Exploring the relationship between certification sources,experience levels,and classroom management orientations of classroom teachers

Teachers continue to report that classroom management is one of their greatest challenges in the classroom. Classroom management involves teacher's efforts to oversee classroom activities such as learning, social interaction, and student behavior. In this study, we examined the relationship between sources of teachers’ certification (traditional or alternative), teachers’ experience levels (experienced or novice), and teachers’ classroom management orientations (interventionist, non-interventionist, or interactionalist). We discovered that neither source of certification nor experience level alone impacts a teachers’ classroom management orientation. However, teachers with traditional certification and many years of experience exert significantly less control over classroom activities and students’ behaviors than do their colleagues with other educational and experimental backgrounds. Potential causes and ramifications of these findings are discussed.     

A diagnostic assessment for introductory molecular and cell biology

We have developed and validated a tool for assessing understanding of a selection of fundamental concepts and basic knowledge in undergraduate introductory molecular and cell biology, focusing on areas in which students often have misconceptions. This multiple-choice Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA) instrument is designed for use as a pre- and posttest to measure student learning gains. To develop the assessment, we first worked with faculty to create a set of learning goals that targeted important concepts in the field and seemed likely to be emphasized by most instructors teaching these subjects. We interviewed students using open-ended questions to identify commonly held misconceptions, formulated multiple-choice questions that included these ideas as distracters, and reinterviewed students to establish validity of the instrument. The assessment was then evaluated by 25 biology experts and modified based on their suggestions. The complete revised assessment was administered to more than 1300 students at three institutions. Analysis of statistical parameters including item difficulty, item discrimination, and reliability provides evidence that the IMCA is a valid and reliable instrument with several potential uses in gauging student learning of key concepts in molecular and cell biology.     

‘They call me wonder woman’: the job jurisdictions and work‐related learning of higher level teaching assistants

This paper reports on an in‐depth interview study of the roles, job jurisdictions and associated learning of higher level teaching assistants (HLTAs). This role has the core purpose of covering classes to enable teacher release for planning, preparation and assessment. HLTAs’ individual job jurisdictions are described and discussed as are implications for their knowledge and practice. The HLTAs are found to have wide‐ranging job domains and, sometimes, unexpected involvements which mean they have to improvise practice. The study acknowledges that these HLTAs are being creatively managed and deployed by head teachers for the sake of teachers and schools. However, they are, at times, required to take on planning and cover duties which are beyond their knowledge and training with a likely impact on children’s learning. Given their training and experience it is asked if covering classes to release teachers is the most effective use of their abilities and time.     

Preservice Science Teachers' Beliefs About Teaching and Learning: The Influence of K-12 Field Experiences

Teaching is a complex task shaped by many external and internal influences, including the beliefs held by individual teachers. This study sought an understanding of the impact of field experiences on the beliefs developed by preservice science teachers. The participants were students in an undergraduate science education methods course that involved observation and teaching experiences in K-12 classrooms. The data used in this qualitative study included drawings representing beliefs and in-depth interviews with selected participants. The findings indicate that beliefs focused on two key dualities: learning through experience and transmission and student-centered and teacher-centered instruction. The findings also suggest that field experiences both reinforce and challenge the beliefs held by preservice science teachers.     

English phonological awareness in bilinguals: a cross‐linguistic study of Tamil,Malay and Chinese English‐language learners

To test the lexical restructuring hypothesis among bilingual English‐language learners, English phonological awareness (PA), English vocabulary and ethnic language vocabulary (Mandarin Chinese, Malay or Tamil) were assessed among 284 kindergarteners (168 Chinese, 71 Malays and 45 Tamils) in Singapore. A multi‐level regression analysis showed that English vocabulary, in interaction with mother's education, statistically significantly predicted Singaporean children's PA; ethnic language vocabulary did not. Thus, the present study supports the lexical restructuring hypothesis that growth in vocabulary changes how lexical items are stored, leading to the development of PA. Home language practices, as represented by mother's education, may also enhance children's PA after a threshold of English vocabulary is reached. In addition, specific ethnic language (Chinese, Malay or Tamil) was a statistically significant predictor of PA, suggesting that orthographic depth as well as syllabic complexity of a bilingual's other language may influence their development of English PA.     

Social moderation,assessment and assuring standards for accounting graduates

Evidencing student achievement of standards is a growing imperative worldwide. Key stakeholders (including current and prospective students, government, regulators and employers) want confidence that threshold learning standards in an accounting degree have been assured. Australia’s new higher education regulatory environment requires that student achievements are benchmarked against intended programme learning outcomes, guided by published disciplinary standards and a national qualifications framework, and against other higher education providers. Here, we report on a process involving academics from 10 universities, aided by professional practitioners, to establish and equip assessors to reliably assure threshold learning standards in accounting that are nationally comparable. Importantly, we are learning more about how standards are interpreted. Based on the premise that meaning is constructed from tacit experiences, social interactions and intentional reflection on explicit information, we report outcomes of three multi-part calibration interventions, situated around judgements of the quality of the written communication skills exhibited in student work and their related assessment tasks. Qualitative data from 30 participants in the calibration process suggest that they perceive that the process both assists them both in developing a shared understanding of the accounting threshold learning standards and in the redesign of assessment tasks to more validly assess the threshold learning standards.