Abstract: Physics Education Research (PER) results have shown
that students do not achieve the expected level of competency in
understanding the concepts of different domains of Physics learning
when taught by the traditional teaching methods, the concepts of
Electricity and Magnetism (E&M) being one among them.
Simulation being one of the valuable instructional tools renders an
opportunity to visualize varied experiences with such concepts.
Considering the electric force concept which requires extensive use
of vector representations, we report here the outcome of the research
results pertaining to the student understanding of this concept and the
role of simulation in using vector representation. The simulation
platform provides a positive impact on the use of vector
representation.
The first stage of this study involves eliciting and analyzing
student responses to questions that probe their understanding of the
concept of electrostatic force and this is followed by four stages of
student interviews as they use the interactive simulations of electric
force in one dimension. Student responses to the questions are
recorded in real time using electronic pad. A validation test interview
is conducted to evaluate students' understanding of the electric force
concept after using interactive simulation. Results indicate lack of
procedural knowledge of the vector representation. The study
emphasizes the need for the choice of appropriate simulation and
mode of induction for learning.
Abstract: Conventional educational practices, do not offer all
the required skills for teachers to successfully survive in today’s
workplace. Due to poor professional training, a big gap exists across
the curriculum plan and the teacher practices in the classroom. As
such, raising the quality of teaching through ICT-enabled training and
professional development of teachers should be an urgent priority.
‘Mobile Learning’, in that vein, is an increasingly growing field of
educational research and practice across schools and work places. In
this paper, we propose a novel Mobile learning system that allows the
users to learn through an intelligent mobile learning in cooperatively
every-time and every-where. The system will reduce the training cost
and increase consistency, efficiency, and data reliability. To establish
that our system will display neither functional nor performance
failure, the evaluation strategy is based on formal observation of
users interacting with system followed by questionnaires and
structured interviews.
Abstract: Given the dynamic nature of the higher education
landscape, induction programmes for new academics has become the
norm nowadays to support academics negotiate these rough terrain.
This study investigates an induction programme for new academics
in a higher education institution to establish what difference it has
made to participants. The findings revealed that the benefits ranged
from creating safe spaces for collaboration and networking to
fostering reflective practice and contributing to the scholarship of
teaching and learning. The study also revealed that some of the
intentions of the programme may not have been achieved, for
example transformative learning. This led to questioning whether this
intention is an appropriate one given the short duration of the
programme and the long, drawn out process of transformation. It may
be concluded that the academic induction programme in this study
serves to sow the seeds for transformative learning through fostering
critically reflective practice. Recommendations for further study
could include long term impact of the programme on student learning
and success, these being the core business of higher education. It is
also recommended that in addition to an induction programme, the
university invests in a mentoring programme for new staff and extend
the support for academics in order to sustain critical reflection and
which may contribute to transformative educational practice.
Abstract: Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL) is a White Matter
Injury (WMI) of preterm neonatal brain. Objectives of the study were
to assess the neuro-developmental outcome at one year of age and to
determine a good protocol of cranial ultrasonography to detect PVL.
Two hundred and sixty four preterm neonates were included in the
study. Series of cranial ultrasound scans were done by using a
dedicated neonatal head probe 4-10 MHz of Logic e portable
ultrasound scanner. Clinical history of seizures, abnormal head
growth (hydrocephalus or microcephaly) and developmental
milestones were assessed and neurological examinations were done
until one year of age. Among live neonates, 57% who had cystic PVL
(Grades 2 and 3) manifested as cerebral palsy. In conclusion cystic
PVL has permanent neurological disabilities like cerebral palsy.
Good protocol of real time cranial ultrasonography to detect PVL is
to perform scans at least once a week until one month and at term (40
weeks of gestation).
Abstract: Systems Engineering plays a key role during industrial
product development of complex technical systems. The need for
systems engineers in industry is growing. But there is a gap between
the industrial need and the academic education. Normally the
academic education is focused on the domain specific design,
implementation and testing of technical systems. Necessary systems
engineering expertise like knowledge about requirements analysis,
product cost estimation, management or social skills are poorly
taught. Thus there is the need of new academic concepts for teaching
systems engineering skills. This paper presents a project-orientated
training concept to prepare students from different technical degree
programs for systems engineering activities. The training concept has
been initially implemented and applied in the industrial engineering
master program of the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg.
Abstract: E-learning has become an efficient and widespread
means of education at all levels of human activities. Statistics is no
exception. Unfortunately the main focus in statistics teaching is
usually paid to the substitution in formulas. Suitable websites can
simplify and automate calculations and provide more attention and
time to the basic principles of statistics, mathematization of real-life
situations and following interpretation of results. We now introduce
our own web-site for hypothesis testing. Its didactic aspects, the
technical possibilities of the individual tools, the experience of use
and the advantages or disadvantages are discussed in this paper. This
web-site is not a substitute for common statistical software but should
significantly improve the teaching of statistics at universities.
Abstract: The paper follows a discourse on computer-assisted
language learning. We examine problems of foreign language
teaching and learning and introduce a metamodel that can be used to
define learning models of language grammar structures in order to
support teacher/student interaction. Special attention is paid to the
concept of a virtual language lab. Our approach to language
education assumes to encourage learners to experiment with a
language and to learn by discovering patterns of grammatically
correct structures created and managed by a language expert.
Abstract: According to the demand of the power and
refrigeration industry, the theoretical and practical teachings of the
Thermal Energy and Power Engineering characteristic specialty in
china are studied. The teaching reform and practice of the Thermal
Energy and Power Engineering specialty have been carried out,
including construction and reform measures, teaching reform and
practice, features, and achievements. Proved by practices, the
theoretical and practical teaching effects are obvious. The study results
can provides certain reference experience for theoretical and practical
teachings of the related specialties in china.
Abstract: It is usually difficult for students to understand some
basic theories in learning thermal energy and power engineering
course. A new teaching method was proposed that we should introduce
the comparison research method of those theories to help them being
understood. “Homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis” teaching is
analyzed as an example by comparison research method.
Abstract: The importance of using mother tongue and
translation in foreign language classrooms cannot be ignored and
translation can be utilized as a method in English Language Teaching
courses. There exist researches advocating or objecting to the use of
translation in foreign language learning but they all have a point in
common: Translation should be used as an aid to teaching, not an end
in itself. In this research, prospective English language teachers’
opinions about translation use and use of mother tongue in foreign
language teaching are investigated and according to the findings,
some explanations and recommendations are made.
Abstract: The use of information and communication
technologies such as computers, mobile phones and the Internet is
becoming prevalent in today’s world; and it is facilitating access to a
vast amount of data, services and applications for the improvement of
people’s lives. However, this prevalence of ICTs is hampered by the
problem of low income levels in developing countries to the point
where people cannot timeously replace or repair their ICT devices
when damaged or lost; and this problem serves as a motivation for
this study whose aim is to examine the perceptions of teachers on the
reliability of cellphones when used for teaching and learning
purposes. The research objectives unfolding this aim are of two
types: Objectives on the selection and design of theories and models,
and objectives on the empirical testing of these theories and models.
The first type of objectives is achieved using content analysis in an
extensive literature survey: and the second type of objectives is
achieved through a survey of high school teachers from the ILembe
and UMgungundlovu districts in the KwaZulu-Natal province of
South Africa. Data collected from this questionnaire based survey is
analysed in SPSS using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations
after checking the reliability and validity of the questionnaires. The
main hypothesis driving this study is that there is a relationship
between the demographics and the attribution identity of teachers on
one hand, and their perceptions on the reliability of cellphones on the
other hand, as suggested by existing literature; except that attribution
identities are considered in this study under three angles: intention,
knowledge and ability, and action. The results of this study confirm
that the perceptions of teachers on the reliability of cellphones for
teaching and learning are affected by the school location of these
teachers, and by their perceptions on learners’ cellphones usage
intentions and actual use.
Abstract: Nations are still finding it quite difficult to win mega
sport competitions despite the major contribution of sport to society
in terms of social and economic development, personal health, and in
education. Even though the world of sports has been transformed into
a huge global economy, it is important to note that the first step of
sport is usually its introduction to children at school through physical
education or PE. In other words, nations who do not win mega sport
competitions also suffer from a weak and neglected PE system. This
problem of the neglect of PE systems is the main motivation of this
research aimed at examining the factors affecting the perceived
awareness of physical education teachers on the ICTs that are
adoptable for the teaching and learning of physical education. Two
types of research objectives will materialize this aim: relevant
theories will be identified in relation to the analysis of the perceived
ICT awareness of PE teachers and subsequent models will be
compiled and designed from existing literature; the empirical testing
of such theories and models will also be achieved through the survey
of PE teachers from the Camperdown magisterial district of the
KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The main hypothesis at the
heart of this study is the relationship between the demographics of PE
teachers, their behavior both as individuals and as social entities, and
their perceived awareness of the ICTs that are adoptable for PE, as
postulated by existing literature; except that this study categorizes
human behavior under performance expectancy, computer attitude,
and social influence. This hypothesis was partially confirmed by the
survey conducted by this research in the sense that performance
expectancy and teachers’ age, gender, computer usage, and class size
were found to be the only factors affecting their awareness of ICTs
for physical education.
Abstract: This paper explores the effects of gamification on
lower secondary school students’ motivation and engagement in the
classroom. Two-group posttest-only experimental design were
employed to study the influence of gamification teaching method
(GTM) when compared with conventional teaching method (CTM)
on 60 lower secondary school students. The Student Engagement
Instrument (SEI) and Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) were used
to assess students’ intrinsic motivation and engagement level towards
the respective teaching method. Finding indicates that students who
completed the GTM lesson were significantly higher in intrinsic
motivation to learn than those from the CTM. Although the result
were insignificant and only marginal difference in the engagement
mean, GTM still show better potential in raising student’s
engagement in class when compared with CTM. This finding proves
that the GTM is likely to solve the current issue of low motivation to
learn and low engagement in class among lower secondary school
students in Malaysia. On the other hand, despite being not significant,
higher mean indicates that CTM positively contribute to higher peer
support for learning and better teacher and student relationship when
compared with GTM. As a conclusion, gamification approach is
flexible and can be adapted into many learning content to enhance the
intrinsic motivation to learn and to some extent, encourage better
student engagement in class.
Abstract: Recent concerns about the value of teaching cursive
handwriting in the classroom are based on the belief that cursive
handwriting or penmanship is an outdated and unnecessary skill in
today’s online world. The discussion of this issue begins with a
description of current initiatives to eliminate handwriting instruction
in schools. This is followed by a brief history of cursive writing
through the ages. Next considered is a description of its benefits as a
preliminary process for younger children as compared with
immediate instruction in keyboarding, particularly in the areas of
vision, cognition, motor skills and automatic fluency. Also
considered, is cursive’s companion, paper itself, and the impact of a
paperless, “screen and keyboard” environment. The discussion
concludes with a consideration of the unique contributions of cursive
and keyboarding as written forms of communication, along with their
respective surfaces, paper and screen. Finally, an assessment of the
practical utility of each skill is followed by an informal assessment of
what is lost and what remains as we move from a predominantly
paper and pen world of handwriting to texting and keyboarding in an
environment of screens.
Abstract: The use of IT equipment has become a part of every
day. However, each device that is part of cyberspace should be
secured against unauthorized use. It is very important to know the
basics of these security devices, but also the basics of safe conduct
their owners. This information should be part of every curriculum
computer science education in primary and secondary schools.
Therefore, the work focuses on the education of pupils in primary and
secondary schools on the Internet. Analysis of the current state
describes approaches to the education of pupils in security issues on
the Internet. The paper presents a questionnaire-based survey which
was carried out in the Czech Republic, whose task was to ascertain
the level of opinion pupils in primary and secondary schools on the
issue of communication in social networks. The research showed that
awareness of socio-pathological phenomena on the Internet
environment is very low. Based on the results it was proposed
appropriate ways of teaching to this issue and its inclusion a proposal
of curriculum for primary and secondary schools.
Abstract: Web-based Cognitive Writing Instruction (WeCWI) is
a hybrid e-framework for the development of a web-based instruction
(WBI), which contributes towards instructional design and language
development. WeCWI divides its contribution in instructional design
into macro and micro perspectives. In macro perspective, being a 21st
century educator by disseminating knowledge and sharing ideas with
the in-class and global learners is initiated. By leveraging the virtue
of technology, WeCWI aims to transform an educator into an
aggregator, curator, publisher, social networker and ultimately, a
web-based instructor. Since the most notable contribution of
integrating technology is being a tool of teaching as well as a
stimulus for learning, WeCWI focuses on the use of contemporary
web tools based on the multiple roles played by the 21st century
educator. The micro perspective in instructional design draws
attention to the pedagogical approaches focusing on three main
aspects: reading, discussion, and writing. With the effective use of
pedagogical approaches through free reading and enterprises,
technology adds new dimensions and expands the boundaries of
learning capacity. Lastly, WeCWI also imparts the fundamental
theories and models for web-based instructors’ awareness such as
interactionist theory, cognitive information processing (CIP) theory,
computer-mediated communication (CMC), e-learning interactionalbased
model, inquiry models, sensory mind model, and leaning styles
model.
Abstract: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
are pervasive nowadays, including in education where they are
expected to improve the performance of learners. However, the hope
placed in ICTs to find viable solutions to the problem of poor
academic performance in schools in the developing world has not yet
yielded the expected benefits. This problem serves as a motivation to
this study whose aim is to examine the perceptions of educators on
the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning. This aim will be
subdivided into two types of research objectives. Objectives on the
identification and design of theories and models will be achieved
using content analysis and literature review. However, the objective
on the empirical testing of such theories and models will be achieved
through the survey of educators from different schools in the
Pinetown District of the South African Kwazulu-Natal province.
SPSS is used to quantitatively analyse the data collected by the
questionnaire of this survey using descriptive statistics and Pearson
correlations after assessing the validity and the reliability of the data.
The main hypothesis driving this study is that there is a relationship
between the demographics of educators’ and their adherence to
learning theories on one side, and their perceptions on the advantages
and disadvantages of e-learning on the other side, as argued by
existing research; but this research views these learning theories
under three perspectives: educators’ adherence to self-regulated
learning, to constructivism, and to progressivism. This hypothesis
was fully confirmed by the empirical study except for the
demographic factor where teachers’ level of education was found to
be the only demographic factor affecting the perceptions of educators
on the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning.
Abstract: The main objective of this study was to identify
factors and conditions that motivated and encouraged students
towards the math class and the factors that made this class an
attractive and lovely one. To do this end, questionnaires consisting of
15 questions were distributed among 85 math teachers working in
schools of Zahedan. Having collected and reviewed these
questionnaires, it was shown that doing activity in math class
(activity of students while teaching) and previous math teachers'
behaviors have had much impact on encouraging the students
towards mathematics. Separation of educational classroom of
mathematics from the main classroom (which is decorated with crafts
created by students themselves with regard to math book including
article, wall newspaper, figures and formulas), peers, size and
appearance of math book, first grade teachers in each educational
level, among whom the Elementary first grade teachers had more
importance and impact, were among the most influential and
important factors in this regard. Then, school environment, family,
conducting research related to mathematics, its application in daily
life and other courses and studying the history of mathematics were
categorized as important factors that would increase the students’
interest in mathematics.
Abstract: Audio-lingual Method (ALM) is a teaching approach
that is claimed that ineffective for teaching second/foreign languages.
Because some linguists and second/foreign language teachers believe
that ALM is a rote learning style. However, this study is done on a
belief that ALM will be able to solve Thais’ English speaking
problem. This paper aims to report the findings on teaching English
speaking to adult learners with an “adapted ALM”, one distinction of
which is to use Thai as the medium language of instruction.
The participants are consisted of 9 adult learners. They were
allowed to speak English more freely using both the materials
presented in the class and their background knowledge of English. At
the end of the course, they spoke English more fluently, more
confidently, to the extent that they applied what they learnt both in
and outside the class.
Abstract: Despite four years of study in the tourism industry, the
Bachelor’s graduates cannot perform their jobs as experienced tour
guides. This research aimed to develop French teaching and studying
for Tourism with two main purposes: to analyze ‘Moves’ used in oral
presentations at tourist attraction; and to study content in guiding
presentations or 'Guide Speak'. The study employed audio recording
of these presentations as an interview method in authentic situations,
having four tour guides as respondents and information providers.
The data was analyzed via moves and content analysis. The results
found that there were eight Moves used; namely, Welcoming,
Introducing oneself, Drawing someone’s attention, Giving
information, Explaining, Highlighting, Persuading and Saying
goodbye. In terms of content, the information being presented
covered the outstanding characteristics of the places and wellintegrated
with other related content. The findings were used as
guidelines for curriculum development; in particular, the core content
and the presentation forming the basis for students to meet the
standard requirements of the labor-market and professional schemes.