Teachers'' Perceptions of a Learner-Centered Teacher Evaluation System

Promoting success for all students is the driving force to develop and implement sound teacher evaluation systems. As Stronge suggests, the two most frequently cited purposes of personnel evaluation are accountability and performance improvement (1997, p. 3). As a result, researchers are conceiving of teacher evaluation as a mechanism for improving teaching and learning (Danielson and McGreal, 2000). On the other hand, others affirm that the trend in teacher evaluation is toward more self-evaluation and expanding one's teaching repertoire (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1999, p. 8). However, teachers' voices relative to emerging teacher evaluation trends are missing. Thus, this study explored teachers' perceptions about the support for professional development available to them, the perceived potential benefits of a learner-centered teacher evaluation system to enhance their professional growth, and pitfalls. Only elementary school teachers participated in the study. The researcher analyzed teachers' written responses to open-ended questions, and generated categories by emerging themes to determine teachers' perceptions.Findings of the study suggest that teachers receive support from both campus level and central office level. Teachers also believe that a learner-centered teacher evaluation fosters walk-through observations, opportunities for professional growth, feedback, learner-centered dialogue, a holistic perspective, and teacher self-evaluation. On the other hand, findings suggest that teachers question the labels for each level of performance, and are concerned that the system might be somewhat subjective. Finally, suggestions are made to conduct additional studies to further illuminate teachers' voices associated with teacher evaluation and development at other school levels, and to expand our understanding of emerging teacher evaluation formats which aim at student success.     

Implementing “real science” through microcomputers and telecommunications in project-based elementary classrooms

This is a study of an ongoing collaborative project in which science education faculty and upper elementary school teachers investigate the potential of a project-based, technologyrich, environmentally oriented approach to science education in an urban school serving a racially diverse population. Major conclusions based on the experience of participants in this study include: (1) teachers describe their instructional roles in terms highly consistent with student-centered, project-based, experiential learning; (2) teachers believe that what makes science real for students is the feeling that they are working on a truly current problem that is also being investigated by others outside their classroom. This is achieved by KidsNet, a microcomputer- and telecommunications-mediated curriculum, in a way that would not be possible without this technology; (3) teachers describe the actual and possible role of computer technology in terms which, while insightful and generally positive, are not clearly related to its flexible use in project-based learning; and (4) while teachers recognize meaningful connections between off-line science activities and the use of computer and telecommunications technologies, their students often do not.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, April 16, 1993, Atlanta, Georgia.This work was partially supported by a Higher Education Grant from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Education Improvement Program.     

School Library Media Specialist-Teacher Collaboration: Characteristics, Challenges, Opportunities

The most successful school library media specialists are those who collaborate with teachers as full partners in the instructional process. Without assertive action by the school library media specialist, however, school administrators and teachers are likely to be more aware of the media specialist’s administrative role than the roles of teacher, instructional partner, and information specialist. Reductions to library media staff and finding common planning time are examples of serious challenges, but these are not insurmountable. In the context of well-planned instructional projects, collaboration with teachers is a primary way that school library media professionals can demonstrate that their work is a vital part of the academic life of their schools, and a positive factor in improving student achievement.     

Einstellungen,Motivation und Selbstwirksamkeit von Lehrkräften

Teachers’ attitudes, motivation and self-efficacy are aspects of their professional competence affecting students’ motivation and learning via instructional behavior. In the present study, school type-specific differences in these teacher competencies and their relation to instruction when teaching with texts and integrated pictures are analyzed, further focusing on effects of school subject and teaching experience. Teachers (N?=?265) of primary school, lower and upper track secondary school filled in questionnaires. Primary school teachers were less intrinsically motivated to teach text-picture integration than secondary school teachers. They showed more negative attitudes towards texts with pictures than upper track teachers and avoided discussing the picture to a higher degree. All teacher characteristics predicted instructional behavior, further school type-specific effects of the subject occurred. The results provide starting points for teacher training and the potential for further research concerning the support of students in class.     

普通小学教师对随班就读的态度、教学策略与所需支持的研究

从厦门市思明区普通小学中随机抽取11所学校,对班上有随班就读学生的教师共70人进行问卷调查与访谈。结果表明,教师对随班就读的态度总体上是正向与积极的,但这种正向与积极的态度尚处于形成过程的初级阶段。绝大部分教师面对随班就读教学,都能主动选用策略,协助特殊学生学习,但他们更多选用的是使用容易、方便、偏重情意层面的教学策略,而对那些既费时又需要专门技巧的教学策略,教师用得少。教师需求的服务支持包括创造教师参加专业知识培训机会、提供校内专业支持与管理、增加经费投入和减轻教师工作量。     

Use of site-based microcomputers for instructional support: the multi-year experience

It has been said that a school that does not emphasise technology will miseducate students for the future. Many informed observers believe that to achieve this emphasis, it is very important for the principal and his/her assistants to act as role models (for the use of information technology). The use of school-based microcomputers for instructional support provides an excellent opportunity for them to do so. All too often, however, the promises of technological innovation are not delivered upon. After briefly reviewing the procedure for selecting the most appropriate system, this presentation will compare and contrast the multi-year experiences of high schools in one of the largest school districts in Canada. The experiences of these schools indicate that for this significant application of technology, the promises are realizable. The paper will conclude by discussing issues and challenges relating to the use of school-based microcomputers for instructional support.     

Examination-type preferences of secondary school students and their teachers in the science disciplines

A specially developed questionnaire was used: Types of Preferred Examinations (TOPE) to assess examination-type preferences of secondary school students in the Science disciplines according to school type affiliate and gender.Structured interviews were employed to assess both the rationale of students towards these preferences as well as teacher awareness about the preferences – in contrast to their actual examination practice.Our findings suggest that (a) secondary school students prefer written, unlimited time examinations which, according to their perception, stress learning with understanding rather than mechanical rote learning, and in which the use of supporting material (open book exams) is permitted; and (b) secondary school Science teachers are aware of student examination-type preferences, yet they continue to use the traditional written, time-limited – class examination which is definitely not preferred (disliked) by their students.In view of the special emphasis in current science education research on students' development of higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) and the need for consonance between the new curriculum goals and examination types used, it is proposed that provisions be made to facilitate teachers' compliance with students' examination-type preferences provided the latter are congruent with learning objectives and our educational aspirations.     

Using Space Imagery in the Science Classroom: Efforts of the CASDE Project

This article describes the ongoing curriculum development efforts of the Consortium for the Application of Space Data in Education (CASDE), which is an evolving consortium of educators, engineers, scientists, and other professionals dedicated to providing the educational community with vast amounts of NASA imagery, tools, and interdisciplinary learning activities, distributed freely over the Internet. The article particularly details the curricular approach taken by CASDE, which involves the concept of curriculum building blocks that contain tools, data, tutorials, curriculum standards, assessments, and a sample lesson or instructional activity. The article also describes the student interactive DataSlate software, developed by engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to help teachers use space imagery conveniently with students in the science classroom. In addition, the article discusses the consortium's approach to providing ongoing training to teachers, and also describes the efforts of the consortium to evaluate some of the educational activities undertaken by participating teachers. Finally, a web-based link to all of the consortium's resources and curriculum activities is provided to the reader for their possible use and reference.     

论教师领导

教师领导是学校迈向学习型学校的必然,其概念是从教学领导、道德领导、转换领导、平行领导特别是分布式领导和参与式领导等学校领导研究中渐渐明晰的。教师领导的实施过程有利于校长成为"领导者的领导",从而放弃"英雄领导"模式;有利于教师的积极参与和专业成长,从而使教师职业具有魅力;有利于学校学习共同体的形成,从而提升学校创造未来的能力,最终达成学生发展的目的。     

Empowering Mong Students: Home and School Factors

This article examines how home and school factors affect the education of Mong students in the U.S., a group that, by in large, is not faring well academically. The study is based on related research and interviews with teachers, students, and the parents of a group of Mong elementary school students in northern California. The findings reveal that Mong students' negative schooling experiences are exacerbated by the mismatch between the home and school culture, by misconceptions and labeling by parents and teachers, and by issues pertaining to their attempts to assimilate into American society. Therefore, Mong students experience a culture clash at home and at school. Conversely, Mong students are empowered by a culturally relevant curriculum, and a school environment that values their culture, and that utilizes their parents as resources. Hence, they need more support from both parents and teachers.     

Teachers in the 'Hood: Hollywood's Middle-Class Fantasy

The urban-high-school genre film has become one of Hollywood's most trusted formulas. In these films a classroom filled with socially troubled and low-achieving students is dramatically transformed by the singular efforts of a teacher or principal, an outsider who is new to the school and often new to teaching entirely. All of this is accomplished to the consternation of the inept administrative staff and other teachers, who never believed that these students had such potential. Invariably, the outsider succeeds where veteran professional teachers and administrators have repeatedly failed. I argue that the urban-high-school genre of film reinforces the culture of poverty thesis and represents the fantasies that suburban middle-class America has about life in urban high schools and the ease with which the problems in urban high schools could be rectified—if only the right type of person (a middle-class outsider) would apply the right methods (an unconventional pedagogy with a curriculum of middle-class norms and values). The teacher- or principal-hero represents middle-class hopes that the students in urban schools can be rescued from their troubled lives not through significant social change or school reform, but by the individual application of common sense, good behavior, a positive outlook, and better choices.     

Examining the Role of Professional Development in a Large School District's iPad Initiative

This study examined 342 teachers' views of professional development (PD) provided by a large school district to support its iPad initiative. We were interested in investigating teachers' perceptions of this district-provided PD, any change in teachers' views, and how they used iPads in their instruction while/after receiving PD. The findings, using a mixed-methods design, showed although teachers held overall positive views regarding PD, their perceptions did not change over the 1-year implementation. Rather, certain teacher characteristics such as teachers' beliefs, technology self-efficacy, and school levels influenced their views. This study also provided an in-depth analysis of teachers' use of iPad to support their instruction. Findings revealed teachers used the iPad for a variety of purposes. From mid-year to end-year, there was a decrease in using iPads for class management and basic uses, but an increase in using the iPad to create instructional materials by the teachers and creating artifacts by their students. Such findings suggested a connection between the PD teachers received and their practices, indicating a shift to more interactive uses during the second half of the year. The findings highlighted the importance of providing situated PD and considering teacher characteristics when designing PD. (Keywords: professional development, mobile teaching and learning, iPad use, K–12 education, large suburban schools, technology integration)     

Towards a constructivist perspective: An intervention study of mathematics teacher development

A constructivist perspective provided the basis for a four stage intervention with teachers. The intervention which combined intensive summer courses with ongoing support in the classroom was designed to stimulate teachers' development of a constructivist view of learning to serve as a basis for their instructional decision-making. Impact of the intervention was studied through analysis of teachers' writings and the use of an interview-based instrument developed by the researchers. The results indicated that this intervention had an important effect on teachers' beliefs about learning which in turn affected the decisions that they made in the classroom.     

Scaling Within Rather Than Scaling Up: Implications from Students' Experiences in Reforming Urban Middle Schools

This article uses urban middle school student's interviews to describe the instructional differences they faced each day and the effects of these differences on what they learned. Data from a cohort of nearly 200 students over two years revealed common definitions of how they wanted their teachers to act and the kinds of classroom activities they wanted to be engaged in. But more important, their observations revealed stark differences in their actual experiences. Too few students experienced the quality instruction they desired. Students praised teachers who were willing to help, were strict but nice, and were able to explain. They also wanted instructional settings where they were challenged by meaningful projects and experiments, worked more interdependently with their peers, and combined work with fun. We conclude from these student observations that reform efforts will be more successful in settings that nurture, maintain, and reinforce classrooms like those so aptly described by students and promote the spread of these classrooms by taking advantage of the talents of exemplary staff within buildings (i.e., scaling within).     

Teacher Collaboration in Curriculum Change: The Implementation of Technology Education in the Primary School

The problem which stimulated this research is that in Australia, primary school teachers are expected to teach a new subject, Technology, but have had little training consistent with the newly adopted technology curriculum. Using case studies from two Western Australian schools, the paper documents the ways in which one teacher from each school has established successful classroom strategies for incorporating technology into her classroom, and how she has had a significant effect on the practice of other teachers in her school. The relationship between one pair of teachers in each school is used to explore the nature of their collaboration. One pair used joint work, with shared responsibility for the work of teaching, an example of deep collaboration. The other pairing was more one-sided, a collaborative relationship better described as one of aid and assistance. Both relationships were based on mutual respect, and demonstrate how teachers choose to work together towards a common purpose, the implementation of technology education. Implications from the study are discussed in terms of leadership and collaboration, time and integration, and teachers' knowledge.     

Enhancing Teachers' Use of Technology Through Professional Development on Electronic Concept Mapping

The majority of public school teachers do not feel well prepared to use instructional technology. Professional development on computer-based concept mapping responds to this concern through focusing on a tool/software that has many applications and is not difficult to master. A subset (n = 18) of science teachers in a Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) completed a workshop on electronic concept mapping and were provided with school site licenses and other follow-up support (summer institute). They utilized the software in academic enrichment for underserved students, regular classroom instruction, and inservice training for colleagues. Triangulation of findings from data sources (electronic conferencing, lesson plans, workshop evaluations) revealed that HSTA teachers embrace electronic concept mapping as a versatile educational tool. Factors contributing to this enthusiasm included the ease with which students use the software, the transparent nature of the learning process for these students, and the positive attitudes of colleagues whom they have inserviced. The findings from this project are congruent with what experts contend to be critical features of effective teacher professional development: facilitating a community of learners and providing sustained support. This project now funds software use in over 45 public schools.     

Design of technology-based information-referenced grouping systems for use in large urban schools

There are many subtle but extremely important differences between grouping students and tracking students for purposes of designing appropriate instructional interventions. Unfortunately, in many inner-city urban settings, the policy of grouping students eventually becomes a policy ofde facto tracking of students. While grouping students seems to be an educationally justifiable policy in many school situations, tracking students raises serious concerns with regard to its educational value, social desirability, and complicity with the legal notions of due process and equal protection. This study examines the use of a specific form ofshort-term grouping of students that is based on an information-referenced criterion for selection. Using a large sample of ninth- and eleventh-grade students, an information-referenced grouping procedure was designed for the areas of language arts and mathematics. The study finds that grouping selections, using an information-referenced criterion, are strongly associated with teachers perceptions of these students' actual educational and information needs. In addition, the information-referenced grouping design provides important specific educational feedback to both students and teachers to help low-attaining students move to mainstream classes. Finally, many of the due process concerns raised by educational researchers with regard to abuses and shortcomings of presently used ability or standardized test-driven grouping efforts are addressed.     

Computers and school reform

Part of the vision of school reform is to reconstruct schools as learning communities in which students and teachers pursue topics of interest. Computers can provide powerful tools for students in learning communities where inquiry, data gathering, interpretation, thinking, and judgment take place. Changing beliefs in educational goals and great support for teachers will be necessary if we are to realize the potential of computers in restructured classrooms. The greatest possibilities exist in new Professional Development Schools, where university faculty join school teachers in joint efforts to restructure learning environments. New evaluation procedures are also needed if competencies associated with information retrieval and use are to be assessed.     

Inservice Teachers Mentoring Aspiring Teachers

This qualitative study examined the impact of mentoring relationships upon preservice and inservice teachers' literacy instruction. Twenty-two undergraduate students seeking teacher certification were assigned in pairs to tutor primary school students in a university reading clinic. Eleven classroom teachers seeking reading specialist certification conducted ten mentoring sessions with each pair of preservice teachers. Purposeful sampling was used to select three of the mentoring teams for data analysis. In two out of three teams, results indicated that preservice teachers expanded their instructional strategies as a result of three components of the mentoring relationship: selection of strategies, organization, and non-judgmental support. All inservice teachers reported increased reflection on and adaptation to their instructional strategies. Findings support the conclusion that early mentoring experiences foster growth for both preservice and inservice teachers.