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Purpose - The availability of new innovative learning spaces together with the introduction of new teaching and learning strategies have shifted the nature of the classroom from a place of instruction towards a place that produces authentic learning. Students in the 21st century are inclined to learn with peers, through the use technology to produce the information as the result of their collaboration. This research examines the effect of learning space design and teaching strategies on undergraduate students’ collaborative learning behaviour in the Mobile X-Space classroom. Methodology - This study used a quantitative survey research design to measure students’ learning experience in the Mobile X-Space classroom. A set of online self-reported questionnaire was posted through the official Learning Management System of the university to collect data from 467 undergraduate students in a Malaysian top private university. Through exploratory factor analysis, three factors were identified: (a) teaching strategies, (b) collaborative learning behaviour and (c) space design. Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression were run to assess the relationship between learning space design and teaching strategies conducted by the lecturers on the collaborative learning behaviour of the students. Two-way factorial ANOVA with Post Hoc tests were performed to determine the effects of gender and study semester of the students on their collaborative learning behaviour. Findings - The results from the multiple regression analysis revealed that both (i) teaching strategies, and (ii) space design were positively correlated with collaborative learning behaviour of the students. The results from Person’s correlation showed a significant, strong and positive relationship between teaching strategies conducted by the lecturers on the collaborative learning behaviour among the students. Also, there was a statistically significant, strong and positive relationship between learning space design on the teaching strategies of the lecturers. In addition, the results from two-way factorial ANOVA showed that collaborative learning behaviour was different for groups in different study semesters. However, there was no statistically significant difference for collaborative learning behaviour between different genders in all semesters. Significance - The outcomes of this research will be beneficial in enhancing the support and design of future learning spaces and add value to the present educational model. It is also beneficial in guiding academics in determining the practical teaching and learning approaches in the flexible learning spaces, which could be more suitable for the millennium youth who are more tech-savvy and favour Internet of things in their daily lives. This type of learning space will help to improve the students’ soft skills and collaborative skills, that are very useful in their future employability in the actual work settings.

Purpose – Knowledge state specifies pupils’ mastery level and informs about their strength and weaknesses in the tested domain. This study attempted to diagnose primary pupils’ learning the concept of after through their knowledge states by using Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment (CDA). Methodology – This study employed a survey research design to gauge pupils’ knowledge states for the concept of finding the date after a specific number of days from a given date [abbreviated as the concept of after]. Quantitative data from the pupils’ pattern of response to the items in Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment (CDA) were collected and analyzed. Items in the CDA were designed by three experienced Mathematics Education researchers and content validated by a panel of seven expert primary mathematics teachers. It was then administered to 238 Grade Six pupils from 11 primary schools in Penang, Malaysia. The pupils’ item responses were interpreted into knowledge states and mastery levels. Findings – The overall analysis showed that there were 18 knowledge states diagnosed in the concept of after. This large number of knowledge states indicated the specificity of pupils’ mastery level and thus provided detailed information about their strengths and weaknesses in the concept of after. The findings of this study imply that primary pupils face different levels of difficulty when they are learning the topic of Time. Significance – This method of diagnosing pupils knowledge in terms of mastery level of each attribute tested is different from a conventional diagnostic test which provides only the final score for each pupil. By knowing the pupils knowledge states, teachers can make use of this fine-grained information to enable them to carry out differentiated instructional planning and other remedial work more effectively. Pupils can also use this information to monitor their own learning by maintaining their strengths and overcoming their weaknesses to cope with their own studies.

Teacher education programmes the world over are based on national ideologies, policies and development plans. They are grounded in the culture of knowledge espoused by the major stakeholders (Bruner, 1996). The culture in turn is based on the value system espoused by the stakeholders concerned and this value system is incorporated and reflected in the teacher education programmes, particularly its curriculum and the management and development of the curriculum. A value system is in essence the ordering and prioritization of the ethical and ideological values that individuals or society hold. However, value systems are not something static. On the contrary they are dynamic and ever changing. In view of the emerging trends and challenges of globalization (Friedman, 2004), it has become necessary to view teacher education within the wider context of both the professional community and society at large. The state and nature of the rapid change requires teacher education to be more outward looking and be geared towards enabling teachers to be engaged in constant professional learning and self-improvement.

Purpose – This qualitative study explores if there were any changes in teachers’ reflection in terms of content and levels after participating in five lesson study cycles. Method – Case study method was employed in this study. Six mathematics teachers from a primary school participated in this study. They set up a lesson study group and conducted five lesson study cycles. In each lesson study cycle, the lesson study team members plan, teach and observe a research lesson. Qualitative data was collected through participatory observation, reflection sessions, collection of artefacts and interviews. Findings – Analysis of data revealed that there were some slight and slow changes in the teachers’ reflection as they progressed from the first to the fifth reflection sessions. These changes included: (1) teachers’ reflection became more specific and in-depth; (2) teachers’ reflection about the pupils’ learning became more in-depth; (3) teachers reflected from pupils’ perspectives; and (4) teachers reflect athigher level of reflection. Significance – The study revealed that the criteria of lesson study, collaborative and classroom observation, made it feasible in promoting teachers’ reflection. The educators could employ lesson study as an approach to promote teachers’ reflection. However, the effectiveness of lesson study in promoting teachers’ reflection is 146 Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction: Special Issues 2017: 145-172 affected by the number of lesson study cycles being carried out and the presence of the knowledgeable others.

This was a preliminary study conducted to examine the relationship between psychographic factors (i.e., personal value, risk attitude, and trust) and the purchase of life insurance among Alor Setar city folks. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was used to collect data from early February to mid-March 2015. A sample comprising 108 respondents were subjected to binary logistic regression analysis. The major finding of this study showed that risk attitude has a significant and negative relationship with the purchase of life insurance. Respondents in Alor Setar who are more likely to involve in risky behaviours or activities tend not to buy life insurance. Risk taking individuals do not behave like risk averse individuals who tend to seek protection by buying life insurance as a method to cover their personal risks. Meanwhile, personal value and trust were found to have no significant relationship with the purchase of life insurance among respondents in Alor Setar. It is recommended that a comprehensive study covering wider areas with larger sample sizes be included in future studies to obtain more reliable results that would enable the generalisation of findings. Keywords: Life insurance, Psychographic factors, Personal value, Risk attitude, Trust

This was a preliminary study conducted to examine the relationship between psychographic factors (i.e., personal value, risk attitude, and trust) and the purchase of life insurance among Alor Setar city folks. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was used to collect data from early February to mid-March 2015. A sample comprising 108 respondents were subjected to binary logistic regression analysis. The major finding of this study showed that risk attitude has a significant and negative relationship with the purchase of life insurance. Respondents in Alor Setar who are more likely to involve in risky behaviours or activities tend not to buy life insurance. Risk taking individuals do not behave like risk averse individuals who tend to seek protection by buying life insurance as a method to cover their personal risks. Meanwhile, personal value and trust were found to have no significant relationship with the purchase of life insurance among respondents in Alor Setar. It is recommended that a comprehensive study covering wider areas with larger sample sizes be included in future studies to obtain more reliable results that would enable the generalisation of findings. Keywords: Life insurance, Psychographic factors, Personal value, Risk attitude, Trust

Purpose – This qualitative study explored the implementation of Lesson Study, a kind of teacher-directed and bottom-up approach of the Japanese model of teacher professional development in the Malaysian education context. It seeks to answer the question of how implementation of lesson study as an innovative professional development model among Malaysian school teachers influences teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge, and what school-based factors support or hinder the implementation of lesson study in the Malaysian context. Methodology – The case study method was employed involving two secondary schools in the state of Kedah. Each school set up a lesson study group as a case. Case A had 9 teachers while case B had 8. The participants of both cases engaged themselves in the lesson study process for a period of 12 months. Each lesson study cycle required the participants to collaboratively plan, discuss, teach, observe and reflect on a particular lesson. Due to various constraints, at the end of this study, case A conducted three lesson study cycles while case B conducted only two cycles. Multiple data sources were gathered through in-depth interviews, observations, group discussions and reflections as well as participants’ journal writing. Findings – The analysis of the qualitative data indicated that the lesson study group setting provided an encouraging opportunity and venue for the participants to collaborate, discuss and share their teaching knowledge and experiences. Consequently, the participants expressed that their content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge were enhanced. They became more reflective and keener in promoting active student participation in their lessons. Significance – This study revealed that the degree of knowledge enhancement was dependent upon each participant’s attitude and commitment towards the teaching profession. However, when provided with sufficient supporting factors such as positive support from the school administrators, committed and dedicated group leaders and strong collegiality among the lesson study team, lesson study could be successfully implemented as an effective and innovative mode of teachers’ professional learning.

There is widespread concern in Malaysia about the quality of learning experienced by students, and the approach to learning they develop as a consequence. The approach is generally marked by memorization of information as isolated facts and does not promote understanding or long-term retention of knowledge and information. Despite a number of large-scale, centrally-driven reform efforts to change the status quo, they have for the most part met with little success. Based on the data collected as part of a nation-wide study to investigate the way teachers make pedagogical decisions, this paper argues that one major challenge to transform students‟ approach to learning is changing the way teachers think about teaching which past reform efforts have largely ignored. The data suggest that the teachers studied mainly see teaching as transmitting information from teacher to the student. In this view of teaching they hold, they focus their attention on the differences between students to explain differences in learning. Learning is therefore not seen as more a function of what the teacher does than what a student is. This means, unless their view of teaching in challenged, their teaching is unlikely to change to be more responsive and supportive of student learning. The data for this study was collected through qualitative approaches involving interviews and classroom observation. The findings of the study have wide implications in planning professional development courses for teachers to transform the way students learn.