Identifying teaching groups as a basis for academic development

Academic development recognizes the strengths of communities, such as communities of practice or learning communities, in providing academics with supportive environments for the development of teaching. The problem academic development faces is that not enough academics are involved in these communities. Instead of trying to interest academics in joining communities, this research looks at the existing contexts around academics, which it refers to as ‘teaching groups’. It is proposed that every academic involved in teaching belongs to at least one teaching group, formed by colleagues teaching in the same course, degree or subject and that teaching groups form relevant contexts for engagement with teaching. The research investigates how teaching groups compare to communities and finds that less than half of teaching groups named by participants have strong community characteristics, indicating large space for improvement in the remaining majority of groups. The suggestion is made that identifying teaching groups across an institution might provide a promising starting point for engaging a majority of academics and working with these academics towards increased interaction on teaching in open and trusting collegial atmospheres.     

Teacher knowledge,curriculum materials,and quality of instruction: Unpacking a complex relationship

The set of papers presented in this issue comprise a multiple-case study which attends to instructional resources—teacher knowledge and curriculum materials—to understand how they individually and jointly contribute to instructional quality. We approach this inquiry by comparing lessons taught by teachers with differing mathematical knowledge for teaching who were using either the same or different editions of a US Standards-based curriculum. This introductory paper situates the work reported in the next four case-study papers by outlining the analytic framework guiding the exploration and detailing the methods for addressing the research questions.     

Finding time for quality teaching: an ethnographic study of academic workloads in the social sciences and their impact on teaching practices

University workloads, their impact on staff and how they can be managed, are the subject of considerable research and discussion. This paper addresses strategies to deal with the impact of workloads on teaching practices in higher education. In particular, it aims to discover the implicit theories and tacit assumptions that underlie perceptions of what constitutes quality teaching in the social sciences. Using an ethnographic approach, the research revealed that the strategies used by staff are linked to how they identify themselves: as researchers or ‘good’ teachers, and highlights a mismatch between the value academics place on quality teaching and what is rewarded by universities. The paper illustrates that strategies rely on assumptions about the nature of time, and the links between time and quality. Academics have little opportunity for critical reflection on teaching practices in order to be responsive to the changing contexts of higher education.     

Integrating on-line technology into teaching activities to enhance student and teacher learning in a New Zealand primary school

Continuing emphasis given to computer technology resourcing in schools presents potential for web-based initiatives which focus on quality arts teaching and learning, as ways to improve arts outcomes for all students. An arts e-learning collaborative research project between specialist on-line teacher/researchers and generalist primary teachers was designed to investigate student learning, quality teaching, and implementation factors. Constructionist-based teaching activities using on-line technology were designed to engage students in a learner-centred e-learning environment where students and teachers collaborated to produce a media and learning artefact. A case study highlights the outcomes for four students who transferred learnt drama skills to other classroom contexts. This model has potential to provide drama learning for students and professional development for primary generalist teachers, contingent on the availability of rigorously planned and well-resourced programmes.     

Preparing Teachers for Anti‐oppressive Education: International movements

While theories and recommendations continue to proliferate in the educational research literature on what it means to teach towards social justice and to prepare teachers for such teaching, so do concerns that these theories and recommendations fail to account for the ways that the contexts of teaching—cultural contexts, national contexts, political contexts—always affect teaching in idiosyncratic, unpredictable and even contradictory ways. Given that much educational research fails to trouble the US‐centric nature of prevailing conceptions of social justice and teacher education, it is important to learn about the unique as well as shared challenges facing teacher educators around the globe. In this article, teacher educators from Asia, Africa, North America and South America offer a sampling of initiatives in anti‐oppressive teacher education; that is, initiatives to prepare teachers to teach various subject matters to various age groups, addressing various forms of oppression in various cultural and community contexts.     

论提高我校教育教学质量的方法和措施

制约我校教育教学质量的因素有：生源质量不高、师资队伍不够、教学条件紧张和运转经费不足,但经费问题不久将会圆满解决。解决我校质量的具体方法和措施：首先,下大力气加强师资队伍建设;其次,引导教师把教学作为首要任务,加强师德师风建设,调动广大教师授课的积极性和努力提高授课艺术;第三,学校要努力调动学生学习的积极性;第四,学校要为学生创造良好的学习条件。     

Using virtual reality in the classroom: preservice teachers’ perceptions of its use as a teaching and learning tool

Virtual reality (VR) platforms act as a potentially transformative tool in learning and teaching. The aim of this study was to examine pre-service teachers’ (PST) perceptions about VR, inclusive of their beliefs about its capacity to be used as a teaching and learning tool. A case-study, conducted at an urban university in Australia involved a sample of n = 41. Participants’ positive perceptions of VR in their teaching relate to its potential to engage learners, the immersive potential of the platform and the scope of VR to offer students experiences they might otherwise not have with other learning tools. Concerns expressed by PSTs include their relatively low self-efficacy to use VR in their teaching, monitoring-related matters, financial cost and implementing the technology in a safe and supportive way. There was a significant difference in PSTs’ amount of self-efficacy to teach using VR when compared to their overall confidence to use digital technologies. PSTs typically had greater awareness of the immersive and engagement potential of VR and less awareness about its potential to foster and promote collaborative learning. This paper contributes to an emerging discourse regarding the possible applications of VR in educational environments and particularly in relation teacher-educator contexts.     

Finding common ground: enhancing interaction between domestic and international students in higher education

A feature of Australian Higher Education over the last 10 years has been the increased numbers of international students. This feature has been perceived to have great potential for enhanced learning for all students – both international and domestic. Yet, student surveys and research clearly indicate that there is very little interaction occurring between domestic and international students. This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which university teaching can promote interaction between students from diverse cultural and linguistic background. Using an innovative video-analysis methodology, the research found that academics engage in a variety of activities to encourage interaction between student groups. In order to assist academics in planning interaction, one of the main findings of the study was the development of ‘The Interaction for Learning Framework (ILF)’, that identifies key dimensions for curriculum design that can be used by academics to inform ways that they can enhance interaction between diverse student groups within teaching and learning contexts.     

行动导向教学法在医学免疫学与微生物学教学中的应用

目的:探讨行动导向教学法在医学免疫学与微生物学教学中的效果。方法:以本院2010级大专学生为研究对象,将两个班级分为对照组和实验组,两组学生入学成绩无差异,对照组采用传统教学法,实验组采用行动导向教学法,比较两组教学效果。结果:实验组考试成绩优于对照组(P<0.05),且实验组学生普遍认为此种教学方法能够全面提高自身的素质。结论:行动导向教学法能够符合学生的需求,将学生被动接受为主动参与,可大大提高教学质量,可在教学中大力推广。     

The casualisation of teaching and the subject at risk

The casualisation of teaching in Australian higher education has come to be problematised as a risk to the quality of teaching and learning. However, the potential and location of risk, and therefore what constitutes an appropriate institutional intervention, requires interrogation as universities comply with the various regulations that, on the one hand, legitimise further casualisation in the name of flexibility, and on the other, insist on institutional responsibilities in the performance of quality. Taking a critical approach to risk consciousness, this paper examines the way casualisation is produced through workplace reform and problematised as a danger to the student learning experience through the quality agenda in Australian higher education. By examining the tensions between the discourses of flexibility and quality, the authors argue that casualisation should not simply be understood as a problem with individual teaching expertise that can be overcome through formal training of the individual. The neo-liberal political rationality that seeks to individuate responsibility and locate “risk” in this way masks the broader systemic tensions within the culture of the university which the authors argue have increasingly profound consequences for the quality of university education. Arguing that professional learning and quality enhancement are the product of open collaborative and collegial social practice, the authors conclude that addressing casualisation only in terms of systematic teacher training is a politically expedient response to a highly complex political issue facing Australian universities. Drawing on professional learning literature, the authors argue for a shift in policy and practice within the university to recognise, value and integrate the expertise and potential quality contribution of casual teaching staff at a micro-level with a particular focus on the teaching team.     

中小学教师职业生涯发展与教学工作激励——来自中国农村的经验

传统的教育经济学观念认为,教师的受教育水平是有价值的,较高的受教育水平往往可以带来较高的经济收益,从而促成教师较好的工作激励和积极性。但是关于发展中国家教师经济收益的研究结果并没有很好地支持这一观念——越好的教师可以得到越高的工资。教师如何在整个教学过程中发挥作用,这是分析教师教学行为与教学质量的一个非常重要的问题。那么,在教师薪酬激励失效或者无法实施的情况下,从教师职业发展、职业生涯的角度进行教师的教学工作激励研究显得更为重要。基于中国农村数据的经验分析结果表明,农村中小学教师的工资主要取决于教师的教龄和职称,而与教师个人的教学质量没有直接的显著相关性;良好的教师职业生涯发展可以提高教师工作的积极性和努力程度,从而提高教师的教学质量和学生的学业成绩。教师学历提高的时间越短、速度越快、学历提高增长值越大、教师积极地参与教学研究,那么教师所教学生的学业成绩提高的越快;对于不同年龄段教师的分析表明,教师职业发展对提高教师教学质量的有效性,在40岁之前较为突出,这在25岁到30岁年龄段体现得更为明显。因此,虽然良好的教师职业发展作为一种教学激励,可以提高教师的教学质量,但这种有效性是有年龄阶段限制的。可以判定,在农村地区中小学教育系统中形成的、通过教师职业生涯发展体现的教学激励,能够提高教师的教学质量和学生的学业成绩,这是在薪酬激励失效后,较为有效的一种教学激励,是值得赞许和推广的。     

关于数学课堂“有效教学”的认识与实践

随着课程改革的发展,人们对课程改革的"关注点"逐渐由转变教学方式转移、聚焦到提高教学的有效性方面来。经过精心筛选的高中数学内容,已经成为培养公民素质的基础课程之一。贯穿于数学课程的主要脉络是函数、几何、运算、应用、统计、概率等,其内容之间相互渗透,但并不独立。如何使学生在已有知识经验和能力的基础上,最大限度地达成或超越预期的教学目标,这是数学课堂"有效教学"研究的最终目标。     

Eliciting student feedback for course development: the application of a qualitative course evaluation tool among business research students

Student evaluations of teaching and learning are playing an increasingly important role in the delivery of high-quality, student-centred education. Insights into student perceptions of their learning experience provide important information that can be used to inform course design and development. The majority of course evaluations take the form of quantitative surveys, but research suggests that a reliance on survey data alone can be problematic from a teaching and learning perspective. Qualitative course evaluations have been cited as a viable alternative to quantitative evaluations, but less research has been conducted into their efficacy when compared to quantitative evaluations. The study on which this article reports attempted to contribute to addressing this shortcoming by describing and assessing a novel approach to eliciting qualitative feedback from students in a research methodology course at a higher education institution in South Africa. Conventional content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative feedback received from students. The qualitative course evaluation approach was then appraised in terms of the degree to which it has the potential to overcome the shortcomings associated with quantitative course evaluations and the extent to which the information gathered could be used to improve the design and delivery of the academic programme.     

Experiences of paraprofessionals in US preschool special education and general education classrooms

A substantial challenge confronting public education systems across the world is the employment and retention of high‐quality paraprofessionals (also known as teaching assistants and educational assistants). The current study expands upon previous research by employing a mixed methods design to examine the relationship between paraprofessionals' perceptions of their responsibilities and the corresponding satisfaction and issues relating to their job in the USA. Analytic induction through the generation of themes was used to analyse the qualitative data and revealed that paraprofessionals perceive or demonstrate issues relating to three primary domains: confusion of responsibilities in different contexts, relational power dynamics between paraprofessionals and teachers, and satisfaction based on both monetary compensation and recognition. In addition to the qualitative findings, researchers designed the paraprofessional perception survey, a quantitative survey measuring the concept of paraprofessional perceptions relating to their job. Results from the survey analysis revealed similar findings across domains. Additional results, practice implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

论教学和科研的有机结合

结合教学实际，提出了“以教学促进科研，以科研充实教学”的有效途径，指出高校教师必须正确认识和处理好教学和科研的辨证关系，立足本职，真正实现教学和科研的良性互动，这对提高教学质量尤为重要。     

案例教学在高职西方经济学课程教学中的应用

西方经济学是高职经济管理类专业的核心课程,而案例教学作为西方经济学的辅助教学方式收到了良好的教学效果：针对西方经济学的教学特点及本人多年对本课程的教学总结,本文提出高职类院校西方经济学案例教学的五种组织方式,并且指出了在案例教学中应该注意的五大方面问题。     

研究性教学策略探索与实践——以电子商务概论课程为例简

文章基于研究性教学思想,针对电子商务概论课程较强的实践性、交叉性、综合性以及发展性等特点,对该课程实施研究性教学的课堂组织形式、教学内容整合优化、研讨问题设计、教学效果评价等教学策略进行了探讨。通过近五年的课堂教学检验和不断完善,该课程在实践中收到了良好的效果,达到了提升学生能力和综合素质、提高教学质量的目的。     

Microcultures and informal learning: a heuristic guiding analysis of conditions for informal learning in local higher education workplaces

This article contributes to knowledge about learning in workgroups, so called microcultures in higher education. It argues that socially constructed and institutionalised traditions, recurrent practices, and tacit assumptions in the various microcultures influence academic teachers towards certain behaviour. In line with this perspective, we present a heuristic with the potential to differentiate various types of microcultures: the commons, the market, the club, and the square. The heuristic is based on a socio-cultural perspective and research on collective action. Its purpose is to assist academic developers to fine-tune their approaches while engaging with colleagues, but also to aid further inquiry into how institutionalised norms and traditions influence academic teaching and student learning.     

The Metal Trades

Universities and schools are struggling with the critical issues surrounding teacher quality, student learning, and the gap between research and practice. This study employed a collective case-study design to explore the impact of leadership teams and school-university partnerships on teacher leadership, professional development, and overall participant dispositions of three grant-funded projects connected by their approach to implementing school reform. Analysis of interviews, focus groups, observations, and project documents yielded three primary themes: transformation of teacher roles, improved meaningful professional development, and increased collective efficacy. Discussion of the findings addresses implications regarding teacher leadership, professional development, and school-university partnerships, especially as they impact teaching and learning.