from a book ‘Good to great
when you have disciplined people, you dont need hierarchy. When you have disciplined thought, you dont need bureaucracy. When you have disciplined action, you dont need excessive controls.
Author: Tshering's Blog
The mindfulness key: The breakthrough approach to dealing stress, anxiety and depression
This groundbreaking book ‘The mindfulness key’ written by Sarah Silverton explains the step-by-step mindfulness practice using key techniques such as breathing, relaxation, body scanning and concentration building. The book covers the different self-treatment processes to ease specific problems such as depression, stress, anxiety, chronic illness, and childcare and relationship issues by practicing mindfulness. As we read the book, we become aware of our own unhelpful automatic reactions to our emotions, feelings and experiences. Instead of reacting to these problems, the book shows how to observe our experience and then behave gently, wisely and more positive through mindfulness practices. The book also provide practical, accessible and uncomplicated exercises to help us fully understand and adopt the mindfulness approach. This book is truly a breakthough and one must read.
Mountain’s qualities in yourself
All mountains exist still and rooted throughout the year as the seasons pass by. The mountain is heated by hot sun, frozen by snow and ice, buffeted by strong winds and drenched by rain. Yet, the mountain stays still, resilient, dignified and unchanged by activity around it. We should learn from mountain and develop resilience and stay calm and still while encountering problems in our life. The mountain is you…
Reasons Not to worry
The book, ‘Reasons Not to worry’ is a comprehensive introduction to ancient Stoic principles of virtue, moderation, and self-discipline which is still relevant and necessary. Appreciated Brigid’s talent in explaining the complex and esoteric concepts of stoicism in a generous, clear and relatable way!
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
“The Power of Your Subconscious Mind” written by one of the pioneers of affirmative thinking-Joseph Murphy is a self-help book that aims to help readers understand the power of their subconscious mind. Through this book, the author introduces and explains mind-focusing techniques to remove the subconscious obstacles that prevent us from achieving the success we want and deserve. The book also illustrate how to unleash your extraordinary mental powers to build self-confidence, create harmonious relationship, gain professional success, amass wealth, conquer fears and phobias, banish bad habits and promote overall wellbeing and happiness. Happy reading.
Boost your organisational skills
Having strong organisational skills can be a key to maintain a balance between busy work, study and personal lives. Followings are few tips you can try:
-Maintaining a tidy workspace,
-goal setting,
-managing time,
-and practicing good communication.
Effectiveness of Group Work in the Colleges of Royal University of Bhutan.
by Utha and Tshering (2021)
Group work has become an essential assessment practice to enhance students’ learning and develop social skills in all higher education institutions. The study was undertaken to find out the effectiveness of group work. A mixed method sequential explanatory design was adopted with 181 tutors and 1241 students of nine constituent colleges of Royal University of Bhutan. The findings revealed that the students prefer group work and were aware of its benefits. However, the individual and group accountability were lacking leading to the presence of free riders. Further, awarding the same grade on a task irrespective of individuals’ contribution has led to increased free riders resulting in preference of individual tasks. Unless documentation is used for fair assessment, giving the same grade is seen as not a viable option in the current practice. Also, group work lacked interdependence due to division of work among members leading to limited opportunities for students to collaborate and enhance their social skills. Some of the recommendations are: to pay attention to group work design to promote interdependence in enhancing learning and social skills; to use documentation as evidence for group work assessment to minimize free riders; and to conduct a study to find out whether use of documentation in group work assignments leads to individual accountability.
You can view full paper here
Continuous Formative Assessment(CFA) in Bhutanese primary schools.
Primary schools in Bhutan implemented the Continuous Formative Assessment (CFA) in classes PP to three from 2020 (REC, 2020). CFA focuses on providing feedback to both students and teachers. A teacher should act as a facilitator and identify learners’ needs and gaps. So that they can make the necessary adjustment in their instructions and interventions. To prepare teachers to implement CFA in primary schools in Bhutan, REC organized a training of trainers(ToT) for 210 teachers at Gelephu in 2020. REC in collaboration with the ministry of education integrated CFA in five primary classes’ subjects. They also developed a CFA guidebook and ToT package.
The new move in assessment practice was as per the recommendation of the 19th education conference held at Phuntsholing in 2019. Education conference recommended phasing out the written examination in primary classes and replacing it with effective alternative assessment. The Bhutan Education Blueprint 2014-2024 highlighted strengthening the formative assessment practices in schools. Another reason was to emphasize quality and depth learning.
After the implementation of CFA, students were graded with grading systems such as beginning, approaching, meeting, and exceeding. Students were expected to move to the next higher grade progressively. If the student fails to progress with the strandard grading system, teachers have to provide remedial classes.
Recently, the education ministry introduced a new assessment criterion where students from class IV to XII have to obtain a minimum of 40 percent in both continuous assessment (CA) and written examination to pass the examination. MoE introduced a new assessment system to ensure fairness in assessing students’ actual learning. Rinzin(2021) found out that teachers are happy with the new assessment system even though there are some challenges like large class size, heavy workload, and limited resources.
Bhutanese students’ performance in PISA-D for Numeracy and Scientific Concept
In 2007, more than 2000 Bhutanese students between the ages of 15 and 16 had attended the PISA-D (Programme for International Student Assessment for Development) test (Zangmo, 2017). PISA-D was conducted by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The assessment focused on the three areas: numeracy, literacy, and science.
In PISA-D, the numeracy skills of students were assessed based on four categories namely: 1) quantity; 2) change and relationships; 3) space and shape; and 4) uncertainty and data. Bhutanese students achieved an average solution rate of 38.84 percent in the PISA-D 2017 Mathematical literacy assessment, which was significantly higher than the PISA-D average solution rate of 30.65 percent. Boys performed better than girls in mathematics (BCSEA, 2019). PISA-D findings also revealed that students in Bhutan performed significantly better compared to top PISA-D countries but slightly (2 to 4%) below students in Sweden and significantly below students in Singapore. Further, the PISA-D also highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of Bhutanese students. It was found that students were good at interpreting, applying, and evaluating mathematical outcomes compared to most of the PISA-D countries. However, the findings showed that Bhutanese students found it difficult to formulate situations mathematically, and with tasks related to the content area.
Regarding the scientific concept, students were assessed based on three areas namely scientific competencies, scientific knowledge, and attitude towards science. The result revealed that Bhutanese students achieved an average solution rate of 45.10 percent in the PISA-D 2017 Scientific literacy assessment, which was significantly higher than the PISA-D average solution rate of 38.28 percent. The findings also revealed that boys performed better in science compared to girls. Students in Bhutan performed significantly better compared to top PISA-D countries. The result also highlighted Bhutan’s solution rates are better than low performing PISA reference countries and almost at par with the OECD average when it comes to the common PISA items (BCSEA, 2019).
Although Bhutanese students performed better than most PISA-D countries, there is a huge performance gap between Bhutan and PISA countries. Bhutan’s performance is about 23 to 35 points (percentage points) below OECD averages. Moreover, Bhutanese students’ weaknesses were identified primarily in items that require interpreting data and evidence scientifically and evaluating and designing scientific inquiry.
Reference
Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment (2019). Education in Bhutan Findings from Bhutan’s experience in PISA for Development. Retrieved from http://www.education.gov.bt/wp-content/downloads/publications/other/Bhutan-PISA-D-National-Report.pdf
Zangmo, R. (2017). PISA- D test to understand education status. Retrieved from www.kuenselonline.com
Pre-service teachers’ perception (knowledge, awareness, attitude and interest) on the Programme for International Student Assessment for Development (PISA-D): A case of Samtse College of Education
The paper explores pre-service teacher’s awareness, interest, perception, attitudes and the level of knowledge on the Programme for International Student Assessment for development (PISA-D). A mixed method of quantitative research and qualitative research was used in this study. The study was conducted among final year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) students at Samtse College of Education, Bhutan. Instruments such as survey questionnaire and interview were used to collect the data. The survey questionnaire was analyzed using Excel Add-in Analysis Tool Pak and Interview data were analyzed by identifying themes. The results revealed that 72.6% of pre-service teachers were aware of Programme for International Student Assessment for Development (PISA -D). Among them nearly 40% expressed their opinion that PISA has impact on curriculum and quality of education in the country as a whole. However, 60%had limited knowledge of purpose and importance of participating in PISA-D. The findings also revealed that 50% of them were interested to know more about PISA.
You can view full paper here https://ijels.com/detail/pre-service-teacher-s-perspectives-on-the-programme-for-international-student-assessment-for-development-pisa-d-a-case-of-samtse-college-of-education/
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