Misconceptions are the obstacles in students' learning. Teachers play a major role in the learning of the students. Therefore, teachers should be aware of the nature of misconceptions and possible remedies to mediate the misconceptions. The present qualitative study was designed to investigate the chemistry teachers' understanding regarding students' misconceptions. The findings of the study will contribute towards the learning community and add up to the existing body of literature. It would be beneficial for the curriculum developers of teacher educators. It will also be advantageous to teacher trainers. The sample included 15 chemistry teachers who were selected purposively. Semi-structured interview was used as a tool for data gathering. The interview transcripts were transcribed after thematic description. The results revealed that most of the teachers understand the terminology of misconceptions. However, they do not possess the knowledge about the sources of these misconceptions and techniques to rectify them. In addition, the teachers do not consider the possible misconceptions that could generate from their teaching. On the basis of the findings, it is recommended to incorporate the techniques required for the mediation of misconceptions in the curriculum for teacher educators. It is necessary to equip teachers with essential capabilities of continuously identifying their students' misconceptions and implementing remedial instructional strategies.
This article focuses on assessing the performance of government secondary school head teachers in the context of heads' leader ship qualities, instructional behavior, capabilities of interpersonal relationships, professional attitude and managerial abilities. The small-scale survey was carried out in 2006 in district Mianwali, Pakistan. The sample comprised 150 secondary school teachers drawn at random from 15 government schools. Data was collected through a questionnaire comprising 38 items on a five-point rating scale on various aspects of head teacher performance. The instrument was validated through a pilot study and its reliability was established at 0.901 (Cronbach's alpha). Results revealed that the performance indicators of professional attitude, interpersonal relationship, leader ship qualities and managerial abilities were found to be better, but the aspect of instructional behavior was weaker among the head teachers. The performance of female head teachers in regard to instructional behavior, professional attitude and managerial abilities was found to be relatively better than those of their male counterparts. There were significant intercorrelations among all the independent variables of head teacher performance. K E Y W O R D S headteachers, instructional behavior, leadership qualities, managerial abilities, performance, professional attitude
Learner autonomy is considered as one of the most important factors contributing to lifelong learning for language learners studying at university. This is primarily because learners were likely to feel motivated and engaged when they were given the freedom to take charge of their learning. Higher Education in Oman has been relatively a recent phenomenon that was introduced three decades before. Ministry of Higher Education in Oman emphasis developing lifelong learning and self-study skills in learners studying at a higher educational institution in Oman. Most of the learners studying at higher educational institutions were taught by the native Arab speakers in schools, and they were mostly dependent on their teachers for the completion of different academic tasks in schools. Learner autonomy is now not desired but the obligatory aspect of learning under the current unprecedented circumstances where learners were required to take control of their learning, complete their tasks, assignments and projects on their own and where teacher intervention is minimal due to ‘remote teaching’ situation. The prevalent situation where technology has now taken the pivotal role in shaping the 21st century teaching and learning process, it is high need for the EFL learners studying at tertiary level at the university should be autonomous and critical thinkers who can control of their learning process and aware of the necessities of learning. Therefore, considering the learners’ spoon-feeding learning attitude at school and fast-changing learning requirement, the researcher aimed at identifying learners’ understanding and perceptions to achieve autonomy in learning in an EFL Context. This study also aims at finding out learners’ belief on the role of peers, teachers and social media in achieving autonomy in learning. By using mixed method approach, the researcher designed a 35-items Likert scale questionnaire and semi-structured interview questions to record the perceptions of 135 EFL learners studying at tertiary level in a private university in Oman. The results of the current study revealed that students were aware of the concept of learner autonomy and they believe that teacher’s scaffolding, peer intervention and use of social media platforms can not only help them to foster autonomy in them but also to gain confidence, motivation, self-esteem, sense of responsibility and self-determination in an EFL language learning environment. The implications of this research will assist the EFL teachers and the administration to consider EFL learners learning needs and learners’ self-efficacy and attitude towards their own learning.
The development of technology in the modern world has necessitated the evolution of paperless classrooms. However, the transformation of educational technology and educational resources has not been able to keep pace with the growth of digital technology that we witnessed in the employment sector. Even today, textbooks and notebooks are widely used as primary teaching and learning tools in many universities across the Arabian Peninsula. The academic community has been making conscious moves to migrate into paperless classrooms in many higher education institutions across Oman through the increased application of computer and internet technology for instructional purposes. The digital mode of instruction can be considered as a conscious attempt to prepare and equip the learners for the paperless digital era. The theory and practice of paperless classrooms are analyzed critically in the first part. The second part of the paper is more specifically an observational analysis of the undergraduate students of Dhofar University and their engagement with digital devices in the classroom. The present educational scenario in the Arabian Peninsula in general and Dhofar University in particular demand a serious study of the concept of paperless classrooms to equip the students to look beyond the classrooms into the challenging avenues of employment opportunities. This study is an attempt to critically examine the paperless mode of education in Oman with special reference to the learners of English at Dhofar University, Salalah, Oman. The study finds that paperless classrooms are more dynamic, engaging and productive that will enable learners not only to develop autonomous learning, data collection and analysis, collaboration and teamwork in the classroom but also delimiting the geographical and time restrictions. Paperless classrooms equip learners with the technological skills that are in demand in the 21st-century for employability, e-business and eCommerce.
The purpose of this study was to find out the examination practices in annual and semester system at public sector universities of the Punjab. The sample of the study was drawn from three public sector universities of the Punjab. All these three universities conduct exams both semester and annual-based. Data was collected from 600 students who appeared in examinations in annual and semester system in selected universities. Questionnaire was designed for students to know their opinion about annual and semester system examination For data analysis frequency count, mean, and standard deviation were calculated. Results of the study reveal that annual examination is conducted in more formal way as compared to semester exam; the final grades in annual system rely on final exam, questions and test in annual system are lengthy and long, there is sufficient choice of questions in annual exam as compared to semester exam and tests are more secure and confidential in annual system as compared to semester system.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.