Examining technology integration in middle school STEAM units

ABSTRACT

This research draws on a longitudinal study in which middle school math and science teachers enacted STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) teaching in their classroom after participating in intensive STEAM professional development aimed at increasing effective STEAM teaching. The authors address one important aspect in STEAM teaching, technology integration practices of teachers during instruction, and theorise their work using connected learning theory. Qualitative case study is used to identify and describe technology integration themes which emerged during STEAM instruction. Results suggest 17 of the 21 teachers participating in the study demonstrated technology integration involving one or more areas of instructional approaches, assessment and student use. The research expands what we know about how technology can be integrated in STEAM instruction and suggests ways to capitalise on technology to broaden access and appeal to all students during STEAM instruction.     

Teaching in linguistically diverse classrooms: difficulties in the implementation of the language-in-education policy in multilingual Kenyan primary school classrooms

Kenya’s language-in-education policy supports mother-tongue education as the ideal approach to developing language and literacy skills of young learners. The policy has been informed by findings of various past national education commissions as well as international declarations such as the UNESCO declaration on the use of Vernacular Languages in Education of 1953, the World Declaration on Education for All of 1990 and the Dakar framework of 2000. The country’s Constitution of 2010 re-affirms this policy. However, available reports indicate that little progress has been made in implementing the use of Kenyan mother tongues in education. This paper reports on impressions gained in the process of collecting and analysing data for a doctoral study still in progress. Preliminary findings indicate that in most urban and peri-urban schools, where the learner population is highly multilingual, the policy has been implemented in such a way that in effect either the notion of ‘mother tongue’ seems to have been redefined or the term is used in an unconventional way. Even in rural areas where, comparatively, there is minimal diversity, practical aspects of the use of mother tongue in education seem not to be in accordance with policy provisions. Learning materials and assessment systems are not suitably structured to enable mother-tongue education to take place. The paper (1) gives an impression of the status quo regarding use of language in multilingual primary school classrooms in Kenya, (2) considers the different interpretations given to the term ‘mother tongue’ in current classroom practices and (3) provides pointers to the gap between de jure and de facto policy, which may eventually be helpful in improving the implementation of the current language-in-education policy, in such a way that it will strengthen mother-tongue literacy and facilitate eventual transfer to English as medium of instruction.     

多语世界中的教育——一份联合国教科文组织的教育立场文件

＂多语世界中的教育＂是联合国教科文组织在语言和教育问题上重要的立场文件和国际规约,表达了成员国在这一领域的共同观点,该文件自2003年正式颁布以来成为各成员国在语言和教育领域制定相关政策的重要依据。这份立场文件涉及语言和教育的关键问题,提供了必要的指导纲要和原则,试图厘清语言与教育有关的政策,并就多语世界中的教育提出了三项基础性原则：（1）作为提高教育质量,帮助学习者和教师建立知识和经验的手段和方法,联合国教科文组织支持母语教学;（2）作为促进社会和性别平等的手段,作为语言多样化的关键部分,联合国教科文组织支持双语和多语教育;（3）作为跨文化教育的基本部分,联合国教科文组织支持语言教育,鼓励不同人口之间的理解,保证对基本权利的尊重。     

Handheld,Wireless Computers

Abstract

Reports show that handheld, wireless computers, once used by business professionals to keep track of appointments, contacts, e-mail, and the Internet, have found their way into classrooms and schools across the United States. However, there has not been much systematic research to investigate the effects of these new technology tools on student attitude and learning outcomes, nor has there been much research evidencing that handheld, wireless computers can improve student engagement in the learning process. The purpose of this paper is to use the literature on principles of learning and instruction to develop an action-instructional model for utilization of handheld computers in the classroom. It will explain how such a model was used to integrate handheld, wireless computers in the design and development of classroom instruction and what the evaluation results are. The paper also provides some insights on what was learned from this experiment.     

The golden lady: the storied life of a multilingual teacher and author of supplemental reading materials in a marginalized South African language

Personal narratives can be powerful venues for understanding human experiences. In this paper, we tell the story of Lutanyani, a Black South African multilingual teacher and author of supplemental reading materials in a marginalized South African language. Through various word images, we convey the role of language, in particular written language, in Lutanyani’s life. For Lutanyani, writing serves as ‘a healing process’ in two ways: (1) as a linguistically empowering venue that affirms and shifts his linguistic identity from outsider to insider, and (2) as a backward‐ and forward‐looking means to reconcile his past and reconstruct a message of hope for intermediate‐grade students throughout South Africa. This study has implications for classroom practices in the USA as well as development work in international settings.     

基于会话分析的大学英语课堂教师话语研究简

课堂交互是二语习得的必要条件,作为课堂交互核心要素的教师话语在外语课堂中起着促进和阻碍语言习得的双向怍用。因此,外语教师话语的质量优劣决定着课堂教学成败。运用会话分析法,研究江苏省5所高校10名大学英语教师20节真实课堂话语,揭示高校外语教师话语质量方面存在的问题并提出相应的对策。     

Different regions,diverse classrooms? A study of primary classrooms in China

Classroom experience is shaped by a number of factors. In this paper, we report a classroom observation study in China, illustrating regional variation in students' classroom learning experiences. Through comparing and contrasting observed classroom practices in three different regions in China (Chongqing, Hong Kong and Shanghai), the paper provides an analysis of the variation in classroom learning experiences of primary school students in China. Our empirical classroom observation data illustrates some key differences in the pedagogy, the use of classroom activities, and the implementation of the curriculum between individual schools. More substantial differences in classroom practices are found when comparing schools from different regions than those within a given city, leading us to conclude that regional impacts on student experience appear to be more important than within-city factors such as the location of a school or its level of facilities.     

Planning for Multilingual Chat Reference Service in a Suburban Public Library System

SUMMARY

Recent immigrants are settling not only in urban centers, but are dispersing throughout the suburban landscape. For many of these new immigrants, the local public library can provide a vital connection to the American Dream, if only librarians can effectively reach them. This article discusses the planning for multilingual chat reference service (currently English, Spanish, and Chinese) and some of the issues and challenges that librarians face in a suburban public library system.     

Teachers and `Street Children': On Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics

The phenomenon of `street children' where youngpeople, for various reasons, live on thestreets of towns and cities is found all overthe world in varying degrees and forms. InSouth Africa, one approach to take care aboutthe plight of these children has been to set upand run what are referred to as `streetshelters'. One such street shelter, the onlyone exclusively for girls in the city ofDurban, is Tennyson House. In this paper Idescribe an innovative outreach programmeintegrated with a university curriculum inwhich a group of pre-service teachers takingmathematics education as a major were involvedin teaching mathematics to girls at TennysonHouse. From the vantage point of a mathematicsteacher educator in the programme, I describeand reflect on what was experienced and learnedfrom the intervention in terms of threeaspects: learning about learners; learningabout teaching (mathematics) and learning aboutrelationships.