Beliefs, practices, and interactions of teachers in a Japanese high school English department

This study reveals the school culture and the teachers’ professional development activities in a Japanese high school learning environment. Furthermore, it documents the relationships among the context, teachers’ beliefs, practices, and interactions. Using multiple data sources including interviews, observations, and documents of teachers from an English department, this yearlong study revealed these English as a Foreign Language teachers lacked many teacher learning opportunities in their context. The study revealed that teacher collaboration only reinforced existing practices, eroding teachers’ motivation to learn to teach in this specific context. The study provides evidence to teacher educators about inservice teachers and their learning environment and the significance of the relationships between the two entities.     

高中教师教学成败归因的研究

本研究以归因理论为基础,对高中教师的教学成败归因方式进行了研究.结果发现:教师在对教学成败进行归因时,首先归因于自己的能力、努力和身体心境,其次是学生教材、运气、他人帮助等外部因素;另外,不同教龄、不同职称的教师归因方式存在差异.但是,性别、年龄任教学科等变量对教师归因影响不大.最后,针对教师的归因方式提出了相应的教育建议.     

Morality at the margins: a silent dimension of teaching and learning

Teaching is a moral endeavour. It transmits moral messages based on values and expectations. This paper explores the relationship between school practice and the democratic values endorsed in the Swedish national curriculum. A lunch‐time episode illustrates the discrepancy between the national curriculum’s ethical values and their realization in practice. This discrepancy problematizes the decentralization process in Swedish schooling. Furthermore, it suggests that episodes at the margins of school practice may be just as important to the moral curriculum of school as the knowledge‐related elements conventionally deemed to be the core of the curriculum.     

面向21世纪科研、专家型教师的塑造

未来世界的竞争,归根结底是教育能否有效地培养创新人才的竞争.只有科研、专家型教师才有能力肩负起创造性人才培养的历史重任.从理论与实践的角度探索如何塑造21世纪科研、专家型教师队伍的途径至关重要.     

Integration of information and communication technology in teaching: Initial perspectives of senior high school teachers in Ghana

Education and Information Technologies - The study examined the Integration of Information and Communication Technology in teaching in Senior High Schools. The study focused on the Kumasi Girls...     

Exploring profiles of ideal high school mathematical teaching behaviours: perceptions of in-service and pre-service teachers in Taiwan

This study explored and compared the perspectives of Taiwanese in-service and pre-service high school mathematics teachers regarding ideal teaching behaviours; the perspectives of a nationwide sample of students were taken as the baseline. Fourteen factors contributing to ideal teaching behaviours were identified through exploratory factor analyses. Nine factors, including idea explanation and speedy lecture, were rooted in traditional Chinese culture; five factors, including concrete representation and student activities, were influenced by Western cultures. Three teacher profiles were identified through k-means clustering analysis. The perspectives of in-service teachers were dominated by a painless meaning-emphasised profile; these teachers emphasised meaningful learning for students and avoided the fast pace and demanding requirements that can cause distress in students, whereas pre-service teachers were dominated by an all-round profile, revealing their openness to all factors. Compared with pre-service teachers, in-service teachers’ perspectives were more similar to those of students.     

新时期初中英语教学分层教学的有益尝试

分层教学是英语教学改革中依据个体差异和因材施教理论而进行的一种有益尝试。在初中英语教学中,针对学生不同的性格特点与不同的学习能力实施分层教学,有利于实现学生的多样化发展。实施分层教学是一种新的尝试,体现了"以学生为本"的教育思想。通过对初中英语教育过程中实施分层教学的实例分析,阐述了对于不同层次学生发展的需要施以不同的教学方式,从而以分层教学的方式实现学生全面发展的观点。     

Mid-life career changing to teaching profession: a study of secondary school teachers in a rural community

There are many research projects focused on pre-service teachers’ professional development programmes but only a few focus on mid-life career-changing teachers’ career decision. This paper worked with data collected from semi-structured interviews with 11 mid-life career-changing secondary school teachers. The aim was to understand the career decisions of these participants and how they made sense of their new profession during their mature adulthood in Indiana, USA. 11 mid-life career-changing secondary school teachers referred to ‘changing the next generation with industry experience’, ‘rich life experience’, ‘life-long learning’, ‘knowledge transferring’, and ‘make a difference’ to describe their current occupation as career changing secondary school teachers. The findings also outline how to reform the curriculum and instruction of the pre-service teachers’ professional development programmes.     

Talking about teaching: a study of the professional uses of email by secondary school teachers in Uruguay

Abstract

Teacher collegiality has been highlighted as a crucial factor in educational change and professional development. Secondary school teachers have been consistently found to feel isolated from their colleagues, with few opportunities and mechanisms for collegial support and exchange. Research suggests that computer-mediated communication, and electronic mail in particular, may help overcome the logistical and cultural barriers that hinder teacher communication and collaboration. This article reports on some of the findings of a research study into the use of email by secondary school teachers in Uruguay. The aim of the study was to further understand the potential of email to support teacher collegiality. Content analysis was used to identify the purpose and usage patterns of 1356 electronic mail messages exchanged between 20 secondary school teachers in Montevideo, Uruguay, over a period of 37 weeks. The evidence suggests that a majority of the exchanges between teachers were related to teaching practice. However, communication in this study largely excluded discussions on teachers' theoretical stances and pedagogical beliefs. This may diminish the potential of email to challenge teachers' professional views and hence limit professional development opportunities to an ‘instrumental’ level.     

The use of interactive video in teaching teachers: an evaluation of a link with a primary school

This paper presents an evaluation of the use of videoconferencing in learning and teaching in a United Kingdom higher education institution involved in initial teacher education. Students had the opportunity to observe naturalistic teaching practices without physically being present in the classroom. The study consisted of semi-structured interviews with the co-ordinator of the link, the head of ICT services in Stranmillis University College and the teacher of the classroom being observed. Students were invited to complete an online questionnaire. The views of the students, the co-ordinator of the link, the teacher of the classroom being observed and the head of ICT services in Stranmillis University College were then triangulated to gain an overall view of the effectiveness of the videoconferencing link. Interviews suggested students benefited in terms of pedagogy. In the early stages of the project, the teacher thought it acted as a form of classroom control. Technical problems were encountered initially and camera control was modified in the light of these. The online questionnaire suggested that students viewed this experience in a positive way and were impressed with the content, technical quality, and potential benefits of the use of this example of new technologies.     

More than a conversation: using cogenerative dialogues in the professional development of high school chemistry teachers

This paper focuses on content-based and pedagogical instructors’ use of cogenerative dialogues to improve instructional practice and to evaluate program effectiveness in a professional development program for high school chemistry teachers. We share our research findings from using cogenerative dialogues as an evaluative tool for general assessment of various program-related issues. We discuss how engaging students in cogenerative dialogues improved teaching and learning in chemistry and chemistry education courses. This research provides insights and direction for improving content-based professional development programs for science teachers and the learning experiences of high school science students. Cogenerative dialogue has the potential to expand evaluation methodologies that will position participants more centrally in not only the collection of data, but also the analysis of these data to catalyze transformative practices in educational programs.

Sustainable changes in teacher practices: a longitudinal analysis of the classroom practices of high school mathematics teachers

This study examines the effects of professional development on various aspects of teachers’ mathematics instruction. Using data collected between 2005 and 2009, we examined the extent to which the instructional practices of 49 US high school teachers who participated in content-based, sustained professional development changed over time. We found that changes in several aspects of their instructional practices followed somewhat different patterns. Teachers made statistically significant and steady changes in mathematical discourse, instructional clarity, and the development of students’ mathematical habit of mind, but not in student interactions or in the use of multiple representations.     

Teacher collaboration and professional development in the workplace: a study of Portuguese teachers

This article reports on findings from research aimed at investigating teacher collaboration and professional development in the workplace. It draws upon a broader study carried out in a school in Northern Portugal. Data were collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and written reflective accounts. In total, 80 teachers participated in phase 1, 11 key informants participated in phase 2 and 10 teachers participated in an intervention/training project (phase 3). Findings suggest that problems and limitations in relation to collaborative work are situated at the organisational level, such as time and working conditions. Lack of training in collaboration, and issues such as motivation and personal difficulties, also emerged from the data. Teachers tend to stress the importance of interpersonal relationships at school, but they also identified formal meetings when they described the contexts and opportunities to work collaboratively in the workplace, namely department meetings and projects driven by central government or school administration initiatives. Implications for teacher collaboration and professional development are discussed.     

以生为本:“问题教学法”在高中数学教学的运用刍论

"问题教学法"遵循了建构主义的教学理念,它在充分考虑学生现有的知识水平、学习能力的基础上,根据教学目标来安排课堂的教学内容,创设教学情境,让学生形成自觉地发现问题、处理问题的意识,从而猜想、归纳、综合,找到规律,逐渐建构数学知识体系。     

导学案在初中数学教学中应用的调查分析和反思

通过对近10年导学案相关文献的调阅,结合调查问卷,分析了目前导学案研究的现状和存在的问题,从学生角度探讨了对导学案的理解和要求,提出了高效导学案设计和实施的原则,对初中数学使用导学案应该注意的问题进行了反思,提出了自己的认识和建议。     

Supporting pre-service elementary teachers in their understanding of inquiry teaching through the construction of a third discursive space

Several international reports promote the use of the inquiry teaching methodology for improvements in science education at elementary school. Nevertheless, research indicates that pre-service elementary teachers have insufficient experience with this methodology and when they try to implement it, the theory they learnt in their university education clashes with the classroom practice they observe, a problem that has also been noted with other innovative methodologies. So, it appears essential for pre-service teachers to conduct supportive reflective practice during their education to integrate theory and practice, which various studies suggest is not usually done. Our study shows how opening up a third discursive space can assist this supportive reflective practice. The third discursive space appears when pre-service teachers are involved in specific activities that allow them to contrast the discourses of theoretical knowledge taught at university with practical knowledge arising from their ideas on science and science teaching and their observations during classroom practice. The case study of three pre-service teachers shows that this strategy was fundamental in helping them to integrate theory and practice, resulting in a better understanding of the inquiry methodology and its application in the classroom.     

Professional development in person: identity and the construction of teaching within a high school science department

This is a narrative inquiry into the role of professional development in the construction of teaching practice by an exemplary urban high school science teacher. I collected data during 3 years of ethnographic participant observation in Marie Gonzalez’s classroom. Marie told stories about her experiences in ten years of professional development focused on inquiry science teaching. I use a social practice theory lens to analyze my own stories as well as Marie’s. I make the case that science teaching is best understood as mediated by socially-constructed identities rather than as the end-product of knowledge and beliefs. The cognitive paradigm for understanding teachers’ professional learning fails to consistently produce transformations of teaching practice. In order to design professional development with science teachers that is generative of new knowledge, and is self-sustaining, we must understand how to build knowledge of how to problematize identities and consciously use social practice theory.     

Perceptions of the barriers to effective inclusion in one primary school: voices of teachers and teaching assistants

This study examined the barriers to inclusion in one primary school in the north of England. Qualitative data were collected from teachers and teaching assistants through the use of a focus group. The evidence suggested that practices within the school were varied and ranged from highly inclusive to highly exclusive. Some teachers worked in good faith to develop effective inclusion for learners with special educational needs. Conversely, other teachers displayed negative attitudes towards these pupils and this impacted negatively on the school's commitment to inclusion. Lack of funding, resources and training were identified as key barriers to inclusion. Parental resistance to inclusion was also evident within the context of this school and there was a strong feeling that the inclusion agenda was problematic in the context of the standards agenda. Despite these issues there was a strong sense that practitioners should be willing to commit to the principles of inclusive education and the study considers some ways in which schools can advance their practice in this respect. Within this study the term ‘practitioner’ is used to represent teachers and teaching assistants.     

高校教师成长中的困惑与反思——兼与中小学教师成长历程比较

通过对高校教师和中小学教师成长历程的分析发现,高校教师与中小学教师在发展观、教育背景、知识结构、发展路径、成长倾向、继续教育等方面存在差异,成长标准、成长途径、成长适应的困惑影响着高校教师的成长与发展.理念提升、知识优化、标准导向、条件保证、人才流动能够为教师成长提供不可或缺的思想基础、资源基础、标准导向、组织和环境保证及发展动力.