Teacher’s Working Condition and Hybrid Teaching Environment – A Narrative Case Study

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire system of education around the world is living each day under rapid experimentation to grapple with unforeseen challenges. The event of the COVID-19 pandemic has not only impacted a student’s track of learning but also disrupted the everyday functioning of schools. In the case of the United States, since the beginning of March 2020, when schools were pushed into remote learning options, most teachers had minimal training and resources to teach online. Teachers faced technological challenges and suffered a severe lack of pedagogical knowledge to engage students in an online platform. The overnight switch of face-to-face to remote teaching has added to existing teacher workloads, including accommodating student learning and engagement on the virtual platform. The narrative study considers the experiences of Ally, a veteran teacher, who experienced doubts about her sense of confidence as a teacher with the overnight change of instructional formats. Qualitative analysis was conducted from two interviews, 12 written reflections, and observation notes. Following a review of relevant literature, we report the narrative account of this teacher’s lived experiences. Next, we present suggestions and implications for research and practice while addressing the following research question: What were the lived experiences of a veteran teacher while pursuing a hybrid teaching instruction format, in both the traditional and online delivery format?

The Effects of Learning Stations on Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students’ Achievement and Self-Regulated Learning

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of learning station strategies on developing academic achievement and self-regulated learning among middle school students of low socioeconomic status. The sample group consisted of 68 female Saudi students. We applied a quasi-experimental design with an experimental and control group and a pretest and posttest. We examined the correlation between academic achievement and self-regulated learning. The data collection instruments included an academic achievement test and self-regulated learning questionnaire. The results revealed a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of both instruments in favor of the experimental group. Additionally, there was a positive relationship between development of academic achievement and self-regulated learning among the students for the experimental group. The study’s findings suggest that the learning stations created a dynamic classroom, which prompted students to engage in self-regulatory behaviors and develop their knowledge and understanding.

No Campus Life for Us: Personal Reflections of First-Year Students at a Malaysian University

The purpose of this qualitative study was to look into the online learning experiences of first-year communication and media students. The study was conducted by gathering 45 written reflection papers from first-year undergraduate students covering their opinions, challenges, and feelings about online learning. NVivo 12 was used to analyse the contents of these reflection papers. The findings of this reflective narrative study offer valuable insights into how first-year communication and media students perceive online learning classes in higher education, the challenges of working with new virtual classmates, the adjustment and role as student and daughters at home, as well as their mental health and emotional feelings towards online learning. Students learned vital lessons about time management, environmental awareness and independence as a result of these experiences. Students experienced anxiety and were demotivated as a result of the lack of face-to-face interaction and effective self-introduction with new peers. Most importantly, they were dissatisfied because they had lost out on the experiences of living on campus during their first year of study. Furthermore, this research looked into another component of the qualitative technique, which is a reflective method to study the first-year students’ experiences with online learning in a Malaysian public university, an insight that can be useful for both lecturers and students.

Perceived Discrimination and Students’ Behavioural Changes: The Role of Cultural Background and Societal Influence

Discrimination among students in educational institutes is one of the key reasons for their behavioural changes. Research has increasingly recognized the discriminating behaviour of teachers, but the impact of perceived discrimination by teachers on students’ behavioural changes has not been investigated enough. Applying a theoretical model based on Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST), the present study aimed to investigate the manner in which students’ behavioural changes were determined by their teachers’ perceived discrimination, after knowing family background and how this relationship was moderated by societal influence and cultural background. A sample survey of 215 class 8 to class 10 students studying in rural and urban schools located in Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu, India was administered through questionnaires and partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to evaluate the gathered data. Overall, perceived teacher discrimination of students based on their caste, creed, and financial background significantly influenced students behaviour. The association between students’ behavioural changes and perceived discrimination was significantly influenced by cultural background. However, societal influence did not significantly change the effect of perceived students’ discrimination on their behavioural changes.

“Where am I?” A Critical Discourse Analysis of Religious Representation in Indonesia

Diversified learning is the path to supplement students’ needs in the contemporary generation. These students’ lives have revolved around technology since birth; as such, the role of technology cannot be ignored. Furthermore, this was prevalent during the lockdown imposed by the global pandemic which compelled the incorporation of educational technology into student’s lives. As gamification harnesses the power of game elements, identifying how gamified learning affects a student’s game player traits will be vital in identifying whether specific learning methods can invoke, change and cultivate better learning outcomes. This quasi-experimental study involving two groups of students learning computer science in Malaysia was carried out over eight weeks. Findings revealed that most prevalent player traits changes were evident in the primary construct of social player traits, followed by subconstructs of customization, relationship, socializing, and mechanics. These changes are attributed to the need to reach out, communicate, and collaborate with their peers and look into how the system works for them individually, within the context of the learning and explorative needs of students. As such, gamified learning has not only managed to offer a new paradigm into the learning ecosystem but has also shown that positive changes can be cultivated based on these conditions.

Turkish Folk Music Lessons with Phenomenon-Based Learning: Preliminary Lessons and Results

This paper presents the results of a pre-experimental design. The study was carried out with a single-group posttest model. In this study, the Turkish Folk Music unit was chosen for investigation as part of Phenomenon Based Learning with 10th grade high school students. In order to carry out the Phenomenon Based Learning process in an effective way, the teacher is meant to be well-prepared in different aspects. Therefore, during the research, the music teacher tried different introductory and follow-up activities. Following this, the opinions of 84 high school students were considered, concerning the activities. Results revealed that the introductory activities have the utmost importance in Phenomenon Based Learning. Although this study was carried out within time constraints, it was evident that these activities had a great impact on the students and the teacher. The students’ discoveries and inferences about both Turkish Folk Music and themselves for the future emerged as promising.

Critical Perspective Analysis of Higher Education Studies in the Online Mode – Emerging Challenges and Solutions

Many academic institutions that had previously hesitated to modify their old pedagogical method had to opt for completely online modules due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. This paper provides insight into the perception of students of higher education concerning the online mode of learning. Data was collected from 310 students pursuing different courses. A questionnaire, divided into 7 sections was administered including: general information of students, time management, understanding of course content, view of students on assignments and submissions, ease and comfort of study, skill development and motivation, and course satisfaction. The data was analyzed quantitative analysis. Results showed that 72.4% of students do not prefer the online platform for learning and this view is contributed by parameters like net connectivity, time, overall development of the candidate and evaluation of the course outcomes. Various parameters such as internet connectivity, parallel data users, unwanted anxiety, extra time, comfort, understanding of the concepts, interaction, information absorption and retainment, course evaluation and assignments, expense comparison, skill development, lecture participation and extracurricular growth were mentioned. It is suggested that an alternative to classroom learning must be used to maintain one's academic progress.

Online Higher Education: The Importance of Students’ Epistemological Beliefs, Well-Being, and Fun

The global pandemic has accelerated the ‘move online’ of higher education in Indonesia. This study aimed to examine the relationship between Indonesian students’ experiences of studying online, their epistemological beliefs and their beliefs about fun in learning. A mixed method approach was used to examine this relationship in a sample of 774 students. A Principal component analysis (PCA) of questionnaire responses identified associations between social constructivist beliefs about learning and the centrality of fun in learning. The PCA was considered together with a thematic analysis of an open question ‘Has the COVID-19 situation changed your feelings about online study?’ This revealed the significance of the epistemic mismatch between many students’ beliefs and the transmissive online pedagogy that they described. This mismatch is implicated as a factor in understanding the students largely negative experiences of online study and the impact on their well-being, albeit within the context of a pandemic. This is the first time that this link has been proposed. The research indicates that examining students’ epistemological beliefs can offer insights that are helpful in understanding students’ educational engagement and well-being when studying online.

Effects of Gamified Learning on Students of Different Player Traits in Malaysia

Diversified learning is the path to supplement students’ needs in the contemporary generation. These students’ lives have revolved around technology since birth; as such, the role of technology cannot be ignored. Furthermore, this was prevalent during the lockdown imposed by the global pandemic which compelled the incorporation of educational technology into student’s lives. As gamification harnesses the power of game elements, identifying how gamified learning affects a student’s game player traits will be vital in identifying whether specific learning methods can invoke, change and cultivate better learning outcomes. This quasi-experimental study involving two groups of students learning computer science in Malaysia was carried out over eight weeks. Findings revealed that most prevalent player traits changes were evident in the primary construct of social player traits, followed by subconstructs of customization, relationship, socializing, and mechanics. These changes are attributed to the need to reach out, communicate, and collaborate with their peers and look into how the system works for them individually, within the context of the learning and explorative needs of students. As such, gamified learning has not only managed to offer a new paradigm into the learning ecosystem but has also shown that positive changes can be cultivated based on these conditions.

Sustaining Language Learning through Social Interaction at a Japanese National University

The careful use of online learning can achieve a variety of goals in sustainable education, such as providing access for students, particularly in times of crisis, as well as providing them with opportunities to study interdependently. Also, it gives them the opportunity to develop thinking skills and awareness to become active in working towards sustainable societies, ones where the actions of the current society do not damage the abilities of future generations to address their own needs. In this small-scale study at a Japanese national university, the switch from classroom-based teaching to online study in language education is considered in relation to flipped learning. This involved videoconferencing software and the organization of “study buddy” groups, supported by materials on a learning management system. The effect of the change has been investigated using a mixed-methods approach with survey data from students and data from two classroom observations by external observers. The data has been analyzed and framed in relation to sustainable education goals, produced by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), such as cooperation, interdependence, sense of responsibility, and international awareness. The author of this study found that the flipped learning approach was successful in building an online community and social interaction that provided the framework for achieving education for sustainability. In conclusion, the author considers how hybrid courses involving both classrooms and online technology may be the future for English language courses in Japanese universities.