African-American early childhood teachers' decisions to refer African-American students

Existing literature regarding European-American teachers' referrals of African-American students for special education programs is abundant. However, literature that explains African-American teachers' referrals of African-American students, in their own voices, is limited. This qualitative study examines the influences guiding African-American teachers' decisions to refer African-American students for special education programs. It uses, as a conceptual framework, several researchers' investigations of influences guiding teacher praxis. From these collective works, a conceptual model was developed as a ''teachers' decisions to refer'' perspective that served as a framework for examining influences that may have guided the participants' referral decisions. Findings revealed that African-American teachers have a collective teacher way of knowing and that socially constructed images of race and gender influenced their referral decisions. Additionally, participant interviews revealed that African-American teachers tended to refer based on the need to find assistance for students with special needs.     

Teachers' perceptions of students' excuses for academic difficulties

Ninety-seven teachers described situations in which their students experienced academic difficulties and gave reasons (excuses) to explain their difficulties. Teachers indicated whether or not they believed the reasons students gave, what they thought the “real” reasons for the students' difficulties were, and how they reacted and behaved toward the students. Analysis of teachers' reports indicated that students were most likely to attribute their academic difficulties to external, uncontrollable factors, whereas teachers tended to believe that the “real” reasons for students' difficulties were internal and controllable. Teachers reported that they would react in a positive manner toward the students whether or not they believed the reasons the students gave to explain their difficulties. Implications of these findings for student motivation are discussed.     

Effect of Student Characteristics on Teachers' Predictions of Student Success

Abstract

To determine teachers' perceptions of the likelihood of students' academic and social success in general education settings, 384 teachers responded to 1 of 32 possible case studies describing a student, in which gender, reading achievement, social behavior, and attentiveness were manipulated experimentally. Results showed that, in some instances, teachers used irrelevant information in their predictions (e.g., social behavior influenced academic predictions, reading achievement influenced social predictions). Furthermore, teachers demonstrated gender bias in some instances and appeared to make negative predictions when an ambiguous label explained students' reading problems. The author discusses implications for the inclusion of students with special needs in general education classes.     

Aversiveness of teacher-chosen interventions and student problem characteristics: Is there a relationship?

There is limited empirical evidence regarding teachers' decisions about interventions to change the behavior of students with emotional and behavioral problems. This study examined whether teachers considered such salient student characteristics as age and type of problem behavior when selecting interventions that they perceived as likely to be effective in managing students' behavior. The results suggest that both regular and special education teachers take student characteristics into consideration when making such intervention choices.     

Teachers' instruction of noncategorically grouped handicapped children

Abstract

The sample for this study consisted of 46 noncategorically identified handicapped students who had been assigned to functionally grouped self‐contained classes. For purposes of this research, only a child study team reevaluated the students and supplied a label, learning disabled or emotionally disturbed. We observed all students on at least nine occasions on three behaviors: teachers' academic questions directed toward them, extended feedback from teachers, and dyadic work interactions. Although the special education classroom teachers did not know the labeled identity of any student in the class, they instructed the two groups differently. They instructed the emotionally disturbed children with fewer instances of academic questioning, less extended feedback for their responses, and fewer dyadic work interactions.     

Teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding academic support following concussion

Teachers play an important role in supporting students' return to school after concussion. This online cross sectional survey examined teachers' beliefs and practices regarding concussion and academic support strategies, or academic adjustments (AA). Most teachers (99.1%) agreed-to-strongly agreed concussions affect school performance, and many (71.6%) have worked with a student who received AA after concussion. Teachers who participated in concussion education and observed a decline in a student's academic performance after concussion were more familiar with and recommended AA more often. Professional development is recommended to provide teachers with practical and timely resources to enhance support for students after concussion.     

Why do teachers refer pupils for special education? An analysis of referral records

Abstract

We studied the referral for special education records of children and youth to identify the problems for which referrers said pupils needed help. Coders examined 382 forms used by two school systems and recorded demographic information and referrers' statements describing individual pupils' difficulties. We found that (a) 69% of the referrals were for boys, (b) regular classroom teachers alone initiated 74% of the referrals and contributed to another 5%, and (c) over two‐thirds of students referred were in earlier grade levels, particularly kindergarten (16%), first (26%), second (15%), or third grade (11%). Problems most likely to be described on referral forms were general academic problems (found on 35% of referrals), reading problems (31%), and attention problems (23%) other problems such as fearfulness (2%), visual‐perceptual difficulties (1%), and depression (1%) were rarely included. Factor analysis of the referral reasons revealed five common types of referrals, some of which interacted with gender and level of students. The factors described problems in written language, externalizing behavior, internalizing behavior, overactivity, and sensory problems. The results of this study should help focus preservice and inservice preparation of teachers in addressing problems that are likely to cause pupils to be referred. In addition, combined with other findings, the results indicate regular education teachers' level of tolerance for pupils' problems.     

Teacher Learning in Mathematics: Using Student Work to Promote Collective Inquiry

The study describes teachers' collective work in which they developed deeper understanding of their own students' mathematical thinking. Teachers at one school met in monthly workgroups throughout the year. Prior to each workgroup, they posed a similar mathematical problem to their students. The workgroup discussions centered on the student work those problems generated. This study draws on a transformation of participation perspective to address the questions: What do teachers learn through collective examination of student work? How is teacher learning evident in shifts in participation in discussions centered on student work? The analyses account for the learning of the group by documenting key shifts in teachers' participation across the year. The first shift in participation occurred when teachers as a group learned to attend to the details of children's thinking. A second shift in participation occurred as teachers began to develop possible instructional trajectories in mathematics. We focus our discussion on the significance of the use of student work and a transformation of participation view in analyzing the learning trajectory of teachers as a group.     

Instructional practices in secondary science: How teachers achieve local and standards-based success

This article reports on analyses of the instructional practices of six middle- and high-school science teachers in the United States who participated in a research-practice partnership that aims to support reform science education goals at scale. All six teachers were well qualified, experienced, and locally successful—respected by students, parents, colleagues, and administrators—but they differed in their success in supporting students' three-dimensional learning. Our goal is to understand how the teachers' instructional practices contributed to their similarities in achieving local success and to differences in enabling students' learning, and to consider the implications of these findings for research-practice partnerships. Data sources included classroom videos supplemented by interviews with teachers and focus students and examples of student work. We also compared students' learning gains by teacher using pre–post assessments that elicited three-dimensional performances. Analyses of classroom videos showed how all six teachers achieved local success—they led effectively managed classrooms, covered the curriculum by teaching almost all unit activities, and assessed students' work in fair and efficient ways. There were important differences, however, in how teachers engaged students in science practices. Teachers in classrooms where students achieved lower learning gains followed a pattern of practice we describe as activity-based teaching, in which students completed investigations and hands-on activities with few opportunities for sensemaking discussions or three-dimensional science performances. Teachers whose students achieved higher learning gains combined the social stability characteristic of local classroom success with more demanding instructional practices associated with scientific sensemaking and cognitive apprenticeship. We conclude with a discussion of implications for research-practice partnerships, highlighting how partnerships need to support all teachers in achieving both local and standards-based success.     

Predicting teacher referrals of emotionally disturbed children

The degree to which teachers' perceptions of a student can be distorted by characteristics indigenous to teachers, as well as students, were investigated to determine whether teachers would initiate a referral for special education. Sixty-five teachers volunteered for participation. Twenty-seven of them were experienced, having had their own classrooms in a public school. Thirty-eight were preservice student teachers who had not yet had their own classrooms. Teachers were evaluated to have had either an internal or external locus of control and were judged to have had either a high or low opinion of self according to either of two separate scales. After viewing two video tapes of two elementary-aged students (one student was severely emotionally disturbed [SED] and the other non-SED), teachers rated the children on several child characteristics and referral questions. Results revealed that the locus of control and self-esteem of teachers, in conjunction with teaching experience and a child's characteristics, can predict teachers' inclinations to refer children. Findings point to the need to place greater care in the initiation of referrals. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Learning to teach in a context of education reform: liberal studies student teachers' decision‐making in lesson planning

Liberal studies is a new subject in the new senior secondary curriculum in Hong Kong. This study attempted to identify factors that shape liberal studies student teachers' decisions in lesson planning. Based on interview data and lesson plans developed by the student teachers, this article maintains that four factors interacted with the subject features of liberal studies to shape the student teachers' planning decisions, namely, teacher knowledge, curriculum requirements, materials and resources, and interaction with equal and more capable partners. This paper further looks into how teacher knowledge expresses itself at different stages of lesson planning. The findings suggest that to facilitate enquiry learning in students, liberal studies teachers need to adopt an enquiry stance in lesson planning. This paper argues that the limitations of liberal studies student teachers' content knowledge need to be addressed in teacher preparation programmes and suggests teacher networking as one way to strengthen novice liberal studies teachers' content preparation. The implications for teacher education are discussed.     

Patterns of Teacher‐Student Interaction in Inclusive Elementary Classrooms and Correlates with Student Self-Concept

The efficacy of placing students with special needs in inclusive classrooms may depend in part on how instructional factors contribute to student outcomes. Differences in frequencies and levels of cognitive engagement of interactions among nine teachers in inclusive elementary classrooms were related to three other variables: teachers' ratings on the Pathognomonic-Interventionist (PATH/INT) Scale, students' designation either as exceptional or at-risk (EX/AR) or as typically achieving (TA), and students' scores on the Piers Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Teachers with PATH beliefs, who attribute learning difficulties to permanent characteristics of the student that are beyond the teacher's mandate, interacted infrequently with their EX/AR students at low levels of cognitive engagement. Teachers with INT beliefs, who see themselves as responsible for the achievement of all their students irrespective of their disabilities, interacted with all students more frequently, and at higher levels of cognitive engagement. In contrast to the PATH teachers, their EX/AR students received more instructional interactions than their TA students. As expected, the EX/AR students in all classrooms had lower Piers Harris Self-Concept Total Scale scores than typically achieving students. However, both TA and EX/AR students had lower Self-Concept Total Scale scores in the classrooms of teachers with PATH beliefs, compared to students in the classrooms of INT teachers. The relationship is discussed between teachers' beliefs, their different patterns of instructional interactions with students with and without disabilities in inclusive classrooms, and the possible impact of instructional interventions on students' self-concept.     

Teachers' conceptions of student learning and own learning

New learning theory, underpinning the idea of teaching for self-directed learning, provides new conceptions of learning: the self-regulation of learning, the construct-character of knowledge, the social nature of learning and a dynamic model of intelligence. What conceptions teachers hold may be related to their tolerance of uncertainty. We constructed a Learning Inventory and administered this to teachers in Dutch senior secondary education, where an innovation is heading for more independent learning. We found empirical confirmation of the five dimensions underlying teachers' conceptions of learning, both for student learning and for their own learning. Tolerance of uncertainty explained the other four dimensions in conceptions of student learning, but not in teachers' conceptions of their own learning. Teachers generally endorse the process-oriented conceptions, although some differences are noted between teachers' conceptions of student learning and their own learning.     

Fast Kids,Slow Kids,Lazy Kids: Framing the Mismatch Problem in Mathematics Teachers' Conversations

Abstract

This article examines the social nature of teachers' conceptions by showing how teachers frame the “mismatch” of students' perceived abilities and the intended school curriculum through conversational category systems. This study compares the conversations of 2 groups of high school mathematics teachers addressing the Mismatch Problem when implementing equity-geared reforms. Although East High teachers challenged conceptions that were not aligned with a reform, South High teachers reworked a reform mandate to align with their existing conceptions. This research found that the teachers' conversational category systems modeled problems of practice; communicated assumptions about students, subject, and teaching; and were ultimately reflected in the curriculum. Because East High teachers supported greater numbers of students' success in advanced mathematics, this study considers the relation between teachers' understandings of student learning and the success of equity-geared math reforms. In addition, this study contributes to the understanding of how teacher conceptions of students are negotiated and reified in context, specifically through interactions with colleagues and experiences with school reform.     

Videobased lesson analysis: Effective science PD for teacher and student learning

The Science Teachers Learning from Lesson Analysis (STeLLA) project is a videobased analysis‐of‐practice PD program aimed at improving teacher and student learning at the upper elementary level. The PD program developed and utilized two “lenses,” a Science Content Storyline Lens and a Student Thinking Lens, to help teachers analyze science teaching and learning and to improve teaching practices in this year‐long program. Participants included 48 teachers (n = 32 experimental, n = 16 control) and 1,490 students. The STeLLA program significantly improved teachers' science content knowledge and their ability to analyze science teaching. Notably, the STeLLA teachers further increased their classroom use of science teaching strategies associated with both lenses while their students increased their science content knowledge. Multi‐level HLM analyses linked higher average gains in student learning with teachers' science content knowledge, teachers' pedagogical content knowledge about student thinking, and teaching practices aimed at improving the coherence of the science content storyline. This paper highlights the importance of the science content storyline in the STeLLA program and discusses its potential significance in science teaching and professional development more broadly. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., J Res Sci Teach 48: 117–148, 2011     

The Relationship of Teachers' Instructional Decisions and Beliefs about Alternate Assessments to Student Achievement

In the decade since alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) were first required, special education teachers have had to develop content knowledge and pedagogical skills to teach academics to students with significant cognitive disabilities. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact that teachers' instructional decisions and beliefs about AA-AAS have on the academic achievement of students with significant cognitive disabilities. A survey of nearly 400 teachers across three states provided evidence of teachers' beliefs, as well as their instructional planning processes for students. Students' learning characteristics were also identified. Survey responses were analyzed in conjunction with students' 2010–2011 scores on their statewide AA-AAS. The results indicated that students with presymbolic communication systems had a lower likelihood of achieving proficiency in English language arts/reading and math than students with abstract symbolic communication. Students with concrete symbolic communication systems had lesser odds of proficiency in ELA/reading but not in math. Teachers who agreed that AA-AAS had an impact on instruction tended to have students with higher achievement proficiency. However, more negative views of the validity of AA-AAS scores were associated with greater odds of proficiency.     

Promoting classroom adjustment and social skills for students with mental retardation within an experimental and control group design

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the “I Found a Solution” computer‐assisted social skills intervention program on students with mild mental retardation. Teachers randomly divided students from two Israeli special schools (58 males, 29 females; aged 10.6 to 17.11 years) into an experimental and a control group. Teachers trained the experimental group using a social skills package including computerized social conflict scenarios and adventure games, group discussions, and homework tasks. Within the same time frame, teachers trained the control group to use various academic computer software programs. Following the intervention process, the research team collected information on students' self‐reported social skills and teachers' ratings of the students' adaptive classroom behavior. The experimental group performed significantly better than controls on posttest criteria. Teachers rated trained students as demonstrating better task orientation and less aggression and behavior difficulties. On subjective self‐reports, trained students reported more cooperation and assertion than the control group, but self‐control and empathy measures did not differentiate between groups. The use of a naturalistic mini‐environment for experimenting and rehearsing effective social strategies appears promising but requires further exploration.     

An Environmental Approach to Marine Science K-12

Abstract

Providing professional development for science teachers, Teachers in the Woods is a 6-week summer research experience in the national forests of the Pacific Northwest. Participants contributed to the scientific understanding of forest ecosystem functioning and later created local projects as forest ecology fieldwork for their students. Teachers were surveyed 3 times during the year and interviewed onsite. A standardized performance assessment measured student progress. The project changed teachers' approach to teaching and created greater motivation, confidence, knowledge, and skills in teaching biology and environmental science using field projects. Teachers attributed their success to enduring professional contacts with scientists and to their field experience. Evaluations also revealed major factors that affect the success of student field projects.     

Student–teacher closeness and conflict in students with and without special educational needs

Teachers play a key role in creating effective conditions for students to succeed in school. The quality of student–teacher relationships is consistently associated with social, emotional, behavioural and academic adjustment, and this is even more relevant for students with special educational needs (SEN), considering these students’ emotional, social and learning vulnerabilities. This study aimed to examine the associations between students’ externalising and internalising behaviour, social skills and academic performance, and teachers’ perceptions of conflict and closeness in their relationships with students with and without SEN. Data regarding 360 students in Year 3, Year 5 and Year 7 (169 students with SEN) were collected. Teachers (n = 74) reported on the student–teacher relationship and students’ social skills, behaviour problems and academic performance. Special education teachers (n = 38) provided information regarding the diagnosis and profile of functioning of students with SEN. Results showed that teachers’ reports of students’ social skills and externalising problems were the strongest predictors of closeness and conflict. Internalising problems and SEN status also predicted decreased closeness, despite smaller effects. Taken together, findings support the importance of professional development opportunities focusing on facilitating teachers’ relationships with students with perceived challenging behaviour.