Boosting Students’ Grammatical Competence through Group Work Activities during Covid-19 Pandemic

This study tried to discover whether group work is effective to help the students get better understanding in the materials as well as being more active and sociable in class. This study was conducted for the sixth grade of SD Tarakanita Bumijo Yogyakarta on July-August 2022. This study would implement group work by conducting heterogenous groups. The data gathered came from combined observation data and quantitative questionnaire. Quantitative data is used to analyse numerical data. The data then converted by using 5 Likert scale to acknowledge the Group Work activity. Based on the result of the questionnaire number 1-3 with average score 4,26, It was concluded that this group work activity was successful in helping the students have better understanding of the material. Based on the result of the questionnaire number 4-5 with average score 4,33 and the observation during the activities group work helped the students got better understanding in the materials. The students helped and encourage each other during the study time and test time. Based on the result of the questionnaire number 6-8, students’ reflection on the questionnaire, and the observation notes, It was concluded that this group work activity was able to create good bond for the students and their friends. They helped each other, most of them didn’t argue or fight during the group work. They also felt closer after the group work. One important note before conducting the group work is setting the rules as clear as possible. Based on the result of the questionnaire, reflection, and observation data, group work make the students have better understanding of the material. The group work was also able to create good bond for the students and their friends. As they helped each other during the activity, most of them didn’t argue or fight. They got closer after the group work.

The article deals with peculiarities offorming future foreign language teachers’ grammatical competence in realization of communicative approach. The notion "future teacher’s grammatical competence" and its constituents are specified. The constituents offoreign language teachers’ grammatical competence comprise grammatical knowledge, grammatical skills (receptive and reproductive) and grammatical awareness (students' ability to register and recognize grammatical phenomena in oral and written speech, features and patterns of their formation and functioning). The types of communicative exercises, characteristic for the formation of grammatical competence of future foreign language teachers in the process of realization of the communicative approach, are offered and substantiated. The grammatical competence of the future foreign language teacher as a component of professional competence can be defined as intuitive (determining the creative and spontaneous use of language) and intellectual (which can be manipulated consciously) knowledge and ability to use grammatical resources of the language which can be achieved due to the integrated approach to learning grammar material, which provides an organic combination of conscious and subconscious components in the learning process, which will ensure their success in further professional activities. While communicative approach realization communicative (linguistic) tasks are prioritized. After all, it is the latter that bring the development of grammatical skills and abilities closer to the conditions of real communication - motivated and purposeful. Each grammatical structure can be carefully processed and automated thanks to the creative approach of the teacher to the selection of tasks.

This study focuses on a class action research (CAR) which tried to apply a method of Inductive Learning in a class of Advanced English Grammar to improve the students' grammatical competence and to find out whether there were students' behaviour changes in learning English grammar. This class action research (CAR) was conducted in two cycles. In each cycle, there were four steps, i.e planning, acting, observing, and reflection. Every cycle was conducted in two class meetings. The material for cycle 1 was ‘the position of adjectives' and the material for cycle 2 was ‘the forms of adjectives.' The subjects of the study were the 4 semester students of an Advanced English Grammar class in academic year 2011/2012. These students were Literature Study Program students of English Department Unnes. Based on the data analysis, the result of this CAR was quiet satisfying. There was an increasing percentage of students' test scores between cycle 1 and cycle 2. From test cycle 1, there were 32% students who got less than 70, while this reduced to only 24% students in test cycle 2. In addition, there were 68% students who got 71-100 in test cycle 1 and it increased to 76% students in test cycle 2. Based on the observation sheets and questioners given to the students, most of them liked Inductive Learning method to be applied in grammar classes because this method is fun and interesting. This attitude directly influenced their activity, motivation, and behavior in grammar classes which indirectly also increased their grammatical competence. Finally, the pedagogical implication th of the study is the lecturers and students are supposed to fully motivated to use Inductive Learning method in their grammar classes. This method, hopefully, can improve students' activity, motivation, behavior, and grammatical competence in learning English grammar.

In health-related professions, education has unique challenges. Problem-based learning can be extremely useful and driven by strategies such as group-work (GW) and peer assessment (PA), which are both used as formative and assessment tools. This study aimed to explore experience and perceptions about GW and PA held by educators and students in optometry. In a first survey, 45 Italian educators (43.8 ± 13.0 years old) of optometric clinical modules answered an email questionnaire investigating their attitudes towards GW and PA. In a second survey, 66 3rd-year undergraduates (22.5 ± 2.0 years old) answered a questionnaire investigating the perception and attitudes towards GW and PA at the beginning and at the end of a module of Advanced Optometry structured with a formative/summative GW activity with a final PA. Two-thirds of optometry educators declared they use GW, but not as a summative assessment tool. Only a quarter of the sample answered that they used PA at least once. Educators’ attitudes towards GW were more positive than PA (p < 0.001). About 60% and 80% of the interviewed students stated they have never participated in GW and PA, respectively. Students’ pre-course attitudes towards GW and PA resulted in values close to the middle of the scale with no significant differences and positive correlations between them (p < 0.001). When students’ GW attitudes were compared with educators’ GW attitudes, the latter were more positive. Students’ post-course attitudes towards GW and PA were enhanced. Although GW and PA are considered very good strategies to improve teaching, the results of the present study have demonstrated that the use of these strategies in Italian optometric higher education is limited. However, the study has also demonstrated that Italian optometry educators have positive attitudes towards “social” teaching strategies especially for GW. Furthermore, optometry students showed improved attitudes towards these strategies once exposed to them. Overall, the results of the study open the possibility to integrate “social” teaching strategies to improve the effectiveness of optometry education.

This paper discusses research investigating to what extent, if any, group work influences the students’ learning experience in Fundamentals of Electronics. Two classes of second year students from the College of Engineering at American University of Sharjah were involved. At least one class project is an established assignment in the class and is usually done in groups. For the purposes of this research, one class completed the project in groups and the other class completed it individually. The students were then given a short test specific to the material covered by the project. They also filled out a short survey and participated in focus group interviews to discuss their experience. The results indicate that although many of the students stated they enjoyed working in groups, a number of them admitted they did not gain a full understanding of the course material through the group work activity.

Some private universities in Jakarta use TOEFL or TOEFL-like test as the admission requirement for new students. Therefore, students’ candidates should prepare well to achieve the minimum score for being admitted. Unfortunately, their high school did not give enough training in doing the TOEFL test. The purpose of this community development program is to train high school students to do TOEFL test, especially the Reading section. The participants of the program were seven 12th grade high school students who were included in ASAK Paroki MKK community. They were trying to qualify for admission in Binus University. The program was created in the form of classroom teaching and individual assignment. In this program, we taught them about the TOEFL Reading test types, strategies and tips for doing the test. After the training, the students reported their understanding of TOEFL and confidence in preparing the university admission test.

The experiences of English language education students significantly shape language learning practices and pedagogical approaches globally. Despite the growing interest in these experiences, research on the intersection of identity and language teacher development remains limited, particularly among Indonesian English education students. This study employed James Paul Gee's Identity Theory (2000) to explore the construction and reconstruction of my identity as an English education student during a study exchange at Osaka University (2023–2024). Using a narrative self-study approach, I carefully examine up to the present moment, the struggles, development, and successes that have reshaped my formerly shaped identity as an English language learner and English education student. Moreover, a collection of reflective writings such as documents, pamphlet notes, tables, and journals were adopted to critically review my identity through a constant comparative method of data analysis, which led to the revelation of multiple stages of my identity formation and then its further reconstruction. The findings reveal that students and teachers’ narrations provide insightful and enlightening clues for each and every engaged member of the learning cycle to learn how to deal with members within their communities, and remind policy-makers and higher-order authorities of the value in recognizing and appreciating each and every one of an individual’s voices.

Student Team Achievement Divisions (STAD) is a teaching strategy where students work together in small groups on a structured activity and it is presumably able to improve students’ behaviour engagement and learning outcome. Collaborative learning and engagement (specifically behaviour engagement) are something considered important in learning, especially in language learning as they can promote the effectiveness of learning via active participation of students in the learning process. The data of this study were collected by using questionnaire, observation, interview and diary which used successively. The data analysis revealed that (1) STAD can improve students’ behaviour engagement (2) Difficulties of STAD when it was applied in enhancing students’ behaviour engagement. Taking sample of twenty one students divided into five small groups, the research was conducted by using classroom action research design. The results indicates that students in a class with caring atmosphere and supportive interaction managed by the teacher; who played active roles as prompter, participant, and/or tutor as well as addressed the students autonomy via group work activity, are engaged behaviourally to the instructional. In conclusion, the student team achievement divisions technique can be applied to enhance students’ behaviour engagement on the english class successfully. Keywords: Student Team Achievement Divisions, Students’ behaviour engagement.

With the continuous expansion of enrollment in private colleges and universities and the expansion of private universities' scale, China's private universities has been exposed to the shortage of education funds and the decline of teaching quality, especially the performance evaluation problem, which has aroused widespread concern in society. Based on the comprehensive research results at home and abroad, this paper establishes the performance evaluation index system of private universities and discusses how to scientifically evaluate the performance of private universities, just take a private university as an example, aiming at improving the utilization rate of higher education resources and promoting the rapid and healthy development of private universities.

Learning strategy becomes an essential factor in the success of language learning. It is the first step for language learners to enhance their own learning because the learning strategies are tools for active, self-directed involvement, and essential to develop communicative competence (Oxford, 1990). Therefore, students need to be introduced to the various types of learning strategies through integrated strategy-based instruction. This research is aimed at improving students' writing skills, which is focused on the improvement of students' English grammatical competence through Strategy-Based Instruction (SBI). In this classroom action research, the students were engaged in a weekly integrated writing strategy-based instruction or training. They employed some learning strategies to improve their writing skills, i,e. writing difficult or new words and grammatical patterns on some small pieces of cards or mobile phones, using electronic dictionary, discussing their feeling with the lecturer, and practicing peer review, with a guided editing checklist. The findings show that there was an increase in the students' awareness to use strategies (i.e. using mechanical techniques, highlighting, making efforts to find out how a word works in context by checking it in the dictionary, discussing the indiscipline attitude to the lecturer, and practicing peer review with a guided editing checklist). The finding also shows that the students' grammatical competence as one of competences needed in writing improved.Key words: Strategy-Based Instruction, writing skills

The Classroom Action Research (CAR) training for Science and Biology teachers in Salatiga aims to enhance pedagogical competence through a research-based approach. The implemented activities adopted a collaborative-participatory model, involving eight teachers through three main stages: (1) a joint needs identification with the local teachers' working group (MGMP), (2) intensive training across four interactive sessions, and (3) continuous mentoring. The training methods combined the presentation of conceptual material (CAR framework, data collection techniques), hands-on proposal drafting practice, and simulations on using research tools like Mendeley for reference management. Evaluation results indicated positive outcomes, with 100% of participants rating the facilitators as highly competent and 87.5% stating the material was presented clearly. However, a need for deepening practical aspects was identified, as 12.5% of participants still experienced difficulties in application. Thematic analysis of the feedback revealed three main recommendations: (a) increasing the portion of case-based learning activities using real examples, (b) developing applied biology-based modules, and (c) integrating technology such as digital microscopy in advanced training. The program's success is reflected in 80% of participants' ability to design relevant CAR proposals during the training, and the establishment of an online learning community for post-activity mentoring. These findings emphasize the importance of a teacher training model that combines applicable theory, intensive mentoring, and technological support, particularly to bridge the gap between academic research and classroom practice.

Blooket, an educational gamified platform, provides an efficient way for students to review course lessons, reinforce learning objectives, and improve academic achievement. In particular, Blooket is effective in teaching languages; nevertheless, whether the use of Blooket in teaching grammar is effective or not has not been studied thoroughly. Hence, this study aims to explore English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' perceptions on the use of Blooket in grammar classes. Students' views about utilizing Blooket in grammar classes were examined by both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study employed a 7-point Likert scale questionnaire and a semi-structured interview for data collection with the participation of 132 EFL students at a private university in Vietnam. The findings showed that students’ perceptions on using Blooket in grammar classes were positive regarding the perceived usefulness, perceived ease-of-use, attitude toward using technology, behavioral intention to use the system, and satisfaction. Students were satisfied with the Blooket application in grammar classes because they found Blooket beneficial. Nonetheless, several challenges were also discussed to assist EFL students in improving their grammar performance. Implications for practical applications of Blooket in grammar classes were addressed in this research to enhance students' grammar performance.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the English language learning outcomes of Class VII students at SMP Negeri 3 Labuhan Haji for the 2021/2022 academic year were still low. In every assessment carried out, whether in practice or daily tests, the majority of Class VII students are still relatively low. The purpose of this research is to find out whether cooperative learning with the Index Card Match Model can improve English learning outcomes in Procedure Text material for Class VII students at SMP Negeri 3 Labuhan Haji during the Covid-19 Pandemic, Odd Semester of the 2021/2022 Academic Year. The type of research carried out is classroom action research (CAR) and is carried out in the odd semester of the 2021/2022 academic year. This classroom action research was carried out at SMP Negeri 3 Labuhan Haji, which is the researcher's assignment location. This research was carried out using two cycles, with each cycle carrying out a learning process at least 3 meetings including evaluation activities. This research was carried out for approximately three months, namely from September to November 2021.The research subjects were Class VII students of SMP Negeri 3 Labuhan Haji for the 2021/2022 academic year, totaling 27 students.Based onBased on the results of the analysis and, it can be concluded that the application of learning withIndex Card Match Cooperative Learning Modelcan improve the learning outcomes of Class VII students at SMP Negeri 3 Labuhan Haji for the 2021/2022 academic year. This can be seen from the average score obtained by students in cycle I of 68.14 and the average score of students in cycle II of 73.70, which means there is an increase in the learning mastery obtained by students in cycle I of 74.07% to 85.18% in cycle II

Introduction: Interprofessional education is considered to be an innovative and useful concept to accelerate the effort of transforming health professional education under health systems perspective. Generally Interprofessional Education (IPE) occurs when two or more professionals belong to different professional groups learn together through mutual interaction with the purpose to improve collaboration and the quality of care. The key for IPE is that the learning must be interactive. It is an important step in advancing health professional education for many years and has been endorsed by the Institute of Medicine as a mechanism to improve the overall quality of health care.Methods: Realizing the importance of IPE, a quasi experimental study was undertaken and conducted in Bangladesh in May 2014. Sample size was 32 out of which 15 teachers (Such as Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Lecturer and Instructor) and 17 students of medical, dental, nursing, medical technology and allied health science institutes. All the participants voluntarily attended 5 sessions on basic concept on IPE, role delineation, communication, teamwork & team building and patient centered care followed by group work and group activities within three consecutive days. After those 5 sessions, views of the participants were sought through self administered structured questionnaire after data entry and analysis.Results: According to the study, 100% participants viewed that medical, dental, nursing, and medical technologists should have few common sessions in their student life while about 90.7% respondents opined that those sessions will develop positive relationship among them, which will help to feel and honor each other’s professional responsibilities viewed by all the respondents. It was also revealed that 96.9% respondents viewed that IPE sessions in student life will help to reduce silos in professional life. Better team work among doctors, nurses and medical technologists will ensure patient centered better health care was viewed by 100% respondents. Study recommended introducing IPE in Bangladesh to foster patient centered health care.Conclusion and Recommendation: The study concluded with recommendation that specific sessions for IPE should be incorporate in the under graduate education curriculum of the health professionals during their academic period and also during in- service period at workplace as part of their professional development to promote quality of care.Chatt Shi Hosp Med Coll J; Vol.15 (1); Jan 2016; Page 3-7

Listening is the primary gateway for children to learn in the mainstream classroom, but the dynamics and noise of modern classrooms can make listening challenging. This is especially true for children with hearing loss, language and communication difficulties, attention deficits, autism, other learning needs, and/or those communicating in a language other than their native language. It is, therefore, critical for researchers to realistically assess how children listen to learn in the classroom and to understand how listening can be improved to enhance children’s learning and wellbeing. The Listen to Learn for Life (L3) assessment framework is a tool to use when conducting this research which holistically incorporates frameworks from health, speech and hearing sciences, and education sectors. The L3 assessment framework has three main components: characterisation of activity (perceptual setting of lecture, group work, or individual learning activity), functioning assessment (hearing, listening, comprehending, or communicating), and impact (learning and wellbeing). These are affected by External and Internal Influences. Here, we present selected examples of how to apply the framework to assess children’s listening, learning, and wellbeing during different classroom activities as well as determine the effectiveness of a chosen intervention.