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number: /2022 CIT number: 0 Number of views: 1,593
Overall, this article focuses on the implementation of STEM education in Ukraine and the description of different models of STEM education. Specifically, it defines the concept of STEM literacy, and concentrates on the interdisciplinary links between mathematics and coding in the context of STEM education by analysing various curricula of mathematics and coding. Firstly, this paper gives examples of the Ukrainian mathematics curriculum for the 5th and 6th graders, including the necessary themes that form a mathematical base for the further study of coding and other STEM subjects. This paper also provides an overview of the students’ prerequisite mathematical knowledge to take part in the 7th grade’s coding class. Secondly, it provides examples of specific mathematics tasks (e.g., compiling algorithms, working with flowcharts, reading parts of codes) that help strengthen the mathcoding links. A survey was sent out to mathematics and ICT teachers for data collection
number: /2022 CIT number: 0 Number of views: 942
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is regarded internationally critical to effectively prepare citizens for the twenty-first century (Early Childhood STEM Working Group, 2017; McClure et al., 2017, National Research Council, 2011). One basic assumption underlying this work how improving outcomes for children requires the provision of support for their teachers so that educators are empowered to provide high-quality STEM experiences during the first years of primary school. This paper presents the case study emerged from the Kanga-Kids Professional Development Model of Training for in-service Math teachers in the early years of elementary school. The model includes three main components: (1) workshops, (2) reflective coaching cycles, and (3) professional learning communities/workgroups. The findings show that the program has succeeded in changing basic attitudes and beliefs as well as daily routines at school in teaching math. This paper contributes to theoretical and practical literature in the area of STEM bringing a detailed example of the design and its impact.
number: /2021 CIT number: 0 Number of views: 1,312
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic reached most countries globally, economies have suffered more or less a change in all activities. Vietnamese firms have been struggling with economic consequences associated with social distancing measures and lockdown. Firms in Vietnam have had to apply strategies of reshaping business, cutting costs and laying off staff. In this context, graduating students should have concerns. This study investigates their perceptions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employability and their perceptions of training gaps. The study explores what graduating students prepare to find a job after graduation and their future career intentions. In addition, the research is aimed at students’ proposals for universities’ support to help them cope flexibly with the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used quantitative research methods, including an online questionnaire designed on Google Forms to collect data over a 3-week time frame in May 2020. More than 500 suitable responses were collected for descriptive statistical analysis with the support of SPSS software. The results of the study reveal that the final year students are well aware of the disadvantages when they graduate in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of them are willing to accept the difficulties and adjust themselves to survive and have a job. This study proposes solutions to assist graduating students by providing justifications, adaptation and skill improvement sets for better employability. In addition, this study also highlights information for higher education institutions with students’ perceptions of career orientation and new skill training to respond to Vietnam’s market demands.
number: /2021 CIT number: 0 Number of views: 976
Although accompanied by the socialist-oriented market economy, private higher education plays a critical role in the development of the higher education sector of Vietnam. In this context, teaching staff development has been becoming more important than ever to make these non-public universities more competitive to the public universities. The main objectives of this research are to develop an understanding of an overview of the teaching staff development of the private universities in Vietnam. The study uses qualitative analysis in order to gain insights into different development aspects of these teaching staff. The findings should make an essential contribution to human resource development in the non-public universities regarding quality, quantity and assessment of the quality of the teaching staff in these universities. This research supports the idea that the teaching staff development of the private universities should be equally regarded as their colleagues in the public one.
number: /2021 CIT number: 0 Number of views: 2,128
Since late April 2021, Vietnam has experienced the 4th outbreak of COVID-19. It was also the time to end the second semester of the school year at colleges and universities in Vietnam. To curb the pandemic, the Vietnam government has implemented many strict measures in public places, such as social distancing, quarantine processes, and embracing hygiene and sanitation throughout the country. As a result, almost all schools were closed, and both teachers and students had to work from home. This qualitative study sought to examine the lecturer’s experiences of online assessment at a regional university. Information was gathered by conducting multiple interviews via the Zalo application with 20 lecturers at the University of Foreign Language Studies. An analysis of the results of this study found the most preferred assessment methods to be written assignments, multiple-choice tests, quizzes, presentations, and oral examinations. In addition, Zoom and Microsoft Teams are believed to be the most popular testing environments. Through this study, many challenges of online assessment have been unveiled, such as cheating, teacher’s workload, and testing process problems.
number: /2021 CIT number: 0 Number of views: 1,014
Grounded on Engstrom’s interacting activity theory, this qualitative study examines higher education (HE) students’ views about the roles of their groups regarding tasks assigned to them during classroom activities and how their views influence the ways they interact with their peers in the groups. The key findings are twofold. In symbolic group work (GW) interactions, students perceive group leaders as a symbol of group authority who distribute unequal responsibilities among group members. Students, then, positioned themselves as “disciplined members” and passively participate in the group. In authentic GW interactions, students see that the group leaders put forth the authentic conversation and shared responsibilities among group members. Students then positioned themselves reflexively between “collaborative learners” and “active agents,” in order to participate in the group actively. Findings suggest that students view GW dynamics differently when their interactions and participation are either imposed or supported by the group dynamics themselves and whether university teachers take social aspects of GW into account of their facilitation. The study provides insight into the complex interactional group dynamics that influence cooperative learning goals in the university settings and offers opportunities for university teachers to think about adopting social pedagogic approaches in facilitating classroom GW as a constitutive part of pedagogical reform at higher education institutions.
number: /2021 CIT number: 0 Number of views: 2,293
Shaking off the remnants from a long-lasting period of colonization and conflicts, the 35-year span from 1986 with multiple comprehensive reforms has transformed Vietnam from a country of war to an “emerging dragon” across all social and economic sectors, including education. Vietnam made an impressive success story of the efficiency of investment in education given its top position in the PISA average score ranking and international academic competitions. This article accounts for the major post-1986 changes of Vietnam’s education system, the country’s “success formula” as well as lapses. Recommendations for educational policymakers and educators regarding the role of the education sector in the coming ever-disruptive social and economic context will be discussed as concluding remarks.
number: /2021 CIT number: 0 Number of views: 1,296
The transition from traditional (face-to-face) to online learning mode presents challenges and barriers to students globally. Reports on this issue during the pandemic show the various effects of barriers to online learning on their academic achievement. Some researchers have been interested in this issue. However, specific research on the group of students majoring in social sciences is still limited. To fill this research gap, this paper aims to build a theoretical framework on barriers to students’ learning in the online environment through a review of research papers, thereby examining the relationship between barriers and students’ academic achievement. The barriers identified in this study are Social Interaction, Academic Skills, Technical Skills, Learner Motivation, Time and Support for Studies. The Snowball sampling method was used, and the Google Forms application designed the questionnaire for data collection. The analytical data set included 482 records collected over 32 days from April 5th to May 6th, 2021. The results show the difference in demographic conditions in terms of the academic year, learning conditions, gender and region with the identified barriers. The study results show that most female students are guaranteed to fully meet the requirements of online learning in the context of COVID-19. However, the results of online learning are still affected, and the main reason is the time and support for learning activities. Through the findings, the research has contributed to strengthening the knowledge about the relationship between barriers and academic performance among students majoring in social sciences in the online learning environment. The research results can be a reference source so that educational administrators, teachers and related stakeholders such as parents, enterprises and the community will propose solutions to issues affecting the students’ learning effectiveness and outcomes.
number: /2021 CIT number: 0 Number of views: 1,282
The Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) currently has 1220 faculty members and staff working under the ten constituent colleges and the Office of the Vice Chancellor. This figure comprises of 402 women employees compared to 818 men (IMS, 2021). This number indicates that gender equality has not been reached within RUB. The present study explored the self-efficacy and job satisfaction levels of female RUB employees and how they are related. A mixed method, sequential explanatory design was adopted for the study. The quantitative data were gathered from 95 participants and the qualitative data were gathered from 38 participants. The participants included female employees working in different colleges of RUB and the Office of the Vice Chancellor. A thematic analysis following descriptive statistical analysis was used for the quantitative data and the qualitative data were analyzed along the same themes. The findings revealed that the participants’ levels of selfefficacy and job satisfaction are high. The study also highlighted a repertoire of factors that affect self-efficacy and job satisfaction. A study to explore the most effective and sustainable source of self-efficacy and job satisfaction is recommended.
number: /2021 CIT number: 0 Number of views: 1,404
In the era of globalization, one of the ultimate goals in English language education is to equip learners with intercultural sensitivity (InS) to effectively communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds; however, EFL learners in rural contexts are supposed to encounter difficulties in achieving InS. Therefore, this mixed-methods study aims at exploring EFL students’ InS in a rural high school where students have few opportunities to interact with foreigners in person. The study involved 185 EFL high school students in Lam Dong province, Vietnam, in answering the questionnaire, and 18 students in responding to the focus group interview questions. The results indicated that participants possessed a high level of InS. Among the five constructs of InS (e.g. interaction engagement, respect for cultural differences, interaction enjoyment, interaction attentiveness, & intercultural confidence), the participants were most aware of respect for cultural differences, had interaction enjoyment and attentiveness, and showed their intercultural confidence. Nevertheless, they were likely to have difficulties in interaction engagement. It can be implied that the EFL high school students could, to some extent, gain their InS except socially intercultural interactions.