scholarly journals Contemporary teachers' action research: Basis for the development of reflective practice in education

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 354-366
Author(s):  
Jelena Osmanović-Zajić ◽  
Jelena Maksimović

A reflective practitioner is an active individual who explores the possibilities of solving problems in practice and who is characterised by being reflectively open to reexamining their own opinion. The authors of this paper start from the premise that the process of education, however consistent and well-founded it may be, is exposed to constant inspection and improvement. The aim of this research is to identify the teachers' skills needed for conducting action researches. This goal is accomplished by examining the possibility of connecting action researches with teachers' reflective practice. The methods used are the descriptive method, scaling technique and the Likert-type scale (AIRP). This scale examines the teachers' skills for conducting action researches and is based on five factors extracted by the factor analysis: diagnostic skills, attitudes towards action researches, data collecting skills, practical skills and skills needed for conducting action researches. This study involved 305 respondents from the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The obtained results show statistically significant differences between the teachers with long teaching experience and those with a few years of teaching experience, p<0.05. This research represents an attempt to change the current practice at the micro level with the purpose of initiating qualitative changes and improving teaching practice by means of action researches. Therefore, it will be possible to induce changes at the meso and macro level of the system of education.

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-93
Author(s):  
Anjar Nur Cholifah ◽  
Abdul Asib ◽  
Suparno Suparno

Peer observation as one of the reflection tools is viewed as an effective strategy to develop teacher’s professionalism. Furthermore, peer observation in reflective practice refers to the teacher’s act which collaborates with other teachers to identify the strength and the weakness of their teaching. By doing so, it is expected there will be innovation and improvement for better teaching activity after doing an evaluation together.  This study aimed at investigating the teacher’s perceptions of peer observation as one of the reflection tools to promote professional development. The participant of this study was an In-service teacher in one of Senior High Schools in Surakarta who teaches English with 10 years of teaching experience. The data were gained through an in-depth interview followed by interactive model data analysis for qualitative study in analyzing the data. The results indicated that the teacher has positive perceptions of peer observation as a professional development tool. It brought some advantages for the teacher. Peer observation also helped the teacher to solve the problems she encountered in her teaching and could be used as a learning opportunity by observing new teaching techniques/methods/strategies from other teachers. HIGHLIGHTS: Teacher has positive perceptions in implementing peer observation to promote professional development There are limited studies regarding the use of peer observation especially for in-service teacher Peer observation brings some benefits for the teacher to improve her teaching practice


Mathematics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 2158
Author(s):  
Juan-Manuel Trujillo-Torres ◽  
Hossein Hossein-Mohand ◽  
Melchor Gómez-García ◽  
Hassan Hossein-Mohand ◽  
María-Pilar Cáceres-Reche

Digital self-efficacy and the amount of perceived support from the school can improve teachers’ motivation to increase the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the classroom. Likewise, attitude, perception, gender, and experience of mathematics teachers are factors that influence their use of ICT. This study aimed to analyze the profiles of mathematics teachers, determine the existence of differences between them, and identify the sample size necessary to detect significant differences. A total of 73 high school teachers were included in this cross-sectional study. Teaching practice, ICT resources, ICT in the classroom, skills, and uses of ICT were assessed through a validated 19-item questionnaire. Statistical analysis revealed that the required sample to detect significant differences was 53 subjects. Further, 67.21% of the mathematics teachers surveyed in Melilla were younger than 40 years of age, and 62.30% had less than 6 years of teaching experience. In addition, 81.97 and 47.54% of mathematics teachers stated that they consider themselves to have sufficient ICT resources at home for their work and in the classroom, respectively. Through different clusters, mathematics teachers can be identified and classified according to their motivational and competence profiles in pedagogical and digital areas. In addition, young teachers with some teaching experience had positive perceptions of technology, as reflected by high scores in the motivation indicator for ICT.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Norah Almusharraf ◽  
Asma Almusharraf

Reflection and reflective practices are integral to teacher education; therefore, this study contributes to the growing literature on reflective practice by uncovering gender differences. The study explored the influence of gender differences and teaching experience on postsecondary instructors' conscious reflective teaching practice, using a survey of 226 male and 207 female EFL instructors working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The results indicated that females scored higher than males on the total English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory (ELTRI) scores, except on the critical factor of the ELTRI, where males outperformed. The results also revealed that experienced instructor participants had a significantly higher score on the total ELTRI than novice instructor participants. The study proposes a tangible, flexible resource for reflective practices of applied, cognitive, affective, metacognitive, and critical reflection, and offers assistance to counter gender differences. The study recommends designing guides with effective and valid instruments for fostering reflective teaching practices. Policymakers in higher institutions should prepare systematic programs and provide remedial resources and events for instructors to target the most challenging areas for both genders. Future research should also consider other factors, such as the academic degree, cultural background, and linguistic differences that might affect the instructors' knowledge and reflective practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 204
Author(s):  
Stamatios Papadakis ◽  
Julie Vaiopoulou ◽  
Eirini Sifaki ◽  
Dimitrios Stamovlasis ◽  
Michail Kalogiannakis

The introduction of STEM education, and specifically the implementation of educational robotics (ER), has drawn researchers’ attention and has shown that teachers play a crucial role in leading this innovation. The present study concerns in-service and pre-service early childhood teachers, focusing on their perceptions and attitudes about ER use in daily teaching practice. The data were collected via a questionnaire (N = 201) and explored using latent class analysis, which detected distinct clusters/profiles of participants based on their pattern of responses. Two clusters were identified: Cluster1 was relatively homogeneous, including those who share a positive attitude towards ER, while Cluster2 was heterogeneous, comprising participants with inconsistent responses and expressing negative and skeptical thinking. The cluster memberships were associated with external covariates, such as age, years of teaching experience, and variables measuring their technological competencies. The results showed that teaching experience and age were negatively associated with cluster1-membership, while educational robotics knowledge was positively associated. The findings are interpretable, and the implications for education are discussed considering the current literature.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Khairunnajwa Binti Samsudin ◽  
Mohd Mahzan Bin Awang ◽  
Anuar Bin Ahmad

This article aims to study on the readiness of history teachers to inculcate historical thinking skills among students. This study focused on four aspects which includes 1) Procedural Knowledge, and 2) Pedagogical Knowledge. Thus, to achieve the purpose of the study, quantitative methods are used. Questionnaires were distributed to 30 history teachers in a secondary school in Batu Pahat district. The results showed that there were no significant differences between teachers who were trained to teach History and those who are not. However, there was a significant difference between teachers with ten years of teaching experience with the readiness of history teachers.


Author(s):  
Alshaima Saleh Alyafei

The current study investigates the beliefs held by science teachers on constructivism and a traditional approach in Qatar government primary schools. More specifically, it aims to investigate the challenges that science teachers experience during inquiry-based learning implementation. A web-based survey was conducted in order to collect data from grades 4 to 6 science teachers. A total of 112 science teachers responded and completed the survey on a voluntary basis. The results indicate that science teachers hold a higher beliefs in constructivism than traditional approach. A T-test and ANOVA analysis have showed that there is no significant differences between the beliefs of science teachers’ and their gender, level of education, and years of teaching experience. In addition, science teachers faced challenges in lesson planning, assessment, and teacher support.


Author(s):  
Greg M. Anderson ◽  
David A. Crerar

This textbook and reference outlines the fundamental principles of thermodynamics, emphasizing applications in geochemistry. The work is distinguished by its comprehensive, balanced coverage and its rigorous presentation. The authors bring years of teaching experience to the work, and have attempted to particularly address those areas where other texts on the subject have provided inadequate coverage. A thorough review of the necessary mathematics is presented early on, both as a refresher for those with a background in university calculus, and for the benefit of those coming to the subject for the first time. The text is written for students in advanced undergraduate or graduate-level geochemistry as well as for all researchers in this field.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Akhmad Habibi ◽  
Amirul Mukminin ◽  
Lalu Nurul Yaqin ◽  
Lalu Parhanuddin ◽  
Rafiza Abdul Razak ◽  
...  

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently the most potent threat to educational systems, a crisis that may become disastrous. For the current study, a qualitative design within a case study tradition was implemented to investigate instructional barriers during COVID-19 faced by Indonesian teachers in Islamic boarding schools (Pesantren). Within this study, we applied a purposeful convenient sampling in which the access was obtained through communication with the principals of two Pesantren. Seven invited participants with more than ten years of teaching experience agreed to participate. Semi-structured interviews were addressed for data collection; each interview lasted from 40 to 50 min. The interviews were conducted in the participants’ mother tongue to provide an in-depth understanding of their perceptions, ideas, and arguments regarding instructional barriers during the COVID-19 outbreak. The thematic analysis revealed three major findings regarding the barriers; technological barriers, financial barriers, and pedagogical barriers affecting instructional activities in the two Pesantren. Based on the three themes, the development of a qualitative conceptual map of teachers’ instructional barriers was finalized. Recommendations are also proposed by the participants and the study for the betterment of Indonesian Islamic education facing future similar outbreaks.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James B. Grotberg

Condensing 40 years of teaching experience, this unique textbook will provide students with an unrivalled understanding of the fundamentals of fluid mechanics, and enable them to place that understanding firmly within a biological context. Each chapter introduces, explains, and expands a core concept in biofluid mechanics, establishing a firm theoretical framework for students to build upon in further study. Practical biofluid applications, clinical correlations, and worked examples throughout the book provide real-world scenarios to help students quickly master key theoretical topics. Examples are drawn from biology, medicine, and biotechnology with applications to normal function, disease, and devices, accompanied by over 500 figures to reinforce student understanding. Featuring over 120 multicomponent end-of-chapter problems, flexible teaching pathways to enable tailor-made course structures, and extensive Matlab and Maple code examples, this is the definitive textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying a biologically-grounded course in fluid mechanics.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 795-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koon Teck Koh ◽  
Martin Camiré ◽  
Gordon A Bloom ◽  
CKJ Wang

The purpose of the study was to create, implement, and evaluate a values-based training program for sport coaches and physical education teachers in Singapore. Four sport coaches with two to eight years of coaching experience ( M = 5.0, SD = 1.4) and four physical education teachers with two to nine years of teaching experience ( M = 5.25, SD = 3.3) took part in three 2-h training workshops focusing on the teaching of values to athletes and students. Following the workshops, the participants took part in an individual interview to document their perspectives of the values-based training program. Results of the thematic analysis revealed many benefits of the values-based training program, including an increased awareness of the importance of systematically teaching values through physical education and sport. Further, the participants felt better equipped to work with parents and other teachers in helping athletes and students transfer values.


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