Practitioner Research

MYSTERY OF A SUPER BALL: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT ON A CHEMISTRY GAMIFICATION IN PROMOTING SOFT SKILLS AMONGST PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS

Norliza Kushairi — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0800

Gamification becomes trending to increase learning engagement. Yet it is rarely attempted by teachers for flipped classroom approach due to time constraint, the need for creativity and technology literacy. In this paper, I share my experience in gamification design to promote communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity (4Cs) among students. Faced with stagnancy in using traditional cooperative strategies, I took on the challenge of designing the game “Mystery of Super Ball” for the Polymer topic, involving a group of pre-service teachers as Agents in a mystery-mission game. The study design was motivated by the gap in action research’s reflective practitioner philosophy. Data was gathered through video recording, semistructured interviews, and student reflections. The findings indicate that students demonstrated strong communication and collaboration skills while immersing themselves in their detective roles. Triangulating with quantified episodes, communication (31.01%) and collaboration (25.58%) were substantively prevalent in the students’ problemsolving tasks. However, critical thinking (22.79%) and creativity (20.62%) showed relatively lower occurrences, suggesting the need for revising my strategies. Among the 24 subconstructs of the 4Cs themes, two were minimally observed: ‘Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and radical concepts)’ and ‘Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view’, falling under creativity and critical thinking, respectively. These insightful findings strongly advocate for reevaluating the current critical essay assessment on the Polymer topic. A more innovative approach is needed, one that challenges students to showcase their creative and critical problemsolving abilities. Noteworthy, students’ perceptions of my creativity shed light on my strengths and weaknesses in game design, providing valuable insights for future research recommendations. This study highlights the importance of being a reflective practitioner, both for my pre-service student-teachers and myself as a lifelong learner.

MONETARY POLICY AND STOCK PRICE BEHAVIOUR OF BANKS IN NIGERIA: A PANEL DYNAMIC CO-INTEGRATION APPROACH

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0800

This study was conducted to examine effect of monetary policy on stock prices of listed banks in Nigeria. Specifically, the study
examined effects of broad money supply, Treasury bill rate, monetary policy rate, exchange rate, cash reserve ratio, lending rate and savings deposit rate on stock prices of 15 listed banks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as at 31st December, 2019. The study employed descriptive statistics, panel dynamic ordinary least squares and panel causality analysis to analyze quarterly data of stock price (STP) and monetary policy variables from 2006 to 2019. Results of the panel dynamic ordinary least squares (PDOLS) show that for banks, broad money supply (M2), monetary policy rate (MPR), exchange rate (EXCH) and interest on savings (SDR) significantly affect stock price negatively (p =0.0147; p =0.0000; p = 0.0110 and p = 0.0003 for M2, MPR, EXCH and SDR respectively). Treasury bill rate (TBR) significantly affects stock price positively (p = 0.0000) while cash reserve ratio (CRR) and lending rate (LDR) have insignificant effect on stock prices of banks. We recommend that Nigerian banks should be more pro-active in managing effects of monetary policy announcements to avert prolonged negative effects of such policies on their stock prices. We also advocate a re-appraisal of MP tools vis-à-vis stock market expansion goal by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND PRIMARY TEACHER’S COMMITMENT IN MALAYSIA

Farah Mohamad Zain, Nazrul Ridzuan Shaffiee — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0800

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school organizational climate and teacher’s commitment. This
study focused on four dimensions of school organizational climate which are institutional vulnerability, professional teacher, collegial
leadership and achievement press. A quantitative survey method was applied and randomly tested with a sample of 170 teachers from seven government primary schools in the district of Arau, Perlis, Malaysia. The instrument used in this study was adapted from Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) and the Organizational Climate Index (OCI). Analyses of the data gathered were presented using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21. The findings indicated that the relationship of school organization climate and teachers’ commitment is moderately strong.

PHILOSOPHY AND TEACHING METHODS OF CHINESE CHARACTER LITERACY EDUCATION BASED ON THE APPLICATION CONCEPT OF PALEOGRAPHY

Xingcong Fu, Dai Chuan Tan — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0800

The reform and practice of the Chinese character literacy teaching method based on the concept of paleography application can be
employed to a certain extent and thus will improve the quality of Chinese character literacy teaching. This paper discusses the necessity and feasibility of applying ancient characters to Chinese character literacy teaching, discusses the epistemological and methodological issues of Chinese character literacy teaching, and expounds five teaching methods for the application of ancient characters to Chinese character literacy teaching, including didactic teaching method, case teaching method, theme-based teaching method, situational teaching method, and comprehensive teaching method. Different teaching methods are the deconstruction of Chinese character teaching goals, highlighting teaching objectives and priorities from different levels. They are not isolated and separated from each other, and teachers can actively choose and use teaching methods under the guidance of teaching objectives at different stages.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TRAINING FOR ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP: EXPERIENCES OF DEVELOPING AND FACILITATING THE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE MODULE IN NEPAL

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0800

In this article, we present the development of a module for Emotional Intelligence to foster organizational leadership in Nepal through the use of Collaborative Autoethnography (CA), a qualitative research method. The authors use their personal experiences related to the development of the module, its facilitation, and its impact when implemented in one of the organizations in Nepal to share their
personal journey and the lessons learned. The reflections illustrate how participation in an EI module helped the organization gain
insights into its leadership approach. The article also demonstrates how reflecting on the experiences helps both the facilitators and the participants draw tangible lessons associated with the content, to further improve their practice.

ENGLISH ORAL PROFICIENCY AND TOURISM ENTREPRENEURSHIP: IDENTIFYING AND OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

Ku Nor Syakina Ku Sulong, Masturah Sabri, Vincent Wong, Nur Athirah Rosli — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0800

In this millennium era, the English language proficiency of tourism entrepreneurs must be looked into and improved. This is due to the
tourism industry’s tremendous growth that requires mastery of the English language, as English is now widely acknowledged as the
worldwide language of communication. In addition, due to the scope of their work that needs to interact with international tourists, it is essential for them to be able to communicate in the English Language. This study aims to discover the challenges faced by them and their way of having to learn, master the English language and overcome these challenges. This study will follow a qualitative approach where the researchers engaged in semi-structured interviews as preliminary data, interviewing two tourism entrepreneurs located in various parts of the tourist island of Langkawi. Thematic analysis was employed to interpret the collected data and generate appropriate themes and sub-themes for the study. The findings illustrated that tourism entrepreneurs operating on Langkawi Island encountered various obstacles with their English-speaking skills. These challenges included difficulties in understanding unfamiliar accents and the necessity for additional resources to effectively communicate with international tourists. The entrepreneurs expressed their desire for support in enhancing their English language proficiency. The data also revealed that these individuals overcame their difficulties by actively engaging in regular interactions with international tourists and making use of mobile applications to improve their ability to speak English.

HUBUNGAN ANTARA BEBAN KERJA, TEKANAN KERJA, PERANAN KONFLIKKERJA DAN TINGKAHLAKU DEVIAN DI TEMPAT KERJA DALAM KALANGAN PEGAWAI POLIS DI SEBUAH IBU PEJABAT POLIS DI WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0800

Kajian ini bertujuan mengenal pasti hubungan antara beban kerja, tekanan kerja dan peranan konflik kerja dan tingkah laku devian
dalam kalangan pegawai polis di sebuah IPD Wilayah Persekutuan. Robinson dan Bennett (1995) digunakan sebagai teori asas untuk menerangkan rangka kerja penyelidikan. Hipotesis kajian dibentuk berdasarkan dapatan kajian lepas. Dari segi metodologi kajian ini
menggunakan pendekatan survei yang bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti hubungan diantara pemboleh ubah kajian. Seramai 120 pegawai polis dipilih sebagai sampel kajian berdasarkan jadual Krejcie dan Morgan (1970) dan pemilihan responden dilakukan secara rawak mudah. Keputusan analisis deskriptif menunjukkan tahap beban kerja, tekanan kerja, peranan konflik kerja, dan kelakuan yang devian dalam kalangan pegawai polis pada tahap sederhana. Manakala dapatan daripada ujian Pearson menunjukkan wujudnya hubungan signifikan yang positif. Tambahan pula, kajian ini membuktikan beban kerja merupakan faktor yang paling dominan mempengaruhi tingkah laku devian dalam kalangan pegawai polis. Secara keseluruhan, kajian ini telah mengenal pasti wujudnya tingkah laku devian dalam kalangan pegawai polis yang berpunca daripada faktor persekitaran kerja seperti beban kerja yang berlebihan, konflik yang berpunca daripada kegagalan mengawal emosi serta menghadapi tekanan kerja yang berpanjangan. Pihak pengurusan PDRM perlu mengambil tindakan sewajarnya untuk menangani masalah tingkah laku devian demi mewujudkan persekitaran kerja sihat dan harmoni.

MENINGKATKAN KEMAHIRAN MENAMBAH DAN MENOLAK INTEGER DALAM KALANGAN MURID TINGKATAN 1 MENGGUNAKAN KAEDAH “RUMAHKU TIANG SEBATANG”

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0800

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kefahaman murid mengenai topik integer terutamanya dalam konsep menambah dan menolak nombor integer. Oleh itu, kaedah “Rumahku Tiang Sebatang” diperkenalkan dalam kajian ini kepada murid untuk memahami serta meningkatkan kemahiran menyelesaikan dalam operasi menolak dan menambah yang melibatkan nombor integer. Masalah kajian tindakan ini disebabkan murid yang kurang minat, kurang fokus dan kurang pendekatan pembelajaran yang menarik untuk memahami topik dalam subjek matematik. Oleh itu, kajian tindakan telah melibatkan kaedah temu bual, ujian dan refleksi. Seramai 24 murid Tingkatan 1 diperkenalkan kaedah “Rumahku Tiang Sebatang”. Murid ditemu bual dan dinilai melalui ujian yang disediakan kemudian dianalisis menggunakan analisis tematik dan ujian untuk mencapai objektif kajian, iaitu: i) Apakah masalah yang dihadapi oleh murid dalam menambah dan menolak integer? ii) Sejauh manakah kaedah “Rumahku Tiang Sebatang” mampu meningkatkan kemahiran murid dalam menambah dan menolak integer? Hasil dapatan kajian menunjukkan kaedah “Rumahku Tiang Sebatang” ini mampu menarik minat murid untuk memahami konsep tambah dan tolak nombor integer. Ujian yang dijalankan dalam kajian ini juga mendapati bahawa terdapat peningkatan pencapaian markah murid tingkatan 1 dalam menyelesaikan masalah soalan topik integer. Kaedah ini juga dilihat memberi impak yang positif dalam kalangan murid dan guru di sekolah. Kajian penyelidikan ini dilihat mampu menyumbang kepada pemahaman terhadap konsep asas menolak dan menambah yang melibatkan nombor integer dalam kalangan murid tingkatan 1 di sekolah menengah.

PENILAIAN PERSEPSI DAN KUALITI PERKONGSIAN PENGETAHUAN BERASASKAN MOODLE DALAM KALANGAN MAHASISWA: SATU TINJAUAN PEMBELAJARAN TERBUKA DAN JARAK JAUH

Darwalis Sazan — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0800

Kajian literatur mendapati bahawa pembelajaran secara terbuka dan jarak jauh juga merupakan salah satu faktor yang signifikan dalam merumuskan penilaian persepsi dan kualiti perkongsian pengetahuan dalam kalangan mahasiswa secara efektif. Kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengenal pasti dan menganalisis penilaian persepsi dan kualiti perkongsian pengetahuan dalam kalangan mahsiswa Pusat Pengajian Jarak Jauh (PPJJ) di Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) khususnya melibatkan penggunaan Moodle. Kajian ini juga akan menjelaskan penilaian persepsi dan kualiti berdasarkan ODL berpandukan kepada hasil kajian yang telah dikenal pasti. Kajian ini merupakan kajian kuantitatif yang menggunakan instrumen soal selidik. Perisian SPSS versi 27.0 dimanfaatkan untuk menganalisis data tinjauan dalam soal selidik. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa penilaian dari aspek persepsi, kebanyakan pelajar bersetuju penggunaan Moodle dalam mod pembelajaran secara ODL menggalakkan sikap dan faktor perkongsian pengetahuan mereka. Manakala, dari aspek kualiti kebanyakan pelajar bersetuju bahawa penggunaan Moodle secara ODL menyumbang kepada kesan yang positif dalam perkongsian pengetahuan dengan menjadikan mereka lebih berpengetahuan luas. Secara majoriti boleh dikatakan bahawa pelajar bersetuju dengan adanya budaya perkongsian pengetahuan melalui penggunaan Moodle. Moodle juga berupaya menyumbang kecermelangan akademik mahasiswa dengan membudayakan perkongsian pengetahuan dan mengekalkan keterjenamaan universiti, iaitu USM sebagai universiti pelopor dan tertua di Malaysia yang menyediakan menyediakan mod
ODL yang bersistematik tinggi dan bermanfaat.

PENDIGITALAN GALLERY WALK DENGAN APLIKASI JAMBOARD DAN GOOGLE MEET : KURSUS MALAYSIA DAN HUBUNGAN ANTARABANGSA SEMASA ENDEMIK COVID-19 DI MALAYSIA

Mohd Fadzil Mohd Salleh, Rusmawati Othman, Saruvari Badru Duja Khan — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0800

COVID-19 telah memberi impak yang kuat kepada institusi pendidikan di seluruh dunia. Memandangkan kadar jangkitan
sangat membimbangkan, Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP) telah dilaksanakan oleh kerajaan Malaysia sejak tahun 2020 dan seterusnya, dilanjutkan sehingga tahun 2021. Bagi mematuhi norma baharu, pelajar diarahkan untuk menghadiri kelas secara maya dari rumah. Namun demikian, guru-guru perlu mengekalkan masa pengajaran dan mematuhi objektif kursus pada prestasi tinggi melalui pembelajaran jarak jauh. Sebagai respons kepada iklim pembelajaran yang mencabar ini, pensyarah di Institut pendidikan Guru telah mempraktik pembelajaran digital dengan menggunakan Jamboard dengan Google meet untuk disepadukan dengan pendekatan kolaboratif gallery walk. Satu kajian kes telah dijalankan untuk meneroka pengalaman 12 orang guru pelatih dalam kursus sejarah, Malaysia Dan Hubungan Antarabangsa di Utara Malaysia setelah selesai kursus. Data telah dikumpul daripada temu bual dan perbincangan kumpulan serta pemerhatian berfokus. Seterusnya, analisis data dijalankan secara manual menggunakan kaedah pengekodan terbuka dan tematik. Dapatan kajian menemukan tiga tema iaitu 1) Pemampatan kandungan kursus 2) Kompetensi pelajar 3) Kompetensi pensyarah. Kajian ini mencadangkan keperluan warga pendidik untuk beralih kepada pembelajaran digital kerana dapatan menyokong mod pedagogi baharu ini selari dengan matlamat pembelajaran bermakna untuk memacu pembelajaran sepanjang hayat. Seterusnya, membangunkan warga yang berdaya saing dengan atribut abad ke-21 dan Revolusi Perindustrian Keempat.