STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION TOWARDS THE USE OF GOOGLE CLASSROOM FOR MATHEMATICS ONLINE LEARNING VIEWED FROM STUDENTS’ READINESS

Google Classroom is an online learning app that can be used for free and offers many features to support the online learning system and the implementation of Google Classroom must consider the students' readiness in accessing Google Classroom because many students have difficulty in the learning process, which affects the decline in student assignments and exam scores. The purpose of this study was to describe students’ perception towards the use of Google Classroom in mathematics learning in terms of students' readiness to take online learning. This study was conducted using a survey on 91 mathematics education students of STKIP Pamane Talino. The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire. The survey results showed that the level of readiness of students was 74.60% in the very good category. The effectiveness of Google Classroom implementation on online learning was 71.24% (very good); the use of Google Classroom is effective in learning mathematics in terms of students’ readiness for online learning. The results also show that students can access Google Classroom online to ask the tutors, work on assignments and view the answers to their assignments independently and regularly. Students find learning using Google Classroom is effective and fun because students can study material, discuss with teachers, and send assignments remotely.

Assess the feasibility of flipped classroom pedagogy in undergraduate nursing education in Sri Lanka: A mixed-methods study

Background The nursing education system has evolved with an increased emphasis on student-centred education, such as implementing flipped classroom pedagogy. Given the promising positive educational outcomes, the trend of using flipped classroom pedagogy has become increasingly popular in undergraduate nursing education. However, little is known about how these flipped classroom methods impact on nursing educational practices in limited-resource settings situated in South Asia. Objective To assess the feasibility of implementing flipped classroom pedagogy in undergraduate nursing education from the nursing students’ perspective. Methods This mixed-methods study employed a quantitative survey and six focus group discussions conducted in three state universities in Sri Lanka. The Nursing Students’ Readiness for Flipped Classroom (NSR-FC) questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data. The semi-structured focus group discussions were conducted by using 18 reflective and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance methods were employed when analysing quantitative data. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used to summarize the focus group discussions. Results The questionnaire survey revealed that nursing students reported high levels of personal, technical, and pedagogical readiness across all three universities, while environmental readiness was perceived as low. The inductive thematic analysis identified three themes, namely: enablers, challenges, and benefits. Specifically, nursing students valued the student-centred approach. They were ready to utilize their own devices to overcome limited technological provision; however, a short training session about how to engage in the flipped classroom was desirable. Also, their exposure to basic educational technology was perceived as adequate and they were aware of the positive outcomes of flipped classroom pedagogy. Conclusion Nursing students were ready to enrol in a flipped classroom programme. The provision of technological resources in the education environment was identified as a great challenge for flipped classroom implementation. Overall, the findings indicate there are promising feasibilities for the flipped classroom implementation.

Students’ Perception of Google Classroom Implementation as Online Learning Media

The aim of this study was to discover high school students’ general perception about the implementation of Google Classroom as an online learning media, and the factors that influenced the development of the perception. This research used Mixed-method research design as described by Creswell (2014). Subject of this study was the student population of SMAS Lab Undiksha Singaraja. The instruments used for this research were Questionnaire and Interview Guide. The instruments were tested by using Gregory Formula Method and Cronbach-Alpha method. The data that have been obtained was analyzed using quantitative and qualitative method. The result of the research showed that the students of SMAS Lab Undiksha Singaraja held a positive view on the benefits of Google Classroom and its implementation as online learning media. Factors that have influenced this perception are Google Classroom’s ubiquity, students’ familiarity with Google Classroom, Google Classroom’s ease of use and stability in comparison to other similar applications.

An attempt to evaluate STEAM project-based instruction from a school mathematics perspective

Official documents in several educational systems reflect the importance of integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) and consider project-based learning (PBL) as a way of integrating such disciplines in the classroom. Although STEAM-PBL has been characterized and evaluated in different ways, its impact on school mathematics teaching remains unclear. Mathematics is recognized as the fundamental basis of other disciplines; however, many students still perceive it as a difficult subject and abandon it. To analyze STEAM-PBL classroom implementation from a school mathematics standpoint, we examined 41 classroom experiences from 11 Spanish secondary education teachers (five in-field mathematics teachers), who participated in a STEAM training program for more than 4 years. To frame this study, Thibaut et al.’s (J STEM Educ 3(1):02, 2018) and Schoenfeld’s (Educ Res 43(8):404–412, 2014) characterizations of well-designed and implemented projects, respectively, were employed. The results showed that in-field mathematics teachers avoided transdisciplinary projects in which school mathematics is difficult to address, while out-of-field teachers tended to overlook the mathematics in interdisciplinary projects. Unlike out-of-field teachers, mathematics teachers often eluded design-based learning processes for deeply exploiting school mathematics. The latter teachers promoted high cognitive demands and positive perceptions about mathematics in projects where formative environments were generated through discussion and a meaningful feedback loop.

The Holistic Analysis of Multicultural Teaching Framework: Capturing Teachers’ Pauses and their Hybrid and Fluid Multicultural Practices

James Banks’s framework for determining the levels of integration of multicultural content in teachers’ pedagogy has long been a tool used by researchers worldwide. This article introduces the Holistic Analysis of Multicultural Teaching Framework that rethinks Banks’s framework to allow research analysis to capture the hybrid and fluid aspects of teachers’ multicultural practices as well as the pauses in their practices over time. Data from a study on U.S. dual language teachers’ classroom implementation of multicultural practices serves to illustrate the utility of the Holistic Analysis framework in analyzing teachers’ multicultural practices. Implications for teacher educators and researchers are discussed.

An Ecolinguistic Discourse Approach to Teaching Environmental Sustainability: Analyzing Chief Executive Officer Letters to Shareholders

This article argues for using discourse analysis in business and management curricula to increase language awareness. To that end, an ecolinguistic discourse analysis approach (Stibbe, 2015a) for teaching sustainability is proposed. The article first explores sustainability discourse in two chief executive officer letters to shareholders followed by a classroom implementation enabling students to practise discourse analytical skills. Students examined vocabulary, hedging, modals, abstract and concrete representation, and social actors. Linguistic features were interpreted to reveal communicators’ underlying ideologies. This systematic analytical approach allows students to reflect on communication processes and how these processes can be used strategically when communicating in organizational contexts.

Islam-based peace education: values, program, reflection and implication

There is a gap between ideal Islam and real Islam. Ideal Islam means peace, greeting, safety, salvation, and conceptually means absolute submission to God`s Will. Real Islam resembles unresolved conflicts in some communities and unpleasant meanings to some non-Muslims. To minimize the gap, it is important to socialize peaceful Islamic values in the community through education. This study aims to explain Pendidikan Perdamaian Berbasis Islam (PPBI, the Islam-based Peace Education) program initiated by Pusat Studi Budaya dan Perubahan Sosial (PSB-PS, the Center for the Study of Culture and Social Change) at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS). This participatory action research is especially to reveal Islamic values identified in the PPBI program in terms of its uniqueness, implementation, reflection, and implication. Based on the Sirah of the Prophet and the Al-Qur’an, the PPBI program has identified 15 Islamic values which contribute to peacebuilding. Those values were used as core contents of PPBI’s handbook and classroom program. The program has been implemented through series of activities ranging from seminars, FGDs, workshops, training of teachers, publication of books, and classroom implementation. PPBI program based on nonviolence and peacebuilding assumptions, i.e. to build a culture of peace, is designed as the formal peace education through learning materials and classroom processes either in any existing course or co-curricular activities.

Indonesian EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of Task-Based Language Teaching Approach

Task-based language teaching is an approach applying tasks as a key point of pedagogical instruments. This study explores teachers’ perceptions of task-based language teaching in the secondary school context in Indonesia. Descriptive qualitative research design is used with data collected by using questionnaires. This study used purposive sampling to choose the sample. The findings showed that most of the junior and senior high school EFL teachers appeared to embrace positive attitudes towards practicing task-based language teaching, even though their knowledge of task-based language teaching is still low. All teachers in the study said they have implemented task-based language teaching in the classroom. All of them will continue to use TBLT. The implication of the study is to inspire other researchers to investigate task-based language teaching with greater confidence. The researcher hopes that this research will motivate curriculum designers and other researchers to explore more fully the views of those who are key to successful classroom implementation.

Learning log-based automatic group formation: system design and classroom implementation study

Collaborative learning in the form of group work is becoming increasingly significant in education since interpersonal skills count in modern society. However, teachers often get overwhelmed by the logistics involved in conducting any group work. Valid support for executing and managing such activities in a timely and informed manner becomes imperative. This research introduces an intelligent system focusing on group formation which consists of a parameter setting module and the group member visualization panel where the results of the created group are shown to the user and can be graded. The system supports teachers by applying algorithms to actual learning log data thereby simplifying the group formation process and saving time for them. A pilot study in a primary school mathematics class proved to have a positive effect on students’ engagement and affections while participating in group activities based on the system-generated groups, thus providing empirical evidence to the practice of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) systems.

Correlations between Online Learning Media Types, First Access Time, Access Frequency, and Students’ Achievement in a Flipped Classroom Implementation

Since the 1960s, the world has seen how Information Technology (IT) influences education. In the present era, with the massive development of the Internet, various kinds of IT-assisted learning are popping up like mushrooms in the rainy season. However, no matter how advanced IT-assisted learning has been grown, learning media is still an inseparable part of education. In this study, we specifically present how the use of certain types of learning media correlated with students’ access behaviors and, more importantly, students’ achievement. The result shows that these factors have a positive correlation. In terms of media type influence towards students’ achievement, the media that has the appearance of the lecturer gives better achievement, compared to the media that only has audio, and the media that only consists of text and images.