Strange bedfellows in science teacher preparation: conflicting perspectives on social justice presented in a Teach For America—university partnership

Teach For America (TFA), a widespread and well-known route into the teaching profession, frequently partners with university-based education programs to prepare and certify its corps members. However, university-based teacher education programs frequently emphasize very different understandings of socially just education and priorities for training teachers from those of TFA. Accordingly, science teachers trained through TFA-university partnerships encounter conflicting understandings of science education, justice, and urban communities as they are introduced to teaching practice. In this ethnographic case study we explored the experiences and reactions of a cohort of TFA corps members in a science methods course as they engaged with TFA’s perspective focused primarily on enhancing students’ social mobility and the methods course emphasizing democratic equality through scientific engagement. The study considers intersections between TFA’s approach to teacher preparation and sociocultural perspectives on equitable science teaching. The study also lends insight into the contradictions and challenges through which TFA science teachers develop understandings about their role as science teachers, purposes and goals of science education, and identities of the students and communities they serve.     

‘Brown Paper Packages’? A Sociocultural Perspective on Young Children's Ideas in Science

How do we see young children's thinking in science? Is it, as much previous research has led us to believe, that their ideas can be neatly boxed like “brown paper packages tied up with strings” – as the song from The Sound of Music goes? Or are their ideas like “wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings” (Sound of Music): fluid, complex, rich.?.?.? Drawing on the author's research into young children's ideas about natural phenomena such as the rain and clouds, and on Rogoff's three foci of analysis (personal, interpersonal and contextual), this paper illustrates how a consideration of sociocultural theory can be useful in framing research with young children, and allow us to see beyond the boxes. Emphasis is placed on recognising that children's thinking in science is embedded within particular sociocultural contexts, is guided by others and integrated with their use of certain mental and physical cultural tools. Thus, the article aims to present an alternative method for the generation of data on young children's thinking. Specific analysis of this data will, it is intended, be presented in a subsequent article.     

Teacher Consultation to Enhance Implementation of School-Based Restorative Justice

ABSTRACT

Restorative justice (RJ) is an alternative approach to school discipline that has been gaining recognition in the public and academic spheres as a way to engage students who misbehave in school. RJ has promise to address racial/ethnic, gender, and disability disproportionality in school discipline. One aspect of school-based RJ that has received almost no attention in the literature is the professional development and ongoing support of teachers in schools using RJ. This article provides a review of extant literature on school-based RJ, teacher training, and consultation methods. Integrating the empirical literature on school consultation and teacher professional development, we argue that schools should implement a multitiered model of professional development to build teacher competency in RJ, specifically including the use of targeted teacher consultation. The proposed model is complementary to an RJ framework, systematic, and capable of evaluation; future research is needed to evaluate its effectiveness in practice.     

Tailoring reading and vocabulary courses to the needs of non-native speakers of English

The paper describes how integrating instruction in reading and vocabulary can aid language learning for non-native speakers of English. It discusses the theories behind some of the difficulties in learning English and gives some practical methods for lessening those difficulties. Finally, the article delineates the differences in focus and emphasis between teaching reading and vocabulary skills to native students and teaching the same skills to non-native students.Dr. Gidmark is Assistant Professor of Skills & Writing at the University of Minnesota General College, where she also coordinates the Reading Laboratory. Address reprint requests to the author at the University of Minnesota General College, 106 Nicholson Hall, 216 Pillsbury Dr. S. E., Minneapolis, MN 55455.     

School pupils' reactions to flexible learning

The article describes a survey of the attitudes of sixth form students towards an Advanced level course in sociology taught by open learning strategies. The problems of open learning for the 16–19 year age group are highlighted and suggestions made for the use of key questions in performance monitoring which may identify learning difficulties for other open learners in this age group. The findings suggest that younger students entering such open learning programmes may need study methods counselling and additional tutorial support.     

Leading professional learning in an Australian secondary school through school‐university partnerships

As the limitations of one‐off and disconnected professional learning programs for teachers are recognised, there is widespread interest in building learning communities and professional learning teams within schools. When considering how to build local learning communities, school and university partnerships are seen as offering rich possibilities for transformative professional action. Set in the context of the international agenda of “Education For All” (UNESCO, 2005 UNESCO. (2005). Education for all: Global monitoring project. Retrieved January 8, 2007, from http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php‐URL_ID=36004&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=36004&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html)  [Google Scholar]) a model of sustained on‐going professional learning, developed in one large secondary school in Australia, is analysed. The social practices that generate action and participation for partnership members are then scrutinised for the legitimacy of school‐university partnerships and the contribution to enhancing teacher learning.     

Community Level Factors and Child Maltreatment Rates

Using census and administrative agency data for 177 urban census tracts, variation in rates of officially reported child maltreatment is found to be related to structural determinants of community social organization: economic and family resources, residential instability, household and age structure, and geographic proximity of neighborhoods to concentrated poverty. Furthermore, child maltreatment rates are found to be intercorrelated with other indicators of the breakdown of community social control and organization. These other indicators are similarly affected by the structural dimensions of neighborhood context. Children who live in neighborhoods that are characterized by poverty, excessive numbers of children per adult resident, population turnover, and the concentration of female-headed families are at highest risk of maltreatment. This analysis suggests that child maltreatment is but one manifestation of community social organization and that its occurrence is related to some of the same underlying macro-social conditions that foster other urban problems.     

Assessing Precollege Science Education Outreach Initiatives: A Funder's Perspective

We describe an assessment of the collective impact of 35 grants that the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) made to biomedical research institutions in 1999 to support precollege science education outreach programs. Data collected from funded institutions were compared with data from a control group of institutions that had advanced to the last stage of review but had not been funded. The survey instrument and the results reveal outcomes and impacts that HHMI considers relevant for these programs. The following attributes are considered: ability to secure additional, non-HHMI funding; institution buy-in as measured by gains in dedicated space and staff; enhancement of the program director''s career; number and adoption of educational products developed; number of related publications and awards; percentage of programs for which teachers received course credit; increase in science content knowledge; and increase in student motivation to study science.     

Learning environment and anxiety for learning and teaching mathematics among preservice teachers

Learning Environments Research - The learning environment has been found to be related to mathematics anxiety at a variety of educational levels, including higher education, but to date has not...     

The Four Roles of a Master Toddler Teacher

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: This case study of an experienced toddler teacher resulted in the identification of 4 roles that the teacher played in mediating a culture of respect and participation in the classroom. These 4 roles contrast the roles discussed in Leavitt’s (1994) ethnographic study Power and Emotion in Infant-Toddler Day Care. I used a series of data collection methods, including field observations, reflective collaboration with the teacher, and interviews with an assistant teacher, to discover the themes that emerged: (a) Liberator, (b) Curriculum Organizer, (c) Chief Historian, and (d) Learner. The role of Liberator was by far the most substantial of the themes that emerged from the data. The other 3 roles overlapped with the Liberator role, although each demonstrated some distinct characteristics. Practice or Policy: The findings of this study cannot be applied directly to other classrooms because of the limitations of the specific culture, history, and lived experiences of the participants. However, examining the lived experiences of the toddlers and their interactions with this teacher may provide reflective, effective, and productive content for the professional development activities of other caregivers. In addition, research cited expresses a need for multiple ways of knowing how very young children grow, develop, learn, communicate, and participate.