Mind the gap: Investigating test literacy and classroom literacy

Focusing on the 2006 examination paper on Richard III , this article starts by examining the assumptions about reading Shakespeare that inform the Key Stage 3 national tests for 14-year-olds in England. It then analyses one student's response to the test, contrasting this performance with evidence drawn from classroom observation and digital video data.     

中职法律课堂教学改革之我见

中等职业学校法律基础知识教学备受关注,如何将中职生培养成为遵纪守法的优秀劳动者,使法律课程的教育功能落到实处,值得思考和探索。只有改革观念、拓展思路,创建新的课堂教学模式,才能有效达成中职学校法律教学的目标。     

实施主体教育 提高教学质量——中师体育课堂教学改革实验小结

本文就如何创设条件调动学生的主动性、自觉性、让学生通过积极主动的学习来提高课堂数学质量进行了研究，取得了一定的实效。     

Backing the right horse: Teacher education,sociocultural analysis and literacy in rural education

This paper is a reflection on the way that a background in sociocultural theory and research actually saved my teaching career by allowing me to shift from being a dispenser of knowledge to a cultural neophyte attempting to understand where he is. Teaching then is understood as a reading exercise which is undertaken in a particular place which itself needs to be read by the effective teacher. This is a narrative inquiry into practice which represents an attempt to understand my own teaching career in the light of Frank Smith's (1984) provocative essay “How education backed the wrong horse” in which he argues that anthropology would have made a better choice for a foundational discipline for education than psychology. I conclude with some thoughts on what this perspective implies for literacy instruction.     

Teacher coaching in Kenya: Examining instructional support in public and nonformal schools

Instructional coaching has improved student outcomes in the United States, and may help to solve Kenya's literacy problems. Coaching is costly, however, and evidence is lacking regarding the most cost-efficient teacher-to-coach ratio. We used student literacy outcome data from more than 8000 students participating in the Kenya Primary Math and Reading Initiative—a randomized controlled trial of instructional interventions in public and nonformal schools—to fill this gap. Coaches in larger public zones made fewer visits per teacher, and teacher-coach ratio and student performance were negatively associated. Using causal methods, we concluded that lower ratios might improve nonformal school outcomes.     

中学课堂教学质量评价标准及评价方式的研究

课堂评价是教学过程中总结性的评价,对于课堂教学有着重要的督促使之改进的作用.由于现行的教学评价模式已经不符合新教改的要求,所以研究制定一套合理完善的课堂评价制度势在必行.现有的对于课堂评价的论文大部分是针对课堂评价单方面的研究,本文综合阐述课堂评价的主要指导思想以及讨论如何制定出一套更为全面合理的评价体系及分析了传统课堂教学质量评价标准对于新课改之后所出现的不足,制定出一套新的完整的多元化评价体系,将学生、教师、家长有机的结合起来并制定出完整的评价指标,将新的评价体系应用于教学,在实践中验证新的评价体系的可行性.     

Social literacy and citizenship education in the school curriculum

This article explores citizenship education's need to focus on both ‘political’ and ‘social’ literacy within a communitarian framework. The Crick Report (1998; see also Lahey, Crick and Porter, 1974), while recognizing that the social dimension of citizenship education was a precondition for both the civic and political dimensions, concentrated largely on ‘political’ literacy. This article examines the social dimension of citizenship education. Concern with the social dimension of the curriculum in schools is not a recent interest, but changes within society have accelerated the social demands made upon schools. At the very least, society expects schools to correct the behaviour of children and to teach them values which usually means insisting on ‘good’ behaviour. The social development of pupils has thus assumed a much greater place in the aspirations of schools. Programmes of personal and social education, together with citizenship education, invariably emphasize a range of social skills and these skills are introduced early and built upon throughout the years of schooling. An individual's sense and ability to make socially productive decisions do not develop by themselves; rather, they require knowledge, values and skills. Above all opportunities are required for children to experience social relations in such a way that they are able to operate critically within value-laden discourses and thereby to become informed and ethically empowered, active citizens.     

IP资源在西部农村中小学课堂教学中的应用策略

IP资源在西部农村中小学教学应用时出现的问题主要有两点:一是教师缺乏对IP资源的二次创作能力,二是教师在将IP资源与课堂的学习活动进行整合时存在问题。针对以上两个问题,本文系统论述了对IP资源进行二次创作的方法,以及如何在课堂学习活动中选用和组织IP资源的策略,以期对使用IP资源的中小学教师有所帮助。     

Activity systems analysis of classroom teaching and learning of mathematics: a case study of Japanese secondary schools

Educational Studies in Mathematics - International comparative studies on mathematics teaching and learning often provide unitary and harmonious images of classroom practices. This paper aims to...     

Teacher identity construction across the curriculum: promoting cross-curriculum collaboration in English-medium schools

This article reports on a qualitative study that explored the prospects for the promotion of collaborative relationships between English as a Second Language (ESL) and content teachers in Hong Kong. At the time of the study, the eight participants, four content teachers and four ESL teachers, were all teaching in English-medium secondary schools in Hong Kong. The study drew upon interview data to examine how the participants' construction of teacher identities can shape possibilities for collaboration between ESL and content teachers. The paper begins by discussing some of the key issues in promoting collaboration between content and ESL teachers, then draws upon the works of Wenger and Fairclough to describe a framework for understanding the construction of teacher identity in practice and in discourse. The framework is applied to reveal the major challenges facing the promotion of collaboration between content and ESL teachers. Implications for institutional change that might promote these collaborative relations are also discussed.     

The language and literacy development of young dual language learners: A critical review

The number of children living in the United States who are learning two languages is increasing greatly. However, relatively little research has been conducted on the language and literacy development of dual language learners (DLLs), particularly during the early childhood years. To summarize the extant literature and guide future research, a critical analysis of the literature was conducted. A search of major databases for studies on young typically developing DLLs between 2000 and 2011 yielded 182 peer-reviewed articles.     

Pedagogical renewal: Improving the quality of classroom interaction in Nigerian primary schools

This study reports on an investigation of classroom interaction and discourse practices in Nigerian primary schools. Its purpose was to identify key issues affecting patterns of teacher–pupil interaction and discourse as research suggests managing the quality of classroom interaction will play a central role in improving the quality of teaching and learning, particularly in contexts where learning resources and teacher training are limited. The study was based on the interaction and discourse analysis of video recordings of 42 lessons and 59 teacher questionnaires from 10 States, drawn mainly from the north of Nigeria. The findings revealed the prevalence of teacher explanation, recitation and rote in the classroom discourse with little attention being paid to securing pupil understanding. The wider implications of the findings for improving the quality of classroom interaction in Nigerian primary schools through more effective school-based training are considered.     

Accessing resources for identity development by urban students and teachers: foregrounding context

Many attempt to address the documented achievement gap between urban and suburban students by offering special programs to enrich urban students’ academic experiences and proficiencies. Such was the case in the study described by DeGennaro and Brown in which urban students participated in an after-school technology course intended to address the “digital divide” by giving these youth supported experiences as technology users. However, also like the initial situation described in this study, instructional design that does not capitalize on what we know about urban education or informal learning contexts can actually further damage urban youths’ identities as learners by positioning them as powerless and passive recipients instead of meaningful contributors to their own learning. The analysis presented in this forum is intended to further the conversation begun by DeGennaro and Brown by explicitly complexifying our consideration of context (activity structures and setting) so as to support the development of contexts that afford rich learning potential for both the urban students and their learning facilitators, positioned in the role of teachers. Carefully constructed contexts can afford participants as learners (urban students and teachers) opportunities to access rich identity resources (not typically available in traditional school contexts) including, but not limited to, the opportunity to exercise agency that allows participants to reorganize their learning context and enacted culture as needed.

高中《生物》课堂教学中的青春期教育

青年期是人生的一个重要发展阶段 ,190 4年美国心理学家霍尔 (G .S .Hall)出版了世界上第一本研究青年和青年心理的著作《青年期》 ,标志着学术界对青年阶段生理心理发展关注的全面开始。目前比较普遍的看法是 :青年是介于少年和成年之间的人 ,年龄跨度从十五岁到二十七八岁。高中时段正是人生这一关键期的开始。经历了初中阶段青春期生理、心理成长的萌动 ,高中生们迎来了人体青春期发育的高峰期。高中生的主要特征表现为 :生理上日益趋向性成熟 ,带来的心理变化是时常感到紧张、迷茫 ;紧张的学习生活以及未来升学就业的不确定性使他们有…     

Ecological contexts and early learning: Contributions of child,family, and classroom factors during Head Start,to literacy and mathematics growth through first grade

The current study investigated the extent to which child, family, and classroom factors during Head Start are related to children's literacy and mathematics skills at the beginning of preschool and through first grade. Children and families (n = 945) were participating in the Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), a large-scale data collection effort that assessed children's developing skills as well as their family and classroom environments. Longitudinal growth models revealed that Head Start children began their academic careers well below their more advantaged peers in literacy and mathematics, although by the end of first grade, their scores were nearly on par with national averages. Demographic characteristics of children, as well as their early language and social skills, were the strongest predictors of children's initial status and growth in both early academic domains. Results highlight key foundations and specific promotive factors of early school success for the nation's most disadvantaged children.     

新课改背景下高师教育学问题驱动教学模式研究

目前传递-接受式仍然是教育学课较为常见的课堂教学模式,这种模式最典型的特征就是去情境化、去问题化,重教师轻学生、重知识轻能力、重理论轻实践.问题驱动教学模式就是要改变这一现状,要让学生在真实的教育情境中带着问题去学习领会蕴含其中的教育原理,并能运用所学理论分析解决现实生活中的教育问题.在学习方式上,将教师引导与学生自主探究、合作交流有机结合起来.     

小学古诗文教学改革论略

要使小学古诗文教学改革取得实质性进展,就必须充分认识古诗文教学的重要意义,加大教材建设的力度,并把诵读积累作为学生学习古诗文的基本方式予以合理引导.同时,要加强师资培训,努力提高小学语文教师和师范生的水平.     

Student control ideology and the science classroom environment in urban secondary schools of sudan

An examination was made concerning the relationships between Sudanese secondary science teachers' pupil control ideology and their students' perceptions/observations of the psychosocial environment of their science classrooms. One hundred secondary science teachers were classified as possessing humanistic (N = 20) or custodial (N = 20) control ideologies. A class (N = 40) of students was randomly selected for every teacher in both groups. The findings revealed that no significant relationships existed between the control ideologies of the teachers and their students' perceptions/observations of the classroom environment. Custodialism in control ideology was significantly related to the classroom environment psychosocial aspect of low “support.” Discussion and implications of the findings have been approached from both Sudanese and American perspectives.     

Preschool behavior problems in classroom learning situations and literacy outcomes in kindergarten and first grade

Relations between classroom behavior problems early in the preschool year and elementary school literacy and language outcomes were examined for an entire cohort of four-year-old Head Start children (N = 2682). A cross-classified random effects model was used that controlled for the variance in literacy outcomes attributed to: (a) child-level demographics (age, gender, ethnicity), and end of the preschool year cognitive skills; (b) Head Start, kindergarten and first grade classrooms; and (c) kindergarten and first grade schools. Preschool behavior problems were assessed across structured learning situations, and during peer and teacher interactions at the beginning of Head Start. Preschool behavior problems in structured learning situations differentially predicted lower literacy outcomes across all time points. Findings extend previous research and underscore the importance of early identification of problem behavior using developmentally and ecologically valid tools within early childhood classrooms intentionally designed to foster literacy skills.     

Exploring the underlying factor structure of the home literacy environment (HLE) in the English and Spanish versions of the Familia Inventory: A cautionary tale

Few research-based measures of the family literacy environment are commercially available, especially in Spanish. One exception is the Familia Inventory (Taylor, 1995). The present study investigated the 10 subscales of this instrument and the factor structure they imply, using data from a low-socioeconomic (SES), largely Hispanic population. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the structure of the instrument as well as whether it is invariant across English and Spanish language versions. The scale was administered to 232 parents of preschoolers. Results of the CFA revealed that the a priori dimensions of the Familia Inventory were not supported for this sample. Follow-up analyses suggested poor fit both within and between subscales. The scale fit poorly within both English and Spanish, precluding testing of invariance across language. Supplemental analyses using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on a subset of the items that had adequate variance suggested that a four-factor solution accounting for 53% of the variance best represented the English data and that a two-factor solution accounting for 43% of the variance best represented the Spanish data. Implications are discussed.