Teachers' Grading Practices: Meaning and Values

Classroom teachers do not always follow recommended grading practices. Why not? It is possible to conceptualize this question as a validity issue and ask whether teachers' concerns over the many uses of grades outweigh concerns about the interpretation of grades. The purpose of this study was to investigate the meaning classroom teachers associate with grades, the value judgments they make when considering grades, and whether the meaning or values associated with grades differed by whether teachers had measurement instruction. A sample of 84 teachers, 40 with and 44 without measurement instruction, responded to classroom grading scenarios in two ways–with multiple-choice responses indicating what they would do and with written responses to the question, “Why did you make this choice?” A coding scheme based on Messick's (1989a, 1989b) progressive matrix of facets of validity was used for quantitative and qualitative analyses of written responses. The meaning of grades is closely related to the idea of student work; grades are pay students earn for activities they perform. The relationship of this notion to classroom management should be investigated. Teachers do make value judgments when assigning grades and are especially concerned about being fair. Teachers also are concerned about the consequences of grade use, especially for developing student self-esteem and good attitudes toward future school work. Measurement instruction made very little difference, although it did reduce the amount of self-referenced grading reported.     

Elementary Teachers' Classroom Assessment and Grading Practices

Abstract

The authors investigated the assessment and grading practices of over 900 Grades 3-5 teachers representing urban, suburban, and rural schools. Teachers indicated the extent to which they used various factors to grade students, the types of assessments used, the cognitive level of assessments, and the grades awarded. Teachers appeared to conceptualize 6 major factors when they graded students; they placed the greatest weight on academic performance and academic-enabling behaviors, such as effort and improvement, and much less emphasis on homework, comparisons with other students, grade distributions of other teachers, and borderline cases. The teachers used 3 types of assessments—constructed-response, objective, and teacher-made major examinations; they differentiated between recall and higher level cognitive skills. However, there were few relationships between assessment and grade level, subject matter assessed, and grades awarded. Results are discussed in light of other research, indicating that teachers use a “hodgepodge” of factors when assessing and grading students.     

Secondary Teachers' Classroom Assessment and Grading Practices

What variables do secondary teachers use to assign grades? What is the relationship between classroom assessment practices and grading? Is the form of classroom assessment related to grade level, subject area, and student ability?     

Teachers' and Pupils' Experiences of Integrated Education in Uganda

Under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme in Uganda, which was implemented in 1997, the idea of integrated education was put into practice. Today children with disabilities are enrolled in regular primary schools in the whole country. After three years of experience with UPE, the aim of this study was to examine the views of teachers about their needs for training and support regarding the task of teaching children with disabilities in ordinary classrooms. A qualitative approach was chosen using individual interviews, focus group discussions with teachers, pupils and head teachers, and observations in classrooms. Three primary schools in different districts of Uganda were selected as research sites. For a number of reasons data collection from the pupils proved problematic but generally the findings confirmed the information drawn from the review of literature. In addition to the high teacher-pupil ratio, there is an alarming lack of resources in the schools and an urgent need for teacher training to meet special needs in the classroom. Despite these difficult conditions found in schools, many teachers had positive attitudes towards integrating children with disabilities, but only a few examples from the classroom observations showed good practice for meeting a diversity of needs.     

Teachers' Prior Experiences and Actual Perceptions of Professional Identity

Abstract

After a review of literature, 14 items were generated which represent teachers' professional identity. The participating teachers (n = 28) were requested to express and clarify their actual perception for each item. In addition they were asked to draw so‐called story‐lines from the present to the past and to clarify the highest and lowest points in these lines. The respondents were secondary school teachers with an average teaching experience of 21 years. All of them perceived their actual professional identity as positive. The teachers' stories of their experiences demonstrate so‐called progressive rather than regressive lines in their careers. Some teachers also demonstrate so‐called stability story‐lines, i.e. lines without high(est) and low(est) points. It is argued that—in the long term—these and other research findings can be relevant to those who are responsible in schools for the further development of teachers' careers.     

大学英语智能写作评分系统中教师监控策略

随着计算机网络技术广泛运用于语言教学,基于网络自主学习的大学英语写作教学便应运而生。但是大学生尚处于认知发展阶段,学习观念和习惯尚未发展成熟,要想自主学习真正行之有效,还要建立有效的质量监控体系。本文提出基于网络自主学习的大学英语写作教学模式中实施教师计划,指导,检查,评价,反馈,调控等监控策略,旨在帮助学生培养自主学习,从而进一步推进大学英语改革,提高大学英语写作教学质量。     

美国经验对我国教师专业发展的启示

美国的教师专业发展在世界上处于相对成熟的阶段,其教师专业发展是建立在教师自主建构教师知识、社会认知学习理论和成人学习理论基础上的,并在此基础上衍生出网络学习、教师研究、教师学习小组和大学与中小学合作等教师专业发展途径,这些经验对帮助我国教师专业发展具有深刻的借鉴意义。     

中职英语教师布置和批改作业的个案叙事研究

布置和批改作业,是英语教师课堂教学环节中常规的工作之一,但在某些中职学校,由于学生的不配合而使它的实施面临很大挑战,这导致教师对作业的批改和布置流于形式。一位中职英语教师布置和批改英语作业方式的教育叙事研究表明,如果教师在每一个教学环节上,都能对学生倾注真诚的爱,我们的中职英语教育必将会焕发出积极的情感魅力。     

Utilizing Research on Prospective Teachers' Beliefs to Inform Urban Field Experiences

Beliefs about teaching students from cultures and contexts different from their own strongly influence what prospective teachers are willing and able to learn about urban teaching. The objectives of the study were to (1) describe and analyze the beliefs our prospective teachers had about becoming professional teachers in an urban context; (2) analyze how the field experiences in an introductory education course supported or inhibited prospective teachers' examination of those beliefs; and (3) provide implications for designing meaningful field experiences. The results provided insight into three dilemmas that should be considered when designing field experiences.     

借鉴国外经验发展我国高校教师职后教育

现代教育技术的广泛应用,要求教师必须更新知识、强化创新意识、提高创新能力,因此教师的培训工作刻不容缓。综观国外发达国家高校教师的职后教育情况,学习与借鉴他们在教师培训方面的成功经验,探索出一条适合中国的教师培训之路,对提高综合国力和整个国民素质具有重要意义。     

Prospective Elementary Teachers' Science Teaching Orientations and Experiences that Impacted their Development

A large body of literature illustrates that many elementary teachers are reluctant to teach science and confess a lack of confidence to teach it. Nevertheless, a review of the literature indicates a few cases of elementary teachers who do well in science and offers rare examples of enthusiast elementary teachers. The question then becomes how those cases came to be? The purpose of this study is to document two such cases of prospective elementary teachers, illustrate their unique characteristics and shed light on how those came to be. The study was designed upon a narrative inquiry approach focusing on the collection of personal stories. Multiple sources of data were used in order to examine the participants’ science teaching orientations and the kinds of experiences that influenced their development: drawings, interviews, reflective assignments, and others. The analysis of the data was grounded within the Three-Dimensional Space Narrative Structure. The findings of the analysis illustrated that the participants perceived certain experiences they had during their university coursework as critical to shaping their orientations to science and science teaching: inquiry-based investigations, contemporary theoretical discussions, outdoors field study, friendly classroom environment and the characteristics of their instructors. These findings have implications for the design of teacher education courses that aim to engage prospective elementary teachers, especially females, in meaningful learning experiences and support them in developing science teaching orientations that are in line with reform recommendations.     

何以为师:教师权威的时代变迁与遭遇

教师的权威是传统信仰和社会制度等外部因素、知识技能和教师个体德性等内在担当在教师身上的综合体现.在人类社会发展之初,人类效法天地自然,以自然为师,直接表现为天地自然赋予神性,效法各种自然"神",教师权威更多地表现出信仰的价值;在古代社会,西方以僧代师职,我国则以巫、官代师职,教师权威兼具现实性和世俗性,既表现为信仰的价值,也表现为知识和德性的代表;近代社会,随着以科学为旗帜的启蒙运动开展,科学取代宗教,知识取代神意,作为富有神性"信仰"代表的教师开始被作为知识代表的教师所取代.现代信息社会知识的易得性和对个体分化的成全弱化了教师的知识权威,教师权威的外在赋予被一定程度上消解,教师权威的实现更主要成为教师个体的事,这就要求教师承担起树立教师权威的内在担当.     

Consensus is Unfair

A coefficient of unfairness in the allocation of goods to people can be extended to measuring consensus among judges. The notion of relative variability underlies the formation of these measures.     

Professional Culture and Professional Development in Jewish Schools: Teachers' Perceptions and Experiences

In this article, we report a study of professional culture and professional development in Jewish schools based on surveys of teachers and other staff and interviews with principals. We first introduce three key constructs: professional culture, professional development, and professional learning communities. We then describe research that has identified features of each that support teacher learning. With this background in mind, we compare the current realities in Jewish schools as gleaned through the survey with typical public schools and with the features of schools identified in the literature as supportive of teacher learning and collegiality. Finally, we suggest the next steps that might be taken to improve Jewish schools as settings in which teacher growth and learning flourish.     

An Examination of How Science Teachers' Experiences in a Culture of Collaboration Inform Technology Implementation

This paper presents a case study of Technology Enhanced Secondary Science Instruction (TESSI), a school-university collaboration designed to explore what can be accomplished when teachers and researchers work together to bring technology into the secondary science classroom. Features that contributed to a successful and powerful collaboration are explored. The paper illustrates how a culture of collaboration may contribute to significant technological reform, and foster conceptual change leading to distinctive pedagogy and praxis. The findings support Kimmel and Deek's contention that teachers should take a central role in reforms that direct the implementation of technologies within the classroom. The study highlights the value of drawing upon teacher experience, perspectives, and knowledge of classroom contexts, and illustrates how these may serve as a basis for designing successful technology implementation.     

Debate-Proof Grades: Experiences and Challenges of Using a Grading Rubric in a Social Welfare Policy Course

This article discusses the experiences and challenges of a graduate teaching assistant in using a grading rubric in a social welfare policy course. Using a grading rubric as a debate-proof strategy against the grade entitlement of students is expatiated. In addition, the benefits of using grading rubrics to achieve CSWE/EPAS competency expectations in social work are explored.     

平均主义与社会的分配不公

公平和效率是社会主义市场经济活动所追求的两大价值目标，也是判断社会主义制度是否优越的根本价值尺度。“效率优先、兼顾公平”是一条从中国国情和实际出发，符合社会主义经济发展规律的科学而合理的价值原则。坚持效率优先、兼顾公平的原则，既要反对平均主义，又要防止收入悬殊。     

Preservice Science Teachers' Beliefs About Teaching and Learning: The Influence of K-12 Field Experiences

Teaching is a complex task shaped by many external and internal influences, including the beliefs held by individual teachers. This study sought an understanding of the impact of field experiences on the beliefs developed by preservice science teachers. The participants were students in an undergraduate science education methods course that involved observation and teaching experiences in K-12 classrooms. The data used in this qualitative study included drawings representing beliefs and in-depth interviews with selected participants. The findings indicate that beliefs focused on two key dualities: learning through experience and transmission and student-centered and teacher-centered instruction. The findings also suggest that field experiences both reinforce and challenge the beliefs held by preservice science teachers.     

规制不正当竞争行为的责任制度

经营者采取非法的竞争手段,可能一时满足了自己的需要,但它却破坏了正常的市场竞争秩序,给社会和他人带来了极大的危害。非法竞争行为破坏了社会资源的优化配置,造成了社会财富的极大浪费,我国无论是统一的反不正当竞争法还是地方的反不正当竞争的规则都对实施不正当竞争行为所应承担的法律责任做了明确规定．但是在此法律中也存在一些不足之处,本文通过分析国内外的反不正当竞争的法律责任问题,从中进行思考,并设法提出相关的解决思路．