Concreteness Fading Strategy: A Promising and Sustainable Instructional Model in Mathematics Classrooms

Opinions and evaluations of mathematics teachers on concrete models of their design in the context of positive psychology

The purpose of this study is to investigate the opinions and evaluations of pre-service mathematics and pre-service primary school teachers regarding the concrete models of their design during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the context of positive psychology. In this study, a mixed research method, in which quantitative and qualitative research methods are used together was used. The participant group of the study consists of 441 pre-service mathematics and pre-service primary school teachers studying at universities. For the conduct of the qualitative research, 44 pre-service teachers were selected using the purposive sampling method. "Mathematics Teaching Practices Enriched with Concrete Models Perception Scale" developed by the researchers was used to collect the quantitative data to reveal the opinions of teachers regarding mathematics teaching practices enriched with concrete models. In this study, open-ended questions were used to obtain qualitative data, and the data were evaluated with content analysis. According to the results of the study, it was determined that the majority of the pre-service teachers had positive perceptions of concrete models. Pre-service teachers argued that they would use concrete models in their professional lives and that these models were indispensable for mathematics education. In addition, advantages and disadvantages for mathematics educators regarding the use of concrete models are presented.

Profiles of Mathematics Teachers’ Job Satisfaction and Stress and Their Association with Dialogic Instruction

High-quality mathematics instruction is a primary element for quality education and the sustainable development of society. Some studies have highlighted the critical role of teacher job satisfaction and stress on their instruction. However, limited research has focused on the combinational influence of job satisfaction and stress on mathematics teachers’ dialogic instruction. This study aims to examine their combinational influence on mathematic teachers’ dialogic instruction using latent profile analysis and draws three conclusions. First, this study found three profiles: high job satisfaction and very low stress, very low job satisfaction and high stress, and moderately high job satisfaction and slightly high stress. Second, latent profile membership was differentially related to self-efficacy and leadership support. Third, mathematics teachers with very low job satisfaction and high stress were less likely to implement dialogic instruction compared to teachers in other profiles. This study also provides implications based on these results.

The Development of Sustainable Assessment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of the English Language Program in South Korea

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges to educational systems around the world. In particular, language learning environments being impacted by the pandemic has resulted in a shift from traditional in-person to online language teaching. This paper examines the case of an English language program in South Korea to investigate how the sudden transition to online language teaching has influenced language instructors’ teaching and assessment practice. The current study also examines the level of satisfaction of instructors and students with the changing form of English language teaching and assessment practices. Results showed that a professional learning community was formed by instructors to engage in regular communication as an attempt to develop new forms of assessment practices that were process-oriented and formative. Instructors also assigned multimodal projects to promote sustainable assessments where students could actively utilize target language forms and structures. Students were highly satisfied with new forms of language assessment practices, whereas instructors’ level of satisfaction towards their language assessment practices were somewhat low. Findings provided educators with language assessment suggestions that can offer language instructors ideas to deliver more creative and sustainable language assessment strategies that can promote self-regulated learning and sustainable development.