The Distinctiveness of the Subject Being Taught and the Work of Subject Heads of Department in Managing the Quality of Classroom Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools in Wales

This paper discusses the ways in which the distinctive nature of the subject being taught has important implications for the management of teaching and learning by Heads of Department (HoDs). The study reports the perceptions of HoDs working in four areas of the curriculum (English, Mathematics, Science and Technology) in secondary schools in Wales. The findings demonstrate a range of different themes, pertinent to each subject. Some of these themes illustrate a number of different subject paradigms (based on the content) while others are more concerned with how the subject is taught.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

Experiential education can be taught most effectively in the outdoors when linked to the psychological foundations of teaching and learning. These include communication, perception, arousal, and motivation. Differences are explained for both teaching and learning styles.

Experiential education is distinguished from experiential learning, and salient educational strategies are integrated into the education cycle. These include focusing, feedback and support, self-responsibility, and reflecting. The importance of debriefing or processing is stressed, and an experiential method is included enabling symbolic communication through “active reviewing.” The environment is a critical factor in this form of education. A major goal is to stimulate curiosity and self-motivation. Structuring traditional and experiential methods, “grasshopper teaching,” and individual and cooperative learning draw the foundations of teaching and learning together.     

Teacher education students' reflections on how problem‐based learning has changed their mental models about teaching and learning

Abstract

Students develop robust mental models of teaching and learning during their school years, and as such, often teach as they were taught—possibly perpetuating practices that limit intellectual inquiry in classrooms. This paper reports on an analysis, using a conceptual framework and NUD?1ST software, of a cohort of 3rd‐year teacher education students' reflections on changes in their mental models following their experiences in a problem‐based learning (PBL) topic. Results provide evidence that students do report changing mental models in areas such as (a) the value of case studies for engaging with subject content, motivating learning, and connecting theory with practice; (b) self‐reflection and peer collaboration for cognitive and professional growth; and (c) processes of inquiry for developing self‐regulated learning practices.     

INVOLVEMENT IN LEARNING: ITS IMPACT ON STUDENT OUTCOMES

Learning is not a passive activity. Recent research findings concur that students learn through participation. The more time, energy, and effort they invest in the learning process and the more intensely they engage in their own education, the greater will be their growth and achievement, their persistence in college, and the more likely they will continue their learning after college.

Recognizing the consensus of studies for improvement of undergraduate education, CCCCD has focused on active, experiential learning in both the classroom and the laboratory. The college's goal was to be unique, not in what was taught, but in how it was taught – the focus being on the how rather than merely the what, and on inquiry, critical analysis, synthesis, and the application of knowledge.

The specific structure of the experiential component purposefully remains fluid and individualized according to the needs of the subject area and creativity of the teaching faculty. “Hands on” laboratory experiences are provided in most courses. Beyond the classroom, internships and cooperative work experience programs provide additional student involvement.     

Teaching thinking: the case for principles

Abstract

This paper reviews the situation with regard to the teaching of thinking skills as part of the taught curriculum. The case is made for direct teaching of cognitive skills both to meet the particular learning difficulties of children with special educational needs and also to enhance the learning and thinking of all children. The dangers of ‘recipe’ approaches to teaching this aspect of the curriculum are discussed and a ‘principles’ approach is advocated. Some principles are then described which may be used to underpin the designing of problem‐solving activities, through which thinking skills can be taught across the curriculum.     

How to Mutually Advance General Education and Major-Based Education: A Grounded Theory Study on the Course Level

Abstract

The author employs grounded theory to investigate the teaching process of an interdisciplinary general education course at A University as a case. The author finds that under the condition of rather concrete relations between the subject of a major-based course and that of an elected general education course, if the major course is taught with a certain breadth and depth, students would adopt the strategy of using knowledge from their major course in their general education course and using knowledge from their general education course to reflect on the major course. This kind of “two-way insertion” learning model reflects the mechanism of mutual facilitation between major education and general education on the course level. This conclusion has important insights into university general education reforms and general education course building and management.     

Role of expectations and explanations in learning by teaching

The present study examined the role of preparing to teach (i.e., teaching expectancy) and actually teaching (i.e., explaining to others) on immediate and long-term learning. In Experiment 1, participants studied a base version or an enhanced version of a paper-based lesson on how the Doppler Effect works with the expectation of taking a test on the material or with the expectation of teaching the material by providing a video-recorded lecture. Results indicated that those who prepared to teach (without actually teaching) outperformed those who prepared for a test on an immediate comprehension test (i.e., a teaching expectancy effect; d = .55), regardless of the format of the lesson. In Experiment 2, participants studied while expecting to be tested or expecting to teach the material; some then actually did teach the material by providing a video-recorded lecture, whereas others received additional study time. Results indicated that those who actually taught the material outperformed those who did not teach on a delayed comprehension test (i.e., a teaching effect; d = .56), though this effect was strongest for those who also prepared to teach. Overall, these findings are consistent with the idea that preparing to teach results in short-term learning gains, whereas the act of teaching (i.e., by explaining the material to others) coupled with preparing to teach is important for long-term learning.     

Creating scientific dialogue through social media: exploration of Saudi pre-service science teachers

Background: This study explored how Saudi Arabian pre-service science teachers’ (PST) use of social media (SM) creates scientific dialogue.Design and method: Data were collected via (a) in-depth interviews with eight science PSTs completing their practice teaching during a field experience course (2017 academic year at a Saudi Arabia Eastern province university), (b) focus groups with 21 female science students being taught by the PSTs, and (c) an analysis of SM artifacts (i.e. PST’s students’ Tweets and Snapchat comments about their SM-based science homework).Results: Findings from content analyses indicate that the PSTs overwhelmingly perceived SM-based science teaching as providing their students with opportunities to pose critical questions, improve science learning, and engage in scientific dialogue and argumentation. Students welcomed the SM-based science learning, saying it excited them, made them want to learn science and helped with collaborative science learning. The majority (87%) of PST’s students expressed an interest in using SM to engage with science concepts. Also, findings affirmed that social media serve as mediating agents for reaching students in their learning Zone of Proximal Development; that is, SM-scaffolded science learning. The findings are considered in terms of further pre-service science teacher education and Saudi-based educational research.     

Learners’ perspectives on Life Orientation sexuality education in South Africa

ABSTRACT

This article examines the views of male and female learners regarding how Life Orientation (LO) sexuality education is taught at their schools. Learners in the study were selected from five former ‘Black’ schools in the Eastern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa. Focus groups were used to identify what learners could recall about their LO sexuality education classes. The strong trend in the data speaks to how LO sexuality education implies a gendered, heteronormative and moralistic approach to youth sexuality which silences and negates same sex relationships and girls’ accounts of sexuality. Although LO sexuality curricula are, as crafted on paper, often sophisticated learning programmes, participants point to a disjuncture between the official LO sexuality education curriculum and how LO sexuality education is taught in the studied schools. The paper concludes with some specific recommendations for teachers to promote a non-judgemental approach to sexuality education that challenges heteronormativity and other gendered injustices as part of the teaching of LO sexuality education.     

Resource Reviews

Professional learning, it is said, is a life-long process. The focus of professional learning in the teaching profession is mainly upon the content of a particular subject matter and on diverse methods with which to teach it. Yet, many who have taught would testify that a teacher is much more than a subject-matter specialist and a method applier. In practice, he/she is a human being with multiple dimensions and facets. As such, central to the whole meaning of teaching is the way in which all those dimensions are connected and interwoven with pedagogy. This paper draws upon theory and practice to examine ways in which the concept of connections can underpin and inform professional development in pedagogy.     

Research and a professional development programme on teaching learning strategies as part of course content

Abstract

There is evidence that many students leave university without effective learning strategies and skills that would facilitate their learning in the future. For example, they can complete their university courses without developing information skills or a love of learning, with only a limited repertoire of learning strategies, and with no intention of engaging in further learning. While these findings indicate a need for universities to review the structure of courses and the way that they are taught and assessed, it is not necessary to wait for this to happen. Within existing course structures, universities can help prepare students for lifelong learning by teaching them learning strategies. This is best done if the strategies are taught by university teachers in the context of their regular coursework. We have confirmed in our research and professional development projects that this can be done. In an experimental study, we investigated the effects of explicidy teaching students learning strategies in the context of their regular coursework. This research indicated that students who were taught learning strategies in the context of their regular coursework used them effectively and achieved better results than students who were taught in the conventional way. In a professional development project, we taught university teachers from a variety of subject areas to teach learning strategies to students in their own courses. These teachers were successful in helping students develop a repertoire of effective learning strategies and display greater commitment to their learning.     

‘Practice in teaching should be practice in caring’ fidelity in teacher education

Abstract

As we move forward in the new millennium, the call for reform in teacher education programs increases. One reform model, offered by Nel Noddings, focuses on the students’ affect, emotion, and intellect. Noddings proposes the use of fidelity—focusing on the individual and the quality of relationships—as a cornerstone in teaching and teacher education. Fidelity in teacher education utilizes a process that includes modeling, dialogue, practice, and confirmation. This paper explores the fundamentals of a fidelity‐based approach to teacher education and examines a university course and its fieldwork component by analyzing the structure and methods of each using the fidelity framework. If we expect our pre‐service teachers to create caring learning environments, they must first be taught about caring environments by their professors. The use of fidelity in teacher education programs is one model that allows for caring environments as well as content application.     

Teaching agricultural policy with the Case Method

Abstract

The central subject matter of the paper is the attempt to assess the learning gains exhibited by university students who were taught by the Case Method rather than the conventional lecture method in a relatively unpropitious non-case environment. Based on a systematic approach developed by educational psychologists, the project monitored the relative gains in terms of cognitive performance and change in motives and attitudes. The methodological approach is explained comprehensively and the quantitative results are discussed in a frank and an objective manner with a view to stimulating university teachers to rethink prevailing teaching methods and goals.     

Spaces for Voices: A narrative of teaching outside our disciplines

In this paper, we discuss an experiment that we conducted in our teaching practice. Without teaching experience in the other's subject (Gardner is a graduate tutor in English literature; Turner is a graduate tutor in psychology) or prior knowledge of the formal curriculum, Gardner taught a psychology seminar and Turner taught an English literature seminar. We videotaped these seminars and, alongside the students we worked with, participated in two inter-personal process recalls (IPRs) facilitated by a third-party enquirer. Our goal was to understand the extent to which teaching without subject knowledge affected the experience of teaching. In the form of a dialogue, we reflect on the thoughts and feelings stimulated by these IPRs, as well as the process of interdisciplinary research in teaching. We find ourselves confronting some assumptions about models of teaching, and questioning the espoused gap between teaching and research.     

The subject‐person of adult education in the crisis of modernity

The philosophical and theoretical background of this article is the recent debate in conventional education, highlighting problems with the subject‐person of education (e.g., Oelkers, 1987). This debate has its origins in the questioning by philosophers of the project of modernity, of its future (e.g., Habermas, 1985; Wellmer,1985), and of its subject‐person (e.g., Frank et ah, 1990). The philosophy of education is affected by this debate primarily for two reasons: first, the subject‐person is at the core of the project of modernity and therefore of the inseparably linked idea of conventional education. Second, modernity is in itself an educational project (e.g., Oelkers, 1983), for, if education fails to bring forth the enlightened and emancipated subject‐person, modernity also fails. Therefore, if there is today, as is generally admitted, a crisis of modernity, conventional education and its conception of the subject‐person, as well as the corresponding learning model are inevitably affected. This also applies to adult education, in so far as adult education refers to models of the subject‐person that are still deeply rooted in conventional education.     

Teachers Anonymous

ABSTRACT

The role of emotions in learning and teaching has largely been neglected in educational literature, particularly in higher education. Yet there are signs of increased interest in emotions in recent literature. This paper argues that emotions are a vital aspect of relationships. How we feel with and about others is central to the quality of those relationships. Thus, emotions matter in college teaching and learning as an aspect of enriching social and relational experiences that support student development. This paper discusses four key relationships in higher education: students with subject matter; students with teachers; students with other students; and students with their developing selves. For each key relationship, key literature is referenced, and suggestions for enhancing practice are offered.     

Scholar commentary

ABSTRACT

This commentary reflects upon the articles and purposes of this special issue, in the context of, growing numbers of students of color (SOCs) in K-12 schools who continue to be modally placed in classrooms with White teachers (e.g., Berry and Pour-Khorshid papers of this issue). Few institutional programs of Teacher Education seem able to effectually address this longstanding demographic challenge (e.g., Whitaker, et al. paper). Fewer still, impactfully retain SOCs for careers in K-12 settings (e.g., Morales paper). Nevertheless, second wave teacher identity studies are encouraging nuanced professional learning for White and other, K-12, candidates and teachers that encourages: critical consciousness about race and whiteness, metalogic talk about colorblindness, and closing the gap between rhetoric and genuinely antiracist actions in praxis with SOCs (e.g., Alvarez & Milner; Caldas; McManimon & Casey papers. Demonstrably, second-wave analyses are revealing much about evidentiary approaches for teacher education/learning that emphasize differential capacities for teaching SOCs. Nonetheless, further research is needed on strategies for addressing formidable challenges, such as those of defensiveness and White Fragility (e.g., Blaisedell paper). The papers of this special issue indicate that combining such research with ground-breaking approaches to race-visible education offers a promising path to the knowledge and praxis needed.     

Learning about research: exploring the learning and teaching/research relationship amongst educational practitioners studying in higher education

The paper examines aspects of the relationship between teaching and research in higher education in social science research methods, with particular reference to the subject area of Education. There are three main themes: reflections on how social science research methods should be (or are) taught; a review of current debates about the relationship between teaching and research, both in higher education and for school teachers; and finally, reporting how a group of educational practitioners (mainly school teachers) studying at Masters level experience learned about research methods. The paper is illustrated by qualitative data from a case study of student experiences of research methods teaching on a Masters degree in Education in a research-intensive UK university. It is suggested that studying the journey embarked upon by taught postgraduate students inexperienced in research is helpful in understanding how learning about research methods takes place, which in turn can assist future research methods teaching.