Professional development to support principals' vision of science instruction: Building from their prior experiences to support the science practices

The implementation of science reform must be viewed as a systems-level problem and not just focus on resources for teachers and students. High-capacity instructional leadership is essential for supporting classroom science instruction. Recent reform efforts include a shift from learning about science facts to figuring out scientific phenomena in which students use science practices as they build and apply disciplinary core ideas. We report findings from a research study on professional development (PD) to support instructional leaders' learning about the science practices. After participating in the PD, the instructional leaders' familiarity with and leadership content knowledge of the science practices significantly improved. Initially, principals used their understandings from other disciplines and content neutral visions of classrooms to make sense of science instruction. For example, they initially used their understandings of models and argument from ELA and math to make sense of science classroom instruction. Furthermore, some principals focused on content neutral strategies, like a clear objective. Over the course of the PD workshops, principals took up the language of the science practices in more nuanced and sophisticated ways. Principals' use of the language of the science practices became more frequent and shifted from identifying or defining them to considering quality and implementation in science classrooms. As we design tools to support science, we need to consider instructional leaders as important stakeholders and develop resources to specifically meet their needs. If the science feels too unfamiliar or intimidating, principals may avoid or reframe science reform efforts. Consequently, it is important to leverage instructional leaders' resources from other disciplines and content neutral strategies as bridges for building understanding in science. We argue that the science practices are one potential lever to engage in this work and shift instructional leaders' understandings of science instruction.     

Instructional practices in secondary science: How teachers achieve local and standards-based success

This article reports on analyses of the instructional practices of six middle- and high-school science teachers in the United States who participated in a research-practice partnership that aims to support reform science education goals at scale. All six teachers were well qualified, experienced, and locally successful—respected by students, parents, colleagues, and administrators—but they differed in their success in supporting students' three-dimensional learning. Our goal is to understand how the teachers' instructional practices contributed to their similarities in achieving local success and to differences in enabling students' learning, and to consider the implications of these findings for research-practice partnerships. Data sources included classroom videos supplemented by interviews with teachers and focus students and examples of student work. We also compared students' learning gains by teacher using pre–post assessments that elicited three-dimensional performances. Analyses of classroom videos showed how all six teachers achieved local success—they led effectively managed classrooms, covered the curriculum by teaching almost all unit activities, and assessed students' work in fair and efficient ways. There were important differences, however, in how teachers engaged students in science practices. Teachers in classrooms where students achieved lower learning gains followed a pattern of practice we describe as activity-based teaching, in which students completed investigations and hands-on activities with few opportunities for sensemaking discussions or three-dimensional science performances. Teachers whose students achieved higher learning gains combined the social stability characteristic of local classroom success with more demanding instructional practices associated with scientific sensemaking and cognitive apprenticeship. We conclude with a discussion of implications for research-practice partnerships, highlighting how partnerships need to support all teachers in achieving both local and standards-based success.     

我国本科层次教师教育专业人才培养方案研究

通过对30所院校的192份本科层次的教师教育专业或师范专业人才培养方案的分析发现,当前师范专业培养人才的类型、胜任工作类型和适于任职单位都呈现出多样化特点;不同培养方案对培养目标和培养规格应该包括哪些内容没有形成一致的意见;培养方案对教师培养的认识存在差异,尤其是对未来教师需要掌握哪些知识、能力、职业道德存在不同的理解,对未来教师是否需要掌握这些内容也有不同的认识;培养方案没有借鉴当前教师培养、教师知识的研究成果。本研究对培养方案的改进提出建议。     

AMO理论视角下美国文理学院教师教学发展研究

文理学院作为美国高等教育中的一种独特类型,以本科教育为根本,强调教学为重,在促进教师教学发展方面具有较为成熟的理念与制度。AMO理论作为高校人力资源管理的可行性理论视角,涵盖能力(Ability)、动机(Motivation)和机会(Opportunity)等三个维度。基于此理论视角,来探讨美国文理学院教师教学发展的主要路径,即教学能力的基本保障、教学发展的动机驱动、教学发展的机会支持。进一步总结出文理学院教师教学发展的特征:以学院制度为保障,推动组织与教师协同发展;以融合路径为关键,促进教师教学发展;以职业认同为助力,注重教师个体发展。通过梳理美国文理学院教师教学发展的内涵与特征,以期为我国提供一定的借鉴。     

美国新课程标准运动及其推动下的教学创新研究

文章主要对美国20世纪80年代以来的新课程标准运动做了内涵性的分析，并就其对学校教学的原则赋予的新内容进行剖析。     

教学设计有效性形成的途径探究

教学设计要围绕有效性展开,为实现有效教学提供可能性。要探究教学方案有效性得以形成的方法途径,必须要把握住学生的特点以及根据课程标准所生成的教学目标,将有效性的本质与学生和学习目标的特点结合起来。根据对教学方案有效性的本质的理解,可以采用立足于学生的学习准备、层级化多情节设计和预设与生成相结合等方法来形成教学方案的有效性。     

数学优秀课成长的基础、过程与方法

以分数为目标、对教学内容理解表面化和教学设计无基本章法是造成课堂教学平庸、低效的主要原因,因此在关注优秀课的表现形式与评价标准的同时,更应关注优秀课成长的基础、过程与方法。超越应试是优秀课的基本要求与历史使命;理解数学是教学设计与优秀课成长的基础,而好的教学设计框架则是优秀课成长的过程与方法。     

Understanding complex ecologies: an investigation of student experiences in adventure learning programs

The GoNorth! Adventure Learning (AL) Series delivered educational programs about global climate change and sustainability from 2006 to 2010 via a hybrid-learning environment that included a curriculum designed with activities that worked in conjunction with the travels of Team GoNorth! as they dog sledded throughout the circumpolar Arctic. This study addresses a gap in the AL literature by identifying factors that lead to high levels of student engagement and reveals strategies for instructional designers and educators on how to design emotionally engaging online learning environments. A mixed methods study was conducted to explore patterns of learner engagement in relation to two AL programs: GoNorth! Fennoscandia 2008 and GoNorth! Nunavut 2009. Survey data were drawn from a total of 101 students in 2008 and 2009.     

基于“文工交融”办学特色的模具专业人才培养方案制定与实施

特色办学是高等职业教育的一个重要办学方式,是社会对人才需求的结果。文章以江苏财经职业技术学院为例,合理利用文科教学资源,树立"文工交融"的办学理念,探索在文科院校背景下办好工科专业的人才培养模式,制定和实施人才培养方案,努力为社会培养合格的、有特色的高端技能型人才。     

Attitudes to cadaveric organ donation in Irish preclinical medical students

There is a worldwide shortage of organs for transplantation. It has been shown that the attitude of healthcare professionals can improve the rates of organ donation, and that educational programs aimed at improving both attitudes and knowledge base of professionals can have positive outcomes. Although there has been research carried out on this topic, there has been none in Ireland. Anatomy dissection can be a stressor to medical students-we investigate the attitudes of Irish students to organ donation and how they change with exposure to anatomy dissection. A questionnaire was administered to first year students in the School of Medicine in University College Dublin, Ireland, three times over a nine-week period at the commencement of classes in an academic year. The attitudes of the students were positive throughout regarding organ donation by a stranger, a family member, or themselves. There was, however, a significant decrease in support for the donation of a family member's organs in a minority of students. Irish students' attitudes to postmortem organ donation are positive and are not changed by exposure to the dissecting room. There is support for the donation of organs, and willingness among students to donate their own organs and support donation by family members.