Teaching Methodology

This paper investigated how puppetry could be used to improve the standards of early childhood science education. This study determined the effect of a puppet-making and puppetry workshop on preservice preschool teachers' beliefs and attitudes towards science education and looked into their experiences during and after puppet-making. Although participants faced some difficulties during the workshop, they developed numerous socioemotional skills. Puppetry activities can help preservice teachers learn how to deliver child-centered, stimulating, and interactive classes. Using puppets in early childhood science education can help teachers develop positive attitudes towards science and offer students high-quality, engaging, and creative activities.

Il volume si rivolge docenti di italiano L2 in formazione iniziale, sia italiani che stranieri (in questo caso con competenze in italiano almeno a livello B2) e a studenti universitari che, in Italia e all’estero, intendono formarsi come docenti di italiano L2. Scritto in modo chiaro e con molti esempi, il testo tocca alcuni argomenti fondamentali per una didattica di base dell’italiano come lingua non materna: i diversi tipi di apprendenti, caratterizzati in base all’età, al livello di competenza e alle motivazioni; i diversi approcci, le metodologie didattiche e i modelli operativi, ai quali fanno riferimento le operazioni didattiche svolte dai docenti ma che nel tempo hanno condizionato e differenziato anche i manuali per l’insegnamento della lingua; i criteri per la selezione dei testi da utilizzare in classe; le attività da proporre agli apprendenti per sviluppare le diverse competenze linguistico-comunicative; la grammatica italiana e le modalità per sviluppare la competenza metalinguistica negli apprendenti; il collegamento fra la lingua e la cultura italiana, considerata a livello estetico, storico-sociale, identitario e comunicativo.

У овом тексту разматраћемо могућности за осмишљавање лексичких вежби у раду на сложеницама. Полазећи од природе проматраног језичког садржаја, покушаћемо да расветлимо одређене граматичке, али и методичке критеријуме за одабир примера. Примарни циљ текста је да се понуди одговарајући корпус примера, који ће представљати полазиште наставницима и васпитачима за обликовање различитих типова језичких вежби рада на сложеницама. Други важан циљ овог рада је систематизација тих лексичких вежби, зависно од приступа језичкој грађи, с једне стране, и природе језичких примера, механизама њихове творбе, те њихових семантичких компоненти, с друге стране. Полазиште за избор примера чиниће релевантна лингвистичка литература, а систематизација вежби биће вођена анализом садржаја присутних у уџбеницима за основну школу. /// In this text we will discuss the potential for creating lexical exercises that could be used for the analysis, formation and meaning comprehension of compound words. Starting from the nature of the observed linguistic content we will try to distinguish certain grammatical and methodical criteria for selection of the examples. The primary goal of this text is to offer the corresponding corpus of examples which would represent the starting point that elementary school and pre-school teachers would use to shape the various types of linguistic exercises they could use while teaching compound words. Another important goal of this paper is the systematization of these lexical exercises, which, on the one hand, depends on the approach to linguistic material, and on the other hand, on the nature of the linguistic examples, their word formation mechanisms and their semantic components. The starting point for the selection of the examples will be the relevant linguistic literature, while the analysis of the content that can be found in elementary school books will serve as the guidance for the exercise systematisation.

The use of authentic instructions and assessments has been heavily researched by educationists and has shifted the traditional classroom into a more contemporary one. However, the impacts of these instructions vary across nations due to various factors. Hence, this paper aimed to analyze the effects of authentic teaching methodologies and assessments on student performance and motivation. This paper focused on project-based, task-based, and problem-solving instructions. Seven recent studies were analyzed applying thematic analysis approach. The results showed that the above-mentioned authentic instructions brought positive consequences on students' motivation. However, there are some conflicting results when it comes to academic performance. It is also found out that the reliability of the impacts should not be reliant on a self-survey measure as it poses self-biases. Experimental studies are also suggested as they might result in outcomes that are more reliable when objective measures are used instead of self-evaluation. Furthermore, objective measures can be supported by qualitative data through journaling or answering open-ended questions. Comparison of objective measures' results and what are stipulated on student journals can be compared and contrasted; thus provide more reliable results. The outcomes of this study may aid in the improvement of student outcomes in any educational institutions and thus results in a well-informed and better-performing workforce.

The present study was an attempt to explore the vocabulary learning strategy preferences among Iranian EFL learners. It also investigated the relationship between their vocabulary learning strategy use and vocabulary size. To this end, 90 Iranian EFL learners were selected as the participants of the study based on convenience sampling at Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran. The instrument used in the current study was Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) consisting of six different categories of vocabulary learning strategies. The other instrument was Nation's vocabulary size test which assessed the learners' lexical knowledge. In order to address the research questions, Freidman Test and Spearman Correlation were conducted. The results revealed that the most frequently used vocabulary learning strategy subgroup was metacognitive and the least frequent one was social strategy. Besides, no significant correlation was found between vocabulary size and vocabulary learning strategies except a small and reverse correlation between the vocabulary size and compensation strategy. The important implication of the study is that if students get aware of vocabulary learning strategies, they may develop their vocabulary size more easily and effectively.