The dynamics of learning engagement and its relationship with teachers’ classroom practices in primary school

The current study was part of a larger project which examined teachers’ classroom practices and relationships with students’ learning engagement in primary-school education in Estonia. The focus was the role of autonomy supportive and structured teaching on learning engagement. Two primary-school teachers and their 46 students were selected for this study. The aim of the study was to explore how teachers’ classroom practices influence students’ learning engagement over two years during grade two and grade four of the educational system. Three trained observers rated classroom practices and students self-reported learning engagement. The results highlight primary students’ high-learning engagement, and did not confirm an expectation that low-autonomy-supportive teaching results in low-learning engagement in primary school.     

Capturing variations in how spelling is taught in primary school classrooms in England

Mastering spelling is important for children to progress in writing. The National Curriculum in England details spelling lists linked to each year group in primary education. Assessment practices also emphasise the importance of teaching spelling. However, to date, little is known about how teachers feel about teaching spelling nor the instructional methods that they use in primary schools in England. This study addresses this gap by investigating approaches to teaching spelling. An online survey was distributed to primary-based teaching staff with roles in supporting teaching and learning. The survey asked for information about the respondents’ teaching experience and school setting, and about their attitudes and approach to teaching spelling. The survey was completed in full by 158 respondents. Approaches to teaching spelling were varied and over two-thirds of the sample highlighted that their school did not have a spelling policy. The importance of explicit teaching of spelling was supported by the majority of teachers. This judgement was more frequent and rated more highly by teachers supporting younger children. Teachers largely reported devising their own spelling resources, highlighted that the curriculum spelling lists lack guidance for teaching spelling strategies and questioned their suitability for pupils of varying abilities. A range of spelling programmes and strategies were recorded. The findings provide insight into universal instructional approaches. Practical implications for teacher training and professional development are discussed.     

Instructional approaches: differences between kindergarten and primary school teachers

The article discusses kindergarten and primary school teachers’ preferences for instructional approaches and teaching practices. One hundred and thirty‐three teachers from Estonia completed questionnaires. The results showed that the promotion of students’ comprehension and independence, enhancing practical application and individualisation of instruction are highlighted by kindergarten as well as primary school teachers. The major difference between kindergarten and primary school teachers is in the usage of rote learning practices. Using a person‐oriented approach to data analysis, kindergarten teachers’ instructional patterns were shown to be similar to constructivist approaches, and primary school teachers’ patterns similar to traditional and constructivist approaches.     

教学制度的结构考察

教学制度是对教学生活的制度安排,主要由不同层次的教学规则构成。教学规则有正式的,也有非正式的。学校教学常规和课堂纪律体现了核心的教学价值观念,反映了学校教学活动的基本准则、规范和要求,它们是正式的教学规则。非正式教学规则主要体现为教师的教学习惯和课堂仪式。教师的教学习惯往往隐藏在教师的观念背后,是无意识的、"没过脑子"的,但却深深地影响甚至决定着教师的教学行为。课堂仪式也是一种课堂"潜规则",它对教学活动和师生的课堂行为也具有同样的约束力。     

Teachers’ conceptions of effective teaching and their teaching practices: a mixed-method approach

This study investigated Iranian high school teachers’ conceptions of effective teaching and examined the relationship of those conceptions to their teaching practices. The authors tried to achieve the purpose through questionnaires, observation, and interview. These teachers identified ‘being student-focused’ and ‘being exam-oriented’ as the most important indicators of effectiveness. ‘Encouraging the students’ involvement in learning,’ ‘being exam-oriented,’ and ‘using the novelty of methods’ were identified as the most common teaching practices. A high consistency between the teachers’ conception of effective teaching and their corresponding teaching practices was observed. Interview and observation confirmed the results of the survey. Implications for teacher professional development, teaching standards, and teacher improvement are discussed.     

Nothing to do with me! Teachers’ perceptions on cultural diversity in Spanish secondary schools

One of the key effects of globalisation is the extraordinary increase in migratory movements. Spain, a country traditionally accustomed to emigration, has seen a considerable rise in the influx of immigrant population, with notable demographic, social and cultural transformations. Particularly, since the early 90s, schools have been experiencing increasing ethnic diversity in their student enrolments. Especially, over the last 10 years, their presence has multiplied 10-fold, reaching 9.53% of the total student body. Thus, along with linguistic difference, class, gender or ability, the most characteristic feature of Spanish schools in recent years is their multicultural nature. For these reasons, it seems reasonable to focus on how Spanish schools, and particularly teachers, perceive and manage cultural diversity. This article reports on a multiple case design study concerning the teachers’ views on cultural diversity and the impact on daily practice in their classrooms. Participants included 16 teachers, with experience ranging from 2 to 20 years of teaching, from four Spanish secondary schools. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with the teachers from each school were chosen as the research method. Additionally, the principal and four immigrant student families from each school were also interviewed. Further information was obtained through a focus-group interview with the four school counsellors. Over a six-month period, all the interviews and complementary field work were carried out by a researcher in each school. While recognising the efforts to accommodate ethnic groups and immigrant populations, the results indicated that teachers perceive cultural diversity as a particular problem whose management is marginalised and excluded from the set of school activities and teaching practices. Teachers agree that the issue is one of adaptation, a problem to be solved by the students themselves with the support of school counsellors and other educational specialists. This way, neither school policies nor teaching practices assume the commitments arising from cultural diversity, so we cannot say that teachers incorporate it in their work, putting culturally relevant teaching into practice in their classrooms. While one of the benchmarks achieved in recent years is the presence of educational specialists in schools to address cultural diversity, the next step is to create the conditions to articulate a joint and collaborative effort between the teaching body and these professionals, bringing cultural diversity management closer to the classroom. Another pending challenge would be determining how we can best prepare teachers for organising and managing their culturally diverse classrooms. Teachers in these schools are doing their job without a professional knowledge base concerning multicultural education. Therefore, pre-service and in-service teacher education programmes should consider questions related to multicultural education and classroom management, which are absent or rarely taken into account in teacher training to date.     

Designs of Teaching Subjunctive Mood in Senior High School

Subjunctive Mood is a key grammatical point in senior high school English.Generally,teachers will directly present the formation and rules of Subjunctive Mood on the blackboard and give the students practices for consolidation,which will get students bored of learning grammar.While this paper aims to present some designs of teaching Subjunctive Mood,which can be used as references for English teachers.     

Becoming a teacher of early reading: charting the knowledge and practices of pre‐service and newly qualified teachers

Education policy in England requires student teachers to demonstrate effective teaching of early reading, including systematic synthetic phonics, in order to qualify to teach. Although there is a range of literature about initial teacher education, little is documented about how pre‐service or ‘student' teachers develop specific knowledge and practices for teaching early reading and how they apply these in their first term as newly qualified teachers (NQTs). This research used a primarily qualitative longitudinal, collective case study design involving seven lower primary (3–7 years) postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) students enrolled at one university in the East Midlands of England. Semi‐structured interviews, classroom observations and documentary analysis with the students and their teacher mentors were used to gather data from entry onto the course to the participants' first term as qualified teachers. A thematic analysis was applied in conjunction with deductive observation codes developed from a previous study. Findings indicate a broad continuum of progression in student and newly qualified teacher knowledge and practice for teaching early reading which could be used to inform university organisation, mentoring and school participation. They highlight the influence of school cultures on the experiences of student and pre‐service teachers.     

Teacher professional development through collaborative action research: impact on foreign English-language teaching and learning

In 2011 we, a group of English-as-a-foreign-language teachers at a secondary school in Argentina, decided to investigate our teaching practices through collaborative action research so as to improve our students’ learning opportunities and thus revitalise English-language teaching in our context. We implemented and evaluated the integration of content and language learning in our classrooms through the development of our own materials. The experience revealed a growth in professional development and how our motivation and autonomy influenced our students’ motivation and language development. In our attempt to disseminate our experience as a group, this report particularly focuses on the evaluation facets of our collaborative action research project so as to encourage other teachers and teacher-researchers to adopt collaborative action research to improve their own practices.     

Changes in teachers’ beliefs after a professional development project for teaching writing: two Chinese cases

A plethora of research has found that teachers’ beliefs directly influence their classroom practices and teaching outcomes. While numerous studies in second/foreign language writing have examined the effectiveness of different innovative approaches on students’ learning to write, there is a paucity of research on writing teachers’ beliefs about these approaches and how their beliefs change in the process of their professional development. Such a lacuna becomes prominent in English as a Foreign Language contexts, especially in China, where there are numerous calls for changing the nature of classroom practices from product-focused to process- and student-centred instruction. In order to fill this gap, this brief article reports on a case study regarding changes in two Chinese English teachers’ beliefs after attending a professional development project for teaching writing. A key research question guides this study: What changes, if any, did the two teachers experience in their teaching beliefs during the project? Two writing teachers were voluntarily recruited for a case study. Findings show that the professional development project for teaching writing broadened the teachers’ understanding of different writing theories, provided a clear model of how to integrate these new approaches into regular writing courses, changed their instructional focus and shifted their perception of teachers’ roles in teaching practice.     

Enhancing Teachers’ Application of Inquiry‐Based Strategies Using a Constructivist Sociocultural Professional Development Model

This two‐year school‐wide initiative to improve teachers’ pedagogical skills in inquiry‐based science instruction using a constructivist sociocultural professional development model involved 30 elementary teachers from one school, three university faculty, and two central office content supervisors. Research was conducted for investigating the impact of the professional development activities on teachers’ practices, documenting changes in their philosophies, instruction, and the learning environment. This report includes teachers’ accounts of philosophical as well as instructional changes and how these changes shaped the learning environment. For the teachers in this study, examining their teaching practices in learner‐centered collaborative group settings encouraged them to critically analyze their instructional practices, challenging their preconceived ideas on inquiry‐based strategies. Additionally, other factors affecting teachers’ understanding and use of inquiry‐based strategies were highlighted, such as self‐efficacy beliefs, prior experiences as students in science classrooms, teacher preparation programs, and expectations due to federal, state, and local mandates. These factors were discussed and reconciled, as they constructed new understandings and adapted their strategies to become more student‐centered and inquiry‐based.     

Constructing model of teachers’ innovative behaviour in school environment

Teachers’ innovative behaviour influences not only their teaching practices and professional habits, but also has an impact on students’ creation of novel and original ideas. In spite of the increasing demand for innovative behaviour, and also relatively high academic achievements of Estonian students in international comparison, teachers in Estonia often do not use innovative teaching practices, according to Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). This study explores possible school environmental factors that may support the innovative behaviour of teachers. A model, where self-efficacy as a trait and different types of teaching practices as behaviour, are components of the model of teachers’ innovative behaviour. It is supposed that teachers’ innovative behaviour appears in school environments and may be supported by the following factors: interaction and involvement, need and freedom for innovation. The study is carried out as a secondary data analysis, based on a sample of TALIS survey. The results indicate that although the three factors mentioned do not constitute the integrated phenomenon, they do describe different aspects of a teachers’ innovative behaviour.     

从视频研究透视课堂教学对学生学习的影响及其路径——基于GTI视频研究上海数据的实证分析

教学的有效性是教育研究的一个核心议题,而相关的课堂教学研究大多基于间接性的课堂数据,使得教师效应长期处于“黑箱”状态.本研究利用OECD发布的全球教学洞察(GTI)视频研究对教师和学生的课堂行为进行的教学视频观测而生成的实证数据,聚焦中国上海的初中数学课堂,探析特定的教师课堂教学实践对其学生的学习兴趣、自我效能和成绩的...     

高中英语教师写作教学信念与实践的个案研究

本研究采用历时质性个案研究方法,对北京某重点高中两位英语教师进行了为期一年的跟踪调查。通过分析访谈、课堂观察等多种数据,本研究发现两名教师都认为英语写作教学应以培养学生的批判性思维和语言综合能力为目的,且与其他技能的培养相融合。她们采用体裁式写作教学方法,将写作教学嵌入日常英语教学活动,关注学生学习写作的过程。本研究发现表明高中英语教师在日常教学中可以突破应试束缚,切实培养学生的写作能力。     

初中生对理化课程不同教学方法喜好程度的调查研究

教师使用学生喜好的教学方法有利于培养学生对科学课程和科学积极的情感,本研究调查了1 334名(男生679名,女生655名)初中学生,在目前物理、化学课堂中23种教学活动使用的频数,以及他们希望其使用的频数。调查数据用描述性统计和非参数检验分析,结果显示:现代教学方法和传统教学法均受到学生的肯定;学生强烈希望开展参观工厂、博物馆等教学活动;学生个体差异影响其对教学方法的喜好;女学生更喜欢听教师讲解和看教师演示实验;成绩好的学生更喜欢小组课题研究、小组讨论等。调查结果对教师理解学生和选择教学方法有启示作用。     

初中数学教学如何建立民主、平等、和谐的师生关系

近年来,中学数学教学倡导以生为本的思想,重视建立新型的师生关系。为此,需要创建一个民主、和谐、平等的师生关系,这样才能让中学生的学习主动性和创造性真正体现出来,学生才能更好的学会生活和发展。本文以初中数学教学为例,从树立争取的学生观、要平等的对待学生、培训学生的民主意识和加强师生之间的沟通四个方面对如何建立民主、平等、和谐的师生关系进行了探讨,拟对做好初中数学教学工作提供一点借鉴。