Teaching Purposes Research Articles

Effects of teacher students’ study progress on their gaze behavior while solving of an economics knowledge test

Positive effects of study progress on the economic knowledge of bachelor students are evident and were often referred to as proof of the validity of tests in the context of a longitudinal analysis. However, differences between domain-specific (e.g., semester) or discipline-specific (e.g., attended courses) indicators of study progress on students’ solving the economics tasks are relevant for both diagnostic and instructional purposes, but have hardly been researched to date. In an eye tracking study, we therefore calculated the average fixation duration during 900 task-solving processes of 35 economics teacher students solving 25 single-choice economics tasks. A multi-level mediation analysis shows that both indicators (i.e., semester and attended courses) were positively correlated with economics knowledge. At the same time, the impact of semesters and courses attended on their test performance was partially mediated by average fixation duration on the attractor and distractors, respectively. This suggests that visual attention differs during the task-solving process depending on the domain- or discipline-specific indicator of study progress.

Practices and Challenges Regarding Mathematics Laboratory for Pedagogical Purposes at Secondary School Level

Practices and Challenges Regarding Mathematics Laboratory for Pedagogical Purposes at Secondary School Level

Exploring The Perceptions and Use of Information and Communication Technology Tools Among High School Mathematics Teachers in The Northern Region of Ghana

This study explored the extent to which senior high school mathematics teachers in the Northern Region of Ghana use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in teaching and learning mathematics. A descriptive survey design was employed for the investigation. Using a stratified sampling technique, 20 public high schools in the northern region of Ghana were selected for the study. A simple random sampling was used to select 100 teachers (i.e., 50 teachers from urban and 50 teachers from rural schools) from the 20 schools for the study. Questionnaires were used to collect data for the study. The findings revealed that the mathematics teachers’ perceived knowledge of the benefits of ICT usage for instructional delivery, assessment, and professional learning networks in mathematics were low compared to their actual usage of the ICTs for the same purposes. The findings suggest that the participants utilize ICTs more for social networking than for instructional delivery, assessment, and professional development in mathematics. Further, the findings showed a positive relationship between the teachers’ perceived knowledge of the benefits of ICTs usage for instructional delivery and their actual use of ICTs for instructional delivery. Mathematics teachers from urban schools use ICTs for all instructional purposes more than their peers from rural schools. Implications for ICT policies, teacher training, and professional development are provided.

The Life + Death Education Framework: Proposition of a 'Universal' Framework for Implementation.

Life and death education is a distinct field of study that has potential life relevance for consideration (e.g., self-awareness and subsequent improvement of one's own health well-being). Existing research development, situating in different learning-sociocultural contexts, has provided consistent evidence that showcases the differing viewpoints of life functioning (e.g., what is the true meaning of life?) and the intricate nature of death and dying (e.g., a death ritual that closely associates with a particular cultural group). Some of the research studies undertaken indicate the effective use of 'philosophization' or the discourse of philosophical analysis, enabling individuals to philosophize, contemplate, and seek transpersonal understanding of the subject matters of life and death (e.g., can a state of 'spiritual transcendence' help to alleviate a person's fear of death?). Such discourse, interestingly, has offered some informative yields for enriching and meaningful life purposes - for example, the seeking to attain transpersonal understanding of life (e.g., what does a state of self-transcendence actually mean?) and/or transpersonal life experience may assist a senior citizen to cope with his mental health during a temporary health crisis. Our teaching and research interest of life and death education over the past decade has led us to consider one important line of inquiry for development: namely, the proposition of a 'universal' blueprint or framework of life and death education for curriculum development, teaching, and research purposes. We are cognizant of the fact that, to date, there is no clear consensus or agreement as to what one is expected (e.g., specific learning outcome) to teach students who wish to study and learn about life and death education. On this basis, the present theoretical article introduces a theoretical framework, termed as 'The Life + Death Education Framework' (e.g., for universities), to assist educators for their quality teaching and/or research inquiries of life and death education. We firmly believe that the Life + Death Education Framework can be universal and, in this case, apply to different learning-sociocultural contexts.

Immersive virtual reality in forestry work – implementation for chainsaw training

ABSTRACT Growing interest in virtual reality (VR) and its technical development has resulted in several applications for training and teaching purposes. This paper studied an immersive VR platform, hereafter referred to as IVR, developed for training in motor-manual tree delimbing as a learning tool, which is one of the first in forestry work training. The tested platform was the Husqvarna Limberjack, available for free download and publicly accessible. The platform uses an immersive VR to teach users how to delimb stems with a chainsaw. The study included four groups with different previous experience of using immersive VR as the first factor and a chainsaw as the second factor. The experiment included records of the time required to complete the tasks. That data was used in a procedural study in which the average and best times of the groups were utilized. Statistical analysis showed differences between the groups with and without experience in both factors. The learning curves showed a 12.4 to 26.7% improvement for all four groups. The IVR platform turned out to be a useful training aid, where skills can be gained before going to practice in field.

The Competition between Productive Failure and Direct Instruction Is not Determinable: A Review of the Deviations and Reasons

Teaching the learner new information demands careful implementation. The implementational protocols are derived from instructional ideologies and purpose of the design. It not only requires the instructors to grasp the essence of instructional designs without an extemporaneous amending or exchanging of the theoretically proven meaningful teaching events, but also, a precise actualization of structure and approach as well as its behind ideology is demanded. Those rationales and references for instructors to determine when and how to implement instruction, what practice or what strategies are needed to be taught ought to be precise enough to separately explain their advantages and prediction of outcomes in learning. In this article, we explored how both problem-proceeding learning and guidance-proceeding learning are beyond control regarding the deviated cognitive processing those instructional procedures can possibly elicited.

Sociotechnical challenges faced by students with disability and factors influencing the integration of assistive technologies

The sociotechnical challenges primarily faced by students with disabilities are significantly hindering their active participation in academic programs. This study, therefore, holds immense importance as it aims to examine these challenges and evaluate the factors influencing the introduction of Assistive Technology in response to these issues. The researchers have used a to delve deep into these challenges and establish potential mitigation strategies for fostering inclusive education and a supportive learning environment. This study uses quantitative and qualitative data to understand factors influencing the integration of ATs in inclusive education. As a result, the study's findings, particularly the absence of a framework in the university disability unit, which is responsible for guiding the use and integration of AT, are crucial for understanding the current state of affairs. The delays in acquiring and delivering ATs result in students missing out on learning how to use the technologies. The use of ATs in the university was affected by the lack of training of lecturers who taught the students living with disabilities. Although there are ATs in the disability unit, they seem to be used by students who need urgent support and who need it in a limited time. Due to these factors, the study concluded that several factors influenced the integration of ATs in inclusive education at the university, and these need to be addressed urgently. This paper recommends that training should be conducted with lecturers and students to use ATs for learning and teaching purposes.

Evidence-Based Recommendations for Effective Enrichment to Improve the Welfare of Caged Hens Used for Research and Teaching Purposes

Currently, there are no guidelines on housing or recommendations for practical environmental enrichments for chickens used for research and teaching purposes. This study was conducted to identify optimal enrichment programs to improve the health and welfare of caged hens used for teaching and research purposes. The 24-week-old Hy-line Brown laying hens (n = 168) were allocated at random to six enrichment programs/treatments with 14 replicate cages of two birds per cage during a 5-week experiment. Hens had physical access to the following treatments: no enrichment provided (control); round, wooden perches provided (perch); scratch pads made of wood and covered with sandpaper provided (scratch pad); hanging CDs provided (hanging CD); all three enrichment forms provided (complex environment); and each enrichment form provided on a 2-week rotation (novelty). While the egg quality was consistent, the complex group had a significantly lower feed intake (p < 0.001) but similar egg mass; thus, they also had a lower feed conversion ratio (p < 0.001). Additionally, hens in the complex treatment group had the leanest average body weight at week 5 (p < 0.01). It should be noted that while some measures of welfare did show significant differences, the biological or practical difference may be negligible, as in the case of the body condition score in this study. The results show that providing three different forms of environmental enrichment had positive effects on the welfare, health condition, and laying performance of laying hens relative to no enrichment or only one enrichment item.

The determinants of data use practice for instructional practice in higher education

PurposeAn evidence-based approach to improving instructional practices and student outcomes in data use. It is a systematic process of evaluating and analysing learning problems, collecting and transforming various types of data into instructional decisions, and implementing informed actions to improve instruction and student learning. Since teachers are the main actors in instructional practices, this article reports on a study aimed at predicting the influence of various teachers’ characteristics on the degree of data use practices for instructional purposes.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, we conducted a survey in a developing country to gather primary data. The collected data were analysed using a supervised machine learning approach, focussing on decision tree analysis, to determine the influential factors.FindingsOur investigation identifies pedagogical knowledge, data literacy, content knowledge, knowledge of English for teaching and attitudes towards data as crucial determinants in predicting the intensity of such data use practices. Notably, pedagogical knowledge emerges as the most potent predictor, emphasising its pivotal role in shaping teachers’ frequency of instructional data use practices. Surprisingly, English proficiency does not exhibit a significant influence in this predictive model.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings may not be generalisable to a wider context since this study relied on a relatively small teacher self-reported sample collected through surveys, and, as this study used perception data, this may or may not reflect teachers’ actual knowledge and skills.Practical implicationsBy spotlighting the nuanced interplay between teacher individual characteristics and the practice of data use for instructional improvement, this research contributes to a nuanced understanding of the factors shaping teachers’ engagement with data. Ultimately, it provides a foundation for targeted interventions and strategies aimed at fostering a culture of evidence-based practices to improve instruction and consequently student learning outcomes within educational settings.Social implicationsThis insight holds significant implications for policymakers, educational practitioners and providers of professional development programmes seeking to facilitate effective data use practices for instructional improvement.Originality/valueBy spotlighting the nuanced interplay between teacher individual characteristics and the practice of data use for instructional purposes, this research contributes to a nuanced understanding of the factors shaping teachers’ engagement with data. This study represents an empirical examination of such factors by employing a quantitative approach: a flexible decision tree analysis. This contributes to a growing body of research on factors related to teacher characteristics and much of the research in the field of data use has been done using a qualitative approach.

Hüseyin Rahmi’s queer hauntology: (Un-)making of the secular nation/state/self

ABSTRACT Hüseyin Rahmi’s works feature ghosts, jinns, living skeletons, monsters, and ghouls. Literary historians, citing the writer’s own words, often account for this by suggesting that it was for instructional purposes in that he was trying to dispel superstitious beliefs then prevalent in society. The commonplace conviction is that he was yet another modernisationist, nationalist, and secular writer who took it upon himself to enlighten people to help the nation modernise. A number of biographical sidenotes accompany this conviction, implying that Hüseyin Rahmi may have been attracted to men. Nevertheless, neither these sidenotes nor his enthusiasm for monsters and ghosts has significantly affected the understanding of his work. Reading his Cadı and Dirilen İskelet, I argue that there is a queer element in his works that resists the writer’s intention and the contextualisation of his work. Hüseyin Rahmi’s monsters and ghosts illustrate the making of the nation-state through an empty, linear, homogenous time in a disenchanted present but they also haunt this making by inscribing the so-called superstitions of the past into its core, thereby gesturing towards the unmaking of the biopolitical nation-state and its heteronormative-reproductive body.

AI in the L2 Classroom: Serving Language Educators through Professional Development

The spread of generative AI has been praised and criticized for engendering new possibilities and limitations for language education. While educators have praised AI’s ability to serve as a conversation partner, generate novel ideas for lesson plans, and offer tailored feedback, many instructors and scholars have voiced concerns related to AI’s biases and its impact on student learning and academic integrity. Responding to a need for further training and dialogue about AI, members of the Davis Language Center organized a professional development event in which instructors, students, and instructional technologists shared their perspectives and strategies for AI-mediated language education. The event also included guided practice on using these tools for pedagogical purposes, including writing effective prompts, interacting with AI tools, and engaging in an iterative, reflective process. Through our planning process, we discovered that balancing scheduled asynchronous tasks with focused synchronous check-ins was crucial for ensuring accountability, clear communication, and timely progress, ultimately helping us coordinate and achieve our event planning goals effectively. We report on insights from organizing and participating in the event, highlighting several advantages of using AI in language education, critical issues, and questions for further inquiry. Leveraging lessons learned at this event, we offer suggestions for coordinating trainings about AI-enhanced language education.

Application of MS Excel and FastTest PlugIn to automatically evaluate the students' performance in structural engineering courses

AbstractBackgroundIn recent years, the method of assessment in universities has been rapidly changing, shifting from entirely in‐person evaluations to a blended evaluation approach (b‐Learning).PurposeTo effectively implement this type of assessment, it is necessary to create numerous similar problems with different data sets. In structural engineering courses, this entails a significant amount of work for the lecturers. Therefore, this work introduces a novel teaching and evaluation strategy leveraging technology to automate tasks, aiming to enhance student monitoring and alleviate lecturer workload.MethodThe digital platform Moodle has been used combined with the FastTest PlugIn to create computer coding to develop different problems. These problems, maintaining consistent structures but varying data, served both instructional and evaluative purposes in two structural engineering courses. As a novelty, these problems are automatically evaluated and created following the coding routine created. Some drawbacks have been identified while applying the method. Scientifically validated quizzes have been used to assess the efficacy of the method in engaging students and enhancing their confidence and satisfaction.ResultsFindings suggest that while initial setup requires additional time, the investment pays off in the grading efficiency, benefiting educators and students alike. The method has facilitated the creation of additional exercises for practice, and the inclusion of automatically corrected diagrams was appreciated by students. The results have indicated that this method has improved the motivation, attention, and confidence among students, leading to significant enhancements in academic performance, up to 40%.ConclusionsThis methodology has achieved positive responses from students. Hence, it is concluded that the time invested in developing structural engineering problems using MS Excel and the FastTest PlugIn in Moodle is worthwhile, as it motivates students to improve their academic performance. Furthermore, as the main outcome, it is shown that the time invested by the lecturer in developing the problems is amortized in subsequent academic years since the problems are graded automatically. For courses with many students, it is amortized sooner.

Translanguaging for the construction of instructional immediacy in a Mandarin–Japanese crosslinguistic class

Abstract Accumulating studies on teachers’ instructional immediacy consistently show a strong positive correlation with teaching effectiveness. To expand the research in a bilingual and cross-cultural context, the current study investigates the construction of instructional immediacy in a natural classroom setting by theoretically anchoring on translanguaging, which refers to the idea of promoting the integration of all linguistic and nonlinguistic resources to achieve effective pedagogy with multilingual speakers. We quantified the nonverbal facial expressions to compare the teacher’s endeavours in different language modes when constructing instructional immediacy, and we used Multimodal Conversation Analysis (MCA) to examine his endeavours. The results revealed language-specific facial expressions which are attributed to varied teaching purposes. We conclude that translanguaging can serve as an effective tool for fostering instructional immediacy in multilingual classrooms.

Effect of utilization of VFTs on teaching and learning History and Government in Murang’a County in Kenya

The adoption of Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) as a teaching method has provided opportunities for learners to virtually visit historical sites for learning. However, the effects of utilization of VFTs in instruction on students' performance in History and Government had not been sufficiently researched and documented in Kenya. Therefore, the essence the study was to establish how use of VFTs in teaching and learning affects learners' academic performance in History and Government in Murang’a County in Kenya. The study was guided by Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge Theory and adopted a Quasi-Experimental Design targeting 35 public sub-county secondary schools with a target population of 3,329 respondents. Schools and teachers were purposively sampled while learners were randomly selected. A sample size of 372 respondents made up of teachers and form one learners of History and Government took part in the study. Research instruments used were learners’ questionnaires, interview schedules for teachers, History and Government Assessment Tests, and classroom observation schedules. Piloting was done on all research instruments and reliability accepted r=0.657. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze data for descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found that use of VFTs significantly affected learners' academic performance at t (365) = 15.50, p=0.00. The study recommended teacher training institutions to equip teacher trainees with skills to exploit VFTs in teaching. A VFT teaching guideline was developed to assist teachers in preparation and use of VFTs for instructional purposes to improve teaching and learning for better academic performance.

School conditions and principal practices promoting instructional data use in high-stakes accountability systems

This study explores how school environments and principal behaviors enhance the use of data within Chile's high-stakes accountability systems. Emphasizing the importance of Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) for improving educational outcomes, this mixed-methods research analyzed data employment for accountability, improvement, and instructional purposes. Findings show that schools prioritize data use for enhancing instruction and school improvement over mere compliance with external accountability. Key leadership behaviors, notably instructional leadership, are crucial in promoting effective data utilization. The study identifies both minimal and organizational conditions as critical enablers for data use, although their impact varies with the type of data employed. The results advocate for a balanced approach that considers both quantitative and qualitative factors to optimize data use in educational settings. Future research should delve deeper into specific instructional practices and the factors that influence teacher decision-making to further improve data-driven instruction.

Learning while Walking the Streets of Rayong: Combining Linguistic Landscape and Language Awareness through Action Research with Children

This paper presents the outcomes of an action research study that implemented a linguistic landscape (LL) unit as an English language learning activity at the secondary school level in Rayong, Thailand. The theoretical framework employed in this study draws upon Lefebvre’s (1991) conceptualization of space, adapted for pedagogical purposes as explained by Malinowski (2015). The study places particular emphasis on cultivating students' awareness of the LL in their neighborhood throughout a six-week instructional session. The instructional activities were designed to investigate the potential of LL in enhancing English language acquisition and promoting cultural sensitivity. Data collection involved the utilization of questionnaires and on-site observations. Two main conclusions may be drawn from the action research project's findings. First of all, the students showed signs of a greater sense of familiarity with their neighborhood, which suggests that they are more aware of the LL around them and that they understand LL to be a useful instrument for language learning. Secondly, the students identified a discrepancy between the LL of Rayong and the city’s vibrant economic activity as well as its diverse ethnic and linguistic composition, suggesting that the existing LL does not adequately reflect these dynamic facets of the city.

The Kraft Break Sharply Divides Low-mass and Intermediate-mass Stars

Main-sequence stars transition at mid-F spectral types from slowly rotating (cooler stars) to rapidly rotating (hotter stars), a transition known as the Kraft Break and attributed to the disappearance of the outer convective envelope, causing magnetic braking to become ineffective. To define this Break more precisely, we assembled spectroscopic measurements of 405 F stars within 33.33 pc. Once young, evolved, and candidate binary stars are removed, the distribution of projected rotational velocities shows the Break to be well defined and relatively sharp. Nearly all stars redder than G BP − G RP = 0.60 mag are slowly rotating (vsini ≲20 km s−1), while only 4 of 32 stars bluer than G BP − G RP = 0.54 mag are slowly rotating, consistent with that expected for a random distribution of inclinations. The Break is centered at an effective temperature of 6550 K and has a width of about 200 K, corresponding to a mass range of 1.32–1.41 M ⊙. The Break is ∼450 K hotter than the stellar temperature at which hot Jupiters show a change in their obliquity distribution, often attributed to tidal realignment. The Break, as defined above, is nearly but not fully established in the ∼650 Myr Hyades cluster; it should be established in populations older than 1 Gyr. We propose that the Kraft Break provides a more useful division, for both professional and pedagogical purposes, between what are called low-mass stars and intermediate-mass stars; the Kraft Break is observationally well defined and is linked to a change in stellar structure.

Harnessing Generative AI (GenAI) for Automated Feedback in Higher Education: A Systematic Review

In this systematic review, we synthesize ten empirical peer-reviewed articles published between 2019 and 2023 that used generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for automated feedback in higher education. There are significant opportunities and challenges to integrate these tools effectively into learning environments as the demand for timely and personalized feedback grows. We examine the articles based on instructional contexts and system characteristics, identifying critical implementation possibilities for GenAI in automated feedback. Our findings reveal that GenAI provides diverse feedback across various contexts with multiple instructional purposes. GenAI systems can reduce instructor workload by automating routine grading and feedback tasks, allowing educators to focus on more complex teaching responsibilities with augmented capabilities. Additionally, these systems enhance communication, offer cognitive and emotional support, and improve accessibility by creating supportive, stress-free learning environments. Overall, implementing GenAI automated feedback systems improves educational outcomes and creates a more efficient and supportive learning environment for students and instructors. We conclude with future research directions to better integrate GenAI with human instruction by reconsidering instructors’ roles, especially in providing feedback to create more effective educational experiences.

Determining hydraulic parameters using the free jet benches

The free jet bench, developed by Algetec for educational and teaching purposes, provides a controlled environment for analysing phenomena associated with fluid jets. It allows water dynamics to be explored using different types of nozzles, providing crucial data for advanced hydraulic analyses. To this end, the hydraulic efficiency of nozzles with different diameters was evaluated, measuring parameters such as flow velocity, flow rate and jet range. The experiment was carried out at the Hydraulic Irrigation and Hydrology Laboratory (LIHH) at the Agricultural Sciences Centre of the State University of the Tocantins Region of Maranhão (UEMASUL), using the free jet bench available in the laboratory. A completely randomised experimental design was adopted, with four treatments and five replications each, using nozzles with diameters of 4 mm, 6 mm, 8 mm and 10 mm. The results showed that the height of the water column directly influences outlet velocity and pressure. Nozzles with larger diameters had a significant impact on horizontal reach and flow, while smaller nozzles performed less well in these aspects. These findings are key to optimising the selection and design of nozzles in hydraulic systems, improving efficiency and performance in practical applications.

Factors Influencing Teachers’ Use of Artificial Intelligence for Instructional Purposes

Factors Influencing Teachers’ Use of Artificial Intelligence for Instructional Purposes