Catching the virus – a peer-to-peer game that encourages active participation in microbiology lectures

An important part of learning within lectures and classrooms is active participation, but this is sometimes difficult in larger lecture rooms. Questioning students is also not very fruitful in larger rooms for many reasons and invariably results in a wall of silence. Playing active-learning games changes the student–teacher dynamic and energizes the lecture room, making the lecture more memorable and worthwhile for the students. In our microbiological lectures, particularly lectures on virology and immunology, students play the ‘catch-the-virus’ game. As all students are in the game together, there is a competitive edge, and students forget about the anxiety of the the lecture theatre. Importantly, because of the nature of the game, the entire lecture room is involved, including students in the back rows. Interestingly, the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and its impact on student lives, makes the catch-a-virus game even more poignant.

I Want to Become a Teacher because…? Student-Teachers Change in Attitudes of Becoming Teachers in Austria and Kosovo

The motivation for career choice motivation of student-teachers is a well-studied topic with a representative theoretical basis in teacher education research that has a long-standing tradition in the international research landscape. However, in understanding the pressing questions of why young people choose to become teachers, only a few longitudinal and comparative studies have been carried out that focus on the development of motivation for choosing a teaching career. This longitudinal study reports on the effects of time within initial teacher education and how it influences student-teacher attitudes and motives about the teaching profession. This article is a product of a larger study that aims at addressing the existing literature gap by examining student-teacher change in attitudes of becoming teachers in Austria and Kosovo starting from initial teacher education, during early stages of their teaching career as novice teachers, and to more advanced stages of their teaching career. This is a panel study located within a longitudinal design. In this study, a questionnaire and student-teacher reflection texts were used as instruments. Data were collected in three phases during which 673 student-teachers participated in face-to-face administered questionnaire as follows: 341 (phase 1), 185 (phase 2), and 147 (phase 3), as well as 19 student-teacher reflections. Questionnaire data were analysed using the general linear model (GLM) with repeated measures test, whereas the reflection text data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings in this longitudinal study provide evidence that student-teacher attitudes and motives for becoming teachers can change over time during the initial teacher education in Austria and Kosovo, and they can be influenced by in-school experiences during teaching practice. The study concludes that motives for choosing a teaching career are primarily intrinsic, are not time-stable, and change over the course of studies. The study findings have clear implications for initial teacher education programs in addressing changes in student-teachers’ attitudes of becoming teachers. The insights gained from the findings of this study lead to recommendations that initial teacher education programs should strengthen teaching practice to better manage the preparation of students and teachers and their entry into the teaching profession.

Practice-Based Educational Research

Incoming PK12 general education teachers beginning their careers are not wanting to have individuals with intellectual disabilities in their classroom due to a lack of special education experience and knowledge. This practice-based qualitative narrative dissertation study explored student teacher individual perceptions and experiences on special education classroom behavior and inclusion for elementary public-school general education student teachers. The practice-based problem was the negative views pre-service K12 educators held for classroom inclusion and personal perceptions of individuals with intellectual disabilities. The study sample included 10 student teacher college students enrolled in one Texas early childhood program. Schlossberg's Transition Model was used as the practice-based conceptual framework and data were gathered from interviews and analyzed using Clandinin and Connelly's procedures for narrative analysis. The findings determined pre-service general education teachers are not always provided adequate inclusion training.

The Power of Politeness Strategies in EFL Student-Teacher Interaction: Teacher’s Gender Perspective

The nature of student-teacher interaction is often influenced by the teachers’ actions and utterances. In fact, student-teacher interaction could be felt like either threatening or enjoyable. Teachers’ politeness will result in enjoyable student-teacher interaction. Very few studies about politeness on the teachers’ gender perspectives have been conducted. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate the kinds of politeness strategies used by male and female teachers in powering EFL classroom, and to elaborate how the power of politeness strategies run the EFL student-teacher interaction. The participants are several teachers and students who conduct the English Intensive Course Program in an undergraduate university. Many students-teacher interactions using English are found in those course program, since the courses require the classroom participants to communicate in English. This research followed qualitative research design and used observation to collect data. Applying Brown and Levinson’s theory of politeness, the results show that politeness strategies bring a lively and friendly atmosphere during the classroom interaction. Specifically for female teachers who mostly use positive politeness strategy, they build more interaction with the student rather male teachers. Positive politeness strategy focused on the students’ positive face by expressing the number of utterances that want to be listened to by the students. It keeps students to have willingness to communicate so that the student-teacher interaction in EFL classroom can be maximized.

Conflict Management Practices of University Teachers

This study was conducted to explore the conflict management practices of the University of Sargodha. All the teachers of the University of Sargodha teaching undergraduate programs were the population of the study. Twelve departments were randomly selected, and 120 teachers teaching undergraduates were selected for the sample. A self-developed conflict management practices scale discussed with five Ph.D. experts and pilot tested on 50 teachers showing reliability coefficient Cronbach's alpha value 0.763 was used. Mean, standard deviations, frequencies, percentage, person correlation, regression, t-test, and ANOVA were applied to analyze the data. The major findings were; Majority of the teachers use all types of high and moderate levels of conflict management practices, and female teachers use better conflict management practices as compared to males. It is recommended that university teachers may be given conflict management training for better management of student-teacher conflicts.

Preparation and Self-Efficacy of Science Student Teachers to Teach in English

The aim of this study was to examine the preparation of science student teachers before teaching in English, and to determine their self-efficacy in teaching in English. Data were collected using the triangulation method, through questionnaires, interviews, and documentation studies on student teacher practicum portfolios. This was a descriptive qualitative study and data were analyzed using the interactive analysis method of Miles and Huberman (1984) which has three components of analysis, namely data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions or verification. The results showed that there were 6 preparations made by science student teachers before teaching in English: 1) determine the topic of the material being taught and look for the material; 2) study the subject matter in depth; 3) compile lesson plans in English; 4) prepare tools and materials for teaching including handouts, props, demonstrations, and science practicum; 5) search for common terminology in science related to the topic being taught; 6) practice teaching science in English, namely doing teaching exercises in English. The results also showed that the science student teachers’ level of self-efficacy in teaching science in English varied from low to high: 45.8% had high self-efficacy levels; 39.5% had moderate levels; and 9.0% had low self-efficacy. Keywords: self-efficacy, science student teacher, teaching preparation, readiness

Examination of Student–Teacher Interpersonal Relationships Circumplex Model in the Greek Educational Context

Student–teacher interpersonal relationships contribute significantly to the academic trajectory and achievement of children and adolescents. The Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) is one of the most widely applied measures for assessing students' perceptions about the teachers’ interpersonal behaviour. QTI comprises eight subscales that are assumed to follow a circumplex model. Prior studies on QTI’s psychometric properties are inconclusive and report mixed findings. The purpose of this study was to examine the applicability of QTI in the Greek cultural context, by testing its circumplex structure and levels of reliability. QTI was administered to 1669 secondary education students, from 85 different classrooms. A cross-validation approach and a variety of statistical techniques were employed. Subscales’ internal consistency and their ability to discriminate among classes were satisfactory. Exploratory statistical techniques provided initial support of the circular pattern. Application of a specifically designed package for testing the circumplex structure of an instrument, showed that a model in which the eight QTI subscales are placed on the circumference of a circle with equal distances form the centre was tenable. However, the assumption of equal distances was not confirmed. Deviation from the theoretical position of the subscales was mainly due to students’ difficulty to discriminate teachers’ proximity behaviour, a finding reported in various studies and across different cultural contexts. Suggestions for improving the psychometric properties of the QTI are discussed.

On the Relation between School Alienation and Social School Climate

In recent years, scholars have referred to school alienation as a severe problem that affects the socio-emotional and cognitive development of students. In this study, the authors examined how the relationships with teachers and classmates are associated with students’ state of alienation from learning, from teachers, and from classmates, applying a cross-sectional research design. Participants included 543 Grade 7 students from the Swiss canton of Bern who took part in the binational research project “School Alienation in Switzerland and Luxembourg (SASAL, 2015-2019)”. Results of correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed that the student-teacher and student-student relationships were associated with alienation from school.