Cooperative learning and team culture in schools: Conditions for teachers’ professional development

The study done in Slovenia examined grammar and elementary teachers’ perceptions of cooperative learning. The sample consisted of 542 Slovene elementary and grammar school teachers, who teach Slovene. The main question of the research was how teachers assess the value of group learning in comparison to individual forms of learning. From their perceptions, we can draw conclusions about their development, the introduction of group work within lessons and about the encouragement of pupils towards collaborative learning. The main finding of the research is that elementary school teachers place greater importance on group learning than grammar school teachers. In addition, when teachers are grouped according to their years of experience (seniority), there are differences in their assessment of group learning. However, it is not possible to get a linear pattern from the results (e.g. showing that years of experience do or do not contribute to the perception of the importance of group learning), a finding which supports the critical opinion that teachers’ experience depends not only on the quantity (years of experience), but also on the quality of experience.     

Changing organizational culture and instructional methods in elementary schools: Perceptions of teachers and professional educational consultants

The present study examines teachers’ perceptions of organizational changes in their elementary schools. These changes occurred following the implementation of a long-term comprehensive school improvement project (CSIP). One hundred and seventy one teachers who taught in six elementary schools located in two different school districts in Israel responded to a questionnaire both before and after a period of 3 years during which they participated in a CSIP. The teachers, assisted by six professional consultants, one in each school, studied cooperative learning as well as new forms of collaborative staff work. The study addressed two primary research questions: What changes in teachers’ perceptions of their schools’ organizational culture emerged from teachers’ participation in the project? How were the professional relationships between the schools’ supervisors and the teachers in the two districts reflected in the teachers’ perception of school organizational changes? Results indicated that teachers in three schools from one district recorded a significant improvement in their perceptions of their schools’ organizational culture at the end of the project, whereas the teachers from the other district indicated either no change, or a significant decline in their evaluation of their schools’ organizational culture. A cross-validation of the teachers’ data was performed through a content analysis of 500 reports written over the course of 2 years, submitted by six external consultants. The analysis yielded four categories: general difficulties to work with the school’s staff, problems implementing the project, teacher resistance, and cancellations of planned meetings. The analysis provided valuable information as to why the teachers from the two districts differed in their reactions to the project.     

职业中学专业教师心理健康浅析

教师担负着教书育人的重任,教师的心理健康作为教师心理素质的一个重要方面,则通过长期的、潜移默化的作用对学生的发展产生着很大的影响.的确,目前教师的心理健康状况普遍较差,特别是职业学校的教师,因其教育环境的特殊性,他们的心理健康状况更是不容乐观.这就需要教育行政部门、社会、学校共同努力,采取积极有力且行之有效的措施,共同解决.因此,针对教师心理健康上障碍的具体表现,分析其成因,提出相对的解决办法,是非常必要的.     

中国古代的专业学校与专科教育

本文主要简介我国古代的专科教育与专业学校及其历史贡献。     

Affordances of teacher professional learning in secondary schools

It is commonly understood that teachers in secondary school should develop throughout their career in order to stay as an essential factor in student learning. Schools can offer opportunities to link teachers’ professional learning to their school practice with a positive impact on teachers’ motivation to learn and the effectiveness of their learning. In this field study, teachers, school leaders, policy-makers, educational consultants and educational scholars were asked for their perceptions of conditions for teacher learning in school and of interventions in school to enhance teacher professional learning. These conditions and interventions were understood as affordances in schools that enable and support teacher professional learning. The main affordance in school these stakeholders mentioned was an open, but critical way in which teachers share their practices, collaborate and reflect upon their teaching practice. Collaborative practices seem to stimulate many interventions of teacher professional learning in school. Two implications of this finding are discussed. First, we suggest that the maximum teaching time should be reduced, team teaching should be more implemented or classes should be scheduled in such a way that teachers can meet. Second, distributed leadership approaches match with our findings about the role of school leaders in teacher professional learning.     

The emergence of the marketing professional in schools

Abstract

The marketisation of schools has emerged as a defining feature of the education landscape. While the role of principals and lead teachers in carrying out marketing work was investigated in the late 1990s, there has been scant evidence of how the people and practices of marketing in schools have evolved into the twenty-first century. Expanding on existing literature on educational marketing practices in schools, and through in-depth interviews with a unique sample of school marketers, this study explores the emergence of the school marketing professional. The interviews reveal the diverse backgrounds and experiences of these individuals, the transfer of their business skills into schools and the tensions in professional boundaries with educators who traditionally performed school marketing activities. Ultimately, the study furthers insights into the co-existence of educational and managerial agendas in the schools market.     

国外学校职业道德教育理念与模式研究

西方发达国家在对未来劳动者实施职业道德教育方面拥有较为成熟的经验,其教学理念和教学模式值得我国高职院校借鉴.     

中专舞蹈软度训练之我见

软度对于学习舞蹈的中专学生来说是一种特殊的要求,这一点对于最初学习舞蹈表演的学生来说是必须要解决的难题,这一难题的解决是一个即漫长又难熬的过程。即使软度解决很好的学生也会随着年龄的增长,出现肌肉韧带纤维失去弹性,关节逐渐僵化的现象。为适应舞蹈专业的需要,延长表演艺术的生命,她们就要自觉地、不遗余力地、坚持不懈地练习,保持、发展软度。     

高职院校高等数学与专业对接之浅议

本文深入研究高职数学教育的特点和学生特点,分析了目前高职高等数学面临的一些问题和现状,以＂服务于专业＂为原则来构建教学内容和体系的高职高等数学改革。从课程改革的思路、内容、考评方法、教学方法等方面进行探讨,并结合专业课程具体研究了课程改革措施、结合专业教材及教辅开发的方法和应注意的问题。     

中学的数学文化与数学教育

根据中学的数学实践，探讨中学数学化的主要内容及数学在素质教育中的意义．     

优化校园周边环境创新校园文化建设

在加强青少年思想道德建设的今天,学校周边环境被污染得相当严重,甚至影响着学生的身心健康,因此,我们再次呼吁社会各界,加大整治力度,早日还校园一个绿色的周边环境.同时,各类学校也应努力加强校园文化建设的创新,努力给学生营造一个良好的学习、生活、成长的环境,从而使学生思想道德建设落到实处.     

Placement schools as professional learning communities in teacher education

This article investigates how schoolteachers’, school leaders’ and college teachers’ involvement affects placement schools as professional learning communities. Norwegian teacher education is used as a case. The first part builds on a survey among schoolteachers and mentors at 111 placement schools in Norway. It documents great variety in the level of engagement. Interviews with mentors, school leaders and college teachers reveal how cooperation between colleges and placement schools, as well as the school leaders’ commitment, influences the quality of placement. The school leaders’ role proves to be important in developing the schools as professional learning communities, and they seem to have a significant impact on the work of the mentors. The data also show that there is a need for a more substantial cooperation between college teachers and mentors about the student teachers’ professional development as well as a need for a more systematic integration of learning in the two learning contexts.     

Bridging campus and field settings through professional development schools

Abstract

An assessment of the hopes, ambitions, and quality of life for millions of our young people leaves us with one inescapable fact—America is losing sight of many of its children and youth. There is grim and persistent evidence that our concern for the emotional and psychological well‐being of young people continues to wane—a fact that could have grave consequences for the future of our nation. This article advances a cause to which the next generation of professional teacher educators might productively dedicate themselves—a call for a renewal of spirit and a commitment to nourishing the conscience of our profession.     

促进农村中学教师专业技能发展研究

在教师素质结构的诸要素中，专业技能是核心要素，因此必须促进教师专业技能发展，提高其专业技能水平。本文根据农村中学教师专业技能的现状，提出促进农村中学教师专业技能发展的若干策略。     

Elements affecting the development of professional learning communities in schools

This article focuses on the development of professional learning communities (PLCs), which are communities within schools, composed of voluntary participating teachers facilitated by school principals with a specific task to accomplish as part of a larger innovation project. Four PLCs were observed during 3 years by using questionnaires and participatory research. The questionnaires revealed that PLCs differed in their group characteristics, collective learning processes and outcomes. Through participatory research, we explored seven elements affecting the development of PLCs, namely, task perceptions, group composition, tensions between roles, beliefs about alignment, reflective dialogues, socialisation and ownership. Beliefs about alignment, ownership and socialisation had sufficient impact on the development of the PLCs. A case study including two contrasting PLCs indicated interrelations between task perceptions and ownership by members and between ownership and socialisation activities. Regarding implications, this research suggests to explicitly create and facilitate reflective dialogues and ownership over time for PLCs to flourish.