Discipline

Dr. Wright's research suggests that pre-student teaching experiences tend to make students more empirical and less dependent upon theory and scientific reasoning.     

What We Learned about Using Metaphors in College Teaching: Methods and Meanings

The field of education is rich with metaphors that reveal one's perspective on the nature of teaching and learning—ideas are “covered,” students “absorb” information, teachers offer writing “clinics.” Each of these metaphors indicate nuanced ideas about what schooling is and is for—to be checked off? Taken in unquestioningly? For those who are sick? Two teacher educators in the field of early childhood education share insights from their own experiences in considering novice teachers' metaphors in their preparatory experiences, particularly wondering what these unveil about heretofore unanalyzed beliefs and what instructors can learn so as to form further instruction. Methods are shared and reflection led educators to find important instructional and relationship-building implications for working with novice teachers.     

The Earnings Benefits of Majoring in STEM Fields Among High Achieving Minority Students

The purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of the association between major field of study in college and early career earnings among a sample of academically accomplished minority students. Results demonstrate the economic benefits minority students experience from majoring in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math field during college, and highlight the importance of gaining employment in a closely related field in order to secure those benefits. The results also illustrate the need to carefully account for self-selection when estimating the earnings premiums in relation to educational experiences during college. Implications for policy and research are discussed.     

Experiences of diverse students in teacher education

The purpose of this study is to describe the teacher education experiences of a diverse group of early childhood students. A basic premise guiding the study was that diverse students may experience the program differently and that knowing what their experiences are may help to inform teacher education programs. This work is exploratory, intended to give focus to subsequent research.     

The student experience of undergraduate students: towards a conceptual framework

While the term ‘student experience’ is used widely in universities, it is remarkably under-developed as a construct in the academic literature. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a conceptual framework for the student experience of undergraduate students. The approach taken is to identify the key influences that shape the student experience from the perspective of students. It does this by addressing two questions: firstly, what are the key influences that shape the student experience? Secondly, how do these influences shape the student experience? To do this the paper draws from a wide range of studies that provide substantial theoretical and empirical evidence as to how students experience university. Drawing from Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of human development, it identifies seven key sets of influences or microsystems that shape the undergraduate student experience. Then the paper considers how these influences shape students’ experiences drawing from the concepts of engagement and alienation. The paper concludes by proposing a broadly defined model for the student experience where learning and development take place as a result of meaningful interactions between the student and the key microsystems. The implications of this model for universities and for further study are also discussed.     

Students’ perspectives of early assessment tasks in their first-year at university

Assessment plays an important role in first-year students’ transition to university, influencing how they learn. Poorly designed assessment can be demotivating and may even cause students to withdraw from university. An early low-stakes assessment task is recommended in first year, to provide information to students and staff on student progress, provide students with a positive experience and help them prepare for future assessments. This paper reports on first-year students’ experiences of two different early assessment tasks for two disciplines, one using an online quiz and the other a ‘research challenge’ that served as a precursor to writing an essay. The paper also presents lecturers’ reflections on what they learned, what they would change and the implications for others planning early assessment tasks for first years. Finally, ideas for future research are provided.     

Photovoice as an evaluation tool for student learning on a field trip

Background: Photovoice is one method that enables an educator to view an experience from a student’s perspective. This study examined how teachers might use photovoice during an informal learning experience to understand the students’ experiences and experiential gain.

Design and methods: Participants in this study consisted of six students, three male and three female, ranging from ninth through twelfth grade at a rural Ohio high school, who attended a field trip to a biological field station for a four-day immersive science experience. Students were provided cameras to photograph what they believed was important, interesting, or significant during an immersive four-day science trip to a biological field station, individualizing their observations in ways meaningful to them, and enabling them to assimilate or accommodate the experiences to their schema.

Results: Analysis identified five positive benefits to use photovoice as an evaluation tool: teachers were provided qualitative evidence to evaluate student interaction on the field trip; teachers could evaluate the students’ photographs and captions to determine if the field trip met the learning objectives; students were empowered to approach the goals and objectives of the field trip by making the field trip personally relevant; students assimilated and accommodated the new observations and experiences to their own schema; students automatically reflected upon the learning experience as they captioned the photos.

Conclusions: Through photovoice, the teachers were enabled to qualitatively assess each student’s experience and learning from the field trip by illustrating what the students experienced and thought was significant; providing the teachers a method to evaluate all participating students, including those who are secretive or do not normally contribute to class discussions.     

Effects of Early Field Experience on Student Teachers’ Self-Concepts and Performance

This research was designed to determine whether (1) selecting a pre-student teaching field-based experience brought about significant differences in secondary student teachers’ self-concepts and performance; and (2) whether self-concept scores were predictors of performance ratings. Student teachers who had selected Project Interaction (PI) and those who had no early field experience (NF) were pre-and posttested on four self-concept variables, and rated on performance by cooperating teachers, supervisors, and by self-ratings. Pretest self-concept scores were correlated with performance ratings. Results indicated the PI group had significantly more conflict on the pretest, which was reversed on the posttest to produce a trend toward significantly less conflict. The PI group had significantly higher self-esteem than the NF group on the posttest. No significant differences were found on performance ratings, but cooperating teachers’ ratings did correlate with pretest self-concept scores. It was concluded that early field experience appeared to have latent positive effects on self-concept.     

Experiences of Success and Failure in Project Organization

The article concerns successes and failures in project-organized education during the last 10 years in the electronics department at the Engineering College of Copenhagen. A definition of what a project may be considered to be is given and the elements of successful problem-solving are listed. Practical experiences and problems in project organization are described and commented upon. The most striking and positive experience is the social competence exhibited by the students as well as their enormous motivation. The negative experience is the tendency of the students to prefer a serialistic style in their problem-solving which does not lead to a broader and more general conception of the solutions. A major reason for this is the teachers' difficulties in adapting to a new role.     

Early Practicum Experiences: Preservice Early Childhood Students’ Perceptions and Sense of Efficacy

The current study explored early practicum experiences (those occurring before student teaching) in an early childhood birth to kindergarten teacher education program. Undergraduates enrolled in practicum courses completed questionnaires about their overall practicum experience including: socio-emotional components (their perceived fit with their cooperating teacher and intrapersonal feelings while in the classroom), overall practicum satisfaction, and their sense of teacher efficacy. Results revealed that practicum students generally reported feelings of being energized and relaxed, though some practicum students reported feelings of frustration in their practicum classrooms. Feeling energized and relaxed and students’ perception of fit with their cooperating teacher were positively associated with practicum satisfaction and practicum students’ teacher efficacy. Feelings of frustration were negatively associated with students’ fit with their cooperating teacher, practicum satisfaction, and students’ teacher efficacy. Higher levels of practicum satisfaction predicted higher practicum students’ teacher efficacy. Findings highlight the importance of understanding early practicum experiences and what factors of the practicum experience contribute teacher efficacy. Implications for future research and practice for early childhood teacher preparation programs are discussed.     

Connecting college and work: examining the relationship between students’ college employment experiences and their professional and career attitudes

This study examined the relationship between U.S. students’ employment experiences during college/university and their fourth-year professional career attitudes as defined by the Wabash National Study Professional Success Scale, including obtaining recognition from one’s colleagues for contributions to their field of expertise, having administrative responsibility for the work of others, working in a prestigious occupation, making a lot of money and becoming successful in a business of one’s own. This study considered three types of employment experiences (on-campus work; off-campus work; and completing an internship practicum, field experience, co-op or clinical assignment), as well as the number of hours spent engaged in on-campus and off-campus employment, and whether these measures of student employment were associated with students’ fourth-year professional career attitudes. Results suggest that on-campus work experiences, off-campus work experiences; and completing an internship practicum, field experience, co-op or clinical assignment, as well as the number of hours of employment during college have the potential to influence students’ fourth-year professional career attitudes.     

Lab Work and Learning in Secondary School Chemistry: The Importance of Teacher and Student Interaction

Laboratory work is considered essential in promoting students’ learning of science and of scientific inquiry. What the students perceive as important to learn from a regular laboratory exercise is probably affected by the teacher’s objectives. We study the extent to which one teacher’s objectives are fulfilled during lab work, and how teacher–student and student–student interactions contribute to developing learning experiences from the laboratory exercise. Do students encounter opportunities to learn in agreement with the teacher’s objectives? This explanatory single case study includes use of a palette of methods, such as pre- and post-interviews, observations and video documentation from an experienced secondary school teacher and her 8th grade (aged 13–14) students’ laboratory work. Our results point to the importance of teacher involvement to help students understand what to look for, how to do it and why. Especially teacher–student interactions during lab work seemed to influence what students perceived as important to learn. In the laboratory exercise in this case, the teacher helped the students to observe and to use their observations in their explanations. The lab work included learning experiences other than those addressed by the teacher, and the teacher’s intentions were partially fulfilled. Not only what the teacher says, but also how the teacher acts is important to help students understand what to learn from a laboratory exercise.     

Using what matters to students in bilingual mathematics problems

In this study, the author represented what matters to bilingual students in their everyday lives—namely bilingualism and everyday experiences—in school-based mathematical problems. Solving problems in pairs, students demonstrated different patterns of organizing and coordinating talk across problem contexts and across languages. Because these patterns bear consequences for how bilinguals experience mathematics learning, the author takes these patterns as the basis to argue that mathematics education for bilingual students should capitalize on bilingualism and experiences as cognitive resources.     

中小学心理辅导特色方法：苦乐醒悟法——疏导神经质性格学生消除强迫观念症

苦乐醒悟法从森田疗法母腹中产生,但它又明显区别于“森田疗法”。“苦乐醒悟法”辅导的最本质内核是：两度亲身体验。第一次体验——启发求助学生回顾以往有意识控制症状与无意识放弃症状时的“苦乐感受”,认清苦乐的根源所在,产生“顺应症状”的认知领悟。第二次体验——携带求助学生自觉走进“当为活动”中去,指导他们坚持做好必做事情的过程中体验快乐与甘甜所在,心态平和地让症状走向“自生自灭”。该辅导方法,对于援助神经质性格学生消除轻、中程度的强迫观念症状,具有不可替代的效果。     

Teaching diversity: a reflexive learning opportunity for a teacher educator

This article reports on a two-year self-study exploring my roles and evolving philosophy as an early childhood teacher educator teaching diversity in the US. I was interested in better understanding how and what I can learn from the complexity of my teaching experiences. Data included my professional journals, students’ reflection journals, and communication with a critical friend. I examined, when teaching diversity, how I constructed and navigated my roles, how the students constructed and perceived my roles, and how they have transformed my instructional philosophy and practices. The findings illustrated a dynamic and tension-filled experience of a teacher educator teaching diversity in the US as a perceived outsider, suggesting that it was a reflexive learning opportunity. The findings are aligned with a growing recognition that appropriate time and space is necessary for teacher educators to share and exchange their experiences and to gain support for their professional development when teaching diversity. Further, the findings are supportive of the contribution of self-study research in advancing the broader field of teacher education research.     

Story of a conference: Distance education students' experiences in a departmental conference

This case study examines the impact of a program-wide event on the sense of community in a distance education program. The departmental conference examined in this study is intended to help students gain experience in sharing their ideas and plays a large role in building a sense of community among residential students and faculty. This study examines an effort to extend this community-building role to students enrolled in the department's fully online Distance Masters and Certificate programs. The study explores whether these students felt a need for such community-building experiences, what they gained from this experience, and what can be learned from what went well and what could be improved in the organization of the conference. Findings indicate that active participants felt an increased sense of community, but that not all students were interested in this type of community-building activity.     

Examining the Content of Preservice Teachers’ Reflections of Early Field Experiences

This paper describes an exploratory study that examined the content of preservice elementary teachers’ reflections of their documented early field experiences of science teaching in authentic contexts. The study used an early field experience model that was focused on the objective of profiling an elementary science teacher as the practical merit of reflection. Preservice elementary teachers individually and collaboratively reflected on their early field experiences and used the resulting reflections to construct profiles of an elementary science teacher respectively in synthesis papers. Data sources included journal entries and synthesis papers resulting from individual and collaborative reflections. Thematic analysis revealed that profiles of an elementary science teacher constructed from both individual and collaborative reflections were based on the roles of teacher as a guide and teacher as a mediator. Analysis further revealed that classroom management and discipline and safety were the key foci factored within individual reflections while what promotes learning and the difference between what is effective and ineffective scaffolding respectively, served as the foci within collaborative reflections. Also, collaborative reflection provided a structured approach to reflection as it drew preservice elementary teachers into collective dialogue and negotiation capturing the tensions they faced when trying to make sense of the practice of other teachers. Implications include the need to frame early field experiences with objectives that are understood by all parties involved in early field experiences; and, the need to instill the importance of observation, documentation, and reflection which collectively sum up preservice teachers’ early field experiences.     

Study Abroad and Developing Reflective Research Practice Through Blogs: A Preliminary Study from the United Kingdom

Blogs are seen as an important strand of social networking and a significant way of disseminating research ideas and sharing knowledge and perceptions with new audiences via digital platforms. The use of blogs within off-campus activities, such as study abroad field visits, have the potential to enhance students’ social media skills and confidence about becoming active researchers in public through communicating field research experiences and reflections on what they see, learn, hear, and do. Via a semi-structured questionnaire administered to UK-based university students participating in a recent Criminology program field visit to Slovenia in Europe, we assess the extent to which blogging facilitates student reflective practice on their lived experiences of undertaking research in culturally unfamiliar environments. We show that blogging combined with the whole experience of international fieldwork has a “learning gain” for students exemplified through a willingness to engage in reflective practice, self-awareness, and transferable skills.     

“I am now confident”: academic service-learning as a context for addressing math anxiety in preservice teachers

ABSTRACT

Children’s early numeracy knowledge predicts later academic performance, yet many children do not experience optimal math instruction. This study investigated the impact of academic service-learning (ASL) in an early childhood teacher preparation math course and answered the following research question: Was the ASL experience effective in improving students’ dispositions and self-efficacy for teaching early math? Participants included nine undergraduates in an early childhood teacher preparation course and thirteen 2- to 5-year-old children from ten culturally and linguistically diverse families. Results of this mixed-methods study indicated the university students expressed considerable math anxiety near the beginning of the course, yet they believed in the importance of math and aspired to support children’s math. Students articulated challenges and assumptions related to supporting early math. A key finding was that, across the ASL experience, students experienced a shift away from anxiety and toward self-efficacy for teaching math and a disposition to advocate for early math. Children’s math knowledge was also assessed and was significantly higher post-ASL than pre-ASL. The article concludes with a discussion of the obligation of early childhood teacher preparation programs to address possible math anxiety among preservice teachers and provide experiences that help students build self-efficacy for teaching math.