The effect of formative feedback on students achievement in graphical element of economic curriculum

Students achievement in graphical elements of economics curriculums has been a problem over the years, students have been performing poorly in SSCE (WAEC & NECO). This paper therefore sought to investigate if formative feedback can improve achievement of students in graphical elements of economics curriculum. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.005 level of significance. The study adopted a pre-test post-test control group design, a sample of one hundred and twenty SSII students were used. The students were divided into two groups of sixty each. Group A which was the experimental group was taught using formative feedback. The students were taught on the topic theory of consumer behaviour for eight weeks in GSSS Bokkos of Bokkos Local Government Area in Plateau State. T-test for related sample was used in testing the hypothesis. The research revealed that there was significant effect of formative feedback on SSII students achievement in the experimental group than the control group. The paper finally recommends that for students to achieve much, there is the need to adopt formative feedback in the teaching and learning of graphical elements of economics curriculum

Managing job stress in teachers of children with autism : a rational emotive occupational health coaching control trial

Abstract: Background/Objective: Teaching has been found to be 1 of the most stressful occupations worldwide. Stress associated with teaching is more critical among teachers teaching children with special needs in general and those with autism specifically, partly due to the heterogeneous nature of the disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Rational Emotive Occupational Health Coaching (REOHC) in minimizing job stress in teachers of children with autism (CWA). Methods: A group-randomized waitlist control-trial design was adopted. A sample of 87 teachers of CWA who participated in the study was randomized into the immediate intervention group (IIG) and waitlist group (WLG). Participants were evaluated on 3 occasions: pretest, post-test and follow-up. Three instruments (Occupational Stress Index, Perceived Occupational Stress Scale and Stress Symptom Scale) were used to measure dimensions of job stress. After the pretest exercise, the IIG participated in a 2- hour REOHC programme weekly for a period of 12 weeks. Post- and follow-up evaluations were conducted respectively at 2 weeks and 3 months after the REOHC programme. Those in WLG were exposed to the REOHC after the follow-up assessment. Data collected were analysed using t-test statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance and bar charts. Results: Results revealed that the perceived stress and stress symptoms of the REOHC group reduced significantly over WLG at post-test, and follow-up assessments. Changes in the occupational stress index scores across pre-, post- and follow-up measurements were minimal and could not account for a significant difference between the IIG and WLG. Conclusion: It was concluded that REOHC is effective in reducing subjective feelings and physiological symptoms of job stress, even when the objective stressors remain constant among teachers of CWA and other employees who work in stressful occupational environments. Abbreviations: ABCDE = activating event, beliefs, consequences, disputation and effective world view, CI = confidence interval, df = Degree of Freedom, IIG = immediate Intervention Group, ŋ2 = partial eta squared (effect size), OSI = occupational stress index, POSS = perceived occupational stress scale, REBT = Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy, REOHC = Rational Emotive Occupational Health Coaching, SISQ = single-item stress questionnaire, SSS = Stress Symptom Scale, WLG = waitlist group