LESSONS LEARNED IN FOUR URBAN EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

Abstract

Teacher educators are often searching for methods and/or techniques to enhance and expand the content of their courses. As teacher educators, we do not want to introduce new methodology that detracts our students’ attention away from the course content. However, we need to keep our courses current and interesting for ourselves as well as for our students. Several teacher educators at one institution have begun including service‐learning projects into their preservice and inservice teachers’ courses as a way to augment the standard curriculum. The focus of this study is to illustrate how service‐learning was incorporated into the existing children's literature course and share the five cooperative projects that resulted from this integration.     

PREDICTING SUCCESS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of standardized tests (ACT, Preprofessional Skills Test) as predictors of student success in early childhood studies. Success was measured as grade point average at the time of graduation. The sample consisted of students enrolled at a four‐year public institution in the United States (N = 129). Data analysis indicated the standardized measures, including ACT and the Preprofessional Skills Test, were significantly related to success in early childhood studies. In addition, both tests, along with high school rank and student age, were useful in the prediction of grade point average at graduation, but did little to predict success during the student teaching experience.     

MAKING THE CONNECTION THROUGH STAFFING: MECHANISMS TO INCREASE CONSISTENCY BETWEEN UNIVERSITY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION COURSES AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LAB SCHOOL PRACTICES

Abstract

A team of early childhood teacher education faculty developed the 3‐D talent development model of teacher education, blending theory and research from many sources. These sources include research on talent development, nonuniversal development, and roles of teachers and their professional growth. The faculty integrated constructs from these sources into a program rooted in principles of social constructivism. Using the 3‐D model, the faculty team identified their task as taking students of teaching through the phases of discovery, discipline, and divergence. Assessments that we developed needed to correspond to this conceptual framework, moving us away from traditional types of student assessment. In this article we offer a synopsis of the talent development model; review five of the approaches to student assessment we use, including alternative assessment activities, “Employmee” feedback forms, electronic portfolios, state teacher evaluation frameworks, and action research projects; and articulate the linkages between our approach to assessment and the talent development model of teacher education.     

COLLABORATIONS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATION: CHALLENGES AND PROMISE

Abstract

This article describes the reflective process used by a group of early childhood faculty members to study national standards in order to improve their teacher education program. The standards studied included those from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC/ECE). The reflective process and study resulted in changes in field experiences, course requirements and activities and assisted in state and national accreditation.     

DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICES IN TEACHER EDUCATION: LESSONS FROM ONE SEMESTER

Abstract

A major challenge for teacher preparation programs and future teachers is learning to work skillfully with the diversity of children in American classrooms. This paper describes a tool developed to address this challenge: the Learning and Teaching Assessment System (LTAS). The LTAS is a performance‐based, curriculum‐embedded assessment tool designed to uncover young children's strengths in different curricular areas as well as their approaches to learning. Developed for use with children 3–8 years of age, the LTAS helps teachers understand what children know in relation to key concepts in the different disciplines as well as how they learn in order to further their learning in subsequent days and weeks of teaching. The development of the LTAS is based primarily on two theoretical frameworks: Leont'ev's activity theory and Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. To examine the efficacy of the LTAS in its proposed objectives, a pilot study was conducted; results point to the potential of the LTAS for helping student teachers uncover new information about children to guide future instruction.     

USING CHILDREN'S WORK TO REFLECT ON TEACHING: ONE EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDENT TEACHER'S REFLECTIONS

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the engagement of preservice teachers in the kind of authentic experiences that provided the modeling needed to make high‐quality instruction in mathematics a reality for young children. Inasmuch as these preservice teachers had not yet received any formal methods classes in mathematics, the authors theorized that classroom teachers whose practices and dispositions were congruent with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards and the State of South Carolina Mathematics Standards could model effective teaching instruction for young children using the project approach. These same teachers could then provide mentoring and encouragement to preservice teachers as they became involved in this high‐quality program for 4‐year olds, deepening the knowledge base of the preservice teachers regarding developmentally appropriate ways to teach numeracy to 4‐year olds. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.     

培养培训相互衔接相互促进的英语教师教育探索

培养培训相分离的弊端阻碍了我国教师教育的发展。遵照国务院的要求，通过教育科研、教育实习等活动。建立起高师与中小学英语教学的紧密联系，使其相互促进。这既能充分发挥师范院校在教师教育中的主体作用。解决中小学英语教师的继续教育问题。又能促进高师院校英语教育专业自身的改革与发展，并在此基础上完善国务院提出的“培养培训相衔接的开放的教师教育体系”。     

EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: NOT BY CHANCE

Abstract

This study examined correlations between teachers’ attitudes toward mathematics/teaching mathematics and the practice of developmentally appropriate mathematics. This study tested two independent variables: (1) kindergarten teachers’ attitudes toward mathematics; and (2) kindergarten teachers’ attitudes toward teaching mathematics; and their relationships with the practice of developmentally appropriate mathematics.

The researcher designed a survey questionnaire by cross‐referencing several instruments and the review of related literature. A sample of 200 kindergarten teachers was randomly selected from the Indiana Department of Education website directory. Of the 200 kindergarten teachers, 81 teachers participated in this study by returning the survey questionnaire to the researcher via the postal service, e‐mailing, or posting the response over the Internet.

Each independent variable was tested to determine the level of its statistical significance by using multiple linear stepwise regression procedures. The results of this study revealed that kindergarten teachers’ attitudes toward teaching mathematics were found to be a significant variable correlating with the practice of developmentally appropriate mathematics, but kindergarten teachers’ attitudes toward mathematics were not a significant variable.     

大连市职业高中(中专)教师继续教育思考

从大连市职业高中 (中专 )机电类专业教师队伍现状出发 ,对继续教育培训内容、模式等进行探讨。     

LEARNING TO WALK THE WALK AND TALK THE TALK: PEER COACHING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATION

Early childhood teacher education programs have drastically increased the number of field experiences in the past two decades. As a result, problems have emerged often resulting in negative benefits to pre‐service teachers. Among these problems are: inadequate supervision, ample and model placements and the linkage of theory to practice. This paper describes how one program has implemented peer coaching throughout its entire early childhood teacher education program in an attempt to help alleviate some of the known problems. Student satisfaction and enthusiasm, cooperating teacher support and the benefits of the university have further encouraged and strengthened the use of this strategy. Preliminary research findings also indicate preservice teachers develop a more thorough understanding of the teaching and learning process.     

THE INFLUENCE OF VYGOTSKY IN MOVIMENTO DA ESCOLA MODERN A EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN PORTUGAL

Abstract

The present study investigated specific teacher factors that potentially influence teacher‐child relationships with preschool‐age children. One demographic questionnaire and three rating scales were used to survey 152 head teachers of 3–6‐year‐old children in community‐based childcare and preschool centers in one mid‐western state. There were 46 teachers who reported on their relationship with a child with a disability or concerning developmental delay. Positive correlations were found between teacher‐child relationships and the teachers’ educational backgrounds, self‐reported teaching efficacy and parent‐teacher relationships. The parent‐teacher relationship appeared to be the strongest teacher‐related factor predicting the quality of teacher‐child relationships. Compared to other teachers, the teachers of children with delays or disabilities reported comparable parent‐teacher relationships and more positive teacher‐child relationships, especially when more than one child with concerns was reportedly enrolled in the classroom. Teachers with children who had developmental delays reported lower teaching efficacy scores. The role of parent‐teacher relationships is highlighted as a possible moderator when teachers feel less than capable or positive about individual children in their program.     

Inquiry-based science teaching competence of primary school teachers: A Delphi study

Earlier, extracted inquiry-based science teaching competency elements and domains from the international literature were compared to the United States' National Science Teaching Standards. The present Delphi study aimed to validate the findings for the Netherlands, where such standards are lacking. Experts (N = 33) were asked about the importance of 23 identified competencies. They confirmed the importance; proposed to add one competency and to differentiate between novice and experienced teachers. They suggested that teachers be provided with opportunities to integrate competence development regarding science knowledge, attitude and teaching skills throughout their career.     

师范教育与大学:比较分析及其对香港的启示

教育大学可视为一种新型大学 ,能够以崭新的方式同时适应师范教育发展和知识社会的需求。本文首先对大学和师范院校在西方和亚洲社会的发展作一历史回顾。然后 ,探究这两类院校形成的对照的价值取向 ,讨论本文的核心问题 ,即师范教育如何达到与大学比肩的学术水准 ,同时保有师范院校与知识社会有关的价值观。对三个西方社会和三个亚洲社会的比较的历史分析 ,展示了摆脱这一困境的不同方式。本文最后勾勒了师范教育截然不同的四种模式 ,提出教育大学这一模式最为适应香港的现状 ,可能也最为适应亚洲的文化环境     

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN TEACHER EDUCATION: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DIAGNOSTIC LANGUAGE TEST FOR TRAINEE TEACHERS OF GERMAN

ABSTRACT:  This article describes the development and validation of a diagnostic test of German and its integration in a programme of formative assessment during a one-year initial teacher-training course. The test focuses on linguistic aspects that cause difficulty for trainee teachers of German as a foreign language and assesses implicit and explicit grammatical knowledge as well as students' confidence in this knowledge. Administration of the test to 57 German speakers in four groups (first-year undergraduates, fourth-year undergraduates, postgraduate trainees, and native speakers) provided evidence of its reliability and validity.     

Resolving the amalgam: connecting pedagogical content knowledge,content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge

ABSTRACT

This paper concludes the Special Issue (SI) ‘Probing the Amalgam: the relationship between science teachers’ content, pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge’. We review the five papers (Sorge et al; Gess-Newsome et al; Kind; Pitjeng-Mosabala and Rollnick; and Liepertz and Bronowski) by discussing evidence these present regarding the relationships between content knowledge (CK), pedagogical knowledge (PK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK); the development of CK, PK and PCK in novice and experienced secondary science teachers and how CK, PK and/or PCK impact students’ learning. In conclusion, we draw these findings together in offering proposals for future research via reconsideration of Shulman’s amalgam. This includes post-hoc examination of a PCK model known as ‘the Consensus Model’ (Gess-Newsome, [2015]. A model of teacher professional knowledge and skill including PCK: Results of the thinking from the PCK Summit. In A. Berry, P. J. Friedrichsen, & J. Loughran (Eds.), Re-examining Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Science Education (pp. 28–42). New York, NY: Routledge; Neumann, Kind, & Harms [2018]. Probing the amalgam: The relationship between science teachers’ content, pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge. International Journal of Science Education, 1–15) and presentation of a novel PCK structure based on evidence from the SI studies.     

In good hands: Preparing research-skilled graduates for the early childhood profession

Recent developments in early childhood teacher education have seen the inclusion of curricula designed to serve the concept of continuous professional renewal through educating undergraduates in the interpretation, execution, and use of research. The challenge for educators is to “demystify” research and teach in ways that are professionally meaningful as well as intellectually acceptable. In this study, we follow three groups of early childhood students as they engage in a one-semester research subject. Focus groups and individual interviews showed considerable shifts in student attitudes about the value of research and in their development toward becoming active researchers who see research as a tool for answering questions in education.     

BRIDGING THE DIFFERENCES TO UNCOVER THE SIMILARITIES: DISCIPLINES WORKING TOGETHER IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION

Abstract

The study examined the integration of science and mathematics methods courses and preservice teachers’ understanding of constructivism. The participants were 50 preservice teachers who were enrolled in early childhood education mathematics and science methods courses, and an early childhood practicum. The two methods courses were integrated and the instructors adopted a collaborative approach, including common syllabi, texts, assignments, and teaching strategies. The preservice teachers completed e‐journal reflection that were subsequently coded and analyzed. The findings suggested that the instructional approach enabled students to develop and refine their understanding of constructivism. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.     

Life in the Village: Teacher Community and Autonomy in an Early Childhood Education Center

This article presents findings from a qualitative case study of a public early childhood education center whose motto, the familiar African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child,” reflects the emphasis given to teacher community in the official school discourse. The meanings teachers gave to professional community were investigated. Interviews and observations were conducted at the school over a period of 12 months. Data analysis revealed an inherent tension between community ethos and personal autonomy. These findings suggest that professional teaching community is complex and contradictory, and that explicitly addressing the tension between community and autonomy would enhance teacher education and professional development.