Students’ Perceptions of Code-Switching in Natural Sciences Classrooms: A South African Perspective

Although South Africa is a multilingual country with 11 official languages, English dominates as the language of teaching and instruction in almost all schools. In addition to this, the Natural Sciences teachers at the school of study were cautioned not to use code-switching because the school policy states that the medium of instruction should be exclusively English. Recently, students at this school complained about teachers who had been code-switching between one or more indigenous languages and English. The objectives of this investigation, therefore, were to explore the perceptions of Grade 8 students regarding code-switching in Natural Sciences classrooms, their perceptions of the effect of code-switching on their academic achievement and also how the use of this teaching strategy influenced their respect for their teacher. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and the findings revealed that students believed that the use of code-switching confused many students, resulting in underachievement in Natural Sciences and that they respected teachers more when they taught in English only.     

Relationship between IEP Characteristics and Test Scores on an Alternate Assessment for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

Although many studies have examined the alignment of state standards with large-scale assessment and instruction, fewer have attended to alignment concerning alternate assessments for students with significant disabilities. This study was designed to (1) compare expectations in one state's alternate assessment (AA) with curricular priorities reflected in students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and (2) consider the effect of this relationship on AA scores. The study was conducted in a state whose AA consisted of standardized performance tasks measuring reading comprehension (RC) and number systems (NUM). Archival data, including AA scores and IEPs for 292 students, were analyzed. The average IEP emphasized speaking, writing, and measurement, and objectives primarily required simple recall skills. Half of IEPs contained no objectives aligned with RC. More than one third of IEPs did not align with NUM. Assessment–IEP alignment had a moderate effect on Reading test score, but not Math test score. Recommendations are made for future investigations of the taught curriculum for this population, and professional development to improve alignment of instruction with assessments.     

Teachers’ uptake of problematic assumptions of climate change in the NGSS

Abstract

This case study presents the efforts of three high school teachers to design and implement climate change lessons in alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Using three conceptual frameworks that organize the assumptions of the environment in the NGSS we examine how those assumptions influence teacher practice when teachers strive to align with the standards. Video recorded instruction of eight climate change-anchored lessons spanning three consecutive years were thematically coded. Results indicate that the problematic aspects of the NGSS’s characterization of climate change can help explain the framing of environmental issues and the compartmentalization of humans relative to the climate science in teachers’ lesson plans and instruction. The NGSS promulgate disconnected agency which appears in teacher and student talk in classrooms. Our analysis reveals opportunities to use standards to design interventions for classroom practice to support diverse students in countering the assumptions about the human-environment relationship embodied in the NGSS.     

The Effects of a Kit-Based Science Curriculum and Intensive Science Professional Development on Elementary Student Science Achievement

The science achievement of 226 5th graders from districts that have a kit-based inquiry science curriculum supported by intensive professional development (PD) is compared with data from a group of 173 5th graders from other districts that use nonkit science materials and do not have systematic science PD for teachers. Within the kit-based project, the sample of project teachers is stratified to select teachers with a high number of science PD hours versus those with few hours. While there were no significant differences in the mean total scores for kit-based students with low PD versus high PD teachers, the kit-based classrooms scored significantly higher than students in nonkit classrooms on both the pretest and posttest, though there were significantly more minutes of science instruction in the nonkit classrooms. Finally, nonkit teachers taught more units of shorter length and reported lower levels of preparedness to use reform pedagogical approaches.     

Taking and teaching the test are not the same: a case study of first-year teachers’ experiences in high-stakes contexts

Background: Policymakers’ use of high-stakes exams to improve students’ academic achievement affects teachers and their tenure in the field at all levels of schooling. Novice teachers now being inducted into the field have been educated almost exclusively in these high-stakes learning environments. Yet, how their familiarity with these contexts combined with their experiences in their own classrooms affect novices’ induction into the field of teaching has not been fully examined. Aim: This article presents findings from an investigation into the experiences of two first-year teachers who were educated and trained to be teachers in the same high-stakes education system in which they taught. It examines how these first-year teachers viewed policymakers’ reforms affecting their teaching and tenure in the field. Methods: This qualitative case study centers on the experiences of two first-year teachers working in the same high-stakes standards-based accountability teaching context in which they were educated – the case. This study provides insight into the issue of how novices’ familiarity with high-stakes reform combined with their experiences in their own classrooms impacts their conceptions of their teaching and their tenure in the field. Outcomes: The findings from this case study reveal how policymakers’ high-stakes reforms impacted the development of these novice teachers in significant ways. Not only did they have to learn how to teach as they taught, but they also had to ensure they were teaching all of their students to pass the high-stakes exams. Their varied experiences also demonstrate how these high-stakes exams can ‘test’ beginning teachers out of the classroom. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that first-year teachers’ familiarity with policymakers’ high-stakes reforms is not enough to prepare them for the expectation that they immediately improve students’ academic achievement on high-stakes exams. Such findings not only challenge what it means to be a educator in these contexts, but they also shed light on how larger political and economic forces impact the teaching and tenure of novices. To support new teachers, teacher educators and mentors should rethink the education and induction processes while helping novices understand as well as prepare for the role context plays in their teaching and development as professionals.     

Teachers and tests: assessing pupils' reading achievement in primary schools

The purpose of the present study was to examine validity aspects of teachers’ judgements of pupils’ reading skills. Data come from Sweden's participation in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2001, for Grades 3 and 4. For pupils at the same achievement levels, as measured by PIRLS 2001 test, teachers’ judgements of pupils’ achievement levels varied from one teacher to another. Moreover, there were significant differences between teachers’ judgements in Grades 3 and 4. Teachers in Grade 3 who had taught their pupils for almost 3 years showed higher correspondence between their judgements and pupil achievement within classrooms than 4th-grade teachers who, typically, had only taught their pupils for approximately 1 semester at the time of the data collection. The results indicate that teachers’ judgements and tests can be useful within classrooms, but that teachers may need external assessments to calibrate judgements over classrooms.     

Understanding science teaching effectiveness: examining how science-specific and generic instructional practices relate to student achievement in secondary science classrooms

ABSTRACT

In order to create conditions for students’ meaningful and rigorous intellectual engagement in science classrooms, it is critically important to help science teachers learn which strategies and approaches can be used best to develop students’ scientific literacy. Better understanding how science teachers’ instructional practices relate to student achievement can provide teachers with beneficial information about how to best engage their students in meaningful science learning. To address this need, this study examined the instructional practices that 99 secondary biology teachers used in their classrooms and employed regression to determine which instructional practices are predictive of students’ science achievement. Results revealed that the secondary science teachers who had well-managed classroom environments and who provided opportunities for their students to engage in student-directed investigation-related experiences were more likely to have increased student outcomes, as determined by teachers’ value-added measures. These findings suggest that attending to both generic and subject-specific aspects of science teachers’ instructional practice is important for understanding the underlying mechanisms that result in more effective science instruction in secondary classrooms. Implications about the use of these observational measures within teacher evaluation systems are discussed.     

Instruction time and student achievement: The moderating role of teacher qualifications

Recent evidence suggests a positive effect of the quantity of instruction on student achievement. In this paper, I focus on the interaction between the quantity and the quality of instruction. Using international TIMSS data, I exploit within-student between-subject variation. I find that on average, an additional hour of instruction time leads to an increase of 0.03 standard deviations in students’ test scores across all countries. Importantly, these effects of instruction time are significantly larger for students with better qualified teachers, resulting in an increase in test scores of 0.04 to 0.05 standard deviations. While on average, instruction time has no significant effect in developing countries, it increases test scores by 0.02 standard deviations when taught by a high-qualified teacher also in developing countries.     

The impact of teaching in a one-to-one computing classroom on teachers’ work outside the classroom

ABSTRACT

One-to-one computing programmes – that is, when each student has a personal, portable computer to use while learning – have been studied extensively, mostly regarding their actual classroom implementation. In this quantitative study, the authors take a broader perspective, exploring the impact of teaching in one-to-one computing programmes on teachers’ beliefs regarding their job outside the classroom. Participants were middle school and high school teachers who had taught in both one-to-one and traditional classrooms – and hence could reflect upon the differences between the two settings. The methodology included questionnaires based on Danielson’s comprehensive Framework of Teaching. The results suggest more positive attitudes towards teaching in one-to-one programmes than in traditional classrooms in all domains tested; however, the one-to-one instruction applied portrays a rather shallow, instrumental use of the digital devices in a way that supports existing teaching practices and beliefs, rather than a transformative effect of such programmes on teaching.     

Why change to active learning? Pre-service and in-service science teachers’ perceptions

This article explores pre-service and in-service science teachers’ perceptions on active learning, and examines the effectiveness of active learning by pre-service science teachers in the Irish second level classroom through a two-phase study. In the first phase, data on perceptions were gathered from final year pre-service teachers and in-service teachers in Irish post-primary schools. In the second phase, pre-service science teachers, working with teacher educators, designed a comparative test for students in lower secondary science classrooms. This tested achievement differences for students taught in traditional ways and students taught using active learning approaches. While the test results show a significant difference between traditional teaching and active learning, overall analysis indicates that the majority of teachers in the study were not convinced of the value of this way of teaching. The findings have implications for science teaching and the enactment of curriculum reform measures in compulsory education.     

教师变量对小学生数学学习成绩影响的多水平分析

32名小学数学教师与这些教师所教班级的1691名学生参与了本研究。两个测量工具评价了教师的数学学科知识与学科教学知识,对教师的55节数学课进行了录像,并按照学习任务的认知水平与课堂对话的特点进行了编码,同时测查了学生的期末数学学习成绩。多水平分析结果表明:教师的学科教学知识、课堂学习任务的认知水平、课堂对话中教师提问问题的类型与对话的权威来源对学生的数学成绩具有显著的预测作用;而教师的学科知识对学生数学成绩的影响未达到显著性水平。     

The achievement gap between science classrooms and historic inequalities

In the past politics deprived many African children (in particular) in South Africa the opportunity of achieving quality education. This was most especially true in subjects such as mathematics and science. In this research the science teacher-level data from Third International Mathematics and Science Study 1999 (TIMSS’99) were analysed with a view to evaluating the politicized gap between what are viewed as well-functioning and provisioned classrooms (predominantly housing White teachers and White or mixed classes in urban areas) and not well-functioning and poorly provisioned classrooms (largely African teachers and African pupils in peri-urban and rural areas). The data are explored in this article to ascertain and gain insight into similarities and differences in classroom conditions, teacher actions and the relationship between these and pupils’ achievement in science in South African classrooms. Significant differences in achievement were found between classrooms headed by teachers with different racial profiles, where the pupils’ average class science score taught by White teachers was about 300 points more (on a scale with an international mean score of 500 points) than children taught in classrooms by African teachers. Furthermore, the average class science score in rural areas was about 130 points below classes in urban areas. These blatant inequalities contribute to what is believed to be an increasing gap in achievement in science. Whilst these results are not altogether unexpected, there were some interesting results in terms of possible explanatory factors for the gaps in achievement which have ramifications for policymakers.     

THE EFFECT OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES ON ELEMENTARY STUDENTS’ SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT AND SOCIAL SKILLS IN KUWAIT

This study compares the effects of two methods of teaching—teacher-centered and cooperative learning—on students’ science achievement and use of social skills. The sample consists of 163 female elementary science students in 8 intact grade 5 classes who were assigned to 2 instructional methods and were taught an identical science unit by 4 classroom teachers. The students’ science achievement was measured by a researcher-designed achievement test given to students as a pretest and a posttest. Students’ social skills were determined by a researcher-designed survey administered as a pretest and posttest. Analysis of the achievement test scores and the social skills survey responses revealed that cooperative learning strategies have significantly (p > 0.05) more positive effects on both students’ achievement and social skills than teacher-centered strategies. These results provide an evidential base to inform policy decisions and encourage and persuade teachers to implement cooperative learning methods in Kuwaiti classrooms.     

Conceptualizing Teaching to the Test Under Standards-Based Reform

Teacher and school accountability systems based on high-stakes tests are ubiquitous throughout the United States and appear to be growing as a catalyst for reform. As a result, educators have increased the proportion of instructional time devoted to test preparation. Although guidelines for what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate test preparation exist, they are outdated and need revision. The current article proposes new guidelines within the framework of standards-based assessment. It also examines the test preparation practices in 32 third- and fifth-grade classrooms and examines the relationship between student test performance and test preparation activities using a two-level Hierarchical Linear Model. Instruction on tested objectives using items like those presented on the state test, decontextualized practice, and teaching test taking skills offered no student achievement benefit relative to general instruction on the state standards leading us to conclude that test preparation was not beneficial.     

Technology 2000

Abstract

This article describes a collaborative university-school district project for improving teaching and learning by using state-of-the-art educational technologies. The work resulted in the simultaneous improvement of P-12 education and teacher education. The article illustrates some of the important outcomes of a project known as Technology 2000, a collaborative effort between a university, a school district, and a business partner. Through using appropriate educational technologies, pre-service teachers, in cooperation with their supervising teachers in five classrooms at two school sites, engaged in the collaborative alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment to facilitate student achievement. The participants believe that the outcomes of this educational technology project have important implications for improving teaching and learning in other schools and teacher education settings.     

What Works: Using Curriculum and Pedagogy to Increase Girls' Interest and Participation in Science

This article identifies instructional strategies, curricula, and organizational structures in the research literature that have been successful in encouraging girls' participation and achievement in science: science instruction in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, relevant curricula that address girls' interests and provide opportunities for genuine inquiry and tinkering experiences, greater emphasis on physical science and the use of computers, integration of reading and writing in science, attention to how groups are formed in classrooms, activities that build self-efficacy, appropriate role models, messages that science is for everyone, and student-centered teaching. Special attention is given to the needs of children in preschool and kindergarten. In addition, research on the impact of single-sex classrooms and grouping is reviewed, along with the use of children's fictional literature to teach science. Implications derived from research literature include changes in what is taught, how it is taught, how teachers are prepared, and how these changes are paid for.     

Evaluating the alignment among curriculum,instruction, and assessments: Implications and applications for research and practice

Alignment has been defined as the extent to which curricular expectations and assessments are in agreement and work together to provide guidance for educators' efforts to facilitate students' progress toward desire academic outcomes. The Council of Chief State School Officers has identified three preferred models as frameworks for evaluating alignment: Webb's alignment model, the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum model, and the Achieve model. Each model consists of a series of indices that summarize or describe the general match or coherence between state standards, large‐scale assessments, and, in some cases, classroom instruction. This article provides an overview of these frameworks for evaluating alignment and their applications in educational practice and the research literature. After providing an introduction to the use of alignment to evaluate large‐scale accountability systems, the article presents potential extensions of alignment for use with vulnerable populations (e.g., students with disabilities, preschoolers), individual students, and classroom teachers. These proposed applications can provide information for facilitating efforts to improve teachers' classroom instruction and students' educational achievement. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Aligning Mathematics Teacher Work Sample Content with Selected NCTM Standards: Implications for Preservice Teacher Education

Teacher Work Sample Methodology has been described as an alternative means/set of procedures for assessing teacher effectiveness in producing student learning that are more authentic than traditional means of teacher certification. To investigate the degree to which the methodology aligns with state/national standards, 50 work samples produced by student teachers at Western Oregon University between fall 1991 and spring 1999 were analyzed to determine: (1) the efficiency of Teacher Work Sample Methodology in moving state and national standards, for example, the NCTM standards, into the classroom; and (2) the extent to which Teacher Work Sample Methodology promotes alignment of standards, content, instruction and assessments of instruction. The research found that a majority of the student teacher work samples demonstrated weak alignment or no alignment between stated instructional objectives and selected NCTM Curriculum and Evaluation Standards (Problem Solving, Communication, Reasoning, and Connections). However, in most of the work samples, more than half of the pre/post-assessment methods (performance, knowledge) were aligned with the instructional objectives.     

Evaluating the impact of differentiated instruction on literacy and reading in mixed ability classrooms: Quality and equity dimensions of education effectiveness

This article presents the findings of a quasi-experimental study that evaluated the effect of differentiated instruction on students’ learning, in mixed ability classrooms. Participants in the study were 24 teachers and 479 grade-four elementary students. Results indicate that in classrooms where differentiated instruction methods were systematically employed, students made better progress compared to students in classrooms where differentiated instruction methods were not employed, the family's socioeconomic status did not lead to differentiation in students’ achievement and the quality of differentiated teaching had a corresponding effect on students’ achievement. Based on these findings, the article discusses the significance of the systematic employment of differentiated instruction methods in mixed ability classrooms for promoting equity, optimization of quality and effectiveness in teaching.