Using Mobile Technology in the Classroom: A Reflection Based on Teaching Experience in UAE

Smartphones are developing rapidly and continually with new features that make them widely used in many contexts. This paper is to reflect on students’ behaviours of using smartphones spontaneously (unplanned use) in the classroom, in a university in Dubai city in UAE. This reflection shall address the following questions: How can the instructors integrate smartphones into the classroom? How will they know that the students are using their phones in a way that relates to and enhances their learning? What are the implications and restrictions? The answers to these questions will illustrate that smartphones should be utilised as teaching tools since they support students’ learning; and therefore, should be allowed in the classroom.     

Contemporary Classroom Practice in Australian Primary Classrooms

What does the published literature on contemporary classroom practice in Australian primary schools tell us about what classroom practice looks like? And what strategic directions for research does a review of the literature suggest. In this review, I show that teacher educators preparing teachers for Australian primary schools have alarmingly little to go on in terms of what day to day life in schools is like, how the different parties involved perceive contemporary practice and how schools address, if they do at all, issues of social justice. I address some strategic directions for research. In particular, I suggest the need to accumulate case studies documenting and analysing contemporary school practices.     

How Far Have We Moved Toward the Integration of Theory and Practice in Self-Regulation?

In this article, we address four main questions, including: What is self-regulated learning for? What key strategies do students need to guide and direct their own learning process? What cues in the learning environment trigger self-regulation strategies? What can teachers do to help student to self-regulate their learning, motivation, and effort in the classroom? We illustrate that answers to these questions have changed over time and that changing conceptualizations of the self-regulation process have influenced the assessment tools that were used. We also point to changing classroom conditions as a factor that has affected the assessment of self-regulation. Finally, we formulate some questions that need to be tackled in research on self-regulation and introduce the articles and commentaries in the special issue that provide some cutting-edge work on the use of assessment to register self-regulation over time.     

One-to-One Technology in K–12 Classrooms: A Review of the Literature From 2004 Through 2014

This literature review examined empirical research conducted between 2004 and 2014 regarding 1:1 technologies in K–12 educational settings. Our overarching research question was: What does research tell us about 1:1 technology in K–12 classrooms? We used the constant-comparative method to analyze, code, and induce themes from 46 relevant articles. Findings showed that the studies selected for analyses primarily concentrated on the following themes: effects on student achievement, changes to the classroom environment, classroom uses, effects on learner motivation and engagement, and challenges to classroom integration. In this article, we define each of these themes, describe the implications of the use of technologies on a 1:1 basis in classrooms, and offer suggestions for future research.     

Current Challenges in Social Work Distance Education: Responses from the Elluminati

One of the first tasks of the Social Work Distance Education Network at the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary was to review the literature and address three research questions to inform policy making and planning relating to distance social work education programming. This paper is intended to disseminate responses to these questions from a small group of dedicated and experienced distance educators who have adopted the moniker Elluminati. (The Elluminati adapted their name from a popular online audio-conferencing program.) These questions include: (1) What is the optimal class size for a distance delivery offering? (2) What supports does an online course require for development and effective delivery? (3) What types of courses are suitable/unsuitable for online learning?     

Science teachers' views of professional development

Seventy-five science teachers from schools across Australia were interviewed in 1991 as part of the Science Education Professional Development Project (SEPD), a Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) funded Project of National Significance with a brief to develop a strategy to enhance the professional development of science teachers. At the time of interviewing there was considerable discussion about the implementation of a new classification, the Advanced Skilled Teacher. A major purpose of this Award Restructuring was to offer a career path for classroom teachers. In order to retain good science teachers and to encourage them to continue in the important role of classroom teaching it is crucial to understand and to meet their professional development needs. But what does it mean to develop and grow as a science teacher? What constitutes quality professional development? What do science teachers expect from professional development activities? This paper explores science teachers' expectations in relation to professional development and examines the implications for policy.     

Learning from the Professions: Examining How,Why, and When Engineers Read and Write

With the advent of the Next Generation Science Standards in engineering (NGSS, 2013), teachers of multiple subject areas are being asked to do more than ever before—not only to teach engineering content in the K-12 classroom but also to engage students in authentic disciplinary reading and writing as part of content learning. These standards sound good, but they beg several questions; namely, what do we know about how, why, and when do engineers read and write as they do their work every day? What do teachers charged with engineering education know about the daily practices of engineers, let alone the literacy practices? In short, little is known about the literacy practices of engineers in the course of their daily work. This article draws on participant observation, interviews, and document analysis of one research engineering laboratory to illustrate the literacy practices of one group of engineers and begins to draw implications from this work for teacher practice in achieving the NGSS engineering education standards.     

Science and its professionals: Views of Australian scientists on science education

Conclusions This study raises a great number of questions, many of which would be valuable for science curricula to reflect upon. Firstly, it would seem that the practising professionals do not believe methodology is easily taught, at least not without a strong factual knowledge base. Secondly, science courses have had little effect on carrer choice, with the possible slight exception of physical scientists working in the public sector. Thirdly, scientists would give strong support to the idea of teaching students to use ‘scientific attitudes’ in their everyday life. And fourthly, the social implications of science are felt to be deserving of close attention in schools-but perhaps not within the science classroom. What clearly remains to be done is the difficult and time-consuming work to follow up these hints. What do the scientists see asthe scientific attitudes? What facts, etc., should form the basis of the science curricula? How should the social implications of science be discussed, and what responses are appropriate to them? To answer these questions will take a national study of great scope and effort, yet it would seem to be an essential part of the process of determinng science education programmes of purpose and value.     

Revisiting Reflection: Utilizing Third Spaces in Teacher Education

Much has been written about the importance of reflective practice. What is missing is reflective work on the part of teacher educators to address the mismatch between university-based methods courses and the realities of classroom life. With examples from a third grade mathematics classroom as well as a university-based mathematics methods course, this article explores ways educators can employ third space theory as a way to engage in purposeful reflection into their teaching practices.     

Learning strategies and the learner's approach to a problem solving task

Summary In this paper data were presented about the differences in performance of several learners on a problem solving task. The nature of these differences was explored in terms of the learners' strategies and approach to the task. It was argued that the pattern of strategy application should be interpreted in relation to the way in which the learner engaged in the task. Furthermore, the pattern of strategy application was found to be most meaningful when interpreted within the framework of the learners' approach to the task. Success on the task appeared to be more strongly linked to the learners' approach than to the strategiesper se. This paper has provided further insight into what is meant by a deep and surface approach to a task. Evidence has been presented which shows that the learners' approach may be implemented in practice in different ways. It is hoped that the paper will stimulate many questions relating to learning on other tasks and in different contexts. For example, do learners have a characteristic learning approach? Does their approach vary according to the task or context? What factors influence the learning approach which is adopted? What implications does the notion of approach to learning have for classroom teaching?     

Classroom Conditions for Motivation and Engagement in Reading

This paper charts our thinking about engagement in reading. It begins where we began, which is inside a single classroom. The paper ends where we have arrived now, with a model of context for engaged reading. During this pursuit, we asked three major questions. Those questions serve as a framework for this paper, and are the following: (1) How can we increase long-term reading engagement in the classroom? (2) Is our approach for increasing reading engagement and motivation more effective than traditional reading instruction? (3) What are the critically important features of a classroom context that fosters long-term reading engagement?     

Intelligence Recreated

Many of us are frustrated with the overuse of intelligence tests. But intelligence tests have become so entrenched in our society that it is hard to imagine how they realistically could be replaced. Schools would be without a well-established screening device, and intelligence research would be without an external measure of validity. But what if we started over and imagined thinking about intelligence without the benefit (some would say hindrance) of Binet? What would theories and tests of intelligence look like? The articles in this special issue address this topic; here, I discuss the articles. The discussion is divided into three sections. The first section deals with definitional issues: How can intelligence be operationally defined, and can a single definition capture cognitive abilities of individuals at all ages? The second section briefly summarizes and evaluates each of the seven theories: How intelligent are these theories of intelligence? The final section focuses on the implications of the theories and theory-based tests reported in this issue: How can future research and educational practices benefit from the views presented here?     

Perceptions of Learning: Interviews with First and Second Graders in a Hungarian Primary School

The paper discusses children’ attitudes towards school and learning soon after entering primary school in Hungary. First and second grade primary school students (N?=?33) were interviewed. The interviews explored the following questions: What are the teachers’ and the children’s roles in the classroom? What is learning? Where do children learn? What kind of learning strategies do students use in arithmetic and reading? How are students evaluated in the school? What do students like best about school? The data suggest that the children quickly adapt to the school environment and, on the whole, have a positive attitude towards school and learning but—with a few exceptions—their views on the role of schooling in life reflect traditional, school subject centred goals and values and little awareness of the learning process.     

Yes,Classroom Sales Training Can Enhance Performance

Organizations today face competitive conditions unlike those experienced in the past. Managers and team leaders must learn ways to get the highest level of performance from a team of people, work with a variety of individuals diverse projects, communicate with a wide audience clearly and effectively, and be able to provide performance feedback and elevate performance levels for people they hardly know. While few will argue that learning in organizations is critical to meeting these challenges, an increasing number of decision-makers are raising questions about the value of classroom training. The questions are especially difficult to address in sales training where results are observable (i.e., sales) but difficult to trace to performance events and interventions. The current study was conducted to address two questions: 1) Is it possible to link sales production to participation in classroom sales training? 2) If so, what are the elements of the training that seem to be most useful in enhancing employee performance and sales performance?     

Teachers’ enactment of policy in classrooms: making students accountable through inscriptions from the curriculum in classroom interactions

The purpose of this paper is to examine the complex relationships between educational policy and classroom practice. By employing a sociocultural perspective, we examine formulations inscribed in socio-material artifacts about what students should learn and how they should engage with knowledge. We explore how these formulations are mobilized in instructional work and the implications this activity has for student participation. To address this issue, we analyzed video data of how teachers invoke competence aims from the national curriculum in their instructional work in six classrooms. The analytical procedures were derived from interaction analysis. The analysis focuses on how such formulations explicitly mediate social interaction as it unfolds on a micro level. The findings show that competence aims gain different functions as they are mobilized in classroom practice; in other words, they serve different purposes in teachers’ instructional work and anticipate different modes of student participation. In this study, the competence aims were (a) invoked as a source of authority, (b) translated into instructions, and (c) mobilized to obtain social order in the classroom. More rarely, the competence aims were used in meta-level discussions, where they functioned to reach agreements on how to pursue work toward joint goals. We discuss the implications of these ways of invoking competence aims for student participation.

     

Primary school teachers’ experiences of external providers in Ireland: learning lessons from physical education

There is an increasing trend towards the use of external providers in primary schools. The added value of external providers in enhancing aspects of children’s learning is supported in the physical education literature. Less is known, however, about the experiences of classroom teachers working with these external providers. To address this gap and guided by the question ‘What are primary school teachers experiences of external providers?’ we conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with primary school classroom teachers who had used external physical education providers (n?=?10). A thematic analysis of the data involved systematic coding from which themes were constructed. Findings alert to the limited partnership between classroom teachers and external providers currently. Teachers’ perceptions of external providers as having greater expertise resulted in classroom teachers engaging minimally in communicating with external providers and taking little part in lessons taught by the external provider. Overall findings indicate communication and involvement in pedagogical decision making as areas to address in reconceptualising the relationship between classroom teachers and external providers.     

Why are we using action learning and in what contexts?

The purpose of this study was to examine the contexts in which action learning has been used and provide implications for the design of action learning programmes. We performed a content analysis of 127 articles (case studies and case reports included) published in Action Learning: Research and Practice between 2004 and 2012. In this study, we address the following research questions: (a) In what contexts has action learning been used? (b) What are the distinctive features of cases identified? (c) What are the implications for the design of action learning programmes? The results showed that the UK and European countries have most frequently used action learning, and the most dominant purposes for action learning were leadership development, organization development, and professional development. We also elaborated on design considerations and implications for action learning research and practice.     

Taking a Second Look: Expert and Novice Differences when Observing the Same Classroom Teaching Segment a Second Time

Expert and beginning principals viewed a classroom teaching episode of a seventh grade mathematics classroom for teacher supervision purposes. After the first viewing participants were asked questions about classroom management and instruction, about the skills of the teacher, and about recommendations they would make for improvement. After a second viewing, similar questions were asked. Differences between groups were found in their understanding of classroom teaching and their abilities to evaluate and make recommendations for the improvement of teaching. This study indicates that important differences will occur in the supervision experience for teachers depending on whether an expert or novice principal supervises them. Findings from this study have implications for the development of preservice and inservice training programs and induction experiences for new principals.     

The nanny in the schoolhouse: critical reflections

What can narratives do for us? In this response to Grimes’ article, I endeavor to answer this question, considering the author’s story as both a space for unpacking and the complex intersection of identity, teaching and learning and as an effort to name herself in the midst of such complexity. Specifically, I address the raced, gendered, classed nature of the relationships that Grimes’ suggests facilitate science learning in her classroom, asking “What is gained or lost when students’ success is attributed to such relationships?”     

Turning others' leaves: snapshots of reading in London classrooms

What happens when London secondary school students read literary texts in the classroom? Is the model of literacy, and of development in literacy, that is offered in official policy documents adequate to encompass the ways in which students read? If not, what gets left out of such policy‐derived accounts? And what part is played in such readings by students' knowledge of other texts, and of the world beyond the classroom? This paper seeks to address these questions through a series of snapshots of reading within different classrooms across London.