Kamariah Abu Bakar

Technology and school leadership

As the demand for schools to become more effective and efficient learning communities increases, the need for principals to cultivate broad‐based, skilful participation in the work of leadership is essential. It is important for educational leaders to recognise the significance of their role in technology implementation and utilisation. They should be proficient in the use of technology and then provide leadership in the use of technology for administrative, instructional, and learning functions. Relatively few studies have empirically examined the level of computer use by principals, their perceived computer competence and their leadership style. This paper will report on these issues from an initial analysis of baseline data gathered from 30 secondary school principals in Tehran, a large province in Iran. Findings indicate that school principals spent a few times a week working on their computers and they had moderate levels of information technology competency. This paper also suggests that transformational leadership can help school leaders increase successful use of technology in schools. Hence, policy makers must design professional development programmes, such as leadership studies, in order to teach the components of transformational leadership: idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration to future administrators.

Qualitative findings of students' perception on practice of self-regulated strategies in online community discussion

With rapid emergence to the birth of the knowledge era, an active and interactive learning environment is fundamental to any teaching and learning process. Over time, negative implications of traditional learning environment are mounting, and measures must be taken to challenge it. With extensive research on available learning tools, it has become more feasible to provide our students with better learning opportunities. Such was the anticipation in the Malaysian educational context. Hence, this paper aims to address qualitative findings of a study on self-regulated learning strategies conveyed through the proposed interactive e-learning community (iELC). In duration of eight weeks, students (n=50) from regular national secondary schools were subjected to online learning tasks aimed to advance strategies on self-regulated learning. To date, strategies of self-regulated learning have been perceived as key to learner to succeed academically and after the schooling years. By means of semi-structured interview, data were collected from small group and one-to-one perception. Results were directed at the overall development of self-regulated learning strategies and its diffusion in the iELC discussion platform. Conclusively, these findings add significantly to the understanding of self-regulated learning strategies in an online learning environment.

Using a Student-Centred Learning Approach to Teach a Discrete Information Technology Course: The Effects on Malaysian Pre-Service Teachers' Attitudes toward Information Technology.

The purpose of this study was to measure pre‐service teachers’ attitudes toward information technology (IT) after completing a discrete IT course taught in a student centred‐learning (SCL) environment during laboratory sessions. Evidence from this study suggests that there was a positive shift in the participants’ attitudes toward IT. Pre‐test results showed that IT‐competent participants who regarded IT as useful had more confidence and less aversion toward IT. Post‐test results showed increased mean scores on all three dependent variables with no differences between IT‐competent and low IT‐competent participants. The results were supported by interviews which indicate that after completing the IT course, participants were more independent, more creative and possessed collaborative learning skills. The results suggest that infusing SCL into a discrete IT course can help promote and enhance positive attitudes toward IT and enable students to be active participants in their own learning process.

Factors predicting teachers’ attitudes towards the use of ICT in teaching and learning

Technology has revolutionized in the field of Education. The importance of technology in schools cannot be ignored. While it is important that mathematics teachers should have positive attitudes towards adopting ICT in their teaching, various problems can arise when integrating ICT into classroom lessons. This study explored the factors that influence the attitudes of mathematic teachers in the integration of ICT in the teaching and learning process. A total of 187 mathematics teachers from the state of Selangor in Malaysia were randomly selected from a stratified cluster sample. The research examined five factors that were postulated to impact teachers’ attitudes towards the integration of ICT in their lessons, viz. teachers’ technology competence, school culture, access to ICT, school support, and years of classroom teaching experience. The findings showed that the teachers’ attitudes towards using ICT in teaching and learning were positively correlated with the teachers’ technology competence [r = .41;...

Design and development of learning management system at universiti Putra Malaysia: a case study of e-SPRINT

This paper reports the design and development of the e-SPRINT, Learning Management System, which has been derived from Sistem Pengurusan Rangkaian Integrasi Notakuliah dalam Talian - mod Elektronik) and currently being implemented at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). The e-SPRINT was developed by utilizing PERL (Practical Extraction and Report Language) and was supported by standard database in Linux/UNIX environment operating system. The system is currently being used to supplement and complement part of the classroom-based teaching. This paper covers the architecture and features of the e-SPRINT system which consists of five main modules. Some general issues and challenges of such e-learning initiatives implementation will also be discussed.

Barriers of Using Jusur Learning Management System in Saudi Arabia Universities

T he purpose of this study was to determine the main barriers faced by faculty members from using Jusur LMS in Saudi universities. This study was quantitative in nature and employed a descriptive research design. The sample of this study included 454 faculty members from four public universities in Saudi Arabia who had experience using Jusur LMS for instructional purposes. Data were gathered through the use of a web-questionnaire. Findings indicated that barriers faced by faculty members from using Jusur LMS were considered at a moderate level. Further analysis also revealed that respondents identified numerous administrative and technological barriers such as lack of technical, administrative and financial supports. In the technological domain, they faced obstacles with availability of appropriate hardware, poor internet connectivity, the lack of internet access, unsuitable software and technological resources in the Arabic language. It is suggested that for an improved utilization of Jusur LMS at Saudi universities, barriers such as administrative and technological obstacles must be taken into due consideration.

Utilization of variation theory in the classroom: Effect on students’ algebraic achievement and motivation

This study investigates the effect of utilizing Variation Theory Based Strategy on students’ algebraic achievement and motivation in learning algebra. The study used quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group research design and involved 56 Form Two (Secondary Two) students in two classes (28 in experimental group, 28 in control group) in Malaysia The first class of students went through algebra class taught with Variation Theory Based Strategy (VTBS) while the second class of students experienced conventional teaching strategy. The instruments used for the study were a 24-item Algebra Test and 36-item Instructional Materials Motivation Survey. Result from analysis of Covariance indicated that experimental group students achieved significantly better test scores than control group. Result of Multivariate Analysis of Variance also shows evidences of significant effect of VTBS on experimental students’ overall motivation in all the five subscales; attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. The...

Effect of teaching mathematics using GeoGebra on students’ with dissimilar spatial visualisation

This study examined the effects of GeoGebra on mathematics performance of students with different spatial visualization. A qusai-experimental, pretest-posttest control group design was conducted. A total of 71 students from two intact groups were involved in the study. They were in two groups and each group was randonly assigned to the experimental group (36 students) and control group (35 students). A spatial visual test to identify students with high or low visualization, and a mathematics performance pre-test were administered at the initial stage of this study. A post-test was administered after 12 weeks of treatment using GeoGebra. Analyses of Covarion (ANCOVA) was used to adjust for the pre-test score. Findings showed that the group with access to GeoGebra achieved significantly better test scores in the posttest as compared to the group which followed the traditional teaching method. A two-way ANCOVA used to analyse the effect of students’ spatial visualization on post-test performance showed that there was no effect. The results from this study suggested that using GeoGebra had helped the students to score better in the posttest. However, there is no significance difference on mathematics performances on students with difference types of spatial visualisastion. This study indicates that GeoGebra is useful in enhancing the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Effects of MATAS Hopscotch technique in the teaching of fractions and error patterns made by Year 5 pupils

MATAS Hopscotch technique was created to solve the subtraction of three types of fractions. The study involved 56 pupils from two Year 5 classes. A quasi-experimental, nonrandomized control group, pretest-posttest delayed post-test was conducted on two intact groups, randomly assigned into control and experimental groups. A pretest was administered at the early stage of this study. The study described types of error made by the pupils in solving the subtraction of fractions. Rubrics, Hodes and Notling (1998), were used to describe types of error made by the pupils in the pretest and posttest. The findings in the pretest showed both groups made concept, directions, and careless errors. However, in the posttest, the experimental group made careless errors while the control group made concept, directions, and careless errors. The number of errors made by the control group was higher than that made by the experimental group.

The Teacher Curriculum Paradigm Instrument: Testing for factorial validity and invariance across teachers embracing three different types of paradigm

The main purposes of this study were: (a) to test for the factorial validity of the Teacher Curriculum Paradigm Instrument (TCP-I) separately for teachers who embraced standardized management paradigm (N=559) constructivist best practices paradigm (N=293), and curriculum wisdom paradigm (N=237), (b) to cross-validate this structure across and independent sample for the three groups of teachers; and (c) to test for the equivalence of item measurement and theoretical structure across these three types of paradigm. The three-factor structure TCP measurement model was significantly supported by the invariance findings across the three groups of teachers. This had served as the robust and psychometric evidences for the generalizability of the TCP-I in general and dependent on members of the teacher curriculum paradigm in particular.