STUDY OF THE EXISTING STATUS OF SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT SYSTEM IN UPPER SCHOOL CHEMISTRY OF SRI LANKA

School Based Assessment (SBA) system at Advanced Level classes of Sri Lanka was implemented since 2009. At the beginning there were fifteen assessments to be completed with five practical assessments to get the eligibility for the final examination. There are five assessments that must be completed to get the eligibility for General Certificate of Education in Advanced Level G.C.E (A/L) examination which is implementing from 2019 onwards. This study is mainly focused on the identification of the current status of SBA regarding Chemistry subject as well investigate the drawbacks and remedial actions that can be taken. Marks of the School based assessment in (G.C.E (A/L)) Chemistry should always be used as the measure of teaching-learning process. It should provide the student as well as teacher to evaluate themselves on the lesson that they taught. Unfortunately, this is not happening in our current system and hence is not a landmark of students’ achievement or success of teaching learning process. Therefore most of the teachers use the same teaching and assessing methodology without any change throughout the assigned time period giving minute attention to the achievement of their students and pay much attention to cover whole syllabus rather than checking the conceptual establishment in them. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 356 students of seven provinces and 170 teachers from nine provinces. Teachers were selected from 1AB and 1C schools from the province. Students’ data were collected from two schools of the province from both male and female students of grade12 and 13 according to the number of students in that class. Further the qualitative data collection was done through focused group discussions and interviews. These discussions were conducted in three districts with the participation of eight teachers and twenty eight students. Forty final codes were identified and they were categorized under ten segments. Then sub themes were identified and according to them, seven themes were identified. 75% of the teachers who were participated in the survey had identified the importance of SBA. About 67% of them suggested the more teacher and student friendly assessment system. They requested more guidance from higher authorities, proper training and well-organized assessment models. According to the student point of view, about 60% of them requested more help from teachers to understand the subject matter, reliable marking system which aims to the final examination. Article visualizations

Support of Mobile Phones in a Private Network for Science Teaching

The potential of mobile phones to facilitate students’ science learning, when they are engaging in group activities, was investigated. To minimize the disciplinary issues emerged from the previous research on mobile devices and to enhance the quality of learning, a set of mobile phones that are connected to a private network was used. The lesson planning and implementation through these mobile phones were facilitated by a web based Application. A purposively selected group of teachers developed three lessons while integrating mobile phones in a private network into learning activities. Then the lessons were implemented in real classroom settings. This paper is based on one of the lessons ‘Waves and their Characteristics’ that was implemented for Grade 11 students. The data were collected through observations using audio, video and field notes and were analyzed using thematic analysis technique with the help of NVivo10 qualitative data analysis software. Based on the thematic analysis, two assertions were derived. Notably teachers appreciated the support of the private network in enhancing the quality of group learning activity while minimizing the students’ misuse of mobile phones

Embedding sustainability in learning and teaching: Lessons learned and moving forward—approaches in STEM higher education programmes

Embedding sustainability into pedagogical approaches is a key priority in higher education. Equipping students with knowledge, understanding, and skills, and developing the next generation of innovators and leaders, can potentially provide the change needed and create a real impact in the journey to a sustainable future. Advancement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and corresponding industries can be seen as vital for the success of meeting a majority of the sustainable development goals, and hence the approaches taken to embed sustainability in learning and teaching in STEM higher education programmes can be considered significant in many ways. This paper is based on published literature over the last two decades and a semi-structured interview with 12 university academics from a developing country. Hence, the paper reviews approaches taken to embed sustainability in learning, teaching and assessments in STEM programmes. It also aims to investigate the actions taken by universities to integrate sustainability in STEM education and the remedies taken to minimise the impact of the pandemic on the effectiveness of the learning pedagogies used to integrate sustainability concepts

Educational leadership in times of crisis: lessons learned and the future of higher education in Sri Lanka

The right to education is fundamental, serving as the cornerstone for personal and societal changes. In this context, educational leadership plays a primary and significant role. Higher education (HE) leadership focuses at all times and especially in crises largely on decision-making affecting the pedagogical approaches and the quality of education. The responsibility, therefore, placed on higher educational institutions even under normal circumstances is quite considerable, let alone during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In the beginning, and with each intermittent resurgence, the pandemic challenged and moved the boundaries of educational leadership globally in an unprecedented way highlighting the need for Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) to assess and reorient leadership attitudes and behaviours in the delivery of quality education. In this milieu, Sri Lanka provides a unique example of a country that has weathered a health crisis since 2020 with a ripple effect in educational, social, and economic spheres and endured a state higher education sector that was already beleaguered for decades by pedagogical, administrative, unemployment, militant faction and violence-related crises and challenges. The primary objective of the chapter is to examine the higher educational leadership of state and affiliated universities in Sri Lanka during the COVID-19 pandemic in the backdrop of the ongoing three-fold and related crises from 2020 to 2023 to highlight leadership initiatives (or lack thereof) in facing crises from HEI administrative, academic, and student (including students with disabilities) angles in the delivery of education in tandem with pre-existing ‘crises’. It includes the educational, social, and economic repercussions in its aftermath through accommodations and adaptations of university administrators, teachers, and students using primary and secondary data. Accordingly, the Chapter recommends as viable the crisis leadership framework proposed by Ralph Gigliotti in 2017 to surmount current and future crises and challenges while mitigating pre-existing ones

A Comprehensive Overview of Education during Three COVID-19 Pandemic Periods: Impact on Engineering Students in Sri Lanka

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the education system in Sri Lanka, similar to many countries in the world. As a result, the mode of education shifted from conventional face-to-face classes to online mode. The main objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the changes to the educational system due to the COVID-19 pandemic among engineering undergraduates of Sri Lanka over three identified pandemic periods. Quantitative descriptive analysis was used together with chi-square statistics to answer the research questions using the data collected through a google survey from engineering undergraduates in Sri Lanka. According to the results, students’ attendance in online classes has improved over time compared to the initial pandemic period. Nearly 50% of students’ family income has been impacted, either stopped or reduced due to the pandemic. Most students have issues regarding computing devices, internet connectivity, and the home environment. According to the chi-square statistics results, few of these issues had a statistically significant relationship between the family income; lower the income, higher the negative impact on students. More than half of the students felt isolated when studying at home during the pandemic. Still, more than 50% of students agreed that lecturers were well prepared to guide and deliver lessons remotely. The overall recommendations of the study are implementing workshops, training on new technologies, awareness programs for educational stakeholders, providing incentives to purchase digital devices, and improving internet connectivity to improve the new standard education system of Sri Lanka