Learning the Craft: a student teacher's story

Experienced teachers’ craft knowledge could provide valuable resources for the professional development of pre‐service teachers. Through the voice of a student teacher, this article reports on a process of observing and questioning aimed at accessing the craft knowledge of experienced teachers. Learning partnerships formed during this process helped to overcome difficulties with experienced teachers articulating their knowledge, with the student teacher asking appropriate questions and with the student teacher focusing on relevant classroom events. Incorporation of a reflective component within the process provided a means for the student teacher to understand better the nature of teaching. The data revealed potential benefits for student teachers, teachers and teacher educators participating in this process.     

Collaborative action research on the learning and teaching of algebra: a story of one mathematics teacher's development

This paper presents the story of a mathematics teacher's transformation that resulted from her engagement in collaborative action research. The collaborative research, conducted by a university mathematics educator and an eighth-grade mathematics teacher (Marylin), centered on investigating the outcomes of implementing a Hands-On Equations approach to teaching algebra. This algebraic study, which is briefly reported herein, serves as a vehicle for examining the questions, reflections, and changes brought forth by Marylin throughout the collaborative process. Thus, the project of investigating the teaching and learning of algebra can be viewed as the sub-study within the broader study of the effects of collaborative action research on the mathematics teacher involved in the investigation. Within this paper, issues related to the broader study of collaborative action research in the mathematics classroom, that are connected to Marylin's transformation, are discussed. These issues include the characterization of and goals for collaborative action research as well as the challenges for collaborative action research in mathematics classrooms.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Integrating handicapped children: one teacher's experience

Fresh demands are currently being made upon teachers of literacy. How do these fit with what we know about teachers who are effective at teaching literacy? The research reported here aimed to explore the characteristic features of teachers who were effective literacy teachers, in terms of their knowledge, beliefs and teaching practices. It was found that effective teachers were already teaching literacy in a manner sympathetic to that implied in the National Literacy Strategy. The article goes on to discuss some of the implications of these findings, especially in terms of the design and content of future in-service courses.     

Imagining a profession: a beginning teacher's story of isolation

Policy documents informing the profession of teaching in Australia and elsewhere explicitly recommend nurturing those new to the profession working collaboratively with colleagues. Key to the development and growth of beginning teachers is the informal exchange of ideas and knowledge between colleagues – essentially through the functioning of a community of practice. In practice there are beginning teachers who do not experience productive professional collaborations. In this article we use positioning theory and discourse analysis as a methodological “hearing aid” to listen to the story of a beginning teacher, a global English speaker, as she tells of her personal experiences of being excluded by her colleagues as she begins teaching at her first school. Speakers of global English are defined, for this research, as those for whom English is not their first language but may be one of many spoken languages. This story reflects similar accounts gathered during a larger research study conducted by the authors that focused on the early career experiences of global English speaking teachers. We conclude with suggestions for ways forward through awareness and practical reforms.     

Mentoring and being mentored: The story of a novice music teacher's success

This qualitative study examined the growth of Jelani, a failing novice teacher who successfully received tenure following his third year of teaching. His progress seemed related to the quality of his relationships with different mentors. An unanticipated factor in Jelani's success was his participation in a university-based program for children, where he served, under supervision, as a mentor for two preservice teachers. In what became a mutually beneficial relationship, Jelani reinforced his new-found knowledge and skills and learned to better describe and assess his own teaching. Among those who worked with Jelani, additional reciprocal mentoring relationships developed.     

中国英语学习者英语习得过程中的零主语习失

文章着重阐述中国英语学习者英语学习过程中的零主语初始习失现象（initial unlea-rn-ing）旨在论证在中国英语习得者的中介语中,是否存在零主语的初始习失。研究发现,中国英语习得者的中介语中并不存在零主语的初始习失现象,二语习得者会把母语中的零主语参数迁移到二语的中介语中,而且在所测试的所有句子结构中,这一迁移无一例外地存在。     

Learning to reflect: A story of empowerment

This paper presents and analyses a story of empowerment for tradespeople in training as technology studies teachers in secondary schools. In the past, changes in identity required by the transition from manual to mental labour had appeared to be so difficult that negativism and projection characterised these groups, throughout their teacher education program. An action research project, conducted in their Educational Psychology classes, sought to improve this situation, resulting in profound changes in their actions both at the training Institution and in their schools. Implications for providing appropriate conditions for reflection and empowerment in teacher education generally are discussed.     

Finding her way: a beginning teacher's story of learning to honour her own voice in teaching

This article examines the ways in which a collaborative action research design became the lens by which a classroom teacher and two university teacher educators examined the practice of a novice during her second year of teaching. Together the three authors tell a story of a young woman's struggle to find and honour her voice as a new teacher. Three overarching themes were identified from the date, including university preparation, formal/informal support networks and finding and honouring her voice. Findings revealed that the collaborative nature of this research provided for unintended praxis for all researchers. Ultimately, the teacher's quest for voice and ultimate articulation of self-as-teacher emerged as a result of her participation in this collaborative inquiry.     

Referents for changing a science curriculum: A case study of one teacher's change in beliefs

This interpretive investigation of curricular change involved Karl, a middle school science teacher. Initially, he made sense of his and student roles in terms of objectivism and the teacher having control. When Karl had opportunities to observe the teaching of a colleague he began to consider changes in his teaching. The referents used to frame alternative teacher and student roles were students having greater autonomy for their actions and constructivism. However, constraints, such as shortage of time and beliefs of colleagues and students favored the retention of traditional practices. Although Karl's commitment to change was sufficiently strong to ensure that changes would be attempted, old belief sets and associated practices, restraints, and new belief sets and associated practices co-existed in a dialectical relationship. Effecting meaningful change necessitated teacher learning and sustaining of new equilibria between a complex array of interacting sociocultural factors.     

Biodiversity Education: A teacher's perspective

Reduction in biodiversity has been established as a global environmental issue, mainly over the last 10 years. However, there is disagreement amongst experts whether it is a natural phenomenon or strongly influenced by human activity. This article considers biodiversity as a controversial issue in the education of students of 11-18 years of age in schools, particularly in relation to science education. It includes a study of teachers' attitudes and approaches to biodiversity education in the UK and was undertaken using participatory appraisal methods with 'focus' groups of teachers. It was shown that the teachers in the study were frequently well informed, they considered biodiversity to be an important issue and although the formal science curriculum had a contribution to make it was also a matter that the whole institution could address. Suggestions for evaluating the possible indicators and outcomes of effective biodiversity education were made. In conclusion it was shown that while programmes included many of the essential components of knowledge for biodiversity education there was usually little attempt to ensure that students achieved a more coherent understanding of the complex issue or how to deal with matters that are truly controversial. The methodology provided a useful model for reflection on practice and professional development in many possible contexts.     

Learning the words AND knowing the concepts: an in‐depth study of one expert teacher's use of language as a cultural tool to support inquiry

This research explored the practices of one science teacher, expert in her field, as she worked to enact science discourse that incorporated language in naturalistic and rigorous ways. Difficulties in mastering the language of science contribute to troubling and persistent achievement gaps across demographic and gender groups. Science learning is based in discourse, with knowledge built by asking questions, exploring, revising views and asking new questions. But all too often students are not able to participate fully in these opportunities for discourse that is engaging and exploration due to the difficulty of science language. Qualitative analysis of this teacher's use of science discourse to establish clear links between essential science language and concepts and pre/post analysis of a science language assessment reveal important ways that teachers and researchers can work together to design and deliver instruction and assessment that supports students' mastery of sophisticated language and concepts. Results have implications for theory regarding science discourse; language learning, and conceptual development; and provide a model for teacher–researcher partnerships exploring important problems of teaching practice.     

The development of one teacher's understanding of practitioner research in a multi-ethnic primary school

This article is an attempt to describe the development of my understanding of the purpose of practitioner research over the first 4 years of a project leading to a PhD. It tells the story of the evolution of my thinking, from an initial focus on the curriculum and the children's unsophisticated thinking about race as the source of the problem, to a more self-critical stance, in which I saw ‘whiteness’ as an important factor in structuring the children's experiences of schooling. Thus, the early outward focus of the research – the children, and their response to the curriculum – was replaced by an inward focus – on my own attitudes and actions as a white teacher, and the effect they have on the children I teach. The article argues that teachers should have the opportunity to reflect on aspects of their practice in this way as an integral part of their professional development.     

Teacher discourse,peer relations,significant disability: unraveling one friendship story

Mainstream research in the education of students with significant disabilities, which seeks to improve the ways these students can participate successfully in general education settings, has established the importance of teachers and classroom contexts in mediating relations between students with significant disabilities and their peers in the classroom. However, there is still a gap in the literature regarding the ways in which teacher practice, particularly teacher discourse, shapes the identities of these students. Drawing on the data from a study that examined the participation of students with significant disabilities in inclusive settings, this paper presents a case study of the relations between Harry, a first‐grade student with significant disabilities, and a peer student, Andrea. The paper weaves several theoretical frameworks – disability studies, narrative theory, and sociocultural theory – to offer an interpretation that directs attention to the forms of teacher mediation available to peer students in engaging with their classmates with significant disabilities.     

Laura's story: Using Problem Based Learning in early childhood and primary teacher education

Increasingly, graduates across a range of professions are required to possess the ability to critically evaluate information, solve problems and participate in collaborative group work. Problem Based Learning (PBL) is a pedagogical approach to learning that emphasises student centred engagement with real problems or situations, involving learners in active decision making processes and in using theory to inform practice. This paper reports the perceptions a group of pre-service educators had to their participation in a unit of study conducted using a PBL scenario. The paper examines issues associated with teacher education, such as skills acquisition and the notion of the ‘gap’ between theory and practice. The findings reported here indicate that PBL offers the opportunity for pre-service educators to participate in a learning experience that supports them in developing skills appropriate to their profession and in understanding how theory may be related to practice.