Browsing by Author "Figaro-Henry, Sandra"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Creating collective leadership capacity using 21st Century digital tools: A view from the Caribbean
    (2016-05) Figaro-Henry, Sandra; Wickham, Lisa; James, Freddy
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    Exploring Gamification for Reinforcing Geometrical Concepts and Skills at the Primary Level in Trinidad: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study
    (School of Education, UWI, 2018) Jaggernauth, Sharon; Ramsawak - Jodha, Nalini; Kamalodeen, Vimala Judy; Dedovets, Zhanna; Barrow, Dorian; Figaro-Henry, Sandra
    Though games have had popular use in primary schools over time, there is increased interest in using elements of gaming in the classroom to promote motivation and thinking skills. This paper reports on a mixed methods intervention pilot study in one primary school in Trinidad that explored the effects of a gamified classroom on reinforcing geometric concepts and skills. Familiar learning tools, like tangrams and origami, were used. A non-equivalent control group mixed method design was used with both groups taking the pre- and post-tests. Only the experimental group used the gamified activities. Qualitative data were obtained from the experimental group teacher’s interview and observational notes, and analysed to reveal three interpretive themes about students’ perspectives: favourable, unfavourable and change. Overall, students reported that games made mathematics easier to remember. The teacher reported high student engagement, collaborative problem solving, and respectful competition among teams. Quantitative data were obtained from a pre/post achievement test. Analyses reveal significant differences in the experimental group’s pre-test and post-test scores. Results from the pilot study were instrumental in developing the gamification approach for the larger study of 10 primary schools.
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    Marshalling meaningful mobility: Readiness opinions and experiences of mobile learning (ML) at a School of Education [PowerPoint presentation]
    (2013-07-01) Figaro-Henry, Sandra
    Higher educational institutions are transitioning from a predominantly traditional mode of educating to more flexible approaches. Mobile education is being pursued as a viably effective option. Even in the face of educational change, meeting facilitators' and students' teaching and learning needs is a priority and should not be overlooked or negated in a dynamic higher educational climate. Lecturers and students traverse the physical campus but also teach and learn from a distance. They do so with many and varied mobile devices. Maintaining secure, reliable, and adequate mobile access for various users with multiple types of mobile devices for teaching and learning, involves being consistently aware of user needs. To this end, this study investigated the opinions and experiences of students pursuing a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) course and facilitators using mobile devices for education with a view to facilitating relevant mobile modalities. Seventy six participants (55 adult students and 21 facilitators, inclusive of lecturers, tutors, and course coordinators) from a School of Education were surveyed to determine their attitudes and beliefs regarding mobile teaching and learning, factors affecting mobile device use, types of devices used, preferred communication modes, and usage patterns of mobile technologies. The data were analysed and revealed some surprisingly cogent information
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    Mobile learning in the 21st century higher education classroom: Readiness experiences and challenges
    (2016-05-10) Figaro-Henry, Sandra; James, Freddy
    The University of the West Indies (UWI) has signalled its intention to use ICTs to fuel growth in its competitiveness and improvement in the quality and effectiveness of its delivery of higher education services to a wider audience. The university's Strategic Plan 2012-2017 spells out the path to this development and the priorities to achieve its vision. In an effort to be proactive in fulfilling the university's strategic objectives, the UWI School of Education, St. Augustine (UWISOESA) initiated the use of mobile learning technologies via a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative with some of its students in the Bachelor of Education programme. The mobile technologies literature reports many issues that can impede their effective use during teaching and learning. These issues include the degree of readiness for implementation, safety, security, connectivity, and communication. This paper reports on a study done to determine how students involved in the BYOD initiative experienced the initiative at the UWISOESA. It reports on students' perceptions of the degree of readiness of UWISOESA for BYOD; their experiences and challenges; and how to improve the initiative. The study has implications for regional policy formulation