Continuing professional development designed as second-order action research: work-in-progress

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to describe how Lesson Study as second-order action research can be applied and how we planned to evaluate and improve course design, learners’ progress, team members’ roles and learning objectives of a 2-year university course for English as a Second Language teachers. The article describes the concept of a Lesson Study conducted in a course for teachers with a minimum of 3 years of teaching experience, rather than for students or undergraduates as in traditional concepts of the Lesson Study approach. PFL (‘Pedagogy and Subject Didactics Programme’) is a 2-year programme consisting of three seminars and five groups meetings in which the participants focus on the reflection of their professional practice in their specific school situation. All participants are required to plan, carry out and document their own action research project. The team provides input on action research and current topics in language teaching and learning, and advises participants. The methodology follows a mixed-method approach based on action research methodologies including questionnaires, interviews and observations. Analyses are conducted qualitatively and quantitatively. The article presents the concept of the project but not yet findings at this stage due to curriculum development and approval issues.     

Reflection and Connections: The Other Side of Integration

Jewish day schools offer many experiences meant to foster the Jewish development of students. However, these experiences are at risk of being disconnected from one another, complicating a comprehensive approach to addressing issues of identity. This article uses a constructivist approach to identity development to frame the challenges posed by such a fragmentation. Observations of pluralistic Jewish day high schools are brought as illustrations. The author discusses an approach of scaffolded reflection as a way to integrate the identity—enhancing experiences in which a student participates.     

Writing and knowledge: Effects and re-effects

Recent cognitive research on writing deals with various factors influencing writing (in the sense of textproduction). One of these factors is knowledge of a specific topic. The opposite effect of writing on knowledge, however, is rarely examined in research. Being interested in the relationships between knowledge and writing some of our results of a research project which has been conducted in the years 1987 to 1989, will be reported.     

Advocating for Educational Standards in Counselor Licensure Laws

As the counseling profession evolves, educational standards for counselor licensure must be standardized from state to state. In this article, the authors discuss historical and current influences and present an advocacy model that has been used to standardize educational requirements in state counselor licensure laws.     

Individualizing instruction through pacing procedures

Conclusion The ideal outcome of individualized instruction is both effective and efficient instruction. Confining ourselves to a consideration of fixed-paced instruction which is offered because the medium requiredhappens to be fixed-paced in character, how can such instruction be both effective and efficient? When slow, it tends to be effective but inefficient. Unless it can be demonstrated that slow students can be sped up, inefficiency may be the price that must be paid to make effectiveness possible for them. The trade-off is no different than that which is currently necessary in selfpaced instruction. The research described in this paper was performed under a grant (No. 7-48-0000-159) to the Metropolitan Pittsburgh educational television station, WQED, from the Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, under Title VII of the National Defense Education Act of 1958. The research was performed under the direction of George L. Gropper, principal investigator.     

Consensual Faculty—Student Sexual Relationships in Counselor Education: Recommendations for Counselor Educators' Decision Making

The authors explore the issue of consensual sexual relationships between counselor educators and students. The American Counseling Association's (2005) ACA Code of Ethics is consulted, and the complex issues associated with these relationships are discussed. A case example is provided that generates suggestions to guide counselor educators' decision making related to consensual sexual relationships with students.     

Strategic Innovation: Conception of Innovation among Social Sciences Researchers in Higher Education in Northwestern México

Innovative Higher Education - Researchers in universities are encouraged to produce innovative scientific research and participate in the international scientific community. In Mexico, public...