Noticing and weighing alternatives in the reflection of regular classroom teaching: Evidence of expertise using mobile eye-tracking

Instructional videos are widely used to study teachers’ professional vision. A new technological development in video research is mobile eye-tracking (MET). It has the potential to provide fine-grained insights into teachers’ professional vision in action, but has yet been scarcely employed. We addressed this research gap by using MET video feedback to examine how expert and novice teachers differed in their noticing and weighing of alternative teaching strategies. Expert and novice teachers’ lessons were recorded with MET devices. Then, they commented on what they observe while watching their own teaching videos. Using a mixed methods approach, we found that expert and novice teachers did not differ in the number of classroom events they noticed and alternative teaching strategies they mentioned. However, novice teachers were more critical of their own teaching than expert teachers, particularly when they considered alternative teaching strategies. Practical implications for the field of teacher education are discussed.

     

Boarding schools: A longitudinal examination of Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous boarders’ and non-boarders’ wellbeing

Improving educational outcomes for Indigenous Australian students is a key strategy to helping Indigenous people reach their full potential. This has resulted in well-intentioned efforts by Australian educators and governments to ensure Indigenous children have positive school experiences. However, Indigenous students still lag behind their non-Indigenous counterparts in educational outcomes. This is particularly so for Indigenous students living in rural and remote parts of Australia where educational opportunities are limited, especially in high school. One solution to this problem has been to enrol these students in boarding schools in urban and metropolitan centres. While research on the success of boarding schools for Indigenous students is scarce, what little that does exist is not encouraging. The focus of this research was to examine the effects of boarding for Indigenous (n = 11) and non-Indigenous students’ (n = 158) wellbeing (N = 1423) in two large private boys’ schools. Participating students aged 12–18 years old completed a survey measuring wellbeing constructs on two occasions, 12 months apart. Non-Indigenous boys were generally higher in wellbeing compared with Indigenous boys. There was also evidence of improved social wellbeing beyond that of non-Indigenous boarders over time. Overall, while evidence of merit was weak, boarding schools may benefit their Indigenous students’ development in social wellbeing.     

Building Women’s Innovation Capacities Through Undergraduate Experiences

Research in Higher Education - This study examines how collegiate climates and practices can promote innovation capacities among an international longitudinal sample of undergraduate women. Using a...     

Quantitatively Investigating Inservice Elementary Teachers’ Nature of Science Views

Research in Science Education - Many nature of science (NOS) studies have demonstrated that teachers can improve their understandings of NOS with explicit and reflective instruction; however, the...     

当代历史教育需要中国话语权

21世纪以来的历史教育改革很大程度上热衷于依赖外来理论,虽产生了合理的教育实践,但也出现不少问题。种种反常状态,超乎了借鉴的"度",不仅违反历史学科规律,也大不利于立德树人工作的落实。我国的历史教育应当拥有自己的话语体系,相当层面上应当淡化乃至跳出洋理论的窠臼。我国几千年历史教育实践,提供了中国特色历史教育的话语土壤。"记功司过"的伦理教化功能、"寓论断于叙事"的表达方式、起承转合完备的历史教学技能、"无征不信"的治学原则、古代史家强调"史识""经世致用"的使命感,以及探研究诘的问题意识等史学遗产,是我们当代历史教育的宝贵源泉。构建体现中国特色、中国风格、中国气派的历史教育话语体系,推动马列主义普遍真理、中华优秀传统文化与中国历史教育实际有效地结合,是我们不懈努力的方向。     

The “Gift” of Time: Documenting Faculty Decisions to Stop the Tenure Clock During a Pandemic

Innovative Higher Education - Anticipating the deleterious effects of pandemic mitigation protocols on faculty’s research and creative work, many universities introduced mechanisms for...     

Integration of Scientific Competence into Gross Anatomy Teaching Using Poster Presentations: Feasibility and Perception among Medical Students

Scientific competencies, as defined in the German competency framework, describe the ability to think independently and act scientifically which is a central component of medical education. This report describes integration of scientific competencies into anatomical teaching. Based on findings seen in two consecutive years of dissection courses, students worked on either a case report (n = 70) or an original research study (n = 6) in the format of a scientific poster while learning to use primary literature. Posters were evaluated by juror teams using standardized evaluation criteria. Student perception of the project was assessed by quantitative and qualitative data obtained from the faculty's course evaluation and an online-survey. Overall, students worked collaboratively and invested extra-time (median 3.0 hours) in poster creation. Primary literature was integrated in 90.8% of the posters. Overall poster quality was satisfactory (46.3 ± 8.5 [mean ± standard deviation] out of 72 points), but several insufficiencies were identified. Students integrated information gained from the donor's death certificate, post-mortem full-body computed tomography (CT) scan (22.4%), and histopathological workup (31.6%) in their case reports. Students responded positively about learning new scientific skills (median 4.0 on a six-point Likert scale), but free-text answers revealed that some students experienced the project as an extra burden in a demanding gross anatomy course. In summary, it was feasible to introduce students to scientific skills during the dissection course and to increase interest in science in approximately a third of the survey respondents. Further adjustments to ensure the posters' scientific quality might be necessary for the future.     

What factors motivate male and female Generation Z students to become engaged as peer teachers? A mixed-method study among medical and dental students in the gross anatomy course

Peer-teaching is widely established in anatomy teaching and offers well-described advantages. Nevertheless, at Ulm University, Germany, a reduction in the number of peer teacher applicants for the dissection course was observed. This study examined factors related to the attractiveness of a position as a peer teacher for Generation Z students. Participants of the gross anatomy course were asked to evaluate factors influencing the attractiveness of a peer teacher position using a six-point Likert scale. Additionally, open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively. Sex-specific subgroup analysis was performed comparing students of low and high motivation to apply for a tutorship. Of the 374 students who participated in this study (response rate 53%), 38% stated that they were intending to apply as peer teachers. Data indicated that students displayed intrinsic motivation to apply for a tutorship because of the opportunity to improve their anatomy knowledge and/or their pleasure in teaching. In contrast, extrinsic factors like remuneration of the tutorship and its relevance for their curriculum vitae were least important. Anatomy educators underestimated the demotivating factor of the workload associated with the tutorship and encouraged students less frequently to apply than peer teachers. Only minor sex-specific differences could be identified. Nevertheless, female students were encouraged less frequently to apply than their male peers. In summary, Generation Z students apply as peer teachers because they are enthusiastic about the task. To motivate students to commit to extracurricular activities like a tutorship, anatomy educators should actively encourage students—particularly females—more frequently to apply.     

Dyad pedagogy in practical anatomy: A description of the implementation and student perceptions of an adaptive approach to cadaveric teaching

Prior to the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, anatomy practical sessions at Trinity College Dublin involved eight to 10 students per donor station, rotating between digital learning, anatomical models/osteology, and dissection activities for three hours weekly. To maintain cadaveric participation in the anatomy laboratory while adhering to distancing guidelines, a transition to dyad pedagogy was implemented. This mode of delivery allowed two students per donor station to spend one hour per week in the anatomy laboratory with all digital learning elements transferred to the virtual learning platform Blackboard as pre- and post-practical session learning activities. Dyad pedagogy has been explored in clinical settings and simulation procedural-based training but is yet to be fully verified in anatomy education. To determine the effectiveness of hybrid practical sessions and reduced donor to student ratios, the opinions of first year medical students were examined using an online questionnaire with a 51% response rate. Although students recognized the merits of more time in the anatomy laboratory, including opportunities for self-directed study and exposure to anatomical variation, they felt that having two students per station enabled sufficient hands-on time with the donor body and fostered learning opportunities that would not be possible with larger groups. Strong preferences for quality time with the donor body supported by online resources suggests this modality should be a key consideration in course design for anatomy curricula and emphasizes the importance of gauging students' preferences to optimize satisfaction and learning output when pivoting to blended learning strategies in anatomy education.