African Journal of Teacher Education

Class Experiences with Inquiry Learning Spaces in Go-Lab in African Secondary Schools

2020-11-01T05:01:33-05:00

Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) is a form of active learning, often used in STEM education to promote conceptual learning and to acquire scientific investigation skills. This paper reports on a study in which teachers in Kenya, Nigeria and the Republic of Benin implemented IBL embedded in online and offline Inquiry Learning Spaces (ILS) in their classes using the Go-Lab platform (https://www.golabs.eu). After a brief description of the IBL methodology, of lab work and in particular virtual labs for STEM education, of the process of preparing teachers to use IBL in class, and of the context of this study, we highlight the methodology used, and finally report our results. These show that the introduction and class enactment of a digital inquiry based learning platform such as Go-Lab in Africa (i) is possible, although challenging, (ii) does lead to student learning, (iii) for this to take place teacher training is necessary, (iv) the digital infrastructure is present in the schools though minimal and fragile, and (v) a local partner needs to provide assistance when required.

Impact of Flipped Classroom on Mathematics Learning Outcome of Senior Secondary School Students in Lagos, Nigeria

2020-11-01T05:01:13-05:00

This study examined the impact of the flipped classroom on the learning outcome of secondary school students in mathematics in Lagos, Nigeria. It examined the impact of a flipped classroom package (FCP) on post-test performance (PP) and retention performance (RP) of students in Mathematics; it also sought to determine the influence of gender on PP and RP of students towards learning mathematics in the flipped classroom (FC). This is in response to the search for means to reverse the poor performance of students in mathematics O’level West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations. The flipped classroom, an innovative teaching technique, was introduced as a possible corrective that could produce effective student learning engagement and performance. A Quasi-experimental design was adopted and 275 Senior secondary school (SSS) 2 Students, 147experimental and 128 as control (conventional) intact classes, constituted the purposive sampled population for the study. Three research instruments: Flipped Classroom Package, Lesson Note and Performance Test were validated by expects and used for the study. The instruments were also checked for reliability; and the inter-rater reliability coefficient of a developed FC package was 0.79; lesson note, 0.83; and test instrument 0.85. Four hypotheses were raised and tested after 6 weeks of the experiment. The results of the findings indicated that the flipped classroom encourages good performance in mathematics and should, thus, be encouraged in schools for being a student centred learning approach. The study concluses among others that teachers should be encouraged to attend seminars and workshops on the use of the approach for effective performance of the learners.

Knowledge and Awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Teachers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

2020-11-01T05:00:51-05:00

This is an investigation of the knowledge and awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder among secondary school teachers in Ekiti State, Nigeria. It is a school-based cross-sectional study using a multi-stage sampling method to select local government areas, secondary schools, and participants for the study. A total of 107 teachers selected from 21 secondary schools in 2 local government areas participated in the study. A Survey of Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASK-ASD) was used to assess knowledge while an ordinary awareness questionnaire was used to assess the teachers' awareness of the disorder. Using Pearson correlation coefficient and one-way Analysis of Variance to test five hypotheses, results showed no significant relationship between knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder and participants having a family or friend with the disorder (r (105) = -.113 p>.05). Finding also revealed a significant relationship between knowledge of Autism and prior training on Autism (r(107) = -.266 p<.05). Age has a significant influence on knowledge of the disorder (F (2, 98) = 4.29 p<.05) but school type (F (2, 104) = 2.506 p>.05) and teaching experience (F (2,103) = 1.971 p>.05) do not have a significant influence on knowledge of Autism. The result further shows that 96.2% of the participants were aware of the disorder while 3.8% were unaware of it. It was recommended that secondary school teachers be equipped with information about Autism Spectrum Disorder through periodic seminars, workshops, and conferences.

Personal Epistemic and Learning Approaches as Predictors of Pre-service Teachers use of Strategies to Counter Cognitive Dissonance from Supervisor Feedback

2020-11-01T05:00:24-05:00

This study investigated how epistemic and learning approaches of pre-service teachers (PRESETs) in Obafemi Awolowo University, Southwestern Nigeria, predict their use of strategies to counteract cognitive dissonance arising from incongruent feedback from supervisors. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The population comprised 192 PRESETs in the third and fourth year of their teacher training. Findings revealed that the PRESETs possessed sophisticated personal epistemic approaches and utilised the deep approach to learning more than the surface approach. It was also revealed that the PRESETs are likely to utilise multiple strategies to counteract cognitive dissonance that may arise from conflicting feedback from university assigned supervisors during teaching practice. Findings revealed a function with coefficients as follows: deep approach (0.78), simple knowledge (0.21), surface approach (0.22), innate ability (-0.015), quick learning (-0.09), omniscient authority (0.17) and certain knowledge (0.24). The structure was maximised for 77% of PRESETs with high use of strategies to counteract dissonance arising from incongruent supervisors’ feedback; 36.7% and 67.6% of PRESETs with moderate and low dissonance reduction strategy users respectively. The conclusion reached was that teacher educators and other stakeholders should be made aware of these findings. Also, these findings should be incorporated in the implementation of course contents on sources of cognitive dissonances during teaching practice and how to counter them.

Anonymity, Mutual Disclosure and Trust in Online Counselling Relationships among Students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

2020-11-04T05:00:43-05:00

The study examined the influence of anonymity and mutual disclosure on trust in online counselling relationships in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population for the study comprised undergraduate and postgraduate students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Findings revealed that majority of the students showed moderate level of trust. It was also revealed that anonymity (β = 0.310, p < 0.05) and mutual disclosure (β= 0.627, p < 0.05) had positive and significant influence on counsellor-client trust. Also, sex significantly and inversely influenced counsellor-client trust (β= -1.683, p < 0.05), while the type of concerns presented by students had no significant relationship with counsellor-client trust (F= 2.313, p > 0.05).

A Typology of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) for Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case study of Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, and Nigeria

2020-11-04T05:00:23-05:00

In the bid to improve teaching quality and promote an approach to teacher development that is grounded in the context in which teachers are inserted, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have become a popular alternative model of teacher professional development in many countries. PLCs, however, have been more widely studied in high-resource contexts. In a recognition that existing conceptualizations from the Western literature may not reflect how PLCs are functioning in developing countries, this research aims to inductively create a typology of PLCs that incorporates elements that might be specific to these countries, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa in general and based on the cases of Equatorial Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria in particular. This study employs a multimethod approach, encompassing document analysis, semi-structured interviews with PLC experts and expert validation. The resulting typology categorizes PLCs into three models - autonomous, structured and scripted. This typology of PLCs is further integrated with dimensions previously proposed by the Western literature to form one cohesive conceptual framework. By acknowledging PLC variability, we are able to incorporate into a framework modes of PLC operation that are specific to our case countries, and possibly to Sub-Saharan African and low- and middle-income countries more generally.