Preservice teachers’ articulated noticing through pedagogies of practice

Elementary preservice teachers at six universities engaged in a task that provided them opportunities to articulate their professional noticing within video representations, written decompositions, and animated approximations of practice. The preservice teachers’ written accounts indicated that a majority attended to students or student thinking; however, when asked to illustrate their noticing through animation, focus shifted to the classroom teacher. Findings indicate the extent to which preservice teachers articulated specific mathematics concepts within and across pedagogies of practice and highlight the critical importance for selecting and utilizing multiple types of tasks to better understand preservice teacher noticing. Implications for eliciting and supporting preservice teacher noticing are discussed.     

LEARNING LESSONS ABOUT DIVERSITY: FIELD EXPERIENCES IN THE PREPARATION OF TEACHERS

Abstract

This article describes one way in which teacher educators can gain a new perspective on integrating theory and practice. By accompanying teachers and student teachers on field trips, teacher educators have the opportunity to enhance their understanding of the day‐to‐day life of a classroom teacher and become a part of the school community.

Participating in a field trip offers a chance to observe classroom management strategies; engage in informal interactions with children, teachers, and parents; develop trust among classroom practitioners; witness emergent curriculum; and participate in authentic assessment.

The author documents a visit to the zoo with kindergarten students, teachers, student teachers, and parents from an urban school and how the visit impacted on her working relationship with cooperating teachers, student teachers, and kindergartners.     

Narrative understandings of a school policy: intersecting student,teacher, parent and administrator perspectives

In this article, we examine one school’s experience with policy, as a means of shedding light on the intersection of factors contributing to challenges of implementing policies to support the academic achievement and social adaptation of immigrant and minority students in their school context. We begin with the presentation of a ‘big fight’ between two students of different ethnic and racial backgrounds, and consider multiple perspectives of how the disagreement was addressed by teachers and administrators, to offer insight into how issues of race and policy might have been understood by members of the school community. We use a narrative inquiry approach to examine ways in which a policy designed to enhance student participation was interpreted by various members of this school community. This study reveals nuances of the intersection between culture and (hidden) curriculum as it relates to the implementation of policies aimed at creating and maintaining safe school communities.     

如何提高音乐课堂教学的有效性——《走进进行曲》的教学实践与反思

新课程背景下的音乐教师,应不断充实专业知识,提高自身素质;要依据课程标准的要求,确定教学目标,合理选择教学资源,根据学生的实际情况来设计教学方案,为学生创造良好的学习环境,引导学生创新与实践,促进学生的发展;将新的理念运用于课堂实践,以学生为主体,构建和谐、高效的课堂。     

“But at school … I became a bit shy”: Korean immigrant adolescents’ discursive participation in science classrooms

In reform-based science curricula, students’ discursive participation is highly encouraged as a means of science learning as well as a goal of science education. However, Asian immigrant students are perceived to be quiet and passive in classroom discursive situations, and this reticence implies that they may face challenges in discourse-rich science classroom learning environments. Given this potentially conflicting situation, the present study aims to understand how and why Asian immigrant students participate in science classroom discourse. Findings from interviews with seven Korean immigrant adolescents illustrate that they are indeed hesitant to speak up in classrooms. Drawing upon cultural historical perspectives on identity and agency, this study shows how immigrant experiences shaped the participants’ othered identity and influenced their science classroom participation, as well as how they negotiated their identities and situations to participate in science classroom and peer communities. I will discuss implications of this study for science education research and science teacher education to support classroom participation of immigrant students.     

Current realities in the student teaching experience: A preliminary inquiry

The experiences of 22 student teachers completing a final 10-week teaching practice in secondary schools were obtained by ethnographic interviewing. Their developing sense of “belonging” to the teaching community in their schools was the dominant theme. Recognition by teachers as a colleague and confirmation of teacher status by pupils were major dimensions of this feeling. On the basis of the student narratives, the teaching practice acts most powerfully as an initiation into “teacherhood”, focused particularly on the classroom and the subject department. The sympathetic and supportive environment of colleagues was especially important in meeting the mentoring needs of the student teachers. It was concluded that initial professional education needs to take more account of the dominant emotional needs of students.     

Using action,reflection and modelling (ARM) in Malaysian primary schools: connecting ‘the ARM theory’ with student teachers’ reported practice

This article presents Malaysian student teachers’ reports of using an action, reflection and modelling (ARM) pedagogical approach during their placements in Malaysian primary schools. The ARM approach was designed to support the implementation of the Malaysian primary school mathematics curriculum, which involved changing classroom practice in learning and teaching. It was developed and used during a Malaysia–UK collaborative project to construct a Bachelor of Education (Honours) degree programme in Primary Mathematics for a cohort of 120 student teachers in Malaysia. The three principles integral to the ARM approach were repeatedly made explicit to the student practitioners who were engaged in learning and teaching on the new degree programme. Using findings from surveys carried out with the students at the end of their first and final placements, this article provides examples of the way some of them described ARM and recounted how they had used the approach in the classroom. Four of these narratives are used as ‘vignettes’ to illustrate the students’ perceptions of using new ways of learning and teaching in primary schools and to inform and enable a discussion of the relationship between theory and practice in teacher education.     

The influence of parents on undergraduate and graduate students’ entering the STEM disciplines and STEM careers

This research examines the influence of parents on students’ studying the STEM disciplines and entering STEM careers. Cases of two graduate students (one female, one male) and one undergraduate student (male) are featured. The first two students in the convenience sample are biology and physics majors in a STEM teacher education programme; the third is enrolled in computer science. The narrative inquiry research method is used to elucidate the students’ academic trajectories. Incidents of circumstantial and planned parent curriculum making surfaced when the data was serially interpreted. Other themes included: (1) relationships between (student) learners and (teacher) parents, (2) invitations to inquiry, (3) modes of inquiry, (4) the improbability of certainty, and (5) changed narratives?=?changed lives. While policy briefs provide sweeping statements about parents’ positive effects on their children, narrative inquiries such as this one illuminate parents’ inquiry moves within home environments. These actions became retrospectively revealed in their adult children’s lived narratives. Nurtured by their mothers and/or fathers, students enter STEM disciplines and STEM-related careers through multiple pathways in addition to the anticipated pipeline.     

The Democratic Curriculum: Concept and Practice

Dewey continues to offer arguments that remain powerful on the need to break down the divisions between ‘academic’ and ‘vocational’ in terms of his specific theory of knowledge. Dewey's writings are used to argue that a democratic curriculum needs to challenge such divisions to encompass the many forms of knowledge necessary in the contemporary classroom. Gandin and Apple's investigation of community participation (Orçamento Participativo or Participatory Budgeting) in the curriculum of the Citizen School in Porto Alegre, Brazil, will be explored as an example of democratic structures informing educational planning. The work of Paul Hirst, Atli Har?arson and Chris Jane Brough is analysed regarding the issue of curriculum aims and student negotiation. Dewey's emphasis on learning as a collective enterprise will resonate here. Brough offers innovative research on student‐centred curriculum integration that suggests even very young children are able to participate in debate over their own learning. Hirst and Har?arson provide contrasting views on the issue of curriculum aims—Hirst arguing that a curriculum cannot exist without definable aims while Har?arson challenges the very notion of settled aims if students are to be reflexive regarding their education. The article also refers to the work of Alexander on the use of dialogic questioning in the classroom. Such questioning, it is suggested, enhances and encourages collaborative forms of enquiry necessary for a democratic curriculum through discussion between teachers, students and other stakeholders.     

Educational experiences of immigrant students from the former Soviet Union: a case study of an ethnic school in Toronto

This paper explores the academic and psychosocial outcomes of immigrant students from the former Soviet Union (FSU) in an ethnic school in Toronto. Based on interviews with the principal, teachers, students and parents, together with questionnaire responses, the paper describes school programmes and practices that contribute to FSU immigrant students' high academic achievement, within the categories of curriculum, pedagogy, discipline policy and teacher–student relationships. The creation of this ethnic school suggests that Canada's educational system has not met the needs of the immigrant group. The paper seeks to further understanding of educating FSU immigrant students, and discusses the implications of ethnic schools for educating children in a multicultural society.     

“What Do We Know about Elementary Social Studies?”: Novice Secondary Teacher Educators on Learning to Teach Elementary Social Studies Methods

This collaborative self-study examines the critical friendship of two doctoral students charged with teaching a methods course in elementary social studies. The authors formed a critical friendship in Fall 2010, initiated by participation in a teacher educator community of practice that encouraged collaboration. With limited experience in elementary education, the authors created a space to investigate the limitations and opportunities in teaching a course outside their educational expertise. The result was a space of support in three forms: pedagogical, affective, and intellectual. Pedagogical support was provided through the process of curriculum development and the sharing of classroom strategies, affective support resulted from the validation of feelings related to status and time, and intellectual support allowed the authors to uncover personal philosophies for teaching elementary social studies and to analyze how program structures influenced their instruction. Findings suggest that novice teacher educators could benefit greatly from critical friendships that may help them become more reflective and better navigate the process of learning to teach teachers. In addition, the authors found that critical friendships can minimize the feelings of being an outsider and allow for collaborative insights into the inner workings of teacher education.     

Questioning Questions: Elementary Teachers’ Adaptations of Investigation Questions Across the Inquiry Continuum

Questioning is a central practice in science classrooms. However, not every question translates into a “good” science investigation. Questions that drive science investigations can be provided by many sources including the teacher, the curriculum, or the student. The variations in the source of investigation questions were explored in this study. A dataset of 120 elementary science classroom videos and associated lesson plans from 40 elementary teachers (K-5) across 21 elementary school campuses were scored on an instrument measuring the amount of teacher-direction or student-direction of the lessons’ investigation questions. Results indicated that the investigation questions were overwhelmingly teacher directed in nature, with no opportunities for students to develop their own questions for investigation. This study has implications for researchers and practitioners alike, calling attention to the teacher-directed nature of investigation questions in existing science curriculum materials, and the need for teacher training in instructional strategies to adapt their existing curriculum materials across the continuum of teacher-directed and student-directed investigation questions. Teachers need strategies for adapting the teacher-directed questions provided in their existing curriculum materials in order to allow students the opportunity to engage in this essential scientific practice.     

Teacher Perceptions of Learning Motivation and Classroom Behavior: The Role of Student Characteristics

The present study investigates whether teacher perceptions of students’ cognitive skills, their learning motivation, and their classroom behavior differ according to students’ socioeconomic status, immigrant background, and gender. Data from N = 4746 German fourth graders and data from their parents and teachers were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Controlling for student achievement as measured in a standardized achievement test and student motivation as measured by student and parent reports, we found that teachers overestimated the cognitive skills of high-SES students and girls in comparison to those of low-SES students and boys. Similarly, teachers perceived high-SES students, students who are not from an immigrant background, and girls as having a higher learning motivation and as having more cognitive skills. Finally, we found that teachers’ perceptions of students’ learning motivation and classroom behavior mediated the relationship between student characteristics and cognitive skills as perceived by the teacher.     

Reducing discrepancies between teachers’ espoused theories and theories-in-use: an action research model of reflective professional development

This article reports on an action research project in which two New Zealand classroom teachers worked with a university researcher to investigate the effects of their knowledge, thinking, and beliefs on the ways in which they mediated students’ learning in teacher–student interactions. Working in a small community of practice over a two-year period, the group carried out four cycles of action research. They gathered information through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations, and engaged in professional reading, reflection, and discussion. Initially the group found discrepancies between the teachers’ espoused theories and their theories-in-use. Implicit beliefs and routinised behaviours were found to have a detrimental influence on the nature of the teachers’ interactions with students. Through examination of their own practice and participation in reflective professional development, the teachers were able to make incremental changes and improvements in their interactions with students.     

The influence of student teachers' tutors and mentors upon their classroom practice: An exploratory study

The paper reports an exploratory investigation, undertaken in English primary schools, which examined how student teachers' classroom practice was influenced by the advice and support which was provided for them by their teacher training tutors and their school teacher mentors. Mentors had a considerable influence upon determining the content of the curriculum taught by students (driven by the demands of the National Curriculum) but less on deciding how to teach (methods and approaches) where tutors were also influential. A third group, friends and relatives, emerged as an important resource which informed the students' planning and teaching.     

教师课堂教学行为与学生课堂参与的关系——基于问卷调查的心理学实证研究

本研究通过对411名高中生进行了团体问卷调查,探讨了各类教师课堂教学行为对学生课堂参与行为的影响。结果发现：①教师的积极教学行为对学生课堂参与有显著的预测作用,其中教学技能、支持帮助维度预测力最大;②教师教学行为对不同学习效能感水平学生的课堂参与作用不同。低效能感学生的课堂参与受教师的消极教学行为尤其是不公平行为的负性影响更多,受教师积极教学行为的积极影响较少。     

Here I am Now! Critical ethnography and community service-learning with immigrant and refugee undergraduate students and youth

Here I am Now! is the title a multi-ethnic group of immigrant and refugee undergraduate students and neighboring urban Vietnamese and Cambodian refugee youth gave to their participatory photography installation. The exhibit was the culmination of undergraduate students’ participation in a series of Community Service-Learning (CSL) courses offered through CIRCLE (Center for Immigrant and Refugee Community Leadership and Empowerment) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. While CSL has become an established educational practice at most US universities campuses, little research has been conducted viewing the educational impact of this pedagogy on diverse student populations. The majority of the scholarship focuses on the experiences of white middle-class students engaged with communities from unfamiliar and different socio-cultural, racial, ethic and economic backgrounds.

This paper examines how immigrant and refugee undergraduate students understood their participation in a creative community service-learning experience where they mentored youth from familiar and similar ethno-cultural contexts. To understand this meaning-making process I employed critical ethnographic approaches and analyzed student narratives and interviews. Through the prisms of critical pedagogy, situated learning theory, and funds of knowledge concept, I viewed the higher education context, analyzed the situation under study and developed an emerging framework for CSL pedagogy with diverse communities. These theories inform the view that culturally relevant pedagogy emphasizing peer-learning, critical thinking, artistic potential and community resources offers diverse undergraduate students alternative and creative spaces of critique and possibility in their higher education and community service-learning experiences.