Prospective teachers’ ability to pose word problems

The purpose of this study was to assess difference in prospective teachers’ ability to pose word problems for mathematical expressions involving division before and after an instruction intervention. After the initial assessment of participants’ ability to pose word problems for division expressions, the researcher introduced an alternative model i.e. rate or ratio to represent division involving whole numbers. After the intervention it was assessed whether the model helped the prospective teachers develop word problems for division of fractions. The findings revealed that the prospective teachers successfully posed word problems for division of whole numbers based on intuitive model of fair sharing and to some extent they used repeated subtraction model but failed to represent division of fractions. A considerable improvement was observed in participants’ performance to pose word problems for division of fractions after going through instruction intervention. However the problems, which the prospective teachers posed, were, to a large extent, similar to the word problems, which the researcher used in the instruction

Teachers’ accounts of their perceptions and practices of providing written feedback to Nursing students on their assignments

Written feedback can facilitates students’ learning in several ways. However, the teachers’ practice of written feedback may be affected by various factors. This study aimed to explore the nurse teachers’ accounts of their perceptions and practices of providing written feedback. A descriptive exploratory design was employed in the study. A purposive sample of 12 teachers from nursing institutions in Karachi, Pakistan, participated in the study. Using a semi-structured guide, in-depth interviews were conducted with the participants, between January-September, 2013. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim and were manually content analyzed. The analysis of findings led to three sections: teachers’ conceptions about written feedback, teachers’ practices of providing written feedback, and factors that affect the teachers’ practices of providing written feedback to their students. The findings indicated that although the teachers realize the importance of written feedback and its impact on students’ learning, several factors, including teachers’ competence and commitment, students’ receptivity, and contextual barriers, affected their practices. To actualize the potential power of teachers’ written feedback in students’ learning, both teachers and institutional administrators need to realize the importance of written feedback. Moreover concerted efforts including teachers’ development and policies are required to overcome the factors that negatively influence the practices of written feedback

Barriers in adopting blended learning in a private university of Pakistan and East Africa: Faculty members’ perspective

Background: Education methods have undergone transformation over the centuries. Use of technology is the cornerstone for innovation in teaching methods. Hence, blended learning which includes face to face and online modalities is being increasingly explored as effective method for learning. This pilot study determines the perceptions of faculty members in a private international university on barriers influencing adoption of technology for teaching and learning. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted through a self-reported questionnaire using ‘survey monkey’. The data was entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). Frequencies and proportions are reported. Results: Findings indicated that 51.6% faculty members perceived the importance of integration of technology in their teaching. Around 54% of the participants recognized that they do possess the ability and accessibility to integrate information communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning, but there is a need to hone the basic information technology (IT) skills to initiate technology driven teaching. Findings revealed that 55% faculty members acknowledged the constraint of not getting protective time to develop and deliver technology driven courses. Further, results showed that 45% faculty members perceived that their innovation efforts in terms of teaching as blended learning do not count towards their professional promotion or recognition, as usually priority is given to research over teaching innovation. The findings also indicated that 54.5% participants asserted that university lack mentorship in the field of blended learning. Conclusions: Therefore, study suggests that universities should provide adequate mentorship programmes for the faculty members in enhancing their skills of integrating technology in their teaching

Practice of written feedback in nursing degree programmes in Karachi: the students\u27 perspective

Objective: To identify students\u27 perceptions about the practices of provision and utilization of written feedback in the nursing degree programmes in Karachi. Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: Nine Nursing Institutions in Karachi, Pakistan were selected for the study, from February to October 2011. Methodology: The sample consisted of 379 second year nursing students from nine institutions in Karachi. The data was collected through a modified Assessment Experience Questionnaire (AEQ) developed by Gibbs and Simpson. The data obtained through AEQ was analyzed in the SPPS. Results: Students reported wide variations in the practices related to written assignments, and the provision of written feedback. Although 80% of the students, reported receiving written feedback with or without oral feedback, 20% of them, received only verbal feedback on their assignments. For 44 - 46% of the students, the quality, quantity, timing, and utilization of feedback was below the reference scores, which is indicative of negative perceptions. Only 40% reported receiving feedback on regular basis. Assignment guidelines were not always provided in a written form. In most cases, the guidelines were ambiguous as well as the feedback was not always reflective of the guidelines. Conclusion: The findings have implications for teachers, students, and institutions similar to the context of this study. Teachers need to be aware of the role and the impact of written feedback on students\u27 learning and develop competence for giving effective feedback. Finally, institutional commitment and policies are needed to promote the practices of written feedback

Teachers’ perceptions and practices of written feedback in higher education.

This mixed-methods research aimed to understand the practices and perceptions of teachers regarding writtenfeedback. For this purpose, a survey was administered to 150 teachers forming a non-probability sample, who wereworking in various universities in Karachi. The disciplines chosen for the study included nursing, applied linguistics,medicine and education departments in institutes of higher education situated in Karachi. Before sampling, initialscreening was done to obtain a list of institutes which provide written feedback on students’ assignments. Twohomogenous groups of teachers by discipline (nursing and education) were then selected for focus group discussions.It was found that most teachers consider written feedback an important tool for guiding and helping students improvetheir work. In fact, they consider written feedback as important as verbal feedback. Teachers also recognized theimportance of discussing the written feedback with the students but they rarely did so because of time constraints.Most teachers preferred to directly fix students’ errors instead of providing feedback to enable them to correct thoseerrors by themselves. While less than half of the participants used a checklist for grading, others used annotation.Several factors were found to have a great influence on the amount and quality of feedback. The most significantfactor was whether teachers had formal training in providing feedback. Only 17% of the participants in this study hadproper training to give written feedback. They also identified several environmental and personal factors that had animpact on their feedback practices including time, the relationship between the teacher and individual students, and,most importantly, the policies and culture of the institutes

The influence of secondary school mathematics examination curricula on students' responses to non-routine questions, in Pakistan

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

School-based interventions promoting social capabilities among students: A scoping review of literature

This paper presents a scoping review of existing literature published between 2010 and 2022 on the role of schools in promoting social capabilities among students. It aims to map the evidence regarding the school programmes or interventions that are practised across the globe to promote psycho-socio-emotional skills among students. The review indicates a broad scope of social interventions with limited evidence on interventions promoting social capabilities. Notably, both formal and non-formal programmes are being offered in schools to foster social–emotional learning, self-awareness (e.g., self-regulation, resilience and forgiveness in attitude, and mental health awareness), and pro-social behaviour development (e.g., positive behaviour, mindfulness, management and support, parental involvement, mentorship, sports and animal protection). This review highlights substantially encouraging effect of interventions for promoting social capabilities among students. However, the short-term nature of programmes hardly allows the sustainability of acquired skills and behaviours among students. Additionally, the review identified a contextual gap in developing countries, including Pakistan. Therefore, it suggests the integration of such programmes in school policies and curricula, after contextualising, to ensure their regularity and sustaining psycho-socio-emotional skills. This recommends the development, and execution of an intervention that encompasses all the components of social capabilities collectively, along with examining its efficacy