Educational wisdom and intellectual teachers are called on by the times

Currently, there is lack of educational wisdom in classroom teaching. Educational wisdom is a kind of quality of good education, representing a free, harmonious, open and creative status of education. The educational wisdom of intellectual teachers is the outcome of the close integration of educational science and art. It is also the result of teachers’ long-term practice, reflections and the comprehensive expression of teachers’ capacities. The shackles of traditional teaching systems, the utilitarianism orientation of teaching reforms and educational research and the habitual mode of teachers’ practice have affected the formation of teachers’ educational wisdom. To get rid of the dilemma, it is necessary to reconsider the significance and the value of teaching, to show due concern with teachers’ practice, to weaken the utilitarianism orientation of teaching reforms and educational research and to arouse teachers’ professional feelings and enthusiasm for learning. Translated from Jiaoyu Yanjiu 教育研究 (Educational Research), 2005, (2): 50–57     

Improving Preservice Middle Grades Science Teachers’ Understanding of the Nature of Science Using Three Instructional Approaches

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in preservice teachers’ understanding of the nature of science (NOS) as a result of four activity-based interventions that represent three instructional approaches used in a middle grades science methods course. Ten participants’ understanding of NOS and their perceptions about the activity-based interventions were investigated. Data were collected using open-ended questionnaires and in-depth interviews before and after the interventions. Written artifacts and recorded group discussions were collected during the interventions. The results of this study showed that inclusion of various approaches to teaching NOS can contribute to developing preservice teachers’ understanding of NOS. The activities complemented each other in the teaching of the NOS components. In addition, the preservice teachers perceived that the four interventions were helpful in improving their understanding of NOS and in preparing them for future teaching.     

Elementary Teachers’ Teaching for Conceptual Understanding: Learning From Action Research

This study reports teachers’ learning through action research on students’ conceptual understanding. The study examined (a) the teachers’ views about science teaching and learning, (b) the teachers’ learning about their teaching practices and (c) the conditions that supported the teachers’ learning through action research. A total of 14 elementary in-service teachers’ course discussion, self-video reflection, action research reports, and learning reflection were analyzed. Findings revealed that (a) the teachers in this study commonly espoused the importance of probing and utilizing students’ preconceptions in science teaching, but they demonstrated various levels of epistemological understanding of student learning and teaching, (b) the teachers experienced the action research as a means to evaluate science teaching methods and changing their teaching practices, and (c) the teachers identified sharing goals, problems, and solutions as an essential supporting condition for their learning through action research. Implications for professional development and further research are discussed.     

Student-focused approaches to teaching in relation to context and teacher characteristics

The purpose of this paper is to gain more insight into the relationship between teachers’ approaches to teaching on the one hand, and the characteristics of context and teacher demographics on the other. Data were collected from 50 teaching staff at the University of Antwerp and from three sources: a Dutch translation of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI), information given by the participants, and information obtained through the personnel department of the university. Only the conceptual change/student-focused scale of the ATI had good reliability and was used for further analysis. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed no relationship between teachers’ approaches to teaching and the context variables of expert level of students, teaching discipline and the number of students in the classroom. Neither was a relationship found between the teachers’ conceptual change/student-focused approach and the teacher characteristics of gender, academic status, teaching experience, age and intention to participate in teacher training. Several interpretations of these data and perspectives for further research are discussed.     

FIRST YEAR IMPLEMENTATION OF A PROJECT-BASED LEARNING APPROACH: THE NEED FOR ADDRESSING TEACHERS�� ORIENTATIONS IN THE ERA OF REFORM

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which three teachers’ professional experience and existing orientations toward teaching and learning mathematics and science influenced their implementation of a project-based curriculum (i.e. project-based learning (PBL)). Data sources included interviews, videotapes of classroom activity, and a teaching philosophy questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using an iterative coding technique. We found coherency between the teachers’ perceived orientations and their emergent ideas about PBL, their sense of PBL as being compatible with their goals, and the specific challenges with which they struggled. All the teachers wanted their students to be successful; however, different definitions of success led to quite different approaches toward teaching, and for the most part, these differences appeared to have occurred because of existing orientations the teachers held for teaching their discipline. Implications for professional development taking into account teachers’ orientations and thus their professional experience are discussed, as well as disciplinary challenges to using PBL.     

A knowledge filter model for observing and facilitating change in teachers’ beliefs

This study describes a theoretical knowledge filter model that explains how teacher knowledge (beliefs and practices) shaped the implementation of a science curriculum in Australia. Over four school terms, four elementary and three secondary teachers participated in the study. Through the methodology of educational criticism (Eisner, 1991, The enlightened eye. New York: Macmillan) the results revealed that, in relation to their teaching, the teachers possessed three sets of beliefs: teachers’ expressed beliefs, teachers’ entrenched beliefs and teachers’ manifested beliefs. The outcome of this study is a model for identifying and observing the impact of teachers’ beliefs that can be utilised in facilitating change in education and in influencing communities of practice.     

Connecting with the horizon: developing teachers’ appreciation of mathematical structure

A professional learning program for teachers of junior secondary mathematics regarding the content and pedagogy of senior secondary mathematics is the context for this study of teachers’ mathematical and pedagogical knowledge. The analysis of teachers’ reflections on their learning explored teachers’ understanding of mathematical connections and their appreciation of mathematical structure. The findings indicate that a professional learning program about senior secondary mathematics can enable practicing teachers to deepen and broaden their knowledge for teaching junior secondary mathematics and develop their practice to support their students’ present and future learning of mathematics. Further research is needed about professional learning approaches and tasks that may enable teachers to imbed and develop awareness of structure in their practice.     

Explanations of attitudes to change: Colombian mathematics teachers’ conceptions of the crucial determinants of their teaching practices of beginning algebra

This article arises from a study whose overall purpose was to investigate the relationship between Colombian mathematics teachers’ conceptions of beginning algebra and their conceptions of their own teaching practices. The teachers’ understandings of their teaching practices were explored with a view to unravelling their conceptions of change in their teaching. Focusing on the perspectives of teachers afforded opportunities that exposed the powerful role that the teachers’ conceptions of social/institutional factors of teaching played in their conceptions of their practices. The degree to which the teachers attributed these (external) factors as crucial reasons for what they do in their teaching was the basis of a categorisation of their conceptions of the crucial determinants of their teaching practices into three types. The findings are particularly relevant to our understanding of the stability of mathematics teaching approaches in the Colombian context but have likely implications for a range of international education contexts. Specific implications for the development of the research into teachers’ conceptions of mathematics and its teaching, and for teacher education programmes are presented.

Do Pre-service Chemistry Teachers Reflect their Beliefs about Constructivism in their Teaching Practices?

This study aimed to explore pre-service chemistry teachers’ beliefs about constructivism and the influence of their beliefs in their teaching practice. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight pre-service teachers in order to understand their belief structures. Pre-service teachers’ beliefs about constructivism were classified in three categories which are weak, moderate, and strong conceptions of constructivism. For detailed exploration, three cases of pre-service teachers representing these three categories were selected. The findings of this study showed that most pre-service teachers in this study did not have a strong conception of constructivism and the relationship between the pre-service teachers’ beliefs and their practice was not clear-cut.     

University students’ and teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning in the biosciences

In this study we compare university teachers’ and first-year students’ conceptions of teaching and learning at the Faculty of Environmental and Biological Sciences. The conceptions were analysed using data from open-ended questionnaires. The results showed that at the beginning of studies the gap between teachers’ and students’ conceptions of teaching and learning is substantial. This finding has important implications for the educational process. In order to enhance successful studying from the beginning of students’ university careers, it is important for teachers to become aware of the differences between students’ and teachers’ conceptions of learning.     

The nature of prospective mathematics teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge: the case of multiplication of fractions

The purpose of this study was to investigate prospective mathematics teachers’ knowledge of common conceptions and misconceptions that sixth and seventh grade students had about multiplication of fractions. In addition, prospective teachers’ knowledge of the sources of these misconceptions and strategies they knew to overcome these misconceptions was examined. Data were collected from 17 Turkish prospective teachers at the end of the spring semester of the 2004–2005 academic year. A case study design was used in which data were collected through the Multiplication of Fractions Questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The prospective teachers suggested many difficulties that elementary grade level students may have and stated that these difficulties stemmed from students’ lack of formal knowledge and rote memorization of the algorithms. In addition, the prospective teachers suggested many strategies that could be used to overcome these misconceptions or difficulties. These strategies could be grouped under three headings: strategies based on teaching methods, strategies based on formal knowledge of fractions, and strategies based on psychological constructs.     

Examining the influence of subjective norm and facilitating conditions on the intention to use technology among pre-service teachers: a structural equation modeling of an extended technology acceptance model

This study examined pre-service teachers’ self-reported behavioral intentions to use technology. Three hundred and fourteen participants completed a survey questionnaire measuring their responses to six constructs from a research model that extends the technology acceptance model (TAM) by including facilitating conditions and subjective norm. Structural equation modeling was used as the main technique for data analysis. This study contributes to the growing interests in using information science models to explain intention to use technology in educational contexts. The results of this study showed that the TAM constructs were significant in explaining pre-service teachers’ intention to use technology. Although facilitating conditions and subjective norm had significant effects on behavioral intention to use technology, they were mediated by attitude toward usage, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. Overall, this study indicated the TAM has sufficient explanatory powers to explain pre-service teachers’ intention to use technology in an educational environment.     

The constructivist paradox: Teachers’ knowledge and constructivist science teaching

Advocates of constructivist science recommend that school science begins with children’s own constructions of reality. This notion of the way in which students’ knowledge of science grows is closely paralleled by recent research on teachers’ knowledge. This paper draws on case study evidence of teachers’ work to show how two experienced teachers’ attempts to develop alternative ways of teaching science involved reframing their previous patterns of understanding and practice. Two alternative interpretations of the case study evidence are offered. One interpretation, which focuses on identifying gaps in the teachers’ knowledge of science teaching, leads to theconstructivist paradox. The second interpretation explores theconstructivist parallel, an approach which treats the process of teachers’ knowledge growth with the same respect as constructivists treat students’ learning of science. This approach, the authors argue, is not only more epistemologically consistent but also opens up the possibilities of helping teachers lead students towards a constructivist school science. Specializations: Teachers’ knowledge and culture, educational change, qualitative research methodology. Specializations: Teachers’ knowledge, imagery and teachers’ work, teacher collegiality, supervision of teachers’ work.     

A Framework for Analysis of Teachers’ Geometric Content Knowledge and Geometric Knowledge for Teaching

Current reform-driven mathematics documents stress the need for teachers to provide learning environments in which students will be challenged to engage with mathematics concepts and extend their understandings in meaningful ways (e.g., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000, Curriculum and evaluation standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: The Council). The type of rich learning contexts that are envisaged by such reforms are predicated on a number of factors, not the least of which is the quality of teachers’ experience and knowledge in the domain of mathematics. Although the study of teacher knowledge has received considerable attention, there is less information about the teachers’ content knowledge that impacts on classroom practice. Ball (2000, Journal of Teacher Education, 51(3), 241–247) suggested that teachers’ need to ‘deconstruct’ their content knowledge into more visible forms that would help children make connections with their previous understandings and experiences. The documenting of teachers’ content knowledge for teaching has received little attention in debates about teacher knowledge. In particular, there is limited information about how we might go about systematically characterising the key dimensions of quality of teachers’ mathematics knowledge for teaching and connections among these dimensions. In this paper we describe a framework for describing and analysing the quality of teachers’ content knowledge for teaching in one area within the domain of geometry. An example of use of this framework is then developed for the case of two teachers’ knowledge of the concept ‘square’.     

Qualified Pedagogical Reflection as a Way to Improve Mathematics Education

All changes of the character of education and improvement of its quality depend, in our view, particularly on the teacher. To be able to do their work efficiently, teachers have to be equipped with professional skills and dispositions, with “teachers’ competence”. For their professional growth, we consider indispensable competence in reflection, which is aimed at the teacher’s activities with regard to aspects of pedagogy and/or subject-didactics. From the point of view of the goals and content of their teaching and the methods of work (and their realisation), the development of teachers’ conscious self-reflection on their own teaching and systematic pursuance of joint reflection with other teachers and/or researchers can promote the teacher’s professional growth. In this paper, we show how a selected group of elementary school teachers reflected on their competence in the course of preparing, carrying out and analysing several instruction experiments. The paper is based on samples of teachers’ reflections and their gradual development from mere simple conversations based on intuitive perceptions, through searching for effective teaching approaches, to the deep assessment of mathematics teaching from the point of view of topics and their didactic elaboration and to suggestions for the teachers’ own experiments. May the teacher know what he teaches. May the teacher know how to teach. May the teacher be sincerely interested in teaching. Comenius     

Elementary Teacher’s Conceptions of Inquiry Teaching: Messages for Teacher Development

This study explored practicing elementary school teacher’s conceptions of teaching in ways that foster inquiry-based learning in the science curriculum (inquiry teaching). The advocacy for inquiry-based learning in contemporary curricula assumes the principle that students learn in their own way by drawing on direct experience fostered by the teacher. That students should be able to discover answers themselves through active engagement with new experiences was central to the thinking of eminent educators such as Pestalozzi, Dewey and Montessori. However, even after many years of research and practice, inquiry learning as a referent for teaching still struggles to find expression in the average teachers’ pedagogy. This study drew on interview data from 20 elementary teachers. A phenomenographic analysis revealed three conceptions of teaching for inquiry learning in science in the elementary years of schooling: (a) The Experience-centered conception where teachers focused on providing interesting sensory experiences to students; (b) The Problem-centered conception where teachers focused on engaging students with challenging problems; and (c) The Question-centered conception where teachers focused on helping students to ask and answer their own questions. Understanding teachers’ conceptions has implications for both the enactment of inquiry teaching in the classroom as well as the uptake of new teaching behaviors during professional development, with enhanced outcomes for engaging students in Science.     

The Challenges of Science Inquiry Teaching for Pre-Service Teachers in Elementary Classrooms: Difficulties on and under the Scene

In the context of the emphasis on inquiry teaching in science education, this study looks into how pre-service elementary teachers understand and practise science inquiry teaching during field experience. By examining inquiry lesson preparation, practice, and reflections of pre-service elementary teachers, we attempt to understand the difficulties they encounter and what could result from those difficulties in their practice. A total of 16 seniors (fourth-year students) in an elementary teacher education program participated in this study. In our findings, we highlight three difficulties ‘on the lesson’ that are related to teaching practices that were missing in the classrooms: (1) developing children’s own ideas and curiosity, (2) guiding children in designing valid experiments for their hypotheses, (3) scaffolding children’s data interpretation and discussion and another three difficulties ‘under the lesson’ that are related to problems with the pre-service teachers’ conceptualization of the task: (4) tension between guided and open inquiry, (5) incomplete understanding of hypothesis, and (6) lack of confidence in science content knowledge. Based on these findings, we discuss how these difficulties are complexly related in the pre-service teachers’ understandings and action. Several suggestions for science teacher education for inquiry teaching, especially hypothesis-based inquiry teaching, are then explored.     

The influence of video clubs on teachers’ thinking and practice

This article examines a model of professional development called “video clubs” in which teachers watch and discuss excerpts of videos from their classrooms. We investigate how participation in a video club influences teachers’ thinking and practice by exploring three related contexts: (a) teachers’ comments during video-club meetings, (b) teachers’ self-reports of the effects of the video club, and (c) teachers’ instruction across the year. Data analysis revealed changes in all three contexts. In the video-club meetings, teachers paid increased attention to student mathematical thinking over the course of the year. In interviews, teachers reported having learned about students’ mathematical thinking, about the importance of attending to student ideas during instruction, and about their school’s mathematics curriculum. Finally, shifts were also uncovered in the teachers’ instruction. By the end of the year, teachers increasingly made space for student thinking to emerge in the classroom, probed students’ underlying understandings, and learned from their students while teaching.