Context–process authenticity in learning: implications for identity enculturation and boundary crossing

This paper posits that authenticity is an aspect of both the context and the process of learning. These two aspects cannot be seen in isolation and must be analyzed as one unity. We refer to this coupling relationship as the context–process authenticity. Existing learning and instructional approaches associated with authenticity, such as simulations, participation, and co-evolution privilege the authenticity of professional practices and do not adequately tackle the issue of the transitions across contexts. To avoid demeaning the authenticity of schools, we recommend other approaches, which emphasize the identity enculturation aspect in diverse communities. Furthermore, we argue for a context–process authenticity continuum. This continuum encompasses both school and professional communities and the context–process authenticity coupling. Implications are discussed with respect to the proposed context–process authenticity continuum.     

班级学习共同体内隐性知识的共享障碍与对策分析

随着信息通信技术和学习理论的发展,学校越来越重视班级学习共同体的建构以及知识共享在促进个体成长和共同体发展方面的作用。然而在班级学习共同体内部隐性知识的共享存在着诸多的障碍,如何克服隐性知识共享上的障碍、有效地挖掘和利用这些知识,应该成为当前教育领域高度关注的问题。本文仅对“班级学习共同体”隐性知识的共享作尝试性的分析,指出隐性知识共享的障碍并提出克服障碍的方法。     

Becoming a tertiary teacher: learning in communities of practice

This paper discusses issues arising from three case studies of the ways people have become tertiary teachers in a polytechnic, a wananga (Maori tertiary institution) and a university in New Zealand. Despite institutional differences, the teachers gained most of their teaching knowledge and skills on the job, learning informally and experientially, and much less through engaging with formal courses or centrally organized educational development activities. Tertiary teachers belong to groupings such as their institution, discipline, department or teaching team that can be seen as communities of practice, and it is in those contexts that their working knowledge and identities as teachers develop. A communities of practice framework in three parts is proposed for supporting and strengthening tertiary teachers’ workplace learning and educational development.     

Developing voice-based information sharing services to bridge the information divide in marginalized communities: A study of farmers using IBM’s spoken web in rural India

Farming communities in developing countries like India are victims of the information divide. Voice-based information sharing services (VISS) can bridge this divide and help farmers address a range of challenges by exchanging knowledge with their peers. An analysis of in-depth phone interviews with farmers in remote, rural Gujarat, India, reveals four stages for developing a VISS for marginalized communities in developing countries. The four stages are: identify gatekeepers to seed the VISS, expand the VISS by building on existing communities of practice, share information, and incentivize members to sustain the VISS. The VISS in this study is based on IBM’s Spoken Web platform, which enables even illiterate and semi-literate farmers to seek, share, use, and benefit from information using feature mobile phones. Research contributions and practical implications of the study are discussed at the end.     

A University and Local School Partnership: Utilizing Tension as a Catalyst for Growth

ABSTRACT

Intending to foster a partnership between his university and a local school and to create a new identity as a teacher educator in the community, a newly hired assistant professor of English education offered support to a secondary English department and ended up working extensively with the teachers (planning, observing, giving feedback, reflecting, and modeling lessons by teaching classes). This self-study examines the experience of the teacher educator as he navigated this 2-year commitment. A systematic analysis of all data collected (detailed journal, observation notes, debriefing notes, correspondence, and transcribed interviews) reveals how the conditions that allow tensions to become productive – a need for interaction, a willingness to engage in commonalties and differences, a sense of value for various skill-sets, and a suspension of judgment for the good of the community – within an emerging community of practice offered opportunities of professional growth for teachers and a teacher educator. This research provides insight into how university professors can better recognize and understand the conditions that allow perceived tensions to function as catalysts for professional development, offering an example of how to improve collaborative relationships between teacher education programs in higher education and K-12 school districts.     

Turning the tide: creating Professional Learning Communities (PLC) to improve teaching practice and learning in South African public schools

Abstract

Poor learner performance in South African schools raises concerns related to lack of commitment and accountability from school leaders and teachers with no common vision to promote a culture of high learner performance. This paper provides a literature overview of research available on the impact of professional learning communities (PLC) on effective teaching and practices to promote higher levels of learning amongst students; the nature of PLCs; their essential characteristics, developmental stages and challenges; and an assessment of the benefits of PLC in schools and the challenges of PLC from other researchers’ observations. PLCs are necessary to encourage collaborative teamwork on essential outcomes and intervention activities in learning. Finally, I conclude by exploring how South African schools can benefit from the practices of professional learning communities which endeavour to improve teaching practices and poor learner achievement.     

Participating in Communities of Practice

ABSTRACT

Hospital librarians understand they need to move outside the four walls of the physical library and provide information support for clinicians in various settings. Librarians round with patient care teams as clinical librarians. They sit on quality improvement and patient safety committees in order to provide information to those groups. Many are members of their organization's Institutional Review Board. Some of these activities are done for a specific purpose and are short-lived. Other activities become institutionalized as the value of the librarian's contribution is recognized. This article will describe examples in which hospital librarians are part of multidisciplinary teams created to improve patient care in their hospital.     

Predictors of Hispanic School Teachers' Self-efficacy in the Pedagogical Uses of Technology

A study to predict teachers' self-efficacy in using technology for pedagogical purposes was conducted in a predominantly Hispanic school district in south Texas; 438 elementary teachers completed a 32-item survey aligned to the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers. Findings suggested that the instrument is highly reliable in measuring Hispanic school teachers' self-efficacy when they are asked to rate their confidence in their ability to perform technology tasks for educational purposes. An exploratory factor analysis (orthogonal and nonorthogonal) allowed the derivation of composite measures. Three subscales regarding issues of pedagogy composed the dependent variable. Regression analyses (OLS and 2SLS) revealed that two derived composite measures and two contrast variables listed in the general information of the survey strongly predicted the response variable.     

The development and implementation of a sixth grade geology unit through collabrative action research

In March 2000, a researcher from the Al-Qattan Centre for Research and Educational Development, five pre-service teachers from the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) Educational Science Faculty (ESF), and one in-service teacher collaborated through action research to implement the curriculum inquiry cycle to a sixth grade geology unit for the purpose of improving both the teaching and learning processes. The team considered the teachers' perceptions of their role, the proposed curriculum and the existing pedagogical problems in Palestine. The team collected data through recorded interviews, and videotaped teaching sessions. Supplementary data was gathered from diaries, worksheets, lesson plans, and written tests. The team then analysed the data qualitatively. The whole process consisted of a two-month preparation phase and a three-week implementation phase. Despite the time constraints, in the preparation and implementation of this case study and the previous passive teacher training, the team observed significant improvement in classroom climate, teaching methods, and students' motivation. Both the teachers and the researcher acquired effective means for unit development and teaching practices throughout the whole process     

党的基层组织建设之高校与社区党组织共建探究

社区党建与高校党建都是党的事业的重要组成部分.高校党建需要创新模式与实践平台,社区党建需要深化内容与提高效力,高校党建具有社区党建所需要的理论和人员优质资源,而社区党建为高校党建的创新实践提供了良好平台.高校与社区党组织共建,是解决二者目前存在的一些问题、实现促进两个党建“共赢”的良好途径.