scholarly journals Teachers’ conceptions and choices of assessment tasks in a Nigerian postgraduate teacher training

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-93
Author(s):  
Monsurat Omobola Raji ◽  
Dorcas S. Daramola ◽  
Jumoke I. Oladele

Student assessment is a process that entails the collection of evidence of learning in diverse and systematic ways to make judgments on students’ learning. What then is the perception of this vital tool in the hands of the users (teachers)? This study investigates teachers’ conceptions of assessment and their choices of assessment tasks in postgraduate teacher training. Action research with one group pretest-posttest design was adopted for the study. The survey used to collect data for this study has three sections (A, B, & C). Section A elicits participants’ personal information; Section B contains 20 different assessment tasks. Section C includes 26 items that examined participants’ conceptions of assessment from four different sub-scales (school accountability, student accountability, improvement of teaching and learning, and irrelevance factors). The researchers further validated the survey, and the Alpha reliability coefficient of the whole scale was 0.85. Data collected from twenty-eight randomly selected teachers out of forty-five were analyzed using descriptive measures and paired sample t-test. Findings revealed that teachers enact both summative and formative assessment tasks but with preferences for summative tasks. A significant difference in teachers’ conception of assessment was recorded, but there was no significant difference in teachers’ assessment conception based on gender. Recommendations are presented to improve the research knowledgebase on assessment in the Nigerian education context.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-15
Author(s):  
Durga Gnanasagaran ◽  
Abdul Halim Amat @ Kamaruddin

This study investigates the effectiveness of mobile learning in the teaching and learning of Probability. The context of mobile here is not just restrained to gadgets such as smartphones but also the fact that teaching and learning can occur beyond boundaries and anywhere according to the convenience and personal preference of the students. This study made use of the pretest – posttest quasi experimental design and the students chosen for the study were from a pre-university college located in the northern region of the country. A total of 92 students made up the sample of the study. There were 46 students each in the experimental and control groups respectively. Cluster random sampling was employed as the sampling method here. The instrument used to collect data with the aim of strengthening the outcome of the study was the achievement test. A quantitative approach was undertaken specifically to analyse the obtained data. The paired sample t-test and independent sample t-test were executed in the data analysis process. Initially, every student involved in the study regardless of the group they were in possessed equal strength in their understanding of the content being covered as indicated by the results of their pre-test. The paired sample t-test yielded p < 0.05 which meant that there was a significant difference between the mean score of the pre-test and post-test in the experimental group and control group respectively. The outcome of the independent sample t-test showed that there was a significant difference between the mean score of the experimental group and that of the control group in the post-test (p < 0.05). This indicated that the treatment via mobile learning had indeed played a role in the improved performance of students in Probability, hence proving the effectiveness of mobile learning in the teaching and learning of Probability.


Author(s):  
Tukino ◽  
Siti Masruroh ◽  
Daryanto Herdiana

Teaching and learning is an activity that is bound by goal directed and carried out specifically to achieve that goal. Because it is very important to seek knowledge for a bright future. Supervision of students by the guardians of the students made the results of their children's achievements not improving. As well as student assessment by the teacher is still not well managed because it is still in the form of a note report. The system method used is the Prototype model. With observation and direct interviews with the student section regarding the assessment system in the school where the author researched. The results of this study are applications that can be operated on an Android Smartphone. This application can provide fast information and update automatically in obtaining information on student learning outcomes.        


Author(s):  
Maria Runfola

In this chapter, pros and cons of assessing young children’s music skills and content knowledge are explored. An integrative literature review is included as well as a thematic review lending support to core themes. Several reasons were identified as to the importance of promoting student assessment as children participate in early childhood music. Use of music assessments in the classroom and for research should consider practices consistent with musical age as well as chronological age. Increased recognition of the importance of music in total development of the child supports need for effective early childhood assessment systems especially by the music education research community as they continue to gather evidence regarding the utilitarian value of music in early childhood. Researchers need to be aware of environmental factors that may impact early music learning and cognizant of current best practices in music education for early childhood. Researcher-developed criterion measures often are not investigated for quality characteristics, and thus rigorous guidelines for such criterion measures are needed. It appears there are no definitive policy or ethics statements regarding early childhood music assessment but both should be considered vital priorities for the profession. Most likely only those scholars with profound interest in assessment and teachers with deep understanding of the role of assessment in teaching and learning will volunteer to respond. Everything developed in such a national network will be useful, providing we start with clearly defined, intended outcomes and then develop assessments to document student attainment of those musical outcomes.


Author(s):  
Despoina Schina ◽  
Cristina Valls-Bautista ◽  
Anna Borrull-Riera ◽  
Mireia Usart ◽  
Vanessa Esteve-González

Abstract Purpose This study explores pre-service preschool teachers’ acceptance and self-efficacy towards Educational Robotics (ER) during a university course, and also examines their perceptions of the course. Methodology This is a one-group intervention study with an associational research design that includes both quantitative and qualitative research methods: two pre-questionnaires and two post-questionnaires on pre-service teachers’ acceptance and self-efficacy towards ER, and participants’ training journals. Findings The results show that pre-service teachers’ acceptance and self-efficacy towards ER improved after they completed the ER teacher training course. There was a significant difference between the start and the end of the ER training in the pre-service teachers’ acceptance of ER in the areas of perceived ease of use, enjoyment and attitudes, and in their self-efficacy. The findings based on the training journals show that participants positively evaluated the course. The participants also provided suggestions for improving it, such as additional training sessions, resources and time for experimentation. Value Our study reveals the impact of an ER training program and showcases the importance of integrating ER in pre-service teachers’ education.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farooq AlTameemy

Mobile phones have become so ubiquitous that they turned into an important part of our life. According to Parsons, mobile subscriptions exceed 6 billion subscriptions globally. Similarly, Ipsos and Verizon (as cited in Tan & El-Bendary) found out that adopting mobile phones with smart technologies has increased fast which also coincided with a more utilization of their Internet capabilities. With the abundance of knowledge the Internet provides, mobile phones become an invaluable pathway for that knowledge. The fact that these gadgets are well-liked by students make them one of the best tools to be adopted by educational institutions. This study will investigate the actual academic use of mobile phones among students and teachers, their attitudes toward using them as learning or teaching tools, and if there is a significant difference in attitudes of the participants toward using mobile as learning or teaching tools based on the job criteria (Student vs. Faculty Member).


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