Gender Difference in Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching in the Context of Single-Sex Classrooms

This study examines gender differences of teachers on their mathematical knowledge for teaching in the context of single-sex classrooms in Saudi Arabia. A translated version of the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) instrument (Learning Mathematics for Teaching [LMT], 2008) in Number and Operation Content Knowledge (CK) and Knowledge of Content and Student (KCS) scales were administered to 197 teachers (146 male and 51 female). Two-sample t test and multiple regression were conducted to compare the two groups and test the effect of teacher background variables. Female teachers significantly scored better than their male counterpart. Gender, years of teaching experience, and specialization significantly predicted teachers’ content knowledge, F(3, 187) = 13.180, explaining 41.8 % of the variance. Only gender and specialization significantly predicted teachers’ knowledge of content and student, F(2, 191) = 6.335, explaining 24.9 % of the variance. Further comparing items in the MKT instrument where female teachers outperformed male teachers confirmed that female teachers were better in attending to the content knowledge in the context of student’s learning.     

Gender Difference in Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching in the Context of Single-Sex Classrooms

This study examines gender differences of teachers on their mathematical knowledge for teaching in the context of single-sex classrooms in Saudi Arabia. A translated version of the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) instrument (Learning Mathematics for Teaching [LMT], 2008) in Number and Operation Content Knowledge (CK) and Knowledge of Content and Student (KCS) scales were administered to 197 teachers (146 male and 51 female). Two-sample t test and multiple regression were conducted to compare the two groups and test the effect of teacher background variables. Female teachers significantly scored better than their male counterpart. Gender, years of teaching experience, and specialization significantly predicted teachers’ content knowledge, F(3, 187) = 13.180, explaining 41.8 % of the variance. Only gender and specialization significantly predicted teachers’ knowledge of content and student, F(2, 191) = 6.335, explaining 24.9 % of the variance. Further comparing items in the MKT instrument where female teachers outperformed male teachers confirmed that female teachers were better in attending to the content knowledge in the context of student’s learning.

     

Teachers’ Evaluation of Enterprise Education in the Secondary School

Abstract

This investigation was undertaken as part of research into ‘mini‐enterprise'activity in the secondary school. The research aimed to evaluate ‘mini‐enterprise’ as an approach to learning and to offer different examples in practice. Fundamental to this evaluation was an examination of the views and attitudes of teachers towards ‘mini‐enterprise’ work. This paper describes the survey undertaken to determine teachers’ attitudes towards certain key ‘enterprise’ issues and offers a summary of the research findings concluding in a discussion of the wider educational implications.     

Secondary School Teachers’ Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Renewable Energy Sources

Investigating knowledge, perceptions as well as attitudes of public that concern various aspects of environmental issues is of high importance for Environmental Education. An integrated understanding of these parameters can properly support the planning of Environmental Education curriculum and relevant educational materials. In this survey we investigated knowledge and attitudes of secondary school teachers in Greece towards renewable energy sources, particularly wind and solar energy systems. A questionnaire with both open and close questions was used as the main methodological instrument. Findings revealed that although teachers were informed about renewable energy sources and well disposed towards these sources, they hardly expressed clear positions regarding several issues about wind and solar energy technologies and farms. Moreover such themes are limited integrated in teaching either as extra curricular educational programs or through the curriculum. These findings cannot confirm that teachers could influence students’ opinion towards renewable energy systems. Thus, authorities should invest more in Environmental Education and relevant Teachers' Education.     

A Framework for Analysis of Teachers’ Geometric Content Knowledge and Geometric Knowledge for Teaching

Current reform-driven mathematics documents stress the need for teachers to provide learning environments in which students will be challenged to engage with mathematics concepts and extend their understandings in meaningful ways (e.g., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000, Curriculum and evaluation standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: The Council). The type of rich learning contexts that are envisaged by such reforms are predicated on a number of factors, not the least of which is the quality of teachers’ experience and knowledge in the domain of mathematics. Although the study of teacher knowledge has received considerable attention, there is less information about the teachers’ content knowledge that impacts on classroom practice. Ball (2000, Journal of Teacher Education, 51(3), 241–247) suggested that teachers’ need to ‘deconstruct’ their content knowledge into more visible forms that would help children make connections with their previous understandings and experiences. The documenting of teachers’ content knowledge for teaching has received little attention in debates about teacher knowledge. In particular, there is limited information about how we might go about systematically characterising the key dimensions of quality of teachers’ mathematics knowledge for teaching and connections among these dimensions. In this paper we describe a framework for describing and analysing the quality of teachers’ content knowledge for teaching in one area within the domain of geometry. An example of use of this framework is then developed for the case of two teachers’ knowledge of the concept ‘square’.     

Secondary Preservice Teachers’ Development of Teaching Scientific Writing

Educators have argued the need for greater attention on how teachers learn to teach writing in science (Kelly and Bazerman in Appl Linguist 24(1):28–55, 2003; Martin in Writing science: literacy and discursive power. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, pp 166–202, 1993). This article summarizes the findings of a qualitative study of five science preservice teachers as they experienced a unit of study, an inquiry-based instructional framework for the teaching of writing. Results found initially the science preservice teachers did not have knowledge of specific instructional approaches to teach writing. The science preservice teachers engaged in critical and analytical reading and writing, which enhanced their knowledge of writing and how to teach writing. The unit of study approach to writing may offer teacher educators a way to engage science preservice teachers in a method to teach scientific writing.     

Florida and Puerto Rico Secondary Science Teachers’ Knowledge and Teaching of Climate Change Science

Misconceptions about climate change science are pervasive among the US public. This study investigated the possibility that these misconceptions may be reflective of science teachers’ knowledge and teaching of climate change science. Florida and Puerto Rico secondary science teachers who claim to teach extensively about climate change were surveyed in regard to their conceptions of climate change science and the climate change-related topics they teach. Results show that many teachers hold naïve views about climate change (e.g. that ozone layer depletion is a primary cause of climate change) and climate change science (e.g. that it must be based on controlled experiments for it to be valid). In addition, teachers in both groups neglect crucial topics such as how evidence for climate change is developed and the social, political, and economic dimensions of climate change. Our results suggest the need for teachers to understand how to teach climate change and the nature of climate change science using authentic contexts that promote effective socioscientific decision-making and climate change mitigation.     

Development and Validation of Measures of Secondary Science Teachers’ PCK for Teaching Photosynthesis

This paper describes procedures by which two types of measures of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) were developed and validated: (a) PCK Survey and (b) PCK Rubric. Given the topic-specificity of PCK, the measures centered on photosynthesis as taught in high school classrooms. The measures were conceptually grounded in the pentagon model of PCK and designed to measure indispensable PCK that can be applied to any teacher, in any teaching context, for the given topic. Because of the exploratory nature of the study, the measures focus on two key components of PCK: (a) knowledge of students’ understanding in science and (b) knowledge of instructional strategies and representations. Both measures have established acceptable levels of reliability as determined by internal consistency and inter-rater agreement. Evidence related to content validity was gathered through expert consultations, while evidence related to construct validity was collected through analysis of think-aloud interviews and factor analyses. Issues and challenges emerging from the course of the measure development, administration, and validation are discussed with strategies for confronting them. Directions for future research are proposed in three areas: (a) relationships between PCK and teaching experiences, (b) differences in PCK between science teachers and scientists, and (c) relationships between PCK and student learning.     

Investigating Upper Secondary School Teachers’ Conceptions: Is Mathematical Reasoning Considered Gendered?

This study examines Swedish upper secondary school teachers’ gendered conceptions about students’ mathematical reasoning: whether reasoning was considered gendered and, if so, which type of reasoning was attributed to girls and boys. The sample consisted of 62 teachers from six different schools from four different locations in Sweden. The results showed that boys were significantly more often attributed to memorised reasoning and delimiting algorithmic reasoning. Girls were connected to gamiliar algorithmic reasoning, a reasoning type where you use standard method when solving a mathematical task. Creative mathematical founded reasoning, which is novel, plausible and founded in mathematical properties, was not considered gendered.     

Investigating Upper Secondary School Teachers’ Conceptions: Is Mathematical Reasoning Considered Gendered?

This study examines Swedish upper secondary school teachers’ gendered conceptions about students’ mathematical reasoning: whether reasoning was considered gendered and, if so, which type of reasoning was attributed to girls and boys. The sample consisted of 62 teachers from six different schools from four different locations in Sweden. The results showed that boys were significantly more often attributed to memorised reasoning and delimiting algorithmic reasoning. Girls were connected to gamiliar algorithmic reasoning, a reasoning type where you use standard method when solving a mathematical task. Creative mathematical founded reasoning, which is novel, plausible and founded in mathematical properties, was not considered gendered.

     

Elementary School Teachers’ Use of Technology During Mathematics Teaching

Various educational technologies have been advanced as potential vehicles to transform teaching and learning. Still, research studies have documented that primary school teachers struggle to integrate technology in meaningful ways. This article presents the findings of a year-long study in which the author frequently observed three primary school teachers’ enactments of technology into their mathematics teaching. Each teacher was observed between 25 and 30 times during the school year. The types of technologies used as well as the types of mathematical tasks and problems that participants posed while teaching with technology were inductively analyzed. Inductive qualitative analyses indicated that participants’ technology use focused on presentation technologies such as the document camera or interactive whiteboard more than computer-based technologies or interactive activities. Further, teachers varied widely in their enacted pedagogies while integrating technology, and two participants demonstrated more frequent enactments of learner-centered pedagogies toward the end of the school year. Implications for researching teachers’ use of technology in the future are also shared.     

Secondary School Students’ Construction and Use of Mathematical Models in Solving Word Problems

This study focussed on how secondary school students construct and use mathematical models as conceptual tools when solving word problems. The participants were 511 secondary-school students who were in the final year of compulsory education (15–16 years old). Four levels of the development of constructing and using mathematical models were identified using a constant-comparative methodology to analyse the student’s problem-solving processes. Identifying the general in the particular and using the particular to endow the general with meaning were the key elements employed by students in the processes of construction and use of models in the different situations. In addition, attention was paid to the difficulties that students had in using their mathematical knowledge to solve these situations. Finally, implications are provided for drawing upon student’s use of mathematical models as conceptual tools to support the development of mathematical competence from socio-cultural perspectives of learning.     

Teachers’ Coping Strategies for Teaching Science in a “Low-Performing” School District

This study describes how teachers use their personal knowledge of a school district and their students to cope with teaching under stressful situations associated with economic, social, and institutional factors. The 3 teachers dealt with these issues in unique ways, focusing on helping students to overcome negative perceptions, value the importance of an education, and build strong relationships. A model of multicultural science professional development is proposed that complements the strengths that these teachers have. A task for science educators working with teachers and administration in schools and districts that are “critically low performing” is to support everyone in implementing pedagogical methods aimed at empowerment, social justice, and high achievement for all students.

Secondary School Teachers’ Perception of Corporal Punishment: A Case Study in India

This article examines secondary school teachers’ perceptions of corporal punishment in India. Although it has been banned in Indian schools, various types of corporal punishment are still used by teachers. It has been mainly used as a mechanism for controlling disciplinary problems in schools. Based on a pilot study of 160 secondary teachers, the result of the research reveals that teachers still perceive corporal punishment as an effective method of controlling indiscipline in class. However, some teachers state that corporal punishment is ineffective in deterring students from misbehaving. Corporal punishment is not a good method to maintain discipline. Adopting harsh methods indicates a lack of proper training in managing students in a classroom situation and a poor understanding by the teachers of students’ mental states. An awareness program for secondary school teachers about the effects of corporal punishment on children is needed. The solution is proper training for teachers and student-teachers in the use of counseling to manage behavioral problem. Also full-time counselors can be appointed in schools.     

Assessing Teachers’ Pedagogical Knowledge in the Context of Teaching Higher‐order Thinking

This article reports the development and application of two instruments for assessing science teachers’ pedagogical knowledge in the context of teaching higher‐order thinking: a Likert‐type research instrument, and an instrument that analyzes classroom observations. The rationale for developing these instruments and their main categories is described. One hundred and fifty Israeli science teachers replied to the Likert‐type questionnaire. Results show that biology teachers gained a significantly higher score than either physics or chemistry teachers, that junior high school teachers scored significantly higher than high school teachers, and that a significant negative correlation was found between final scores and teaching experience. Participants in the classroom observation study were 14 teachers who attended a one‐year professional development course for teaching higher‐order thinking. The instrument was sensitive in detecting progress in teachers’ pedagogical knowledge in several categories, such as: Frequency of tasks that required higher‐order thinking; The variety of thinking strategies that teachers addressed during their lessons; Engagement of students in metacognitive thinking; and Using the “language of thinking” in class. The implications of the findings for research and practice are described.     

Exploring Biology Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge in the Teaching of Genetics in Swaziland Science Classrooms

This study explored the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and its development of four experienced biology teachers in the context of teaching school genetics. PCK was defined in terms of teacher content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and knowledge of students’ preconceptions and learning difficulties. Data sources of teacher knowledge base included teacher-constructed concept maps, pre- and post-lesson teacher interviews, video-recorded genetics lessons, post-lesson teacher questionnaire and document analysis of teacher's reflective journals and students’ work samples. The results showed that the teachers’ individual PCK profiles consisted predominantly of declarative and procedural content knowledge in teaching basic genetics concepts. Conditional knowledge, which is a type of meta-knowledge for blending together declarative and procedural knowledge, was also demonstrated by some teachers. Furthermore, the teachers used topic-specific instructional strategies such as context-based teaching, illustrations, peer teaching, and analogies in diverse forms but failed to use physical models and individual or group student experimental activities to assist students’ internalization of the concepts. The finding that all four teachers lacked knowledge of students’ genetics-related preconceptions was equally significant. Formal university education, school context, journal reflection and professional development programmes were considered as contributing to the teachers’ continuing PCK development. Implications of the findings for biology teacher education are briefly discussed.     

Teaching Genetics in Secondary Classrooms: a Linguistic Analysis of Teachers’ Talk About Proteins

This study investigates Swedish biology teachers’ inclusion of proteins when teaching genetics in grade nine (students 15–16 years old). For some years, there has been a call to give attention to proteins when teaching genetics as a means of linking the concepts ‘gene’ and ‘trait’. Students are known to have problems with this relation because the concepts belong to different organizational levels. However, we know little about how the topic is taught and therefore this case study focuses on how teachers talk about proteins while teaching genetics and if they use proteins as a link between the micro and macro level. Four teachers were recorded during entire genetics teaching sequences, 45 lessons in total. The teachers’ verbal communication was then analyzed using thematic pattern analysis, which is based in systemic functional linguistics. The linguistic analysis of teachers’ talk in action revealed great variations in both the extent to which they used proteins in explanations of genetics and the ways they included proteins in linking genes and traits. Two of the teachers used protein as a link between gene and trait, while two did not. Three of the four teachers included instruction about protein synthesis. The common message from all teachers was that proteins are built, but none of the teachers talked about genes as exclusively encoding proteins. Our results suggest that students’ common lack of understanding of proteins as an intermediate link between gene and trait could be explained by limitations in the way the subject is taught.     

Experienced Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Teaching Acid–base Chemistry

We investigated the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of nine experienced chemistry teachers. The teachers took part in a teacher training course on students’ difficulties and the use of models in teaching acid–base chemistry, electrochemistry, and redox reactions. Two years after the course, the teachers were interviewed about their PCK of (1) students’ difficulties in understanding acid–base chemistry and (2) models of acids and bases in their teaching practice. In the interviews, the teachers were asked to comment on authentic student responses collected in a previous study that included student interviews about their understanding of acids and bases. Further, the teachers drew story-lines representing their level of satisfaction with their acid–base teaching. The results show that, although all teachers recognised some of the students’ difficulties as confusion between models, only a few chose to emphasise the different models of acids and bases. Most of the teachers thought it was sufficient to distinguish clearly between the phenomenological level and the particle level. The ways the teachers reflected on their teaching, in order to improve it, also differed. Some teachers reflected more on students’ difficulties; others were more concerned about their own performance. Implications for chemistry (teacher) education are discussed. Submitted to Research in Science Education