Students' estimates of knowledge gained as measures of the quality of teacher education

One set of measures of the quality of courses for the preparation of science teachers stems from the perceptions exit students have of their knowledge with respect to that teaching. The Discipline Review of Teacher Education in Mathematics and Science surveyed these students late in 1988 on three broad types of knowledge-science content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge. Some of these findings of the Review are described. In addition, the base for developing items to measure these three types of knowledge is discussed in this paper. The variety in the data that emerged is also presented and the consistency of the findings with other measures of quality is described. Specialisations: science and technology curriculum, environmental education, educational disadvantage. Specialisations: research and evaluation in teacher education, technical and further education and total quality management. Specialisations: research in educational systems.     

Two measures of the quality of group care for infants and toddlers

Two sets of quality measures of group care were used to assess their predictive power for two sets of measures of the development of infant and toddlers in group day care. One of the quality measures we investigated was the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS). We replicated the findings of Scarr, Eisenberg, & Dealer-Deckard (1994) which were that the total score of the ECERS represents a global index and that the 37 items making up the scale are redundant and could be shortened considerably without loss of the scale as a quality criterion of group care for young children. Neither Scarr, Eisenberg, and Dealer-Deckard (1994) nor our own Factor Analyses of the 37 items supported the a priori distinction of seven Subscales. However further findings indicate that regardless of the redundancy within ECERS, two Subscales, dealing mainly with adult-child, child-child and adult-adult interactions, predict the development of infants and toddlers, but only when the measures of development were based on participant observations of the children over a longer period of time and in the broad context of the natural daycare environment. None of the Subscales, nor the total ECERS predicted social development when it was based on precise time sampling observations, assessed by non participant observers, in interactions between a child and a specific caregiver. Such measures of development were well predicted in our study by caregiver behaviors assessed through Time Sampling Observations.     

Leadership redefined: an evocative context for teacher leadership

This article is a report of a low cost case study in a small primary school. The school has instituted several democratic procedures that involve pupils and staff in leadership activities such as reviewing policies and appointing staff. The study sheds light on Hargreaves (2001) capital theory of school improvement, indicating that a dimension should be added. It then examines the theories implicit in HMI (2002b) and finds that they ignore a major consequence and benefit of the citizenship education observed in the study. Finally, it is argued that if the re-culturing envisaged by Furman and Starratt (2002) was extended to include structural changes that placed value on pupils' insights and knowledge, even greater improvements in education would be available.     

主体间性视界中的教师角色

主体间性是主体间关系的内在属性,是不同主体间在交往过程中所表现出来的相关性和统一性。在主体间性的视角下,传统教师角色不断解构,新的教师角色逐渐建构。     

Improving teacher quality: lessons from America's No Child Left Behind

How developed countries train, recruit and retain their schoolteachers is an area of considerable interest in education today. In this paper we consider how the US is addressing the issue of teacher quality by holding schools and school districts accountable for ensuring that all teachers of core subjects are ‘highly qualified’ by the end of the 2005–2006 school year. Part of the hugely important No Child Left Behind Act, this ‘highly qualified’ teacher requirement links billions of dollars of Federal funding to ensuring that schools and school districts develop strategies to meet these targets. We consider how successful this policy has been in two case study states: Wisconsin and California. What emerges is a mandate for change which emphasizes teachers' content knowledge over pedagogic skills, which reveals discrepancies in the certification, training and administration of the profession across different states, and which sharply reminds us of the difficulties faced by even the apparently simple policy of requiring high quality teachers by law.     

对加拿大和中国教师教育的探究:一个跨文化的对话

This article compares teacher education in China with Canada, with the aim of fostering a cross-cultural dialogue between the two systems. Using case studies the article attempts to address the following questions: What can the two countries learn from each other? Can Canadian teacher education be a possible alternative model for China? Can Canada’s teacher education curriculum be used to enhance greater pedagogical preparation and more pre-service teaching practice for China? Is Canada’s move towards strengthening professionalism in teaching of value to China?     

Accuracy feedback improves word learning from context: evidence from a meaning-generation task

The present study asked whether accuracy feedback on a meaning generation task would lead to improved contextual word learning (CWL). Active generation can facilitate learning by increasing task engagement and memory retrieval, which strengthens new word representations. However, forced generation results in increased errors, which can be detrimental for learning if they are not corrected. The goal of this study was to determine whether immediate feedback on response accuracy would ameliorate this risk. The study was conducted using an intelligent tutoring system, which presents target words in multiple contexts and prompts users to generate a target word meaning after each context. One group of participants (feedback group) received immediate feedback based on Markov Estimation of Semantic Association (MESA), which estimates the distance between the learner response and the target word meaning. The control group did not receive feedback. Results from conventional (pre/post-test) measures showed greater gains in accuracy and confidence for the feedback group. Moreover, when contextual support was decreased mid-way through the training (from trial 3 to trial 4), MESA measures showed a corresponding drop in accuracy, but only for the No-Feedback group. These findings suggest that accuracy feedback can improve outcomes in CWL, particularly when there is an increased risk of errors. This strengthens the case for meaning generation as a tool to build high-quality lexical representations.     

Prospective teacher learning: recognizing evidence of conceptual understanding

This study examined prospective teachers’ (PSTs) ability to recognize evidence of children’s conceptual understanding of mathematics in three content areas before and after an instructional intervention designed to support this ability. It also investigates the role PSTs’ content knowledge plays in their ability to recognize children’s mathematical understanding. Results of content knowledge assessments administered at the beginning of the study revealed that content knowledge did seem to support PSTs’ analyses of children’s understanding when the child’s response demonstrated understanding or demonstrated a misconception. Content knowledge did not seem to support PSTs’ analyses of children’s procedural responses, as many PSTs with good content knowledge initially characterized procedural solutions as evidence of conceptual understanding. Similarly, content knowledge did not seem to support PSTs’ analyses of children’s responses with features commonly associated with understanding but not evidence of understanding. After the instructional intervention consisting of three multifaceted lessons in which PSTs examined many examples of student thinking, they showed improved ability to analyze responses with conceptual features and no evidence of conceptual understanding and responses demonstrating procedural knowledge. Results suggest that content knowledge is not sufficient for supporting PSTs’ analysis of children’s thinking, and that building activities such as the intervention into content courses may help develop this ability. Implications for teacher education programs and future research are considered.     

提高教师心理素质的对策

教师心理素质的现状分析 我国处在社会转型期,经济体制、价值观念、生活方式都发生着深刻的变化。在社会急速变革的今天,面对职业本身,人际群体以及家庭等多种压力的情况,使教师在身心方面产生困扰的不可预见的事件明显增加,由此产生的心理问题也在显著增加。     

教师素质与教育研究

一、教师应具备的素质 教师在人类社会文化的继承和发展中起着承上启下的桥梁作用.只有从根本上提高教师的素质,建立一支现代化的教师队伍,才能完成培养21世纪合格人才的宏伟工程.有关学者对于现代教师的素质作了如下概述:     

Two Models of Educational Assessment: a response from initial teacher education: if the cap fits …

This paper is supportive of the judgemental model of assessment posited by Hager & Butler (1996) and is a twofold response. First, it examines the underpinning principles of assessment and testing theory on which their paper is based. Whilst the judgemental model of assessment is not based on the traditional notions of validity and reliability, as in classical test theory, it nevertheless does take account of and is built on appropriate conceptions of these two fundamental principles of any instrument of assessment. It is the concomitant and necessary shift in perceptions of these underlying principles that give support for Hager & Butler's justification for a judgemental model of assessment as that which is appropriate for the assessment of workplace performance. Second, it supports the application of the judgemental model to workplace performance by considering a pertinent area, that of a postgraduate certificate in initial teacher education.