Meaningful education for returning-to-school students in a comprehensive upper secondary school in Iceland

Dropout from upper secondary education in Iceland is higher than in the neighboring countries, but varied options to re-enter school have also been on offer. This article focuses on how students, who had returned to a selected upper secondary school after having quit in one or more other schools, benefited from an innovative pedagogical approach used in the school. The article draws upon interviews, in which the interviewees expressed their pleasure with the school, reporting three main assets of its pedagogy: firstly, a supportive school ethos and student–teacher relationships expressed by the ways in which teachers worked, and also in teachers’ views towards students; secondly, an online learning platform, used by all teachers, which the students could use to structure their studies; and thirdly, the use of formative assessment and no final end-of-term examinations. This pedagogy comprises a whole school approach, and the article concludes that such a school culture and practice enables teenagers and young adults to exercise their right to re-enter academic upper secondary education, which prepares for college, rather than directing them to an industry vocational or practical study program they take little or no interest in.     

对在线教育现状和教学能力的几点思考

为了响应教育部"停课不停学"的号召,在线教育作为应急之举登上教育的主流舞台.从基础教育到高等教育,全国2.65亿学生,1600万大中小学教师共同开展在线教学,参与了这场具有特殊历史意义的教学活动.教师作为在线教育的主导者,其核心教学能力具备与否受到了广泛的关注和检验.随着线上教学日益普及,面临在线教育常态化的发展趋势,...     

‘We matter just the same’: students and pre-service teachers working together in an alternative educational setting

This paper examines how a clinical experience in an alternative educational setting impacted both pre-service secondary teachers and the students with whom they worked. The participants were pre-service secondary teachers completing a clinical experience at a local agency that served a population of students for whom traditional school settings were not effective, as well as students at the agency. The results indicate that for the pre-service teachers, the experience allowed them to develop a deeper understanding of learner diversity and the importance of connecting to students. For the agency students, the interactions with the pre-service teachers provided them with additional academic support, as well as resources for post-secondary education. The agency students also recognized that they had the power to show pre-service teachers how to work effectively with students for whom traditional school settings are a challenge. The authors conclude with implications for pre-service teachers, agency students, and university and clinical site instructors, as well as practical considerations for developing such partnerships.     

在线教育:数字鸿沟还是数字机遇?--基于疫情期间在线学习城乡差异分析

疫情期间,全国大规模在线教学实践引发了很多热点,在线教育城乡差异的讨论是其中之一。本研究采用调查研究法,以城乡中小学生为调查对象,从在线学习准备、在线学习情况、在线学习体验等方面调查了在线学习的现状,通过独立样本T检验分析城乡学生在线学习的差异,并寻找引发差异的原因。研究发现,城乡中小学生在线学习条件、自主学习能力以及对在线学习认同度三个方面存在显著差异,其中网络条件是引发差异的基本因素,自主学习能力是关键因素,对在线学习的认同度是核心因素。基于此,本研究从增强“硬实力”、提高“软实力”、发展“新模式”三个方面提出建议,以发挥在线教育促进教育公平的作用。     

Effect of pandemic based online education on teaching and learning system

Coronavirus outbreak mediated pandemic impacted most of the sectors globally. This includes the academic world that consists of millions of enrolled learners and active teachers who previously had regular classes in their institutions, and due to the pandemic, got stuck at the home. To continue the education process, the online class was introduced in most of the countries, including India. In this mode, both teaching and learning happen through electronic devices which are relatively new to the entire teaching-learning community. This study aimed to understand how online classes had fared for the teachers and students in India. Besides, it tried to understand the users’ experience and the unique set of challenges that this mode of education brings.Four separate questionnaires were created for school students, school teachers, college students, and college professors. The questions inquired about various aspects of online classes such as setting up online education at home, knowledge transfer, comfort, evaluation, and future aspects. The questionnaires were circulated electronically as google forms. The responses were received from the teachers (school teachers and college professors considering all courses) and learners (school and college students considering all courses) of various educational institutions across the country. The data was compiled and the results were discussed in two ways, firstly, the perspectives of teaching versus the learning group and secondly, school versus college groups on online versus regular classes. Though online training/distance education is practiced for a long time, the research on the mentioned aspects was limited. This study is the first of its kind which reflects the merits and demerits of the new-normal online education from home in the compiled voice of teachers and learners group in India. The study addresses the participant’s compliments and grievances of online education compared to regular classes. This further enlightens how to improve the technologies to make them use more efficiently. Besides, this study gives a proper framework to modify or create educational policies, laws, and schemes to obtain equal access to resources for all.     

Pedagogical practices of NetNZ teachers for supporting online distance learners

A supportive online learning environment entails teachers using effective pedagogical practices to meet the needs of their students and developing a positive teacher–student relationship to foster learner motivation and engagement. This paper reports a study investigating how 32 secondary teachers in New Zealand taught their online distance classes and how they related to their students. These classes were administered by NetNZ, an online distance education community. An online survey conducted in 2016 found that NetNZ teachers used inquiry-based practices including flipped learning and knowledge-building pedagogies to support agency, autonomy, collaboration, and community development. They also used synchronous and asynchronous communication technologies to overcome barriers of relationship building in online settings. NetNZ was unique in delivering distance education in the New Zealand context in that it used a community approach to encourage a more active participation of its member schools and teachers in delivering distance courses to secondary students.     

Enacting entrepreneurship education: The interaction of personal and professional interests in mini-enterprises

This article argues that participative approaches, such as those found in enterprise or entrepreneurship education, allow several factors to influence learning activity. The ‘Mini-enterprise’ (Young Enterprise) approach is one where students set up and run their own business during a school year. This article is based on the analysis of interactional processes in four mini-enterprises in post-16 education. Given the emphasis on progressive ideas in entrepreneurship education in general, it is important to understand how students themselves form the learning activity. The analysis shows how ideas about friendship, school and business all contribute to students’ interaction and to forming the learning process. In order to explore how students’ agency is informed by different sets of ideas, the article applies Joas’ theory of creative action. This allows a discussion of how students’ personal and professional interests interact in productive and less productive ways in the learning activity.     

In what ways are teacher candidates being prepared to teach about the environment? A case study from Wisconsin

There is an urgent need for primary and secondary students to develop awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and an environmental ethic necessary to undertake environmental issues and problems. The need to adequately prepare teachers to teach about the environment, and the challenges the field of environmental education (EE) faces lead us to the research question: In what ways are teacher candidates being prepared to teach primary and secondary students about the environment? Using a case study approach of the 33 teacher education programs in Wisconsin (USA), we explored the ways in which EE is integrated into teacher preparation. Surveys, interviews, and the analysis of course documents (e.g. syllabi, assignment sheets) were used to identify two primary ways in which EE is being integrated – courses and activities. After examining the commonalities among programs that are doing more than typical (such as using multiple ways to include EE or having high quality EE), we explored the role organizational resources – material, human, and social – play in teacher education programs.     

The silence about oral presentation skills in distance and online education: new perspectives from an Australian university preparatory programme

Oral presentation skills are considered essential workplace skills and are therefore highly valued in higher education. However, research into this aspect of adult learning is limited, especially in the context of distance and online education. This paper reports on an innovative approach used in a university preparatory program in Australia. Distance students were responsible for choosing a topic, setting and audience, and assessment was based on their self-reflections on the experience. Such an approach represents a radical departure from the usual methods used to practise and assess oral presentations. In this qualitative case study, we draw on students’ responses via portfolio reflections and interviews, using principles of adult learning as a framework for thematic analysis. Findings suggest that this activity fulfilled the needs of adult learners in a number of significant ways, and for some of these students, this oral presentation was a meaningful, even transformative experience.     

疫情防控下中小学教师在线教学与在线培训分析

疫情防控下,广大师生面临"停课不停学"的新考验,而超大规模开展在线教学从多方面给中小学教师带来了巨大挑战。为了解中小学教师在线教学的现状及其对在线培训的需求,文章面向23个省市地区的中小学教师进行了网络问卷调查,并对收集的15438份有效问卷进行了整理分析,重点分析了疫情防控下中小学教师对在线教学的态度、准备情况、平台使用和效果预期等,以及中小学教师对在线培训的具体需求。在调查分析的基础上,文章针对中小学教师在线培训提出了相关建议。通过在线培训提升中小学教师的在线教学能力,不仅仅是疫情防控下的权宜之计,也将是提高教师信息素养、促进教育信息化长远发展的重要途径。     

School Environmental Education Programme Impacts upon Student and Family Learning: A case study analysis

This article uses a case study approach to explore the impact of two school environmental education programmes, from the perspective of participating students, their teachers and their parents. A total of 152 students (79 from primary schools and 73 from a secondary school), 3 teachers and 62 parents contributed their perceptions regarding the impact of the programmes. Each programme is described in detail and students' responses compared across the two programmes and across different class groups participating in each programme. It is concluded that both programmes were successful in engaging students in thinking and learning about environmental issues, although some programme features were more likely than others to lead to impacts beyond the bounds of the classroom. Recommendations are made regarding those features that need to be included in school environmental education programmes in order to maximise student and family learning outcomes.     

对网络教育发展中几个关键问题的思考

定位问题是影响当前网络教育发展的根本原因，在学校教育和学校外教育中网络教育有不同的发展模式；教学评价方式陈旧、教学环境质量不高、教学模式不成熟、学习主体自治能力低下等问题则是影响网络教育质量的几个关键因素。     

疫情期间中职学校在线教学实证研究——以芜湖市某中等职校公共管理类专业为例

为了解疫情期间中职公共管理类专业师生的在线教学现状,以芜湖市某中等职校公共管理类专业的112名学生为调查样本,采用了自编问卷"中职公共管理类专业学生在线学习体验效果调查问卷",用SPSS 25.0进行统计分析.结果发现,中职公共管理类专业学生在线学习体验效果总体高于中等水平,可以分为自我发展感知、自我互动感知、教师指导...     

“I ‘feel’ like I am at university even though I am online.” Exploring how students narrate their engagement with higher education institutions in an online learning environment

This article outlines a collaborative study between higher education institutions in Australia, which qualitatively explored the online learning experience for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The project adopted a narrative inquiry approach and encouraged students to story their experiences of this virtual environment, providing a snapshot of how learning is experienced by those undertaking online studies. The study explores what impacted upon students’ engagement in this environment and how different facets of their learning experience made a qualitative difference to how individuals enacted engagement. Drawing upon Sharon Pittaway’s engagement framework, the article seeks to foreground student voice as the learners define their engagement in learning, the strategies they employed to assist this process and how engagement was enacted at an individual level. The students’ reflections presented in this article can be used to inform teaching and learning strategies designed to improve engagement in the online environment within the higher education sector.     

Race,culture and agency: Examining the ideologies and practices of U.S. teachers of Black male students

This study examines teachers of Black male students in a United States secondary school setting. Qualitative methods were used to document teachers' ideologies of and practices with their Black male students. In general, teachers drew upon competing structural and cultural explanations of Black male social and academic outcomes, while also engaging in practices that contested school barriers for Black males. Teacher beliefs about and practices with their Black male students were inconsistent in many ways, yet their agency on behalf of Black males might be understood as essential to Black male educational progress.     

Elementos clave para un modelo de aprendizaje basado en proyectos colaborativos online (ABPCL) en la Educación Superior

ABSTRACT

Collaborative learning is a key approach to the development of teaching and learing activities. Project-based learning (PBL) is an approach that encourages the acquisition of skills by the students promoting collaboration among them, since it requires them to solve activities for the development of a specific product. There are various experiences of using this methodology, most of them applied in primary and secondary education, and the few that refer to higher education are carried out in classroom settings. This work presents a case study based on a specific course designed for the acquisition of the digital competence that combines collaborative online learning with PBL and the results obtained from its implementation are explained. The collected data show the success of its application and validates the design presented, highlighting the key elements for fostering collaboration among students.     

缄默知识视域下小学教育本科生实践能力的培养

实践能力是小学教育本科生的一项重要素质,重视师范生的实践能力是目前小学本科教育普遍的价值诉求。基于学生的缄默知识与实践能力的关系,分析了学生缄默知识的获得机制,进而提出了缄默知识视域下小学教育本科生的实践能力的四种培养方式。     

From the Field: Characteristics of Successful Tertiary Online Students and Strategies of Experienced Online Educators

Online learning, now a popular method of education at the tertiary level, creates new challenges for students and educators. Faculty members may know little about how to assist students in succeeding in this new learning environment, and students may be ill prepared to tackle the new demands put upon them. This research sought to identify dimensions of successful online learners by examining primary screening documents and mapping them to the literature base, and then invited experienced online educators to review the dimensions and provide strategies they use to ensure student success. Seven dimensions were identified and confirmed as significant, each dimension with slightly different importance, including access to tools; technology experience; learning preferences; study habits and skills; goals or purposes; lifestyle factors; and personal traits and characteristics. The experienced educators provided several online teaching strategies including students' posting biographies; frequent interaction; collaboration; required participation; question-asking forums; topical flexibility; and minimizing technology requirements.     

Pre-service teachers teaching about and across cultures using digital environments: the case of eTutor

Increasingly, school teachers are expected to be able to teach about and across cultures, as well as teach in digitally enriched classrooms. Teacher educators are expected to prepare their teaching students for such challenges. One university designed the eTutor online environment to enhance and support the development of pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) intercultural capability, as well as enhance their capability to use digital technologies in their own teaching practices. Over 450 PSTs and school students from eight schools across four countries interacted with each other online for a 14-week period. Participants posted blogs, comments, wall posts and shared images and videos centred on cultural exchange. Despite the challenges of access to technology and conflicting calendars, eTutor was seen by participating schools as a potentially useful way to engage their students in intercultural learning. The experience of interacting with children from multiple cultures in an online environment contributed positively to a shift, for the majority of PSTs, from an ethnocentric to a more ethnorelative worldview. However, PSTs found establishing relationships with students in the online environment challenging.