Evaluating Non-STEM Students’ understanding of Evolution: Basis for designing Pedagogical Intervention

Teaching human evolution, for it to yield fruitful results, should be initialized by understanding the perspective of the learners. This study was conducted to aid in achieving that objective, and also to provide ways for educators to come up with strategies that can be perceived and appreciated by learners, particularly those who are not inclined with science. The majority of the respondents are believers in the theory of human evolution. Most of the respondents expressed their belief that modern humans are successors of ape-like organisms. The majority of the same set of informants mentioned their need for clarity about the stages that humans underwent during the course of history, while almost all of those respondents stated that the utilization of various graphic materials to elucidate these evolutionary concepts. It was recommended that educators engage in learning methods that call the attention and those that can be easily understood by the students

COVID 19 Pandemic and the Library Online Services

The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences of St. Scholastica's College Manila High School librarians in implementing library online services during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The researcher used a descriptive research design and employed Document Analysis and Thematic Analysis vis-a-vis the respondents' answers on the electronic questionnaires. It was revealed, through this study, that the roles and responsibilities of the SSC Manila HS librarians were technologists, online learning support professionals, instructional partners, and game-based learning developers. On the other hand, they experienced challenges such as having limited transactions and time constraints in delivering library online services and the opportunities of having proactive team culture and providing appropriate and innovative services to their clientele. With these findings, the following are recommended for better library online services of the school libraries and librarians. First, librarians and staff's technical competencies and skills must continuously be honed. Second, the library's online services must also be evaluated annually by the students and faculty members. Third, the librarians and staff must explore more technological applications or apps and learning management systems. Lastly, further research studies are recommended in relation also to delivering library online services that can be in the contexts of other types of libraries, most especially their experiences so that there will be a deeper and bigger understanding of the roles and responsibilities, and the challenges and opportunities of librarians during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Elementary Teacher Professionalism and Workload

This study describes teacher performance by quantifying every detail of teacher activity. This research results from a case study conducted for eight months in elementary school. The research focuses on the workload of primary school teachers. This research data collection through observation, interviews, and document review. This research was conducted at SD Negeri 18 Maroangin and SD Islam Terpadu Madan Insan Palopo City, South Sulawesi Province. The study results are as follows: (1) Based on the implementation time, to complete all tasks, the workload of elementary school teachers takes 17 hours a day. Therefore, it equates to 102 hours per week. In this case, the teacher experiences an "overload" workload. (2) The professionalism of primary school teachers is a challenge for education in Indonesia. In addition to the limited ability of teacher resources.

Learning Motivation

The objective of this study is to be able to find ways or the best strategies in teaching that will motivate students to exert effort in their studies, considering the present conditions in this pandemic period. A quantitative method was used to define the study's objective, where two sections of Psychology students who took up Science 101 and Science 104 were chosen as respondents to answer the survey questionnaire through google forms. The purposive sampling technique was also employed since these students can appropriately answer the queries sent to them. The Likert scale method was used to measure the students' level of agreement, with the 5-point range, where the results were collated and analyzed. The research result finds several strategic activities such as report enhancement, online debates, virtual experiments, discussion and updating of recent findings, and the creation of infomercials that truly captured their interest and attention. This study made use of several references and tables in order to support the results obtained. The researcher recommends that there should be effective and efficient motivational activities to sustain student engagement. The researchers, who are also educators, have agreed to continuously upgrade the newfound motivational activities to encourage more students to study well even in an online setting, thus giving more opportunities for better achievement in education.

Teacher's Competence

This study aimed to improve the professional competence of Indonesian language teachers in applying the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) learning model at State Senior High School 1 Muara. This research is a Classroom Action Research involving 6 Indonesian language teachers. The research was conducted in two cycles, namely: planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. Aspects measured in the observations were teacher teaching performance, teacher interaction with researchers, interaction with other Indonesian language subject teachers, collaboration with other teachers, making lesson plans, learning processes, evaluating the implementation of Problem-Based Learning (PBL). From the data analysis, it was found that there was an increase in teacher activity and competence in implementing the PBL model. In the initial condition, from 54.00 (criteria for poor score) increased to 66.00 (criteria for sufficient value) and 76.00 (criteria for good value). In the aspect of learning implementation, the average score of 55.21 (criteria for low scores) increased to 65.43 (sufficient value criteria) and 75.43 (good value criteria) in the second cycle. In the aspect of assessment of learning outcomes, from an average of 53.58 (criteria for poor scores) to 65.42 (criteria for good scores) and 77.42 (criteria for good scores). Also, in the aspect of classroom management from 54.00 enough and 75.83 ( good grade criteria). From the results above, it can be concluded that the implementation of the Problem-Based Learning model with academic supervision has been proven to improve the professional competence of teachers in managing the learning process

Examining the Strengths and Limitations of Ethnographic Research

Ethnography offers a holistic approach to qualitative researchers in educational contexts and appeals to scholars who wish seek to reveal rich narratives through their immersion in specific domains. This review paper examines the mobilization of the ethnographic research approach reported in studies from two distinctive learning contexts: an elementary school and a vocational college. Employing the specific evaluative criteria of Punch (2005), the desk-based study draws on existing literature to document the strengths and limitations of ethnographic method and reportage to reveal edifying insights to novice and experienced qualitative researchers who may be contemplating an ethnographic study in the future. The review reveals how extensive ethnography lends itself well to presenting thick descriptions in rich narratives to demonstrate high veracity. In contrast, this research approach may be limited in its verisimilitude, especially if ethnographers abridge their methodological and analytical descriptions and fail to acknowledge reactivity

Impact of GeoGebra on the Students’ Conceptual

The paradigm shift from traditional didactic instruction to technology-enriched teaching and learning environments significantly benefits learners. Educational technology can visualize abstract mathematical concepts contextually and graphically and allow learners to actively construct this knowledge. This study aims to ascertain the efficacy of a computer-assisted instruction method using GeoGebra in further developing the concept of the function limit for grade XI students. This study employed a quasi-experiment static-group comparison design with 60 students from Gongzim Ugyen Dorji Central School at Haa in Bhutan. The students were divided into two equal groups. Group ‘A’ used the GeoGebra software, while group ‘B’ used the conventional method to learn the limit of the function. The data was collected through a Conceptual Knowledge Test of Limit Function. In addition, an independent sample t-test was employed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 22.0). This study demonstrated that students who were taught using GeoGebra outperformed those who learned through conventional methods. The results confirmed that GeoGebra software could enhance and significantly improve students’ conceptual understanding of the limit of the function.

Deploying Blended Learning in the New Normal Pedagogy

While the world is experiencing a severe global crisis for the Covid-19 pandemic, the academic education sectors of several developing countries face formidable challenges, including Bangladesh. The current study aimed at finding out the barriers and possibilities for blended learning in the new normal situation in the education sector of Bangladesh. The researcher followed a descriptive approach with reviews of related literature and conducted Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with twenty-one university teachers to collect data and develop the study. The study found some challenges for blended education, e.g., poverty, lack of familial and institutional support, inadequate internet facilities, untrained teachers for using technological gadgets, electricity issues in rural and coastal areas. Still, the study found prospects to deploy blended learning and flipped classrooms in the post-pandemic period because of the countenance of 71.43% of participants. Finally, the study recommended some possible strategies in the new normal life for a more balanced educational system, particularly at the tertiary level.

Hindrance to Online Education during Lockdowns

This study aims to identify the hindrances to online education students in schools and colleges during the lockdown. The online survey through Google Forms with a structured questionnaire with both restricted and unrestricted responses was designed to identify the hindrance to online education during the third lockdown. Total of 425 responses of students who attend online classes during lockdown from Phuentsholing Higher Secondary, Phuentsholing Middle Secondary, Sonamgang Middle Secondary Schools, and College of Science and Technology in Phuentsholing, Bhutan. The result indicates that socio-economic, technological, and psychological situations hinder effective online teaching and learning. Household chores, large family members, data packages, and poor internet connectivity are other difficulties students face making online education ineffective. Some of the measures to support economically disadvantaged students and provide personal computers/laptops to teachers for preparing and developing teaching-learning materials are suggested. Other recommendations and viable measures based on surveys are suggested to overcome such challenges for students and support providers to make online education effective and focused

Readiness of Students in Flexible Learning Modality

This convergent-parallel mixed-methods study was conducted to examine students' readiness on flexible learning modality established in the local context based on Commission on Higher Education Memorandum Order No. 04 series of 2020 or the "Guidelines on the Implementation "Flexible Learning in the Philippines." A sample of 408 students participated in the study. The self-determination theory model and contextual approach to e-learning delivery (learning flexibility, online learning, study management, technology, modular learning, and online interaction) were used as theoretical underpinnings. Data collected using electronic surveys and information from semi-structured interviews were analyzed. The application of a descriptive survey confirms the low level of readiness among students. When compared across the population, the results provided no significant difference in the level of readiness among students when grouped according to sex and provided significant difference according to year level and Course. Interpreting the results together with qualitative analysis parallels the notion of difficulties among students in all dimensions of flexible learning. This research places the thrust of improving curriculum delivery by addressing flexible learning policies in the local context.