Self‐efficacy of prospective Austrian and German primary school teachers regarding the implementation of inclusive education

This study examined the psychometric properties of the German version of the Teacher Inclusive Education Self‐Efficacy Scale (TIESES). Five hundred and nineteen teacher education students from Austria and 765 teacher education students from Germany participated in the study. Results of a multiple‐group confirmatory factor analysis (for the two countries) confirmed a single factor structure of the scale with partial scalar measurement invariance. Regression analysis showed that self‐efficacy when implementing inclusive education was explained by the motivation to deal with inclusive education during their studies, previous experience with inclusive education in internships, study interest and the country in which the students went to university.     

A Fresh Theoretical Perspective on Practice‐Led Research

Practice‐led research in art and design has now come of age and can take its place alongside other forms of research at the academic ‘high table’. It no longer needs to be treated with ‘special consideration’ as a new form of intellectual enquiry. The research craft developed by those involved in practice‐led research admits them to a broader community of practice engaged in questioning the conceptual basis of how we perceive and make sense of the world around us. The objective/subjective divide that preoccupied an earlier generation of academics has eventually been replaced by a more nuanced epistemological framework able to embrace PhDs that include non‐textual artefacts as part of their exposition. An increasing number of academic institutions around the world have taken up the debate and now participate in practice‐led research programmes. However, for early‐career researchers in these fields there are still many hurdles to overcome, some of which are unique to this form of endeavour, as we outline. This article has been developed from a series of seminars and workshops presented by the authors to early‐career practice‐led researchers as part of their Project Dialogue programme which seeks greater engagement between the arts and sciences.     

An Autoethnographical Study of Culture,Power, Identity and Art Education in Post‐Colonial South Korea

This article reflects my experiences of learning art in the 1970s and 1980s and my teaching career in school art education in twenty‐first century South Korea. This autobiographical reflection shows how I have struggled with my identity as an art teacher in the post‐colonial context of Western influences on Korean society since World War II. There has been greater tension and a greater struggle for different values, practices and identities when new values and practices have been introduced into the particular socio‐cultural context of South Korea. My struggles with particular kinds of pedagogic identity valued within the rapidly changing political, economic and cultural context of Western influences on Korean art education demonstrate the hidden structural mechanism of the relationship between culture, power and identity in the post‐colonial world of globalisation. This study as an autoethnographical research provides critical insights into how identities are produced by pedagogic discourses and practices of art education that are constructed through the specific systems of practice and language which transmit and regulate such identities and values.     

Development of a didactical training concept for peer tutors in gross anatomy

Even though peer tutors are often used in gross anatomy courses, research in the field is rather a subject of the last two decades. This is especially true about the didactical challenges these types of peer tutors experience during their tutorials and about how they are prepared for the task. The aim of the presented study was to learn about the training needs of the tutors, and to subsequently design, implement, and evaluate a didactical training concept. A qualitative design was chosen to examine how tutors can best be prepared for tutorials of gross anatomy. To do so, focus group interviews were conducted. The data were analyzed and grouped into various concepts, using semi‐structured interview questions as guidance. It was found that peer tutors are in need of training in the following aspects: Dealing with students who are experiencing difficulties during or as a result of dissection, dealing with group dynamics, that is, at the dissection table, keeping students motivated, time management, and staying confident as a tutor. In order to be regarded as useful and relevant in the eyes of tutors, a preparatory training course should include all these aspects in addition to general didactical training elements. Training needs of peer tutors of gross anatomy go beyond the content of standardized didactical curricula; therefore, tutors should be prepared with a curriculum that is specifically geared toward the many challenges associated with teaching gross anatomy to first year medical students which are already so well documented in the research literature. Anat Sci Educ 10: 495–502. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

机非混行交通流诱导系统延误模型的研究

在城市道路交通网络中，延误是确定路段行程时间的一个主要因素，结合我国国情，在进行交通诱导研究中提出了一种延误模型设计思想，并在模型中反映出非机动车对机动车的影响，从而得到了同一进路不同前进方向决定的行程时间函数。     

基于非整秩次WRSR的市域科技人才生态环境评价研究——以山东省17地市为例

通过构建市域科技人才生态环境评价指标体系,使用熵值赋权法和非整秩次WRSR,以山东省17地市为例进行评价和分档。结果显示:青岛、济南和烟台3地市处于绝对优势区;日照和莱芜2地市处于绝对劣势区,而其它12地市则处于中档区。对比一级指标进一步诊断分析各档地市科技人才生态环境存在的问题,提出相应的优化思路和对策。     

Videobased lesson analysis: Effective science PD for teacher and student learning

The Science Teachers Learning from Lesson Analysis (STeLLA) project is a videobased analysis‐of‐practice PD program aimed at improving teacher and student learning at the upper elementary level. The PD program developed and utilized two “lenses,” a Science Content Storyline Lens and a Student Thinking Lens, to help teachers analyze science teaching and learning and to improve teaching practices in this year‐long program. Participants included 48 teachers (n = 32 experimental, n = 16 control) and 1,490 students. The STeLLA program significantly improved teachers' science content knowledge and their ability to analyze science teaching. Notably, the STeLLA teachers further increased their classroom use of science teaching strategies associated with both lenses while their students increased their science content knowledge. Multi‐level HLM analyses linked higher average gains in student learning with teachers' science content knowledge, teachers' pedagogical content knowledge about student thinking, and teaching practices aimed at improving the coherence of the science content storyline. This paper highlights the importance of the science content storyline in the STeLLA program and discusses its potential significance in science teaching and professional development more broadly. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., J Res Sci Teach 48: 117–148, 2011     

A framework for scaffolding students' assessment of the credibility of evidence

Assessing the credibility of evidence in complex, socio‐scientific problems is of paramount importance. However, there is little discussion in the science education literature on this topic and on how students can be supported in developing such skills. In this article, we describe an instructional design framework, which we call the Credibility Assessment Framework, to scaffold high school students' collaborative construction of evidence‐based decisions and their assessment of the credibility of evidence. The framework was employed for the design of a web‐based reflective inquiry environment on a socio‐scientific issue, and was enacted with 11th grade students. The article describes the components of the Credibility Assessment Framework and provides the details and results of an empirical study illustrating this framework in practice. The results are presented in the form of a case study of how 11th grade students investigated and evaluated scientific data relating to the cultivation of genetically modified plants. Multiple kinds of data were collected, including pre‐ and post‐tests of students' conceptual understanding and their skills in assessing the credibility of evidence, and videotapes of students' collaborative inquiry sessions. The analysis of the pre‐ and post‐tests on students' conceptual understanding of Biotechnology and their skills in assessing the credibility of evidence revealed statistically significant learning gains. Students' work in task‐related artifacts and the analysis of two groups' videotaped discussions showed that students became sensitive to credibility criteria, questioned the sources of data and correctly identified sources of low, moderate, and high credibility. Implications for designers and educators regarding the application of this framework are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 711–744, 2011     

The disaster of the ‘self‐managing school’ – genesis,trajectory, undisclosed agenda,and effects

Sometimes an educational idea is inexplicably adopted around the world with remarkable speed and consistency and in the absence of a proper evidence base or with little regard or respect for teachers, students or learning. This paper examines what has arguably been the most contentious and virulent educational reform of the past half‐century. Variously labelled, in what amounts to the self‐managing school, what this reform has done is virtually dismantle public education and privatise it without public debate or proper scrutiny. This paper considers the alleged claims by the enthusiastic proponents and examines what has subsequently transpired, particularly in respect of the most disadvantaged students and the broader mission of improved learning.     

The influence of formal and informal formative pre‐service experiences on teacher self‐efficacy

Formal pre‐service training has been shown to be effective in building teacher self‐efficacy beliefs. However, the impact of other, less formal, ‘teacher‐like’ pre‐service experiences on the formation of efficacy beliefs has not previously been investigated. This study examines the associations between both formal and informal formative pre‐service experiences and teacher self‐efficacy. In addition, the effect of years of teaching experience on these associations was investigated. Three hundred fifteen teachers of general and Judaic studies in Jewish day schools in the USA responded to a survey about their formal pre‐service experiences; informal experiences as youth advisors, camp counsellors and childcare supervisors; and two measures of teacher self‐efficacy. Formal pre‐service training and positive student‐teaching experiences, as well as each of the three informal experiences, were found to be associated with positive teacher self‐efficacy. Interestingly, formal and informal pre‐service experiences appear to be associated with different aspects of teacher self‐efficacy. Formal teacher training was most strongly associated with efficacy for instructional practices, while the positive informal experiences were most strongly associated with efficacy for student engagement. The potential impact of both formal and informal experiences did not appear to fade over time. On the contrary, for those variables where an interaction with years of teaching was detected, it was the efficacy beliefs of the most senior teachers that were most related to their pre‐service experiences. These findings have important implications for the practice of both teacher trainers and those charged with recruiting and supporting teachers.