A case study on project led education in engineering: students' and teachers' perceptions

This paper explores the extent to which students and teachers are able to acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of a shift in the approach to teaching and learning from a traditional, teacher-centred perspective towards project- and learner-centred education. It reports on a case study aimed at exploring students' and teachers' perceptions of a project-led education course carried out at an engineering course at a Portuguese university. Data were collected through questionnaires, letters and interviews. Findings suggest, in spite of some negative experiences and final results for some of the students, a clear recognition of the benefits of a project-based approach to both the teaching staff as well as the students. Both are able to identify interdisciplinarity, high student motivation and the acquisition of soft skills as key features of project-led education.     

‘Complete freedom to choose within limits’ – teachers’ views of curricular autonomy,agency and control in Estonia,Finland and Germany

ABSTRACT

To examine different approaches to teacher autonomy in nation-states, three countries were selected for a comparative study: Estonia, Finland and Germany. The emphasis of the study lies on the subjective perceptions of upper secondary school teachers (n = 33 semi-structured interviews) regarding their curricular autonomy and experiences of being controlled by the system. The article discusses different concepts of teacher autonomy and agency theoretically and concludes that they are partly overlapping, but not the same. Agency can be understood as the realistic actualization of autonomy within the constraints of the teaching profession, while autonomy is, in theory, more liberating, focusing on self-directedness, capacity for autonomous action and freedom from control. The data analysis showed that the expectations of teachers as to the amount of desired autonomy varied greatly. While the Finnish teachers in the study perceived control over teachers’ work to be unnecessary, due to their high professionalism, the Estonian and German teachers did not advocate absence of control, instead preferring to ‘have complete freedom to choose within limits.’     

Teacher policy: a framework for comparative analysis

This article outlines a framework for analysis of teacher focused policy studies within an international and comparative perspective. Using the notion of the professional life cycle of teachers, the article examines examples of key empirical studies that illustrate the impact of policy on addressing such issues as teacher recruitment, education, selection, retention and development. The article concludes that the framework is useful in identifying the strengths and weaknesses in the conceptualization and design of teacher focused policy and studies, and gives recommendations for the design of rigorous studies to inform future policy in this area.

Literacy Pedagogies that may 'make a difference'

In this paper we analyse literacy pedagogies in a state-designated disadvantaged secondary school. The specific purpose of the analysis is to identify modes of pedagogy that may make a difference in the overall literacy outcomes of students attending these schools in general, and targeted 'at risk' groups including Samoan students. Interview data collected from Samoan paraprofessionals working in low socio-economic schools, in addition to the research literature on Pacific Islander students, are used to identify salient features of effective pedagogies. This information is used to orient the analysis of classroom data collected from one case study secondary school. The analytic focus is on the accomplishment of disruptive student behaviour within the enactment of everyday classroom interaction; specifically, the transition between whole class spoken preparatory discourse and individual seatwork. The analytic framework consists of concepts from Basil Bernstein's sociological theory of pedagogy that give purchase on the explicitness of teacher control of 'the what' of instruction (content or subject matter) and 'the how' (interactive forms of teacher–student relations). The general finding of the study is that less explicit teacher control of the selection and organisation of knowledge is associated with the disruptive student behaviours identified as sources of disadvantage by the Samoan paraprofessionals. In addition, some general features of literacy pedagogies that may 'make a difference' in educational outcomes for students enrolled in the designated disadvantaged secondary school are identified.     

Nomadic Subjects: Young black women in Britain

This paper reads the fragmented life stories of four young black women in the UK, at a transitional point of their lives, when they are making decisions about their post-compulsory education. We argue that the notion of nomadism is a useful, albeit not unproblematic, tool to theorize the multifarious ways that these black young women negotiate subject positions, make choices and shape their lives. We further trace how these women are struggling against fixity and unity and attempting to speak and act outside or beyond the positions available within the collectivities to which they belong. Finally, we point out that in travelling around unstable and contradictory subject positions they are sometimes caught up within fears of distortion, and ultimately choose to remain 'at home'. This 'home', however, is rather formless and uncentred and, far from being easily localizable and defined, interrogates ideas and perceptions about territories and borders. It is through this 'new image', that we can perhaps start thinking about 'being at home' in different ways, beyond restrictions and limitations of families, classes, gender groups, races or nations.     

Teacher's experiences in PBL: implications for practice

Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been implemented in the first year of the Industrial Engineering and Management programme at the University of Minho, Portugal, since 2004/2005. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss teachers' experiences in PBL in this programme and to explore its implications for student learning and for teaching practices in higher education. For data collection, the research method used was written narratives to these teachers, at the end of the PBL semester. Findings suggest that teachers express a positive view of PBL as a learning approach. They identify student motivation and engagement, along with a better understanding of the application of concepts in real-life situations, as important outcomes of the project for students. Besides this, teachers also highlight the importance of the development of transversal skills by students throughout the project. Recommendations for future work and implications for practice will also be discussed.     

A Quasi-Randomized Trial of a School-Wide Universal Prevention Program: Results and Lessons Learned

Prevention in School (PS) is a comprehensive program which aims to improve the learning climate and reduce problem behavior in elementary schools. Core components are teaching of school rules, praise and rewards to support prosocial behavior, and a forum involving parents. This trial investigated the effects of PS on its intended outcomes, and includes 23 schools, 3,207 students, and 188 teachers. Multilevel regression analyses indicated no program effects two years after the start of the program. Problems with program components, implementation and study limitations may have contributed to the null findings. The lessons learned may be used to guide program revisions, and are important to consider in future attempts to implement and evaluate similar school interventions in a Swedish context.     

Effects of Technology-Mediated Vocabulary Intervention for Third-Grade Students with Reading Difficulties

Abstract

In this experimental study, we examined the effects of a technology-mediated intervention to improve students’ understanding of academic vocabulary and its impact on measures of vocabulary and comprehension. The Vocabulators program was implemented in two states involving 24 teachers and 200 third-grade students identified as in need of supplemental vocabulary instruction. Individual students within each classroom were randomly assigned to treatment (n?=?100) or typical instructional practices (n?=?100) conditions. In the treatment condition, students received, on average, 29 lessons on vocabulary and comprehension. Results of linear regression analyses showed statistically significant and practical effects on experimenter-developed proximal measures of decoding (ES = 0.52), expressive vocabulary (ES = 0.78), receptive vocabulary (ES = 0.51), and near transfer measures of understanding vocabulary in sentences (ES = 0.65), and informational text comprehension (ES = 0.28). Group performance did not differ statistically on near transfer measures of sentence verification with vocabulary and narrative text comprehension as well as distal standardized measures of general vocabulary or reading comprehension. Findings suggest the potential impact of technology-based vocabulary/comprehension lessons to supplement typical instruction.