Use of the Argyris Case Method to Develop Consulting Skills

Consulting skills can be developed and improved through the use of a unique case format and method of case analysis. The format and methodology, developed by Argyris, is based in his theory of action. Argyris argues that consultants function out of two theories, one which they espouse and another which actually guides their words and actions, their theory-in-use. A consultant's theory-in-use is often tacit and thus unavailable for self-examination or correction. The analysis is conducted in a small group using a case which the consultant has constructed from an actual dialogue he or she has had with a client. The dialogue provides the means to examine possible contradictions between the consultant's theory-in-use and the espoused theory. In addition the analysis provides insight into inferences the consultant makes about the client's words and actions which may be incorrect.     

Underlying Cultural issues That Effect Sound Consultant/School Collaboratives in Developing Multicultural Programs

This paper examines some underlying cultural issues that effect collaborations between consultants and schools, addressing multicultural curriculum and teaching developments. As a prelude to such a discussion, the author first advance the argument that Western chauvinism may interfere with the consultant's and the school's ability to perceive other cultures on their own terms. Six multicultural considerations are then explored to shed some clarity on intracultural perceptions. The sixth of these considerations in the Implications For Effective Curriculum and Teaching Development section serves as my 'bottom line' concerning the true purpose of multicultural programs within schools. The author contend that multicultural programs must foster equitable optimum learning opportunities for all children regardless of cultural diversity. This is academically universal. In the final analysis a sound consultant/school collaborative makes optimum learning a reality.     

The National Advisory Body Planning Exercise 1987–88: A Shot in the Foot

The National Advisory Body was established to advise the Secretary of State for Education and Science on the allocation of money to support advanced work in polytechnics and colleges. The committee system of NAB was representative of local authority and college interests and there was always a tension between NAB and the Department of Education and Science. The paper charts the decisions that were taken by NAB in progressing the 1987–88 planning exercise. The policy context of these decisions is analysed and the political consequences are discussed. The paper argues that the 1987–88 exercise was the wrong approach to the planning problems and that the resulting conflict with the Government destroyed the credibility of NAB.     

Enchanting a disenchanted child: revolutionising the means of education using Information and Communication Technology and e‐learning

The Department for Education and Skills currently shows a high regard for the potential of technology transforming the British education system. Government White papers demonstrate e‐learning‐based unification strategies that reinforce the message that introducing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will raise standards in schools. This paper examines the effect of these developments on teachers and pupils, and questions the government’s motivation for change. The introduction of ICT has not been complemented by increased levels of effective professional development for teaching staff in the pedagogy of ICT across the curriculum and may have merely served to reinforce the generational digital divide. In attempting to enchant the pupils, the government may have alienated the teachers. This paper suggests that the Department for Education and Skills should place more emphasis on developing strategies and providing funding for solutions to gaps in the professional development of teachers in their pedagogical understanding of ICT across the curriculum.     

Visualizing community: understanding narrative inquiry as action research

This article explores the experiences of students who used interactive learning material on handheld computers in a gallery to support their understanding and appreciation of artwork. The article considers the wider implications of using technology to change relationships between teacher, learners and subject matter, and attempts to offer positive and pragmatic recommendations about the implementation of new technology into established educational contexts. Research was undertaken as part of the ICT Test Bed Project, set up by the DfES (UK Department for Education and Science) and funded by Becta (British Education Communications Technology Agency). Initial findings from this project are likely to be of interest to those exploring how mobile technology can be used to support the Government’s wider agenda for educational reform and offer a practitioner’s critical perspective on the possibilities and challenges offered by their use.     

The Future of Public Sector Academic Validation—key issues

Since its creation in 1964 the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) has been responsible, both for the awarding of degrees in the public sector of higher education and for the validation of the courses leading to those degrees. The 1987 Government White Paper, ‘Higher Education: Meeting the Challenge’ (DES, 1987) marked the first step towards the creation of a new system of accreditation of institutions and a shift in emphasis from external to internal validation. This paper fills in the background to this change of direction before discussing various issues which arise out of it such as the problems of defining academic quality, public accountability, the appropriate role of the Government in education and what the future holds for the CNAA and education as a whole in the age of accreditation which is about to dawn.     

Perceptions of learning-support teachers and resource teachers of each other's role in Irish primary schools

This article reports findings from an exploratory study of how learning support and resource teachers perceive each other's role. The study was conducted during the debate on the proposed changes to allocation and deployment of support teachers, following the publication of Circular 24/03 by the Department of Education and Science. It sought to test the hypothesis that learning-support and resource teachers perceive each other's roles differently in terms of their distinctiveness, type of children they support, working arrangements and training. The findings confirmed this and the implications of this for more whole-school collaborative models of support are discussed.     

Teaching Physics to In-Service Primary School Teachers in the Context of the History of Science: The Case of Falling Bodies

Our paper presents an in-service primary school teachers’ training program which is based on the idea that the history of science can play a vital role in promoting the learning of physics. This training program has been developed in the context of Comenius 2.1 which is a European Union program. This program that we have developed in the University of Athens is based on socioconstructivist and sociocultural learning principles with the intention of helping teachers to appropriate the basic knowledge on the issue of falling bodies. Moreover, it has the aim to make explicit through the exploitation of authentic historical science events, on the above topic (Aristotle’s, Galileo’s and Newton’s theories on falling bodies) the Nature of Science (NoS), the Nature of Learning (NoL) and the Nature of Teaching (NoT). During the implementation of the program we have used a variety of teaching strategies (e.g. group work, making of posters, making of concept maps, simulations) that utilize historical scientific materials on the issue of falling bodies.

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Collection of Laws and Decrees of the Central People's Government [Part I]

The People's Republic of China has now been born, the people's war of liberation will soon be decisively won throughout the country, and the great reconstruction of a new state has begun. To meet the needs of the reconstruction of our country, the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government has decided to establish the Chinese People's University, to study the advanced experience of the reconstruction of the Soviet Union through the appointment of Soviet professors, and to systematically train various kinds of cadres necessary for the reconstruction of our new state. Under the direction of the Ministry of Education of the Central People's Government, this People's University will create departments and special training courses. The university's regular departments will tentatively include: (1) Economics, (2) Economic Planning, (3) Finance and Credit, (4) Commercial Trade, (5) Cooperatives, (6) Industrial Management, (7) Law, and (8) Foreign Service. The curriculums of these departments will be from two to four years' duration. The special training courses will tentatively include: (1) Economic Planning, (2) Finance and Credit, (3) Commercial Trade, (4) Cooperatives, (5) Industrial Management, (6) Statistics, (7) Foreign Service, (8) Education, (9) Law, and others. Tentatively, the programs of these courses will last six months. The university's educational policy will be a combination of learning and practical work, and the adapting of the Soviet experience to conditions in China. The university will begin its classes in February 1950.     

Effect of Teacher Involvement and Teacher Self-Efficacy on Ratings of Consultant Effectiveness and Intervention Acceptability

From a pool of 102 elementary school teachers, 30 teachers scoring highest on a measure of personal teaching efficacy and 30 teachers scoring lowest on personal teaching efficacy were randomly assigned to view one of two videotapes of consultation. The two videotapes were identical, with the exception of the teacher's involvement in making decisions at each of three decision points in consultation: identifying the problem, selecting an assessment procedure, and selecting an intervention plan. After viewing the tape, teachers rated the consultant's effectiveness and the intervention's acceptability. Teachers with high personal teaching efficacy rated the consultant as more effective and the intervention as more acceptable. No main effect for level of involvement or hypothesized interaction effect was found. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Consultant Verbal Control and Consultee Perceptions

High verbal control is a way of exercising interpersonal power and may be an important influence on consultation process and outcome. In this study, two groups of public school teachers were shown videotapes depicting either high or low levels of consultant verbal control. Dependent measures included a consultation-acceptance rating, a behavioroid measure assessing consultee commitment to future consultation meetings, and a thought-listing technique soliciting covert cognitive responses occurring while the teachers viewed the consultation exchanges. Results indicated that the verbal control manipulation produced differences in teachers' perceptions of the consultant's level of verbal control. After viewing the vignettes, 16% of the teachers expressed willingness to commit to future consultation. However, there was no apparent detrimental effect of high consultant verbal control: Of those teachers willing to commit, differences between high and low control were not significant. Post hoc analysis of acceptance scale items indicated that participants thought the consultee learned more about the problem discussed during the consultation under the high consultant verbal control condition. Advantages and limitations of high consultant verbal control as a consultation process variable are discussed, and recommendations for future consultation research are offered.     

Entry Strategies in School Consultation (Book)

In this analogue study, which builds upon our previous research on confrontation in consultation, we investigated the relation of type of confrontation (direct or indirect) and the stage of consultation (entry, diagnosis, implementation, and disengagement) in which confrontation occurs on consultees' perceptions of the use of confrontation. Thirty-eight graduate trainees in consultation viewed and then rated the consultant's use of confrontation in 8 videotaped scenarios of a consultative interaction representing combinations of the independent variables. Participants rated each scenario on a scale containing 9 dimensions of consultant effectiveness. The results indicated that, as predicted, direct confrontation was rated as more effective in the disengagement stage of consultation, and indirect confrontation was rated significantly higher in the entry stage. However, direct confrontation was not rated as more effective for the diagnosis and implementation stages of consultation. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of effective practices and suggestions for future research initiatives.     

Discussion strategies and learning science principles

Post-Sputnik science curricula stress the importance of teaching science as scientists might practice it. This has been vividly illustrated in the laboratory-oriented curricula generated in the past ten years. Even more important has been the emphasis on applying learning theories to their construction. The American Association for the Advancement of Science has implemented the ideas of Robert Gagné in order to develop Science—A Process Approach. Jean Piaget's theory of intellectual development has been integrated into the Science Curriculum Improvement Study. It has been the investigator's observation that many teachers who use the newer science curricula fail to utilize to the fullest the methods implicit in a development theory; consequently, the objectives which include the products as well as the processes of science may not be achieved. This paper will report on an investigation of two types of postlaboratory discussion strategies and their effects on sixth grade children's learning of some science principles. The effects these discussion strategies had on the learning of four science processes are reported elsewhere.     

Opportunities and limitations for learning within teachers’ collaboration in teams: perspectives from action learning

Researchers posit that teachers' teaching and learning are improved by teachers' collective efforts to examine and reflect on practice. Yet the questions of what and how teachers learn when collaborating with colleagues remain unanswered: What kinds of knowledge and skills do teachers acquire in conjunction with their collaboration? What brings about teachers' learning when they collaborate in teams? And how does their learning affect their practice? In this paper I will examine to what extent action learning can contribute to answering these questions from a Danish perspective.

I begin the paper by presenting action learning, which formed the framework for the teacher team collaboration that provides the empirical fundament of this paper, and by discussing my roles as consultant and researcher. Thereafter, first the possibilities, then the limitations of teachers' collaboration in teams for learning are discussed. Finally, several methodological dilemmas are considered and the paper's conclusions are presented.     

Commentary on "Between Cordelia and Guido:

This commentary addresses several of the administrative issues raised in the preceding paper, and comments on the three case examples. The issues include the importance of developing ongoing collegial relationships with deans, delineation of different areas of responsibility for mental health services and the deans, confidentiality issues in campus "crisis" situations, required evaluations and treatment, and learning the mental health service consultant's role.     

Portrait of Filipino teachers’ classroom practices: traditional or constructivist?

The intent of this qualitative study is to narrate (Brodkey, (1987a). Education Quarterly, 18, 67–76; Written communication, 4, 25–70; Qualitative communication research methods. (1987b). Lindlof, (1995). (pp. 172–174): London Sage Publications) the master teachers as aggregate sample subjects’ pedagogical understanding and classroom practices. A qualitative analysis of the classroom activities and journal entries of 13 teacher-participants in the Basic Education Curriculum core learning areas is included. Findings reveal that the subject participants’ pedagogical practices still verging toward the formal suggest a traditional inclination. However, the importance of change should be realized. Various concepts of teaching and learning, today, are imperative. Teachers must be resocialized on their new roles and make their students have a more active role in the teaching-learning process.     

Teacher response to collaborative consultation

Investigated teacher responses to a consultant's efforts to foster either a collaborative or an expert consultation relationship via a quasi-experimental study. Eight teachers were exposed to a collaborative approach, and seven to an expert. Teacher satisfaction with the consultation and the extent of their implementation of the recommendations were the dependent variables examined. Teachers exposed to the collaborative approach were significantly more satisfied (p <.05, Mann-Whitney U Test, one-tailed). There was no significant difference in the extent of recommendation implementation of the two groups of teachers, but a consultant approach-teacher experience interaction was suggested. The generalizability of these results and recommendations for design modification for further research are discussed.     

The ideal of standards and the reality of schools: Needed research

Abstract: Research potentially can assist in the process of implementing the National Science Education Standards. Existing research shows that changes called for in the Standards are difficult to put into practice, create dilemmas for teachers, require significant changes in teachers' values and beliefs, are fostered when change is pursued within departments within schools, are influenced powerfully by teacher collaboration in the work context, are often resisted strongly by parents, and often demand new student roles and different student work. The results of research on reform do not give a definitive picture of the most productive roles for students, the nature of the desired student work, how teachers can best be engaged in reassessing values and beliefs and taking responsibility for acquiring new professional competencies, how to realize “science for all,” and the most effective ways of involving parents. Research is needed which will: (1) be approached from multiple perspectives, (2) be conducted in the “real world,” (3) focus on interventions into conventional school practice, (4) not assume change can be driven from the top down, (5) be interpretive in nature, (6) focus on student roles and student work, (7) give major attention to teacher learning, (8) attend to parents' concerns, and (9) be approached systemically. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 3–16, 2001     

ePedagogy as a threshold concept: a reflection on a programme for Science Teaching Assistants

Abstract

A Science Teaching Assistant (TA) Programme, at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), focused on preparing promising lecturers. A key component of this programme was the contribution by the Centre for Innovative Education and Communication Technologies (CIECT), which promoted the pedagogical adoption of eTools to assist development of Science TAs. A questionnaire enabled TAs to reflect on the eTools and CIECT’s sessions. The authors reflect on academic developer roles in higher education. Within CIECT’s contribution, ePedagogy was identified as a threshold concept that the TAs found challenging, but that could lead to transformed and improved teaching and learning.     

Learning about the types of plastic wastes: effectiveness of inquiry learning strategies

This study aims to examine the impacts of the inquiry learning strategies employed in a ‘Plastic Education Project’ on primary students' knowledge, beliefs and intended behaviour in Hong Kong. Student questionnaires and a test on plastic types were adopted for data collection. Results reveal that the inquiry learning strategies significantly improved students' knowledge of the types of plastic wastes and their corresponding beliefs. However, the strategies seemed not to change students' intended behaviour regarding plastic waste classification and management. The implications of the study for further learning and teaching in environmental education are discussed.