Integration of technical vocabulary into peer observation of teaching for Taiwanese elementary school English teachers’ professional learning

This study explored the integration of technical vocabulary into pre-observation conferences and its influence on English teachers’ professional learning and discussion in their post-observation conferences. The conceptual framework based on Harvey [2011. “A Sociocultural-Theory-Based Study of the Impact of Mediation During Post-observation Conferences on Language Teacher Learning.” Unpublished doctoral diss., University of South Florida] and Goe, Biggers, and Croft [2012. Linking Teacher Evaluation to Professional Development: Focusing on Improving Teaching and Learning. Denver, CO: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality] was used to analyse the questionnaire, audio recordings, and documents collected in seven peer observations of teaching in Taiwan. This study has two major findings. First, English teachers regarded the technical vocabulary as stimuli for their professional learning; however, the range of technical vocabulary used during the post-observation conferences was limited. Second, three major factors affected their use of technical vocabulary. A new model was proposed in order to effectively integrate technical vocabulary into peer observations of teaching for elementary school English teachers’ professional learning.     

Profile of South African secondary-school teachers’ teaching quality: evaluation of teaching practices using an observation instrument

The need for quality teaching is reflected in the poor performance of students in international tests. Teachers’ practices and contextual factors could contribute to substandard quality of teaching in South Africa. Several studies indicate that successful learning is largely dependent on the teachers’ practices in class. The focus of the present research was to profile the effective teaching practices of 424 secondary-school teachers in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. Teachers were observed by trained observers using a valid and reliable observation instrument measuring six domains of effective teaching practices. Results showed that teachers find it difficult to differentiate in class and to activate learning. Additionally, teachers with more than 15 years of teaching experience scored lower than teachers with less experience, in all six teaching domains. Presumably, experienced teachers may lack motivation and/or insufficient training in implementing interactive and differentiated teaching methods that are needed for effective teaching practices.     

The impact of peer collaboration on teachers’ practical knowledge

Due to changes in Dutch mathematics education, teachers are expected to use new teaching methods such as enquiry-based teaching. In this study, we investigate how teachers design, implement and evaluate new methods for statistics teaching for 7^th-graders during a professional development trajectory based on peer collaboration. We monitored teachers’ development in a network of four mathematics teachers from the same school. By using a mixed-methods approach in which we combined data from interviews, concept maps and classroom observations, we describe changes in teachers’ practical knowledge. We found how the nature of these changes highly depends on teachers’ personal concerns that emerge during the trajectory. Some teachers considered their concerns as challenges stimulating their learning, while other teachers experienced their concerns as a reason to fall back to previous teaching methods. Based on our results, we give some recommendations for organising teacher networks.     

What catches the eye in class observation? Observers’ perspectives in a multidisciplinary peer observation of teaching program

Peer Observation of Teaching has raised a lot of interest as a device for quality enhancement of teaching. While much research has focused on its models, implementation schemes and feedback to the observed, little attention has been paid to what the observer actually sees and can learn from the observation. A multidisciplinary peer observation of teaching program is described, and its data is used to identify the pedagogical aspects to which lecturers pay more attention to when observing classes. The discussion addresses the valuable learning opportunities for observers provided by this program, as well as its usefulness in disseminating, sharing and clarifying quality teaching practices. The need for further research concerning teacher-student relationships and students’ engagement is also suggested.     

The effect of teachers’ emotional labour on teaching satisfaction: moderation of emotional intelligence

Teachers can be seen as emotional workers often needing to be sensitive to the demands that their work makes on their emotions, and skilful in regulating their feelings, but few quantitative studies have examined this issue systematically. Using hierarchical regression analysis to examine this issue, this study investigates teachers’ perceptions of the relationships among the emotional job demands, emotional intelligence, emotional labour strategies and teaching satisfaction, with a particular focus on the moderating role of emotional intelligence. The results of a survey of 1281 Chinese teachers reveal that teachers’ perceptions of emotional job demands and emotional intelligence significantly predict the three emotional labour strategies. Emotional intelligence significantly moderates the impact of emotional job demands on surface acting and expression of naturally felt emotion but not deep acting. Even after controlling for emotional job demands and emotional intelligence, deep acting and expression of naturally felt emotion still have a positive influence on teachers’ teaching satisfaction. Deep acting and expression of naturally felt emotion are more effective emotional labour strategies for teachers. A teacher development programme is suggested to make teachers clear about these emotional demands and different emotional labour strategies, and enhance teachers’ emotional intelligence.     

Student teachers’ and in-service teachers’ peer learning: a realist synthesis

The aim of this review in the form of a realist synthesis is to understand what makes peer (student) teacher learning activities effective. Three types of peer learning were explored: collaborative, coaching, and assessment activities. Hypotheses were developed and tested against a set of 63 studies. These hypotheses indicated what mechanisms (i.e., characteristics of the activities) would influence the effectiveness of the activities and which contexts (i.e., factors) influenced this process. Findings showed that activities wherein participants gain subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge and apply this into practice made such learning effective. Peer learning is also reinforced by facilitators, reflection, and feedback, and influenced by personal and interpersonal factors. The main contribution of this realist synthesis is the practical implications for developers of peer learning activities, for school leaders and teacher educators, and for (student) teachers.     

Institutional traditions in teachers’ manners of teaching

The aim of this article is to make a close case study of one teacher’s teaching in relation to established traditions within science education in Sweden. The teacher’s manner of teaching is analysed with the help of an epistemological move analysis. The moves made by the teacher are then compared in a context of educational philosophy and selective tradition. In the analyses the focus is to study the process of teaching and learning in action in institutionalised and socially shared practices. The empirical material consists of video recordings of four lessons with the same group of students and the same teacher. The students are all in Year 7 in a Swedish 9-year compulsory school. During these lessons the students work with a subject area called “Properties of materials”. The results show that the teacher makes a number of different moves with regard to how to proceed and come to a conclusion about what the substances are. Many of these moves are special in that they indicate that the students need to be able to handle the procedural level of school science. These moves do not deal directly with the knowledge production process, but with methodological aspects. The function of the moves turns the students’ attention from one source of knowledge to another. The moves are aimed at helping the students to help themselves, since it is through their own activity and their own thinking that learning takes place. This is characteristic in the teacher’s manner of teaching. When compared in a context of educational philosophy, this manner of teaching has similarities with progressentialism; a mixture of essentialism and progressivism. This educational philosophy is a central aspect of what is called the academic tradition—a selective tradition common in science education in Sweden between 1960 and 1990.     

English language teachers’ perceptions of professional teaching

During the most recent educational reform in Estonia, a new National Curriculum was introduced in 2010 providing new guidelines for education generally and foreign languages specifically. To investigate the understanding that an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher has about professional teaching and whether it matches the principles of the curriculum, a research project was conducted amongst EFL teachers at the lower secondary school level. A brief theoretical background to the topic is given and Estonian EFL teachers’ beliefs about professional teaching based on the findings of the survey are described. The study identifies that, although generally EFL teachers’ beliefs about professional teaching are in concordance with the principles contained in the new curriculum, there are aspects that should be addressed by both pre- and in-service education teacher programmes.     

The influence of teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning on their technology acceptance

Prior research has attempted to incorporate different personal variables within extant theories of technology acceptance models (TAMs). This study further extends TAM by incorporating teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning (CoTL) in two forms: constructivist and traditional conceptions. The moderating effects of teachers’ demographic variables including age, gender, teaching experience, teaching level, and technology experience were tested. Our findings demonstrated that incorporating CoTL could provide a richer and more nuanced understanding of technology acceptance, although no moderating effects on any demographic variables were found.     

Effects of developmental relationships with teachers on middle-school students’ motivation and performance

We examined how middle-school students’ motivation, belonging, school climate, and grade point average (GPA) are affected by students experiencing developmental relationships—those that go beyond teachers being caring (e.g., showing warmth to students) and providing challenge (e.g., high expectations) to also include teachers providing support, sharing power, and expanding students’ sense of possibilities. We also examined variations in those associations by student socioeconomic status (SES). The study included 534 diverse Grades 6–8 students (51% female, 46% non-White, 33% eligible for free and reduced price meals). Structural equation modeling and regressions showed that students with better developmental relationships with their teachers had better outcomes. Developmental relationships strongly predicted academic motivation at both the beginning and end of the school year, and also directly predicted students’ sense of belonging and school climate. Relationships indirectly predicted GPA, through motivation. Student–teacher relationship quality for low-SES students was lower and declined more than for other students. The results both reflect current literature in showing the importance of strong student–teacher relationships, and extend it in showing the worsening relationships quality for low-income students, and in suggesting that strengthening multiple facets of student–teacher developmental relationships may have important effects on motivation and achievement of middle-school students.     

Science teachers’ conceptions of teaching: Implications for teacher education

An analysis of recent science education research on student conceptions of natural phenomena, on science teaching and on science teacher planning carries implications for science teacher education. This suggests that the development of appropriate conceptions of teaching should be an important goal of science teacher education. Drawing the analogy between conceptions of natural phenomena and conceptions of teaching suggests guidelines for designing instruction in science teacher education courses. The importance of these guidelines is enhanced because teachers are likely to hold conceptions of teaching which are in conflict with those considered appropriate.

Activities in science teacher education which have attempted to identify and influence conceptions of science teaching are described and analysed. While these activities must be regarded as preliminary, they point to a powerful approach to thinking about the education of science teachers.     

The role of authentic teaching cases and mastery approach goals in online pre-service teachers’ self-regulated learning

Instructional methods in higher education are changing in response to the growing popularity for distance learning courses. Investigating methods of instruction that will assist in the manner that coursework is taught in online courses is therefore a significant enterprise to research. Specifically, examining the relation between theory and practice in programs of teacher education where application is an integral part of the curriculum as well as students’ future career is of utmost importance. Instruction using the case study method enables instructors to involve their students with the realities of teaching using scenarios built around authentic educational dilemmas, where students can problem-solve varying outcomes and generate possible solutions from multiple theoretical viewpoints. Self-regulated learning has been consistently shown to be a fundamental component in the academic success of online learners. Existing research studies on distance learners has specifically shown mastery-approach goals to be predictive of self-regulated learning. This study found significant relationships between the use of authentic case studies in online preservice teaching, self-regulation, and mastery approach goals. Additionally, the results of this study also identified that the relationship between self-regulation and mastery approach goals was strengthened when using case studies that were authentic.

     

The impact of secondary history teachers’ teaching conceptions on the classroom use of computers

During the past 15 years, various studies have described factors affecting the use of computers in the classroom. In analysing factors of influence, many studies have focused on technology-related variables such as computer experience or attitudes toward computers, and others have considered teachers’ beliefs as well; most of them have studied undefined categories of teachers and focused on explaining the frequency of technology in classrooms. The present study centres on secondary history teachers’ teaching conceptions as a precursor to the ways in which they use computing technology in the classroom. The research is a qualitative study examining the theoretical assumption that teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning guide their pedagogical action. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Chilean history teachers, and their didactic sequences were filmed extensively. The research found patterns among educational uses of technology in relation to teaching conceptions (defining the latter based on three conceptual groups: direct instruction or individual or social construction of knowledge) in terms of the allotment of time and the manner of teacher technology use, and less sharply defined patterns were also noted in student technology use and teacher–student–technology interactions.     

Theorising teaching and learning: pre-service teachers’ theoretical awareness of learning

We examine pre-service teachers’ theoretical learning during one five-week training module, and their educators’ learning about better lecture design to foster student learning. The study is iterative: interventions (one per group) were implemented sequentially in student groups A–C, the results of the previous intervention serving as the baseline for the design developed for the next. These learning study participants, 79 students from year three of a teacher training programme, studied the variation theory (VT) of learning. Three lesson cycles were completed, each comprising four steps: (1) a pre-test, (2) a 15-min intervention discussing VT, (3) a post-test and (4) a delayed post-test conducted eight weeks later. The results indicated learning differences between groups; qualitative analysis identified three categories of student answers, i.e. emergent, premature and unaware, regarding their theoretical understanding. Group C had more students with emergent knowledge (36%) than did groups A (20%) or B (17%) at post-testing.     

The effect of video-based approach on prospective teachers’ ability to analyze mathematics teaching

This is an intervention study that explored the effect of using video lesson analysis methodology (VLAM) on the ability of prospective middle/high school mathematics teachers to analyze mathematics teaching. The sample of the study consisted of 26 female prospective mathematics teachers enrolled in a methods course at the United Arab Emirates University. The participants were divided equally into two groups, experimental and control. The experimental group was involved in video lesson analysis where they analyzed ten video lessons throughout the semester. The group members interacted via discussion forums through Blackboard technology. Both groups wrote analyses of two video lessons, one before the intervention program and another at the end of it. It was found that the intervention remarkably improved the ability to analyze mathematics teaching of the experimental group while little improvement occurred to the control group. Implications for teacher education programs are discussed.     

Predictors of primary school teachers’ knowledge about developmental dyscalculia

Developmental dyscalculia is a specific learning disability that is described as a heterogeneous and persistent cognitive disorder. Given the need to detect and intervene as early as possible to minimise its effects, teachers’ knowledge about symptoms, characteristics and effective intervention strategies in dyscalculia is essential. Given the lack of research about this topic and measures to evaluate teachers’ knowledge, this study aims to present a literature-based measure to evaluate knowledge about developmental dyscalculia and to investigate the predictors of this type of knowledge. Data were collected from a sample of 175 primary school teachers. The measure presented adequate psychometric properties. Teachers’ personal characteristics such as age and gender did not predict their knowledge about dyscalculia. Being a Special Education teacher predicted a higher knowledge of intervention strategies in dyscalculia and having heard about dyscalculia predicted higher knowledge about not only intervention strategies but also dyscalculia characteristics. The data are discussed, and suggestions for further studies are presented.     

Watching oneself teach – long-term effects of teachers’ reflections on their video-recorded teaching

This study examines changes in teaching habits reported by teachers when they see themselves on video. It is a longitudinal study in which 43 student teachers participated in the first step during their teacher education. When the teachers saw themselves teaching, they were surprised by certain habits and wrote that they wanted to change them. Two years later, eight of these teachers video recorded their teaching again. The interpretation is based on pragmatic philosophy and Mead’s concepts of ‘I’ and ‘me’. In the interviews, it becomes clear that the majority of the teachers in different ways had changed their habits. It is not only a question of new habits but also of the refinement of previous habits. Four categories of changed habits are presented: shift in the opportunity to speak in favour of the participants, reduced service orientation, reduced control, and building relationships.