maher alarfaj | King Faisal University (original) (raw)

Papers by maher alarfaj

Journal of Educational & Psychological Sciences, 2004

Oó©dG 2 ƒ```«fƒj 2004 èaô©dG óªfi ôgÉe .O »ªµdG π«∏ëàdGh »Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ÚH AÉjõ«ØdG »ªµdG π«∏ëàdGh ... more Oó©dG 2 ƒ```«fƒj 2004 èaô©dG óªfi ôgÉe .O »ªµdG π«∏ëàdGh »Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ÚH AÉjõ«ØdG »ªµdG π«∏ëàdGh »Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ÚH AÉjõ«ØdG (á«FÉjõ«ØdG º«gÉØŸG óMC G ≈∏Y ≥«Ñ£J) è````aô©dG óªfi ôgÉe .O π°ü«a ∂∏ŸG á©eÉL-á«HÎdG á«∏c ájOƒ©°ùdG á«Hô©dG áµ∏ªŸG-AÉ°ùME 'G ¢üî∏ŸG á«FÉjõ«ØdG πFÉ°ùŸG ™e »WÉ©àdG ' ɪ¡e ÓeÉY √u óYh »Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ÒKC ÉJ ióe É«∏L í° †àj Qƒ°U áZÉ«°U ¬«∏Y ÖJÎj É ‡ ,»Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ' ¢ùÑd ¿ƒµJ ádÉM ' É°Uƒ°üNh ,᫪µdG øY Ö«OE á°SGQódG √òg ¿E Éa Éaeg øeh. ádC É°ùª∏d (á«°VÉjôdG) ᫪µdG á÷É©ŸG ¥ƒ©J á«aegP (á«°VÉjôdG äÉ÷É©ŸG ≥«Ñ£J) »ªµdG π◊G ¤E G ∫ƒ°UƒdG á«fɵeE G øY ¬JQÉKE G â" …òdG ∫GD ƒ°ùdG ø ‡ ÜÓ£dG ¿C G á°SGQódG √òg âae«H å«M ,áeRÓdG ᫪«gÉØŸG Qƒ°üdG ¿ƒµJ ¿hO øe Qƒ°üdG √òg áªLôJ º¡àdhÉfi AÉaeKC G Ohó°ùe ≥jôW ¤E G Gƒ∏°Uh ób ,áWƒ∏¨e º«gÉØe Gƒeóîà°SG A'D ƒg ™£à°ùj ⁄ IÒãc ä'ÉM 'h .(á«°VÉjôdG) ᫪µdG äÉ÷É©ŸG ∫ÓN øe á«aegòdG ≈a »Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ôKC G §≤a í°VƒJ ' á°SGQódG Iòg ¿E G .¥RC ÉŸG Gòg øe êhôÿG ÜÓ£dG πÑb øe É¡≤«Ñ£J ÖLGƒdG á«aegòdG Qƒ°üdG á«gÉe Oó-ɉE Gh ,(á«°VÉjôdG) ᫪µdG äÉ÷É©ŸG ' Oóëàj ádC É°ùŸG πM á«fɵeE G ¿C G »ae©j É ‡ ,áÑ°SÉaeŸG ᫪µdG äÉ÷É©ŸG ¤E G √Oƒ≤J »µd º∏©àŸG .áÑ°SÉaeŸG ᫪«gÉØŸG Qƒ°üdG OƒLh Aƒ°V Ω2003/2/19 åëÑdG º∏°ùJ ïjQÉJ @ Ω2003/12/2 ô°ûae∏d ¬dƒÑb ïjQÉJ @ ó∏ÛG 5 Oó©dG 2 ƒ```«fƒj 2004 á«°ùØaedGh ájƒHÎdG Ωƒ∏©dG á∏›

This study sheds light on the prediction of success using cutoff scores for student grades adopte... more This study sheds light on the prediction of success using cutoff scores for student grades adopted for two required Physics pathway courses (Phys. 103, and Phys. 104) for study in an engineering professions program at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. enrolled in these two courses between 2008 Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine cutoffs for course grades using ranges of GPA. This procedure has promise as a new method for quantitatively arriving at cutoff scores using an external criterion requiring less human judgment than most existing standard setting methods. The cutoff scores are unexpectedly different in the analyses stringent standards evidenced by the resulting respective cutoff scores. Overall, the cutoff scores for the two Physics courses tended to be low or moderate, implying that low and moderate course grades were obtained for even s Keywords:

This study aims at analyzing the fourth grade Saudi physical science curriculum in light of TIMSS... more This study aims at analyzing the fourth grade Saudi physical science curriculum in light of TIMSS standards. A modified version of Mousa's multitude measurement tool was implemented after being checked for validity and reliability. Five teachers who have at least 15 years of experience were participated in conforming the analysis according to a sequence of legitimate steps. It has been shown that the Saudi fourth grade science curriculum has tackled TIMSS content and cognition dimensions adequately on the Physical science area. At the content paradigm, all topical areas on force, electricity and magnetism, and matter and properties were targeted. Yet, subjects on light were entirely discarded. The cognition paradigm has been targeted variously; the factual knowledge came on the top list, followed by conceptual understanding, and reason and analysis. The less rated standards were drawing reflective models or diagrams of understanding, and the formulation of questions based on dep...

British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, 2016

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, 2017

This study sheds light on the prediction of success using cutoff scores for student grades adopte... more This study sheds light on the prediction of success using cutoff scores for student grades adopted for a required Physics pathway course for study in a health professions program at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. Data on course grade and GPA for approximately 10,000 students enrolled in this course between 2008–2014, were analyzed. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine cutoffs for course grades using ranges of GPA. This procedure has promise as a new method for quantitatively arriving at cutoff scores using an external criterion requiring less human judgment than most existing standard setting methods. The cutoff scores produced show that GPAs of students who complete the Physics course yield successive performance tiers that are lower than expected. In addition, the correlation between GPA and course grade for Physics is only 0.63 and therefore only 39% of the variation in GPA explains course grade. As a result of the findings of the st...

Studies in Continuing Education

This piece theorises the limitations of transitioning reflection from individualistic to particip... more This piece theorises the limitations of transitioning reflection from individualistic to participatory practice. It addresses the question: what are the challenges of introducing crowd-reflecting into Arab academia? To answer this question, 140 Arabs from an academic organisation were invited to crowd-reflect, online, on their institution, using a five-phase model. The data analysis showed that limited cultures of collaboration, healthy conflict, cross-gender communication, integrity and critical thinking in Arab academia challenged crowd-reflecting. Despite implementing strategies to overcome these challenges, crowd-reflecting resulted in chaos at the institution, forcing management to intervene to stop the project. This chaos ensued because crowd-reflecting, unlike individualistic reflection, entailed numerous individuals and intersubjectivity – which complicated reflectiveness, turned thoughtful Arab individuals into a mob and jeopardised the well-documented gains of individualistic reflection. Although crowd-reflecting was initiated to improve organisations, it destabilised the institution and turned it into a counter-learning organisation. This implies that, in Arab academia, beyond micro-level small groups, the more participants there are in reflection, the less effective the learning outcomes may be. In Arab academia, meso-level reflection (and, by implication, macro-level reflection such as the mega-reflecting of the Twittersphere) can risk ruining the art of reflectiveness.

EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education

The Science Teachers' Pedagogical Discontentment (STPD) scale has formerly been developed in the ... more The Science Teachers' Pedagogical Discontentment (STPD) scale has formerly been developed in the United States and used since 2006. Based on the perceptions of selected teachers, the scale is deeply rooted in the cultural and national standards. Given these limitations, the measurement integrity of its scores has not yet been conclusively established internationally, such as in the Saudi Arabia context. The items of the scale are slightly tailored to make the instrument suitable in the specific context, such as with respect to country-based regulations, reforms, and everyday practices of science teachers and their professional development initiatives. Item-based descriptive statistics, the measure's factor structure as opposed to its former validity studies, and factor-based reliability scores are investigated in the present report. Thus, this study extends the validity and reliability measures of the instrument to the international scale and further confirms its appropriateness to measure teacher attitudes towards inquirybased science education initiatives.

Research in Science Education

The International Journal of Engineering Education, 2011

Ontario Action Researcher, 2011

Science Education in the Arab Gulf States, 2015

International Education Studies, 2011

The five stage cycle model is an interactive flash platform that proposes a challenging scenario ... more The five stage cycle model is an interactive flash platform that proposes a challenging scenario with associated questions about light wave features and correlations. As the students navigate from stage to stage, they are able to access some related resources and engage in small group discussions. The students are able to revisit their responses and revise them as they move from one stage to the next. Results from this study reveal that the five stage cycle, designed as a computer-based tutorial, can facilitate students' learning of physics; however, most students cannot construct a useful knowledge structure to overcome the challenging scenario they encounter.

International Education Studies, Aug 1, 2011

The five stage cycle model is an interactive flash platform that proposes a challenging scenario ... more The five stage cycle model is an interactive flash platform that proposes a challenging scenario with associated questions about light wave features and correlations. As the students navigate from stage to stage, they are able to access some related resources and engage in small group discussions. The students are able to revisit their responses and revise them as they move from one stage to the next. Results from this study reveal that the five stage cycle, designed as a computer-based tutorial, can facilitate students' learning of physics; however, most students cannot construct a useful knowledge structure to overcome the challenging scenario they encounter.

Journal of Educational & Psychological Sciences, 2004

Oó©dG 2 ƒ```«fƒj 2004 èaô©dG óªfi ôgÉe .O »ªµdG π«∏ëàdGh »Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ÚH AÉjõ«ØdG »ªµdG π«∏ëàdGh ... more Oó©dG 2 ƒ```«fƒj 2004 èaô©dG óªfi ôgÉe .O »ªµdG π«∏ëàdGh »Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ÚH AÉjõ«ØdG »ªµdG π«∏ëàdGh »Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ÚH AÉjõ«ØdG (á«FÉjõ«ØdG º«gÉØŸG óMC G ≈∏Y ≥«Ñ£J) è````aô©dG óªfi ôgÉe .O π°ü«a ∂∏ŸG á©eÉL-á«HÎdG á«∏c ájOƒ©°ùdG á«Hô©dG áµ∏ªŸG-AÉ°ùME 'G ¢üî∏ŸG á«FÉjõ«ØdG πFÉ°ùŸG ™e »WÉ©àdG ' ɪ¡e ÓeÉY √u óYh »Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ÒKC ÉJ ióe É«∏L í° †àj Qƒ°U áZÉ«°U ¬«∏Y ÖJÎj É ‡ ,»Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ' ¢ùÑd ¿ƒµJ ádÉM ' É°Uƒ°üNh ,᫪µdG øY Ö«OE á°SGQódG √òg ¿E Éa Éaeg øeh. ádC É°ùª∏d (á«°VÉjôdG) ᫪µdG á÷É©ŸG ¥ƒ©J á«aegP (á«°VÉjôdG äÉ÷É©ŸG ≥«Ñ£J) »ªµdG π◊G ¤E G ∫ƒ°UƒdG á«fɵeE G øY ¬JQÉKE G â" …òdG ∫GD ƒ°ùdG ø ‡ ÜÓ£dG ¿C G á°SGQódG √òg âae«H å«M ,áeRÓdG ᫪«gÉØŸG Qƒ°üdG ¿ƒµJ ¿hO øe Qƒ°üdG √òg áªLôJ º¡àdhÉfi AÉaeKC G Ohó°ùe ≥jôW ¤E G Gƒ∏°Uh ób ,áWƒ∏¨e º«gÉØe Gƒeóîà°SG A'D ƒg ™£à°ùj ⁄ IÒãc ä'ÉM 'h .(á«°VÉjôdG) ᫪µdG äÉ÷É©ŸG ∫ÓN øe á«aegòdG ≈a »Ø«µdG º¡ØdG ôKC G §≤a í°VƒJ ' á°SGQódG Iòg ¿E G .¥RC ÉŸG Gòg øe êhôÿG ÜÓ£dG πÑb øe É¡≤«Ñ£J ÖLGƒdG á«aegòdG Qƒ°üdG á«gÉe Oó-ɉE Gh ,(á«°VÉjôdG) ᫪µdG äÉ÷É©ŸG ' Oóëàj ádC É°ùŸG πM á«fɵeE G ¿C G »ae©j É ‡ ,áÑ°SÉaeŸG ᫪µdG äÉ÷É©ŸG ¤E G √Oƒ≤J »µd º∏©àŸG .áÑ°SÉaeŸG ᫪«gÉØŸG Qƒ°üdG OƒLh Aƒ°V Ω2003/2/19 åëÑdG º∏°ùJ ïjQÉJ @ Ω2003/12/2 ô°ûae∏d ¬dƒÑb ïjQÉJ @ ó∏ÛG 5 Oó©dG 2 ƒ```«fƒj 2004 á«°ùØaedGh ájƒHÎdG Ωƒ∏©dG á∏›

This study sheds light on the prediction of success using cutoff scores for student grades adopte... more This study sheds light on the prediction of success using cutoff scores for student grades adopted for two required Physics pathway courses (Phys. 103, and Phys. 104) for study in an engineering professions program at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. enrolled in these two courses between 2008 Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine cutoffs for course grades using ranges of GPA. This procedure has promise as a new method for quantitatively arriving at cutoff scores using an external criterion requiring less human judgment than most existing standard setting methods. The cutoff scores are unexpectedly different in the analyses stringent standards evidenced by the resulting respective cutoff scores. Overall, the cutoff scores for the two Physics courses tended to be low or moderate, implying that low and moderate course grades were obtained for even s Keywords:

This study aims at analyzing the fourth grade Saudi physical science curriculum in light of TIMSS... more This study aims at analyzing the fourth grade Saudi physical science curriculum in light of TIMSS standards. A modified version of Mousa's multitude measurement tool was implemented after being checked for validity and reliability. Five teachers who have at least 15 years of experience were participated in conforming the analysis according to a sequence of legitimate steps. It has been shown that the Saudi fourth grade science curriculum has tackled TIMSS content and cognition dimensions adequately on the Physical science area. At the content paradigm, all topical areas on force, electricity and magnetism, and matter and properties were targeted. Yet, subjects on light were entirely discarded. The cognition paradigm has been targeted variously; the factual knowledge came on the top list, followed by conceptual understanding, and reason and analysis. The less rated standards were drawing reflective models or diagrams of understanding, and the formulation of questions based on dep...

British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, 2016

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, 2017

This study sheds light on the prediction of success using cutoff scores for student grades adopte... more This study sheds light on the prediction of success using cutoff scores for student grades adopted for a required Physics pathway course for study in a health professions program at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. Data on course grade and GPA for approximately 10,000 students enrolled in this course between 2008–2014, were analyzed. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine cutoffs for course grades using ranges of GPA. This procedure has promise as a new method for quantitatively arriving at cutoff scores using an external criterion requiring less human judgment than most existing standard setting methods. The cutoff scores produced show that GPAs of students who complete the Physics course yield successive performance tiers that are lower than expected. In addition, the correlation between GPA and course grade for Physics is only 0.63 and therefore only 39% of the variation in GPA explains course grade. As a result of the findings of the st...

Studies in Continuing Education

This piece theorises the limitations of transitioning reflection from individualistic to particip... more This piece theorises the limitations of transitioning reflection from individualistic to participatory practice. It addresses the question: what are the challenges of introducing crowd-reflecting into Arab academia? To answer this question, 140 Arabs from an academic organisation were invited to crowd-reflect, online, on their institution, using a five-phase model. The data analysis showed that limited cultures of collaboration, healthy conflict, cross-gender communication, integrity and critical thinking in Arab academia challenged crowd-reflecting. Despite implementing strategies to overcome these challenges, crowd-reflecting resulted in chaos at the institution, forcing management to intervene to stop the project. This chaos ensued because crowd-reflecting, unlike individualistic reflection, entailed numerous individuals and intersubjectivity – which complicated reflectiveness, turned thoughtful Arab individuals into a mob and jeopardised the well-documented gains of individualistic reflection. Although crowd-reflecting was initiated to improve organisations, it destabilised the institution and turned it into a counter-learning organisation. This implies that, in Arab academia, beyond micro-level small groups, the more participants there are in reflection, the less effective the learning outcomes may be. In Arab academia, meso-level reflection (and, by implication, macro-level reflection such as the mega-reflecting of the Twittersphere) can risk ruining the art of reflectiveness.

EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education

The Science Teachers' Pedagogical Discontentment (STPD) scale has formerly been developed in the ... more The Science Teachers' Pedagogical Discontentment (STPD) scale has formerly been developed in the United States and used since 2006. Based on the perceptions of selected teachers, the scale is deeply rooted in the cultural and national standards. Given these limitations, the measurement integrity of its scores has not yet been conclusively established internationally, such as in the Saudi Arabia context. The items of the scale are slightly tailored to make the instrument suitable in the specific context, such as with respect to country-based regulations, reforms, and everyday practices of science teachers and their professional development initiatives. Item-based descriptive statistics, the measure's factor structure as opposed to its former validity studies, and factor-based reliability scores are investigated in the present report. Thus, this study extends the validity and reliability measures of the instrument to the international scale and further confirms its appropriateness to measure teacher attitudes towards inquirybased science education initiatives.

Research in Science Education

The International Journal of Engineering Education, 2011

Ontario Action Researcher, 2011

Science Education in the Arab Gulf States, 2015

International Education Studies, 2011

The five stage cycle model is an interactive flash platform that proposes a challenging scenario ... more The five stage cycle model is an interactive flash platform that proposes a challenging scenario with associated questions about light wave features and correlations. As the students navigate from stage to stage, they are able to access some related resources and engage in small group discussions. The students are able to revisit their responses and revise them as they move from one stage to the next. Results from this study reveal that the five stage cycle, designed as a computer-based tutorial, can facilitate students' learning of physics; however, most students cannot construct a useful knowledge structure to overcome the challenging scenario they encounter.

International Education Studies, Aug 1, 2011

The five stage cycle model is an interactive flash platform that proposes a challenging scenario ... more The five stage cycle model is an interactive flash platform that proposes a challenging scenario with associated questions about light wave features and correlations. As the students navigate from stage to stage, they are able to access some related resources and engage in small group discussions. The students are able to revisit their responses and revise them as they move from one stage to the next. Results from this study reveal that the five stage cycle, designed as a computer-based tutorial, can facilitate students' learning of physics; however, most students cannot construct a useful knowledge structure to overcome the challenging scenario they encounter.