Learning from learning logs: A case study of metacognition in the primary school classroom

Structured thinking activities (STAs) are pedagogical tools used to support metacognition in classrooms. Despite their popularity, little is known about how pupils use STAs as platforms to think about and manage their own thinking (i.e. as metacognitive tools). This case study investigated pupils’ use of STAs in relation to metacognition throughout a school year. We focus on two 8-year-old pupils, Amy and Laura, as they completed two specific STAs through weekly class meets and termly achievement logs. Data were triangulated through participant observation, qualitative interviews and analysis of written texts. We found clear differences between Laura's and Amy's written STAs, however observation and interviews revealed that engagement with STAs was similar beyond that suggested by the written evidence alone. Whereas Amy used easily spelt ‘stock’ responses, Laura used ‘bare minimum’ responses to meet teacher expectations. As such, neither Amy nor Laura used STAs as metacognitive tools, however in negotiating STAs, both exhibited strategic regulatory skills indicative of metacognition. Whilst our findings highlight that pupils may still be developing explicit metacognitive knowledge necessary to take full advantage of STAs, we highlight the clear value of persistent approaches to using STAs as tools to support developing metacognition, particularly in association with teacher–pupil interactions.     

Learning to listen: from historical sources to classroom practice

Listening to students in productive ways seems to be at the core of teaching practices aligned with the basic tenets of the constructivist world view. We present a definition for productive ways of listening, discuss the challenges involved in implementing it, and propose a way to support the “decentering” needed to learning to listen for teacher education programs. The proposal is based on reading and understanding historical texts as a way to exercising the adoption of the ‘other’s perspective.’ We describe the materials developed for teacher workshops, their implementation and what participants, and we, learned from the experience.     

A sense of place in the science classroom

Place‐based science education engages with the laboratories of complex reality where natural processes combine with social practice, going beyond the physical world, to encompass the meanings and sense of attachment local residents feel for places. This brief report describes how a university science methods class in a primary teacher training programme situated scientific understandings in the rich cultural context of the historically rural and socio‐economically disadvantaged area of Galicia in north‐western Spain, where agrarian traditions continue to influence local culture. Focusing on student responses to two assignments, this brief report explores how the preparation of lesson plans related to food and environmental investigation projects served to integrate aspects of the natural, social and cultural environment to foster a critical pedagogy of place.     

Teacher characteristics and teaching styles as effectiveness enhancing factors of classroom practice

This study examined effects of teacher characteristics (gender, teacher education and certification, class management skills and job satisfaction) and teaching styles on indicators of good classroom practice in mathematics classes in secondary education by means of multilevel analysis. The study reveals that the presence of effective classroom practices can be explained by a learner-centered teaching style and by good class management skills. Furthermore, it was found that teachers with a high level of job satisfaction give more instructional support to their classes, especially to classes from a low-ability range, than teachers with a low level of job satisfaction.     

Computer-supported aids to making sense of scientific articles: cognitive, motivational, and attitudinal effects

High school students can access original scientific research articles on the Internet, but may have trouble understanding them. To address this problem of online literacy, the authors developed a computer-based prototype for guiding students’ comprehension of scientific articles. High school students were asked to read an original scientific research article about the effects of drug or alcohol abuse, which was presented on a computer screen either with computer-based comprehension aids or without aids. The aids provided background text and animations including answers given by the article authors. Across two experiments involving different schools and different research articles, the comprehension aids group performed better than the control group on a comprehension test concerning the article (d = +0.79 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.82 in Experiment 2) and rated the content of article as less difficult to read (d = +0.96 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.69 in Experiment 2). In addition, the comprehension aids group reported more positive motivational beliefs than the control group concerning understanding what scientists do (d = +0.51 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.56 in Experiment 2), appraising the article as worthwhile (d = +0.80 for Experiment 1 and d = +0.70 for Experiment 2), and being interested in reading another research article (d = +0.19 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.58 in Experiment 2). The groups did not differ on their attitudes concerning a career as a scientist or about alcohol and drug abuse. Overall, computer-based comprehension aids can help guide students’ comprehension processes for an original scientific research article, which in turn can improve their appreciation of what scientists do.

Revisiting Peirce’s account of scientific creativity to inform classroom practice

Abstract

Peirce made repeated attempts to clarify what he understood as abduction or creative reasoning in scientific discoveries. In this article, we draw on past and recent scholarship on Peirce’s later accounts of abduction to put a case for how teachers can apply his ideas productively to elicit and guide student creative reasoning in the science classroom. We focus on (a) his rationale for abduction, (b) conditions he recognised as necessary to support this speculative reasoning, (c) pragmatic strategies to guide inquiry and test conjectural hypotheses, and (d) his growing recognition of creative dimensions to reasoning beyond abductive inference-making. We illustrate this case through examples of a guided inquiry approach to student claim-making in the science classroom.     

Integrating ICT into classroom practice in modern foreign language teaching in England: making room for teachers' voices

Current government policy in the UK places teachers of all subject areas under pressure to embed ICT into their pedagogic practice to improve teaching and learning. This article attempts to compare that policy with the situated reality of a small number of Modern Foreign Language teachers striving to comply. The voices of four teachers are presented as they began to embed the use of ICT (primarily their newly acquired Interactive Whiteboards) into their existing classroom approach. The story of their developing practice is examined for signs of transformation; the complexity of a real situation is thus contrasted with a simplified ideal. By means of this investigation, examples of sophisticated pedagogical thinking are explored to demonstrate that it is perhaps not so easy to transform the learning process, with or without ICT.

La politique actuelle du gouvernement du Royaume‐Uni exerce une pression sur les enseignants de toutes matières pour qu'ils intègrent les technologies d'information et de communication dans leurs pratiques pédagogiques afin d'améliorer l'enseignement et l'apprentissage. Cet article essaye de comparer cette politique avec la réalité contextualisée d'un petit nombre de professeurs de langues étrangères qui font leur possible pour s'y conformer. Les voix de quatre enseignants y sont présentées alors qu'ils commençaient à intégrer l'informatique (et en particulier leurs tableaux interactifs récemment acquis) dans leur approche pédagogique actuelle. L'histoire du changement de leurs pratiques est remise en question pour trouver des indications de transformation. La complexité d'une situation réelle peut alors être mise en contraste avec une idée simplifiée. De par cette étude, on peut examiner des exemples de la réflexion pédagogique développée pour montrer que ce n'est pas tellement facile de transformer les méthodes d'apprentissage, avec ou sans l'outil informatique.

Die Gegenwärtige Regierungspolitik in Großbritannien setzt Lehrkräfte aller Schulfächer unter Druck, moderne Informationstechniken in ihre pädagogische Praxis einzubeziehen, um den Unterricht und den Lernprozess zu verbessern. Dieser Beitrag versucht, diese Politik mit der realen Situation einer kleinen Anzahl von SprachlehrerInnen zu vergleichen, die sich bemühen, den Anordnungen nachzukommen. Die Stimmen von vier Lehrkräften werden vorgelegt, die damit begonnen haben, Informations‐ und Kommunikationstechnologie (hauptsächlich ihre neu erworbenen interactive whiteboards (interaktive Tafeln)) in ihre gegenwärtige Unterrichtsmethode einzubeziehen. Es wird untersucht, welche Veränderungen es bei zunehmender Praxis gibt. Die Vielschichtigkeit einer realen Situation wird somit dem vereinfachten Idealfall gegenübergestellt. Mittels dieser Untersuchung werden Beispiele hochentwickelten pädagogischen Denkens erforscht und dazu verwendet, um zu zeigen, dass es doch nicht so einfach ist, den Lernprozess zu verändern—mit oder ohne ICT.

La política actuel del gobierno del Reino Unido sitúa a los profesores de todos los departamentos bajo la presión de arraigar ICT en la práctica de su pedagogía para mejorar la enseñanza y el aprendizaje. Este artículo intenta comparar esa política con la realidad de un pequeño número de profesores de idiomas extranjeros que se esfuerza por llevarla a cabo. La voz de cuatro profesores nos presenta como empoezaron a arraigar el uso de ICT (primeramente con la reciente adquisición de los Whiteboards Interactivos) como enfoque en sus clases actuales. La historia de su práctica en desarrollo está acompañada de indicios de cambios. Por eso la complejidad de una situación real se contrasta con un ideal más simplificado. Por medio de esta investigación, se exploran ejemplos de pensamiento pedagógico sofisticado para demostrar que quizás no sea tan fácil transformar el proceso de aprendizaje, con o sin ICT.     

学校教学中提高课堂效益的研究

课堂教学是教学工作的中心环节，要提高教学质量，就必须提高课堂效益。教师的讲课是课堂教学的最基本方式，讲课的效果直接影响课堂的效益。本通过分析影响课堂效益的因素，分析课堂效益的特点，指出提高课堂效益是提高教学质量的核心和关键，提出提高教师的讲课效果和提高课堂效益的思路和对策。     

Make learning personal: Recommendations for classroom practice

Structuring the curriculum and the classroom experience in ways that promote community building and develop an appreciation for diversity is a powerful way to deepen and personalize a student's learning experience.     

教师在课堂上必须正确理解的三因素

教师的课堂观念必须是正确的，否则，越是高强度的课堂教学行为就越容易戗害教学本身。教师课堂观念是多方面的复合体，从教育心理学的角度讲，其核心是理解和把握三个因素，即学生、学习过程和学习情境。...     

Learning strategies for making sense out of expository text: The SOI model for guiding three cognitive processes in knowledge construction

This article examines learning strategies that promote meaningful learning from expository text as evidenced by problem-solving transfer. The teaching of learning strategies involves decisions concerning what to teach, how to teach, where to teach, and when to teach. The teaching of learning strategies also depends on the teacher's conception of learners as response strengtheners, information processors, or sense makers. Three cognitive processes involved in meaningful learning are selecting relevant information from what is presented, organizing selected information into a coherent representation, and integrating presented information with existing knowledge. Finally, exemplary programs for teaching of learning strategies are presented. The most effective method for teaching students how to make sense out of expository text is for students to participate in selecting, organizing, and integrating information within the context of authentic academic tasks.     

高校应当特别重视决策咨询

本文从高校自身加强决策咨询的必要性、决策咨询工作的辅助性和中介性、决策咨询职能扩展趋势等方面，论述了高校决策咨询及其人才的特殊重要的价值。     

Learning to learn: Learning therapy in a college classroom

This paper describes the structure and rationale of the Language and Learning Seminar, a college course that grapples with learned helplessness issues that are frequently associated with LD. Peer/mentors play a vital role in its dynamic oral, written, and electronic communications. Elements of the course work synergistically to bypass long-standing emotional and linguistic barriers to learning. Yalom’s classification of therapeutic elements in group therapy serves as a context in which to explain the learning therapy provided by York University since 1987.