Relays and relations: tracking a policy initiative for improving teacher professionalism

This paper offers a new way of exploring some of the complexities inherent in attempts by policy makers and others to promote educational change. The focus of this study is on the current drive in education policy to alter the basis of teacher professionalism through the application of principles of lifelong learning to teachers’ professional development. Drawing upon data from two studies of the Chartered Teacher (CT) initiative in Scotland the paper examines the formation of successive transmission points as material relays of relations during the process of implementing this policy objective. It explores how three key discursive elements of a professional standard for accomplished teaching: collaborative action, critical reflection and enquiry, and teacher leadership, were progressively recontextualised during the introduction of CT status in schools. The findings indicate some of the conceptual and political struggles involved at the critical junctures where policy implementation requires the movement of a discourse from one social context to another. The paper suggests that a discursive analysis of how a centrally mandated initiative is transmitted can help to promote an understanding of the complexities of this process and increase critical awareness of the issues at stake for those involved.     

Redesigning library orientation for first-year medical students during the pandemic

Background:Prior to 2020, library orientation for first-year medical students at Weill Cornell Medicine took the form of an on-site treasure hunt competition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the orientation for the MD class of 2024 was shifted to an all-virtual format. This shift mandated a full redesign of the library orientation.Case Presentation:The Samuel J. Wood Library sought to preserve the excitement and fun of the treasure hunt in the new virtual format. The competition was redesigned as a Zoom meeting using breakout rooms, with library faculty and staff serving as team facilitators. Tasks were rewritten, shifting the focus from the library''s physical spaces to its virtual services and online resources. The redesigned orientation was evaluated using two data sources: a postsession survey of student participants and a debriefing of the library employees who participated. Student evaluations were positive, while the faculty and staff provided numerous suggestions for improving future virtual orientations.Conclusions:A successful virtual library orientation requires careful preparation, including testing the competition tasks, full rehearsal with library facilitators, and a thoughtful approach to technology and logistics. We have chosen to share the materials we developed for other academic health sciences libraries that may wish to take a similar approach to their own virtual orientations.     

Using Constructivist Instructional Design Featured in Two Online Courses: Notes From the Field

Abstract

We thought that the close integration of theory and practice offered by constructivism promises unique opportunities to maximize learning in online courses using interactive software as the primary medium of communication. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine the ‘goodness of fit’ between principles drawn from constructivist theories and the design and implementation of the interactive online course.     

Modernizing leadership through private participation: a marriage of inconvenience with public ethos?

What distinctive leadership changes does the private sector bring to the running of public sector educational services? This paper contributes to an understanding of the issues raised by this question by studying the senior management of a private company running services for an English local education authority. The paper explores evidence of modernizing leadership, as well as the extent to which a traditional public ethos is sustained or re‐interpreted within modernization. Analysis is based principally on interviews with senior management, but is also informed by the larger data set collected as part of the case study of this public‐private partnership. The paper suggests that modernizing leadership, as understood in terms of the dominant policy discourse, is not found in its pure form, but is modified by a continuing orientation to an older public ethos. A model is proposed—an adaptive public service model of leadership—which reflects the style of leadership forged by senior management. Issues, dangers, paradoxes, and contradictions inherent in the model and the practice it represents are highlighted. The model is not put forward as an ideal to follow, but as a means of highlighting the issues that arise where modernization and older ideals of public service encounter each other.     

Small data,online learning and assessment practices in higher education: a case study of failure?

In this paper, we present an in-depth case study of a single student who failed an online module which formed part of a master’s programme in Professional Education and Leadership. We use this case study to examine assessment practices in higher education in the online environment. In taking this approach, we go against the current predilection for Big Data which has given rise to ‘learning analytics’, a data-intensive approach to monitoring learning. In particular, we draw attention to the model of the learner produced by learning analytics and to issues of ‘dataveillance’ in online learning. We also use the case to examine assessment in higher education more broadly, exploring the tensions between the requirements for certification and the need for learning. We conclude that assessment practices in higher education may have more to do with ‘quality assurance’ and regulatory frameworks than with ‘enhancing the student experience’ and inculcating the qualities that mark out higher education as an ethical project.     

Teachers' learning while constructing technology‐based instructional resources

Grounded in a constructionist paradigm, this study examined elementary school teachers' learning while creating technology‐rich instructional materials. Sixteen teachers at an elementary school were interviewed about their experience. Using the components of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge as an analytical framework, inductive qualitative analysis indicated that these professional learning activities led to teachers' growth primarily in technological knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge. These findings as well as implications for designing professional learning activities for teachers are also shared.     

Teachers' experiences and perceptions of primary EFL in Norway and the Netherlands: a comparative study

This article compares the organization and practice of primary English language teaching in Norway and The Netherlands, considering the strengths and weaknesses of the respective systems. It is based on surveys carried out in each country. Several issues considered essential to the success of a primary EFL program are addressed, such as starting age, contact hours, teacher competence, teaching priorities, classroom practice, the use of the target language as the language of instruction, and materials used. Special attention is given to the transition from the primary to secondary level. Although both countries share common challenges and problems, these appear to be far greater in the Netherlands than in Norway, especially with regard to continuity from primary to secondary.

Cet article compare l'organisation et la pratique de l'enseignement de l'anglais à l'école primaire en Norvège et aux Pays‐Bas, en considérant les forces et les faiblesses des systèmes respectifs. L'article se base sur des enquêtes réalisées dans chaque pays. Plusieurs éléments essentiels ont été pris en compte pour le succès du programme de EFL (anglais langue étrangère) à l'école primaire, comme l'âge des élèves, le nombre d'heures d'enseignement, la compétence du professeur, les priorités de l'enseignement, les pratiques de classe, l'utilisation de la langue cible pendant l'enseignement et le matériel utilisé. Une attention toute particulière a été accordée à la transition du niveau primaire au niveau secondaire. Bien que les deux pays partagent les mêmes ambitions et les mêmes problèmes, il semble qu'ils soient mieux abordés aux Pays‐Bas qu'en Norvège, particulièrement si l'on considère la continuité entre le niveau primaire et le niveau secondaire.

Este artículo compara la organización y la práctica de la enseñanza del idioma inglés en la escuela primaria en Noruega y en los Países Bajos, considerando lo positivo y lo negativo de los sistemas respectivos. Se basa en investigaciones realizadas en cada país. Se toman en cuenta varios elementos esenciales para el éxito del programa de EFL (enseñanza del inglés para extranjeros) en la escuela primaria, como la edad de los alumnos, las horas de enseñanza, la competencia del profesor, las prácticas de clase, el uso del idioma enseñado en la situación de enseñanza y el material utilizado. Una atención particular está otorgada a la transición de la escuela primaria a la segundaria. Aunque los dos países compartan los mismos desafíos y problemas, aparece que son tratados mejor en los Países Bajos que en Noruega, especialmente si se considera la continuidad entre el nivel primario y el segundario.

Im Mittelpunkt des Beitrags steht ein Vergleich der Organisation und Praxis des Grundschul‐Englischunterrichts in den Niederlanden und in Norwegen, wobei Stärken und Schwächen der jeweiligen Systeme aufgezeigt werden. Die Untersuchung beruht auf Umfragen, die unter Lehrkräften in den beiden Ländern durchgeführt wurden. Eine Reihe wichtiger Aspekte, die für den Erfolg von Englischprogrammen im Grundschulbereich verantwortlich sind, wie Eingangsalter der Schüler, Stundendeputat, Kompetenz der Lehrkraft, Unterrichtsziele, Unterrichtspraxis, Unterrichtsprache und Lehrmittel, werden angesprochen. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird dem Übergang vom Grundschul‐ zum Sekundarbereich gewidmet. Obwohl beide Länder vor ähnlichen Problemen und Herausforderungen stehen, scheinen diese in den Niederlanden sehr viel schwerwiegender als in Norwegen zu sein, ganz besonders in Bezug auf die Frage der Kontinuität beim Wechsel von der Grundschule zur Sekundarstufe.