Measuring teachers’ content knowledge of language and reading

In the context of a longitudinal, four-year study of reading instruction in low-performing, high-poverty urban schools, we surveyed teacher knowledge of reading-related concepts, and established a modest predictive relationship between teachers’ knowledge, classroom reading achievement levels, and teachers’ observed teaching competence. There were significant associations among these variables at the third and fourth grade levels. To obtain this result, measures of teacher content knowledge in language and reading were refined in a three-stage process. Our purpose was to explore the type and level of questions that would begin to discriminate more capable from less capable teachers, and that would have a predictive relationship with student reading achievement outcomes. After experimenting with measurement of K-2 teachers’ content knowledge (Form #1), we piloted a Teacher Knowledge Survey with 41 second and third grade teachers in one study site (Form #2). We then refined and expanded the Survey (Form #3) and administered it to 103 third and fourth grade teachers in both project sites. Teachers’ misconceptions about sounds, words, sentences, and principles of instruction were pinpointed so that professional development could address teachers’ needs for insight and information about language structure and student learning.     

Korean EFL teachers’ perceptions of the impact of EFL teacher education upon their classroom teaching practices

This study employed qualitative data collection and analysis methods to investigate the influence of English as a foreign language teacher education programme on Korean teachers’ classroom teaching practices. Six in-service secondary-school teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was applied to the data collected from these interviews. Findings from the analysis included that: a) most of the teachers were dissatisfied with the largely theory-oriented pre-service teacher education programmes that they attended; b) a major source of influence on their teaching was their experience of in-service teacher training programmes with practical curricula; c) observation of other fellow teachers’ teaching had the strongest impact upon the teachers’ teaching practices; and d) the teachers’ low English proficiency and the washback effect of the Korea Scholastic Aptitude Test hindered the maintenance of the changes brought about by in-service teacher education programmes. This study ends with a discussion of the implications of these findings.     

English language teachers’ perceptions of professional teaching

During the most recent educational reform in Estonia, a new National Curriculum was introduced in 2010 providing new guidelines for education generally and foreign languages specifically. To investigate the understanding that an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher has about professional teaching and whether it matches the principles of the curriculum, a research project was conducted amongst EFL teachers at the lower secondary school level. A brief theoretical background to the topic is given and Estonian EFL teachers’ beliefs about professional teaching based on the findings of the survey are described. The study identifies that, although generally EFL teachers’ beliefs about professional teaching are in concordance with the principles contained in the new curriculum, there are aspects that should be addressed by both pre- and in-service education teacher programmes.     

Do kindergarten teachers possess adequate knowledge of basic language constructs to teach children to read English as a foreign language?

Annals of Dyslexia - The contribution of teacher knowledge to learning outcomes at the beginning stages of literacy acquisition is of growing concern because the ability to provide quality...     

Insights into casual relief teaching: casual relief teachers’ perceptions of their knowledge and skills

Research into the experiences of casual relief teachers (CRTs) (substitute or supply teachers) across Australia and internationally has reported feelings of marginalisation among participants. These findings are concerning when one considers that students might be in the care of CRTs for an equivalent of 1 year or more throughout their schooling. When CRTs describe such feelings there is a suggestion that they do not feel a part of the community of practice in which they work. Accordingly, their opportunities for professional learning are often compromised, which has implications for their ability to maintain pedagogical knowledge and skills. This study used cluster sampling survey data to offer insights into professional challenges faced by CRTs. The discussion examines the self-determined skills of 59 Australian CRTs and the way schooling is organised that may leave them feeling excluded rather than members of what should be their “communities of practice.”     

Chinese university EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices of classroom writing assessment

This study investigates the extent to which university teachers’ beliefs about classroom writing assessment are congruent with their self-perceived practices in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) contexts, and what factors contribute to belief-practice inconsistencies. Drawing on data from a survey of 136 Chinese university EFL writing teachers and ten teacher interviews, results showed a degree of belief-practice alignment regarding assessment for learning (AfL) practices that make learning explicit, but belief-practice discrepancies were more salient. AfL practices that empower students to take responsibility in writing assessment were perceived to be more important than assessment of learning practices; however, the reverse was found in teachers’ practice. Impacts of micro-level factors including assessment training, teaching experience, student attributes, meso-level school factors, and macro-level assessment culture are discussed, and implications are drawn.     

On constructs and the construction of teachers’ professional knowledge in a post-Soviet context

This paper examines the understandings (‘constructs’) of teachers’ professional knowledge and its sources that underpin current practice in initial teacher education in Kazakhstan and in particular the way in which pedagogika contributes to these. Drawing on empirical data collected over four years, the paper illustrates the ways in which professional knowledge and professional preparation of teachers in pre-service institutions are constructed within the Kazakh and Soviet pedagogical traditions, albeit with some reference to international scholars. Teachers’ professional knowledge is formed from pedagogic theory mediated by academic staff in what is seen by many from outside and inside the country who are engaged in educational ‘reform’ in Kazakhstan as a largely didactic style with little or no critical engagement or exploration of the implications for practice. This stands in contrast with two recent professional development programmes: the Collaborative Action Research and Center of Excellence, which are focused on interactive learning and teaching, reflective practice, classroom action research, and teachers’ collaboration as sources for teachers’ professional knowledge. This paper highlights this contrast and begins to explore what happens when these two different approaches to the construction of teachers’ professional knowledge encounter each other.     

Classroom teachers’ craft knowledge of their inclusive practice

Whilst recent decades have seen significant progress in research on inclusive education, many teachers still feel that the research literature does not fully address their professional concerns about how to enact a policy of inclusion in their classrooms. To help to bridge this gap, we drew on the concept of craft knowledge to undertake a detailed study in two Scottish primary schools of the practice of class teachers who are committed to meet the needs of all learners. This paper describes the processes involved, and considers how these helped us to develop a greater understanding of what constitutes inclusive practice, whilst also contributing to a more robustly theorised knowledge of what we have termed inclusive pedagogy, or the inclusive pedagogical approach. Methodological complexities arising from the use of the concept of craft knowledge are also explored.     

Connections between learning and teaching: EFL teachers’ reflective practice

This study explores six Vietnamese, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ reflections on their experiences of English language learning during the early 1980s to the late 1990s. Data collected in narrative interviews with the participating teachers revealed a wide range of issues that arose during their EFL learning, central to which was the prevalence of grammar-focused practices in all EFL classes. From their perspectives as EFL teachers today, the participants see their learning experience as a way of learning to teach. In particular, they pinpoint the negative aspects of language teaching at that time in the hope that their teaching practice today will not repeat the same mistakes. However, they also reflect on positive aspects, especially their influential teachers, to inform their teaching. Based on the findings, the study suggests that language teachers’ experience of language learning should be considered part of reflective teaching as well as of teachers’ trajectories of learning to teach.     

Mathematics and science teachers’ pedagogical orientations and their use of ICT in teaching

The key concern driving policy and community interest in the pedagogical integration of ICT is the premise that ICT is important for bringing changes to classroom teaching and learning, so as to foster the development of students’ 21st century skills. An important concept underpinning the design of the SITES 2006 study is the pedagogical orientation of the teacher, which can be broadly conceptualized as traditionally important or 21 ^st century oriented. The latter can be further differentiated into lifelong learning and connectedness oriented. Indicators were created to measure teachers’ pedagogical orientation based on their espoused curriculum goals, teacher practices and student practices. Results from this study shed light on whether there is evidence that 21st century pedagogy as identified in the literature and in innovative practices can be found more generally in random samples of teachers in countries participating in SITES 2006. Relationship between ICT use and pedagogical practice in mathematics and science classrooms is reported and the associated policy implications are discussed.     

The influence of teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning on their technology acceptance

Prior research has attempted to incorporate different personal variables within extant theories of technology acceptance models (TAMs). This study further extends TAM by incorporating teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning (CoTL) in two forms: constructivist and traditional conceptions. The moderating effects of teachers’ demographic variables including age, gender, teaching experience, teaching level, and technology experience were tested. Our findings demonstrated that incorporating CoTL could provide a richer and more nuanced understanding of technology acceptance, although no moderating effects on any demographic variables were found.     

Pre-service EFL teachers’ beliefs about foreign language learning

Beliefs are central constructs in every discipline which deals with human behaviour and learning. In addition to learner beliefs about language learning, language teachers themselves may hold certain beliefs about language learning that will have an impact on their instructional practices and that are likely to influence their students’ beliefs about language learning. This article reports on a study of beliefs held by 217 full-time undergraduate students (142 females and 75 males) enrolled in English Language Teaching (ELT) programmes at seven state universities in Turkey. Horwitz’ BALLI was used to collect data. The data reveal that where some of the results carried by pre-service teachers might surprise language teaching educators and teacher trainers, some others probably confirm their experiences and intuitions.     

An exploratory study of changes to university EFL teachers’ teaching practices

The brief report describes an exploratory investigation into changes to three university EFL teachers’ teaching practices in a research-intensive university framed by managerialist technologies to improve its visibility and global ranking. The findings revealed that substantial changes have been brought about to their teaching practices in terms of falling into the routine of ‘technification of teaching’, producing a spectacle ‘what is there simply to be seen and judged’ or striving to seek out new spaces for ‘authentic’ English teaching. The study concluded with implications for facilitating the managerial reforms that are congruent with the cognitive and contextual realities of different generations of Chinese university EFL teachers.     

Validation and profile of Chinese pre-service teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge scale

Researchers state that teachers in different contexts reported different technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). This phenomenon may partially be explained by cultural differences. Based on this consideration, the development and validation of the Chinese pre-service teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (CTPCK) scale is described in this article. The sample was split into two subsamples on random basis (n1 = 229, n2 = 207) for the purpose of conducting (1) exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and (2) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), respectively. After the EFA, the CTPCK scale excluded six items and included eight factors with 42 items. Reliability and correlations were discussed. The findings revealed that the CTPCK scale was a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the TPACK of Chinese pre-service teachers’ knowledge with or without linking educational technology.     

Using summative and formative assessments to evaluate EFL teachers’ teaching performance

Using classroom observations (formative) and student course experience survey results (summative) to evaluate English lecturers’ teaching performances is not new in practice, but surprisingly only a few studies have investigated this issue in a higher education context. This study was conducted in an English department of a large university in Vietnam. The data include: (1) semi-structured interviews with all the full-time lecturers, (2) two department heads and (3) course experience surveys from English as a foreign language (EFL) students (N?=?2886). Three lessons can be learned: (1) formative assessments do not seem to have an effect on promoting better teaching practices when their feedback is not helpful in improving high-stakes summative assessment results, (2) without sharing a common definition of good teaching practices among assessors, summative assessments appear to make the feedback from formative assessments less meaningful and applicable, and (3) as a result, the combination of formative and summative assessments tends to make EFL lecturers’ self-assessment practices less effective.