Masitah Shahrill

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Verified

Masitah verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• B.Sc (Hons), M.Sc, M.Ed, D.Ed
• Associate Professor at Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Purpose This paper aims to share how it was possible to change the way business was conducted in a short period in order to continue the academic semester and seek alternatives to manage the day-to-day university affairs in the midst of a pandemic crisis at a higher education setting. As a result, the authors’ experiences have created new norms and...

In this commemorative tenth edition of Higher Education in Southeast Asia and Beyond (HESB), leading researchers and policymakers have been invited to share their insights and analysis of the future development of higher education in each of the 11 Southeast Asian countries: Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Phil...

The first school in Brunei Darussalam was established in 1914. Since then, access to education in this relatively small nation, situated in the northwest of Borneo, has expanded significantly. The national education system has also become more complex. Independence from Great Britain in 1984 prompted many new initiatives to strengthen national iden...

Higher education in Brunei Darussalam dates from 1985, when the national flagship university, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, was established. There are four public and two private institutions in the higher education sector. Each has the freedom to set its academic standards, design and manage its educational programs, implement its student assessme...

This study concerns an intervention incorporating the KNOWS strategy (K-Know, N-Need to know, O-Organize, W-Work, and S-Solution), a mnemonic problem-solving tool to improve students' performance in ratio word problems. Quantitative data through pre-and post-tests were collected from 42 Year 9 students in one of the secondary schools in Brunei Daru...

Recent research addressing the integration of cultural contexts with digital tools in mathematics education remains scarce. Previous studies have predominantly focused on traditional teaching methods, ethnomathematics, and implementing Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) as distinct approaches. However, this study bridges a critical gap by combin...

This study aims to examine the effects of Virtual Algebra Tiles (VAT) on the performance of 41 Year 8 students in solving algebraic equations. The VAT used in this research is accessible and free through a website called Didax. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from Class 8X (21 students) and Class 8Y (20 students) through convenient...

Despite implementing innovative instructional techniques, many students struggle to understand science topics. This mixed-method and action research study explored the effectiveness of Islamic integrated science comics in enhancing students' comprehension and performance on the topic of 'reuse and recycle,' a challenging area for most students. The...

p>The purpose of this study is to design a learning trajectory (develop mathematics reasoning skills) for junior high school statistics material to be used in eighth-grade classrooms. This design research study comprises three stages: preliminary design, experimental design and Retrospective Analysis. The subjects in this study were eighth-grade le...

This study explores the effectiveness of the Station Rotation Model (SRM) in adding and subtracting fractions. A mixed-method design was conducted through convenience sampling of 31 students from Year 9. They were given pre-and post-tests consisting of ten questions for collecting quantitative data. Students’ online questionnaires consisting of fiv...

Science education plays a vital role in primary schools, and it is important to improve its quality through innovative teaching and learning methods. This study examines the use of drawing as a strategy to enhance learning about the Digestive System in Year 4 students. The research follows an action research approach, involving one cycle of identif...

Existing studies on the item sequenced-performance nexus have produced mixed results. To clarify this contradiction, this study adopted a descriptive research design through a quantitative approach to show how the sequence of items in multiple-choice tests (MCTs) influences the performance of students in Science and Mathematics. Multistage sampling...

Nowadays, various mosque architectural designs are beautiful, famous, iconic and contain philosophical values. Some experts have explored the characteristics and found that different architectural construction of mosques in some countries contains many mathematical elements or Ethnomathematics that can be used as a starting point for learning mathe...

School and national assessment climates are critical contextual factors that shape teachers’ assessment preferences. In this study, 431 secondary school teachers from Ghana (n = 308) and Brunei (n = 123) were surveyed to examine how their perceptions of school assessment climates influenced their assessment practices. Semi-structured interviews wer...

This systematic literature review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the challenges faced by universities in bridging the digital divide in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic, the solutions that have been learned, and policy recommendations. The study follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses...

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the sudden transition of teaching and learning from the perspectives of the teacher educators and students of an education graduate faculty in one of the universities in Brunei Darussalam. During the first COVID-19 outbreak in the country, higher education institutions s...

COVID-19 required new off-school technology-based learning environments for educational continuity. This study described the online delivery modes of lectures and tutorials in a university in Brunei Darussalam during COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 818 students from eight faculties. Data were collected through online surveys...

Many personal and societal harm is caused by negative behaviour, which usually involved antisocial behaviour practices. Such behaviour tends to mislead youth, and consequently affect their academic performance. The current study investigates the effects of impulsivity, antisocial behaviour on academic performance. A total of 379 survey questionnair...

Educational stakeholders in Brunei are not exempted from the search for innovative instructional approaches as a tool to stem the tide of poor performance of students in mathematics. This study was designed to contribute to this national project by examining the impact of a digital escape game intervention on students’ mathematics performance and a...

The Think-Pair-Share (TPS) cooperative learning is associated with high student participation and performance in various subjects. However, research focusing on this direction in Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) is not widespread. This mixed method with an action research approach investigated the effectiveness of TPS cooperative learning i...

Classroom assessment is a cornerstone for effective teaching and learning. However, there are variabilities in teachers’ approaches to assessment due to recent educational policies, and classroom teaching and learning conditions. This study adopted a mixed method design through a sequential explanatory approach to examine teachers’ approaches to cl...

The Brunei Woven Textiles are culturally significant artifacts in Brunei Darussalam, often used in traditional events such as Mandi Belawat and Hantaran Pernikahan. These textiles exhibit intricate motifs that incorporate mathematical concepts, a field known as ethnomathematics, offering a potential starting point for mathematics education. Despite...

This descriptive quantitative study explored secondary school students’ reasons for receiving or not receiving private mathematics tutoring. It also explored the prevalent teaching methods private mathematics tutors use. A questionnaire was adapted to collect data from 1,309 Year 7 to Year 12 students (ages 11 to 17 years) in three countries: Brune...

This study used a mixed-method design and an action research approach to investigate the effectiveness of the Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD) in improving 11 TVET students’ performance in the theory of flight. The results of the paired sample t-test revealed that students’ performance improved and were able to retain their knowledge after...

In theorizing teacher leadership, little is known about the leadership qualities teachers are likely to learn or model within their community of practice. This descriptive qualitative study examined 12 graduate teacher candidates to describe the exemplary leadership qualities of mathematics teacher leaders. After thematic analysis, two categories o...

This study integrates game-based learning (GBL) in sociology lessons to investigate its impact on students’ essay writing. The study had a sample size of seven students from a Year 12 Sociology class in one of the high schools in Brunei Darussalam. This qualitative research made use of data collection instruments consisting of pre-test and post-tes...

This study aims to examine students’ conceptions of learning Geotechnics by investigating how selected students perceived learning in the teaching and learning to set an enrolled civil engineering program. In addition, students’ reasons for approaches used in learning Geotechnics and students’ perceptions of the role of the learning environment in...

Applying critical thinking is an essential skill in the 21 st century. However, teaching materials that do not facilitate students to improve these skills impact the achievement of learning objectives. Therefore, educators need appropriate teaching materials that encourage students to enhance their thinking skills. This study aims to develop teachi...

A core component of the Master of Teaching (MTeach) programme in the graduate school of education in a university in Brunei Darussalam is a module called Professional Practice and Seminar (PPS). The PPS entails the graduate teacher candidates to be placed in schools for 12 weeks in each of the two semesters within the 18-month programme. During the...

Understanding integers is critical for further learning in mathematics. However, most students have difficulty understanding integers, especially how to apply sign rules. This study adopted a mixed-method and action research approach to investigate the impact of a virtual manipulative tool (Gizmos) on students’ performance in addition and subtracti...

Shadow education as a complement to formal education has been studied in several contexts. However, the reasons why students receive or may fail to receive private mathematics tuition and the prevalent teaching methods used in private mathematics tuition have not been fully explored. In this study, we descriptively surveyed 816 Years 7 to 11 second...

Questioning is one of the critical repertoires in dialogic teaching. Teachers who set dialogic classrooms need to be able to use questioning effectively. Effective questioning techniques by teachers improve teacher-student instructional dialogues in primary school mathematics classrooms. In this study, the questioning practices of three primary sch...

In the body of knowledge in mathematics education research, fractions are one of the researchers' concerns. The reason is because fractions are very difficult for students to understand. This study explores elementary school students' knowledge and obstacles in dealing with the multiplication of fractions. This study employs descriptive quantitativ...

The use of comics in the educational field is notable for their ability to motivate and attract students’ attention. This study explores the impacts of comics as a teaching and learning strategy on the topic of ‘Our Communication’ in a Year 4 primary Social Studies class in Brunei Darussalam. The study addressed the questions on the effectiveness o...

table width="614" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> Student teams-achievement divisions (STAD) is a cooperative learning strategy in which small groups of learners with different abilities work together to achieve a shared goal. This study investigates the effectiveness of employing STAD amongst vocational and technical engineering (VTE)...

Researchers have argued that the use of comics in teaching mathematics is ideal for improving problem-solving skills among primary and secondary students. However, there are only a handful of studies that utilize comics, particularly in Bruneian classrooms. In this study, we share the journey of three teachers who enacted the use of comics in their...

This article examines the mobilities of international students through less-known higher education contexts, with a particular focus on Korean international students in Brunei Darussalam. It pays attention to the infrastructures, including varied factors and actors, that contribute to Korean students’ choice and justification of Brunei as their stu...

Fractions remain predominantly one of the most challenging topics to teach and learn. Brunei Darussalam is no exception, where a few local researches reported that students performed poorly in fraction topics. To understand this situation, this study focuses on pupils' understanding in solving problems on fractions. Specifically, this study investi...

Examples and exercises in mathematics textbooks have an essential role in directing teaching and learning to achieve the objectives of the mathematics curriculum. This study examines mathematical tasks, i.e., examples and exercises, for a grade 4 elementary school mathematics textbook published by the Indonesian Government in 2018. We focus on geom...

The recent globalisation and the emergency of COVID-19 require a teaching and learning environment that encourages the use of technology. Through a mixed-method design and an action research approach, this study investigated the effectiveness of a flipped classroom model through multimedia technology in improving students’ performance in directed n...

The addition and subtraction of fractions are considered one of the most difficult topics in mathematics for students. However, interventions to improve student performance in this direction are not widespread. This action research study investigated the effectiveness of synchronous videoconference intervention in improving student performance in a...

This study investigated the efficacy of inquiry-based learning (IBL) in a flipped classroom in enhancing vocational students’ conceptual knowledge and inquiry skills of vocational students. We conducted IBL interventions in a flipped classroom through a pre-experimental design (i.e., one-group pretest-posttest approach). A total of 14 second-year s...

Understanding integers is fundamental in enhancing students' performance in other mathematical concepts. However, the majority of year 8 students in the government schools in Brunei Darussalam have inadequate understanding leading to unsatisfactory performance in the operations of integers. Despite this challenge, there has not been any systematic...

Effective school leadership is critical for school success. Teachers as leaders have extraordinary influences not only in their classrooms but also in the general school framework. The aspect of teacher leadership provides self-knowledge and the courage to act on that knowledge. However, there is no consensus on what defines teacher leaders and the...

To meaningfully determine how well students have achieved learning targets, instructors must adopt specific formative assessment techniques. During the COVID-19 pandemic, existing studies have discovered the techniques instructors in higher education use in their formative assessment practices. However, there has not been any consensus on the preva...

Low-ability students are evidenced to have difficulties in understanding the concept of abstraction in mathematics , such as social arithmetic problems. It is because low-ability students have an IQ below the average of 70 to 90. Most teachers find it challenging to discover what kind of learning approaches that may be suitable for improving their...

The Handbook examines the country and institutional policy for online education and assesses online education strategies in the respective countries. The Handbook includes country case studies of Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, and Singapore. The Handbook contains institutional cases of Bangladesh Open University, Universit...

Geometry is one of the essential mathematics materials, such as square and rectangle. However, most elementary school students experience difficulty in understanding it due to the abstractness of the geometric material. Furthermore, teachers teaching in the remote areas of Indonesia still encounter problems exploring this abstract material to make...

When the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed on 9th March 2020 in Brunei Darussalam, the state government responded with a sudden temporary closure of schools and a few higher education institutions after a few days, affecting educational functionality and interrupting teaching and learning. This chapter firstly examines the abrupt changes in educ...

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a non-digital game-based learning approach by assessing the differences in students' achievement score between the pre-test and the post-test on the topic of multiplication and division with indices. A paired sample t-test was used to investigate a significant difference in the studen...

In this study, a self-reliant learning strategy was used in the teaching and learning of a Mathematics module at a local technical institution to investigate its effectiveness in improving the students' performance in descriptive statistics. This study also examined how group work activity, when integrated with the self-reliant strategy, can contri...

This study explores how Technical and Vocational Teachers’ intentions to incorporate technology in teaching and learning are influenced by their beliefs. It is theorised that teachers’ beliefs about using technology in their instructions are influenced by teachers’ perceptions of technology usefulness, ease of use, and self-efficacy. In the current...

The study explored the use of cooperative learning strategy in students‟ learning of Marketing for Tourism subject. The sample of this study consisted of 19 final year Diploma students from the Travel and Tourism services course. The study utilizes an action research approach, which involves the process of improving the method of teaching and stude...

Millennial consumer behaviors approach purchasing or shopping things differently when compared to what earlier generations encountered. Each generational cohort shares a common technological, social, political, historical, and economic environment that shapes and distinguishes them from one another and the millennial generation is using social medi...

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of game-based learning on year-nine students’ mathematics performance on the topic of ratios, rates, and proportions. This action research study consists of two cycles conducted in a public middle school in Brunei Darussalam. Cycle one is implemented in a class of seventeen students...

The power of reflection is highly acknowledged to promote learning and develop expertise, yet reflective skills are rarely explicitly taught in schools. As a result, encouraging reflection among learners is often difficult to accomplish, especially in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) setting. By employing the Technological...

This study explored the integration of animations in lessons designed using the Technological, Pedagogical, Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework to enhance students' conceptual understanding in the processes of diffusion and osmosis. The study was conducted in a secondary school involving 22 Year 12 students. Data was collected using the Osmosis and...

The purpose of this study is to understand the causes of common errors and misconceptions in the learning attainment of simultaneous equations, specifically on linear and non-linear equations with two unknowns. The participants consisted of 30 Year 9 students in one of the elite government schools in Brunei Darussalam. Further analyses of their wor...

Fractions are universally known to be difficult to learn. Learning basic fractions may not be sustainable if one is to apply it to more advanced mathematical content knowledge as it is interlinked with other mathematics topics. In the effort to understand how children grasp the learning of fractions additions, a study was carried out with a random...

Comic books can be and are produced mainly for science communication. Comics are more favorable to be read by the students as comics engaged students in reading compared to thick science textbooks. This study explored the role of comics as an aid in teaching elementary school science on the topic of ‘Plant Systems’ using an action research approach...

This study investigated the use of storytelling in teaching elementary science on the topic of 'Sense Organs' at the Grade 1 level. A total of 21 students from one of the elementary schools in Brunei Darussalam participated in the study. The qualitative analyses of the observations and video recordings resulted in the classifications of the challen...

The study was designed to assess the effectiveness of an alternative teaching approach strategy called the Hybrid Strategy. It was intended specifically in minimising the common errors made by students, which were Comprehension and Transformation errors, and aimed at helping students to perceive word problems as a story line to be completed using t...

This study aims to investigate an intervention in the application of the Butterfly Method Algorithm with the Bar Model Concept on the addition and subtractions of Fractions to Year 9 students in one of the Government secondary schools in Brunei Darussalam. The Butterfly Method is an alternative visual method for teaching fractions where the diagona...

In recent years, calls to nurture and teach creativity from an early age in schools has intensified. Creativity is something regular in the teaching of arts subjects but is not a common feature in teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. However, what really matters, is how the subject is being taught. This research aimed...

This study explores the use of comics in teaching elementary school students on solving Mathematics Word Problems. A total of 12 Year 2 students from an elementary school in Brunei Darussalam were chosen to participate in the study. A series of comics were created and some exercises included characters that were adapted from a local popular culture...

This study explored the use of comics in teaching secondary mathematics students the topic of ‘Order of Operations’. The focus was to improve students’ achievement with the use of comics as a tool to enhance the learning process and at the same time develop students’ interest in learning mathematics. A total of 33 Year 7 students from one of the se...

The art of teaching mathematics at all levels requires a lot of creativity and innovation from a teacher for the students to effectively grasp what they are taught. Teachers tend to devise various means always ensure that they understand the attention of a learner in mathematics lessons bearing in mind that some learners easily switch off in mathem...

In schools, the teachers’ responsibilities are not just limited to preparation for teaching, handling students, preparing and marking examination papers, but they also have school administration responsibilities. The amount of administrative workload may also be perceived as an interference with the time for the teachers to plan and prepare for the...

There have been significant interests in investigating the phenomenon of shadow education in the past few decades. Globally, it is known as shadow education, in some countries they prefer to use private supplementary tutoring, meanwhile for Brunei Darussalam, it is commonly called private tuition or simply tuition. Private tuition in Brunei is not...

Brunei Darussalam officially participated in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2018. It has been in the planning and implemented by the Ministry of Education in phases since 2014. In order to investigate the secondary school teachers’ awareness, understanding and the challenges in relation to the implementation of PISA in B...

Indonesia has many traditional games that can be used as a starting point in learning mathematics, i.e., social arithmetic. However, the teacher always used a conventional method such as direct teaching in teaching mathematics. Several researchers said that this method made mathematics learning boring. Therefore, this study aims to design a mathema...

Millennial consumer behaviors approach purchasing or shopping things differently when compared to what earlier generations encountered. Each generational cohort shares a common technological, social, political, historical, and economic environment that shapes and distinguishes them from one another and the millennial generation is using social medi...

This study examined the use of analogies incorporated in biology teaching for the topic "transport in humans". An action research approach was utilized, comprising both quantitative and qualitative analyses, in a 10th grade secondary school classroom setting. Parameters such as mean, standard deviation and the covariance analysis from both pre and...

A mathematics framework was developed to integrate problem-solving that incorporated simulation of real-life problems in the classrooms. The framework coined as the RECCE-MODEL emphasised understanding and thinking with a view on mathematics embedded in real-life. The RECCE which stands for Realistic, Educational, Contextual, Cognitive, and Evaluat...

This study implemented the use of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Design and Technology lessons. The investigation involved students’ attitudes towards PBL. PBL is said to enhance students’ understanding and provide them with meaningful learning experience. The participants for this study were seven Year 11 students consisting of two males and five...

Educational system reform is generally observed to bring change to the school and students' performance. After 5 years of its implementation, this study attempts to have an overview of schools from three different groups based on their students' mathematics achievements. This is done by identifying the factors that may have contributed to the stude...

This study examined whether there are any connections between the Year 8 mathematics content of the lessons of four competent mathematics teachers in two different school settings in Brunei Darussalam. A continuous series of lessons was video recorded, ranging between four to six consecutive lessons for each teacher participant. The qualitative app...

This study investigated how formative assessment is conducted in one of the secondary schools Brunei Darussalam. A framework that consisted of the five key strategies was utilised to observe two mathematics teachers teaching at the Year 7 and Year 10 levels. The qualitative approach was used in analysing the data in which two classroom observations...

This study investigated the formative assessment practices in Science education in relation to the enhancement of student learning. The sample comprised of three teachers and 114 students at the Year 9 to 11 levels at one of the private secondary schools in Brunei Darussalam. The study was carried out in three phases: classroom observations, dissem...

This mixed-method action research study aimed to examine the effect of the use peer of assessment in a Brunei Mathematics classroom in the learning of Geometry. This study offered insights into the use of a student-centred learning approach, which the participants held the role as an assessor of peer’s work, and the use of peer feedback as a potent...

This mixed-method action research study aimed to examine the effect of the use peer of assessment in a Brunei Mathematics classroom in the learning of Geometry. This study offered insights into the use of a student-centred learning approach, which the participants held the role as an assessor of peer’s work, and the use of peer feedback as a potent...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of feedback to students by a primary teacher teaching the science topic “Life Cycle” in a Year 5 bilingual Bruneian science classroom. Design/methodology/approach This study used a discourse analysis of one primary science teacher’s use of feedback to his students when teaching the topic “L...

Stigma and negative attitudes to help seeking are sources of concern in counseling and psychotherapy as they act as barriers to interventions. The field survey utilized for this study assessed the participants’ performance on these two psychological variables. In total, 160 randomly selected junior and senior high school students in Brunei Darussal...