Science in the Trenches: An Exploration of Four Pre-service Teachers' First Attempts at Teaching Science in the Classroom

This paper explores four students' attempts at teaching science in the real world classroom during their initial student teaching practicum, including their struggles and successes. When pre-service teachers enter their initial practicum experience they are confronted with differing teaching philosophies of their own, their university professors, and their school mentors (Sullivan, Mousley & Gervasioni, 2000; John, 2001; Fu and Shelton, 2002). Within this situation, preservice teachers struggle to find their own niche of teaching science and learn to reflect as both learner and teacher (Kelly, 2000). Our goal as science teacher educators is to help pre-service teachers have an easy transfer from personal university experiences to teaching science in the real classroom environment while maintaining the integrity of newly learned teaching strategies (Segall, 2001). This work adds to and helps guide science teacher educators in identifying difficulties pre-service teachers' experiences in the transition from methods courses to practice.     

Prior learning in biology at high school does not predict performance in the first year at university

Students in their first year of university face a number of transition issues that can make realising their academic potential difficult. In the sciences, first-year courses cover a large amount of material across broad subject areas, which can make them troublesome for students without background knowledge, and students need to adapt to typically large class sizes and develop active, independent learning skills. We expected a student's prior learning to be important to their academic performance in a large, first-year introductory biology subject and analysed the relationships between students' results in this course with their senior high school results in related subjects over three years from 2007 to 2009. We predicted that students with prior learning in biology would have higher results than those without it, but that chemistry might also be important, given the biochemical nature of much of the course content. Students who completed biology at the senior high school-level did perform better than those who had not, but only if they also completed chemistry. Prior learning in biology was of no benefit to students in first-year biology, except when combined with chemistry, suggesting that potential differences in biology curricula between high school and the first year at university may need to be addressed.     

Use of Culturally Diverse Books in Daycare

Culturally diverse books are written for children to promote acceptance of diversity; however, there is little research that has examined their use. The purpose of this study was to examine the culturally diverse book use of preschoolers in daycare. Research Findings. Thirty-five children (ages 44-65 months) and their teachers in two daycare classrooms participated. The children represented a variety of socioeconomic levels and raciaVcultura1 groups. Observations of book use were conducted during freeplay and naptime. In a multiple baseline time series experimental design, comparisons were made between the use of culturally diverse books and books depicting no cultural diversity (Euro-American books). It was determined that one category of culturally diverse books (Culturally Conscious) was not being used as frequently as others. The Culturally Conscious books depicted characters from one of three cultural groups—Black, Asian, and Latino. A simple intervention was implemented in which the teachers introduced some of the Culturally Conscious books at group times and this led to an increase in their use. Additional book use information was gained through parent questionnaires, teacher interviews, and teachers' anecdotal notes. Implications for Practice. In daycare centers similar to the ones used in this study, it is likely that children will use culturally diverse books when available. Teacher introductions of infrequently used culturally diverse books may be an efficient and effective practice for encouraging their use.     

Perceived importance of occupations by adolescents with and without learning disabilities

A study of the perceived importance of 23 occupations by 65 adolescents with learning disabilities and 85 adolescents without learning disabilities revealed that occupations were ranked similarly by the two groups (Rho = .76). Analysis of the groups' rank order indicated diversity of students' perceptions about the importance of various occupations.     

Environmental dystopias: Margaret Atwood and the monstrous child

ABSTRACT

The future of childhood is often described in terms of utopian thinking. Here, the turn is towards dystopia as a fertile source of wild imaginings about the future. The dystopian literary fictions featured here act as a message and are projections of an uneasy future requiring a reader to see the present differently. Such projections make reading dangerous as they create an alternative world often disorderly and dismissive of contexts that are familiar and safe. In these scenarios, the child is often a key figure. In the work by Atwood (Oryx and Crake; The Year of the Flood; MaddAddam), the world is an environmental nightmare. The focus is on MaddAddam, in which the child is an object of desire and both monstrous and redemptive. A reading of MaddAddam as a posthuman text is undertaken and it is argued that Atwood's dystopia creates a discourse of monstrosity (both weird and beautiful) that contaminates thoughts about the child/children/childhood and the future.     

How Birth Doulas Help Clients Adapt to Changes in Circumstances,Clinical Care,and Client Preferences During Labor

This study examined how doulas adapt to challenges in client’s labors. There were 104 Canadian and 92 American doulas who responded to a survey distributed at a doula conference. We report results from open-ended questions in which doulas describe how they manage changes deviating from the mother’s birth plan and how they navigate differences of opinion between themselves and providers. Four themes emerged: giving nonjudgmental support, assisting informed decision making, acting as a facilitator, and issues with advocacy. Although 30% of doulas said that advocacy and information giving could result in conflict with providers, doulas reported working within their scope of practice and striving to be part of the team. Issues in doula responsibility and patient advocacy remain, and ongoing role clarification is needed.     

Changes in the training of teachers

The worldwide changes in the role of the teacher have obvious implications for their training, at both the pre-service and in-service levels. This article focuses first on the increase in the external control of training institutions, whether directly by governments or less directly through agencies which represent the views of the schools, the teaching profession and the employers. Examples are taken from the United Kingdom, with some analysis of the influence of the Council for National Academic Awards, the General Teaching Council for Scotland, and the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, but the issues dealt with, such as standards in training, are of general interest. The nature of the changes that are being made in training are then examined. Some relate to preparing teachers to meet the requirements of new curricula in the schools. Others are more concerned with the ways in which the training itself is becoming more integrated, more immediately relevant, and more professional. Two current needs are referred to: one for the trainers to help teachers relate more closely to the work of other agencies in society; and the other for them to take more account of the multicultural nature of the communities they serve. Finally, the author turns to what he regards as the greatest problem facing the training institutions today — the need for the development of their own staff. In the Third World countries the need is for trainers who are themselves better educated, more experienced and more skilled in helping teachers meet the challenges of nonformal education as well as those of the classroom. In the industrialized West restrictive personnel policies have left institutions with staff who are well qualified but middle-aged and personally inexperienced in facing the demands of a changed situation in the schools. The need for a staff development policy for institutions is urged.

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Zusammenfassung Die weltweiten Veränderungen in der Rolle der Lehrer haben Auswirkungen auf ihre Ausbildung, sowohl auf der Ebene der Lehrervorbereitung als auch in der berufsbegleitenden Weiterbildung. In diesem Bericht konzentriert sich der Verfasser zuerst auf die äußere Kontrolle der Ausbildungsinstitutionen, sei es unmittelbar durch die Regierungen oder weniger unmittelbar durch Dienststellen, die die Ansichten der Schulen, der Lehrerschaft und der Arbeitgeber vertreten. Aus Großbritannien werden Beispiele angeführt sowie Wirkungsanalysen über den Einfluß des Council for National Academic Awards, des General Teaching Council for Scotland, und des Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. Die hier behandelten Fragen wie, z.B. der Ausbildungsstandard sind jedoch von allgemeinem Interesse. Anschließend wird die Art der durchgeführten Veränderungen in der Ausbildung untersucht. Manche beziehen sich auf die Vorbereitung der Lehrer bezüglich der Erfordernisse der neuen Curricula an den Schulen, anderen beziehen sich auf die Art und Weise, in der Ausbildung in höheren Maßen integriert, relevant und professionell wird. Auf zwei derzeitige Erfordernisse wird hingewiesen: zum einen daß die Ausbilder den Lehrern helfen, enger mit anderen Behörden in der Gesellschaft zusammenzuarbeiten und zum anderen, daß die multikulturelle Zusammensetzung der Gemeinschaften, denen sie dienen, mehr Rechnung getragen wird. Abschließend wendet sich der Verfasser dem seiner Meinung nach schwerwiegendsten Problem zu, das die Ausbildungsinstitionen heutzutage betrifft, — die Notwendigkeit, ihren eigenen Mitarbeiterstab zu entwickeln. In den Ländern der Dritten Welt könnten besser ausgebildete, erfahrenere und fähigere Ausbilder dazu beitragen, daß sich Lehrer den Herausforderungen sowohl in der nicht-formalen Erziehung als auch im Klassenzimmer sich gewachsen zeigen. In der industrialisierten westlichen Welt haben restriktive Personalmaßnahmen dazu geführt, daß Institutionen über ein zwar gut ausgebildetes Personal verfügt, das weil schon mittleren Alters, den Anforderungen einer veränderten Situation innerhalb des Schulwesens nicht gewachsen ist. Im abschließenden Teil des Berichtes wird die Notwendigkeit einer Ausbildungspolitik für den Mitarbeiterstab der Institutionen als dringlich dargestellt.

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Résumé L'évolution du rôle des enseignants observée dans le monde entier a des implications certaines pour leur formation avant l'emploi et en cours d'emploi. Cet article met tout d'abord un accent sur le renforcement du contrôle externe des institutions de formation, soit directement par des gouvernements ou moins directement grâce à des agences qui représentent les vues des écoles, des professions d'enseignants et des employeurs. Quelques exemples du Royaume Uni sont donnés avec une analyse de l'influence du Conseil d'attribution des prix académiques nationaux, du Conseil d'enseignement général pour l'Ecosse, et du Conseil d'accréditation de la formation des enseignants, mais les questions traitées, telles celles des niveaux de formation, sont d'un intérêt général. Puis on examine la nature des changements qui s'opèrent au niveau de la formation. Certains concernent la formation que reçoivent les enseignants afin de pouvoir répondre aux exigences des nouveaux curricula des écoles. D'autres ont trait davantage aux moyens grâce auxquels la formation est en train de devenir plus intégrée, plus rapidement pertinente et plus professionnelle. On cite deux besoins actuels: l'un se rapportant aux responsables de la formation qui doivent aider les enseignants à avoir plus de contact avec le travail des autres organismes de la société; le second concernant les formateurs eux-mêmes qui doivent tenir compte de la nature multiculturelle des communautés qu'ils servent. Enfin, l'auteur se penche sur ce qu'il considère comme le plus grand problème auquel les institutions de formation doivent faire face de nos jour — notamment le problème du développement de leur propre personnel. Dans les pays du Tiers Monde, on a besoin de formateurs qui sont eux-mêmes mieux instruits, ont plus d'expérience et de compétences et qui pourraient aider les enseignants à relever les défis de l'éducation non-formelle et ceux du travail en classe. Dans les pays occidentaux industrialisés, les politiques de restriction de personnel ont laissé les institutions avec un personnel bien qualifié mais d'un âge moyen et sans expérience personnelle suffisante pour pouvoir répondre aux demandes d'un changement de situation dans les écoles. L'article insiste sur la nécessité d'une politique de développement du personnel dans les institutions.

     

Student Surveys for School Teacher Evaluation

Students reports have the potential to add much useful information about school teacher quality. However, much research has centered on post secondary settings and many questions remain about the use of pupil surveys for K–12 teachers. The Davis County School District (Utah) uses pupil surveys as one teacher-chosen data source for teacher evaluation. The surveys of 9,765 students were analyzed for patterns of response. Item analysis suggests that pupils responded with reliability and validity. Some individual items are more defensible than others for conceptual and empirical reasons.