Real Classroom Situations Research Articles

Competitive Team-Based Learning (CTBL): A Revolutionary Approach to Contemporary Language Teaching/Education

This article dissects part of the socio-educational/political background to my innovative approach to Language Teaching/Education namely Competitive Team-Based Learning (CTBL), which he formulated based on his seminal edu-political theories. (See, 2023) It then clarifies certain misgivings regarding integrating the element of competition within cooperative learning settings to pave the way to a to-the-point introduction to CTBL. The article also discusses – at length – distinguishing features and characteristics of CTBL with reference to the present methods and approaches like Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and particularly Cooperative Learning (CL) methods. It also throws light on the mechanisms underlying the implementation of CTBL in real classroom situations and illustrates presentations and classroom techniques in classes where this approach may be applied by teachers. Moreover, the article highlights the kind of design, objectives, evaluation system, syllabi, materials, tasks, and activities emphasized by CTBL. Importantly, the significance of motivation in CTBL settings has been thrown into sharp relief. Finally, the article gives a glimpse of the importance of CTBL for today (language) classes in our complicated competitive world context, and elaborates the howabouts of its contribution to significant changes in our societies, for peace making and compassionate civilizations building. CTBL makes it possible via bringing that sort of changes in our students’ minds first.

Preservice teachers' learning by design through space construction in the metaverse

AbstractTeachers who know what, how and why to teach are essential for successful student learning. However, many preservice teachers (PSTs) lack teaching experience and the ability to integrate theory and practice. To help bridge this gap, this study employed a learning‐by‐design project approach in which 22 Korean PSTs developed lesson plans for middle school English classes, constructed virtual classrooms in the metaverse based on their English lesson plans, and conducted microteaching in the virtual classrooms. The study used a qualitative research method and focused on an emic perspective with multiple data sets, including the PSTs' reflection papers and post‐interviews as primary data, and their lesson plans, virtual classrooms and recordings of microteaching as secondary data. The results showed that the project supported learning by design, and that it also helped PSTs understand learners and learning, redefine the teacher's role as a designer and facilitator, connect theories to practice and improve their teaching skills. The findings can be used as a reference for future teacher training. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Teachers' content, pedagogical and technological knowledge and skills are essential attributes for effective performance. Preservice teachers (PSTs) have difficulty transferring their knowledge to real classrooms because their knowledge often focuses on the ‘know‐what’ of teaching, but not on the ‘know‐how’. Microteaching in virtual environments helps PSTs connect knowledge and practice and prepare for real classroom situations. What this paper adds The study applied a learning‐by‐design approach to preservice teachers' microteaching to help them connect their pedagogical knowledge to classroom practice. The study focused on describing how the PSTs' virtual classroom design influenced the way they planned and implemented their microteaching. Implications for practice and/or policy Teacher educators can incorporate the design‐based approach into their teacher training modules to help teachers understand learner needs when planning and implementing English lessons. Teachers can develop technological literacy and positive attitudes about using technology in their classrooms.

The EnTPACK rubric: development, validation, and reliability of an instrument for measuring pre-service science teachers’ enacted TPACK

Science instruction can benefit from the use of digital technologies if pre-service teachers are given opportunities to acquire Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge (TPACK) as part of their studies. However, the prevailing self-report approach to TPACK measurement does not allow conclusions to be drawn about enacted TPACK, which is rarely assessed in real classroom situations. In addition, instruments designed to measure TPACK enactment lack descriptive clarity and no single instrument is used to assess the three relevant phases of teacher competencies (lesson planning, implementation, and reflection). The present paper addresses this gap by presenting the development and validation of a comprehensive rubric for assessing the enacted TPACK of pre-service science teachers. To operationalize the “fuzzy” aspects of the framework, the rubric targets a specific use of digital media and instructional approach in science teaching: student-generated explainer videos and animations. At the core of the development process is a theory- and literature-based systematic review of (1) existing instruments for assessing pre-service science teachers’ enacted TPACK and (2) instructional criteria for student-generated explainer videos in science classes. The resulting rubric allows valid conclusions given the appropriate conditions, has demonstrated reliability, and excels due to its specific focus, high degree of differentiation, systematic grounding in theory and literature, objective grading criteria, and comprehensive applicability to all three phases of teacher competencies.

The Effect of Video Analysis of Inquiry School Practices on Pre-Service Teachers’ Scientific Skills Knowledge

ABSTRACT This study provides evidence of the effect of video analysis of real classroom situations as a support for promoting the professional vision among primary education pre-service teachers. Specifically, it focuses on the Science Process Skills involved in scientific inquiry when teaching through this method. This quasi-experimental study (n = 90) analyzes a didactic strategy based on the noticing and coding of inquiry teaching practices in school contexts. It aims to encourage pre-service teachers’ knowledge of the Science Process Skills. The quantitative results show a significant improvement in all these skills in the experimental group, mainly with regard to the proficiency of Planning and Experimentation and Interpretation skills. These data are congruent with the results obtained from the qualitative analysis of the codification engaged in by this group. The results of this study contribute to responding to the need for resources in the scientific inquiry education of pre-service teachers in primary education. Video analysis was observed to help mobilize a wide range of concepts involving knowledge of the Science Process Skills that are studied in the initial stages of teacher education.

THE AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENT TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE AND PRACTICE AT STKIP MUHAMMADIYAH ACEH BARAT DAYA

Teaching experience has a high contribution to many aspects of effective teaching. Through experiences, teachers learn to conquer different teaching strategies, manage classrooms, and improve their professionalism in the field. Higher education students are given the chance to have a pre-work experience known as teacher practice or Student-Teacher Practice Program. At STKIP Muhammadiyah, in their third year of study, students are required to join this program which becomes their chance and venue to apply the learned theories to practical work. The current study, therefore, aimed to describe the student’s perception, and practice of the teacher practice at the lower school level. Further, these experiences were described and categorized to see how students perceive the experience and how it contributes to their teaching competence. This research used a descriptive qualitative design. The data was collected through an interview protocol. The sources of data were the 7th-semester students of STKIP Muhammadiyah Aceh Barat Daya who joined the program. The finding of the research revealed that student teachers’ perspectives and practices of teaching experience are positive. Teaching practices gave them lots of positive experiences, and help them to understand real classroom situations and students’ character. Furthermore, the research was expected to give a significant contribution to students, teachers, or researchers who were interested in a similar issue.

Autonomic Nervous Pattern Recognition of Students’ Learning States in Real Classroom Situation

The current work applied machine learning methods to analyze students’ group and individual learning states in the real classroom environment. The purpose is to provide insights into the learning process for teachers and students, so that they can manage the learning process effectively. We extracted three couples of learning states in real classroom learning, i.e., information input/processing and retrieval/processing states, cognitive load matching and mismatching states, and mental fatigue and nonfatigue states. The recognition of the above three couples of learning states was regarded as five binary classification problems. We collected electrocardiogram (ECG) data from 45 college students during their classes of circuit analysis and calculated the peaks of two consecutive R waves (RR) interval series from the ECG data. For each binary classification problem, RR interval features and classifiers were compared to find the critical feature subsets and suitable classifiers for the recognition of learning states. The generalization accuracies of the machine learning models were in the range of 58.41%–82.35% on the validation sets independent of classifier training and feature selection. The results show that it is feasible to monitor students’ learning states through machine learning methods.

Teacher learning from continuing professional development (CPD) participation: A sociocultural perspective

Recently, there have been calls for understanding how teachers’ professional development translates into effective practice and the challenges involved. This study responds to these calls by examining Ghanaian teachers' engagements in CPD activities, unpacking the process of their learning and knowledge contextualization in real classroom situations. Framed within the sociocultural theory, the study collected data from 16 Junior High School teachers (JHSs) in the Central region using in-depth interviews and non-participant observations. The findings reveal three pathways to teachers’ learning as part of their professional development: (1) formal participation in continuing education, (2) non-formal CPD forms, particularly the workshops and in-service training, and (3) teachers’ self-initiated informal learning activities. The findings further reveal that learning from these CPD activities was not automatic but a mediating process through teachers’ critical reflection, agency, and social interaction. This process of learning from CPD follows a circuitous path of five stages, influenced by teachers' context of practice, depicted in a CPD learning cycle. The study recommends that CPD activities provide realistic learning experiences, enabling teachers to contextualize and implement new knowledge in real classroom situations.

Neural Phonology A Multisensory, Multicognitive Approach to its Enhancement in Teaching Pronunciation

As a reaction to the pedagogical needs of adult learners in mastering speech sounds and sound phenomena unfamiliar to their L1 phonology, there surfaced a pressing need for a radical change in the overall approach to teaching them. A transition had to be gradually implemented in the form of a multisensory (auditory, visual, tactile-kinesthetic) strategies to be propped up with a set of multicognitive ones (e.g. think, associate, analyze, synthesize, memorize) in lieu of the traditional audiolingual one. During the implementation of such strategies for a few years, a fully-fledged approach emerged and titled as: Multisensory, Multicognitive Approach to Teaching Pronunciation (MMA). Further classroom experience with MMA, led to the reconsideration of the linguistic domain of phonology for theoretical and applied purposes and recognizing it in two sections i.e., linguistic phonologyvs. neural phonology. Below are a few reasons for introducing neural phonology. First, traditional phonology barely refers to the role of the brain in internalizing additional phonological constituents when targeting L2/FL as adults. Second, teaching phonology and the mastery of unfamiliar sound units/features to learners of L2/FL has been conventionally attempted in a unisensory(monosensory) manner, the auditory sense in this case, which tends to be less efficient and effective with many adults. Third, in real classroom situations there seems to be greater need to diversify and refine the sensory and cognitive strategies/techniques in teaching both sections of phonology, especially the neural one. Fourth, emphasizing the two sections further enhances the overall pedagogical and didactic worth of MMA.

CHANGE IN THE PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF IN-SERVICE TEACHERS AFTER ATTENDING TRAINING PROGRAMMES

This study focuses on the changes taking place in the professional environment of the in-service teachers after attending in-service teacher training programmes. A sample of 60 in-service teachers of upper primary schools was selected from four districts of Himachal Pradesh viz. Shimla, Solan, Bilaspur and Kinnaur and survey method of research was used. It has been found in this study that after attending in-service teacher training programmes the in-service teachers have made changes in their professional environment and they apply their knowledge gained in the training programmes in the real class room situations. The current study is of utmost significance in terms of implementation of training in the real professional environmentof in-service teachers.

Dynamics of integration of process drama in EFL classrooms: A holistic approach of activity based pedagogy

Theatre/drama is an art form that conveys feelings and emotions, as well as thoughts and concerns from the history of human civilisations. Theatre and drama have been used and defined for educational purposes in many different ways. They can be effectively assimilated in language classes to achieve a communicative goal through the integration of four basic language skills (LSRW), and are a powerful tool for engaging students with content. Drama engages students in social contexts where they can think, imagine, talk, manipulate concrete materials and share their views on various social issues. This study uses a quantitative method to collect data from respondents and explores students' perspectives on the use of drama techniques for educational purposes. This paper aims to explore the main problems and challenges faced by teachers in real classroom situations. It also describes how educational drama activities can be assimilated into second-language classrooms, and highlights the strategies of role-play, visualisation and classification, as well as how they can be used in the classroom. It also aims to discuss how drama techniques can be effectively improvised and implemented in English language teaching in an EFL/ESL context.

Book Review: How Languages Are Learned

The book “How Languages Are Learned” introduces major theories of first and second language acquisition and their application in real classroom situations. It discusses early, foundational research studies on language acquisition and some latest research in the area. First published in 1993, it went through four editions by 2013. This shows the popularity of the book.

Transformation of Prospective Teachers’ Pedagogical Beliefs during a Pre-Service B.Ed. Programme in Pakistan

Teachers’ pedagogical beliefs play a vital role in the process of teaching and learning. These beliefs are often reflected in their practices which lead to the formation of their instructional decision making. Pre-service teacher education programs are offered in many universities of Pakistan with the aim to prepare professional teachers with strong beliefs in the value of teaching profession. Therefore, this qualitative case study aimed to explore the transformation of pre-service prospective teachers’ beliefs regarding teaching skills during a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) program in the context of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The data were collected from eight participants through semi-structured interviews in two phases: before teaching practice and after teaching practice. Findings revealed that pre-service teachers joined B.Ed. program with certain traditional beliefs about teaching skills that were rooted in their past experiences as students. The transformation of those beliefs took place at the time of teaching practice in a real classroom. The paper concludes that only coursework of pre-service teacher education might not be sufficient to transform prospective teachers’ beliefs, rather the teaching practice should be a contributory factor in transforming their pedagogical beliefs. This could mainly be attributed to the prospective teachers’ practical experiences in real classroom situations during the teaching practice. The study has important implications for teacher educators and educational researchers in terms of highlighting the important role of teaching practice in the professional preparation and development of prospective teachers.

The Use of Mixed, Augmented and Virtual Reality in History of Art Teaching: A Case Study

The incorporation of mixed, virtual, and augmented reality into the educational context takes place in this study through the development of a 3D object shaped by the artistic expressions of the Church of the Annunciation in Seville. In a study of an experimental and exploratory nature with a single group, we worked with a total of 20 students enrolled in a Master’s degree, taught at Seville University, under the title of “Arte: idea y producción” (Art: idea and production). A questionnaire based on the “Technology Acceptance Model” (TAM) was used to ascertain the degree of acceptance that the utilized technology had created among students after their participation in the experience. Likewise, the questionnaire permitted understanding of the assessment made by students concerning the presented objects. Among the results obtained, it is noticeable that the participating students show a high level of acceptance of augmented and virtual reality technologies, alongside favorable attitudes towards their utilization and the intention to use them. It is worth highlighting as a significant conclusion that the exploratory study was performed within a real classroom situation, suggesting that both technologies can be applied in formal training environments.

Effectiveness of Simulation in Teaching Geometrical Optics

Simulation is an approach used in teaching to enhance students learning especially when the concept being taught is abstract and hands on activity is not possible. However, it serves its purpose only if it is effectively implemented in the real classroom situation. Using a mixed method approach, a study on the effectiveness of simulation in teaching Geometrical Optics in class IX physics was conducted in one of the schools of Bhutan. For the quantitative approach quasi-experimental design was employed involving 70 students (35 experimental, 35 control group) and two physics teachers. Five students from experimental group and two subject teachers were interviewed. The findings of the study revealed that students taught using the simulation approach performed better than those using the conventional method. The finding also revealed that the simulation approach enriched students’ attentiveness and self-exploration in learning physics. Some of the recommendations from the study included the need to provide professional training on simulation to teachers, and make adequate ICT facilities available in the schools to support learning through simulation. The study also recommends future researchers to replicate this study in other subjects to find the effectiveness of the approach.

Task-based Approach in English Language Teaching and Learning

Today classroom language learning and teaching is a more complex tack and a challenging job for language teachers. The may find ourselves in a position where all ICT technologies is create our disposal for example - computer, internet, video, etc. Though at some point, we may find ourselves in a place where even a blackboard is sufficient and effective tool for teaching, learning process of language. The present paper will focus on task-based approach in English language learning. At first, the papers will discuss the language teaching methods especially, the student / learner-centric methods in English language teaching. It attempts to state how task-based teaching lead to language learning It also tries to state how linguistic competence is developed and how it involves the process of understanding, thinking and stating com outcomes. The learners engaged in an effort to understand and express meaning in their target language. The learner. in a task-based classroom can get their meaning across by means of ungrammatical expressions with the use of task-based approach learners can achieve grammatical conformity in their use of Target language. In the present paper we will discuss the difference between various student/learner-centric methods. It will highlight the task-based approach in English Language Teaching + The paper will try to illustrate the Task-based Approach with the help of various tools used in the actual English language classroom. This particular method will be helpful for creating rule focused activities, form focused activities, meaningful activities and meaning focused activities. It helps to create more interactive groups of learners in the English language classroom. This approach tries to create interest and enthusiasm among the learners regarding the Target language. This paper intends to create resourceful language teachers in any kind of circumstances. It tries to bridge the gap between language study and language use. In short, the paper presents an effective learner-centric method for English language Teaching in real classroom situations.

Exploring the impediments for successful implementation of the task-based language teaching approach: a review of studies on teachers’ perceptions

ABSTRACT There has been ample research establishing the effectiveness of the task-based language teaching approach on improving learners’ language skills. Some studies have also taken account of teachers’ experience and their views of working in task-based classrooms, as experimentation with an approach is different from implementing it in real classroom situations. Studying teachers’ perceptions can help us understand the practicality of the task-based approach. The present study investigates teachers’ reluctance to implement TBLT and scrutinises teachers’ positive and negative perceptions towards the approach. A review methodology was utilised, whereby 16 empirical studies on teachers’ perception towards TBLT were selected from the years 2004 to 2019. The review revealed that the challenges faced by teachers or apprehended by them in TBLT classrooms were typically similar. Most of the teachers were aware of the task-based approach, but they lacked thorough knowledge and practical experience. Many of them expressed the idea that task-based methods were appropriate for college and university students rather than school children. The review concludes with suggestions to improve the implementation of the task-based approach, emphasising stakeholders’ roles and the importance of appropriate training for teachers in TBLT.

Evaluation of Mindfulness State for the Students Using a Wearable Measurement System.

Purpose This study aimed to develop and evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficiency of a methodology to measure the mindfulness state using a wearable device (“Cap”) capable of monitoring students’ levels of full attention by means of real-time measured heart rate variability (HRV).MethodsThe device was developed to export the data to the user’s smartphone via Bluetooth, which in turn stores the securely accessible data in the cloud. The autonomous wearable device consists of electronic boards of the Arduino platform that detect the period in milliseconds between two subsequent referential R peaks of the QRS complex wave through infrared oxygenation sensor.ResultsIn a population of 13 subjects (8 female, 5 male, age 16.1 years pm 0.58), the Z-test (p < 0.05) using rMSSD (root mean squared successive differences) and the Toronto Mindfulness (Curiosity) Scale within two 50 min windows, shows that increased HRV values converge to high values for the mindfulness state when the time difference between R_{n} and R_{n+1} samples is greater than 88 ms.ConclusionThe device proved to be viable and potentially effective for measuring the state of mindfulness. Thus, further studies should be conducted to test it on a large scale as well as in real classroom situations.

AudienceMR: Extending the Local Space for Large-Scale Audience with Mixed Reality for Enhanced Remote Lecturer Experience

AudienceMR is designed as a multi-user mixed reality space that seamlessly extends the local user space to become a large, shared classroom where some of the audience members are seen seated in a real space, and more members are seen through an extended portal. AudienceMR can provide a sense of the presence of a large-scale crowd/audience with the associated spatial context. In contrast to virtual reality (VR), however, with mixed reality (MR), a lecturer can deliver content or conduct a performance from a real, actual, comfortable, and familiar local space, while interacting directly with real nearby objects, such as a desk, podium, educational props, instruments, and office materials. Such a design will elicit a realistic user experience closer to an actual classroom, which is currently prohibitive owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper validated our hypothesis by conducting a comparative experiment assessing the lecturer’s experience with two independent variables: (1) an online classroom platform type, i.e., a 2D desktop video teleconference, a 2D video screen grid in VR, 3D VR, and AudienceMR, and (2) a student depiction, i.e., a 2D upper-body video screen and a 3D full-body avatar. Our experiment validated that AudienceMR exhibits a level of anxiety and fear of public speaking closer to that of a real classroom situation, and a higher social and spatial presence than 2D video grid-based solutions and even 3D VR. Compared to 3D VR, AudienceMR offers a more natural and easily usable real object-based interaction. Most subjects preferred AudienceMR over the alternatives despite the nuisance of having to wear a video see-through headset. Such qualities will result in information conveyance and an educational efficacy comparable to those of a real classroom, and better than those achieved through popular 2D desktop teleconferencing or immersive 3D VR solutions.

Challenges Affecting the Implementation of Teaching Practice: The Case of the University of Zambia

For many years, the process of training a teacher has been extensively studied and discussed in the scientific and academic community worldwide. However, very few studies have been conducted on teaching practice in the developing world, which include Zambia. Teaching practice affords student teachers an opportunity to translate theory into practice in a real classroom situation. This study investigated challenges that the University of Zambia faces in implementing teaching practice in schools. In addition, the study probed teacher educators, supervising teachers and student teachers’ views on measures that can be taken to improve the implementation of teaching practice in schools. The theoretical framework for this qualitative study was the third generation activity theory. The sample was purposely selected and comprised eight teacher educators, 10 supervising teachers and 24 student teachers. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. The data were analysed thematically. The study established that the whole process of teaching practice faced many challenges such as lack of collaboration between teacher educators and supervising teachers and limited learning space resulting in inadequate learning and peer teaching time. Most of the study’s findings are consistent with findings of earlier studies. This study is significant as it attempts to reduce the knowledge gap that appears to stem from a paucity of research on teaching practice in Zambia. One major recommendation is that School of Education should be separated from other schools. Keywords : Activity theory, Challenges, Teacher education, Teaching practice, Theory-practice divide. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-27-14 Publication date: September 30 th 2021

Question on Questioning Skill of Health Educators in Nepal

Health education is a behavioral science under faculty of education which includes the suffice courses on the use of questioning skills. This study was carried out to identify the knowledge of using the skill of questioning and its use in real classroom situations among health education teachers in education campuses where health education was taught at Bachelor and Master Levels. A qualitative phenomenological research design was applied to draw result. The 4 districts were selected from the Bagamati Province purposively and inclusive of geographic balance. Purposive sampling method was adopted to select teachers for in-depth interviews, classes for observation, and FGDs to assemble reliable and valid information for the study. Trustworthiness was maintained through consultation with experts, thick description, members check and credibility, and the methods triangulation was used to make data analysis rigorous. Though the sampled teachers had some pedagogical knowledge of questioning, this was insufficiently transferred into classroom instruction.