Care givers’ knowledge of integrating the Montessori; indigenous communicative teaching methods and Reggio Emilia in early child care education

Studies have identified the mismatch between theory and practice as the main reason for gap between the intended and the achieved curriculum objectives. The early childcare education is no exception. Theories of child development emphasize that children learn best through play and self-discovery. Unfortunately, research results revealed that caregivers do not adhere to the prescribed pedagogy and since pedagogy stems from the theory of the nature of the learner and how he learns; it implies that failure to use the right pedagogy adversely affects the achievement of the objectives. The study therefore sought to identify caregivers’ knowledge of integrating Montessori, Indigenous Communicative Teaching and Reggio Emilia approaches in Early Childhood Care Education in Owerri Educational zone, Imo State, Nigeria. The study is a descriptive survey with the population comprising all caregivers in government approved pre-primary schools totalling 119, using a 39-item questionnaire and percentages as well as chi square for data analyses. Results showed that respondents were not knowledgeable. Recommendations include the need to monitor caregivers to ensure compliance to stipulated policy.Keywords: childcare education, caregiver

PERCEPTION OF INTERN TEACHERS’ USE OF INTERACTIVE STRATEGIES IN TEACHING LARGE CLASSES IN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT

Higher education institutions experience large classes despite the National Universities’ Commission’s (NUC) and other supervisory agencies emphasis on carrying capacity of the institutions in Nigeria. The overpopulation affects effective teaching and learning and quality assurance. This study focused on perception of intern teachers of the use of interactive strategies in teaching Curriculum Studies in an online environment in a College of Education. 200 computer science students (intern teachers) in a Curriculum Studies class formed the study sample. Three research questions guided the study. A structured and validated questionnaire with reliability index of 0.79, made up of 25 items constructed on a four-point Likert-type scale was administered on the students for data collection. The data were analysed using simple mean and the results showed that the intern teachers supported the use of the teaching strategies in an online class as a complement to the face to face method of teaching. They are also recommended as alternative strategies to reduce the problems associated with large classes. However, the research subjects were sceptical about the implementation of online teaching as a result of power supply and access to internet facilities. The findings have a far reaching implication for the 21st Century teaching and learning. Suggestions towards effective online teaching and learning were made especially with theGovernment’s reiteration of the need for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the schools in Nigeria.Key Words: Interactive learning, online environment, Intern teachers, virtual learning and online teaching

Cognitive Technologies (COGTS) preferences among teacher educators in south-east zone of Nigeria

The study sought to determine teacher educators’ preference of cognitive technologies in the teaching and learning process. Five research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey design was adopted and it sought information from teacher educators in the south-east geo-political zone of Nigeria. The simple random sampling with nonreplacement balloting technique was used to select 351 teacher educators. Instrument was a 15 item questionnaire with a reliability index of 0.87. Data generated were analysed using mean, percentages and chi-square. The results show that teacher educators prefer the use of the following cognitive technologies: Google, Yahoo, Ms Power Point, Ms Word and Ms Excel. Preference in the use of these cognitive technologies differed significantly based on years of experience and educational qualification. Recommendations made include the need for colleges of education to mount in-school seminars and workshop to equip teacher educators on appropriate use of more of these cognitive tools in teaching and learning to facilitate deep learning in student teachers.Keywords: Cognitive Technologies, Preference, Teacher Educators, Behaviourism,Cognitivism and Constructivis