Inspiring Academic Confidence in University Students: Perceived Digital Experience as a Source of Self-Efficacy

Purpose: This study aims to introduce a research framework that identifies the potential sources of design self-efficacy that emerge from the digital class by covering the teaching for professional competence model (TPCM) to enhance students' design self-efficacy. Design/methodology/approach: The multistage and purposive sampling technique is used, and the respondents considered are Malaysian university students. Further, the students who completed the survey included both local and international students so as to capture responses through primary data. Findings The findings of this research study reveal that design self-efficacy is determined not only by feedback and collaborative learning but also by perceived digital class experience. Research limitations/implications: Moreover, this study is limited in offering a theoretical framework using the TPCM;therefore, future studies may incorporate Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory and may also use the theory integration approach. Also, in terms of geographic coverage, the current work is limited to an area in Klang Valley. Future studies may be carried out in other parts or regions of the country. Future researchers may also focus on technological self-efficacy to capture the other related factors that may be related. Practical implications: This study not only contributed to the theoretical extensions but also to practical implications, which would benefit the policymakers of higher education providers in Malaysia. Originality/value: TPCM components, which are students' personal characteristics, teaching practices and student's perceptions of the classroom climate, are mapped into the digital class context as potential sources of design self-efficacy and collectively labelled as digital class experience. To the authors' knowledge, the digital class environment variable is yet to be tested as a component of TPCM.

Teaching Writing in Emergency Distance Education: The Case of Primary School Teachers

This is a case study examining the writing teaching processes of primary school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifty-four primary school teachers who conduct their writing teaching practices by distance education took part in the study. The data were gathered through a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher under the guidance of an expert. The interviews were conducted via video chat programs. After having the participant's consent, the interviews were recorded. In the analysis of the transcribed texts, descriptive and content analysis methods were used. The results were divided into five groups after the data analysis, and these are: first writing experiences, situations originating from the teacher, situations originating from the student, situations originating from the student's parents, and recommendations. The results revealed that sufficient significance was not given to the writing tasks during the pandemic, and these efforts were postponed to the next semester when it was expected that face-to-face education would begin. In the process, the study revealed that student motivation was poor, there were issues in the management of the classroom environment, and writings of students could not be provided with the necessary feedback and corrections. Besides, what stands out that for teaching writing, parent support is required, and parents do not pay desired attention to the writing. However, primary school teachers have provided some suggestions for more effective writing teaching.

Reflections on the Impact of COVID-19 on Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Nottingham

It is widely believed that digitally-driven changes are not welcomed amongst academic staff in higher education. However, when in March 2020, the University of Nottingham went online in response to the UK government's COVID-19 lockdown, a different picture started to emerge. This contribution reflects on the initial steps taken to respond to the COVID-19 emergency measures, including the support required to implement these steps and ensuing staff feedback. It also reflects on the process of moving forward from a state of emergency to a more thought-through digital pedagogical approach. In this scenario, the ultimate goal of this reflection is to argue that, as a consequence of the educational turbulence caused by COVID-19, the portrait of academics prone to resisting digitally-driven changes needs to be replaced by one that emphasises the significance of making the pedagogical values of these changes meaningful to the staff who eventually implement them. [For the complete volume, "Languages at Work, Competent Multilinguals and the Pedagogical Challenges of COVID-19," see ED612070.]

Preliminary Indicators of EFL Essay Writing for Teachers' Feedback Using Automatic Text Analysis

During the pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), English as a foreign language (EFL) students have to study and submit their assignments and quizzes through online systems using electronic files instead of hardcopies. This has created an opportunity for teachers to use computer tools to conduct preliminary assessment of the students' writing performance and then give advice to them timely. Hence, this paper proposed some indicators which were essay readability scored by Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), length of essays, errors in writing and a method to assist the teachers in providing writing feedback to the students. The results showed a large difference in FRE, the number of words, sentences, paragraphs and errors. The K-means clustering findings were applied to classify groups of students based on writing proficiency indicators. The findings also revealed that the number of words and sentences in the essays indicated some deficiencies. The concept of paragraph should be reinforced while some specific errors such as misspelling, grammatical and typographical errors found need to be eliminated. This study showcased that the computer tools should be integrated to process the students' essays so that the teachers can pinpoint the problems and make suggestions to their students in appropriate time. Lastly, the results can be served as the guidelines for the teachers to develop and adjust teaching materials pertinent to writing to enhance the writing performance of EFL learners.

Providing Virtual Mathematics Feedback: Connecting Research to Practice

Feedback is an essential form of communication between the student and teacher. Research has documented the importance of feedback in advancing student mathematical and critical thinking, with renewed recommendations to provide and use feedback in mathematical instruction during the era of COVID-19. Giving personalized feedback in an online environment can be a challenge -- especially in a mathematics class. This article summarizes five core principles of feedback, associated strategies for mathematics teachers to provide students virtual feedback, and notes on how we have implemented these strategies in middle school mathematics classes.

An Investigation of the Faculty Members' Practice Excitement Styles during Distance Learning

This study aimed to identify the degree to which faculty members practice excitement styles during distance learning. The study sample consisted of (298) randomly selected male and female students who enrolled in bachelor's and master's programs in various colleges at Amman Arab University, Jordan. To achieve the study's goal, the researchers followed the descriptive approach and developed a scale to reveal the degree to which faculty members' practice excitement styles during distance learning. After verifying its validity and reliability, it was applied to the study sample. The results showed that the degree to which faculty members practice excitement styles during distance learning was moderate with total arithmetic mean of (3.43), and the arithmetic means of the tool items ranged between (3.82-2.61). Also, there were no statistically significant differences in practicing excitement styles due to gender, faculty, and academic program variables.

The Future of Design Studio Education: Student Experience and Perception of Blended Learning and Teaching during the Global Pandemic

Urban design studio education aims to prepare future urban designers to more effectively understand how cities work and critically engage with the role of design intervention in the built environment. A design studio is an appropriate setting where this can take place. This paper details the design and delivery of a postgraduate urban design studio subject in the MA Urban Design programme at Cardiff University during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. We particularly investigate the capacities and challenges of blended learning and teaching, with a primary focus on the experience and perception of students in the context of design studio pedagogy. To this end, we discuss the findings from an online survey of postgraduate urban design students and reflect on their experience and perception of the related learning and teaching activities, assessment, feedback, field study visits, workshops, and digital platforms during the subject delivery period in the 2021-2022 academic year. The outcomes of this paper can inform future practices of blended learning and teaching incorporating a mix of face-to-face and online modes of delivery in relation to design studio education, particularly in the context of unprecedented global health challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Case Study of the Benefits of the Science Learning Partnerships in Early Years and Primary Education in England

This paper charts the recent history of the STEM Learning UK contracts with local Science Learning Partnerships (SLPs) and identifies what leadership has been made available to support the Early Years and Primary school sector. A case study approach is taken using 'Super SLP' hubs in England. Curriculum Hubs exist in core subject areas such as maths, English, science and computing. They have recently been expanded to include Behaviour Hubs. This forms the current DfE strategy of Teaching School Hubs (TSHs), i.e., to offer system support and a full career-length support for all stages of teacher-career and leadership development. This paper charts the changes to the Early Years (EY) and Primary teacher support networks, in science particularly, and examines what they provide and how this can be improved, and discusses, through session evaluation and feedback, what teachers have appreciated the most.

Peer Feedback to Improve Indonesian Adult Learners' Writing Skills: A Literature Review

Demonstrating good writing skills in English is considered important to master for students in tertiary level. In addition, as higher education institutions in Indonesia have been conducting teaching and learning activities online to mitigate COVID-19 viral spread, students' engagement in learning has been reported to be low due to boredom and tiresome in an online learning environment. Therefore, teachers need to plan and implement strategies to promote students' skills in writing and students' engagement in learning activities, in this case writing course. One of them is by practicing peer feedback. The purpose of this paper is to critically review peer feedback in improving Indonesian adult learners' writing skills in English course. In this literature review, 23 documents (a book chapter and peer-reviewed articles) were synthesized to find how peer feedback is relevant and beneficial in the tertiary education context. This paper argues that peer feedback is advantageous in improving adult learners' writing skills in that it facilitates meaning negotiation, it fosters critical thinking, and it promotes collaborative learning. However, teachers should anticipate possible issues emerging in peer feedback practice by providing pre-requisite training for students.

Fostering and Maintaining Relationships: Teacher Education during COVID-19

This article expounds how our pedagogical practices have changed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these effects others have contended with in the education community. The authors share pedagogical strategies they have found to be effective in terms of building and supporting relationships with teacher candidates. They suggest using digitally-mediated teaching and learning strategies, staying connected with students, and badge-based assessment and feedback approaches to build and support relationships with students, examples of the instructional design and implementation strategies are described. The authors propose that when looking forward, teachers at any level may benefit from providing students with an environment in which they feel heard and supported.

Online Assessment in the Digital Era: Moroccan EFL University Students' Experiences, Perceptions and Challenges

After the scientific consensus on the proliferation of COVID-19, a lethal virus, educational institutions worldwide have swiftly migrated to online learning. This upheaval has propelled online evaluation and assessment to be the norm during this period. The principal objective of the study and research is to explore students' experience with online emergency learning as well as online evaluation. This paper also investigates how Moroccan English as a foreign language (EFL) university learners perceive online assessment in comparison to face-to-face assessment. Data were collected from a sample of 93 Moroccan EFL university students using a self-designed questionnaire. The findings of this research revealed that the students experienced technical issues while submitting their exams. They have also expressed their disappointment with the lack of feedback provided by their professors, not to mention their constant worry about academic honesty. This has led them to lose interest in their studies and possess doubts about reliving this dissatisfactory experience. Therefore, the results implied that participants perceive online assessment as an insignificant factor for performance improvement. This unprecedented experience has had an unadulterated negative impact on students as it has left them both dissatisfied with their experience regarding distance learning and apprehensive about their future educational experiences. It is, then, recommended that the notion of online assessment should be given much attention in higher education in the Moroccan context.

The Utilisation of Peer-Assisted Learning/Mentoring and Translanguaging in Higher Education

The use of peer-assisted learning/mentoring (PALM) and translanguaging (TRL) as inclusive learning strategies to support students' transition into Higher Education and enhance their wellbeing in the post-Covid era has not been widely explored. Lecturers express their deep concern about the mental health issues and lack of confidence an increasing number of learners have faced lately in the UK due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of the present study, 80 undergraduate multilingual students were involved in PALM tasks during which they could use their first language through translanguaging and English, the target language, for one academic semester. The main goal was to ensure they had equal opportunities to develop their oral fluency while preparing group presentations. Paired T-tests were used to compare students' pre- to post-tests scores. In terms of this mixed-methods case study, the researcher also analyzed students' reflective reports and the anonymous feedback learners provided thematically to explore their attitudes. Findings indicated that these two approaches enabled students to improve their academic performance significantly although learners felt uneasy at the beginning. The combination of these two methods created a psychologically safe space as learners gradually developed a personal relationship with their peers. In response to the need for more information, as regards the use of PALM activities and TRL with multilingual learners, this study intends to contribute student voice since the inclusion of learner opinion has been minimal. Recommendations for the successful implementation of these two instructional approaches in undergraduate courses and suggestions for further research are provided.

Understanding the Foremost Challenges in the Transition to Online Teaching and Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review

The study aims to understand the foremost challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopts the PRISMA approach to screening the selection of journal articles and review papers according to the research aims and the inclusion criteria. The journal articles and review papers were extracted and stored in Microsoft Excel and Google Scholar, Academic. Microsoft, Semantic Scholar, Elsevier, and Emerald Insight databases searched relevant documents using formulated keywords. A statistical technique was applied using the M.S. Excel analysis tool (PivotTable and an independent t-Test) to analyze data and determine the differences between teachers and students. The review revealed the evidence that the majority of the studies were primarily focused on the individual developing countries and results from other developing countries were not considered. In addition, the foremost challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic were inadequate skills and training, inadequate Internet/Infrastructure, lack of supporting resources and lack of online student engagement and feedback. Finally, the independent t-test reveals there is no statistically significant difference in challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both teachers and students encounter similar challenges. The systematic review raised concerns that higher learning needs to effectively implement long term strategies and support teachers and students in getting into online teaching and learning.

A Toolbox of Adaptations for Online Delivery of SEL Programming

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed students to increased social-emotional stressors and instigated an emergency pivot to online teaching and learning. In doing so, it highlighted the need for effective social-emotional learning (SEL) programming in online learning environments. In response, this study explored how to adapt a widely used, traditional, school-based SEL program for online delivery. This small study describes a partnership between SEL researchers and educators that identified lesson components that were problematic for online delivery, designed potential online adaptations, and tested the feasibility of those online adaptations in an online learning context. Lesson review data, observational data from lesson rehearsals, as well as interview data were collected from teachers and counselors who teach SEL in schools across the US. Descriptive and thematic coding of the qualitative data indicated teacher-reported online delivery issues fell into six major categories: 1) partner work, 2) small-group work, 3) whole-class discussions, 4) role-playing, 5) physical movement, and 6) student handouts. For each of these six categories, at least five adaptation options were generated, allowing teachers choice and variety as well as developmental attunement when adapting instructional practices for online delivery. Taken together, the results of this study culminated in the creation of a toolbox of online adaptations that teachers can use when converting common instructional practices from face-to-face teaching to online, distance teaching. This study contributes to the underdeveloped research literature on online SEL teaching and learning by providing recommendations that are teacher-generated and tested, applicable to other SEL and academic programs, and practical for educators to implement.

"It's Like Flying a Plane While Constructing It": Exploring Blended Formatted Courses in Teacher Preparation Programs through the Instructor Perspective

The purpose of our case study was to center better understanding the perceptions and perspectives of approaches to blended instruction among teacher education faculty to improve teacher preparation programs. Data were collected before and during COVID-19 in the USA. Our findings indicated that the faculty consistently practiced differentiation of instruction in their blended formatted courses and viewed this mode of delivery as having a positive impact on preparing teacher candidates on teaching specific content and the skills needed as professional educators. Findings also revealed that the instructors faced obstacles, but they viewed this as a co-learning opportunity with their teacher candidates. With respect to COVID-19, our findings illustrated that successful adaptation of blended instruction among teacher educators is of an increased priority. The participants described the teaching techniques learned during the pandemic and stated they would incorporate these techniques to further improve their blended courses within teacher preparation in the future. We argue institutions should support faculty through investment in and promotion of faculty peer collaboration on structuring and designing blended courses.

The Use of Learning Management System (LMS) Moodle in the Midst of COVID-19 Pandemic: Students' Perspective

This study reports on students' acceptance of Learning Management System (LMS) Moodle as e-Learning system at the University of Education, Winneba. The participants of the study were 392 undergraduate students purposively selected from the Department of Integrated Science Education. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) instrument which has four factors;Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, the Behavioural Intention, and the Actual Use was the main instrument employed to collect the data. Findings from the descriptive analyses of data collected revealed a considerable high acceptance of the LMS Moodle by students. Although challenges like internet connectivity and lack of prompt feedback from lecturers were reported, students found the LMS Moodle as convenient and user-friendly. To promote effective teaching and learning in future, virtual learning should be integrated into the normal traditional classroom.

Investigating Student Satisfaction in Remote Online Learning Settings during COVID-19 in Indonesia

This study was to examine student satisfaction in remote online learning environments during COVID-19 in Indonesia. The participants were 65 undergraduate Informatics students from a private university in Surabaya, Indonesia. Data from Strachota's Student Satisfaction survey responses were examined using quantitative analyses. According to the findings, there was a strong and statistically significant relationship between student satisfaction and interaction. According to predictive models, every type of interaction could predict student satisfaction, with student interaction with content being the most powerful predictor. Furthermore, the findings revealed that self-ability in digital learning, good internet accessibility and connectivity, the presence and feedback of the teacher, website content, and the ability to learn from peer feedback and group discussions all played important roles in influencing student satisfaction. Students reported that they were generally more satisfied with their improved spoken communication skills, which helped them achieve their learning objectives. The findings suggest that integrating synchronous and asynchronous learning effectively promotes student learning and improves student satisfaction in Indonesia's remote online learning environment.

Establishing Social, Cognitive and Teacher Presences during Emergency Remote Teaching: Reflections of Certified Online Instructors in the United Arab Emirates

COVID-19 has forced many universities across the globe to implement emergency remote teaching as a preventative measure. Many faculty staff members were not adequately equipped with knowledge and skills of facilitating remote teaching. This made the establishment of social, cognitive and teacher presences difficult for them. The purpose of this study is to examine ways in which certified online instructors established social, cognitive and teacher presences during emergency remote teaching at a university in the United Arab Emirates. The study is guided by one critical question: How did certified online instructors establish social, cognitive and teacher presences in their online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic? The study adopted a qualitative case study within an interpretivist paradigm. Two certified online instructors were purposely selected to reflect on their experiences in establishing social, cognitive and teaching presences in their remote classes. It was found that students' engagement, critical thinking and self-directed learning and continual engagement play an indispensable role in students' remote learning. The study concludes that the establishment of the three components of a community of inquiry enhance students' learning experiences and allow instructors to cater for the diverse learning needs of all students in an online community.

A Pedagogical Reflection on Counseling Skills in Asynchronous Learning Environments

The online environment provides a unique opportunity for students from wide-ranging locations to participate in academic activities to develop collegial abilities or vocational skills. The training process for working in the counseling field consists of graduate level learning pertaining to mental health issues, self-exploration, ethical and moral development, and reviewing contemporary research topics affecting diverse populations of people. Perhaps most importantly, it also involves developing the skill to be able to translate knowledge into a new counselor's skills and dispositional presentation. Since online courses are typically delivered in synchronous, asynchronous, or hybrid formats, it is reasonable to reflect on the differences experienced by students in skills-based courses and consider possible impacts the varied online learning environments could have on their development towards becoming counseling professionals. This reflection seeks to blend research and publication findings for counselor education in skills courses through the experiences of faculty and students exposed to varied learning environments utilizing the online format.

Online Language Learning in Times of Crisis: Hindrance or Opportunity?

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes to the way teachers teach and students learn. Although there is a surplus of research on online education, the transition period to online education is also worth investigating. This study set out to explore language learners' perceptions of how they were impacted by emergency remote teaching (ERT). All the participants were students attending an English medium university in Turkey. The mode of teaching, changes in teacher-student and student-student interaction, online tools and materials used in the courses were investigated by a comprehensive self-developed online survey and the data were triangulated later by semi-structured interviews conducted with the volunteering participants. Most found the transition to ERT demanding, particularly the loss of face-to-face interaction;however, some students benefited from being able to better regulate their own learning process thanks to the recorded lectures and online materials. Students also appreciated receiving regular feedback from instructors about their progress.