Papers by Ambika Prasad Poudel
रुपान्तरण, Jul 29, 2022
Quality education has been one of the important concerns among the stakeholders in the field of e... more Quality education has been one of the important concerns among the stakeholders in the field of education. Teacher professional development (TPD) is considered as one of the essential components for improving and reforming quality of education in the recent years. This article attempts at describing the existing TPD status of the secondary level schools in Nepal, and exploring the opportunities and challenges of TPD programme for the teachers in those schools. In the study, the Headmaster, and secondary level senior teachers were the informants; and an observation check list, and an interview questionnaire were used as the research tools to collect the information. The data were analyzed both descriptively and thematically. The study found that the secondary schools were quite poor regarding their performance of TPD activities. Some of the major advantages of the TPD programme to the teachers were that they got opportunities to take part in training and workshops; and to be involved in discussion and collaboration among the teachers. On the other hand, difficulties in the implementation of their knowledge and skills into the classroom, and lack of financial support for TPD activities were some of the major challenges of TPD process.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Sep 3, 2022
This study entitled Some Opportunities and Challenges of Teacher Professional Development Program... more This study entitled Some Opportunities and Challenges of Teacher Professional Development Programme: A Case of the Secondary Schools in Menchyayem Rural Municipality, was a wonderful experience for me of carrying out a research work in one of the more relevant issues of present day world. The main objective of this research was to study the existing TPD (teacher professional development) status of the secondary schools, and to explore the opportunities and challenges appeared in the TPD program implemented in the secondary school education in Nepal. This study was guided by constructivist research paradigm that characterizes subjectivity and multiple realities. It adopted qualitative approach of research to study the social phenomena, "The opportunities and challenges of teacher professional development programme". The Headmaster from all the secondary schools of Menchyayem Rural Municipality were the informants to help fill in the observational check list, one of the research tools used in the study. Likewise the secondary school senior teachers form all the schools were other participants in the study to share their ideas and experiences of teacher professional development process, particularly, the opportunities and challenges they experienced. The quantitative data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and thematic analysis method was used to analyze the qualitative data in the study. The study found that the TPD status of the secondary schools is less satisfactory. None of the schools have excellent status. More remarkably, they do not have even medium status, most of them have weak standard. The schools were able to perform TPD related activities such as participating in the training, taking part in subject-members discussion; and getting some support for managing teaching-learning materials. They are weak to perform the activities such as carrying out research work and getting them published, conducting observational tours, and rewarding the best performing teachers. Lack of adequate budget and inadequate administrative monitoring and supervision are some of the major factors affecting TPD.
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Sep 3, 2022
Abbreviations vii Table of contents ix CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.2 Statement of th... more Abbreviations vii Table of contents ix CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.2 Statement of the Problems 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Objectives 1.5 Rationale of the Study 1.6 Delimitations 1.7 Organization of the Study Report CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of Related Literature 2.1.1 Learning Theories and Online Education 2.1.2 Opportunities created by ICTs in online education 2.1.3 Challenges and barriers in online education 2.2 Implications of Literature Review 2.3 Theoretical Framework 2.4 Conceptual Framework
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Oct 8, 2020
This long journey of research project, pursuing a Ph D, made me realize that one would never be a... more This long journey of research project, pursuing a Ph D, made me realize that one would never be able to reach the end point without getting kindly support, encouragement, and tremendous help from many other individuals. I feel myself blessed indeed to have such a wonderful circle of support while carrying out this research work. I would like to extend my sincere acknowledgements to all them. First and foremost, my sincere and profound gratitude goes to my dissertation supervisor Prof. Dr. Anjana Bhattarai (Tribhuvan University, Nepal) for her invaluable advice, encouragement, timely guidance, and positive criticisms throughout this work. Her kind support and inspiration enabled me to digest the difficulties of this long journey. I equally extend my sincere gratitude to my co-supervisor Prof. Monica Johannesen (Oslomet University, Norway) for her precious advice, warm support, encouragement, and expertise. I appreciate her in-depth comments and fruitful feedback which helped me go ahead on the right academic track. Similarly, my appreciation and gratitude are to the research committee members, Faculty of Education, Tribhuvan University, for their invaluable advice, encouragements, and thoughtful comments. I am also sincerely grateful to the internal and external examiners for their invaluable comments and constructive feedback. Your suggestive guidelines have watched me grow professionally, intellectually, and academically.
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Sep 3, 2022
I feel myself extremely fortunate for having this opportunity to carry out this research on some ... more I feel myself extremely fortunate for having this opportunity to carry out this research on some of the more relevant issues-ICTs, and Quality enhancement in education. I am indebted to all my gurus and all the scholars for their inspiration and invaluable ideas that have a great contribution to complete this research work. I express my gratefulness to the campus chief of Dhankuta Multiple Campus for providing me this opportunity to collect experiences of conducting a research. Likewise, I am grateful to Research Management Cell, Dhankuta M. Campus for allowing me to carry out this research work. I am deeply grateful to all the school headmasters of the selected schools for giving me permission to collect the data relevant to the study. In the same way, I am thankful to the English language teachers in the schools for their kind support sharing their experiences of ICT-related facts and information as the participants, without which this research would be incomplete. My special thank goes to Mrs Shashikala Sharma, my life partner, who took all the responsibilities of the household works at home, and provided me an environment for reading, thinking and writing. I also thank Asmi, Asim, and Aayush, my kids, for creating a peaceful atmosphere while working.
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Oct 15, 2020
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Dec 22, 2020
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE & INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION, 2022
The integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in education has brought dra... more The integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in education has brought dramatic modifications in the paradigms and methods practiced in the developed countries. In recent years, the exploitation of ICTs in teaching and learning has been expanded in developing countries too. This study has made an attempt to explore the opportunities and challenges of using ICTs in English language teaching (ELT) in higher education in Nepal, a developing country in Asia. The English language teachers and students from two different colleges were the informants in this study, and interview and focus group discussion were used as the research methods. The study concluded that ICTs were useful for the participants in their teaching and learning activities mainly for accessing learning resources, preparing and presenting their lessons, and for conducting collaborative learning activities. However, it was found that the informants were not satisfied with their utilization of ICTs in teaching and learning of English. Access to ICT tools, and the skills needed to use ICTs were the main problems for them in the integration of ICTs in ELT. Therefore, these constraints need to be minimized to improve the integration of ICTs in ELT in higher education in Nepal.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Education, 2021
The practice of integrating pedagogical approaches using multimedia technologies has become one o... more The practice of integrating pedagogical approaches using multimedia technologies has become one of the common interests in the field of English language teaching (ELT) in recent years. This research study attempts at studying the characteristics of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) tasks used for developing students' cognitive skills within the CSCL approach in the context of ELT in higher secondary school education in Nepal. Non-participant observation of the CSCL tasks assigned to the students in the English class in two different schools, and semi-structured interviews with the students were used as the research tools. It was found that the CSCL tasks were useful for enhancing some cognitive skills of the students, though many of the CSCL tasks assigned gave more attention to enhance the students' lower order thinking skills rather than their higher order thinking skills.
English is a widely used language in international communication. It is a storehouse of knowledge... more English is a widely used language in international communication. It is a storehouse of knowledge that most of the books, and journal articles have been published in English, and it is the dominant language in the Internet. Realizing this fact, the government of Nepal has made English one of the core components of school education curricula. However, teaching and learning of English in the schools in Nepal has been influenced by several problems. Using systematic literature review as the methods, this article makes an attempt to highlight the major problems that exist in teaching and learning of English in school education in Nepal, and points out some principles for enriching English in the learners. This study has been expected to add at least some insights to those who are interested in enhancing English education in Nepal.
The European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning, 2020
The pedagogical approaches in the field of education have been modified in many ways with the rap... more The pedagogical approaches in the field of education have been modified in many ways with the rapid advancements and innovations in science and technology in this 21st century world. The modalities of teaching and learning such as distance learning (DL), online learning (OL), and blended learning (BL) are some of the approaches that are becoming popular at present. For some years now, blended modality (BM) of learning is spreading out rapidly and widely as a new pedagogical approach. The use of BM is gradually increasing in Nepalese educational institutions too in recent years. This study has made an attempt to explore the students’ perception towards blended modality of learning; and its benefits and challenges as a learning approach in the context of higher education in Nepal. Based on a survey-based questionnaire and semi-structured interviews as research tools, the study found that the students had positive attitudes towards BM, and it was more popular to those learners who need...
Innovative Technologies and Pedagogical Shifts in Nepalese Higher Education, 2020
Rupantaran: A Multidisciplinary Journal
The study and analysis of different aspects of language as an effective means of communication is... more The study and analysis of different aspects of language as an effective means of communication is the main concern of linguistics. Form, meaning, and function are some of the key aspects of language while analyzing the utterances used in communication or interaction. This article makes an attempt at examining the relationships between form, the physical appearance; and function, the illocutionary force of English sentences. This study adopted systematic review and content analysis as the methods in which conclusions were derived by synthesizing the examples and findings found in multiple resources. The conclusions drawn in this study were that forms are straight forward while determining their meaning is obfuscatory; and the relationship between form and meaning is arbitrary. When language is in use to serve communicative needs, there is often found multiple relationship between the form of an utterance and its function, the illocutionary act.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Education, 2020
The practice of integrating pedagogical approaches using multimedia technologies has become one o... more The practice of integrating pedagogical approaches using multimedia technologies has become one of the common interests in education in recent years. The technology-based approaches such as computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and electronic literacy approach (ELA) are spreading widely in English language teaching (ELT) at present. The research reported in this article studied the characteristics of CSCL tasks in the context of ELT in higher secondary school education in Nepal. Nonparticipant observation of the CSCL tasks assigned to the students in the English class in two different schools, and semi-structured interviews with the students were used as research tools. It was found in the study that the CSCL tasks were useful for enhancing some cognitive skills of the students, though many of the CSCL tasks assigned were more exam-oriented and the teachers gave limited attention to enhance students' higher order thinking skills. This shows that the integration of technology-aided new modes of learning do not in themselves foster higher-order learning; that goal requires deliberate curricular and pedagogical efforts of educators. This study offers new insights for the teachers, students, educators and all others who are interested in technology-based education.
The practice of integrating pedagogical approaches using multimedia technologies has become one o... more The practice of integrating pedagogical approaches using multimedia technologies has become one of the common interests in education in recent years. The technology-based approaches such as computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and electronic literacy approach (ELA) are spreading widely in English language teaching (ELT) at present. The research reported in this article studied the characteristics of CSCL tasks in the context of ELT in higher secondary school education in Nepal. Nonparticipant observation of the CSCL tasks assigned to the students in the English class in two different schools, and semi-structured interviews with the students were used as research tools. It was found in the study that the CSCL tasks were useful for enhancing some cognitive skills of the students, though many of the CSCL tasks assigned were more exam-oriented and the teachers gave limited attention to enhance students' higher order thinking skills. This shows that the integration of technology-aided new modes of learning do not in themselves foster higher-order learning; that goal requires deliberate curricular and pedagogical efforts of educators. This study offers new insights for the teachers, students, educators and all others who are interested in technology-based education.
We are in the world that is in the continuous process of changes. Human beings, the supreme creat... more We are in the world that is in the continuous process of changes. Human beings, the supreme creature in this world, have innovative mind; and have explored many astonishing things and activities since their evolvement. It is because of the fact that innovation and development are the inherent characteristics of mankind. From finding out hunting tools and making fire in the stone-age to the invention of books,bulb, aeroplane, radio, computer etc. all are the activities and the things that are much amazing not only to a layman, but also to the educated people. Such human inventions have influenced almost all aspects related to our life such as transportation, electricity, health, education, communication, and so on. Recently, this world has entered into the internet-assisted computer technology for effective information communication-a form of ICT-, one of the recent steps of world modernization. ICTs stand for information and communication technologies; and are defined as a 'diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate; and to create, disseminate, store and manage information.' These technologies include computers, the internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television) and telephony. (Retrieved Dec 28, 2014, from http:// en.m.wikib…) ICTs, the modern technologies for storage, manipulation, and dissemination of information, have brought a revolutionary movement in the field of information communication. Education, one of the very wide fields of information communication, is highly influenced by the use of
Drafts by Ambika Prasad Poudel
Academic writing is a kind of formal style of writing practiced mainly in the universities and in... more Academic writing is a kind of formal style of writing practiced mainly in the universities and in publications. Cohesion and coherence, which refer to intra-text connectedness, and the contextual fitness of the ideas, are the essential properties of the texts in academic writing so as to create them (the texts) more comprehensible. This article makes an attempt to acquaint the readers with academic writing; and introduce cohesion and coherence, which add quality in the standard of textuality in academic writing.
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Papers by Ambika Prasad Poudel
Drafts by Ambika Prasad Poudel
The conclusion of the study was that ICTs supported the teachers and students in ELS teaching and learning, accessing learning resources, and carrying out collaborative activities in their ELTAL. ICTs were used by the teachers to make themselves updated, and to prepare and present their lesson. Likewise, ICT tools were useful for the students to increase the amount of exposure to English, to access learning resources, and to make their information sharing easier and faster while conducting even the distributed collaborative activities. However, they were not confident about using ELS-specific websites, the students’ access to information was more teacher dominant, and the collaborative activities focused the students’ communicative skills rather than their higher order thinking skills. The teachers were not satisfied with the advantages of ICTs they could take, and none of the students found ICTs ' extremely useful' so as to use them 'always' in their ELTAL activities due to the main challenging factors‒ poor ICT infrastructure, and inadequate technological-pedagogical knowledge. This study has been expected to contribute in developing some insights of the stakeholders in their integration of ICTs in ELTAL.