Adopting a Learner-Centered Methodology at Sultan Qaboos University

Sultan Qaboos University implemented a project for adopting a learner-centered methodology in the preparation program of the teacher-trainees of English at the College of Education. The learning materials package used in the project was developed as a result of the collaboration of two parities: Sultan Qaboos University and the American Partnership Initiative represented by Seward Incorporated. In the package, two independent variables have been manipulated: (1) the principles of the learner-centered method and the e-learning Moodle platform. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of this project. To this end, two research tools (an achievement test and a student attitudinal feedback form) were developed, validated and applied to 150 ELT student teachers divided into four experimental groups and three control groups. The students in the experimental groups cover the developed package whereas those in the control groups cover the same topics in the package adopting the traditional method, (i.e. lecturing and face-to-face teaching). Preliminary indicators and views of the participants (faculty and students) show that the project is effective and successful for more than one reason: (1) involving students in active learning processes and tasks, (2) minimizing the use of lectures as the principle mode of instruction, (3) giving students increased ownership of their learning, (4) fostering team work and cooperative learning, and (5) manipulating technology and e-learning efficiently. Numerating these benefits, however, does not mean the absence of problems to do with the quantity of the readings and assignments, use of technology, and the nature of the tasks accompanying the topics

Study of Phytochemical screening,Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Content and Antioxidant Activity of Pulicaria glutinosa growing in Saudi Arabia

Phytochemical screening of P. glutinosa extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, terpenes, sponins, flavonids, anthraquinone and glycosides. Quantitative determination of total phenolics, total flavonoids, and various in vitro antioxidant activities (DPPH, ABTS metal chelation effect in the Fe2+-ferrozin test system) of the various extracts from the P. glutinosa was carried out. Phenol and flavonoid content of the extract were measured by folin ciocalteu and AlCl3 assays. The Phenol and flavonoid content of the extracts varied between 18.33 – 199.44 mg/g and 14.64 – 164.73 mg/g, respectively. The results showed that the butanol extract of P. glutinosa, which contain highest amount of phenol and flavonoid compounds, exhibited the greatest antioxidant activity in scavenging of DPPH free radical and ABTS radical cation assays. In other hands, results showed that aq. Methanol, butanol and water extracts studied are in metal-chelating assay lower active than EDTA and higher than ascorbic acid as a synthetic antioxidant

Study of Phytochemical screening,Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Content and Antioxidant Activity of Pulicaria glutinosa growing in Saudi Arabia

Phytochemical screening of P. glutinosa extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, terpenes, sponins, flavonids, anthraquinone and glycosides. Quantitative determination of total phenolics, total flavonoids, and various in vitro antioxidant activities (DPPH, ABTS metal chelation effect in the Fe2+-ferrozin test system) of the various extracts from the P. glutinosa was carried out. Phenol and flavonoid content of the extract were measured by folin ciocalteu and AlCl3 assays. The Phenol and flavonoid content of the extracts varied between 18.33 – 199.44 mg/g and 14.64 – 164.73 mg/g, respectively. The results showed that the butanol extract of P. glutinosa, which contain highest amount of phenol and flavonoid compounds, exhibited the greatest antioxidant activity in scavenging of DPPH free radical and ABTS radical cation assays. In other hands, results showed that aq. Methanol, butanol and water extracts studied are in metal-chelating assay lower active than EDTA and higher than ascorbic acid as a synthetic antioxidant

The Impact of Drama Instruction on EFL Omani Fifth Graders’ Read-ing Comprehension

Drama instruction is one of the methods recommended in EFL literature. This study aimed to investigate the impact of drama instruction on EFL fifth graders’ reading comprehension. It also explored the students’ and the teacher’s perceptions of the use of drama in reading lessons. A total of 74 randomly selected students participated in the study and formed the control group and the experimental group. The study followed the mixed quasi-experimental design. A pre- and posttest reading test was administered to examine the impact of drama on reading comprehension. A questionnaire was implemented to explore students’ perceptions of drama. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted to probe students’ and teacher’s perceptions of drama. The results were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. They showed no significant difference in reading comprehension between the control group and the experimental group. However, the experimental group performed better in the posttest than the control group although their mean scores in the pretest were lower. The participant teacher and students responded positively towards the use of drama in reading lessons. They reported that drama activities were exciting and made them love reading

Online course design: taking a right turn!

Guided by Nation and Macalister’s (2010) eight-step language curriculum design model, a 5-week online course was designed to teach critical thinking skills for foundation students at the Arab Open University (Oman). The course was conducted with 11, level two foundation students, after which it was evaluated by the participating students, the course instructor and three course reviewers using three different research instruments (an end-of-course evaluation form, semi-structured interviews and a course evaluation rubric), the analyses from which revealed that most were satisfied with the course design, but some modifications and additions were needed. The reflection on the online course design process along with the course evaluation results led to several amendments to the course design to make it more conducive to online delivery. The study provides course developers with an evidence-based, enhanced online course design model that will help create online courses

EFL Teachers’ Awareness, Practices and Challenges of Teaching English Communicatively in Oman Post Basic Education Schools

This study investigated the perceived knowledge and actual practice of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) among post basic education teachers in Omani schools, along with the influence of gender and length of teaching experience years on teachers’ practice of this approach. It also explored the different challenges faced by teachers when implementing CLT. A total of 122 EFL Omani teachers took part in this study. The respondents completed the following: (1) a twenty-five item questionnaire concerning CLT principles; and (2) a questionnaire regarding the challenges of CLT. The results revealed that Omani EFL teachers have a high degree of awareness of the principles of CLT. However, they practice this approach at a moderate level, while their gender and length of teaching experiences have little impact on their actual practice of this approach. The findings further indicated that the implementation of CLT in Omani classrooms is hindered by: (1) teachers’ lack of training in CLT; (2) lack of time to prepare communicative activities; (3) students’ low levels of proficiency in English; (4) large class sizes; and (5) difficulties assessing the linguistic aspects of the language. This resulted in the drawing up of a number of recommendations

Construction project delay-analysis techniques

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to [email protected], referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-79).Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics.The construction industry is considered one of the largest money-generating industries of the economy. Construction time is a highly critical aspect for all parties involved in a project. However, delays in construction projects seem to be inevitable, which results in conflict as every party claims that the other is responsible for the delay. Delays that can affect construction time may cause claims, some claims can reach litigation. There is a need in the construction industry to analyze delays using the most appropriate delay-analysis technique. The selection of delay-analysis method to analyze a delay is a critical factor that can dramatically affect the delay analysis results. There is a pressing need to resolve conflicts among different parties by implementing delay-analysis techniques that lead to fair analysis results depending on the amount of information that is available at the time the delay is being performed and the timing of applying the delay-analysis. This study focuses on two aspects of delay analysis; the first aspect is to describe different delay-analysis techniques that can be applied to resolve claims among different parties involved in a dispute, the second aspect is to compare different dynamic delay-analysis methods that can be applied to resolve claims and compare the result of applying those methods. The results of this research benefit different parties among the construction industry such as the owners, designers, contractors, and lawyers