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Full-Text Articles in Education

Development And Validation Of A Questionnaire To Explore Teachers’ Knowledge About The Nature Of Mathematics The Teaching And Learning Of Mathematics, Munira Amirali Aug 2023

Development And Validation Of A Questionnaire To Explore Teachers’ Knowledge About The Nature Of Mathematics The Teaching And Learning Of Mathematics, Munira Amirali

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Investigating teachers’ knowledge about the nature of mathematics and their viewpoints about the teaching and learning of mathematics is important as it has a great influence on what they do in classrooms. This paper describes the two phases of the development and validation process of an instrument named as Mathematics Teacher Survey Questionnaire (MTSQ) developed to determine Pakistani teachers’ knowledge about the nature of mathematics, its influence on their viewpoints about the teaching and learning of mathematics. Phase one includes item writing, item analysis and item administration whereas phase two includes the tool validation process using Cronbach’s alpha and content …


Feed-Forward: Strengthening Assessment Of Pre-Primary And Primary Science And Mathematics Education In Tanzania, Nipael Mrutu, Esther Kibga Jan 2023

Feed-Forward: Strengthening Assessment Of Pre-Primary And Primary Science And Mathematics Education In Tanzania, Nipael Mrutu, Esther Kibga

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Classroom assessment is a critical part of teaching and learning and is a potentially useful tool for enhancing learning outcomes. It provides information on where learners are with their learning goals and what they need to do to improve their understanding and meet the intended learning outcomes. In response to the agent's need for proper interpretation of classroom assessment, researchers and policymakers have developed guidelines, principles, and models to help teachers understand and implement effective assessment conceptions. Despite these initiatives, research continues to show that teachers struggle to interpret assessment policies and implement practices aligned with contemporary formative assessment notions. …


Pakistan’S First-Ever Participation In An International Large-Scale Assessment (Timss): Critique And Implications, Sohail Ahmad, Sherwin Rodrigues, Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta Dec 2022

Pakistan’S First-Ever Participation In An International Large-Scale Assessment (Timss): Critique And Implications, Sohail Ahmad, Sherwin Rodrigues, Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The International Large-Scale Assessment (ILSA) is a rapidly growing field in education which has gained considerable attention of stakeholders across the globe. Historically, ILSA emerged from the developed context which has drifted to the developing contexts in a short span of time due to globalisation. Pakistan has participated in ILSA (i.e., TIMSS) for the first time in the 2019 cycle. In light of the global critique on ILSA, this paper presents a critical analysis on Pakistan’s participation in TIMSS by raising questions embedded in contextual realities. The discussion adds to the understanding of ILSA in terms of historical developments, theoretical …


An Account Of The Methodological Implementation Of Design-Based Research In The Chemistry Classroom Context, Esther Kibga, Emmanuel Gakuba, John Sentongo Sep 2022

An Account Of The Methodological Implementation Of Design-Based Research In The Chemistry Classroom Context, Esther Kibga, Emmanuel Gakuba, John Sentongo

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Design-Based Research (DBR) has recently received a significant amount of attention in the educational research literature of the 21st century. This work analyses the understanding of DBR as the research methodology, why, and how it can be applied in educational research to bring a practical outcome and improve educational practices. Besides, this work reflects on a step-by-step implementation of the Hands-on Instructional Model (HIM) designed to enhance the development of chemistry learners’ curiosity and problem-solving skills. Also, it gives a detailed description of the two prototypes of the first alteration cycle. A sample of 169 Senior Three chemistry students was …


Assessing Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices And Students’ Learning Outcomes In Science And Mathematics Across Primary And Secondary School Level: A Nationwide Study (2018-21), Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta, Nusrat Fatima Rizvi Jan 2022

Assessing Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices And Students’ Learning Outcomes In Science And Mathematics Across Primary And Secondary School Level: A Nationwide Study (2018-21), Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta, Nusrat Fatima Rizvi

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.


Extended Generalized Logistic Distributions Based On Beta Distributions And Their Generalizations, Howard Omukami, Patrick Weke, Joseph Ottieno Jan 2022

Extended Generalized Logistic Distributions Based On Beta Distributions And Their Generalizations, Howard Omukami, Patrick Weke, Joseph Ottieno

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

We derive the extended generalized logistic type IV distribution using beta 1 and beta 2 distributions along with generalized three parameter and four parameter beta distributions.


Teachers’ Perceptions About Mathematics In A Socio-Religious Context: A Case From Pakistan, Munira Amirali, Anjum Halai Dec 2021

Teachers’ Perceptions About Mathematics In A Socio-Religious Context: A Case From Pakistan, Munira Amirali, Anjum Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This study investigated mathematics teachers’ beliefs about the nature of mathematics and the contributory factors shaping them. A survey of 200 trained and untrained mathematics teachers from public and private schools was carried out in Karachi Pakistan, a context with a strong influence of religion on the socio-cultural practices of the people. The survey was followed by a focus-group discussion with selected teachers and is the focus of this paper. This is a ground-breaking study in a hitherto under-researched socio-religious context.
Teachers across the system showed a strong similarity in beliefs. A commonly held view was that mathematics is created …


Developing Students’ Curiosity Through Chemistry Hands-On Activities: A Case Of Selected Community Secondary Schools In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Esther Kibga, Emmanuel Gakuba, John Sentongo Mar 2021

Developing Students’ Curiosity Through Chemistry Hands-On Activities: A Case Of Selected Community Secondary Schools In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Esther Kibga, Emmanuel Gakuba, John Sentongo

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Curiosity is the inner drive for learning or ‘hunger for learning’ which is among the twenty-firstcentury learning competencies. Students in their earliest stage ought to exhibit curiosity to stirup knowledge acquisition and exploration, yet the development of curiosity in the context of education is considered to be unusual. This research assesses how chemistry students develop and express curiosity in a hands-on learning environment. A sample of 169 senior three students from three community secondary schools in Dar es Salaam was involved in this study. Besides, the study examined how hands-on activities in chemistry lessons can be incorporated as a pedagogical …


Effectiveness Of Hands-On Activities To Develop Chemistry Learners’ Curiosity In Community Secondary Schools In Tanzania, Esther Kibga, John Sentongo, Emanuel Gakuba Jan 2021

Effectiveness Of Hands-On Activities To Develop Chemistry Learners’ Curiosity In Community Secondary Schools In Tanzania, Esther Kibga, John Sentongo, Emanuel Gakuba

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Learners’ curiosity is among the affective domains of learning that has a great potential to take learning to higher levels and meet the demands of the 21st-century teaching and learning process. This paper assesses how hands-on activities performed using learning materials from learners’ immediate environment can enhance learners’ curiosity in chemistry lessons. Observing students’ hands-on activities during chemistry lessons enabled researchers to monitor the development and expression of curiosity in the actual learning environment. The study involved 169 senior three chemistry students purposively selected from three intact science classes in three community secondary schools from Dar es salaam, Tanzania. We …


Energy-Efficient Load Balancing Ant Based Routing Algorithm For Wireless Sensor Networks, Xinlu Li, Brian Keegan, Fredrick Mtenzi, Thomas Weise, Ming Tan Aug 2019

Energy-Efficient Load Balancing Ant Based Routing Algorithm For Wireless Sensor Networks, Xinlu Li, Brian Keegan, Fredrick Mtenzi, Thomas Weise, Ming Tan

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are a type of self-organizing networks with limited energy supply and communication ability. One of the most crucial issues in WSNs is to use an energy-efficient routing protocol to prolong the network lifetime. We therefore propose the novel Energy-Efficient Load Balancing Ant-based Routing Algorithm (EBAR) for WSNs. EBAR adopts a pseudo-random route discovery algorithm and an improved pheromone trail update scheme to balance the energy consumption of the sensor nodes. It uses an efficient heuristic update algorithm based on a greedy expected energy cost metric to optimize the route establishment. Finally, in order to reduce the …


Science Education For The Future: Five Recommendations A Policy Brief For Pakistan, Nelofer Halai Jan 2017

Science Education For The Future: Five Recommendations A Policy Brief For Pakistan, Nelofer Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

High quality education and particularly in the area of what is generally called STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is the greatest indicator of quality of life. Sustainable human development, eradication of poverty and removing unequal distribution of resources all depend on high quality education. High quality education in the area of science has been defined as far back as 1962 by Schwab and Brandwein as teaching through inquiry-based methods. Continuing to teach science content through rote memorization produces teachers who know of no better method to teach other than memorization. These teachers themselves lack conceptual understanding of science content …


Students’ Attitude Towards Science In Lower Secondary Classes : Comparison Across Regions, Nahid Parween Anwar, Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta Jan 2014

Students’ Attitude Towards Science In Lower Secondary Classes : Comparison Across Regions, Nahid Parween Anwar, Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Science education is an area of interest for long and has gained a lot of attention from science educators. Keeping this in view, the current study explored the attitude of grade VI-VIII students towards science in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. This research study was conducted as part of a 5-year project titled ‘USAID-LINKS to learning: Education Support to Pakistan’ (USAID-EDLINKS). A 5-point rating scale, Science Attitude Scale (SAS) was adapted from previous research. SAS has 32 items arranged under five constructs: learning science in school, self-concept in science, science outside of school, future participation in science and importance …


Light And Enlightenment, Jan-E-Alam Khaki Aug 2013

Light And Enlightenment, Jan-E-Alam Khaki

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.


Enhancing Content Knowledge Of In-Service Science Teachers Through Model And Modeling, Naheed Perveen, Sadia Muzzafar Bhutta Jun 2012

Enhancing Content Knowledge Of In-Service Science Teachers Through Model And Modeling, Naheed Perveen, Sadia Muzzafar Bhutta

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The guiding question for this paper is; how does model and modeling enable student-teachers to develop a conceptual understanding of the cell as a structural and functional unit of living things? A teaching unit ‘The Cell’ was designed in view that models are a major teaching and learning tool for developing scientific thinking, whereas modeling means a process of forming representation. The teaching and learning strategies reported here encapsulated four modeling phases. Firstly, student-teachers modeled historical development of cell through a time line and role play and discussed the evolutionary and tentative nature of science. Secondly, the candy factory analogy …


A Secondary Science Teacher’S Beliefs About Environmental Education And Its Relationship With The Classroom Practices, Salima Begum Jan 2012

A Secondary Science Teacher’S Beliefs About Environmental Education And Its Relationship With The Classroom Practices, Salima Begum

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

Global environmental issues are increasing due to the rapid developments in science and technology. To address these environmental issues there is a need to create awareness about environmental education among the masses. This can only be possible through teachers and teacher educators. It is assumed that science teachers are teaching environmental concepts as scientific facts, without creating awareness about environmental education. The ultimate purpose of this study was to explore the beliefs of a secondary science teacher about environmental education and how his stated beliefs matched with his classroom practices. The study was conducted in one of the co-operative schools …


The Unforgettable Experience Of A Workshop On Pythagoras Theorem, Salima Shahzad Arwani Nov 2011

The Unforgettable Experience Of A Workshop On Pythagoras Theorem, Salima Shahzad Arwani

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.


Developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge Of Science Teachers Through Action Research: A Case Study From Pakistan, Nelofer Halai, Manzoor Ali Khan Jun 2011

Developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge Of Science Teachers Through Action Research: A Case Study From Pakistan, Nelofer Halai, Manzoor Ali Khan

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The aim of this study is to analyze the action research undertaken by Khan as a teacher researcher in a private school as part of the degree requirement of his M.Ed. program in Teacher Education at the Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development. The purpose of this analysis undertaken by the first author and supervisor of the study in collaboration with Khan was to understand the development of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of the teacher researcher through action research in a science classroom in the context of Pakistan. Khan taught the concepts of heat and temperature using an inquiry …


One Step On A New Journey, Salima Shahzad Arwani May 2011

One Step On A New Journey, Salima Shahzad Arwani

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.


Understanding A Pakistani Science Teacher’S Practice Through A Life History Study, Nelofer Halai Jan 2011

Understanding A Pakistani Science Teacher’S Practice Through A Life History Study, Nelofer Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The purpose of the single case life history study was to understand a female science teacher’s conceptions of the nature of science as explicit in her practice. While this paper highlights these understandings, an additional purpose is to give a detailed account of the process of creating a life history account through more than 13 in-depth interviews. It includes a discussion of what the author calls composite observations where the observations of the teacher and the researcher are presented as a single unified story. Also discussed are ethical issues specific to life history created due to the intimacy created by …


Teachers’ Knowledge About The Nature Of Mathematics: A Survey Of Secondary School Teachers In Karachi, Pakistan, Munira Amirali, Anjum Halai Dec 2010

Teachers’ Knowledge About The Nature Of Mathematics: A Survey Of Secondary School Teachers In Karachi, Pakistan, Munira Amirali, Anjum Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This study presents the findings from a study which explored patterns in teachers’ knowledge about the nature of mathematics. A survey questionnaire was developed and distributed to 200 secondary school mathematics teachers teaching in public and private schools in Karachi, Pakistan. Exploratory factor analysis was performed which showed patterns in teachers’ view about the nature of mathematics. The analysis illustrates that teachers hold contradicting views about the nature of mathematics i.e. mathematics, both as discovered as well as invented body of knowledge. Moreover, teachers irrespective of their professional qualification, considered mathematical knowledge as ‘truth’, where mathematical rules can never be …


Students’ Conceptions Of The Nature Of Mathematics And Attitudes Towards Mathematics Learning, Munira Amirali Jun 2010

Students’ Conceptions Of The Nature Of Mathematics And Attitudes Towards Mathematics Learning, Munira Amirali

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Students’ conceptions of the nature of mathematics have a great influence towards mathematics learning. In order to understand gender-wise students’ conceptions and attitudes towards mathematics this study has been conducted in Karachi, Pakistan. This paper examines patterns in students’ conception and attitude towards mathematics by analyzing survey data obtained from 82 students studying in grade eight in a private school context. The survey was conducted using a five-point Likert scale ranging from ‘strongly agree’ through ‘neutral’ to ‘strongly disagree’. The survey findings illustrate that students consider mathematics as a useful subject which is used in daily life routines and facilitates …


Mathematical Notation: Help Or Hindrance?, Geoff D. Tennant Dr Jan 2010

Mathematical Notation: Help Or Hindrance?, Geoff D. Tennant Dr

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

This article puts forward a range of reasons for using mathematical notation, emphasizing the need to allow children learning it time and space to come to terms with it. Examples are given in furthering the argument that the time to introduce notation is after the concept is already fully understood.


Teaching Teachers And Students About The Nature Of Science, Nelofer Halai Jan 2010

Teaching Teachers And Students About The Nature Of Science, Nelofer Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This article advocates the teaching about the nature of science to both pupils in schools and teachers in teacher education institutions in Pakistan. Not knowing about science; teachers tend to continue to teach science as fixed knowledge and not as inquiry and this cycle continues. This cycle needs to be broken. This article first discusses the salient features about the concept of the nature of science and then illustrates these ideas with the help of a simple but a powerful activity which could be used both with teacher educators and pupils in secondary and lower secondary classrooms.


Curriculum Reform In Science Education In Pakistan, Nelofer Halai Jan 2008

Curriculum Reform In Science Education In Pakistan, Nelofer Halai

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.


An Appraisal Of The Criticisms Of Educational Research In Recent Years, Sherwin Rodrigues Jan 2008

An Appraisal Of The Criticisms Of Educational Research In Recent Years, Sherwin Rodrigues

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

According to Hodkinson (2001) educational research in the UK has been passing through "a crisis of confidence" in the last decade as a result of several attacks upon its quality. The scope of this paper is to briefly highlight these „attacks‟ on educational research and then focus on one of its primary criticisms for an in-depth analysis. I mainly draw upon the work of Hargreaves (1996), Hammersley (1997) and Hillage, Pearson, Anderson and Tamkin (1998) but allude to other sources as well.


New Ways Of Teaching Science, Naheed Anwar Nov 2007

New Ways Of Teaching Science, Naheed Anwar

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.


Breaking The Math Barrier, Bilqees Patel Sep 2007

Breaking The Math Barrier, Bilqees Patel

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.


Making Use Of Bilingual Interview Data: Some Experiences From The Field, Nelofer Halai Sep 2007

Making Use Of Bilingual Interview Data: Some Experiences From The Field, Nelofer Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This paper describes the challenges faced, and rules devised, while dealing with bilingual interview data as part of a life history study of a female science teacher’s conceptions of the nature of science while teaching in a school in Karachi. The interview data generated was both in Urdu and English, which underwent a number of processes (transcription, translation, and transliteration) to evolve into “interim texts,” to finally become a part of the data analysis process. I have called these translated materials “transmuted texts,” as they reflect the original, but have been recreated. This paper is significant because as globalization connects …


Learning Mathematics In English Medium Classrooms In Pakistan: Implications For Policy And Practice, Anjum Halai Jun 2007

Learning Mathematics In English Medium Classrooms In Pakistan: Implications For Policy And Practice, Anjum Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This is an in-depth qualitative study of students learning mathematics in classrooms where the medium of instruction was English which was the second or third language of the learners i.e. they were multilingual classrooms. Moreover, to promote reasoning and learning with understanding, the teachers had introduced group work, mathematical discussion, and mathematics tasks employing everyday contexts and language. Focus of the paper is the complex relationship between the language of instruction and the process of learning mathematics. The study demonstrates that learning mathematics in multilingual classrooms brings added complexity because students moved back and forth from the language of instruction …


Learning To Use Innovative Pedagogy: The Experience Of A Primary Science Teacher In Pakistan, Nelofer Halai Jun 2006

Learning To Use Innovative Pedagogy: The Experience Of A Primary Science Teacher In Pakistan, Nelofer Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This study examined the experiences of primary science teachers when they weThis study examined the experiences of primary science teachers when they were exposed to a new and innovative teaching strategy and the process that they followed in using the strategy in the class- room for the first time. Four primary science teachers, among the 22 participants of an 8-week Certificate in Education (Science) in Karachi, were observed and interviewed after the four-day teaching session where they were instructed how to use "Discrepant Events" to teach science content. Only the case of Farhana Batool, a teacher in a private school, …