Real-world Connections Research Articles

‘I’m not Che Guevara, I’m an activist teacher’: six-component conceptual model for activist pedagogy

ABSTRACT Recent global crises have underscored the need to foster youth’s sociopolitical engagement to strengthen democracy. This study conceptualised activist pedagogy for active citizenship (APAC) as a framework for empowering teachers to cultivate students’ civic participation. Through a literature review and qualitative analysis of interviews and focus groups with 41 Israeli teachers, six core principles of APAC were identified: critique and challenge, learning through action, real-world connections, advocating for change, transforming teacher identity, and fostering solidarity and community. The findings validate and extend the initial framework, offering a comprehensive model that encompasses teacher characteristics, practices, challenges, and professional development needs. This study highlights the importance of building capacity for activist pedagogy to support teachers in nurturing politically engaged youth amidst contemporary democratic challenges. It recommends nurturing policies that support the activist pedagogical approach, which this article proposes in an organised manner as a theoretical conceptual framework with potential for practical development.

Educationally authentic assessment: reframing authentic assessment in relation to students’ meaningful engagement

ABSTRACT With increasing calls for authentic assessment in higher education, the reference point for authenticity has been questioned. Typically, researchers define authenticity in relation to purposes of higher education, which are contested. Advancing the notion of educational authenticity rather than professional, societal, disciplinary, or developmental authenticity, we shift the reference point from outcomes to the process of meaningful student engagement. To illuminate features of educational authenticity in assessment, we surveyed students about their most interesting, engaging assessment and analysed 302 explanations why that assignment was so engaging. While many students cited real-world connections, consistent with most authentic assessment literature, more described having choice in some aspect of the assignment. We examined how choice, not typically a defining feature of authentic assessment, and real-world connection mattered to students and promoted meaningful engagement. Understanding and designing for educational authenticity can lead to various, valued outcomes highlighted in existing authentic assessment literature.

Contextual Teaching and Learning Interactive Media in Redox Reaction Concept for Improving Critical Thinking and Self-efficacy

Many students find redox reactions challenging due to educators focusing solely on imparting knowledge without real-world connections. This approach limits critical thinking and reduces students' self-efficacy. To address these issues, fostering creativity and developing interactive learning materials are essential solutions. This research aims to create contextual teaching and learning (CTL) based interactive learning media for redox reactions. This media focuses on validity, practicality, and effectiveness in enhancing students' critical thinking skills and self-efficacy. The research framework employed in this study follows a research and development method with an analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE) model, with a research subject of 31 students. The results showed that interactive learning media was declared valid by media experts and material experts with an average score of 92.50% (high validity category). Media is very practical based on readability tests, students' responses, teachers' responses and observation sheets average percentage of 85.92%. It is also proven to increase critical thinking skills in high effective category (N-gain 0.81), and increase self-efficacy in moderate category (N-gain 0.65).

Investigating Teachers and Students’ Views on Debate Activities as a Tool to Improve English Speaking Skills: A Case of Rulindo District, Rwanda

This research is entitled ‘investigating teachers and students’ views on debate activities as a tool to improve English-speaking skills. Its main objective was to examine the role of debate activities in the English-speaking proficiency of lower-level secondary school students in Rulindo District. The study was guided by the theory of Vygotsky, titled Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). To achieve the current study’s objective, a technique of questionnaires that contains open-ended and closed-ended questions was used to gather needed information. The research design used was a descriptive research design with a mixed method of data interpretation. The target population was 598, including students, teachers, and school authorities. For the learners’ sampling technique, we purposefully chose all students who participated in debate activities who were equal to 57 students. In this regard, 72 respondents (4 school leaders, 11 teachers, and 57 students) were surveyed. Findings revealed different benefits of participating in debates, including but not limited to acquiring speaking skills, improving critical thinking skills, and enhancing teamwork skills and collaboration. In addition, some challenges are faced, such as anxiety, nervousness, and limited language proficiency. Some strategies to improve oral skills in English, as proposed by the surveyed respondents, include providing practice opportunities and offering constructive feedback. Students were recommended to give value to English, the medium of instruction, and the official language and make efforts to practice through different techniques to learn and improve their oral skills in English. Teachers were recommended to define clear learning objectives for debate activities in English learning and help students make real-world connections through debate.

The effectiveness of integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics project-based learning module

<p class="IOPKwd"><span lang="EN-US">Physics is a tricky subject to learn, especially when it comes to students applying physics knowledge to the real world and its application. This paper aims to study the effectiveness of the integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics project-based learning (iSTEM-PjBL) module in physics on students’ belief-specific categories, i.e., real-world connection, conceptual connection and applied conceptual understanding. This research used the quasi-experimental model, employing a two-group pre-survey-post-survey design. Quantitative data were collected using the Colorado Learning Attitude about Science Survey (CLASS) instrument at two selected schools in Sabah, Malaysia, and Seoul, Korea. The sample size was 88 from Malaysia and 66 from Korea who learned classical mechanics. The students were divided into two groups, respectively, i.e., the experimental group (Malaysia=44, Korea=33) and the control group (Malaysia=44, Korea=33). Participants in the experimental group were intervened with the integrated STEM-PBL physics module, whilst participants in the control group learned physics through a conventional approach for eight weeks. Participants in both groups were then administered a pre-survey before and post-survey after the intervention. This research showed that the integrated STEM-PjBL physics module significantly improved students’ real-world connections, conceptual connections, and applied connections after the intervention. The implications and suggestions were also discussed to extend the research further.</span></p>

Fragmentation, diversity, and inequality: the city and everyday youth culture

ABSTRACT This study examines a lesser explored area of research involving the interaction between young people and culture in an Indian city, Pune. By looking at young peoples’ conceptions about the city and their everyday cultural participation, we show that the city is culturally divided on the lines of language, spatiality, class, and status, and these further interact with each other in complicated ways. For young people in Pune city, English and Marathi are set in an unequal relationship, however there is a disagreement on the place of these languages in this relationship. Further, the recent young migrants showed ‘in-betweenness’ in their cultural imaginations about the rural and the urban. Young people’s everyday cultural interactions happened through family, friends, and the internet. Diversities, inequalities, and tensions marked those processes. Their families’ differential access to cultural capital shaped their cultural socialisation and opportunities in cultural fields. They saw engagement with the digital world as inevitable; but recognising the difference between the virtual and the real worlds, they involved themselves in online debates only with persons with whom they had some real-world connections. We further show that along with socio-economic inequalities, young people are fragmented at the cultural level too, and they navigate these different cultural worlds.

What improves students’ participation in a school-based citizen science project? Through the lens of practitioners

ABSTRACT Citizen science, a growing domain that allows public participation in scientific research, plays an increasingly significant role in formal education. Its potential to foster scientific literacy, address environmental issues, and promote sustainability is widely acknowledged. Drawing on the concept mapping approach, this study aims to investigate the factors that could motivate students’ participation in a university-based citizen science project. This methodology enabled substantive insights, driving focused discussions and yielding rich, consolidated outcomes that reflect a strong consensus. These factors encompass the importance of real-world connections, experiential learning, institutional support, autonomy, and global consciousness, extending existing theoretical frameworks. The results illuminate the transformative potential of school-based citizen science and offer valuable insights for designing engaging educational initiatives and strategically allocating resources. The implications of this study transcend the academic realm, underscoring the role of citizen science in fostering a science-literate society and a sustainable future.

Teachers Best Practices in Teaching Kindergarten Pupils: An Approach to Framework Implementation

This study investigates teachers’ effective strategies in teaching kindergarten pupils, focusing on implementing frameworks concerning self-regulation and self-determination. Utilizing a qualitative phenomenological method and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), the study assesses best practices among preschool teachers, employing purposive sampling involving ten respondents. The findings reveal that optimal techniques for self-regulation involve diverse classroom characteristics conducive to varied teaching methods, supportive organizational structures, and planned child-centered curricula. Parental solid involvement positively impacts academic progress, while evaluation practices identify learning strengths and weaknesses. Regarding self-determination, effective communication fosters social development, enhancing the classroom climate. Program and class characteristics engage students in real-world connections through interactive activities. However, challenges persist, including enforcement gaps affecting instructional methods, pupil health influencing the learning environment, and the need to accommodate diverse academic journeys while fostering belongingness and competence. This study underscores the multifaceted nature of effective teaching strategies and the complex challenges teachers face, emphasizing the necessity for comprehensive approaches in early childhood education. Keywords: Teaching best practices, Teaching kindergarten pupils, Challenges in teaching, Qualitative phenomenological research, Philippines

High School Students’ Motivation to Learn Climate Change Science through Educational Computer Games

Background Teaching climate change is difficult. Its complexity spans many subjects, often taught disjointedly. Many climate change effects are not immediately observable, making it hard for students to connect to it personally. Aim This study investigates how we can spark high school students’ interest in learning about climate change using educational computer games. Method We adopted a qualitative case research design to understand how games boost students’ drive and their role in motivating them. We selected a high school teacher and her eight students as our subjects, interviewing them in person. We analyzed their responses were using Keller’s ARCS Theory of Motivation Model and blending deductive and inductive methods. Results The findings were encouraging: games positively impacted students’ interest in climate change. They transformed the learning atmosphere into a concentrated, captivating space where the content was seen as tough yet enjoyable. Moreover, the games helped students make real-world connections, enhancing their understanding and appreciation of the topic. Conclusion Educational games are a powerful tool in motivating students to learn about climate change science. Hence, educators should be ready to harness the games’ power to create immersive, fun, and stimulating learning environments.

Literary Discussions in the Modern Classroom: Online and In-person Implementation Strategies

Literary discussions are widely utilized in education, yet their profound impact on students' comprehension requires in-depth exploration. This paper delves into the influence of literary discussions on student comprehension and examines how these discussions can enhance students' understanding and analytical skills. Through literature reviews and case analyses, this study investigates teaching strategies, student engagement levels, classroom ambiance, and other factors involved in literary discussions, revealing the potential mechanisms through which literary discussions influence student comprehension. The paper explores variations in the application of literary discussions across different types of literary works (novels, poetry, drama, etc.) and their relationship with students' creative thinking. Finally, the paper provides recommendations to assist educators in effectively utilizing literary discussions to enhance students' comprehension skills. Students must have the opportunity to discuss literature in ways that provoke deep thought and meaning from each work they encounter. Therefore, English Language Arts teachers and instructors must be creative in finding unique ways in which they encourage their students to experience and respond to literature. This paper discusses a variety of strategies to implement in virtual and in-person classrooms, such as Socratic seminar, Teacher-led as a facilitator, Teacher-led as a promoter of diverse perspectives, Using student-generated discussion questions whole class, Using student-generated discussion questions in small groups, Using Close-ended questions, Using Open-ended questions, Inquiry-based, Making real-world connections to the literature, Literature Circles. These literary discussion strategies can be used for both fiction and nonfiction literature.

Exploring what makes learning meaningful for postgraduate business students in higher education

While research exists on what constitutes meaningful learning, our study reveals the term meaningful is an ill-defined concept that is interpreted in multiple ways, often from a teacher-centric perspective. Less is known about what constitutes meaningfulness in the context of higher education, particularly in business education. This qualitative study seeks to identify postgraduate student perspectives on what is meaningful in higher education to inform the design of authentic and transformative learning experiences. Focus groups were conducted to gain insights into students’ most meaningful learning experiences across four postgraduate business subjects. We conducted a thematic analysis of the student data by inductively coding the transcripts and comments. Students derived the most value from learning experiences that incorporated real-world connections, social encounters, or productive challenges. We also found that students’ discussions of meaningfulness were relatively superficial, suggesting that postgraduate students may not be primed to consider meaningfulness in relation to their learning. We thus problematise the term meaningful and conclude by proposing ‘learning highs’ as a new tentative conceptual frame for future research identifying learning situations in which meaningful experiences occur.

Using Photo Journals to Support Real-World Connections to Classroom Content

Using Photo Journals to Support Real-World Connections to Classroom Content

Belonging Pedagogy: Revisiting Identity, Culture, and Difference

This study examines belonging pedagogy as an effective, culturally respectful intervention in art education. Art education faculty members at three institutions collaborated and organized virtual workshops to broaden the scope of diversity and promote online community building. Culturally sensitive and inclusive education and pedagogy of belonging are presented as conceptual backgrounds, combined with a constant comparative method through which outcomes of the study are analyzed. By incorporating personal narratives into K–16 educational practices, students can revisit their racial and cultural differences and sense of belonging in the classroom context. They can make real-world connections through art by being vulnerable and open to difficult conversations, sharing individual stories, making art collaboratively, and personalizing the social and cultural contexts of society. This approach can be applied to both teacher education and K–12 classrooms to create a safe space for students to reflect on their identities and cultures and build a sense of belonging.

Implementing team-based learning in a large environmental chemistry course and its impact on student learning and perceptions

Team-based learning (TBL) is an instructional strategy where students participate in a set of activities including, applying course concepts to real-life case studies in instructor-selected teams. Here, we describe how TBL has been incorporated into a 3rd year, large, environmental chemistry course and investigate the benefits of using this strategy. A combination of pre/post survey and coursework data were analyzed to understand: (1) What were student perceptions of TBL? (2) How did using TBL to deliver content influence student learning, measured by exam performance? (3) How did students’ team skills evolve? Post-survey results indicate that students perceived TBL as enhancing their interest in course content, creating real-world connections, and most helpful for achieving practical critical thinking skills. Student performance on TBL-related final exam items was significantly better (Mean = 73%, SD = 21%) than non TBL-related final exam items, (Mean = 65%, SD = 21%), despite the level of complexity being similar between the two categories. The pre/post survey results indicate that, as compared to the start of term, students reported being significantly more comfortable expressing opinions in group meetings (t(78) = 4.25, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.48), and leading group discussions (t(78) = 3.11, p = 0.003, Cohen's d = 0.35), by the end of the term. The one-minute reflections (completed following the first and fifth TBL activities) indicated that there was a 14% increase (77% vs. 91%) in the number of students reporting on collective team decision making. This study demonstrates the wide-ranging positive impacts of TBL to student learning in a large Environmental Chemistry course all while enhancing active learning and applying chemistry concepts to relevant and real-life case studies.

What’s art got to do with it?—Transfer of learning in museum-based health professions education

Museum-based education for health professionals is a rich and expanding field in which educators engage health professions learners in arts-based activities intentionally designed to support transfer of learning from a museum to a clinical context. Museum-based education for health professionals promotes several key learning outcomes including: mastery of core skills such as observation, interpretation, and communication; cultivating personal insight; fostering appreciation for multiple perspectives; opening avenues to explore social advocacy; and promoting wellness. Following a museum-based activity, translational facilitators guide learners through a debriefing process which supports the discovery of real-world connections to clinical teaching, learning, and care delivery. Translational debriefing involves practices such as attending to psychological safety, using reflective listening and open-ended questions, practicing cultural humility, maintaining neutrality, and modeling curiosity. These translational opportunities can also help participants who are themselves health professions educators gain insights into their own teaching practices and provide new tools to incorporate, including bedside teaching strategies and innovative ways to facilitate small group learning.

History and Cartography meet youth through Digital Technology

Through collaboration between the Onassis Foundation, the Historical Archive of the National Bank of Greece, and the Vocational Senior High School of Kamatero, an innovative digital project was developed that is both trendy and geared towards youth. This project showcases how a concept aimed at emphasizing the historical significance of the Capital of Greece inspired students to merge the disciplines of Computer Science and History, resulting in the creation of a 3D game on a popular platform. Additionally, this project demonstrates how Project-based learning can be achieved through collaborative and inquiry-based learning, real-world connections, initiative, and the satisfaction of creating something new. The impetus for the cooperation was the Panhellenic Student Competition of the Onassis Foundation, "Hack the Map: Imaginary Worlds." This competition invited schools to promote the cultural heritage of Greece, especially cartographic exhibits/evidence of the old days, through students' digital projects. The Historical Archive of the National Bank of Greece, which is a significant resource for studying Modern Greek History through primary sources, reached out to the Vocational Senior High School of Kamatero, located in the western sector of Athens, to work on a project. The school has an IT department, among other disciplines. In close collaboration, they developed a scenario that is about the civil war that occurred in Athens during the Interregnum period (October 1862-October 1863) after the dethronement of Greece's first king, Otto I. The scenario highlights the bloody events that took place between political factions in the city. In these conflicts, the implication of "Kyriakos," a dangerous leader of robbers, is a paradoxical historical event that stimulated the 2nd-grade Informatics students' imagination. Therefore, they created a 3D digital game entitled "Thieves and Policemen in the newly established Greek city-state: Iouniana." This presentation intends to demonstrate how the students' team of the Vocational School of Kamatero rebuilt Athenian monuments related to Kyriakos' action in a 3D environment; how they reconstructed the cartography of the capital's center during the second half of the 19th century based on these monuments and how they utilized digital resources (maps, photos, and texts) and books proposed by NBG Historical Archives; how a single player, via Kyriakos' persona, has to accomplish missions-battles and match parts of Athens' map of that era; and finally, how students narrated a historical event in a game constructed in Roblox platform inviting other young people to involve history knowledge.

Unleashing the Entrepreneurial Spirit: Nurturing Elementary Students' Potential for Innovation, Creativity, and Fearless Exploration

This paper advocates for the teaching of entrepreneurship to elementary students, specifically those from 98 percent minority, low socio-economic (Title I schools in the US) by recognizing and harnessing their inherent entrepreneurial spirit. The prevailing notion that entrepreneurship is exclusively reserved for adults disregards the natural inclination of young learners to explore, create, innovate, and fearlessly try new things. By fostering an environment that encourages curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving, educators can tap into the entrepreneurial potential of elementary students. This philosophical position emphasizes the importance of instilling an entrepreneurial mindset in students, promoting a growth mindset, integrating real-world connections, and empowering students to take ownership of their learning. Through age-appropriate activities and authentic experiences, students develop essential entrepreneurial skills and qualities such as critical thinking, adaptability, resilience, and a sense of agency. By embracing this perspective, educators can cultivate a generation of entrepreneurial thinkers and doers who are equipped with the skills, mindset, and creativity necessary for future success in the 21st century. Imagine the following scenario of events that took place in the Rawlings Elementary approach utilized in this paper. A collaboration with the Haitian Center for Inclusive Education founded by Gertrude Bien Aime, in which Rawlings students shared local neighborhood riffs and rhythms they bring into the school each day with neighborhood music of the children in Port au Prince. The 40 students with special needs at the Haiti inclusion school are raised by Gertrude at the Notre Maison Orphanage where she maintains their care and safety regardless of outside conditions. When the Rawlings students met the students and Gertrude the female students in the class requested repeated conversations with Gertrude as a role model but also because of her entrepreneurial ability to face the challenges of gangs, food shortages, and variety of needs the students with disabilities she rescued and raises they engage with. The first comment from my students when the Zoom session ended was “Fundraiser!”. Disregarding their own daily socio economic, educational and potential safety needs in their lives and focusing on the opportunity to assist others. One student had suggesting recording their original music arrangements of their neighborhood music on Spotify. By incorporating authentic experiences, such as connecting with local entrepreneurs, engaging in community projects, and exploring entrepreneurship in various fields, students can grasp the practical applications of entrepreneurial skills. As a result of these shared experiences, the Society for Education, Music and Psychological Research (SEMPRE) with support from Dr. Graham Welch paid for Gertrude to fly to Florida to attend the Florida Council for Exceptional Children Conference to receive added training and entrepreneurial opportunities. Bien Aime received the Florida Council for Exceptional Children’s Landis Stetler Award for service to the field of special education and will be hired and brought to the US this fall as a consultant for the Florida Atlantic University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. The purpose of this consultancy will be to encourage the parents of children with special needs in the Haitian community there to overcome a perceived stigma in receiving services for their children at the center. The funding also will help her in her efforts to continue to support the students in Haiti. This Rawlings Elementary approach helps students understand how their ideas and actions can make a meaningful impact on their community and the world around them and through journaling, critique discussions and critical thinking on these activities they take steps to improve their reading and writing skills.

Impact of Social Media on Education: Both Positively and Negatively

Social media is an online platform that people use to create networked or hang out with others that have similar hobbies, interests, backgrounds, or real-world connections. Social networks have a big effect on young people. Social networking websites can help young individuals develop their social skills. A web-based method of exchange of information is called social media. Users can engage in conversations, share information, and produce material to post on the web via social media sites. There are many various types of social media, including blogs, microblogs, blogs, networking sites, sharing of photographs and videos internet pages, messaging programs, widgets, podcasts, virtual worlds, and etc. The study's major goals were to determine social media's effects on education, both positive and negative. It occurs a critical review study with in-depth reviews and a qualitative research approach that is based on secondary data gathered from electronic sources which includes book chapters to assist journals, articles, research, the internet, and the Google search engine. Analytical methods were used to conduct the literature review, then an assortment of choices was made after carefully reviewing all the data. Social media has been found to have a variety of benefits, but it also has some drawbacks that have an impact on persons. As an example, online networking can manipulate the public at large by compromising people's security, and some insignificant websites can have an adverse effect on young people who may develop an arrogant attitude and engage in some unlawful conduct. As a last resort, all citizens are urged to embrace the social media's positive elements and avoid its negative ones so that we might benefit from these brand-new technologies

Plotting Success: A Communication Activity for Promoting Graph Literacy

Graphical representations appear everywhere in modern society. Their ubiquity has, in part, justified graph literacy as a core competency in education. Graph literacy - the capacity to read and interpret graphs - consists of understanding features, identifying variables, interpreting trends, and forming real-world connections. Experts and novices engage with graphical representations in profoundly distinct ways. Experts almost exclusively interpret graphs in sequences moving from titles/captions to labels/axes to data/trends, while novices demonstrate unrecognizable or wildly varying sequences. If students are to reasonably interpret and act on graphical information, then teachers must assist them in transitioning from novice to expert practices and provide a compelling justification for doing so.

Fostering diversity of teaching practices and the role of language for specific purposes – report

5th International ESP/LSP Workshop and Conference “Actual ESP/LSP Classroom Practice – sharing the what and how and why of our teaching” was held at the University of Niš, Faculty of Electronic Engineering, Serbia on 22-23 September, 2022 in the offline/hybrid mode. It was the jubilee workshop and conference held offline at the premises of the faculty, enhancing virtual participation and also accepting personal attendance. The 5th hybrid conference encompassed 38 presentations from 17 countries thus hosting colleagues from USA, Slovenia, Romania, Georgia, Serbia, Slovakia, Montenegro, South Africa, North Macedonia, France, Russia, India, Cyprus, Germany, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Hercegovina. Many esteemed colleagues joined us in considerations of conceptualizing the teaching and learning content, methods, approaches, materials, and sharing demonstrations of their own exemplary classroom practices. The keynote speaker, Dr. Mary Risner with the University of Florida, USA, delivered a workshop each day of the event providing hands on knowledge directly usable in our own classrooms (Making Real-World Connections in the ESP/LSP Curriculum through Technology and Experiential Learning). The scope of the conference topics included to name just a few: Financial Issues in Fiction, Symmetric and Asymmetric Communication in Teaching English for Medical Purposes, Testing Corpus Linguistics Methods in ESP Vocabulary Teaching, CLIL as the Vehicle of Transition from Mono- to Bilingual Instruction, Facilitating Legal English Teaching and Learning through SIOP Model, Implementing Emotional Intelligence Activities in the ESP Classroom, Cleared for Take-off: from Authentic Aviation Tasks to Communicative Classroom Activities, ELP/LE for the Judiciary: Instructional Design for Authentic Learning, Educational Videos as an Invaluable Teaching Material in ESP for Sports, Cross Cultural Communicative Challenges in an East-Indian Class, etc.