qualitative research approach. Through a questionnaire survey of 154 students and one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 15 students, this study found that most students were satisfied with the informal learning experience in active learning classrooms, comfortable and flexible space perception and humanized learning support facilities in active learning classrooms were critical spatial factors influencing students’ informal learning, the private environment and positive learning atmosphere in active learning classrooms could promote students’ informal learning behaviors, and for active learning classrooms, better resource management could help them develop a better quality full-time learning environment. Based on these findings, this study makes recommendations for optimizing the environment design and management of active learning classrooms.

Boys can be managed: schools’ student composition and teacher efficacy, a multilevel approach

ABSTRACT Considerable research concerning determinants of teacher efficacy focuses on teachers’ individual characteristics. School characteristics, such as the socioeconomic and gender composition of the school, are largely overlooked. The scant research including schools’ student composition suggests that teachers feel less efficacious when teaching boys with a low socioeconomic status (SES). A multilevel analysis, using data from 1247 teachers in 59 Flemish secondary schools, shows that teachers’ feelings of efficacy do not appear to differ very much between schools, although many studies assumed that the greater part of variance in teacher efficacy could be found between schools. The socioeconomic composition of the school does not affect teacher efficacy. Gender composition, however, does influence teacher efficacy, as teachers display more efficacy in classroom management and experience more general efficacy when teaching mostly boys. The unexpected finding that teachers seem to feel more efficacious in classroom management when teaching mostly boys is discussed.

Is This the Way to Amarillo? Reading Denise Riley with Derek Attridge

Abstract This essay responds to a challenge offered by the avowed bafflement of the critic and prosodist Derek Attridge faced with a poem by Denise Riley, ‘Lone Star Clattering’. It argues that Attridge’s adoption of an interpretative approach derived from Don Paterson, employing a step-by-step and constrictive cognitive framing, cannot succeed with a late Modernist lyric poem. Drawing on classroom experience with the same poem, it describes a prevalent cats-cradle approach as a variant on such constrictive reading, where a small group of external referents is grabbed onto, and the poem forced into unseemly conformity with them. The essay proposes instead a practice of feline reading characterized by a hovering casual interest, a constant scan of the sensual and mental fields so that their contours are felt, while sustaining a hair-trigger responsiveness to any unanticipated event along with a Keatsian tolerance of irresolution.

Computational Simulation: Multidisciplinary Teaching of Dynamic Models from the Linear Algebra Perspective

The technological development has stablish a new learning perspective in the Linear Algebra Concepts. In progress is being made in multidisciplinary teaching in engineering careers, since the proposal is that students learn Math taking into account the benefits provided from the new technologies that analyse different aspects of an engineering system. In this paper are presented a classroom experience in the Computer and Multidisciplinary Laboratory of Basic Sciences where a fluid flow system is modelled when we want to deal with the Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors topic, content that belongs to Algebra and Analytic Geometrical program. The possibilities that the computational systems offers have unchained a reformulation of methodological focus of educative programs, since they propose to intensify learning through the acquisition of skills by students. The developed experience proposes a learning methodology that guarantees an academic knowledge according to the new developments, and assert that Engineering students approach new mathematical subjects trough adequate applications.

Social Sensitivity Improvement through Collaborative Learning Models in Islamic Religious Education

The social awareness of students is seemingly diminishing, as indicated by the lack of care and respect for others, alongside individualism and tendencies to act emotionally and swear. These attitudes have engendered insensitive, intolerant, and uncaring behaviors amongst students. Therefore, social sensitivity is a critical attitude that should be instilled in schools. This is because education facilitates the academic, psychological, and social growth of children and ensures they become smarter, wiser, and more humane. Using a collaborative learning approach in the Islamic Religious Education discipline, the research aimed to build students' social sensitivity by activating learning activities that motivate mutual help, respect, honesty, and collaboration. The participants in this Classroom Action Research (CAR) were 24 students from class X MIA2 Senior High School State 2 Bima City. The data collection was conducted via the test approach, comprising a pre-test and post-test, and complemented by observations, interviews, and documentation. Quantitative and quantitative techniques were used to analyze the results of the primary and secondary data sources, respectively. Subsequently, the research findings indicated that the students' social sensitivity increased by 20.84% from cycle I (70.83%) to cycle II (91.67%). In the pre-test, 8 students (33.33%) showed complete learning, increasing to 13 students (54.17%) in the first cycle (I) and 21 students (87.5%) in the second cycle (II). These findings can help Islamic Religious Education teachers understand the importance of new context-based learning methodologies and models. Allowing students to explore and discuss ideas in groups can also stimulate a love of learning and increase their social awareness. As a result, classroom experience and the importance of content in everyday life can serve as the basis for students' understanding and can be directly applied in their social life.

Fear and shame: students’ experiences in English-medium secondary classrooms in Tanzania

ABSTRACT In contexts where schooling is delivered through a language of instruction (LoI) that is unfamiliar to learners, it has repeatedly been observed that students are reluctant to speak, passive, or even silent. This is commonly attributed to lack of understanding of the language in use in the classroom. Although this is, undoubtedly, an important part of the explanation, this paper presents findings from a thematic analysis of lesson observations, interviews, and ethnographic field-notes from two secondary schools in Tanzania to argue that we should also be paying much closer attention to the socio-emotional environment. Specifically, this paper demonstrates the prevalence of feelings of fear and shame in students’ experiences of learning and how these emotions contributed to students’ silence. However, it also shows that the impact of these emotions was not the same for all students. Informal classroom ‘rules’ were found to govern how different groups of students were expected to behave in response to questions from teachers, meaning that the risks of speaking English were greater for some students than others. As such, the prevalence of fear and shame is argued to compound existing inequalities amongst students, thus hindering progress towards equitable, inclusive and safe education for all.

PROSPECTIVE TEACHER AS CONSTRUCTOR OF KNOWLEDGE IN PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME

The perspectives and experiences described in this study demonstrate the teacher educator's initiative in adapting ideas that characterise twenty-first-century teachers. Critical thinking and reflective classroom practice are cornerstones for developing competent teachers endowed with theoretical and applied skills, according to an increasing trend in teacher education and training. 'Engagement scholarship' and 'critical reflections,' which promote dialogue in education and training, are the foundations of conceptual ideas shared in this work. A critical examination of these two essential principles yields a conceptual framework for articulating tactics and strategies involving potential teachers in collaborative learning activities. Students' participation and critical reflective partnerships were observed and analysed. The action research findings contribute to the practical knowledge of ‎engaged scholarship and the development of critically reflective practitioners. The study supports the idea that moving away from traditional techniques and strategies necessitates an examination of teachers' requirements in a democratic, open, nondiscriminatory society. The action research findings show that aspiring teachers can create pedagogical content knowledge that applies to the real-world classroom experience

A new look at teacher interactional quality: Profiles of individual teacher–child relationship and classroom teaching quality among Head Start students

ABSTRACT Research Findings: and Practice Preschool teachers’ relationships with children are a critical component of classroom quality. We draw from a sample of N = 2,114 children attending Head Start to examine child-centered profiles of experiences across two dimensions of classroom interaction quality that are often considered separately: individual teacher–child closeness and conflict, and classroom-level instructional and emotional support. Findings reveal considerable heterogeneity in Head Start children’s experiences, as the profiles differed on individual conflict, and classroom emotional and instructional support. The largest profile was characterized by a positive emotional climate and low instructional support. Higher teacher distress was associated with the highest-quality and the highest conflict profiles. The results also revealed early evidence for gender and race and ethnicity-based disadvantages in Head Start classroom experiences. Practice or Policy: Measures of ECE quality must consider teacher-child relationships. Teacher well-being is tied to classroom and individual interactions; findings suggest teachers and child may benefit from strategies that support teachers’ well-being.

The Use of Literature in EFL Classroom: Italian Canadian Short Stories as a Teaching Innovation Experience Through Flipped Classroom Strategy

The aim of this article consists of showing that motivation is necessary for the success of a teaching and learning experience in an online classroom. By using the flipped learning method, the student becomes the central part of learning, being more active than in the traditional class and taking responsibility for his/her learning. He/she goes from being a mere spectator who only listens to the teacher's speech to someone with a voice in the classroom structured to allow student to acquire knowledge and build different competencies. The experience described below by implementing the flipped learning in the subject Contemporary Culture and Society of the Anglophone Communities, of the online Bachelor's Degree in Spanish Language and Literature, at the University of Burgos, excitement and self-expression replaced fear and dread. This awareness helped students in the construction of critical thinking and, in this specific case, culture and literature represented a better way for students to understand and know the society in which the language used in the texts is the language spoken (Valdes, 1986). During the first phase of this experience, the 56 students were divided into 14 groups of four members in each one; they were given instructions by different videos recorded by the teacher and during which she explained what to do, how to develop the project and how to proceed and deliver the final task. She also introduced the general topic of the Unit “Acculturation, adaptation and sense of belonging in women emigrants through Italian Canadian short stories” by uploading different readings by different women writers who had migrated from Italy to Canada for different reasons and in different periods since XX century until today. Mostly based on real events, these writings unveil the different coping strategies deployed by Italian Canadian women and how they dealt with the complex process of settling into life in a new country. After having chosen the writer to work on the 14 groups proceeded to research and investigate them. They also kept regular contact with the teacher by fora or tutorials so the teacher could track and monitor their learning progress and needs. The project consisted of preparing a presentation on the woman writer selected including the context she lived in and her work. During the last phase, after the task delivery, she asked all groups to share the posters and presentations and to ask questions and comments about them in a forum opened for that purpose. Finally, a questionnaire on their perception of the flipped learning approach in the course was prepared and distributed to the students. The result of this experience has shown that the flipped learning strategy succeeded in motivating the students to build and acquire knowledge and to reach beneficial outcomes.

Voices on Language Teacher Stereotypes: Critical Cultural Competence Building as a Pedagogical Strategy

ABSTRACT The present study explores foreign English teachers’ (FETs) personal experiences with stereotypes and their use of critical cultural competence (CCC) building activities in Japanese university English as a foreign language (EFL) classes. The data was obtained through open-ended interviews with Japanese university FETs from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was employed to capture the participants’ lived experiences and how they made sense of their experiences in the language classroom. The findings indicated that FETs can be subject to phenotypical, gender, and personality stereotypes in Japanese educational settings. Japanese English language education, in-group’s commitment to collective identity, and the mass media’s reinforcement of out-group stereotypes accounted for the existence of the aforementioned stereotypes. The study concludes that integrating CCC building activities into language education can be an effective pedagogical approach to develop students’ intercultural sensitivity and foster globally competent students with communicative English language skills.

STEM Labs: A promising professional learning approach to promote teacher–child interaction quality and science and engineering practices

ABSTRACT Research Findings: High quality STEM professional learning is necessary for supporting early educators to implement early childhood STEM education in ways that promote young children’s development. This is particularly important for educators serving young children of color or from under-resourced backgrounds who have few STEM early learning opportunities. The STEM Lab intervention was designed to address multiple barriers early educators face regarding STEM education by providing designated time, space, materials and professional learning for teachers targeting STEM education. This study engaged 47 preschool educators serving primarily African American and Latinx children from under-resourced families in the STEM Lab intervention. Observational data identified higher quality teacher-child interactions in the STEM Lab lessons compared to regular classroom experiences, particularly for instructional quality. While STEM opportunities were rare in the regular classroom, multiple observations across the school year in the STEM Labs found that teachers used a range of quality science and engineering practices in the STEM Lab and improved in their skills across the school year. Practice or Policy: The STEM Lab intervention demonstrates promise for engaging educators and young children in quality science learning opportunities. Administrative policy is necessary to promote STEM Lab experiences.

LacOp: A free web-based lac operon simulation that enhances student learning of gene regulation concepts.

Here, we describe a free, web-based simulation of the lac operon, "LacOp," that is designed to enhance the learning of prokaryotic gene regulation and pathways in advanced high school and undergraduate genetics courses. This new electronic resource was created by a team of students in an advanced undergraduate course and is hosted online (http://flask-env.rnwhymamqf.us-west-2.elasticbeanstalk.com/lacop). LacOp has a simple web interface compatible with a range of devices, including smartphones. To determine whether the LacOp simulation enhances student learning from traditional instruction, we introduced the lac operon to undergraduate genetics students through a traditional classroom experience followed by use of the LacOp simulation. Students worked on their own using the included tutorial to create and test the effect of various genotypes on E. coli lactose metabolism and regulation. Upon completion of the tutorial, students showed measurable gains in conceptual understanding of the lac operon. These students also reported a generally favorable opinion of the LacOP simulation as a use of their instructional time.

Towards multilingual turn in language classes: plurilingual awareness as an indicator of intercultural communicative competence

ABSTRACT Multilingualism research has predominantly focused on describing the various factors behind multilingual individuals’ beliefs and practices in language learning and teaching. However, language and culture are intrinsically related and how intercultural communicative competence can contribute to this alliance remains relatively unknown. To address this research gap, the current study examined the relationship between plurilingual awareness and intercultural communicative competence together with their experiences in language classrooms. The study was based on Douglas Fir Group’s (2016. A transdisciplinary framework for SLA in a multilingual world. Modern Language Journal, 100(Supplement 2016), 19–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12301) framework and Deardorff’s (2006. Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241–266) process orientation model, with 265 EFL teacher (pre-service and in-service) participants. In this mixed-method study, data were analysed using several multiple regressions and thematic analyses. Findings indicate that plurilingual awareness is a significant predictor of the relationship between language and culture, and individuals with higher plurilingual awareness have higher intercultural communicative competence. Classroom practices yielded complementary results manifested through a) translanguaging as a motivational practice, b) coping with intercultural tensions, and c) technology in multilingual classrooms. This study has several implications for the multilingual turn in language learning and teaching.

The View from here – Teaching ‘Popular’ Nationalism in English

Abstract This essay situates the academic enquiry into the ‘popular’ idea of the nation within the shifting disciplinary contours of English in India. Using the iconic Bharatbala music video ‘Vande Mataram’ (1998) as a case study, it demonstrates how methods of analysis derived from literary studies may be used to engage with the mediated nature of contemporary culture; the classroom experience of ‘reading’ together a popular cultural text reflects as well as instantiates the expansion of ‘English’ at the level of both content and form. The collaborative pedagogic exercise of decoding the ‘signs’ that constitute the audio-visual text through familiar literary terms such as imagery, symbolism, setting and character reveals how the cultural discourse of nationalism – in terms of its historical legacy as well as its current political resonance – can be ‘read’ contextually using disciplinary methods of ‘English’. I argue that the ‘literary’ can no longer be defined only in terms of the nature of the text one brings into the classroom – it is a mode of analysis that can be extended to examining cultural texts in other media formats too, especially if the enterprise of ‘doing’ English in a formal, academic set-up is to be anything more than a reiteration of the value of Anglo-American canonical literature. If the English canon has traditionally been a means of teaching students how to ask fundamental questions about cultural representation, the same aim is now achieved also through the use of texts from other, more familiar and local contexts and media.