The impact of international programs on pedagogical practices of their participants: a Russian experience

International exchange and training programs play a significant role in the development of international cooperation between educators from different nations. More and more teachers and school administrators participate in exchange programs and implement new curricular and instructional practices in their institutions. The objectives of this interpretive exploratory case study were (a) to investigate the impact of international exchange and training programs on pedagogical practices of Russian school teachers and administrators and (b) to find out how participants of international programs apply, implement, and transfer their experiences and knowledge that they obtain during their programs. The data were collected through personal interviews, observations, and materials from several debriefing sessions in 2005. The study demonstrated that the participation in international programs significantly impacts educators’ pedagogical practices, expands the range of their instructional approaches, makes program alumni more culturally sensitive and perceptive, and influences their interpersonal relations in schools, their professional growth, and social status. This research can be of interest to perspective participants of international programs and practitioners who develop and organize international programs for educators.     

Core practices in practice-based teacher education: A systematic literature review of its teaching and assessment process

This article presents a systematic review of the literature to identify core practices, teaching strategies and assessment processes used or under development in practice-based teacher education programs. It addresses diverse core practices used in university pedagogy of practice. A finding is that the assessment of students’ learning of core practices remains incipient. Our study contributes to teacher education programs that opt for a practice-based curriculum to further understand teaching and assessment of core practices. This review facilitates progress in constructing common frameworks that support pre-service teachers’ training.     

Disability in higher education: a position paper

Leadership in education, particularly special education, implies both knowledge and application of professional behaviors, decisions, and ethics within the field. University students look for best practices in education to be modeled by faculty; this, in turn, underscores a fundamental belief in inclusionary principles. Such modeling is important on every level in teacher education programs, particularly special education programs. The higher a student's level (i.e., undergraduate vs. doctoral), the more notice that student will take of disparities between rhetoric and actions. While reflective practices are explicitly taught in teacher preparation programs to enable professionals to reflect on their own personal and professional practices, teacher education faculty need to employ the same strategy to ensure that they are indeed modeling the practices they teach. This position paper documents the impressions of a doctoral cohort in special education in terms of inclusionary practices demonstrated in a real-life context.     

Effective practices for creating transformative informal science education programs grounded in Native ways of knowing

There are a growing number of informal science education (ISE) programs in Native communities that engage youth in science education and that are grounded in Native ways of knowing. There is also a growing body of research focusing on the relationship between culture, traditional knowledge, and science education. However, there is little research documenting how these programs are being developed and the ways in which culture and Western science are incorporated into the activities. This study outlines effective practices for using Native ways of knowing to strengthen ISE programs. These effective practices may also be used to promote change in formal education. The authors combine an overview of current research in informal science education with personal interviews with educators engaged in ISE programs offered to youth both on and off tribal reservations as well as experts in Indigenous education. Participating individuals and programs included Native communities across the United States, including Alaska and Hawai??i. Keeping in mind that each community is unique, ISE programs that are grounded in Native ways of knowing will benefit by utilizing the effective practices outlined here as a guide for starting or strengthening existing ISE programs relevant to the needs of their communities.     

Evidence-Based Reform in Education

Education policies should support the use of programs and practices with strong evidence of effectiveness. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) contains evidence standards and incentives to use programs that meet them. This provides a great opportunity for evidence to play a stronger role in decisions about education programs and practices. However, for evidence-based reform to prevail, three conditions must exist: many practical programs with solid evidence; trusted and user-friendly reviews of research; and more education policies that provide incentives for use of proven programs. The article discusses recent progress in each of these areas and notes difficulties in each. It makes a case that if these difficulties can be effectively addressed, evidence-based reform may begin to make a meaningful difference in education outcomes at the national level.     

Our voices count: the lived experiences of LGBTQ educators and its impact on teacher education preparation programs

LGBTQ issues are often marginalized in teacher preparation programs. This marginalization perpetuates heternormative practices in schools. Utilizing the lens of narrative inquiry, this study examined the lives of 10 LGBTQ teachers residing in various geographical regions in the United States. Based on the theoretical framework of Queer Theory, this paper examines discursive powers that marginalize LGBTQ teachers and offers recommendations to eliminate repressive, heteronormative practices in teacher educator preparation programs.     

Impact of a Statewide Collaborative on Strengthening Families Through Early Care and Education

Research Findings: Research suggests that early care and education programs are most effective when they include strong components of family involvement. The Center for the Study of Social Policy recommended that early care and education programs build family-centered practices to strengthen families and reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect. This article summarizes a statewide effort to implement this strategy, called Strengthening Families through Early Care and Education. We analyzed program self-assessments submitted by 186 early care and education programs. Analyses revealed that Head Start programs had better support systems in place for families than did “mainstream” (non–Head Start, non-accredited) early care and education programs. Results also showed that a small amount of state and local funding provided enough incentive for programs to improve their family-strengthening practices. Commitment and collaboration at the state level led to a sustainable impact by infusing “strengthening families” concepts into the early care and education field statewide.     

Implementing and Integrating Effective Teaching Strategies Including Features of Lesson Study in an Elementary Science Methods Course

Teacher preparation programs have been under attack by policy makers in the last decade, and teacher educators are constantly striving to improve their programs. Yet, there are several research-based practices that have been shown to be effective for developing teachers. In this article, the author summarizes a study in one science methods course that included adaptations and updates of several of these practices integrated with newer strategies featuring elements of Japanese lesson study. Some of these practices include collaboration, critique, revision, and reflection. Video technology is utilized for reflection and to record updated forms of microteaching. The voices of the preservice teachers illustrate the value and challenge of these practices.     

Perceived Expectations Related to Promotion and Tenure: A National Survey of CACREP Program Liaisons

The purpose of the present study was to determine the perceptions of expectations and practices that contribute to decisions regarding promotion and tenure for counselor educators. Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs liaisons for 74 counselor education programs responded to an Internet‐based survey about perceptions of promotion and tenure practices in their programs and institutions. The responses indicate that relatively equal emphasis is placed on teaching, scholarship, and service. Implications for defining promotion and tenure criteria are discussed, and recommendations for further research are provided.     

Assessment Processes in Social Work Education: A Review of Current Methods

This paper explores the process of assessment in social work education programs throughout the United States. Following the guidelines of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS), social work education has switched from student learning outcomes to competency-based measures. Included in this study is a literature review on current assessment practices and results of a research project on assessment practices in social work education programs nationwide. The findings may be useful to social work educators in addressing programmatic changes and revisions based on the 2015 EPAS.     

Instructional practices of teachers enrolled in educational technology and general education programs

This study investigated classroom practices of 38 teachers enrolled in university masters' degree programs in educational technology and in other areas of education. The classroom practices related to five key concepts associated with educational technology: (a) learner-centered instruction, (b) instructional design, (c) media and technology, (d) assessment, and (e) instructional alignment. Teachers rated their frequency of use of desirable practices in these five areas on a 30-item Likert type survey. In addition, one class of students per teacher rated its own teacher's frequency of use of the practices on 20 items parallel to items on the teacher survey. The mean overall rating across all teachers for the classroom practice items was very close to Often, or 4.0, on the 5-point scale. There were few reported differences between the teachers enrolled in educational technology programs and those enrolled in other education programs. Student ratings indicated less frequent teacher use of the desirable practices on 16 of the 20 common items, with significantly lower student ratings on 8 of these items. However, there was strong teacher-student agreement on several other comparisons.The study reported in this article was conducted as a doctoral dissertation at Arizona State University.     

Practice change in environmental education: lessons from professional development

Abstract

The field of environmental education (EE) strives to develop innovative practices to address emergent issues such as equity, climate change, and urbanization. Through facilitating workshops and ongoing networks for the exchange of ideas, professional development programs may foster innovation or practice change among environmental educators. This study investigates change in practice among environmental educators who participated in one of three online and face-to-face professional development programs. Drawing from practice theory, we measured elements of EE practice including goals, audiences, settings, activities, resources, and ideas. The results showed that across all three programs participants incorporated new resources and ideas into their practices whereas changes in other practice elements varied among programs. Participants in all three programs produced eBooks or ongoing networks that can be used as indicators of practice innovation. This study suggests that practice theory can be used to inform studies of professional development outcomes and examine EE practice, but that practice innovations may be more readily measured at the group rather than individual level.     

Contrasting landscapes: A comparison of the impact of different induction programs on beginning secondary science teachers' practices,beliefs, and experiences

Induction programs are essential in addressing the unique pedagogical and content needs of secondary science teachers. Yet most secondary science teachers have little access to general induction programs, and even less opportunity to participate in specialized science induction programs. This study examines the impact of three different induction programs on secondary science teachers. The teachers were matched by grade level among three groups; one group participated in a science‐focused support program, another participated in a general support program, and a third had no formal support. All teachers were monitored during the spring semester to understand their teaching beliefs, instructional practices, and experiences in the classroom. The analysis of data revealed that the secondary science teachers in the science‐focused support program implemented more student‐centered inquiry lessons, held beliefs aligned with student‐centered practices, and felt fewer constraints in their teaching than did the other two groups of teachers. This study reinforces the importance of induction programs for teachers, suggests there is a need for specialized support programs for beginning science teachers, and recommends that universities and school districts work together to develop such programs. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 77–97, 2003     

Inspiring science achievement: a mixed methods examination of the practices and characteristics of successful science programs in diverse high schools

While the achievement gap in science exists in the US, research associated with our investigation reveals some high school science programs serving diverse student bodies are successfully closing the gap. Using a mixed methods approach, we identified and investigated ten high schools in a large Southwestern state that fit the definition of “highly successful, highly diverse”. By conducting interviews with science liaisons associated with each school and reviewing the literature, we developed a rubric identifying specific characteristics associated with successful science programs. These characteristics and practices included setting high expectations for students, providing extensive teacher support for student learning, and utilizing student-centered pedagogy. We used the rubric to assess the successful high school science programs and compare them to other high school science programs in the state (i.e., less successful and less diverse high school science programs). Highly successful, highly diverse schools were very different in their approach to science education when compared to the other programs. The findings from this study will help schools with diverse students to strengthen hiring practices, enhance teacher support mechanisms, and develop student-focused strategies in the classroom that increase science achievement.     

高校科研项目保密工作问题浅析

简要分析了当前高校教育保密工作的基本特点、存在的主要问题以及加强保密工作的思路和对策,为做好新时期高校保密工作提供参考。     

Why new mathematics teachers do or don’t use practices emphasized in their credential program

A major research concern for teacher education is the impact of university credentialing programs on K-12 teaching and the disjuncture between university-promoted practices and what teachers actually do in their classrooms. In particular, mathematics-credential programs typically promote reform-oriented methods, while mathematics teaching in the US remains largely traditional. Proposed explanations for the limited uptake of university-promoted mathematics-teaching methods have included new teachers’ struggle to bridge the “two worlds” of the university and school, the relative difficulty of reform-oriented teaching, and the failure of the standard teacher-preparation model that teaches general pedagogical concepts prior to specific teaching tools and practices. In this study, interviews of 19 first- through 4th-year secondary-level mathematics teachers—graduates of a single credential program—investigated the factors, internal and external to the credential program, that these teachers perceived to support or impede their implementation of certain university-taught practices. The findings are used to examine previously proposed explanations for limited uptake, and recommendations are made for credential programs and employing schools.     

The (non)making/becoming of inquiry practicing science teachers

Teacher education programs have adopted preparing science teachers that teach science through inquiry as an important pedagogic agenda. However, their efforts have not met with much success. While traditional explanations for this failure focus largely on preservice science teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and conceptions regarding science and science teaching, this conceptual paper seeks to direct attention toward discursive practices surrounding inquiry science teaching in teacher education programs for understanding why most science teachers do not teach science through inquiry. The paper offers a theoretical framework centered on critical notions of subjection and performativity as a much needed perspective on making/becoming of science teachers through participation in discursive practices of science teacher education programs. It argues that research based on such perspectives have much potential to offer a deeper understanding of the difficult challenges teacher education programs face in preparing inquiry practicing science teachers.