Inclusive pedagogy in action: getting it right for every child

A key assumption underpinning formative assessment strategies is that individual pupils must be fully involved in the process. While such engagement and attention on the individual is important, studies suggest that teachers do not always readily engage with formative assessment as a reciprocal process which involves pupils. Additionally, a focus on individual differences between pupils can be problematic if the work that is set for some is differentiated to such an extent that they are not able to participate in classroom activities with others. Inclusive pedagogy is an approach to teaching and learning that attends to individual differences between pupils but avoids the marginalisation that can occur when pedagogical responses are designed only with individual needs in mind. Using participant observation and video footage from three classrooms that captured ‘learning moments’ identified by teachers and pupils, this study documents how the professional craft knowledge of teachers develops as they learn to use what their pupils have to say about learning in the context of whole class teaching. By concentrating on the findings from one site, this paper shows how teachers can use what they learn from listening to pupils’ self-assessments of their learning in ways that meet the standard of inclusive pedagogy.     

Utilizing Student Socio-coordinated Mimicry: Complex Movement Conversations in Physical Education

This article explores Complexity Theory and applications of nonlinear dynamics in physical education (PE). The authors of this article discuss Complexity Theory and its applications to students and student learning. Additionally, there will be discussion of how the networking learning process associated with socio-coordinated mimicry creates a “movement conversation” between learners rooted in the relational complexity of students within a PE lesson. Finally, the authors discuss research opportunities within PE, allowing for a close collaboration between pedagogical researchers and biomechanists to examine the emergent qualities within the “movement conversations” between students. Overall, this article seeks to illustrate the possibilities of utilizing Complexity Theory within PE pedagogy and research.     

Pedagogy with information and communications technologies in transition

This paper presents an analysis of ways in which pedagogy with information and communications technologies (ICTs) may need to adapt to accommodate to a major shift in our conceptions of knowledge and learning. A holistic approach to this analysis based on Checkland’s “systems thinking” suggested changes in pedagogy needed for 21st century learning and suggested ways of managing the complexity in order to support teachers in developing their pedagogical practices. The examination of how learning is conceptualised while learners are in contact with vast arrays of knowledge through Internet access and how this understanding can be reconciled with current views of knowledge acquisition in formal education suggests a need for rebalancing in most phases of education between individual work and group participation. Furthermore, opportunities need to be increased for learners to develop expertise in their chosen domains and to make links between their formal and informal learning. Examination of scenarios in which people learn through peer interaction rather than any formal teaching suggests a need to recognise and not underestimate young people’s capabilities. The paper proposes incorporating opportunities for students to engage with self-organizing social systems into pedagogy. This would complement an emphasis on develosping and understanding both individual and shared expertise.     

Moving beyond the teacher-centred/learner-centred dichotomy: implementing a structured model of active learning in the Maldives

In efforts to improve the quality of education, the disparity between policy and practice in implementing learner-centred pedagogy has been well-documented. Acknowledging these challenges, this study investigated active learning reform using design-based research, an interventionist methodology in the Maldives. The intervention specifically sought to address the policy-practice gap through the development of a structured model of active learning, drawing on recommendations in the literature and moving beyond the simple dichotomy of teacher-centred versus learned-centred pedagogy. Teachers’ enactment of the model was studied within a Maldivian island school. The data identified enabling conditions in teachers’ use of the intervention: the pedagogical model needs to be clearly and simply articulated; promote a staggered approach to reform; and reflect and respect local priorities. These were converted into design principles – an outcome of design-based research intended to inform the work of others enacting similar reforms.     

The Role of Physical Educationin the Promotionof Youth Physical Activity

Physical education can be a powerful influence on promoting youth physical activity (PA). This review describes correlates of youth PA, examines how these factors have been targeted in physical education (PE) based interventions, and makes suggestions for PE pedagogy to promote PA. Perceived physical competence, enjoyment of PA, intention, direct help and support from parents and significant others, and opportunities to be active were consistently associated with youth PA. The large-scale PE-based PA promotion programs that were successful in increasing out-of-school PA applied a pedagogical framework targeting variables associated with motivation (i.e., perceived competence, enjoyment of PA, self-determination). PE based interventions should continue to address the nature of activities, but also utilize pedagogy that promotes psychological determinants of student motivation.     

A review of pedagogy related to information and communications technology

Abstract

This article reviews research on pedagogies associated with the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in primary and secondary schools. We propose a framework for examining pedagogical practices based on an analysis of the nature of pedagogy as revealed in the literature. In the light of this framework we discuss empirical evidence of the use of different types of ICT in different subjects and phases of education. We identify pedagogical issues associated with ICT use and their implications for teachers' pedagogical reasoning and practices. The evidence suggests that new affordances provided by ICT-based learning environments require teachers to undertake more complex pedagogical reasoning than before in their planning and teaching that incorporates knowledge of specific affordances and how these relate to their subject-based teaching objectives as well as the knowledge they have always needed to plan for their students' learning. In addition the research shows that teachers' beliefs about the value of ICT for learning and the nature of successful learning environments are important in teachers' pedagogical reasoning     

It's about time! Repetition,fantasy, and the contours of learning from feminist pedagogy classroom breakdown

This paper explores feminist pedagogy classroom conflict through looking at how time, in a psychoanalytic sense, can rupture straightforward interpretations of manifest classroom dynamics. I use the concept of transference to consider how classroom conflict is complicated by the reliving and replaying of past conflicts in the pedagogical arena, a dynamic that is more unwieldy in feminist pedagogies that rely on personal experience and dialogue. Conflicted classroom experience can also reappear and be repeatedly relived in fantasy; I examine how fantasy can work as an ego defence at the same time that it can be a location for learning about the conflict that produced it. Finally, I draw on Freud's concept of deferred action to explore the haunting of difficult classroom experience. My central concerns lie in the difficulties of crafting learning from feminist pedagogy conflict and of arriving at a tolerable afterwards to such conflict.     

Developing a pedagogy of mutuality in a capability approach: Teachers’ experiences of using the Open Educational Resources (OER) of the teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) programme

The TESSA (teacher education in sub Saharan Africa) programme aims to improve teacher education at scale by developing open educational resources (OER) that allow sustainable and locally managed pedagogical change in higher education institutions and schools. The article offers a sociocultural theoretical rationale for the pedagogy of mutuality represented in the TESSA OER; and for the research approach to understanding pedagogical change that recognises the dialectical relationships between national policies and institutional structures and practices, and the consequent impact of these on teachers’ practice and pupils’ learning. It reports from an interview-based enquiry, from the project¹ ‘Extending and embedding TESSA OER’, looking at how teacher educators at a Kenyan University served to broker changes in pedagogy within the institution and its partner schools. Two school-based cases are discussed that highlight the role teachers, who take up these pedagogical challenges play in further brokering change in their local institutions; some of the influences that support the process of institutional change are identified and how these are understood and reported to increase access and enhance learning for all pupils.     

Communities of innovation: Individual,group, and organizational characteristics leading to greater potential for innovation

In this paper I will explain what I see as some of the core attributes of Communities of Innovation, or communities fostering collaborative creativity, and what we have learned from the research literature about each attribute. There is a critical need to design learning environments that foster creative thinking in students, particularly in the area of collaborative creativity. Many of the current problems and challenges graduates will face in society and industry are too large to be faced alone. However, the research and pedagogical understanding of how to develop skills in collaborative creativity is still underdeveloped. In seeking to understand what collaborative creativity would look like in education, I reviewed the literature on organizational and social creativity, along with social learning theory, to develop a framework of characteristics common to most environments that foster collaborative creativity in students (West, 2009). This framework describing Communities of Innovation explains some of the similar characteristics at the individual, group, and organizational levels of innovative communities.     

Promoting Teacher Learning Through Learning Study Discourse: The Case of Science Teachers in Singapore

The potential of a theory of variation-framed learning study, a teacher professional development approach, to help teachers overcome curricular and pedagogical challenges associated with teaching new science curricula content was explored. With a group of Singapore teachers collaboratively planning and teaching new genetics content, phenomenographic analysis of data corpus from classroom observations, teacher meetings and interviews revealed teacher learning that manifested in the teachers’ experiences. These were captured as (1) increased degrees of student-centered pedagogy and challenges to teachers’ prior assumptions about science pedagogy, (2) increased awareness of possibilities and limitations of their beliefs about science pedagogy, and (3) emergence of new understandings about new curricular content and science pedagogy. The possibility of transformative and generative learning is also discussed.     

From a Language to a Theory of Resistance: Critical Pedagogy,the Limits of “Framing,” and Social Change

In this article, Rebecca Tarlau attempts to build a more robust theory of the relationship between education and social change by drawing on the conceptual tools offered in the critical pedagogy and social movement literatures. Tarlau argues that while critical pedagogy has been largely disconnected from its roots in political organizing, social movement literature has shifted away from a theory of educational processes within movement building. Specifically, she suggests that the currently dominant “framing perspective” in the social movement literature is incredibly limited in its ability to analyze the pedagogical aspects of organizing. Conversely, while scholars of critical pedagogy are extremely convincing when critiquing U.S. schooling, the field is weaker when theorizing about how teachers using critical pedagogy can link to larger movements for social transformation. Critical pedagogues need more organizational thinking and social movement scholars need a more pedagogical focus. Tarlau suggests three conceptual frameworks for moving forward in this direction: the notion of social movements as pedagogical spaces, the role of informal educational projects in facilitating the emergence and strength of social movements, and the role of public schools as terrains of contestation that hold the possibility of linking to larger struggles for social justice.     

Student-centered Education and Constructivism: Challenges,Concerns, and Clarity for Teachers

Constructivism is undoubtedly one of the most influential philosophies in education in the twenty-first century. It is, however, one that is frequently misunderstood, has diverse meanings ascribed to it, and is often used by advocates to caricature other approaches inaccurately. The learning theory of constructivism and pedagogical theory of constructivism do not necessitate one another although educators frequently consider them one and the same. This paper underscores how educators in the twenty-first century are increasingly compelled to accept constructivist pedagogy. It further reflects on a challenges this poses for learning, concerns regarding constructivism as the dominant pedagogical tool, and clarity with respect to the consideration of alternative approaches while offering specific reflections for classroom teachers throughout.     

Critical pedagogy and emotion: working through ‘troubled knowledge’ in posttraumatic contexts

This article critiques some of the existing literature in critical pedagogy and the way it tends to overlook or downplay the strong emotional investments of troubled knowledge in posttraumatic situations. Examining existing literature in critical pedagogy reiterates the argument that the discourse of critical pedagogy constructs and sustains its own disciplinary affects. This article builds further on this argument and highlights the importance of foregrounding rather than backgrounding the complexity of difficult emotional knowledge and its pedagogical implications. Working from the assumption that critical pedagogy, especially in the context of posttraumatic societies, must engage this terrain of difficult emotional knowledge in ways that have not been sufficiently addressed by the current rhetoric of critical pedagogy, I look to work that gestures toward a discourse of critical pedagogy which considers troubled knowledge as a source of fruitful and responsive learning. As it will be emphasized, this argument entails making pedagogical space for understanding troubled knowledge in more nuanced terms. This task requires a constant reconsideration of new pedagogical resources to enhance the potential of critical pedagogy; this article discusses three such resources: the significance of pedagogic discomfort, the pedagogical principle of mutual vulnerability, and the value of compassion and strategic empathy.     

"The Council," Artist Adelita Husni-Bey and Young Adults Envision the Future Museum

Artmaking, when used as a form of pedagogy and approached in a socially-conscious manner, has the potential to promote agency and create a democratic learning environment for students. This study examines one such project, "The Council," created by artist Adelita Husni-Bey in collaboration with former Teen Program attendees of the Museum of Modern Art. The Council is a collection of large-scale photographs created from a series of workshops in which 13 young adults imagined themselves reshaping the museum's societal role after a major global crisis. The final photographs were exhibited in the museum's main galleries, representing a participatory, socially-engaged artwork produced from a pedagogical process. While there is a prevalence of these types of pedagogy-based artworks, contemporary art literature tends to focus mainly on the artist, disregarding the participants. Therefore, from the stance of an art educator, I examined the learning experiences of the participants as well as the pedagogical framework of the artist. The reviews from the participants were overwhelmingly positive, with many noting a significant increase in their confidence and a greater sense of agency. A liberating experience of collaboration was also stated as a common experience. These outcomes were attributed to the artist's innovative use of multimodal learning and effective facilitation grounded in Francesc Ferrer's philosophy of anarcho-collectivism and integral education, as well as critical pedagogy. This study suggests that creative methodologies can significantly enhance intrinsically motivated learning and emphasises the importance of nurturing the next generation as they envision a more equitable and just society.     

Documenting with early childhood education teachers: pedagogical documentation as a tool for developing early childhood pedagogy and practises

The Finnish social pedagogical curriculum for early childhood education directs early childhood teachers to use documentation to assess and develop pedagogy and practise. This empirical study examines the challenges and benefits a group of Finnish preschool teachers experienced when they learned to document their work. Although the idea of documenting appears fine in theory, and international experiences of constructing child-centered pedagogy through documents are promoted in the literature, accomplishing this task successfully is challenging in practise. In this study, as the features of documentation in early childhood education and care practise were considered critically, ideological discord was found within the national and local policy-making process, including problems with pedagogical leadership, which reduced the power of documentation in practise. However, the study also revealed that using documentation empowered the teachers as professionals, helped them communicate with parents and children, and guided them to focus on the children’s views.     

Reciprocal Learning,Pedagogy and High-Performing Education Systems: Learnings from and for Singapore

ABSTRACT

Employing Connelly and Xu’s (this issue) conceptualisation of reciprocal learning, the article explores the potential for reciprocal learning about pedagogy provided by a body of PISA-inspired literature on high-performing education systems. I argue that the opportunities for reciprocal learning provided by that body of literature is rather limited and problematic because of its uncritical acceptance of the OECD’s basic premises about PISA and because of its employment of the ‘best practices’ approach to policy borrowing. Using Singapore as a case, I contend that reciprocal learning needs to be informed by the cultural historical narratives behind the development of an education system and a theory of pedagogy that locates the practice of teaching within a broad social, institutional, and instructional context of schooling. I discuss lessons from and for Singapore concerning the purposes of schooling, institutional norms and arrangements, and pedagogical practice.     

Toward University Modeling Instruction—Biology: Adapting Curricular Frameworks from Physics to Biology

University Modeling Instruction (UMI) is an approach to curriculum and pedagogy that focuses instruction on engaging students in building, validating, and deploying scientific models. Modeling Instruction has been successfully implemented in both high school and university physics courses. Studies within the physics education research (PER) community have identified UMI''s positive impacts on learning gains, equity, attitudinal shifts, and self-efficacy. While the success of this pedagogical approach has been recognized within the physics community, the use of models and modeling practices is still being developed for biology. Drawing from the existing research on UMI in physics, we describe the theoretical foundations of UMI and how UMI can be adapted to include an emphasis on models and modeling for undergraduate introductory biology courses. In particular, we discuss our ongoing work to develop a framework for the first semester of a two-semester introductory biology course sequence by identifying the essential basic models for an introductory biology course sequence.     

Exopedagogy: On pirates,shorelines, and the educational commonwealth

In this paper, Tyson E. Lewis challenges the dominant theoretical and practical educational responses to globalization. On the level of public policy, Lewis demonstrates the limitations of both neoliberal privatization and liberal calls for rehabilitating public schooling. On the level of pedagogy, Lewis breaks with the dominant liberal democratic tradition which focuses on the cultivation of democratic dispositions for cosmopolitan citizenship. Shifting focus, Lewis posits a new location for education out of bounds of the common sense of public versus private, nationalism versus cosmopolitanism, inclusion versus exclusion, human versus civil rights. This is the space of the commonwealth whose actors cannot be identified as ‘citizens’ but are rather the anonymous multitude. In conclusion, Lewis finds a model for organizing this commonwealth in the work of Ivan Illich, whose learning networks speak to the urgent political and pedagogical need for exodus from the conceptual vocabulary that defines much of the contemporary field of educational theory.     

Pedagogical content knowledge and the teaching of outdoor education

This theoretical paper examines the concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and explores how it might contribute to conversations around quality teaching and learning in outdoor education. This paper begins by summarizing the historical and contemporary literature, including issues of definitions, curriculum, content, and pedagogy in outdoor education. We then review the concept of PCK, its history, and contributions to other subject areas, including mathematics. We present a framework for PCK from the field of mathematics education and propose a 'modified' PCK framework for outdoor education. We postulate that this framework might help articulate knowledge areas needed by a teacher of outdoor education, and how these differ from and are similar to those required in other subject areas. We conclude by exploring how the idea of PCK and the modified framework might add to existing understandings of what it means to provide high quality outdoor education teaching and learning experiences.