Guiding music students during workshop-based on-the-job learning

This article explains the realisation and impact of tutoring on learning through a new kind of on-the-job learning method in workshops led by professional musicians. The research is a qualitative case study involving 62 upper secondary Finnish vocational music students who participated in 11 workshops. The research data consist of (a) workshop plans and personal learning goals written by the students before the workshops and (b) reflective essays about experiences after the workshops. The data were analysed using theory-oriented content analyses. In the workshop, the guidance-oriented interaction promoting learning starts at the beginning of the workshop with cooperative planning. The interaction between the students and the professional musician influenced the nature of the guidance – the professional musician was more like a colleague rather than a teacher. The students expressed that they had been able to influence the workshop goals in different phases and, thus, their professional competence had increased significantly. In vocational institutes, it is important to observe different ways of realising on-the-job learning and to develop new models of action, like the workshop method, to promote the development of students’ skills and competence.     

以行动为导向,以项目为载体,构建《职业生涯规划》课程体系

《职业生涯规划》课程的构建主要是培养学生的职业生涯管理能力和职业能力。这门课程将把教学与社会实际情境相结合。通过自我认知、职业世界探索等学习领域的实际项目训练,为学生个人的职业生涯规划提供理论和实践指导。通过教学活动唤醒大学生的职业意识,促使学生理性地规划自身未来的发展,逐步确立长远而稳定的发展目标。     

深化课程改革的三个新生长点——广东教育学会课程与教学论专业委员会第三届学术年会综述

在2011年11月召开的广东教育学会课程与教学论专业委员会第三届学术年会上,与会者围绕"新世纪基础教育课程与教学改革的回顾与展望"这一主题,对当前课程改革的新生长点,如"推进校本课程开发"、"创新科目课堂教学"和"提升教师专业发展"等并形成了较为一致的看法。推进校本课程开发主要表现为服务学生和学校的新理念、资源整合的新策略、凸显施行的新主题和科目整合式微型课程开发的新路向;创新科目课堂教学深化和聚焦到"语文""、数学"、"英语"等学校教育的核心科目上,从而引领人们超越一般性的教学改革论说,进入活生生的各个科目课堂教学的有效性建构层面;提升教师专业发展主要体现为"优秀教师期待"的新观念,"互惠性院校协作"、"行动学习"、"文化建构"和"课堂问题研究"的新途径。     

基于通识教育的导师制专业社团建设

基于山东大学将＂机器人＂通识教育课程与学生社团结合的探索与实践,文章提出机器人技术适合作为通识教育课程,将专业社团与通识教育结合,形成＂以教师为主导,以学生为主体＂的导师制专业社团新模式。并论述了导师制专业社团的意义及建设方案。与通识教育结合的导师制专业社团既能奠定学生良好的学习基础,拓宽专业口径,又能在课余时间充分发挥教师的＂指导性＂和学生的＂主动性＂作用,这种模式必将成为培养复合型高素质拔尖创新人才的有力手段之一。     

Using Community-Based Research to Improve BSW Students’ Learning in Community Practice: Bringing the Macro into Focus for Traditional and Distance Learners

This article describes community–university partnership building, course development/management, and evaluation outcomes related to an intensive community-based research project that was integrated in two sections of an undergraduate course on community practice. Pre- and posttest data were collected from 60 BSW students who were enrolled in community practice and who participated in a community-based research project with their state’s fair housing office. The evaluation outcomes focus on changes in professional interest in macro practice, students’ self-efficacy, and differences in students’ learning experiences, based on traditional bricks-and-mortar or distance learning contexts. Results show that students experience increases in self-efficacy related to community assessment and intervention. Qualitative results show that students experienced shifts in their professional goals related to macro practice, increased competence and understanding, and personal transformation. A number of differences emerged between traditional and distance learners. Results are discussed in the context of curriculum development and next steps for institutionalizing CBR in community practice courses.     

浅谈高师音乐教学法课程改革

高师音乐教育一定要突出师范性,音乐教学法课程的开设是突出师范性的象征。因此音乐教学法课堂教学,应提供给学生一个运用专业技能、发展综合艺术能力、增强创新意识、挖掘个人潜能的实践操作空间和整合发展的机会。是帮助学生分析"教"与"学"及培养学生从"学生"到"教师"转变的一门关键性学科,使学生在走上岗位之前得到充分的培训。今天,我们从高师音乐教学法课程定位准确性、课程设置和合理性、任课教师专业性、教学模式创新性等问题进行探讨。     

New technologies to support teaching for understanding

In this era of rapid change, educators increasingly recognize that students must learn how to develop and apply knowledge creatively, not simply remember what they have been told. To meet these demands, teachers need professional development opportunities that support them in a transformational process. New technologies appear to hold promise in overcoming the traditional limitations of professional development. In this chapter, we describe and analyze a program designed to provide such professional development. We begin by summarizing recurrent challenges and promising approaches to professional development organized around a set of qualities that characterize effective learning. Next, we use these qualities to describe a program that explicitly incorporates a model of teaching for understanding into the design of an online learning environment and professional development activities for educators. Finally, our analysis of this program emphasizes the Internet's unique advantages, as well as some remaining issues to resolve in online professional development for educators.In this era of rapid change, educators increasingly recognize that students must learn how to develop and apply knowledge creatively, not simply remember what they have been told. This goal requires shifting from traditional lessons based on transmitting information toward approaches that help learners build robust and flexible understanding. Such transformation of curriculum and pedagogy is a complex process for teachers who must develop new knowledge, skills and beliefs.To meet these demands, teachers need professional development opportunities that support them in a transformational process. Unfortunately, most learning opportunities for teachers fall short. They tend to be short-term workshops, focused on general topics rather than deep knowledge of subject matter and pedagogy, inattentive to teachers’ individual interests, disconnected from specific classroom practices, and isolated from ongoing support by coaches and colleagues. Formal professional development activities are often the antithesis of what is known to promote effective learning.New technologies appear to hold promise in overcoming the traditional limitations of professional development. The World Wide Web, with its rich trove of multimedia resources, interactive tools, and telecommunication facilities, accessible from anywhere on the planet, seems full of potential as a facilitator of teacher learning. Yet we know that mere access to technical resources is not sufficient to generate learning or to change practice. How might the Internet be used to support communities of reflective practitioners committed to teaching for understanding?     

Simulated learning for generic communication competency development: a case study of Australian post-graduate pharmacy students

Authentic workplace experience is becoming increasingly challenging to provide for students. Simulation represents an effective pedagogical strategy for communication competency development in preparation for, or in lieu of clinical placements/practicums. The case study represents an innovative approach to simulating aspects of a pharmacy practice when insufficient placements were available. Prior to undertaking a three-week placement, a cohort of Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) students (N?=?95) completed two four-hour simulated learning modules (SLMs). Each of the six SLMs addressed interpersonally challenging, commonly experienced pharmacy practice scenarios generated by pharmacists/pharmacy educators. Scenarios, underpinned by the Excellence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership (EXCELL) model, included schemas called Social Interaction Maps (SIMs), and involved interacting with trained actors. EXCELL is an evidence-based, professional development resource centred on learning generic social competencies including participating in a team, refusing a request and giving feedback. Evaluations comprised students’ survey responses collected before, during and after SLM workshops and pharmacy placements, and reflections from workshop facilitators. Students reported significant improvements in their overall communication competencies post-workshops and post-placement. Facilitators rated SLMs as a useful strategy to improve students’ communication competence and workplace readiness. Future curriculum development could benefit from including discipline-specific, interpersonally challenging SLMs using SIMs and actors (where possible) to simulate workplace interactions.     

Promoting Science Among English Language Learners: Professional Development for Today’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

We describe a model professional development intervention currently being implemented to support 3rd- through 5th-grade teachers’ science instruction in 9 urban elementary schools with high numbers of English language learners. The intervention consists of curriculum materials for students and teachers, as well as teacher workshops throughout the school year. The curriculum materials and workshops are designed to complement and reinforce each other in improving teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices in science instruction and English language development for ELL students. In addition to these primary goals, secondary goals of the intervention included supporting mathematical understanding, improving scientific reasoning, capitalizing on students’ home language and culture, and preparing students for high-stakes science testing and accountability through hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences.     

高职院校学生“产、学、创”与教师“产、教、研”对接研究——以软件技术专业为例

在产教融合背景下,分析我国高职院校学生"产、学、创"与教师"产、教、研"的现状与原因,也对软件技术专业的教师与学生专业技能进行了分析,发现专业工程实践能力是教师与学生的共同专业职业技能点,并通过多年来的"产教融合、校企合作"实践证明,以专业工程实践技能为对接点,以产业驱动为对接模式,通过专业课程体系企业化、课程标准化、学习内容项目化、企业实习常态化以及职业技能竞赛项目过程化等途径,可有效地满足软件工程产业对技能人才的需求,实现软件技术专业学生"产、学、创"与教师"产、教、研"能力对接。     

如何提高音乐课堂教学的有效性——《走进进行曲》的教学实践与反思

新课程背景下的音乐教师,应不断充实专业知识,提高自身素质;要依据课程标准的要求,确定教学目标,合理选择教学资源,根据学生的实际情况来设计教学方案,为学生创造良好的学习环境,引导学生创新与实践,促进学生的发展;将新的理念运用于课堂实践,以学生为主体,构建和谐、高效的课堂。     

职业能力导向下高职教育实践课程教学对策

高职院校开设专业实践课程是社会发展对于高职人才发展的需求决定的,就业市场对于高职人才的要求从一般技能型人才向综合型的高职业能力人才转变。高职院校在专业课程的设置上要根据学生人才发展原则和市场导向原则,制定科学化的专业实践课程,同时利用互联网等手段,不断完善高职教育实践课程体系,从而深化专业实践课程对学生全面发展的价值。高职教育实践课程需要以学生的职业能力发展和个人发展为核心,以社会实践要求和企业要求不断提升学生的综合素养。     

基于卓越工程师培养下隧道工程教学改革研究--以贵州工程应用技术学院为例

根据“卓越工程师教育培养计划”对学生掌握专业知识提出的新要求,在我校推广“模块化”课程改革之际针对土建专业隧道工程进行了教学改革的研究。基于隧道工程教学现存的问题,开展了隧道工程的教学改革思路研究,通过改善学生学习兴趣及专业知识实用性,为学生日后的工程实践打下坚实的基础,也为我校培养应用技术型的一线卓越工程师做出了积极探索。     

The Learning Effects of a Multidisciplinary Professional Development Programme

Professional development becomes relevant and effective when teachers are actively involved, collaborate, and when it is linked to teachers’ daily school practice (Hunzicker in Prof Dev Educ 37:177–179, 2011). Preparation of teachers for a curriculum implementation such as the new subject Nature, Life, and Technology can be done by a professional development programme where teachers are actively involved (Visser et al. 2010). This study evaluates the designed and implemented professional development programme with respect to its effectiveness in terms of degree of teacher learning and development. Effects are evaluated for five learning areas: Instructional strategies, differences in students’ prior knowledge, adjustments to the module, assessment methods and instruments, and field trips and guest lectures. Eleven teachers from four different schools participated in two professional development programmes, six teachers in the first professional development programme and five teachers in the programme for the subsequent module. Questionnaires and interviews were used to assess the effects in the different learning areas. The findings show that the professional development programme is a useful venture for teachers’ professional growth in different learning areas.     

Gathering Requirements for Teacher Tools: Strategies for Empowering Teachers Through Co-Design

Technology can enhance teachers’ practice in multiple ways. It can help them better understand patterns in their students’ thinking, manage class progress at individual and group levels, and obtain evidence to inform modifications to curriculum and instruction. Such technology is most effective when it is aligned with teachers’ goals and expectations. Participatory methods, which involve teachers closely in the design process, are widely recommended for establishing accurate design requirements that address users’ needs. By collaborating with researchers, teachers can contribute their professional expertise to shape the tools of their practice, and ultimately ensure their sustained use. However, there is little guidance available for maintaining effective teacher–researcher design partnerships. We describe four strategies for engaging teachers in designing tools intended to support and enhance their practice within a web-based science learning environment: discussing physical artifacts, reacting to scenarios, customizing prototypes, and writing user stories. Using design artifacts and documents of teachers’ reflections, we illustrate how we applied these techniques over 5 years of annual professional development workshops, and examine their affordances for eliciting teachers’ ideas. We reflect on how these approaches have helped inform technology refinements and innovations. We moreover discuss the further benefits these strategies have had in encouraging teachers to reflect on their own practice and on the roles of technology in supporting it; and in allowing researchers to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between technology, teaching, and design.     

Teacher collaboration in curriculum design teams: effects,mechanisms, and conditions

ABSTRACT

Collaborative design positively affects both professional development and the implementation of curriculum change, because teachers develop competencies and practice and develop ownership of the change. The current study was aimed to explore what empirical evidence is available about processes that take place when teachers co-design and how these contribute to professional development and curriculum change. Evidence from 14 PhD studies was collected to study their impact on teacher learning and curriculum change, by analysing effects, mechanisms, and conditions. Results showed that effects of curriculum design teams, in terms of learning outcomes for teachers in areas such as (pedagogical) content knowledge and design knowledge and skills, became manifest in the outcomes of the curriculum design process, and in the appreciation by the stakeholders. We concluded that professional development, through collaborative design in teams, which is specific and linked to the curriculum, influences teachers’ knowledge and practice and impacts implementation of curriculum change.     

A systemic approach to professional development: learning as practice

This paper disturbs assumptions that policy for secondary school teachers’ continuing professional development should be dominated by courses, workshops and suchlike events. Research into learning, communities of practice and complexity establishes a contrary view, namely that subject departments are prime sites of non-predictable professional learning. Practical implications are sketched, leading to a recommendation that continuing professional development policies and practices should be systemically reconsidered.     

Maintaining Professional Standards in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation: Evaluating Adaptations to Fieldwork-Based Experiences During COVID-19

At institutions striving to maintain face-to-face field placements and instruction amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, circumstances changed daily in response to new developments at the university, local school districts, and personal circumstances. This mixed-methods study explored and evaluated the adaptations made to early childhood teacher preparation courses in an undergraduate program in order to provide relevant training through a variety of instructional modalities including face-to-face, virtual, hypothetical, and mixed reality. Focused on maintaining professional standards through adapted coursework designed to meet student learning outcomes, instructors reflected on multiple instructional modalities and analysis of demonstrable learning outcomes for students in a four-year bachelor’s degree program resulting in state teacher certification. Data were collected from students from three different cohorts (n?=?26) through course assignments, reflections, and instructor- and self-assessments. Results highlight several areas where students found success in meeting professional standards in new ways including: knowledge of development, relevant and responsive curriculum, collaborative engagement, cultural and familial knowledge, inclusive and individualized design, and flexibility and adaptability. Students were prepared to teach in the following ways: designing curriculum, implementation, and reflective practice. Students felt unprepared to teach citing needing more practice and continued skills development. These findings highlight the need for flexibility in the face of the pandemic and underscore the importance of using the new knowledge and practices generated about student learning to reinvent early childhood teacher education programs when faced with post-pandemic realities.

     

Multimodal literacy learning opportunities within a grade six classroom literacy curriculum: constraints and enablers

This case study of a grade six classroom literacy curriculum in Ontario, Canada was designed to produce new knowledge of how curricula can promote multimodal literacy learning opportunities for students. With a focus on constraints and enablers, the study found few opportunities for multimodal literacy learning due to standardised assessments, an outcomes-based programmatic curriculum with related standardised report card, and assessment-focused professional learning opportunities. Despite the print-centric nature of the curriculum, however, the study found that students did initiate their own multimodal opportunities. The study has implications for educators across the globe who are interested in expanding students’ literacies.     

Negotiating and reshaping Christian values and professional identities through action research: experiential learning and professional development among Christian religious education teachers

In European societies, major patterns of plurality have changed over recent decades due to modernization and globalization. In schools, these new patterns of plurality have consequences for learning processes and may be challenging for students and teachers. This article investigates these issues, taking as its point of departure the way they surfaced in the Norwegian subject-oriented research project ‘Teaching about Religious Diversity in Schools. Applying and Developing an Interpretive Cultural Approach to Religious Education’ (2007–2010). Nine teachers and two researchers worked together in a community of practice, adopting an action research mode of collaboration. Each participant carried out and documented individual development projects, mostly within their own student groups. Developments and results were discussed in regular community-of-practice workshops. The data analysed in this article were generated from these workshops and from interviews with participants. The main research question raised is how an action research project in the field of religious education can lead to professional development for the participants. More specifically, the question is how such development can be described with respect to the relationship between personal and professional aspects of teacher identity and practice. The introduction of core concepts from theories of religious education and action learning triggered a collective inquiry among the participants into their own professional knowledge. Gradually a common professional discourse developed within the community of practice, and the participants became aware of and started to investigate critically how personal values and beliefs played a role in their professional work.