Learning from student-teachers

Some of the University of Malta's best student-teachers recently presented research conducted for academies and education officers. This concerned the use of TV in education on sustainable development, the use of the Internet to learn maths, health, nutrition and physical education, ways to make biology lessons more interesting and how to control students' behaviour during classes.

The presentations took place at the annual Dissertations Showcase that the University's Department of Mathematics, Science and Technical Education holds to enable students of the department who obtain the highest grade A in their dissertation, to present their research findings to other students and the educational community. The showcase was held on April 21 at Pope John Paul II hall in Attard.

Randee Ann Gauci studied the use of television as an educational tool for sustainable development. Ms Gauci reviewed 98 video clips taken from local TV stations to see what kind of information they were giving. Her study showed that television mainly depicted issues regarding the environment among other issues of sustainable development. Interviews of secondary school students confirmed that youths are more aware about environmental issues than sustainable development ones.

Ms Gauci also found that television does not seem to give gender issues its necessary importance and this has implications because it means that women are still under-represented in policy-making decisions regarding sustainable development.

She recommends that more airtime be given to programmes that cover issues related to education for sustainable development.

Joe Bezzina explored ways in which the internet can be used for students to learn mathematics. He developed a 'webquest', which he describes as a tool whereby students are presented with a mathematical problem dealing with a real life situation, and asked to use the internet to obtain most or all the information needed to solve it.

The majority (74 per cent) of Mr Bezzina's Form 4 students who took part in the study confirmed that they liked the webquest and that it helped them learn mathematics better. The internet gave the students better control over their learning than traditional teaching methods.

He recommends that such learning tools be developed and used more frequently in mathematics classes and possibly other subjects.

Ann Marie Bonnici's study focused on the importance of enabling primary school children to learn about healthy living. Most activities on this subject currently carried out in schools consist of organising sports and cooking sessions, and talks by professionals. But since it has no specific slot in the timetable, the importance given to health education mainly depends on primary teachers' personal initiative, she emphasised.

Ms Bonnici developed and piloted a health education programme for Year 6 students that can be run in schools over three days. It includes interactive sessions on physical activity, cooking and choices that students need to make regarding their personal lifestyles. The programme proved to be a success among the pupils, teachers, parents and the head of the school in which it was tested.

To introduce and successfully implement such health education programmes in schools, more funding needs to be invested in schools, and teachers need more training both at the pre-service and the in-service level, she suggests.

Ms Bonnici also recommends more parental involvement, the development of similar health education programmes for parents, and the organisation of health education activities such a Family Days in collaboration with local organisations.

On a related subject, Miriam Xerri looked into the eating habits of Gozitan University students which are very different living in Malta than when they return to Gozo.

Ms Xerri found that while in Malta, these students tend to spend most of their stipend on food, tend to avoid eating salads, vegetables and meat, and drink a lot of soft drinks and sugary drinks. When they return to Gozo for the weekend they tend to eat healthier meals.

When in Malta they also tend to stop most physical activity and nearly half the students tend to gain weight while they are studying at University.

Ms Xerri recommends that education about living healthier should start while students are still in primary and secondary school. This would create a culture among the students so that they are well prepared when they eventually come to Malta to study.

She also suggested that tertiary students be provided courses on healthy living to enable them to better plan their lives while in University. She added that one should consider the possibility of developing a hall of residence for Gozitan students, and that food outlets close to University should be encouraged to sell more healthy food options.

Nadia Gosney focused on the social status of Physical Education teachers and asked whether this status affected their motivation, dedication and professional approach. She argued that while physical education and PE teachers were considered popular and necessary, PE teachers are still perceived as having a lower status than other teachers.

It is a matter of concern that PE teachers are gaining a better status through academic means, such as the introduction of Secondary Education Certificate in Physical Education, when PE is clearly still a practical subject.

Ms Gosney says PE teachers' work needs to be better recognised; they should be provided with better resources and the public should be educated to better understand PE teachers' work.

On a related subject, Angie Mangion's research involved analysing misbehaviour during PE lessons and identifying measures to pre-empt such misbehaviour. Her study shows that between Forms 3 and 5, classes are more difficult to control and that talking out of turn and excessive noise were the most common types of misbehaviour.

Teachers interviewed indicated that students who misbehaved at times came from unsettled home environments. They usually controlled the misbehaviour by using eye contact or verbal warnings, using start and stop signals such as blowing a whistle.

Ms Portelli found that PE teachers resort to punishments only in extreme cases, and that the most common punishments were making students take time out, stay in detention or write lines.

The study also revealed that misbehaviour can generally be avoided and teachers have smoother lessons when they establish a good relationship with students, as this makes students feel better. It also helps when teachers show enthusiasm, make lessons fun and engage students in a variety of activities.

Elena Portelli carried out research on what made biology lessons interesting, enjoyable and fun for students. She found that students were most interested in biology when it was related in some way to their everyday life. In fact, human biology, mainly human reproduction and birth control, are the topics students find most interesting.

She also found that students enjoyed their biology lessons most when they include experiments and fieldwork, and they mostly appreciate a hands-on approach.

While it is important for local educators to look towards international research, it is also important to situate our knowledge within the local context. The sharing of research findings is also important because, through reflection and interaction, teachers can develop a 'community of shared practice' which leads to the development of new knowledge and enables them to discover new meanings for teaching pedagogies and practice.