Development and Validation of the Inviting Teaching Effectiveness Scale based on the Invitational Theory

This study reports on a new instrument, the Inviting Teaching Effectiveness Scale (ITES), which is a 20-item measure based on the fundamental teaching competencies derived from the principles of Invitational Education (Purkey & Novak, 1984). The initial instrument had included 30 items and was then validated on a random sample of 640 students enrolled at the University of Bahrain. The final version of the developed Scale contains 20 items and measures four aspects of inviting teaching effectiveness: Invitational instruction, inviting relationships, invitational assessment and inviting classroom environment. As the new Scale displayed sound psychometric properties, it can be considered as a potentially useful tool to assess teacher performance and improve teaching practices at tertiary level of education. Information about test construction, reliability, validity, and generalizability are presented and implications and benefits associated with use of the instrument as a tool for measuring teaching effectiveness are discussed.

Managing Stakeholder Conflicting Expectations in Higher Education: a Hybrid Approach

This paper proposes a hybrid approach to the management of stakeholder conflicting expectations in higher education (HE) by combining Stakeholder Theory (ST) and a participatory approach. In this paper, we use an ex post facto approach to retrospectively report Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) experience in managing stakeholder conflicting expectations in developing the BA in English Language and Literature Program as a case study. We show that for an effective management of stakeholder conflicting expectations in HE, the three perspectives of ST (i.e., descriptive, instrumental and normative) have to be taken together as a unified approach with the normative perspective occupying the core. In addition, we argue that this unified approach should be complemented by a participatory approach to add an interactive dimension to stakeholder conflict management and allow stakeholders to become active conflict-solvers. The paper concludes that this hybrid approach is essential to manage stakeholder conflicting expectations in academic program development and to project academic program development in HE as a shared social responsibility.

Perception of Nigerian Open and Distance Learning Students on the Use of Instructional Technologies for Pedagogic Experience

This study aimed at determining the perceptions of distance learning students of the availability, accessibility, usefulness and influence of instructional technologies for acquiring pedagogic experience at Ogbomoso, Osogbo and Ilorin, Nigeria. The study was descriptive of cross-sectional survey type and used a researchers-designed questionnaire to collect data. A total of 397 undergraduate students were randomly sampled from six faculties in the sampled study centres. Four research questions were raised, answered and analyzed using frequency counts and percentages. The results showed that instructional technologies were not sufficiently available and accessible to the students at study centres for the acquisition of pedagogic experiences. The findings revealed that students displayed a good level of interest in experiential learning using the available instructional technologies due to a high perception of usefulness of instructional technologies for learning. However, inadequacy of the instructional technologies was a constraint towards access and adequacy of their utilization by the students. It was recommended that government and non-governmental organizations should work to procure adequate instructional technologies that would facilitate easy access to pedagogical experiences.

The Effect of Twitter in Academic Achievement and Students’ Motivation toward Mathematics

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the effectiveness of Twitter when used in conjunction with a non-traditional type of educational approach referred to as the “flipped classroom method” upon the academic achievement of 12th grade students and their learning motivation towards mathematics. The study used a quantitative approach, and the sample consisted of 48 students. The study was conducted during a three-week period in two public high schools in Abha, Saudi Arabia. The first hypothesis was that the use of Twitter would improve academic performance in mathematics. The second hypothesis was that learning in a flipped classroom via Twitter would lead to an improvement in math performance but that this improvement within the flipped classroom would differ across gender. The third hypothesis was that learning in a flipped classroom via Twitter would lead to more positive attitudes towards mathematics. The findings did not support the first or the second hypotheses; when used in the context of a flipped classroom approach, Twitter, did not improve academic achievement: F(1, 46) = .49, p = .486. Improvement in academic achievement from pretest to posttest also did not differ across gender; F(1, 44) = .00, p = .963. However, the results did support the third hypothesis; within the flipped classroom, the improvement in motivation was stronger for girls than it was for boys; F(1, 22) = 51.32, p < .001.

The Predictive Effects of Self-Regulated Writing Strategies on Writing Performance of Saudi EFL University Students

The present study aims to examine the predictive effect of self-regulated writing strategies of students’ writing performance and explore the differences between higher and lower writing achievers in self-regulated writing strategies. A total of 202 English as a foreign language students at the Northern Border University in Saudi Arabia volunteered to participate in this study. A Writing Strategies for Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire and a Writing Test were administered to compare the differences between high and low writing proficient learners in Self-Regulated Learning. Pearson correlation coefficient, multiple regression analysis, and independent-samples t-test were calculated. The results showed that both text processing and course memory strategies predicted the writing performance of the participants. Results also revealed significant differences in course memory and feedback handling strategies between higher and lower writing achievers. The findings also indicated a low relative contribution to the course memory and text processing in predicting writing performance. These strategies explained only 6.4% of the total variance of writing performance. Based on these findings, practical implications and recommendations for future research were provided.

Establishing the Validity of the Reading Questions in a Centralized Test Using Weir Socio-Cognitive Framework

Establishing test validity is among the highly significant issues in language assessment which can be achieved by employing well-established validity frameworks. Adopting validity frameworks could generate valid and reliable tests that inform more systematic decisions. Using Weir’s socio-cognitive framework (2005), this paper aims to highlight the validation process of the reading questions in the General Education Diploma of English Language Test (GEDELT) of 2016/2017 in Oman. Findings revealed that context-validity is inadequately satisfied due to the test response format, absence of allotted time for each question and the exhaustion that the test takers may experience due to the length of the test. Theory-based validity witnesses strengths from utilizing a large number of texts and a weakness from overemphasis on the skill of scanning to locate specific information. Scoring-validity is considered high since types of task response, marking guides and electronic marking reduce markers' subjectivity and minimize human error. The study draws its conclusions in light of the findings of test validity.

Psychometric Properties of an Instrument Developed to Assess Students’ Evaluation of Teaching in Higher Education

Student evaluation of teaching is a global predominant practice in higher education institutions. Therefore, a major university in Jordan developed a questionnaire for students’ use in evaluating their instructors’ teaching effectiveness. Since student evaluation of teaching is an important process, the present study tried to examine the psychometric properties of the instrument. Item-total correlations showed acceptable internal consistency. In addition, a two-factor structure of the scale (teaching effectiveness and course attributes) was supported by exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis from two independent samples. Convergent validity was supported by a moderate correlation coefficient between course averages of students’ ratings on the first factor and course averages of students’ final grades in each course. Finally, students’ responses on the factor that captures teaching effectiveness were found to have very high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.96). However, this instrument lacks evidences of content validity and convergent validity. Therefore, it is important to be cautious in evaluating faculty members and making promotion decisions that is based solely on the scores obtained using this instrument.

Flipping Learning to Develop Students' Engagement and Achievement in the Computer Applications Unit as Part of Their Studies on the Sub-ject of Instructional Design

The study aimed to measure the impact of using the flipped learning strategy on students’ engagement and achievement when creating computer applications. The study used a quasi-experimental approach to prepare the literature framework and two measurement tools, including an achievement test and an engagement scale. The study sample consisted of 42 learners. The researcher used a t-test to measure the differences between the control group (taught by a traditional method) and experimental group (taught using the flipped learning strategy). The content of the pre-class consisted of videos, PowerPoint presentations and the use of appropriate URLs, which was provided through an Easy class platform. Students worked individually and cooperatively during the class activities. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences at α≤0.05 between the means of the experimental and control groups in the post-tests on both achievement and learning engagement. This was in favor of the experimental group, which used videos, presentations and web links on the subject of achievement and learning engagement, unlike the control group that used a traditional method.

The Relationship between Religious Commitment and Ego Strength among a Sample of Hashemite University Students

This study aimed to identify the relationship between religious commitment and ego strength among a sample of university students at Hashemite University, Jordan. The study sample consisted of 572 male and female undergraduate students. To achieve the aims of this study, scales of religious commitment and ego strength were developed and satisfactory psychometric properties of validity and stability were provided. The results showed that the levels of religious commitment and ego strength were high. Moreover, the results indicated that there is a positive significant correlation between religious commitment and ego strength. The results also showed there were no statistically significant differences in religious commitment and ego strength due to gender. However, there were statistically significant differences in terms of year of study in favor of fourth -year students and also in terms of specialization in favor of scientific specializations.

The Effect of Psychological Stress on Alienation Levels among Sultan Qaboos University Students

The study aimed to examine the predictive effects of educational and health stress on Sultan Qaboos University's (SQU) students' feeling of alienation. In addition, the study examined the effects of demographic variables (gender, GPA) on the levels of alienation. The study sample consisted of 482 students (69.3%) females from both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at SQU. Two questionnaires were used. The first one measured the levels of alienation based on four domains: loss of belonging, non-compliance with standards, feeling of disability, and loss of meaning. The second one measured the levels of educational and health stress. The study results revealed that the rates of alienation and stress were generally low. Moreover, statistically significant differences were found in the domain of non-compliance with standards based on gender. Also, statistically significant differences were found in all alienation domains based on GPA. The results indicated that educational stress was able to predict all domains of alienation; however, health stress was able to predict the "loss of meaning" domain only. The researchers provided a number of recommendations to deal with feelings of alienation among students.