Understanding the Nepali Classroom Practices: A Constructivist Perspective

As indicated by the Warnock Report, even 40 years ago, the necessity of responding to different student abilities and needs in school and thus the importance of adequate adaption of a regular curriculum regarding differentiation and personalization had already been described. Due to changes in policy and legislative frameworks, more and more students with special educational needs (SEN) attend regular education. However, placing the students with SEN within mainstream classrooms does not automatically lead to changes in teaching practices in these classrooms. In line with this, it would be interesting to know the way in which and to what extent students in inclusive classes perceive established inclusive practices, such as differentiation and personalization. Therefore, data from 47 inclusive classes from North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) were collected. In total, 872 primary school students (grade 4; ages 9–11 years) were asked to rate how frequently their class teachers used inclusive instructional practices (personalization and differentiation) using the Inclusive Classroom Practices Scale (ITPS). In addition to students, teachers were also asked to rate their own teaching practices in general and then in addition for each student separately. As differentiated instruction and multifaceted teaching practices are considered to be measures for meeting the needs of children with different educational needs, results that show a high use of these approaches were expected. Descriptive results indicate a consistent homogeneous understanding of prevailing inclusive teaching practices, which could be characterized by existing, but not intensive implementation, of inclusive practices. Differences regarding students' gender, migrant background, or SEN were not found for the students' ratings of teachers' inclusive practices or the teachers' self-ratings group. Moreover, the teachers' student-specific ratings indicate that teachers did not strongly differentiate or personalize with a focus on students' characteristics. A small overlap between teachers' general ratings of their own inclusive teaching practices and students' individual ratings was found. The results of the current study provide insights into actual inclusive teaching practices in German inclusive classrooms and make it possible to address the need for action and inclusive interventions.

Teacher Preparation and Practice: Reconsideration of Assessment for Learning introduces the reader to a collection of thoughtful research-based works by authors that represent current thinking about assessment. What we know is that assessments are designed and implemented in educational settings (both university-based teacher preparation and school-based teacher practice in school classrooms) that serve to inform and guide teaching and learning. We also know that there is a dichotomy between assessment of learning (summative) and assessment for learning (formative) that is recognized on a global level in teacher preparation. Importantly, the reported research examines assessment and the application of professional judgment guided by assessment for learning in contrast to the more normalizing assessment of learning that currently pervades the nature of assessment in teacher preparation and practice. There is a need in the “work of teaching” for assessments that focus on cultural competence and relational sensitivity, communication skills, and the combination of rigor and imagination fundamental to the teaching and learning practices in classrooms. Each chapter focuses on assessment and the preparation and practice of teachers who will enter classrooms to instruct the next generation of students. Chapter One opens the book with a focus on assessment and its relationship to teaching and learning in the classroom, providing the reader with an introduction to the book and an understanding of the role assessment plays in teacher preparation and practice. The authors of Chapters Two–Nine present field-based research that examines assessment in teacher preparation and practice. Each chapter offers the reader an examination of assessment in teacher preparation and practice based on formal research that provides the reader with insight into how the research study was conducted as well as equally important, the findings and conclusions drawn with respect to assessment and teacher preparation and practice. Finally, Chapter Ten presents an epilogue that focuses on the future of assessment in teacher preparation and practice.

Based on self-determination theory, this study explored how much secondary school teachers in public schools were motivated to work in their careers and how their motivation related to classroom practices. The study adopted a quantitative study design. A study recruited 70 secondary school teachers (male=36 and female=34) from different public schools who were randomly selected and involved. The questionnaire was administered to 70 teachers, and all the papers were returned positively. Teachers’ motivation was measured using the modified Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers (WTMST) (Fernet C. et al., 2008). The Teachers’ classroom practices were measured using an adapted vignette-based instrument, the Situations-in-School (SIS) Questionnaire (Alterman A. et al., 2019). The score for autonomy motivation was computed by averaging the subscale of intrinsic and identified motivation, and the score for controlling motivation was calculated by averaging the subscale of introjected and external motivation. The result indicates that, to a large extent, secondary school teachers are autonomously motivated to work in their careers. It also found that teachers’ autonomy motivation allied significantly with structure (need-supportive) and control (need-depriving) classroom practices. Controlling motivation and motivation are significantly related to control and chaos (need-depriving) classroom practices. The study findings are crucial to educational stakeholders in addressing teachers' challenges to boost their motivation, which positively relates to their classroom teaching and, in turn, can affect students' performance. Conclusively, any change in the educational structure that promotes teacher motivation should result in improved levels of classroom teaching.

Teaching practices in classrooms have evolved dramatically—from traditional content delivery to content curation and now moving towards content creation with the support of artificial intelligence (AI). We may classify the various advancements in teaching into three or four major phases in the history of education: (a) The era of chalk and talk; (b) the introduction of smart classrooms or the pre-COVID phase; (c) post-COVID phase—concentrated on curation of content by teachers; (d) the AI phase—creation of content. In the 20th century, teachers were the primary source of information, delivering knowledge through lectures, chalk and talk. The arrival of the internet and digital platforms shifted the role of teachers towards curating resources and relevant content from vast online repositories. Today, AI is driving a new phase—teachers and students collaboratively creating content. AI-powered simulations enable educators to design personalised lesson materials, quizzes and learning experiences within minutes. A 2024 HolonIQ survey found that 48% of teachers in developed countries use AI to generate teaching aids, while pilot projects in Finland and Singapore show AI reducing lesson prep time by up to 30%. In this article, we will discuss if AI is really going to replace teachers or is it just an extension of their creativity in the classroom.

This study explored the pedagogical beliefs and classroom practices of mathematics teachers and determined whether their beliefs system and practices lean towards the conventional or constructivist pedagogy. It employed the mixed method design and stratified-purposive sampling procedure to identify the 20 participating schools that provided the 96 mathematics teacher-participants. Overall, math teachers held beliefs system and teaching practices that are combinations of both conventional and constructivist perspectives. However, when grouped accordingly, high school math teachers demonstrated classroom practices that leaned more to conventional approaches and are inconsistent with their pedagogical beliefs. Result suggests that math teachers' preparation for K to12 implementation through training seemed not enough to shift their pedagogical perspective to lean more towards constructivism view. Such would likely strain if not impede the effective implementation of K to12 program. Hence, continuous and periodic teacher trainings on how to design a constructivist learning environment are deemed essential.

This study documents the results of a pilot study jointly undertaken by the World Bank and the Guangdong Department of Education to assess teaching practices in public primary and junior secondary schools using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System tool. The tool was used to conduct classroom observations on an illustrative sample of 36 teachers in three counties across Guangdong. The pilot tested whether such a tool could be used to measure the strengths and weaknesses of teaching practices in the Chinese context. It also informed how classroom observations can be more consistently applied in the province’s Quality Assurance and Monitoring and Evaluation system. On average, teachers in this sample scored high on classroom organization, but lower on emotional support and instructional support. While there was substantial variation in performance across teachers, there was only modest variation by county, urban versus rural school location, teacher type, grade, and years of experience. Teachers who believed that students should be the focus of instruction (those who espouse student-centered learning) scored significantly higher across all domains than teachers who believed that teachers should be the focus of instruction (those who espouse teacher-centered learning). Together the results from this pilot provide insights into how teacher training can address the most critical gaps in teaching practices.

Teacher classroom practices have been identified as the key contributing factor to the low learning outcomes of primary school grades in Kenya. Teacher mentoring has the potential to improve classroom practices and this study sought to determine its effects on the classroom practices of primary school teachers in Kwale County, Kenya. Using One Group Repeated Measures Quasi-Experimental Design, one cohort of 40 teachers in 22 public primary schools was mentored for 20 months, from May 2016 to October 2018. A classroom observation tool was used in data collection during this period. The tool achieved a Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.84, 0.81 and 0.79 in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively.  Data was analysed using Repeated Measures ANOVA and teacher mentoring had a statistically significant effect on mean classroom practice score at F=6.282, df=2, p=0.003. Significant mean differences were located between 2016 and 2017 in favour of 2017, and between 2016 and 2018 in favour of 2018. There was no significant mean difference between 2017 and 2018. In conclusion, teacher mentoring is effective in improving teacher classroom practices and should be integrated into the formal school programme in Kenya.   Key words: Teacher mentoring, classroom practices, teacher quality, learning outcomes. &nbsp

Extensive research has been conducted on teachers’ classroom practices, particularly instructional and behavior management practices that are linked to students’ learning. However, research on teaching practices in Greece is very limited due to the unavailability of valid, and reliable assessments. To support teachers’ evaluation and professional development in Greece, valid assessments that measure teachers’ classroom practice and capture teachers’ strengths, and areas in need of improvement are urgently needed. The current study presents the Greek translation and initial validation of the Classroom Strategy Assessment System (CSAS), a multi-rater, multi-source observational assessment of teachers’ evidence-based instructional and behavior management strategies. Trained school administrators observed 31 elementary school teachers (age range of students 6–12 years), three times each for 30 minutes in Greek Language Arts and mathematics lessons. Internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and interobserver reliability of the translated Greek CSAS were examined. Results revealed strong internal consistency, adequate test-retest, and interobserver reliability, and support the use of the CSAS in Greek classrooms. Overall, findings indicate that Greek teachers were rated as utilizing evidence-based classroom practices, but rates for some practices were lower than recommended by the literature. Implications for research and professional development are discussed.

This study focuses on a particular type of knowledge which is referred to throughout as tacit knowledge and has been identified as a personal form of knowledge, which plays a key role in the practice and professional development of teachers. In the context of initial teacher education tacit knowledge is important to consider as what student teachers are learning and how they are learning it is of current, pressing concern to initial teacher education in England. The role of and access to tacit knowledge in student teacher learning were investigated using a case study approach employing stimulated recall interviews wherein mentors were asked to reflect upon their teaching and explain their teaching actions. Stimulated recall interviews involved student teachers taking on the role of interviewer. Thematic analysis of data revealed that student teachers probed key teaching episodes and encouraged mentors to reveal complex decision making which may otherwise have remained undisclosed. Main findings show that both student teachers and experienced teachers see tacit knowledge as useful in the learning to teach process. Interviews reveal that observable teaching actions had complex underlying reasoning and this was elicited via objective-led dialogue between student teacher and mentor, post-teaching. Student teachers were able to independently select teaching events to examine further, and were able to understand their mentor’s actions and judgements more deeply as a result of stimulated recall interviewing. The implications arising out of this study include a need for change to observation and debriefing practices in school, with student teachers and mentors becoming more aware of the value and purpose of tacit knowledge. The benefits of student teachers being instrumental in initiating and asking questions which can elicit experienced teachers’ tacit knowledge are clear; and findings show the potential for student teachers to become more pivotal in their own learning. Where stimulated recall interviews were used mentors were encouraged to reveal embedded reasoning underpinning their classroom practice.

In recent times, more attention has been directed towards identifying international trends and ‘best’ practice for assessing pre-service teachers’ classroom performance. Previous attempts to assess Oman’s preservice teachers were based on adopting a psychometric/measurement assessment practice, whereby performance was measured by grades. Such an approach, in recent times, has been viewed as being fundamentally flawed in its attempts to measure pre-service teachers’ classroom practices. This is primarily due to its inability to authentically assess teacher’s learning in the classroom setting. Further underpinning this problem, is that Omani pre-service teachers are expected to undertake an International English Language Testing System (commonly referred to as IELTS), as a measurement of their English proficiency. This approach is problematic, in principle, as it is positioned after graduation and therefore forms no connection to the pre-service teachers’ school experience nor does it add to quality teaching and assessment. This recent shift in thinking, as to the idea that educational assessment should be based on psychometric measurements and grades, has evolved into assessment practices which encourage the integration of assessment into the learning and teaching environment. This thesis is concerned with how the pre-service English Language teacher’s classroom performance is assessed in Oman. Drawing on the work of Gipps (1999, 2002), this thesis adopted a sociocultural perspective to investigate the phenomenon of assessment practices associated with evaluating pre-service teacher’s classroom performance during school-based professional experience (also known as teaching practicum). Understanding assessment practices from a sociocultural perspective and its current practices such as authentic assessment and Assessment for Learning (AfL) assists pre-service teachers to learn so as to become professional, qualified teachers. To achieve the aims of this study, the thesis adopted a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenology approach to investigate the assessment phenomenon and to gain a deep understanding from the key stakeholders involved in the phenomenon. To enable this, the data collected from three higher education institutions, namely Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Rustaq-College of Applied Sciences (CAS) and Nizwa University and their participating schools. A range of different data sources obtained: assessment texts which position pre-service English Language teachers; three-series of interviews with the different stakeholders: three pre-service teachers, three cooperating teachers and four university supervisors to reveal their experiences; and observing the phenomenon in situ to triangulate with the aforementioned data. Implementing hermeneutic phenomenology, the obtained data analysed using two approaches: Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) so that the existing practices for assessing pre-service English language teachers’ classroom performance in Oman were captured. The analyses revealed that each institution has its assessment practices influenced by its socio-political structure, yet SQU, unlike Rustaq-CAS and Nizwa University, is distinguished in relation to its pre-determined set of professional standards for graduating teachers; explicit assessment criteria that are shared and discussed with pre-service teachers; collaboration between all stakeholders in the assessment process; a clearly defined role for the cooperating teacher as mentor; effective feedback provided to the pre-service teacher; using portfolios to record and document the pre-service teachers achievements; and effective self- and peer-assessment strategies. These practices are mostly experienced by stakeholders at SQU due to its international accreditation under the influence of the standards based on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). The findings suggest that SQU assessment practices are more aligned with the indicators of international best practice, compared to that of Rustaq-CAS and Nizwa University. Similarly, SQU had a better understanding of assessment practices from a sociocultural perspective. This means that within the context of assessing pre-service teachers’ classroom performance in Oman, the findings are not about each higher education institution but about producing quality teacher graduates by reforming the Omani assessment practices. Having SQU as a model in Oman, the key recommendations for policy and practice from this study are to: 1) set a national professional standards for teachers; 2) have explicit assessment criteria that align with the professional standards; 3) share the assessment criteria for success between all stakeholders in the phenomenon; 4) strengthen the collaboration between schools and universities as well as university supervisors and cooperating teachers,5) make the role of the portfolio more explicit in terms of monitoring and enhancing pre-service teacher development and learning; 6) empower the cooperating teacher to provide a more meaningful mentoring role to pre-service teachers; 7) provide explicit training in effective peer and self-assessment strategies for pre-service teachers in the classroom context and 8) provide explicit training in understanding and delivering quality feedback on classroom performance for all stakeholders.

ABSTRACTThis study reports on the impact of an ‘initial’ certification course (ICC) for English language teachers (the Cambridge CELTA) on the self-reported classroom practices and related beliefs of experienced teacher-participants. Although many participants on such courses are experienced non-native speaker teachers of English (NNESTs), almost nothing is known about the impact of ICCs on their classroom practices. Qualitative data, including questionnaire and interview data, was collected from 29 experienced Egyptian teachers of English 6 months after course completion to understand what changes had occurred in their self-reported classroom practices, their beliefs, and what challenges they had faced interpreting what they had learnt for their own teaching contexts. The data reveals a commitment on the part of most participants to implement the practices imparted on the course, indicating a noticeable shift in beliefs about how languages are learnt and taught towards more communicative, learner-centred practices. It also reveals increases in self-confidence from some participants, both regarding classroom practices and personal status as internationally certified teachers. However, significant variation in self-reported implementation was also found depending on contexts, constraints and challenges, indicating strongly that the communicative practices promoted on ‘international’ ICCs need adaptation in order for them to work effectively in primary, secondary, tertiary and adult classrooms in the Middle East. Recommendations provided include more discussion, both in inputs and assignments, of issues of how course participants will appropriate what they have learnt on the course for their own classrooms, and the provision of opportunities for peer-support, possibly online, after course completion.

Based on the theory of constructivism and analysis of characteristics and mental types of students in vocation college, the new classroom teaching model is constructed. Illustrated with the course of municipal engineering planning the design and practice of classroom teaching were discussed and the theory of project planning was applied to the practice of teaching based on the new classroom teaching model reaching to better effect of teaching and learning.

This study aims to report the results of qualitative research using a case study design on the team teachers’ beliefs about their roles in collaborative team teaching between native-English speaking teachers (NESTs) and local English teachers (LETs) in Indonesian secondary schools and aspects that shape their beliefs. Two pairs of English team teachers at two Junior High Schools in Ponorogo were interviewed and their classroom practices were observed. Then, the data were analyzed by using the interactive model proposed by Miles Huberman. The findings showed that NESTs and LETs possessed different beliefs about their roles in team teaching in which NESTs perceived their roles primarily dealing with linguistic and cultural aspects. Meanwhile, LETs played roles as the main teachers who led the classes by writing lesson plans, choosing the materials, focusing on theory (delivering basic materials), and assessing students. Furthermore, three factors shape teachers’ beliefs about their roles in team teaching, namely training, teaching experience, and learning experience. This research findings are expected to provide some recommendations to wide range of stakeholders to re-examine the practice of team teaching between NESTs and LETs by focusing on their respective strengths to generate the best classroom practices.

A recent literature review in support of the ‘State of the Nation’ (SoN) investigation into CPD in England indicated a number of limitations both in how researchers see CPD and how schools themselves participate and register this participation in such activities. The SoN review was conducted in the period from late 2007 to early 2008, but was subsequently updated during 2009, to form a starting point for this article. The initial review focused only on the UK literature and was confined to the period 2004–2007. Although the focus was the UK, there was a considerable amount of international literature collected at the time and used subsequently to place this picture in a broader perspective. This broader perspective was an examination of how teachers create and share professional practice, and hence develop that practice within their schools. This work was based on looking at the importance of networks, drawing not only on an extensive consideration of relevant literature, but also on a major study of how schools create and share practice associated with the introduction of assessment for learning practices in classrooms and schools. The SoN study indicates that the CPD literature has not served the field well, in terms of a paucity of literature on what happens in ordinary schools and under‐theorised work, particularly in terms of teacher learning. The study of networks indicates that there is potential to open up new areas of research and indeed practice in schools. However, there are a number of approaches based either on networks as communities or on electronic metaphors of networks that pay insufficient attention to the thriving network theory literature. This article examines some of the contributions that network thinking can make.

Revealing teachers’ beliefs about teaching in EFL speaking contexts may help better teaching practice. This research was conducted to investigate a teacher’s belief about teaching speaking focusing on convergences and discrepancies between the beliefs and the practices in the classroom. Grounded in a qualitative case study with interviews and classroom observations, an experienced English teacher with more than 10 years of teaching speaking in English participated in the study. The results of the study indicated that the teacher paid more attention to fluency and gave practical speaking tips when the students encountered communication breakdowns. Further, the teacher generally practiced her belief in the classroom, even though she encountered some discrepancies. It was due to some students’ factors including students’ language proficiency and their affective factors. Therefore, it is essential for EFL teachers to systematically and regularly monitor the relations between their beliefs and practices through reflective practices in order to improve their everyday practice of teaching speaking in particular. It is further suggested that teachers get engaged in some reflective practices to bridge their beliefs and teaching practices and find out how the reflection can benefit their beliefs and instructional decisions.