Training senior teachers in compulsory computer based language tests

AbstractThe IBT TOEFL has become the principal example of online high stakes language testing since 2005. Most instructors who do the preparation for IBT TOEFL face two main realities: first, students are eager and highly motivated to take the test because of the prospective implications; and, second, specific studies would be necessary to see if instructors may be familiarized with the use of computers in teaching and/or language testing for other high stakes tests. Now, many standardized tests are going online as well such as IELTS, BULATS and others (García Laborda, 2007). National Boards of Education are also considering this possibility for the national university entrance examination (PAU) (García Laborda & Magal Royo, 2007; García Laborda, 2006). However, in this case, teachers may not be willing or well prepared to face the challenge due to factors such as ICT familiarity. To date, many papers have explored the role of teacher training in their adaptation to the inclusion or implementation of ICT in the foreign language classroom (Zepp, 2005; Tan et al., 2003; Rehbein et al., 2003). However, it is necessary to consider the differences between the use of ICT for language testing (as opposed to general teaching) and the profile of senior high school foreign language teachers who may not be as flexible as their younger colleagues. This paper describes the trainees’ final attitudes of a six-month course held in Valencia (Spain). 26 teachers from private schools who teach many of the students who take the test every year participated in an in-service teacher training course in Valencia. Instructional methods principally included training in ICT strategy and use through face-to-face instruction and also autonomous learning, group work, synchronous and asynchronous communication, and computer based test design. The teachers’ responses to long discussions in a control session and to a questionnaire, along with the observations of a 20-hour course and the results of the familiarization with different tools show that for this type of training it is not only necessary to familiarize teachers with the testing tool but also with the process of creating online tests and with the testing process itself (Chapelle & Douglas, 2006; Stoynoff & Chapelle, 2005). Results from the platform use and the final questionnaire indicated that the majority of trainees reacted positively to the training and were eager to let the research team work with their students. However, they still felt they would not be able to use ICT for testing in their classes

eTwinning in Language Learning: The Perspectives of Successful Teachers

This study aims at investigating the effect of eTwinning, an innovative way of cooperative learning, on language teaching. A qualitative research design is preferred in order to explore the experiences of language teachers who have completed successful eTwinning projects. To this end, 7 ELT professionals (4 female, 3 male) from different cities of Turkey have been contacted on the Internet to share their experiences in a semi structured interview. The data was analysed descriptively to identify a) a general conceptualization of eTwinning in language learning and teaching settings, b) the advantages and c) the disadvantages of eTwinning from teachers’ perspective. The results have been discussed in the light of relevant literature. The paper ends with practical recommendations for teachers and researchers. Keywords: eTwinning, language learning, cooperative learning, ICT

Universiteto dėstytojų pasitenkinimas darbu, darbo vertybės ir patiriamas darbe stresas

The development of higher education changes the performance of universities as well as the roles and influences of academic staff. Modern research of teachers’ stress usually emphasizes the prevalence and intensity of stress in the community of universities. The objective of this study was to assess job satisfaction and stress features, stress coping strategies, also relations of these variables to work values in university teachers. The results revealed the job satisfaction in university academic staff and significant relations between stress in various academic areas of work and job satisfaction. The study has revealed that teachers give priority to values such as altruism, autonomy, achievement. Important differences between young teachers and their senior colleagues in work values such as comfort and altruism have been also found. Young teachers are critical to the wage system, to the level of fees in particular. Teachers who give priority to the values of academic work and often experience stress at work tend to use a rational strategy for stress coping. This coping strategy is positively correlated with job satisfaction, while emotional stress coping strategy and work values are correlated negatively.Docentė socialinių mokslų daktarė Vilniaus universiteto Bendrosios psichologijos katedra Universiteto g. 9/1, LT-01513 Vilnius El. paštas: [email protected] Docentė socialinių mokslų daktarėVilniaus universitetoBendrosios psichologijos katedraUniversiteto g. 9/1, LT-01513 VilniusEl. paštas: [email protected] Docentas socialinių mokslų daktarasVilniaus universitetoBendrosios psichologijos katedraUniversiteto g. 9/1, LT-01513 VilniusEl. paštas: [email protected]štojo mokslo plėtra keičia universitetų veiklą bei akademinio personalo vaidmenį ir įtaką. Remiantis šiuolaikiniais dėstytojų patiriamo streso tyrimais pažymėtinas streso paplitimas ir intensyvumas universitetų bendruomenėje. Šio tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė akademinio personalo pasitenkinimą darbu universitete, reikšmingas patiriamo streso įvairiose akademinio darbo srityse ir pasitenkinimo darbu sąsajas. Pasirodo, dėstytojai prioritetą teikia tokioms vertybėms, kaip antai altruizmas, autonomija, pasiekimai. Nustatyta, kad jauni ir vyresni dėstytojai labai skirtingai vertina komfortą ir altruizmą. Jauni dėstytojai taip pat kritiškai vertina atlyginimų sistemą, ypač atlyginimų dydį. Dėstytojai, teikiantys pirmenybę dėstytojų darbo vertybėms ir dažnai patiriantys stresą darbe, yra linkę naudoti racionalią streso įveikos strategiją. Ši įveikos strategija teigiamai susijusi su pasitenkinimu darbu, o emocionali streso įveikos strategija su darbo vertybėmis buvo susijusi neigiamai

Keterampilan Pertanyaan Tingkat Lanjut Guru Pendidikan Agama Islam di SMA Negeri 2 Sungguminasa

Hasil Penelitan ini diperoleh bahwa realita pertanyaan tingkat lanjut di SMA Negeri 2 Sungguminasa sudah baik, dimana sebagian besar 2 dari 3 informan telah mengetahui pertanyaan tingkat lanjut serta bagaimana penerapannya kepada peserta didik dalam proses pembelajaran pendidikan agama Islam, dan yang membuat para informan terhambat dalam membuat pertanyaan tingkat lanjut adalah peserta didik yang kurang aktif dalam proses pembelajaran begitupun juga hal yang mendukung informan dalam membuat pertanyaan tingkat lanjut adalah para peserta didik yang aktif dalam proses pembelajaran

Information and communication technology and educational services management at a Ugandan university

This thesis focuses explicitly on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a strategy for delivering effective management of educational services in a cross-section of educational institutions, inclusive of universities. University of Uganda (UNU)1 , in Uganda, is taken as a case study where ICT was introduced with the primary aim of improving effectiveness in the delivery of educational services. ICT has become a tool of great importance in today’s business in all spheres of life globally. From commerce to aeronautics, medicine to education, the daily use of ICT is vital to the success of the business. In the area of higher education management, ICT use is of central significance as universities of the contemporary world cannot afford to ignore the role of that ICT plays in the running of their institutions as a business and, as such, need to ensure they are not left behind by the developments. Therefore, as a matter of necessity, the universities are required to embrace ICT adoption in teaching/learning and administrative activities. This study discusses the concept of ICT, perceptions of stakeholders in the effectiveness of ICT adoption, educational services management and ICT and strategies for effective ICT use in educational services management.Educational Management and LeadershipD. Ed. (Education Management

The influence of modern teaching media onto the quality of direct communication in teaching nature and society

Интердисциплинарност наставе природе и друштва наставнику пружа много могућности у одабиру и примени различитих облика и форми комуникације у току наставног процеса. У зависности од садржаја учења, циља и задатака наставе које планирамо да остваримо у току часа, метода и облика рада, можемо планирати и различите облике комуникације у настави. Савремена настава захтева већу мисаону, вербалну и практичну активност ученика у процесу долажења до знања. Да би се то постигло морамо познавати одлике, предности и недостатке облика и метода који се најчешће користе у настави природе и друштва, као и начине комуникације који се појављују у њиховом оквиру. Традиционална настава се одликује слабом вербалном и практичном активношћу ученика, што имплицитно указује и на слабу мисаону активност у току наставног процеса. Истраживање које је спроведено у току реализације ове докторске дисертације било је усмерено на један од могућих начина да се вербална активност и непосредно учешће ученика у комуникацији повећа, увођењем савремених медија у наставни процес. Истраживањем које смо спровели желели смо да наставницима и ученицима, као и стручном особљу школе, предочимо на врло једноставан и јасан начин, да коришћење савремених средстава комуникације, као наставних средстава, без превеликих напора доводи до видљивих промена у квалитету наставе, захваљујући интензивнијој комуникацији, активности и мотивисаности ученика. Наставник се такође, ослобађа једног дела обавеза, предавачког типа, што му оставља више времена и енергије за креативност и осмишљавање наставног процеса. Удео непосредне комнуникације у наставном процесу се смањује, али се појављују неки други облици комуницирања, појачава се сарадња, трансфер знања, повезивање симболичких, вербалних и практичних искустава. Такође, желели смо указати на неминовност проширења традиционалне трофакторске наставе, која још увек доминира у нашим школама, на вишефакторски систем увођењем савремених наставних медија у процесе учења и поучавања. Циљ реализованог истраживања био је: утврдити разлику у квалитету непосредне комуникације у настави природе и друштва приликом извођења наставе коришћењем традиционалних и савремених наставних медија и средстава и указати на предности савремених наставних средстава и савремених медија у процесу преношења и усвајања знања у односу на могућности средстава и медија коришћених у традиционалној настави...Interdisciplinary of teaching Nature and Society offers to a teacher numerous possibilities in the choice and implementation of different shapes and forms of communication during a teaching process. Depending on the content of learning, aims and tasks of teaching being planned to accomplish during a class, methods and forms of work, we can plan different forms of communication in teaching. Modern teaching demands a higher thinking, verbal and practical activity of a student in the process of knowledge acquiring. To accomplish this, we have to know features, advantages and lacks of forms and methods being used the most often in teaching Nature and Society, and also ways of communication appearing within their frame. A traditional teaching has been featured by a weak verbal and practical activity of a student, and this implicitly emphasises to a weak thinking activity during teaching process. The research been conducted during making of this PhD Thesis has been directed towards one of a possible ways to increase verbal activity and direct participation of students in communication, by introducing modern media into teaching process. Having conducted the research, we have wanted to expose in a very simple and clear way to teachers and students, and also to expert personnel of a school that usage of modern communication means, as teaching means, as teaching tools, with no great efforts, bring visible changes in the quality of teaching, thanks to more intensive communication, activity and motivation of students. A teacher is also being reduced a part of the one’s obligations of lecture type, and this leaves to the one more time and energy for creativity and reconsidering of teaching process. A part of direct communication in teaching process is being reduced, but other forms of communication appear, cooperation is being strengthened, knowledge transfer, connection of symbolic, verbal and practical experiences. Also, we have wanted to emphasise onto a necessity of widening a traditional three-factor teaching, still being a dominant one in our schools, to multi-factor teaching by introduction of modern media into the processes of learning and teaching. The aim of the realised research has been to: determine a difference in quality of direct communication in teaching of Nature and Society during a teaching by usage of traditional and modern teaching media and tools, and emphasise onto advantages of modern teaching tools and modern media in knowledge transfer process and knowledge acquiring compared to possibilities of tools and media used in the traditional teaching process..