Teaching Writing to Tertiary EFL Large Classes: Challenges and Prospects

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 28-35
Author(s):  
Lalla Meriem Ouahidi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Large Classes ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
Large Groups

The rapid population growth, the excessive demand for higher education, and the increasing interest in English are behind the appearance of large classes at the Moroccan Departments of English in higher education institutions. The current study sheds light on teachers' experiences and probes into the challenges they encounter in teaching writing to large groups. Additionally, it seeks to provide some insights into how teachers approach this thorny issue. To achieve this end, the researcher opted for semi-structured interviews as a qualitative tool to cast light on teachers' perceptions of this issue and disclose the strategies they deploy to make teaching and learning of the writing skill conducive to productive outcomes. The findings reveal that university teachers face various problems in over-sized cohorts, including feedback, assessment, and classroom management. In the light of the findings, some suggested strategies will be set so that teachers working in similar contexts can implement them successfully.

scholarly journals TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF ASSESSMENT RUBRICS IN ASSESSING STUDENTS’ LEARNING AT HIGHER EDUCATION LEVEL

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 35-43
Author(s):  
Ghulam Abbas ◽  
◽  
Sadruddin Bahadur Qutoshi ◽  
Dil Angaiz ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Gilgit Baltistan

This study aims to explore teachers’ perceptions and practices of the use of rubrics in assessing students’ learning in the context of higher education institutions in Gilgit-Baltistan. A case study method of inquiry within a qualitative paradigm was adopted to collect the relevant data through semi-structured interviews from three purposefully selected teacher-educators (instructors) and six student-teachers (prospective teachers) of semester III and IV from one of the colleges of education. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis and following themes were emerged: (1) the importance of assessment rubrics in teaching and learning processes, (2) effectiveness of rubrics in assessing teaching and learning, (3) coconstruction of assessment rubrics by student-teachers and teacher-educators, and (4) the challenges for student-teachers and teacher-educators in developing and using of assessment rubrics. From the discussion on the emerging themes, it is concluded that (a) use of assessment rubrics makes assessment process more meaningful to both teacher-educators and students-teachers; and (b) use of rubrics makes student-teachers and teacher-educators more focused on their purpose of teaching and learning outcomes. It is recommended that teacher-educators in teacher training institutions should use rubrics to assess prospective-teachers so that they, after completing their degree programs, would use similar techniques in their respective schools to assess their students’ learning outcomes effectively. Keywords: Assessment, Assessment Rubrics, Rubric Design, Teaching and Learning.

scholarly journals Engaging Instructions in History Classrooms: Exploring University Teachers' Perceptions and Practices

2021 ◽  
Vol VI (III) ◽  
pp. 38-48
Author(s):  
Gouhar Pirzada ◽  
Yaar Muhammad ◽  
Saba Zaka
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Engaging Instruction ◽  
Positive Learning Environment ◽  
Student Relationship

This interview study aimed to explore the perceptions and practices of the university teachers regarding student engagement in History & Pakistan Studies classrooms. Data were collected from four PhD professors from a public sector university. A qualitative research design was used, and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis was done to extract findings from the qualitative data. The finding is arranged into three themes, i.e., student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. The finding suggested that teachers use different strategies and practices to improve student engagement. Moreover, teachers used different practices to make their classes interesting. It is reported that having a cordial teacher-student relationship is beneficial for enhancing student engagement level and overall performance at the postgraduate level of education. Effective classroom management plays a significant role in creating a positive learning environment for engaging instruction.

scholarly journals University Teachers’ Perceptions about Assessment Practices: A Study in Five Portuguese Universities.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Pereira ◽  
Maria Assunção Flores
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Bologna Process ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Assessment In Higher Education ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The Bologna Process

This paper looks at how Portuguese university teachers look at assessment in Higher Education. It focuses on their perspectives about assessment in higher education after the implementation of the Bologna Process, the connection between assessment, teaching and learning process and the selection of criteria and methods of assessment. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and online open-ended questionnaires in five Portuguese Public Universities in different fields of knowledge. In total, 57 teachers participated in this study. Findings are presented according the categories emerging from the data. Issues of change in assessment practices, the connection between teaching, learning and assessment as well as difficulties to assessing students’ work are analysed. Implications of the findings are discussed.

scholarly journals INTEGRATION OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN TEACHING PRACTICE AMONG UNIVERSITY TEACHERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (No.2) ◽  
pp. 69-102
Author(s):  
Norul Hidayah Mamat @ Muhammad ◽  
Nik Ahmad Hisham Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Descriptive Case Study ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Five Phases ◽  
The University

Purpose – Emotional intelligence abilities of university teachers are more likely to establish suitable emotional teaching and learning environments through their teaching practice, thus promoting learning motivation and engagement among students. Despite the emphasis on the importance of teachers’ emotional intelligence abilities in teaching, it continues to be under-acknowledged and underdeveloped. This is evidenced in a few studies reported on the relationship between emotional intelligence and teaching practice particularly in higher education. Guided by the Four-Branch Emotional Intelligence Ability Model, this study aimed to explore the integration of emotional intelligence in teaching practice among university teachers in higher education. Method – A qualitative design of a descriptive case study was applied on 10 university teachers recruited through purposeful sampling. The data gathered from semi-structured interviews conducted with the university teachers was analyzed through five phases of analysis namely; raw categorization of individual interviewees, group categorization of interviewees, raw key points, refined key points and themes. The credibility and trustworthiness of the data were achieved through prolonged engagement, member check, and interrater reliability. Results – Seven themes namely implementation of structured teaching flow, empathetic pedagogical approach, fostering student learning engagement, consideration of students’ emotions, reflection of university teachers’ characteristics, mutual teaching and learning sessions and meaningful learning sessions were generated. Significance – The study demonstrated the importance of developing emotional intelligence abilities among university teachers as these abilities directly influence teaching and learning processes. In fact, these abilities are subconsciously embedded and demonstrated through teaching practice. Thus training on emotional intelligence needs to be developed by including it as one of the competencies required for university teachers.

scholarly journals Faculty members’ planned technology integration behaviour in the context of a faculty technology mentoring programme

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Hatice Cilsalar Sagnak ◽  
Evrim Baran
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Technology Integration ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Subjective Norms ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Technology Mentoring ◽  
Faculty Technology Mentoring

This qualitative case study aimed to examine faculty members’ perceived behaviour regarding the use of technology in their classrooms. The behavior was examined within the framework of the decomposed theory of planned behavior. The theory states that technology integration behaviour is directly related to intention and perceived behaviour control and indirectly related to attitude, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control. Data sources included semi-structured interviews conducted with 17 faculty members who participated in a faculty technology mentoring programme implemented at a large public university in Turkey over a semester of 4 months’ duration. The data analysis revealed that the factors affecting faculty members’ planned technology integration behaviour were related to their intentions, attitude, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control, as explained in the theory. Faculty members identified a number of student-related, faculty-related and context-related challenges in technology integration. The recommendations arising from the study are to support and sustain faculty members’ technology integration in higher education classrooms. Implications for practice or policy: Technology mentoring programs can improve faculty teaching practices with technology in higher education classrooms. Faculty members’ technology integration behaviour can be supported by addressing the challenges, including lack of time and motivation, insufficient technological knowledge and classroom management problems. The technology integration awareness of faculty members can be developed by improving the teaching and learning environment with the support of administrators, peers and students and providing the required time and incentives to integrate technology.

scholarly journals Large Classes and English Language Teaching and Learning in Public Sector Secondary Schools of Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Shagufta Moghal ◽  
Asma Shahid Kazi ◽  
Ammaira Bukhari
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Secondary School Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Large Classes ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teacher Student

This study aimed to explore the Pakistani secondary teachers' perceptions towards teaching English in large classes and to find out how they coped with the challenges which come with teaching such classes. The data was collected through semi structured interviews, with eight secondary school teachers currently working in the public sector schools of Lahore, Pakistan. The data was analyzed inductively through repeated engagement with the interview transcripts. Research results indicated that teaching large classes had many issues and problems, such as lack of space, facilities and resources; inability to pay attention to every student; high noise levels; time constraints; problems with assessment of a large number of students; and limited opportunities of interaction between teacher-student and student-student. The discussion highlighted the teaching and learning strategies employed by teachers in their classrooms in the Pakistani context, which include the use of pair and group work, notional time, peer correction and self-editing to improve assessment.

scholarly journals Balancing Technology, Pedagogy and the New Normal: Post-pandemic Challenges for Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrysi Rapanta ◽  
Luca Botturi ◽  
Peter Goodyear ◽  
Lourdes Guàrdia ◽  
Marguerite Koole
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Expert Advice ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
Science And Education

AbstractThe Covid-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for rethinking assumptions about education in general and higher education in particular. In the light of the general crisis the pandemic caused, especially when it comes to the so-called emergency remote teaching (ERT), educators from all grades and contexts experienced the necessity of rethinking their roles, the ways of supporting the students’ learning tasks and the image of students as self-organising learners, active citizens and autonomous social agents. In our first Postdigital Science and Education paper, we sought to distil and share some expert advice for campus-based university teachers to adapt to online teaching and learning. In this sequel paper, we ask ourselves: Now that campus-based university teachers have experienced the unplanned and forced version of Online Learning and Teaching (OLT), how can this experience help bridge the gap between online and in-person teaching in the following years? The four experts, also co-authors of this paper, interviewed aligning towards an emphasis on pedagogisation rather than digitalisation of higher education, with strategic decision-making being in the heart of post-pandemic practices. Our literature review of papers published in the last year and analysis of the expert answers reveal that the ‘forced’ experience of teaching with digital technologies as part of ERT can gradually give place to a harmonious integration of physical and digital tools and methods for the sake of more active, flexible and meaningful learning.

scholarly journals Managing English Language Classroom for Meaningful Teaching and Learning: A Case Study for Hochland High School in Windhoek

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. p1
Author(s):  
Martha Hakaya ◽  
Nchindo Richardson Mbukusa ◽  
Earle Sinvula Mudabeti
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Case Study Design ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Professional Teaching

Total management of overcrowded classrooms have across-the-board effects for English as a Second Language teaching and learning environments as in any subject. Greater attainment and achievements in schools depend on the choices made with regard to teacher-learner ratios that consider of classroom management. Recruitment of learners and teachers should ensure that classrooms are enabled to meet the demands of professional teaching challenges, amongst other, inidvidualised teaching and learning. The aim of the research was to explore the challenges and related matters in managing English as a Second Language overcrowded classrooms. A qualitative approach, steered by a case study design, purposively guided the study. It was deemed fit in order to understand the phenomena with deeper understanding of beliefs and situated lived experiences. Semi-structured interviews and nonparticipant observations were used as methods to generate data for analysis. The research exposed that copious problems were experienced by teachers and leaners who were subjected to overcrowded classrooms. Amongst many, noise and unruly behaviour, poor time management and teaching approaches result in such classes. Guiding principles regarding sound teacher-learner ratios should be put in place by policymakers and schools in order to support both teachers and learners for the success of teaching and learning.

scholarly journals Challenges of Teacher Autonomy for Professional Competence

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 39-46
Author(s):  
Purna Bahadur Kadel
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Management ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Sampling Procedure ◽  
Teacher Autonomy ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Digital Books ◽  
Phenomenological Research Design ◽  
The Impact

Teacher autonomy is essential for their professional competence. Unless they are accountable at their profession, there will not be any positive output in the domain of teaching and learning.  The main objectives of this study were to explore the teachers' perceptions on the impact of teacher autonomy in enhancing their professional competences, to identify how far the level of teacher autonomy affects the professional competences of the teachers, and to investigate the existing practices of teacher autonomy at Tribhuvan University. The phenomenological research design was adopted to accomplish this study. Ten English teachers at least 2 from each of 5constituent colleges of Tribhuvan University were selected as a sample using purposive non-random sampling procedure to collect data. Semi-structured in-depth interview and classroom observations were administered as tools to elicit data to address the objectives of this study. The findings were obsolete of teaching and learning activities and classroom management due to the lack of online digital books and articles in the library, lack of blended between online Moodle and face to face mode of pedagogy, lack of technological pedagogical and content knowledge, no teacher autonomy in curriculum designing, and no grants for travelling and lack of daily allowances to teachers to attend the conference, seminar, and workshop at home and abroad.

scholarly journals Explorations of Beliefs about EFL Teachers’ Roles from Both Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives through Metaphor Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (29) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharihan Shawkat Azeez
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The University

Metaphor acts as a window into comprehending teachers’ experiences through providing insights into complex concepts of teaching and learning. As a result, it plays a crucial role in exploring beliefs about teachers’ roles in the teaching and learning process. To elicit ideas and beliefs which both teachers and students held about the role of English teachers, questionnaires were given to 30 teachers and 85 students in the University of Duhok, English Department. The questionnaire asked the subjects to provide their beliefs about English teachers’ roles by using a sentence completion task “An English teacher is…. because….”. Eight conceptual categories are introduced from the linguistic metaphors and example metaphors for each category are given in the results tables. The eight conceptual categories include: teacher as devotee, teacher as nurturer, teachers as provider / source of knowledge, teacher as cultural transmitter, teacher as authority, teacher as guider, teacher as a friend, and teacher as a nice beautiful soul. All participants expressed the same conceptual categories, but still they use different metaphors to express their views. An interesting feature of these results is that there are some parallel and overlaps of metaphors among different subjects. The findings of this study suggested subtle differences between students’ and teachers’ beliefs. This study will benefit teachers, curriculum designers, and researchers. Researchers may carry out comprehensive studies using metaphor as an investigating tool to better understand both students and teachers’ perceptions of the teachers’ roles. The results will help develop comprehensive and inclusive methods of teaching. Larger samples with variables such as gender, age, different locations, and proficiency of participants should be taken into consideration during future studies.

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