The Reality of Using Modern Technology in Teaching Plastic Arts as Perceived by Female Art Teachers in Oman

The purpose of this study was to explore the actual usage of modern technology in teaching plastic arts as perceived by school art teachers in Oman. The sample consisted of 108 Omani female teachers. In order to answer the study questions, the researchers used the descriptive approach. A questionnaire was developed consisting of 26 items divided into three subscales. The results of the study showed a moderate usage of modern technology by art teachers. The results also revealed some main obstacles related to the use of modern technology including the overloaded teaching tasks handled by these teachers and the lack of classrooms equipped to use modern technology in school. The results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the teachers’ usage of modern technology due to their academic qualification, years of experience, and the location of the school. Keywords: Usage of modern technology, plastic arts, Oman

Exploration of the Characteristics of Animal Supply and Demand in University Experimental Teaching Pratice

The supply and demand of laboratory animals for teaching in colleges and universities has its own internal characteristics. To grasp the supply and demand characteristics of laboratory animals for teaching is of vital importance to the planning, supply and use of teaching animals, the realization of teaching objectives and the completion of teaching tasks. Based on the supply of teaching experimental animals and the work of animal experimental teaching in our university in recent years, this paper expounds the inherent characteristics and practice of supply and demand of teaching experimental animals.

The Status Quo and Improvement Methods of College Physical Education Evaluation

In the process of college physical education, teaching evaluation is one of the very important teaching tasks. Through a scientific and complete teaching evaluation system, the physical education process can be optimized to a certain extent, and the effective realization of physical education goals can be promoted to improve the college The quality and efficiency of physical education. This article first analyzes the status quo of college physical education evaluation, and then proposes some optimization and improvement measures for the problems found, hoping to improve the college physical education evaluation system and enhance the comprehensive ability of students.

Physiological Reactivity, Emotional Reactivity, and Parenting Skills in Families Experiencing Homelessness

Parenting skills consistently relate to positive adaptation in research on children experiencing homelessness. Emerging evidence suggests that emotional reactivity, expression, and regulation play a critical role in adaptive parenting behaviors. Studies of emotional reactivity in parents utilize different methods, including self-report, observations, and physiological measures. However, these methods are rarely evaluated together, particularly among disadvantaged families. The present study examined how subjective (i.e., self-report), observed, and physiological measures of parent emotional reactivity relate to each other and to observed parenting behaviors in parent-child interaction tasks comprised of problem-solving and teaching tasks. Participants included fifty 4- to 7-year-old children and their caregivers staying in an emergency homeless shelter. Observed and subjective emotional reactivity were largely uncorrelated, except in the case of positive emotions during problem-solving tasks. Adaptive parenting behavior was predicted by lower subjective and observed negative emotions and higher observed positive emotions during the problem-solving tasks, as well as higher observed positive emotions during the teaching tasks. Physiological reactivity did not relate to parenting behaviors across all tasks. Results suggest differential associations of varying indicators of emotional reactivity with parenting skills in different ways, depending on the type of parent-child interaction. Findings also suggest that positive emotional expression supports adaptive parenting behaviors in an emergency shelter setting.

Exploring motivation in music teachers: the case of three primary schools in Spain

Music teachers enjoy carrying out teaching tasks; indeed, such pleasure may be perceived even when authoritarian pedagogical methods are applied. In this study, we will explore music teacher motivation in classroom settings, collecting data from three educators through psychological scales, lesson observations and personal interviews. Results indicate that teacher motivation in classroom settings is affected by five internal and five external factors. Therefore, the study allows concluding that teacher motivation is also satisfied or thwarted by ideas that school members have about music education. Some practical implications are suggested.

Needful-motivational tasks as an effective condition for the technical training of schoolchildren aged 11-12 during the training of the volleyball section

Purpose: To develop a module of need-motivational training tasks of the section “Volleyball for students aged 11-12”. The experiment involved the schoolchildren aged 11-12 (n=43). The schoolchildren had no contraindication to the physical education. Classes according to the author’s module of need-motivational teaching tasks were conducted with the secondary school students of the fifth form “A” (n=22, experimental class). Pupils of the fifth form “B” (n=21) took a traditional training program during the physical education lesson of the “Volleyball” section. The study was conducted for two months (October-December 2018). Each pupil used a fitness bracelet during the class monitoring the heart rate at a physical education lesson. Special testing was used in three blocks. The first block is the calculation of the number of correctly performed technical actions with the ball without a partner. The second block is the calculation of the technical actions in pairs through the net. The third block is an educational game. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using t-student test. Results: A significant (p<0.01 and p<0.05) advantage of the secondary school students of the experimental class was revealed in comparison with another approach to teaching the technical elements of volleyball. A higher mastery level of the basic elements in volleyball was obtained according to the special set of tasks: receiving and passing the ball with two hands from above; receiving and passing the ball with two hands from below (in place, with various types of movements, with lightened and complicated conditions) Conclusions: It is proved that an increase of the theoretical needful-motivational teaching tasks during the physical education classes has a positive effect on the activation of motor activity of the schoolchildren. The synergetic relationship between theoretical and practical training allows to achieve personal, regulatory, communicative, cognitive and objective results.

Managing Fully Digitalised Foreign Language Teaching

The article summarises major points from the author’s book A Holistic Approach to Computerized Foreign Language Teaching. A review of the motives and the raison-d’etre of the approach is followed by practical solutions to teaching tasks using information and communication technologies.

Can undertaking teaching tasks help improve a hospital’s productivity and quality?

The objective of this study was to compare productivity growth and quality changes in teaching and non-teaching hospitals in Taiwan using a quality-based Malmquist productivity index under a metafrontier framework. Researchers have argued that teaching hospitals are more costly than non-teaching hospitals. Whether Taiwanese teaching hospitals operate with higher productivity than non-teaching hospitals is important to determine given increasing financial pressure on hospitals. The results of this study show that, among the Taiwanese teaching and non-teaching hospitals in the study sample, both types of institutions increased in productivity and improved in quality from 2008 to 2014. However, non-teaching hospitals saw much greater positive developments in productivity and quality than teaching hospitals. Therefore, additional teaching and research duties may influence the performance of teaching hospitals in provision of direct patient care.