Alternative Conceptions in Biology-Related Topics of Integrated Science Teachers and Implications for Teacher Education

This paper reports a study of the alternative conceptions held by junior secondary science teachers enrolled in an in-service teacher training program. The subjects completed a written instrument which probed their understanding of biological concepts in the integrated science curriculum. The subjects, particularly the nonbiology graduates, were found to show serious misunderstanding in concepts concerning diversity of life, photosynthesis and respiration, reproduction, and detecting the environment. This finding supports the assertion that our science teachers, being graduates in specific areas, are inadequately prepared to teach a broad and balanced junior science curriculum. To strengthen the subject matter knowledge and pedagogical skills of prospective and practicing junior science teachers, a number of provisions are suggested for teacher training programs, undergraduate science courses, and school-based activities.     

The impact of salary differentials on teacher shortages and turnover: The case of mathematics and science teachers

One of the major focuses of the recent reform movement in education concerns perceived and anticipated teacher shortages, especially in particular fields such as mathematics and science. It is widely believed that lower salaries relative to alternative occupations are responsible for teacher shortages and that higher salaries will therefore help reduce shortages. Yet there is little empirical research that examines the relationship between teacher shortages and teacher salary differentials. This paper examines this relationship for the case of mathematics and science teachers using data on a sample of medium and large school districts located within large metropolitan areas throughout the United States. The results support the general proposition that salary differentials between teachers and alternative occupations influence teacher shortages, although the relationship varies by gender and geographic area of the U.S.     

解制：当代美国教师教育改革的另一种声音

教师教育解制的倡导者对现行教师教育的理论和实践进行了批评，提出改革教师资格证书的标准，提倡替代性教师资格证书计划，打破教育学院垄断培养初任教师的局面。     

Building teacher identity with urban youth: Voices of beginning middle school science teachers in an alternative certification program

Teacher identity development and change is shaped by the interrelationship between personal biography and experience and professional knowledge linked to the teaching environment, students, subject matter, and culture of the school. Working from this framework, this study examines how beginning teacher interns who are part of an alternative route to teacher certification construct a professional identity as science educators in response to the needs and interests of urban youth. From the teacher interns, we learn that crafting a professional identity as a middle‐level science teacher involves creating a culture around science instruction driven by imagining “what can be,” essentially a vision for a quality and inclusive science curriculum implicating science content, teaching methods, and relationships with their students. The study has important implications for the preparation of a stronger and more diverse teaching force able to provide effective and inclusive science education for all youth. It also suggests the need for greater attention to personal and professional experience and perceptions as critical to the development of a meaningful teacher practice in science. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 1044–1062, 2004     

工程教育与师范教育专业认证体系比较研究

教育部出台的师范专业认证实施办法引起高校的普遍关注,然而师范专业认证在具体实施方法、标准、程序中还存在许多问题。我国工程教育专业认证经过数十年发展,已形成具有中国特色专业认证体系,实现专业人才培养质量的国际实质等效性。文章通过比较分析师范专业与工程教育专业在认证主体、政策、程序、指标与标准方面的异同点,结合师范专业认证的不足,从认证主体机构性质、三级认证体系完善、认证工作基础强化、认证标准多方覆盖等方面,为我国师范专业认证体系发展完善提出建议。     

Preparing Teachers for Diversity: Examination of Teacher Certification and Program Accreditation Standards in the 50 States and Washington,DC

State departments of education can play an important role in preparing teachers for effectively teaching diverse learners in our schools through state policies and standards on teacher certification and teacher education program accreditation. We conducted a content analysis of state standards on teacher certification and program accreditation in the 50 states and the District of Columbia to understand the type and characteristics of diversity-related requirements. We found that while all states addressed diversity in their standards, the type and characteristics of requirements varied across the states. The diversity requirements are ambiguous in most states, and only a small number of states utilize a “social reconstructionist” approach that focuses on preparing teachers to identify social inequality and take an active role to achieve educational and social equity.     

A study of alternative English teacher certification practices in Turkey

For several years the number of teachers trained in several subject areas through regular teacher education programs in Turkey has been insufficient to meet the demands in the country. As a result, to combat teacher shortages in many subjects alternative routes to teacher certification have been sought. Here we examine teacher candidates' perspectives of some of these practices. The participants in this examination comprised 140 senior undergraduate students in the English teaching program in a Faculty of Education in Ankara. Almost all participants believed that the teacher candidates who go through alternative routes to become teachers of English do so because they seek employment and this is the last resort. The study highlights the fact that it is critical to pursue educational planning if we are to improve quality in education.     

The Nature of Teacher Leadership in Schools as Reciprocal Influences Between Teacher Leaders and Principals

As part of a comprehensive qualitative study of 6 schools noted for teacher leadership 28 respondents were interviewed. It was noted that teacher leadership often involved the mutual influence between teacher leaders and principals. These influences are discussed from the perspectives of each of the 6 schools and respondent status as teacher leader, teacher nominator, and administrator. Further to these influences, the data suggest relationships between teachers, teacher leaders, and principals, in these schools, which are reflective of 3 models of “leadership reciprocity” based on unique features found to be typical of these schools.     

EVALUATING SELECTED PERCEPTIONS OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS TEACHERS IN AN ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

In 2003 the University of Missouri (with the aid of US National Science Foundation funding) initiated an alternative certification program (ACP) to address the well-documented need in the US for increasing the quantity and quality of mathematics and science teachers for the middle and secondary levels. Nationwide current certification programs do not provide the quality and quantity of mathematics and science teachers needed in schools. As a result most American states have begun to experiment with ACPs as a way to address the shortage of math and science teachers. To evaluate the success of this program, we collected data from ACP participants regarding perceived preparation, self efficacy, and outcome expectancy at three time points in the program. State standards for beginning teachers were used to construct a perceived preparation instrument. Analysis of data suggests that over time, ACP participants exhibited an increasingly positive view toward their preparation for classroom teaching, as well as increased self efficacy. However, there was little change in the students’ outcome expectancy over time. In this article we share details of the unique ACP program and we describe steps taken to collect and evaluate a project data set. Our work provides useful guidance to researchers and practitioners in the field of science and mathematics teacher education.     

Mentor Advice Giving in an Alternative Certification Program for Secondary Science Teaching: Opportunities and Roadblocks in Developing a Knowledge Base for Teaching

Mentoring is often an important component of alternative certification programs, yet little is known about what novices learn about science teaching through mentoring relationships. This study investigated the advice given by two mentor science teachers to their protégés. Findings indicate that mentors gave more advice related to general pedagogical knowledge than science-specific pedagogical content knowledge. Specifically, there was little to no advice related to the topics of inquiry, the nature of science, or the development of scientific literacy. Implications call for an increase in communication between university teacher education programs and school-based mentors, the development of benchmarks to help guide mentor–protégé interactions, and the importance of a multiyear induction process.     

以教师培训迁移为基准的教师培训效果——基于社会资本的视角

作为新经济社会学前沿和有影响力的理论概念,社会资本强调互信互惠的人际关系对个人获得更大成就和社会更有效运作的积极意义。对教师培训效果的审视趋向从培训知识的获得转移到教学工作中的实际运用。以社会资本理论系统考量教师培训迁移,指出信任互惠有助于教师培训活动参与者之间的对话与互动,培训参与者的积极行动有助于形成可持续的教师培训系统,从而有的放矢地提高教师培训的效果并最终使跨越理论与实践鸿沟成为可能。     

教师绩效工资改革的国外研究及其启示

随着国外教师工资改革的不断推进,学者对教师绩效工资改革的研究不断拓展和深入。梳理发现,研究内容主要集中在教师工资与教师供给、教师工资与学生产出、教师工资与教师流失以及公立学校和私立学校绩效工资改革对比研究等方面。对国外绩效工资改革的反思,使我们认识到教师工资制度改革必须要与学校组织的变革有机结合;政策制定、实施要努力做到＂程序公平＂;采用合理的评价标准和方式;正确对待绩效工资,将其看作一个持续的工作而不断完善。     

以教师培训迁移为基准的教师培训效果——基于社会资本的视角

作为新经济社会学前沿和有影响力的理论概念,社会资本强调互信互惠的人际关系对个人获得更大成就和社会更有效运作的积极意义。对教师培训效果的审视趋向从培训知识的获得转移到教学工作中的实际运用。以社会资本理论系统考量教师培训迁移,指出信任互惠有助于教师培训活动参与者之间的对话与互动,培训参与;等的积极行动有助于形成可持续的教师培训系统,从而有的放矢地提高教师培训的效果并最终使跨越理论与实践鸿沟成为可能。     

Aligning Mathematics Teacher Work Sample Content with Selected NCTM Standards: Implications for Preservice Teacher Education

Teacher Work Sample Methodology has been described as an alternative means/set of procedures for assessing teacher effectiveness in producing student learning that are more authentic than traditional means of teacher certification. To investigate the degree to which the methodology aligns with state/national standards, 50 work samples produced by student teachers at Western Oregon University between fall 1991 and spring 1999 were analyzed to determine: (1) the efficiency of Teacher Work Sample Methodology in moving state and national standards, for example, the NCTM standards, into the classroom; and (2) the extent to which Teacher Work Sample Methodology promotes alignment of standards, content, instruction and assessments of instruction. The research found that a majority of the student teacher work samples demonstrated weak alignment or no alignment between stated instructional objectives and selected NCTM Curriculum and Evaluation Standards (Problem Solving, Communication, Reasoning, and Connections). However, in most of the work samples, more than half of the pre/post-assessment methods (performance, knowledge) were aligned with the instructional objectives.     

美国幼儿园教师资格和认证制度及其启示

教师资格制度是国家对教师实行的一种职业许可制度,它规定了从事教师职业必备的基本条件。教师资格认证是教师资格认证机构对申请特定教师资格的人员按照一定的标准和程序进行审核的制度。美国幼教从业人员及其水平分类、幼儿园教师资格认可标准、幼儿园教师资格认证以及证书分类等的经验,能够为我国幼儿园教师资格及认证制度的进一步完善提供借鉴。     

What are the problems with teacher supply?

This paper is based on our studies of teacher recruitment and retention. Using official statistics from a variety of secondary sources, it builds on our previous work on the changing demand for teachers by exploring issues of teacher supply in the UK. Our findings suggest there is no overall shortage of applicants to initial teacher education and training (ITET), and the number of applicants and places are now higher than at any time since 1982. There were, however, almost as many unsuccessful as successful applicants to ITET courses, despite some recruitment targets not being met. Furthermore, it was not clear how these targets were set and whether they included an estimate of trainee attrition and/or the number of successful trainees expected to enter the teaching profession. There were imbalances in the supply of teachers, with many more female than male trainees. The majority of trainees were in their twenties, with the chances of being offered a training place decreasing with age, despite the uneven age profile of the contemporary teaching profession. There are important structural limitations to teacher supply, particularly in relation to the number of graduates in maths and science subjects. Improving teacher recruitment in these areas is, thus, dependent on increasing the number of students continuing to study these subjects in post-sixteen and higher education.     

The Failure of Inquiry: Preparing Science Teachers with an Authentic Investigation

This mixed methodology action research study examined the impact of a curricular innovation designed to provide an authentic science inquiry learning experience for 15 secondary science teacher candidates enrolled in a master’s level initial certification program. The class investigated the question “How can peak autumn color in New England be determined?” The project goals were to help teacher candidates acquire the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary to foster learning through inquiry in their respective content areas as defined by teacher preparation professional standards. Though the teacher candidates were successful at identifying a likely answer to the question, the project failed to achieve its learning goals. Reasons for the project’s failure and implications for the science education community are discussed.     

Achievement-related within-school socioeconomic gaps in science subjects in China: evidence on existence,consistency, and compensation

Using data from the 2011 (Chinese) Student Academic Achievement Evaluation, we examined whether within-school socioeconomic gaps in science achievement exist across science subjects, how consistent they are, and whether there are relationships between school average science achievement and within-school socioeconomic gaps in science achievement. Results of multivariate multilevel analyses indicate that for both fathers and mothers within-school socioeconomic gaps in science achievement existed among schools but did not vary much across schools. School mean socioeconomic status and teacher experience were related to these gaps. Schools were strongly consistent in within-school socioeconomic gaps in science achievement across science subjects, and this consistency was independent of (robust to) student and school characteristics. The relationships between school average science achievement and within-school socioeconomic gaps in science achievement were rather weak among schools across science subjects, and the addition of school characteristics to student characteristics effectively demolished the relationships.     

The relationship between science process abilities of teachers and science achievement of students: An experimental study

The objective of this experimental study is to investigate the relationships among science teacher characteristics and student outcomes. The selected characteristics of teachers are their understanding of science processes and their ability to control variables, and the outcomes of students are the achievement in science contents and processes. The results support the hypothesized relationships and show that the teacher ability to control variables is a more valuable characteristic than the understanding of science processes for student achievement. Conclusions are drawn about the implications for the education of science teachers.