Barriers to Teaching English Productive Skills in Online Classroom: A Study at the Private Universities in Bangladesh

This paper aims at investigating the barriers to teaching productive skills in English in an online platform in the private universities of Bangladesh and attempt to find out the solutions regarding this issue, focusing mainly on the private universities outside Dhaka. Since English is a significant communication tool, it is indispensable to speak and write correctly in English. However, the students have often struggled to speak fluently and write well. As a result, it is necessary to find the main barriers to teaching these two productive skills. In addition, due to the COVID-19, teaching and learning have shifted from real life to virtual classrooms. The existing problems underlying teaching English productive skills have been more crucial in a virtual platform. Therefore, through questionnaire for teachers and classroom observation data was collected from six private universities outside Dhaka, and it has been found that the problems lie mainly in the inability to change the teaching methods and techniques according to the need of an online classroom alongside network issues interrupting effective communication and time management. In an online classroom, the teachers cannot involve the students in pair and group work for speaking and writing activities and provide feedback. Based on the study's findings, it is recommended that more speaking and writing practice in the classroom, interesting visual materials, constant motivation, feedback, and teachers' training were essential to overcome the challenges faced by the teachers for teaching productive skills in English in an online classroom.

Understanding and developing food pedagogies in Ontario pre-service education

Policy documents implore Ontario teachers to integrate environmental education (EE) in the curriculum. Evidence of significant barriers such as lack of time, resources and knowledge, and lack of preparation at the Bachelor of Education level to teaching EE is well documented (Barrett, 2007, 2013; Stevenson, 2007; Thompson, 2004). Food literacy (FL) is often considered a framework from which to understand environmental issues, thus the authors sought to consider its’ usefulness in aiding integration of EE curricula. Using a ‘theory into practice’ approach we asked: Can food literacy be used to make environmental issues more relevant and accessible, thus diminishing the barriers to teaching EE? How do pre-service teachers define FL and do they know enough to use this framework? Qualitative interviews were conducted with thirteen Ontario pre-service teachers to determine their understanding of FL. Findings included a lack of exposure to FL concepts, however, there was an interest to using FL to help teach EE. Some suggestions to improve food pedagogy in the pre-service program and placements included: curriculum changes that made explicit connection to food; clear linkages between environmental issues and food; empowering students to do projects, debates and assignments on food, and experiential learning. Ultimately, there was interest and promise of utilizing FL to integrate EE, but a change of culture at the pre-service level is needed for it to be supported.

Investigating the pedagogical practices of EFL writing teachers in Palestinian universities: A cognitive-ecological perspective

<p>Teacher cognition studies are rare in the Palestinian context, as is also true in other contexts where English is taught as a foreign language. This study draws on theories of second language writing and teacher cognition to investigate the interplay between EFL writing teachers’ cognitions and their pedagogical practices. It employs a qualitative design involving multiple case studies to explore how the pedagogical practices of twelve EFL writing teachers working in Palestinian universities are shaped by their cognitions and contextual factors. Data were collected across the nine-month academic year through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, stimulated-recall interviews, and review of documents. A multiple case study research design was used, and constructivist grounded theory informed data analysis. Data were transcribed, coded, and analysed through the development of 12 case reports which were reconstructed into three clusters of cases. The cross-cluster analysis generated a cognitive-ecological model to explain teachers’ choices favouring different pedagogical approaches to teaching EFL writing. Results reveal that teachers’ cognitions about the nature of EFL writing, about teaching and learning writing and about themselves as EFL writing professionals influence their pedagogical practices. The findings also accentuate the role of ecological contexts as a mediating force influencing the interaction between cognitions and practices. These ecological contexts include classroom social and physical contexts, institutional context, broader educational context, and global community discourse. Classroom social and physical contexts were identified and perceived as the most significant barriers to teaching writing, while gaining access to the global community discourse was viewed as the greatest facilitator for adopting recommended practices. Teachers’ cognitions about professional self also determine the weight assigned to the different ecological contexts, thus determining reactions to perceived ecological challenges. This may explain why teachers working in the same context under the same conditions teach differently. Some implications of these findings include the importance of encouraging EFL writing teachers to reflect on pedagogical cognitions and practices relevant to their working contexts as well as the need for introducing recommended models of teaching EFL writing in tertiary institutions. Other theoretical and professional contributions are addressed, and potential for further research is highlighted.</p>

Investigating the pedagogical practices of EFL writing teachers in Palestinian universities: A cognitive-ecological perspective

<p>Teacher cognition studies are rare in the Palestinian context, as is also true in other contexts where English is taught as a foreign language. This study draws on theories of second language writing and teacher cognition to investigate the interplay between EFL writing teachers’ cognitions and their pedagogical practices. It employs a qualitative design involving multiple case studies to explore how the pedagogical practices of twelve EFL writing teachers working in Palestinian universities are shaped by their cognitions and contextual factors. Data were collected across the nine-month academic year through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, stimulated-recall interviews, and review of documents. A multiple case study research design was used, and constructivist grounded theory informed data analysis. Data were transcribed, coded, and analysed through the development of 12 case reports which were reconstructed into three clusters of cases. The cross-cluster analysis generated a cognitive-ecological model to explain teachers’ choices favouring different pedagogical approaches to teaching EFL writing. Results reveal that teachers’ cognitions about the nature of EFL writing, about teaching and learning writing and about themselves as EFL writing professionals influence their pedagogical practices. The findings also accentuate the role of ecological contexts as a mediating force influencing the interaction between cognitions and practices. These ecological contexts include classroom social and physical contexts, institutional context, broader educational context, and global community discourse. Classroom social and physical contexts were identified and perceived as the most significant barriers to teaching writing, while gaining access to the global community discourse was viewed as the greatest facilitator for adopting recommended practices. Teachers’ cognitions about professional self also determine the weight assigned to the different ecological contexts, thus determining reactions to perceived ecological challenges. This may explain why teachers working in the same context under the same conditions teach differently. Some implications of these findings include the importance of encouraging EFL writing teachers to reflect on pedagogical cognitions and practices relevant to their working contexts as well as the need for introducing recommended models of teaching EFL writing in tertiary institutions. Other theoretical and professional contributions are addressed, and potential for further research is highlighted.</p>

Understanding Nutrition Education and Physical Activity Instruction in Rural Elementary Schools

We surveyed K-6 classroom teachers in four rural counties in Oregon to ascertain current nutrition and physical activity and/or physical education (PA/PE) instruction, barriers to teaching these subjects, and interest and need for professional development. Although most respondents reported teaching nutrition and PA/PE in their classrooms and appear to place high importance on teaching these subjects, reported delivery time was low. Extension can play an influential role in ensuring that students receive adequate nutrition and PA/PE instructional time by providing support to teachers through professional development, direct education in the classroom, and policy, systems and environmental change.

Otwarte zasoby edukacyjne - przegląd inicjatyw w Polsce i na świecie

Open Educational Resources (OER) are training materials and tools that support both learning and teaching. This phenomenon is inextricably linked with a broader concept - open education, which calls for the removal of barriers to teaching so that learners can acquire knowledge following their educational and training needs. The aim of the article is to familiarize the readers with the idea of open educational resources, the legal and organizational foundations crucial for their creation and development, as well as the latest initiatives undertaken in the field of OER dissemination. In the first part of the article, the authors explain the concept and role of open educational resources in the teaching process. Then, they present selected initiatives implemented by members of European Network of Open Education Librarians (ENOEL) and the results of a survey conducted among European academic libraries by SPARC Europe. The analysis of publications, the content of legal documents, reports, and recommendations made it possible to precisely define the meaning of open educational resources for their users. The multifaceted nature and scale of the activities confirm that modern teaching can develop faster based on open educational materials.

Barriers to Communication Skills Assessment and Ways to Overcome Them

Teaching and assessing communication skills requires different approaches from clinical teaching. The challenge is to transform formal training in these skills into a systematic and purposefully organized, organically integrate communication skills training with clinical training. The article discusses barriers to teaching communication skills and ways to overcome them. Possible ways to standardize training and assessment of communication skills and their integration into existing curricula are shown.

The Status of Medical Student Education in Pregnancy Options Counseling: a Review

Background The Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) has acknowledged the importance of pregnancy options counseling by listing it as a “shows how” skill for all undergraduate medical students. Unfortunately, there is no standard curriculum utilized to teach medical students pregnancy options counseling or to assess skill sustainability over time. Objectives To review and summarize the literature on pregnancy options counseling in undergraduate medical education. Methods We performed a structured literature review searching Google Scholar, PubMed, and EMBASE for articles between 2000 and February 2020. Inclusion criteria were English language studies of M. D. and D.O. programs in North America with a discussion of pregnancy options counseling as it relates to medical student education. Results There is a small but growing body of literature on pregnancy options counseling in medical student education. The common themes across the 17 papers reviewed include the status of pregnancy options counseling in undergraduate medical education, barriers to teaching options counseling, the timing of education, utilization of the options counseling Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), learner challenges, and novel strategies for implementing education in options counseling and subsequent learning outcomes. Conclusions There is no standardized pregnancy options counseling curriculum in undergraduate medical education (UME). The landscape in which this important skill is being taught is one of random, insufficient, and uncoordinated curricular interventions. This is the only review on this subject, making it a unique summary on pregnancy options counseling in UME.

Barriers to teaching evolution in higher education

Background Although progress has been made in evolution education, many educators face significant barriers in their efforts to teach evolution specifically, and science in general. The purpose of this study was to identify faculty-perceived barriers to teaching evolution, specifically in religiously affiliated institutions or institutions with a highly religious student body, as well as resources faculty feel would help promote discourse around faith, evolution and science. To do this, we held a workshop with teams consisting of a science professor, a theologian and a pastor (of the predominant on-campus faith tradition) from 17 different institutions of higher education with highly religious student bodies for the purpose of helping them to create a curriculum to address perceived conflicts between science and faith. During the workshop, participants created posters identifying barriers they face and resources they perceive as helpful. These posters were analyzed for prevalent themes and framed within an ecological model of behavior. Results These teams identified prevalent barriers at each level of the ecological model. Intrapersonal factors included a fear of rocking the boat and a fear of student conflict. Interpersonal factors included perceived student lack of knowledge, student ideology, and student apathy. Institutional factors included work politics, a lack of relevant discourse surrounding the conflict, and mixed messaging to students. Community factors included social norms associated with various student demographics. And public policy factors included local and state government attempts to limit the teaching of evolution. Additionally, participants identified resources that they felt would facilitate overcoming conflict including colleagues as change agents, various assets, and tools to negate conflict. Conclusions We determined that many of the concerns are addressable, and many resources are attainable. We urge the community to work toward these solutions. Additionally, we compare our findings to what the literature has shown and discuss the implications of faculty perceptions as compared to the published literature.