Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition as Student Performance Determinant in Undergraduate Research Modules

Vocabulary knowledge plays an important role in determining a person’s language proficiency level. This study investigates the role vocabulary plays in determining students’ performance within research modules at private higher education institutions (HEIs). The discipline-specific vocabulary in this study includes target words, sampled from an undergraduate research module’s prescribed textbook. A mixed-method design is used to explain students’ challenges and concerns with regard to research modules. An investigation is launched into students’ research vocabulary acquisition by administering pre- and post-testing with regular reliability. By measuring the students’ research vocabulary acquisition, the effectiveness of the research module’s (mostly incidental) learning process is determined. The relationship between the students’ research vocabulary acquisition and their research module performance as part of a Bachelor of Education degree (B.Ed.) curriculum is also established. This study contributes to the development of best practices and the advancement of institutional research development across HEI; it also stimulates interdisciplinary engagement within the research field research modules at HEI in South Africa

Measuring preservice teachers’ ethnocentrism: A South African case study

The 21st century can be marked by growing ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism in education could have detrimental effects on classroom practices and learner performance. With a quantitative, institutional case study research design and positivist paradigm, this study used the Generalised Ethnocentrism survey to measure 1164 preservice teachers’ ethnocentrism at a private higher education institution. The Generalised Ethnocentrism survey consists of 22 statements about ethnicity. Preservice teachers who attended multicultural schools scored significantly lower on the ethnocentrism scale than those who attended mono-ethnic schools. Preservice teachers’ beliefs about ethnicity-in-education issues could be an indication of their degree of ethnocentrism. High degrees of ethnocentrism could indicate intolerance towards diversity within the classroom which if left unaddressed, could affect learner performance and further hinder transformation in classrooms. This study also discusses how ethnocentrism should be measured and addressed within teacher education programmes in order to cultivate preservice teachers who are able to critically reflect on their own ethnocentrism and act as agents of change

Computer Simulation as a Medium for Teaching Inventory Management in Food Systems Administration

A conceptual framework was developed incorporating computer simulation as an instructional medium for teaching conceptual thinking and techniques for decision making and problem solving needed for inventory management. With this framework as a guide, an individualized instruction unit was designed and implemented for teaching cognitive learning. Fifty-two food systems administration students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, evaluated the effectiveness of the individualized study unit (experimental method) as opposed to the traditional lecture (control) method in teaching inventory management principles. A pretest was administered to each student in selected junior and senior courses prior to the teaching unit. A posttest was given three weeks after the pretest and following the teaching unit; then again, as a retention test, five weeks later. The student\u27s prior exposure to inventory management principles, evaluation of teaching method and amount of time spent in the learning process were analyzed in relation to test scores. Test scores indicated that the vertical transfer of cognitive knowledge from the recall level to the problem solving level for inventory management principles was evident for students using the experimental method. These scores also showed that students in the senior course utilized the experimental method more effectively for achieving cognitive learning than did students in the junior courses. Posttest scores compared to retention test scores showed that the experimental method did influence student retention for the recall of inventory management principles as well as for the application of these principles towards solving a problem. The student\u27s prior exposure to inventory management principles, evaluation of teaching method and time spent in the learning process did not affect cognitive learning or retention of knowledge for the principles. This study does show that the individualized instruction unit with computer simulation could be used for teaching conceptual thinking and techniques for decision making and problem solving needed for inventory management

Early childhood student-teachers’ experiences of blended learning using Community of Inquiry as theoretical framework

Amongst the contemporary needs of societies in the fourth industrial revolution, are student-teachers who are adaptable, ethical, and literate in developing technology-mediated environments. Cultivating such teachers requires engaging them experientially in blended learning practices. We explored 155 student-teachers’ experiences of blended learning, at a South African institution for higher education, by using the Community of Inquiry (CoI) as theoretical framework. We created cognitive, social, and teaching presences within the initial teacher education module on their learning management system, Blackboard LearnTM. Utilising explanatory mixed-method as research approach enabled us to compare student-teachers’ experiences of the three presences using a Likert-type questionnaire and reflective feedback. Studentteachers’ online engagement reflected a good cognitive and teaching presence; whilst their social presence was maintained using disparate social media applications and consequently sidestepping this higher education institution’s learning management system. Social constructivists endorse socially situated knowledge, collaborative validation of understanding, and one’s own construction of meaning. Supposing that student-teachers education social studies for democratic citizenship education necessitate social presence as it precedes cognitive and teaching presences. The implication for higher education institutions is to create a sustainable online social presence within their learning management systems for prospective teacher citizens to be better prepared for technology-mediated milieus

Senior Recital:Heather West, Soprano Joyce Landess, Piano

Kemp Recital Hall Friday Evening October 8, 1999 8:30 P.M

Utilizing Bloom's taxonomy and authentic learning principles to promote preservice teachers' pedagogical content knowledge

The global reading crisis has been widely reported. One of the reasons attributed to the reading crisis is teachers' inadequate pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) regarding the teaching of reading. In South Africa, a multilingual country, the reading dilemma and the need for improved PCK have been debated extensively. This study, therefore, explores how utilizing Bloom's taxonomy and authentic learning principles within teacher education can promote the development of PCK in teaching reading. Using an interpretivist paradigm and an exploratory qualitative research design, data were collected from 20 second-year preservice teachers. The data collection consisted of a qualitative open-ended reflection questionnaire and document reviews. Inductive and thematic analysis was used for data analysis. The findings highlight the importance of authentic learning and PCK in teacher education and training. Furthermore, the findings indicate how Bloom's taxonomy can serve as a possible metacognitive framework to promote preservice teachers' PCK development. The benefits and challenges of PCK within teacher education are also elaborated on. Recommendations are made for teacher education programs to explore the value of Bloom's taxonomy as a metacognitive learning framework instead of a hierarchical assessment framework to create authentic learning opportunities to better prepare preservice teachers for practice.https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/social-sciences-and-humanities-openhj2023Early Childhood Educatio

Pre-service teachers’ attitudes and ethnocentrism regarding language-in-education issues

Different attitudes towards the use of English as the MoI within a multilingual environment exist. These attitudes can affect pre-service teachers’ future classroom practices and learners’ performance. In this regard, ethnocentrism, an attitudinal indicator, should be considered when investigating pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards language-in-education issues. Ethnocentrism, the tendency of an individual to identify strongly with their own ethnicity and reject others', draws on the social identity theory, owing to its focus on in-group-out-group distinctions, racism and stereotyping. This article’s primary purpose was to determine if preservice teachers’ attitudes toward language-ineducation issues are related to their degree of ethnocentrism. An embedded mixed- methods research design and a post-positivist paradigm was used. The research site was a private higher education institution with a mono-ethnic student population. A questionnaire using the Language Attitudes of Teachers Scale and the Generalised Ethnocentrism Scale served as the data collection instrument to measure 1 164 pre-service teachers' attitudes towards language-in-education issues and their degree of ethnocentrism. The data showed a statistically significant relationship between the pre-service teachers' attitudes and their degree of ethnocentrism and revealed potential indicators of lower and higher degrees of ethnocentrism. This study recommends that teacher education programmes create awareness of the relationship between attitudes and ethnocentrism to prepare pre-service teachers for multilingual and multicultural classrooms.https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jltam2022Early Childhood Educatio

Improvement of Receptive Functioning in Adult Aphasics

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Imaging and Aphasia

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