Difficulties Students face in Sight Translation Exams: A Case Study at the University of Sulaimani- Department of Translation

The method of orally reproducing a written text in a target language is called sight translation (STr). This method is used as a bridge between translation and interpreting which is now considered as its mode of interpreting. Sight translation is two-toned because it requires both reading and speaking; therefore, students face difficulties and challenges while performing the task. The purpose of this study is to highlight the problems students face before taking an exam in sight translation and during the exam. To conduct the study, depending on Likert-scaled questions, fifteen senior students participate in a two-part quantitative questionnaire. The first part is a pre-test questionnaire in which students are asked to answer a set of questions to highlight the challenges they face before the exam. Later, the students are asked to translate a text from English into Kurdish, through which the researcher tries to evaluate the students’ translation and their abilities to overcome the problems they face in performing sight translation according to sight translation exam criteria. Soon after, the students perform the post-test questionnaire in which they give their reviews about the challenges they had during the exam. The whole questionnaire is designed to validate the results of the students in sight translation exams. This paper is helpful to understanding the students’ challenges in sight translation and helps the translation teachers to make appropriate pedagogical decisions to ease the challenges students face during sight translation.

To Teach or Not to Teach the Five-Paragraph Essay?

While the field of composition might like to believe it has moved on from concern about the five-paragraph essay, the debate is far from over. The five-paragraph essay continues to be taught, and oppositionists continue to rail against it. As long as the five-paragraph essay continues as a common form of writing assessment on standardized exams and as a form commonly taught in schools, it is a form that will likely persist. Instead of calling for the retirement of the five-paragraph essay, practitioners and researchers need to rethink the potential of the five-paragraph essay as a foundational form and to reconsider approaches to teaching it. Some of the problems associated with the five-paragraph essay are likely due to pedagogical decisions, such as an exclusive focus on the five-paragraph essay and not advancing to other forms when students are ready rather the five-paragraph essay form itself. In this paper, I define the five-paragraph essay, outline some of the historical links to the five-paragraph essay, challenge common criticisms of it, and suggest that such essay might be a useful foundational form.

maestro mexicano ante el confinamiento por la pandemia: resiliencia y autogestión para intervenir en un sistema educativo emergente

El presente documento es el resultado de una investigación de corte cualitativo y de tipo explicativo por su nivel de profundidad; para la recolección de datos se utilizaron entrevistas semi estructuradas y tiene por objetivo analizar las experiencias vividas por los maestros mexicanos durante el confinamiento social debido a la pandemia, y las decisiones pedagógicas tomadas para la implementación de estrategias educativas emergentes. Se concluye que los educadores aumentaron su capacidad de autorregulación de emociones y resiliencia; y desarrollaron mayor capacidad para auto gestionar el proceso docente-metodológico. Abstract This document is a result of a qualitative investigation, with an explanatory nature due to its level of profoundness. Data recollection was based on the use of semi structured interviews which had the objective of analyzing experiences Mexican teachers lived through during social confinement due to the pandemic and the pedagogical decisions made to implement emerging educational strategies. We conclude that educators increased their capacity to self-manage their emotions and resilience, and developed a greater capacity to autoregulate their teaching-methodological processes.

Musicking as Liturgical Speech Acts: An Examination of Contemporary Worship Music Practices

This article examines the genre of Contemporary Worship Music (CWM) within worship contexts in terms of its formative and purposeful nature. In CWM settings, the worship leader plays a particular role in the selection and facilitation of CWM repertoire to be led by praise bands. Through the leader's consideration of the message of the CWM lyrics, and the relational nature of CWM practices, a worship leader's pedagogical decisions are integral to contributing to a space of dialogue for worship musicians. Drawing on previous literature addressing liturgical language in worship, I analyze the CWM context as a particular case where liturgical language shapes musicians’ spiritual formation. This examination of CWM practices includes an analysis of musicians’ engagement in relational musicking and meeting through I-Thou encounters. I therefore explore both the need for worship leaders to consider the multitudinous theological implications of their actions, as well as the way musicians are shaped and formed intimately through their musical engagement with CWM.

Successful urban elementary music educators : a phenomenological investigation

The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics and experiences of teachers who have been successful in urban elementary music classrooms. I aimed to garner an authentic picture and capture the essence of what it means to be a successful urban elementary music educator. This hermeneutic phenomenology was guided by two research questions: (1) What are the lived experiences of urban music educators who have been successful in teaching music at the elementary level? (2) What are the pedagogical approaches used by elementary music educators in urban contexts? The related sub-questions were as follows: (1) What characterizes success in the urban elementary music classroom? (2) What are characteristics of these educators (e.g., personal, educational, interpersonal)? Data collection included approximately 60-minute semi-structured interviews from eight participants. A constant comparative method was utilized to examine the coded transcripts. Trustworthiness was established through data triangulation, participant checking, and peer checking. Through the three-part analysis, six themes emerged: (a) relationships are key; (b) understanding how music functions for students; (c) willingness to perform unofficial job duties; (d) concerns about urban teacher preparation; (e) curricular and pedagogical decisions; and (f) urban music teacher characteristics. The findings of this study, as well as that of other scholars in music education, suggest that being a successful urban elementary music educator is the result of a composite set of skills. The teachers who participated in this study use creativity when making curricular and pedagogical decisions, possess a complex knowledge and understanding of their students, their students' families, and their students' community, and have a deep affection for what they do and whom they serve. Successful urban elementary music educators can serve as valuable resources to provide understanding and offer suggestions for improving urban music education, including ways to nurture and develop the next wave of music educators.

Machine Learning para la mejora de la experiencia con MOOC: el caso de la Universitat Politècnica de València

El trabajo que se presenta tiene como objetivo el diseño de una propuesta de mecanismos automatizados fundamentados en machine learning para la mejora de la experiencia de los participantes en los cursos MOOC de la Universitat Politécnica de Valencia y la reducción de las tasas de abandono. Siguiendo una estrategia de investigación basada en el diseño IBD, en la que se ha priorizado siempre las decisiones pedagógicas por encima de las propias analíticas de datos, se han realizado tres iteraciones con distintos patrones metodológicos (revisión sistemática de literatura, machine learning basado en los datos de 260 cursos y más de 700.000 estudiantes, y creación de mecanismos automatizados) que siempre finalizan con la presentación de resultados y la realimentación por parte del equipo de la universidad. Las principales conclusiones de este trabajo indican que, de los veinticinco indicadores pedagógicos de abandono referidos por las revisiones bibliográficas en la iteración 1, solo se validan diez de ellos con los cursos de la UPV (no se tienen datos automáticos ni automatizables de los otros), y de esos finalmente solo seis de ellos son posibles predictores del abandono del alumnado, con los datos utilizados. Se proponen finalmente un conjunto de mecanismos automatizados que se aplicarán en la plataforma EdX de la universidad, para la mejora de la experiencia de los usuarios y la reducción de la tasa de abandonos en los cursos. The aim of this paper is to design a proposal for automated mechanisms based on machine learning to improve the experience of participants in MOOC courses at the Universitat Politécnica de Valencia and reduce dropout rates. Following a desing based research DBR design, in which pedagogical decisions have always been prioritised over data analytics, three iterations have been carried out with different methodological patterns (systematic literature review, machine learning based on data from 260 courses and 700.000 students, and creation of automated mechanisms) that always end with the presentation of results and feedback from the university team. The main conclusions of this work indicate that, of the twenty-five pedagogical dropout indicators referred to by the literature reviews in iteration 1, only ten of them are validated with UPV courses (no automated or automatable data are available for the others), and of those finally only six of them are possible predictors of student dropout, with the data used. Finally, a set of automated mechanisms are proposed to be applied in the university's EdX platform to improve the user experience and reduce the dropout rate in the courses.

Screening Winnie and African Feminist Herstories

This teaching note offers reflections on the screening of Winnie an autobiographical documentary about the life of Winnie Mandela, South African liberation struggle actor. I explore the pedagogical decisions I made in screening this film which deals with the history of apartheid South Africa to a mixed audience at a university in London.

Cultural determinants affecting pedagogical decisions in content design: a case study

Purpose Commercially produced educational materials often reflect the pedagogical beliefs and culture(s) of the content developers. While many teachers involved in teaching English as a foreign language have relied on commercially published content in the past, the advent of ubiquitous technology has afforded them the ability to create content that is contextualised and to share it with other educators across the globe. The purpose of this study is to investigate cultural determinants which affect the pedagogical decisions of teachers when designing content. Design/methodology/approach This case study, conducted at a higher educational institution in the Gulf, addresses the issues that arise when cultures or ideologies of educators as material developers are different to that of the target audience. Three semi-structured interviews with teachers were conducted in an effort to understand cultural determinants that influence decision-making about pedagogy when creating in-house content to motivate undergraduate students on an English language program in the United Arab Emirates. Findings The results of this study indicated that the participants maintained mainly essentialist perspectives of local cultures and sub-cultures and their thinking in content creation was not all that different to that of commercial publishers. Practical implications This study holds implications for awareness-raising and pedagogical training for educators involved in in-house content development. Originality/value This case study addresses an area that has been under-researched in the Gulf region.

Using Generation Z's Learning Approaches to Create Meaningful Online Learning

This chapter presents findings from an eDelphi research study through which participant experts of Generation Z established learning approaches for online environments. Experts were members of this generation all being born in 2001 or 2002 who have participated in informal or formal pre-pandemic online learning. Background on Generation Z, description of the eDelphi research method, and implications of the learning approaches provide insight to different pedagogical practices that support successful online teaching and learning aligned with the learning approaches established by Generation Z. This generation bridges the bulk of K12 and undergraduate learners. As educators re-vision classrooms necessitated by the current educational climate, understanding the learning approaches of students provides a critical foundation on which educators can make pedagogical decisions that engage learners in online contexts.