In order to meet up the needs of acquiring the 21st century skills, students need to be equipped with critical thinking skills. In English language learning, one way to foster students’ critical ...thinking is through Higher Order Thinking (HOT) questions in reading. This study unveils the implementation of HOT questions in Grade 5 reading classes in a private primary school in Surabaya. The study in particular was aimed to find out (1) the structure of the teacher’s questions, (2) the types of the teacher’s questions, and (3) the students’ responses. This study used the New Bloom’s taxonomy as the underlying instrument for classifying the types of questions and the students’ responses. Four class observations, four teacher’s interviews and two students’ focus group discussions were conducted in this study. The recorded data were transcribed and analyzed to get the results. The results of the data analysis indicate that 65.15% of the total of 66 questions used by the teacher in the classroom were HOT questions. Among all types of HOT questions, the New Bloom’s analyze questions were used the most with 37.88% of the total questions. HOT questions were mostly addressed during the whilst-instructional activities. Interestingly, the HOT questions were answered in different forms: oral answers, dramatizations and presentations. Related to this finding, the teacher was quite satisfied with the students’ responses since they reached the same thinking level, although sometimes it is necessary for the teacher to simplify his questions in order to get students’ responses.
ABSTRACTTeachers’ English proficiency can be measured by designing a research instrument in a form of test. The devised test must fulfill the requirement of a good test. This article is aimed at ...discussing item analysis centering on multiple choice questions used to measure the proficiency of Indonesian High School teachers involved in English instruction. The first set of syllabus oriented test is tried out to 20 subjects, and the second set – general English oriented – to 28 subjects. The test analysis indicates the item difficulty indices range from .20 to 1 for the first set and .07 to .89 for the second set. With regard to item discrimination analysis, the study finds the d values range from -0.33 to 1.0 for the first set, and -0.11 to .78 for the second set. It is found that the whole test has ‘average’ level of difficulty and is ‘good’ at discriminating between high and low achieving test takers; to be used for the actual research, a revision of the test is done to eliminate the ‘bad’ items.ABSTRAKKecakapan bahasa Inggris guru dapat diukur dengan merancang instrumen penelitian dalam bentuk tes. Tes yang dirancang harus memenuhi persyaratan tes yang baik. Artikel ini bertujuan membahas analisis soal yang berpusat pada pertanyaan pilihan ganda yang digunakan untuk mengukur kemahiran guru-guru SMA Indonesia yang terlibat dalam pengajaran Bahasa Inggris. Tes set kesatu yang berorientasi silabus diujicobakan pada 20 subjek. Set kedua - berorientasi Bahasa Inggris umum - diujicobakan ke 28 subjek. Analisis tes menunjukkan bahwa indeks kesulitan soal berkisar dari .20 hingga 1 untuk set pertama dan .07 hingga .89 untuk set kedua. Terkait analisis diskriminasi item, studi ini menemukan bahwa nilai D berkisar dari -0,33 ke 1,0 untuk set pertama, dan -0,11 hingga 0,78 untuk set kedua. Ditemukan bahwa keseluruhan tes memiliki tingkat kesulitan 'rata-rata' dan 'baik' dalam membedakan antara peserta tes berprestasi tinggi dan rendah. Untuk digunakan dalam penelitian aktual, revisi tes dilakukan dengan menghilangkan soal 'buruk'. How to Cite: Tamah, S. M., Lie, A. (2019). Analysis of a Research Instrument to Map English Teachers’ Proficiency. IJEE (Indonesian Journal of English Education), 6(1), 48-64. doi:10.15408/ijee.v6i1.11888
As teachers are reflective pedagogical thinkers, in-service continuing professional development (CPD) is imperative. Previous studies reveal that insufficient school support and teacher’s incapacity ...to reflect on their practices recurrently hamper CPD. However, biographical inquiries, encompassing critical events, in-service challenges, and resources employed in CPD, are scant. This study investigated (a) incidents embodying pivotal moments in career choice, (b) ensuing professional challenges, and (c) the resources for CPD at teachers’ disposal. We conducted an in-depth analysis of fifteen Indonesian teachers at novice, mid-career, and senior professional stages. Data from reflective essays and semi-structured interviews disclosed that motivation to teach stems from past experiences indicating intrinsic satisfaction, the influence of significant others, pragmatic concerns, and idealism. Resulting from perennial challenges, including classroom management, lesson planning, and task design, teachers appeared to have benefited most from pre-service teacher training, specifically within the purview of ICT (Information and Communications Technology). A notable finding is that teachers independently sought websites and social media to form professional learning communities, one of which was instigated through the IMOOC (Indonesian Massive Open Online Course). Due to the pervasiveness of technology, this study concludes with recommendations for a conflated model of ICT in CPD to establish communities of inquiry.
Interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 are cytokines that inhibit bone resorption. Data showing an inhibitory effect of IL-4 and IL-13 on RANK mRNA in mouse calvariae were first reported at the 22nd American ...Society for Bone and Mineral Research Meeting (Lerner, U.H., and Conaway, H. H. 2000) J. Bone Min. Res. 15, Suppl. 1, Abstr. SU 230). In the present study, release of 45Ca from cultured mouse calvarial bones stimulated by different cytokines, peptides, and steroid hormones was inhibited by IL-4 and IL-13. IL-4 and IL-13 decreased receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) and RANK mRNA and increased osteoprotegerin (OPG) mRNA in calvariae. Additionally, the cytokines decreased RANKL protein and increased OPG protein in calvarial bones. In osteoblasts isolated from calvariae, both an increase in RANKL mRNA and a decrease in OPG mRNA and protein elicited by vitamin D3 were reversed by IL-4 and IL-13. IL-4 and IL-13 decreased the number of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase positive multinucleated cells and the mRNA expression of calcitonin receptor, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, and cathepsin K in mouse spleen cells and bone marrow macrophages (BMM) treated with macrophage colony-stimulating factor and RANKL. Inhibition of mRNA for RANK and the transcription factor NFAT2 was also noted in spleen cell and BMM cultures treated with IL-4 and IL-13. In addition, RANK mRNA and RANK protein were decreased by IL-4 and IL-13 in RAW 264.7 cells. Osteoblasts, spleen cells, and BMM expressed mRNA for the four proteins making up the IL-4 and IL-13 receptors. No effects by IL-4 on bone resorption and osteoclast formation or on RANKL and RANK mRNA expression were seen in Stat6–/– mice. The data indicate that IL-4 and IL-13, via a STAT6-dependent pathway, inhibit osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption by activating receptors on osteoblasts and osteoclasts that affect the RANKL/RANK/OPG system.
Responding to the growing need to foster communicative abilities in English, schools in Indonesia are driven to make their students proficient in English. However, the majority of English teachers ...themselves are still not prepared to use English as a means of communication; improving their English proficiency has thus become a matter of concern. As the first phase of a larger-scale study, this present study focuses on teachers’ English proficiency. Data for this study were collected from 149 secondary school teachers of English from five regions (Palembang, Yogyakarta-Sleman, Surabaya, Ruteng, and Maluku). They were asked to self-assess their English proficiencies based on the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) guidelines as well as to do an English Proficiency assessment. Fifty-two of these participants were teachers who were completing an in-service professional education program in Surabaya. The teachers assessed their proficiencies in interpersonal communication, presentational speaking, presentational writing, interpretive listening, and interpretive reading. The English Proficiency assessment includes syllabus-oriented items, General English items, and an essay. The study also conducted in-depth interviews of selected teachers. This study found that there is a gap between the teachers’ perception of their communicative abilities in English and their actual English proficiency.
Enamel matrix derivative (EMD) is widely used under the brand name Emdogain
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to promote periodontal regeneration in surgical treatment of periodontitis and peri-implantitis. The molecular mechanisms ...are unclear, but it has been proposed that EMD has stimulatory effects on the root cementum and periodontal ligament cells. Since dental implants lack these structures, we hypothesized that EMD-induced bone gain involve interactions with osteoclast precursor cells, with consequent inhibitory effect on osteoclast formation and/or activity. The aim was to evaluate this hypothesis.
Primary mouse bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) and human peripheral blood monocytes were cultured in the presence of receptor activator nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) to stimulate osteoclast formation. A purified Emdogain
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fraction was added to the cell cultures and the effect on number and size of newly formed osteoclasts were evaluated. In cultures on natural bone slices, bioanalytical methods were used to assay osteoclast number and bone resorption.
EMD had a negative effect on osteoclastogenesis in mouse cultures on plastic surface, whereas addition of EMD to osteoclast precursor cells on bone substrate did not affect osteoclast formation or bone resorption.
The results on natural bone matrix contradict a direct effect of EMD on osteoclast precursor cells.
The sudden school suspension during the Covid-19 pandemic forced 218,234 primary and secondary schools in Indonesia to shift into emergency remote teaching (ERT) when internet was not easily ...accessible in some regions, and many teachers were not ready for the disruption. Almost two years after the sudden shift to remote learning, teachers in our previous study (Lie et al., 2020) were re-contacted and invited to participate in this reported study. This longitudinal case study aimed to explore teachers’ progression during the ERT. Specifically, this study set two questions: 1) How have teachers progressed in their online learning engagement in reference to the degrees of appropriation during the ERT?; and 2) How is teachers’ readiness to sustain their Technological-Pedagogical-Content Knowledge (TPACK) skills in the context of planned hybrid learning? The study collected data through a survey, interviews of teachers and their students, and observations of their online classes. An online questionnaire was first sent to 18 secondary school teachers of English and Indonesian from four regions in Indonesia. Based on the questionnaire results, seven teachers were selected for a more in-depth study, which involved interviews with the teachers and online classes observations. A group interview with five students for each teacher was used as triangulation. This study found that, regardless of their prior exposure to technology, some teachers had, within a twenty-month period of ERT, appropriated their TPACK while some were still striving to transform their role. In addition, teachers demonstrated different levels of readiness for hybrid learning and of sustaining their TPACK skills.
Abstract Glucocorticoid (GC) therapy is the greatest risk factor for secondary osteoporosis. Pathogenic mechanisms involve an initial increase in bone resorption followed by decreased bone formation. ...To gain a better understanding of the resorptive activity of GCs, we have used mouse bone marrow macrophages (BMM) to determine if GCs can directly modulate RANKL stimulated osteoclast formation and/or activity. In agreement with previous studies, experiments performed in plastic wells showed that GCs (dexamethasone, hydrocortisone, and prednisolone) inhibited osteoclast number and size during the initial phases of RANKL stimulated osteoclastogenesis; however, in prolonged cultures, decreased apoptosis was observed and escape from GC induced inhibition occurred with an enhanced number of osteoclasts formed, many with an increased area. When BMM cells were seeded on bone slices, GCs robustly enhanced RANKL stimulated formation of resorption pits and release of CTX without affecting the number or size of osteoclasts formed and with no effect on apoptosis. Stimulation of pit formation was not associated with increased life span of osteoclasts or an effect on mRNA expression of several osteoclastic or osteoclastogenic genes. The potentiation of RANKL induced CTX release by dexamethasone was significantly less in BMM cells from mice with conditional knockout of the osteoclastic glucocorticoid receptor and completely absent in cells from GR dim mice, which carry a point mutation in one dimerizing interface of the GC receptor. These data suggest that: 1. Plastic is a poor medium to use for studying direct effects of GCs on osteoclasts 2. GCs can enhance bone resorption without decreasing apoptosis, and 3. A direct enhancement of RANKL mediated resorption is stimulated by the dimeric GC-receptor.
In 2018 the Indonesian Ministry of Education established a teacher certification program via a blended learning platform in partnership with teacher colleges. The program engages teacher-participants ...in online learning, face-to-face workshops on a designated campus, classroom action research and teaching practices. This study aims at exploring the impact of the certification on the teachers’ use of English in their teaching. The researchers conducted a survey and a proficiency assessment of these English teachers. The ninety teachers of English in this study demonstrated various levels of English proficiency. Then the researchers selected these teachers based on their scores, interviewed them, and observed their teaching. This study found that teachers’ participation in the certification program brought about different levels of changes in their use of English. While the immediate impact of the certification program on the English teachers’ language use was not clearly evident, some teachers showed renewed commitment to use English after several months had passed. Results of this study have yielded implications that English teachers’ sufficient proficiency is not a given capital at the beginning of teacher service. Thus, a serious collaboration among English teacher colleges, the Ministry of Education, the school stakeholders, and the professional learning communities is required to drive teachers of English to engage in their professional development continuously.
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