An exploratory study on collaborative modes of professional development and learning for teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

This study aims to deliver a school‐based mode of training for in‐service teachers of students with ASD in Hong Kong. The training is delivered following the phases of implementation science, namely, exploration, installation, and implementation. The project team used the theory of mind approach, which enables teachers to engage with students with ASD and to focus on recognizing and reacting to emotions. Participants in this study included four educators from a teacher education institution, three expert teachers, and 19 in‐service teacher trainees. The most salient responses came from trainees who were provided with the opportunity to apply learned skills in their own classrooms immediately and to share the knowledge and skills in dealing with students with ASD in the post‐conference meetings.     

陕西省中小学信息技术教师专业化成长有效途径研究

陕西省中小学信息技术教师专业化成长存在许多现实问题,在新课程改革实施的今天,如何有效地解决问题是课题研究的意义所在。在对陕西省中小学信息技术教师进行调查、走访、座谈的基础上,本文罗列出总结分析的主要问题及其原因,提出解决问题的思路与办法——学历教育培训、网络教研、教育行动研究,旨在推进中小学信息技术教师专业化成长的进程,促进陕西省中小学信息技术教师队伍的发展。     

关注数学教育研究的方法论基础--以一项教师教育的行动研究为例

方法论是数学教育研究得以开展的理论基础,不同于研究中采用的具体方法.行动研究法是以“ 参与” 和“ 改进”为目的,针对现场实际问题的研究方法.一项(数学)教师教育研究,正是以改进后的行动研究法作为其方法论基础.研究的目的决定了选择不同的方法论作为基础,应该引起数学教育研究者的关注.     

Teachers’ views on the effectiveness of in‐service courses on the new curriculum in Turkey

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of in‐service courses conducted by the Ministry of National Education in order to inform teachers about the changes introduced by the new primary and secondary school curricula. The study also aims to reveal whether these changes have entered the classrooms based on the teachers’ views of the INSET courses they attended. For this purpose, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with both primary and secondary school teachers during the 2007–2008 academic year. Data were analysed based on the effective INSET criteria identified from the literature. According to the findings, the INSET courses were found to be ineffective, mainly in terms of the quality of the instructors, teaching methods employed, duration of the courses and support after training. Suggestions to conduct effective INSET courses, especially when change is afoot, are included at the end of this paper.     

行动研究及其对教师自学、科研和教学的促进作用

文章通过介绍行动研究的概念、特点、实施步骤和相关的注意问题,强调通过行动研宛的实施促进教师自学、科研和教学共同发展。但应注意行动研宛也有一定局限性,应掌握其实质,才能发挥其应有的作用。     

Characteristics of the research supervision of postgraduate teachers’ action research

Today, many institutions of higher education support students in conducting practice-oriented research. This research refers to a broad array of approaches geared toward practitioners’ practice. The supervision of such research is of crucial importance, but little is known about its nature and characteristics. This study examined what research supervisors and postgraduate, in-service teacher students perceive are key elements of successful action research supervision. Four action research supervisors and eight postgraduate students were interviewed. Data were analysed by using theory and empirical data. Findings reveal 24 key elements of action research supervision, which refer to supervisors’ (1) skills in supporting knowledge development through and about action research and creating a supportive environment for developing knowledge, (2) knowledge and expertise in supervising action research, (3) attitude in the supervision of action research and (4) the motives driving supervisors’ actions in the student-supervisor relationship.     

教师职前职后教育一体化改革探索与实践

教师职业是一种专业性职业,从业者需要专门的情感、知识和能力等素养。教师专业素养的形成,不应是自发的,而应该接受专门的教育。教师教育主要包括职前培养和职后培训。从教师专业发展的内在需要看,职前培养和职后培训需要在管理体制、目标、内容和师资等方面实现一体化。在实现教师教育一体化的探索中,省级教育学院有职后培训的优势,但在职前培养方面还需要积累经验。为了更好地创建新型教师教育体系,实现教师教育的一体化,四川教育学院作了多方面的探索,取得了预期的阶段性成果。     

Supporting Technology Integration through Action Research

New demands and high attrition levels of special education teachers have created a crisis for education and extensive additional stress for special education directors and principals. The critical shortage of highly qualified special education teachers has significantly increased the pressure to hire and retain them. This article discusses factors that affect teacher attrition and proactive recommendations to address the shortage. In addition, the authors make suggestions for systemic reform and improvement of the level of job satisfaction for special education teachers.     

Books only got us so far: the need for multi‐genre inquiry

This study examines the instructional steps I took, based on gaps between what was happening in a graduate literacy class I taught and what I had intended to happen. This study describes the ways that I re‐imagined the class and what came about when I created a pedagogical approach that featured multi‐genre inquiry. I define inter‐discursivity as a signal of learning (i.e. when traces of language from one genre spill over into the language of other genres), and I searched for examples of this overlapping language in data. In doing so, I found that the multi‐genre approach led to moments of inter‐discursivity as teachers extended their understandings by appropriating language from one genre into another.     

Problem‐based learning and action research in postgraduate teaching: the interdisciplinary core

Rapid changes in the world due to the emergence of an information society, scientific and technological developments, and a growing capitalist global economy have made intercultural and inter-ethnic contacts a fairly ordinary phenomenon. However, paradoxically, cultural diversity has had to cope with powerful homogenising instruments of a globalised planet; consequently, cultural issues cannot be considered apart from power relations. In education, a recent phenomenon – the teacher research movement – has tried to fight against conservative and dominant forms of teaching and teacher education. In this article, it is argued that teacher research, as an international movement, has the potential to become a counter-hegemonic strategy to construct critical teacher education approaches in a globalised world.     

Turkish pre-service science teachers' understanding of science and their confidence in teaching it

This study examines Turkish pre-service science teachers' understanding of science concepts and their confidence in its teaching. A total of 299 senior science education major students participated in the study. Data collection instruments included the Science Concepts Test, and the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument. Although findings of the study indicated that majority of the participants held misconceptions concerning fundamental science concepts, they generally felt confident about teaching it. The relationship that might exist among pre-service science teachers' confidence in their effectiveness in teaching and the number of the science courses completed in university is examined.     

Teachers reflecting on their work: articulating what is said about what is done

Teachers' written reflections on their work, which report on a change in their practice, were the object of this research. Taking teachers' articulation of their plans and actions in teacher journals as our source, this study's aim is twofold: (1) to describe how teacher reflect in a self‐initiated and non‐framed way on their own practice, and (2) to review teacher self generated reflections in reference to models of reflection. In this way, we tried to disclose what precisely teachers write (said) when reflecting on their work (did) in order to appreciate their way of describing what matters in their work; and position this in reference to models that conceptualise (“talk”) on how to actualise (‘walk’) reflection. This ‘double’ articulation of reflection is gauged in two ways, i.e., on: a) completeness, that is, whether it includes relevant components of reflection (models) to be found in the literature, and on b) recursiveness, that is, whether the written account gives evidence of an integrated cyclical, i.e., recursive process of re‐view, which appraises and looks back on what has been accomplished.

The results show that teachers do not work along the lines identified in current reflection models (i.e. providing clear problem definition, searching for evidence, planning for change, and reviewing plans). Instead, many teachers use a narrative and valuing appraisal of their accomplishments; not so much cautiously reviewing their actions but prospectively commenting on plans and solutions for future action. The data lead us to be cautious about the prominence of reflection models as advocated in the literature to be applied to teachers' written accounts of their practice.