“Everything goes smoothly”: A case study of an immigrant Chinese language teacher's personal practical knowledge

Much of teacher knowledge research in teacher education has focused on Western views of teacher knowledge. By reporting on a case study of an immigrant Chinese language teacher's personal practical knowledge in teaching secondary school students, this paper presents an Eastern view of teacher knowledge, and illustrates how knowledge and identity are entwined. The study found that an immigrant teacher's awareness of her identity and her cultural heritage had a profound influence on shaping her personal practical knowledge and teaching practice. The paper suggests that more cross-cultural studies be undertaken to further our understanding of teacher knowledge.     

Lesson Study with preservice teachers: Lessons from lessons

This article examines a 2-year process of integrating Lesson Study—a form of teacher-led professional development—into an introductory course on the principles of teaching for students majoring in early childhood education. The course is taught in conjunction with beginning practicum work in area schools. We describe obstacles, modifications, and outcomes as we adapted the Lesson-Study process to help preservice teachers pay closer attention to instructional strategies (such as questioning techniques, anticipating student responses, and how lesson flow affects student understanding), and become more comfortable with constructive criticism by focusing on the lesson plan rather than the teacher.     

Integrating Technology and a Standards-Based Pedagogy in a Geometry Classroom

Abstract

A mature mathematics teacher (one in the latter stages of a successful career in teaching secondary mathematics) sought support in making a paradigm shift to a technology-integrated pedagogy in the context of a state's emerging standards-based curriculum. The teacher had concerns regarding his ability to make the paradigm shift, but he was willing to make the effort because he believed that integrating technology as an instruction/production tool would increase student achievement in mathematics. This article describes the teacher's experience. Students in two of his three high school geometry classes were introduced to altered teaching methods involving technology. The first class created instructional modules using presentation and Web page software, and a second class used student-created instructional modules. A third geometry class received traditional instruction based on text and lecture. Two topics, angles and circles, were taught using this format. Another topic, lines, was taught traditionally to all three classes. Interestingly, students across the three groups had numerically higher end-of-unit test scores for both lines and circles, much more acceptable to the teacher, than for angles. Recommendations are in order in regard to teacher support for technology integration.     

PCK in Action: Examining one Chemistry Teacher's Practice through the Lens of her Orientation Toward Science Teaching

A teacher's orientation toward science teaching has been proposed as very influential to a teacher's pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and teaching practice. Experienced teachers' orientation toward science teaching and its connections to their practice has not been well explored. Focusing on a unit about the periodic table, this study provides a case study using a respected, experienced high-school chemistry teacher's orientation toward science teaching to make sense of her observed teaching practice. Aspects of her practice, which aligned and misaligned with current recommendations for science teaching, were explored. Using observations, interviews, and class documents, the study concluded that the teacher's orientation toward science teaching was an appropriate way of understanding her teaching practice. While also being shown to be a useful tool for researchers, this case provides an example how a teacher's orientation toward science teaching could help in the development of professional development, specifically professional development for the recently released Next Generation Science Standards.     

Teacher self-assessment: A mechanism for facilitating professional growth

Self-assessment is a powerful technique for improving achievement. In this article we outline a theory of teacher change that links self-assessment by teachers to their professional growth. This theory provides avenues for peers and change agents to influence teacher practice. We apply the theory to change in mathematics teaching and report an explanatory case study in which use of the self-assessment tool, in combination with other elements, contributed to change in the instructional practice of a grade 8 mathematics teacher. Provision of a self-assessment tool contributed to teacher growth by: (1) influencing the teacher's definition of excellence in teaching and increasing his ability to recognize mastery experiences; (2) helping the teacher select improvement goals by providing him with clear standards of teaching, opportunities to find gaps between desired and actual practices, and a menu of options for action; (3) facilitating communication with the teacher's peer; and (4) increasing the influence of external change agents on teacher practice. The study argues that providing a self-assessment tool is a constructive strategy for improving the effectiveness of in-service provided it is bundled with other professional growth strategies: peer coaching, observation by external change agents, and focused input on teaching strategies     

Supporting presence in teacher education: The connection between the personal and professional aspects of teaching

This study follows one individual student teacher during a period of one single school year in which she was supported in developing ‘presence’ while teaching. The notion of ‘presence’ was formulated by the teacher herself, and coincides with the growing interest in this aspect in psychology, and in theories about becoming a teacher. In her supervision, the so-called core reflection approach was used, which strongly builds on the concept of presence and on positive psychology. Based on analyses of audio taped supervisory sessions, six stages were identified in the teacher's development. These stages are described and related to theories about positive psychology and core reflection. The supervisor's interventions leading to the transitions between the stages were identified, analysed, and related to key principles of core reflection. It appeared that the teacher's growth not only led to experiencing ‘presence’ while teaching, but also to a greater use of her personal qualities. Taken together, it appeared that after the supervision the teacher was much more ‘in flow’, and that she was more effective as a teacher. In this article, both the teacher's growth and the supervisor's interventions are described in detail, and illustrated using quotations from supervisory sessions, logbooks, and interviews. A case is made for connecting professional and personal aspects in supervising student teachers.     

Teachers’ perspectives on mathematics education research reports

Practicing teachers’ perspectives on a set of mathematics education research reports are described. Data were gathered through email messages, group discussions, and questionnaires. Teachers identified positive influences of research on practice aligned with some of the strands of proficient mathematics teaching identified by Kilpatrick, Swafford, and Findell [2001. Adding it up: Helping children learn mathematics. Washington, DC: National Academy Press]. Teachers also gave negative critiques of the ability of research to influence practice aligned with Kennedy's [1997. The connection between research and practice. Educational Researcher, 26 (7), 4–12.] discussion of historical factors underlying the gap between educational research and practice. The variety of perspectives documented provides some empirical ground for informing actions in the areas of teacher education and research.     

Articulating the Relationships Between Theory and Practice in Science Teaching: A model for teacher professional development

In-depth analysis of science teachers' idiosyncratic instructional behaviors combined with the notion of deliberated 'teacher reflection' as a means of improving professional teaching practice has become one of the most pervasive concepts to influence science teacher education during the past decade. Sweeney and coworkers have described how the notion of teacher reflection and Lytle and Cochran-Smith's typology of teacher research were utilised to examine the relationships between a beginning high school chemistry teacher's articulated personal practice theories and his actions as demonstrated by his curricular decisions and instructional practices. Using data drawn from the previous study, this report focuses on examining how the methodological approach taken in the investigation (explicit, deliberate articulation and analysis of a teacher's instructional behaviors and rationales within the context of a mentoring relationship) may serve as a useful model for teacher professional development across all areas of instruction.     

Unifying cognition,emotion, and activity in language teacher professional development

Emotions in the learning-to-teach experience are often ignored or downplayed by teacher educators. Using content and discourse analysis of a novice language teacher's journals, we demonstrate that the pervasive emotional content, reflecting individual teacher's perezhivanie, is a motivated, structural component of teachers' processes of cognitive development. Emotional content indexes dissonance between the ideal and reality, offering potential growth points. We apply a SCOBA of language teacher learning that unifies the dynamic, dialectical relationship among emotion, cognition, and activity, in order to orient teacher educators in mediating novice language teachers' professional development responsively.     

Exploration of teacher life stories: Taiwanese history teachers’ curricular gatekeeping of controversial public issues

This study explores teachers' personal practical knowledge and curricular-instructional gatekeeping as they relate to the teaching of contemporary controversial public issues in Taiwan (e.g., national identity, sovereignty, and ethnic issues). Using a case study design, this study documents how six social studies teachers make curricular decisions about teaching controversial public issues by making use of their personal practical knowledge. Findings illuminate that personal practical knowledge plays a role in teacher's curricular-instructional gate keeping in socially divisive contexts. In sum, this study, refracted through the national context of Taiwan, helps us understand the relationship between a teacher's own imaginative worldview, their sense of personal and professional identity, and their classroom teaching practices.     

Beliefs about teaching: Persistent or malleable? A longitudinal study of prospective student teachers' beliefs

This longitudinal study focused on change in university students' beliefs about the role of teachers. The students (n = 80) were Estonian undergraduates, whose beliefs were investigated in the first and third years of their studies and followed up to the point at which the students either entered teacher education or chose other paths. Beliefs about teaching were neither unambiguously persistent nor malleable. Students who continued in teacher education exhibited stronger beliefs about the teacher as pedagogue and aligned less with the belief that the teacher's role is to be a subject matter expert than peers who did not choose teacher education.     

Keeping track of expert teachers: Comparing the affordances of think-aloud elicited by two different video perspectives

Verbal data from think-aloud is uniquely unobtrusive and non-reactive. It can therefore generate real-time insight into how expert teachers think. Our paper analyses data from two video-stimulated retrospective think-aloud approaches. The first approach used videos of others' teaching as stimuli for participating teachers' think-aloud. The second approach involved the teachers' own-perspective videos, overlaid with the teachers' own gaze patterns that were simultaneously recorded. In all, the study sets out to investigate how these two approaches differ with regard to their respective potential for uncovering expert teacher cognition. Others' videos elicited more think-aloud responses than gaze-cued own-perspective videos, especially the operational aspects of classroom teaching. Interaction analysis revealed expert–novice differences to vanish when only think-aloud responses to gaze-cued own-perspective videos were considered. Classroom relationships might be integral for any teacher's navigation of classroom instruction, regardless of expertise.     

When Circles Collide: Unpacking TPACK Instruction in an Eighth-Grade Social Studies Classroom

The technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) conceptual framework, since its introduction in 2006, has provided researchers and teacher educators a theoretical means by which to understand the knowledge required to teach effectively with technology. However, a clear picture of what TPACK looks like in practice is still in its infancy. Using a case-study approach, this research examines the teaching practices of an eighth-grade social studies teacher, specifically how the teacher operationalizes TPACK within his classroom. Four examples of TPACK practices are given along with the teacher's rationale for his technology use. Two themes emerged: the transformation of technology into something that just happens in the classroom and the teacher's use of technology to shape instruction. Implications from this case study are then discussed, including the process and timing of combining the different knowledge components of TPACK and the need to better capture the role of students in the TPACK model.     

Practice and theory in teaching practice

Christensen, O.Ø., “Practice and theory in teaching practice,” Revue ATEE Journal 3 (1980) 43‐48.

The thesis of this word for student teachers on their way to acquire school‐based experience is that there is no direct link between the theory of teacher education and the practice of the school. It is pointed out that, just like the school, teacher education has its own theory and practice. During teaching practice a synthesis is established between the theory‐practice relation of teacher education and that of the school. That is why it is extremely important that the teaching practice tutor should be able to: (a) give justification of his own practice when teaching children; and (b) to function as an adult educator who can argue for his own contribution towards widening the student teacher's growing perception of the teacher's role in society.     

Testing Predictive Models of Technology Integration in Mexico and the United States

ABSTRACT

Data from Mexico City, Mexico (N = 978) and from Texas, USA (N = 932) were used to test the predictive validity of the teacher professional development component of the Will, Skill, Tool Model of Technology Integration in a cross-cultural context. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the model. Analyses of these data yielded positive results for the model's validity and reliability, with more than 90% of the variance in classroom technology integration found to be attributable to a linear combination of a teacher's attitude or Will, technology proficiency or Skill, and access to technology Tools. Results also showed a differential effect of predictors on integration, depending on the teacher's stage of technology adoption: At lower stages Tool access appears to be the best predictor; whereas, at higher stages Skill appears to be the best predictor. At the highest stage of adoption Will may replace Skill as the best technology integration predictor. Collective findings regarding the orderings of integration predictors shed light on alternative theoretical views of technology integration. Findings tend to support the view of technology integration as a step-wise, sequential, developmental process, rather than the process of eliminating external and internal barriers that impede the full integration of technology into a classroom teaching/learning environment.     

Secondary School Mathematics Teacher's Professional Knowledge: A case from the teaching of the concept of function

This study examines the relationships between a secondary Mathematics teacher's pedagogical content knowledge and the dilemmas posed when teaching the concept of function. Alternative tools and procedures for analysing these relationships are used. The results illustrate the flexibility of her knowledge use in Mathematics teaching and how it is related to her knowledge of the pupils as Mathematics learners. In addition, it highlights the central role played by the teacher's knowledge about pupil comprehension in the content and organisation of her teaching agenda. The difference that the teacher establishes between exercise and problem shows her struggle with the two-fold understanding-memorisation of procedures as the content of a teaching dilemma. The results obtained suggest the need for secondary Mathematics teacher education programmes to adopt approaches that take into account the central role played by teacher knowledge about Mathematics learning, and the dilemmas generated when teachers have to reconcile objectives that are apparently contradictory during their teaching practice.     

Teacher interpersonal competence for Dutch secondary multicultural classrooms

In the Netherlands, as in many European countries, classrooms display a growing cultural diversity. There are only very limited empirically supported data on the interpersonal competence teachers need in Dutch classrooms and studies from other countries cannot be generalized because of differences in the composition of the student population. This paper reports on an exploratory study in two schools on teachers' experiences in multicultural classes followed by an in‐depth case study of one expert teacher. We use this study to answer the question to what degree this teacher displays interpersonal competence (teaching behaviours, knowledge and attitudes) specific for teaching in multicultural classrooms by comparing this teacher's competence with generic interpersonal teaching competence. The teacher studied seems to be aware of special needs of students from different cultures and to use this knowledge to apply specific teaching strategies and interpersonal cues to create a positive classroom atmosphere and to cater for needs of diverse students. Further, the results indicate that many elements of this teacher's interpersonal competence in teaching a multicultural class can be considered aspects of generic teaching competence. It seems that the multicultural classroom puts heavier demands on this competence than a less diverse classroom.     

A Contemporary Study of Teacher Planning in a High School English Class

A case study of a contemporary secondary school English teacher is presented and compared with prior research about teacher planning. Drawing on his rich content knowledge, this teacher's long-range pre-active planning is his major form of planning when he develops interconnected themes for the course, selects literature, and develops curriculum materials for it employing technology. Because this case differs substantially from prior research, a call is made for more studies of teacher planning.     

Promoting Student-Centered Learning Using iPads in a Grade 1 Classroom: Using the Digital Didactic Framework to Deconstruct Instruction

In this qualitative case study, we provide a series of vignettes illustrating a Grade 1 teacher's experiences integrating iPad technology into her instruction over a school year. We use the digital didactic model to deconstruct these vignettes and draw upon the teacher's reflections to gain further insights about her instructional experiences using iPads. We highlight the effective use of cognitive, affective, and technical scaffolding for encouraging students to take risks, explore multiple solution paths, and become independent learners. We emphasize the criticality of student-centered learning environments for collaboration and knowledge sharing and discuss how iPads can be integrated into the curriculum.