High-School Teachers’ Attempts to Promote Self-Regulated Learning: “I may learn from you, yet how do I do it?”

This study examined how urban high-school students responded to increased academic expectations. The intervention included increased expectations for reading and writing, collaboration, and the completion of multi-day assignments. Twenty-four students (8 lower, 8 average, and 8 higher performers) from 4 classrooms were interviewed across a 9-week period to evaluate their reactions to the increased expectations. While students approached lessons with learning versus performance orientations, they were unsuccessful because they could not transfer classroom successes to their outside of school studying efforts. Their difficulties were related to a lack of strategies, a failure to manage distractions, or an inability to monitor studying behaviors. Discussion focuses on the difficulties among students based on performance levels and on the challenges of increasing academic expectations within a climate of high-stakes testing.     

Learning from multimedia presentations: Facilitation function of animations and spatial abilities

Animations may facilitate learning by providing external support for visual–spatial mental processing. Facilitation is challenged by findings that demonstrate involvement of spatial abilities in learning from animations, because this involvement indicates active internal visual–spatial processing. In the present study, learners attended to a system-paced multimedia presentation in which a verbal–auditory explanation was concurrently synchronized either with animation, with static core pictures, or with enriched static pictures that showed additional intermediate steps and arrows indicating motion. Results demonstrated better learning success with animations and with enriched static pictures than with static pictures. Spatial abilities were not substantively related to learning success with animations or with static pictures, but they played a crucial role for learning success with enriched static pictures. It is concluded that active visual–spatial processing was recruited with enriched static pictures. With animations, learning was truly facilitated by external support for visual–spatial mental processing.     

The Significance of Emulation in the Oral Interaction Between Teacher and Students

The lack of attention to the role of emotions generally has led modern learning theories to neglect the importance of emulation as a pedagogical support to students’ learning. One reason could be that the influence of teacher personality is not considered in relation to learning outcome. Another reason may be that the concept of emulation has been used as a psychological conception for one‐way transmission. From a pedagogical rhetorical perspective, it is here argued that emulation and its pedagogical function is rooted in three human conditions: the biological, moral and political. The framework for this reasoning is discussed, as well as historical changes in pedagogical focus. Finally, it is concluded that the educative character of the teacher has a crucial impact on how willing students are to interact and share the teachers’ knowledge, skills and values. Therefore, there is a need for a greater awareness of these aspects to be developed among teachers.     

Understanding technology: the development of a concept

Children's perceptions about technology were measured using a Writing/Drawing Activity and a Picture Quiz, administered to approximately 300 grade three to six children in six primary schools in the English Midlands. The results indicate that although many children associate technology only with computers and modern appliances, overall there is a variety of ideas, with the more complex and coherent among older children. Subsequently interviews were carried out with 81 of the children to explore their reasons for choosing items which they said were something to do with technology. The children were able to respond in a thoughtful and consistent manner. Even when the children professed not to know what technology is, they often used an alternative but consistent explanation. A tentative model describing the development of children's ideas about technology is presented.     

The Contributors' Column

This project investigated the effects of a standards-based mathematics methods course on the mathematics anxiety levels of preservice teachers. The qualitative portion of the study examined aspects of a math methods course that affected mathematics anxiety levels and the antecedents of mathematics anxiety. Findings revealed a significant difference (p.05) between pretest and posttest mathematics anxiety levels, indicating a decrease in mathematics anxiety from the onset of the mathematics methods course.     

Factors influencing elementary school children's attitudes toward science before,during, and after a visit to the UK National Space Centre

This article reports on attitude changes of 300 children, aged 10 or 11 years, from four schools, who visited the UK National Space Centre. Attitudes toward science and space were explored by examining responses to five different attitude scales. These were administered before, immediately after, and 2 months and 4–5 months after a visit to the main exhibition area and Challenger Centre. Observations during the visits and interviews of teachers and a sample of children were carried out. Before the visit girls were more anxious than boys. Immediately afterward, children showed more interest in space and a moderate increase in their views about the value of science in society. Nearly 20% of the pupils showed an increased desire to become scientists in the future. These children also showed a positive advantage over the other children with regard to science enthusiasm and space interest. Two months later, they continued to be more positive about being future scientists but only the girls' scores were still significantly raised. Most children found the Challenger experience positive but had more problems with the exhibition area. Teachers' preparation and support during the visit as well as their personal interest had a significant long‐term effect on children's attitudes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 53–83, 2005     

Clarity and coherence of lesson goals as a scaffold for student learning

The article addresses clarity and coherence of lesson goals as a scaffold for student learning. In 13 physics classes video recordings of the introductory lesson of two topics were rated with respect to clarity and coherence of the lesson structure. HLM analyses showed a positive effect of classes with high goal clarity and coherence on the students' reports on supportive learning conditions, self-determined learning motivation and organising learning activities. Over the course of a school year high goal clarity and coherence resulted in a positive competence development. No effect was found for individual interest development.     

A Retrospective View of the National Board Certification Process

National Board Certification (NBC) is a voluntary yet advanced teaching credential that goes beyond the typical state licensure requirement (NEA, 2015 National Education Association (NEA). (2015). National Board Certification of Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/31738.htm [Google Scholar]). The purpose of this study is to determine the perspectives of teachers who have completed and achieved NBC, and specifically how it has impacted them as classroom teachers. Using data collected via a survey, this study provides an overview of the perspectives of 496 National Board Certified Teachers centered on the Five Core Propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The findings of this study revealed statistical significance on teachers’ reported growth in areas such as leadership, effective instruction, and subject mastery as a result of NBC. Findings also suggest positive change on each of the Five Core Propositions, such as "teachers are committed to students and their learning," as reported by teachers.