Classroom observation data collected to document the implementation of physics competence-based curriculum in Rwanda

Abstract

Classroom observation has played a role in documenting classroom practices to improve teaching and learning outcomes. This dataset allows teachers, researchers, and educational policymakers to reanalyze it depending on the interest variables and understand Rwanda's current physics education. The data was collected among qualified teachers from selected schools in Kigali city and rural eastern province in Rwanda. Classroom observation data were collected using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) and Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS). This data article describes the collected data, research design undertaken, and methods used to collect and analyze them.” The data collected are valid and reliable due to standard instruments used and consistent agreement between classroom observers. A step-by-step procedure on collecting and analyzing COPUS data and checking interobserver reliability has been detailed and informed in supplementary materials.

How Pre-service Teachers Learn Microbiology using Lecture, Animations, and Laboratory Activities at one Private University in Rwanda

“…To answer the research questions, we analysd the classroom observation data by relative abundance (percentage of activities), as in Ndihokubwayo et al (2021). Our implemented intervention was done thrice on a series basis; we presented the results for each intervention separately (see Table 2).…”

“…Four lessons of 80 minutes each were observed during laboratory classes, where 206 activities of students appeared, and 170 activities of the lecturer were found. The sum of activities was calculated using an MS Excel visualization sheet (see Ndihokubwayo et al, 2021). All scores for each code were counted and summed up to generate totals of all the times that each code was observed.…”

“…Before using the COPUS STEM, the first author and one research assistant were trained by Kizito Ndihokubwayo, one of the experts who documented and wrote on collecting and analysing data using COPUS (Ndihokubwayo et al, 2020b(Ndihokubwayo et al, , 2021. During training, the trainer introduced COPUS by explaining its codes and when to code.…”

Data collected to measure the impact of problem-based learning and document physics classroom practices among Ugandan secondary schools

“…The authors aimed to observe each teacher at least three times, as it is recommended in Ndihokubwayo et al.’s study [15] . The analysis of RTOP is done by averaging the score for each of the 25 items to see which practice is best or poorly performed by the teacher [16] .…”

Dataset for measuring the conceptual understanding of optics in Rwanda

“…This dataset is an accumulation of data collected for the first author's doctoral research project "Assessment of Instructional Tools for Active Learning of Optics at Advanced Level Secondary Schools in Rwanda". [1][2][3][4][5][6] In this project, there was a need to first assess students' conceptual understanding of light phenomena and, second, to assess the effectiveness of instructional tools (such as University of Colorado Boulder's interactive PhET simulations, and YouTube videos) to improve the learning of optics. Thus, this article presents data from two different inventories or tests that were designed.…”