International students using online information resources to learn: complex experience and learning needs

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study that investigated 25 international students’ use of online information resources for study purposes at two Australian universities. Using an expanded critical incident approach, the study viewed international students through an information literacy lens, as information-using learners. The findings are presented in two complementary parts: as a word picture that describes their whole experience of using online information resources to learn; and as a tabulated set of critical findings that summarises their associated information literacy learning needs. The word picture shows international students’ resource use as a complex interplay of eight interrelated elements: students; information-learning environment; interactions (with online resources); strengths-challenges; learning-help; affective responses; reflective responses; and cultural-linguistic dimensions. In using online resources, the international students experience an array of strengths and challenges, and an apparent information literacy imbalance between their more developed information skills and less-developed critical information use. The critical findings about information literacy needs provide a framework for developing an inclusive informed learning approach that responds to international students’ complex information using experiences and needs. While the study is situated in Australia, the findings are of potential interest to educators, information professionals and researchers worldwide who seek to support learning in culturally diverse higher education contexts.     

Becoming a literacy teacher: approximations in critical literacy teaching

The new literacy studies (NLS) is a tradition of research that includes ethnographic work on literacy that has many applications for classroom teachers. The NLS include explorations of local literacies and critical literacy as well as the notion of literacy itself. When teachers draw on the NLS, students are able to draw on their practices in critical and transformative ways. However, NLS perspectives have not been used to examine how teachers are prepared in pre‐service programs and the ways critical literacy practices develop. This paper examines how two pre‐service teachers learn to take up definitions of local literacies in their work with students from racially, linguistically, and culturally diverse backgrounds in practicum settings. They use approximations in literacy teaching to design practices with students, demonstrating the process of becoming a teacher of literacy. I conclude with recommendations for teacher educators who are interested in supporting such approximations.     

成为批判反思型教师:内涵及其途径——托马斯大学Stephen D.Brookfield教授访谈

斯蒂芬.D.布鲁克菲尔德(Stephen D.Brookfield)教授从批判理论的传统出发来探讨教师的反思。他将反思看作教师不断学习、探究自己教学的方式。当教师开展批判性反思时,他们实际上是对自己作为成人学习者有更清晰的意识;通过反思,教师持续地了解自身,了解他们与同事的关系,了解他们如何对学生施加影响。批判反思型教师不断质疑自己带到教学中的前提假设,尤其是课堂中的权力关系及其相互转换;确保课堂中的权力和权威被负责任地使用从而有助于支持学生的学习,而不是被误用或滥用而使学生感到不公或无益,或者是被胁迫或压制。他提出,每一位教师都可以运用从学生那里收集来的反馈信息、同事的感受、理论学习和对自身经验的反思这四条途径来探查自身的教学假设,寻求教学实践的改善。     

Irish student teachers’ beliefs about self,learning and teaching: a longitudinal study

This paper explores the beliefs about self-as-teacher, learning and teaching of preservice elementary teachers during a three-year undergraduate programme. Using a qualitative grounded theory analysis, the study examined the initial beliefs or personal theories of 27 preservice teachers during their first Semester. Longitudinal data were gathered from 7 of these students over the three-year duration of their teacher education programme through iterative interviews and reflective journal analysis. The findings demonstrate expansion in preservice teachers’ understandings of the teacher’s role, the value of reflective practice, the differential needs of learners and approaches to pedagogy. Findings point to lacunae in preservice teachers’ capacity for critical reflective practice and demonstrate how classroom management concerns can cause preservice teachers to adopt more cautious and traditional pedagogical approaches, despite their espoused commitment to child-centred principles.     

Inside a beginning immigrant science teacher’s classroom: an ethnographic study

Teaching is a highly personal endeavor shaped by ‘funds of knowledge’ and beliefs about teaching, learning, and students. This case study examines how one Asian immigrant teacher’s personal expectations and beliefs influenced his expectations of students and the teaching and instructional strategies he employed. His expectations of students’ behavior and their failure to conform to his expectations influenced him to utilize more traditional, didactic instructional practices and responses to classroom management dilemmas. It is generally assumed that immigrant and minority students will benefit from exposure to teachers from similar backgrounds, and that ethnically diverse teachers can better prepare minority students for the multicultural workplace and global economy. This study focuses on the role a teacher’s background and experiences play in development of their beliefs about teaching and learning, their expectations of students, and the instructional decisions they make regarding teaching and learning. This study suggests that teachers draw on their personal histories and cultural understandings to create classroom practices which are molded by microcosms of personal ‘funds of knowledge’ and beliefs about teaching and learning. In contrast to conventional wisdom and unquestioned myths, this study emphasizes the importance of knowing that teachers’ cultural backgrounds do not necessarily qualify them to provide the most appropriate instructional environment for students from similar cultural backgrounds. This study suggests that all teachers need to learn to recognize and negotiate the unique social elements culturally diverse students bring to the classroom.     

The palimpsest layers of pre-service teachers’ literacy autobiographies

In this article, we examine three literacy autobiographies written by pre-service teachers. Narratives are seen as not just stories relating a set of facts, but rather a means by which individuals interpret their experience. Literacy autobiographies are a reflective and interpretive account of one’s development as a literate being. Using the tools of narrative analysis, we (a) examine these stories to understand the processes of literacy development through the experiences of learners’ storied lives; (b) seek to understand the impact that teachers’ literacy journeys have on their view of literacy and literacy education; and (c) explore what these literacy autobiographies reveal about the contributions of teacher reflection to pre-service teacher education. Our analysis points to the importance of personal relationships in the development of literacy, providing the context within which literacy practices give meaning to the literacy events active in the narrators’ lives. We also note a persistent view of traditional forms of literacy in contrast to pre-service teachers’ involvement in multiliteracies, and argue that this gap needs to be addressed in order to prepare teachers for the twenty-first century classroom. We also consider how reflection can be a more intentional aspect of pre-service teacher education to enhance pedagogy and learning.     

Environmental literacy of pre‐service teachers in Israel: a comparison between students at the onset and end of their studies

The adequate preparation of teacher education students in environmental education is a prerequisite for their future ability to design and implement effective environmental education. This longitudinal study compared the environmental literacy of 214 students at the onset and towards the end of their studies, in three academic colleges of education in Israel. A questionnaire and a paired pre‐test–post‐test design were used to explore environmental literacy variables and their perceptions regarding the contribution of their college studies to their environmental literacy and worldviews. Students towards the end of their studies reported increased involvement in most of the study’s environmental behaviour categories as compared to the beginning. Despite this, the pattern characterizing their environmental behaviour did not change: a negative relationship was found between the frequency at which they engaged in different behaviour categories and the environmental‐commitment‐level of the corresponding category. Overall, while their environmental attitudes were positive, both as beginning and advanced students, their level of environmental knowledge remained low. Advanced students noted the limited contribution of their studies to the development of their environmental literacy and worldviews. In spite of the improvement in students’ environmental literacy over the course of their studies, the levels of their environmental literacy towards the end of studies are still inadequate for educators. The findings from this study are of relevance to decision makers bringing environmental education into the policy of teacher education institutions, and for program developers, on effective directions for integrating environmental education given the structures and frameworks of current programs.     

A Collective Self-Study to Improve Program Coherence of Clinical Experiences

Student feedback collected through program evaluation of secondary education licensure and Master’s program clinical experiences prompted us to conduct a collective self-study. We used a reflective framework for analysis and discussion of the shifts students in our courses made as they progressed from observers to practicing teachers. Along with our graduate students, we collected and shared data and analysis from two courses – an introductory mathematics course for pre-service teachers and a capstone self-study teacher research course for in-service teachers. Data included students’ reflective accounts of their clinical experiences, dialogue with peers in response memos and focus groups, and our meta-conversation about and interpretations of data captured in meeting notes, audio recordings of meetings, email exchanges, and video conferencing over a two-month period. Analysis resulted in reframed thinking about our teaching and implications for program coherence, including provision of meaningful participant observations in diverse settings, design of dialogic platforms for students to make connections, and support of a critical level of reflection to inform teacher professional practice. The results are informative to teacher educators and programs seeking to better understand their roles in designing dialogic spaces for students to think deeply about the connections of their courses to clinical experiences and in supporting ongoing teacher professional development. The study highlights the benefits of faculty collective self-studies and contributes to the literature on self-study for program development.     

新建本科院校新手与专家教师教学反思行为研究

新手教师的专业成长是新建本科院校提高教学质量、实现内涵转型的关键因素,教学反思是促进新手教师成长为专家教师的有效途径.通过对新手教师与专家教师教学反思的对比研究发现:新手教师反思行为的经常性高于专家教师;专家教师的反思认知水平显著优于新手教师,专家教师更有效地通过文献、同事、学生和自身4个视角进行教学反思.     

An Investigation into Uncovering and Understanding Tacit Knowledge in a First‐Year Design Studio Environment

Tacit knowledge, intuitive responses, empirical research – how can design elevate itself as a discipline when its main forms of knowledge gathering and generation are still believed to be less valuable than those in traditional academia? Beginning design students must learn to put words to their actions, to understand their processes and to be critical and reflective throughout all stages of a project. By guiding students into developing rigorous iterative processes that combine theoretical research, empirical research, questioning and reflection students will no longer need to hide behind the lure of the enigma of intuition. The introduction of writing in the studio classroom is one method that can help students see the relationship between the various stages of their creative process and articulate the reasons behind the decisions they make. Experiential learning techniques that combine writing, making, research and reflection will help students shift their personal frames of reference and thus create a more critically engaged student body.     

Conceptual,pedagogical, cultural,and political dilemmas of implementing a constructivist workshop approach to teaching literacy

Approached as an epistemology, implementing a constructivist workshop approach to literacy can challenge the traditional paradigm of teacher-focused instruction and transform to one where students construct knowledge together and learn through active engagement in authentic reading and writing. This study illustrated how two third-grade teachers managed the conceptual, pedagogical, cultural and political dilemmas they encountered when they began implementing a constructivist workshop approach to literacy. This study validates the disquiet and discomfort teachers may feel as they utilize new curriculum, illustrates that a workshop approach requires an understanding/articulation of personal and curricular pedagogical and epistemological foundations, and encourages administrators to recognize that teachers need time and space to take risks and reflect on their work.     

Deaf college students' perspectives on literacy portfolios

The study examined how literacy portfolios were used as tools in a college developmental English class in which deaf students assessed their reading comprehension as well as their writing processes and products. The students' reading and writing assignments involved reflective thinking and were grounded in authentic tasks. Immediate feedback was provided. The study was multidimensional, longitudinal, and ongoing. A variety of field research techniques were used to ascertain the uses and influences of portfolios in regard to students' reading, writing, and reflective thinking. The results support the idea that the use of literacy portfolios can positively influence students who are deaf when they assess their reading and writing abilities.     

Extending the classroom walls: using academic blogging as an intervention strategy to improve critical literacy skills with elementary students

‘Academic blogging’ is a way of extending the primary classroom walls and enhancing learning through collaborative reflective responses to open-ended questions from prescribed text. Students learn from each other, develop critical literacy skills, voice their opinions and ask questions through blogging. This pedagogical approach broaches the areas of social media etiquette, cognitive dissonance, Information Communication Technologies, collaborative learning and utilises virtual conversations to deepen student's understanding of text. Through the methodology of Action Research with the spiral steps of; Plan, Act, Observe and Reflect an intervention strategy is devised to improve the critical literacy skills of Year 5 students in the comprehension skills of metacognition and reflection. A strategy was devised that involved the creation of a class blogosphere to share reflective insights on a class novel. While the children's results were positive using this intervention strategy the teacher's own learning as an educator and researcher is evident through this action research project.     

Old habits die hard: literacy practices of pre-service teachers

Reading methodology in pre-service teacher training may not be effective because of the literacy beliefs and practices of the trainees. This paper examines the reading practices of a group of pre-service teachers (n=29) in Singapore. Their personal approach to reading revealed that the majority split reading into two domains: leisure reading and academic reading. Trainees use multiple strategies in reading but these are confined to their leisure reading; for academic reading, they adopt a different set of strategies that are geared to remembering rather than comprehension or evaluation. These representations of reading and the associated strategies are developed and reinforced during their schooling. Due to the lack of congruence between the training and trainees' own representations, trainees fall back on remembered routines during their teaching.     

民办高校英语教师对教材审辩思维内容的探究

教育信息化2.0时代给民办高校的教育带来机会的同时,也给师生的信息技术能力及信息素养带来了挑战。审辩思维是信息素养提高的前提,也是21世纪人才重要的特征,非常适合通过大学英语来培养。教材是大学英语教学的关键,但是现有教材的审辩思维比较笼统、含糊,教师有必要系统、深入地学习审辩思维并提升相关能力,再对教材进行系统、深入地审辩思维技能或倾向加工,实现大学英语对审辩思维既知其神又知其形的培养和提升,进而促进英语习得、跨文化交际和英语信息素养的培养。     

Learning to teach literacy through collaborative discussions of student work

Despite the high numbers of students with disabilities struggling with literacy, few teachers report feeling well prepared to address it. Most students with disabilities encounter challenges in reading and professional development can help teachers learn a range of ways to address those. In this article, we discuss a professional development project in which prospective teachers work collaboratively with practicing teachers throughout their university preparation. The professional development provided builds on the idea of ‘literacy artifacts’, which are samples of students’ and teachers’ work. Using guided discussions, teachers across the career continuum construct understandings and practices in which they learn how to infuse literacy instruction into all teaching and learning. By conjoining the literacy artifact with instructional resources teachers use, participants make visible the complexity of literacy instruction and how literacy could be embedded in teaching content for students with disabilities especially in general education classrooms.     

Using peer and teacher-student exemplar dialogues to unpack assessment standards: challenges and possibilities

Dialogic use of exemplars is effective in developing student understanding of assessment standards. However, limited studies have investigated how exemplar dialogues are conducted in the post-secondary context. To fill the gap, this teacher-research explores the characteristics of peer and teacher–student exemplar talk in three post-secondary classrooms and the challenges in the dialogic process. The participants involved 69 first-year post-secondary students, a critical friend and a teacher-researcher. Data analysis on selected dialogue excerpts, an open-ended survey, focus group interviews with the students, critical friend’s commentary and a teacher-researcher reflective journal indicated two major issues: (i) students’ lack of capacities to resolve socio-cognitive conflict in the peer dialogue; (ii) the dilemma of addressing students’ immediate assessment needs and developing their long-term evaluative judgements in the teacher–student dialogue. Recommendations are made to tackle the challenges and to orchestrate productive exemplar dialogues.