Effective instructional characteristics of teachers of junior high school gifted students

This ethnographic study analyzed video tapes using the simulated recall procedure and the comparative analysis of a student opinionnaire to determine effective characteristics of teachers of gifted junior high school students in rural, urban, and suburban schools.

Among the most desirable traits are sense of humor, enthusiasm, creativity, care and respect for the student, and the expectation of high quality work by the teacher. Less observable and less significant to students were flexibility and teacher intelligence. Two additional behaviors consistently demonstrated by the teachers and appreciated by the students, but not listed among the ten standard behaviors were (a) maintaining a close physical presence, and (b) the use of probing questions to stimulate discussion and thought.     

渭南市农村初中教师素质现状调查报告——“提高农村初中教师素质的对策研究”之一

农村初中教师队伍的职业思想基本稳定，学历水平近年来有较大提高，但与素质教育要求的知识结构和能力结构还存在着较大的差距，应引起教育部门的高度重视。     

高中英语教师学习策略教授情况调查

为促使师范院校和师资培训机构对职前、职后教育内容及模式进行反思,本研究对英语学习策略的教授情况进行了调查.结果表明,高中英语教师普遍认为对学生进行学习策略的培养有助于提高教和学的效率,但在实际教学中由于教师缺乏系统的学习策略知识,对学生学习策略的培养就大打折扣.因此,增强高中英语教师学习策略的意识,强化对教师进行学习策略知识的培训是十分必要的.     

Effective teaching approach employed by primary school science teachers

Teachers are often urged to use a variety of modes of instruction to ensure that diverse student interests and abilities can be accomodated. Yet teachers can be limited in the instructional modes they can use because of insufficient background or knowledge about a specific instructional mode （Dawson, 2004）. Teaching approaches are various in purposes such as to trigger students＇ interest in science, to discover through inquiry approach, to build students understanding through constructivism approach or to introduce a concept through demontration approach. Every approach has the strength and weakness in its use. Although inquiry may not be the only way to teach science, many science educators believe that it may be the best way for students to learn science （Audet ＆ Jordan, 2005）. According to Woolfolk （2001）, constructivism is a mode of instruction that emphasizes the active role of the learner in building, understanding and making sense of information. Demonstrations by teacher can be used with students of all ages and across all subjects. The teacher is not only knowledgeable about the topic but also uses a variety of aids to ensure that students understand what is being demonstrated （Marsh, 2004）. By studying their teaching approaches and methods, the actual practices could be analysed and the effectiveness status of their effectiveness could be determined. Specifically, this study aimed to answer these questions in terms of three approaches namely inquiry, constructivism and demonstrations; how far is this approach effective in terms of teaching and learning, and what is the correlation between these three approaches. Data were collected from primary school science teachers （N=239） and the results shown that the teachers were agreeable with the three approaches, inquiry approach （mean=3.74, SD=0.27）, demonstration approach （mean=3.61, SD=0.27） and constructivism approach （mean=3.86, SD=0.30）. The results also showed that there are significant correlations among inquiry, demonstration and constructivism approach. This finding showed that primary school science teachers not depend only on one type of approach and apply variously in teaching science. There are also positive and significant correlation between that approaches used by primary school science teachers.     

Motivation beliefs of secondary school teachers in Canada and Singapore: A mixed methods study

A mixed methods approach was used to explore secondary teachers’ motivation beliefs in Canada and Singapore. Results from Study 1 revealed that socio-economic status (SES) was the strongest predictor of school climate in Canada, and that collective efficacy mediated the effect of SES on school climate in Singapore, but not in Canada. In Study 2, interviews were conducted with 10 teachers in Canada and 14 teachers in Singapore. Teachers in both settings discussed students’ social and behavior problems, but the range of the social problems was greater in Canada than in Singapore, and had a stronger impact on teachers’ motivation beliefs.     

What high school biology teachers say about their textbook use: A descriptive study

This article reports the findings from a study that examined how high school biology teachers describe their instructional use of reading and textbooks. In the study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected—by self-report mail questionnaire and personal interview, respectively. Eighty percent of 184 sampled teachers responded to the questionnaire, and, of these, a subsample of 16 teachers—selected to be broadly representative of the questionnaire sample—were interviewed subsequently with their instructional materials present to increase recall. We found that biology teachers modified their use of textbooks according to the academic level of the biology class that they taught. In lower academic level classes, teachers provided students with many reading activities but expected them to learn biology content in class. In higher academic level classes, teachers expected students to learn from both independent reading and classroom instruction. Biology teachers viewed both reading and inquiry activities as important to learning biology, but they appeared unsure of how to incorporate reading comprehension strategies into their science instruction.     

河北省农村中小学教师继续教育现状调查与思考

自《中小学教师继续教育规定》实施以来,各级政府和教育行政部门加大资金投入,建立起各级中小学教育继续教育网络,中小学教师队伍整体素质的提高起了很大作用。目前从数量上我国中小学教师队伍已经基本满足基础教育的需求。但从质量上讲,还存在一定的差距。如何提高教师素质,实现教师专业化,这一问题已现实而迫切地摆在面前。     

我国高中教师队伍建设研究的回顾与展望

十几年来,我国高中教师队伍建设研究经历了试探时期、展开时期、系统时期三个阶段。有关研究探讨了"高中教师的专业发展"、"高中教师的工作压力"、"高中教师的职业承诺与社会支持"、"高中教师在课改中的适应性"等问题,并对高中教师队伍建设理论研究和实践效果进行了回顾与反思。     

Mentoring among high school teachers: a dynamic and reciprocal group process

In education, mentoring is typically understood as a one‐on‐one relationship between a novice teacher and a more experienced, competent colleague. Through the mentoring relationship, the veteran teacher guides the new teacher into the profession. In this article, the author supports an alternative conception of mentoring by describing how a group of new and experienced high school teachers, committed to changing their teaching practices toward a pedagogy of intellectual engagement, together created the conditions and relationships within their collaborative inquiry group to mentor one another. In the group, novice teachers modeled risk‐taking and vulnerability for their more experienced colleagues. Veteran teachers guided their newer colleagues toward learner‐centered pedagogical possibilities and inquiry practices. Additionally, the group itself, with its norms of open questioning and doubt, trust, collegiality, and a shared purpose, created a collaborative space of mentoring that was dynamic and reciprocal.     

高中英语教师师徒结对案例分析

通过实地观察和跟踪访谈收集S中学师徒制和三对高中英语教师第一学年师徒结对活动的事实资料,主要描述学校师徒制运行原貌和师徒教师带教状况,着重探讨师徒带教的成功与不足,继而提出促进师徒制有效实施的实际建议从而促进教师专业成长。     

普通高中有效开展志愿者活动途径的探寻

本文尝试从社区、学校、老师和学生等四个维度三个方面为志愿者活动筹划和准备:加强学校与社区的联系,为志愿者活动提供支撑;加强普及知识与开发课程的联系,为志愿者活动提供辅助;"旁观者"到"参与者",学生转变为志愿者活动实施的主体。     

Mixed methods research in school psychology: A mixed methods investigation of trends in the literature

This article illustrates the utility of mixed methods research (i.e., combining quantitative and qualitative techniques) to the field of school psychology. First, the use of mixed methods approaches in school psychology practice is discussed. Second, the mixed methods research process is described in terms of school psychology research. Third, the current state of affairs with respect to mixed methods designs in school psychology research is illustrated through a mixed methods analysis of the types of empirical studies published in the four leading school psychology journals between 2001 and 2005. Only 13.7% of these studies were classified as representing mixed methods research. We conclude that this relatively small proportion likely reflects the fact that only 3.5% of graduate‐level school psychology programs appear to require that students enroll in one or more qualitative and/or mixed methods research courses, and only 19.3% appear to offer one or more qualitative courses as an elective. Finally, the utility of mixed methods research is illustrated by critiquing select monomethod (i.e., qualitative or quantitative) and mixed methods studies conducted on the increasingly important topic of bullying. We demonstrate how using mixed methods techniques results in richer data being collected, leading to a greater understanding of underlying phenomena. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

高三政治教师要增强四种意识

新形势下的高三政治教学面临的困难加大,我们政治教师都必须面对现实,以积极的态度去寻找适合的方式去解决现实难题。笔者以为,作为高三政治教师,面对这一现状,要增强四种意识。     

浅谈高中语文教师专业化发展

如何培养教师的自我发展意识,让教师自主发展,这已经成为教育研究者的共识。如何提高语文教师和语文教学的专业化水平这是当前课程改革过程中每一个语文教学的研究者和从教者都必须思考的问题。文章紧扣语文课程中教师这一环节,从规划教师职业生涯、更新教学理念、明确语文教师发展方向、开发校本课程进行反思性实践等几个方面探讨语文教师的可持续专业发展的问题。     

中学骨干教师与普通教师心理健康状况的比较研究

采用SCL-90临床症状自评量表对随机抽取的257名中学省级骨干教师和661名中学普通教师进行测试,结果表明:中学骨干教师各因子得分显著低于全国成人常模,中学普通教师各因子得分显著高于全国成人常模;中学骨干教师的心理健康水平显著高于普通教师,其心理问题检出率为7.0%,普通教师为43.1%,且普通教师各因子得分都极显著高于骨干教师;不同年龄段的骨干教师心理健康水平差异不显著,普通教师差异显著,30岁以下的心理健康状况最好,30-40岁年龄段的心理健康问题较多,其主要心理问题是躯体化、抑郁、精神病性等;毕业班与非毕业班的骨干教师心理健康水平差异不显著,而毕业班的普通教师心理健康水平显著低于非毕业班的普通教师,主要体现在躯体化、强迫症状、人际关系敏感、焦虑、敌对、恐怖和偏执7个因子上。提示:中学普通教师、30-40岁年龄段的教师及毕业班的教师的心理健康状况更应引起关注。     

美国中小学教师专业化初探

美国是世界上最早提出教师专业化这一概念的国家。教师职业的专业化体现在五个方面：一是未来的教师必须在高等院校接受严格的专业培训；二是教师的专业发展必须伴随着整个从业过程；三是教师在教育行业中具有很高的权威性；四是教师的经济报酬比较高；五是每一位教师都持有社会公认的资格证书。     

Teachers’ readiness for promoting learner autonomy: A study of Japanese EFL high school teachers

The present study aims to investigate teachers’ readiness for promoting learner autonomy. It attempts to do so by exploring the perceived importance of and the use of strategies for promoting learner autonomy among Japanese high school teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL). The paper reports on the research findings from two studies, one quantitative using a closed questionnaire, and the other qualitative using a focus group interview. Results show that many Japanese EFL high school teachers, while displaying different dimensions of autonomy in different ways, are not fully ready to promote autonomy in their learners.     

Assessing the effect on high school teachers of direct and unrestricted access to the internet: A case study of an east central florida high school

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect direct and unrestricted access to the Internet had on a group of high school teachers. Based on the naturalistic inquiry paradigm, this study explored the barriers these teachers encountered when using the Internet, how and when they elected to use the Internet, the factors that influenced their continued use of the Internet, and the transitions they experienced from using the Internet. Data collection was based on Patton's (1990) three approaches to interviewing; data analysis was based in part on Miles and Huberman's (1984) model of data reduction and display and on Spradley's (1979) task of domain analysis. Findings suggested: that teachers require ongoing Internet training, technical support, home Internet access, and time in which to learn and incorporate the Internet into their classes; that Internet use can increase teachers' self-esteem and improve their attitudes toward computers and education; and that use of the Internet by teachers encourages them to restructure their classes and schedules to accommodate Internet resources within their classrooms.     

中小学新任教师专业发展现状的调查分析

新任教师是教师专业生涯发展的起点,分析这一阶段教师的专业发展现状,才能有效地协助新任教师由非专业人员成长为专业人员,帮助教师顺利地走过专业发展所必须经历的起始阶段,使其专业生涯保持持续发展的状态。