Lived meanings: what teachers mean when they say they are learner‐centered

While the term ‘learner‐centered’ is invoked in many curriculum standards documents, packaged curriculum materials, mission statements and criticisms of educational practice, there is little agreement on its meaning. Shallow understandings and conflicting practices abound. And rarely do the meanings ascribed to the term take into account the meanings of thoughtful teachers who live learner‐centered approaches daily in their work. Here we introduce lived meanings of learner‐centeredness found in the personal and professional histories of experienced teachers. Data were gathered in interviews that took the form of focused conversations which yielded elaborated stories and reflections that suggest that learner‐centeredness is a concept that cannot be captured in finite, static, unquestioned definitions. The teachers’ lived meanings are expressed in fine‐grained detail, are embedded in particular settings and the teachers’ own personal and professional histories, go beyond surface features of practice and are in motion and unfinished. Taken together, these lived meanings have the potential to challenge and deepen current understandings of learner‐centered practices. Further, they have the potential to bring humanity, humility and integrity to the work of those who engage in these practices and of those who would support or criticize them.     

Inhabiting the ‘tragic gap’: pre-service teachers practicing racial literacy

Set in the context of a teacher education program, this study examined how three White pre-service teachers participate in book club discussions of children’s literature. We asked: When White pre-service teachers are in a context that enables talk about race, racism and anti-racism, what do they talk about? What conceptual and discursive tools do they use? We were guided by these questions, along with theoretical perspectives of racial literacy, multicultural discourses and a form of critical discourse analysis referred to as ‘positive discourse analysis’ or ‘reconstructive discourse analysis’. Our analysis illustrates that the participants held two questions, what constitutes racism and what makes a person a White ally, without firm resolution in the form and function of their talk. Their discourses illustrate that racial literacy involves what teachers say and also a willingness to stand in the space of indeterminacy, which may create space for new social positions. We argue for a continued theorization of critical discourse analysis alongside of racial literacy and multicultural discourses.     

Neighborhood Science Stories: Bridging science standards and urban students’ lives

Shelter, distribution of resources, adaptation and food sources are all key topics in teaching fifth grade students ecosystems. These terms and ideas are often presented in value neutral terms in the standard science curriculum. These terms have radically different connotations in different communities. In this paper students’ fictional narrative about the community and ecosystem provide insight into how experiences in an urban community change perceptions and understandings of science content. By analysing the students’ stories, the teacher is provided with a critical lens through which to rethink the content being taught, the examples and discussions about the content and how that content is being presented in the classroom. In this example, students’ own understanding of how resources are allocated justly in society stand in contrast to the value neutral presentation of resource distribution in the standard curriculum.     

Enhancing pedagogical content knowledge in elementary science

In this study, five elementary teachers and a university researcher developed and implemented problem‐based learning (PBL) experiences in the context of science teaching and learning. Collaborative inquiry was adopted as a methodology, while a variety of qualitative methods were used to examine the engagement and development of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). A PCK model is used as a framework to examine teachers’ professional knowledge growth in areas such as orientations to teaching science, knowledge of science curriculum, knowledge of students’ understanding of science, knowledge of assessment, and knowledge of instructional strategies. Implications for how teachers may be supported when adopting instructional innovations are discussed.     

Conceptualising,developing and assessing critical thinking in law

‘Critical thinking’ is commonly included in the lists of graduate attributes (GAs), which all Australian universities are now required to develop and implement. That efforts to do so have met with limited success is due to a range of factors including inconsistent or naive conceptualisations, the failure to explicitly develop or assess GAs, and the persistence of ‘signature’ disciplinary practices. This paper describes the design and implementation of a law course in which the development and assessment of critical thinking were core objectives. Key features of the course included an operational conceptualisation of ‘critical legal thinking’, the development of closely aligned teaching and learning activities, and an aligned, coherent and innovative assessment programme. An evaluation of the first iteration of the course identified a number of successful outcomes as well as implications for ongoing course development.     

可持续发展视域下草原地区经济建设的思考

草原地区经济建设是草原生态环境建设的关键环节,是加强民族团结、巩固边疆稳定的可靠保证和促进草原地区社会整体发展的基础条件。但是一直以来在短期经济利益的驱动下进行的粗放、落后、掠夺式开发利用草原资源致使草原生态环境遭到破坏,经济发展陷入恶性循环,社会发展停滞不前。当前,加快草原地区经济建设必须将经济效益、生态效益和社会效益有机结合,走上既满足当前利益又为后代的发展留有余地的可持续发展之路。     

通识教育体系下的学生思辨能力培养研究——以报刊英语教学为例

本研究将思辨能力的构念模型作为理论框架,以报刊英语教学为实践基础,从开展多元化阅读任务,主题式课堂讨论,真实性互动实践和自主性阅读评价四个方面探讨培养思辨能力的教学模式,为通识教育体系下如何更好地将语言技能训练与思维训练紧密地结合起来提供了实践方面的建议和参考。     

概念设计在书籍装帧中的应用与开发

概念设计中包含着大量极富创造力的创意思维,创意是书籍装帧设计灵魂之所在.论述了书籍装帧设计中如何运用概念设计的思维方式来开发创意思维,探讨了将概念设计引入书装创意思维开发中的具体方法.     

大众传播学教学中建构性教学模式的应用分析

大众传播学作为一门信息传播学科,具有较强的时代性和理论性,对学生的独立思考能力和自学能力要求较高。然而目前的大众传播学教学过程中,在这一方面还存在明显不足。建构性教学是以学生的主动求知为核心,对这一问题可以有效解决。本文通过对大众传播学现阶段教学中存在的问题进行分析,对这一学科教学中建构性教学模式展开思考,同时对其实践进行分析,以期为大众传播学教学提供参考。