The Regionalization of Indonesian Maritime Continent Rainfall based on Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG)

The need for adequate rainfall data in all regions of Indonesia cannot be achieved only by relying on ground observation tools. This work aims to evaluate the application of spatial satellite rainfall data in characterizing rainfall associated with climatic condition over Indonesia. This study applied an Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data using a double correlation method (DCM). The analysis was carried out in the period April 2014 to March 2019. Before regionalization, IMERG V06 data were validated using observed rainfall data from the Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics of the Republic of Indonesia (BMKG). The results showed that 96% of 154 total validation locations have a high correlation score between IMERG and rain gauges (r = 0.5 – 0.97). IMERG was also able to identify monthly and annual rainfall patterns in Indonesia. Based on DCM, we obtained four rainfall regions in Indonesia. Region A has the monsoonal characteristic, covers central and south Indonesia from south Sumatra to Nusa Tenggara, south parts of Kalimantan, some areas of Sulawesi, and parts of Papua. Region B has an equatorial pattern (semi-monsoonal), located in the equatorial area of Indonesia and covers the west and east part of Sumatra and the north-central part of Kalimantan. Region C, with an anti-monsoonal pattern, covers Maluku, western-central Papua, and parts of Sulawesi. Region D is influenced by monsoon and cold surge characteristics, located in the north part of Sumatera and a small portion of northern Kalimantan to the South China Sea region. Besides the new region D, this research also showed five other differences between IMERG-based map and gridded rain gauges’ data-based map (2003). The regionalization results based on IMERG reveal that there is a possibility of updating areas with certain rainfall characters in Indonesia related to resolution, density, and updates data sources.

An Insight into Teachers’ Classroom Practices: The Case of Secondary Education Science Teachers

Teachers’ knowledge rooted in classroom practices guides their actions when dealing with a specific subject matter. To assess the quality of these practices, a close examination of the “classroom reality” is needed. The present study, which was carried out in Greece, investigates secondary science teachers’ practices. To record these practices, we used special classroom observation tools as well as questionnaires to record students’ views of their teachers’ practices. The observation tools and the student questionnaire focus on specifically formed criteria deriving from aspects of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). In total, 32 secondary science teachers and 1154 students participated in our study. The results indicated that the strong points of teachers’ teaching practices concern their subject matter knowledge, the use of representations, their questioning, their communication of the instructional objectives to the students, and knowledge of students’ difficulties. The weak points are related to the use of a variety of teaching approaches, the investigation of the students’ alternative conceptions, the experimental and ICT-based teaching, and the implementation of inquiry-based activities. The methodology employed in our study was fruitful in providing a holistic view of science teachers’ practices and can be used for investigating classroom practices of teachers of other subjects as well.

The Implementation of Formal Assessments in Intermediate Phase Mathematics at Primary Schools in South Africa

The purpose of this research was to explore the implementation of formal assessments in intermediate phase mathematics at primary schools. The research was elicited by reports that assessment methods and procedures for tackling learners’ needs had been observed to be insufficient in South African schools. The study is grounded in Piaget’s cognitive constructivism and Vygotsky’s social constructivism. The researchers conducted document analysis of teachers’ portfolios which were purposefully selected. Nine teachers– three from each of Grades 4 to 6 were sampled. The portfolios were analysed to establish whether the implementation of the formal assessments was aligned with the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement requirements. A checklist was used to determine teachers’ implementation of formal assessment. Measures of central tendency were used to analyse data. The results revealed that teachers were not developing the abilities of learners in handling complex mathematical procedures as per the requirements of the policy. This implies that learners lacked the ability to break down mathematical problems into different factors or constituent parts. Learners were given a test instead of a project or investigation. Hence teachers were not promoting cooperative learning which is advocated by the policy. Therefore, teachers should be assisted by knowledgeable colleagues and subject advisors in their adoption and use of assessment. There must be a close examination of the classroom observation tools that are currently being utilised. Classroom observation assists teachers to improve their assessment strategies. The Department of Basic Education should supply tablets to primary schools to promote social constructive interaction amongst teachers and learners to enhance effective teaching and learning.

A case study approach : exploring socially inclusive programming for toddlers with Down Syndrome through a relationship lens

This instrumental case study set out to examine the toddler room of one child care centre (centre X) deemed as providing inclusive child care for toddlers with Down Syndrome (DS). Through use of both interview and observation tools this study sought to answer four particular research questions. These questions included: (1) To what extent is this centre providing socially inclusive child care for toddlers with DS? (2) What strategies do ECEs in this centre use to include toddlers with DS in socially meaningful opportunities with their peers? (3) How do parents of children with and without DS perceive their child's classroom to be an inclusive environment (4) How do parents of children with and without DS recognize social inclusion to be a primary goal in their child's development during toddlerhood? After analyzing the rich set of data collected during the interview and observation process results demonstrated that each of the four research questions were affirmatively answered. More specifically, results demonstrated that not only were the ECEs in the toddler room providing C01 with socially meaningful opportunities but relationship formation among all children, typically developing or not, was something that was also highly valued and supported by these ECEs.

A case study approach : exploring socially inclusive programming for toddlers with Down Syndrome through a relationship lens

This instrumental case study set out to examine the toddler room of one child care centre (centre X) deemed as providing inclusive child care for toddlers with Down Syndrome (DS). Through use of both interview and observation tools this study sought to answer four particular research questions. These questions included: (1) To what extent is this centre providing socially inclusive child care for toddlers with DS? (2) What strategies do ECEs in this centre use to include toddlers with DS in socially meaningful opportunities with their peers? (3) How do parents of children with and without DS perceive their child's classroom to be an inclusive environment (4) How do parents of children with and without DS recognize social inclusion to be a primary goal in their child's development during toddlerhood? After analyzing the rich set of data collected during the interview and observation process results demonstrated that each of the four research questions were affirmatively answered. More specifically, results demonstrated that not only were the ECEs in the toddler room providing C01 with socially meaningful opportunities but relationship formation among all children, typically developing or not, was something that was also highly valued and supported by these ECEs.

DIGITALIZATION OF LOCAL RASHDUL QIBLA BY QIBLA DIAGRAM

Determination of the direction of qibla develops all the time, starting from the simple way by using the celestial bodies such as the sun with mathematical formulas, using instrumentation such as compasses, rubu'ul mujayyab, mizwala, istiwa'aini, until using the method of combining mathematical formulas and observation tools into digital methods. One method of determining the direction of qibla is Rashdul Qibla method which has two methods, namely Local Rashdul Qibla and Global Rashdul Qibla. This study utilizes the Local Rashdul Qibla method to become instrumentation called Qibla Diagram, this instrumentation is a combination of mathematical calculation in the Microsoft excel program and diagram of Local Rashdul Qibla. This research is a qualitative research based on exploration. Primary and secondary data collection was carried out by experiment and documentation, processed through three stages, namely codification, presentation and conclusions. Then analyze the data using descriptive analysis with the method of inductive thinking. The research resulted in two findings, there are the Microsoft Excel Qibla Diagram calculation program and the Qibla Diagram instrument. The use of the Qibla Diagram is the same as the use of Local Rashdul Qibla, which is local, but the local of the Qibla Diagram has a large enough extent to cover an area of the city and this instrument, digitally, can be used to determine the local Rashdul Qibla throughout the earth's coordinates

Developing the FILL+ Tool to Reliably Classify Classroom Practices Using Lecture Recordings

Lectures are a commonly used teaching method in higher education, but there is significant debate about the relative merits of different classroom practices. Various classroom observation tools have been developed to try to give insight into these practices, beyond the simple dichotomy of “traditional lecturing versus active learning”. Here we review of a selection of classroom observation protocols from an ethological perspective and describe how this informed the development of a new protocol, FILL+. We demonstrate that FILL+ can be applied reliably by undergraduate students after minimal training. We analysed a sample of 208 lecture recordings from Mathematics, Physics, and Veterinary Medicine and found a wide variety of classroom practices, e.g. on average lecturers spent 2.1% (± 2.6%) of the time asking questions, and 79.3% (± 19%) of the lecture talking, but individuals varied considerably. The FILL+ protocol has the potential to be widely used, both in research on effective teaching practices, and in informing discussion of pedagogical approaches within institutions and disciplines.