Assessment preferences,learning orientations,and learning strategies of pre‐service and in‐service teachers

The importance of developing effective learning strategies and motivational beliefs has been widely acknowledged as a way of meeting the demand to acquire lifelong learning capabilities for successful functioning as professionals in the ‘information age’. The study reported in this paper examined the learning orientations and strategies of prospective teachers as well as their assessment preferences and compared them with those of in‐service teachers. The Motivated Learning Strategies Questionnaire (MSLQ) and the Assessment Preferences Inventory (API) were used to test the hypothesis that in‐service teachers will exhibit a deeper approach to learning and assessment due to their constant engagement in meaningful learning experiences. The results confirmed the hypothesis and their implications for teacher education programmes were then discussed.     

A framework for developing pre‐service teachers’ competencies in using technologies to enhance teaching and learning

This paper presents a framework for developing pre‐service teachers’ competencies in using technologies to enhance teaching and learning. It focuses on building the capacity of teacher education institutions (TEI) based on six strategic dimensions: (1) vision and philosophy; (2) program; (3) professional learning of deans, teacher educators and support staff; (4) ICT plan, infrastructure, resources and support; (5) communications and partnerships; and (6) research and evaluation. This paper describes each of these six strategic dimensions and synthesizes these in the overall framework for developing pre‐service teachers’ competencies in generating technology‐enhanced teaching and learning.     

Critical social theory and transformative learning: evidence in pre‐service teachers’ service‐learning reflection logs

This paper reports on the opportunities for transformational learning experienced by a group of pre‐service teachers who were engaged in service‐learning as a pedagogical process with a focus on reflection. Critical social theory informed the design of the reflection process as it enabled a move away from knowledge transmission toward knowledge transformation. The structured reflection log was designed to illustrate the critical social theory expectations of quality learning that teach students to think critically: ideology critique and utopian critique. Butin’s lenses and a reflection framework informed by the work of Bain, Ballantyne, Mills and Lester were used in the design of the service‐learning reflection log. Reported data provide evidence of transformational learning and highlight how the students critique their world and imagine how they could contribute to a better world in their work as a beginning teacher.     

Outcomes of a service‐learning program for pre‐service teachers: links to Butin's conceptual model

The outcomes of a pilot Service‐learning Program designed for pre‐service teachers enrolled in a unit about inclusive education in an Australian University will be discussed in this paper. Service‐learning requires university or school students to become involved in their community in order to utilize knowledge learned at university. The program involves reciprocal relationships with organizations in which the service reinforces and strengthens the learning in the academic unit on inclusive education, and the learning reinforces the service for the organization. Pre‐service teachers completed 10 hours working in the community along with completing a service‐learning reflection log. Evaluation of the service‐learning reflection process as a pedagogy will be discussed using the conceptual lenses: technical, cultural, political and post modern. The data demonstrate evidence to suggest that Butin's four lenses can be supported by the reflection process associated with the Service‐learning Program described in this study and be used to construct an improved service‐learning reflection log for future students.     

The teaching efficacy beliefs of pre‐service teachers in the USA and Turkey

The purpose of this study was to compare pre‐service elementary teachers' sense of mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs in a Turkish university and in a major American university located in the Midwest. The data for this study were collected by means of the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument. In the Turkish sample there were 141 pre‐service elementary teachers, and in the American sample there were 104 pre‐service elementary teachers. Results from the study indicate that pre‐service teachers in Turkey tend to have a stronger belief that teaching can influence student learning when compared with pre‐service teachers in the United States. However, a similar difference was not observed for personal mathematics teaching efficacy.     

Discipline orientations of pre‐service teachers before and after student teaching

This study examined the classroom discipline orientations of pre‐service elementary teachers both before and after the student teaching experience. Prior to beginning and immediately after completing their full‐time student teaching experience, pre‐service teachers (N = 220) from three southeastern universities in the USA completed a discipline belief instrument which identified their preferred model of classroom discipline. The results showed that the student teaching experience significantly increased beginning teachers’ preferences toward a more assertive discipline model (Rules and Consequences) and decreased their preferences toward the humanistic discipline model (Relationship–Listening). These results demonstrate that the student teaching experience may be creating a dissonance in prior knowledge and beliefs, and experiences of pre‐service teachers in classrooms. The results of the study suggest that teacher education programs can help pre‐service teachers transition more smoothly into classroom teaching by providing a school–university partnership as well as more lessons and advice on handling specific classroom management situations.     

Beliefs about teaching and uses of technology among pre‐service teachers

In the current learning environments, technology is integrated in different ways. Teachers acting in the capacity of main change agents bring with them beliefs about teaching which effects their use of technology in the classroom. This study aims to examine the possible relationship between teachers' beliefs about teaching and uses of technology. Unlike past research on this issue, the results from this study show that belief in constructivist teaching correlates significantly with both constructivist and traditional uses of technology. However, a belief in traditional teaching is only significantly correlated (negatively) with constructivist use of technology. Implications for teaching training and future research are discussed.     

Synchronous and asynchronous interactions of bilingual Hispanic pre‐ and in‐service teachers in distance learning

Abstract

This study investigated differences in online written interactions of bilingual Hispanic pre‐ and in‐service teachers across two types of online discussion groups: synchronous and asynchronous. Participants were exposed to a shortened version of a wholly online special education course and participated in instructional activities as well as synchronous and asynchronous discussion groups over a six‐week period. The research used both an alternating treatment design to gather quantitative data, and interviews and questionnaires for qualitative data. The results support the contention that synchronous discussion group interactions are an important feature of successful online courses with Hispanic students.     

Improving pre‐service teacher learning through peer teaching: process,people and product1

This research investigates the perceptions of first‐year Bachelor of Teaching students (primary and secondary) and Diploma of Education students (secondary) about their peer teaching experience in a postgraduate subject called Curriculum and Assessment. Peer teaching is a learner‐centred approach to teaching and learning that is intended to provide significant benefits for learners' knowledge, skills and metacognition. However, concerns have been raised over the quality of the learning and teaching and the risks associated with such a pedagogy. In the present study, student responses to questionnaires and semi‐structured interviews were analysed, using a mixed methods approach, with respect to three broad and somewhat interconnected categories: process, people and product. These responses suggested a wide range of reactions to peer teaching, but overall students feel they benefited from the experience. The findings of this study should be of interest to lecturers and students in pre‐service teacher education courses, especially. Knowledge about peer teaching, learning and assessment would be especially valuable for both education lecturers and beginning teachers seeking to design and manage learner‐centred pedagogy in their own primary, secondary and tertiary classrooms. However, the results of this research would have far‐reaching appeal for all teaching and learning contexts.     

Mathematics anxiety and mathematics teacher efficacy in elementary pre‐service teachers

This study investigated the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics teacher efficacy among 156 elementary pre‐service teachers from a university in the southeastern United States. Data sources included the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS), Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument, and pre‐service teacher interviews. Findings revealed a significant, negative relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics teachers’ efficacy (r = ?.475, p<.05). Specifically, the pre‐service teachers with the lowest degree of mathematics anxiety had the highest levels of mathematics teacher efficacy. Interviews with pre‐service teachers indicated that their mathematics anxiety is associated with efficaciousness toward mathematics teaching practices and is the basis for their mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs.     

How do university teachers combine different approaches to teaching in a specific course? A qualitative multi-case study

Teaching approaches in higher education are at the general level well researched and have identified not only the two broad categories of content-focused and learning-focused approaches to teaching but also consonance and dissonance between the aspects of teaching. Consonance means that theoretically coherent teaching practices are employed, but dissonance occurs when two broad approaches are combined. Previous studies researched teaching approaches at the general level, whereas the present study, researched approaches to teaching at the course level. Three university teachers were interviewed in depth about their teaching approach to one particular course. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. While previous studies have found that dissonance occurs between different aspects of teaching, this multi-case study revealed that dissonance can also be found within a single aspect. The present study suggests that neither content- nor learning-focused approaches to teaching are mutually exclusive and therefore may co-exist in individual teachers’ practices.     

How do teachers support their students on the autism spectrum in Australian primary schools?

This study investigated the supports and modifications made available to students on the autism spectrum in Australian schools. Teachers rated the importance of several factors in determining the grades of their students and reported on the frequency of student engagement with a range of instructional materials. Eighty‐seven teachers identified the modifications, accommodations and additional assistance provide to primary school students on the autism spectrum. Teachers also compared the frequency of class engagement and methods of evaluating outcomes for students with and without autism. A range of modifications and adjustments were implemented to support students on the spectrum. There were no significant differences in the frequency of instructional material use of students on the autism spectrum compared to their classmates. However, teachers did report differences in their methods of determining the grades of their students with and without autism. This is an important first step in understanding the experiences of teachers who are educating students on the autism spectrum in Australian schools. The findings reveal that teachers are working to support the diverse learning needs of their students on the autism spectrum. Further investigation of the factors that are driving teachers’ use of school‐based supports is warranted.     

Using web design with pre‐service teachers as a means of creating a collaborative learning environment

This study involves a group of over 300 third‐year Bachelor of Education students attending St Patrick’s College of Education, Dublin, Ireland. Working in groups of not more than three, the students completed an assignment to create a WebQuest. On construction of the WebQuest the students were asked to reflect on the experience, considering issues such as collaboration, cooperation, planning, decision‐making, time management, project direction and design. They were also asked to reflect on the impact of the exercise on their own learning styles and its influence on their concepts of teaching and learning. Finally, they were asked if the exercise had affected their ideas of how to use the Internet in school and if they envisage using WebQuests as part of their teaching in the future. Their reflections were facilitated by a questionnaire. Results of the project have implications for future course design.

Die Erstellung eines Webdesigns durch Lehramtsstudenten als Mittel, eine kollaborative Lernumgebung zu erzeugen

Diese Studie umfasst eine Gruppe von mehr als 300 Lehrerstudenten des St. Patrick’s College of Education in Dublin, Irland. In Gruppen von nicht mehr als drei Personen füllten die Studenten einen Zusatz zur Erzeugung eines Webfragebogens aus. Im Verlauf der Arbeit an der Konstruktion des WebQuest wurden sie aufgefordert, über die Erfahrung mit Dingen wie Zusammenarbeit, Kooperation, Planung, Entscheidungsfindung, Zeitmanagement, Projektziel und Konzeption nachzudenken. Zusätzlich wurden sie angehalten, über den Einfluss dieser Übung auf ihren eigenen Lehrstil und auf ihre Konzepte von Lehren und Lernen zu reflektieren. Schließlich wurden sie befragt, ob diese Übung ihre Einschätzung, wie das Internet im Schulunterricht genutzt werden könne und ob sie sich vorstellen könnten, WebQuests im Rahmen ihres zukünftigen Unterrichts einzusetzen. Ihre Reflexionen wurden durch einen Fragebogen unterstützt. Die Ergebnisse des Projekts haben Auswirkungen auf zukünftige Lehrgangsentwürfe.

Comment utiliser la conception de sites Web avec des enseignants en formation initiale pour créer un environnement d’apprentissage collaboratif

Cette étude porte sur un groupe de plus de 300 étudiants de Licence en Education inscrits à l’Institut St Patrick de formation des Maîtres de Dublin. Travaillant en groupes de trois au maximum, ces étudiants ont mené à bien un projet de création d’un WebQuest.Au moment de la construction de ce WebQuest, on a demandé aux étudiants de réfléchir sur l’expérience en cours et sur les problèmes de collaboration, de coopération, de planification, de prise de décision,de gestion du temps,d’ orientation et de conception du projet. On leur a aussi demandé de réfléchir à l’impact de cet exercice sur leurs propres styles d’apprentissage et à son influence sur la façon dont ils envisageaient l’enseignement et l’apprentissage.On les a finalement interrogés pour savoir si cet exercice avait affecté leur façon de penser aux usages de l’Internet à l’école et si ils (elles) envisageaient d’utiliser WebQuest dans leur enseignement à l’avenir. Un questionnaire a facilité la réponse à ces questions. Les résultats de ce projet auront des conséquences pour la conception des cours à venir.     

Pre‐service primary education teachers’ changing attitudes towards teaching: a longitudinal study

This study investigated the longitudinal changes in the attitudes of pre‐service primary education teachers towards the teaching profession as they progressed through training. The results indicate that there is a significant difference in pre‐service teachers’ attitudes towards the profession between their freshman and senior years. Moreover, the findings obtained through interview data have shown that both positive and negative changes occur in pre‐service teachers’ attitudes towards teaching throughout their education, and these changes are observed to be related to teaching practice, cooperating teachers, teacher education institutions and teacher educators.     

Learning to teach: enhancing pre‐service teachers’ awareness of the complexity of teaching–learning processes

Abstract

Interest in story in teaching has been linked to teacher research (Carter, 1993; Elbaz, 1991), to teacher education (Connelly &; Clandinin, 1994), to curriculum (Britz‐man, 1989; Gudmundsdottir, 1991c), and to school change (Giltin, 1990). I wish to argue here for a link between story and one form of teacher reflection, for portfolio construction, unlike more conventional forms of teacher development, encourages teachers to tell the story of their classrooms and to frame that story in particular ways. I wish to argue here for a view that constructing a portfolio shifts the ownership of learning to the portfolio‐maker and that in this constructing, we can trace a teacher's developing understanding of pedagogy. Specifically, my aim is to illustrate the narrative dimensions of a self‐generated portfolio question — its interpretations, the reflections upon its meaning, and its transformations of pedagogical understanding — as this text becomes pedagogy and pedagogy becomes text. This interpretive process is illustrated through a case study of Ellen Nicol, a secondary English as a Second Language teacher, in her graduate teacher education year and her first 2 years of classroom teaching. Ellen's pedagogical text, her question, is reinterpreted with major changes each time she comes to understand more completely the richness and complexity of her classroom. Each new transformation and reinterpretation serve as guide for selection of materials, for selection of pedagogy, and for assessment of success. Each new collection of pedagogical information serves as impetus for possible reframing and transformation of the text.     

Action research as a bridge between pre‐service teacher education and in‐service professional development for students and teacher educators

The first part of this paper describes the rationale for and process of engaging student teachers in action research during the fourth and final year of their teacher education, which is also their first year as teachers (induction year). During this year the novice teachers are engaged in an action research project as a compulsory assignment in the course ‘Teacher as researcher’. The objective of the course is to provide novice teachers with reflective tools for systematic examination of their work as teachers. The second part of the paper documents the learning process of the teachers of the course (which can also be viewed as action research), since we jointly planned the course, engaged in reflective dialogues with the students and among ourselves and systematically examined our work by personal diary writing and inviting informal and more formal (questionnaire) feedback from the students. The process of our action research is documented in this paper, whereas the product is hopefully implemented in teaching a better course and in more effective support of our students.

La première partie de cet article explique la logique d'une recherche basée sur l'action menée pendant la quatrième et dernière année de formation éducative, qui par ailleurs est aussi la première année de pratique comme enseignant (année d'essai). Pendant l'année, les novices doivent s'adonner à un projet de recherche pour le cours ‘Enseignant comme chercheur’ dont le but est de leur procurer des outils de réflexion pour pouvoir examiner systématiquement leur travail comme enseignant. La seconde partie de l'article illustre ce que nous, les professeurs du cours, apprenons, ce qui peut être considéré comme recherche basée sur l'action puisque nous avons pensé le cours conjointement, et avons établi des dialogues de réflexion avec les étudiants et entre nous, avons systématiquement examiné notre travail en tenant un journal, avons requis des commentaries critiques formels (sous forme d'un questionnaire) et informels des étudiants. Le processus de notre recherche basée sur l'action est illustré dans cet article et nous espérons que son fruit se fera sentir dans un cours meilleur et un soutien plus efficace des étudiants.

La primera parte de este trabajo describe el racional y el proceso de involucramiento de estudiantes de marcos de formación docente en la investigación en acción, durante el cuarto y último año de su formación, el cual a su vez constituye el primer año como docentes (año de prueba). Durante este año los jóvenes docentes se involucrarán en el proyecto de investigación en acción como una tarea obligatoria en el marco del curso ‘El docente como investigador’. El objetivo del curso es de proveer a los jóvenes docentes de herramientas reflexivas para lograr un análisis sistemático de su labor como docentes. La segunda parte del trabajo documenta el proceso de enseñanza de los docentes del curso, nosotros, que a su vez puede ser visto como una investigación en acción ya que hemos planificado el curso en conjunto, nos sumergimos en diálogos reflexivos con los estudiantes y entre nosotros, y hemos analizado sistemáticamente nuestra tarea a través de la escritura de un diario personal, además de solicitar en forma informal y más formal (cuestionario) una retroalimentación de parte de los estudiantes. El proceso de investigación en acción se documenta en este trabajo, esperamos que el producto del mismo sea implementado en el mejoramiento del curso y un apoyo más eficaz para nuestros estudiantes.

Der erste Teil dieses Artikels beschreibt die Leitgedanken und Vorgehensweise eines Aktionsforschungsprojekts mit Lehramtsstudenten im vierten (somit letzten) Jahr ihrer Ausbildung, das zugleich ihr erstes Jahr als Lehrer ist (‘Bewährungsjahr’). Im Laufe dieses Jahrs sind die Neulehrer verpflichtet, an einem Aktionsforschungsprojekt im Rahmen einer Pflichtlehrveranstaltung, ‘Lehrende als Forschende’ teilzunehmen. Ziel dieser Lehrveranstaltung ist es, Neulehrer mit reflektiven Instrumenten für die systematische Untersuchung ihrer eigenen Arbeit als Lehrer auszurüsten. Im zweiten Teil dieses Artikels wird der Lernprozess der Lehrpersonen dokumentiert, die diese Pflichtlehrveranstaltung gemeinsam entwickelten und abhalten. In kritsch‐reflektivem Dialog mit den Studierenden und miteinander, durch Führen eines perseonlichen Tagebuchs und Auseinandersetzung mit formalen und informalen Reaktionen der Studierenden auf die Lehrveranstaltung, fand somit ein Aktionsforschungsprojekt der Lehrerausbilder selbst statt. Der Lernprozess, der sich in diesem Artikel niederschlägt, wird in einer verbesserten Lehrveranstaltung und einer effektiveren Unterstützung der Studierenden beim Übergang in die Berufswirklichkeit umgesetzt.     

Demographic differences in changing pre‐service teachers’ attitudes,sentiments and concerns about inclusive education

The preparation of teachers for regular schools has clearly needed to undergo quite significant change in recent years. One major adjustment has been the necessity to prepare teachers for progressively more diverse student populations as they will increasingly be required to teach in inclusive classrooms. Many teacher education institutions are, therefore, offering units of work that aim to tackle this. Utilizing an international data set of 603 pre‐service teachers, consideration is given to the effect of a range of demographic differences on changing pre‐service teacher attitudes toward inclusion; sentiments towards people with a disability and in reducing their concerns about inclusion when involved in a focused unit of work. Pre‐ and post‐training comparisons are made which identify a range of variables that impact on changing pre‐service teacher perceptions about inclusion. The discussion focuses on the importance of differentiating teacher preparation courses to address these different needs of pre‐service teachers.     

‘Baby teachers’: how pre‐service early childhood students transform their conceptions of teaching and learning through an infant practicum

This qualitative study explores how working with infants changed pre‐service early childhood students’ thinking about important aspects of early childhood education. Through a qualitative analysis of four pre‐service early childhood students’ weekly dialogue journals during a required, one‐semester infant practicum, the authors discovered how the course provided a context for challenging students’ previously held notions about early childhood teaching and learning. Their findings showed that infants’ ways of being were a powerful influence on pre‐service early childhood students’ sense of themselves as teachers and emphasized the value of hands‐on experiences with infants as an important component of early childhood professional preparation.     

Bounded decision-making,teachers’ reflection and organisational learning: How research can inform teachers and teaching

Despite numerous efforts to align educational practice more closely with findings from educational research, there is little clarity about how educational practitioners can, in principle, use research. We propose a conceptualisation based on how research can contribute to practitioners’ thinking: specifically, our framework proposes that research can inform bounded decision-making, teachers’ reflection and organisational learning. Practitioners can also use research without being aware that they are doing so. We argue that this conceptualisation of research use has potential to inform researchers and practitioners.     

Student‐teachers’ conceptions of science,teaching and learning: a case study in preservice science education

The resort to experiment is considered to be essential for teaching physics. But it often consists of an inductivist method where students are supposed to be able to find physical laws by observing phenomena. In fact it is not as easy for the students as it is for the physicist. We propose and test another way. When studying a new phenomenon, an initial discussion is performed between students in the class. They can propose various (eventually contradictory) explanatory models. Experiments are then used to make a choice between these models. Sequences in class situation are described, with learning behaviour and results reported for pupils in French schools (grades 6 and 8, 11‐14‐year olds).