Students Deal Research Articles

Students’ Problem-solving Difficulties and Coping Strategies in Mathematics: A Model- Building Study

A number of research projects in educational assessment reveal that students struggle when it comes to accomplishing problem-solving tasks in Mathematics. Such a struggle is primarily due to the complexities of problem-solving. Students deal with these struggles by employing mechanisms that could be classified into either problem-focused or emotion-focused coping strategies. The study was implemented through a design-research approach by using a model-building framework with four stages: 1) analysis; 2) development; 3) implementation/validation; and 4) evaluation. The models with the two variables were also linked to the student’s sexual orientation and academic programs. Through descriptive statistical measures, such as frequency count and percentages, difficulties were enumerated through the administration of a problem- solving test. It should be noted, however, that a respondent may have at least one difficulty in the different phases of problem-solving. Two hundred and ninety-seven of the 425 college respondents were involved in the model-development stage. The majority of both males and females experienced the same difficulty/ies in all the phases, namely; the inability to distinguish the known from the unknown information (U1), the inability to transform a problem into a mathematical equation (D1), the inability to completely perform the working procedure systematically and accurately (C1), and the inability to start the evaluation of the correctness of the obtained solution (L2). The majority of the respondents of both the STEM-related and non-STEM-related academic programs experienced the same difficulties, namely: D1, C1 and L2 in the DP, CP and the LB problem-solving phases, respectively. In the UP phase, however, the majority of the respondents in the STEM-related academic programs experienced U2, and U1 for the non-STEM-related academic programs. Moreover, 43 acts of coping were elicited from the respondents through a coping-strategy questionnaire, 32 of which were classified as problem-focused, whereas 11 were categorized as emotion-focused. Both sexes utilized the coping strategies: UP2, DP8 and CP7 in the phases of UP, DP and CP respectively. In the LB phase, LB3 was utilized by the males and LB1 was utilized by the females. The majority of the respondents of the STEM-related academic programs preferred UP2, DP8, CP7 and LB1 coping strategies, while UP2, DP8, CP7 and LB3 opted for the non-STEM related academic program respondents. The identified relationships between and among the variables brought forth two models namely: Coping Strategy by Sex by Phase, and Coping Strategy by Academic Program by Phase. Purposive sampling factors, like the availability of the respondents and the matching of coping strategies, as presented in the models developed were taken into consideration in evaluating the effectivity of the models. From the sampled respondents in the validation group, where the frequency of their pre-identified difficulties had either decreased or were totally resolved. The study concludes that the models have the ability to address the difficulties of the students in their problem-solving encounters through their coping strategies. Therefore, this study recommends that teachers should provide students with problem-solving tasks that focus on the phases in which they struggle. Additionally, this study encourages teachers to allow their students to apply their most-preferred coping strategies, so that they could perform better in Mathematics problem-solving.

Determining Major Stressors for Students at a Private Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan, Using MSSQ.

Background: Undergraduate medical studies are tough and require long hours of study and thus can lead to significant stress for the students both physically and emotionally. Stress can affect a student’s mental wellbeing and can lead to anxiety, fatigue and depression. Medical undergraduates report a greater level of perceived stress then general population. We need to understand the stressors affecting the health of our students in order to prevent psychological and emotional consequences. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study using the Medical student stressor questionnaire (MSSQ) was designed to determine the different stressors that a medical student deals with during their educational career at the University College of Medicine (UCM) at University of Lahore (UOL). Student participation in this study was voluntary. 1st, 2nd and 3rd year MBBS students of UCM were included in the study. The questionnaire has 20 questions that determine the academic, interpersonal & intrapersonal, teaching and learning, social, drive and desire, and group activities related stressors. The students were further asked to answer questions related to their gender, study routine and physical activity. They were also asked about family and social support available to them. SPSS software version 23 was utilized for data analysis. Results: Data revealed that the 2nd and 3rd year students regard academic related stressors as the most bothersome for them, whereas the desire related stressors were regarded by them as causing mild to moderate stress. The remaining four domains were rated as causing only moderate stress. 1st year students graded the academic related stressors as the cause of most stress for them, while the teaching and learning related stressors, interpersonal related stressors and social related stressors were rated less than it. Drive and desire related stressors were regarded as causing mild stress. When we compared the data from all three years, we found that group activates related stressors were regarded as least stressful by 3rd year students. 3rd year MBBS students rated the intrapersonal & interpersonal stressors, social related stressors, drive and desire related stressors and group activity related stressors at a level that was lower than the 1st & 2nd year MBBS students. Conclusions: Academic related stressors and teaching and learning related stressors were rated as being most stressful by students of all three years. Institutions should take to make the learning environment less stressful for the students as continued stress can adversely affect the health and mental well-being of the students. Keywords: Undergraduate Medical Students, Stress, Medical student stressor questionnaire (MSSQ)

Students’ perceptions towards native and non-native english speaker teachers

There was an argument that native English teachers have many advantages than non-native English teachers and students preferred native to non-native teachers; however, the argument had to be assessed. Many researchers had been exploring students’ perceptions of native and non-native English teachers worldwide in formal education institutions. This study aimed to explore students’ perceptions of native and non-native English teachers in a non-formal education institution. This was a qualitative study based on a descriptive approach conducted using three instruments: close-ended questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and documentation. The study revealed that native and non-native English teachers had their own specific roles in the Indonesian context. Students needed native more than non-native teachers because the latter were bilingual having the same mother tongue as them, and they enabled a successful learning process because of the effective learning strategies they shared. Also, non-native teachers helped students deal with difficulties and challenges in their learning process.

Prevalence of Lower Back Pain and its Relation to Stress Among medical Students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT Background: Lower back pain (LBP) has become one of the serious issues globally. Medical students and their highly demanding programs made them more liable for LBP, which may reflect their academic performance and mental health. Still, not enough studies discussed this topic in the middle east region. This study aimed to estimate and measure LBP's prevalence and its relation to stress among medical students in Saudi Arabia. Method: A cross-sectional study conducted among medical students from second to the sixth year from the following colleges in Jeddah city: KAU, ISNC, FCSM, KSAU, BMC, JU. A pre-validated questionnaire, including the “Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire” and “Kessler Psychological Distress Scale,” was distributed through social media. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 25. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant, and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: A total of 452 participants filled the questionnaire. The mean age was (21.62 ± 1.877). (68.1%) Participants had complained about LBP during the last 12 months, with a significant association between the prevalence of LBP and gender ( p=0.001 ). The majority of females who complained of LBP (75%) had severe stress disorder scores by the K10-scale. Normal BMI students had a higher prevalence of LBP more than others, although there was a positive correlation between the prevalence of LBP and BMI ( r=0.188 ). Conclusion: Medical students have a high prevalence of LBP, interfering with their daily function and mental health. LBP may be one of the causes of depression and anxiety in this population. We recommend that college facilities include an indoor gym to encourage students to exercise and provide an academic adviser for each student, to help students deal with their stress so that they can perform better in their studies and social lives.

Thoughts and feelings that determine how Japanese nursing students deal with ethical issues: A qualitative study

Thoughts and feelings that determine how Japanese nursing students deal with ethical issues: A qualitative study

Identifying the psychological processes used by male and female students when learning about science technology engineering and mathematics: A linguistic inquiry

AbstractLearning in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is challenging, leaving many students to give up on these subjects. Specifically, females are underrepresented in STEM industries. Identifying how male and female students deal with STEM learning challenges, and how this relates to learning outcomes, may inform teaching that best supports the preferences of individual students. This study asked secondary school students, who had just completed a STEM lesson that they reported as finding difficult (n = 3758; male = 51.2%), to write narratives about how they dealt with the lesson. Narratives were analyzed using a linguistic text analysis program to identify core psychological processes contained within the narratives from lessons in science n = 1305 (males = 46.3%), technology n = 589 (males = 63.7%), engineering n = 202 (males = 57.9%), and mathematics n = 1662 (males = 49.9%). Students were also asked to score how well they think they did in the difficult lesson (learning outcome). Pearson's correlations between students' use of core psychological processes and their perceptions of lesson success were computed separately for males and females. Common strategies emerged across the STEM subjects: for female students, positive learning outcomes were associated with positive emotions, social processes, rewards, and strategic thinking. For male students, positive learning outcomes were associated with motivation around the risk of failing, rationalizing the problem, and strategic thinking. Negative emotion was associated with a negative learning outcome for both broadly defined genders, but this was more evident across the subjects for females. We specify our understanding of this strategy by reporting data separately for the STEM subjects and the implications for STEM pedagogy.

Combat New Normal Life and Remote Emergency Learning During Pandemic Crisis: A Perspective from Public Universities Students

The Bangladeshi education system has resorted to a virtual emergency mode of learning in order to sustain teaching and learning practices in educational institutions, providing a quick fix to the challenges. From the perspective of public university students, the researcher employed a qualitative study approach to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on tertiary education in Bangladesh. The primary data was collected via a well-designed online questionnaire, which was completed by 150 persons. Public universities in Bangladesh use virtual platforms to deliver online classes. University facilities and infrastructure, a robust national data infrastructure, appropriate computer devices, and excellent and affordable data services for students are all required for online instruction. The goal of the study is to determine the practicality and applicability of online education, as well as how students deal with the risk of Covid-19. This research identified a number of unanticipated disruptions in students' learning, as well as a drop in excitement and study hours, difficulty with student-teacher interactions, and a variety of physical, emotional, and financial issues associated to academic studies. According to the research, the most typically mentioned issues by students include network and facility-related hurdles, as well as personal and socio-psychological challenges. A lack of technological infrastructure, a high cost of internet, a slow internet connection, a family's financial difficulty, and student mental strain were also recognized as important impediments to online education by the majority of students. The study presented several recommendations to policymakers based on the findings to help them overcome the challenges of online classrooms in the future. Keywords: Emergency virtual learning, online class, network, psychological stress, academic fear, Covid-19, Tertiary level. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-24-10 Publication date: August 31 st 2021

Knowledge of Impacted Teeth among the Undergraduate Dental Students of a Medical College: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study.

Third molar impaction is a common patient complaint in dentistry. Common symptoms are localized pain, swelling, bleeding, and difficulty in mouth opening. Since dental students deal with patients early in their education, for better skill, they should have knowledge of various teeth impactions. Hence, the objective was to find out the knowledge of impacted teeth among undergraduate dental students of a medical college. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among bachelor in dental surgery students of a medical college from November 30, 2020 to April 3, 2021. Data collection was done by convenience sampling after receiving ethical clearance from Institutional Review Committee (Reference 1208202006). A structured questionnaire in Google Forms was sent to 221 participants via Viber. Out of 213 responses received, 144 were analyzed in Excel after discarding for duplication and other errors. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage were analyzed. Out of the total of 144 participants, only 81 (56.3%) (47.89-91.4 at 95% Confidence Interval) had known about the term 'impacted teeth' before joining Bachelor in Dental Surgery course. The source of information was mostly the internet 27 (18.8%) followed by dentist 23 (16%). Most students 116 (80.6%) were familiar with third molar impactions, 62 (43.1%) knew about types of impacted teeth/impaction, and 100 (69.4%) were aware of the complications of not removing impacted teeth. Dental students should be provided with appropriate 'impacted teeth' education supported by practical experience. More detailed information regarding impacted teeth should be included in the curriculum for better understanding.

Learning democratic participation? Meaning-making in discussion of socioscientific issues in science education

ABSTRACT Learning democratic participation as future citizens is an important goal for science education for all students. To take part in debates and decision-making involving socioscientific issues, such as sustainability, students need to become aware of different positions and dilemmas regarding such issues. This study seeks to understand how democratic participation is constructed by 45 student participants aged 16 years, for whom science is not the main course of study. Students worked in small groups on tasks that involved discussion of two different socioscientific issues. The analysis of student discourse used a theoretical perspective from discursive psychology, and shows how students deal with ideological dilemmas and resolve different positions within their discussions. Five ‘interpretative repertoires’ were identified from student talk illustrating the dilemmas occurring in the specific SSIs and also the function of science within the discussion. Through identifying interpretative repertoires used by the students, the stances they take and the function of science in their discussions, the study sheds light on how democratic participation can be learnt in a science education context.

Mobile Application: Learning Basic Mathematics Operation using Augmented Reality

At school, students must learn mathematics not only as a formality to participate in exams, but also to use their mathematical knowledge to solve problems in their daily lives. When students deal with numerical information, they tend to have a negative feeling or fear, and this is known as mathematical anxiety. The aim of the project is to develop a mobile application that integrates augmented reality technology into mathematical education and to evaluate the technological acceptance of the mobile application. This mobile app is reviewed and tested by 23 end users, most of whom are educators and parents. The technique to achieve the objective is to use the Acceptance Model Questionnaire (TAM). In the technology acceptance model there are three sections that are perceived as useful, user-friendly and intended for use. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the three technology acceptance sections are acceptable and that educators and parents are satisfied with it. For future work, the research recommends adding a variety of exercises with diversifying forms of questions with answers in the mobile application. It is further recommended that the augmented reality output to implement a 3D modeling design to project a better virtual images.

THE PROCESS OF COMPREHENSION: THE ROLE OF READING LITERARY TEXTS FOR ENHANCING THE BASIC LANGUAGE SKILLS

Purpose of the study: The targets of the review were to figure out the effect of perusing literary texts on the improvement of language abilities, working of jargon, punctuation, grammar, composing articulation and the highlight composing abilities of the ESL students. The ESL students deal with a ton of issues in language learning, especially during the time spent composing abilities; because the most common way of composing needs its very own topic, a circumstance, which customary course books loaded with syntax practices can't give. Methodology: The data-gathering instruments include Questionnaires; an Open-ended Questionnaire, a Close-ended Questionnaire and a Semi-structured Interview. This research was qualitative. For the convenience of the current research, the researcher primarily gathered open-ended items from the respondents through an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interview schedule from students and teachers respectively. Main Findings: In order to take maximum benefits from literature for language learning especially writing skills, activity-based leaning needs to be given emphasis in the classroom. But there should be systematic criteria for selection of classroom activities. Applications of the study: This study provides an awareness of the way language is used in literary discourse for the conveying of unique message.The students can study literature for only language learning. Literature should first succeed as literary experience no matter how much it helps in language learning. Novelty/Originality of the study: This study can pave grounds for the ESL learners in the language classroom using literary texts as the material especially designed for the writing activities (for children aged 5-12 years).This study would increase ESL learners’ interest in both reading literary texts and doing writing tasks based on them.

Online studying instructional measures at the International Relations Department of the National University of Ostroh Academy

Aim. The paper’s aim is to present some current specific online studying instructional measures at the International Relations Department of the National University of Ostroh Academy in Ukraine.Methods. The study is devoted to the observation of some theoretical and methodological aspects of the peculiarities of online studying measures at the International Relations Department. The theoretical and comparative methods of analysing the peculiarities of online studying have been taken into account. In order to summarise the currentonline studying experiences at the International Relations Department, some specific instructional measures for both students and teachers are presented, for example: how to handle the lack of interaction, master self-learning, promote self-regulation strategies and become more strategic thinkers.. The necessity of studying the above-mentionedaspects has been caused by their impact on students’ learning activity, especially in the times of COVID-19 pandemic.Results and conclusions. The focal point of this research is to provide an insight into the background of online studying peculiarities through the prism of Ukrainian teachers and students. The analysis is focused on online studying of foreign languages, as well as the possible online teaching methods of professional disciplines (History of International Relations; Foreign Policy of the Countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America; International Conflicts; Current Problems of International Relations in the Middle East) at the International Relations Department. What is more, the authors outline how to help students deal with the lack of interaction, master self-learning, promote self-regulation strategies and become more strategic thinkers. The authors also highlight possible challenges for the faculty and suggest ways to overcome those difficulties. Moreover, some major prerequisites of students’ self-regulatory online learning are described. Contribution. The results of the study are instrumental in mastering the peculiarities of online studying through the prism of learning at the International Relations Department of the National University of Ostroh Academy (Ukraine). The findings of this study may be considered important and contribute to future research.

DEHUMANISATION AND OBJECTIFICATION: LESSONS FROM PRAJWAL PARAJULY’S “THE CLEFT”

In the current world of globalism and multiculturalism and the face of radicalism and terrorism, it is deemed necessary to prepare our students better to face today's world challenges to guide students to accept differences among them. Therefore, it is considered necessary to unravel their sense of humanity, being aware of ideas such as objectification and to introduce students to the idea that we, humans, despite our different beliefs, ideals, political views, and religions, share common feelings, desires, and needs. People come in different shapes, , and they all have their deficiencies. How do students deal with the injustice, the inhumanity around them? Do they understand acts of objectification and taking place in the world? Do they understand the concepts? What are their ideas of the two terms related to humanity? Understanding these two keywords will help students unravel within them some sense of humanity. This project highlights efforts to introduce students to a work of literature entitled “The Cleft” written by a Nepalese writer . The students read the story and are expected to uncover their sense of humanity by understanding the concepts of objectification and . What lessons can students draw after reading the story? After being introduced to the story and the concepts, students are expected to produce their art project as a reflection and reaction to the story and the ideas embedded in it.

Problem-Based Learning Approach to Review the Principles of Green Chemistry Applied to a Polycondensation Reaction

Science Education International ¦ Volume 32 ¦ Issue 2 107 ORIGINAL ARTICLE INTRODUCTION The problem-based learning (PBL) methodology is a student-centered approach that is related to the learning process that occurs when students deal with real world problems, while working in teams to find and develop a solution, with teachers/instructors acting as facilitators (Nagarajan and Overton, 2019). Some elements seem to be common to PBL: Learning is student centered (as mentioned before), problems are structured and authentic, teachers act as advisors, and students work in small groups (Cowden and Santiago, 2016). Although, the elements are in constant interaction, students are responsible of their learning, implying that they have the main role in the cognitive process and should work actively, in group, to solve a problem. On the other hand, instructors act as coaches, they incite group discussion, and they are in charge of monitoring the process. Students are the main characters, since PBL methodology emerged from constructivist learning theories and it was developed as an alternative to conventional teaching (Loyens et al., 2006). Constructivism suggests that humans build knowledge from their experiences and, contrary to traditional education, where students receive knowledge like empty vessels to be filled, in constructivist, students are encouraged to confront what they know (Bada and Olusegun, 2015). It is evident that, long-term memorability is enhanced by PBL, because it fosters the utilization of previous knowledge to solve a new problem and demands students to put in practice what they have already been taught, therefore, facilitating the comprehension of the concepts (Schmidt et al., 2011). Other benefits that come along with PBL include the improvement of student’s creative thinking, self-regulated skills, and self-evaluation (Jansson et al., 2015; Yoon et al., 2014). Therefore, to improve chemistry student’s learning experience, the PBL approach can be used for a better comprehension of the importance of Green Chemistry. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, 1990), Green Chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances; this designing process can be assisted by the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry (Lancaster, 2002). The principles are qualitative, and their aim is to minimize the impact of chemical activities on human health and environment without compromising the chemical process (Ribeiro and Machado, 2013). There is a commitment to green chemistry education (Armstrong et al., 2018), and efforts have been made to implement it, at the undergraduate level (Timmer et al., 2018; Kennedy, 2016; Manchanayakage, 2013), but there is an uneven development of green chemistry curricular materials, since there have been few comprehensive reforms for general chemistry lecture or laboratory curricula (Armstrong et al., 2019). For example, Green Chemistry has not been covered extensively by chemistry A problem-based learning (PBL) methodology was implemented to a project, whose main objectives were to discuss and apply the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry to the study of poly(vinyl alcohol)’s cross-linking reaction with dicarboxylic acids. The five participating students were oriented to be responsible for their own learning and the professor participated as an advisor. The problem was proposed and students planned all their activities to accomplish the objectives and goals, reviewed recent information in scientific literature and summarized it, made experimental work, prepared written reports, and were evaluated in seminars. The results obtained by the students were assessed through the generation of a final report and also with a final oral presentation in front of faculty members. The experience lived by the collaborative workgroup during the development and execution of the project, is described. This research is an example of how the PBL methodology can motivate the active participation of students when solving problems. The next step is to introduce this tool to teachers and students of other undergraduate courses or laboratories, since it causes a difference in the way education is being perceived in our university, because it emphasizes the application and understanding of concepts over simple memorization.

The Influence of the Developed Specific Multi-Paradigm Programming in Digital Logic Education

This article introduces the possible usage of the developed programming discourse that can be used to support training in the digital logic area. The discourse merges several programming paradigms into one solution. The intended learners are secondary school students focused on digital system programming. The main intent is to find out whether digital logic curriculum based on Digital Circuits Based Logical Programming (DCBLP) inheritance has positive impact on the students and the way they explore the digital logic itself. Students’ cognitive and affective areas are in the scope of this preliminary research and questionnaires and cognitive tests will help to support the research. Experimental and control groups were used to gather relevant records. To analyse and support the interpretation of the data gathered by questionnaires, the chi-square test (two-tailed) has been used. ANOVA has been used to evaluate data for the achievement test results. The preliminary research revealed there is a possibility of using developed programming discourse DCBLP in digital logic training. Students claim overall usefulness of the discourse in the training; the strong motivation power of the programming discourse itself has not been discovered. From the test we conclude that the performance of the students trained using new programming discourse is significantly better. It is possible to use more different programming paradigms, such as imperative and declarative, in one solution to support training in the area of digital logic. Such solutions can enhance the way the students deal with the programming languages and also supports interdisciplinary relationships.

Study of stress in medical student during COVID pandemic

Several studies have shown that medical students experience high levels of stress during their undergraduate course, due to the medical curriculum. Due to COVID shut down, now students are away from regular college routine, but are they still stressed?This study was conducted to better understand student’s experiences of stress, for instance, what causes students stress and what students do to manage their feelings of stress. First year medical students from various medical colleges in Karnataka were selected for the study. Questionnaire related to symptoms of stress and coping methods, Grading the reason of stress and needed guidance were included. Questions were circulated online. 115 responses were recorded and analyzed. This study showed in the past three months during the shutdown, 63 percent of students were feeling low, 60 percent students said they are feeling anxious. 60 percent felt irritable. 30-50 percent students are completely stressed of missing on regular classes, practical and clinical exposure, uncertainty of exams and uncertain future. More than 5 percent students are sorting medical help for the same. More than 90 percent of students who are stressed are trying many relaxation methods. None of the students have opted for any college faculty or councilors for help during this crisis.More than 50 percent medical students are stressed and are having symptoms None of them have opted for guidance or counselling from the colleges. From this study, I conclude that all colleges must provide college councilors or staff to help students deal with their stress during such crisis. On a regular basis, student must be made aware of counsellors or mentors in college or attached hospital, whom they can consult when needed.

HOW BILINGUAL PROGRAM HELPS STUDENTS IMPROVE THEIR COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Bilingual program is a program that combines two languages, in this context are English-Indonesian, into a learning program in school. This bilingual program includes not only theory-based learning but also practice-based learning. Bilingual program can influence students in many ways, including in their communicative competence. The aim of this research is to find out that whether bilingual program can help students improve their communicative competence and how the students deal with it. Qualitative descriptive as the method of research and with observation, interviews, and document analysis/data analysis as the data collection techniques. This research shows that it is true that bilingual program can influence the students in their communicative competence. Based on this result, it can be concluded that bilingual program can help students improve their communicative competence with the programs held by school.

Flexibilidade Cognitiva no Ensino de Ciências: Uma Revisão Bibliográfica

Apresentamos neste artigo os resultados de uma revisão bibliográfica que teve como objetivos principais: (i) situar a flexibilidade cognitiva nas áreas de ensino e pesquisa em ensino de Ciências, e (ii) buscar subsídios para consubstanciar o desenvolvimento da flexibilidade cognitiva através da elaboração e avaliação de atividades didáticas de Física. Consideramos, neste contexto, a importância da recontextualização dos conhecimentos científicos. Explicitada por diversos autores e pelos documentos oficiais voltados ao ensino médio de Física, é ela que possibilita aos estudantes lidar com as situações que vivenciam ou venham a vivenciar, muitas delas novas e inéditas. Encontramos na Teoria da Flexibilidade Cognitiva (TFC) a base teórico-metodológica para essas questões. Isso porque ela enfatiza o desenvolvimento da flexibilidade cognitiva como essencial na construção, organização e reestruturação do conhecimento face a novas situações e contextos de utilização. Nessa linha, a revisão bibliográfica foi realizada em trinta e três periódicos da área, e abrangeu as publicações contidas no período de 1990 a 2017, em consonância com a proposição da TFC. Buscamos analisar aqueles trabalhos que possuíam ênfase na flexibilidade cognitiva, a partir de critérios elaborados de acordo com os referidos objetivos. Como um dos resultados dessa revisão bibliográfica, constatamos que a flexibilidade cognitiva ainda é pouco trabalhada no âmbito do ensino de Ciências, o que explicita a relevância e necessidade de ampliação das investigações sobre a temática. Outro resultado importante consistiu na inexistência de artigos de revisão de literatura sobre flexibilidade cognitiva na área, de modo que essa revisão se mostrou pertinente nesse âmbito. Como principal resultado obtido, destacamos a diversidade de metodologias de ensino, instrumentos de avaliação e focos de avaliação nas propostas analisadas. Entendemos que isso pode contribuir para a estruturação de atividades didáticas que visam a um processo de ensino-aprendizagem de Física mais flexível, bem como para uma análise coerente e abrangente dos aspectos envolvidos no desenvolvimento da flexibilidade cognitiva. Flexibilidade essa que é essencial para uma formação mais ampla e articulada, que visa à aplicação do conhecimento em novos contextos.

The Comparison between the Process-oriented Approach and the Product-oriented Approach in Teaching Writing The Case of Moroccan EFL Students in Preparatory Classes for the Grandes Ecoles

Writing is an important language skill, and learning to write is not an easy endeavour, especially for English as a foreign language (EFL) students. An effective EFL writing instruction, therefore, plays a significant role in helping EFL students deal with writing problems efficiently and approach writing tasks effectively. Based on this premise, the present study aims at investigating the effect of two alternative writing approaches, process and product, on Moroccan EFL students’ writing performance to find out which of these approaches is more effective. It explores process writing instruction based on Hayes’ (2012) recent model that responded to both critiques of the 1980-s original model of Flower and Hayes and to new ideas, which adds more layers to EFL writing research and instruction. To this end, the participants were divided into two groups, A and B, and they all took a writing pre-test before the treatment. For three months (two hours per week), group A students received academic argumentative writing instruction that was product-oriented, while group B students were taught academic argumentative writing based on Hayes’ (2012) process writing model. After the treatment, all participants took a writing post-test. The analysis of the collected data revealed that group B participants showed a significant improvement in their compositions compared to their group A counterparts, which provides evidence that the process-oriented approach is more effective in enhancing EFL writing than the product-oriented approach. In the light of these findings, some pedagogical recommendations were suggested.

Learning in the shadows: parents’ investments, family burden, and students’ workload in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Privatization, marketization, investment, and competition of education have become a global phenomenon with significant implications. While research on demand and patterns of shadow education are increasingly available across the world, very little is known about the scope of parents’ investments, family burden, and students’ workload. This paper focuses on shadow education in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Shadow education is defined as fee-based private supplementary tutoring that replicates the official school system. The study conducted on shadow education uses an explanatory sequential mixed methods design with quantitative data from questionnaires of 354 participants, involving students and parents, and qualitative data from interviews of 24 participants, including students, parents, and teachers. The aim of this paper is to examine how parents’ investments in their children’s private tutoring create high expectations and competition that bring financial burden to families in a disadvantaged society. It addresses the experiences of students’ workloads due to extra lessons of several subjects in a day, exam preparation pressure, and parents’ and peer pressures in the desire not to lag behind. It shows how students deal with time shortages for workloads from extra lessons and deprive themselves of sports and social activities, which are part and parcel of being a mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy human being. The study draws on the theories of educational privatization, competition, investment, and capability approach, which are then associated with the research contexts of this paper.