You are here
Articles
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 2,807
The current study has derived inspiration from the design thinking approach as one of the pedagogical means to respond to the need for teaching, learning, and assessment in the twenty-first century. Specifically, the study was intended to explore strategies to implement design thinking’ in designing and delivering lessons in higher secondary-level biology classrooms. The study employed a participatory design approach which involved the participation of the researcher with the selected teachers in the co-design of biology lessons. This study was carried out over two weeks in one of the higher secondary schools in Samtse district, Bhutan. Hence, data for this study was obtained from the researcher’s qualitative notes based on field engagement with three piloted teachers, and teaching observations. The data from observation field notes were presented in narrative descriptions, to provide rich descriptions of classroom activities and tasks, teacher and students’ classroom interactions, and the design thinking process followed in the teaching and learning process. Findings revealed that both teachers and students have positive perceptions about the application of design thinking in biology class. The application of design thinking in biology class offers an opportunity for students to learn through the highest degree of collaboration, interaction, and creative thinking, unlike in a conventional classroom. Additionally, this offers an opportunity for building a foundation for teachers and educators to revitalize educational practices to prepare students to thrive in the modern era, by equipping students with the tools and capacity for innovative and creative thinking and the ability to solve problems.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,838
Despite the availability of professional counselling services at the Samtse College of Education, it has been documented that majority of the staff and students do not avail it. This study investigated the factors determining staff’ and students’ motivation in seeking counselling services of the college. A mixed research method specifically convergent parallel design was adopted for this study. A total of 64 staff of the college and 395 students across all the academic programme have responded to the survey questionnaire. Likewise, a total of 10 focus group interviews (2 FGI with staff and 8 FGI with students) was conducted. The findings revealed that although both staff and students understand the importance and possess positive attitudes towards counselling, they indicated numerous factors affecting their motivation to seek such services. The results showed lack of basic knowledge about counselling of students, awareness of services, infrastructural facilities, the culture of the college, professionalism of counsellors and belief systems of an individual person as the significant factors determining their motivation in seeking counselling services. Several recommendations are also proposed such as conducting separate orientation of counselling and instituting different modes of counselling services in the college.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,878
Test equating becomes essential to safeguard the test fairness for sitting for the actual national examination. Thus, this paper describes a proposal to help teachers in Malaysia to ascertain the relative efficiency of test score equating methods in comparing students’ high stakes examinations. The proposal addresses the practical implications of score equating by describing aspects of equating and item anchoring process which can be used by teachers. This study examined Principles of Accounting (PA) subject with Rasch measurement framework for dichotomous data analysis. A nonexperimental quantitative research approach was adopted in which a set of equivalent test instrument were administered to two different groups of respondents comprising 429 students. Data collection was through stratified random sampling method and analysed using Winstep software. Results showed a good fit study by using Common Item Non-Equivalent Group Design (CINEG) also named as Non-equivalent Groups with Anchor Test (NEAT) design. Both test forms were reasonably predictable good fit of measurement. No single student’s destiny should rely upon a single test paper (Wu et al., 2016). Hence, multiple sets of equivalent test papers should be developed by teachers in schools with the same standard as the actual exam papers. Subsequently, students will be more well prepared for the national examination and will be able to achieve desired grades.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 3,104
The internationalisation in Vietnamese universities has emerged as an effective vehicle to reform the higher education system. In this process, the intercultural adaptability of students studying in internationalised programmes has been regarded as being critically important for their experiences and outcomes. Drawing on 80 in-depth interviews with education policymakers, programme coordinators, lecturers, students and employers of eight internationalised programmes in five Vietnamese universities, this article addresses four major solutions to student intercultural adaptability development: (i) strong personal dynamics of students; (ii) supportive conditions from academic institutions; (iii) promising employment prospects and preparation; and (iv) adequate supporting legal spaces from policymakers.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,443
English as a foreign language (EFL) student-teachers’ teaching competency (TC) development can be affected by different factors, one of which is student-teacher agency which can play a decisive role in shaping their TC self-development. This mixed methods study aims at scrutinising how EFL student-teachers enacted their agency to facilitate their TC selfdevelopment during English language teaching (ELT) methodology courses at a higher education institution context in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A cohort of 118 student-teachers majoring in ELT methodology got involved in answering the closed-ended questionnaires, and 15 student-teachers in semi-structured interviews. The data analysis was based on the direct approach in which the quantitative data were processed by the SPSS in terms of descriptive statistics, and the qualitative data were analysed using the content analysis approach. The findings revealed that EFL student-teacher agency played a pivotal role in their TC self-development. Student-teachers allocated much of their effort to self-leveraging their ELT knowledge and positive attitudes towards ELT more than their ELT skills and English language skills. Such preliminary findings can shed light on the further research on the role of student-teacher agency in TC self-development in tandem with other factors of teacher trainer and learning environment.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 3,192
Psychological well-being and mental health among higher education students are prevalent and increasing on university campuses. Evidence suggests that students are vulnerable to mental health problems which have generated increased public concern (Chao, 2012; Bewick et al., 2010). This study aims to explore the psychological well-being of students in one of the colleges of the Royal University of Bhutan. An explanatory two-phase mixed method design was employed. 210 students responded to the survey questionnaire and 10 students from six different programmes and four levels in the college participated in the interview. A convenient stratified and purposive sampling technique was applied. Ryff’s scales of psychological well-being (Ryff & Singer, 2008) were used to measure multiple facets of psychological wellbeing. The findings indicated that students involved in the study possessed mixed levels of overall psychological well-being as the participants were from six courses and five levels of varied ages. The quantitative results of this study showed a positive attitude toward Ryff’s six dimensions of psychological well-being across ages and programmes (M=4.70, M-4.92). However, the findings indicated that undergraduate students possessed higher levels of psychological well-being than the Master of Education students. Additionally, a strong positive correlation was observed amongst the six dimensions of psychological well-being. The qualitative findings highlighted environmental mastery and positive relations with others as critical in the promotion of the psychological well-being of the college students
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,892
Reflective practices have become an important part of the teaching and learning process. When teachers practice it, they are considering their own practice, examining curricular choices, incorporating students’ feedback and making changes to improve students’ learning. This study aimed at exploring reflective practices of Physics teachers in Bhutan. In addition, it also examined the challenges that affected Physics teachers’ reflective practices. This qualitative study gathered data from seven Physics teachers teaching in two Higher and Middle Secondary Schools located in the eastern part of Bhutan. Data for this study were obtained from four sources; semi-structured face-to-face interviews, class observations with post-observation conferences and analysis of documents. The study revealed that Physics teachers incorporated different reflective practices such as self-reflection, different strategies and skills and feedback. Factors promoting reflective approaches included different classroom activities, questions, and responses by students while challenges in the process of reflection were lack of resources, large student number, bulky syllabus, and workload. This study recommends the need for an ICT-enabled environment in the schools to promote reflective practices. In addition, it recommends the Ministry of Education to review the workload of Physics teachers.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 2,052
This paper describes the literature review of research about digital safety competency of school students. Review and analysis of more than 90 research papers and government documents concerning the topic were conducted using various search engines as well as through access to printed legal and guiding documents of Vietnamese Government. . In the one hand, review of the literature shows the complexity of the DL concept, on the other hand, it proves the importance of activities to reinforce the knowledge and skills and reorientation or strengthening the attitudes regarding digital safety and positive use of the new media at home and in school. The presented results also provide opportunities to enrich the insights into the educational processes which take place in the family environment in the digital age. The prospect of digital safety education in Vietnam is also discussed in relation with the global progress.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 2,373
Bangladesh has achieved significant progress in primary education whereas secondary education is still far from its expected targets. Along with the low level of participation, noticeable incompletion rates, high drop-out and poor performance have remained constant over the years. Among students who manage to complete their secondary school years, a significant portion is unable to pass the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or equivalent examinations every year. This study, which is a part of a larger-scale study, aims to explore the trends and issues of poor performance in SSC/equivalent examinations. A quantitative approach was employed to explore the research objectives. A total of 3072 students from secondary educational institutes of 8 divisions participated in completing the survey questionnaire. The findings of the study show persistent trends of unsuccessful and poor performance in the examination and the number of students who failed in the SSC/Equivalent examination is considerably large. The study found major issues including family financial and attitudinal support, schools’ infrastructural facilities, impacts of classroom teaching-learning styles, values of education, and sense of safety which related to achieving expected outcomes of secondary education. Similar issues were found among the students with ethnicity regarding their poor performance in the examination. The study suggests that along with the financial and policy support, awareness, and attitudinal change through media, the empowerment of the local community in cooperation with non-governmental organizations may remarkably contribute to enhance students’ desired academic performance.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 6,567
The study addresses the transition to teach a curriculum designed for face-to-face teaching through a full mode online teaching. There has been infusion of online technologies in teaching contexts, and teaching practices globally, little attention has been given to online teaching and learning in Bhutanese higher education context. This study investigated the opportunities and challenges of online teaching in the colleges of the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) using a convergent mixed method approach. Survey questionnaire and interviews were used to collect the data. 153 teaching faculties and 1206 students responded to the survey. 30 faculties and 30 students consisting of equal number of male and female were interviewed. Descriptive analysis and inferential statistics were conducted for the survey data. The quantitative finding reveals age, experiences, educational qualification and colleges as important predictors of efficacy in the online teaching learning and assessment practices. The results also show that lecturers and students were somewhat satisfied with lecturers’ online teaching knowledge and skills. However, there are insignificant differences in the skills and knowledge possessed by both male and female lecturers and students of RUB colleges. Further, a positive correlation between lecturers’ online knowledge and skills to online assessment, learning support and resources was noted while students’ accessibility to online learning platforms and materials had lower correlation with other items. The qualitative finding indicates similar benefits and challenges related to online teaching. The study suggests respective colleges to support lecturers in their acquisition of ICT knowledge and skills to equip them for the digital age.