Do alternative teacher education programs manage to attract different candidates and students?

During 2009, three alternative teacher retraining programs in English as a Foreign Language, mathematics and biology were launched for the first time in one of Israel’s largest teacher education colleges. The programs, which offered varied economic incentives to participants, were initiated by the state owing to shortages of teachers in these disciplines and the economic crisis in the hi-tech industry. After hundreds of candidates responded to the program’s advertisement, 90 candidates were accepted and enrolled following rigorous screening. The purpose of the research reported here was to examine the demographic, academic and occupational profiles of the candidates and students in each of the three programs in comparison with applicants and students in traditional teacher education retraining programs. The research population included a total of 611 candidates who had applied to all the teacher retraining programs offered in 2009. The study’s findings indicate that not only did the alternative programs make the teaching profession more accessible to potential candidates; they also attracted students with impressive demographic, academic and occupational profiles that varied considerably from the profiles of the students in the traditional programs. Longitudinal follow-up studies are needed to investigate the adjustment, success and retention rates of these new teachers in the educational system.     

高师数学教育如何适应基础教育新课程改革的要求

基础教育新数学课程的实施对中小学数学教师的教育教学工作提出了许多新的要求。从而也为培养中小学数学教师的高师数学教育提出了更高的要求．为了适应基础教育新课程的改革．高师数学教育应加强对师范生的情感态度及价值观的教育，调整高师的课程体系与内容，倡导新的学习方式，转变传统的教学方式。改革传统的评价方式.     

高师数学教育如何应对基础教育新数学课程的挑战

基础教育新数学课程的实施对中学数学教师的教育教学工作提出了许多新的要求,从而使培养中学数学教师的高师数学教育面临新的挑战,这些挑战主要来自新数学课程的课程目标、课程内容、学生的学习方式、教师的教学方式、学校的教学管理与评价方式等方面的变化.为应对这些挑战,高师数学教育应采取如下策略:加强对高师学生的情感态度与价值观教育,调整高师的课程体系与内容,倡导新的学习方式,改变传统的教学方式,改革教学管理与评价方式.     

专家型数学教师数学教育观及影响因素探究——一个个案研究

采用半结构式访谈和问卷调查深入探讨了1位专家型数学教师的数学观,数学学习观和数学教学观及其相关影响因素。本研究发现该专家型数学教师主要认为:(1)数学是培养学生思维和数学能力的载体,是源于生活和用于生活的,是学生学习、考试的一个科目;(2)学习数学需一定天赋,学生自主参与、归纳总结是数学学习最佳的方式,数学思维和分析解决问题的能力是学生数学学习的主要部分和应达到的水平之一;(3)数学教学的目标在于培养学生的数学思维、分析解决问题的能力,成功的数学教学应注重学生的参与和课后落实。中国传统文化、数学教育传统、新课程理念以及教师的工作环境等都对其观念系统有一定的影响。     

浅谈大学英语教学中人文素质教育的渗透

大学英语教育与人文素质教育是密不可分的,在英语教学过程中应充分挖掘教材中所包含的人文精神,正确的人生态度以及传统的美德。其实英语的学习也是文化的渗透,教师在教学过程中要切实作到教书与育人的有机结合。     

IMPROVING MATHEMATICS TEACHER EDUCATION IN GERMANY: EMPIRICAL RESULTS FROM A LONGITUDINAL EVALUATION OF INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS

Innovative programs for restructuring the entry phase of mathematics teacher education programs have been implemented at various German universities within the last few years. This article reports about the design and the results of a longitudinal evaluation study of the effectiveness of two of these programs aiming to improve mathematics teacher education by altering the conditions in university teaching (the so-called Teacher Education and Development Study TEDS-Telekom). The development of prospective teachers’ professional knowledge in academic mathematical content knowledge, knowledge in elementary mathematics from an advanced standpoint, and mathematical pedagogical content knowledge from the innovative programs were compared to traditional university programs. The study points out that the innovative programs only partially succeeded in improving the acquisition of professional knowledge for prospective mathematics teachers.     

A study of alternative English teacher certification practices in Turkey

For several years the number of teachers trained in several subject areas through regular teacher education programs in Turkey has been insufficient to meet the demands in the country. As a result, to combat teacher shortages in many subjects alternative routes to teacher certification have been sought. Here we examine teacher candidates' perspectives of some of these practices. The participants in this examination comprised 140 senior undergraduate students in the English teaching program in a Faculty of Education in Ankara. Almost all participants believed that the teacher candidates who go through alternative routes to become teachers of English do so because they seek employment and this is the last resort. The study highlights the fact that it is critical to pursue educational planning if we are to improve quality in education.     

Special education and subject teachers’ self‐perceived readiness to teach mathematics to low‐performing middle school students

Educational reforms during the last decade have led to a more inclusive environment for students with different needs and have placed demands on teachers’ readiness to instruct diverse students in the general classroom. Previous research has ascertained that student achievement is correlated with teacher quality and teachers’ efficacy beliefs. Today, basic competence in mathematics is more important than ever for managing routine day‐to‐day activities and therefore, identifying and educationally supporting students with low performance in mathematics is necessary. The aim of the study was to investigate the perceived teacher efficacy beliefs of special education and mathematics teachers when teaching mathematics to low‐performing middle school students. Results indicated that special education teachers had higher teacher efficacy beliefs than mathematics teachers. Teacher experience, certification or gender had no effect on teachers’ efficacy beliefs. Furthermore, subject teachers reported high pedagogical knowledge for teaching low‐performing students, and special education teachers reported having moderate mathematical subject knowledge.     

Medical Laboratory Technology: A New York State Tech-Prep Model That Improves Academic Skills

Abstract

This study demonstrates the positive effects on achievement in academic subjects (English language arts, mathematics, science) and overall grade point average (GPA) of the New York City Board of Education-City University of New York Tech-Prep model. This model uses medical laboratory technology as its career area. In addition, this study shows that the model is gender neutral. Furthermore, this study makes evident that high school students who graduate from this Tech-Prep program enter college better prepared than non-Tech-Prep students (as indicated by their freshman placement examination results), have fewer required remedial courses, have higher college GPAs, and have higher retention/completion rates. These data indicate that Tech-Prep, which links occupational education with academics for career and postsecondary education preparation, is a model for educational reform.     

对大学英语网络教学中“教”的定位问题的新思考

以自主性、个性化为特点的大学英语网络教学给传统的英语教学带来了新挑战。针对在英语网络教育中存在师生互动性弱、监控性弱化和学生自主学习能力不强等弱点,本文通过对大学英语网络教学中“教”的内涵的研究和对教的重新定位,指出在大学英语网络教学中应强化对网络教育中“教”的研究,以提高大学英语网络教学的效果。     

大学英语教师教育改革应考虑的几个方面

大学英语教学改革正受到越来越多的重视，而教师教育改革是其中关键的一个方面。文章通过分析社会经济发展的新情况，现代大学生的新面貌，现代教学理论及教学手段的新发展等问题，探讨了在新形势下教师教育改革应考虑的几个方面。     

实施高职数学分层教学研究

近几年,高校连续扩招,推动了高等教育由昔日的"精英教育"向"大众化教育"的转变。学生文化基础差距较大,给教师组织教学带来了很大的困难,难以达到教学目标,束缚了优秀人才的迅速成长,这成为当前数学课程教学中的突出问题。实行学分制下的分层次教学,是有效解决这些问题的途径之一。     

Assessment for learning in constrained contexts: How does the teacher’s self-directed development play out?

This qualitative case study explores how a teacher directed himself in implementing assessment for learning (AfL) among his students in a constrained context (i.e., a lack of institutional support in offering effective teacher education programs). The data included a Chinese college English writing teacher’s reflections over two courses, interviews, and dialogues with the students, coupled with field notes. The qualitative analysis shows that in a constrained context, self-directed AfL was buttressed by the teacher's existent pedagogical knowledge. In the process, the teacher’s self-agency empowered him in synergizing existent knowledge with external resources and revamping his teaching based on the students’ needs as reflected through AfL. These student-centered practices contributed to reduced complexity of AfL implementation, and yielded a more or less beginning cycle: the students echoed the teacher’s purpose of assessment, which considered knowledge appropriation as pivotal, and the teacher felt professionally rewarded from self-directed development using assessment-based information to improve his instruction and benefit his students.     

快乐学习法在大学英语课堂中的应用

如今,大部分大学英语课堂还未摆脱传统的填鸭式教学模式,学生们迫于各种各样的压力带着情绪在被动的学习着英语,怎样使学习由被动变为主动,并在学习中感到快乐,是摆在英语教师面前的一项重要教改任务。     

‘I’m not a “maths‐person”!’ Reconstituting mathematical subjectivities in aesthetic teaching practices

In this study I have investigated how alternative ways of teaching mathematics influence and affect Early Childhood Education (ECE) students’ attitudes towards maths and how they understand their own subjectivities as more or less mathematical during a 10‐week alternative maths course. The investigated course adopts a feminist post‐structural approach based on critical pedagogy and deconstructive theory and includes an interdisciplinary approach to investigative mathematics. The data used include the memory/narrative writings and process‐writings of 75 female teacher‐education students, collected from three different cohorts, in which the students describe their learning processes throughout the maths course. The study shows that, in the main, the students became much more positively inclined to the subject of mathematics after the maths course and agreed that this course had changed their understanding of their own mathematical subjectivity, albeit in different and varying ways.     

浅谈任务型教学法在中外合作办学班英语教学中的应用

随着中国高等教育中外合作办学不断发展,培养国际应用型人才成为重要目标,要达到中外合作办学对学生英语能力的较高要求,就要改革传统的教学模式。任务型教学法是20世纪80年代提出的一种教学法。随着新的一轮的大学英语教学改革的进行,大学英语的教学方法变得越来越重要。任务型教学作为交际教学思想的发展备受人们的关注。     

美国《中学数学教与学》教材的特点及其对中国数学教师教育的启示

美国《中学数学教与学》是初中年级数学教师教育"数学教学法"课程的教材,其特点表现为:单元主题以数学教学理论为线索呈现,单元内容以具体数学知识为载体展开并且以参与式活动的形式组织教学活动.该教材对我国的数学教师教育有如下启示:数学教师教育课程应以数学知识为载体学习数学教育理论;数学教师教育教材应突出教学方式的示范性,体现做中学,在数学教学活动中学习数学教学方法;数学教师教育应注重教师学科专业素质的提升.     

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.     

中国高校二语动机策略实证研究

动机被视为影响二语学习成效的一个重要的情感因素。本文用定量研究方法对62位高校英语教师进行了调查,旨在研究动机策略重要性的认识程度以及具体运用程度,并探讨两者之间是否存在显著差异。研究结果表明：教师总体上在动机策略的重要性认识程度和实际课堂运用频率上保持很高的一致性,但在实际教学中也存在策略运用不足,主要体现在学生自主能力、课堂任务及教师层面等策略上。传统的以教师为中心的教学方法、应试教育、基础差和大班教学很大程度上影响和制约了教师的动机策略,并限制了学生动机的形成与维持。     

主体参与式综合英语教学模式探究

主体参与式综合英语教学是基于主体教育理论、建构主义学习理论以及交际能力、功能语言学理论的英语教学．它改变了传统的以教师为中心、以语言知识讲解为主的教学模式。倡导以学生为中心。以培养学生的综合语言运用能力为目标．课堂教学以活动为载体,旨在促进学生主体性的发挥,培养学生英语语言素质和语言交际能力。为建构主体参与式综合英语教学模式,应尊重学生差异、关注学生需求,建立民主平等的课堂人际关系,设计以活动为载体的互动式课堂教学,确立以生为本的动态的教学评价。