PurposeThis paper intended to explore the knowledge and use of the digital verbs and tools by the students and teachers for conceptual understanding in the virtual and conventional learning environment. The study also explored the use of such digital tools for lower- and higher-order thinking.Design/methodology/approachA survey research method was used for the study. All the students and teachers of the faculty of education from one virtual and one conventional university were the population of this study. Teachers were selected through census sampling. Student enrollment in the faculty of education of the virtual university during Spring 2019 was 1,139 while the conventional university had 1,809 students. In total, 20% of the students from each of the two universities were sampled by using a convenient proportionate sampling technique. A questionnaire was developed by the researchers and validated by three experts before administration. The reliability of the instrument was a = 0.934. Mean, SD, parametric and nonparametric statistics were applied for data analysis.FindingsThe study reveals that the students of ODL are far better in using digital tools and activities that is, googling, collaborating and Skyping. They are good at understanding and application levels and are involved in higher-order thinking tasks, that is, publishing and podcasting as well. Unlike the students, the teachers of the virtual university are using digital tools of lower-order thinking. The authors infer that the students and teachers of the online universities are using these tools regularly because of the demands of the ODL environment. These findings suggest further research to explore the factors that hinder the use of higher-order thinking skills by the teachers in the online environment.Originality/valueThe study suggests the adoption of Bloom's digital taxonomy in teaching–learning processes, that is, curriculum, instructions and assessment for the millennials. The findings may motivate the online and conventional higher education institutions to adopt digital pedagogy for instructional purposes as the students of the digital age are already extensively involved with digital tools.
In addition to conventional modes, teacher education programs in Pakistan are also offered through online and distance education. Teaching practice is a significant component of pre-service teacher education programs. Assessing the quality of teaching practice for pre-service student teachers is important, as these modules train the prospective teachers for their professional teaching careers. Virtual University of Pakistan (VU), an online university, offers pre-service teacher education programs. This research is an investigation into the learning opportunities and practices of VU student teachers in their teaching practice modules. Students enrolled in different teacher education programs served as the population of this study. Those in the fall 2018 semester who were enrolled in teaching practice modules were selected as a sample. Data sources included lesson plans prepared, lessons delivered, administrative and co-curricular duties performed by the students, as well as evaluation reports by supervisors, cooperating teachers, and school principals. There were improvements in the student teachers’ lesson plan formation and their overall learning. Data obtained through personal visits by VU faculty was used to verify and assess actual classroom teaching. Lack of regular attendance and punctuality by student teachers was observed as a result. Internal review of the VU system as it relates to the teaching practice modules was conducted to address any shortcomings in the course(s), its procedures, and its controls. Recommendations for improving the system, such as grading the modules, peer-assessment, and orientation workshops for student teachers are provided, as well as suggestions for developments in the teaching practice modules themselves.
Academic performance of students has always been the area of concern for educational institutions as it is a key indicator of institutional quality. In order to have a better quality output the higher education institutions set some admission criteria such as scores on specified international standardized tests, previous academic qualifications, and admission tests of students or a combination of such scores. Virtual University of Pakistan (VU) is a technology-based distance learning institution that facilitates students who are unable to attend traditional institutions of higher education for a variety of reasons. It was of interest to the researchers to study the entry qualifications of students i.e. the admission criteria, as predictor of their academic performance in various degree programs at VU. For that purpose, the data of 5825 graduates in different two years masters programs in 2015-16 were taken as sample. The entry qualifications of students, and cumulative scores of their previous academic qualifications were taken as predictors of their performance i.e. cumulative grade point average (CGPA,) in relevant degree program. Descriptive (range, percentage) and inferential (pearson r, multiple regression) statistics were applied after grouping the students into low, average and high achievers on cumulative scores as well as entry qualification scores. The results showed significant differences in the predictions and their implications are useful for policy makers and relevant departments of the university as well as for other distance learning educational institutions.
Pakistan has a variety of privately managed schools. Inspired by thecorporate model the large school systems offer franchise to the smallschools in the name of better quality education leading to better marketacceptability. This study was conducted to find out the difference in thequality of education provided by the franchise and independent privatesecondary schools. Ten schools of a renowned large spread schoolsystem were selected conveniently and ten independent schools wereselected from the same localities for ensuring similarity of the context.Quality of education was define dalong input, process and product/outputindicators. Opinion of Head Teachers (HTs)/ School principals wasgathered through a questionnaire consisting five point rating scale oninput and process indicators. Opinion of HTs about input indicators wasvalidated through direct observation of the input indicators in the schoolsby one of the researchers. Students’ achievement scores in thematriculation examination conducted by the Board of Intermediate andSecondary Education, Lahore were the indicator of quality output. TheHTs of the two types of schools perceived no significant difference in thequality of input and process at their schools but the independent schoolsscoring slightly better on each of the two indicators. However, theindependent private schools were significantly superior to the franchiseschools in quality of output in terms of students’ pass percentage anddistribution over grades. Thus, the claim of franchising for better qualityeducation was not supported by this research.
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