1,720,957 research outputs found
A study on Grade 12 teachers' understanding and application of reflective teaching and learners' performance in the Zambezi region
No full textA dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Education (Curriculum Instruction and Assessment Studies)Grade 12 learners’ academic performance remains a concern in the Zambezi Region since 2010. The Region has lagged to the bottom of the national rankings in the Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary (NSSCO) level results consecutively in four academic years: 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2016 (Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, 2010 - 2016). The (NSSCO) level results of 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 were not different from this observed trend. This study identified the lack of reflective teaching as one of the factors that contributes to poor performance of leaners, among others. Reflective teaching should be viewed as a teachers’ tool for professional growth and development, rather than a stumbling block in the day to day teaching / learning activities. Though there are other variables that are known to influence learners’ academic performance, this study focused on the teachers’ understanding and application of reflective teaching and its influence on learners’ academic performance. Literature indicates the need for teachers to engage in reflective teaching in order to enhance learning and the academic performance of learners.
The study followed a mixed methods case study design. In this study, the target population were all senior secondary school (Grade11-12) teachers in the Zambezi educational region. A purposively selected sample of five senior secondary schools out of ten was considered for this study. Stratified purposive sampling was applied in selecting the fifteen teachers to participate in this study. The school principals automatically constituted the sample of the study which implied that the inclusive sample of this study was twenty participants (teachers and principals included).
In this study, the theoretical premises and the methodological solutions are influenced by three theories that align closely with reflective teaching, learners’ performance and
view learning and teaching as a constructed phenomenon; namely the social constructivism theory, cognitive constructivism theory and the metacognition theory.
Instruments that were used to identify teachers’ reflective teaching skills were: Reflective Teaching Closed and Open - ended Questionnaire (RTCOEQ) Appendix A for teachers, Reflective Teaching Lesson Observation Checklist (RTLOC) Appendix B for teachers and the Reflective Teaching Interview Schedule (RTIS) Appendix C for teachers and principals. In this study, common trends in the data collected were analysed by adapting the steps developed by Creswell and Clark (2018) for data analysis. The findings of this study revealed that teachers were not well trained to effectively execute reflective teaching in their classes. Teacher who endeavoured to apply reflective teaching complained that lack of time and equipment prevented them from effectively applying reflective teaching. Some school principals’ definition of reflective teaching confirmed the need to equip teachers with skills and knowledge in reflective teaching. This led to the conclusion that the current observed poor performance of grade 12 learners in the NSSCO examinations in the Zambezi region is directly or indirectly related to the absence of effective reflective teaching in that region. It was therefore recommended that opportunities be availed where teachers can upgrade their skills and knowledge on reflective teaching. In response to the identified needs of teachers’ in reflective teaching, this study produced a tool (a teacher’s guide in reflective teaching) to help guide teachers in executing reflective teaching. Further research is recommended into what evidence and criteria shape judgements about reflective teaching and how the school based staff may effectively incorporate reflective teaching in their daily learning and teaching activities
Teachers' perceptions on reflective practice in teaching at Dawid Bezuidenhout high school
No full textA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education.This study was carried out in order to investigate the perceptions of teachers on reflective practice and teaching at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School and how their perceptions may impact on teaching and learning. The following were the main objectives of the research: To investigate the views of teachers at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School on reflective practice in teaching; to examine the application of reflective practice in teaching (by teachers) at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School and to establish the overall engagement of teachers in reflective teaching at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School in order to recommend improvements where necessary. A qualitative approach to conducting research was used in this study and fourteen teachers were purposefully selected to participate in the study. Three types of data tools were used to gather information. These tools were; the lesson observation schedule, the interview schedule and an open ended questionnaire. The findings of the research revealed that most teachers at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School are familiar with the concept of reflective practice. It was further found that some teachers were engaged in the process of reflective practice, which they viewed as a necessity to improve their teaching. The data also revealed that most teachers, who applied reflective practice in their teaching, used reflective journaling and reflective supervision. It was found that a certain number of teachers were not engaged in reflective practice. One of the participants stated that “there is no time to do reflections on the lesson presented because the syllabus is extensive and the time needs to be used to finish the syllabus’’. In this study, the following are some of the major recommendations proposed: The Ministry of Education and other relevant structures should enforce reflective practice in schools and in all teacher training institutions in order to encourage critical thinking in teachers. Prior to the official introduction of reflective practice in all schools, the researcher would like to recommend that; the management of Dawid Bezuidenhout High School should hire a specialist in reflective practice to conduct a workshop on reflective practice at the beginning of the year 2013 when the schools re-open. This would equip teachers with the skills necessary to engage in reflective practice. The researcher further recommends that universities and teaching colleges in Namibia and the world at large should consider introducing or emphasizing the inclusion of reflective practice in the teachers training programs. This would encourage professional growth in teachers. It is also recommended that, further research should be carried out in order to investigate the teachers training programs in order to find out how they prepare teachers to become critical thinkers, lastly to investigate the perceptions of teachers in any region in Namibia about reflective practice and teaching as well as how their perceptions affect teaching and learning. This would be necessary as it would provide a broader view of teachers’ perception on reflective practice
High school teachers’ perceptions on reflective practice in teaching at one selected school in Khomas region, Namibia
No full textThis paper presents a case study of high school teachers’ perceptions on reflective practice in teaching at one selected school in the Khomas region. A qualitative approach was used in this study and fourteen teachers were purposefully selected to participate in the study.
Three types of data tools were used to gather information, namely; the lesson observation schedule, the interview schedule and an open-ended questionnaire. The data from the questionnaire was thematically analysed. The views of the teachers on reflective practice
were transcribed, analysed, and presented in the descriptive form and the data from classroom observations? The findings revealed that most teachers at the selected school were familiar with the concept of reflective practice and they used reflective journaling and reflective supervision. Based on the study findings, it can be concluded that the teachers had different views on reflective practice in teaching. The majority indicated that reflective practice is a crucial component of teaching and learning and should be incorporated in daily teaching, while few teachers were of the opinion that reflective practice takes time away from valuable teaching time and as such, it should not be a component of the teaching process. It is recommended that further studies are needed to get a broader view of teachers’ perceptions in Namibia on reflective practice
High school teachers’ perceptions on reflective practice in teaching at one selected school in Khomas region, Namibia
No full textThis paper presents a case study of high school teachers’ perceptions on reflective practice in teaching at one selected school in the Khomas region. A qualitative approach was used in this study and fourteen teachers were purposefully selected to participate in the study. Three types of data tools were used to gather information, namely; the lesson observation
schedule, the interview schedule and an open-ended questionnaire. The data from the questionnaire was thematically analysed. The views of the teachers on reflective practice were transcribed, analysed, and presented in the descriptive form and the data from classroom observations? The findings revealed that most teachers at the selected school were familiar with the concept of reflective practice and they used reflective journaling
and reflective supervision. Based on the study findings, it can be concluded that the teachers had different views on reflective practice in teaching. The majority indicated that reflective practice is a crucial component of teaching and learning and should be incorporated in daily teaching, while
few teachers were of the opinion that reflective practice takes time away from valuable teaching time and as such, it should not be a component of the teaching process. It is recommended that further studies are neede
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
- …
