European Journal of Teaching and Education

The Ferreira’s Ecosystem for Teaching and Learning (FETL) Model

Colin Ferreira — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper presents the Ferreira’s Ecosystem for Teaching and Learning (FETL) Model; an effective, comprehensive, and theoretically designed framework to revolutionize lesson planning and delivery by integrating various pedagogical and andragogical best practices. Developed from a critical literature review, international teaching experiences, and subject matter expertise. The FETL Model considers five key drivers: External Environments, Student Profiles, Assessment Data, Curricula and Standards, and Internal Environments. Each influences the effectiveness and relevance of the teaching and learning process. The model underscores the importance of contextualizing lessons within current and past events to ensure that content resonates with students’ diverse backgrounds, learning styles, and real-world experiences. It promotes equity in the classroom, ensuring that learning experiences are engaging, personalized, and inclusive for all students. It fosters critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration through immersive learning techniques, including artificial intelligence (AI).

Harness the Generative AI tools for Automated Feedback in EAP Writing Assessment

Mengqi Hu, Rui Xu — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study explores the impact of five generative AI tools (Grammarly AI Plus, XIPU AI, Kimi, Prepostseo, Magic School AI) on English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing assessment at a Sino-British EMI university. Thirty-seven first-year students wrote 250-word drafts, received AI-generated feedback, and submitted revised versions. Study 1 employed surveys and interviews, revealing that students valued the AI tools for their speed and grammar accuracy. Study 2 analyzed draft and revision scores in Excel, showing improvements in task response and essay structure. However, gains in grammar and vocabulary were limited, which contrasted with student perceptions. The findings indicate that AI feedback can effectively supplement traditional assessment methods, supporting learner autonomy and enhancing certain aspects of writing. Overall, the study highlights the potential of AI tools to aid EAP writing development, while also emphasizing the need to understand their limitations in improving language accuracy.

Building a Culture of Open Education: Faculty Reflections and Student Outcomes from a Small, Liberal Arts College

Arbin Thapaliya, Jessica M Mahoney, Amanda Hurford — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education is reshaping the learning landscape by promoting affordability, increasing access, and fostering student engagement. This paper reflects on the authors’ shared experiences with OER integration, with a particular focus on the lead author’s innovative work at a small liberal arts college (Franklin College, Indiana, USA). These initiatives were strengthened through close collaboration with library faculty as well as through support from a state-wide library consortium serving small, private academic libraries. Drawing on student success tracking, surveys of student perceptions, and usage data from an open-access textbook authored by the lead author, the study assesses both pedagogical and institutional effects of OER use. Results show a link between OER usage and improved student performance, with a 2.1% increase in average final grades and more students exceeding an 87% course grade threshold. Student survey responses reflect strong approval of OER quality and accessibility, with a clear preference for digital formats and no negative feedback reported.

Combining RRM with Multiple Perspectives: Practical Training in Radiology – by the Example of CT and MRI Rotations

Ilona Petsch, Boris Buerke — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Medical students’ practical training in radiology (PTR) takes place in clinical practice and patient management. This article proposes an approach to enhance PTR by combining the Radiology Rotation-Model-22 (RRM) with the modified didactic principle of Multiple Perspectives (MP) from Schüßler’s Assisted Learning, adapted for medical education. From an adult education perspective, medical students are considered adult learners with an interest in radiological imaging. The combined approach was implemented in the computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging departments of a teaching hospital. It promotes six didactic components: expertise, practice, reflection, interaction, responsibility, and collaboration by strengthening student engagement and practical skills in PTR. Students’ engagement and reflection in radiology practice are fostered through rotations and multi-perspective observation by using the RRM-pocket card. They actively participate in radiological tasks and assignments, and collaborate in clinical work. Given time constraints in clinical routine, effective training needs a flexible didactic framework.

Overcoming Student Absenteeism: Teachers' Perceptions of Student-Centered Learning in a Bangladeshi College

Shirin Akter, Rumana Akter — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Student-centered pedagogy has gained immense popularity among the educators and learners of the educational system for its’ theoretical compatibility and diverse learning options. Educational researchers in Bangladesh urge that educational institutions should adopt SCL to enhance the competence of their students to cope with the 21st century job market. In Bangladesh this pedagogy is unfamiliar and vague to the majority. Teacher dominated classroom culture is so intrinsic that the instructors and students can hardly perceive the norms of SCL. This research was undertaken to explore how much teachers perceive the conception of SCL. There were five research questions to measure the level of perception and qualitative approach was adapted to elicit the subjective view of the teachers. Data were collected through semi-structured interview using six open-ended questions and data were analyzed using thematic analysis method. The findings revealed that teachers of the college are well-perceived regarding some aspects of SCL such as the role and responsibilities of teacher and learner, benefits, potentiality and challenges of implementing SCL. The educators also felt that Student-Centered Learning (SCL) can significantly address the issue of student absenteeism. At the same time, the study suggested that teachers are not sufficiently acquainted with the aspect of power relationship between teacher and students and inconsistent assessment procedures of TCL and SCL. It is expected that the findings of the study will instigate all to take necessary measures to bring potential changes. Finally, as the research was a small-scale study and represented teachers’ subjective view, it is recommended that future research in this regard should adopt a mixed method approach for better outcome.

Integrating the School of Hard Knocks into Academic Teacher Preparation: Enhancing Instructional Meaning and Efficacy through Realistic Workplace Challenges

Tatiana Mari Rivadeneuyra — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper examines the integration of experiential, challenge-based learning, commonly referred to as the “school of hard knocks,” into academic teacher preparation programs. It suggests that exposing teacher candidates to authentic workplace challenges improves instructional efficacy by grounding pedagogical theory in practical experience. Drawing on constructivist and situated learning theories, the paper outlines a model for embedding real-world educational complexities into teacher preparation.

Go Fish: Data Without Direction, Too Little Too Late, Fidelity First or Failure Follows – The Myth of Interventions

Denise S Lynch — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study examined the extent to which Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS), a voluntary initiative under the U.S. Department of Education’s IDEA framework, influenced academic outcomes and subgroup disproportionality among underperforming general education scholars in a large, diverse urban district. CEIS was implemented in response to chronic underperformance and racial overrepresentation in special education referrals. Grounded in Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory and the Whole Child framework, this study employed a causal-comparative quantitative design within a positivist paradigm. Archival data from 395 CEIS-enrolled scholars across elementary, middle, and high schools were analyzed over a 24–27-month period. Seven indicators were examined: ELA and Math achievement, excused and unexcused absences, in- and out-of-school suspensions, and enrollment mobility. Ethnicity was a statistically significant predictor of CEIS participation (p < .001). However, no statistically significant academic gains were observed overall, and Math scores declined slightly after the intervention, underscoring the limited impact of the program. The purpose of this study was to determine whether CEIS improved academic outcomes and reduced subgroup disparities. The study further identified self-efficacy as a critical determinant of program success. It emphasized the consequences of fractured implementation in high-need systems, reinforcing the need to address structural and systemic failures in early intervention delivery.

Integrating HyFlex Approach in the Tertiary Level Language Classrooms: Are Academic Stakeholders' at Private Universities in Bangladesh Prepared?

Md Hossain, Shamsel Arifin, Harunur Rashid Khan — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted substantial changes in educators' pedagogical strategies and students' participation in higher education. HyFlex, combining face-to-face, asynchronous, and online learning modalities, can be an alternative solution during a crisis. The purpose of this study is to explore stakeholders' preparedness for integrating HyFlex Learning in the tertiary-level language classrooms of Bangladesh. The study employed a qualitative method, utilising a semi-structured interview approach. 30 participants, including educators, administrators, IT employees, and students, were interviewed. The findings explored a widespread appreciation for HyFlex's flexibility and accessibility, enabling diverse students to access a quality education. The study also revealed emerging concerns of HyFlex, including technological disparities and the need for faculty training to ensure quality. The study's findings contribute to the discourse on the HyFlex approach in developing nations like Bangladesh, in local contexts. The study also serves as a benchmark for researchers of higher education in Bangladesh, where limited studies are evident.

Does Music Participation Impact Mental Health and Academic Performance in High School Students?

Ethan Y. Don, Yumiko Goto, Jennifer Landis — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In an increasingly competitive student culture, high school students often feel compelled to drop music programs—such as band, orchestra, and choir—assuming that it will help them focus on coursework and maintain both academic competitiveness and mental well-being. This study examines whether such assumptions are valid by evaluating the relationship between music participation, academic performance, and mental well-being. A survey of 646 students at Arcadia High School in Southern California was conducted between May 10 and June 3, 2024. Students completed three validated mental health instruments: Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), assessing stress, anxiety, and depression levels. Data were also collected on each student’s Grade-Point-Average (GPA), number of Advanced Placement (AP)/honors courses, and demographics. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used to evaluate associations between music participation (current, past, none) and mental health or academic metrics. Of the students who completed the survey, 28% were currently involved in music programs, 17% participated in the past, and 55% never participated. Students currently involved in music programs reported significantly lower depression scores (p=0.047) and had nominally lower stress and anxiety scores although statistically insignificant. Academically, current music students had higher GPAs (p<0.01) and took more APs/honors courses than peers not involved in music. No evidence from our study suggested that involvement in music programs hinders academic or emotional success; rather, it is associated with improved academic outcomes and reduced depression. The belief that students must sacrifice music to excel is not supported by this study’s findings.

Why a Workshop on Evaluating the Effectiveness and Impact of Faculty Development?

Arianna Marci — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This is the proposal for the design of a workshop focused on the evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of Faculty Development (FD). The intended audience primarily includes university faculty members. The workshop draws upon key evaluation models widely cited in the literature. Participants would be guided through interactive, collaborative activities designed to facilitate sharing of experiences, the co-construction of evaluative indicators and tools, and the development of a shared framework around core concepts such as effective teaching, effective learning, and consequently, effective FD. The bottom-up approach should valorize diverse perspectives, while fostering a culture of evaluation that is participatory, systemic, critical, contextualized, and oriented toward continuous improvement. This workshop pursues the dual objective of raising awareness regarding the meanings of evaluation in FD processes and fostering the value of a dedicated Community of Practice. The workshop methodology would incorporate active and participatory learning strategies, and tools to enhance engagement.