A study of emerging teacher practices in internet-based lesson plan development

In this paper we describe two aspects of an Internet-based lesson plan development project called Science On-Line-Earth and Space Science for the Classroom. First, we discuss the design of the Science On-Line (SOL) Project, which focuses on building a community of practice, appropriate task and setting, and contact with the scientific workplace. Second, we examine strategies teachers used as they approached the task of creating Internet-based science lesson plans for the World Wide Web. Based on the analysis of data gathered during the various project phases, results show that the teacher-developed strategies have varying degrees of effectiveness in facilitating Internet-based lesson plan design, information-gathering, and organization. We describe how the strategies began to evolve into formulated practices for Internet-based lesson development within the SOL teacher community. The SOL investigation develops a case study of the strategies and emerging practices in the context of the creation and pilot-testing of Internet-based lesson plans. This case study may serve as an exemplar of tested Internet-based lesson development strategies and practices for the educational community.     

Confronting unsuccessful practices: repositioning teacher identities in English education

Teacher education programs attempt to prepare preservice teachers for the various challenges faced in the classroom. One particular challenge new teachers face is how to handle unsuccessful practices. This paper argues that confronting ineffective practices require that teachers respond to complex and dynamic challenges, making change difficult when solutions are not readily available. Presenting data from case-study research, the paper uses an identity framework and positioning theory to explore how two novice teachers navigate moments of unsuccessful practice. Findings suggest that when teachers confronted ineffective practices they repositioned their teacher identities in ways that depended on the ideologies of their school. The paper concludes with implications about the importance of extending typical reflective practices of teacher education with video analysis that challenges students to examine how they enact teacher identities over time within the figured world of their school.     

Beginning teachers' experience of the workplace learning environment in alternative teacher certification programs: A mixed methods approach

Workplace learning in early entry (EE) teacher education programs has been proposed as an alternative to traditional programs and as bridging the theory-practice gap in teacher education. However, there is little empirical evidence for the underlying assumption that one can become a highly qualified teacher by merely being a teacher. This article discusses to what extent students of teaching in EE programs experience their work environment as a stimulating learning environment. The results of semi-structured interviews and an online survey suggest that schools tend to hinder rather than serve the purpose of workplace learning. Obstructions and supporting conditions are discussed.     

Uniform teacher certification in the South

Evaluation and Improvement of Teaching. By Charles W. Knudsen. Doubleday Doran &; Co.

Arithmetic for Everyday Life. By Robert Anderson, Teachers College, West Chester, Pa., and Shelton Phelps, George Peabody College for Teachers. Silver, Burdett &;Co.

Problems of the Teaching Personnel. By Dennis H. Cooke. Longmans, Green &; Co.

Intelligence—Its Manifestations and Measurement. By Paul L. Boynton, 1933. D. Appleton and Company. Pp. xi + 466.

Significant Contemporary Stories. Edited by Edith R. Mirrielees. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday, Doran and Company, 1929. Pp. 376.

Stongs for the School Year for Junior and Senior High Schools. Compiled by George S. Dare. New York: A. S. Barnes and Company, 1931. Pp. xvi + 191.

The Psychology of School Music Teaching. By James L. Mursell and Mabelleb Glenn. New York: Silver, Burdett and Company, 1931. Pp. v + 378.

The Courts and the Public Schools. By Newton Edwards. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1933. Pp. xvi + 591.

A Gestalt Completion Test. By Roy F. Street. New York City: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1931. Pp. in + 65.

College and Reference Library Yearbook. American Library Association, Chicago: American Library Association, 1931.

Public School Finance. By Homer P. Rainey. New York: The Century Co, 1929. Pp. xix + 385. (Century education series.)

Beyond the School. By Frank A. Rexford, Cham.es M. Smith, Sarah Lansuburg Seixin, and Paul F. Frabbito. New York: Henry Holt and Company 1933. Pp. xx + 409.

The Administration of Public High Schools Through Their Personnel. By Georgs A. Rice, Clinton C. Conrad, Paul Fleming. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1933. Pp. x + 723.

Everyday Problems in Classroom Management. By Edwin J. Brown. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1933. Pp. xv + 306.

Modern Solid Geometry. By John R. Clark and Arthur S. Otis. New York: World Book Company, 1932. Pp. xx + 171.

Junior Mathematics for Today—Book One. By William Betz. New York: Ginn and Company, 1933. Pp. x + 406.     

Mathematics teacher preparation in Turkey today

The dominant trend today, in all countries, is to integrate the training of teachers into higher education. Turkey completed this integration in 1982. The transfer of the whole teacher education system into the university sector was not difficult since the Turkish educational system is centrally controlled. Turkey has two sources of mathematics teachers, namely Education and Science Faculties. Science Faculty graduates obtain their teaching certificate from Education Faculties. At present, Turkey needs to apply a new model for student assessment, and selection to detect and attract more capable and committed individuals into teaching.     

Building teacher identity with urban youth: Voices of beginning middle school science teachers in an alternative certification program

Teacher identity development and change is shaped by the interrelationship between personal biography and experience and professional knowledge linked to the teaching environment, students, subject matter, and culture of the school. Working from this framework, this study examines how beginning teacher interns who are part of an alternative route to teacher certification construct a professional identity as science educators in response to the needs and interests of urban youth. From the teacher interns, we learn that crafting a professional identity as a middle‐level science teacher involves creating a culture around science instruction driven by imagining “what can be,” essentially a vision for a quality and inclusive science curriculum implicating science content, teaching methods, and relationships with their students. The study has important implications for the preparation of a stronger and more diverse teaching force able to provide effective and inclusive science education for all youth. It also suggests the need for greater attention to personal and professional experience and perceptions as critical to the development of a meaningful teacher practice in science. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 1044–1062, 2004     

The impact of an alternative professional development model on teacher practices in formative assessment and student learning

Among contemporary means of enhancing student learning, formative assessment is perhaps one of the most important and effective. While formative assessment ideas and practices have been shown to have a proven record enhancing student learning, these practices are slow to be fully integrated into teachers’ day-to-day classroom practices. This study describes a collaborative effort among university faculty and public school partners to train teachers in the skills and practices of formative assessment. Regarding teachers’ involvement in the formative assessment professional development, findings highlight that 1) teachers’ participation in the professional development efforts did strengthen their understanding of both general knowledge of formative assessment and the use of formative assessment practices, 2) teachers’ plans to use the strategies in the future were related to their understanding of these strategies, and 3) in-depth and comprehensive understanding of formative assessment practices were critical to concrete applications of such practices in their classrooms. With respect to the impact on student learning, an overall effect size of .41 was found for teachers who utilized a formative assessment strategy compared with district averages for similar learning objectives when the practices were not used.     

职前英语教师教育实习期身份建构叙事探究

本文采用叙事探究方法,以一名职前英语教师为研究对象,探索其实习期身份建构及其影响因素。研究表明,该教师在实习期建构了批改工具、良师益友、学习者、多面手及教师预备兵等多重身份。影响其身份发展的个人因素主要包括个人过往学习经历、反思能力和情感,社会因素主要为重要他者和学校文化。本研究对推动职前教师积极身份建构和职前教师教育具有重要意义。     

高师院校教师教育存在的问题与对策

教学计划是学校教育教学过程中的指导性文件,如何制定和实施教学计划直接影响人才培养的质量。针对高师院校教师教育存在的问题,应通过改革师范生的教学计划来解决。     

Teaching in rural Turkey: pre-service teacher perspectives

Despite preliminary findings that preparing teachers for rural positions is of great importance in Turkey’s conditions, little has been reported regarding the measures that need to be addressed in order to effectively prepare teachers for remote areas. In response to this gap, the present study aimed to provide some preliminary views about the expectations of pre-service teachers in relation to rural teaching from a qualitative research paradigm. Data were collected through an open-ended questionnaire from 115 senior pre-service teachers in a large Turkish university. Thematic analysis of the data revealed that participants had polarised views about the issue. While some of them viewed the experience positively, others highlighted the potential challenges. Pre-service teachers’ vague and dichotomous images concerning rural teaching suggested that they had some preconceptions formed through media representations or word of mouth. Implications for teacher education and professional development, along with directions for future research were included.     

Blended learning at pre-service teacher education in Turkey: A systematic review

The literature shows an increase in blended learning implementations (N?=?74) at faculties of education in Turkey whereas pre-service and in-service teachers’ ICT competencies have been identified as one of the areas where they are in need of professional development. This systematic review was conducted to find out the impact of blended learning on academic achievement and attitudes at teacher education programs in Turkey. 21 articles and 10 theses complying with all pre-determined criteria (i.e., studies having quantitative research design or at least a quantitative aspect conducted at pre-service teacher education programs) included within the scope of this review. With regard to academic achievement, it was synthesized that majority of the studies confirmed its positive impact on attaining course outcomes. Likewise, blended learning environment was revealed to contribute pre-service teachers to develop positive attitudes towards the courses. It was also concluded that face-to-face aspect of the courses was favoured considerably as it enhanced social interaction between peers and teachers. Other benefits of blended learning were listed as providing various materials, receiving prompt feedback, and tracking progress. Slow internet access, connection failure and anxiety in some pre-service teachers on using ICT were reported as obstacles. Regarding the positive results of blended learning and the significance of ICT integration, pre-service teacher education curricula are suggested to be reconstructed by infusing ICT into entire program through blended learning rather than delivering isolated ICT courses which may thus serve for prospective teachers as catalysts to integrate the use of ICT in their own teaching.     

Troubles with grades,grading, and change: Learning from adventures in alternative assessment practices in teacher education

In this paper, two teacher educators work to understand their attempts to transform teacher–student relations by altering traditional grading practices. Using actor-network theory, the authors examine the social effects produced across and throughout a school of education when they changed the meaning and significance of grades. Detailed analysis of retrospective reflections (narratives and dialogue) reveals the deeply ingrained and broadly interconnected role that traditional understandings of grades play in defining and stabilizing identities and responsibilities. The specific outcomes here reveal the authors’ complicity in the failure of their own change effort and offer implications for teacher educators attempting change.     

Assessment in play-based kindergarten classrooms: An empirical study of teacher perspectives and practices

Kindergarten education is changing. Current reforms have increased accountability structures requiring teachers to integrate assessments throughout their instruction to support academic learning while retaining developmentally appropriate pedagogies such as play-based learning. Despite these reforms, comparatively little research has been conducted on teachers' assessment practices within play-based instructional contexts. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' approaches to assessment in play-based kindergarten education and specifically to examine how assessment practices differed based on teachers' conceptions of the purpose of play in student learning. Data were obtained from 77 Ontario kindergarten teachers via (a) an electronic survey, (b) in-depth interviews, and (c) classroom observations. Overall, data from this study suggest a misalignment in teachers' perspectives of the purpose of play and what teachers assess during periods of play.     

The moral aspects of teacher educators' practices

The growing political, social and scientific attention that is being devoted to the moral aspects of teaching has implications for teacher education. This paper reports on a study of the actual moral education practices of 54 teacher educators within one institution. We encouraged these teacher educators to make their values explicit and to explain how they put them into practice. Nine teacher educators were studied in detail. These teacher educators were then stimulated to reflect on their values by completing charts to analyse the moral aspects of their practices. In addition, one of their lessons was videotaped and discussed. An important conclusion of this study is that whilst the responsibility for preparing student teachers for moral education rests with individual teacher educators, this process is largely implicit and unplanned. This is due in part to the lack of a language for expressing the moral dimension in teaching. Both teacher educators and students emphasise the importance of the role that attitudes play in the expression of values by teacher educators.     

Quality of teacher worklife and classroom practices in Botswana

Grounded in affect theory (Eckblad, 1981), this study investigated (1) the extent that Botswana junior secondary teachers' quality of worklife was related to their willingness to undertake innovative educational practices and (2) the extent that those teachers who differed in their perceived quality of worklife also differed in their classroom pedagogical practices. Results indicated that classroom practices differed significantly (for reasons other than subject area) among teachers who held different perceptions about the quality of their worklife. However, findings also suggest that interventions aimed at enhancing quality of worklife based on the premise that more satisfied teachers may be more receptive to change may be ill-conceived.