A problem solving model for use in science student teacher supervision

Conclusion The period of time student teachers have to receive feedback from their supervisors and cooperating teachers is relatively short. Techniques and ideas suggested by university supervisors and cooperating teachers are clearly beneficial to beginning teachers, but the students also need direct experience in addressing classroom concerns themselves. Student teachers need to develop techniques for evaluating their own teaching and for solving instructional problems autonomously such as suggested through the use of this model. The problem solving model forces student teachers to take responsibility for their learning about teaching. It forces them to analyze and reflect on their own lessons and to deal with their own problems. Importantly, the model may serve as a tool for self-evaluation that can be used during students’ first few years of teaching and throughout their science teaching career. Student teachers will still undergo the complex and sometimes overwhelming experience of teaching for the first time. However, by addressing each problem they face in a systematic, organized way, the experience may become more manageable, and success may seem more attainable for them.     

The relationship between teacher sign skills and student evaluations of teacher capability

This study examines the extent to which deaf students' perceptions of their teachers' effectiveness and ease of communication in the classroom are related to the teachers' sign skills. Thirty-three faculty, teaching a variety of courses at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), were rated on "teaching effectiveness" and "communication ease" by their students over a 2-year period. Faculty sign proficiency was evaluated independently using the Sign Communication Proficiency Interview (SCPI). Results indicate a moderate relation between students' perceptions of communication ease and teaching effectiveness, and a weak relation of these two variables to the teachers' assessed level of sign skill. The data also show that the students could clearly differentiate three levels of teacher sign skill in the classroom. Results are discussed in relation to the component parts of effective communication from the perspective of students in the classroom.     

Enhancing spatial skills through mechanical problem solving

Higher spatial skills are associated with increased interest, performance, and creativity in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). However, evidence for causal relations between spatial skills and STEM performance remains scarce. In this study, we test the extent to which mechanical problem solving, a spatially demanding STEM activity, facilitates spatial performance. Participants (N = 180) were randomly assigned to one of four training conditions: mechanical reasoning with a hands-on component; mechanical reasoning without a hands-on component; an active control condition involving spatial training with cross-sectioning; and an active control group involving a reading exercise. All participants were tested immediately before, after, and one-week following training. Both mechanical conditions were associated with enhanced spatial visualization performance, an effect that was similar for both conditions and remained stable across immediate and delayed post-tests. These findings suggest that mechanical problem solving is a potentially viable approach to enhancing spatial thinking.     

From veteran parent to novice teacher: A case study of a student teacher

This paper presents a case of a secondary student teacher in a midwestern school in the United States. She was one of the growing number of women who are making the decision to become professionals later in life, after having experienced roles such as marriage, parenting, and other jobs. The study focuses on her adaptation to the role of a teacher and factors that influenced the adaptation process. The student teacher's development is traced, during the 10-week term of student teaching, through changes in her teaching and related changes in the language with which she described her experiences as a student teacher. These changes included increased time devoted to the impact of instruction on order in the class, and less time to classroom management alone. Her adaptation to the role of teacher was influenced significantly by the personal resources she had due to her age and life experience. They provided her with the strength to operate according to own values, even when they differed dramatically from those of her cooperating teacher.     

Using educational technology to develop early literacy skills in Sub-Saharan Africa

The research explores the impact of interactive, multimedia literacy software (ABRA) on the reading skills of early elementary students in Kenya. Twelve grade two English teachers and their students from six schools were randomly divided in half: an experimental group (N?=?180) where ABRA was part of their English Language instruction and a control group (N?=?174) where regular instruction was used. After the pre-test student data were collected, a three-day initial training and planning session were held for the experimental teachers on how to use ABRA to teach literacy. Every week each experimental class was bussed to a computer lab with full access to ABRA for one 90-min lesson. Teacher support included the alignment of ABRA lesson plans with the Kenyan English Language norms, weekly web conferences with the trainer, as well as technical and pedagogical help from staff at the lab site. After the 13-week intervention, significant and substantial gains in reading comprehension were found for ABRA students as measured by GRADE, a standardized test of literacy. In addition, ABRA students outperformed their peers in control classes on the core end-of-year subject exams including English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.     

Assessing problem solving in mathematics: Some variables related to student performance

A mathematical problem is defined here as a question not dependent on specific syllabus content, and one sufficiently new to the student such that it cannot be solved by a previously known method. With increased attention being paid to this type of mathematical problem solving at the primary school level, the need for reliable and valid methods of assessment has become more apparent. This paper reports the results of using a new problem solving test, developed for use in the upper primary school, with 371 students in Years 4,5 and 6 at government schools in Melbourne. Particular attention is given to the effects of year level, sex and the method of test administration on student performance for different types of items and different problem solving processes. The performance of Year 4 students was generally lower than that of other students, but differences were small for most items and processes between Years 5 and 6. Although most of the differences in performance between the sexes were not significant, the girls had higher scores than the boys for the total score, for all processes and for all items except the spatial item. The method of administration was important for performance, especially for the girls. The marking schedule developed enabled high intra- and inter-marker reliabilities to be obtained.     

数学思想及解题技巧初探

数学是一门运用非常广泛的基础性学科,数学思想是教学精髓所在,在解题教学中应加强数学思想方法的引导渗透,从引导建立直觉认识开始,逐步开启学生的理性认知,培养灵活应用数学思想的素养。教师要根据不同阶段、不同水平层次学生的实际情况,分类分批地渗透数学思想方法。在倡导素质教育的背景下,让学生将数学思想运用于小学习题解题,是培养学生发散性思维的重要环节。据此,建议把全班学生分成若干组,让学习成绩好的学生扮演小老师角色,在课外帮助差生解答疑难问题,可以取得一举两得的效果。     

Contribution of teacher ratings of behavioral characteristics to the prediction of divergent thinking and problem solving

Divergent thinking and problem-solving performance of 382 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from two suburban, middle-class elementary schools was predicted from teachers' ratings of students' affective/behavioral characteristics and from standard intelligence and achievement test scores. Median Rs were. 61 and. 38, for full-model (ratings plus cognitive measures) and reduced-model (only ratings) predictions, respectively. Results across schools and sexes were similar, with teachers' ratings of sensitivity to beauty, risk taking, awareness of impulses and openness to the irrational, and sense of humor the most frequent significant predictors in addition to the standardized measures. The usefulness of affective/behavioral plus cognitive measures in creative thinking identification procedures is discussed.     

谈谈大学英语课堂中师生双向交流的问题

本文分析了大学英语课堂双向交流存在的问题及其原因,探讨如何充分发挥教学双方的主动性和积极性,加强课堂双向交流,提高课堂教学效率。     

Are mastery learning strategies beneficial for developing problem solving skills?

The purpose of the present study was to investigate instructional methods appropriate for developing problem solving skills (PSS) in a paramedical course. Three instructional methods were compared: Frontal Lecture Strategies (FLS), Mastery Learning Strategies (MLS) and Experiential Mastery Learning Strategies (EMLS) in which feedback corrective procedures were embedded within experiential learning situations. Results showed that FLS produced the highest scores on Lower Mental Process subtest while EMLS yielded the highest scores on all measures of problem solving skills. Several implications of this study for future research are suggested and discussed.     

Identification of student misconceptions in genetics problem solving via computer program

A genetics problem practice program and tutor on microcomputer was used by 135 undergraduate education majors enrolled in an introductory biology course at Purdue University. The program presented four genetics problems, two monohybrid and two dihybrid, and required the users to predict the number and type of each class of offspring. Student responses were recorded on diskette and analyzed for evidence of misconceptions and difficulties in the genetics problem-solving process. Three main areas of difficulty were identified: difficulties with computational skills, difficulties in the determination of gametes, and inappropriate application of previous learning to new problem situations.     

影响学生创造性问题解决的心理因素及解决对策

创造性问题解决是创造性活动的综合体现，它除了受问题解决的创造力、创造性思维水平等智力因素影响外，非智力因素也决不能忽视。特别是对于身心飞速发展的中学生来说，关注在创造性问题解决过程中影响他们的各种心理因素，培养他们健全的心理品质就显得尤其重要。这也是注重学生全面发展，培养新时代创新人才的应有之义。     

Effects of teacher clarity and student anxiety on student outcomes

A laboratory experiment was carried out with 120 undergraduate students to examine a possible aptitude–treatment interaction between teacher clarity and student test anxiety in relation to two outcome measures, namely student achievement and student motivation, with student intelligence statistically controlled. Students completed measures of intelligence and test anxiety and were randomly assigned to high teacher clarity or low teacher clarity conditions, defined by the presence or absence of specific teaching behaviours in a videotaped lecture with content held constant across conditions. Measures of motivation and self-efficacy for learning the material were completed immediately post-treatment, then one week later participants completed an achievement test based on the material contained in the lecture and assigned homework. Results revealed significant beneficial main effects for high vs. low teacher clarity for both achievement and motivation measures, but no aptitude–treatment interaction between teacher clarity and student test anxiety.