Enhancing student self‐worth in the primary school learning environment: teachers' views and students' views

This paper reports the findings from a study of teachers and students' views regarding self‐worth in the primary school learning environment. The revised New Zealand curriculum recognises the importance of self‐worth in students' motivation and ability to learn. While the need to enhance self‐worth in the classroom has been well established in the literature, similarities and differences between teachers and students' understanding of the impact of various classroom interactions on self‐worth has not received the same attention. The purpose of the research reported on in this paper was to provide further insight for teachers, thereby enabling them to strengthen classroom relationships and their students' learning experiences in ways commensurate with enhancing students' feelings of self‐worth.     

Stopping to thinks school‐based and higher education‐based primary student teachers' reflections on their learning

This paper examines trainees' perceptions of the impact, on secondary mathematics trainees, of collaborative school‐based work involving small groups of trainees, a university tutor and a class teacher. The findings suggest that trainees' become better able to plan and deliver a coherent yet diverse sequence of lessons, that their awareness of children's learning styles and misconceptions was raised and that preconceived notions about teaching and learning were challenged and mediated. A few trainees found the experience unhelpful and threatening. The role of the tutor was found to influence trainees' responses to the program and, to an extent, moderate the effects of variations in teacher involvement. Some implications are discussed.     

Understanding social presence in text‐based online learning environments

This article reports on key aspects of a theory generative study into social presence in text‐based online learning environments. The focus of the article is the nature of social presence as experienced by online learners in those environments. Employing a collective case study design, the study accessed online learners’ experience‐based heuristic knowledge through a multi‐phase dialogical process which functioned as an extended interview. Among the key findings was (a) a definition of social presence drawn from learners’ experiences; (b) explication of the nature of social presence in online learning environments; (c) suggestions for the creation and sustenance of social presence in those environments; and (d) support for a relational view of social presence which emphasizes human agency in mediated social processes and foreshadows a role for social presence as a critical element of online learning environments.     

Mathematically based and practically based explanations in the elementary school: teachers’ preferences

This article focuses on elementary school teachers’ preferences for mathematically based (MB) and practically based (PB) explanations. Using the context of even and odd numbers, it explores the types of explanations teachers generate on their own as well as the types of explanations they prefer after reviewing various explanations. It also investigates the basis for these preferences. Results show that teacher-generated explanations include more MB explanations than PB explanations. However, many still choose to use mostly PB explanations in their classrooms, believing that these explanations will be most convincing to their students. The implications for teacher education are discussed.     

Exploring high school students' use of theory and evidence in an everyday context: the role of scientific thinking in environmental science decision‐making

This study examined 10th‐grade students' use of theory and evidence in evaluating a socio‐scientific issue: the use of underground water, after students had received a Science, Technology and Society‐oriented instruction. Forty‐five male and 45 female students from two intact, single‐sex, classes participated in this study. A flow‐map method was used to assess the participants' conceptual knowledge. The reasoning mode was assessed using a questionnaire with open‐ended questions. Results showed that, although some weak to moderate associations were found between conceptual organization in memory and reasoning modes, the students' ability to incorporate theory and evidence was in general inadequate. It was also found that students' reasoning modes were consistent with their epistemological perspectives. Moreover, male and female students appear to have different reasoning approaches.     

The Internet in the everyday life‐world: a comparison between high‐school students in China and Norway

Based on in‐depth interviews, this study offers a comparison of how high‐school students in China and Norway are actively constructing the Internet as an element of their everyday lives. Through the Schutzian notions of everyday life‐world, social‐biographical situation and relevance, the study has revealed striking differences between the Chinese and Norwegian participants concerning their relationship with the Net, although both have been referred to as members of the Net Generation. These are summarised in four interrelated themes that highlight the differences. Together, they shed light on the different places and meanings the Net has acquired in the young people’s lives in the two cases and how they negotiate their identities as students within the Internet‐transformed context. It is argued that these differences cannot be explained merely by the material resources in the two societies. More importantly, they have to do with the individuals’ and their families’ relevance systems.     

Student‐teachers' evaluation on the use of different modes of problem‐based learning in teacher education

Problem‐based learning (PBL) has been widely adopted in many university programmes. Evaluations of PBL in medicine, dentistry, nursing and social work reveal positive outcomes from both tutors and learners. However, few evaluations have been published about using PBL in teacher education programmes. This paper reports how the 13 student‐teachers in the Integrated Humanities Major Method course evaluated the use of three different modes of PBL delivery, namely: the classical PBL; an alternate pattern of PBL and teacher‐led deductive workshops; and a modified PBL using problem‐based scenario inductive inquiry workshops. The learning experiences of the student‐teachers were captured via an open‐ended questionnaire to discuss the feasibility and receptivity of endorsing full or partial use of PBL in the teacher education programme. The outcome shows strong preference for the use of the modified PBL approach while the majority agreed the classical PBL style is the most challenging among the three modes.     

The interaction of attitudes toward racial membership and learning ability in school‐age children

Although prejudice exists during childhood, it is unclear how attitudes toward peers of lower or higher academic ability and from one's own or a different racial group interact. This study qualifies previous research by showing that prejudice varies according to whether children are asked to evaluate peers based on academic ability, racial membership, or both, and whether evaluations are based on cognitive, behavioural, or affective components of attitudes. Younger children, particularly girls, had greater negative biases toward lower‐ability and different‐race target children. Gender differences were specific to attitude component, age, and target child characteristics. Consistency in prejudice was found within components, but components were differentially correlated across target children. Results are discussed from a theoretical and applied perspective.     

Predicting students' ratings of the importance of strategies to facilitate self‐directed distance learning in Taiwan

Distance students' ratings of the importance of strategies to facilitate self‐directed learning were evaluated. Students from an open university in Taiwan (449 current and 140 inactive) participated in this study. Current students scored significantly higher than inactive students on internal motivation, insight about self, and self‐directed learning readiness. A combination of high internal and external motivation and high self‐directed learning readiness predicted ratings of the importance of five sets of strategies for helping students become self‐directed learners. The study provides information to help distance learning professionals enhance the effectiveness of self‐directed learning and reduce the number of students who become inactive.     

Student‐teachers' perspectives on positive and negative social processes in school

In recent years, the Standards for Qualified Teacher Status in England have placed new emphasis on student‐teachers' ability to become integrated into the ‘corporate life of the school’ and to work with other professionals. Little research, however, has been carried out into how student‐teachers perceive the social processes and interactions that are central to such integration during their initial teacher education school placements. This study aims to shed light on these perceptions. The data, gathered from 23 student‐teachers through interviews and reflective writing, illustrate the extent to which the participants perceived such social processes as supporting or obstructing their development as teachers. Signals of inclusion, the degree of match or mismatch in students' and school colleagues' role expectations, and the social awareness of both school and student‐teacher emerged as crucial factors in this respect. The student‐teachers' accounts show their social interactions with school staff to be meaningful in developing their ‘teacher self’ and to be profoundly emotionally charged. The implications for mentor and student‐teacher role preparation are discussed in this article.     

Developing teachers' professional expertise through collaboration in an innovative ICT‐based learning environment

Recent research emphasizes the context‐specific nature of professional knowledge and expertise, implying that developing novel practices in authentic environments is a prerequisite for teachers' professional development. The aim of this study was to find out how teachers develop their practical knowledge and expertise through shared planning and to evaluate an innovative learning project carried out in an ICT‐based environment. Two secondary school teachers of history participated in this study. The data were gathered using a multi‐methodological approach (video recordings, interviews and questionnaires). The results are described in terms of the teachers' shared experiences and their increased awareness of their own scaffolding practices. Discussion is focused on the role of boundary crossing in teachers' negotiation of new meanings.

La recherche récente souligne le caractère contextualisé de la connaissance et de la compétence professionnelles. De ce fait un environnement authentique est exigé pour rendre possible le progrès des pratiques nouvelles et ainsi le développement professionnel de l'enseignant. L'objet de cette étude est de définir les moyens par lesquels les enseignants développent une connaissance et une compétence pratiques à travers une préparation et une évaluation partagées pendant un projet d'apprentissage innovant réalisé dans un environnement basé sur les technologies de l'information et de la communication. Deux enseignants d'histoire d'un collège ont participé à cette recherche. Les données ont été recueillies selon une approche faisant intervenir plusieurs méthodes (enregistrements de vidéo, interviews, questionnaires). Les résultats sont décrits dans l'optique des expériences partagées des enseignants et de leur prise de conscience progressive de leurs propres pratiques fondamentales de tous les jours. La discussion est concentrée sur le rôle de pluridisciplinarité dans la négociation de sens nouveaux par les enseignants.

Los estudios recientes subrayan la naturaleza específica al contexto del conocimiento y de la pericia profesional. Esto implica que el desarrollo de nuevas prácticas en entornos auténticos es un prerrequisito para el desarrollo profesional de los profesores. La meta de este trabajo es de descubrir como los profesores desarrollan su conocimiento y pericia profesional através del planeamiento y de la evaluación de un proyecto innovativo efectuado en un entorno de aprendizaje ICT. Dos profesores de escuela secundaria con historia laboral participaron en este estudio. La información fue recogida utilizando métodos múltiples (grabaciones en video, entrevistas, cuestionarios). Los resultados están descritos en términos de las experiencias compartidas de los profesores y el incremento del conocimiento de sus propias prácticas de andamiaje. La discusión se enfoca en la cuestión del papel del cruce de límites en la negociación de nuevos significados de la enseñanza.

In der gegenwärtigen Forschung wird die kontextspezifische Natur des Fachwissens und der beruflichen Expertise betont. Dies impliziert, dass die Entwicklung von neuen Verfahrensweisen in authentischen Umgebungen eine Voraussetzung für die berufliche Weiterbildung von Lehrern darstellt. Das Ziel des vorliegenden Artikels besteht darin, herauszuarbeiten, wie Lehrer ihr unterrichtspraktisches Wissen und ihre Berufsexpertise durch solche kooperativen Planungs‐ und Evaluationsvorgänge erweitern können, die in einer IKT‐basierten Umgebung ausgeführt werden. Zwei Geschichtslehrer der Sekundarstufe I (secondary school) haben sich an dieser Untersuchung beteiligt. Die Datenerhebungen basieren auf einer methodisch vielfältigen Anlage: Video‐Aufzeichnungen, Interviews und Fragebögen. Die Ergebnisse werden in bezug auf die Erfahrungen der Lehrer, sowie deren gesteigerte Wahrnehmung der jeweils eigenen zugrundeliegenden Lehrverfahren beschrieben. Die Diskussion fokussiert auf einen Aspekt, der die Rolle der Grenzüberschreitung im Zusammenhang mit unterrichtlichen Verhandlungen über neue Bedeutungen betrifft.     

Assessment preferences,learning orientations,and learning strategies of pre‐service and in‐service teachers

The importance of developing effective learning strategies and motivational beliefs has been widely acknowledged as a way of meeting the demand to acquire lifelong learning capabilities for successful functioning as professionals in the ‘information age’. The study reported in this paper examined the learning orientations and strategies of prospective teachers as well as their assessment preferences and compared them with those of in‐service teachers. The Motivated Learning Strategies Questionnaire (MSLQ) and the Assessment Preferences Inventory (API) were used to test the hypothesis that in‐service teachers will exhibit a deeper approach to learning and assessment due to their constant engagement in meaningful learning experiences. The results confirmed the hypothesis and their implications for teacher education programmes were then discussed.     

Breaking the routine: voluntary inter‐school transition and women teachers' self‐renewal

Teachers' career transitions and their positive as well as negative outcomes were left relatively untouched in the literature and research on education. In an effort to fill in gaps in knowledge, this paper reports the findings of a life story study that explored inter‐school transitions during the career cycle of mid‐career women teachers in Israel. The study aimed at understanding the process of voluntary IST and its association with the teachers' self‐renewal, as well as to unearth contextual and biographical determinants that facilitate this kind of connection in their career cycle. Based on life story interviews with eight primary and secondary teachers, the study provides insight into a positive consequence of the inter‐school transition among mid‐life teachers. In subsequence to the transition, the teachers reported having a sense of greater self‐esteem/image, feeling energy replenishing and enthusiasm and increasing inclination to launch changes and innovations, all of which are elements of the professional's self‐renewal process. Practical implications are suggested.     

Effects of explicit and implicit prompts on students’ inquiry practices in computer-supported learning environments in high school earth science

The study explored how to best use scaffolds for supporting students’ inquiry practices in computer-supported learning environments. We designed a series of inquiry units assisted with three versions of written inquiry prompts (generic and context-specific); that is, three scaffold-fading conditions: implicit, explicit, and fading. We then examined how the three scaffold-fading conditions influenced students’ conceptual understanding, understanding of scientific inquiry, and inquiry abilities. Three grade-10 classes (N?=?105) participated in this study; they were randomly assigned to and taught in the three conditions. Data-collection procedures included a pretest–posttest approach and in-depth observations of the target students. The findings showed that after these inquiry units, all of the students exhibited significant learning gains in conceptual knowledge and performed better inquiry abilities regardless of which condition was used. The explicit and fading conditions were more effective in enhancing students’ understanding of scientific inquiry. The fading condition tended to better support the students’ development of inquiry abilities and help transfer these abilities to a new setting involving an independent socioscientific task about where to build a dam. The results suggest that fading plays an essential role in enhancing the effectiveness of scaffolds.     

A school‐based project in five kindergartens: the case of teacher development and school development

Kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong are blamed for not putting child‐initiated learning theory into practice. Their competence is challenged. An earlier study (Li, 2003 Li, YL. (2003). Roadblocks to educational reform: investigating knowledge and practice of Hong Kong kindergarten teachers. International Journal of Educational Reform, 12(3): 217–229.  [Google Scholar]) suggested that the professional development of kindergarten teachers was limited by their inability to extend thinking beyond their own personal concerns so that the needs of the children were not the major determinant of their classroom practice. It was argued that to confront and modify the teachers' personal beliefs the presence of models, action research and joint collaborative activity were the keys. This report was a follow‐up study of a school‐based project, providing opportunities for teachers to engage in collaborative investigation of school curriculum and of pedagogical innovations. In this study, the practice and belief of a group of around 60 teachers were tracked during their participation in the project and the merits of peer coaching, mentoring and collaborative teamwork were examined. Classroom observations and semi‐structured interviews (40–60 minutes) were adopted as the main research procedure. Teaching records, videoed teaching episodes and feedback on project workshops were sources of data collected for triangulation. The findings of the study suggest that collegiality holds some promise for change in teachers' practice, though questions concerning the constancy of change are of concern.     

How we train high‐school teachers in colleges and universities

History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy. By Horatio W. Dresser. New York: Thomas Y. dwell Co., 1926. Pp. xii + 338. Price, $2.50.

Readings in Civic Sociology. By Edward Alsworth Ross (University of Wisconson) and Mary Edna McCaull. Yonkers, N. Y.: World Book Co., 1926. Pp. xxi + 398. Price, $1.80.

Better Teaching. By Frank Leslie Clapp (University of Wisconsin) and Thomas M. Risk (University of Wisconsin). Newark: Silver, Burdett &; Co., 1926. Pp. iv + 58. Paper bound. Price, 68 cents.

Texas Flag Primer. By Karle Wilson Baker. Yonkers, N. Y.: World Book Co., 1926. Pp. iv + 124. Price, 72 cents.

The Puppet as an Elementary Project. By Emma Pettey (Dallas City Schools). Fort Worth: Pioneer Publishing Co., 1925. Pp. 76.

Better Dress Charts. By Florence Bigelow. St. Paul, Minn.: Webb Publishing Co., 1925.

Seventeenth‐Century Essays (edited by Jacob Zeitlin), The Patrician (John Galsworthy), and Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926. The Modern Student's Library. Price, $1 each.

A Child's Map of the Ancient World. Originated by Alice York. Designed by Ilonka Karasz. New York: The John Day Co., 1926. Price, $1.50.

Rewards of Reading. By Frank Luther Mott. New York: Henry Holt &; Co., 1926. Pp. x + 208.

The Constitution of the United States. By William B. Guitteau and Hanson Hart Webster. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1926.

Fundamentals of Human Physiology. By R. G. Peaece and J. J. R. Macleod (University of Toronto). St. Louis: The C. V. Mosby Co., 1924. Pp. 349.

The Foundation of Health. By William Barnard Sharp (University of Texas). Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1924. Pp. vi + 256.     

Teacher education students' reflections on how problem‐based learning has changed their mental models about teaching and learning

Abstract

Students develop robust mental models of teaching and learning during their school years, and as such, often teach as they were taught—possibly perpetuating practices that limit intellectual inquiry in classrooms. This paper reports on an analysis, using a conceptual framework and NUD?1ST software, of a cohort of 3rd‐year teacher education students' reflections on changes in their mental models following their experiences in a problem‐based learning (PBL) topic. Results provide evidence that students do report changing mental models in areas such as (a) the value of case studies for engaging with subject content, motivating learning, and connecting theory with practice; (b) self‐reflection and peer collaboration for cognitive and professional growth; and (c) processes of inquiry for developing self‐regulated learning practices.     

Introducing a fifth pedagogy: experience‐based strategies for facilitating learning in natural environments

Educators have identified four categories of ‘productive pedagogies’ that are considered to lead to authentic student engagement and learning in the classroom. This study was designed to explore and extend these pedagogies in the context of learning in natural environments, in particular, through the programmes of Queensland environmental education centres. In‐depth interview and observation data were collected from students, classroom teachers and centre teachers who had participated in 12 environmental education programmes across Queensland, in order to identify the strategies that are most effective in facilitating learning in the natural environment. A fifth productive pedagogy category, ‘experience‐based learning’, is proposed. Experience‐based learning is particularly important in addressing students’ environmental attitudes and actions. The implications for the delivery of environmental education programmes both within and outside the classroom are discussed.     

Problem‐based learning and action research in postgraduate teaching: the interdisciplinary core

Rapid changes in the world due to the emergence of an information society, scientific and technological developments, and a growing capitalist global economy have made intercultural and inter-ethnic contacts a fairly ordinary phenomenon. However, paradoxically, cultural diversity has had to cope with powerful homogenising instruments of a globalised planet; consequently, cultural issues cannot be considered apart from power relations. In education, a recent phenomenon – the teacher research movement – has tried to fight against conservative and dominant forms of teaching and teacher education. In this article, it is argued that teacher research, as an international movement, has the potential to become a counter-hegemonic strategy to construct critical teacher education approaches in a globalised world.