Pre-service and in-service teachers' metacognitive knowledge about problem-solving strategies

The present study based on Antonietti, A., Ignazi, S., & Perego, P. (2000). Metacognitive knowledge about problem-solving methods. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 1–16 methodology with the aim to examine primary school teachers' metacognitive knowledge about problem-solving strategies. A sample of 338 in-service (172) and pre-service (166) teachers participated in the study. They were asked to give on a five-point scale frequency, efficacy, and facility estimates for the application of five problem-solving strategies in 3 kinds of problems (interpersonal, practical, and study problems). The results are in accordance with Antonietti, A., Ignazi, S., & Perego, P. (2000). Metacognitive knowledge about problem-solving methods. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 1–16 evidence. They, also, stressed the possible role of age along with work experience in the formation of beliefs about strategic behavior.     

Pre-service teacher education students' epistemological beliefs and their conceptions of teaching

A study using both quantitative and qualitative methods was conducted in the final year of a Bachelor of Education programme to examine the student-teachers' epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching. The results show that most of the student-teachers (i) strongly believed that learning effort was more important than innate ability, (ii) strongly believed that knowledge changes, and (iii) were inclined to question the authority of knowledge. Although student-teachers who had sophisticated or mixed epistemological beliefs tended to believe in constructivist or mixed conceptions of teaching as predicted, inconsistent cases were identified. Implications for teacher education programmes are discussed.     

Prospective teachers' initial conceptions about pupils' understanding of science and mathematics

Earlier reports have shown that prospective teachers' conceptions about teaching science to a high degree are resistant and do not change substantially during the teacher‐training programme. In our investigation we elucidate the prospective teachers' initial conceptions about pupils' understanding of science and mathematics. We applied ‘The Lesson Preparation Method' and used a phenomenographic approach in order to reveal the range of conceptions that the prospective teachers hold. A third of the prospective teachers did not consider pupils' conceptions when planning lessons. The rest of the 32 participants expressed awareness; some of the prospective teachers even referred to subject‐specific teaching experience. Also regarding the prospective teachers' conceptions about pupils' knowledge and beliefs, as well as about pupils' difficulties, there was a significant diversity. By raising these issues about pedagogical content knowledge the prospective teachers' conceptions can be extended and developed during the education.     

The role of reading comprehension in mathematical modelling: improving the construction of a real-world model and interest in Germany and Taiwan

Educational Studies in Mathematics - To solve mathematical modelling problems, students must translate real-world situations, which are typically presented in text form, into mathematical models....     

Strategic competence for multistep fraction word problems: an overlooked aspect of mathematical knowledge for teaching

Educational Studies in Mathematics - Prior work on teachers’ mathematical knowledge has contributed to our understanding of the important role of teachers’ knowledge in teaching and...     

Support teachers' beliefs about the academic achievement of students with special educational needs

José Castro Silva, lecturer in sciences of education, and José Morgado, assistant professor, both work at the Instituto Superior de Psicologica Aplicada in Lisboa, Portugal. In this article, they describe their study of support teachers' beliefs about the academic achievement of school students with special educational needs. The 'support teachers' who were the subject of this study work in mainstream schools where the majority of pupils with special educational needs are educated in mainstream classes run by 'general teachers'. The work of the support teachers is supervised and supported by 'special education team co-ordinators'. The study reported here set out to elicit the support teachers' beliefs about the factors that contribute to success at school for pupils with special educational needs. Results suggest that the support teachers consider that factors including 'school climate', 'curriculum design' and 'teaching approach' contribute significantly to achievements among these pupils. On the other hand, analysis reveals that the support teachers attribute difficulties and lack of achievement significantly to 'out-of-school' contextual variables. These findings are related to a detailed review of the literature and the authors discuss the implications for policy, practice and professional development.     

Similarities and differences in teachers' beliefs about effective teaching of mathematics: Japan and Hawai'i

This paper examines the similarities and differences in beliefs about the effective teaching of mathematics held by teachers from two different socio-cultural backgrounds: Tokyo, Japan and Hawai'i, U.S.A. Data were collected using a part of the Teacher General Classroom Process Questionnaire (Grade 8) of the Second IEA Mathematics Study. Validation and interpretation of the data collected were based on classroom observations and interviews. The results indicate that while there are some similarities in beliefs of what constitutes effective teaching, the differences are greater. These differences appear to reflect the difference in the teachers' socio-cultural environment. In particular, the differences appear in classroom management, face-saving strategies, and providing for individual needs and differences.     

Opening the black box of field experiences: How cooperating teachers' beliefs and practices shape student teachers' beliefs and practices

This study employed ethnographic methods to describe and explain changes to beginning science teachers' (n = 6) practices and beliefs during a year long internship. Teaching practices were strongly influenced by the cooperating teachers. Initially, all six interns attempted to re-enact lessons they witnessed their cooperating teachers teach, including following lesson structures and borrowing representations, anecdotes, and jokes. Later, they independently implemented instruction that emphasized similar strategies as their mentors, regardless of whether or not they were experiencing success. Interns who were successful also shifted their beliefs to match their mentors.     

小学教师学生学习观问卷的编制

在文献分析的基础上,结合开放性问卷调查和访谈,构建小学教师学生学习观的理论结构,编制初测问卷,对回收的264份有效初测问卷进行项目分析、探索性因素分析和信度分析,修改后形成正式问卷.正式测试后,对问卷进行验证性因素分析和信效度检验.结果显示小学教师学生学习观问卷包括学习过程、知识本质、学习条件和学习实质四个因子;该问卷结构效度良好;问卷的构想效度和信度指标均达到了测量学的要求.     

Patterns of development in second-career teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning

This study was aimed at deepening our understanding of second-career teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning. Initial conceptions held by 207 candidates entering an alternative teacher education programme were explored using a semi-structured questionnaire covering background characteristics and four themes concerning teaching and learning. A limited number of distinct conceptions could be identified and related to respondents' background characteristics. After the first semester of the programme, three patterns of development were found in a subset of 69 participants: growth, consolidation and regression. Pedagogical implications for fostering growth in second-career teachers are discussed.     

Construction and validation of a questionnaire to study future teachers' beliefs about cultural diversity

The article presents the construction and validation process of a questionnaire designed to study student teachers' beliefs about cultural diversity. The study, beyond highlighting the complexity involved in the study of beliefs, emphasises their relevance in implementing inclusive educational processes that guarantee the right to a good education for all. The questionnaire was administered to 1464 students from the different Teacher Education specialties. The results show that the instrument has a satisfactory internal consistency and is structured in seven components that largely correspond to the theoretical proposals used as the basis for constructing the questionnaire. The actions and analyses performed in the process of elaborating this inventory represent an advance compared to other similar studies in this line of research. From a methodological point of view, they provide detailed information about the questionnaire's psychometric characteristics, reliability and validity, with particular emphasis on the empirical data stemming from its application. From a conceptual point of view, the study incorporates beliefs related to different theoretical models of attention to cultural diversity, as well as their possible practical derivations at different levels of specificity.     

例谈化学解题中的数学思想

近年来,随着高考注重“基础、能力、思想”的考查,在中学化学教学中也愈来愈重视对学生“用数学”的意识和能力的培养。“将化学问题抽象为数学问题,利用数学工具,通过计算和推理（结合化学知识）解决化学问题的能力”成为中学化学思维能力培养的重要方面。因此,熟悉数学思想,有意识地运用数学方法灵活解决有关化学问题,将有利于提高解题的思维能力和技能、技巧。本文通过几例来浅谈一下在化学解题中常见的数学思想,以资学习者参考。     

Scientific epistemic beliefs, conceptions of learning science and self-efficacy of learning science among high school students

This study examined the relationships among Taiwanese high school students’ scientific epistemic beliefs, conceptions of learning science, and self-efficacy of learning science. The questionnaire responses gathered from 377 high school students in Taiwan were utilized to elicit such relationships. The analysis of the structural equation model revealed that students’ absolutist scientific epistemic beliefs led to lower-level conceptions of learning science (i.e. learning science as memorizing, preparing for tests, calculating, and practicing) while sophisticated scientific epistemic beliefs might trigger higher-level conceptions of learning science (i.e. learning science as increase of knowledge, applying, and attaining understanding). The students’ lower-level conceptions of learning science were also found to negatively associate with their self-efficacy of learning science, while the higher-level conceptions of learning science fostered students’ self-efficacy. However, this study found that students who viewed scientific knowledge as uncertain (advanced epistemic belief) tended to possess lower self-efficacy toward learning science.     

When law students read multiple documents about global warming: examining the role of topic-specific beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing

In this study, law students (n = 49) read multiple authentic documents presenting conflicting information on the topic of climate change and responded to verification tasks assessing their superficial as well as their deeper-level within- and across-documents comprehension. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that even after variance associated with readers’ prior knowledge about the topic was accounted for, their epistemic beliefs related to the simplicity of knowledge and the justification for knowing about climate change uniquely predicted their comprehension performance. The findings are interpreted with reference to the strong emphasis on multiple-documents literacy in the law degree program.     

农村小学英语教师专业发展现状及问题对策

相对于城镇小学英语教师,农村小学英语教师的专业成长面临更多挑战。本文结合贫困山区农村小学英语教师的专业发展现状,得出影响农村小学英语教师专业发展的四大因素并提出促进农村小学英语教师专业发展需要教师、学校和主管部门的共同努力。     

Pre-service teachers' use of reading strategies in their own readings and future classrooms

The main purpose of this study was to determine pre-service teachers' use of reading strategies in their own readings. In addition, pre-service teachers' use of these strategies in their future teaching practices was also investigated. The subjects for this study were 505 pre-service teachers enrolled in one of the major universities in Ankara. The results of the study revealed that pre-service teachers employed 28 out of 38 reading strategies most of the time, but interview results illustrated that they reported using very limited scope of reading strategies. An interesting finding in this study was that all subjects accepted the responsibility to teach and improve their future students' reading skills.     

小学教师教学反思的影响因素分析

教学反思是教师提高教学水平的重要途径。文章对以观察、访谈等方式获取的具体小学实例进行分析,从教师自身与学校环境两个方面归纳、总结出小学教师教学反思的影响因素,深化小学教师对反思性教学的认识,对于推动小学教师反思性教学的有效实施具有一定的指导意义。     

试论城区高中实行教师坐班制的必要性

坐班制作为我国中小学教师工作管理的一种模式,历来颇受争议。本文根据对城区高中这一具体地域、类型学校的管理现状进行分析,得出了城区高中实行教师坐班制是必要的,以及在具体实施坐班制的时候,学校管理者要从改善教师办公环境、实行小额化办公、增加教师坐班制的弹性等方面做出改进,来更好的完善城区高中实施好教师坐班制。