Conceptual Blending Monitoring Students’ Use of Metaphorical Concepts to Further the Learning of Science

Research in Science Education - The aim of this study is to explore how tertiary science students’ use of metaphors in their popular science article writing may influence their understanding...     

Resistance in the classroom – from dysfunctional to functional: A future necessary skill?

This article reports on resistance in primary schools, more specific grade five learners as perceived by teachers. A qualitative phenomenological interpretative approach was followed utilising focus group discussions and individual interviews. Participants included 14 teachers, purposefully selected from three private and three public schools in Gauteng. Data were thematically analysed. Four main themes were identified: 1) manifestations in the classroom differentiated by active or passive resistance, either positive or negative; 2) a causal model of reasoning; 3) teacher-learner relationships affected by negative and positive perceptions; and 4) constructive suggestions for support holding value for practical application. Findings revealed that resistance in the primary school classroom (the result of the interaction between the learner and contextual factors), is still often assumed as negative and dysfunctional to teaching; however, it can equally be conducive and functional depending on the interaction. Teachers display a more flexible, resilient and positive understanding of contributing factors, and they value resistance if it signifies creativity and independent problem solving, leading to more positive teacherlearner relationships.     

Who Needs What: Recommendations for Designing Effective Online Professional Development for Computer Science Teachers

The new Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science (CS) Principles course increases the need for quality CS teachers and thus the need for professional development (PD). This article presents the results of a 2-year study investigating how teachers teaching the AP CS Principles course for the first time used online PD material. Our results showed that the teaching and computing background of teachers had a significant impact on the teachers' need for and use of online PD material. More specifically, novice CS teachers needed and used PD for developing their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Non-CS teachers needed and used PD materials emphasizing content knowledge. Experienced CS teachers believed they had little need for PD even though they were teaching a new course. Our study makes three recommendations for designing effective online PD for CS teachers: match PD to teachers' background, align PD with the course curriculum, and use effective motivational design to enhance teacher engagement. (Keywords: computer science education, online professional development, K–12, AP computer science principles course)     

Academic status of deaf and hard-of-hearing students in public schools: student, home, and service facilitators and detractors

We examined facilitators and detractors of academic success of 25 deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) students selected from a pool of 187 students attending general education classes and enrolled in a study of academic progress. Interviews with their teachers of DHH, general education teachers, principals, parents, interpreters, and students themselves were analyzed for child, family, and school facilitators and detractors of academic status. Facilitators included student self-advocacy and motivation, high family and school expectations, families' ability to help with homework, and good communication between professionals. Detractors included additional disabilities and poor family-school communication. A comparison of above- and below-average students revealed no single distinguishing facilitator or detractor. Each above-average student had many facilitators, whereas each below-average student had several significant detractors.     

Definitional issues in emotion regulation research

Operational definitions of emotion regulation are frequently unclear, as are links between emotion regulation measures and underlying theoretical constructs. This is of concern because measurement decisions can have both intentional and unintentional implications for underlying conceptualizations of emotion regulation. This report examines the implications of some such decisions, including (a) focusing on types versus total amount of emotion regulation, (b) determining distinctiveness of measures of emotion versus emotion regulation strategies, (c) deciding whether and how to examine temporal sequencing of strategy use and emotion, d) using discrete versus global emotion measures, and (e) determining when emotion is being regulated. Finally, the need for better conceptualizations and empirical assessments of adaptive (vs. maladaptive) emotion regulation is discussed.     

Preschool emotional competence: pathway to social competence?

Preschoolers' (N = 143) patterns of emotional expressiveness, emotion regulation, and emotion knowledge were assessed. Their contributions to social competence, as evidenced by sociometric likability and teacher ratings, were evaluated via latent variable modeling, both concurrently and across time. Moderation of key results by age and sex was also explored. Emotional competence assessed at 3 to 4 years of age contributed to both concurrent and kindergarten social competence. Even early in the preschool period, contributions of emotional competence to social competence have long-term implications.     

“Practice What You Preach”: Teachers’ Perceptions of Emotional Competence and Emotionally Supportive Classroom Practices

Research Findings: The connections between parents’ emotional competence (emotion expression, regulation, and knowledge) and children’s social–emotional learning (SEL) have been well studied; however, the associations among teachers’ emotional competencies and children’s SEL remain widely understudied. In the present study, private preschool and Head Start teachers (N = 32) were observed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Participating teachers from each center also participated in focus group discussions about emotional competence in preschool classrooms. For analyses, teachers were divided into Moderately and Highly Supportive groups based on observed emotional support quality. Teachers’ focus group responses were compared. Practice or Policy: Comparison groups differed with regard to their discussions of emotion regulation and emotion knowledge. These differences elucidate ways in which intervention programs and in-service training can be developed to help teachers better meet the SEL needs of children.     

Welche Rolle spielt Kompetenzdiagnostik im Rahmen von Lehr-Lernprozessen?

Competence assessment can support evidence-based teaching and learning. Depending on its specific purpose, competence assessment can be applied at the individual, the classroom or school level as well as on a national level. Large-scale-assessments are typical examples for system monitoring. Competence assessment on the individual level can provide important information with respect to individual qualification and learning outcomes. Typically, competence assessment uses psychometric models from Item-Response-Theory (IRT). However, until present, competence assessment still struggles to tap its full potential regarding feedback and individual support. Teachers often have difficulties to interpret results from competence assessments that are based on IRT. Thus, it is crucial to support teachers in using these results to improve classroom teaching. One of the main challenges of educational measurement is to align everyday classroom teaching with formative and summative assessments and to establish competence models as a common ground. Process-orientated, formative assessment can inform criterion-based feedback and, consequently, promote teaching on the basis of educational standards that were defined on the system level. However, more work needs to be done with respect to research on assessments as well as their communication and implementation into teaching practice.