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Discrepancies between teachers’ self-reported perceived skills and use of classroom assessment practices: The case of Botswana
TSPCK-Based instruction and academic achievement of grade 11 students on chemical kinetics and equilibrium
Personality Traits Mediating Sense of Belonging and Academic Curiosity among Students in Ghana
Test Anxiety and Gender as Determinants of Performance in a Computer-Based Test among Kenyatta University Students
Game over or play again? Deploying games for promoting water recycling and hygienic practices at schools in Ethiopia
Discrepancies between teachers’ self-reported perceived skills and use of classroom assessment practices: The case of Botswana
by Setlhomo Koloi-Keaititse
As teachers implement a diverse repertoire of assessment methods to gather information about students’ progress, they may recognise shortfalls in their own assessment skills. These perceived growth areas may be productive targets for future professional learning. To quantify any discrepancies between teachers’ self-reported assessment use needs and their own skills, we surveyed 691 teachers from selected public schools in Botswana. Multivariate analysis of variance and descriptive discriminant analysis were used to relate discrepancies between classroom assessment skills and usage to certain teacher characteristics. We found teachers felt most skilled at criterion-referenced testing practices and used them the most often; however, their frequency of use significantly exceeded their reported skill level. Conversely, teachers’ perceived skill in constructing objective test items generally exceeded their use. Moving forward, planning of future professional learning experiences for teachers in Botswana can draw on this study’s findings and survey instrumentation. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
TSPCK-Based instruction and academic achievement of grade 11 students on chemical kinetics and equilibrium
by Kassahun Dejene Belayneh
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge-based instruction on grade 11 students’ achievement in chemical kinetics and equilibrium. A quasi-experimental research design with a 4 × 2 * 3 pre-test and post-test control group was employed on Grade 11 chemistry students in Addis Ababa administrative city, Ethiopia. Each treatment was assigned to four schools at random. The data collection instrument was the chemistry achievement test and the instrument was piloted with 61 students in a different school than the intervention schools. The reliability coefficient of the chemistry achievement test was calculated to be 0.79 after piloting and using Kuder-Richardson Formula 20. Data was gathered and analyzed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. The study found that TSPCK-based instruction significantly improved high school students’ achievement in chemical kinetics and equilibrium concepts. Students exposed to the conceptual teaching strategy instructional mode performed better academically than those in representation-based, curricular saliency-based and conventional groups. However, the interaction between the type of interaction with gender and achiever levels was insignificant. Female students in chemistry who were exposed to topic-specific PCK-based instructional modes showed greater mean and normalized learning gains than their male counterparts in all groups. This resulted in the female students, intervention groups, and achiever levels being enhanced by 19%, 21.3%, and 15% average normalized learning gains, respectively, in chemical kinetics and equilibrium. Therefore, it is recommended that teaching chemical kinetics and equilibrium using topic-specific PCK-based instructional modes is the preferred effective teaching strategy to enhance achievement of students. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Personality Traits Mediating Sense of Belonging and Academic Curiosity among Students in Ghana
by Mark Owusu Amposah
The sense of being part of a learning community is a known explanatory variable for learners' explorative behaviors, but the extent to which this explanation interferes with stable characteristics appears inconclusive. Therefore, this study examined the mediating roles of personality traits in the relationship between sense of belonging and academic curiosity. A sample of 400 high school students was randomly selected to respond to adapted versions of the Big Five Personality Inventory, the Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale, and the 5-Dimensional Curiosity Scale. The data collected with the scales were analyzed inferentially using structural equation modeling. The study found that open-mindedness and agreeableness predicted curiosity, but not all dimensions of personality traits mediated a sense of belonging and academic curiosity. For example, open-mindedness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism mediated the relationship between sense of belonging and curiosity. In this regard, students with a high degree of sense of belonging tend to have a well-developed academic curiosity since they tend to be open-minded, conscientious, agreeable, and emotionally stable. Therefore, school authorities should use personality traits, a sense of belonging, and curiosity in profiling students for academic programs. © 2023 Mark Owusu Amponsah.
Test Anxiety and Gender as Determinants of Performance in a Computer-Based Test among Kenyatta University Students
by Richard Wambua
Computer use for assessment is gaining prominence in Kenya's higher education system because of its efficiency and prompt feedback. However, some psychological and personal factors may unintentionally impact performance in computer-based testing, such as test anxiety and gender. Therefore, this study sought to determine the effects of test anxiety and gender on performance and the impacts of test anxiety and gender interaction in a computer-based test in the Educational Statistics unit. A sample of 185 bachelor of education students at Kenyatta University was purposively selected to participate in this study. The independent variables were measured using a ten-item Likert-type test anxiety scale and a questionnaire. The dependent variable was the performance in a fifteen-item multiple choice test administered online. Data were analyzed using the t-test and the two-way analysis of variance. Results indicated that test anxiety had a significant effect on computer-based test performance. Although male students performed better than female students on the test, this difference was insignificant. The study also found the main effect of test anxiety and subject specialization. Based on the outcomes of this study, it was suggested that academic counseling should be integrated into the teaching and assessment of educational statistics to mitigate the effect of test anxiety on computer-based test performance. There is a need to incorporate arithmetic and computers, especially in arts-based courses at Kenyatta University. This study can be replicated using samples drawn from other courses and universities. © Common Ground Research Networks, Richard Mbithi Wambua, All Rights Reserved.
Game over or play again? Deploying games for promoting water recycling and hygienic practices at schools in Ethiopia
by LemmaTulu
Worldwide, every year 525 000 children under the age of five die from diarrhoea. The simple act of washing hands with soap and water can prevent more than one-third of diarrhoeal disease cases. In the densely populated urban areas of the developing world, handwashing wastewater is commonly discharged to the environment without any treatment, creating unhygienic situations and breeding places for different vectors and wasting a valuable resource. However, this relatively clean wastewater can be treated and reused using simple technological solutions. The objective of our water innovation is, therefore, twofold: improving children's health through stimulating handwashing at schools while at the same time demonstrating the feasibility of water conservation through low-tech, nature-based treatment and safe reuse of handwashing wastewater for irrigation and toilet flushing. To enhance the intrinsic motivation of children and school staff to adopt this innovation, four educational games were developed drawing on theories used in gamification of learning, such as social learning theory and engagement theories. This paper provides an overview of the games and the main results of the game testing. For promoting hygiene among school children, a board and a card game were developed based on the F-diagram – commonly used by water and sanitation practitioners to illustrate the main routes for pathogen transmissions from faeces. In addition, the system linking handwashing wastewater collection, treatment and reuse for irrigation and toilet flushing was simulated by the development of two board games which targeted school children, school staff and the operators of the treatment system. The prototypes and final versions were tested in two schools in the Oromia region in Ethiopia – while the treatment system (constructed wetland) for handwashing wastewater is located in one school. Children that play-tested the games were generally enthusiastic and eager to play repeatedly, which demonstrated that board and card games are appropriate tools to engage with this young target group. We conclude that there is a large potential for development, use, and upscaling of educational games for more sustainable WaSH interventions. © 2020
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