ENTERPRISE AWARENESS IN TEACHER EDUCATION: AN EVALUATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INSTITUTIONAL POLICY MAKING AND IMPLEMENTATION

Investigations into EATE's particular style of development, and its effectiveness of approach in introducing and sustaining innovations, were thought to be important aspects in the identification of noteworthy strategies for bringing about change in issues relating to enterprise, economic and industrial awareness in institutions of initial teacher education. This article describes the composite thinking and support underpinning the eclectic evaluations of EATE‐funded initiatives. It discusses two essential, and sequential, steps — initial thinking about issues which need to be clarified before embarking on an evaluation, and the strategies for action, i.e. the practical activities which can then be carried out. The article is written with reference to the EATE initiative but ideas and considerations could, with ease, be applied to other innovationsThe processes of formulating a policy statement on enterprise education, undertaking a course audit and introducing enterprise education and economic awareness into college courses are discussed. In particular developments within Professional Studies in the BEd Primary Education course are examined. The respective contributions of college staff and business representatives are assessed. The interaction between Institutional policy‐making and implementation in enterprise education is seen as opportunistic and organic as much as rational and systematic.     

ENTERPRISE AWARENESS IN TEACHER EDUCATION (EATE)

This paper sets out the rationale underpinning the setting up, delivery and evaluation of a major initiative in initial teacher education. The purpose of Enterprise Awareness in Teacher Education (EATE) is to incorporate enterprise, economic and industrial issues into all initial courses for trainee teachers. This is facilitated through an extensive programme of staff development. The article then goes on to record the processes and thinking behind one level of the evaluation of the initiative which has been incorporated into individual developments in institutions from the outset     

Evaluating Enterprise in Higher Education: the practical,methodological and ideological issues

This article explores the practical, methodological and ideological issues stemming from the evaluation of two enterprise initiatives in higher education. It considers the evaluation strategies adopted by the Enterprise in Higher Education Initiative (EHE) and the Enterprise Awareness in Teacher Education programme (EATE). A comparative analysis of their approaches to evaluating enterprise is offered along with a critical analysis of the evaluative approaches adopted. Some of the more general difficulties of evaluating enterprise are highlighted and the paper concludes with a consideration of the effect of political tensions upon the evaluations of programmes such as the enterprise programmes.     

KEEPING IT LIVE: STAFF DEVELOPMENT AS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE CHANGE PROCESS

This cross‐institutional evaluation assesses the effectiveness of promoting staff development as the central strategy for change within the EATE initiative. Increasingly, in institutions of initial teacher education as elsewhere, accountability requires output‐oriented staff who are able to attain given targets at reasonable cost. This “impact” case study is both explanatory and confirmatory, justifying the process of change specified by EATE in relation to organisational efficiency, current relevance and need.

The evaluation demonstrates how change can be effectively managed to improve teaching and learning within a short time scale and how EATE has played a critical part in opening up institutions to working with the business community, an integral element of the EATE strategy previously seldom encountered within initial teacher education.

The EATE initiative sought behavioural changes in participants through raising awareness, identifying the catalysts, better networking, the critical support of management and the business community, in order to keep it live and consequently embed thechange. Whilst staff in differing institutions perceived and defined some changes differently, the evidence suggests that strategies employed by EATE have been and are being efficient and effective contributors to the process of change.     

Partnerships in Teacher Education: a response to The Business Partnership in School‐based/‐centred Initial Teacher Training

Abstract

This paper is a response to a Joint publication from Enterprising Approaches to Teacher Education (EATE), the Teacher Placement Service (TPS) and the Banking Information Service (BiS) (June 1994) which examined the validity of business‐education partnerships in initial teacher training. While supporting the essential points made by EATE et al, this paper stresses the need for permeation and flexible learning strategies in introducing and addressing these aspects of the curriculum and cites experiences from the school‐based Post‐Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at the University of Bath.     

Why use information and communications technology? Some theoretical and practical issues

Abstract

This article is concerned with theoretical issues of pedagogy and how they relate to the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in teaching. The article reviews the context of recent developments in ICT pedagogy. It also draws upon thinking about pedagogy which derives from learning theories. These provide a theoretical framework for research by the authors into the Smart Schoolinitiative in Malaysian schools. This initiative is attempting to change the pedagogy of Malaysian schools in a radical way. This involves the use of ICT alongside other innovations and a refocusing of the learning agenda for school-aged pupils. Some early impressions of the initiative are presented     

Critical Thinking: Art Criticism as a Tool for Analysing and Evaluating Art,Instructional Practice and Social Justice Issues

Recent educational initiatives have emphasised the importance of fostering critical thinking skills in today's students in order to provide strategies for becoming successful problem solvers throughout life. Other scholars advocate the use of critical thinking skills on the grounds that such tools can be used effectively when considering social justice issues. In this article we make the case that the teaching and learning strategies of analytic art criticism can serve as fundamental tools used not just for the study of art but can also centre critical thinking and analysis in all aspects of the art education curriculum. Our argument begins with a review of literature on the use of art criticism for critical thinking and meaning making. Then we describe our efforts to address critical thinking with our students by using the critical analysis model of art criticism and applying it to learning environments for forming reasoned judgments about teaching and learning, and also as springboard for examining social justice issues. We believe that promoting this form of affectively driven, intellectually guided critical thinking makes our students potentially more successful not just in their encounters with art and education, but also in their lives as human beings beyond school.     

Creating a Framework for Research on Systemic Technology Innovations

This article examines why cognitively oriented technology innovations, designed to foster deep thinking and learning, have not become widespread in K?12 schools. We argue a key reason is that most design-based research does not explicitly address systemic issues of usability, scalability and sustainability. This limitation must be overcome if research is to create usable knowledge that addresses the challenges confronting technology innovations when implemented in real-world school contexts. This is especially important in an era when political forces push schools away from the cognitively rich, inquiry-oriented approaches espoused by the Learning Sciences. We suggest expanding our conception of design-based research to include research on innovations in the context of systemic reform as a potential solution to the problem. To that end, we introduce research questions and issues arising from our own experiences with a technology-rich innovation in the context of a systemic reform initiative as a starting point in the creation of an expanded design-based research agenda. These questions and issues have important implications for both the continued viability of research on technologies for learning and on the future of technology use in schools that stems from such research.     

Measuring Teaching Performance

Abstract

Those who teach subjects that explore controversial issues often find that students have difficulty thinking about and responding productively to them. College instructors have leeway in structuring learning in ways that maximize the possibility of productive critical thinking. By shaping classroom experiences before the controversial material is encountered, the likelihood that students will maintain higher mental functioning when examining that material increases. This article discusses ten strategies for planning a course that facilitates quality discussion and thoughtful debate.     

Thinking styles and conceptions of creativity among university students

This research aims to understand university students’ thinking styles and the relationship with their views of creativity. The Thinking Styles Inventory‐Revised II was used to measure 13 thinking styles as defined in Sternberg’s theory of mental self‐government and the Conceptions of Creativity Scales was used to inquire students’ views about the conditions for evaluating creativity from six aspects: intelligence, knowledge, style of thinking, personality, motivation and learning environment. Significant relationships were identified between thinking styles and conceptions of creativity. This research contributes to the understanding about the relationship between conceptions of creativity and thinking styles, and brings insights for educators about educational innovations, as one of the key objectives of educational innovations is to develop creativity of the younger generation.     

The Literacy Component of Mathematical and Scientific Literacy

This opening article of the Special Issue makes an argument for parallel definitions of scientific literacy and mathematical literacy that have shared features: importance of general cognitive and metacognitive abilities and reasoning/thinking and discipline-specific language, habits-of-mind/emotional dispositions, and information communication technology strategies to prepare people for adult life and democratic citizenship. These frameworks provide potential insights into research and pedagogy. Furthermore, they provide guidelines for second-generation standards, curriculum development and assessment so as not to overlook or underemphasize the fundamental literacy component of mathematical and scientific literacy for all students, which can result in fuller participation in the public debate about science, mathematics, technology, society, and environment issues.     

怎样在美术教学中培养学生的创造思维能力

在步入二十一世纪知识经济时代的今天,一个国家人民的创新意识显得尤其重要。怎样发掘学科优势,培养学生创造精神和高素质人才,是我们所有教育工作者的责任。通过一、激发认识兴趣;二、因势利导及时启发促进创新这两种手段来激发学生的创新能力,以培养更为优秀的美术人才。     

数学教学与青少年学生创造力的培养

培养善于思维，不满足于现状，敢于标新立异的“创新人才”是今天基础教育的重要任务，更是每个数学教育工作者义不容辞的责任。文章结合自己的教学实践从问题情境创设、思维训练、质疑等方面谈数学教学与学生创造力的培养。     

中国的发展方式转型与改革的顶层设计

中国现有增长模式固有的弊病造成了资源枯竭、环境破坏、腐败蔓延、贫富分化、货币超发、流动性泛滥等一系列严重经济社会问题。在宏观经济两难困境下,只能一方面采取稳健灵活的短期政策维持宏观经济稳定,另一方面把主要注意力放到解决长期发展的问题上来,加快向现代经济增长模式的转型。而转型的成功,有赖于加快全面改革,打破束缚生产力发展的体制性障碍,建立有利于发挥创新精神的体制机制。在改革策略上,要更加重视社会主义市场经济体制的顶层设计和总体规划,同时注意与自下而上的改革试验结合起来,实现顶层设计与基层创新的良性互动。     

Reconsidering Personal Epistemology as Metacognition: A Multifaceted Approach to the Analysis of Epistemic Thinking

One of the central unresolved conceptual issues that concerns researchers of personal epistemology is the characterization of the intersection between personal epistemology and metacognition. The contested and diverse nature of both constructs makes untangling their connections a complex yet vital task. The purpose of this article is to advance the discussion regarding this intersection by offering a theoretical approach that may serve as a basis for analyzing epistemic thinking and aligning it with current views of metacognition. Based on a synthesis of theoretical and empirical studies, we argue that epistemic thinking is a multifaceted construct with both cognitive and metacognitive aspects. Furthermore, we propose that epistemic metacognition includes several aspects such as metacognitive skills; metacognitive knowledge about persons, strategies and tasks; and metacognitive experiences. The theoretical, methodological, and instructional implications of this approach are explored.     

PGCE Secondary Trainee Teachers & Effective Behaviour Management: an evaluation and commentary

This article addresses the important issue of initial teacher preparation in relation to classroom management. It is based on a study of Post Graduate Certificate of Education (Secondary) students in one university department. The study sought to ascertain the ongoing concerns of trainees during the course of their year's training, and to identify key issues for training providers as a result of this process. Data were gathered both by interview and by questionnaire. Carolyn Bromfield uses the findings to broker a discussion about the nature of behaviour training; her key message is that there is a need to move trainee thinking from a traditional behaviourist approach to one which highlights the relationship between behaviour and learning.     

Fostering higher‐order thinking in science class: teachers’ reflections

The study reported in this article aimed at exploring what teachers know and do about fostering higher‐order thinking skills in teaching science, and how they see themselves involved in achieving this end. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews with 11 teachers experienced in teaching high school physics, which is considered a relatively difficult but well‐established discipline. The findings highlighted a diversity among the teachers in four areas: meta‐strategic knowledge of the concept of higher‐order thinking; practical utilization of instructional strategies related to fostering higher‐order thinking in the classroom; beliefs about students’ abilities to acquire higher‐order thinking skills; and self‐perception regarding teaching towards higher‐order thinking. Regarding the second area, for example, some of the teachers reported using teaching strategies in class that could impede the development of students as autonomous thinkers; others occasionally try to foster higher‐order thinking among their students but regard this as a way of conveying subject content better; only a minority of the teachers see the fostering of higher‐order thinking as an important objective of teaching physics. In summary, teachers are frequently puzzled or uncertain about the entire issue of fostering higher‐order thinking in school. Introducing elements of constructivist pedagogy combined with the specific steps aimed at fostering higher‐order thinking into the science class is required to make the development of higher‐order thinking a regular ingredient in science teaching within the current schooling.     

Thinking Critically about Technological Literacy: Developing a Framework to Guide Computer Pedagogy in Technical Communication

Issues related to technological literacy can provide a useful frame for thinking critically about computer-based instruction in technical communication. This article identifies issues of technological literacy related to performance, contextual factors, and linguistic activities. When considered collectively, these issues provide technical communication students with a mechanism to identify and analyze a range of perspectives associated with technology and communication.     

Thinking Critically about Technological Literacy: Developing a Framework to Guide Computer Pedagogy in Technical Communication

Issues related to technological literacy can provide a useful frame for thinking critically about computer-based instruction in technical communication. This article identifies issues of technological literacy related to performance, contextual factors, and linguistic activities. When considered collectively, these issues provide technical communication students with a mechanism to identify and analyze a range of perspectives associated with technology and communication.