Teaching Skills Research Articles

Does teaching quality matter for Nordic primary school students’ mathematics confidence and mathematics achievement? A multilevel structural equation analysis of Nordic TIMSS 2019 grade 4 data

BackgroundTeaching quality is assumed to be an essential prerequisite for student learning outcomes such as mathematics confidence and mathematics achievement. Notwithstanding its significance, empirical research examining the relations between teaching quality and learning outcomes is still limited, particularly among primary school students. Addressing this gap is important for understanding how to support student learning outcomes. This study aims to examine the relationships between student-perceived teaching quality and student outcomes and differences between classrooms.MethodsUtilizing Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data 2019 from fourth graders in mathematics classrooms in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden), the present study examines the relationships between student-perceived teaching quality (classroom management and instructional clarity) and the two student outcomes mathematics confidence and mathematics achievement in Grade 4 at both student and classroom levels. To identify latent constructs of aspects of teaching quality (classroom management and instructional clarity) and mathematics confidence, multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) is used in the modelling process. To capture the hierarchical structure of the data, multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) is used as it keeps individual and classroom variation separate when investigating relations between teaching quality, mathematics confidence and mathematics achievement.ResultsThis study shows how student-perceived instructional clarity relates substantially to mathematics confidence at both the student- and the classroom levels in the Nordic countries. Student-perceived classroom management relates, at the student-level, significantly and positively to mathematics achievement in all countries but Denmark. At the classroom-level, classroom management relates positively to classroom mathematics achievement in Sweden and Denmark. The relationships between the student background factors and mathematics achievement were higher at both levels compared to the relationships to mathematics confidence. The findings suggest there are differences between classrooms’ mathematics achievement related to the average SES of the classroom.ConclusionsThe findings highlight the importance of teachers’ generic pedagogical skills for high-quality teaching. The implications from these findings emphasize the importance of teacher education to ascertain teachers’ ability to manage the classroom well to provide students with the opportunity to learn.

Improving breaking bad news communication skills through stress arousal reappraisal and worked examples.

Breaking bad news (BBN) is a distressing yet essential task in medicine, imposing emotional strain on both physicians and patients. Crucially, effective BBN relies on both verbal and nonverbal communication, which can be impaired by elevated stress associated with the task. Efficient teaching of communication skills continues to present a challenge, and the role of stress management in BBN encounters remains largely overlooked. In this study, we investigated the effects of stress arousal reappraisal (SAR; positive reframing of stress arousal) and worked example (WE; step-by-step demonstration of BBN) interventions on medical students' communication performance. This pre-registered randomised controlled trial employed a 2 × 2 between-subjects design to evaluate the individual and combined effects of SAR and WE interventions on the verbal and nonverbal communication performance of 221 third-year medical students. To do so, students completed a 40-min web-based learning module before disclosing bad news to a simulated patient within a 12-min consultation. Performances were videorecorded and assessed by three independent raters. The WE intervention significantly improved both verbal and nonverbal communication performance, whereas the SAR intervention enhanced nonverbal communication only. Combining SAR with WE did not yield additional improvements in nonverbal communication beyond those achieved by either intervention alone. These findings highlight the potential of both SAR and WE interventions to optimise resource-intensive simulated BBN training. By demonstrating the efficacy of WE in improving both verbal and nonverbal communication, this study advances the literature on the application of WEs in the BBN context. Furthermore, this study is among the first to demonstrate the importance of stress coping in delivering bad news effectively. Given their low threshold, both SAR and WE interventions represent promising tools for equipping medical students with essential BBN communication skills and are well-suited for integration into already time-constrained medical curricula.

Cultivation of High School Students' Mathematical Modeling Ability under Tao Xingzhi's Educational Thoughts

The educational theory of Mr. Tao Xingzhi emphasizes the unity of teaching, learning, and doing, asserting that society is the school and life is education. Education originates from life and should serve social life. Under the guidance of the New Curriculum Standards concept, the importance of cultivating high school students' mathematical modeling abilities has become increasingly prominent. How to better develop students' mathematical modeling skills in teaching and explore effective approaches to mathematical modeling education has become one of the key topics in current mathematics education discussions. Rooted in Tao Xingzhi's life education philosophy, this paper contends that teaching ought to commence from authentic life scenarios. By centering on students, integrating diverse disciplinary fields, and arousing students' enthusiasm, it aims to explore effective approaches to the cultivation of mathematical modeling skills within the context of core competencies.

Effects of Podcasting on Saudi EFL Learners’ Mastery of Simple Past Irregular Verbs and Their Attitudes

As a modern language-learning method, podcasting has proved effective for teaching and learning different language skills. This study investigates the impact of using preexisting audio-only grammar podcasts to supplement the learning of simple past irregular verbs and their effects on students’ perceptions of incorporating podcasts into grammar teaching. The participants were 72 Saudi female learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) enrolled in a grammar course at a Saudi university. They were divided into control (n = 36) and experimental (n = 36). The data was collected through a pretest and posttest on simple past irregular verbs and a questionnaire to measure the participants’ attitudes toward using grammar podcasts in grammar teaching. The results revealed that grammar podcasts positively affected the students’ mastery of irregular verbs in the categories of “affirmative statements (verbal and nominal)” and “yes/no questions”. However, specific subcategories did not show improvement after the podcast intervention, including “identifying correct irregular verb forms”, “wh- questions”, “yes/no answers”, and “negative statements”. In addition, the study found that the learners’ positive attitudes toward using podcasts increased due to their exposure to grammar podcasts. The findings may offer EFL teachers insights into how to implement preexisting audio-only grammar podcasts to improve students’ understanding of irregular verbs and how to use them to supplement grammar instruction. Furthermore, grammar podcasts may maximize teaching efficiency by allowing students to listen to the material at their convenience, regardless of location or time.

Supporting Preschool Teachers and Candidates in Inclusive Preschool Setting – Presentation of Naturalistic Teaching Project

Although mainstream teachers have wide knowledge about children with special educational needs (SEN), improvement of practical skills regarding education and development of these children is always needed. Improving teaching skills related inclusion and best practices are very important, as well as exchanging inclusion-related information and experience with other countries. Naturalistic teaching is defined as a process that helps children to gain developmental goals through interactions with the teacher embedded in natural environment and situations. It is a process, which provides developmental opportunities for all young children with SEN at-risk groups and with typical development to acquire skills or reinforce them. This paper presents the characteristics of Naturalistic Teaching as well as the key elements of it. The main questions and strategies are also described such as strategies that can be used with both children with and without SEN. Naturalistic Teaching Project is also presented as a good example of international information changing in the field of preschool inclusion.

A Service-Learning Project to Acquire GIS Skills and Knowledge: A Case Study for Environmental Undergraduate Students

The service-learning (SL) approach has shown effectiveness in fulfilling both academic and community-oriented objectives. This paper focuses on a specific case study for a Cartography, Remote Sensing, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) course for Environmental Sciences undergraduate students. The main goals for implementing SL practice were (1) to enhance students’ GIS knowledge and to develop cross-cutting skills by working with real-world problems; (2) to share with society the knowledge acquired by students and ensure that it is valued; and (3) to prompt reflection on urban waste issues among students. The activity consisted of analyzing the waste containers along the 1 km riverbanks in León (Spain) and elaborating a proposal for the location of new rubbish bins to deliver to a City Council’s environmental technician. The results showed an improvement in students’ GIS management skills to solve environmental problems compared to those from the previous 3 years and a satisfactory response from environmental professionals with delivering the results. Together, an increase in students discussing urban waste was observed during the sessions. Projects like this not only teach technical skills but also provide a deeper understanding of data collection and implementation processes in environmental issues, which are closely aligned with professional experiences, and awareness of the practical application of the knowledge acquired.

Tools for assessing ball skills based on game scenarios: a systematic review and related insights.

Physical education teachers commonly use single or combined technique tests to assess to assess the skills performance of their students, but these tests still have limitations for ball skills that involve the perceptual-cognitive system and urgently need to adopt ball skill assessment tools based on game scenarios for evaluation. To provide a systematic review of ball skills performance assessment tools based on game scenarios, provide references for the development, application and pedagogical reflection of related tools. Computer searches of the Web of Science (WOS), PubMed, Scopus, SPORT Discus, and SciELO databases were conducted. Two researchers independently selected documents, and extracted information. Sixteen tools for the assessment of ball sport skills performance based on game scenarios were obtained. Depending on the item being assessed, the tools can be divided into comprehensive item assessment tools (4) and single item assessment tools (12); depending on the phase of the sport being assessed, the tools can be divided into offensive phase skill performance assessment tools (15) and defensive phase skill performance assessment tools (10); depending on the type of skill being assessed, the tools can be divided into with-ball skill assessment tools (14) and without-ball skill assessment tools (15). The WOS database contains eight of these tools, and the Game Performance Assessment Instrument, Performance Assessment in Team Sports, Sistema de avaliação táctica no Futebol and Game Performance Evaluation Tool have a citation frequency of more than 100 citations and an average annual citation frequency of more than 10 citations. 87.5% and 50.0% of the tools passed inter-observer reliability and intra-observer reliability. 100.0% of the tools passed content validity and 37.5% passed structural validity. Ball skill assessment tools based on game situations can evaluate students' technical and tactical performance in real game scenarios, reflecting their sports decision-making and awareness of thinking. In practice, ball sport skills performance can be assessed, fed back and improved through four stages of tool selection, observation recording, data analysis and data interpretation, depending on the actual situation. Based on the development ideas of foreign ball skills performance assessment tools, the following insights are proposed: 1) to promote the development and improvement of single ball skills performance assessment tools; 2) to select reasonable and effective tools for assessment according to the teaching progress; 3) to provide suitable assessment tools for the training and selection of reserve talents; 4) to push PE teachers to explore the structured teaching of ball skills.

The Effectiveness of Supervision Programs on Improving Teaching Skills and Teacher Performance

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the academic supervision program in improving teaching skills and teacher performance at SMK Muhammadiyah 1 Sangatta Utara. Using a quantitative approach and experimental design, the study involved 30 teachers as respondents, where 60% had less than 5 years of teaching experience, and 40% had more than 5 years of experience. Data were collected through standardized observation instruments and analyzed using t-test and regression analysis. The results showed a significant increase in teachers' teaching skills by 23.08% (from a score of 65 to 80) and teacher performance by 21.43% (from a score of 70 to 85) after the implementation of the supervision program. The statistical analysis produced a t-value of 5.67 with a p-value <0.05 and a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.62, indicating that 62% of the variation in teacher performance can be explained by the supervision program. The majority of teachers expressed high satisfaction with the supervision program in providing an understanding of learning objectives (85%), improving teaching skills (90%), providing constructive feedback (88%), encouraging creativity (87%), and increasing collaboration between teachers (80%). Factors supporting the effectiveness of supervision include the frequency of periodic supervision, collaborative supervision methods, school management support, and teacher self-reflection. This study has important implications for the development of an adaptive supervision model for vocational education and can be an empirical reference for similar educational institutions in designing effective and sustainable teacher professionalism improvement programs

Life Skills and Volleyball Teaching: Comparison Between TGfU and Direct Instruction Model

The learning environment created by the physical education teacher, through the teaching model employed, can significantly influence students’ engagement during lessons. Therefore, this study aimed to compare tactical-technical learning and students’ self-perceptions of life skills between TGfU and direct instruction. The sample consisted of 67 students, aged between 13 and 15 years, enrolled in the ninth grade of a municipal public school, and the research design involved an intervention consisting of 18 sessions, each lasting 60 min. The results revealed no significant differences between the teaching models regarding tactical-technical variables (p > 0.05). However, concerning life skills, the TGfU/HVs group demonstrated higher mean teamwork scores than the Traditional group (p = 0.008). On the other hand, the Traditional and Control groups achieved higher mean scores for goal setting skills than the TGfU/HVs group (p = 0.001 for both cases). These findings highlight that the organization of sports practice, despite variations in teaching models, fosters students’ self-perceptions of life skills, underscoring the necessity of further research to deepen the understanding of game-based pedagogies in school physical education. It is also imperative to reflect on implementing additional pedagogical practices in schools that align with institutional objectives and actively promote student learning.

Handedness in surgical education: Evaluating suturing proficiency among left- and right-handed trainees.

Handedness in surgical education: Evaluating suturing proficiency among left- and right-handed trainees.

117 Foundations for foundation: A Quality improvement project used to develop a pilot surgical skill teaching program

117 Foundations for foundation: A Quality improvement project used to develop a pilot surgical skill teaching program

TRANSFORMING ISLAMIC EDUCATORS: TEACHER EXCELLENCE THROUGH QUALITY PRACTICE IN KUALA SELANGOR

Competent educators may customize their instruction to the needs and skills of their students. They are also adaptable in responding to changes in teaching methods. The quality of teachers' instruction is sometimes questioned because some teachers fail to completely embrace their responsibility as educators. The primary goal of this research is to identify quality practices in the teaching of Islamic Education teachers in secondary schools in the Kuala Selangor district, investigate the factors that influence quality practices in teaching, and assess the implementation of these practices by these teachers. The majority of Islamic Education teachers in the Kuala Selangor district have excellent teaching skills, notably in material delivery and student interaction. The methodology for this investigation is quantitative. The respondents include 50 Islamic Education instructors from secondary schools in the Kuala Selangor area. The collected data was examined using SPSS version 29.0 to estimate the teaching quality practiced by these instructors. The findings of this study show that Islamic Education teachers apply a variety of effective teaching tactics. They also use interactive ways to actively include students in the learning process. As a result, this study is likely to assist instructors of Islamic education in Kuala Selangor district secondary schools in improving their teaching practices.

Exploring Vietnamese Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices in Integrating Skills in General English Classrooms

The integrated skills approach is widely recognized for its potential to enhance students’ English proficiency and foster greater classroom engagement. Despite the growing body of literature on integrated skills, limited research has examined how teachers have implemented this approach in a Vietnamese university context. This study explored the pedagogical practices of English foreign language instructors in integrating skills within General English classrooms. A mixed-methods design was employed, with quantitative data from a closed-ended questionnaire administered to 102 instructors who were selected through convenience sampling in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and qualitative data obtained from structured interviews with 12 purposefully selected lecturers. The findings from both data sources converge, revealing that teachers’ application of integrated skills in the classroom remains limited, with their teaching practices characterized by traditional and inflexible methodologies. In the five teaching domains of integrated practice, instructors demonstrated competence in designing follow-up activities and selecting appropriate thematic content. However, they faced challenges in effectively implementing integrated teaching methods, activities, and testing. Furthermore, factors such as student attitudes and teachers’ skill levels were found to directly impact the effectiveness of integrated skills teaching. These findings guide the five domains for teachers to apply in classrooms and underscore the need for teachers’ training programs to support effective integrated skills teaching. This study advocates professional development programs to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills to implement integrated pedagogies effectively.

Establishing Consensus on the Most Important Teaching Skills for Internal Medicine Residents in Clinician Educator Tracks: A Modified Delphi Study.

Internal medicine (IM) residency programs with clinician educator tracks (CETs) have increased during the past decade; however, no standardized list of learning domains and competencies exist. The authors use a modified Delphi approach to determine a consensus set of teaching skills for IM CET residents. A CET teaching skills list was developed from June to August 2023 via a PubMed search through July 31, 2023, by University of Pittsburgh faculty physicians. Seventy-seven potential participants were identified through professional society listservs and publications. Between January and February 2024, participants (current or former CET directors within an IM residency program) iteratively ranked teaching skills based on importance for IM CET residents from 1 (less important) to 4 (most important) for 2 online surveys. Consensus was defined a priori as 80% agreement or higher that a skill is important or most important. Participants identified the most appropriate training level for each skill and the most critical teaching skills for CET residents. Forty-one experts participated, with 31 (76%) completing both surveys. Of the 29 teaching skills in round 1, 12 achieved consensus as important. In round 2 (24 teaching skills), 5 additional teaching skills achieved consensus as important. Panelists ranked the most critical teaching skills for CET residents: teaching in different settings, communicating feedback, fostering a conducive learning climate, teaching across different learner levels, creating learning goals and objectives, and developing and delivering effective chalk talks. This study offers national consensus on a prioritized list of teaching skills for IM CET residents. Consensus skills were foundational and intentional, important for all deliberate educators, and aligned with 2 CE milestone subcompetencies (universal pillars and educational theory and practice). Nonconsensus skills were generally more advanced. Current and aspiring CET leadership can leverage these recommendations to develop and critically appraise CET curricula.

Perspectives of secondary school teachers on the strengths and limitations of digital mathematics textbooks: an exploratory research in China

Wide developments in technology provide major changes and opportunities for digital mathematics textbooks. In this context, the swift incorporation of digital textbooks into educational frameworks explores the potential and limitations of enriching mathematical understanding and instructional methodologies. Therefore, this research aimed to analyze the perspectives of secondary school teachers in China on the strengths and weaknesses of digital mathematics textbooks for learning. An exploratory analysis by semi-structured interviews was implemented with the participation of five secondary school teachers who attended training and used digital mathematics textbooks. Thematic analysis was conducted, and coding was used as the basic analytic strategy. The results showed that digital mathematics textbooks were supportive instructional media capable of supporting different teaching and learning activities as well as visualizing concepts. These media were considered simple and practical as well as valuable to strengthen teaching skills with technology. However, textbooks possessed minimum pedagogical features, practices, and interfaces. The results also reported the need to incorporate more pedagogical tools and interactive elements within textbooks to enhance educational value. Furthermore, these insights called for ongoing professional development to effectively integrate and use digital textbooks in pedagogy.

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN WRITING LESSONS FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS USING TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING

Abstract: Writing skills have always been perceived as difficult for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in higher education. Studies (Vo, 2021; Huang, 2018; Zhang, 2016) have found that EFL students often commence tertiary education with an elementary level of English, which contributes to these challenges. In addition, a lack of confidence in writing results in demotivation in learning English. In line with recent empirical scholarship on EFL, Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) is proposed as an effective approach that facilitates both the teaching of communicative skills and engagement through the use of the target language and tasks in an authentic and context-sensitive manner for EFL. Specifically, this study critically explores how adapting such a teaching method can help teachers and students nurture and improve their writing skills in English. Drawing on a quasi-experimental design involving 60 learners, it examines the extent to which TBLT can help improve writing skills for non-English major students at a Vietnamese university. The findings indicate that the implementation of TBLT tasks in writing lessons resulted in significant improvements in students’ writing performance. The study discusses participants’ statements in the experiment to better understand the perceptions of the effectiveness of this pedagogical approach.

Teachers' Ability in Building Students' Learning Readiness in Madrasah

As a teacher today has various challenges that are not easy, in addition to facing various administrative demands, teachers also face challenges from students who have diverse characteristics, one of which is technological advances. For this reason, the aim of this research is how teachers can develop students' learning readiness at MAN Kotawaringin Timur. This research offers that religion teachers need to have various abilities in order to build student readiness, considering the condition of students when they tend to have low motivation and interest. The purpose of the study is how the teacher's ability to build student learning readiness at MAN Kotawaringin Timur. This research uses quantitative with a descriptive approach and data collection techniques using observation, interviews, documentation and surveys, then to validate the data researchers use source triangulation techniques and techniques while data analysis uses percentages, data reduction and conclusions. The results of this research show that the ability of Al-Qur'an Hadith teachers is considered very good (86.39). This is because in opening lessons the teacher is able to create the right conditions so that students can focus on learning, the teacher also actively provides responses or reinforcement to students, besides that the teacher also explains the material systematically so that it is easily understood by students and the teacher also uses various variations in explaining the subject matter as well as the ability to manage the class, the process of guiding students well. While the ability of Fiqh teachers in building students' learning readiness is considered very good (85.83), this is because teachers are able to apply good lesson opening skills, questioning skills and reinforcement skills so as to increase student participation and interest in learning, explaining skills and organizing skills and individual learning skills as a way of building student learning readiness. This is because teachers have applied basic teaching skills as an ability to build students' learning readiness. In addition, teachers are able to apply lesson opening skills, questioning skills, reinforcement skills, explaining skills, variety skills and individual learning skills as a way to build student learning readiness. The results of this study can provide implications for schools and teachers as a reference to improve optimal student learning outcomes.

A neglected area: Elementary school EFL education and teacher self-efficacy

Abstract Most students begin learning foreign languages in elementary school, and yet little research is conducted in this area. This mixed-methods study investigated teacher self-efficacy (TSE) among 138 classroom elementary teachers in Japan tasked with teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). Policymakers promote EFL in their schooling systems, but with a lack of specialist EFL teachers, many classroom teachers must conduct lessons. This study began by developing a measure of TSE specially designed for elementary school teachers who teach EFL, and then investigating factors that predict TSE. Rasch analysis was used for initial validation, and a regression model was constructed to determine predictors of TSE. Results suggested the questionnaire was unidimensional, and the regression showed that English teaching experience was the strongest predictor of TSE, with study of English outside of formal education also a significant predictor. Interview data with eight participants revealed teachers were confident about teaching the content, but expressed apprehensions about their EFL teaching skills, being a role model for learning, and that certain contextual factors affected their engagement with the subject.

A Narrative Review of How Students Perceive a Good Teacher

Students come to class with various perceptions of what constitutes a good teacher. These affect how a teacher is evaluated in increasingly student-centered classrooms where students’ needs, interests, and learning styles are prioritized. To better understand how students perceive a good teacher, this review comprehensively presents the perceptions of students at different educational levels on the traits of a good teacher. It discusses the nuances in these perceptions and whether they are justifiable. It reviewed more than 75 papers to achieve its aims. This review indicates that effective teachers possess characteristics like desirable personality, interpersonal skills, and instructional methods. It highlights the complex role teachers play in influencing students' academic and emotional growth. The shift from teaching skills in primary to relationship-oriented traits in secondary education shows that a student's developmental stage significantly affects their view of effective teaching. Secondary students often emphasize relational elements, such as appreciation and empathy, due to their need for autonomy and peer-like connections. University students value subject expertise, effective communication, and motivation. Like secondary students, they view traits like empathy, respect, and approachability as important. The perceptions of a good teacher, particularly the ability to create a safe and supportive environment, relational skills, and competence in delivering content, are largely justifiable. However, the emphasis on rendering socio-emotional support and a student-consumer mentality in universities that prompts students’ needs to be prioritized could add to teachers’ already heavy workload and result in burnout. While serving as motivators, teachers themselves need motivation to perform their work more effectively.

Introducing AI-generated cases (AI-cases) & standardized clients (AI-SCs) in communication training for veterinary students: perceptions and adoption challenges.

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into medical education and healthcare has grown steadily over these past couple of years, though its application in veterinary education and practice remains relatively underexplored. This study is among the first to introduce veterinary students to AI-generated cases (AI-cases) and AI-standardized clients (AI-SCs) for teaching and learning communication skills. The study aimed to evaluate students' beliefs and perceptions surrounding the use of AI in veterinary education, with specific focus on communication skills training. Conducted at Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine (TTU SVM) during the Spring 2024 semester, the study included pre-clinical veterinary students (n = 237), who participated in a 90-min communication skills laboratory activity. Each class was introduced to two AI-cases and two AI-SCs, developed using OpenAI's ChatGPT-3.5. The Calgary Cambridge Guide (CCG) served as the framework for practicing communication skills. Results showed that although students recognized the widespread use of AI in everyday life, their familiarity, comfort and application of AI in veterinary education were limited. Notably, upper-year students were more hesitant to adopt AI-based tools, particularly in communication skills training. The findings suggest that veterinary institutions should prioritize AI-literacy and further explore how AI can enhance and complement communication training, veterinary education and practice.