Linking reform-oriented experiences to teacher identity: The case of an elementary mathematics teacher

Novice teachers often have difficulty transferring what they learn in teacher education programs to classroom practice. This is especially true for elementary school teachers who are expected to teach mathematics with reform-oriented methods. The purpose of this longitudinal case study was to examine the experience of one novice elementary school teacher over a 3-year period, and understand the factors that supported her to enact a reform-oriented practice in mathematics as she transitioned from being a preservice to inservice teacher. Influential mathematics education models, her commitment to learning, and school-based contexts affected her teaching identity and practices. To conclude, an argument is made for teacher education experiences to explicitly address mathematics teacher identity to support the enactment of reform-oriented practices.     

Supporting teacher professional development through online video case study discussions: An assemblage of preservice and inservice teachers and the case teacher

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential value of online video case discussions among preservice and inservice teachers, and the video case teacher as a tool for the professional development of teachers. Participants included a total of 26 preservice and inservice mathematics teachers and a veteran teacher who appeared on the video case. Using content analysis techniques, we provided a thematic analysis of the teacher discourse and demonstrated the exchanges between the participating teachers and video case teacher. We also assessed the overall effectiveness of our online forum set up for the professional development of teachers. Results indicated that participant teachers were able to make theory–practice connections by articulating specific frameworks that guided our study. The inclusion of the video case teacher was beneficial for the other teachers in several ways. We contend that online forum discussions of video cases in which collective engagement of preservice and inservice teachers, and the case teacher have a great potential to support teacher professional development.     

Rationalising for and against a policy of school-led careers guidance in STEM in the U.K.: a teacher perspective

This paper reports on teacher attitudes to changes in the provision of careers guidance in the U.K., particularly as it relates to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). It draws on survey data of n?=?94 secondary-school teachers operating in STEM domains and their attitudes towards a U.K. and devolved policy of internalising careers guidance within schools. The survey presents a mixed message of teachers recognising the significance of their unique position in providing learners with careers guidance yet concern that their ‘relational proximity’ to students and ‘informational distance’ from higher education and STEM industry may produce bias and misinformation that is harmful to their educational and occupational futures.     

Supporting collaborative reflection in teacher education: a case study

The aim of this paper is to understand how certain educational supports promote preservice teachers’ learning to reflect in collaborative settings. To address this issue, we present a case study on collaborative reflection among 14 preservice teachers and one teacher educator over the course of five weekly consecutive sessions. The results suggest that collaborative reflection can be supported by organizing the process according to a twofold dynamic: from analysis to synthesis, and from open facilitation to directive facilitation. Six different types of assistance related to this dynamic, and provided by the teacher educator, are identified and qualitatively described: framing, oppositional voice, counterpoising alternatives, asking for the dilemma, problematizing, and modelling.     

Differentiated instruction in teacher education: A case study of congruent teaching

Teachers are supposed to use forms of differentiated instruction to anticipate the differences among their students. However, the adaptation of teaching to the diversity of the group often takes place with difficulty. Teacher education is blamed for not preparing student teachers adequately for differentiated instruction. Several authors suggest that congruent teaching in teacher education might be an adequate solution to this problem. This case study aims to investigate the (congruent) realization of differentiated instruction in teacher education using ethnographic tools. The results indicate that the observed teacher educator demonstrated limited forms of differentiation, largely without providing meta-commentary. Therefore, she is not a role model on the subject of differentiated instruction in the view of student teachers. These results are discussed in depth, and form a basis for further research and suggestions for practice in teacher education.     

Benefits and drawbacks of the teacher echo: findings from a video study

Abstract

The teacher echo refers to teachers’ almost verbatim repetition of student responses and can be used to provide implicit feedback about students’ achievement or understanding. Echoing student answers is a controversial strategy of classroom discourse, as some critics see it as a bad habit and consequently deny its use in the classroom. The aim of this research project was to learn more about the perceptions of unprejudiced, prospective teachers on this controversial type of teacher feedback. Therefore, two short videos of a simulated lesson with and without teacher echo were created. A sample of 410 teacher trainees was asked to rate the perceived instructional quality and answer a knowledge test about the lesson contents. Results showed no significant differences in perceived cognitive activation and teacher dominance, but higher perceived constructive support and better knowledge acquisition when using the teacher echo. Thus, its application seems to be more beneficial than harmful.     

Clustering schools to improve teacher professional development: Lessons learnt from a Zimbabwean case study

Abstract

Much still needs to be done to transform schooling in South Africa and provide education of equal quality to all learners. The notion of encouraging close collaboration between schools is widely accepted as a possible strategy to improve the quality of schooling in a particular geographical area. In this article, we discuss research conducted on the implementation of the Better Schools Programme cluster in Zimbabwe (BSPZ), a system of inter-school collaboration aiming at improving the quality of teaching and learning at the member schools. One of the primary objectives was to enhance teachers’ professional development by means of the establishment of professional infrastructure. Despite the shortcomings highlighted, our exploratory study brought to the fore potential advantages of school clusters as a type of formalised school collaboration which can indeed promote quality and equality in the South African schooling system.     

Facilitating social learning in teacher education: a case study

It is increasingly recognised that social learning by teachers can stimulate professional development. In this study, we search for the social behaviour patterns which can act as a catalyst for professional development, with an explicit focus on student teachers’ learning. Based on the ‘Dimensions of Social Learning (DSL) Framework’, including 4 dimensions and 11 indicators of social learning, the present study explores the social configuration of one network of primary teachers (n?=?12), student teachers (n?=?12) and teacher educators (n?=?2). Two research questions guide this exploration: (1) What patterns of social behaviour in teacher networks are likely to lead to professional learning? (2) What network facilitation guidelines can be discerned to assist teachers and teacher educators wishing to optimise student teachers’ professional development? Data collection consisted of video recordings, reflective notes and semi-structured interviews with network members. The findings paint a picture of how social learning in teacher networks is related to the group’s social configuration. Observation criteria and student facilitation guidelines are suggested to support professional development within teacher networks. For each dimension in the DSL Framework, one point of attention is discerned to optimise students’ learning in teacher networks.     

Transitioning in elementary school: parent advocacy and teacher allyship

This paper examines how parent advocacy and teacher allyship played an important role in supporting six-year-old Violet Addley’s (a pseudonym) gender transition in elementary school. We first met the Addley family in the spring of 2015 when we interviewed them for a research study on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) families in Ontario schools. The goals of the study are to interview LGBTQ families about issues that come up at school, document how families have worked with schools to create safer and more respectful classrooms for their children, and share the families’ interviews with teachers and principals so they can begin to think about the ways they can best work with LGBTQ parents and their children. Our paper also discusses what a group of teachers learned about parent advocacy and teacher allyship from their engagement with the Addley family interviews.     

Multiple dimensions of teacher identity development from pre-service to early years of teaching: a longitudinal study

Based on dialogical self theory framework that highlights three dimensions of identity construction (multiplicity vs. unity; social vs. individual; discontinuity vs. continuity), this study explored multiple aspects of teacher identity development over time, in relation to the unity of self, the way the social environment is negotiated, and the shifting or continuing pattern over time. The study employed a qualitative, longitudinal study design that followed five pre-service teachers for four years, including three waves of interviews. Variations of each participant’s journey to develop their teacher identity over time are described. Implications relevant to researchers, teacher educators, and pre-service and beginning teachers are discussed.     

Understanding teacher collaboration processes from a complexity theory perspective: a case study of a Chinese secondary school

Although research on teacher collaboration has proliferated in the last few decades, scant attention has been paid to the development of teacher collaboration in school contexts. Informed by the perspective of complexity theory, this study investigates the complex process of teacher collaboration through qualitative interviews in an English teaching research group (TRG) in a secondary school in China. The findings reveal three distinct stages in the development of teacher collaboration, labeled as ‘breaking the ice’, ‘everything is out of control’ and ‘learning how to collaborate through collaboration’. The study shows that teacher collaboration is an adaptive, complex system that evolves through internal self-organization and interaction with external stakeholders and systems, such as school management and university researchers. The study provides useful insights into the ways of facilitating and sustaining teachers’ collaborative practices to enhance school effectiveness and improvement in specific educational contexts.     

Teaching knowledge and teacher competencies: a case study of Turkish preservice English teachers

This article outlines criteria of acceptability for teacher assessments (credibility, dependability, fairness), the major dimensions of teacher assessment (attributes, behaviours, knowledge), details the methods used by the United States National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and places a major emphasis on assessment schemes based on teacher effects on the students (value-added models, achievement, quality of learning, and normative reference points). Given that the majority of teachers are acceptably proficient, the major argument for teacher assessment should be to identify and promote excellence, to guide professional development programmes, and to demonstrate to the education/school communities that excellence is present, fostered, and esteemed.     

关于数学教师教育的若干思考（续）

剖析了当前我国数学教师教育中存在的若干问题,并提出了一些改进的思路与方法．     

Globalisation and internationalisation of teacher education: a comparative case study of Canada and Greater China

This article begins with a brief overview of the relationship between globalisation and the internationalisation of higher education. This serves as a backdrop for the focus of the article, which is the internationalisation of teacher education. In order to see the diverse ways that teacher education programmes have been internationalised over the past 15 years, a case study comparing internationalisation initiatives in Greater China and Canada is presented. This comparative case study demonstrates how different globalising processes influence various forms of internationalisation. Comparison also sheds light on the importance of attending not only to broader, global processes, but specific, local contextual factors. Rather than consider internationalisation as one set of practices that have been taken up globally, this article suggests that there are many different forms of internationalisation in teacher education that are influenced by both global and local contexts. In this respect, the study moves us towards a more nuanced and complex understanding of how teacher education institutions across diverse settings are being internationalised in the twenty-first century.     

The heart of school improvement: a multi-site case study of leadership for teacher learning in Vietnam

This study addressed the research question: How do Vietnamese principals lead the professional learning of teachers? The research was comprised of a multiple-site case study of leadership and teacher learning in four Vietnamese schools. Qualitative data analysis aimed at identifying modal practices adopted by these Vietnamese principals to lead teacher learning in their schools. The research identified four key leadership practices: moral purpose, collaboration, learning support, and motivational strategies. The findings support assertions for a broad set of globally-relevant school leadership practices as well as the need to adapt these to the cultural context of specific schools.     

Moving beyond the barriers: supporting meaningful teacher collaboration to improve secondary school mathematics

The Collaborative Teacher Inquiry Project was a professional development initiative that sought to improve the teaching and learning of Grade 9 Applied mathematics by encouraging teachers to work collaboratively. The project brought together Grade 9 Applied mathematics teachers from 11 schools across four neighboring public school boards in the same geographic area of a large urban city in Southern Ontario, Canada. Teachers formed learning communities as a result of the Collaborative Teacher Inquiry Project through active collaboration to further teachers’ knowledge about teaching the Grade 9 Applied mathematics course and in developing teaching materials. Although it was reported that there were barriers to collaboration, teachers described various strategies that were (or could be) implemented to overcome these barriers. Teachers were enthusiastic in continuing to creatively find solutions to combat barriers as they saw the overall benefits of collaboration to their professional growth and noticed an increase in student engagement and achievement.     

Uncovering a hidden professional agenda for teacher educators: A mixed method study on Flemish teacher educators and their professional development

Taking into account the pressing need to understand more about what teacher educators’ professional development characterises, this article adopts a mixed method approach to explore Flemish (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) teacher educators’ professional development needs and opportunities. Analysis results of a large-scale survey study with 611 teacher educators and analysis of five qualitative focus groups (with 24 teacher educators) are presented. The results confirm the lack of attention for teacher educators’ professional development in the Flemish teacher education system. Moreover, the findings indicate a structural need for participation in professional development activities that are linked to teacher educators’ own practices, organised as long-term sustainable professional development trajectories, and formally recognised. To conclude, a professional development agenda for research, policy and practices related to teacher educators’ professional development is discussed.     

Negotiating science and engineering: an exploratory case study of a reform-minded science teacher

Engineering has been slowly integrated into K-12 science classrooms in the United States as the result of recent science education reforms. Such changes in science teaching require that a science teacher is confident with and committed to content, practices, language, and cultures related to both science and engineering. However, from the perspective of the science teacher, this would require not only the development of knowledge and pedagogies associated with engineering, but also the construction of new identities operating within the reforms and within the context of their school. In this study, a middle school science teacher was observed and interviewed over a period of nine months to explore his experiences as he adopted new values, discourses, and practices and constructed his identity as a reform-minded science teacher. Our findings revealed that, as the teacher attempted to become a reform-minded science teacher, he constantly negotiated his professional identities – a dynamic process that created conflicts in his classroom practices. Several differences were observed between the teacher’s science and engineering instruction: hands-on activities, depth and detail of content, language use, and the way the teacher positioned himself and his students with respect to science and engineering. Implications for science teacher professional development are discussed.