Engineering students’ experiences of interactive teaching in calculus

This study reports on an educational development initiative where peer instruction was used instead of traditional lectures in a calculus course for first-year engineering students. The aim of the study was to explore students’ experiences of this method. Data were collected by means of an open-ended questionnaire on two occasions: early and late in the course. The data were analyzed with an inductive content analysis. The findings comprise three qualitatively different ways to experience the interactive teaching method in calculus: (1) enthusiasm, (2) nuanced skepticism and (3) aversion. The categories differed regarding emotional reactions to the teaching, experiences of learning, conceptions of teaching and learning, and experiences of meaningfulness. Many students expressed enthusiasm for learning with peer instruction and noted that the method gave both teachers and students feedback on what students have difficulties with. These students perceived that they were responsible for their own learning. Other students experienced that peer instruction had some advantages and disadvantages, and preferred a mix between traditional lectures and peer instruction sessions. They seemed to believe that teachers and students share responsibility for learning. Some students expressed an aversion for peer instruction and the method seemed to challenge their beliefs of how teaching and learning is best conducted. Our study illustrates that educational development initiatives, even though based on research on student learning, do not benefit all students. One of the major obstacles seems to be that students’ underlying beliefs regarding teaching and learning may be counterproductive to the ideas behind the educational initiative. We suggest that beliefs regarding teaching and learning need to be addressed when introducing new teaching and learning methods.     

理解性学习与倾听式教学——“二阶控制论”的启示

学与教的理论是教育技术学乃至教育学的核心理论基础。文章基于建构主义的研究方法论之"二阶控制论",深入探讨了一种新型的教学理境——理解性学习与倾听式教学,意即学生的学需要从"接受"转向"反思",教师的教需要从"灌输"转向"倾听",以期促成传统学与教理念的转变,逐步在实践中形成全新而有效的教学观。     

Technology use and mathematics teaching: teacher change as discursive identity work

Teacher change towards developing competences for technology use in mathematics teaching has been the focus of current educational reforms worldwide. However, a considerable amount of research denotes the extent to which teachers resist a full integration of technology in mathematics classrooms. The present paper is based on an ethnographic study and focuses on how mathematics teachers – as they participate in an intensive training course – perform identity work whilst collectively articulating meanings concerning the potential of technology-based mathematics learning. By means of discourse theory, we analyse how they try to fix meaning as they engage and interact with varied discourses of ‘change’. Our findings indicate that mathematics teachers' attempts to articulate meaning are organised around discourses that concern directly societal and learning issues of technology use in mathematics teaching.     

Meeting International Society for Technology in Education Competencies with a Problem-Based Learning Video Framework

Meeting International Society for Technology in Education competencies creates a challenge for teachers. The authors provide a problem-based video framework that guides teachers in enhancing 21st century skills to meet those competencies. To keep the focus on the content, the authors suggest teaching the technology skills only at the point the students need to use them. An example is provided on how the problem-based video framework was applied in a higher education setting. The benefits and challenges for using video within a problem-based learning context are discussed.     

Russian/US comparison using the expert science teaching educational evaluation model (ESTEEM)

A small group of Russian teachers who were interested in adopting aspects of the US science educational reform movement, participated in a constructivist science teaching project. Baseline data from translated classroom observations were scored using the science classroom observation rubric from the expert science teaching educational evaluation model (ESTEEM) and compared with a traditional (teacher centered) group of US science teachers and a group of US constructivist (student centered) science teachers. The purpose of the research is to investigate how Russian teachers who were beginning a US science education reform project compared with two US groups of science teachers, a traditional and a reform group. Analysis of variance was used to analyse the total rubric score and four categories for the Russian/traditional US and the Russian/constructivist US studies in order to examine closely the traditional and the constructivist teaching practises. In the first study US traditional teachers were statistically higher on 'facilitating the learning process' and 'context-specific pedagogy'. Russian teachers were higher on the 'content' category. In the second study the experienced constructivist US teachers were statistically higher on all four categories and the total rubric score. The educational culture of both countries is very traditional. However, the reform movement in science education has changed some US teachers, and is in the process of changing some Russian teachers. Both countries are working on the reform process. The results of this study provide baseline information on a small group of Russian teachers, who have chosen to be a part of the ideas contained in the US science education reform movement. The study also promotes the mutual understanding of both cultures among teachers, administrators, and researchers, which should ultimately form a bond for working together on common educational issues.     

Changing times in the classroom: teaching as a ‘crowded profession’

Abstract

This article reports on a study of teachers in New South Wales (Australia) and their practices surrounding outcomes assessment and reporting, which took place in 2003 and 2004 as a follow-up to a major study in 1995. The study explored whether the main focus of a teacher's work involves planning, teaching, assessing, rewarding and sharing in their classroom and with colleagues, and whether this focus suffered many distractions in the flurry of reforms of the past decade. One example of ‘changing times’ in the classroom has been the devolution of school management, which caused a number of diversions of energy and time away from teaching and learning. Yet even in the area of curriculum schools were struggling with a range of issues, many brought on by the advent of outcomes-based curricula. In seeking to change what happens in schools, teachers argued that they needed clear and well-argued reasons to change. This article thus provides an update on the relevant research, beginning with national and international experiences, before a discussion of workload, the place of parents and school organizational effects. One finding is that alongside a ‘crowded curriculum’, teaching has become a ‘crowded profession’. The article concludes with reflections on how changing times in the classroom mean social reform as well as educational reform, in which teaching and learning shape effects and consequences from educational events so that knowledge grows through experiences, measuring possibilities not outcomes.     

An overview of learning analytics

Learning analytics, the analysis and representation of data about learners in order to improve learning, is a new lens through which teachers can understand education. It is rooted in the dramatic increase in the quantity of data about learners and linked to management approaches that focus on quantitative metrics, which are sometimes antithetical to an educational sense of teaching. However, learning analytics offers new routes for teachers to understand their students and, hence, to make effective use of their limited resources. This paper explores these issues and describes a series of examples of learning analytics to illustrate the potential. It argues that teachers can and should engage with learning analytics as a way of influencing the metrics agenda towards richer conceptions of learning and to improve their teaching.     

在物理教学中实施探究式教学的探讨

新一轮基础教育课改革倡导在学科教学中,面向全体学生开展教学方法的改革,培养学生自己探究,得益于学生终身教育的学习原则。探究式教学就是以探究为基本特征的一种全新的教学活动形式。能使班级教学焕发出勃勃的活力和效力,对破除旧的传统教学模式,促进教师在探究中“自我发展”和学生在探究中“自主学习”起到良好的作用。     

课堂教学评价重在“评学”

课程评价是新课程改革的关键,课堂教学评价是课程评价的重要组成部分,是新课程实施的导航器。在课改“以学生的发展为本”的理念下,课堂教学评价的重点要从传统的“评教”转到“评学”上来,以此促进教师转变观念,改进教学。全文论述了课堂评价重在“评学”的意义,并对怎样“评学”提出了一些见解。     

研究性学习对教师的挑战

研究性学习对教师提出了新的挑战。教师必须改变传统的教育观念 ,在学科教学中 ,渗透研究性学习的思想 ;要转换传统的教师角色 ,给自己准确定位 ;并不断提高自身学养 ,这也是开展研究性学习的必要条件。     

“Losing Touch”: Teachers on teaching and learning

Teachers recruited to a cohort study in 1978 were interviewed to elicit their views on issues surrounding the education system and teaching profession. Qualitative data were derived from a semi‐structured interview and quantitative data included a self‐report measure of temperament and character. The findings highlight a “mismatch” between the characteristics or attributes of teachers and the shifting role of teachers to accommodate administrative and “social work” duties for which they have not been trained. This shift, in turn, takes them away from their core business of teaching. Furthermore, a common attribute of cooperativeness in this teaching cohort is more aligned with the teaching role which may explain teachers' frustration in having to accommodate an independent working style of administrator. Greater use of administrative support staff and counseling services to free teachers to do what they have been trained is more likely to reduce levels of work dissatisfaction. Mentoring of new graduates is more likely to buffer the stress as they make the transition from a learning to a teaching environment. A mentoring matrix is offered which features a bi‐directional exchange of “tried and true ideas” of experienced teachers and “new ideas” of new graduates.     

5G时代下,中医药院校物理化学混合式教学模式的研究

传统面对面教学方式往往是教师讲、学生听,特别是推行多媒体教学以来,个别课程变成了快速浏览PPT,学生看过、听过就忘,期末靠复习资料考试,走出考场忘得一干二净。为此,我们希望改善这种教学现象,尤其是针对中医药院校学生所说的“教师最难教、学生最难学”物理化学课程,我们采取面对面教学与在线教学相结合的混合式教学模式,将线上学习和课堂讲授两种教学形式相结合,旨在促进学生自主学习,培养学生自己发现、分析和解决问题的能力,以期获得比纯课堂面对面讲授更佳的教学效果。     

Student teachers’ attitudes to inclusion: implications for Initial Teacher Education in Northern Ireland

With the imminent passing of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Act (SENDA) into law in Northern Ireland, along with changes to the curriculum and the planned move away from academic selection for post‐primary pupils in 2008, the education system in Northern Ireland is about to embrace radical change. Inclusion has now become one of the most pressing educational issues both nationally and internationally. As we move to address such change, there is a recognition that Initial Teacher Education (ITE) must review how new teachers are trained so they are equipped to teach effectively in classrooms that may be very different from their own learning experience. This paper focuses on a research project undertaken at the University of Ulster that considers student teachers’ attitudes to inclusion before their first teaching practice experience. While the findings reveal evidence of support for the philosophy of inclusion and for inclusive practices generally, they also show that many young teachers still show a strong attachment to, and belief in, traditional academic selection as a preferred education model     

谈网络时代教师角色的四个转变

网络时代的教育不同于传统的常规教育,教学和学习都呈现出新的规律和特征。做为现代教育实践者的教师角色的变化是网络时代教育发展的必然需要,为适应网络时代教育发展,教师角色应从教育观、知识素养、教学方法、教学研究等四个方面进行转变。     

Constructive,collaborative, contextual,and self‐directed learning in surface anatomy education

Anatomy education often consists of a combination of lectures and laboratory sessions, the latter frequently including surface anatomy. Studying surface anatomy enables students to elaborate on their knowledge of the cadaver's static anatomy by enabling the visualization of structures, especially those of the musculoskeletal system, move and function in a living human being. A recent development in teaching methods for surface anatomy is body painting, which several studies suggest increases both student motivation and knowledge acquisition. This article focuses on a teaching approach and is a translational contribution to existing literature. In line with best evidence medical education, the aim of this article is twofold: to briefly inform teachers about constructivist learning theory and elaborate on the principles of constructive, collaborative, contextual, and self‐directed learning; and to provide teachers with an example of how to implement these learning principles to change the approach to teaching surface anatomy. Student evaluations of this new approach demonstrate that the application of these learning principles leads to higher student satisfaction. However, research suggests that even better results could be achieved by further adjustments in the application of contextual and self‐directed learning principles. Successful implementation and guidance of peer physical examination is crucial for the described approach, but research shows that other options, like using life models, seem to work equally well. Future research on surface anatomy should focus on increasing the students' ability to apply anatomical knowledge and defining the setting in which certain teaching methods and approaches have a positive effect. Anat Sci Educ 6: 114–124. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

多媒体辅助下的大学法语研究型教学

为了实现大学法语从传统教学转向研究型教学,高校大学法语教师应该根据大学法语不同于其它学科的教学特点,有针对性地实现教学方法的变革。这不仅要求教师转变教学理念,改变教学策略,还要求教师能够借助新兴媒体教学手段来激发学生的课堂积极性,提高授课效率和课堂效果,从而实现教学模式的革新和教学质量的提升。     

Creating partnerships for generative learning and systemic change: Redefining academic roles and relationships in support of learning

The adoption of information and communications technologies (ICT) is a catalyst for innovation and evaluation of teaching, and are driving many tertiary institutions towards a reconsideration of the nature of quality learning. While the technology of online delivery receives most attention, it is arguably the management of teaching and learning that requires new approaches. Universities which have been engaged in traditional forms of distance education are considering how best to integrate communications technologies that offer alternative forms of course delivery, communication, flexible pedagogies and new roles for teachers and learners. Institutional change issues are also linked to ICT adoption: developing students' generic skills, fostering lifelong learning and catering for greater flexibility in delivery of educational services is now core business in tertiary institutions across Australia. This paper argues that such changes require tertiary teaching staff to adopt a different mindset, that of facilitating and supporting learning while assuming new roles as managers, motivators, mentors and mediators of learning. The rationale for each of these roles within Web-based learning environments is presented within a constructivist framework, which affirms and extends good teaching practice. In addition to highlighting aspects of teaching and learning that are supported and transformed by constructivist, Web-based delivery, this paper proposes that professional development is essentially about establishing partnerships for renewal of teaching values, and that staff developers need to learn the craft of supporting change at various levels: at the individual level, at the course and unit level and at the institutional level through systemic contextualized affirmation of constructivist values. Professional development for adoption of Web-based teaching requires multi-dimensional thinking. Rather than acting as a driver of top-down change, effective staff development is participatory and supportive, seeking action research partnerships where more profound changes in teacher conceptions of learning must take place before online pedagogies become part of tertiary teaching culture.     

PBL＋MM应用于高职市场营销教学的实验报告

PBL（Project-Based Learning）是不同于传统教学模式的一种全新的教学模式。本文将现代信息技术条件下的项目教学模式（PBL＋MM）引入到《市场营销》课程教学中,将两个市场营销专业大专班分为对照组和实验组,前者选择传统教学法,后者引入PBL＋MM教学模式,并通过期末考试、问卷调查等形式,对教学效果进行了对比分析。     

Changing views of teachers and teaching in Vietnam

In order for Vietnam to seek better international integration into an increasingly globalised world, the Vietnamese Government has launched educational reforms requiring teachers to adopt ‘Western’ constructivist pedagogies. This paper reports on an action research study in a Vietnamese teacher training institution which found that Vietnamese student teachers were willing to accommodate and accept change and were often very enthusiastic about the ‘Western ideas’ of teaching and learning, but that their unquestioning respect for the authority of their tutors remained firmly fixed. The data also showed that the students’ tutors had a relatively limited exposure to the ‘Western theories’ and their implications and therefore did not model or demonstrate the theories effectively. The paper draws on these findings to argue that the focus for transforming Vietnamese teachers’ practice should be on promoting the responsibility of teacher educators to introduce student teachers to new ideas about the processes of teaching and learning. This strategy is likely to be more supportive of student teachers’ development as it allows them to separate the processes of teaching from culturally dominant beliefs about roles which are part of their established identities.     

老年大学多元教学模式研究

多元教学模式基于我国老年大学的教学现状、成人学习理论和老年人身心状况及学习特点而提出,其以学习者为中心,以教师为主导,旨在培养学习者的自主学习能力.该模式结合了以问题为基础的教学模式、传统教学模式和合作学习教学模式,为老年学习者的实际生活服务,以期提高其晚年生活质量.