Facebook or LMS in Distance Education? Why University Students Prefer to Interact in Facebook Groups

This article describes an investigation into the level of satisfaction among students at Spain’s National Distance Education University (UNED) regarding use of Facebook groups as an environment for learning. Based on a structural equation methodology, the research analyzed the most relevant personal and socio-educational factors that affect satisfaction. The sample consisted of 418 undergraduate and master’s degree students at UNED’s Faculty of Education; participants were consulted in three semesters between September 2019 and January 2021. The results showed that students who participated in Facebook study groups achieved better results than those who did not, and that they interacted more frequently in these groups than in UNED’s official learning management system. The main latent variables that influenced satisfaction with Facebook study groups were the perception of efficacy they elicited as a complement to distance learning by enabling greater interaction with other students, and the feeling of course companionship they provided. The absence of teacher control also influenced student satisfaction, which allowed students to focus on learning and achieving better results in tests and exams.

Testing as a Method of Teaching and Education in the Context of Learning History

The article is devoted to the description of the psychological, pedagogical, and methodological foundations of educational testing in the framework of mastering the educational program in history. The relevance of the study is due to the widespread use of distance learning technologies, which leads to a decrease of teacher control over the students during testing, on the one hand, and an increase of students’ independent work on the other. At the same time, the authors note that tests are usually used exclusively as a control and evaluation measure, but they also contain developmental potential. The novelty of the research lies in substantiating the possibility of using the test as a method of education in the context of mastering historical disciplines. The article describes a systematic algorithm for working with the test, which provides an elaboration of each of the elements of the testing and actualization of knowledge about the mentioned events. This method contributes to the formation of stable associative links, as well as methods for analyzing information and searching for an answer using contrario reasoning. The conclusion of the article describes the possibilities of using the test as a method of learning, self-training, and education, as well as the prospects for researching the effectiveness of using “learning testing”. The authors conclude that it is necessary to develop guidelines for learning testing.

“You’re Not Going to Get It Right Every Time”: Teachers’ Perspectives on Giving Voice to Students in Physical Education

This paper explored physical education (PE) teachers’ perspectives of giving voice to students to understand how the practice is enacted in lessons at a time of curricular reform. A qualitative comparative case study followed three teachers in a triad of Irish secondary schools, eliciting their experiences of giving voice to students using focus groups, interviews, and a reflection journal. Data were gathered and coded to identify emergent themes. The practices challenged included instruction, teacher control, and teacher–student relationships. The teachers demonstrated the capacity to activate students’ voices and respond, changing the way they perceived and facilitated the practice in PE. Worryingly, teachers made no connection between student voice and learning and assessment in PE and were not forthcoming implementing the practice in high-stakes examination scenarios. Research recognizing and appreciating the challenges and opportunities PE teachers face in attempting to acquire the spirit to do such work espousing reform is important to the field and our students.

Peran Guru IPA dalam Pemanfaatan Media Pembelajaran Interaktif

Inetractive learning media is a medium that can help students and teachers in learning. This study aims to see the role of science teachers in the use of instructional media. This type of research is qualitative non-experimental. The population of this study were students of SMPN 2 Singai Aur Pasaman Barat. Sampling using purposive sampling. Data were collected through a questionnaire with 2 indicators. Based on data analysis using statistical data in the form of percentages and relative frequencies, it was found that the indicator of teacher control of the media used had a score of 94.61% and the media indicators used were good, efficient, and could attract the attention of students in the learning process 88.31% so that it could be concluded that the role of science teachers in the use of interactive learning media has a score of 91.46% with a good category.

Why Do We Have Such Dilemmas?—An Reflection on Shadowing a PBL Mentor Teacher

The author reflects on six dilemmas that teachers and mentors may face during the implementation of project-based learning (PBL): (a) the conflict between student autonomy and teacher control, (b) the belief incongruence between a mentor and a mentee, (c) the gap between an advanced pedagogy and novice teachers, (d) the gap between a mentee’s need for more support and a mentor’s limited support, (e) the conflict between a mentor’s excessive modeling and a mentee’s need for practice, and (f) the problem that a mentor focuses more on student performance than on teacher growth. Understanding these dilemmas may improve PBL training.

Designing for the co-Orchestration of Social Transitions between Individual, Small-Group and Whole-Class Learning in the Classroom

Educational technologies are often developed such that students work on specific social levels (e.g., individual, small group, whole class) at specific times. However, in the reality of the classroom, learning activities are not so cleanly divided, with transitions occurring between social levels for students at different times. To support these social transitions in a way that can promote student learning, we need to lower the teacher’s orchestration load around managing fluid social transitions. Co-orchestration, in which the orchestration decisions are shared between different parties, can help to lower the orchestration load when it is designed according to the teacher’s values and classroom culture. In this paper, we present a taxonomy of social transitions and investigate how the responsibilities of orchestration can be divided between primary school teachers and a co-orchestration system in order to support the extension from rigid social transitions to fluid transitions in technology-enhanced classrooms. Across two studies, we used a design process involving co-design and prototyping with teachers. We uncovered and refined co-orchestration design desires that balance teachers’ orchestration loads while providing them with a sense of control. We present six design desires for maintaining a balance between teacher and system responsibilities regarding the orchestration of social transitions that can be implemented, such as in our mid-fidelity prototype, to support the range of social transitions. The list of desires contributes to co-orchestration research and more broadly technology design for classrooms by highlighting the changing balance of teacher control depending on what is the focus of the orchestration support.

WhatsApp™ as a Tool in Teaching Elementar Electrocardiogram in Medical Graduation

Objective: To observe whether the use of WhatsApp™ can contribute to the improvement and retention of ECG knowledge during medical graduation in a period-time of 4 months. Material and Methods: A controlled, quasi-randomized, intention-to-treat, clinical trial. Medical students of the 2nd and 3rd semester attended a 2-hour class on elementar ECG interpretation. A test with 10 ECG tracings covering subjects was applied with a possible 0-10 score at 4 different times: immediately before the lesson (M1), immediately after the lesson (M2), one month after the lesson (M3) and four months after the lesson (M4). Intervention group, formed by 2nd-semester students, were included, shortly after M2, in a WhatsApp™ group, in which final year medical students and a cardiology resident discussed ECG tracings frequently in the absence of a teacher. Control group, formed by 3rd-semester students, was instructed to study on their own. Results: 13 students were included from the 2nd semester and 11 from the 3rd semester. In M1, the intervention and control group obtained a median of 0.0. In M2, both groups presented a similar increase with a median of 4.0 (IIQ=2.8-5.0) for the intervention group and 4.5 (IIQ= 3.3-5.5) for the control group. In M3, there was a difference between group scores, with a median of 6.0 (IIQ= 3.5-7.0) for the intervention group and 2.0 (IIQ=0-4.0) for the control group (p=0.016). In M4, difference was maintained (4.0 for intervention group [IIQ= 3.0-6.3] vs. 1.0 [IIQ= 1.0-3.0] for control group [p= 0.006]). Conclusion: Early-stage medical students learned and retained more elementar ECG knowledge when participating in WhatsApp™ ECG group discussion with more advanced medical students and medical resident, even without a teacher in this group.

Show Them How, but Don’t Intrude: Autonomy Support Promotes EFL Classroom Attendance and Achievement, Teacher Control Hinders It

Moving from secondary to tertiary education, students in Japan often need extra support to become accustomed to the more autonomous learning environment of university. In order to document the influence university teachers may have on this process, I investigated how teachers support or thwart students’ autonomy, and the effects of these practices on attendance and achievement. 250 students from 4 universities completed surveys on their instructors’ teaching styles. Students who perceived more support from their teachers showed higher attendance and achievement, while students who perceived more intrusive teaching had lower attendance and course grades. Implications for teaching at the university level are discussed. 中等教育から高等教育へ移る中で、学生は、より自律した学習環境に慣れる為のサポートがしばしば必要になる。この論文では、大学教員の学生に対する自律の支援または自律へのお節介な介入が出席率や学習達成度に及ぼす影響を検討するため、四校の大学から250名の学生を調査し、教員による自律への支援・介入の授業スタイルについてアンケートを実施した。アンケートの結果、自律支援が学生の出席率と学習達成度を高める一方、自律への介入を感じた学生は出席率と学習達成度が低くなったことがわかった。この調査結果がもたらす高等教育現場への影響を論じる。

Undermining teaching: How education consultants view the impact of high-stakes test preparation on teaching

The outcomes of high-stakes tests (HST) in New York schools have consequences for teachers and administrators, as students’ results became quality indicators for school administration and instruction. Education consultant’s views offer an independent perspective of the HST environment. Data were collected from education consultants through a survey and interviews. Findings linked HST with reduced teacher control in instructional planning, curriculum narrowing and increased test preparation. These practices were associated with decreased collaboration and increased teacher and administrator stress. Foucault’s “governmentality” and concepts of neoliberal education policy framed aspects of the study. This study indicates that the consequences of HST require critical interrogation as HST practices have adverse impacts on teacher and administrator agency and student outcomes.