学校变革视域下的专业学习共同体

近几十年,世界范围内教育改革研究关注的焦点,从教学与课程等局部层面的改革,转向关注学校整体的革新.在这个大背景下,专业学习共同体不仅仅被当作教师发展的一种途径,而且成为一种崭新的学校变革方式,它将教师发展、领导角色、学校改善统整为一体,形成以学生学习提高为中心的整体学校发展模式.走向专业学习共同体的学校变革历程是一场深刻的革命,制度与文化的完善是一个不断磨合的过程.     

Perils of perfectionistic concerns among teachers

The current study examined how teachers’ perfectionism (personal standards [PS] and concern over mistakes [COM]) relates to their achievement goals for teaching, instructional practices (creation of mastery vs. performance classroom goal structures), job satisfaction, and flow experience during teaching. The data were collected from teachers (N = 143; mean age = 43.5; 70% female; 100% European American) practicing in the Midwestern U.S. Path analyses indicated that teachers’ high personal standards predicted endorsement of mastery goals for teaching, creation of mastery goal structure emphasizing personal progress and learning, high job satisfaction, and frequent flow experience during teaching. On the contrary, teachers’ high concern over mistakes predicted endorsement of performance-approach and -avoidance goals, creation of classroom performance goal structure emphasizing competition among students, low job satisfaction, and infrequent flow experience during teaching. A significant interaction between PS and COM was found for fluency (subscale of flow) experience, indicating that PS can buffer the harmful effects of COM. Therefore, the study evidenced the benefits of PS and the drawbacks of COM.     

The role of a professional learning community in teacher change: a perspective from beliefs and practices

This longitudinal study aimed to examine the role of a professional learning community (PLC) in changing teachers’ beliefs and practices. Teachers of a Chinese department in a Hong Kong secondary school were interviewed and observed. The findings indicate that the features of a PLC-facilitating teacher change are development of a coherent structure, a collaborative culture, and effective learning activities. These help teachers to overcome initial difficulties and induce their motivation for transformation. Teacher change in five dimensions (curriculum, teaching, learning, roles of teachers, and learning to teach) and three patterns (change in practice but not in belief, change in belief but not in practice, change in practice and belief) were detected. It is argued that cultivating an effective PLC is significant to teacher development.     

The use of questions within in-the-moment coaching in initial mathematics teacher education: enhancing participation,reflection, and co-construction in rehearsals of practice

Managing mathematical discussion is known to be challenging for novice teachers. Coaching within student teacher rehearsals of teaching has been shown to develop mathematics teaching practice, but can be time consuming. To examine how coaching using questions could assist novice teachers to promote mathematical thinking and discussions within time-constrained programmes, videos of rehearsals, reflective debriefs, and student teacher surveys were collected across a range of courses over 4 years. Findings included that student teacher roles in rehearsals were enhanced through coaching with questions and co-construction was enabled. Coaching questions exposed effective practice, particularly in relation to orchestrating mathematical discussion, enabling student teachers to reflect, discuss, make decisions, and immediately trial teaching strategies. Questions appeared to lengthen rehearsals but improved their effectiveness through enhancing participation and enabling co-construction of meaning. Findings indicate that questions used in coaching of rehearsals inform and empower novice teachers, essential factors within initial teacher education for equitable and ambitious mathematics teaching.     

Instructional practices and self-regulated learning in Chinese language classes

This study investigated the relation between teachers’ instructional practices and students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) in Hong Kong Chinese language classes using quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants were 1121 Grade 10 students from six secondary schools in Hong Kong. A Chinese reading comprehension (RC) test was used to assess the students’ reading performance and a self-reported questionnaire measured their perception of reading instruction, strategy use and reading motivation. Classroom observations and in-depth interviews were conducted in one class at each school to explore what and how instructional practices supported or impeded SRL in real contexts. The findings of this study generally support the positive relation between SRL-based instruction and Chinese students’ SRL. Among the four instructional variables, instrumental support from teachers showed the strongest relation with students’ strategy use, motivation and RC. The degree of autonomy was low in Chinese language classes and was associated with students’ negative reading behaviours.     

Relationship Between Teacher Efficacy and Self-Reported Instructional Practices: An Examination of Five Asian Countries/Regions Using TIMSS 2011 Data

Teacher efficacy in a particular content area is seen as an important factor shaping teaching practice and student learning in the Western literature. However, inadequate efforts have been made to examine this assumption empirically. Drawing on the Trends of International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011 mathematics teachers’ data at the eighth grade level, this study examines the relationship between teacher efficacy in teaching mathematics and teachers’ mathematical instructional practices in five Asian countries/regions. Guided with Bandura’s social cognitive theory, this study finds that overall teachers in the five countries/regions reported much lower teacher efficacy in teaching mathematics and lower levels of instructional practices than the international norms. The relationship between teacher efficacy and instructional practices varied within these countries/regions. Teacher efficacies in teaching mathematics are not always statistically and positively related to their instructional practices in engaging students. Together, these findings challenge the theoretical assumption about the positive relationship between teacher efficacy and instructional practices. Possible reasons of these findings and future directions are discussed.     

学校变革视角下的教师学习

在教育现代化进程中,学校变革已经成为一种常态。只有教师成为学校变革的积极支持者和变革动力,学校才能走上具有生长性的持续变革轨道。支持教师成为变革动力的最重要途径是教师学习。教师学习具有传递经验、促进学校成员间融合与创生新知识等功能。指向支持学校变革的教师学习,要根据学校的变革需要精心设计教师学习活动,要引导变革阻力在教师学习活动中积极转化,要倡导指向教学研究的教师学习活动,要通过培育教师学习小团队建设合作的组织文化。     

美国数学顾问专家组总结报告简介及思考

新近发表的美国数学顾问专家组总结报告基于大量的严谨教育研究成果,概括了数学课程、学习过程、教师和教师教育、教学实践、教学资料、教学评估以及研究政策和机制等方面的重要发现,特别强调了代数学习的重要性。总结报告将对美国的数学教育发展产生积极影响,值得我们加以研究和借鉴。     

从个体到系统的联动：学校领导视野下的小学骨干教师培养

学校的革新和发展离不开一群德才兼备、能力卓越的教师,特别在学校领导理念不断革新的当下,骨干教师的培养更应该成为学校领导的一项系统工程,应该从学校愿景引领和组织文化革新的高度来考察骨干教师的养成问题,通过激发个体、组织和学校系统的合力,挖掘骨干教师培养中从个体到系统的联动效应,形成推动和支持学校整体发展的影响性力量。     

Toward an Understanding of Authentic Learning: Student Perceptions of an Authentic Classroom

Advocates of educational reform often describe classroom instruction as inauthentic. That is, most classroom learning activities are structured around artificial contexts for learning, and students only engage in tasks and remember information at superficial levels. Some teachers are attempting to break traditional classroom practices by creating authentic contexts for learning. To date, most of the research on authentic classrooms has described the processes teachers have used to develop the classroom environment (learning activities, resources, etc.); however, few have examined authentic classrooms from the students' perspective: “What do students think about authentic classrooms?” The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine a unique learning environment at a large, Midwest high school to understand how students perceived that environment. Most of the students reported a positive experience and described the classroom as fun and exciting with real-world relevance. However, there were several students who did not share these views, and many students were not successful.

     

Characteristics of the College Geometry Course for Preservice Secondary Teachers

Based on 30 syllabi and 108 questionnaire responsesfrom randomly selected U.S. colleges and universities,college geometry courses were analyzed with respect tocontent, pedagogy, and assessment. About 40% of thecourses start with elementary axioms and emphasizeEuclidean geometry or a mix of Euclidean andnon-Euclidean geometry; 23% employ a survey approach;and 20% employ an analytic or projective geometryapproach. In about 63% of the courses, the instructorlectures most or all of the time; in 36% of thecourses a substantial amount of class time is devotedto group work; and about 27% of the courses reflectnearly all the characteristics of good mathematicsteaching as defined by the NCTM Professional TeachingStandards. In most courses, in-class examinations,homework, and a final examination are the primaryevaluation tools; in about half of the courses atleast one alternative assessment contributes to thefinal grade. Common characteristics are evident butwide diversity exists also. A typical geometry coursedid not emerge from the data.     

Collaborative Practitioner Research: A Case of Lesson Study in a Small Jewish School

ABSTRACT

Lesson study is a form of professional development where a group of teachers identifies a problem of practice on which they would like to make progress in their teaching. Over an extended period of time, the teachers study the topic and plan a lesson together. One member then teaches the lesson while the others observe; the group reflects afterwards on student learning. The cycle repeats, building teachers’ professional knowledge and their shared views of pedagogy over time. In this article, we argue that lesson study is a collaborative form of practitioner research and we show how this is so by sharing an example of a lesson study cycle conducted in a synagogue school.     

课程改革、教师赋权增能与教师专业学习共同体——上海市四所小学的个案研究

基于对上海地区四所小学的田野调查,考察教师在“赋权增能”政策条件下,如何处理课程改革中所面临的问题,及其所处教师共同体的影响。研究发现：课程改革给教师造成的压力客观上推进了教师发展和教师专业学习共同体的构建;课程改革在赋权增能的同时赋予教师高度问责,造成教师不愿承担赋权,而教师专业学习共同体以群体分责来支持教师的赋权增能;未来课程改革应当寻求赋权、增能和问责的平衡,并推进教师专业学习共同体的建设,从而支持教师真正成为课程改革的“代理人”。     

教学设计理论的发展对教育改革的启示

教学设计理论诞生于60年代,历经几个不同发展阶段,其对"教"和"学"的深入研究,为当前的教育改革,尤其是研究学习过程,建构新型的教学模式,全面实施素质教育等提供处方性启示.     

Evaluating the evidence base for evidence-based instructional practices in chemistry through meta-analysis

Investigating the effectiveness of instructional practices provides an evidence base to inform instructional decisions. Synthesizing research studies on instructional effectiveness provides an estimate of the generalizability of effectiveness across settings, along with an exploration of factors that may moderate the impact, which cannot be achieved within individual studies. This study sought to provide a synthesis of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) particular to chemistry through meta-analysis. Ninety-nine studies were analyzed comprising a broader view of chemistry specific studies than past meta-analyses. The results showed that EBIPs feature a demonstrably positive impact on students' academic performance in chemistry, although assessment topic coverage and setting size emerged as relevant moderators of impact and prevented making definitive conclusions of the relative impact of each EBIP. In examining publication bias, an asymmetric distribution of studies based on standard error (SE) and effect size was found, indicative of potential publication bias. To explore the potential impact of bias, the trim and fill method was employed resulting in a range for the overall weighted effect size from 0.29 to 0.62. The study concludes that evidence-based instructional practices have demonstrated effectiveness even in consideration of potential publication bias, as the range of effect sizes remains positive, but highlights the continued need to publish null findings in the research literature.     

School Innovation in Science: A Model for Supporting School and Teacher Development

‘School Innovation in Science’ represents a model, developed through working with more than 200 Victorian schools, to improve science teaching and learning. SIS works at the level of the science team and the teacher, providing resources to challenge and support the change process. Its emphasis is on strategic planning supported by a framework for describing effective teaching, materials for auditing practice and planning initiatives, and a networked support structure. Experience and results from the project, concerning the nature and extent of change, will be used to provide insight into the multidimensional nature of the change process and to suggest a number of principles concerning support for change. Arising out of this, the major elements of a School Innovation Model are identified, that supports a transformative agenda for schools more generally.     

Associations of newly qualified teachers’ beliefs with classroom management practices and approaches to instruction over one school year

We focus on assessing whether newly qualified teachers’ professional outcome expectations and their beliefs about students’ intellectual potential are associated with teachers’ self-reported classroom management and instructional practices. One hundred and eighteen novice teachers participating in the induction year programme were studied during their first years as full-time teachers. Results attest to a salient association between teachers’ more optimistic views of the malleability of students’ intellectual potential and teachers’ confidence in themselves as positive change agents in student outcomes. Also, teachers’ belief-set in the beginning of their career was shown to be associated with significant differences in the level of using instructional practices promoting mastery goal orientation in the classroom as well as offering students emotional support during the learning process. In the light of the significant belief–behaviour links demonstrated, more explicit attention to the sophistication of teachers’ ability beliefs in teacher education programmes is recommended.     

Career and Commitment in the Context of Comprehensive School Reform

The present article takes up a paradox: that teachers' involvement in ambitious innovation or large-scale reform may supply rich opportunities for professional growth while also introducing the seeds of longer-term career disappointment. Case study investigations of reforming high schools in the US from 1991 to 2001 illuminate the relationship of teachers' participation in secondary school reform to their teaching commitment and career trajectories. Two of the three successive studies produced a dominant pattern of initial enthusiasm followed by growing disappointment. We draw on the combined data to examine teachers' propensity to remain engaged with innovation or reform, and the ways in which sustained involvement strengthens or weakens teachers' career commitment and satisfaction.