Biology Teachers Designing Context-Based Lessons for Their Classroom Practice—The importance of rules-of-thumb

In science education in the Netherlands new, context‐based, curricula are being developed. As in any innovation, the outcome will largely depend on the teachers who design and implement lessons. Central to the study presented here is the idea that teachers, when designing lessons, use rules‐of‐thumb: notions of what a lesson should look like if certain classroom outcomes are to be reached. Our study aimed at (1) identifying the rules‐of‐thumb biology teachers use when designing context‐based lessons for their own classroom practice, and (2) assessing how these personal rules‐of‐thumb relate to formal innovative goals and lesson characteristics. Six biology teachers with varying backgrounds designed and implemented a lesson or series of lessons for their own practice, while thinking aloud. We interviewed the teachers and observed their lessons. Our results suggest that rules‐of‐thumb, which differed substantially among the teachers, indeed to a great extent guide the decisions teachers make when designing (innovative) lessons. These rules‐of‐thumb were often strongly associated with intended lesson outcomes. Also, teachers’ personal rules‐of‐thumb were more powerful in determining the lesson design than formal innovative goals and lesson characteristics. The results of this study encourage more research into how rules‐of‐thumb reflect teachers’ practical knowledge, for which suggestions are made.     

Facilitating early career leadership through pre‐service training

Current research indicates that new teachers want to be involved in school‐level decision‐making. Upon entering the profession, many novice teachers are surprised and disillusioned to find they have considerably less involvement and influence than expected. Based on strategies that have been developed, revised, and refined over a number of years in two teacher preparation programs in the eastern US, the current discussion proposes that teacher preparation programs incorporate training in school‐based management as a means to better prepare new teachers for the political realities of the profession. Intended for teacher educators, this paper describes how the research component common to most teacher education programs can be used as a venue to train teacher candidates in school‐based management.     

大学英语教师网络在线培训学习心得

在本文中,笔者通过参加高教司组织的"大学英语教师网络在线培训",结合自己对大学英语一线教学的经验和认识,得出了以下教学的新想法,即:要真正做到"人机交互、课上课下交互";要极大的重视学生听说能力的练习和提高;要强调"常态化的"英语环境。     

国家治理体系和治理能力现代化进程中的社会自治

改革开放以来,我国在实现经济腾飞的同时也出现了一些社会问题,为此中共十八届三中全会提出推进国家治理体系和治理能力的现代化,这意味着政府与社会和公民之间的合作治理,这是一种政府权力的下放和回归社会,让社会和公民实现自我管理,也即社会自治。政府通过建立和完善一系列的机制,创新社会自治方式,实现政府与公民积极而有成效的合作,最终实现国家治理能力和治理体系的现代化。     

The articulation of the development of teacher knowledge during the implementation of new teaching procedures to enhance student understanding of molecular biological concepts

This paper is based on the first author’s extensive examination of her teaching and her students’ learning in a senior high school Biology classroom at a coeducational K-12 independent college in Victoria, Australia, over a five-year period. Research was guided by the following questions: (1) How can students become more aware of the specific biological terminology that they will need to use to communicate their understanding of biological concepts? (2) How can student familiarity with new biological terminology be enhanced? (3) Which teaching strategies might be most effective across the diverse range of abilities and learning styles within a senior Biology classroom? Three key data-sets ([1] Development of specific teaching procedures; [2] Student responses to using the teaching procedures; [3] Teacher journal entries and reflections) were analysed supported by Korthagen’s ALACT model. Findings support the notion that genuine educational change is linked to teacher change, driven by teachers themselves, drawing new insights into students’ learning.     

Reflective peer coaching: Crafting collaborative self-assessment in teaching

Reflective peer coaching is a formative model for improving teaching and learning by examining intentions prior to teaching, then reflecting upon the experience. The goal of reflective peer coaching is to promote self-assessment and collaboration for better teaching and ultimately better learning. There are obvious benefits to colleagues collaborating and sharing ideas, thoughts, and observations. However, many models of assessing teaching effectiveness focus on summative evaluation in which colleagues observe each other once or twice a year and fill out institutional evaluation forms. Rarely do colleagues engage in formative conversations about teaching that are guided by the instructor's personal goals and objectives. Reflective peer coaching necessitates a ten-minute planning conversation prior to the actual lesson and a ten-minute reflective conversation after the lesson. These conversations happen regularly and frequently to build self-awareness and self-assessment of the personal craft of teaching. The following article outlines the dynamics of the reflective peer coaching process as a formative assessment model that leads to better learning through improved teaching.     

浅谈师爱的艺术

爱是教育永恒的主题,师爱是一种艺术,是一种综合的情感,是学生成长和发展的原动力,是成功教育的基石.教育者应该有大爱,有爱的情感、爱的行为和爱的艺术.惟其如此,才能务实成功教育的基石,铸就人民教育的辉煌.     

基层电大教师专业发展:问题及化解

现代远程开放教育以新型的教育模式对电大教师提出了更新、更高的要求,但目前基层电大在教师专业发展问题上,不管是学校层面,还是教师自身层面,都存在不容忽视的问题,必须采取针对性措施进行有效的化解,使基层电大教师在专业知识和能力上得到全面提升,以承担起现代远程开放教育新的教育模式所赋予的全新角色和全新任务。     

Teacher Judgments of Student Reading and Math Skills: Associations With Child- and Classroom-Related Factors

The purpose of the study was to examine whether students’ linguistic skills and task-avoidant behavior (i.e., the child-related factors) and the mean level of academic skills (reading comprehension and math) of classmates (i.e., the class-related factor) are associated with teacher judgments of children’s reading comprehension and math skills. The participants were third-grade Estonian-speaking students (n?=?656; age 9?11 years) and their classroom teachers (n?=?51). The results of the structural equation modeling path analyses indicated that teachers tend to judge students showing higher academic and linguistic skills and lower avoidance behavior as higher on the reading comprehension and math skills. In contrast, the classmates’ higher academic skill level was related to lower judgments of individual children’s reading comprehension and math skills by teachers.     

城市社区运行机制的研究--以湖北省孝感市X社区为例

随着政府与社区的矛盾凸显,城市社区运行从人、财和事三个方面受制于政府,主要表现为专业人才缺乏,资金来源受限,服务行政化。为了促进社区良性运行,必须从政府与社区关系的着手重建社区运行机制,加强社区队伍建设,拓宽社区资金来源渠道,明确社区与政府职责,构建双方良性互动机制,推动社区良性运行。