Teachers on Reddit? Exploring contributions and interactions in four teaching-related subreddits

Abstract

The website Reddit has received scant attention from educational researchers despite the presence of numerous teaching-related subreddits that host thousands of threaded conversations. The purpose of this study was to provide an initial comparison of discussions occurring in several different affinity spaces on Reddit. Because of the lack of relevant prior research, there was no baseline for what to expect in Reddit discussions, so all posts and responses in four different teaching-related subreddits over the course of a full year were analyzed to answer three research questions: How much did individuals contribute to different subreddits? What content interactions occurred in different subreddits? What social interactions occurred in different subreddits? Comparative quantitative analysis revealed substantial differences among the subreddits in terms of levels of voting and network characteristics. Results suggest that Reddit hosts diverse spaces that could present benefits and challenges for educators. These findings are addressed in relation to the extant literature and implications for educational practice and future research.     

Collaboration between teacher educators and schools to enhance development

The article focuses on school-based development and how collaboration between teacher educators and leaders and teachers can promote development in teacher education, in school and in the collaboration site in school where both parties meet. The data were collected in Norway through qualitative interviews with groups of teachers and leaders at three schools, and with a group of teacher educators. With the Cultural Historical Activity Theory as the framework, central concepts within this theory have been key elements in the study. The findings reveal that collective collaborative learning is a positive form of enhancing the professional development of teachers and that both structure and culture should interact when fostering development in school. The study also shows that the development of teacher educators’ research competence can enhance development and learning both in teacher education and in school, and also improve the developmental transfer between these two arenas.     

Changes in the World Created by the Journal of Science Education and Technology:Future Directions and New Initiatives

This paper deals with the mission of the Journal of Science Education and Technology; the people who are helping to further this mission; our review philosophy, policies, and electronic review process; and important information for authors, readers, practitioners, students, and administrators to know. It also includes announcements about new features in the Journal, and two book series: Innovations in Science Education and Technology and Classics in Science Education and calls for papers and book ideas to be submitted to cohenka@aol.com.     

Reflective Teaching in the Early Years: A Case for Mentoring Diverse Educators

Student diversity in classrooms is on the rise and with it, a need for teachers who recognize the needs of diverse student populations. Teacher retention is a national crisis, with teachers of color at especially high risk for leaving the teaching profession early. This case study describes a collaborative mentoring approach used by a primary grades Latina teacher and two university professors. This approach focused on reflective discussion of classroom events and addressed the challenges of teaching for understanding in an age of accountability and changing demographics. Findings indicate that the beginning teacher’s enthusiasm combined with the expertise of teacher educators benefited the teacher, the students, other teachers in the school, and the participating university professors. Implications of this case study point towards the need to mentor diverse educators in the early years.     

论近代知识分子的文化转型——以晚清民国教育家群体为例

清末民初是中国社会化的转型期，中国教育近代化是在中与西、新与旧的氛围中展开的。在教育科学及思潮的传播变迁过程中，近代教育家充当了自身从传统到现代型的转换及西方教育思潮传播的双重角色。这一角色统一存在于中国教育近代化的一百多年历程中。     

Preparing Teacher Candidates to be “Effective” in the Classroom: Lessons Learned from National Teachers of the Year

Defining what it means to be an “effective teacher” is a difficult, but necessary, undertaking, as research reveals a correlation between teacher qualities and student success (Buchel and Edwards 2005 Buchel, T., and F. Edwards. 2005. Characteristics of effective clinical teachers. Resid Educ. 37 (1):30–5. [Google Scholar]; Darling-Hammond 2000 Darling-Hammond, L. 2000. Teacher quality and student achievement: A review of state policy evidence. Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy. Seattle: University of Washington Press. doi: 10.1086/ahr/106.2.595-a.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Lupascu, Pânisoa, and Pânisoar 2014; Stronge 2007 Stronge, J. H. 2007. Qualities of effective teachers. 2nd ed. Alexandria, VA: Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. [Google Scholar]). The literature on this topic clearly demonstrates that there is no consensus on exactly what traits and characteristics truly define an effective teacher. Given this lack of agreement, the question for teacher educators becomes how do we prepare teacher candidates to be effective in the classroom when researchers, policymakers, and administrators can’t agree on the traits that encompass what the system has come to deem an “effective” teacher?

Throughout this article, we share our findings from an exploratory case study of National Teachers of the Year. Through an analysis of personal teacher of the year narratives and nomination letters, we learned that even in the ever-changing world of education, specific characteristics and philosophies which support and exemplify outstanding teaching have remained constant over the years. Award winning educators agree that teacher effectiveness is realized only through the intersection of curriculum, relationships, collaboration, engagement, and a commitment to further one’s learning. In this article, we offer insight into each of these ideological constants and discuss the implications they have for today’s teacher education programs.     

高职院校思想政治教育工作者素质探讨

高职院校思想政治工作的成效与思想政治工作者素质密切相关,本文分析了高职院校思想政治工作者素质现状,指出高职院校要更好的改进和实施思想政治工作,必须从内在的提高教育者自身素质和外在加强思想政治工作队伍建设两个方面着手来提高高职院校思想政治工作的实效性。     

教师教育者教学学术水平差异化分析——基于师范生满意度的视角

教师教育者教学学术水平是地方高师院校的核心竞争力,师范生满意度是评价教师教育者教学学术水平的关键指标。基于师范生满意度的视角,对X大学教师教育者教学学术水平进行调查研究,发现教师教育者教学学术水平整体状况良好,师范生满意度处于中等偏上水平,然而教师教育者教学学术水平存在结构失衡、专业差异和年级差异的现象。提高教师教育者教学学术水平发展的有效策略:学校确立教学学术地位,全方位营造教学学术氛围;教师教育者个体树立教学学术意识,多途径提升教学学术水平。     

Towards the re‐articulation of the work of teacher educators in Higher Education institutions in England

In recent years, teacher educators in the Netherlands and the USA have developed professional standards for their occupational groups. These standards have been used to identify the professional expertise of teacher educators, to analyse their professional development needs, and to provide assessment mechanisms for accreditation. This article begins by outlining the impact of changes in pre‐service work on teacher educators' work in England and arguing that a re‐articulation of the work of this occupational group is needed. It then analyses the Dutch and American initiatives, and, drawing on discussions at the Association for Teacher Educators in Europe conference in 2005, debates the potential and relevance of drawing on these models for developing a similar framework with teacher educators in England. The article concludes that, whilst developing rigidly defined standards would be inappropriate, considering the intra‐professional development of a broad professional framework would facilitate the identification and understanding of teacher educators' complex work, and provide a springboard for providing enhanced induction and professional development opportunities.

Ces dernières années, les formateurs d'enseignants aux Pays‐Bas et aux Etats‐Unis ont mis au point des critères de compétence pour leur corps professionnel. Ces critères ont été utilisés pour identifier l'expertise professionnelle des formateurs d'enseignants, analyser leurs besoins en matière de développement professionnel, et permettre d'établir des mécanismes d'évaluation de leurs compétences afin de les accréditer. Cet article débute par une analyse des initiatives hollandaise et américaine. S'inspirant des discussions qui ont eu lieu à la conférence de l'ATEE de 2005, il se poursuit par un débat sur le potentiel et la pertinence d' élaborer à partir de ces deux modèles une structure semblable pour les formateurs d'enseignants d' Angleterre. L'article conclut que, tout en reconnaissant qu'il serait inapproprié d'établir des critères rigidement définis, l'existence d'une structure générale de critères professionnels permettrait de mieux identifier et de mieux comprendre le travail complexe des formateurs d'enseignants, et fournirait une base pour un meilleur système d'intégration et de developpement professionnel.

In letzter Zeit haben Lehrerausbilder in Holland und der Vereinigte Staaten berufliche Normen für ihre Berufsgruppe entwickelt. Diese Normen sind um die Fachkenntniss der Lehrerausbilder zu feststellen, die Bedarfe ihre berufliche Weiterbildung zu analysieren und um die Beurteilungsmethode der Zulassung zu versehen benutzt worden. Dieser Artikel fängt mit einer Untersuchung den holländischen und amerikanischen Iniativen an. Sie zieht an Gespräche der Association for Teacher Educators in Europe Konferenz 2005 heran, und berät das Potenzial und die Bedeutung die Benutzung der zwei Ausfuhrung um ein ähnliches System mit Lehrerausbildern in England zu entwickeln. Die Artikel kommt zum Schluss dass, obwohl klar abgegrenzt Normen zu entwickeln wäre ungeeignet, der Betracht der Entwicklung eines breiten beruflichen System würde die Erkennung und das Verstandnis der kompliziert Arbeit des Lehrerausbilder ermöglichen und ein Sprungbett für die Besorgung eine erweiterte Einleitung und berufliche Weiterbildung Möglichkeiten anbieten.

En los últimos años, los formadores de profesores de Holanda y EE.UU han creado normas profesionales para sus grupos ocupacionales. Esas normas se utilizan para identificar la cualificación profesional de los formadores de profesores, así como para analizar sus necesidades de desarrollo profesional, y proporcionar mecanismos de evaluación para la acreditación. Este artículo comienza analizando las iniciativas holandesa y estadounidense. Tomando como punto de partida los debates que tuvieron lugar en la Conferencia de la Asociación para la Formación del Profesorado en Europa (ATEE, por su sigla en inglés), celebrada en 2005, el artículo discute las posibilidades y la importancia de usar esos modelos con vistas a crear un marco similar para los formadores de profesores en Inglaterra. El artículo concluye que, mientras la creación de normas definidas rígidamente sería inadecuada, la creación de un amplio marco profesional facilitaría la identificación y la comprensión del complejo trabajo que realizan los formadores de profesores, además de servir de trampolín para proporcionar integración y oportunidades de desarrollo profesional.