Early statistics in kindergarten: analysis of an educator's pedagogical content knowledge in lessons promoting informal inferential reasoning

PurposeThis study aims to describe the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of a kindergarten educator who implements a lesson plan about informal inferential reasoning designed in a lesson study group.Design/methodology/approachTo this end, we analyzed teaching interventions in two kindergarten lessons focused on the playful task of tossing two coins, associated with inferential statistical reasoning. The study highlights the importance of arguing and promoting this reasoning to develop statistical thinking. It is crucial to recognize how early students can be subject to learning experiences that promote a language of uncertainty, assess the evidence provided by the data, and make generalizations.FindingsThe results reveal that while the educator demonstrated knowledge and skills relevant to the curriculum and conceptual teaching strategies, the understanding of the content by the students and the integration of the PCK components still present a challenge.Practical implicationsThe lesson study collaborative teaching practices that promote PCK have proven effective for informing the design and implementation of instructional practices supporting the development of early statistical thinking in young children.Originality/valueThe study enriches the knowledge regarding the potential of the lesson study (LS) in the professional learning of kindergarten educators. It also contributes to a comprehensive approach based on authentic playful experiences in grade K that supports the development of early statistical thinking in young children.

Using Gagne’s instructional design to teach communication skills in phlebotomy education through role-play

Background: Phlebotomy is a medical procedure that is performed frequently in the blood collection activities of medical institutions. The procedure involves close interaction with different types of patients—some of whom are cooperative and others, who, for many reasons, are not (for example, patients who have a fear of needles). Blood extraction is an essential skill in several medical specialties, such as in laboratory sciences. Lesson planning in phlebotomy education is mainly focused on procedural skills, and very little attention is given towards teaching communication skills despite the close patient interaction in phlebotomy. In this paper, I propose a lesson plan for teaching communication skills to medical laboratory sciences and nursing students based on Gagne’s instructional design. Methods: The training session included two main parts: training session using Gange’s instructional design and at the end of the session, the participants were surveyed for the effectiveness of the training session. Results: 17 participants were included in the study. Overall, the majority of the participants were highly satisfied with the effectiveness of the training session in teaching communication skills with all seven survey questions receiving a mean score of 4.58 on a Likert scale of 1-5. Conclusion: We demonstrated the effectiveness of Gange’s instructional beyond theoretical lesson planning to teach communication skills through role-play in phlebotomy education.

PENGEMBANGAN AUTOMATIC LESSON PLAN GENERATOR

Penelitian ini berangkat dari permasalahan tingginya kesenjangan antara perencanaan pembelajaran yang disusun oleh guru dengan pelaksanaannya. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah mengembangkan Automatic Lesson Plan Generator, yaitu perangkat lunak dalam bentuk prototypeang dapat menyediakan perencanaan pembelajaran yang paling tepat untuk kondisi yang dihadapi oleh guru. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian pengembangan (Research and Development) yang menggunakan metode Plomp. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah penelitian kualitatif. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui observasi, wawancara dan FGD, kemudian di validasi dengan triangulasi sumber dan teknik. Analisis data dalam penelitian ini menggunakan teknik Miles dan Huberman. Hasil penelitian berupa prototype model Automatic Lesson Plan Generator. Model automatic lesson plan generator dikembangkan dengan memperhatikan karakteristik siswa, bahan ajar, capaian pembelajaran, kondisi fisik kelas, sehingga output dari model ini adalah dapat menghasilkan RPP yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan dan kondisi guru, siswa, dan lingkungan belajar. Berdasarkan hasil analisis data dan mekanisme kerja model automatic lesson plan generator, maka dapat diketahui bahwa model ini memudahkan guru dalam menyusun RPP sekaligus meminimalkan kegagalan realisasi dari RPP yang dibuat. Kegiatan penyaringan dan penilaian metode menjadikan RPP yang disusun sesuai dengan kebutuhan dan kondisi dari guru, siswa, dan lingkungan belajar di mana hal tersebut sering kurang diperhatikan oleh guru. Terdapat 5 langkah kerja dari model automatic lesson plan generator yang dikembangkan, yakni: tahap pengisian data pembelajaran, tahap analisis dan pengelompokan data pembelajaran, tahap penyaringan metode, tahap penilaian metode, dan tahap penyusunan RPP.

An Investigation of Medical Students’ Satisfaction with the Quality of E-learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Universities’ sudden exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to maintain social distancing have prompted universities to reconsider their traditional roles in the teaching-learning process and to create a new organizational structure for this process. The result of this reorganization is the development of a new teaching system framework known as e-learning. Although this type of education could lay the foundation for all learners to enhance the quality of education, expand learning opportunities, and receive education conveniently and quickly, students’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction plays a key role in the current competitive and turbulent environment. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the satisfaction of medical students with the quality of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The sample population of this study included the students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz, Iran. Via convenience sampling, 240 medical students were selected. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire to assess the students' satisfaction with the quality of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire was distributed and collected after confirming its validity and reliability. Results: The mean satisfaction of the medical students with e-learning was moderate. The highest mean satisfaction of the students’ with the desirability of the e-learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic was observed in the dimension of satisfaction with the quality of educational facilities and equipment, followed by the dimensions of the quality of professors and teaching time, quality of professors’ lesson plan, quality of the educational atmosphere and assessment of academic achievement, and the quality of professors' teaching methods. Conclusions: Although the students’ satisfaction with the quality of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was not very high, their moderate satisfaction and prioritizing their satisfaction based on the quality of classrooms and equipment, as well as the quality of professors and teaching time, indicated that universities should provide the required facilities to improve the quality of e-learning and take appropriate measures to enable professors to implement virtual classrooms and e-learning properly.

SIJAPIN Atasi Kebosanan PJJ Matematika Kelas VII A SMP Negeri 12 Semarang

Distance learning using information and communication technology brings some problems for some teachers in Indonesia, including the writer. Students learn independently without explanation from the teacher. This condition causes learning boredom for some students. SiJaPin (Sinau bareng Jateng Pintar) or Learning with Smart Central Java is an effort to overcome students boredom of Mathematics distance learning in Class VIIA SMP Negeri 12 Semarang . The implementation of SiJaPin is 1) Design and preparation stage 2) Implementation stage. The results of SiJaPin implementation are results of learning final evaluation, on the first day of learning, class VIIA students get an average score of 71.75 and 83.25 on the second day. Questionnaire of students' reflection on distance learning with SiJaPin: 18 students stated that they felt happy, 21 said they could overcome their boredom, and 10 said that they were motivated to learn. Supporting factors for the implementation of SiJaPin are the support from fellow teachers and principal, the enthusiasm of students, adequate facilities by the provided rooms, laptops, handphones and internet. Inhibiting factors for the implementation of SiJaPin 1) limitation of the teacher in monitoring internet signal, that makes students cannot hear teacher’s voice when starting the lessons, 2) the teacher is less careful that makes typing errors on the PPT slides, 3) lack of coordination on the previous days, 4) next lesson plan by video conference using attractive PPT.

Teaching Across the Demographic Divide With Latinx Texts on Immigration

This chapter presents a preliminary introduction into the topic of Latinx immigration in texts. To begin, the authors discuss the demographic divide between majoritarian teachers and multiply minoritized students in the U.S. literacy classroom. Then, the authors briefly share their experiences regarding their work in light of major trends relating to literacy teaching before outlining the key tenets of culturally relevant and culturally sustaining pedagogies. The majority of the chapter will focus on detailing how teachers can support Latinx students around the topic of immigration by providing examples of culturally relevant and sustaining practices with an abbreviated lesson plan of how to facilitate discourse addressing the topic of immigration using a text featuring Latinx characters.

Digital Differentiation as a Form of Pedagogical Creativity

The goal of this chapter is to explain differentiation and digital differentiation and their intersecting points with pedagogical creativity, which become a necessity for 21st century teachers. In regards to pedagogical creativity, three main elements, which are creative teaching, teaching for creativity, and creative learning, will be discussed. Differentiation techniques and digital differentiation tools used for digitalizing in-class techniques will be explained. Further, an example of a digitally differentiated lesson plan will also be presented as a guide for teachers that require it.

The Use of LearningApps Tool in Foreign Language Teaching

Technology plays an important role in every aspect of life. It is seen that the type of technology used in language teaching is quite diverse. Thanks to the diversity and accessibility of technological tools, teachers' opportunities have increased. Teachers need some web tools to create more effective lesson designs and course materials on the internet. Many of these web tools are Web 2.0 tools that are at the service of teachers free of charge, though limited. LearningApps is one of the Web 2.0 tools. It is a website available at learningapps.com that offers teachers materials such as worksheets and interactive applications and the opportunity to share them directly with students. The aims of this chapter are to introduce the LearningApps tool to foreign language teachers and to create activities using this tool on a sample lesson plan and to contribute to the teachers in this regard.

Flipgrid for Developing and Assessing English Language Learners' Speaking Skills

Foreign language speaking skills as productive skills are considered one of the concrete shreds of evidence for language proficiency. For this reason, teaching and measuring foreign language speaking skills ability has great importance for all levels of education. Especially with the developing technology, there are various educational tools for teaching and measuring speaking skills in a foreign language. In the present study, the application of Flipgrid will be introduced and examined as one of these tools, and accordingly, a lesson plan will be prepared showing how the tool can be used in foreign language classes. It is thought that the current study will contribute to teachers' professional developments who are working in the field of foreign language education, to teacher educators, and to students who learn English as a foreign language.