The Development of Diploma in Education Student Teachers’ Mathematics Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Mathematics pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) of teachers cannot be easily defined but is a complex concept integrating generic pedagogical knowledge, mathematics teaching methodology as well as knowledge of the discipline of mathematics. It is the objective of mathematics methodology courses in teacher preparation programmes to begin the development of MPCK in their pre-service teachers. As part of a research study on the development of MPCK in primary school beginning teachers, a 16-item instrument was developed to measure some aspects of the MPCK for teaching mathematics at primary level. The instrument was administered to the 2003 Intake of the Diploma in Education student teachers at the National Institute of Education, Singapore just at the beginning of their programme. As they completed their methodology course in February 2005, the instrument was administered again. This paper will discuss the findings concerning their performance in these two tests, with reference to the overall performance as well as topic-specific and MPCK construct-specific performance. The findings indicate that student teachers at the beginning of their programmes are generally quite weak in their mathematics pedagogical content knowledge, as might be expected. There was significant improvement in some aspects of their MPCK on completion of their mathematics pedagogy course.     

The Loss of Biodiversity as a Challenge for Sustainable Development: How Do Pupils in Chile and Germany Perceive Resource Dilemmas?

The topic of biodiversity is of high value for education for sustainable development as it reflects the interaction of ecological, economic and social issues particularly well. Especially in so-called biodiversity hotspots, among them Chile, natural resources are often depleted for economic interest which, in many cases, is required income. Therefore, economic and social aspects must be considered in order to fully understand biodiversity loss. Being such an important issue, it is surprising that little is known thus far about learning prerequisites concerning biodiversity. This paper presents a qualitative interview study that investigated 16 to 18-year-old Chilean and German learners’ perception of biodiversity and its loss (n?=?24). Firstly, the pupils’ cognitive frameworks were analysed. Secondly, subjective theories about biodiversity loss due to resource dilemmas were explored. Three subjective theories that emerged from the data reflected the notion that most pupils focused on either ecological or economic aspects of biodiversity loss. Pupils who concentrated on ecological aspects often referred to incorrect ecological facts. Moreover, these pupils showed difficulties in developing empathy and solidarity with impoverished people, who depend economically on plants in a resource dilemma. A smaller group of pupils succeeded in integrating the ecological, economic, and social aspects. Regarding the two samples, Chilean pupils seemed to have greater difficulties in recognising the social aspects of biodiversity loss, while German pupils were largely unaware of biodiversity loss on a local level. Implications for biodiversity education and future research will be outlined and discussed.     

Student Teachers’ Understanding of the Terminology, Distribution, and Loss of Biodiversity: Perspectives from a Biodiversity Hotspot and an Industrialized Country

The loss of biodiversity is one of the most urgent global environmental problems of our time. Public education and awareness building is key to successful biodiversity protection. Knowledgeable and skilled student teachers are a key component for the successful implementation of biodiversity education in schools. Yet, little empirical evidence exists on teachers’ detailed understanding of biodiversity. This study aimed to assess student teachers’ conceptions of the terminology as well as their understanding of the distribution and loss of biodiversity. Data were collected from a qualitative in-depth interview study of student biology teachers from Costa Rica and Germany (n?=?24). Both verbal and visual methods were used to elicit responses. The results show that participants from both countries equated biodiversity with species diversity and had misconceptions about genetic diversity. Costa Rican student teachers seemed to have a more local perspective on biodiversity and unanimously described their local biodiversity as high, and under threat. In contrast, German teachers showed a more global view and were mostly uncertain about the level and threat status of local biodiversity. Prevailing associations explaining the global distribution and loss of biodiversity were heavily based on everyday assumptions, such as the presence/absence of humans, cities, and industries. Additionally, the transnational character of many of the socioeconomic drivers causing biodiversity loss was largely neglected. Although most participants were unfamiliar with the scientific concept of biodiversity hotspots, they implicitly used a naive biodiversity hotspots concept to explain the distribution and loss of global biodiversity. The results are discussed in terms of the educational implications.     

Developing an Instrument for Identifying Secondary Teachers’ Beliefs About Education for Sustainable Development in China

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been recently recognized as an important area in the new Chinese educational reform. As teachers play a pivotal role, knowing and developing an effective and easy-to-use instrument for tapping teachers’ beliefs is essential. This article reports an attempt to develop an instrument with mixed methods. The finalized instruments comprise two subscales with satisfactory reliability indices obtained. Sustainability values (VSD) consists of four dimensions: respect and care for the community of life; ecological integrity; social and economic justice; and democracy, nonviolence, and peace. Teaching beliefs of ESD (TESD) consists of three dimensions: relevance to daily life; students’ need in the future; and integrated teaching. With these validated instruments, future research and potential problems will be less strenuous.     

The Impact of Professional Development on Elementary Teachers’ Strategies for Teaching Science with Diverse Student Groups in Urban Elementary Schools

This study examined elementary teachers’ instructional strategies for promoting scientific understanding and inquiry and supporting English language development with diverse student groups including English language learners. The study was part of a 5-year research and development project consisting of reform-based science curriculum units and teacher workshops aimed at providing effective science instruction to promote students’ science and literacy achievement in urban elementary schools. Data consisted of 213 post-observation interviews with third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers. The teachers reported using instructional strategies to promote scientific understanding, but generally did not employ more sophisticated inquiry-based strategies. They also reported using instructional strategies to support English language development. There were significant differences among grade levels and by years of teacher participation.     

Effects of Labels and Competence on Teachers’ Attributions for a Student

The extent to which special education teachers judged the mathematics performance of a fourth-grade youngster to be a function of his handicapping condition and/or his competence was evaluated. A videotape presentation and brief case study were reviewed and participating teachers were asked the extent to which various attributes were influential in the child’s performance. Differences were indicated for both labels and levels of competence. The results are discussed with regard to previous research and implications for reducing the effects of labels.     

The Relationships among Teachers’ Perceptions of Student Behaviour,Teachers’ Characteristics,and Ratings of Students’ Emotional and Behavioural Problems

This study examined the relationships among teachers’ perceptions of students’ behavioural problems and their own efficacy and psychological symptoms. Findings suggested that teachers were more bothered by externalising (i.e., acting out) than internalising (i.e., withdrawal, depression) behavioural problems in their students, and believed that students had greater control over externalising behavioural problems. In addition teachers’ personal teaching efficacy contributed significantly to the prediction of how bothersome internalising behavioural problems were perceived as being. Further, teachers’ personal and general teaching efficacy both contributed significantly to the prediction of teachers’ perceptions of student control over externalising behavioural problems. These findings may have particular relevance to interventions addressing students’ behavioural problems in the classroom.     

Student Preschool Teachers’ Experiences of Science and Its Role in Preschool

This article reports on student preschool teachers’ views of science and its role in preschool. Three cohorts of students have been given a written questionnaire with open-ended questions before and after a one-semester course including science (specifically Chemistry and Physics) in a 3.5-year preschool teacher programme in Sweden. The science content in the course is integrated with other subjects and lecturers with different subject backgrounds work together in forming an integrated and meaningful context. A phenomenographic qualitative analysis of responses to the questionnaires before and after the course is presented. The analysis indicated that many students equate science with biology (nature studies), and several did not adjust this view even though chemistry and physics were explicitly taught. Surprisingly few students were negative towards science, none after the course. However, several remain hesitantly positive. Most students described ‘what’ and ‘how’ perspectives of science, but few developed a synthesised view of science activities. However, there was a shift towards a more integrated perspective after the course. Also the quality and eloquence of the students’ responses were noticeably improved in responses given after the course. Prior expectations and implications of the results for preschool teacher education are discussed.     

The Assessment of Student Teachers’ Academic and Professional Knowledge in School‐Based Teacher Education

The aim of this study was to scrutinize the assessment of teacher knowledge in a school‐based course at one Swedish pre‐service teacher education program. In a general education school‐based course, teacher educators visited the student teachers at their school placements and met them and their school mentors in student‐teaching conferences to assess their teacher knowledge. The findings primarily show that the assessment procedures are influenced by teacher educators’ organization of the school visits and conferences. Secondly, the organization of the school visits and conferences influences who the potential and actual assessors at the conferences can be and are. Thirdly, the assessed student teacher knowledge at the conferences is described as procedural knowledge in a knowledge‐in‐practice perspective, almost exclusively in the area of relational, emotional, and caring learning objectives and aspects of teaching activities. Fourthly, the findings show that propositional knowledge in a knowledge‐for‐practice perspective is hardly mentioned or assessed.     

The Development and Implementation of a Faculty–Student Collaborative Research Project

Criminal Justice faculty collaborated with undergraduate and graduate students to evaluate federal probation officers’ use of evidence-based skills following the implementation of a new training program designed to improve officer supervision skills and offender outcomes. The project resulted in the coding of over 100 audio recordings of actual officer–offender interactions based upon a developed assessment instrument. Overall, officers demonstrated high levels of adherence to training program skills. This article describes the process used to form a faculty–student collaborative research project and the benefits, challenges, and recommendations for similar projects at other institutions.     

Social and Emotional Learning and Teacher–Student Relationships: Preschool Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions

The study aimed to investigate how teachers’ perceptions of emotional intelligence, and social and emotional learning (SEL) relate to teacher–student relationships. Teachers’ perceptions of teacher–student relationships and the degree of agreement with students’ perceptions was also investigated. Preschool teachers from 92 public schools in central Greece completed the Self-Rated Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Teacher SEL Beliefs Scale, and the Student–Teacher Relationships Scale-Short Form for 238 students aged 5–6 years old. 170 students were interviewed using the Young Children’s Appraisal of Teacher Support. Regression analysis revealed that both teachers and students emphasized the role of teachers’ perceptions of SEL in positive teacher–student relationships. However, there was no agreement between teachers and students regarding teacher–student relationships. These findings and their implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Urban Teachers’ Perspectives of Strengths and Needs: The Promise of Teacher Responsive Professional Development

The Urban Review - This study examines urban high school teachers’ perceptions (N?=?50) of their strengths and needs in supporting diverse students in their classrooms....     

School Personnel Educating the Whole Child: Impact of Character Education on Teachers’ Self-Assessment and Student Development

There is an increasing interest in linking character education programs with social and academic outcomes. The Child Development Project (CDP) is a character education program that promotes academic and social growth in teachers and students. This theory-driven evaluation employed a quasi-experimental design with matched control schools. School personnel participated in an intensive professional development process to learn the CDP model. Performance measures included state-mandated achievement measures, teacher self-assessment reports, and student attitudes and outcomes. Results yielded support for the CDP model as a strategy to improve social and, if properly implemented, cognitive outcomes in students; the model also improved teacher self-assessment and provided information that may facilitate professional growth about school collegiality. Implications for policy and practice will be discussed.     

The Impact of Teachers and Their Science Teaching on Students’ ‘Science Interest’: A four-year study

There is a crisis in school science in Australia and this may be related to insufficient students developing an interest in science. This extended study looked at changes in 14 students’ interest in science as they moved through junior secondary school into Year 10. Although the majority of these students still had an interest in science in Year 10, it had fluctuated for most students from year to year. The presence or absence of simple, but effective, teaching practices, identified by these students, seems to suggest one way to retain or improve situational and, it would appear, in several cases, personal interest.     

Talking Together,Learning Together: The Story of English PGCE Student Teachers’ Adventures in Classics

This article reports on the first two phases of a project to promote the classics through English at Key Stage 3, a scion of the Cambridge Schools Classics Project. We discuss the primary importance of speaking and listening in the English classroom both for the individual and the collective, and reflect on the power and importance of using classic tales in English as a means of promoting good-quality oracy. We comment on the precarious position of both oracy and story in the 2014 national curriculum. We report on the impact of a project during which student teachers were introduced to classical oral storytelling and encouraged to use it in their teaching. Findings suggest that the student teachers recognised oracy and storytelling as fundamental to their developing pedagogy and that they saw the need to promote oracy.