E-learning has become a viable mean to both Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and Small Private Open Courses (SPOCs). Research has shown that the quality and effectiveness of these types of courses depend largely on the contextual factors that may impact the design and development of online courses. This study highlights a design framework for a SPOC offered at Sultan Qaboos University. It employs a design-based research methodology, which is a systematic research approach aimed to improve instructional practices through iterative analysis, design, development, and implementation to produce contextually-sensitive design principles. The sample of this study consists of a diverse group of subjects including instructional designers, subject-matter experts, as well as students. The findings illustrate the importance of contextual logistics that need to be considered in the design and development of SPOCs. The findings also highlight the importance of the DBR as a suitable research methodology for similar developmental studies.

In this study in which case study – one of the qualitative research methods - was used, it was aimed to assess the effects of covid-19 pandemic on preschool education by teachers. Preschool teachers working in 14 provinces where the number of cases is high form the universe of the study. Sample group is 140 teachers in total. So as to get data for the study, survey questions prepared by the researcher and submitted to expert opinion and structured interview forms were used. The findings of the study are as follows: preschool children had feelings of anxiety, fear and longing all together during this process and they wanted to return to their schools as soon as possible. Similarly, most of the teachers were highly concerned and worried. The teachers attended online educations related to their professional development during the process of staying home. Before Covid-19 came to Turkey, the schools did not take any measures; then, when distance education started, all schools were disinfected, the materials and toys in the classrooms were put aside after disinfection. Distance education process was quite difficult in preschool education; all the teachers taught in line with their own initiatives. During this process, while the activities most preferred by the teachers were games and art activities, the activities having pandemic theme were experiments and dramas about hygiene. Distance education increased parent participation to preschool education and this had a positive effect on parent-child interaction. In the distance education process, by establishing platforms intended for preschools, suggestions to make more and professional activities, to have common actions in cooperation with schools and to train parents were made.

In modern times, the importance of education cannot be overstated. Beyond the acquisition of knowledge, perhaps the most important aim of education may be the development of character in individuals, including vitality, courage, sensitiveness, and intelligence, from which our society may experience increased prosperity, peace, and freedom. In this paper we address the daunting challenge of achieving successful, widespread, and inclusive university education. How do we enliven and engage the students in our classrooms? How can we help each and every student in the class self-actualize and reach the highest potential for learning? Active learning is one well-established and potent solution for accelerating the accumulation of knowledge. In this paper, an experiment in active learning utilizing team-based adaptive online quizzes in an introductory math finance course involving 378 undergraduate students over two years is conducted to explore the potency of this active learning methodology compared to a control group with traditional teaching. We find active learning unambiguously improves knowledge accumulation in the individual students, while simultaneously bolstering inclusive excellence across all students in the class, as measured by a relevant and meaningful quantitative metric. The paper concludes with a discussion comparing the quality of active vs. traditional teaching methods and offers interpretations of the quantitative results. The results of this paper support the widely accepted theme in the literature that active learning has a positive effect on student performance in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) courses.

This article examines how the crisis of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) became a crucible, or a means of transformation, for global educators. How teachers leverage their lived experience of teaching through the implications of COVID-19 to transform identity and practice is a new phenomenon and merits examination. Through a collection of interviews, the ways in which the life experiences of teaching through COVID-19 worked to create new identities in teachers and new practices within the classroom is examined. Data was gathered through informal interviews from eleven educators teaching through the crisis of COVID-19 across the world, including four continents and six countries. Drawing on simple thematic analysis, a narrative approach was utilized to examine the process of transformation in teachers across the globe. The findings and analysis of this research will help those working with teachers better understand how teachers leverage a crisis be it COVID-19, or another disruptive force, as a crucible for transformation.

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has increased anxiety and stress among teacher education managers and has given rise to the question of whether they have the competencies to execute their operational responsibilities productively. The theories of resilience and transformational leadership underpin this study in which teacher education managers’ resilience and their responsiveness to the well-being of staff executing their operational practices in an open distance e-learning context were explored. A qualitative approach was adopted and virtual video conferencing interviews with teacher education managers were used to explore how they mitigated their strategic and operational roles and their managerial functions to ensure the well-being and organisational performance of staff working from home. Results revealed the experiences of distance managers to have been positive in that they implemented organisational strategies to mitigate the challenges faced to ensure wellness and performance among staff working from a distance. Further research applying a mixed-method design should be undertaken to determine how resilient managers and staff working from home are. That may yield different results.

Various studies have shown that teachers are subject to an increased stress level and the associated physical and psychological consequences. In this article, the possibilities of coping of stressful situations in everyday school life are systematized. In addition, the knowledge and usage of available programs and trainings for coping with stress at school in German-speaking countries will be assessed. This is a descriptive study based on a survey of 32 teachers. Effects due to contextual variables (gender, school type, and work experience) were examined. The results indicate that only a few of the programs surveyed are known and used in schools. Effects in connection with the gender of the teachers as well as their professional experience could not be determined. Instead, significantly more special education teachers knew and used programs to strengthen protective context factors (school type effect). The fact that a high proportion of teachers are unaware of and do not use available programs, despite their high importance for healthy coping with personal job demands, suggests deficiencies in teacher education and training. In addition, lack of resources at schools may be limiting. The successful management of stressful situations must not be seen as a task for individual employees; rather, systemic solutions must be found. Particularly due to the increased stress experienced by teachers in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, aspects of health promotion in schools should play a significant role. The aim must be to provide more detailed information about stress management approaches in schools and to support their implementation.

During the period of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the boundaries between the home and the school as study spaces were blurred. School studies entered the home, with the parents present and observing their children’s e-lessons and the teachers’ teaching methods. The purpose of the current study was to explore the explicit and implicit attitudes of the lesson partners: teachers, parents, and students, to e-learning. The study explores whether and to what degree the attitudes of teachers, students, and parents to e-teaching are compatible, and what are the implications for the future. The study shows that although in recent years the relationships between parents and the school and between teachers and students have waned, with regard to the separation of authorities between the home and school, the period of the COVID-19 crisis clarified the need to enhance the relationship and cooperation between the home and the school as two meaningful study spaces for independent learners. The research findings raise the paradox that not only does technology not increase the distance rather it has the potential to strengthen the relationships between parents, teachers, and the school. The study points to the need to prepare holistic guidance sessions and professional development courses.

Technical and pedagogical counseling as accompaniment benefits teachers’ development. However, there are information gaps on the specific impact of counseling with a socio-formative approach on both professionalization and the improvement of teaching practice. The objective is to analyze the relationship between these three elements. A cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach was employed. A validated questionnaire was applied to a representative sample of 212 teachers. The information analysis was carried out through statistics: descriptive, correlational, and linear regression, whose level of significance was: <.01-. 05. Teachers consider that technical and pedagogical counseling from socio-formation fosters the development of an ethical life project, promotes problem solving in their educational practice, collaborative work, metacognition, and entrepreneurship (92.78 ± 14.3). The correlational analysis showed a significant relationship between socio-formative pedagogical technical counseling and teaching practice, the latter of which was enhanced by the former. In the linear regression analysis, the best model of pedagogical technical counseling is made from socio-formation, which predicts a 71% improvement of teaching practice. As a result, this form of counseling benefits both professionalization and teaching practice through metacognition.

During the pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), English as a foreign language (EFL) students have to study and submit their assignments and quizzes through online systems using electronic files instead of hardcopies. This has created an opportunity for teachers to use computer tools to conduct preliminary assessment of the students’ writing performance and then give advice to them timely. Hence, this paper proposed some indicators which were essay readability scored by Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), length of essays, errors in writing and a method to assist the teachers in providing writing feedback to the students. The results showed a large difference in FRE, the number of words, sentences, paragraphs and errors. The K-means clustering findings were applied to classify groups of students based on writing proficiency indicators. The findings also revealed that the number of words and sentences in the essays indicated some deficiencies. The concept of paragraph should be reinforced while some specific errors such as misspelling, grammatical and typographical errors found need to be eliminated. This study showcased that the computer tools should be integrated to process the students’ essays so that the teachers can pinpoint the problems and make suggestions to their students in appropriate time. Lastly, the results can be served as the guidelines for the teachers to develop and adjust teaching materials pertinent to writing to enhance the writing performance of EFL learners.

Technological advances and the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have forced higher education institutions to be innovative in delivering education in their countries. E- assessment using e-portfolio illustrates the importance of assessment practices that promote constructivist perception, allowing students to create their own learning as active participants through innovative learning and assessment activities. The purpose of this paper was to explore lecturer’s understandings on the functionality of e-portfolio as an alternative assessment in an Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL). For this qualitative study, within an interpretative paradigm, interviews were conducted with four lecturers using thematic approach. The findings revealed that e-portfolio is beneficial for assessment in the ODeL as it allows students the opportunity to self-embrace their learning, e-portfolio enhances student-centeredness through authentic assessment practices. However, e-portfolio is not implemented to its potential due to challenges and constraints experienced by lecturers. Based on the findings, it is recommended that training workshops beneficial for lecturers should be conducted at the beginning of the course/module on how to create their e-portfolios. Furthermore, an e-portfolio assessment framework to be facilitated for the successful implementation of e-portfolio assessment strategy.  

Open educational resources (OER) are an innovation coined to bridge the educational divide by providing free quality learning resources. Consequently, this study explored the perception of the Namibian open and distance learning institutions' perception of the use of OER as a pedagogical approach. The study focused on faculty members from the three public ODL institutions in Namibia. Integrated theories with a qualitative case study and interpretivist paradigm underpin this study. Qualitative methodologies were used to collect and analyse data. This study showed an inconsistency between the faculty members' perceptions and OER use within the ODL institutions in Namibia. Although the faculty members displayed positive attitudes towards the use of OER, very little has been achieved in the use of OER within the institutions for the benefit of the Namibian ODL students. The study identified various challenges that impede OER adoption at the institutional level. Recommendations were formulated to address the identified challenges.

Lecturers have different perceptions of the effect of internal continuous assessment (ICASS) on students at tertiary vocational education and training (TVET) colleges. This qualitative multiple case study explored computer practice module lecturer’s experience of internal continuous assessment (ICASS) in three KwaZulu-Natal TVET colleges. Six lecturers were purposively selected from three KwaZulu-Natal TVET colleges. Drawing from an interpretivist perspective, constructivist theory entailing cognitive and social constructivism guided this study. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Collected data were transcribed, categorized into codes and themes emerged using thematic data analysis method. The findings revealed that it was difficult to complete the curriculum due to limited time and assessments methods were limited and did not meet the diverse needs of students. Lecturers had to work beyond the set assessment schedules to cater students who missed or scored below average marks. Moderation and assessment feedback were not considered as a critical aspect in the ICASS. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis hindered the successful implementation of the ICASS. It is recommended that the policy makers should insist TVET college managements to offer specialized in-service training for lecturers’ professional development and upgrade the infrastructure and equipment. Time should be set for teaching activities to enhance effective learning so that extra lectures can be offered to students with limited or no previous computer knowledge and encourage them to follow the comments by lecturers as a corrective assessment feedback. It is concluded that lecturers should use diverse assessment methods to improve students’ ICASS.

There are pedagogical challenges for the ideal balance of online community building and interaction among students and instructors for HyFlex learning. One of the challenges focuses on how instructors can effectively select and design an online discussion modality to promote positive, vigorous, and encouraging online asynchronous discussion to engage students. This research study adopted an exploratory mixed method approach designed to investigate student’s satisfaction level and academic performance with different interface design platforms for online discussion in HyFlex delivery modality education courses. Study results indicated that different interface design for online discussion platforms had a significant impact on students’ academic achievement for online discussion assessment although there is no significant impact on students’ overall satisfactory levels toward the courses. Implications from the results suggest a need to design and integrate effective online discussion platform to engage students and promote social learning in HyFlex learning environments.

Due to the pandemic in many countries, schools were closed in 2020. Therefore, education was suspended, and distance education was started. During the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, teachers gave lessons online in virtual classrooms. In this study, Scale of Attitudes Towards Online Formative Assessment (S-AOFA) for teachers conducting online and distance courses was developed, and the teachers' attitudes were examined with respect to demographic variables. In the study conducted in the mixed-design method, qualitative and quantitative data were collected for the scale development and survey. Data were obtained from 369 teachers (science teacher, mathematics teacher, classroom teacher, and teachers in other fields) working in school in Turkey. S-AOFA was made up of 20 items and two factors as a five-point Likert-type. When the teachers' attitudes towards online formative assessment (AOFA) was examined, it was found that the mean for the factor of "Assessment Systems" was lower than that of the "Assessment Approaches". In addition, the findings revealed that there was no significant difference in the teachers' AOFA in terms of gender and that no significant difference existed in AOFA with respect to the school levels of the teachers (elementary, secondary and high school). Moreover, the results demonstrated that there was a low negative significant relationship between the teachers' AOFA and the number of students in which virtual lessons were given online. Lastly, there was a low level positive significant relationship between the teachers' AOFA and the in-class participation percentages of the students who were taught online in virtual classrooms. S-AOFA could be used by researchers in different studies in future.

Research shows that children's reading proficiency levels in the early grades positively correlate with students' future academic achievement. This study provides the first-ever analysis of reading achievement trajectories for a cohort of students in grades 3 to 5 in 2014–17 in Hawaii schools. Hawaii serves a diverse student population whose characteristics differ in ways often overlooked by standard US racial and ethnic classifications. Our analysis shows that Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students not only start at a lower reading proficiency than their peers in Grade 3, but the achievement gap widens as they move from Grade 3 to Grade 5. Moreover, we find a strong association between students' third-grade performance and reading achievement growth rate above and beyond all other factors in our longitudinal model. The difference in performance patterns between student subgroups across the elementary grades can serve as an accurate baseline for yearly monitoring. In light of our findings, we discuss implications for policy and practice.

South Africa, like other countries in the world, went into lockdown due to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which meant closure of venue-based exam centres, university libraries and academic offices for more than three months. This encounter forced higher institutions of learning to review and reconfigure their assessment practices and conduct alternative assessment practises like timed exams, take home exams, randomised multiple-choice examinations and an online portfolio. Over and above that South Africa experienced load shedding (interruptions to electricity supply) and connectivity challenges which impacted the online examinations. This paper explores the experiences of lecturers whilst administering online examination at a South African Open Distance e-Learning university during COVID-19. Data collected from the lecturers who administered online examination through semi-structured interviews. Thematic analyses were used to analyse the data. Lecturers reported on student challenges related to time allocation, exam security, internet connectivity and data access, digital incompetency and support received from the information communication technology (ICT) department. Academics’ reflection suggests that the system and students were not fully prepared and ready to write the online examination. The researchers propose continued technical and technological education and support for academics and students. Therefore, in line with these experiences, it is important to conduct further the research.

Teacher professionalism is needed for quality education. The current practice for increasing teacher professionalism is to use skill applications. However, the implementation of skill applications has, in fact, not succeeded in significantly increasing teacher professionalism. This study aims to explain the importance of an effective skill application model coupled with a comprehensive approach to raise the level of teacher competence. This study is qualitative with its data derived from observations, interviews, and questionnaires. The paper's research findings show that existing programs are not sufficiently enhancing teacher competencies and professionalism. Various teacher professional development activities are conducted; however, there has been no continuous post-activity follow-up. These professional development activities tend only to fulfill the administrative requirements for teacher promotion. What is needed is a comprehensive and continuous teacher professionalism assessment model, which is underpinned by a system of mentoring. This study has implications for evaluating the teacher's professional competencies. More comprehensive skill applications need to be formulated as part of an integrated, sustainable, and mentoring [terpadu, sustainable, pendampingan-TSP] approach to develop teacher professionalism significantly.

This study aimed to develop an instrument to assess science teacher candidates’ professional and pedagogical competence in the Industrial revolution 4.0. The instrument consisted of 30 questions and was used in the main study, which was analyzed using the Rasch model to unravel the reliability and empirical validity. The questions were developed based on a predetermined grid including the skills and literacy aspects used in the industrial revolution 4.0. The 30 revised questions were then tested on 60 students of Science Education at two State universities in Indonesia who were in their third year of study times. The Rasch model was employed to test its reliability and empirical validity that included Wright map analysis, item difficulty level, distractor analysis, and item suitability with the Rasch model. The results showed that the reliability value of the professional aspect was .95 and classified as an excellent category. Moreover, the pedagogic aspect obtained .93 and was classified as a very good category. Only one question was the most difficult and did not fit the Rasch model, while the others already fitted. This reliable and valid instrument is suggested to be useful in assessing pre-service science teachers’ competence.

This research aims to develop the product of the life skill education program (LSEP) which is accurate, credible, and effective. This research used the Plomp model. The model covers the input, process, output, outcome and consists of instrument, scoring guidance, and good or bad criteria. The instruments used in the model are the questionnaire, observation sheet and interview guide. The content validity of the questionnaire and observation sheet was proved by expert judgement and continued by using the Aiken Formula, the construct validity of the questionnaire was proved by the construct validity using the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The content validity of the questionnaire and observation sheet involved 9 validity experts. The questionnaire construct was done in two steps; the first step involved 65 students analyzed using EFA and the second step involved 199 students analyzed with CFA. The reliability of the observation sheet and questionnaire was estimated by using the Cronbach Alpha technique. The result of the trial model and its analysis shows that all the instruments are good. LSEP model is tested by involving 15 students in the course and training institute. The result of the trial model shows that the model is effective because the users explains that the model is: a) comprehensive, covering many components and sub component programs such as the input, process, output, outcome, b) practical, simple and easy in usage, c) economical, not needing much cost, energy, and time, also d) supported by valid and reliable data collection instrument.

The purpose of this qualitative research is to analyze the reflective thinking process of prospective elementary teacher in numeracy problems in terms of their mathematical disposition. The subjects in this study were 26 prospective elementary school teachers who had attended elementary mathematics lectures. The focus in this research is the process of mathematical reflective thinking in solving story problems of a two-variable linear equation system in terms of the level of mathematical disposition. The research instrument consisted of a disposition questionnaire, a reflective thinking ability test and the researcher himself as the main instrument. Good mathematical reflective thinking skills are supported by disposition, by constantly monitoring one's own performance, reflecting on one's own performance, reasoning on one's own performance, considering the overall situation, the habit of analyzing the relationship between variables, being flexible in various alternative solutions to mathematical problems and trying to solve mathematical problems. From the results of this study, lecturers can develop learning media, scaffolding, or teaching materials that accommodate different dispositional abilities of prospective teachers that can be used to improve the reflective thinking process.