JCTE

Role of University Department Heads in Providing Feedback to the Teachers

2024-10-02T07:12:31+00:00

This study highlights the critical role of leadership in delivering feedback to educators concerning their instructional practices,
professional growth, and the research environment. Qualitative research with a phenomenological research design was used to
investigate the findings. Utilizing a convenient sampling method, interviews were conducted with three department heads and eleven
teachers from the University of the Punjab, Lahore. Separate semistructured interview protocols were created for both heads and teachers. Thematic analysis was applied to derive the findings. The results indicated that feedback from department heads enhances teachers' instructional capabilities, thereby contributing to quality education. Feedback is provided during staff meetings, and individual discussions are held to address specific concerns. Additionally, department heads foster a research-oriented culture among teachers by facilitating participation in seminars, conferences, and international trips. Teachers reported that while feedback on professional development is offered, there are limited resources and avenues for their professional advancement. Some educators noted that their heads create opportunities for networking through seminars, workshops, and conferences. Furthermore, university faculty face constraints in accessing resources necessary for professional excellence. In situations where resources are scarce, it is imperative for heads to ensure equitable access for all teachers and to allocate resources to affiliated instructors in a fair manner.

Delays in the Execution of Inclusive Education (IE): Preparedness of Education System in Punjab

2024-06-04T05:55:09+00:00

Present study explores reasons for delays in the execution of inclusive education practices in Punjab and assessed the education system's preparedness for this task. Questions of the study were: what is current position of IE in schools working in SED across Punjab? Is School Education Department of Punjab ready to accommodation of children with disabilities in mainstream schools, with reference to admission policy, physical arrangements, teacher preparation, syllabus, coordination among allied authorities? Population encompassed educational stakeholders of SED and SPED. Purposive sample was collected from the professionals working at the top management of SED, PMIU, QAED, PEC, & SpED). Qualitative data was gathered through in-depth interviews with stakeholders from various departments. Key findings include, delayed practices, lack of commitment, insufficient dedication from stakeholders, poor coordination between departments were major obstacles to implementation of IE. In addition to this, rapid transfer creates disruptive impact to sustain efforts. It is suggested that strong government support and determination, stakeholder seriousness and inter-departments coordination is required to clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and timelines without further delays.

Students' Perceptions of Formative and Summative Assessment of Classroom Instruction at the College Level

2025-01-15T05:42:15+00:00

Classroom assessment plays a crucial role in the educational process as it helps to determine students’ learning, identify areas of weakness and strengths, and guide teachers in developing effective classroom assessment techniques. This study explored students' perceptions regarding formative and summative assessment at the college level in Lahore City, Pakistan. The study employed a quantitative approach, using a questionnaire-based survey to gather primary data from 330 college students (1st year and 2nd year) using a convenience sampling technique. The results showed that male students have a significantly lower incidence rate of negative perceptions of formative and summative assessment than female students (AIRR = 0.394, 95% CI: 0.260-0.597, p < 0.00). However, no significant difference was found between private and public institutions (AIRR = 1.213, 95% CI: 0.795-1.851, p = 0.37). The study has implications for educational stakeholders, including policymakers, administrators, and instructors, who might benefit from the findings to improve assessment procedures in classroom instruction. Improving classroom strategies will also help in developing students’ interest in learning.

Developing and Validating a Test of Higher Order Thinking Skills for Future Teachers

2024-11-18T05:17:56+00:00

Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) are extremely needed to be possessed by future teachers but there is less work on the development of suitable measuring instruments for HOTS (Zhou et al., 2023). The present study is intended to develop an instrument to test the higher order thinking skills (HOTS) of future teachers at university level. The instrument named as Maimoona Higher Order Thinking Skills Test (MHOT). The developed test is delimited to two main HOTS: Creative and Critical thinking skills. These HOTS are distinct as well as have inter-dependency. There are total fourteen interpretive exercises/items in the instrument. To meet the psychometric criteria the construct validity evidence (n = 200) was gathered through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The convergent validity evidence was also collected and established by using the College Assessment Academic Proficiency of Critical Thinking (CAAP) test with the average variance 0.65 and composite reliability of 0.92 between MHOT and CAAP. The inter-rater reliability value of Kappa was 0.724 and the Cronbach’s alpha value of the entire instrument was 0.91. The content validation process involved four experts in total, three content experts from the discipline of Education and one from the discipline of Psychology. Scale content validity index (SCVI) was 0.93. Item analysis was also conducted to ensure the discrimination index of the items and all items were falling under the acceptable criteria except two items.

Exploring the Utilization and Acceptance of Learning Management System for In-Service Training of Primary School Teachers

2024-11-05T07:26:52+00:00

Learning Management Systems (LMS) is emerging internet technology that facilitating the instructions in blended, distance and face to face learning. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the utilization and acceptance of LMS for in-service training of Primary School Teachers (PSTs) and contribution of ease to use and usefulness of LMS in enhancing attitude towards use of LMS at Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development (QAED) Punjab. The present study was a quantitative research and cross sectional survey design was used. The data were collected using adapted questionnaire of Trayek and Hassan (2013), which covered three variables ease of use, usefulness and attitude toward use of LMS. The respondents of this study were 417 Primary School Teachers (PSTs) of district Okara and stratified random sampling technique was used for sampling. The data were collected through online Google survey form. After that, the data were analyzed using SPSS and different statistics techniques to meet the study objectives. The results indicated that teachers were somewhat agree and slightly satisfied with the usefulness and ease to use of LMS in their training. Further, it was investigated that usefulness and ease to use of LMS had significant and positive contribution in developing and enhancing attitude toward use of LMS in training. It was recommended that the management of QAED Punjab increase the purposefulness, usefulness, easy use and access of LMS among teachers in training.

Impact of Calculus Teaching with a Blend of Traditional and Computational Techniques

2024-09-06T05:52:46+00:00

Challenges in learning mathematics can diminish students' interest in understanding mathematical concepts. With advancements in communication technology, a hybrid learning environment offers a promising solution to enhance the education system. Combining face-to-face classroom teaching with the use of application tools and systems proves beneficial in this context, fostering improved engagement and comprehension in education of Mathematics. Students frequently make mistakes when solving limit problems in calculus and are required to identify errors in attempts of their solutions. Even those proficient in performing specific procedures often have a limited understanding of the concepts and become confused when the problem context changes slightly. In addition, computer algebra systems (CAS) have been a topic of interest among educators for many years, eliciting both positive and negative feedback from researchers. This study employed a dual approach to research methods, involving both manual calculations obtained by different approaches and computational verification using Python, Maple, Mathematica, and Matlab. This methodology ensured the accuracy and reliability of the solutions, combining traditional problem-solving techniques with advanced software tools for comprehensive validation in finding solutions to single variable and multivariable limit problems undertaken in undergraduate calculus course.

Impact of Teachers Classroom Behavior on Students’ Academic Stress and School Adjustment

2025-01-03T05:28:13+00:00

Focus of present study was to find the Impact of teacher classroom behavior on academic stress and school adjustment of students at secondary school level in Sargodha division. Main objectives were (1) to examine the relationship between teachers' classroom behavior and academic stress of students. (2) to find out the relationship between teachers' classroom behavior and school adjustment of students. According to the nature of the study, descriptive research design was formulated. Sample of 372 students (205 male students and 167 female students) participated in the study and this sample size was determined using Yamane's (1967) formula suggestions. Researcher developed three questionnaire including Teachers Classroom Behavior Scale (TCBS), Academic Stress Scale (ASS) and School Adjustment Scale (SAS) were administered for the collection of data. Validation of the instruments was completed through 15 experts in the field of social sciences whereas reliability of the tool was done through Cronbachs Alpha methods. Different descriptive as well as Inferential statistical tools were used for the analysis of data collected through questionnaires. Pearson product moment correlation, linear and multiple regression, and t-test as inferential statistics whereas Mean and SD was used as descriptive statistics. Results of the study demonstrated that there is negative association between teacher classroom behavior and academic stress, and positive association between teacher classroom behavior and school adjustment of students.

Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Schoolboys' Academic Performance and Psychological Well-being: Exploring Learning Challenges and Emotive Distress

2025-01-04T15:45:26+00:00

This study looks into the multidimensional relationship between socioeconomic status, academic achievement, and mental health in pupils. The study seeks to investigate the complex interplay between socioeconomic status (SES), educational obstacles, and emotional distress, as well as their impact on students' overall well-being. The study was quantitative in nature, and a descriptive approach was chosen. District Bhakkar and District Layyah public institutes were population of the research study. With the help of five likert scale questionnaire data were collected and SPSS used for statistical analysis. This study a complete review of review of literature and analyzes the number of elements analyzed of how much differences of socioeconomic (SES) appear in learning backgrounds and how academic performance of students affected and as well as their intellectual well-being. More than a few such factors effect educational achievement and psychological health which related to their income & level of education of their parents and also family structure and resource access. Moreover this research study gazed different ways that (SES) dynamics influence anxiety and depression of learners and as well as their intellectual health.

The Impact of Collaborative Learning on Teachers’ Pedagogical Skills and Instructional Practices

2025-01-15T05:52:03+00:00

Collaborative learning is a teaching and learning approach in which groups of students work together to solve problems, finish tasks, or produce a product. The focus of the present study was to investigate the impact of collaborative learning on teachers’ pedagogical skills and instructional practices among primary school teachers. Primary school teachers who are receiving Continuing Professional Development Training for the session 2024-25 under the Directorate of Professional Development Peshawar were the population of the study. Random sampling technique was used for this study. The sample of the study was 100 Primary School teachers of three CPD Centers in Lahor (Swabi). A 5 Point Likert scale questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was analyzed through SPSS using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The findings reflected the importance of structured collaborative learning programs within educational institutions. The role of peer learning was highlighted in teacher development and demonstrates the value of institutional support for collaborative initiatives. The research also extends existing knowledge on professional development frameworks, providing empirical support for social learning theories in teacher education. It was recommended that active participation in collaborative learning communities, the documentation and sharing of successful teaching practices, regular peer observation and feedback, and the maintenance of reflective journals to track professional growth for teachers.

Relationship between Test Anxiety and Academic Achievement of Students in Science at Secondary Level, in Islamabad

2024-08-13T05:35:31+00:00

Understanding students’ test anxiety is very important for teaching and learning activities. The present study was intended to determine secondary school students’ test-related anxiety and its relationship with their academic achievement both in terms of gender and locality. A descriptive and correlational research design was used to collect the data. The sample of the study consisted of 440 students out of which 215 were male students and 225 were female students from 6 urban and 7 rural secondary schools in Islamabad, Pakistan. Students’ academic achievement was measured through the marks obtained by them in the recently held board examination. Initially, the research instrument to measure students’ test anxiety in science which was developed by Spielberger in 1980 and then used by Stefan Peter and Philip Zabek, consisted of 40 items. After slight modification and cultural adaptation, a 29-item Likert-type scale was developed and validated by the author. The obtained data were analyzed and interpreted using various statistical techniques like mean, standard deviation, Pearson product-moment correlation, independent sample t-test, and two-way ANOVA. The findings revealed that overall, a majority of students showed a neutral attitude towards test anxiety, very few numbers of students have a negative response, and hardly anyone exhibited a positive response towards test anxiety in science. The present study showed a negative relationship between test anxiety and the academic achievement of students in science. These findings imply that increased test anxiety reduces student academic achievement. Further, it was concluded that there exists a gender and locale effect on students’ test anxiety and their academic achievement in science.

Assessing the impact of Extempore Teaching Skills in Learning Outcomes in Distance, Non-Formal and Continuing Education

2025-01-15T05:45:10+00:00

The current study examined how the extempore teaching skill influences the learning outcomes in distance, non-formal, and continuing education. The setting for the current research was a program of “teaching skills” to students of masters in distance, non-formal, and continuing education comprising 20 hours of theoretical and practical teaching with submission of 40 written lesson plans and 2 practical mock lesson deliveries on the topic from any elementary-level subjects. The attendance of students undergoing the “teaching skills” course in the semester of Autumn was 32 which included both male and female and also both teaching and non-teaching individuals. The primary goal of the research was to assess how extempore teaching, characterized by verbal lesson delivery, body language, and eye contact, impacts the effectiveness of lesson delivery. Eight volunteers were selected from the participating individuals. Volunteers were divided into two groups of four i.e. one individual from each group gave an extempore topic to one individual from the other group on which he/she had to deliver an extempore lesson to the remaining class of five minutes. All the remaining individuals in the class ranked the performance of the individual delivering the lesson based on three identified elements by the researcher. A scale of 1 to 10 was used for marking each element where 1 being the highest and 10 being the lowest score. Data collected from this activity was analyzed statistically using JAMOVI software where descriptive statistics were used for summarizing the results and variations in performance. The findings of the study highlighted the potential extempore way of lesson delivery has in confidence building among individuals along with the development of better communication skills in individuals. Extempore way of lesson delivery also helps in bringing enhancement to dynamic and more interactive classroom settings for the promotion of active learning and critical thinking.