Using symbolic interactionism to analyze a specialized STEM high school teacher’s experience in curriculum reform

In this paper, we present a microanalysis of a specialized STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) high school teacher??s experience of self-initiated science inquiry curriculum reform. We examine the meanings of these two constructs: inquiry curriculum and curriculum change through the process lens of interactions, actions, and interpretations. Symbolic interactionism is the theoretical framework we used to frame our analysis of how this teacher, Darren Daley (a pseudonym) and various stakeholders purposefully and strategically engaged in ??face-work?? and act out lines of actions to advocate or oppose curriculum change. Symbols are used in this world of face-to-face encounters to communicate, imply, and assert, meanings through socially flexible and adjustable processes. We scrutinize how Daley (un)consciously engaged all of these to defend his decisions, actions, and outcomes and ??look?? to others as doing inquiry reform. The meanings of such work are not intrinsically driven or reactions to psychological and extraneous factors and forces, but emergent through interactions. The data collection methods include interviews with Daley, school administrators, students, and parents, lesson observations in Daley??s class, and gathering of school website pages, brochures, and curriculum materials. We represent data in narratives describing storied history, voices, interactions, anecdotal accounts from individuals?? experiences, and interpretations. The analysis and findings illuminate the nature of teacher agency??how it is reclaimed, sustained, reinforced, contested, exercised, and modified in more nuanced ways, hence offering an alternative lens to theorizing and empirically analyzing this construct.     

Teacher agency in the performance of inquiry-oriented science curriculum reform

In this commentary, I consider several theoretical and analytical aspects of Tang Wee Teo and Margery Osborne??s case study. I begin by identifying structuralist and cultural themes in Tang Wee and Margery??s theoretical model of human activity. Next, I offer an alternative interpretation for Tang Wee and Margery??s reported findings in terms of the notion of multiple teacher agencies. After that, I discuss the dramaturgical or theatrical nature of the symbolic interactionist model used by Tang Wee and Margery, focusing specifically on the issues of teacher role-taking and curriculum authorship. The paper then ends with a discussion about the significance of Tang Wee and Margery??s study wherein I emphasize the need for science education researchers to give more careful consideration to teacher agency and the analytical value of theatrical metaphors from the field of social dramatism.     

Teachers�� emotions and professional identity in curriculum reform: A Chinese perspective

In educational research, emotion has attracted substantial attention since the mid-1990s. While there are many studies of teacher emotion in educational change in the West, there is a remarkable dearth of such studies in China. This qualitative study attempts to address this issue by examining teachers?? emotional experiences in the national curriculum reform of senior secondary education in China. Results indicate that teachers revealed complex emotional responses to the reform. These emotions were related to teachers?? perceptions about the use of new textbooks, teaching approaches, and, more importantly, the uncertain changes in college entrance examinations. Three types of teachers with different emotions and professional identities are identified in the reform (i.e., the losing heart accommodators, the drifting followers, and the cynical performers). These findings highlight the Chinese perspective on teacher emotion and provide some implications for the management of curriculum reform and teacher emotion in the Chinese context.     

巴格莱与20世纪美国教师教育课程思想

20世纪的美国,教师教育课程的"学术性"和"师范性"的关系始终是一个争论不休的问题,也是教师教育改革中难以平衡的问题。为此,巴格莱提出了以造就"教师学者"为宗旨的"任教学科内容专业化"的主张,这成为其教师教育课程思想的核心观点。系统解读和把握巴格莱的教师教育课程思想,不仅有助于我们了解20世纪美国教师教育课程改革和发展的历史状况,而且对于转型期我国的教师教育与课程改革具有借鉴意义。     

“任教学科专业化”的教师教育课程思想——巴格莱教师教育课程思想探析

在19时期末20世纪初,教师教育课程的学术学科和教育专业学科的关系一直是个争论不休的问题,也是教师教育改革中很难处理的一个问题。为此,巴格菜提出了"任教学科内容专业化"的主张,这成为其教师教育课程思想的核心观点。挖掘和梳理巴格莱的教师教育课程思想,对于转型期的我国的教师教育与课程改革具有借鉴意义。     

时空因素对教师专业发展的影响

在课程改革进程中,师师间、师生间的交流与互动和教学反思已成为教师专业发展的主要路径。而时间和空间则是影响教师间、师生间互动和教学反思的重大结构性因素。本文在分析时空因素对教师专业发展影响的基础上,提出当下应重组学校时空结构,进而促进教师专业发展。     

Science curriculum reform as a socioculturally anchored practice

In this essay I elaborate on three ideas that emerged from reading the work of Sylvie Barma. These points are in response to curriculum reform and the use of activity theory: (a) curriculum reform as a public policy; (b) a reflection about the process followed by teacher implementation of that reform in a biology classroom; and (c) the sense of experience as an objective anchored in activity theory. This commentary deals with several entanglements of science teaching and learning where I am also able to address some of my own queries in the use of activity theory in research.     

Use of the Outdoor Classroom and Nature-Study to Support Science and Literacy Learning: A Narrative Case Study of a Third-Grade Classroom

A case study of an exemplary third grade teacher??s use of the outdoor classroom for meeting both state science and language arts standards is described. Data from the researcher??s field journal, teacher lesson plans, and teacher interviews document how this teacher used nature-study to bridge outdoor classroom experiences with the state science and language arts curriculum. This teacher??s early life experiences supported her strong interest in science and nature in the outdoors and experiencing it with her children. Children interacted with the outdoor classroom throughout the day as a context for science and literacy learning. All but one child successfully met Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) goals in reading at the end of the school year.     

Individual and collective agencies in China's curriculum reform: A case of physics teachers

This study explores how physics teachers in a high school negotiate the relationships between individual and collective agencies in the context of the on-going curriculum reform in China. Drawing on Bandura's social cognitive theory, the study employs ethnographical methods including observation, interviewing, and the researcher's and teachers’ reflective journaling through the researcher's involvement with various school activities. The findings indicate that collective teacher agency creates a platform for individual teachers’ professional development, a conducive culture for teacher collaboration, and provides concrete examples that individual teachers can constantly refer to, reflect upon, and learn from for reform implementation. The results offer an understanding of the influences underlying physics teachers’ agency deployment as they engage with curriculum reform processes, especially the negotiation between individual and collective agencies. The findings justify a case for preparing physics teachers on how to deploy both individual and collective agencies in the face of the complicated social structures and ultimately shed light on the desired curriculum decentralization in the Chinese school system.     

教师教学行为的现状分析与变革路径——以研究性学习指导教师为例

教师的教学行为对课程实施效果和课堂教学质量起着至为关键的作用。调查表明,研究性学习指导教师的教学行为呈现出多元和复杂的特征。多数教师认同新课程倡导的教学方式和学习方式,但在实践中要践行这种理念会遭遇很多困境,教师教学行为与课程改革的要求有一定的差距。变革教师教学行为的有效路径和策略包括引导教师从学生发展的角度认识教育的价值,提升教师变革动力;建构具有共同的价值观和教育理想的学校文化;重建合作开放的教师专业文化;构建基于人格和谐发展的课程评价体系;建立动态互惠的院校合作伙伴关系;以教师专业发展理论为指导改进教师培训模式,提升教师的课程实施能力等。     

Teachers' perceptions of the recent curriculum reforms and their implementation: what can we learn from the case of Korean elementary teachers?

This study examines: 1) how Korean elementary school teachers perceive recent curriculum reforms; 2) where their perceptions emanate from; and 3) what support teachers need in order to implement curriculum reforms actively and effectively. This study has shown that teachers generally harbour negative and unconstructive feelings about curriculum reform. These feelings negatively impact their involvement in and commitment to implementing reform. Several issues to be considered for teacher training and support evolved from our analysis of teachers' perceptions of the curriculum reform and the implementation: first, teachers are insufficiently provided with professional development programmes that support curriculum implementation; second, teachers lack opportunities to work through implementation problems and difficulties with peer teachers; and last, contextual and cultural constraints inhibit implementation of curriculum reform. Based upon these findings, this study makes several suggestions for teacher educators and curriculum policymakers.     

美国教师教育改革新趋势对中国的启示

美国奥巴马政府执政以来,增加联邦教育经费,招募教师和吸引人才,进一步提高学生学业标准并奖励优秀教师,出台了一系列对美国的教师教育发展产生深刻影响的教育革新计划。美国大学在通识教育、培养模式、教学实习、教师资格等方面的改革举措有:在教师教育课程方面,更加注重多学科知识基础;在培养模式上更加多元化;延长教育实习期,完善实习专业标准;严格教师资格认定标准,建立考试体系。美国教师教育改革的经验和创新措施,对我国的启示主要有以下四点:建立和完善国家教师教育课程标准,强化教师综合素质提升;完善教育实习顶层制度设计,建立国家级教师教育实习基地;健全和完善国家评定标准,把好教师准入关;完善多层级的专业发展模式,建立教师资格证书进阶制。     

“小先生”与新课改

陶行知的“小先生”产生于二十世纪二十年代,它解决了穷国办教育下师资严重匮乏的大问题。文章介绍“小先生”的由来,“小先生”的内涵,论述的“小先生”形成的理论基础和历史基础,以及“小先生”对当今新课改师资建设的启示等问题。     

基于CBI课程改革的外语教师知识发展研究:现状与路径

研究以Shulman提出的教师知识及其分类为理论框架,通过对5名CBI教师访谈数据的分析,探讨CBI课程改革背景下,外语教师知识的现状和发展路径。调查研究结果显示:CBI教师对教师知识各层面都作出较为积极的评价,但教师获取相关知识的途径比较单一。在CBI课程改革的初始阶段,有必要通过组建同一学科教师学习共同体、促进教师教学反思和开展有组织的专业活动和在职培训等方式,促进外语教师知识发展,帮助外语教师尽快适应CBI课程改革。     

数学课程改革的核心环节 --更新数学教师的数学观

我国数学教育改革的现状、国内外数学教育的历史和数学教师数学观的独特性,都说明了研究数学教师数学观的重要性。改变数学教师的数学观是数学课程改革的必要条件。因此,数学课程改革的核心环节是更新数学教师的数学观。     

Reviews

In Teacher Education and the Cultural Imagination: Autobiography, Conversation, and Narrative, Florio‐Ruane and deTar present an account of their investigation of the use of autobiography and the role of conversation in teacher education. To facilitate rich autobiographically‐focused teacher‐to‐teacher conversations, Florio‐Ruane draws on a book‐club format. As a veteran primary‐grade teacher who has worked hard to enact culturally‐informed, child‐responsive literacy practices in the classroom, as a teacher educator who advocates the use of autobiography as a site for teacher learning, as a curriculum theorist who sees autobiography as a rich source of both curriculum theory and curriculum practice, and as a researcher who witnessed first hand the power and potential of the ‘book‐club’ model for teacher professional development, I found Teacher Education and the Cultural Imagination both engaging and informative. In the essay that follows, I discuss the significance of this new book in terms the enduring realities in US education. I also situate the book within the educational literature concerning autobiographical‐based curriculum inquiry, and, finally, I link Florio‐Ruane's new book to my own research on the professional lives of teachers working under intensified conditions of educational accountability.     

新形势下教师教育人才培养体系的构建

在社会主义市场经济体制初步确立、人民群众对高质量教育呼声越来越高、基础教育课程改革稳步推进的历史背景下,教师教育传统的人才培养体系的弊端愈加凸显,构建教师教育科学合理的人才培养体系势在必行.构建适应形势发展需要的教师教育人才培养体系,必须从构建科学的课程体系、实践教学体系、校校合作育人体系、校园教育教学和文化活动一体化育人体系、师德教育理论和实践一体化体系几个关键环节入手.     

论教师教育研究的发展趋势

教师教育研究是当代中国教育改革研究中的热门话题,也是世界教育改革中的重要课题。我国自20世纪80年代以来倡导“教师教育”的概念替代原来的“师范教育”,然而,与教师教育改革实践相适应,未来教师教育研究的需要关注课程改革等诸多方面。     

On the road to reform: a sociocultural interpretation of reform

In this paper I discuss how reform in science education is interpreted by Barma as she recounts the story of Catherine, a grade 9 biology teacher, who reforms her teaching practices in response to a national curriculum reform in Quebec, Canada. Unlike some cases in response to reform, this case is hopeful and positive. Also in this paper, I address some familiar areas that must be considered when teachers undertake curriculum reform and how science educators may fulfill the role of facilitator and advocate in the support of teachers on the road to reform. The commentary focuses on how Barma retells the story through the lens of activity theory.     

Institutional innovation and systematic construction of teacher education in the transformational period

Teacher education in China has entered an important period of transformation which requires institutional innovation and systematic construction. Teacher education institutions should be gradually reshaped to meet the needs of elementary and secondary schools that are run on an autonomous basis. A system of teaching qualification certification and teacher education institution accreditation should be established. Further, a system of curriculum appraisal of teacher education as well as the performance assessment of teacher education institutions should also be set up. In the meantime, making corresponding policies is necessary to accommodate the reform and development of teacher education. __________ Translated from Educational Research, 2004:9