Mode Of Instruction Research Articles

INVESTIGATE STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN MATHEMATICS COURSE THROUGH E-LEARNING APPROACHES

This paper investigates students’ academic achievements through e-learning approaches based on students’ preference. E-learning approaches can be considered as asynchronous, synchronous and blended learning. Asynchronous learning happens when there is no set time for it to occur. Allows students to learn whenever and wherever they want, at their own pace. Web conferencing and chatting are used to deliver organised and time-bound activities characterise synchronous e-learning. Due to the Movement Control Order (MCO), which went into effect on March 18, 2020, lecturers at the Preparatory Centre for Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (PPST, UMS) could teach either synchronous or asynchronous classes. The independent sample t-test will be used, and the outcomes reveal statistically significant difference in the mean of both online learning strategies. Therefore, from the results we can conclude that students that prefer asynchronous learning approach improves the academic performance of students. However, higher end-of-course grades in asynchronous courses do not necessarily indicate that the asynchronous mode of instruction was more effective. This is because based on students’ preference for both methods that asked in questionnaires. The results also can be affected by various factors such as blended learning that is implemented for learning.

The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Language Teaching in Higher Education, CercleS survey

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a move online of language teaching in Higher Education (HE). The CercleS survey on the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on language teaching in HE aimed to study teachers’ reflections on teaching during the pandemic and on the future of foreign language instruction. Data was collected between March and May 2021, and the answers reflect the voices of 725 teachers from CercleS member institutions of both national associations and associate members. The survey was written using a mixed method approach, based on a pragmatic epistemology. The findings indicate that the teachers moved flexibly into the online mode of teaching despite limitations in technological resources and the absence of training. Learning outcomes were met, and language skills were effectively taught, except for speaking skills. Generally, the respondents see the benefits of a blended/hybrid mode of instruction. Implications for teaching practices and stakeholders are as follows: develop guidelines and training for sustainable online and hybrid teaching; negotiate conditions needed to carry out efficient and sustainable language teaching with university management; and develop international collaboration between LCs in HE.

Lesson learned from the pandemic for learning physics

AbstractBackgroundValuable safeguards against fast‐spreading conjectures about learning in times of fear and uncertainty are evidence‐based approaches to the assessment of the impact of sudden and unforeseen disruptions on learning practices. The present research focused on physics learning in such times because conceptual and computational literacy in physics is critical to the development of a scientifically and technologically literate society.ObjectivesThe present research aimed (a) to offer an objective assessment of whether performance differences in a physics course of the general education curriculum existed between the face‐to‐face medium (familiar mode of instruction) and the online medium (unfamiliar mode of instruction) for both male and female students, and then (b) to develop a response to the evidence collected to ensure a quality education for all parties involved. The research intended to fill two critical gaps in the extant literature: mixed findings concerning students' performance in the face‐to‐face and online mediums as well as scarce coverage of specific domains of knowledge that are critical to STEM learners.MethodsStudents' performance was examined as a function of the type of assessment (formative and summative), instructional mode (online and face‐to‐face), and gender. An understudied student population of STEM students of Middle Eastern descent without prior formal exposure to online instruction was targeted.Results and ConclusionsIn both formative and summative assessments, male students performed better online than face‐to‐face, whereas the performance of female students was either higher online or equivalent between instructional mediums. The evidence collected suggested that consideration be given to remedies that foster academic success in the face‐to‐face instructional medium, particularly for male students.TakeawaysAn evidence‐based approach to learning dismantled emotion‐driven expectations regarding the impact of the online medium on physics learning, and encouraged new perspectives about instruction.

Technologies as Tools to Increase Active Learning During Online Higher-Education Instruction

Higher education (HE) faculty are increasingly teaching online. For many faculty, this represents a new instructional mode that comes with its own set of challenges but also with new instructional possibilities. One challenge is identifying innovative and effective active learning methods that academically engage online students. Along with other benefits, students learn more with instruction that includes active learning opportunities rather than simply passively attending, whether learning face-to-face or online. Fortunately, HE faculty have at their disposal numerous technology tools to increase active learning in their synchronous, asynchronous, and hybrid online courses. This technology presents several active learning technologies organized under these online instructional methods: content presentations, game-based and gamification activities, peer collaboration, and multimedia. Mostly, the technologies reviewed are free or relatively low-cost and easy to use, with some available within typical HE learning management systems.

Community College Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices of ICT Integrated Teaching

In the present pedagogical context of higher education in Nepal, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration in classroom pedagogy has become an evolving phenomenon. The community college teachers of Chitwan district are gradually shifting to technology-enhanced classroom pedagogy from the conventional mode of instruction for better teaching and learning outcomes. Although the stakeholders have emphasized ICT integrated pedagogy, teachers have experienced several barriers to its effective integration in the regular classroom activities. In this context, the present study examined community college teachers' perceptions and practices of integrating ICT in the community colleges in Chitwan, the perceived barriers to its effective integration, and ways of overcoming such barriers. The study was carried out employing a quantitative research approach and survey design. The researcher used the Convenience Sampling Method to purposively collect responses from forty teachers from nine community colleges teaching at bachelor’s and master’s levels. The data collected through the questionnaire were analyzed using percentage and frequency distribution statistical tools. The analysis of responses revealed that the status of ICT integration in the classroom did not seem satisfactory, although the teachers had positive perceptions of technology-supported teaching. The perceived major barriers were lack of enough ICT-friendly infrastructures and resources, insufficient ICT-based professional development opportunities, and the lack of students’ digital literacy. The findings of the research imply that community colleges and faculties need more ICT-based teacher development programs, well-equipped ICT infrastructure, budgetary support, increased digital competence and accessibility of students, and an inculcation of ICT-based pedagogical culture to enhance its effectiveness for better teaching-learning outcomes.

Investigation of the effect of flipped listening instruction on the listening performance and listening anxiety of Chinese EFL students.

Given the fact that flipped instruction especially with the aid of technology has gained momentum in second language (L2) instruction, numerous L2 researchers have explored the usefulness of flipped classroom for L2 learning. As an attempt to further this research area, the current research examined the effect of flipped listening instruction on the Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) students' listening performance and listening anxiety using a quasi-experimental research design. To this end, a total number of 44 EFL learners from two intact classes in a Chinese language school were selected as the participants of the research and they were randomly assigned as the control group (N = 21) and an experimental group (N = 23). Within a course of one semester, the control group was instructed employing traditional listening instruction, while the experimental group were taught based on the flipped mode of instruction. The data collection was carried out by administering the listening section of IELTS and Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS). The results of ANCOVA revealed that the flipped listening instruction significantly enhanced listening performance of the participants. Also, the flipped classroom substantially reduced listening anxiety of the EFL learners. The outcomes of this research might provide notable implications for EFL practitioners.

Teaching English for Legal Purposes (ELP) in the Era of the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Students’ Perspectives

Abstract The emergence of coronavirus in early 2020 and its rapid spread led to the pandemic that has affected almost all aspects of our lives, including education, law1 and the economy. After the first downtime and the initial shock it became clear that it was extremely important that learning continued; therefore, when schools and universities were closed and lockdowns introduced, online teaching became a priority. For the vast majority of teachers and students, however, it posed an enormous challenge as the situation required leaving their comfort zones, adapting to new conditions and / or acquiring new skills. Some of them were also forced to confront their prejudices towards this mode of instruction. This paper endeavours to provide some insights into the teaching English for Legal Purposes online in the times of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the course of Legal English carried out for Slovak judges, prosecutors and court staff in 2020 and 2021 provides a specific case background for the research. The study aimed to investigate how the course participants perceive learning Legal English online. The research particularly addresses the questions what their approach towards this mode of instruction was before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, what they like and dislike about online language learning, whether they find learning Legal English online more difficult than studying in a real classroom as well as whether online classes can be as effective and enjoyable as traditional ones. The study assumed both a quantitative and qualitative methodology encompassing a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The findings of the research show that an overwhelming majority of the respondents favourably evaluated the course and would definitely participate again in a similar format or recommend it to other learners.

The Pandemic History Classroom: grouping or groping the digital divide

This article is concerned with the impact of Covid-19 on the higher education sector. It examines the impact of group work in the discipline ofhistory in remote university teaching and learning set in the context of Covid-19 imposed lockdowns in South Africa. When the pandemic broke out, few were prepared for its worst excesses in terms of lives lost impact on health facilities, economies and higher education. Lockdowns to limit the pandemic's spread were imposed in many countries worldwide, limiting in-person interaction, which affected various aspects of human contact, not least in university education. Taken away from campuses, universities in South Africa, as elsewhere, were forced not only to adapt to online teaching but to be inventive in the methods used to retain student participation and engagement. While technology was heralded as the solution to the global crisis in teaching, other concerns affect the well-being of students that also require attention. By using the research conducted with staff and students in history modules at one South African university, this article considers the pandemic classroom with its online and remote mode of instruction. It takes specific cognisance of what is lost due to this form of engagement in terms of isolation's psychological and emotional impact on students in the tertiary education sector. Within this context, it assesses whether the use of group work within a university environment and, in particular, the discipline of history, is a possible means to try and bridge this digital divide or if this option is merely a case of groping in the digital ditch.

Distance Learning at the Conventional Campus-based College

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, practically all colleges and universities in the United States shifted their conventional instructional mode of the in-person face-to-face classroom teaching to the virtual online instruction in the middle of the spring 2020 semester. While online-only institutions, majority of which are for-profit, eagerly promoted their online education, all of the conventional colleges and universities struggled to provide the necessary training for the instructional faculty and to assure students and their parents that the quality of their college education would not be compromised. In this research, we explored the impact of such quickly adopted online instruction as an inevitable alternative during the pandemic on the student learning as the pandemic placed them in a natural quasi field experimental condition. We found a significant difference in the student learning outcome recorded in the semester grade between the two periods: the difference is particularly prominent in non-participation or withdrawal from the learning process as reported in the grades of fails and withdrawals. Implications of the study for college and university enrollment and the compelling need for further study are discussed.

Evidenced-based Educational Reform Supported by Education Quality Monitoring: China’s Exploration and Experience

In China’s educational community, there is a consensus that any decision-making or advance in reform must be based on scientific evidence. It has been realized that the traditional instruction modalities that draw on educators’ personal experience have become ineffective in accomplishing better education in the new era. In this context, China’s educational administrators have been committed to constructing an evidence-based system to enable reform in education.

Challenges in addressing student difficulties with measurement uncertainty of two-state quantum systems using a multiple-choice question sequence in online and in-person classes

Research-validated multiple-choice questions comprise an easy-to-implement instructional tool that serves to scaffold student learning and formatively assess students’ knowledge. We present findings from the implementation, in consecutive years, of a research-validated multiple-choice question sequence on measurement uncertainty as it applies to two-state quantum systems. This study was conducted in an advanced undergraduate quantum mechanics course, in online and in-person learning environments for consecutive years. Student learning was assessed after receiving traditional lecture-based instruction in relevant concepts, and their performance was compared with that of a similar assessment given after engaging with the multiple-choice question sequence. We analyze and discuss the similar and differing trends observed in the two modes of instruction.

The effects of web-based language learning on university students' translation proficiency

PurposeWeb-based language learning (WBLL) materials have long been favored by English language instructors because they are plentiful, easily accessible, user-friendly and, most importantly, free. This research looks into the effects of learning the simple perfect tense translation in three different English translation classes that used three different teaching methods: traditional face-to-face, integrative and web-based learning. It also aims to investigate the impact of gender on every mode of instruction and to identify the most effective method for learning translation.Design/methodology/approachThe study is quantitative, with a pretest/posttest quasi-experimental research design. A total of 93 third-year undergraduate students (51 female and 42 male students) participated in the pretest/posttest design. Each group was exposed to one mode of instruction for nine weeks. All groups sat for a pretest in the first week of the treatment. After the treatment, the participants were provided with a posttest, and the data obtained were analyzed using the SPSS computer software program.FindingsThe findings revealed a significant difference in both tests for all modes used. All three groups improved in their gain score, but the highest gain among these groups was the integrative method, followed by web-based learning. The result of the independent sample t-tests and ANOVA exhibited that there was no significant difference in the level of students between the two groups, both were sig. two-tailed (p = 0.342). Furthermore, it was discovered that gender did not affect students' performance in the posttest (Z = −1.564, p > 0.05) when each mode of instruction was applied. Finally, the integrative method was observed to be the most effective.Practical implicationsThe findings can inspire translation course designers to plan necessary policies or syllabi regarding English translation courses and may serve as a platform for improving the curriculum for training and motivating the next generation of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners.Originality/valueThe findings of this study could be used to improve English instruction in countries where English is a second or foreign language. The actual gap in knowledge is that no other studies have compared all three groups in the past few years.

Behavioral, cognitive, emotional and social engagement in mathematics learning during COVID-19 pandemic.

A meaningful engagement of learners is critical in the quality teaching and learning of mathematics at school level. Learner engagement has been an ongoing issue in mathematics classrooms in Nepal and elsewhere. In this context, this study aimed to examine the level of engagement (behavioral, social, emotional, and cognitive activities) and their association with learning mathematics through the virtual mode of instruction during the pandemic. The cross-sectional online survey design was employed among 402 secondary-level mathematics teachers in Nepal. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and structural equation modeling were the major statistical techniques used in research. The findings indicate that the level of behavioral, social, emotional, and cognitive engagement of students was found to be high in the online mode of instruction. Additionally, cognitive engagement has significant highest impact on social, behavior, and emotional engagement.

Towards a Healing Curriculum: Addressing Cultural Inclusion for the Indigenous Sadri Community in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a Southeast Asian country where the indigenous people of the northern and southeastern region speak a variety of native languages. But none of their languages is included in the main curriculum for teaching or learning. As a result, these people are often not motivated to send their children to school. The language policy of the country does not include these indigenous languages in the core curriculum. Though the government of Bangladesh has started an initial plan to introduce education in mother tongues of five major indigenous languages in the country, they are not yet implemented. A large number of studies have emphasized the need of curriculum inclusion through using the indigenous/minority languages to improve literacy for the deprived people, but no step has been officially taken to include any of these languages as a mode of classroom instruction in Bangladesh. Thus my paper investigates the impact of a mother-tongue based intervention adopted in a research study to expand possibilities of the cultural inclusion approach for the indigenous Sadri community in Bangladesh. While working with the research participants I felt the need of a healing curriculum that will help the indigenous people to cope with learning struggles. My paper proposes a healing curriculum to reduce cultural differences and maintain a cultural ecology (Cajete, 2000; Cardoso & Jimenez, 2015) within communities through cultural inclusion. I also advocate for a healing curriculum concept to foster cultural inclusion (Richardson, 2011) to counter identify dysfunction of curriculum design in a settler-colony context.

When There's No Handbook: One Urban Elementary School's COVID-19 Crisis Response.

Using qualitative methods and a Communities of Practice framework, we studied one urban elementary school's crisis response to COVID-19 during the emergencyremote education phase, Spring 2020.In the last two years, there has been overwhelming variety in schools' instructional modalities in our state-face-to-face, remote, hybrid-leaving Spring 2020 the first fully remote experience to study. In this study we focus on the remote learning pivot, specifically highlighting the campus' use of digital literacies and the caregiver, student, and teacher responses to the immediate, unplanned modality change. Findings are meant to assist schools in planning ahead of future crises, including ways to usedigital literacies to strengthenlearning communities.

Learning physics online or face-to-face: A case study of STEM and non-STEM students.

The academic performance of young women is particularly relevant to the success of societies that have only recently begun to address gender inequalities in education and the workforce. The present research examined the performance in a physics course of STEM and non-STEM female freshmen from such a society. It aimed to determine whether the change to online instruction, forced by the pandemic on students who had been accustomed to the face-to-face mode, affected their performance. In the study, performance on lab assignments and tests distributed across the semester (formative assessment measures) differed. Namely, STEM students performed better than non-STEM students on lab assignments and better online than face-to-face on tests. Non-STEM students' performance on both lab assignments and tests remained insensitive to the mode of instruction. Performance on the final test and course grades, both of which were treated as summative assessment measures, replicated the pattern of effects exhibited by tests distributed across the entire semester. For all students, prior math proficiency made a limited contribution to performance. The findings of this study suggest that young women, who during the pandemic were brought back to the constraints of the home, were resilient in the face of change. According to physics instructors and students, by distributing study efforts more continuously in the online mode and taking advantage of recorded class meetings, they managed to promote performance (as per STEM students) or preserve it (as per non-STEM students).

Re-visiting the past in search for silver-lining: Moroccan students’ perceptions of technology-mediated faculty practices under COVID-19

ABSTRACT Despite the wide-ranging research on technology-mediated learning, which has contributed immensely to a better understanding of how best it can be implemented, lockdowns during COVID-19 times have revived debates on teacher preparedness to adequately engage in this modality of instruction. Research-validated evidence has shown that a complex combination of technology, pedagogy and content is necessary for impactful teaching practices. Thus, the present paper reports on a qualitative study that investigated students’ perceptions of their teachers’ performance during the lockdown period. Online interviews and focus groups were conducted with a cohort of 30 university students. The students were selected by means of purposeful sampling informed by a set of pre-defined criteria. Overall, the students reported that most of their teachers utilised asynchronous teaching modalities. Also of interest was the finding that a small proportion of faculty varied the instructional deliverable with a clear intent to cater for a wider spectrum of student learning pace and style. Under COVID-19, additionally, distance education was hugely crippled by student psychological ill-being. One of the implications of these findings, among others, is the pressing need, now more than ever, for comprehensive and intensive teacher professional programs focused on technology-enhanced methodology.

Student and faculty perceptions of effectiveness of online teaching modalities

BackgroundWhen the COVID-19 pandemic forced colleges and universities to rapidly transition from face-to-face teaching to online teaching/learning environments, different instructional methods were employed to deliver course content and help students remain engaged in learning. With the transition back to the on-campus environment, select online teaching modalities may be effective in the face-to-face environment as well. While online and distance learning have been extensively studied, little research is available to guide faculty in using technologies designed for distance learning in the face-to face environment. PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing student and nursing faculty perceptions of the effectiveness of various online teaching modalities. MethodA mixed-methods study using a convenience sample of students and faculty at two universities was conducted. Students and faculty completed a researcher-developed survey to rate a variety of online teaching methods and technologies from a scale of one (not effective at all) through six (extremely effective). Participants also provided comments within the survey and in focus groups of randomly selected students and faculty. Surveyed items included modes of asynchronous and synchronous instruction, instructional technology, and instructional activities. ResultsThere were significant differences as well as similarities in student and faculty perceptions of effectiveness. Students demonstrated a clear preference for pre-recorded lectures, while faculty perceived synchronous lectures and assigned readings to be equally as effective as pre-recorded lectures. Synchronous activities such as case studies and student presentations were rated as more effective by faculty than by students. Both groups perceived instructional games, especially quiz games, as very or extremely effective. ConclusionsStudents were more engaged with instructional activities that they perceived as effective for learning. The results of this study will assist faculty in developing effective online and in-person instruction which will optimize the teaching/learning experience.

Assessing the impact of Covid-19 on teaching and research: A Ghanaian perspective

Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic in diverse ways affected the traditional modes of instruction and learning at all levels of education. Prominent among the innovations necessitated by the pandemic was the increased use of virtual methods of teaching and learning. For many learners and instructors in parts of the world, however, expensive internet data costs, lack of digital learning tools, and similar other challenges meant that the benefits of virtual teaching and learning could not be fully reaped. This article recounts my experiences of the pandemic as a Ghanaian early career researcher. It shares the experiences of law students in my University, obtained through administered questionnaires. The article also analyses how these experiences unearthed deep socio-economic inequalities among learners and lecturers alike, and how these inequalities impacted effective teaching and learning during the pandemic. Although these disparities had long existed, the conditions created by the pandemic only made them more glaring. While analyzing the institutional support received from my University, the article makes a case for the active involvement of all stakeholders in bridging the divide.

The COVID-19 impact on reading achievement growth of Grade 3-5 students in a U.S. urban school district: variation across student characteristics and instructional modalities.

The current study aimed to explore the COVID-19 impact on reading achievement growth by Grade 3-5 students in a large urban school district in the U.S. and whether the impact differed by students' demographic characteristics and instructional modality. Specifically, using administrative data from the school district, we investigated to what extent students made gains in reading during the 2020-2021 school year relative to the pre-COVID-19 typical school year in 2018-2019. We further examined whether the effects of students' instructional modality on reading growth varied by demographic characteristics. Overall, students had lower average reading achievement gains over the 9-month 2020-2021 school year than the 2018-2019 school year with a learning loss effect size of 0.54, 0.27, and 0.28 standard deviation unit for Grade 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Substantially reduced reading gains were observed from Grade 3 students, students from high-poverty backgrounds, English learners, and students with disabilities. Additionally, findings indicate that among students with similar demographic characteristics, higher-achieving students tended to choose the fully remote instruction option, while lower-achieving students appeared to opt for in-person instruction at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. However, students who received in-person instruction most likely demonstrated continuous growth in reading over the school year, whereas initially higher-achieving students who received remote instruction showed stagnation or decline, particularly in the spring 2021 semester. Our findings support the notion that in-person schooling during the pandemic may serve as an equalizer for lower-achieving students, particularly from historically marginalized or vulnerable student populations.