Mathematics and Science Learning Opportunities in Preschool Classrooms

Research Findings: The present study observed and coded instruction in 65 preschool classrooms to examine (a) overall amounts and (b) types of mathematics and science learning opportunities experienced by preschool children as well as (c) the extent to which these opportunities were associated with classroom and program characteristics. Results indicated that children were afforded an average of 24 and 26 min of mathematics and science learning opportunities, respectively, corresponding to spending approximately 25% of total instructional time in each domain. Considerable variability existed, however, in the amounts and types of mathematics and science opportunities provided to children in their classrooms; to some extent, this variability was associated with teachers' years of experience, teachers' levels of education, and the socioeconomic status of children served in the program. Practice or Policy: Although results suggest greater integration of mathematics and science in preschool classrooms than previously established, there was considerable diversity in the amounts and types of learning opportunities provided in the preschool classrooms. Affording mathematics and science experiences to all preschool children as outlined in professional and state standards may require additional professional development aimed at increasing preschool teachers' understanding and implementation of learning opportunities in these 2 domains in their classrooms.     

Taking Up Opportunities to Learn: Constructing Dispositions in Mathematics Classrooms

This article presents an analysis of how students' dispositions toward learning shift and change over time through their engagement with particular classroom practices and identifies classroom practices that support the development of more productive dispositions. An analysis of 4 purposefully selected students from 2 different classrooms reveals that membership in a classroom activity system does not determine one's emergent disposition toward learning. However, it is likely that similar types of dispositions might emerge within a single classroom activity system. The analysis further seeks to understand the mechanisms that underlie the ways in which dispositions are enacted in moments of interaction, and how aspects of classroom practice impact this enactment. The findings support the argument that social, affective, and motivational factors are not simply influences on learning but are, instead, central to and inseparable from the learning process.     

坦桑尼亚大学开展创业教育的机遇与挑战

作为世界上最贫穷的国家之一,坦桑尼亚寄希望于通过大学创业教育所培养出的创业型人才来激发经济发展和降低失业率,因此,政府指引大学通过转变培养目标或办学定位、构建跨学科创业课程体系和成立创业发展研究院等举措来开展创业教育,但在实践过程中,由于缺乏有利的创业环境、大学内部不同院系缺乏多方参与和缺乏创业背景出身的创业教师,导致效果不甚理想.从坦桑尼亚大学开展的创业教育中可以看出,完善的法律、财务制度、人力资源、市场等辅助服务系统是初创企业发展的基石,政府在推行大学开展创业教育上应该弱化过程监管,高校则应该打破学科壁垒构建起跨学科创业教育教学的通力合作模式.     

Instructional Activities and the Quality of Language in Chilean Preschool Classrooms

Research Findings: This study examines the association between preschool classroom activity and the quality of the language spoken by teachers and children. Eighteen classrooms serving low-income children between the ages of 3 and 4 in Santiago de Chile were audio-recorded during one morning shift. Recordings were transcribed and segmented into activities (greeting, learning experience, book sharing, book discussion, breakfast, lunch, free play and other noninstructional time). A total of 113 activity segments were identified. Characteristics of teacher and child language were measured in each segment. Differences between the eight activities were examined using analysis of variance. Activities were classified as instructional or noninstructional, and the association between this dimension and language characteristics was examined using multilevel path analysis. Results show that most of the variance in language outcomes occurs within classrooms. Analyses show that a significant portion of the variance in the way teachers and children talk is explained by the instructional/noninstructional dimension. Instructional activities are characterized by more language stimulation, more teaching, fewer directives, and more child talk than noninstructional activities. Practice or Policy Implications: We discuss implications for teacher professional development and early childhood education improvement in general and for Latin-America specifically.     

Examining the Alignment of Mathematics Instructional Practices and Mathematics Vocabulary between Core and Intervention Materials

Within a multitiered system of support (MTSS), students who struggle to learn mathematics often receive core instruction and supplemental intervention in different settings, with different teachers and different sets of curriculum materials, all of which can result in poor alignment. This curriculum crosswalk describes how three sets of materials commonly used to provide core instruction and intervention differ with regard to mathematics practices and vocabulary. The results indicate that there is little overlap among all three programs for the majority (n = 6) of the mathematics practices, and very little overlap in mathematics vocabulary (ranging from 6.3 to 24 percent). We also provide a set of research-based instructional recommendations intended to help teachers address gaps and improve alignment of core instruction and intervention.     

高等教育转向大众教育过程中个性教育面临的机遇与挑战

随着社会发展与进步,国家社会乃至个人对社会人文环境要求的不断提高,高等教育的转型成为一种必然的选择。在这种转型的过程中所出现的一些新的因素使个性教育方式面临着挑战与机遇。     

Quality in Kindergarten Classrooms: Observational Evidence for the Need to Increase Children's Learning Opportunities in Early Education Classrooms

Research Findings: Using observational data gathered in 730 kindergarten classrooms in 6 states, the present study focuses on the quality of children's learning opportunities in kindergarten classrooms. Findings show that overall, children experience moderate to low levels of quality in the areas of classroom organization and instructional support in kindergarten. Results are also presented in comparison to children's experiences in the pre-kindergarten year. These comparisons indicate that kindergarten children spend a greater proportion of the school day in language arts, math, and whole-group instruction and less time in centers than they do in pre-kindergarten. An examination of predictors of kindergarten classroom quality indicated that program characteristics (i.e., adult–child ratio, length of school day) and teacher psychological variables (i.e., beliefs and depressive symptoms) were stronger predictors of classroom quality than were teacher experience and educational background. Practice or Policy: Findings are discussed in terms of implications for children's academic and social development in kindergarten as well as for kindergarten teacher preparation and development.     

中国在职数学教师专业发展的挑战与机遇

我国具有连贯一致的教师专业发展体系和一套传统的、系统化的教研制度,教师具有坚实的学科知识和大量的机会观摩有经验教师的教学.大部分中学教师赞同新课程的理念,实施新课程中的挑战有:功利性评价,缺乏数学知识的深刻理解,难以把握新教材的处理,难以驾驭活动式的课堂,缺乏熟练使用信息技术以及学生的两极分化,不同学段相互脱节.理想的在职教师培训模式有:基于案例的集中报告,专家引领的校本教研活动,跨校、区的围绕相同主题教学的比较研究和基于网络资源的共享模式.     

Opportunities for Professional Learning in Mathematics Teacher Workgroup Conversations: Relationships to Instructional Expertise

Increasingly, instructional improvement efforts include teacher communities as part of their overall strategy, yet the relationship between teachers’ talk and professional learning remains underspecified. Using a discourse perspective on learning, this article compares opportunities to learn (OTLs) in the collaborative conversations of 3 mathematics teacher workgroups. We examined the differences in OTLs in 17 hr of videotaped meetings from 3 groups at different levels of instructional accomplishment in secondary mathematics. Using mixed methods, we uncovered differences in the groups’ interactions and found that OTLs were not equally distributed. Instead, teacher groups whose active participants demonstrated the greatest facility with ambitious instruction also had the richest conversational OTLs. We interpret this as an accumulated advantage developmental story: Because collaborative work in teaching involves problem posing and the articulation of practice, teachers’ conceptions get built into the framing and discussion of pedagogical problems. Accomplished teachers are thus positioned to learn more from talking with colleagues. This analysis contributes to understanding of how OTLs are constituted in teacher workgroups, with implications for making better use of teacher collaboration for professional learning.     

Friendships and Group Work in Linguistically Diverse Mathematics Classrooms: Opportunities to Learn for English Language Learners

This ethnographic study examined students’ opportunities to learn in linguistically diverse mathematics classrooms in a Canadian elementary school. I specifically examined the contextual change of group work, which influenced opportunities to learn for newly arrived English language learners (ELLs). Based on analyses of video-recorded interactions, this study revealed a shift in these ELLs’ opportunities to learn from when they worked with teacher-assigned peers to when they worked with friends. In both settings, ELLs tended to be positioned as novices. However, when working with friends, they accessed a wider variety of work practices. In friend groups, ELLs were occasionally positioned as experts and had more opportunities to raise questions and offer ideas. In contrast, when working with teacher-assigned peers, ELLs tended to remain in the position of being helped. In some teacher-assigned groups, interactions were characterized as authoritative, and ELLs’ contributions and ideas were rejected or neglected without relevant justifications or mathematical authority established by their peers. The findings contribute to ongoing discussions on group work and friendship in linguistically diverse classrooms.     

Revisiting School Mathematics in Pre-service Secondary Teacher Education: Purposes,Opportunities and Challenges

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - Despite compelling arguments for the importance of revisiting school mathematics in pre-service mathematics teacher education, there is...     

MOOC:军事职业教育的机遇与挑战

大规模在线开放课程(MOOC)作为一种全新的在线教学模式以极快的速度席卷全球.从合作大学、课程数量、学习方式、学习效果评估、学习成果等角度对全球MOOC的三大平台进行了对比分析,总结出MOOC的普遍特征,并论述了MOOC在我军官兵终身职业教育发展实践中的可行性,探讨了借鉴MOOC理念模式,依托军事综合信息网,开展远程教育实践的优势与对策建议.     

Initial Considerations When Applying an Instructional Sensitivity Framework: Partitioning the Variation Between and Within Classrooms for Two Mathematics Assessments

ABSTRACT

Drawing inferences about the extent to which student performance reflects instructional opportunities relies on the premise that the measure of student performance is reflective of instructional opportunities. An instructional sensitivity framework suggests that some assessments are more sensitive to detecting differences in instructional opportunities compared to other assessments. This study applies an instructional sensitivity framework to compare student performance on two different mathematics achievement measures across five states and three grade levels. Results suggest a range of variation in student performance among teachers on the same mathematics achievement measure, variation between the two different mathematics achievement measures, and variation between grade levels within the same state. Findings highlight initial considerations for educators interested in selecting and evaluating measures of student performance that are reflective of instructional opportunities.     

北京奥运光环下我国舞蹈普及的机遇与挑战

通过对全民健身运动与舞蹈普及化关系和体育院校任务的分析,提出在培养各种舞蹈艺术专门人才的同时,坚持为全民健身战略服务,重视开展舞蹈普及化的研究;探讨在北京奥运会后,如何大力普及舞蹈教育。     

Implementing General Education in Hong Kong: Government Policies,Institutional Responses,Opportunities and Challenges

In this paper, the authors explore the implementation of the government mandate in Hong Kong to move from three-year to four-year undergraduate degree programs which include studies in general education (GE), through an analysis of policies and activities related to the curriculum reform. While the authors are interested in the substance of these reforms, the primary objective is to explore the relationships between policy initiatives and implementation approaches at different levels. Using Scott’s (2001) new institutional theory as a framework, the authors discuss the policy implementation at the governmental, institutional norms, and cultural levels. By focusing on the complex interrelationships among influences at different levels within the institution, this paper identifies challenges in the implementation of the new four-year curriculum, and using a case study of one institution, offers suggestions for facilitating that implementation.     

A Cognitive Model for Examining Teachers' Instructional Practice in Mathematics: A Guide for Facilitating Teacher Reflection

The purpose of this exploratory study was to develop a model to examine teachers' instructional practice in secondary school mathematics in relationship to their underlying cognitions. The instructional practice and cognitions of seven experienced and seven beginning teachers of secondary school mathematics were examined as a basis for the creation of the model. To examine instructional practice a Phase-Dimension Framework for the Examination of Mathematics Teaching was developed. Data were obtained through observations, lesson plans, videotapes and audiotapes of structured interviews during the course of one semester. The value of the model lies in its usefulness as a guide for enabling teachers to reflect on their instructional practice and underlying cognitions in a structured, comprehensive manner.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Qualitative Examination of Teacher-Student Power-Sharing in Chinese Classrooms: A Study in Hong Kong

This article explores the dynamics of power-sharing between teacher and students in learning and teaching situations, and describes the theoretical bases, implementation, and results of an empirical study in three elementary schools in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Findings from 58 class observations and interviews with 50 students, 25 teachers, and three school principals suggest that teachers can empower students by acknowledging their right to and responsibility for learning and by sharing power with students. Power-sharing classroom practice requires the dual efforts of teachers and students, and can be facilitated by the teachers’ interactive teaching mode, students’ cooperation and willingness to engage in learning, and school policy and culture, etc. In the power-sharing classrooms, teachers played the role of facilitators and students played as collaborators. In this article, theoretical implications for understanding power-sharing and critical pedagogy are discussed. The empirical evidence from this Hong Kong study contributes to an understanding of teacher-initiated power-sharing in the Chinese context, and the practice of critical pedagogy in classrooms.