Messy but meaningful: exploring the transition to reform-based pedagogy with teachers of mathematics and coordinators in Ontario,Canada

The RE4MUL8 Project involved the creation of an online/mobile resource for Intermediate Division (Grade 7 and 8) teachers of mathematics. This resource showcases video documentaries of seven key mathematics topic lessons (fractions, integers, proportional reasoning, composite shapes and solids, solving equations, and, patterning and algebraic thinking), as delivered by seven teachers in Ontario, Canada who were nominated by their respective District School Boards as being, or becoming, highly effective practitioners in the area of reform-based mathematics education. As part of a qualitative case study research design, these teachers, often along with their math coordinators, were then interviewed following the lesson, and shared reflections on the lesson itself and, more generally, on their ongoing journey towards reform-based mathematics teaching. This paper reports on three major themes that emerged from these discussions, namely, problem-based learning, the reality and necessity of ‘messy time’ transition to reform-based pedagogy, and, balancing instructional planning and practices.     

“I Do This for All of the Reasons America Doesn't Want Me To”: The Organic Pedagogies of Black Male Instructors

ABSTRACT

This article examines the teaching philosophies of Black male teachers of Black male students in manhood development classes in a district-wide program in Oakland, California. Drawing on observations and instructor interview data, we explore the teachers’ histories, teaching philosophies, and the trajectory of their racial-educational understandings. We utilize Gramsci's (1971 Gramsci, A. (1971). Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci: Hoare, Q. & Smith, G. N. (Eds.). (Hoare, Q. & Smith, G. N., trans.) New York, NY: International.  [Google Scholar]) theory of the organic intellectual, Mills’ (1997 Mills, C. W. (1997). The racial contract. Cornell, NY: Cornell University Press. [Google Scholar]) and Leonardo's (2013 Leonardo, Z. (2013). The story of schooling: Critical race theory and the educational racial contract. Discourse: Studies in the cultural politics of education, 34, 599–610. doi: 10.1080/01596306.2013.822624[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) theories of the subperson and substudent, and Dumas’ (2014 Dumas, M. J. (2014). “Losing an arm”: Schooling as a site of Black suffering. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 17(1), 1–29. doi: 10.1080/13613324.2013.850412 [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) notion of Black suffering to theorize the ways that race comes into play in the teaching of African American male students. We find that racialization and re-humanization are key to instructors’ teaching, and we identify two key aspects of their teaching philosophies: (1) Humanization/Love and (2) Reciprocity.     

Kinematic and kinetic analyses of the toes in dance movements

Due to the significant amount of time dancers spend on the forefoot, loads on the metatarsophalangeal joints are likely high, yet vary between dance movements. The purpose of this study was to compare joint motion and net joint moments at the metatarsophalangeal joints during three different dance movements ranging in demands at the foot and ankle joints. Ten healthy, female dancers (27.6 ± 3.2 years; 56.3 ± 6.9 kg; 1.6 ± 0.1 m) with an average 21.7 ± 4.9 years of dance training performed relevés (rising up onto the toes), sautés (vertical bipedal jumps), and saut de chat leaps (split jumps involving both vertical and horizontal components). Metatarsophalangeal joint kinematics and kinetics in the sagittal plane were calculated. Total excursion and peak net joint moments during rising or push-off were compared between the three dance movements. Greater extension of the metatarsophalangeal joints was seen during relevés compared to sautés or saut de chat leaps, and the largest metatarsophalangeal net joint moments were seen during saut de chat leaps. The metatarsophalangeal joints frequently and repetitively manage external loads and substantial metatarsophalangeal extension during these three dance movements, which may contribute to the high rate of foot and ankle injuries in dancers.     

Development of an Augmented Reality Game to Teach Abstract Concepts in Food Chemistry

One of the most pressing issues for many land grant institutions is the ever increasing cost to build and operate wet chemistry laboratories. A partial solution is to develop computer‐based teaching modules that take advantage of animation, web‐based or off‐campus learning experiences directed at engaging students’ creative experiences. We used the learning objectives of one of the most difficult topics in food chemistry, enzyme kinetics, to test this concept. Students are apprehensive of this subject and often criticize the staid instructional methods typically used in teaching this material. As a result, students do not acquire a useful background in this important subject. To rectify these issues, we developed an interactive augmented reality application to teach the basic concepts of enzyme kinetics in the context of an interactive search that took students to several locations on campus where they were able to gather raw materials and view videos that taught the basics of enzyme kinetics as applied to the production of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The students needed this background to prepare for a mock interview with an HFCS manufacturer. Students and instructors alike found the game to be preferable to sitting in a classroom listening to, or giving, a PowerPoint presentation. We feel that this use of gaming technology to teach difficult, abstract concepts may be a breakthrough in food science education and help alleviate the drain on administrative budgets from multiple wet labs.     

Using action,reflection and modelling (ARM) in Malaysian primary schools: connecting ‘the ARM theory’ with student teachers’ reported practice

This article presents Malaysian student teachers’ reports of using an action, reflection and modelling (ARM) pedagogical approach during their placements in Malaysian primary schools. The ARM approach was designed to support the implementation of the Malaysian primary school mathematics curriculum, which involved changing classroom practice in learning and teaching. It was developed and used during a Malaysia–UK collaborative project to construct a Bachelor of Education (Honours) degree programme in Primary Mathematics for a cohort of 120 student teachers in Malaysia. The three principles integral to the ARM approach were repeatedly made explicit to the student practitioners who were engaged in learning and teaching on the new degree programme. Using findings from surveys carried out with the students at the end of their first and final placements, this article provides examples of the way some of them described ARM and recounted how they had used the approach in the classroom. Four of these narratives are used as ‘vignettes’ to illustrate the students’ perceptions of using new ways of learning and teaching in primary schools and to inform and enable a discussion of the relationship between theory and practice in teacher education.     

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     

Changes in primary boys' and girls' attitudes to school and science during a two-year science in-service programme

A pupils' attitude test was developed to monitor change over the two years of a primary science in-service programme. It explores pupils' views about school in general so that changes in science attitudes can be contextualized within the whole school experience; feelings towards science experiments; and perceptions of real-world science. The test was piloted with schools outside the in-service programme. Approximately 2000 pupils were tested in January 1999, September 1999 or January 2000. A random sample of children were retested in June 1999 and compared with a ‘control’ school. All the children in the project were tested again in July 2000. The results indicate a generally positive attitude towards coming to school, with particular preferences for work with computers and working together. As the pupils get older, their enthusiasm for science falls as they find it less difficult or demanding. This relationship appears to be broken by teacher in-service to some extent. Girls in particular also showed a greater enthusiasm for independent investigative science after the programme.