An Education Action Zone at work: primary teacher perceptions of the efficacy of a creative learning and collaborative leadership project

This article reports on the grouping practices used by a cohort of 10 newly qualified primary teachers for teaching mathematics in different English primary schools. It examines the factors that influence why these teachers group as they do. All the teachers grouped their pupils on the basis of achievement or perceived ability for mathematics. It was found that the factors that influenced the grouping arrangements were complex and not always consistent with the teachers' aims and beliefs.     

Project L.O.G.I.C.: Nurturing the mathematically gifted

A career education model for gifted secondary students proceeds from a broad awareness of the fifteen career clusters to specific career decision‐making by the individual student.     

The effectiveness of structured co-operative teaching and learning in Greek primary school classrooms

This study focuses upon the effectiveness of structured co-operative group work on primary school students, aged between 8.5 and 9.5 years old, regarding their content knowledge, attitudes towards co-operative group work, experiential learning and open-ended curriculum as well as students' social and learning behaviour during co-operative group work. A cross-curricular educational programme was implemented within the curriculum area of environmental studies entitled ‘traffic education'. The methodology applied in this study was the experimental and the case study research designs. The findings of the present study support the view that pupils can gain benefits through structured group work co-operation in obtaining content knowledge and group work skills, as well as in developing positive attitudes towards group work, experiential learning, open-ended curriculum and the co-operation with their peers with learning difficulties (LDs). Changes in the relationships with the peers were not affected after the implementation of the educational programme.     

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING FOR MIDLIFE ADULTS WITH PARENT‐CARING RESPONSIBILITIES

A major issue facing today's families is aging family members. Three factors compound this dilemma. First, the aging population is increasing both numerically and proportionally. Second, the middle generation, the traditional caretaking generation, is becoming older and fewer in number. Third, women are increasingly participating in the labor force. This research explored the use of adult education programming in addressing the needs of the midlife caretaking generation.

The nonrandom sample consisted of 50 midlife offspring residing in three central lower Michigan counties. As part of a one‐to‐one interview, respondents were asked to indicate preferences for content and mode of instruction for topics related to adult child/aging parent relationships. Thirteen of the most frequently mentioned areas of concern and need were selected from current gerontological literature. If participants desired further information in the content area, one of six methods of instruction also were selected.

The primary variable which distinguished those with high and low interest in information was age. The younger the age of the respondent, the more requests for information. Information related to the aging process was of greatest concern. Instructional methods that allowed personal interaction were selected for content areas of a personal nature. Conversely, independent methods were selected for informational material. Implications for educational gerontologists are explored.     

Out of the Depths Have I Cried: Aesthetic Opposition at the Gateway to Auschwitz

Terezin, the gateway to Auschwitz, a town commandeered by the Nazis to serve as a “model” relocation camp to demonstrate the Third Reich's generosity and kindness toward the Jews, was an elaborate hoax. In an environment where truth was twisted beyond recognition, artists, writers, actors, and musicians used their work to revive the spirits of the condemned and to leave a legacy of truth in the face of an insidious lie. The arts became the foundation for a “curriculum” that shaped the lives of the inmates surviving in hell.     

Processes and skills underlying continuing intrinsic motivation to learn: Toward a definition of motivational skills training interventions

Continuing intrinsic motivation to learn is the result of actively generating and implementing a variety of metacognitive, cognitive, and affective processes and skills. An understanding of these processes, skills, and their interrelationships forms a basis for the design of an effective motivational skills training program. This article advances a generative process model of continuing motivation in which the central role of perceived self‐efficacy and personal control are explicated. Support for this model from current theories of learning and motivation is presented, along with implications for specific skills training interventions. It is argued that the functional purpose of motivational skills training is to promote perceptions of self‐efficacy and personal control that underlie the ability to take positive self‐control and change negative attitudes and orientations toward learning. For students with motivational deficiencies, this training is a necessary precursor to their active engagement in the learning process and execution of appropriate learning strategies and skills.     

Multicultural apprenticeships in teacher education

The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical structure of what we call multicultural apprenticeships in teacher education. This structure is drawn from decades of scholarship and research in teacher education, in general, and in preparing teachers for diversity, in particular. It is further situated within our own work in an Early Childhood Education Masters in Education program and our commitments to preparing teachers to support diverse populations of children. Three different multicultural apprenticeships are used to provide concrete examples of the characteristics of this approach to preparing teachers for diverse classrooms.     

Mapping Changes in Science Teachers’ Content Knowledge: Concept Maps and Authentic Professional Development

Two studies were conducted to examine content knowledge changes following 2 weeks of professional development that included scientific research with university scientists. Engaging teachers in scientific research is considered to be an effective way of encouraging knowledge of both inquiry pedagogy and content knowledge. We used concept maps with two cohorts of teachers to assess changes in science teacher knowledge. In study 1, 34 teachers developed pre- and post-concept maps in one of the nine different content areas. A repeated measures analysis of six quantitative scores showed statistically significant increases in knowledge representation. Quantitative and qualitative scoring methods indicate that concept maps are effective for assessing teacher knowledge gains from professional development. Study 2 replicated the results with 24 teachers and provided further information about how knowledge changes.