Elevating Instruction for Secondary‐School Students with Learning Disabilities by Demystifying the Highly Qualified Subject Matter Requirement

The highly qualified mandate of the No Child Left Behind Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has created unnecessary confusion, particularly among secondary‐school special educators and administrators with respect to instruction in core academic subjects. The pursuit of compliance solutions to meet this requirement has generally distracted stakeholders from re‐examining the mission of secondary‐school special education for students with learning disabilities (LD). Because effective subject matter instruction within inclusive classrooms is dependent upon general and special educators capitalizing on each other's areas of expertise, the necessity of requiring special educators to possess a comparable level of subject matter knowledge as the general educator is not only of questionable merit, but often counterproductive. This article poses and examines several fundamental philosophical questions related to the delivery of core academic subject matter to students with LD.     

Enhancing reading ability to prevent students from becoming "low-functioning deaf" as adults

Recent research on reading instruction in general and special education, collectively referred to as "scientifically based reading research," is emphasized in two new federal programs, Reading First and Early Reading First. The findings of this research, as it relates to the education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing, are reviewed. Noteworthy is the stress placed on intervening early in children's lives, focusing on active learning opportunities, teaching strategies for reading fluency, and applying teacher interventions such as miscue analysis. The urgent need for educators to identify and implement effective techniques is highlighted by the continuing problem of "low-functioning deaf" (LFD) individuals being unable to secure gainful employment absent functional reading skills.     

In search of a new, linguistically and culturally sensitive paradigm in deaf education

For more than a century, educators have recognized the low academic achievement of deaf children in America. Teacher training programs in deaf education historically have emphasized medical-pathological views of deaf people and deaf education rather than appropriate pedagogies that draw upon and build on deaf students' linguistic and cultural knowledge. A recent and growing interest in educating deaf children bilingually acknowledges the value of American Sign Language and English in the classroom. The authors address the dire need for prospective teachers and teacher educators to rethink their views of deaf people and, in doing so, rethink the teaching methodologies in deaf education.     

Perceptions of diverse educators regarding ethnic-minority deaf college students, role models, and diversity

IN A QUALITATIVE STUDY, the researchers documented the perceptions of deaf and hearing ethnically diverse university faculty and staff regarding issues related to the education of ethnic-minority deaf college students. These experienced educators commented on the importance of ethnic-minority role models for deaf college students, the academic preparedness of ethnic-minority deaf students, these students' level of comfort on campus, and the success of institutional efforts to increase awareness regarding ethnic diversity. The insightful reflections of these diverse educators can be informative in improving the educational experience of ethnic-minority deaf students.     

The professional developmental needs of higher education-based teacher educators: an international comparative needs analysis

A universal lack of attention to the professional learning needs of teacher educators is the driver for this study, which considers the most effective ways to support the professional learning of higher education-based teacher educators. At a time when many industrialised countries are engaged in systemic educational reform, this study provides an international and comparative needs analysis through a survey of 1158 higher education-based teacher educators in the countries participating in the International Forum for Teacher Educator Development: Belgium, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. Our results suggest that while teacher educators are only moderately satisfied with their professional development experiences, a strong desire exists for further professional learning. This desire, influenced by their professional context, relates to their current beliefs concerning ‘best practice’ in teacher education, the academic skills required to further their professional careers and knowledge of the curriculum associated with their fields of expertise.     

美国“高素质教师”的知识结构及其启示

教师队伍建设是教创新能力的人才具有至关重要的作用。育发展的关键,努力建设好一支高素质的教师队伍,对培养21世纪具有创新精神和美国联邦政府在教育法令《不让一个儿童落后》中体现的“高素质教师”的知识结构和特点,对我国高素质教师队伍建设有启示作用。     

"Globaleyes": a partnership between The Nippon Foundation (Japan) and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (United States)

In a rapidly changing world where postsecondary educators of men and women who are deaf face myriad challenges preparing these men and women to enter a global economy, there is a pressing need for multinational collaboration and partnerships that view current and emerging challenges with "globaleyes." The National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology and The Nippon Foundation of Japan formed a foundation/education partnership that led to the establishment of the Postsecondary Education Network International (PEN-International), a collaborative and cooperative network of colleges and universities around the world that provide postsecondary education for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The network now consists of more than 25 institutions in nine countries.     

Navigating the difficult waters of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: what it means for education of the deaf

The author outlines the major elements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and describes the law's impact on deaf education. The law's stated purpose is to close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice, so that no child is left behind. The specific goal of the law is to ensure that all students are 100% proficient in reading, mathematics, and science by 2014. No Child Left Behind has effected sweeping reforms in general education. But with 814 requirements, it has also created great stress in educators throughout the United States. No Child Left Behind poses particular challenges to education of the deaf since policymakers gave no consideration to the needs of deaf children in formulating this law. Clearly, deaf students must be included in school and state accountability systems,but the law leaves many questions unanswered.     

Educational responses to varying objectives of parents of deaf children: a Dutch perspective

In 1999, Mary Brennan wrote "By recognising the child as, in effect, a 'little linguist' we are also recognising the power and effectiveness of the child's linguistic capacity" (Brennan, 1999). The recognition of the power and effectiveness of deaf children's linguistic capacity needs to be taken a step further. Focus should be on the conditions in the children's environments necessary to develop their linguistic capacity to its fullest potential and to enhance the use of this capacity in academic and social learning. This leads to the issue of the identification of the right language and instructional mix for deaf children, the topic that is addressed in this article. Essential in this process of identification are the educational objectives parents of deaf children have and the choices they make. This is related to a second issue, that of professional advice. Both issues are characterized by several dilemmas. These dilemmas are illustrated and directions are put forward that will enable educators to negotiate these dilemmas.     

近年来美国中小学教师素质状况和改进举措

美国《不让一个孩子落后法案》提出2005-2006学年结束前使全国所有的教师在所教科目方面达到高级资格水平,为此近几年来美国联邦政府和各州都采取相应措施执行该法案条款。这些措施包括提高教师学业科目知识和能力的要求标准、通过拓宽教师资格认证渠道吸收高素质人才进入教师队伍、消除教师临时证书以杜绝不合格教师的使用以及举办教师职业发展项目等等。     

‘Teaching What I Learned’: Exploring students’ Earth and Space Science learning experiences in secondary school with a particular focus on their comprehension of the concept of ‘geologic time’

According to the national survey of science education, science educators in the USA currently face many challenges such as lack of qualified secondary Earth and Space Science (ESS) teachers. Less qualified teachers may have difficulty teaching ESS because of a lack of conceptual understanding, which leads to diminished confidence in content knowledge. More importantly, teachers’ limited conceptual understanding of the core ideas automatically leads to a lack of pedagogical content knowledge. This mixed methods study aims to explore the ways in which current secondary schooling, especially the small numbers of highly qualified ESS teachers in the USA, might influence students’ learning of the discipline. To gain a better understanding of the current conditions of ESS education in secondary schools, in the first phase, we qualitatively examined a sample middle and high school ESS textbook to explore how the big ideas of ESS, particularly geological time, are represented. In the second phase, we quantitatively analyzed the participating college students’ conceptual understanding of geological time by comparing those who had said they had had secondary school ESS learning experience with those who did not. Additionally, college students’ perceptions on learning and teaching ESS are discussed. Findings from both the qualitative and quantitative phases indicate participating students’ ESS learning experience in their secondary schools seemed to have limited or little influence on their conceptual understandings of the discipline. We believe that these results reflect the current ESS education status, connected with the declining numbers of highly qualified ESS teachers in secondary schools.     

Measuring practical knowledge among prospective and current teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students

Research on teaching and teacher research has a long history. However, in the field of the education of deaf and hard of hearing students, this research is limited. The study addresses one particular area of research on teaching and teacher research: practical knowledge of teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students. Practical knowledge is defined as how educators think about their classroom practice. By means of a survey designed and tested by the researcher, four hierarchical groups (beginning education students, graduating education students, novice teachers, and experienced teachers) in the education of deaf and hard of hearing students were surveyed on their practical knowledge. Practical knowledge codified as images, rules of practice, and practical principles. Results were measured to demonstrate for categories and characteristics of practical knowledge storage among prospective and current teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students. The instrument was designed as an assessment tool to measure aspects of this knowledge, apply it to levels of pedagogical expertise, and expand research in this area.     

高中等职业技术教育发展的"外部驱动力"理论

从驱动高中等职业技术教育发展的"外部驱动力"的研究出发,通过对高中等职业技术教育发展的"外部驱动力"的分析,进一步阐述了驱动高中等职业技术教育发展的四个"外部驱动力"理论,以及"外部驱动力"理论对驱动高中等职业技术教育发展的学术价值及实践指导意义.指出不论是理论研究工作者还是高中等职业技术教育管理者、教师,认真掌握驱动高中等职业技术教育发展的四个"外部驱动力"理论,对高中等职业技术教育健康、快速、科学发展,都有极其重要的意义.     

Teacher educators in deaf education: why they entered higher education and their current priorities and accomplishments.

The study presents information on why teacher educators in deaf education move from school classrooms to universities. These educators' priorities as university faculty are examined in regard to teaching, scholarship, and service; their scholarly productivity and perceptions of workplace conditions in school and university environments are studied. Findings show that these schoolteachers moved to higher education for various reasons, but primarily to pursue research and a scholarly life, and to have a greater influence on deaf and hard of hearing children and deaf education. As faculty, they are most interested in and committed to teaching; they publish at a modest rate. These educators perceive workplace conditions that support autonomy, flexible schedules, collegiality, and decision-making opportunities as more evident in university environments than in school environments. The researchers discuss the need for teacher educators in deaf education to pursue scholarly interests and to consider working with colleagues at the university and in schools to design collaborative research. Universities' need to support these efforts is also discussed.     

"聋哑英语"的成因及对策

在我国"聋哑英语"的现象普遍存在.造成此现象的原因是语言环境,学习动机,语言输入和情感因素.而在多媒体发达的今天,"视听说"教学正好为学习者创造了一个良好的外语学习环境和提供大量有意义的语言输入.学习者在视听后能进行一系列"说"的活动.在进行"视听说"的教学过程中,教师还需要调动学习者的各种情感因素,使到学习者敢于开口,乐于开口说英语.     

高校学生管理中“四位一体”模式探讨

高校要牢固树立“育人为本、德育为先”的观念,把加强大学生思想政治教育、构建和谐校园放在当前教育的首位,尤其要积极探索新形势下大学生思想政治教育的有效途径和方法,将导师制、辅导员制、辅导员助理制、班级核心小组制进行有机结合同步实施,构建立体的相互渗透的学生思想政治教育“四位一体”管理模式,是培养高素质人才,实现学生全面发展的一种管理创新实践。     

Young children learning about well-being and environmental education in the early years: a funds of knowledge approach

Early childhood educators currently provide content focused learning opportunities for children in the areas of well-being and environmental education. However, these are usually seen as discrete content areas and educators are challenged with responding to children’s interests in popular-culture inspired food products given these influence their consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor and highly packaged food in the early childhood setting. This paper reports preliminary findings from a pilot randomised trial examining the interconnectedness of sustainability, well-being and popular-culture in early childhood education. Planning, assessment documentation and summaries from twenty-four learning experiences implemented by six educators over a six-week period were analysed using a deductive approach. Twenty well-being and environmental education topics were identified and shown to be generated by the educators when considering the children’s ‘funds of knowledge’ on popular-culture inspired food products. We argue that topics derived from children’s engagement with popular-culture may help educators to create an integrated approach to curriculum provision. This may impact child weight and facilitate obesity prevention and environmental sustainability as children create stronger connections between these content areas and their everyday choices and practices.     

自主学习何以可能:“学习强国”启示下的平台学习之策

2020年初,一场疫情让在线居家自主学习全面展开,面对各种问题与挑战,教育技术工作者不得不重新思考:如何最大程度发挥平台学习优势,提高平台支持下的深度学习效率,让自主学习真正成为可能。与此同时,深受全国人民称赞的“学习强国”平台,其因具有人本性、融合性、互动性、便捷性等特点而成为学习者进行深度自主学习的典型。文章探究如何构建学习资源众筹、学习形式多样、学习评价多元的,自下而上、协同互动、数据支撑的自主学习平台,希望能为教育工作者指明平台建设方向,能为深度学习提供更好的学习支持服务。     

论“过度教育”

人类无限膨胀的"自我"意识覆盖了其整个活动领域,在教育活动中,存在着一定程度的践踏师生和谐关系、侵犯学习者主体性的"过度教育",它是人类操控自然欲望在教育领域的"移情"式体现。"过度教育"主要表现为教育者教授行为的过度、理论知识强调的过度、学习动机外化的过度以及成人化观念的过度。"过度教育"容易导致学习者纯粹性认知片面发展,主体完整性丧失;内在主体性抽空,社会工具性畸形;独立品格萎缩,依赖品格形成;本源兴趣销蚀,质疑精神钝化。实现"过度教育"的回归,教育者就要关注学习者作为人的独特的生命体存在,关注学习者在实践生活中的亲身体验,以适度的教促成学的自然效果,生成学习者自我的主体感,达成学习者的自然需求、能力与意义,使教育真正成就人的自然性与本真性存在。     

Schools for the deaf and the No Child Left Behind Act

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) emphasizes educational accountability for all students. Twenty-eight states have policies to aggregate student participation and proficiency data for schools for the deaf in NCLB reports. The remaining states account for these students in other ways: referring student data to "sending" schools and aggregating data to the district or state level are most prominent. In reports of student assessment results for academic year 2002-2003, three schools for the deaf made "Adequate Yearly Progress" under NCLB: These schools demonstrated at least a 95% participation rate in assessments, and at least 95% of their students met or surpassed state proficiency benchmarks in reading and mathematics. Proficiency levels for other schools varied by report, but were often comparable to those of students with disabilities. Challenges and strategies for capturing the impact of NCLB accountability policies on deaf students are discussed.