Classroom leadership: the effect of a school development programme

Using a cohort longitudinal design, this study examined pupils' perceptions of their teachers' classroom leadership, both before and after implementation of the Respect programme. Pupils in Grades 5–10 (age 11–16) in four Norwegian schools reported their perceptions of their teachers' emotional support, academic support, and monitoring five times over a period of five years. The results revealed increases in the pupils' perceptions of one or more of the three aspects of classroom leadership for all grade levels except Grade 9. Pupils in Grades 5, 7, 8, and 10 reported effect sizes larger than .20 for all three aspects. The largest effect size reported was .80, for increases in Grade 6 pupils' perception of teachers' monitoring. In order to rule out selection bias, which is a major threat to cohort longitudinal designs, pupils' reports of three measures of aggression were used as a control. The results indicated that there were no biases.     

Nature of Technology: Implications for design,development, and enactment of technological tools in school science classrooms

This position paper provides a theory-based explanation informed by philosophy of technology (PoT) of the recurrent documented patterns often associated with attempts to enact technology-supported, inquiry-based approaches in precollege science classrooms. Understandings derived from the history of technological development in other domains (e.g. medicine, transportation, and warfare) reveal numerous parallels that help to explain these recurrent patterns. Historical analyses of major technologies reveal a conglomerate of factors that interact to produce benefits, as well as intended and unintended consequences. On a macro-scale, PoT facilitates understandings of how technologies interact and are impacted by individuals, society, institutions, economy, politics, and culture. At the micro-level, and most relevant to science education, PoT engages the inherent nature of technology along a number of key dimensions: role of culture and values, notions of technological progression, technology as part of systems, technological diffusion, technology as a fix, and the notions of expertise. Overall, the present analysis has implications for the design, development, implementation, and adoption of technological tools for use in precollege science education, and highlights the role of technology as both artifact and process.     

Improving forestry education through participatory curriculum development: A case study from Vietnam

Abstract

As agriculture and forestry practices change in different contexts, new requirements emerge for the development of education programmes. In forestry education there is a need for a shift of focus from technology towards an interdisciplinary approach based on a new range of knowledge, skills and attitudes, and drawing on new concepts of knowledge and learning. Increased participation of stakeholders in the forestry education process seems essential for this shift to take place, leading to greater empowerment, commitment, and more effective learning. This paper presents a case study of the Social Forestry Support Programme in Vietnam, in which participatory curriculum development (PCD) plays a fundamental part. Beginning with stakeholder identification and analysis, PCD provides an overall framework for educational development. Recognising constraints associated with the process, the paper describes strategies aimed at capacity building, management of stakeholder involvement, and planning and evaluation. As different stakeholders learn to learn together through discourse and interaction, the chances of sustainable outcomes from the PCD process should be improved. The dynamic and flexible nature of PCD suggests that there is considerable potential for its adaptation and application in a range of different contexts.     

Supporting online collaborative design for teacher professional development

ABSTRACT

This article describes a study of online collaborative design in the context of teacher professional development. Twenty-five teachers from different Spanish universities participated in the online course. The aim was to understand how to support teachers in interuniversity teams to collaborate fully online throughout the learning design process of a scenario based on their discipline integrating information and communications technology (ICT), an issue scarcely tackled in the literature. The described interpretive study, using mixed methods, explores the support of online co-design provided by a novel ICT community platform named ILDE (Integrated Learning Design Environment). Lessons drawn from the results can contribute to the improvement of online collaborative design processes in the context of teacher professional development.     

Learning with their peers: Using a virtual learning community to improve an in-service Biology teacher education program in Brazil

This study investigated the use of a virtual learning community (VLC-Bio) combined to an online teachers' professional development program. VLC-Bio enabled the sharing of biological knowledge, teaching methods and didactic resources. Although they presented a limited initial profile of internet use directed to socialization, the results indicated that participation in the VLC-Bio focused internet use for teaching and learning purposes. The VLC-Bio offered opportunities to develop the ability to learn from their peers about how to deal with matters of difficult approach in everyday school life, as well as of sharing resources for Biology education that are frequently lacking.     

Promoting inclusive education in secondary school in Norway: a national programme for teacher development

There is a great need in many countries for extended and new teacher competence to meet the challenges of inclusive education. This paper presents a national programme for developing new teacher competence in secondary schools in Norway. The programme was developed and implemented during the 1990s, its aim being to start a continuing process in schools directed at promoting inclusive education and improving the quality of education for pupils with special educational needs. Further, the paper presents some findings from a national survey of 2240 teachers and school administrators in 104 schools one year after the implementation of the programme. The survey partially replicated a survey carried out before the programme started. The purpose was to give an overall picture of the situation with respect to teacher competence in special needs and inclusive education, and the impact of the competence building programme on teacher practice, and to identify possible system changes in schools.     

Examining the development of a teacher learning community: The case of a video club

Learning communities have become a widespread model for teacher development. However, simply bringing teachers together does not ensure community development. This study offers a framework for the development of a teacher learning community in a video club. Qualitative coding of video data resulted in characterizing the evolution of the video club group as they collaboratively explored issues of teaching and learning that arose in each other’s classrooms. The relationship between dimensions of the framework and how development on one feature interacts with development on another is discussed. The results inform the design of video-based learning environments for examining teaching practice.     

技术支持的体验学习研究述评

体验学习在教育领域得到广泛应用的同时,理论与实践方面也存在一些争议与问题。新兴技术的迅猛发展则为体验学习理论的发展及其在实践领域的拓展提供了条件和可能的契机。为了全面、系统、深入地述评当前技术支持的体验学习的研究现状,有必要从技术支持体验学习的发展轨迹、理论基础、典型技术、应用分布与学习环境设计五个维度进行分析。在此基础上,针对如何促进理论的融合与发展、强化当前研究薄弱点、拓展应用领域、加强新兴技术的应用四个方面给出了一些建议,并对基于未来课堂的体验学习研究进行了展望。     

Science Professional Learning Communities: Beyond a singular view of teacher professional development

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are frequently being used as a vehicle to transform science education. This study explored elementary teachers' perceptions about the impact of participating in a science PLC on their own professional development. With the use of The Science Professional Learning Communities Survey and a semi-structured interview protocol, elementary teachers' perceptions of the goals of science PLCs, the constraints and benefits of participation in PLCs, and reported differences in the impact of PLC participation on novice and experienced teachers were examined. Sixty-five elementary teachers who participated in a science PLC were surveyed about their experiences, and a subsample of 16 teachers was interviewed. Results showed that most of the teachers reported their science PLC emphasized sharing ideas with other teachers as well as working to improve students' science standardized test scores. Teachers noted that the PLCs had impacted their science assessment practices as well as their lesson planning. However, a majority of the participants reported a differential impact of PLCs depending on a teacher's level of experience. PLCs were reported as being more beneficial to new teachers than experienced teachers. The interview results demonstrated that there were often competing goals and in some cases a loss of autonomy in planning science lessons. A significant concern was the impact of problematic interpersonal relationships and communication styles on the group functioning. The role of the PLC in addressing issues related to obtaining science resources and enhancing science content knowledge for elementary science teachers is discussed.     

论高师办学与课程实践的互动发展

培育高素质师资是教师教育改革与基础教育发展的共同责任。实施新课程六年来,中小学教师存在诸多矛盾和困惑,既有教师在职专业持续发展方面的原因,也有职前教育中高师院校办学方面的原因。互动新课程中,基于教师专业化理念,高师院校重审教师教育的优势和特色,实施切实可行的专业引领策略,促进课程改革不断深入,既是坚定教师专业情意态度的职责使然,也是提升教师教育理性价值的现实要求。     

The multiple voices of a mathematics classroom community

Several mathematics educators have expressed their concern about conflicting visions of educational reform among parents and teachers, which could result in the emergence of multiple voices in discussions of achievement and instruction. The aim of this article is to examine the multiple voices of educational reform in the discourse of a third grade classroom community. In order to achieve our aim, we integrated the social and the individual as well as the past, present, and future in our analysis of the discourse in this classroom community using theoretical frameworks and methods from cultural psychology. Although our analyses focused on the classroom teacher, we employed units of analysis capable of bridging the individual and her social context. We began our analysis by focusing on a sample of whole-class discussions of students’ strategies for solving multi-digit word problems. This analysis isolated two distinct voices: one that occurred during discussions of students’ invented strategies and the other that emerged during talk about standard algorithms. We extended our analysis to include information about the historical, social, and institutional context of the classroom community in order to understand the origins and functions of these two voices. This additional information helped us appreciate the interconnections between the teacher’s personal feelings, beliefs, recollections, and expectations; and her interpersonal transactions with her students, their parents, and other educators. We concluded with a discussion of the implications of the study for understanding one of the dilemmas of educational reform and for advancing research in classroom discourse. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Digital Learning Playground: supporting authentic learning experiences in the classroom

This study proposes a platform to provide a near-authentic environment, context, and situation for task-based learning. The platform includes two projection screens (a vertical and a horizontal screen) combined for situated or authentic learning. The horizontal screen extends the vertical screen scene to form a space for learning activities and performance. The platform creates learning situations using robots as surrogates of students to accomplish real-life tasks. Kolb's four-stage experiential learning cyclical model was adopted in the learning design. A simple practice was developed to examine the effect on teaching children English as a foreign language. The results reveal that children could engage deeply and feel more enjoyment using the system. Moreover, as surrogates for students to imagine that they are accomplishing real-life missions, robots could be a vital element of authentic learning in future classrooms.     

Children's participatory design for sustainable development and community planning

The urban developments have been carried out by only professionals for a long time because of efficiency and safety.However,most residents are ordinary people.Therefore,it is necessary to change the aw...     

慈溪市学校体育与社区体育互动发展的现状与对策

随着社区体育的崭新崛起,学校体育与社区体育就紧密地联系在一起。本文运用问卷调查法、文献资料法、数理统计法等研究方法,对慈溪市学校体育与社区体育互动发展的现状进行调查研究。发现社区体育场地不足,社区体育人才配备不良,以及社区体育和学校体育组织活动内容不健全等问题,并提出了相应的对策,为慈溪市相关部门提供参考。     

中学导师制:教师自主发展的助推器

教师自主是教师专业化的必然要求。中学导师制有助于教师走向自主发展之路,它在教师自主意识的形式、自主能力的提升和个人知识的习得上起到了促进的作用。     

美国80年代以来教师教育发展政策述评

课堂教学质量是教育质量的核心,课堂教学质量的改善与提升关系着高质量教育体系的建成。对话国际上具有典型性与代表性的课堂教学评价框架并从中汲取高质量的核心元素,是中国特色课堂教学评价体系展现国际视野的关键举措。美国教育考试服务中心丹尼森(Danielson)教授研发的Framework for Teaching(FFT)课堂教学评价框架关注课堂教学的过程性质量,秉持高阶性思维、建构性学习、目的性活动和专业性指导的高质量课堂教学理念,涉及4大模块、22个评估要点以及相应的质量观测点,从评价对象与评价方式两个维度跨越时空全面搜集资料并对教师教学工作作出价值判断,旨在通过向教师提供反馈和推动专业发展而引导教师为质量而教,实现教学的背景、投入、过程质量和学生学业成就质量的多维提升。深入研究与反思在理念和内容等方面具有明显优势的FFT课堂教学评价框架,启示中国应在自由和规则、过程和结果的动态和谐关系中,以创设学习文化、促进深度学习为核心,构建具有全球视野的新时代中国特色高质量课堂教学体系,并基于此研发相应的课堂教学质量评价体系和监测工具,构建实现高质量课堂教学的教师教育质量指标体系,促进教育高质量发展。     

Raising aspirations within school communities: the Learning Catalysts project

This article accounts for a project that rests on a collaboration between the Leadership for Learning group at the Faculty of Education and the county council in King's Lynn and West Norfolk to address a concern regarding the low aspirations in the community. At the heart of the project was the development of a cadre of ‘Learning Catalysts’ who work with schools and with parents to raise aspirations. The project pursued questions such as: What do we really understand about the way aspirations are shaped and play out in the interface of school and community? How can we gain a deeper insight into the cultures of families and how aspirations about occupational and social identities affect children's performance in school? Of central interest too was the way in which people without formal status in their institutions were able to assume leadership roles. The tension between leadership activity in the community setting and leadership within the formal hierarchies of schools was to prove both a source of data and a continuing challenge.     

A climate for self-efficacy: the relationship between school climate and teacher efficacy for inclusion

Teacher efficacy represents a key construct in exploring successful implementation of inclusive policy. Teachers’ impression of school climate is shown to relate to teacher efficacy; however, few studies pay due deference to its context/specific conceptualisation, with a particular lacuna in research noted in an Irish mainstream primary school context. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between school climate and efficacy for inclusion and whether this relationship impacts on perceptions of challenging behaviours, further identifying barriers to and supports for efficacious inclusive practice. Fifty-seven probated primary mainstream teachers in the Republic of Ireland responded to online questionnaires exploring perceptions of school climate, teacher efficacy for inclusion and challenging behaviours. Teachers’ perceptions of a supportive school climate related positively to their teaching efficacy for inclusion, in turn influencing their ratings of the severity of and their confidence in managing commonly experienced challenging behaviours in inclusive classrooms. Teachers looked within their school for support, few noting Educational Psychologists (EPs) as sources for support. These findings add weight to the importance of understanding the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of their school climate and their efficacy for inclusion, addressing the dearth of research in an Irish context. In particular, these findings underline the potential offered by an understanding of teachers’ beliefs to inform and enhance the role of EPs in supporting efficacious inclusive practice.     

Understanding the complexity of teacher interaction in a teacher professional learning community

In this study, we examine a professional learning community of primary school teachers developing a joint school-based curriculum for science and technology (S&T) education. Team meetings were observed over the course of one school year and the participating teachers and school head were interviewed. An essential factor in the team’s collaboration was its ability to achieve synthesis, that is, the extent to which the teachers were able to abstract from concrete experiences in S&T education in order to formulate and develop a shared vision and curriculum. They exchanged many examples and were able to create a shared idea highlighting critical elements in their approach to teaching this school subject. However, the teachers experienced difficulties in determining the level at which a school-based curriculum should be defined. The outcomes of this team’s collaboration are discussed in terms of leadership and the aims of the S&T innovation.