Staff Development Needs of Public Community College Department/Division Chairpersons

Abstract

No administrative position appears to be more pivotal in facilitating grassroots change in the community college than that of the department or division chairperson. However, no one, until the present effort, has systematically assessed two-year college chairpersons to determine what they perceive their staff development needs to be. The results of the present study indicate that preservice and inservice training received by chairpersons was generally nominal, and that self-improvement activity appears weak. Further, the respondents reported extensive and serious needs related to knowledge of the community college, managerial skills, personnel matters, administrative matters, curriculum and instruction, student personnel services, and some 18 other possible training needs ranging from the law and higher education to the effective use of a secretary. Chairpersons were also asked to indicate what they consider to be the most convenient times and conditions for inservice training. They suggest that they would seek out substantially more training than they do if better funding, time, and site configurations were made available. Finally, concrete recommendations are made to increase the availability of training of two-year college chairpersons.     

试论中小学教师继续教育中主讲教师的能力素质

中小学教师继续教育的开展对主讲教师的能力素质提出了更高的要求，作为培训基地的主讲教师必须具备学习能力、教学能力、研究能力和组织能力才能适应素质教育和创新教育的需要，才能更好地完成自己所承担的培训任务。     

校本培训理论基础探微

随着教师教育的发展及非校本培训弊病的日益彰显,校本培训越来越受到学校和教师的青睐。更多的教育研究者把目光投向校本培训,其理论基础也成了研究的内容之一。教师专业化与教师专业发展理论、终身教育理论、终身学习理论、成人教育理论、主体需要理论、人本主义教育理论等被大多数的研究者普遍引用。本文对此作一简单的归总。     

Emerging instructional technologies: Exploring the extent of faculty use of web 2.0 tools at a midwestern community college

The purpose of this research is to provide insight into the several aspects of instructional use of emerging web-based technologies. The study first explores the extent of Web 2.0 technology integration into face-to-face classroom activities. In this phase, the main focus of research interests was on the types and dynamics of Web 2.0 tools used by community college instructors. In the second phase, we were predominantly interested in instructors’ preferences toward tools and the major barriers instructors confront in integrating these tools in a traditional educational setting. The study reveals the extent of instructors’ use of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom relates to a) their level of education and b) training on the tools. Results clearly indicate that level of education and current use of web 2.0 technologies in instruction are major determinants of the instructors’ preferences toward different groups of Web 2.0 tools. Finally, lack of faculty training opportunities was identified as the main barrier for using Web 2.0 technologies. The study offers research based evidence which undoubtedly represent the current trends and issues in the process of technology integration into course curriculum at a community college level. Considering obtained findings, we suggest implementation of an institutional and systematic approach to reinforce inclusion of Web 2.0 technologies in traditional teaching and learning.     

初中历史教育与人文精神塑造

新一轮课程改革的一个突出特征就是加强人文教育,培养学生的人文精神。中学历史教育不仅要以培育人文精神为目的,而且它本身也体现出高度的人文精神。中学历史教育必须走出“学科教学”的误区,恢复历史教育“人文素质养成”的学科性质。     

The impact of inservice training on teacher behaviour

Nowadays, a considerable amount of time, money, and energy is invested in inservice education or training (INSET). Yet, our knowledge of design features and implementation conditions in schools that make INSET effective, is still limited. To examine the outcomes of inservice activities the impact ratings of a sample of teachers and principals who participated in individual-based and school-focused INSET were regressed on school characteristics, features of inservice programs, implementation characteristics, and types of inservice activity. Findings from this study suggest that some school characteristics, features of inservice programs, and implementation characteristics contribute to the impact of inservice training. Variables like external support, hours spent on INSET activities, degree of participation,. teacher educators' competence, implementation conditions, and the use of principal's steering functions are subject to alteration to increase inservice training effectiveness.     

The Effects of Two Models of Staff Development on Self-Awareness and Attitudes of Teachers with Internal vs. External Locus of Control

This study investigated the effects of two staff development models–role playing and open instruction–on the self-awareness and attitudes of teachers with internal vs. external locus of control. In a 2 x 2 design for analysis of variance, 27 composition teachers were randomly assigned, and subsequently stratified by locus of control scores, to two parallel but contrasting summer workshop programs to test the following hypotheses: teachers in the role-playing group would be more self-aware and have more positive attitudes toward inservice education than would teachers in the open instruction group; teachers of internal locus of control would be more self-aware and have more positive attitudes toward inservice education than would teachers of external locus of control. Significant correlations were found between the instructor in the roleplaying group but not in the open instruction group with regard to self-awareness. No significant differences were found between treatment groups with regard to attitudes toward inservice education; however, significant differences were found with respect to locus of control on all three scales, specifically teachers of internal locus of control showed significantly more positive attitudes toward inservice education than teachers with external locus of control. In addition there was a significant treatment x locus of control interaction.     

INSET: prospects and practice in developing countries

Recent years have witnessed considerable growth of emphasis in the inservice education and training of educational personnel. It has come to be generally accepted that the pace of social and educational change makes preservice training an inadequate basis for long‐term professional competence, and that inservice training is an essential instrument for updating and upgrading staff. In contrast to preservice training, inservice courses can often be more easily related to the practicalities of the education profession, and several models of inservice training avoid removing staff from the workforce. Inservice practices are not usually without problems, however, many of which may be logistical and financial constraints arising from the decision to cater for trainees in their workplaces rather than in one central location.

This paper highlights some of these issues by reference to the experience of several less developed countries, and in particular by reference to practices in Papua New Guinea. For over a decade, university inservice courses have been organized in Papua New Guinea for school teachers and a variety of educational administrators. These programmes were developed independently of ‘main stream’ thinking on INSET, but analysis of their operation within a more general and contemporary theoretical context sheds useful light on issues of international interest.     

基于主成分分析法对乳制品营养成分分析

乳制品与人们的日常生活息息相关,乳制品的价格各不相同,不同的价格背后所反映出的是营养成分的不同,为了探讨营养成分对乳制品价格的影响,本文在对乳制品进行调查统计的基础上运用主成分分析对乳制品的特征进行提取,实现了主成分分析用于乳制品营养成分定量分析的建模方法.结果表明:乳制品的营养成分特征性指标主要为蛋白质、碳水化合物、脂肪、钠、钙、能量组成;能量和钙则是这些营养成分里面对价格的影响较大的因子.此结论基本上是合理的,对于消费者选购合适的乳制品具有一定的指导作用,可以帮助消费者更为理想地消费乳制品.     

Perceived professional needs of Korean science teachers majoring in chemical education and their preferences for online and on‐site training

In this study, we investigated the perceived professional needs of Korean science teachers majoring in chemical education, and examined their preferences for online and on‐site inservice teacher training programmes. The results were also compared with those of preservice teachers. Participants were 120 secondary school teachers and 67 preservice teachers, whose majors were either chemical education or science education with emphasis in chemistry. A questionnaire consisting of a modified Science Teacher Inventory of Need and a section concerning respondents’ demographic information and their use of the Internet was administered. In contrast to previous studies, the perceived needs of Korean inservice and preservice teachers were found to be very strong in all 30 needs assessment items, and their prominent needs were from all seven categories. Preservice teachers indicated significantly greater needs than inservice teachers on several items. Korean teachers generally tended to prefer online inservice to traditional on‐site training programmes, although they still preferred on‐site types of programmes in areas such as conducting laboratory sessions and demonstrating manipulative skills. Preferences for online programmes tended to be stronger among preservice teachers than inservice teachers, and among non‐veteran teachers than in veteran teachers. Educational implications are discussed.     

Addressing computational estimation in the Kuwaiti curriculum: teachers’ views

Computational estimation has not yet established a place in the Kuwaiti national curriculum. An attempt was made to include it during the early 1990s, but it was dropped by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education because of the difficulties teachers had teaching it. In an effort to provide guidance for reintroducing the concept into the curriculum, this study reports on mathematics teachers’ understanding of the meaning of computational estimation and their views about its significance in the elementary and middle school curricula in Kuwait. Data gathered from 59 elementary and middle schools teachers in Kuwait revealed that more than 60% of teachers equate computational estimation with rounding. While two-thirds of the teachers viewed computational estimation to be an important skill for daily life; only one-fifth (20%) saw it as important in mathematics education. More than half of the teachers either disagreed with the idea of teaching computational estimation or only wanted to teach it in limited situations. Most were concerned about the difficulty of learning computational estimation or feared that teaching computational estimation would cause problems with students’ development of standard algorithms for determining an exact answer. These findings reveal the challenge that mathematics educators face in introducing computational estimation into the mathematics curriculum. In order for computational estimation to be taught in elementary and middle school classrooms, teachers need to understand the concept and its value in education. Teacher education needs to focus on helping teachers better understand the concept of computational estimation and appreciate its value for instruction.     

Addressing first- and second-order barriers to change: Strategies for technology integration

Although teachers today recognize the importance of integrating technology into their curricula, efforts are often limited by both external (first-order) and internal (second-order) barriers. Traditionally, technology training, for both preservice and inservice teachers, has focused on helping teachers overcome first-order barriers (e.g., acquiring technical skills needed to operate a computer). More recently, training programs have incorporated pedagogical models of technology use as one means of addressing second-order barriers. However, little discussion has occurred that clarifies the relationship between these different types of barriers or that delineates effective strategies for addressing different barriers. If pre- and inservice teachers are to become effective users of technology, they will need practical strategies for dealing with the different types of barriers they will face. In this paper, I discuss the relationship between first- and second-order barriers and then describe specific strategies for circumventing, overcoming, and eliminating the changing barriers teachers face as they work to achieve technology integration.     

Effects of a Structured Decoding Curriculum on Adult Literacy Learners' Reading Development

This article reports the results from a randomized control field trial that investigated the impact of an enhanced decoding and spelling curriculum on the development of adult basic education (ABE) learners' reading skills. Sixteen ABE programs that offered class-based instruction to Low-Intermediate level learners were randomly assigned to either the treatment group or the control group. Reading instructors in the 8 treatment programs taught decoding and spelling using the study-developed curriculum, Making Sense of Decoding and Spelling (MSDS), and instructors in the 8 control programs used their existing reading instruction. A comparison group of 7 ABE programs whose instructors used K-3 structured curricula adapted for use with ABE learners were included for supplemental analyses. Seventy-one reading classes, 34 instructors, and 349 adult learners with pre- and posttests participated in the study. The study found a small but significant effect on one measure of decoding skills, which was the proximal target of the curriculum. No overall significant effects were found for word recognition, spelling, fluency, or comprehension. Pretest to posttest gains for word recognition were small to moderate, but not significantly better than the control classes. Adult learners who were born and educated outside of the U.S. made larger gains on 7 of the 11 reading measures than learners who were born and educated within the U.S. However, participation in the treatment curriculum was more beneficial for learners who were born and educated in the U.S. in developing their word recognition skills.     

Reinterpreting and reconstructing science: Teachers’ view changes toward the nature of science by courses of science education

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of science education courses on a group of Taiwanese inservice and preservice teachers’ views toward the nature of science. There were two science education courses in the study; one was for 36 inservice teachers, while the other one was for 32 preservice teachers. Both of the courses included the philosophy of science, the instruction about student alternative conceptions and theories of conceptual change, and some classroom activities for science education. The data sources were based upon these teachers’ questionnaires, written responses to open-ended questions and interviews. The findings derived from this study revealed that both inservice and preservice teachers, to a certain extent, changed their views toward the nature of science when completing the courses. Many of them might reinterpret and reconstruct their views about science during the courses, and their views had progressed toward more constructivist-oriented. This study also suggested that the instruction about student alternative conceptions and conceptual change theories was more helpful than direct instruction about the philosophy of science in changing teachers’ views about science.     

运用网络媒体进行中学教师新课程培训的探索

分析了目前对中学各学科教师的培训偏重于理论知识传授、单一集中授课的培训方式的不足,结合江苏省2009年初中新课程语文、数学、物理3门学科的网络培训工作,探索以建构主义学习理论为依托,利用个性化自主学习平台,对教师进行网络新课程培训的一种新的培训模式,充分体现教师学习的自主性,努力提高教师的教学实践能力。     

The impact of inservice teacher education on mathematics teachers' subject-matter confidence, and competency

Two inservice courses designed to strengthen teachers' subject-matter competencies while introducing them to mathematics curricula for Grades 7 and 8 were investigated. In a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design, participants were given a confidence measure and knowledge test. After the inservice training, teachers manifested greater self-confidence in knowledge of curricular material, a corresponding increase in mathematics skills, and high levels of confidence in ability to teach the curriculum. Results suggest that when knowledge tests are not feasible, measurement of confidence in solving problems may be sufficient to evaluate the cognitive impact of an inservice program.     

SIMULATION GAMING OR LECTURE DISCUSSION FOR AN ECONOMICS SURVEY COURSE: AN EXPERIMENT

This study investigated the impact of four student characteristics and the instructors on the relative abilities of a simulation‐gaming method and the lecture‐discussion method to increase the economic knowledge and retention of economic knowledge. The study indicated that the simulation‐gaming method was superior for the students with low pre‐course economic knowledge, low Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, and no previous high school economic instruction. The lecture‐discussion method, however, was superior for students with high pre‐course economic knowledge, high Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, and previous high school economic training.     

高师院校教育实习改革探索

教育实习是高等师范教育的重要实践课程。高师院校要克服教育实习存在的种种弊端,积极适应基础教育新课程改革的要求,一是优化实习指导教师配置,强化校内模拟实习训练;二是重视教育实习基地建设,实现高校与中小学校的互惠双赢;三是加强教育实习的组织管理,注重实习生的心理健康;四是搞好教育实习课程资源建设,保障实习的顺利进行;五是完善教育实习成绩考核制度,促进实习活动的健康开展。     

Teaching HOTS in the middle and high school: A district‐level initiative in developing higher order thinking skills

The call for the teaching of thinking skills has been underscored by national reports on educational reform. This report describes a school district initiative addressing thinking skills instruction through inservice education.     

Perceptions and knowledge of preservice and inservice educators about early reading instruction

A major conclusion from research regarding children with poor reading performance is that early, systematic instruction in phonological awareness and phonics improves early reading and spelling skills and results in a reduction of the number of students who read below grade level. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and knowledge of presevice and inservice educators about early reading instruction. The results indicated that these educators expressed positive attitudes toward explicit and implicit code instruction, with inservice educators more positive about explicit code instruction than preservice educators and preservice educators more positive about implicit code instruction. Preservice and inservice educators demonstrated limited knowledge of phonological awareness or terminology related to language structure and phonics. Additionally, they perceived themselves as only somewhat prepared to teach early reading to struggling readers. These findings indicate a continuing mismatch between what educators believe and know and what convergent research supports as effective early reading instruction for children at risk for reading difficulties. Implications support continuing efforts to inform and reform teacher education. Just prior to publication, the editorial office was informed of the untimely death of the first author, Candace Bos, who died on August 13, 2001.