How teachers can use the professional evaluation standards

Conclusion Teachers need formal and working knowledge of educational evaluation for their work in traditional schools as well as in schools in the future. In the form of principles, the professional evaluation standards provide educational evaluation knowledge that teachers can use to acquire the working knowledge they want and can use. Professional development programs can help teachers grasp the substance and intent of educational evaluation principles, but the principles alone cannot empower teachers or build a system of profound knowledge shared within the organization and used to move it toward its goals. An investment in teachers through professional-development programs is important if teachers are to conduct evaluations and use evaluation results together as a routine part of doing business. An investment in teachers through professional-development programs must attend to the social and technical aspects of a change effort. The learning about evaluation and their principles must be organizationally valued and the learning nurtured and sustained.     

Home-based school teachers in Afghanistan: Teaching for tarbia and student well-being

Teachers in community-based or home-based schools in Afghanistan play a critical role in extending access to education to children who are unable to access the government schools, especially girls. These teachers—men and women—are nominated by the community to teach, without necessarily having teaching experience or even completing their own education. Whilst they may feel under-confident about their teaching skills and need ongoing professional development and support, these teachers nonetheless have a strong sense of their roles in the community, especially with respect to guiding children in their faith and promoting children's ‘tarbia’ (moral and ethical character) and well-being. This paper draws on qualitative data collected though the Healing Classrooms Initiative of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Using interview and questionnaire responses it presents home-based school teachers’ experiences and beliefs about education and the role of the teacher, and discusses how these constitute alternative qualifications in the context of early reconstruction in Afghanistan.     

The books teachers use

Children's Literature in Education -     

Explicating the influences that explain intention to use technology among English teachers in China

Given the paradox between pervasive promotion of technology use in English teaching and lack of studies about teachers’ technology acceptance in China, this study aims to examine intentions of English teachers in China to use technology in their classroom teaching. Based on the technology acceptance model, eight variables including perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), attitude toward use, behavioral intention (BI), computer self-efficacy (CSE), technology complexity (TC), facilitating conditions (FC), and constructivist teaching beliefs (CTBs) were incorporated to examine relationships among these variables. Data were collected from 183 English teachers at 5 Chinese universities via a self-report questionnaire and analyzed using a structural equation model. Results indicated that the proposed model has a good fit. Three variables – PU, FC, and CTBs were found to be significant predictors of attitude toward use, while PEU and TC were not. Additionally, PU, CSE, and CTBs are significant antecedents for teachers’ BIs to use technology. This study contributed to the understanding of technology acceptance theories by contextualizing the current study to Chinese educational context. It also provided valuable references for technology-related policy-making and teachers’ professional development.     

How biology teachers can respond to Intelligent Design

Teachers of biology and related subjects are increasingly meeting objections from students and their parents to the teaching of evolution and the exclusion of what is called the theory of Intelligent Design. This paper attempts to draw together arguments and evidence which may be used by such teachers. Four lessons are drawn from the 1982 judgement against Creation Science in Arkansas for those opposing attempts to introduce the theory of Intelligent Design into school science programs: that a wide definition of science is the most useful; that religion is not the enemy; that science teachers should trust their own expertise; and that alternative theories should not be excluded.     

Knowledge management support for teachers

Business organizations worldwide are implementing techniques and technologies to better manage their knowledge. Their objective is to improve the quality of the contributions people make to their organizations by helping them to make sense of the context within which the organization exists; to take responsibility, cooperate, and share what they know and learn; and to effectively challenge, negotiate, and learn from others. We consider how the concepts, tools, and techniques of organizational knowledge management can be applied to the professional practices and development of teachers. We describe a framework for knowledge management support for teachers where the sharing of concrete knowledge scaffolds the attainment of more abstract levels of knowledge sharing. We describe the development of a knowledge management support system emphasizing long-term participatory design relationships between technologists and teachers, regional cooperation among teachers in adjacent school divisions, the integration of communication and practice, synchronous and asynchronous interactions, and multiple metaphors for organizing knowledge resources and activities. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, REC-0106552.     

过年忙 忙过年

小寒大寒,立春过年。日子过得就是这么快,转眼间又要过年了。 按理说,“年”是一个节日,是一个可以休息和娱乐的假期,其实不然。有人曾经问我过年是什么感觉,我说就是一个字：忙!年味是忙出来的,大家都在忙着过年,越忙年味就越浓。     

Eminent classroom teachers join the dialogue on teacher education programs

Abstract

This article examines the views on effective teacher education programs held by 10 teachers who were identified by senior administrators within their school districts as exemplary teachers. The findings reveal many consistencies between the beliefs inherent within five models of teacher learning that predominate in literature on teacher education programs and those held by practicing teachers. The one major difference is that teachers in this study emphasize the transmission of a widely accepted body of pedagogical knowledge and skills to a greater degree than do researchers. This set of common belief provides a strong foundation for building collaborative relationships through which both cultures might work together to develop a shared vision. Transformation of teaching and teacher education practice requires a willingness to consider values and perspectives that might differ from those accepted within either culture and an openness to change on the part of both cultures.     

Certification and specialized competencies for teachers in gifted education programs

This article describes the value of Piaget's equilibration theory for understanding characteristics of the young gifted child. Key elements of equilibration theory are discussed. Differences in the equilibration patterns in gifted children are described and application of equilibration to other than cognitive systems is considered. The article concludes with some ideas for teachers and parents to help gifted young children search for equilibrium.     

Attitude of students in exemplary programs toward their science teachers

Student attitudes concerning their science teachers at third, seventh, and eleventh grade are compared. Samples of students were drawn from those enrolled in NSTA's exemplary programs and other students drawn from classrooms of a random selection of teachers who are also NSTA members. Some of the affective items from the Third Assessment of Science, National Assessment of Educational Progress, were used for the study. Results indicate significantly more positive attitudes of students from the exemplary programs in the following ways:

• (1) pleasure with student questions;
• (2) desire for students to explore their own ideas;
• (3) “liking” of science (at the elementary school level);
• (4) ability and “knowledge” of it to make science study exciting.

     

浅谈新教师如何提高课堂教学技能

课堂教学技能在教师教学技能中占重要地位。本文从课前准备、教学语言、问题讲解三方面分析新教师如何提高课堂教学技能,希望对新教师的教学实践有一定的帮助。