Navigating Mandates and Working toward Coherence: Our Journey with a High-Stakes Teacher Performance Assessment

Abstract

This article details the experiences of four teacher education faculty members as we navigated the consequential implementation of a state-mandated high stakes teacher performance assessment in our educator preparation program. By shifting our perspective from simply complying with an assessment mandate to considering how we can leverage implementation of high stakes performance assessment as a vehicle for program inquiry, we were able to gain significant insight into our practice.     

研究生公共英语选修课程设置探讨

开设研究生公共英语选修课是研究生公共英语教学改革的必然趋势,是满足学生个性化学习需求和社会需求,提高学生英语综合应用能力的必要途径.笔者分析了开设研究生公共英语选修课的必要性和紧迫性、原则和思路、存在问题以及解决方法.     

Navigating across academic contexts: Campo and Angolan students in a Brazilian university

This paper draws on the Academic Literacies approach to examine tutor/student relations in the production of academic texts. We address issues associated with learning to write in such contexts, through exploring the perspectives of two groups of non-traditional students as they reflect on their experiences in navigating educational contexts in a Brazilian public university. The term non-traditional is used here to refer to students from social groups whose previous generation had no, or very limited, access to university. In order to explore the “hidden features” of the contextualized nature of academic writing, we present two cases: students from Angola and from Campo, both groups not traditionally represented in Brazilian universities. We explored the development of writing in academic contexts by examining tensions identified by these students and their tutors/teachers as they engaged with academic literacies.     

Black Educators Fight Back: Facing and Navigating Vulnerability and Stress in Teacher Development

This article examines Black educators’ experiences in Grow Your Own programs along a teacher development continuum at the intersection of social and human development constructs and frameworks, such as double binds and Phenomenological Variant Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST). More robust and nuanced interpretations of how Black educators grow and sustain their presence in the field of education are explored utilizing these analytical tools to determine how Black educators make their way along the teacher development continuum. Findings related to Black educators’ development as they transition as students to teachers, using double bind constructs at each stage of PVEST, are described, and research and praxis questions are extended for implications.     

Teacher change: ideas emerging from a project for the teaching of university mathematics

This paper reports the changes that occurred in the didactic approaches of three professors who participated in a project intended to develop new ways of teaching mathematics to second year university students. An enactivist perspective is used to address the process of change that emerged as a result from interactions during project meetings. We describe changes in the participants' actions by looking at data obtained from the meetings and the classrooms. Teachers were able to ‘see more’ and modify their teaching practices incorporating a more open and flexible approach in accordance to their structural state which depended on their previous history. Therefore, the results varied. It was possible to observe, however, similar changes in all members of the group which included the use of vocabulary from learning theories and the inclusion of in-depth reflections on teaching and learning.     

Human contact in the classroom: Exploring how teachers talk about and negotiate touching students

In a “risk society,” as defined by Beck [(1992). Risk society, towards a new modernity (M. Ritter, Trans.) Newbury Park, CA: Sage, see also Castel, R. (1991). From dangerousness to risk. In G. Burchell, C. Gordon & P. Miller (Eds.), The Foucault effect: Studies in governmentality (pp. 281–298). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press], teachers are risky individuals who, “must become permanent objects of their own suspicion” [Jones, A. (2003b). Touching children: Policy, social anxiety, and the ‘safe’ teacher. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 19(2), 112]. The purpose of this study was to explore how four experienced, female teachers for whom “touching” students is a natural component of their teaching, talked about how they made choices about when and how to engage in the risky behavior of touching children. Findings are organized along two axes. The first represents how participating teachers perceived contexts as facilitating or constraining human contact. The second illustrates what conversations about human contact revealed about participants’ teaching selves. This study contributes to the literature on teacher–student relationships as well as the literature on teachers’ decision-making. Implications for future research in teacher decision-making, teacher–student relationships, and teacher education are discussed.     

Mentorship: mutual benefits for ASL students and gifted students (part 1)

Postsecondary American Sign Language (ASL) students are capable of teaching short lessons related to sign language and deaf culture to gifted students in elementary school. College students who work as interest-area mentors benefit gifted students while building their own academic discipline and professional skills. In Part 1 of a 2-part series of articles, the authors explain the unique needs shared by students in gifted education programs (GEPs), the concept of interest-area mentorship, and how mentors help meet the needs of gifted students in light of National Association for Gifted Children standards. Benefits for ASL students, gifted students, and GEP teachers are discussed. College instructors also benefit, because mentoring experiences help make mentors better students and professionals. Additionally, mentoring in gifted classes facilitates recruiting of the next generation of professionals. In this case, recruiting occurs with the best and brightest: gifted students.     

Teacher education in post-apartheid South Africa: Navigating a way through competing state and global imperatives for change

This article focuses on teacher education in post-apartheid South Africa. It argues that the restructuring and reorganization of teacher education is at the nexus of the axes of tension created by national and global imperatives for change. Along with the dismantling of apartheid and the transition to a free and democratic state in 1994 came the urgent need for social reconstruction, democratization, redress, social justice, and equity. At the same time, and as part of a global context, the country needed global competitiveness, human capital development, global skills, international standards, and accountability. These competing modernist discourses have informed the design and orientation of the National Qualifications Framework and national curriculum that took place in parallel with, and simultaneous to, the restructuring and reform of teacher education. This article reviews literature pertinent to understanding the post-apartheid transformation in South African education in general and teacher education in particular. It concludes that policy makers have managed to navigate a way through the axis of tension created by opposed orientations to transformation. A more equitable and improved system of teacher education has been achieved but critical issues of teacher quality and quantity have emerged which urgently need resolution.     

Teacher education students using TPACK in science: a case study

Teacher education is in the grip of change. Due to the new Australian Curriculum, no longer is it possible to plan and implement lessons without considering the inclusion of Information and Communication Technologies. Simply knowing about the latest technology gadgets is not enough. Information literacy is essential in today’s information-rich learning and working environment. Students and teachers must be able to engage with diverse learning technologies efficiently and effectively in the search for the “right information” at the “right time” for the “right purpose”. Key information literacy and inquiry skills have been recognised as vital learning goals by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority and the International Society for Technology in Education and are thus critical in science teacher education. This paper examines the overlap of technology, pedagogy and science content in the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework and its affordances for science educators, at the intersection between technology knowledge, science pedagogy (information literacy and inquiry) and science content knowledge. Following an introduction of the TPACK framework for science education, the paper reports the research findings, which illustrate that 90% of pre-service teachers thought the experimental unit improved their understanding of the inquiry process, 88% reported more confidence in their understanding of science concepts and 94% of students reported an increase in their knowledge and confidence of Web 2.0 tools in supporting scientific inquiry in science. The implications of this study are that the online inquiry improved students’ knowledge and confidence in the skills and processes associated with inquiry and in science concepts.     

Teacher quality: a comparison of National Board-certified and non-Board-certified teachers of deaf students

THE STUDY was designed to identify specific components of teacher excellence, focusing initially on the characteristics of the small number of teachers of the deaf who are certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), then comparing those with the characteristics of other teachers identified as master teachers by university faculty in teacher preparation in deafness. Classroom observation, written lesson plans, teacher questionnaires on beliefs, and content analysis of interactive electronic focus groups were used to compare the two groups of teachers. Results indicated similarities between Board-certified and non-Board-certified master teachers in regard to teacher behaviors and commitment to well-founded pedagogical principles. Differences were found in classroom priorities and in the greater level of interconnectivity expressed by Board-certified teachers as the result of becoming Board certified. Recommendations are made for preparing teachers of deaf students.     

Language Across a Curriculum of Teacher Training: an instance of course development

This paper describes the ways in which the relationship between teaching and learning in schools, and pupil and teacher language, are explored by students and staff in the different elements of a one‐year postgraduate initial training course for Secondary teachers. It deals with how the staff of a quite large department attempt to keep the theoretical and practical expressions of the topic together by monitoring the manner in which the elements of the whole course structure interact.     

Positive psychology and externalizing students in a sea of negativity

Students with externalizing disorders make up from three to five percent of the population in public school classrooms and are some of the most difficult students to manage in an educational setting. Behavioral excesses and deficits exhibited by these students are a major factor in poor retention rates for new teachers while the students themselves have the highest school drop out rates and experience some of the most restrictive educational settings of any disability. The authors of this article draw upon recent theoretical and applied work in the study of optimism to describe several essential elements of positive psychology and optimal functioning that may be unavailable or lacking in the lives of these students. A variety of factors intrinsic to the nature of these students, as well as environmental and interpersonal factors, are described. These factors often place these students in a “sea of negativity” with minimal opportunities for positive educational experiences or personal relationships. Vigorous debate concerning the effects of positive reinforcement on motivation, academic functioning, and other variables also continues. However, recent advances in proactive behavior management strategies (i.e., positive behavioral support, whole school management/discipline, etc.) are promising, despite a lack of sufficient data to draw firm conclusions. The authors describe several student, teacher, and classroom programs that provide empirically based strategies to promote positive successful experiences and high rates of praise for students with externalizing behavior disorders. Without components of positive psychology it is very likely that schools will continue to lose these students, and at a significant cost to society down the road. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 67–79, 2004.     

Success of students in a college physics course with and without experiencing a high school course

High school students with high ability were enrolled in a standard college physics course for each of two summers with the same professor, same course outline, same textbook, same laboratories, and the same examinations. Half of each group had completed a high school physics course; half had not. Dormitory counselors were available for assistance and support. In addition, tutors were available in the laboratories to provide any help necessary with interpretation of lectures and performances in the laboratory, and with mathematical computation. Pre- and posttest measures concerning course content and attitude were given. After the eight-week summer instruction, the students who had not completed high school physics performed as well on the final course examination; there were no differences with respect to course grade or attitude toward physics. The group that had not completed high school physics used the tutors provided far more frequently than did students who had completed the high school course. When high-ability students are enrolled in college physics with tutors made available for needed assistance, there appears to be no advantage for students to complete the standard high school physics course.     

Teacher ratings of Hispanic and Anglo students on a behavior rating scale

The study was conducted with 115 Hispanic (53 Males, 62 Females) and 119 Anglo (61 males, 58 females) fifth grade students and 12 teachers (11 females, 1 male) in a public school district in the Southwest. The study was designed to determine teachers’ nomination rates of Hispanic and Anglo students to gifted and talented programs and to establish if there were differences in teachers’ ratings on the SRBCSS across ethnicity and gender groups for nominated and not nominated students. Results indicated that ethnicity was a factor in teachers’ nomination rate and that these differences were more pronounced between Hispanic and Anglo females. Results also indicated that teachers’ ratings on the SRBCSS for nominated Hispanic and Anglo students were similar, but that ratings for non‐nominated students differed significantly by ethnic group.     

概率统计课程中数学建模意识的培养

运用概率统计课程中的几个重要知识点,分析并解决了所提出的实际问题.教学实践表明,这种融入数学建模思想的教学方法,对提高教学效果与改进课程建设都有重要意义.     

Learning environments preferred by university students: a shift toward informal and flexible learning environments

Learning Environments Research - Universities are facing new challenges that pose various demands for developing learning environments. These challenges are related to different pedagogical...