Instructional Issues for Teaching Assistants

This study examined teaching assistants' perceptions of various instructional issues and explored whether their perceptions were affected by nationality, gender, and academic discipline. The study generated significant, positive results. Logistic regression with dummy coding revealed significant predictors of teaching assistants' instructional roles, teaching style, instructional methods, communication strategies, and potential problems. Discussion of the results, implications, and recommendations for future research are included.where she coordinates the campus-wide TA training and development program     

Forging links between parents and schools: a new role for Teaching Assistants?

Elaine Logan and Anthony Feiler discuss findings from the Literacy Early Action Project, a home based scheme for Reception children at risk of struggling with literacy. During the project, Teaching Assistants (TAs) made regular visits to children's homes, sharing ideas for literacy learning with parents and other family members. The article concludes that TAs are exceptionally well positioned to take on innovative roles, developing links between home and school.     

大学“助教”的逝去:基于S大学三位教师的口述史研究

新中国成立以来,大学青年教师已经历了老、中、青三代,三代青年教师在不同历史时期,有着怎样的助教境遇？扫描三代青年教师走过的助教历程,发现第一代青年教师刻骨铭心的助教,到了第二代就变得顺其自然,到第三代就多了几分随意,并行将逝去。然而,助教的灵魂不应逝去,值得人们深思。     

自我形象与语音教学策略

文章作者认为,语音影响语言学习者的自我形象.克服外语学习者语音心理障碍的关键是学好英语语音.教师应在课堂教学中运用恰当的教学策略,减少学生的语音心理压力,树立学生良好的外语学习自我形象.     

优质教学的教学论解读

有效教学是对教学的基本要求,优质教学是追求的目标,新课程呼唤优质教学。优质教学坚持三维目标整合的整体发展观,秉承注重思维过程、生活经验、开放建构和整体联系的知识观,倡导主动性、交往性、创新性和体验性学习的学习观,要求教师由传授者走向促进者,由拥有知识到拥有智慧。优质教学的核心是学生的优质发展,而促进学生的优质发展则需要优质的知识、优质的学习和优质的教师。     

A Window for a Purpose: Developing a Framework for Describing Effective Science Teaching and Learning

This paper describes the development of a framework – the SIS Components – for describing effective teaching and learning in science, to support a system wide change initiative. The methodology used and the analysis that led to their refinement, is traced to expose the different issues involved in constructing the notion of effective practice. These issues have to do with purpose, politics and audience. They determine features of the framework such as specificity, elements focused on, and the support structures that are put in place to establish the particular discourse being promoted. The paper describes the different research methods used to establish, to promote and to validate the components, and outlines the different senses in which this and any framework can be seen as contingent on the setting for which it is intended.     

Tackling Complexity In Mathematics Teaching Development: Using the Teaching Triad as a Tool for Reflection and Analysis

This paper reports research that attempts tomake sense of the complexity of mathematicsteaching and its development at secondaryschool level. The research was conducted inpartnership between two teachers and twoeducator/researchers over one school term intwo U.K. schools. A theoretical construct, theteaching triad, was used as an analyticaldevice (by the researchers) and as a reflectiveagent for teaching development (by theteachers). The focus of analysis was theinteractions between teacher and students atwhole class and small group level. Both micro-and macro-analyses were undertaken. We presentdetails of the processes involved in examplesfrom the teaching of one teacher as shetranslated theoretical aims into classroompractice. The use of the triad allowed accessto complexity, involving both psychological andsociological elements, and to the position of asincere teacher with respect to competingforces in the educational system. Thepotential of the triad for teacher and teachingdevelopment is discussed.     

专业化:新世纪新阶段高校辅导员持续发展的生命力

本文从阐述高校辅导员专业化的一般理论出发,指出高校辅导员实际上已经成为一门正在形成中的准专业。高校辅导员专业化程度关系到辅导员队伍的发展,实现辅导员的专业化发展在目前是十分必要的,也是具有可行性的。我们要实施辅导员聘任制,规范辅导员队伍建设,加大对辅导员的管理力度;开设辅导员专业方向,加强辅导员专业化研究;切实执行中央十六号文件精神,大力提高辅导员待遇;建立职业辅导员继续教育制度,加强在职辅导员的培训和终身教育,切实推进辅导员专业化进程。     

Assessing the impact of a university teaching development programme

Four different indicators are used to assess the impact of a year‐long university teaching development programme in an Australian research‐led university. All four indicators show small positive outcomes. Teachers who complete the programme have higher rates of receipt of teaching awards and teaching development grants than their colleagues who do not participate in the programme. Students in the classes of teachers who complete the programme report, on average, higher satisfaction scores than students in the classes of the same teacher before she/he completed the programme. Students in the faculties where the programme is completed by a higher proportion of academic staff report greater change to levels of satisfaction in the quality of their degree over the seven‐year period of the study. The methodology adopted involves several new approaches to evaluation and confirms the need for the use of an evaluation framework and multi‐indicator strategy.     

“自主性学习“教学模式的运用——《外国文学》课教改中的一些思考

自主性学习是学生在明确学习任务的基础上,自觉自主地进行学习并完成学习任务的一种学习方式.自主性学习的教学的操作要点一、充分了解学生原有知识基础和能力水平;二、制订出具体体现知识和能力协调发展的教学目标;三、使教学过程成为学生知识和能力协调发展的过程;四、重视学生能力水平发展的评价.     

Non‐Career Teachers in the Design Studio: Economics,Pedagogy and Teacher Development

As the economic pressure to teach more students with fewer (and less costly) instructors has increased in higher education, the utilisation of non‐career teachers has become more prevalent. Design education has not escaped this phenomenon; non‐career teachers, such as graduate and undergraduate students or design practitioners, have become commonplace in design education, including the design studio. The studio, however, is a unique teaching and learning environment in higher education. It poses distinct socio‐academic challenges for both students and teachers. The utilisation of non‐career teachers in studios raises a number of ethical and pedagogical questions. Teacher development is one serious concern. Here, the authors articulate the major challenges confronted by non‐career studio teachers, especially student teaching assistants, and strategies for their development.     

The conceptual change approach to improving teaching and learning: An evaluation of a Hong Kong staff development programme

This paper reports a study ofthe effectiveness of an innovative approach tostaff development, the conceptual changeapproach, which attempts to change teachers'frameworks for conceptualising teaching andlearning. The evaluation investigated theprogramme at three levels: the impact on theconceptions of teaching of the participants,the resultant impact on teaching practices, andthe consequential effect on student learning.Encouraging results were obtained. Theprogramme brought about detectable conceptualchange or conceptual development in two-thirdsof the sample group. Subsequently, all the`changed' teachers received better ratings ontheir teaching practices from their students inthe following academic year while none of thosewho did not change their conceptions showedsimilar gains in student rating scores. Aresultant positive impact on their students'studying approaches was observed for half ofthe teachers who changed their conceptions.     

“21世纪外语教学与研究网络化工程”工作报告

本文从主导思想、内容形式、实施计划几个方面入手 ,介绍了清华大学外语系“2 1世纪外语教学与研究网络化工程”项目的实施情况。首先 ,通过现状分析与反思 ,研讨了网络教学在新时期外语教学改革中的作用 ,然后分三个方面对本项网络化工程项目进行了可行性论证。此外 ,还提出了初步实施计划 ,介绍了几个已经或接近完成的项目内容板块。最后 ,通过前瞻未来的方式 ,结束了对本项工程的总体介绍。以上介绍汇报表明 ,加强网络工程建设 ,促进外语学科发展是一项相当艰巨复杂的工作 ,不但需要创新意识 ,更加需要跨学科合作精神。结合具体的工作经验 ,就网络化工程建设而言 ,得出以下几点初步认识 :1)加强对传统教学思想、教学观念、教学体系、教学内容、教学方法的反思 ,增强创新意识 ,探讨虚拟环境中的一般学习行为模式 ;2 )充分注意到交互式学习和协作式学习在网络教学中的重要地位 ,注重虚拟社团文化精神的培养 ;3)坚持做好各类虚拟数据库的开发与建设工作 ,使得网上语言学习行为的研究不但可能而且可行 ;4 )大力培养外语教师与语言学习者的参与意识 ,注重实用网络开发技术与工具的介绍与推广 ,加强网络课件模板通用化研究 ,使本项网络化工...     

A Case Study of Elementary Science Teaching as Mediated Action: Transformations of Context,Meaning, and Action

The research described in this article is a case study of a fifth grade teacher's (Melissa) efforts to construct a teaching and learning environment within her science teaching. Qualitative research methods were used to examine and analyze Melissa's science teaching practice. Drawing from socio-cultural theories, I argue that her teaching and learning environment was constructed as a form of mediated action through which she articulated and transformed the context, meaning, and action of her science teaching. In particular, she forged links between a number of factors, such as historically recognizable forms of pedagogy, perceptions of her students' socio-economic positions, knowledge of appropriate science teaching, and her experiences in a preservice teacher education program. Through her pedagogical work, the teaching and learning environment was articulated into a complex network of meanings, physical spaces, and concrete actions in which each element transformed the other. I suggest that mediated action is a form of transformation that constitutes context, meaning, and action into a dynamic and constantly-shifting teaching and learning environment. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Practical Exploration of Undergraduate Classroom Teaching Reform: a Case Study of Shanxi Normal University

Abstract

Exploring classroom teaching reform centered on student development is a fundamental requirement for deepening education and teaching reform in undergraduate education worldwide. Shanxi Normal University places the reform of classroom teaching reform at the center of their efforts to raise the quality of undergraduate education. The implementation of the classroom teaching reforms at Shanxi Normal University has been focused on finding solutions to practical teaching problems. The new approaches to teaching and learning satisfy the requirements of both student development and societal development while addressing key problems in university education and teaching reform. In this article, the authors explain the rationale for focusing on classroom teaching reform, and describe how the classroom teaching reforms were promoted at Shanxi Normal University as well as how the quality of student training has been improved. Our goal in implementing reforms to classroom teaching has been to not only improve education and teaching vitality at Shanxi Normal University, but also provide lessons and experience to stimulate classroom teaching reform at other universities.     

浅论对外汉语教学的整体教学观

对外汉语教学的整体观既指教材、学生和教学方法的通盘考虑,也指语言学习时确立的整体结构性框架,以及自觉考虑语言与文化的互相渗透。在语言教学中有意识加强文化含量,应该成为整体教学观的出发点和完成教学的归宿。     

化工原理课程中的工程研究方法

《化工原理》是化工类及相近专业的一门重要的技术基础课。本文主要介绍了化工原理课程中常用的几种工程研究方法,这些方法对学生工程观念的培养具有重要的指导作用。     

Using mid-semester course evaluation as a feedback tool for improving learning and teaching in higher education

The way in which mid-semester course evaluations are structured, administered and reported is important for generating rich and high-quality student feedback for the enhancement of learning and teaching. Mid-semester evaluations usually contain open-ended questions that trigger more elaborative feedback about what is going on in a class than that from end-of-semester evaluations with Likert scale-type questions. The anonymity of the process for students and the confidentiality of the process for instructors make the process more reflective for students and less stressful for instructors. This study describes how the mid-semester course evaluation process can be used as a feedback tool for improving the quality of teaching and learning at an institutional level. Through a longitudinal analysis of 341 mid-semester course evaluation reports, positive areas and areas of concern with respect to learning and teaching were identified, and changes in student evaluations over the years were examined meticulously to make an overall evaluation of the quality of learning and teaching at a non-profit Turkish university. This research showed that the value of mid-semester course evaluations can go beyond course-level if we use open-ended questions and are able to gather the reports together to make some comprehensive analysis at university level.