Ethnocentrism and University Students in Ethiopia (1995–2018)

Since 1995 and until it apparently eased with the coming of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, ethnicity has become the dogmatic principle of the country for its social and political policies. Consequently, it has permeated through university campuses and affected relationships among students belonging to different ethnic groups. This study makes a micro-sociological ethnographic description and analysis of different “sites” of student interactions in curricular activities such as in classroom learning, extracurricular activities such as sporting, and service deliveries such as common residential compounds and dining halls at Addis Ababa University’s Main Campus.

Fostering Students’ Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Teacher Interpersonal Behavior and Student-Teacher Relationships

Well-being has become extensively viewed as apprehension for administrations in the last decades and schools have been progressively realized as locations for encouraging well-being which is a considerable development in inquiries on mediations connected to learner well-being. In this way, the function of teachers has got specific consideration regarding students’ well-being, given the merits of teacher-student interactions. High-quality educator-learner relationships offer a support base for long-term learners’ education. Educator interpersonal behavior that makes learners feel supported and cared for is known as emotional support. These behaviors can help learners’ emotional and social needs; meet learners’ families, and being available when learners need additional help. This review attempts to consider the eminence of teacher interpersonal behavior and learner-teacher relations in the classroom and indeed illustrate their relationship and influence on students’ well-being. As a final point, this review can provide suggestions and recommendations for teaching participants in the scholastic context.

Hybrid and Virtual Educational Simulation Games (vESGs) for the Remote Learning Era

Virtual educational simulation games (vESGs) promote unique combinations of learning interactions and affordances to create environments with which students can engage to effectively learn about complex phenomena and processes in multiple domains. Using the GlobalEd vESG as an example case throughout the chapter, the authors discuss (1) the key functions and experiences that vESGs provide to learners; (2) the types of valuable student interactions that can be expected when playing a vESG and strategies for maximizing these interactions for learning; (3) strategies for teacher implementation and adaptation of vESGs, as well as professional development programs to support their use of vESGs in classrooms; and (4) observed benefits of using vESGs as evidenced from over a decade of implementation of the GlobalEd vESG in authentic classroom settings.

A Paradigm for Global Student Interactions Through Digital Technologies in a Post-COVID Era

The widespread outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic forced almost every aspect of our lives to shift to online modalities. One outcome of the pandemic was to effectively establish digital learning as a major system for education. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the development and implementation of a web-based resource for college instruction. The foundation for this pedagogical tool is sociocultural learning theory. This instructional tool has been deployed with over 2000 students to date. Its successful employment with college students in India and the USA is outlined, and suggestions are included for its generalized use to other content and courses.

Can a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Approach Enhance Students’ Mathematics Performance?

The STEM approach is a student-centred teaching and learning process that involves an inquiry process in problem-solving questions. This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the STEM approach in enhancing students’ mathematics performance. The study used a quasi-experimental design of unbalanced groups through the pre-test and post-test for treatment and control groups. The instrument included a set of questionnaires on student attitudes towards STEM implementation and the three-dimensional geometric shapes achievement test. The research samples included 14-year-old students from one of the private secondary schools in Kuching, which involved 68 students who were selected using purposive sampling. The results showed that student attitudes towards the implementation of the STEM approach were at a moderate level. In addition, the results illustrated a significant and moderate difference in mathematics performance between students who participated in the STEM approach and the conventional method using pre-test and post-test. The mean score of the post-test performance for the STEM approach was higher compared to the mean score of post-test performance for the conventional method. The results of the study demonstrated that the implementation of the STEM approach that involved both inquiry-based learning and problem-based learning was effective and able to improve the students’ academic performance. This can help teachers to vary their teaching and learning methods by increasing student interactions and engagement. Improvements can be made in the future by adding more research samples to expand the context of the study and prolong the treatment duration. Researchers can also add research variables in future studies by examining student interests and motivations towards the STEM approach.

Face issues in second language teaching via videoconferencing: the role of the smile as a co-verbal semiotic resource

Synchronous online language teaching involves the simultaneous employment of a range of techno-semio-pedagogical competences (Guichon, 2012). Indeed, given their flexibility and versatility, digital tools and the Internet can render teacher-student interactions dynamic. Among the necessary professional skills and strategies for online synchronous teaching, this paper focuses on the specific dimensions of affective competences and the social need to maintain a climate of comfort during one-to-one online tutoring interactions. We focus on a particular social phenomenon that is strongly linked to emotions – facework (Goffman, 1967). Applied to computer assisted language learning, we analyse how this social practice unfolds in an interactional environment where the perception of the other is mediated by a videoconferencing platform. We noted four different types of facework triggering situations: lexical breakdowns, private anecdote tellings, overlaps, and interruption of learner reflection time. Our multimodal analysis of facework reveals the frequent use of the smile as a mimicry semiotic resource and highlights the phenomenon of interactional synchrony.

PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCES OF HOME-BASED PRACTICAL WORK UNDER EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING

Practical work is ubiquitous in science education, but its enactment is challenging in remote teaching contexts. The situation was exacerbated due to a moratorium on contact classes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic that necessitated strict health protocols. Home-based practical work (HBPW) became a significant option as academic institutions shifted to emergency remote teaching. The question is whether HBPW provides equivalent learning experiences in comparison to laboratory-based practical work (LBPW). This research therefore explored pre-service science teachers’ experiences of HBPW implemented at a particular South African university. Eighty-four preservice science teachers, who engaged in HBPW in a chemistry module, were purposively selected as the participants. The data were generated through individual reflections at the end of the semester. An adaption of the equivalence theory was ideal in analysing and interpreting the results. Results show that HBPW was flexible, empowering, contextualised, and enhanced active learning. New forms of interaction emerged in the absence of physical student-teacher and student-student interactions. Concerns over its ability to develop practical skills are expressed. Recommendations are made with a view to optimising HBPW. Keywords: emergency remote teaching, home-based practical work, laboratory-based practical work, pre-service science teachers, student-teacher interactions

Gamification during Covid-19: Promoting active learning and motivation in higher education

Virtual teaching modalities urgently implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic require strategies to motivate students to participate actively in higher education. Our study found that gamification using a reward-based system is a strategy that can improve the educational experience under exceptional circumstances. This article reports the results of two gamified undergraduate courses (Calculus and Development of Transversal Competencies) designed with a reward system. The results derived from analyses of online surveys, the final grades, and their correlations revealed that gamification helped motivate students to participate actively and improved their academic performance, in a setting where the mode of instruction was remote, synchronous, and online. From the results we conclude that gamification favours the relationship between attention, participation, and performance, while promoting the humanisation of virtual environments created during academic confinement. Implications for practice or policy: Gamification using a reward-based system promoted active class participation and improved student performance after the transition from face-to-face to virtual instruction required as a result of the global pandemic. Systemic recognition in a reward-based system improved the participants' emotional states, reducing their anxiety and the feeling of isolation caused by the pandemic, and leading to student engagement with . Gamification works as an accompaniment for students to help the increasement of teacher-student and student-student interactions.

Current Insights

This installment of Current Insights highlights three studies that 1) take an interdisciplinary approach to characterizing active learning, 2) explore why faculty–student interactions may not be universally beneficial, and 3) characterize the help-seeking behaviors of first-generation college students.