Reflective Teaching Model for Reading Comprehension

The aim of this study is mainly targeted to develop a reflective teaching model for reading comprehension and to examine its effectiveness in teaching reading comprehension to the students in Myanmar. Therefore, different works of literature from different fields of reflective teaching, reading comprehension, and instructional designs were reviewed to deduce a new idea for reflective teaching in reading comprehension. After the review of different studies, the reflective teaching model for reading comprehension (RTMRC) was theoretically developed in accordance with instructional design criteria and a strong theoretical base in reflective teaching and reading comprehension processes. It was the originality of this current research and also validated with some experts in the fields of instructional design and English language teaching. After that, the empirical research related to the reflective teaching (especially, different classroom research) was compared, and from that, a new methodological idea to conduct the valuable research which is most appropriate with the Myanmar context was extracted. Then the instruments for this study were constructed and the detailed lesson plans for the main study were also written for the participating teachers. The instruments were pre- and post-tests, student questionnaire, and observation scheme. In the pilot study, these instruments were first content-validated with some content experts for cross-cultural use. Second, these instruments were also continuously confirmed their construct validity, and if necessary, they were modified and planned for the main study. As the next step, the main study was conducted to examine whether the reflective teaching model for reading comprehension is effective on students’ reading comprehension achievement in Myanmar. In this main study, three teaching strategies; reciprocal teaching, interactive teaching, and questioning, were utilized in the framework of the reflective teaching model (RTMRC) that was self-developed. These three strategies were qualified, compared, and examined for their effectiveness respectively by the RTMRC teaching. Therefore, under the title of the main study, four main parts were presented by dividing them into four sub-studies investigating the effectiveness of these teaching approaches (Reflection-Based Reciprocal Teaching – RBRT; Reflection-Based Interactive Teaching – RBIT; Reflection-Based Questioning Approach – RBQA; Reflective Teaching Model for Reading Comprehension – RTMRC). Therefore, this research study could exclaim that the RTMRC model is not only qualifying different teaching strategies to improve students’ reading comprehension achievement but also essential for both teachers and their students for their effective teaching-learning process

Measuring the economic impact of climate change on crop production in the dry zone of Myanmar : a Ricardian approach

Myanmar is the country with the highest economic vulnerability (EV) to climate change in the Southeast Asian region. The dry zone of Myanmar occupies two-thirds of the agricultural lands and it has higher temperatures than elsewhere in the country. Climate change has severe impacts on agricultural production in this region. Moreover, changes in the precipitation patterns increase the likelihood of crop failures in the short-run and production declines in the long run. Therefore, an assessment of the economic impacts of climate change on crop production in the dry zone of Myanmar is very relevant. This paper examines the interactions between agriculture and climate and assesses the economic impact of climate change while using a Ricardian model. A cross-sectional survey covering three regions in the central dry zone: (Magwe, Mandalay, and Sagaing regions) was conducted, yielding a sample of 425 farmers. A non-linear relationship between climate indicators (temperature and precipitation) and revenue of land was found. The marginal effects were calculated by selecting economic and socio-demographic variables. The estimated marginal impacts suggest that the projected changes in temperature will affect the crop productivity of the region. The results also show that the temperature and rainfall components of global warming are both important. Predictions from three global circulation models all confirm that temperature is predicted to increase in all seasons. A significant marginal impact of increasing temperature on the net revenue of farm households was observed in the region. These findings call for policy makers and development planners to articulate the necessary climate change adaptation measures and mitigation options for reducing the negative impacts of climate change. Improved management and conservation of the available water resources could generate water for irrigation purposes and the dissemination of climate smart agricultural practices could lessen the negative impacts of climate change effects on agriculture in the dry zone of Myanmar

Reflection-based questioning: Aspects affecting Myanmar students’ reading comprehension

This study aimed to scrutinize the effects of the reflection-based questioning approach (RBQA) on Myanmar students’ achievement in English reading comprehension. The RBQA approach covers Oo et al.’s (2021) reflective teaching model for reading comprehension (based on planning, acting, reflecting, and evaluating) in which the teacher uses a questioning strategy (initiate-response-evaluate model). Employing cluster randomized trials, quasi-experimental research was conducted to investigate RBQA’s effectiveness in teaching reading comprehension skills to Grade-9 students. The experimental group (N = 228) received the RBQA intervention; the control group (N = 230) did not receive the intervention but was provided with traditional instruction. During RBQA intervention, teachers used the anonymous student questionnaire and observation scheme as effective reflection tools. After a five-week intervention, both groups completed post-tests to assess their achievement. The study findings revealed that teaching with RBQA had a significant positive effect on students’ reading comprehension. Therefore, this study is of immense significance to English language teachers and their students

Qualifying Method-Centered Teaching Approaches through the Reflective Teaching Model for Reading Comprehension

The purpose of this study was to qualify method-centered teaching approaches by investigating the effects of the reflective teaching model for reading comprehension (RTMRC) on ninth-grade students’ English reading comprehension achievement in Myanmar. Three kinds of method-centered teaching approaches, namely reciprocal teaching, interactive teaching, and questioning, were qualified, compared, and examined while using the RTMRC. A quasi-experimental research design was used. The participants included 458 ninth-grade students, five English teachers, and 10 peer observers. Pre- and post-tests, a student questionnaire, and an observation scheme were used to assess the effectiveness of the RTMRC over 15 weeks. Structural equation modeling, Rasch analysis, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), effect size (Cohen’s d), and various descriptive statistics revealed that the teachers’ reflections on the instructional context were very effective for student reading comprehension achievement, the students appreciated interactive teaching the most, students’ achievements for the literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension questions were the highest, and the RTMRC was more effective than other traditional teaching methods. In essence, the RTMRC can assist English language teachers in improving their students’ reading comprehension

The Impact of ODA for anti-corruption on HIV prevalence and AIDS-related death

Thesis(Master) --KDI School:Master of Public Policy,2017Corruption has detrimental impact on the effectiveness of ODA on HIV outcomes. Therefore, realizing that control of corruption is a prerequisite condition for effective ODA, donor countries provide financial assistance to promote corruption status of the recipient countries. However, no studies have been conducted to investigate the impact of these assistance for anti-corruption strategies on HIV outcomes. Basically, this paper tries to fill this gap. This paper uses panel-fixed effect model using data of seventeen countries from Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe with ten-year period between 2005 and 2014. The main finding of the paper is that if a country receives ODA for anti-corruption, its HIV prevalence will become 8.6% less but its AIDS-death is not affected. In fact, this is a two-stage process. First, ODA for anti-corruption will affect corruption status and then corruption status will affect HIV outcomes. Therefore, one more regression is run to investigate this link and whether ODA for anti-corruption has effective impact on corruption status. However, this result shows that ODA for anti-corruption decreases the corruption status rather than promotes it, though the result is insignificant. Therefore, ODA for anti-corruption may have significant impact on HIV prevention programs to some extent but no significant impact is found on AIDS treatment programs and corruption status in general. In sum, AIDS treatment programs which are much prone to corruption due to expensive treatment drugs should also be emphasized to reduce AIDS-death by promoting the effectiveness of ODA flows to treatment programs. At the same time, the effectiveness of ODA for anti-corruption should be evaluated more with rigorous model specification and abundant data.CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY CHAPTER FOUR: EMPRICAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONmasterpublishedTun Min Oo

Subject Specific Mastery Motivation in Moldovan Middle School Students

Given the crucial role of mastery motivation in the cognitive development of children, the present study investigates subject-specific mastery motivation in the multilingual educational system of the Republic of Moldova. We applied cross-sectional data from fifth, seventh, and ninth graders studying either in the Romanian (n = 583) or Russian (n = 353) language using the Subject Specific Mastery Motivation Questionnaire (SSMMQ). To ensure the validity of the comparison of latent mean differences, the Romanian and Russian versions of SSMMQ were validated and measurement invariance of the constructs across language, grade, and gender was assessed. The full scalar invariance across grades and gender and the partial scalar invariance across language held. Thus, a comparison of latent mean differences across these three groups is plausible. The findings proved that there was no difference between the Romanian and Russian samples, but we found girls self-rated themselves significantly higher than boys in the Reading, Art, and Music mastery motivation scales. Results with respect to the comparison of latent mean differences between the grade levels demonstrated that the Reading mastery motivation of the Moldovan students stayed stable from fifth to ninth grades, whereas Art had a constant declining path

Assessment of climate change vulnerability of farm households in Pyapon District, a delta region in Myanmar

Sea level rise causes saltwater intrusion and flooding of agricultural land and ultimately threatens the livelihoods of farm households in the delta region of Myanmar. Empirical research on the effects of climate change on the delta's agriculture and an assessment of the vulnerability are becoming necessary. This study explores the vulnerability of farm households to sea level rise using two methods: the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI), which is comprised of 37 indicators, and the Socioeconomic Vulnerability Index (SeVI), which contains 35 indicators. Interviews with 178 farmers were conducted in Bogale, Pyapon and Dedaye Townships in Pyapon District. In addition, 7 focus group discussions were performed, with at least 2 discussions in each Township. Both methods identify Bogale to be the most vulnerable Township, followed by Dedaye and Pyapon Townships. Following the LVI approach, Bogale Township has the highest sensitivity to climate effects and the highest exposure to natural hazards, but also a higher adaptive capacity than the other townships. In contrast using the SeVI approach, Bogale was found to have the highest sensitivity and exposure to natural hazards but the lowest adaptive capacity score. The study found that the climate change adaptation measures taken by the farmers are important to limit vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and thus promotion of the adaptive capacity of farmers is important for the delta region of Myanmar