Following the Drinking Gourd: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Curriculum Development Through the Arts

This article describes the experiences of three teachers who engaged in culturally relevant pedagogy and an arts curriculum designed to enhance student understanding of critical events in history. Their students attended a professional dance production based on the history of the Underground Railroad and then were exposed to a curriculum guide developed with the tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy in mind. Teachers reported that their students’ comprehension of important themes improved, and that the arts experience was deeply beneficial.     

Gender,Achievement, and African-American Students' Perceptions of Their School Experience

This article discusses factors related to academic achievement among African-American male and female students. A review of the literature on achievement and gender differences among African-American students and two empirical studies I conducted are presented. The results of the first study, which focused on achievement, indicated that successful achievers reported more positive self-perceptions, more interpersonal support, and more active problem solving. The results of the second study, which focused on gender differences, indicated differences in support favoring females. In addition, some gender differences were found in this sample that differed from those found for White students.     

Learning to Develop Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A Lesson About Cornrowed Lives

This article describes the process of using African American children's literature through culturally relevant pedagogy. It chronicles how two teachers carefully plan a lesson using the literature, and then describes how one of the teachers enacts the lesson using pedagogy relevant to her students' cultural background. A framework that focused on the cultural patterns of the students' lives was used to help guide the planning process. The components of the lesson include a prereading activity, read aloud, group discussion, journal writing, and a follow-up activity. In the end, the teachers found that tailoring instruction to fit the textual, social, cultural, and personal lives of their students is largely about seeing pedagogy through the norms and practices of their students' lives.     

Exploring the Benefits of Culturally Responsive Art Learning Experience for Rural Chinese Students

This ethnographic case study explored the benefits associated with culturally responsive art learning experience in a Chinese rural town in the process of urbanisation. The case of this study, Fuchong Art Education Programme (FAEP), provided culturally relevant art activities for primary and secondary rural students who cannot access enriched art programmes in schools. Art studio learning, a summer art camp, an art exhibition, neighbourhood sketching, online teaching, student home visits and teacher meetings were documented and examined over an eight-month period of fieldwork. Semi-structured interviews with the participating students, their teachers and parents and the programme coordinator were conducted to elicit the participants’ perspectives on the FAEP experience, the benefits of participation and the challenges involved in implementing a culturally responsive art programme. The emerging themes included artistic, personal, social and external benefits, which were examined in relation to previous research on the intrinsic and instrumental benefits of art learning and a local understanding of the value of community art engagement in the lives of rural people. The implications offer guidance for promoting culturally responsive art learning in rural settings.     

Culturally Relevant STEM Out-of-School Time: A Rationale to Support Gifted Girls of Color

Gifted girls of color represent a potentially untapped resource for increasing and sustaining a diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Girls of color possess unique mathematics and science gifts and talents that can remain unrealized if not addressed before middle school. Culturally responsive STEM out-of-school-time (OST) activities can be an effective means to develop STEM capacity in gifted girls of color. The researchers present three considerations to support the implementation of STEM OST. First, they offer a rationale for culturally relevant STEM enrichment activities for gifted girls of color. Next, the researchers consider how culturally relevant STEM OST activities can help to close the achievement gap. Finally, they explain how professional mentorship opportunities within OST activities can help gifted girls of color navigate the STEM pipeline.     

Science Students' Perceptions of Engaging Pedagogy

During their years of schooling, students develop perceptions about learning and teaching, including the ways in which teachers impact on their learning experiences. This paper presents student perceptions of teacher pedagogy as interpreted from a study focusing on students' experience of Year 7 science. A single science class of 11 to 12 year old students and their teacher were monitored for the whole school year, employing participant observation, and interviews with focus groups of students, their teacher and other key members of the school. Analysis focused on how students perceived the role of the teacher's pedagogy in constructing a learning environment that they considered conducive to engagement with science learning. Two areas of the teacher's pedagogy are explored from the student perspective of how these affect their learning: instructional pedagogy and relational pedagogy. Instructional pedagogy captures the way the instructional dialogue developed by the teacher drew the students into the learning process and enabled them to “understand” science. How the teacher developed a relationship with the students is captured as relational pedagogy, where students said that they learned better when teachers were passionate in their approach to teaching, provided a supportive learning environment and made them feel comfortable. The ways in which the findings support the direction for the middle years and science education are considered.     

故事教学技能及其培养

故事教学在英语教学模式中是一种有效的教学方法,对儿童掌握语言能起到良好的效果。强化英语专业师范生故事教学技能的培养,有助于儿童英语教学的顺利开展。     

论《土生子》在美国非裔文学和美国文化中的意义

美国非裔作家赖特的代表作《土生子》,标志着1940年代20世纪美国非裔文学的第二次高潮的到来,标志着“哈莱姆文艺复兴”之后的美国非裔文学向反抗白人压迫寻求平等身份的转向。赖特以其小说《土生子》猛烈抨击美国社会存在的种族压迫种族歧视,并通过现实主义的表现手法,以北方大城市的种族压迫种族歧视破除了“北方正义”的“国家神话”,以托马斯对种族压迫种族歧视的反抗破除了的“殉道者汤姆”的“黑人神话”,使美国社会从政治思想文化各方面发生巨大的变化。     

Teachers' Perceptions of Their Students' Gender Roles

Abstract

Attitudes and perceptions of teacher behavior regarding students' gender roles were investigated. A questionnaire was administered to 221 Israeli teachers and responses were analyzed according to gender and education setting. Results indicate no extreme egalitarian or chauvinistic responses. In general, elementary school and female teachers gave more gender egalitarian responses to questionnaire items in comparison with male and secondary school teachers. Only 15% of teachers in this sample had attended courses on gender equality. Over 50% of teachers did not respond to the question concerning their school's gender policy. Those findings may reflect a relative lack of teacher awareness concerning the in-depth nature of gender stereotypes and their overall influences. Results may indicate compulsory courses and seminars on gender self-awareness during teacher training.     

The Interaction between Primary Teachers' Perceptions of ICT and Their Pedagogy

The paper presents a study which focuses on the interaction between primary teachers' perceptions of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and their pedagogy. Their perceptions of ICT are explored in terms of their reported understandings of the nature and purpose of ICT in primary schools. A qualitative, case study approach was used to investigate the perceptions and pedagogy of a small group of teachers working within one school, Carberry Junior School in England. The study was carried out during an eighteen month period of significant change in primary schools responding to the UK Government's National Grid for Learning initiative and its impact on models of access to ICT resources and expectations in teaching and pupil achievement. The paper highlights the teachers' perceptions of ICT as a social and cultural phenomenon, as an ambiguous area constructed as a discrete subject, curriculum resource and higher-order capability, and as a 'new' field in primary schools.     

网络文化背景下大学生德育的新思考

网络文化作为一种新兴的文化形态,它的迅猛发展,对大学生德育产生了深远的影响,当然,对大学生德育工作也提出了新的要求,大学生德育工作的创新,应注重提高大学生德育的实效性,对大学生的全面发展具有重要意义。     

论外语课程的文化回应性教学

本文认为,当前外语课程教学在文化教育方面存在着片面强调语言知识教学,忽视中西方文化背景、文化价值观导入、缺乏文化理解力培养的局限性。语言与文化具有发生学的关系,语言是文化的载体,文化的任何内容都可通过语言来反映。外语教学中要注重文化背景、文化价值观念、文化差异的导入,以培养学生的跨文化交际能力和文化理解力。文化回应是基于语言学立场与文化立场整合的外语教学策略。     

青少年“反学校文化”：问题、意义与对策

青少年“反学校文化”现象在我们国家初显端倪,并具有相异于西方国家的问题表征以及形成机制。作为一种学生亚文化,“反学校文化”既有其消极影响,同时也是一种潜在的改进力量。帮助学生形成正确的自我认同、反思性的文化建构以及良好的文化判断力,既是引导学生文化合理建构的重要策略,也是现代学校文化建设的方向之一。     

武侠文化中发展心理学思想融入大学生心理学教学的可行性研究

大学生心理学的课程化体系建设对于提升大学生心理健康水平有着重要作用,目前大学生心理学课堂教学呈现出学生课堂积极性不高的现象,根本原因在于教学内容的设计存在不足,对学生缺乏吸引力。武侠文化中的故事主角及故事情节虽然是虚构,但部分小说的故事设定却意在影射现实社会,故事主角的成长发展往往是历经磨难,其心理境界也一同发展,这其中蕴含的发展心理学知识和大学生的成长发展是一致的。因此,探究在大学生心理学的教学中融入武侠文化的可行性,对于提升课程教学的实效性具有积极作用。     

Relationship between Students' Perceptions of School Environment,Their Satisfaction with School and Perceived Academic Achievement: An International Study

During the last decades numerous studies have been conducted with the aim of finding predictors of an effective school measured in terms of the average level of the students' academic achievement. Few of these studies have examined how the students' perception of their work environment at school influences their academic achievement. The present article applies theory and findings from research on the adult work environment to the daily school life of children and adolescents. The analyses are based on self-reported data from the "Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey" (the HBSC study), using data from countries in both Eastern and Western Europe. Data from 11, 13 and 15 year old students in Finland, Latvia, Norway and Slovakia are used. The findings suggest that the most important psychosocial school setting predictors of students' perception of their academic achievement are that they feel satisfied with school, that they feel the teachers do not expect too much of them, and that they have a good relationship with their fellow students. The findings imply that interventions which enhance the students' satisfaction with school are likely to improve their achievement as well.     

The Reliability of Students' Ratings of Faculty Teaching Effectiveness

Interdisciplinary teaching requires substantial effort to integrate the disciplines, especially when a wide interdisciplinary gap exists, such as when a course bridges the sciences and humanities. Creating successful science/humanities courses requires more than good intentions; it demands awareness of the challenges that faculty encounter in such courses, along with specific strategies to meet these challenges. We compile findings from theories, case studies, and instructional guides in the interdisciplinary literature, along with faculty interviews and our own teaching experience, to present seven main challenges and suggested strategies for each.     

African-American Teachers' Knowledge of Teaching: Understanding the Influence of Their Remembered Teachers

Many researchers have emphasized the connection between teachers' thinking and their autobiography, noting that much of teachers' knowledge of teaching has been derived from their life experiences. Since teachers have spent many years watching teachers teach, those experiences become part of the process of learning to teach. This article examines the role of former or remembered teachers in the shaping of the beliefs and practices of eleven successful African-American teachers who teach in urban schools in a major metropolitan area. Both the remembered teachers and the teachers in this study used their pedagogy to enable their students to achieve in spite of circumstances that often militated against success.     

A Study of Faculty Perceptions of Summer Compressed Course Teaching

Students take summer and compressed courses for a variety of reasons and research indicates that learning outcomes in these courses are similar to those gained in traditional semester or quarter courses. This quantitative study was an attempt to clarify faculty perceptions about summer compressed courses. One hundred and fifty-one faculty members teaching at a large, multicampus institution completed a survey addressing teaching methodology, approaches to student assessment, and other pedagogical issues relating to such courses. It was determined that many faculty did make adjustments in teaching methods and approaches to student assessment. In addition, perceptions were different between experienced/tenured faculty and inexperienced/nontenured faculty.Mark Kretovics is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel at Kent State University. He received his Ph.D. from Colorado State University and his research interests include the assessment of student learning, business practices in higher education, distance education, and pedagogical issues in compressed courses. Mark had over 20 years of administrative experience within higher education before transitioning into his current faculty role. Alicia R. Crowe, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Curriculum Studies at Kent State University. Her areas of interest and research include teacher education, social studies education, teacher learning, and technology integration. Eunsook Hyun, Ph.D. is Associate Professor in the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Curriculum Studies at Kent State University. Her area of research interests include teacher education, critical pedagogy, curriculum theorizing, and higher education curriculum     

Students' Perceptions of Teaching: The research is alive and well

This paper reports on the findings of a study investigating students' perceptions of lectures, seminars and modules in a university school of sociology and social policy. An anonymous questionnaire was used which incorporated both closed and open-ended questions. Results show that students thought lectures were well structured and audible, the latter being linked to easy note-taking. Lecturers were also viewed as enthusiastic and available for discussion and a good student-teacher rapport was reported. On the other hand, students had difficulties with overhead transparencies and the speed at which some lectures were presented. Seminars were reported to be well organised and integrated with lectures but students were less enthusiastic about the modular system, although they felt that module objectives were clear. Students were most dissatisfied with availability of books in the library. The paper ends by presenting some suggestions for future studies.     

African-American Women in the Professoriate: Addressing Social Exclusion and Scholarly Marginalization through Mentoring

African-American women and other underrepresented faculty members often report experiences of social exclusion and scholarly marginalization in mainstream institutions of higher education. This lack of inclusion challenges their retention and hinders them from becoming productive members of the professoriate, positioning them at a disadvantage for achieving tenure and promotion. In this article, mentoring is conceptualized as socialization and examined as a strategy for addressing social exclusion and scholarly marginalization as associated with the advancement of African-American women faculty in academe. Highlighting traditional and nontraditional mentoring initiatives and formal and informal networks, the discussion features the idea of a broad, flexible network of support. In addition, recommendations from the existing literature are offered for mentors, mentees, and academic department chairs to facilitate effective mentoring strategies.