Assessing the approaches to learning of twinning programme students in Malaysia

The study set out to examine the psychometric properties of the scores obtained on the modified 20-item Revised Two Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F). The study also investigated the relationship between scores on the R-SPQ-2F and students’ learning-related outcomes. In addition, it also examined for any relationships among student’s background variables of gender, choice of academic discipline, age, English language competency, approaches to learning, and learning-related outcomes. Data based on responses of 368 Malaysian students undertaking the twinning mode of study showed the modified R-SPQ-2F to be reliable and factorially valid. The findings also found deep approaches to learning were positively related to students’ learning-related outcomes, while surface approaches to learning were negatively associated.Students’ background characteristics such as choice of academic discipline and English language competency, and approaches to learning were good predictors of students’ learning-related outcomes

Conceptions of Competency: A Phenomenographic Investigation of Beginning Teachers in Malaysia

I use phenomenography, which is an interpretive research approach, to seek and to discover what beginning teachers in Malaysia conceive and understand as competence in relation to what they do everyday as teachers. Phenomenographic approach is used because of its potential to capture variation of understanding, or way of constituting, the conceptions of competency. The outcomes of this study, therefore, are: (a ) Categories of description which capture the critical dimensions of how beginning teachers in Malaysia understand the conceptions of competency, and, (b ) An outcome space that describes the relationships between the categories. The results show that beginning teachers’ conceptions of competence fall into five qualitatively different categories: (a ) Classroom and Behaviour Management, (b ) Knowing Subject Matter, (c) Understanding Students; (d ) Reaching out for Assistance and Support, and (e ) Possessing Values of Professionalism. The relationships between these categories are represented diagrammatically as the outcome space. The empirical data through phenomenography has provided a platform for teachers and teacher educators to ask: (a) What are the implications, for beginning teachers, of their differing ways of understanding the conceptions of competency (b) How can teaching institutions better prepare pre - service teachers for their early years of teaching, and, (c) How can appraisers (e.g., Principals, Head Teachers, Course Coordinators) use the outcomes to better plan any evaluations of competency? I discuss each question in the articl

Implementing Narrative-Pedagogical Approaches in a Teacher Education Classroom

Preservice teachers can no longer be prepared using conventional teaching approaches as these are inadequate to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills they require to perform the tasks of teaching effectively. Teacher educators need to use new pedagogies, and narrative pedagogy is seen as a teaching method which can better prepare preservice teachers for the challenging classrooms of today. My study explored nine preservice teachers’ experiences after the enactment of a narrative pedagogical approach in one of their courses within their teacher education program. I used Ricoeur’s framework of the prefigured and configured arena of education to analyse the rich interview and reflective data which emerged. Three themes for the prefigured arena emerged: (a) feeling the sense of responsibility, (b) feeling anxious, and (c) feeling the lack of experience and confidence. Similarly, three themes were found for the configured arena: (a) learning through emotions, (b) learning through insights, and (c) learning through discussion. The preservice teachers have interpreted and discussed “lived” stories and this has shifted the way they think about teaching. The results do offer teacher educators and educational stakeholders a stepping-stone to further pedagogical insight into using narrative pedagogy in teacher education

Validation of the Malaysian Version of the Teacher Education Program Coherence Questionnaire

The main purpose of this study was to validate a Malay Language version of a 30-item teacher education program coherence questionnaire. Two different samples of preservice teachers completed the Malay translation of the questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis (N=220) showed four types of perceived program coherence which had good internal consistency ranging from 0.79 to 0.86: ‘Opportunity to enact practice’, ‘Opportunity to analyze practice’, ‘Opportunity to connect ideas across courses’ and ‘Coherence between courses and practical experience’. The confirmatory factor analysis (N= 234) provided support for a four-factor model. In addition, an analysis of criterion validity of the four types of perceived program coherence also indicated meaningful relationships to teaching efficacy. Our study supports the applicability of the Malaysian teacher education program coherence questionnaire for use among Malaysian preservice teachers. Both theoretical and practical implications are provided for teacher educators and researcher

The ‘Voices’ of Beginning Teachers in Malaysia About Their Conceptions of Competency: A Phenomenographic Investigation

This study gave ‘voice’ to 18 beginning teachers in Malaysia about their own teaching competences within their teaching profession through a phenomenographic investigation. The aim of the study was to discover what beginning teachers themselves conceive as competence in relation to what they did everyday as teachers. These beginning teachers were interviewed and the transcripts analysed to reveal how they conceived the phenomenon of competence. The results showed that beginning teachers’ conceptions of competence fell into five qualitatively different categories: (i) classroom and behaviour management, (ii) knowing subject matter, (iii) reaching out for assistance and support, (iv) understanding students and (v) possessing values of professionalism. This study could serve as a platform to further extend beginning teachers’ understandings of the teacher profession, and to provide them more possibilities to extend their competences to enable them to continuously develop and create opportunities for their own students

The Approaches to Teaching Inventory: A Preliminary Validation of the Malaysian Translation

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a Malaysian translation of the 22-item Approaches to Teaching Inventory for application in higher education. The Approaches to Teaching Inventory was a quantitative measure used by teachers of higher education to gauge their own teaching approaches that had been psychometrically assessed and widely used in western universities. Data in the present study came from 172 teachers in two institutions of higher learning. Principal factor analyses with varimax rotation and confirmatory factor analyses support a model with 17 items categorized into five sub-factors that were subsumed within two main factors. The alpha values of both the sub-factors and main factors were good. While broadly supporting the use of the Malaysian version in providing insights into the teaching approaches, the findings of the present study suggested the need to examine other factors that may contribute towards the inventory’s future improvement for application in the Malaysian higher education context

Prácticas pedagógicas de aprendizaje mixto para mejorar la autonomía de aprendizaje de los alumnos y los resultados académicos en el aprendizaje

This study investigated whether blended learning was more effective in inculcating learner autonomy and improving academic results among students when compared to conventional learning practices.  The study used a quasi-experimental design. The participants of the study consisted of 78 lower secondary students. The study carried out two different teaching methods; a blended learning classroom for the treatment group, meanwhile a conventional learning classroom for the control group. There were 40 pupils in the treatment group and 38 pupils in the control group.  Post-test analysis was carried out to understand the effectiveness of blended learning towards students’ academic achievement.  A set of questionnaire was developed to identify learner autonomy after the treatment.  The results indicated that there was a significant increase in academic achievement based on the pre and post-test analyses. The study also found that blended learning pedagogical practices could improve students’ learning autonomy in learning.Este estudio investigó si el aprendizaje combinado era más efectivo para inculcar la autonomía del alumno y mejorar los resultados académicos entre los estudiantes en comparación con las prácticas de aprendizaje convencionales. El estudio utilizó un diseño cuasi-experimental. Los participantes del estudio fueron 78 estudiantes de secundaria inferior. El estudio llevó a cabo dos métodos de enseñanza diferentes; un aula de aprendizaje mixto para el grupo de tratamiento, mientras que un aula de aprendizaje convencional para el grupo de control. Había 40 alumnos en el grupo de tratamiento y 38 alumnos en el grupo de control. Se llevó a cabo un análisis posterior a la prueba para comprender la efectividad del aprendizaje combinado hacia el logro académico de los estudiantes. Se desarrolló un conjunto de cuestionarios para identificar la autonomía del alumno después del tratamiento. Los resultados indicaron que hubo un aumento significativo en el rendimiento académico basado en los análisis pre y post-test. El estudio también encontró que las prácticas pedagógicas de aprendizaje mixto podrían mejorar la autonomía de aprendizaje de los estudiantes en el aprendizaj

Understanding Student Teachers’ Behavioural Intention to Use Technology

This study sets out to validate and test the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in the context of Malaysian student teachers' integration of their technology in teaching and learning. To establish factorial validity, data collected from 302 respondents were tested against the TAM using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for model comparison and hypotheses testing. The goodness-of-fit test of the analysis shows partial support of the applicability of the TAM in a Malaysian context. Overall, the TAM accounted for 37.3% of the variance in intention to use technology among student teachers and of the five hypotheses formulated, four are supported. Perceived usefulness is a significant influence on attitude towards computer use and behavioural intention. Perceived ease of use significantly influences perceived usefulness, and finally, behavioural intention is found to be influenced by attitude towards computer use. The findings of this research contribute to the literature by validating the TAM in the Malaysian context and provide several prominent implications for the research and practice of technology integration development

Preschool teachers’ perspectives on using English language to teach

In the Malaysian National Preschool Standards-based Curriculum context, preschool teachers are being asked to use English as a medium of instruction for part of their teaching activities. However, there have been criticisms that low English language proficiencies among these teachers may have hindered their ability to provide meaningful educational experiences for the children in their care. Yet, little is understood about the language proficiency of these teachers in their own context. An explanatory mixed methods design has been used in the present study with data collected in two phases. In the quantitative phase, a survey is used to investigate 204 preschool teachers’ current levels of English proficiency, the levels they think necessary for using it effectively, and the gap between the two levels. The qualitative phase uses semi-structured interviews with 12 preschool teachers. The preschool teachers believe that high or advanced language proficiency would be needed for its effective use. However, in the interviews, they also consider empathy for the children, a passion for teaching, the ability to make the class fun and interesting as equally important. There is also a lot of ‘language switching’ between English, the Malay language and the mother tongue to meet the requirements of the day’s lesson. Although preschool teachers in general showed positive stances about the decision to use English for part of the instructional time, they also suggest that some form of benchmarks that address the kinds or levels of English language proficiency needed for its effective use would be useful

Perceptions of learning environments, learning approaches, and learning outcomes: a study of private higher education students in Malaysia from twinning programmes

It has been well documented that the deep / surface approaches to learning is an important construct in trying to describe differences in students ' experiences of tertiary education contexts, and in trying to understand variations in the quality of their learning outcomes. However, what has been lacking is research into how approaches to learning operate in a Malaysian twinning programme context. First, a twinning programme environment is a unique and a complex setting, as students are required to function within a context which advocates ideals of their partner overseas universities, but remain within the boundaries and constraints of a Malaysian educational institution. Second, academics at twinning programmes are faced with real challenges in providing learning environments that can foster deep approaches to learning to satisfy both the aims of the ' importer ' and also that of our country. Third, there is a possibility that students operating from a twinning mode and coming from diverse cultural, social, and educational environments may exhibit different learning approaches to those espoused in western contexts. The literature provides strong evidence that many factors need to be considered when contemplating the most advantageous conditions for the encouragement of deep approaches to learning that are associated with the aims of tertiary teaching and learning. This study sets out to gain a better understanding of the way twinning programme students approach their learning. Particularly, it aimed to examine relationships among students ' individual characteristics, perceptions of the learning environments, approaches to learning, and their learning related outcomes. A theoretical model based on a reconceptualisation of the 3P Model of learning was developed to link students ' background characteristics, perceptions of learning environments, learning approaches, and students ' learning related outcomes. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the investigation. Data for the quantitative analysis were collected in early 2003 from 368 2nd and 3rd year students from six private higher educational institutions around the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Rich perceptual data were collected from semistructured interviews of 52 students. The quantitative findings of the study indicated that : ( a ) Students ' individual characteristics were associated with students ' perceptions of their learning environments, the approaches to learning they adopted, and to their learning related outcomes ; ( b ) Deep approaches to learning were related to students ' perceptions of good teaching and provision of clear goals and standards. Conversely, surface approaches to learning were associated with students ' perceptions of poor teaching, the lack of clear goals and standards, and inappropriate assessment practices ; ( c ) Deep approaches to learning were associated with students ' positive academic attainment, acquisition of generic skills, and satisfaction with course while surface approaches were associated with lower academic attainment, poorer acquisition of generic skills, and reduced satisfaction with their course. That is, deep approaches to learning contributed positively to all students ' learning outcomes, while surface approaches contributed negatively to students ' academic attainment, acquisition of generic skills and satisfaction with course ; ( d ) Students ' learning outcomes were associated directly with students ' individual characteristics and their perceptions of the learning environments but the relationships were not mediated by their learning approaches. The analyses indicated the need to reconstruct the model developed for the analysis, indicating that approaches to learning were related to individual characteristics and learning environments but did not mediate the associations among individual characteristics, learning environments, and learning outcomes. The qualitative analysis enhanced our understanding of the relationships among the variables. From interviews with students, the study suggests that : ( a ) There were relationships between the roles played by students ' gender, academic discipline of choice, age, English language competencies, types of schools they attended, ethnicity, and the ways in which they perceived their learning environments and in the ways in which they approached their learning ; ( b ) Approaches to learning were related to students ' perceptions of their learning environment. Teaching and teacher characteristics were related to a variety of learning environments which caused students to vary their approaches to learning. Teaching methods, pace and sequencing of subject matter, teacher enthusiasm, understanding, and commitments were related to students ' adopting deep approaches to learning. In addition, appropriate assessment practices, clear goals and aims, sufficient resources, and adequate choice of subjects encouraged deep approaches to learning. Conversely, overload of work, poor allocation of assignments, inappropriate assessment procedures which encouraged reproduction, poor perception of the relevance of assessments, poor teaching, and poor rapport with teaching staff encouraged surface approaches to learning and might contribute to students feeling stressed, anxious, being tired, or wanting to give up. In addition, the manifestations of ' kiasu ' - ism and prior learning habits encouraged students towards reproducing study approaches ; and ( c ) Students who spoke of adopting deep approaches to learning were more positive and more confident towards their learning outcomes. On the other hand, students who adopted surface approaches expressed dissatisfaction with such approaches, and felt that it undermined the quality of their learning outcomes. Recommendations, based on the study ' s findings, include suggestions for course matters, teaching practices, assessment and workload, and English language improvement.Thesis (Doctor of Music (D.Ed.))--School of Education, 2005