The ‘critical friend’ role in fostering reflective practices and developing staff cohesion: A case study in a new secondary school,New Zealand

This exploratory case study, arising from a longitudinal project into the establishment of a new secondary school in New Zealand, examines reflective practice through critical friend roles among staff. The paper describes, through the lens of Bourdieu's logic of practice, the implementation of a critical friendship approach linked to the school leaders’ vision and aim regarding learning within open classroom spaces as part of a modern learning environment. Reflective practice involves critiquing, rethinking and reframing existing professional practices, often through a critical friendship approach among school staff within a fostered collaborative and open culture. The researchers interviewed six participants (four leaders and two teachers), observed how the teaching and learning took place in the new open classroom spaces, and reviewed blog posts and the school's website. Findings reveal that critical friendship, as a way to develop staff cohesion, is fostered and supported by the school leaders’ vision and actions, while the physical geography of the new classroom spaces, and the redesign of learning, also make this easier to enact. Staff cohesion, trust and openness to peer scrutiny are hallmark of this emerging school culture. These emerging findings provide some insights into how one new school culture develops cohesion with its stated vision and mission.     

Children talk about learning to draw

This study investigates four- to six-year-old children’s conceptions of learning, by applying the lexicometric method to their oral responses to questions about their learning of drawing, in an individual interview at school. Interviews were videotaped and fully transcribed. Subjects were 26 children from a middle-class background attending public schools in Argentina (in a four-year-old class, a five-year-old class and first grade in elementary school). Differences among groups are described on the basis of correspondence analysis and modal response procedures. Such differences are then systematised into several interrelated dimensions regarding changes in children’s conceptions of learning to draw, namely: learning agency as the internalisation of social mediation, nature of both learner’s and teacher’s actions and mental states, learning goals and temporal frame of reference. Thus, three main conceptions are identified: external agency, external/internal agency and internal agency conceptions, which are associated to the three different school grade groups studied.     

Teachers talking about teaching and school: collaboration and reflective practice via Critical Friends Groups

Reflective practice has potentially positive effects on an organization’s capacity to focus on student learning and teaching practices. In an effort to comply with policy and provide teachers with opportunities to reflect on their practice, districts, schools, and teachers have turned to various models that feature collaborative experiences. One such model is the Critical Friends Group (CFG), focusing on the improvement of practice and learning experiences for children, using protocol-driven structured conversations. This article examines the mechanisms that support and sustain reflective practice within a community of practice and utilizes Wenger’s three dimensions of practice – mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoire. The study followed a CFG in an elementary school using ethnographic case study methods to conduct a close examination of CFG meetings, protocol use, and analysis of teacher interviews. The propensity to ‘look out’ at school-wide issues vs. looking in at classroom practices, perceptions about feedback on classroom practice, and using protocols to guide conversation emerged from the data as prominent mechanisms in communities of practice. CFG facilitators and coaches, as well as participants must be explicit about the purposes of their work and protocol use alone does not ensure a focus on student learning and teaching practices.     

Running with technology: the pedagogic impact of the large-scale introduction of interactive whiteboards in one secondary school

Abstract

This article reports on the impact on teaching of the introduction of interactive whiteboard technology into one secondary comprehensive school. It uses research evidence from a whole-staff questionnaire and in-depth structured interviews with one third of the staff. It outlines the views of both staff and students and describes the use, learning and teaching implications, problems and potential of the technology. Findings are related to two typologies – that of use as an aid to efficiency, extension or transformation in teaching, and that of teacher attitudes as missioners, tentatives or Luddites. It concludes that problems with use and limited impact on learning and teaching are more likely to occur where teachers fail to appreciate that interactivity requires a new approach to pedagogy. Training and personal development involving coaching and mutually reflective activity is of the greatest help to staff     

The relationship between the school as a learning organisation and staff outcomes: A case study of Wales

Does the school as a learning organisation affect staff outcomes? This article examines the relationship between the school as a learning organisation and staff job satisfaction and the school's responsiveness to staff needs using a purposefully designed “Schools as Learning Organisations Survey” completed as part of an OECD study in Wales. A positive and significant relationship is found between the school as a learning organisation and both job satisfaction of staff—that is school leaders, teachers and teaching support staff—and the school's responsiveness to staff needs. The article proposes ways of realising these outcomes and identifies areas for further research. Policy makers, school staff and other stakeholders in education and other public sectors internationally can use these findings as supporting evidence in recommending people to develop their organisations into learning organisations, given the potential benefits for employees and the organisation at large.     

浅议未来小学英语教师反思性教学意识的培养

通过调研分析,并综合国内外的有关研究成果和教学经验,制定了包括反思性学习习惯的养成教育、教学、录像、对话等一系列的反思训练方案,培养未来小学英语教师反思性教学意识。本文重点在于未来小学英语教师反思性教学意识培养的意义以及反思训练方案的操作程序。     

Innovation in postgraduate teaching: mixed methods to enhance learning and learning about learning

Growing pressure to restructure and reform tertiary education is encouraging university academics to use innovative practices that assist students to develop ‘employable’ skills. The hybrid approach described in this paper stimulated students to be self‐directed adult learners who maximized their learning of content and skills by means of problem‐based learning and action research strategies. The lecturer also operated as a reflective practitioner and role model by using an action research approach. This paper demonstrates the value of student empowerment, communication and leadership in autonomous learning groups. It outlines methods by which academic teaching staff can build continuous improvement into a university unit’s curriculum design and processes. These can be powerful additions to lecturers’ teaching strategies and to students’ learning experiences.     

民办高校师资队伍现状及对策——以辽宁省为例

近年来,民办高校取得了长足的发展,办学规模迅速扩大,在校人数不断增加,但其在发展的过程中遇到了许多新的问题,最为突出的问题就是师资队伍建设问题。因此,从学校角度讲,民办高校不能照搬公办高校的思路和模式,应根据自身优势和特点,发展和建设自己的师资队伍;从政府角度讲,应以法律的形式对民办高校的有关问题做出明确规定;从教师本身角度讲,要形成自我激励机制,学会不断自我调节。     

Responding to the death of a pupil – reflections on one school's experience

This article written by Peter Lloyd Bennett, educational psychologist, and Carole Dyehouse, headteacher, provides a personal account of how one primary school responded to the death of a pupil. The authors describe the process by which bereavement within the school community became a valued learning opportunity within the school curriculum. Involving the parents as soon as possible was considered important and the responses of the parents of the bereaved child influenced the arrangements made by the school. Staff were available to children to help them come to terms with their bereavement and the tragic nature of the child's death. Decisions about the arrangements involved the school management team, the governors, the teaching staff, the non-teaching staff and the pupils represented by the school council consisting of elected members of each class. Staff were sensitive to children who were enabled to contribute in their own way and all parents were encouraged to involve themselves at the level at which they felt comfortable. At the end of this honest and moving article, the authors provide reflective and analytical comments about their shared experiences and offer a list of resources that will be of great relevance to practitioners.     

Creating more ‘elbow room’ for collaborative reflective practice in the competitive,performative culture of today's university

We live in ‘a world of clashing interests’ [Zinn, H. (1991). Declarations of independence: Cross-examining American ideology. Toronto: Harper Collins, p. xx]. In a grapple for survival, universities choose to spend less money and time on teaching and learning, less time on robust evaluation of student learning and concomitantly less active support for collaborative reflective practice. However, the situation is even more dire than that outlined above because university management seeks to portray its focus on teaching and learning as genuine and a priority. Considerable effort is spent on encouraging teachers to compete for teaching excellence awards at the same time as universities push academics harder and harder into ‘real research’, that is, research that is not about teaching and learning. This is further exacerbated by the use of teaching quality instruments which have been criticised as unreliable indicators of student learning. This paper argues that individual reflective practitioners collecting and collaborating together can advocate for teaching in the current higher education environment but the outreach of this advocacy is likely to be limited when the advocacy remains within ‘pockets of resistance’. To further promote change from within the institution and extend the breadth and depth of an individual's influence beyond the pockets of resistance, we suggest that individuals use collaborative reflective practice-based strategies aligned with each of the dimensions of the institution's ‘cultural web’. Collaborative reflective practice has the potential to advocate for teaching beyond small groups of enthusiasts because it taps into the often hidden but heart-felt passion and commitment to teaching held by many academics.     

新格莱斯会话含义理论在远程英语听力教学中的行动研究

新格莱斯会话含义理论从“说话人准则”和“听话人推论”两个方面提出了语言学习的三大原则：数量原则、信息原则、方式原则。这一理论适用的语义场景是日常生活的交际活动。在远程开放教育领域,由于大多数学生都是成人学习者,这一特殊性决定了实施英语听力教学面临较大的挑战和难度。在实际的听力教学中,成人学习者大多只关注听力材料的字面意思,而不能理解话语的言下之意,从而导致对说话者的真实意图产生理解上的错误。运用新格莱斯会话含义理论有助于学习者推断出对话中说话者的真实意图,正好弥合了远程教育英语听力教学的不足。基于行动研究“发现问题——反思——调整教学方案”循环迭代的研究路径,针对远程教育英语听力教学的实践研究表明：在听力教学中有意识地系统培养新格莱斯会话含义理论符合开放学生的学习特点;通过现代技术构建生态化的教学和学习环境,整合真实性的教学资源,设计符合远程开放学生需求的情景化的教学活动,能提高学生对于会话中隐喻含义的推理能力和听力理解能力,最终提高学生的听力水平。     

Learning about the educational uses of the internet by producing an educational web site in an interdisciplinary and virtual team

ABSTRACT

In this paper we describe the use of an interactive software package designed to raise issues and questions about the role of information technology within the primary classroom and to highlight the partnership aspects inherent within a teacher tutor/mentor approach to the supervision of school placements. Data were collected from a variety of people concerned in the exercise: teacher tutors, university liaison tutors and student teachers. These data concerned not only the efficacy of the materials themselves, but also the effect or impact of the exercise upon the school placement experience. A number of issues emerged from our exploration into this exercise revealing attitudes towards information technology in education. These concerned ownership of learning and questions of expertise, access to partnership and co‐professionality, staff and student attitudes towards information technology and towards partnership and implications for the future. Our data suggest that learning becomes powerful when the learner takes ownership. Information technology can enable the shift towards creator and is a powerful means of achieving that.     

High stakes testing and teacher access to professional opportunities: lessons from Indonesia

Abstract

High-stakes testing regimes, in which schools are judged on their capacity to attain high student results in national tests, are becoming common in both developed and developing nations, including the United States, Britain and Australia. However, while there has been substantial investigation around the impact of high-stakes testing on curriculum and pedagogy, there has been very little research looking at the impact on teachers’ professional opportunities. The current project used a case study approach to examine the impact a high-stakes national testing programme had on teachers’ access to professional learning and their teaching allocations in four Indonesian public schools. It found that better qualified teachers were allocated to classes that would be sitting for the national examinations, and that these teachers were given much more access to professional learning opportunities than those teaching non-examined year levels. This in turn impacted negatively on the staff morale of less qualified teaching staff and potentially on their career trajectories. Findings suggest that school leaders should be wary of targeting better qualified and/or more experienced staff to year levels sitting for high-stakes tests, as this may lead to staff stratification within schools, limiting opportunities for staff to learn from one another and reducing the morale of less qualified and less experienced staff. They also add support to a substantial body of research that suggests policy-makers should be wary of the flow-on effects of using performance in high-stakes tests as the key means of judging school effectiveness.     

Methodological advances in educational effectiveness research

This paper describes a series of events observed in an English primary school over the period 1991‐1994. The events are taken as typical examples of school response to an externally¹ imposed innovation, namely, the assessment of pupils against the progressive learning scale in the national curriculum.² The patterns of events occurring in the school are tabulated together with the responses of teaching staff to the change events. The purpose is to inform teacher understanding of the significance of some events in the school's response to change. The claim is that focused reflective practice through reference to change events and types of teacher response are an important contribution to teacher understanding of the meaning of their ‘learning organization’. This practice heightens teachers’ collective awareness of the foci for change within their organization and establishes a vehicle for empowered teacher voice.

     

大连市2013年初中毕业升学考试试题特点分析及教学建议

初中毕业升学考试命题以课程标准为依据,符合学生的实际并贴近学生的生活,引导学生重视学习过程的积累。减少机械性记忆内容的考查,注重考查学生理解、运用知识分析和解决问题等最基本的学习能力。日常教学中,要加强对《课程标准》《考试说明》等相关文件的学习,加强课堂中教与学方式的变革,深入研究学生的学习过程,关注高层级的认知目标,进一步培养学生的审题能力,提高教师的教学反思能力。     

From LSA to teacher: the value of classroom experience in shaping a ‘teacher’ identity

Routes into teacher training have expanded in recent years, accompanied by a growing interest in schools ‘growing their own’ teachers from amongst support staff. However, little attention has been paid to their transition to the role of teacher. This article investigates influences on identity development and the extent to which personal values are reconciled with professional demands and socially constructed facets of educational practice. Participants were nine staff in one secondary school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties who had undertaken the transition from LSA (learning support assistant) to teacher. Qualitative data were obtained through an online survey and focus group discussion. Findings show that extensive opportunities to experiment with provisional and possible selves, immersion in educational discourse, classroom agency and staff collaboration engender a ‘teacher’ self-concept and positive motivations for LSA career development, and that self-esteem and self-efficacy are strengthened by how an individual’s values align with those of the setting in which they work. Findings may inform school leaders as to the value of training teachers ‘in-house’ and support career development decisions of LSAs, a pathway of potential significance given the current pressures on teacher recruitment and retention.