Browsing by Author "Aytaged Sisay"

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    The Effect of Placing Test Items in Different Positions in Listening Comprehension Tests: The Case of Unity College
    (2001-06) Aytaged Sisay; Dejenie Leta
    An experiment was conducted to explore the effect of placing test items in different positions in listening comprehension tests. In this experiment three groups were made to view listening comprehension test items in three different positions. The first group viewed these items before two listenings while the second one viewed them after two Iistenings. The third group, on the other hand, viewed the questions between two listenings. First, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) was used to divide the testees in to three groups which had comparable listening abilities. The data obtained from this standardized test was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result then showed that the three gro ups were comparable in their listening abilities. After this was done, a test prepared for College English students by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at Addis Ababa University was administered to investigate the mentioned treatments. To accept or reject the null hypothesis which stated that placing test items in different positions in a listening comprehension test has no effect on the testees' performance, a one-way ANOVA was employed. The AN OVA, then detected a significant mean ditlerence in scores across the three approaches. The calculated value of F (F=8-440 with degrees of freedom 2 and 132) exceeded the value of F tabulated at .05 probability level set for this study. As a result, the null hypothesis mentioned above was rejected. The Scheffs posthoc comparison of means also helped to locate the direction of the difference. The result of this test, thus, showed that the 'Sandwich group' produced significantly higher scores in the listening comprehension test than did the 'After reading group' and the 'Before reading group'. On the other hand, these latter groups did not show a significant difference in their performances.
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    The Practice, Challenges and Prospects of Teacher Professional Development in Ethiopian Higher Learning Institutions: The Case of Bahir Dar Unive, Rsity
    (Addis Ababa University, 2010-06) Wubnesh Shiferaw; Aytaged Sisay
    This study attempted at exploring the practice, challenge and prospects of teacher professional development (TPO) in the Ethiopian HEls with particular reference to Bahir Dar University. To this end, concurrent nested mixed methods design was employed. Semi structured interview guides were employed to collect data from 14 participants including 5 teachers, 5 university management, 3 pedagogical skills training trainers and AORC coordinator. Moreover, document analysis was used to supplement the data collected via interview. Forty (40) out of 124 teachers who attended the training palticipated by filling the questionnaire. Both open and close-ended items were included in the questionnaire. The data collected through interview, document analysis and open-ended items of the questionnaire were coded and described based on the themes identified and the basic ' research questions. The data collected through close-ended items of the questionnaire were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. The qualitative and quantitative data were integrated in the analysis part of the study. In this study, a theoretical model was developed based on the models of Loucks-Horsley et al. (1998) and Guskey (2000). The main elements of the model were organization and provision of PO and impact of PD. On the organization and provision of PO, UM perception towards the importance of TPO was found to be appreciable but this perceived importance was not reflected on the encouragement and support provided for the PST. The UM at different levels do not plan for PST and only AORC sets objectives and prepares plans for the PST though the plan doesn't consider the current context of the uni versity . It was found that implementation of the AORC plan and its evaluation is with lots of difficulties as a result of scarcity of resources. On the impact variable, teachers' perception of the importance of PO was found to be commendable, their attitude towards their role as a teacher was also found to be positive and there is no significant difference among teachers on this aspect. Teachers reported that the needs of teachers and students were not considered in the PST and the content, process and context variables of the training were not fu lly meeting their needs. The encouragement and support ofUM for teachers involvement in the PST was reported to be below the required level. Teachers were not made accountable for their PST and no evaluations were conducted on the effectiveness of the programme. The effect of PST on teachers' role was reported to be worthy and there is no significant difference among teachers on this feature. Hence, it is recommended that plans for PST ha,ve to be written by the UM; the UM has to support AORC and teachers in their involvement in the PST; policy has to be developed for POPs; teachers' needs have to be considered in PST efforts and important elements of PO design has to be included; teachers have to be accountable for their own PO and awareness must be created about the importance of PO in the university.