Finding out more about teacher candidates' prior knowledge: implications for teacher educators

While it is recognised that prior knowledge is a key factor in determining future learning, its influence on learning to teach is less well known. This study investigates two cohorts of teacher candidates studying for a one-year, graduate qualification for primary teaching, who completed two tasks at entry to their initial teacher education programme: a task in writing and a task in mathematics. The tasks focused on teacher candidates' ability to recognise the key features of a piece of student work. The teacher candidates' responses to the tasks highlighted the diverse nature of the prior knowledge that underpinned their responses. The study raises questions about the pedagogy of initial teacher education, particularly in relation to the assumptions teachers educators make about the candidates they teach. The findings suggest that the prior knowledge that students bring to initial teacher education is both a resource and a challenge for teacher educators.     

Computer-based feedback matters when relevant prior knowledge is not activated

BackgroundHow feedback is given may influence its utility.AimWe examined the effect of activated prior knowledge on learning from feedback by manipulating whether knowledge of a foundational concept was activated before solving fraction division problems.Sample and methodsUndergraduates (N = 171) were randomly assigned in a 3 (feedback timing: delayed, immediate, or no feedback) x 2 (knowledge activation: relevant or not) between-subjects design.ResultsIf irrelevant knowledge was activated, immediate feedback enhanced learning as compared to no feedback during the learning task, whereas if relevant knowledge was activated, then there was no impact of immediate feedback. On the posttest, any feedback (immediate or delayed) resulted in greater performance, but feedback timing did not matter. Thus, activating prior knowledge moderates the effect of feedback on learning.ConclusionWhen researchers or practitioners are investigating or giving feedback, they must also consider individual differences of the learner such as the prior knowledge they bring to the task.     

How prior knowledge affects word identification and comprehension

While prior knowledge of a passage topic is known to facilitate comprehension, little is known about how it affects word identification. We examined oral reading errors in good and poor readers when reading a passage where they either had prior knowledge of the passage topic or did not. Children who had prior knowledge of the topic were matched on decoding skill to children who did not know the topic so that the groups differed only on knowledge of the passage topic. Prior knowledge of the passage topic was found to significantly increase fluency and reduce reading errors, especially errors based on graphic information, in poor readers. Two possible mechanisms of how prior knowledge might operate to facilitate word identification were evaluated using the pattern of error types, as was the relationship of errors to comprehension. Implications of knowledge effects for assessment and educational policy are discussed.     

如何培养学生"知物明理"能力

当前，物理教学的弊病是在知识的形成过程中定性少、定量多，实物少、抽象多，淡化了知识的形成过程．一些学生常靠死记硬背来学习知识，用题海战术来消化和掌握知识，显然，这是一种舍本追末，得不偿失的教学方法．物理教学的关键是要培养学生“知物明理”的能力．那么，如何做到这一点呢?笔者就此谈谈自己的看法。     

Bridging professional teacher knowledge for science and literary integration via design-based research

We offer insights for using design-based research (DBR) as a model for constructing professional development that supports curriculum and instructional knowledge regarding science and literacy integration. We spotlight experiences in the DBR process from data collected from a sample of four elementary teachers. Findings from interviews, focus groups and researcher field notes elucidated: the value in establishing a collaborative foundation for professional discourse, the teacher participants developing nascent knowledge of curricular integration in science and literacy, and their apprehensions about using digital technology to support their professional development. Implications are presented for professional development facilitators and researchers using DBR as an innovative approach for teacher development.     

Contextualizing instruction: Leveraging students' prior knowledge and experiences to foster understanding of middle school science

Contextualizing science instruction involves utilizing students' prior knowledge and everyday experiences as a catalyst for understanding challenging science concepts. This study of two middle school science classrooms examined how students utilized the contextualizing aspects of project‐based instruction and its relationship to their science learning. Observations of focus students' participation during instruction were described in terms of a contextualizing score for their use of the project features to support their learning. Pre/posttests were administered and students' final artifacts were collected and evaluated. The results of these assessments were compared with students' contextualizing scores, demonstrating a strong positive correlation between them. These findings provide evidence to support claims of contextualizing instruction as a means to facilitate student learning, and point toward future consideration of this instructional method in broader research studies and the design of science learning environments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 79–100, 2008     

The Pre-Professional Skills Test: How it affects teacher aspirants and predicts performance in teacher preparation programs

In Arizona, students must pass the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) prior to admission to a teacher preparation program. This study first summarized all Arizona PPST data from 1985 to 1989; the second phase then analyzed the effectiveness of PPST scores in predicting students' subsequent performance in teacher preparation programs. The most notable result was that in those five years, 51% of Arizona minority students failed the PPST compared to 21% of whites. The study revealed inconclusive correlations between PPST scores and three criterion measures of educational performance. This may be important because the preliminary phase showed that the PPST has blocked minority students from entering teacher preparation programs.     

Is it dichotomy or tension: I am a scientist. No, wait! I am a teacher!

This study explores through a naturalistic inquiry the tensions between a science professor’s two enacted identities. More specifically, this study looks at how a biology professor’s identity-in-practice shifts and evolves over time through collaborations with a science education professor. These shifts were marked by an emphasis on teaching, rather than solely a focus on science. Data were collected through formal interviews and notes taken during planning sessions that took place between the biology professor and the science educator. Findings reveal that although the biology professor is able to reconcile both his science and teacher identity, structural elements of his workplace do not encourage him to enact his teacher identity. Recommendations for college science teaching are discussed.     

怎样保护培养你的人才

为了延揽人才，发达国家一方面加强国内的人才培养，另一方面到世界各地特别是发展中国家去“抢人”。据有关资料反映，日本计划在本世纪初使外籍研究人员达到三分之一，美国新经济的兴起是注重人才开发也是美国大肆掠夺全球人才的结果。近来，美国在移民方面大大放宽了对高技术人才的限制，从1998年开始，美国每年向11．5万具有数学和电脑技术才能的外国人发放居住证，2000年5月，     

Using teachers' prior knowledge,attitudes and beliefs to develop in-service teacher education courses for inclusion

This paper examines one important dimension of inclusive education: the development of in-service teacher education courses. Using an example from Cyprus, it discusses the issue of contextualizing teacher training courses to suit teachers' prior knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about inclusion. The paper considers some of the findings of a survey about issues relating to inclusion. The findings suggest that teachers' conceptualizations of inclusion are problematic. According to the findings, teachers tend to think on the basis of a medical and charity model and they favour special schooling for specific groups of children. The discussion considers how a training course for inclusion can be academically robust and professionally useful, while at the same time taking into consideration teachers' prior knowledge and expectations.     

如何制作新闻标题

标题是文章内容的浓缩、概括和提炼。在信息高度发达的“厚报时代”,读者对新闻的选择,首先是通过浏览标题来实现的。因为标题不但能简明扼要地介绍新闻内容,而且能够代表编辑部评价新闻内容。制作一条好的新闻标题要注意遵循新闻标题编辑的原则和方法,也要注意掌握新闻标题编辑与制作的技巧。     

Some prior questions in the reform of teacher education

In planning for the reform of teacher education, how much of the existing educational and social structure can be taken for granted? Even if a satisfactory reform of teacher education depends on a large-scale transformation of society, some piecemeal improvements can and should be undertaken immediately. Three predominant perspectives of the process of education and their general implications for teacher education are considered. Finally, some suggestions are made on different types of training for different roles in the practice of education, on the place of theory, and on the balance between cognitive and affective aspects.     

For the oppressed teacher: stay real!

This article addresses teachers’ challenges in relation to other stakeholders, in light of funding policies and evaluation mechanisms. In particular, a condition where pressures toward high pass rates or ‘throughput’ in the degree system provide a good negotiation position for students with little learning orientation as to their aspirations after credit units is considered. This condition is intensi?ed by the fact that the mere completion goals of non-learning-oriented students align with the collective goals of administration (university), given the throughput-based funding policies. A teacher willing to honorably exercise the profession is, then, ‘squeezed in between.’ Daily teaching endures by the incorporation of the wrong kind of ?exibility, which undermines the education system. This problematic pattern is reviewed, and a remedy proposed by drawing on Freire and considering a recent theorization by Sutton on the position of an academic under a neoliberalist condition.     

让教师在学习和实践中获得专业成长--学习《幼儿园教育指导纲要(试行)》的体会

《幼儿园教育指导纲要（试行）》（以下简称《纲要》）在第一部分“总则”、第三部分“组织与实施”和第四部分“教育评价”中，对教师的工作提出了各项具体的要求。要达到这些具体要求，教师不可能在一次、两次的培训中完成，而是要通过不断的工作实践，并且在工作实践中不断地学习，不断地反思才能完成。下面结合《纲要》的学习，谈谈教师专业成长中的几个问题。一、对幼儿的发展和学习的理解《纲要》在“总则”中强调，幼儿教育要为幼儿一生的发展打好基础，要使幼儿在快乐的童年生活中获得有益于身心发展的经验，要尊重幼儿的人格和权利…     

怎样才能使国家可爱

1952年2月,中共中央西南局第一书记邓小平在西南军政干部参加的一次大会上讲话时,连续12次使用了"国家可爱"这个词。这对于习惯讲短话的邓小平来说,并不常见。邓小平为什么要反复地讲"国家可爱"呢?当时新中国成立不久,困难依然不少。就如邓小平指出的,"还有人在搞破坏",因为"中国人民的大翻身,是他们最不满意和最不高兴的事,中国各民族的大团结,也是他们最不满意和最不高兴的事"。这些人"每时每刻都在千方百计地挑拨离间,破坏我们的团结,企图达到分裂各民族的目的"。为了和平的建设环境,为了民族的团结,更为了建设我们期待已久并为     

高校捐赠融资经常化工作探微

论述高校捐赠融资经常化的必要性和可行性,并提出五点保障措施。     

Investigation of chemistry graduate teaching assistants' teacher knowledge and teacher identity

Graduate students play an integral role in undergraduate chemistry education at doctoral granting institutions where they routinely serve as instructors of laboratories and supplementary discussion sessions. Simultaneously, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) balance major research and academic responsibilities. Although GTAs have substantial instructional facetime with large numbers of undergraduate students, little is known about their conceptions of teaching or their identities as teachers. To investigate the knowledge that GTAs have regarding teaching in this unique context, their teaching identities, and how these developed, we conducted 22 interviews with graduate students from several universities at various levels in their graduate school career using a modified Teacher Beliefs Interview. Interviews were analyzed for two overarching teacher learning constructs: teacher knowledge and teacher identity. We characterized chemistry GTAs' teacher knowledge and identity and determined major influencing factors. We found that chemistry GTAs often identified as a tutor or lab manager, which hindered their self-investment in developing as teachers. The results presented herein contribute to an understanding of GTAs' teacher knowledge, teacher identity, and their teaching context, from which training can be designed to best support GTA development.