Sample records for teachers find ways

  1. Changing Leadership: Teachers Lead the Way for Schools that Learn

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Monica; Goeke, Jennifer; Klein, Emily; Onore, Cynthia; Geist, Kristi

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents findings from a three-year, qualitative study of teachers enrolled in a Masters of Teacher Leadership program. Researchers sought to understand the ways teachers' beliefs about and understandings of teacher leadership were affected by their participation in a formal teacher leadership program, as well as the kinds of actions…

  2. Finding Our Own Way: Teachers Exploring Their Assumptions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newman, Judith M., Ed.

    Intended for teachers, the articles in this book examine some of the uncertainties and problems that practicing teachers encountered when moving from a traditional to a holistic perspective in their teaching. The book shares the questions, the conflicts the teachers have undergone, and the change in beliefs that are part of becoming a…

  3. Five Ways to Facilitate the Teacher Assistant's Work in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tobin, Ruthanne

    2006-01-01

    A teacher and a teacher assistant, working together in an inclusive grade-six classroom, provided an invaluable insider perspective on the kind of context that leads to effective support for all students. Findings from this case study revealed five ways in which the teacher could facilitate the work of the teacher assistant, by: 1) focusing on…

  4. Inservice Teachers' Difficulties with and Resistance to Curricular Innovation: A Solution-Finding Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Center on Innovations in Learning, Temple University, 2016

    2016-01-01

    This Solution-Finding Report provides references and information requested on the topic of inservice teachers finding it difficult to implement, or resisting, curricular innovation. Many of the citations in this bibliography also deal with ways to overcome these difficulties and this resistance. Solution-finding Reports are intended to provide a…

  5. Finding Their Way on: Career Decision-Making Processes of Urban Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rinke, Carol R.

    2009-01-01

    This article reports on a research study investigating the career decision-making processes of urban science teachers as one element central to understanding the high rates of attrition in the field. Using a longitudinal, prospective, context- and subject-specific approach, this study followed the career decisions of case study teachers over a…

  6. Making Books Irresistible: Ways to Bring Kids, Books, and Teacher Together.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kenney, Donald J.

    The major way teachers can motivate students to read is to be avid readers themselves. They need to read current young adult books to keep up with frequently changing trends. Preparing short book lists and giving book talks are other effective ways of encouraging students to read. Teachers might use a number of activities in place of book reports…

  7. Research into the Art of Teaching in the U.S.S.R., and Ways of Applying its Findings in Practice.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Skatkin, M.N.; Kraevsky, V.V.

    1978-01-01

    Surveys research on teaching methods in the Soviet Union and suggests how teachers can apply research findings and techniques in the classroom. Topics discussed include improving the content of education, teaching methods, organizational forms of teaching, and ways of applying the findings of research in practice. (Author/DB)

  8. Ways to prepare future teachers to teach science in multicultural classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Billingsley, Berry

    2016-06-01

    Roussel De Carvalho uses the notion of superdiversity to draw attention to some of the pedagogical implications of teaching science in multicultural schools in cosmopolitan cities such as London. De Carvalho makes the case that if superdiverse classrooms exist then Science Initial Teacher Education has a role to play in helping future science teachers to become more knowledgeable and reflective about how to teach school students with a range of worldviews and religious beliefs. The aim of this paper is to take that proposition a step further by considering what the aims and content of a session in teacher education might be. The focus is on helping future teachers develop strategies to teach school students to think critically about the nature of science and what it means to have a scientific worldview. The paper draws on data gathered during an interview study with 28 students at five secondary schools in England. The data was analysed to discover students' perceptions of science and their perceptions of the way that science responds to big questions about being human. The findings are used to inform a set of three strategies that teachers could use to help young people progress in their understanding of the nature of science. These strategies together with the conceptual framework that underpins them are used to develop a perspective on what kinds of pedagogical content knowledge teacher education might usefully provide.

  9. Coteaching with senior students – a way to refine teachers' PCK for teaching chemical bonding in upper secondary school

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schultze, Felix; Nilsson, Pernilla

    2018-04-01

    During the last decade there has been on-going discussions about students' declining interest and low achievement in science. One of the reasons suggested for this decline is that teachers and students have different frames of reference, whereby teachers sometimes communicate science in the classroom in a way that is not accessible to the students. There is a lack of research investigating the effects of coteaching with senior students in science in upper secondary schools. To improve teaching and to narrow the gap between teachers' and students' different frames of references, this study investigates how an experienced chemistry teacher gains and refines her pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) by cooperating with two grade 12 students (age 18) as coteachers. The teacher and the two coteachers coplanned, cotaught and coevaluated lessons in chemical bonding in a grade 10 upper secondary class. Findings indicate that the coteachers contributed with their own learning experiences to help the teacher understand how students perceive difficult concepts. In such way, the coteachers were mediating between the teacher and the students, thus bridging the gap between the teacher and the students' frames of references. The teachers' PCK was refined which in turn lead to improved teaching strategies.

  10. Teachers' Ways of Talking about Nature of Science and Its Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leden, Lotta; Hansson, Lena; Redfors, Andreas; Ideland, Malin

    2015-01-01

    Nature of science (NOS) has for a long time been regarded as a key component in science teaching. Much research has focused on students' and teachers' views of NOS, while less attention has been paid to teachers' perspectives on NOS teaching. This article focuses on in-service science teachers' ways of talking about NOS and NOS teaching, e.g. what…

  11. Student Teachers' Ways of Thinking and Ways of Understanding Digestion and the Digestive System in Biology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Çimer, Sabiha Odabasi; Ursavas, Nazihan

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify the ways in which student teachers understand digestion and the digestive system and, subsequently, their ways of thinking, as reflected in their problem solving approaches and the justification schemes that they used to validate their claims. For this purpose, clinical interviews were conducted with 10…

  12. Helping Teachers Use Research Findings: The Consumer-Validation Process.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eaker, Robert E.; Huffman, James O.

    A program stressing teacher involvement and classroom implementation of educational research findings is described. The program was designed to familiarize teachers with current findings, have them apply the findings in their classrooms, analyze their own teaching behavior, and critically evaluate the findings in terms of their applicability to…

  13. The Lived Experience of Beginning Teachers Defining Their Pedagogical Way of Being

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frank, Nathan

    2013-01-01

    This hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the lived experience of beginning teachers defining their pedagogical way of being. Many beginning teachers have found frustration and disillusionment during their first year in the classroom, leading to high levels of attrition. Those beginning teachers who remain in the classroom may develop a way…

  14. Working in the Reggio Way: A Beginner's Guide for American Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wurm, Julianne P.

    2005-01-01

    Are you curious about the Reggio Emilia approach but not quite sure where to begin? "Working in the Reggio Way" helps early childhood teachers bring the reflective, high-quality practices of Reggio Emilia to American programs. Based on an American teacher's experience observing and working in the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, this…

  15. Children's reasoning about deception and defiance as ways of resisting parents' and teachers' directives.

    PubMed

    Gingo, Matthew

    2017-09-01

    This research presented 8-, 10-, and 12-year-olds (N = 120) with hypothetical situations depicting comparably aged children engaging in defiance and deception to circumvent authorities' directives that they disagreed with. The nature of the situations varied in terms of domain (personal, moral, or prudential) and type of authority figure (parent or teacher). Evaluations and justifications for the legitimacy of the directives, defiance, and deception were examined, as were general evaluations of deception. Across domains, increased age was associated with decreased acceptance of directives, and increased acceptance of defiance and deception. Participants judged that defiance and deception were legitimate ways to resist immoral directives. Directives about personal acts were also widely rejected, particularly teachers' directives. Defiance and deception were seen by some as legitimate ways to resist unwarranted control over children's personal choices. Prudential directives were widely accepted, whereas defiance and deception in those situations was generally rejected. Results indicate that children value honesty and authority but sometimes prioritize moral and personal considerations when deciding whether or not to lie. Findings are discussed in terms of the ways children coordinate multiple competing rules and motivations when making moral judgments about honesty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Belief revision and way-finding.

    PubMed

    Bucher, Leandra; Röser, Florian; Nejasmic, Jelica; Hamburger, Kai

    2014-02-01

    Belief revision is required when veridical information surfaces that contradicts what was previously thought to be the case. In way-finding, belief revision frequently occurs, for example, when the travelled route has led one astray, instead of to one's chosen destination. In past cognitive research, the topics of belief revision and way-finding have been treated in isolation. Here, we introduce an approach for linking the two fields and assess belief revision as it occurs in the process of way-finding. We report the results of two experiments that put participants in (virtual) situations where elements of a previously learned route description do not match the actual environment (thereby requiring the revision of a previously held belief). Experiment 1 puts participants in a highly artificial virtual environment where the landmarks to be used in navigation have a low degree of semantic salience (houses of various color). Experiment 2 puts subjects in a photorealistic environment where the objects to be used in navigation are well-known landmarks (such as the Eiffel Tower) and thus have a high degree of semantic salience. In both experiments, participants are confronted with T-junctions, where a landmark that was expected to indicate the correct route is discovered to be in an unexpected location. The results of the experiments show that a participant's choice of route, in such cases, is affected by differences in the structure of the relevant initial instruction. More precisely, the route chosen by participants is affected by whether the relevant landmark was described as being on the same side of the path as they were instructed to turn (congruent case) or as located on the opposite side of the path as they were instructed to turn (incongruent case).

  17. Immigrant Teachers Who Find It's Temp Work or Nothing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rai, Usha

    1978-01-01

    A 1977 survey of 102 immigrant teachers in London showed that ethnic minority teachers have great difficulty finding jobs, although they are adequately qualified. Those who do find work are mainly employed in ghetto areas and kept on the lowest pay scale. (Author/SJL)

  18. Teachers' learning on the workshop of STS approach as a way of enhancing inventive thinking skills

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ngaewkoodrua, Nophakun; Yuenyong, Chokchai

    2018-01-01

    To improve science teachers to develop the STS lesson plans for enhancing the students' inventive thinking skills, the workshop of improving science teachers to develop the STS lesson plans for enhancing the Inventive thinking skills were organized. The paper aimed to clarify what teachers learn from the workshop. The goal of the activity of the workshop aimed to: 1) improve participants a better understanding of the relationship between the Inquiry based learning with STS approach, 2) understand the meaning and importance of the STS approach and identify the various stages of Yuenyong (2006) STS learning process, 3) discuss what they learned from the examples of Yuenyong (2006) lesson plan, 4) develop some activities for each stage of Yuenyong (2006) STS approach, and 5) ideas of providing STS approach activities for enhancing inventive thinking skills. Participants included 3 science teachers who work in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Methodology regarded interpretive paradigm. Teachers' learning about pedagogy of enhancing the students' inventive thinking skills will be interpreted through participant observation, teachers' tasks, and interview. The finding revealed that all participants could demonstrate their ideas how to generate the STS lesson plans as a way of enhancing inventive thinking skills. Teachers could mention some element of inventive thinking skills which could be generated on their STS learning activities.

  19. Parent and Teacher Opinions of Eight Different Ways of Thinking and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maycock, George

    2017-01-01

    Parents and teachers at seven elementary schools were surveyed to determine their opinions of the importance of Gardner's eight different ways of thinking and learning. Parent and teacher opinions were highest in the four areas of logical-mathematical, intrapersonal, linguistic and interpersonal, which were all rated very important. Next in…

  20. `Drawing the Leaves Anyway': Teachers Embracing Children's Different Ways of Knowing in Preschool Science Practice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Areljung, Sofie; Ottander, Christina; Due, Karin

    2017-12-01

    This study explores if and how teachers combine practices of science and of preschool (children 1-5 years old) into preschool science practice. Views of knowing may differ between science practices, traditionally associated with masculinity and rationality, and preschool practices, traditionally associated with femininity and caring. Recognising this, we have chosen to focus on how teachers' talk constructs and relates to possible ways of gaining knowledge and reaching explanations of phenomena in preschool science. The analysis builds on two concept pairs often associated with gender as well as knowing: objective-subjective and logical-intuitive. The analysed material consists of 11 group interviews where preschool teachers talk about activities concerning science content. Our results show that several ways of knowing are possible in work with science content in preschool. These include ways of knowing more associated with subjectivity, such as `individual liking' and `whole-body perception', as well as more associated with objectivity, such as `noticing differences and similarities'. Furthermore, the results show that the teachers' talk moves readily between possibilities associated with femininity (subjective and intuitive) and masculinity (objective and logical). This indicates that the teachers in this study have found ways to handle science in preschool that goes against presumed tensions between science and preschool practices. The results contribute to more nuanced ways of describing and thinking about science in preschool and pave the way for further development of science education in early childhood education.

  1. Teacher Education Preparation Program for the 21st Century. Which Way Forward for Kenya?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katitia, David Melita Ole

    2015-01-01

    Teacher quality is always cited as the most significant efficiency of teacher preparation programs. This paper discusses the aspects of Teacher education factor that influences student achievement. There has always been an increased interest in examining the preparation program for the 21st century in Kenya and recommending the way forward for our…

  2. Finding More Time.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fuery, Carol

    1985-01-01

    Suggests ways for English teachers to use their time more efficiently that include finding a quiet place at school to work, working after school, using a grade-scanner, sharing materials with other teachers, and making lists of tasks arranged in order of importance. (EL)

  3. World Class Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchell, Rosalita

    1998-01-01

    School communities are challenged to find ways to identify good teachers and give other teachers a chance to learn from them. The New Mexico World Class Teacher Project is encouraging teachers to pursue certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. This process sharpens teachers' student assessment skills and encourages…

  4. Finding Exemplary Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Donovan, Eamonn

    2010-01-01

    Teacher quality is the most crucial component in promoting student learning. For all the controversy about No Child Left Behind, one underlying emphasis of the federal law that is irrefutable is the importance placed on teacher quality. Therefore, a school organization committed to excellence must recruit and select outstanding teachers. The Obama…

  5. The Educational Nature of Different Ways Teachers Communicate with Children about Natural Phenomena

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gustavsson, Laila; Pramling, Niklas

    2014-01-01

    This empirical study analyses the qualitatively different ways in which teachers approach children's learning in and about nature. The empirical data consists of video observations of children and teachers communicating with one another around natural phenomena found during excursions into a forest. Variation theory is presented as a framework for…

  6. Qualitative study about the ways teachers react to feedback from resident evaluations

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Currently, one of the main interventions that are widely expected to contribute to teachers’ professional development is confronting teachers with feedback from resident evaluations of their teaching performance. Receiving feedback, however, is a double edged sword. Teachers see themselves confronted with information about themselves and are, at the same time, expected to be role models in the way they respond to feedback. Knowledge about the teachers’ responses could be not only of benefit for their professional development, but also for supporting their role modeling. Therefore, research about professional development should include the way teachers respond to feedback. Method We designed a qualitative study with semi-structured individual conversations about feedback reports, gained from resident evaluations. Two researchers carried out a systematic analysis using qualitative research software. The analysis focused on what happened in the conversations and structured the data in three main themes: conversation process, acceptance and coping strategies. Results The result section describes the conversation patterns and atmosphere. Teachers accepted their results calmly, stating that, although they recognised some points of interest, they could not meet with every standard. Most used coping strategies were explaining the results from their personal beliefs about good teaching and attributing poor results to external factors and good results to themselves. However, some teachers admitted that they had poor results because of the fact that they were not “sharp enough” in their resident group, implying that they did not do their best. Conclusions Our study not only confirms that the effects of feedback depend first and foremost on the recipient but also enlightens the meaning and role of acceptance and being a role model. We think that the results justify the conclusion that teachers who are responsible for the day release programmes in the three

  7. Teacher Led School Improvement: Teacher Leadership in the UK

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muijs, Daniel; Harris, Alma

    2006-01-01

    Teacher leadership is increasingly being seen as a key vehicle for school improvement and renewal. However, research on this phenomenon is limited, especially outside of the US. This article presents findings from an empirical study of teacher leadership in the UK, aimed at exploring both the ways in which teacher leadership can influence school…

  8. Science Teaching Experiences in Informal Settings: One Way to Enrich the Preparation Program for Preservice Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hsu, Pei-Ling

    2016-01-01

    The high attrition rate of new science teachers demonstrates the urgent need to incorporate effective practices in teacher preparation programs to better equip preservice science teachers. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate a way to enrich preservice science teachers' preparation by incorporating informal science teaching practice into…

  9. Teachers Lead the Way in Denver

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nazareno, Lori

    2014-01-01

    This article describes a teacher-led school "Mathematics and Science Leadership Academy" (MSLA) that is part of the Denver Public Schools. At MSLA, teachers collaborate to make authentic and substantive decisions about how the school operates and seek to meet each student's needs. At teacher-led schools, teachers hire their own…

  10. Teacher Quality, Professionalism and Professional Development: Findings from a European Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hilton, Gillian; Flores, Maria Assunção; Niklasson, Laila

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents and discusses findings from a European project concerning strengthening the teacher's voice in defining professional quality. In the project tools were developed and evaluated to help teachers reflect on their professional quality. Twelve countries participated and twelve tools were tested with help of student teachers,…

  11. Ways to Include Global Climate Change in Courses for Prospective Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Zee, Emily; Grobart, Emma; Roberts-Harris, Deborah

    2016-01-01

    What responsibility do science teacher educators have for engaging students in learning about global climate change in courses? How can the topic of global climate change be added to an already packed course curriculum? The authors have begun assembling instructional resources and learning ways others have incorporated global climate change in…

  12. The School-Community Integrated Learning Pathway: Exploring a New Way to Prepare and Induct Final-Year Preservice Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hudson, Suzanne; Hudson, Peter; Adie, Lenore

    2015-01-01

    Universities and teacher employment bodies seek new, cost-effective ways for graduating classroom-ready teachers. This study involved 32 final-year preservice teachers in an innovative school--university partnership teacher education programme titled, the School-Community Integrated Learning (SCIL) pathway. Data were collected using a five-part…

  13. Questions That Science Teachers Find Difficult (II).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodwin, Alan

    2003-01-01

    Presents some questions that science teachers find difficult. Focuses on three further questions relating to "simple" everyday situations that are normally explained in terms of the kinetic theory of matter. Identifies looking at the difference between chemical and physical changes as the most problematic question. (Author/YDS)

  14. "Women's Ways of Knowing" among Female Saudi Student Teachers: Implications for Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aldegether, Reem

    2017-01-01

    This exploratory quantitative research investigated how "women's ways of knowing" (WWK) apply to female Saudi student teachers, and aimed to provide a useful contribution for further prospective study about this subject. The study used the Attitudes to Thinking and Learning Survey (ATTLS) questionnaire to investigate two such ways of…

  15. Finding Your Way. Book Six. Project Drive.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zook, Doris; And Others

    This Project Drive booklet titled Finding Your Way is one of eight booklets designed for intermediate-level English-as-a-second-language students and low-level adult basic education/basic reading students. The goal of the booklet is to aid the student in developing the oral and sight vocabulary necessary for a basic driver training program. The…

  16. A Call To Action for Physics Departments: Findings and Recommendations of the National Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vokos, Stamatis

    2010-10-01

    The National Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics (T-TEP) concluded its two-year investigation of the professional preparation of teachers of physics in the U.S. T-TEP, formed by APS, AAPT, and AIP, was charged with (a) identifying generalizable, yet flexible, strategies that institutions, and in particular physics departments and schools or colleges of education, can employ to increase the number of qualified physics teachers, (b) identifying effective strategies in recruitment, models of professional preparation, and higher education systems of support during the first three years of teaching, and (c) articulating research, policy, and funding implications. In this talk, the major findings and recommendations of the T-TEP report will be discussed and ways to leverage the report to transform the physics teacher education system will be outlined.

  17. What Principals Think Motivates Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Diamantes, Thomas

    2004-01-01

    How did a graduate class of teachers and principals come to explore what was really important to teachers? They had an idea that they all shared the same values (both teachers and principals) and would agree on what rewards teachers prize. Would administrators rate the motivation rewards the same way the teachers would? To find out, five schools…

  18. Investigating Nature on the Way to School: Responses to an educational programme by teachers and their pupils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lindemann-Matthies, Petra

    2006-06-01

    In this study, the responses of teachers and their pupils to the educational programme “Nature on the Way to School” were investigated with the help of questionnaires. The main objectives of the programme were the promotion of opportunities for children to experience nature first-hand on the way to school, the promotion of children’s awareness of nature in their daily lives, and the promotion of interest in and tolerance of local plants and animals. More than 3000 children (8 16 years old) from 166 primary and secondary school classes in Switzerland and 117 teachers participated in the study. Children of all age groups particularly enjoyed observing nature directly. Teachers gave the programme very high ratings on average. The ratings given by the teachers and the learning gains of the pupils were positively related. Teachers from rural and urban areas carried out similar activities during the programme and regarded the programme as a success. The high satisfaction of both pupils and their teachers with the programme supports the thesis that teachers should make more use of educational approaches focusing on direct experiences in the local environment of children.

  19. Teacher Education in England and Wales: Some Findings from the Mote Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whitty, Geoff; And Others

    Perceptions vary between researchers and the British government as to the adequacy of initial teacher education in England and Wales. Based on the data from the Modes of Teacher Education (MOTE) project the researchers find a higher level of satisfaction from teachers than that claimed by the government. The MOTE project studied the origins,…

  20. Applying Effective Instruction Research Findings in Teacher Education: Six Influencing Factors.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gee, Elsie W.

    This preliminary report provides an overview of the Applying Research to Teacher Education (ARTE) Research Utilization in Elementary Teacher Education (RUETE) study which began in 1982 and will continue through 1985. ARTE: RUETE explores specific processes for incorporating recent research findings of effective instruction into preservice…

  1. How Professional Development in Project Lead the Way: Changes High School STEM Teachers' Beliefs about Engineering Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nathan, Mitchell J.; Atwood, Amy K.; Prevost, Amy; Phelps, L. Allen; Tran, Natalie A.

    2011-01-01

    This quasi-experimental study measured the impact of Project Lead the Way (PLTW) instruction and professional development training on the views and expectations regarding engineering learning, instruction and career success of nascent pre college engineering teachers. PLTW teachers' initial and changing views were compared to the views exhibited…

  2. Teachers Exploring Partnership Education and Ways to Transform the K-12 Educational System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cerda, Marisela Galvan

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to engage middle school science teachers in collaborative dialogue to understand the implications of partnership values and principles in the classroom to transform their educational practice. Participants investigated issues which prevent partnership relationships in schools and ways to help transform education and…

  3. Find Funds for Wellness Assessment Equipment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buck, Marilyn M.; Kirkpatrick, Beth

    1995-01-01

    Many physical education teachers have difficulty finding ways to purchase wellness assessment equipment. The article provides strategies to help them find the money for needed equipment, highlighting the physical education budget, the computer equipment budget, grants, local businesses, statewide organizations, universities, and national…

  4. Organizing physics teacher professional education around productive habit development: A way to meet reform challenges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Etkina, Eugenia; Gregorcic, Bor; Vokos, Stamatis

    2017-06-01

    Extant literature on teacher preparation suggests that preservice teachers learn best when they are immersed in a community that allows them to develop dispositions, knowledge, and practical skills and share with the community a strong vision of what good teaching entails. However, even if the requisite dispositions, knowledge, and skills in pursuing the shared vision of good teaching are developed, the professional demands on a teacher's time are so great out of, and so complex during class time that if every decision requires multiple considerations and deliberations with oneself, the productive decisions might not materialize. We argue that the link between intentional decision making and actual teaching practice are teacher's habits (spontaneous responses to situational cues). Teachers unavoidably develop habits with practical experience and under the influence of knowledge and belief structures that in many ways condition the responses of teachers in their practical work. To steer new teachers away from developing unproductive habits directed towards "survival" instead of student learning, we propose that teacher preparation programs (e.g., in physics) strive to develop in preservice teachers strong habits of mind and practice that will serve as an underlying support structure for beginning teachers. We provide examples of physics teacher habits that are to be developed during the program, propose mechanisms for the development of such habits, and outline possible future research agendas around habits.

  5. The Two Faces of Secondary Headship: Women Deputy Head Teachers' Perceptions of the Secondary Head Teacher Role

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guihen, Laura

    2017-01-01

    Men continue to outnumber women at the secondary head teacher level. This article reports on some of the preliminary findings of a larger study exploring the ways in which women deputy head teachers, as potential aspirants to headship, perceive the secondary head teacher role. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology,…

  6. Indigenous Knowledges as a Way to Disrupt Norms in Physical Education Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whatman, Susan; Quennerstedt, Mikael; McLaughlin, Juliana

    2017-01-01

    The maintenance and reproduction of prevailing hegemonic norms have been well explored in physical education teacher education (PETE). A related problem has been the exclusion of Indigenous knowledges around health and physical education (HPE) in students' experiences of HPE and PETE. The danger is that certain ways of being and becoming a PE…

  7. Helping Teachers Improve Classroom Assessments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Emberger, Marcella

    2007-01-01

    Understanding and implementing effective classroom assessments are skills that are essential to increasing student achievement. Unfortunately, many teachers have had little training in assessment strategies in either graduate or undergraduate programs. Administrators, therefore, must find innovative ways to help their teachers think like assessors…

  8. Using virtual reality to determine how emergency signs facilitate way-finding.

    PubMed

    Tang, Chieh-Hsin; Wu, Wu-Tai; Lin, Ching-Yuan

    2009-07-01

    In this study, virtual reality was the tool used to construct an experimental space. Three scenarios - one without emergency signs, another with an old-version emergency sign, and the third with a new-version emergency sign - were created, after which 107 subjects, divided into three groups, engaged in an emergency escape game to determine if and how various emergency signs aid in way-finding in the event of an emergency. Under the presupposition that the minimum time needed for an emergency escape without any mistake occurring was 40s, we found that the average way-finding time in the scenario without any emergency signs was 123.8s, for the scenario with the new-version signs 84.8s, and for the scenario with the old-version signs 75.6s; statistically, this demonstrated that the absence of signs results in slower escape than either old signs (p=0.001) or new signs (p=0.005). These findings indicate that signs do help way-finding greatly. Males were found to exhibit better way-finding skills than females (p<0.001). Construction workers and fire safety personnel, as a combined group, did not fare better than others with less presumed prior experience with building plans or emergency exit procedures. In addition, when faced with both an emergency direction sign and an exit door, almost half of the subjects (42% of the participants) were chosen to take the door instead of following the direction posted on the sign. Finally, we found that, at T-intersections, the majority of participants (60%) chose to turn left versus right.

  9. Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics: Findings and Recommendations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Otero, Valerie

    2010-03-01

    In response to the national crisis in science education, including low performance in high school physical science and a critical shortage of highly qualified physics teachers, a National Task Force was convened to investigate the state of physics education in the United States. The Task Force spent one year collecting data from over 900 universities and conducting site visits at 13 universities that were identified as ``high producers'' of physics teachers. The final report of the Task Force will be published early in 2010 and will highlight the findings and recommendations that resulted from the study. In this presentation, the main findings and recommendations will be presented along with selected case studies that illustrate exemplary practices in physics and education departments.

  10. Debating Our Way toward Stronger Thinking

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Field, Kathryn

    2017-01-01

    Teachers often find it challenging to incorporate higher order thinking skills in ways that both inspire student interest and allow for meaningful differentiation. Structured debate is an activity that can facilitate all of these goals. This article explains, in detail, how debates can be structured to promote a variety of critical thinking skills…

  11. In Pursuit of a Connected Way of Knowing: The Case of One Mathematics Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Agudelo-Valderrama, Cecilia; Martínez, Diana

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we offer illustrations of a mathematics teacher's difficulties with content knowledge when trying to find connections between school mathematics and science; we do so by describing the development of this teacher's thinking and learning in her pursuit of connections between the concepts of slope of a line and density of matter. The…

  12. Prospective Elementary School Teacher's Ways of Internet Use while Preparing Their Projects and Homeworks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ersoy, Ali; Aktay, Sayim

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine the level of internet use by prospective elementary school teachers in preparation of projects and assignments. The findings of the study indicated that internet use of prospective teachers is at the average level and gender is not a significant variable. Moreover, personal internet access and frequency of…

  13. Staffing the Classroom: How Urban Principals Find Teachers and Make Hiring Decisions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Engel, Mimi; Finch, Maida A.

    2015-01-01

    Despite the importance of teachers and the fact that teacher hiring is decentralized in most school districts, we know relatively little about the process through which individual principals hire faculty for their schools. Using interviews with 31 Chicago principals, we explore how principals find job candidates, whether they collaborate with…

  14. How lost "passenger" ants find their way home.

    PubMed

    Srinivasan, Mandyam V

    2018-03-01

    Animal navigation has fascinated biologists and engineers for centuries, and some of the most illuminating discoveries have come from the study of creatures with a brain no larger than a sesame seed. In an elegant recent study, Pfeiffer and Wittlinger (Science, 353, 1155-1157, 2016) have shown the means by which desert ants, carried from one nest to another by a relative, find their own way back home if they are accidentally dropped en route.

  15. From the teacher's eyes: facilitating teachers noticings on informal formative assessments (IFAs) and exploring the challenges to effective implementation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sezen-Barrie, Asli; Kelly, Gregory J.

    2017-01-01

    This study focuses on teachers' use of informal formative assessments (IFAs) aimed at improving students' learning and teachers' recognition of students' learning processes. The study was designed as an explorative case study of four middle school teachers and their students at a charter school in the northeastern U.S.A. The data collected for the study included a history of teaching questionnaire, video records of the teachers' IFA practices, ethnographic interviews with teachers, and field notes from classroom observations. These data were analysed from a sociolinguistic perspective focusing on the ways that classroom discourse and reflective interview conversations constructed ways of viewing assessment. The findings from the analysis of the classroom discourse showed that teachers use three different types of IFA cycles, labelled as connected, non-connected, and repeating. Teachers' reflections on video cases show that teachers can learn to view in-the-moment interactions in new ways that can guide IFAs. We concluded that teachers' perspectives on the effectiveness of IFAs are an important, but often neglected, part of building a robust, interactive classroom assessment portfolio.

  16. Theory to Practice through Teacher Inquiry Courses in a Graduate Program: Two Teachers' Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keat, Jane Blakely

    2005-01-01

    Our graduate degree program includes a component of six one-credit courses, in which teachers find ways to bring into their own classroom practices theory learned in related three-credit courses. Prior research indicates that taking course work alone may not bring about changes in teachers' decision-making. Prior research also encourages higher…

  17. Leading the Way: Students of Teacher Research Experiences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Warburton, J.; Larson, A.; Fahnestock, J.

    2017-12-01

    Over the past decade, the PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) program, administered by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS), has provided over 150 U.S. K-12 teachers the opportunity to work directly with scientists in the polar regions. As a Teacher Research Experiences (TRE), it has provided teachers with a unique professional development opportunity to increase their teacher content knowledge. From recent program evaluation data, there has been a statistically significant improvement in the teacher's self-assessed ability and confidence to increase a variety of scientific processes in their lessons. This is important, as a growing emphasis is in Next Generation Science Standards is not only increasing student achievement in science but the practice of science. In PolarTREC, we have witnessed numerous examples where the increased STEM content knowledge of the teachers has transferred to their students of teachers with more student initiated and student driven research projects. In this presentation, we will share examples of this success and showcase several student-led research projects that have not only demonstrated the practice of science but have also contributed to polar research.

  18. Teacher Retention in Tennessee: Are We Keeping Our Best Teachers? Policy Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pratt, Tony; Booker, Laura

    2014-01-01

    While most teachers in Tennessee remain in their positions for many years, it is also the case that some of the most effective teachers depart each year, either to go teach in a different school, a different district, or sometimes to leave the profession entirely. Not all of these moves are avoidable, but finding ways to retain as many high…

  19. New Ways in Teaching Reading. Revised

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Day, Richard R.

    2012-01-01

    This second edition of "New Ways in Teaching Reading" bursts with new activities while retaining many of the features that made the first edition a best seller. The activities chosen for this edition are inspired by state-of-the art trends in teaching reading to English learners. Teachers now find numerous creative, classroom-ready activities in…

  20. Teaching the Way We Aspire to Teach: Now and in the Future. Teachers' Vision for Teaching and Learning in Canada's Public Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freiler, Christa; Hurley, Stephen; Canuel, Ron; McGahey, Bob; Froese-Germain, Bernie; Riel, Rick

    2012-01-01

    "Teaching the Way We Aspire to Teach--Now and in the Future" is a collaborative research project between the Canadian Education Association (CEA) and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF). The project grew out of a shared interest in exploring with teachers their experiences and visions of teaching the way in which they aspire--that…

  1. Preservice elementary teachers' actual and designated identities as teachers of science and teachers of students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Canipe, Martha Murray

    stories and enactments in order to determine which storytellers were significant narrators for the preservice teachers' identities. The findings from this study show that significant narrators vary among the preservice teachers and include artifacts such as curriculum materials and instructional models in addition to people who are expected to be significant narrators. Furthermore, differences between preservice teachers' actual and designated identities influence opportunities to learn about what it means to be a teacher of science and students. This took different forms with each preservice teacher. In one case the preservice teacher worked to enact aspects of her designated identity and reflected about how she was not quite able to be the teacher of science she wanted to be as a novice teacher. Another case showed how the gap between actual and designated identities could limit opportunities to learn when the preservice teacher's strong actual identity as a novice led her to consider certain aspects of her designated identity as things which could not even be tried at this point. Finally, in the third case the preservice teacher's strong actual identity limited opportunities to develop a designated identity because she did not see herself as being a different kind of teacher of science in the future than she was right now as a student teacher. These findings suggest that supporting preservice elementary teacher identity development as teachers of science is an important part of preparing them to teach science in ways that engage students in scientific practices. Additionally, it is essential to examine identity stories and enactments in concert with each other in order to gain deeper understandings of how identities are developed and put into practice in classrooms.

  2. Bridging the Gap: On Ways to Improve Collaboration between Secondary Teachers and University Professors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Juarez-Dappe, Patricia

    2011-01-01

    The importance of content-focused professional development for high school teachers has been widely recognized by educators and legislators. Professionals in education at all levels have long argued for more contacts between secondary and post-secondary instructors as one important way to improve subject matter mastery. In response to this call,…

  3. Investigating Nature on the Way to School: Responses to an Educational Programme by Teachers and Their Pupils

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindemann-Matthies, Petra

    2006-01-01

    In this study, the responses of teachers and their pupils to the educational programme "Nature on the Way to School" were investigated with the help of questionnaires. The main objectives of the programme were the promotion of opportunities for children to experience nature first-hand on the way to school, the promotion of children's…

  4. Mentoring a new science teacher in reform-based ways: A focus on inquiry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schomer, Scott D.

    The processes, understandings, and uses of inquiry are identified by the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) as a key component of science instruction. Currently, there are few examples in the literature demonstrating how teachers go about co-constructing inquiry-based activities and how mentors can promote the use of reform-based practices by novices. The purpose of this interpretive case study was to investigate how a mentor and her protege collaboratively developed, implemented and assessed three inquiry-based experiences. The questions that guided this research were: (1) How does the mentor assist protege growth in the development, implementation and assessment of inquiry-based experiences for secondary science students? (2) How are the protege's perceptions of inquiry influenced by her participation in developing, implementing and assessing inquiry-based experiences for secondary science students? The co-construction of the inquiry activities and the facilitation provided by the mentor represented Lev Vygotsky's (1978) social construction of information as the mentor guided the protege beyond her cognitive zone of proximal development. The participants in this study were a veteran science teacher who was obtaining her mentor certification, or Teacher Support Specialist, and her protege who was a science teacher in the induction phase of her career. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, tape recordings of planning sessions, researcher field notes, and email reflections during the co-construction process. Inductive analysis of the data led to the identification of common categories and subsequent findings, which reflected what the mentor and protege discussed about inquiry and the process of collaboration. The six themes that emerged from this study led to several implications that are significant for science teacher preparation and the mentoring community. The teachers indicated tools, such as the

  5. Low Pay: Find Teachers Anyway.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lazares, John K.

    1988-01-01

    Even though they may be unable to offer them top dollars, schools can successfully recruit new teachers by letting prospective teachers know what is so special about the school or school system; using the school staff to do part of the selling job; and providing an emotional enticement. (MLF)

  6. Helping students make meaning of authentic investigations: findings from a student-teacher-scientist partnership

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peker, Deniz; Dolan, Erin

    2012-03-01

    As student-teacher-scientist partnerships become more widespread, there is a need for research to understand the roles assumed by scientists and teachers as they interact with students in general and in inquiry learning environments in particular. Although teacher roles during inquiry learning have been studied, there is a paucity of research about the roles that scientists assume in their interactions with students. Socio-cultural perspectives on learning emphasize social interaction as a means for students to make meaning of scientific ideas. Thus, this naturalistic study of classroom discourse aims to explore the ways scientists and teachers help high school students make meaning during authentic inquiry investigations. Conversational analysis is conducted of video recordings of discussions between students and teachers and students and scientists from two instances of a student-teacher-scientist partnership program. A social semiotic analytic framework is used to interpret the actions of scientists and teachers. The results indicate a range of common and distinct roles for scientists and teachers with respect to the conceptual, social, pedagogical, and epistemological aspects of meaning making. While scientists provided conceptual and epistemological support related to their scientific expertise, such as explaining scientific phenomena or aspects of the nature of science, teachers played a critical role in ensuring students' access to this knowledge. The results have implications for managing the division of labor between scientists and teachers in partnership programs.

  7. Helping students make meaning of authentic investigations: findings from a student-teacher-scientist partnership.

    PubMed

    Peker, Deniz; Dolan, Erin

    2012-03-01

    As student-teacher-scientist partnerships become more widespread, there is a need for research to understand the roles assumed by scientists and teachers as they interact with students in general and in inquiry learning environments in particular. Although teacher roles during inquiry learning have been studied, there is a paucity of research about the roles that scientists assume in their interactions with students. Socio-cultural perspectives on learning emphasize social interaction as a means for students to make meaning of scientific ideas. Thus, this naturalistic study of classroom discourse aims to explore the ways scientists and teachers help high school students make meaning during authentic inquiry investigations. Conversational analysis is conducted of video recordings of discussions between students and teachers and students and scientists from two instances of a student-teacher-scientist partnership program. A social semiotic analytic framework is used to interpret the actions of scientists and teachers. The results indicate a range of common and distinct roles for scientists and teachers with respect to the conceptual, social, pedagogical, and epistemological aspects of meaning making. While scientists provided conceptual and epistemological support related to their scientific expertise, such as explaining scientific phenomena or aspects of the nature of science, teachers played a critical role in ensuring students' access to this knowledge. The results have implications for managing the division of labor between scientists and teachers in partnership programs.

  8. How To: Preparing to Find a Job as a Spanish Teacher in the UK

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Talero, Gemma Carmen Belmonte

    2016-01-01

    This case study is about the design of the one-day course "How to find a job as a Spanish teacher in the UK," which is taught at the Instituto Cervantes in London. The course came to exist due to a large number of requests from Spaniards who have come to the UK in recent years--many of them wanting to find a job as a Spanish teacher--and…

  9. Finding Common Ground: Teacher Leaders and Principals Speak out about Teacher Leadership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weiner, Jennie Miles

    2011-01-01

    This study investigates how a small group of teacher leaders and their principals, participating in a teacher leadership program called the teacher connector (TC), understand teacher leadership and its impact on their practice. TCs' responsibilities were typical of teacher leaders; thus, their experiences can provide insights into teacher leaders'…

  10. Elementary Teacher's Conceptions of Inquiry Teaching: Messages for Teacher Development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ireland, Joseph E.; Watters, James J.; Brownlee, Jo; Lupton, Mandy

    2012-02-01

    This study explored practicing elementary school teacher's conceptions of teaching in ways that foster inquiry-based learning in the science curriculum (inquiry teaching). The advocacy for inquiry-based learning in contemporary curricula assumes the principle that students learn in their own way by drawing on direct experience fostered by the teacher. That students should be able to discover answers themselves through active engagement with new experiences was central to the thinking of eminent educators such as Pestalozzi, Dewey and Montessori. However, even after many years of research and practice, inquiry learning as a referent for teaching still struggles to find expression in the average teachers' pedagogy. This study drew on interview data from 20 elementary teachers. A phenomenographic analysis revealed three conceptions of teaching for inquiry learning in science in the elementary years of schooling: (a) The Experience-centered conception where teachers focused on providing interesting sensory experiences to students; (b) The Problem-centered conception where teachers focused on engaging students with challenging problems; and (c) The Question-centered conception where teachers focused on helping students to ask and answer their own questions. Understanding teachers' conceptions has implications for both the enactment of inquiry teaching in the classroom as well as the uptake of new teaching behaviors during professional development, with enhanced outcomes for engaging students in Science.

  11. Small Steps on the Way to Teacher Empowerment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foster, Karen

    1990-01-01

    Whereas the laissez-faire approach merely tells each teacher to do what he or she thinks best, the principal moving toward empowerment charges a group of teachers with devising the best decision for all. A Maryland elementary school used the Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement staff development plan as a big step toward preparing teachers…

  12. Teachers' Sensemaking of Data and Implications for Equity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bertrand, Melanie; Marsh, Julie A.

    2015-01-01

    This article examines an understudied aspect of teachers' sensemaking of student learning data: the way in which teachers explain the causes of the outcomes observed in data. Drawing on sensemaking and attribution theory and data collected in six middle schools, we find that while teachers most often attributed outcomes to their own instruction,…

  13. Coteaching with Senior Students--A Way to Refine Teachers' PCK for Teaching Chemical Bonding in Upper Secondary School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schultze, Felix; Nilsson, Pernilla

    2018-01-01

    During the last decade there has been on-going discussions about students' declining interest and low achievement in science. One of the reasons suggested for this decline is that teachers and students have different frames of reference, whereby teachers sometimes communicate science in the classroom in a way that is not accessible to the…

  14. Strength in Ways: Finding Creativity in Routine Strategy Development

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-06-01

    STRENGTH IN WAYS: FINDING CREATIVITY IN ROUTINE STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT BY PAUL J. MAYKISH A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL...Professional Development . iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I feel indebted to my country for the opportunity to study strategy for one year. It is at once too much...with research and welcoming me into one of our greatest national treasures. Lieutenant Colonel Dollar Young (USAF) introduced me to numerous key

  15. An Examination of Teachers' Perceptions and Practice when Teaching Large and Reduced-Size Classes: Do Teachers Really Teach Them in the Same Way?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harfitt, Gary James

    2012-01-01

    Class size research suggests that teachers do not vary their teaching strategies when moving from large to smaller classes. This study draws on interviews and classroom observations of three experienced English language teachers working with large and reduced-size classes in Hong Kong secondary schools. Findings from the study point to subtle…

  16. A heuristic way of obtaining the Kerr metric

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Enderlein, J.

    1997-09-01

    An intuitive, straightforward way of finding the metric of a rotating black hole is presented, based on the algebra of differential forms. The representation obtained for the metric displays a simplicity which is not obvious in the usual Boyer{endash}Lindquist coordinates. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Association of Physics Teachers.}

  17. 100 Ways to Enhance Self-Concept in the Classroom: A Handbook for Teachers and Parents.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Canfield, Jack; Wells, Harold C.

    This handbook for teachers and parents presents 100 practical and easily applicable ways to enhance the self-concept of children in the classroom or at home. The techniques are drawn from many of the newer approaches to self-development such as gestalt therapy, psychosynthesis, guided fantasy, sensory awareness, transactional analysis, expressive…

  18. Reactions of teachers versus non-teachers toward people who stutter.

    PubMed

    Li, Jian; Arnold, Hayley S

    2015-01-01

    The primary purpose of this study was to assess whether kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers differ from people in non-teaching occupations in their reactions to people who stutter (PWS). Taking differences in age and education into account, we compared reactions to PWS between 263 teachers and 1336 non-teachers in the United States based on their responses on the Public Opinion Survey on Human Attributes-Stuttering (POSHA-S, St. Louis, 2012). Findings indicated that teachers use a greater number and variety of information sources about PWS than the general public and that male teachers do so even more than female teachers. With regard to the other POSHA-S components, accommodating/helping, knowledge/experience, and sympathy/social distancing of PWS, teachers' responses were not significantly different from their non-teaching counterparts. Regardless of occupation, women reported reactions to PWS that are considered more accommodating and helpful to PWS than the reported reactions of men. Readers should be able to: (1) identify the challenges that students who stutter encounter in the K-12 school setting, (2) identify recommended ways teachers can react to their students who stutter, (3) summarize findings regarding teachers' reactions to people who stutter (PWS), and (4) identify key variables that are associated with reactions to PWS. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Teachers' Understanding and Operationalisation of `Science Capital'

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    King, Heather; Nomikou, Effrosyni; Archer, Louise; Regan, Elaine

    2015-12-01

    Across the globe, governments, industry and educationalists are in agreement that more needs to be done to increase and broaden participation in post-16 science. Schools, as well as teachers, are seen as key in this effort. Previous research has found that engagement with science, inclination to study science and understanding of the value of science strongly relates to a student's science capital. This paper reports on findings from the pilot year of a one-year professional development (PD) programme designed to work with secondary-school teachers to build students' science capital. The PD programme introduced teachers to the nature and importance of science capital and thereafter supported them to develop ways of implementing science capital-building pedagogy in their practice. The data comprise interviews with the participating teachers (n = 10), observations of classroom practices and analyses of the teachers' accounts of their practice. Our findings suggest that teachers found the concept of science capital to be compelling and to resonate with their own intuitive understandings and experiences. However, the ways in which the concept was operationalised in terms of the implementation of pedagogical practices varied. The difficulties inherent in the operationalisation are examined and recommendations for future work with teachers around the concept of science capital are developed.

  20. Science teachers' worldviews: A way to understand beliefs and practices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yalaki, Yalcin

    Understanding science teachers' beliefs is important for science teacher educators, because such understanding is a prerequisite for promoting change within the framework of educational reform. The worldview model developed by Graves (1981) and Beck and Cowan (1996) provides a holistic approach to understanding teachers' beliefs and values and it also provides a framework for understanding how people's worldviews change. In this study, worldviews of four science teachers were investigated within the framework of Beck and Cowan's model. Two of these teachers were high school science teachers, while the other two were middle school science teachers. One of the teachers held National Board of Professional Teaching Certification and she had 18 years of teaching experience. Another teacher was a relatively new teacher with three years of teaching experience. The third teacher had nine years of teaching experience, but when this study was conducted, it was her first year of teaching science. The other teacher had 26 years of experience with certification in all science areas. During this study, interpretative qualitative methods of data collection and analysis were used which included interviews, observations, and the use of a survey developed by Beck and Cowan (2000) called the Values Test. The results show that differing values and experiences among science teachers leads to different strategies for making sense of science teaching. The assertion that the worldview perspective provided by Beck and Cowan is a useful tool in understanding teachers' beliefs and values is made in the conclusions. Teacher educators can utilize this tool in research about teacher beliefs, in promoting change for reform, or in developing curriculum for teacher education programs. Teachers can utilize it in self-reflective practices to better understand their own beliefs, their context, and their students and ultimately improve the teaching and learning process they engage in.

  1. From Teacher Isolation to Teacher Collaboration: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Findings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ostovar-Nameghi, Seyyed Ali; Sheikhahmadi, Mohsen

    2016-01-01

    This study aims at: (1) reviewing the underlying causes of teacher isolation; (2) unrevealing the negative effects of isolation on teachers' professional and personal life; (2) illustrating different modes of voluntary collaboration among teachers; (4) presenting substantive evidence is support of collaboration as an efficient mode of professional…

  2. New Ways in Teacher Education. New Ways in TESOL Series: Innovative Classroom Techniques.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freeman, Donald, Ed.; Cornwell, Steve, Ed.

    This book presents 46 classroom activities that teacher educators have used in helping people learn to teach. Some are specific to learning how to teach second languages, but most can be used to address the teaching of any subject matter. All emphasize what teacher trainees bring to the process of becoming independent, self-sufficient classroom…

  3. Finding Our Way: Eighth Graders Explore Social Networking Sites

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leland, Chris; Ociepka, Anne; Kuonen, Kate

    2012-01-01

    As adolescents spend more and more time engaging in various on line activities, teachers are questioning the role that language arts curricula might play in helping them become savvy technology users. In this study, an eighth-grade teacher responded to her students' unauthorized participation on MySpace[TM] by initiating an inquiry into social…

  4. Utilizing Teacher Leadership as a Catalyst for Change in Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ankrum, Raymond J.

    2016-01-01

    School leaders are constantly trying to find alternative ways to leverage and explore teacher leadership potential in their school building(s). Teachers leaders that are willing to go above and beyond their general duties. Teacher leaders are the type of educators that fall under the motif of potentially taking on additive responsibilities that…

  5. Teacher Portfolios: An Effective Way to Assess Teacher Performance and Enhance Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gelfer, Jeff; 'O' Hara, Katie; Krasch, Delilah; Nguyen, Neal

    2015-01-01

    Often administrators seek alternative methods of evaluating staff while staff are frequently searching for methods to represent the breadth and quality of their efforts. One method proving to be effective for gathering and organising products of teacher activity is the portfolio. This article will discuss the procedures that teachers can apply in…

  6. Which Way Is Better for Teacher Evaluation? The Discourse on Teacher Evaluation in Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Juei-Hsin; Chen, Yen-Ting

    2016-01-01

    There are no summative evaluations for compulsory and basic education in Taiwan. This research discusses and analyzes present teacher evaluation implementation. The implementation of policy nowadays means "Teacher evaluation for professional development". Teacher evaluation for professional development is a voluntary growing project of…

  7. Applications of Video-Conferencing Technology in Special Education Teacher Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Israel, Maya; Knowlton, Earle; Griswold, Deborah; Rowland, Amber

    2009-01-01

    Teacher educators must find ways to teach course content situated within realistic K-12 contexts so that their preservice teachers can better understand how to apply that content effectively in situations they will face as professionals. Video-conferencing (VC) technology has emerged as a useful tool in teacher education, evincing a wide range of…

  8. TEACHER-ADVISORS: Where There's a Skill There's A Way.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tamminen, Armas; And Others

    This report discusses a program to present the Teacher Advisement Training Model. This model for training teacher-advisors is based on the assumption that tentative commitment to making school a more rewarding experience for all is the first step in starting an effective program. The approach is to help teachers learn specific skills and methods…

  9. Mentoring Matters: The Challenge for Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCann, Thomas M.; Ed.; Johannessen, Larry, Ed.

    2009-01-01

    Beginning teachers face many challenges and difficulties; as a result, one-third will leave the profession in the first three years and nearly half will be gone within their first five years in the profession. The challenge facing university teacher education programs is to fix the hole in the bottom of the bucket and find strategic new ways to…

  10. Discrepancies between Students' and Teachers' Ratings of Instructional Practice: A Way to Measure Classroom Intuneness and Evaluate Teaching Quality

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dockterman, Daniel Milo

    2017-01-01

    Student surveys have gained prominence in recent years as a way to give students a voice in their learning process, and teacher self-reports have always been an effective instrument for revealing the planning, intentions, and expectations behind a given lesson. Though student and teacher surveys are widely used, extant research in education has…

  11. Augmented Reality: Sustaining Autonomous Way-Finding in the Community for Older Persons with Cognitive Impairment.

    PubMed

    Sejunaite, K; Lanza, C; Ganders, S; Iljaitsch, A; Riepe, M W

    2017-01-01

    Impairment of autonomous way-finding subsequent to a multitude of neurodegenerative and other diseases impedes independence of older persons and their everyday activities. It was the goal to use augmented reality to aid autonomous way-finding in a community setting. A spatial map and directional information were shown via head-up display to guide patients from the start zone on the hospital campus to a bakery in the nearby community. Hospital campus and nearby community. Patients with mild cognitive impairment (age 63 to 89). A head-up display was used to help patients find their way. Time needed to reach goal and number of assists needed. With use of augmented reality device, patients preceded along the correct path in 113 out of 120 intersections. Intermittent reassurance was needed for most patients. Patients affirmed willingness to use such an augmented reality device in everyday life if needed or even pay for it. Augmented reality guided navigation is a promising means to sustain autonomous way-finding as a prerequisite for autonomy of older persons in everyday activities. Thus, this study lays ground for a field trial in the community using assistive technology for older persons with cognitive impairment.

  12. Teaching Portfolios, Community, and Pre-Service Teachers' Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wray, Susan

    2007-01-01

    This article describes the findings of a qualitative study examining the extent to which participation in a portfolio-focused teacher learning community impacts pre-service teachers' understanding and development of a teaching portfolio. Additionally, the author was interested in understanding how, whether, and in what ways the group's…

  13. Teachers' Discoursal Strategies in Providing Positive Feedback to Student Responses: A Study of Four English Immersion Teachers in People's Republic of China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pei, Miao

    2012-01-01

    This paper investigates the discoursal strategies of four teachers in providing feedback to student responses in English classrooms in Xi'an, People's Republic of China. The findings indicate that the teachers provide positive feedback for students English learning in various ways, including using the most common strategies such as accepting,…

  14. Wanted: Ways to Assess the Majority of Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sawchuk, Stephen

    2011-01-01

    The author reports on the debate about "value added" measures of teaching which may be the most divisive topic in teacher-quality policy today. It has generated sharp-tongued exchanges in public forums, in news stories, and on editorial pages. And it has produced enough policy briefs to fell whole forests. But for most of the nation's teachers,…

  15. Early Literacy Research: Findings Primary-Grade Teachers Will Want to Know

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reutzel, D. Ray

    2015-01-01

    This article shares recent research findings in early literacy that every primary grade teacher has had questions about at one time or another ranging from handwriting to phonemic awareness, writing to concepts about print, and more. The article reports research that elaborates upon and extends early literacy research that was reported by the…

  16. Prospective Elementary Teachers' Views on Their Teachers and Their Effectiveness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karakas, Mehmet

    2013-01-01

    In this paper future elementary teachers reflect on their past experiences and talk about their teachers and the way they were taught, and portray the characteristics of effective and not so effective teachers. The study also highlights Turkish teachers` way of instruction and the strategies they use. Participants were 41 sophomore and 62 junior…

  17. Teacher and Student Language Practices and Ideologies in a Third-Grade Two-Way Dual Language Program Implementation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henderson, Kathryn I.; Palmer, Deborah K.

    2015-01-01

    This article provides an in-depth exploration of the language ecologies of two classrooms attempting to implement a two-way dual language (TWDL) program and its mediating conditions. Drawing on ethnographic methods and a sociocultural understanding of language, we examined both teachers' and students' language ideologies and language practices,…

  18. Designing and Implementing Two-Way Bilingual Programs: A Step-by-Step Guide for Administrators, Teachers, and Parents.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Calderon, Margarita Espino; Minaya-Rowe, Liliana

    This book provides school administrators, teachers, and parents with the basic knowledge necessary for planning and implementing effective two-way bilingual programs. It offers essential elements to help students gain literacy in two languages, increase cross-cultural understanding, and meet high levels of achievement in all core academic areas.…

  19. Using ICT for Training Teachers in Design and Technology Education (TTDTE)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thorsteinsson, Gísli

    2012-01-01

    The paper outlines the TTPTE project (2010-2011) which was based on the need for innovative and effective ideas for increasing the efficiency of teachers' in design and technology daily work. The project was aimed at finding new ways of how to support in-service teachers in design and technology education and how teachers themselves can upgrade…

  20. Collaboration: Finding the Teacher, Finding the Topic, Finding the Time

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gess, Angela

    2009-01-01

    Have you ever had a teacher say, "I'd love to bring my classes to the library more often, but we just don't have enough time because we have to prepare for our state standardized tests?" This response stems from a misconception about the role of library media centers and library media specialists. In some school environments, the library media…

  1. Finding the Right Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoerr, Thomas R.

    2006-01-01

    The author of this article, a principal, describes the hiring process of new teachers at his school, New City School. At his school, he assumes that pedagogical skills are a given, but he concentrates more on determining the right match between institution and individual. He also relates that he often involves his staff members in the interviews…

  2. Ways of Evaluating Teacher Cognition: Inferences Concerning the Goldilocks Principle.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kagan, Dona M.

    1990-01-01

    Alternative approaches to the evaluation of teacher cognition are compared in this review, which identifies five such approaches: direct, noninferential assessment of teacher beliefs; contextual analyses of teachers' descriptive language; taxonomies for assessing self-reflection and metacognition; multimethod evaluations of pedagogical content…

  3. New Findings on the Retention of Novice Teachers from Teaching Residency Programs. NCEE Evaluation Brief. NCEE 2015-4015

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silva, Tim; McKie, Allison; Gleason, Philip

    2015-01-01

    This brief updates earlier study findings (Silva et al., 2014) regarding the extent to which teachers trained through teaching residency programs (TRPs) funded through the U.S. Department of Education's Teacher Quality Partnership grants program are retained in their districts and schools. TRPs prepare new teachers primarily through a year-long…

  4. A Fingerprint Pattern of Supports for Teachers' Designing of Technology-Enhanced Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Svihla, Vanessa; Reeve, Richard; Sagy, Ornit; Kali, Yael

    2015-01-01

    Teachers often find themselves in a position in which they need to adapt technology-enhanced materials to meet the needs of their students. As new technologies--especially those not specifically designed for learning--find their way into schools, teachers need to be able to design learning experiences that use these new technologies in their local…

  5. Using AMLO to Improve the Quality of Teacher Education Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al-Shammari, Zaid

    2012-01-01

    This study aims to find ways to improve learning outcomes in teacher education courses by using an Analysis Model for Learning Outcomes (AMLO). It addresses the improvement of the quality of teacher education by analyzing learning outcomes and implementing curriculum modifications related to specific learning objectives and their effects on…

  6. Challenges for New Teachers and Ways of Coping with Them

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dias-Lacy, Samantha L.; Guirguis, Ruth V.

    2017-01-01

    The first year of a teacher's career can determine their longevity within the field of education. The issues of first year teachers were analyzed through a grounded theory qualitative research analysis. The results of this study indicate that a first year teacher may feel stress, lack appropriate support, and may feel unprepared to handle…

  7. Findings from the Pilot Teacher Compensation Survey: School Year 2005-06. First Look. NCES 2008-440

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Frank; Cornman, Stephen

    2008-01-01

    This report presents findings from the Pilot Teacher Compensation Survey (TCS), which collected data for school year 2005-2006. This pilot collection is a research and development effort to see if it is possible to collect and publish teacher-level data from the administrative records residing in state departments of education. Seven states…

  8. Contextualizing Teacher Professionalism: Findings from a Cross-Case Analysis of Union Active Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Osmond-Johnson, Pamela

    2016-01-01

    This paper draws on data collected as part of a study of the discourses of teacher professionalism amongst union active teachers in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario. Interviews revealed a triad of influences on the professionalism discourses of participants: engagement in teacher associations, the larger policy environment, and…

  9. In-Service Education of Teachers: Overview, Problems and the Way Forward

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Osamwonyi, Eduwen Friday

    2016-01-01

    The need for in-service education of teachers cannot be underestimated. It is a necessity in enhancing work performance and motivation of teachers in the field. Absence of in-service training of teachers will retard professional growth of teachers as well as "missing gaps" between demands and actual achievement levels. Inservice…

  10. Student Teachers' Prior Experiences of History, Geography and Science: Initial Findings of an All-Ireland Survey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Waldron, Fionnuala; Pike, Susan; Varley, Janet; Murphy, Colette; Greenwood, Richard

    2007-01-01

    Research into student teachers' perceptions, attitudes and prior experiences of learning suggests that these experiences can exert an influence on practice which can be relatively undisturbed by their initial teacher education. This article is based on the initial findings of an all-Ireland survey of all first-year students on B.Ed. courses in…

  11. Prospective Teachers' Beliefs about Problem Solving in Multiple Ways

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arikan, Elif Esra

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to analyze whether prospective teachers believe solving a mathematics problem involves in using different solution methods. 60 mathematics prospective teachers who take the pedagogic training program in a state university were participated in this study. Five open-ended questions were asked. The study was carried out…

  12. A Planetary Geophysicist Does EPO: Lessons Learned Along the Way

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiefer, W. S.

    2011-12-01

    My "day job" is numerical modeling of the interiors of the terrestrial planets, but I have also done EPO projects for the last 17 years while at the Lunar and Planetary Institute. These range from single, hour long talks in classrooms or astronomy clubs, to week-long summer workshops for teachers and librarians, and even semester-long programs, along with a number of curriculum development projects. EPO projects are a great way to help develop both the next generation of scientists and, more importantly, of scientifically literate citizens and taxpayers. Here are a few lessons learned along the way in the school of hard knocks. (1) An engaging delivery style is even more important in EPO presentations than it is in college lectures or conference presentations. Emphasize a few key concepts rather than numerous facts, and keep the jargon out. Good analogies can go a long way towards explaining a concept to any age group. I teach the role of size in planetary cooling by first asking students how long it takes to cook food of various sizes (a hamburger, roast beef, turkey). (2) If you will be working with a group of students for more than one class period, classroom friendly activities strengthen the learning process. Such activities do not need to be elaborate - when teaching about the Moon, I sometimes assign students to take their parents outside at night and show them how to find lava flows on the Moon. Teachers usually need to have classroom activities that are aligned to state or national teaching standards. Fortunately, many effective, standards-aligned activities already exist, so you don't need to reinvent the wheel. For a useful listing of planetary science and astronomy activities, see the LPI website www.lpi.usra.edu/education/resources/ (3) Although EPO work can be personally rewarding, it is not always well rewarded in a professional context, and it can be difficult to find the time and financial resources to sustain major projects. We sometimes use a

  13. Building Bridges: How to Increase the Efficacy of Teacher Mentors and Student-Teacher Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nesheim, Nicole E.; Moran, Clarice M.; Pendleton, Melissa

    2014-01-01

    The cases presented describe two levels of struggle. One level identifies two student teachers (ST) and their mentors failing to meet one another's expectations. Another level presents school administration as it seeks to find ways of meeting STs' needs while maintaining a positive and productive school climate. Relevant research is presented to…

  14. Research Matters: Students' Views of "Intelligence", Teachers' Praise, and Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    VanDeWeghe, Rick, Ed.

    2003-01-01

    According to Columbia University social psychologist Carol Dweck, teachers may find some answers to students' ways of thinking if they consider students' views of "intelligence." In "Messages That Motivate: How Praise Molds Students' Beliefs, Motivation, and Performance (in Surprising Ways)," Dweck maintains that academic motivation and…

  15. Furnished Imagination: The Impact of Preservice Teacher Training on Early Career Work in TESOL

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kiely, Richard; Askham, Jim

    2012-01-01

    This article presents the findings of an impact study of a short teacher training course in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Impact is conceptualised as teacher learning, particularly perceived achievements in learning, evidenced in the ways teachers talk about their work in TESOL. The theoretical framework for the research…

  16. "Cruel Optimism": Teacher Attachment to Professionalism in an Era of Performativity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Alex; Clarke, Matthew

    2016-01-01

    This study provides a critical exploration of the way teachers' attachment to notions of professionalism may facilitate a process whereby teachers find themselves obliged to enact centralised and local education policies that they do not believe in but are required to implement. The study argues that professionalism involves an entanglement of…

  17. Physics Teachers' Professional Development in the Project "physics in Context"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mikelskis-Seifert, Silke; Duit, Reinders

    2013-06-01

    Developing teachers' ways of thinking about "good" instruction as well as their views of the teaching and learning process is generally seen as essential for improving teaching behaviour and implementation of more efficient teaching and learning settings. Major deficiencies of German physics instruction as revealed by a nationwide video-study on the practice of physics instruction are addressed. Teachers participating in the project are made familiar with recent views of efficient instruction on the one hand and develop context-based instructional settings on the other. The evaluation resulted in partly encouraging findings. However, it also turned out that a number of teachers' ways of thinking about good instruction did only develop to a somewhat limited degree. The most impressive changes occurred for teachers who enjoyed the most intensive coaching.

  18. Physics Teachers' Professional Development in the Project "physics in Context"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mikelskis-Seifert, Silke; Duit, Reinders

    2012-12-01

    Developing teachers' ways of thinking about "good" instruction as well as their views of the teaching and learning process is generally seen as essential for improving teaching behaviour and implementation of more efficient teaching and learning settings. Major deficiencies of German physics instruction as revealed by a nationwide video-study on the practice of physics instruction are addressed. Teachers participating in the project are made familiar with recent views of efficient instruction on the one hand and develop context-based instructional settings on the other. The evaluation resulted in partly encouraging findings. However, it also turned out that a number of teachers' ways of thinking about good instruction did only develop to a somewhat limited degree. The most impressive changes occurred for teachers who enjoyed the most intensive coaching.

  19. Substitute Your Way to a Real Job

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stephens, Cathy

    2013-01-01

    For some, substitute teaching is a career choice. However, for the majority of new teachers, it is often a necessary gateway to landing a first job. Either way, it is a great way to sharpen one's skills. This article presents tips from principals, teachers, and human resource directors to make the most of the substitute teaching experience…

  20. Pre-Service Teachers' Juxtaposed Memories: Implications for Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Balli, Sandra J.

    2014-01-01

    Teacher education research has long understood that pre-service teachers' beliefs about teaching are well established by the time they enroll in a teacher education program. Based on the understanding that teacher memories help shape pre-service teachers' beliefs, teacher educators have sought ways to both honor such memories and facilitate a…

  1. Enhancing Teacher Education with Simulations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaufman, David; Ireland, Alice

    2016-01-01

    As calls for accountability in our schools increase, teaching quality faces scrutiny and, often, criticism. These realities challenge teacher education programs to find new ways to ensure that their graduates will be effective in highly demanding work settings. In this article the authors draw on literature and practice examples to highlight ways…

  2. Understanding the Human Side of School Leadership: Principals' Impact on Teachers' Morale, Self-Efficacy, Stress, and Commitment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lambersky, John

    2016-01-01

    This qualitative study from Ontario, Canada, reveals that principal behaviors shape teacher emotions in important ways, influencing teacher morale, burnout, stress, commitment, and self- and collective efficacy. The findings suggest that principals can influence teacher emotions through several key behaviors: professional respect shown for teacher…

  3. New Liberian President Seeks to Rehabilitate Country's Education System: Finding Teachers Still Country's Main Hurdle

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Powell, Tracie

    2007-01-01

    Troubled by the difficulties of training teachers in Liberia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says she hopes to attract them from U.S. colleges and universities. Sirleaf envisions the Liberian Education Trust as a way to help repair a country devastated by two civil wars. The trust seeks to raise money so that the West African country can build 50…

  4. The different ways to obtain digital images of urine microscopy findings: Their advantages and limitations.

    PubMed

    Fogazzi, G B; Garigali, G

    2017-03-01

    We describe three ways to take digital images of urine sediment findings. Way 1 encompasses a digital camera permanently mounted on the microscope and connected with a computer equipped with a proprietary software to acquire, process and store the images. Way 2 is based on the use of inexpensive compact digital cameras, held by hands - or mounted on a tripod - close to one eyepiece of the microscope. Way 3 is based on the use of smartphones, held by hands close to one eyepiece of the microscope or connected to the microscope by an adapter. The procedures, advantages and limitations of each way are reported. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Finding a Third Space in Teacher Education: Creating an Urban Teacher Residency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Klein, Emily J.; Taylor, Monica; Onore, Cynthia; Strom, Kathryn; Abrams, Linda

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes an urban teacher residency program, the Newark Montclair Urban Teacher Residency, a collaborative endeavor between the Newark, New Jersey Public Schools and Montclair State University, built on a decades-long partnership. The authors see the conceptual work of developing this program as creating a "third space" in…

  6. I Teach You the Way I See Us: Concepts of Self and Teaching of African-American Women Teachers Committed to Social Justice.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beauboeuf-Lafontant, Tamara

    This paper reports findings from a qualitative study of the nature of teachers' connections with their African American students. It is based on three rounds of interviews with six African American women teachers who had used the social justice curriculum "Facing History and Ourselves." The teachers ranged in age from the mid-twenties to…

  7. The Word and the Thing: Ways of Seeing the Teacher. A Statement Regarding Teacher Education, Teacher Accountability, Evaluation and the Teacher as a Researcher.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cook, Ann; Mack, Herb

    One of a series of monographs to encourage reexamination of evaluation issues and perspectives about schools and schooling, this booklet is a statement on teacher education, teacher accountability, evaluation, and the teacher as researcher. Included are an introduction and five subsequent sections: (1) Educational Jargon; (2) The Open Education…

  8. On the Way of Educational Reform: Thai High School Physics Teachers' Conceptions of the Student-Centered Approach and Their Perceptions of Their Classroom Practices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaumklang, Kawin

    During the past two decades, the student-centered approach has been widely promoted and accepted by the educational community as one of the most effective instructional approaches. It has been continually developed and revised to match our current understanding of how humans learn (American Psychological Association, 1997). It is based upon the belief that students should take responsibility for their own learning. Thus, curriculum, instruction, and assessment should be carefully designed to stimulate, facilitate, and accelerate students' learning as much as possible. In order to do so, the teacher needs to take the following factors into consideration: students' cognitive structures, metacognitive and regulative skills, motivation and affective states, developmental and individual differences, and social supports. However, the term student-centered has been defined and described by researchers and scholars in many different ways. Little is known about how practicing teachers conceptualize this term and how they perceive their classroom practices in relation to these conceptions. The purpose of this study was to utilize a qualitative multiple-case study approach to investigate teachers' conceptions of the student-centered approach and their perceptions of their classroom practices. Four Thai high school physics teachers, who were considered products of the current student-centered educational reform movement in Thailand, participated in this study. Data were collected for one learning unit (three to eight weeks) through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. The data analysis revealed that teachers' conceptions of student-centered curriculum, instruction, and assessment had three common characteristics: (a) students' active participation; (b) special emphasis on students' background knowledge, understanding, motivation, affective states, and learning capability; and (c) benefits to students. The results also indicated that there

  9. Ways to Evaluate the Success of Your Teacher Incentive Fund Project in Meeting TIF Goals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milanowski, Anthony; Finster, Matthew

    2016-01-01

    This brief outlines some simple methods that Teacher Incentive Fund grants could add to their local evaluations to find out how well they are promoting attainment of the four overall TIF goals. The methods described in this brief can help grantees determine if they are moving toward improving effectiveness, student achievement, and equity.…

  10. Helping Writers Find Power

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Jeff

    2006-01-01

    The writing teacher's foremost job is leading students to see the valuable ideas they have to express. Writing is a way to share those ideas with the world rather than a way to be wrong, Anderson asserts. Teachers and parents too often focus on errors in student writing. This focus gives students the impression that writing well is about avoiding…

  11. Using Automated Scores of Student Essays to Support Teacher Guidance in Classroom Inquiry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gerard, Libby F.; Linn, Marcia C.

    2016-02-01

    Computer scoring of student written essays about an inquiry topic can be used to diagnose student progress both to alert teachers to struggling students and to generate automated guidance. We identify promising ways for teachers to add value to automated guidance to improve student learning. Three teachers from two schools and their 386 students participated. We draw on evidence from student progress, observations of how teachers interact with students, and reactions of teachers. The findings suggest that alerts for teachers prompted rich teacher-student conversations about energy in photosynthesis. In one school, the combination of the automated guidance plus teacher guidance was more effective for student science learning than two rounds of personalized, automated guidance. In the other school, both approaches resulted in equal learning gains. These findings suggest optimal combinations of automated guidance and teacher guidance to support students to revise explanations during inquiry and build integrated understanding of science.

  12. Sustainability Education and Teacher Education: Finding a Natural Habitat?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buchanan, John

    2012-01-01

    Sustainability education competes for curricular space, both in schools and in teacher education. Opportunities and barriers for the inclusion of sustainability education in an Australian university primary teacher education program are examined in this article. The study focused on the roles, practices and perceptions of teacher educators in…

  13. Exploring preservice teachers' interpretations of curricular experiences while learning to teach in an inquiry-oriented way: A phenomenology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sander, Scott A.

    Despite ubiquitous calls for school reform, the traditional transmission model of education continues to dominate our nation's science classrooms at all levels. How do these experiences impact those who enter formal teacher education programs and Methods courses that promote a more inquiry-oriented way of teaching science? The purpose of this foundational study was to explore the interpretations of five preservice science teachers' (PSTs) curricular experiences in order to gain a greater understanding directly from the participants about learning to teach in an inquiry-oriented way. Phenomenology was selected as a flexible methodology that enabled access to the "lifeworld" that PSTs had constructed of their experiences within a science Methods course. The inquiry-based methods used within the course also provided the data that ultimately became the bulk of the stories presented in Chapter 4. The methods were selected for their ability to make the PSTs' thinking visible. The use of "thinking routines" within the context of the Methods course supplied data from the PSTs as they were in the role of a student. The use of the virtual classroom TeachLivE(TM) supplied data from the PSTs as they were in the role of a teacher. The data generated by these unique methods helped to constitute the stories presented in Chapter 4. Instead of stories about the PSTs these are stories constructed from the data that represents the thinking of PSTs. The stories are presented as what PSTs see, believe, care about, and wonder with regards to learning to teach in an inquiry-oriented way. This data indicates that while PSTs have taken notice of the challenge to their existing ideas about teaching science there are still significant barriers that must be overcome to replace entrenched beliefs in order for them to implement inquiry-oriented practices in their future classrooms. As a beginning step in the inquiry process and aligned with constructivist theories of learning, thinking routines

  14. Teacher Learning: The Way Out of the School Restructuring Miasma.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smyth, John; McInerney, Peter; Hattam, Robert; Lawson, Mike

    1998-01-01

    Teachers have not figured prominently in school restructuring, but exercise important pedagogical leadership through shaping, enacting, and living their schools' vision and culture. An Australian school's experience illustrates how teachers can create "radical spaces" for debate whereby the "entitlement to speak" against…

  15. From Teacher to Teacher Leader: A Conceptual Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hunzicker, Jana

    2017-01-01

    Conceptions of teacher leadership are trending away from formal titles and positions to embrace a more informal, integrated approach. Moreover, there is growing agreement among scholars that teacher leadership is a stance, or way of thinking and being, rather than a set of behaviors. As a result, understanding how teachers progress from teacher to…

  16. The role of socioscientific issues in biology teaching: from the perspective of teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tidemand, Sofie; Nielsen, Jan Alexis

    2017-01-01

    Previous research has documented that students who engage with socioscientific issues can acquire some of the complex competences and skills typically related to scientific literacy. But an emerging field of research on science teachers' understanding and use of socioscientific issues, has documented that a range of challenges hinders the uptake of socioscientific issues. In this study, we investigated the interpretation and implementation of socioscientific issues among Danish biology teachers. We conducted five in-depth group interviews and validated the emergent themes from the teachers' talk-in-interaction by distributing a questionnaire. Our findings suggest that the participating teachers generally harbour a content-centred interpretation of socioscientific issues which manifests itself in at least three separate ways. First, the teachers generally use socioscientific issues as a vehicle to teach factual biological content. Second, the teachers emphasised mastery of factual content in their assessment. Third, the teachers tended to reduce socioscientific issues to specific biological contents in a way may preclude students from engaging with the real socioscientific issue. Our findings are particularly significant for science educators, policy-makers and curriculum designers, as we argue that key aspects of this content-centred interpretation may be a coping strategy used to navigate a divided curriculum.

  17. Educating Prospective Teachers of Biology: Findings, Limitations, and Recommendations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hewson, Peter W.; Tabachnick, B. Robert; Zeichner, Kenneth M.; Lemberger, John

    1999-01-01

    Summarizes a complex study of a science-teacher-education program whose goal was to graduate teachers who held conceptual change conceptions of teaching science and were disposed to put hem into practice. Concludes that there are influences on prospective teachers from their content coursework that have significant implications for how they view…

  18. Teacher Educators' Reflections on Moments in a Secondary Teacher Education Course: Thinking Forward by Challenging Our Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freedman, Debra M.; Bullock, Patricia L.; Duque, Genevieve S.

    2005-01-01

    In this paper the authors explore two pedagogical moments that occurred within a diversity-focused secondary teacher education course, giving specific attention to Genevieve's and Debra's reflections as course instructors. We explore the ways in which instructors find themselves challenged, engaged and provoked to rethink taken for granted ideas…

  19. A Study of Novice Science Teachers' Conceptualizations of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Redman, Elizabeth Horst

    This qualitative study examined new science teachers' conceptualization of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP). The study followed six novice science teachers from their preservice teaching placements into their first jobs as instructors of record, observing in their classrooms and interviewing them about their use of CRP. The study sought to understand (1) how the participating teachers conceptualize CRP in science, and (2) what challenges the teachers faced in trying to implement CRP. Findings suggest that the teachers conceptualized CRP in ways that were consistent with Enyedy, Danish and Fields' (2011) interpretations of relevance: relevance of authentic purpose, relevance of content and/or context, and relevance of practices. The teachers, however, translated those interpretations of relevance into their conceptualizations and classroom practice in a variety of ways. While they encountered difficulties in conceptualizing and practicing CRP, they also made productive moves in their practice and evidenced positive elements in their conceptualizations of CRP. In order to address the challenges these teachers faced in implementing CRP, I suggest an approach to teacher preparation in CRP that builds upon the understandings and productive moves the teachers evidenced in this study.

  20. Correlates of Teachers' Ways of Handling Bullying

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grumm, Mandy; Hein, Sascha

    2013-01-01

    Aggressive behaviors in schools and bullying behaviors amongst children are a serious problem in the school context. As a consequence of an aggressive atmosphere in the classroom, learning processes are disturbed and children are less likely to experience pleasure when attending school. Teachers face a big challenge as a result. As we know from…

  1. Ways That Preservice Teachers Integrate Children's Literature into Mathematics Lessons

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rogers, Rachelle Meyer; Cooper, Sandi; Nesmith, Suzanne M.; Purdum-Cassidy, Barbara

    2015-01-01

    Children's literature involving mathematics provides a common, natural context for the sharing of mathematics. To learn more about how preservice teachers included children's literature in their mathematics lessons, a study was conducted over two semesters during a required field experience component of an undergraduate teacher education program.…

  2. Teacher Victimization in Authoritative School Environments.

    PubMed

    Kapa, Ryan R; Luke, Jeremy; Moulthrop, Dorothy; Gimbert, Belinda

    2018-04-01

    Victimization in schools is not limited to students. Teachers increasingly face threats and attacks from their students. An authoritative school environment, characterized by high structure and support, has been associated with lower rates of victimization. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between authoritative school environments and teacher victimization rates. Researchers examined public school teacher responses (N = 37,497) from the Schools and Staffing Survey regarding rules and issues facing the school community. Descriptive statistics were gathered, and a hierarchical regression technique was employed to assess the impact of a structured, supportive school environment on teacher victimization. Results indicate an authoritative school environment helped reduce rates of teacher victimization. White, female teachers are among the teachers most likely to experience violence from students. Enforcing school rules, by both teachers and administrators, is the most effective way to diminish episodes of teacher victimization. P-12 school personnel should emphasize the importance of enforcing school rules and reducing negative issues, such as student truancy and apathy within each school. As high levels of structure and support reduce instances of violence, these findings have important implications for school environments and teacher health. © 2018, American School Health Association.

  3. Science teachers' perceptions of expertise in practice : An exploratory study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bevins, Stuart Carl

    This thesis reports on an exploration of the nature and characteristics of science teaching expertise as exhibited by six identified expert science teachers. An action research methodology was adopted with data gathered through: semi-structured interviews; classroom observations, and reflective discussions. A culture of collaboration between the researcher and teachers was encouraged by the researcher in an attempt to create a 'bottom-up' approach to the study. The teachers acted as research collaborators by continuously reflecting on, and analysing their knowledge and practice within the context of the study.The reported study emphasises a need for identifying characteristics of science teacher expertise from the insights of teachers themselves. The study considers the reflections and perceptions of the science teachers involved to be an important part of their continuing professional development, which leads to a greater self-awareness and understanding of their teaching expertise. Findings show that these six science teachers demonstrate: subject master; deep pedagogical understanding; considerable pedagogical content knowledge, and a desire to continue learning for an entire professional life, in an attempt to keep abreast of changes and developments in science and education. Within these characteristics, the teachers exhibit, for example, organisational skills, empathy, flexibility, intuition, enthusiasm and professionalism. Most of all, they demonstrate an ability to operate and communicate at the level of their pupils. They study contributes to the debate about effective teaching and better ways for teachers to learn from their experienced by offering a detailed account of science teacher expertise from the perceptions of six expert teachers. The study also highlights a wide ranging existing literature base in a attempt to offer a way of thinking about teaching expertise. Findings from the study indicate strong similarities with those of the existing

  4. A New Autonomy-Supportive Way of Teaching That Increases Conceptual Learning: Teaching in Students' Preferred Ways

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jang, Hyungshim; Reeve, Johnmarshall; Halusic, Marc

    2016-01-01

    We tested the educational utility of "teaching in students' preferred ways" as a new autonomy-supportive way of teaching to enhance students' autonomy and conceptual learning. A pilot test first differentiated preferred versus nonpreferred ways of teaching. In the main study, a hired teacher who was blind to the purpose of the study…

  5. Groping My Way through the Group Method.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kinnick, B. Jo

    1995-01-01

    Reprints an article originally published in 1951. Argues that the group method should not be foisted on young teachers as the only way to teach. Notes that the group method requires a great deal of preparation and much teacher direction. Suggests that smart teachers will continue to use a variety of teaching methods. (RS)

  6. Meta-Reflective Service Learning Poster Fairs: Purposive Pedagogy for Pre-Service Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stewart, Trae

    2008-01-01

    Given that teachers need to present information in a concise, understandable way, to reflect on their practices to inform future actions, and to know how to create and use a teaching artifact, this article reports the findings from a study conducted to examine the impacts from a class-based poster session in teacher education. First, a review of…

  7. Examining the Impact of a Professional Development Course on STEM Teachers' Acceptance of and Intent to Implement Problem-Based Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mong, Christopher J.

    2013-01-01

    In order to improve STEM education, as well as incorporate 21st century skills, teacher education programs are in the process of finding better ways to address these areas (Trilling & Fadel, 2009). New teachers entering the workforce are prepared mostly to teach content the way they were taught (Alger, 2009; Eick & Reed, 2002; Goodnough…

  8. Relating Teacher PCK and Teacher Practice Using Classroom Observation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barendsen, Erik; Henze, Ineke

    2017-09-01

    Science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has been researched in many studies, yet little empirical evidence has been found to determine how this knowledge actually informs teachers' actions in the classroom. To complement previous quantitative studies, there is a need for more qualitative studies to investigate the relationship between teacher knowledge (as formulated by the teacher) and classroom practice, especially in the context of an educational innovation. In this study we explored a possible way to investigate this relationship in an in-depth and systematic fashion. To this end, we conducted a case study with a chemistry teacher in the context of the implementation of a context-based science curriculum in The Netherlands. The teacher's PCK was captured using the Content Representation form by Loughran, Mulhall, and Berry. We used an observation table to monitor classroom interactions in such a way that the observations could be related to specific elements of teachers' PCK. Thus, we were able to give a detailed characterization of the correspondences and differences between the teacher's personal PCK and classroom practice. Such an elaborate description turned out to be a useful basis for discussing mechanisms explaining the relationship between teachers' knowledge and teachers' actions.

  9. The Norm of Teacher Autonomy/Equality: Measurement & Findings.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Packard, John S.

    As part of a larger investigation of the effects of introducing a formal unit structure into elementary schools, an attempt was made to predict in which of the newly unitized schools teachers would first show an increase in task interdependence. Prominent among the various features under consideration in the prediction study are teacher norms…

  10. Four Ways to Reduce Worry for New Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ligon, Jerry A.

    1988-01-01

    Four suggestions are offered for making teachers' first year on the job more than just a test of endurance: provide adequate supplies, make assignments carefully, do not overload them, and provide a support system. (TE)

  11. A Black Feminist Book Club as a Multicultural Professional Development Model for Inservice Secondary Science Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hoard, Althea B.

    According to science teacher educators, science teachers often struggle to embrace and implement multicultural teaching practices due to limited awareness of the biases, assumptions, and oppressive structures that hinder the success of Students of Color in science classrooms. At its core, teachers lack this awareness due to incomplete understanding of the ways identity markers, such as race, gender, and socioeconomic status, work together to shape one's coming into, understanding of, and success in the sciences. To this end, this case study features four science teachers of diverse backgrounds who engaged in a book club structured to support their understanding of their intersectionality and their identity development. These four science teachers met as a science department to engage with the text Black Feminist Thought (BFT) (Collins, 2009) and other critical texts over a six-month period at a New York City, charter high school. The findings revealed the ways racial stereotypes, propagated by many factors--including images of scientists, relationships with teachers, and expectations of peers and family--influenced their coming into and understanding of science. Additionally, the findings show the ways teachers discovered their intersectionality--particularly the interplay of their race and gender--influenced their approaches to teaching science. As teachers learned about the multidimensionality of their positional identities, they became aware of discriminatory structures of power that disadvantage their Black female science students and reported implementing more student-centered pedagogical practices. Altogether, this study offers a professional development model for building critical consciousness with inservice secondary science teachers.

  12. Practicing Teachers' Perceptions of Teacher Trainees: Implications for Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kagoda, Alice Merab; Sentongo, John

    2015-01-01

    Practicing teachers are partners in preparation of teacher trainees. However, little is known about their perceptions of the teacher trainees they receive every year in their schools. Ninety three practicing teachers from twenty schools participated in this study. The objectives were to find out the practicing teachers' perceptions of teacher…

  13. Novice and expert teachers' conceptions of learners' prior knowledge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meyer, Helen

    2004-11-01

    This study presents comparative case studies of preservice and first-year teachers' and expert teachers' conceptions of the concept of prior knowledge. Kelly's (The Psychology of Personal Construct, New York: W.W. Norton, 1955) theory of personal constructs as discussed by Akerson, Flick, and Lederman (Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 2000, 37, 363-385) in relationship to prior knowledge underpins the study. Six teachers were selected to participate in the case studies based upon their level experience teaching science and their willingness to take part. The comparative case studies of the novice and expert teachers provide insights into (a) how novice and expert teachers understand the concept of prior knowledge and (b) how they use this knowledge to make instructional decisions. Data collection consisted of interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis. Findings suggest that novice teachers hold insufficient conceptions of prior knowledge and its role in instruction to effectively implement constructivist teaching practices. While expert teachers hold a complex conception of prior knowledge and make use of their students' prior knowledge in significant ways during instruction. A second finding was an apparent mismatch between the novice teachers' beliefs about their urban students' life experiences and prior knowledge and the wealth of knowledge the expert teachers found to draw upon.

  14. 10 Ways to Find More Time

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hitch, Chris

    2008-01-01

    There are two ways to avoid time-crunch panic attacks: work smarter and delegate wisely. In this article, the author provides a list of some strategies and tactics he has used to help more than 500 school executives in North Carolina work smarter, delegate more effectively and become more effective instructional leaders. These strategies fall into…

  15. Qualities of an effective teacher: what do medical teachers think?

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Effective teaching in medicine is essential to produce good quality doctors. A number of studies have attempted to identify the characteristics of an effective teacher. However, most of literature regarding an effective medical teacher includes student ratings or expert opinions. Furthermore, interdisciplinary studies for the same are even fewer. We did a cross-sectional study of the characteristics of effective teachers from their own perspective across medicine and dentistry disciplines. Methods A questionnaire comprising of 24 statements relating to perceived qualities of effective teachers was prepared and used. The study population included the faculty of medicine and dentistry at the institution. Respondents were asked to mark their response to each statement based on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. These statements were grouped these into four main subgroups, viz. Class room behaviour/instructional delivery, interaction with students, personal qualities and professional development, and analysed with respect to discipline, cultural background, gender and teaching experience using SPSS v 13.0. For bivariate analysis, t-test and one way ANOVA were used. Multiple linear regression for multivariate analysis was used to control confounding variables. Results The top three desirable qualities of an effective teacher in our study were knowledge of subject, enthusiasm and communication skills. Faculty with longer teaching experienced ranked classroom behaviour/instructional delivery higher than their less experienced counterparts. There was no difference of perspectives based on cultural background, gender or discipline (medicine and dentistry). Conclusion This study found that the faculty perspectives were similar, regardless of the discipline, gender and cultural background. Furthermore, on review of literature similar findings are seen in studies done in allied medical and non-medical fields. These findings

  16. The way adults with orientation to mathematics teaching cope with the solution of everyday real-world problems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gazit, Avikam; Patkin, Dorit

    2012-03-01

    The article aims to check the way adults, some who are practicing mathematics teachers at elementary school, some who are academicians making a career change to mathematics teachers at junior high school and the rest who are pre-service mathematics teachers at elementary school, cope with the solution of everyday real-world problems of buying and selling. The findings show that even adults with mathematical background tend to make mistakes in solving everyday real-world problems. Only about 70% of the adults who have an orientation to mathematics solved the sample problem correctly. The lowest percentage of success was demonstrated by the academicians making a career change to junior high school mathematics teachers whereas the highest percentage of success was manifested by pre-service elementary school mathematics teachers. Moreover, the findings illustrate that life experience of the practicing mathematics teachers and, mainly, of the academicians making a career change, who were older than the pre-service teachers, did not facilitate the solution of such a real-world problem. Perhaps the reason resides in the process of mathematics teaching at school, which does not put an emphasis on the solution of everyday real-world problems.

  17. Beginning a Pre-Service Teacher's Mathematical Identity Work through Narrative Rehabilitation and Bibliotherapy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lutovac, Sonja; Kaasila, Raimo

    2011-01-01

    In our study, we face two challenges. First, a negative view of mathematics is a widespread phenomenon among pre-service elementary teachers. Therefore, teacher education programs should find a way to handle this phenomenon. Second, we see that identity work in the domain of mathematics education needs to be conceptualized more. Here, we apply an…

  18. The Problem-Solving Power of Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sacks, Ariel

    2013-01-01

    Risk takers of all kinds have joined the effort to find new and better ways to structure nearly every aspect of teaching and learning. But as teacher leader and blogger Ariel Sacks notes, "Sadly, most of the experiments in education reform come from the imaginations of people who don't actually teach children." Top-down experiments…

  19. Argumentation and Equity in Inquiry-Based Science Instruction: Reasoning Patterns of Teachers and Students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Irish, Tobias E. L.

    This multiple case study explores issues of equity in science education through an examination of how teachers' reasoning patterns compare with students' reasoning patterns during inquiry-based lessons. It also examines the ways in which teachers utilize students' cultural and linguistic resources, or funds of knowledge, during inquiry-based lessons and the ways in which students utilize their funds of knowledge, during inquiry-based lessons. Three middle school teachers and a total of 57 middle school students participated in this study. The data collection involved classroom observations and multiple interviews with each of the teachers individually and with small groups of students. The findings indicate that the students are capable of far more complex reasoning than what was elicited by the lessons observed or what was modeled and expected by the teachers, but that during the inquiry-based lessons they conformed to the more simplistic reasoning patterns they perceived as the expected norm of classroom dialogue. The findings also indicate that the students possess funds of knowledge that are relevant to science topics, but very seldom use these funds in the context of their inquiry-based lessons. In addition, the teachers in this study very seldom worked to elicit students' use of their funds in these contexts. The few attempts they did make involved the use of analogies, examples, or questions. The findings from this study have implications for both teachers and teacher educators in that they highlight similarities and differences in reasoning that can help teachers establish instructional congruence and facilitate more equitable science instruction. They also provide insight into how students' cultural and linguistic resources are utilized during inquiry-based science lessons.

  20. Obama Finding Teacher Support Secure, If Tepid: Policy Rifts Complicate Obama-Teacher Dance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Klein, Alyson

    2012-01-01

    Ask Antonio White what he thinks of Race to the Top--President Barack Obama's signature K-12 initiative--and the Florida teacher will tell you the competitive-grant program is a "difficult pill to swallow." Merit pay for teachers based partly on student test scores is "a joke," he says. He's also not a fan of expanding charter…

  1. Teacher-Led Reforms Have a Big Advantage--Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stanulis, Randi N.; Cooper, Kristy S.; Dear, Benita; Johnston, Amanda M.; Richard-Todd, Rhonda R.

    2016-01-01

    Becoming a better teacher by learning and implementing new ways of teaching requires time, effort, persistence, and a belief that new strategies will enhance student learning. But when educational leaders try to improve teachers and teaching from the outside, by bringing in reformers to transform how teachers engage in the core business of…

  2. Banded vs Bonded Space Maintainers: Finding Better Way Out.

    PubMed

    Setia, Vikas; Kumar Pandit, Inder; Srivastava, Nikhil; Gugnani, Neeraj; Gupta, Monika

    2014-05-01

    Of this in vivo study was to evaluate various space maintainers in terms of survival rate, gingival health and presence of caries. A total of 60 extraction sites in the age group of 4 to 9 years were divided into four groups and different space maintainers were placed in them viz (conventional band and loop, prefabricated band with custom made loop, Ribbond, Super splint). Prefabricated bands with custom made loop showed maximum success rates (84.6%), while super splint (33.33%) was found to be least successful. In terms of gingival health, prefabricated band with custom made loop reported minimum cases with poor gingival health (27.2%), while maximum cases with poor gingival health (50%) were reported with Super splint. None of the space maintainers developed caries at the end of 9 months. How to cite this article: Setia v, Pandit IK, Srivastava N, Gugnani N, Gupta M. Banded vs Bonded Space Maintainers: Finding Better Way Out. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2014;7(2):97-104.

  3. Teacher Collaboration: Implications for New Mathematics Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gellert, Laura M.; Gonzalez, Lidia

    2011-01-01

    One increasingly popular way of supporting new teachers is through the use of mentoring. New teachers are often paired with mentors as one of a number of supports meant to aid new teachers as they begin their career. The various types of mentoring range from school based mentors assigned by the school to specialty mentors, such as math coaches.…

  4. Developing and Rewarding Excellent Teachers: The Scottish Chartered Teacher Scheme

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ingvarson, Lawrence

    2009-01-01

    The Scottish Chartered Teacher Scheme was designed to recognise and reward teachers who attained high standards of practice. The scheme emerged in 2001 as part of an agreement between government, local employing authorities and teacher organisations. Policies such as the chartered teacher scheme aim to benefit students in two main ways: by…

  5. Super heroes and lucky duckies: Racialized stressors among teachers.

    PubMed

    Rauscher, Lauren; Wilson, Bianca D M

    2017-04-01

    This article explores the complex relationships between race and occupational stressors among an ethnically diverse sample of high school teachers and their implications for women's mental health. Interviews with Black, White, and Mexican American teachers suggest that workplaces are organized by subtle forms of gender and racial discrimination as well as White racial privilege; this context shapes women's experiences of occupational stressors. The data indicate that teachers experience racially specific stressors at work and make racially specific appraisals about common stressors among all teachers. Black and Mexican American women report chronic strains, such as differential workloads, perceptions of incompetence, and lack of support from administrators, whereas White teachers report, yet minimize, sexual harassment from male colleagues. Student misbehavior, a stressor shared by all teachers, is experienced and understood as a personal failing by White teachers and as a manifestation of systemic racism by teachers of color. The interviews offer important insights into the ways professional workplaces remain an arena marked by racial inequality and White privilege and that racialized stressors are differentially distributed among women. Findings support claims from intersectionality in that race, racism, and racial privilege operate in multiplicative ways that create different constellations of occupational stressors among women, which in turn have implications for wellbeing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. What Every Teacher Should Know: Reflections on "Educating the Developing Mind"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Lorin W.

    2012-01-01

    Over the past half century, much has been learned about the ways in which students develop and learn. Unfortunately, this knowledge often does not find its way into the classroom. Teachers can begin to use this knowledge by focusing on a few key ideas. They need to go beyond the presentation of content to helping students acquire strategies for…

  7. South African Teachers Caught between Nation Building and Global Demands: Is There a Way Out/Forward?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bantwini, Bongani D.; Letseka, Moeketsi

    2016-01-01

    In this article, we explore the impact of the nation-building and global demands on teachers' work and how they survive the pressure of, and reconcile, these various demands that impact their work. We draw on two separate data sets that emerged from studies undertaken in the Eastern Cape Province (EC), South Africa. Findings reveal a rift between…

  8. Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF) Project TPACK Survey: Summary of the Key Findings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Finger, Glenn; Jamieson-Proctor, Romina; Cavanagh, Rob; Albion, Peter; Grimbeek, Peter; Bond, Trevor; Fitzgerald, Robert; Romeo, Geoff; Lloyd, Margaret

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a summary of the key findings of the TTF TPACK Survey developed and administered for the Teaching the Teachers for the Future (TTF) Project implemented in 2011. The TTF Project, funded by an Australian Government ICT Innovation Fund grant, involved all 39 Australian Higher Education Institutions which provide initial teacher…

  9. Finding Our Way Home: The Great Lakes Woodland People.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bennett, Pamela J., Ed.

    2001-01-01

    This issue of this magazine is part of an effort to heighten the knowledge of students and teachers about Indiana's American Indian connections past, present, and future. The issue is a guide to accompany the 2001 original play, "People of the Turtle." It can stand alone as a starting place for students interested in learning about, and…

  10. Community development in a Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program: Teacher growth and translation of the experience back to the classroom

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Johnston, Carol Suzanne Chism

    This qualitative study explores how a scientific research experience helped seven secondary science teachers to grow professionally. The design of this Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program emphasized having teachers become members of university scientific research communities---participating in experimental design, data collection, analysis, and presenting of findings---in order to have a better understanding of research science. I conducted individual interviews with teacher and scientist participants, visited the teachers in their laboratories, videotaped classroom visits, and videotaped group meetings during the summers to learn what teachers brought back to their classrooms about the processes of science. I examined the teachers' views of research science, views shaped by their exposure to research science under the mentorship of a scientist participant. The teachers observed the collaborative efforts of research scientists and experienced doing scientific research, using technology and various experimental methods. Throughout their two-year experience, the teachers continually refined their images of scientists. I also examined how teachers in this program built a professional community as they developed curricula. Further, I investigated what the teachers brought from their experiences back to the classroom, deciding on a theme of "Communicating Science" as a way to convey aspects of scientific inquiry to students. Teacher growth as a result of this two-year program included developing more empathy for student learning and renewing their enthusiasm for both learning and teaching science. Teacher growth also included developing curricula to involve students in behaving as scientists. The teachers identified a few discrete communication practices of scientists that they deemed appropriate for students to adopt to increase their communication skills. Increased community building in classes to model scientific communities was seen as a way to motivate

  11. Teacher labor markets in developed countries.

    PubMed

    Ladd, Helen F

    2007-01-01

    Helen Ladd takes a comparative look at policies that the world's industrialized countries are using to assure a supply of high-quality teachers. Her survey puts U.S. educational policies and practices into international perspective. Ladd begins by examining teacher salaries-an obvious, but costly, policy tool. She finds, perhaps surprisingly, that students in countries with high teacher salaries do not in general perform better on international tests than those in countries with lower salaries. Ladd does find, however, that the share of underqualified teachers in a country is closely related to salary. In high-salary countries like Germany, Japan, and Korea, for example, only 4 percent of teachers are underqualified, as against more than 10 percent in the United States, where teacher salaries, Ladd notes, are low relative to those in other industrialized countries. Teacher shortages also appear to stem from policies that make salaries uniform across academic subject areas and across geographic regions. Shortages are especially common in math and science, in large cities, and in rural areas. Among the policy strategies proposed to deal with such shortages is to pay teachers different salaries according to their subject area. Many countries are also experimenting with financial incentive packages, including bonuses and loans, for teachers in specific subjects or geographic areas. Ladd notes that many developed countries are trying to attract teachers by providing alternative routes into teaching, often through special programs in traditional teacher training institutions and through adult education or distance learning programs. To reduce attrition among new teachers, many developed countries have also been using formal induction or mentoring programs as a way to improve new teachers' chances of success. Ladd highlights the need to look beyond a single policy, such as higher salaries, in favor of broad packages that address teacher preparation and certification

  12. Teaching the Federal Budget, National Debt, and Budget Deficit: Findings from High School Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marri, Anand R.; Ahn, Meesuk; Crocco, Margaret Smith; Grolnick, Maureen; Gaudelli, William; Walker, Erica N.

    2011-01-01

    The issues surrounding the federal budget, national debt, and budget deficit are complex, but not beyond the reach of young students. This study finds scant treatment of the federal budget, national debt, and budget deficit in high schools today. It is hardly surprising that high school teachers spend so little time discussing these topics in…

  13. The Training of Teacher-Librarians--Paving the Way.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meder, Marylouise D.

    This report traces the emerging relationships between the school and library systems during the colonial era until the late nineteenth century. It examines the public library's influence on early educational methodologies, describes the beginnings of the cooperative movement between teachers and librarians, and the new interrelationship which…

  14. New Ways of Classroom Assessment. Revised

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, J. D., Ed.

    2013-01-01

    In this revised edition in the popular New Ways Series, teachers have once again been given an opportunity to show how they do assessment in their classrooms on an everyday basis. Often feeling helpless when confronted with large-scale standardized testing practices, teachers here offer classroom testing created with the direct aim of helping…

  15. A Little Goes a Long Way

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woo, Vila

    2007-01-01

    The process of art-making is integral to the development of a child's fine motor skills, coordination, and concentration. Therefore, creating an ongoing project one or two weeks in length can benefit both teacher and students. The teacher can assess the children's skills by observing the way they handle materials. Also, after spending valuable…

  16. Science education reform in Confucian learning cultures: teachers' perspectives on policy and practice in Taiwan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Ying-Syuan; Asghar, Anila

    2018-03-01

    This empirical study investigates secondary science teachers' perspectives on science education reform in Taiwan and reflects how these teachers have been negotiating constructivist and learner-centered pedagogical approaches in contemporary science education. It also explores the challenges that teachers encounter while shifting their pedagogical focus from traditional approaches to teaching science to an active engagement in students' learning. Multiple sources of qualitative data were obtained, including individual interviews with science teachers and teachers' reflective journals about Confucianism in relation to their educational philosophies. Thematic analysis and constant comparative method were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that Confucian traditions play a significant role in shaping educational practices in Taiwan and profoundly influence teachers' epistemological beliefs and their actual classroom practice. Indeed, science teachers' perspectives on Confucian learning traditions played a key role in supporting or obstructing their pedagogical commitments to inquiry-based and learner-centered approaches. This study draws on the literature concerning teachers' professional struggles and identity construction during educational reform. Specifically, we explore the ways in which teachers respond to educational changes and negotiate their professional identities. We employed various theories of identity construction to understand teachers' struggles and challenges while wrestling with competing traditional and reform-based pedagogical approaches. Attending to these struggles and the ways in which they inform the development of a teacher's professional identity is vital for sustaining current and future educational reform in Taiwan as well as in other Eastern cultures. These findings have important implications for teachers' professional development programs in East Asian cultures.

  17. An Investigation of Preschool Teachers' Ways of Seeing Action Research Using Phenomenography

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lam, Ho Cheong

    2016-01-01

    One of the purposes of introducing the use of action research in schools is to bring about educational change in policy and practice. To make this happen, it is of paramount importance to look into how teachers actually see action research. We, the writers of this paper, are teacher educators, teaching preschool teachers courses related to action…

  18. Elementary teachers' ideas about, planning for and implementation of learner-directed and teacher-directed inquiry: A mixed methods study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Biggers, Mandy Sue

    Using a framework for variations of classroom inquiry (National Research Council [NRC], 2000, p. 29), this study explored 40 inservice elementary teachers' planning, modification, and enactment of kit-based science curriculum materials. As part of the study, a new observation protocol was modified from an existing protocol (Practices of Science Observation Protocol [P-SOP]) to measure the amount of teacher direction in science inquiry lessons (Practices of Science Observation Protocol + Directedness [P-SOPd]). An embedded mixed methods design was employed to investigate four questions: 1. How valid and reliable is the P-SOPd? 2. In what ways do inservice elementary teachers adapt existing elementary science curriculum materials across the inquiry continuum? 3. What is the relationship between the overall quality of inquiry and variations of inquiry in elementary teachers' enacted science instruction? 4. How do inservice elementary teachers' ideas about the inquiry continuum influence their adaptation of elementary science curriculum materials? Each teacher chose three lessons from a science unit for video-recorded observation, and submitted lesson plans for the three lessons. Lesson plans and videos were scored using the P-SOPd. The scores were also compared between the two protocols to determine if a correlation existed between the level of inquiry (measured on the P-SOP) and the amount of teacher direction (measured on the P-SOPd). Findings indicated no significant differences between planned and enacted lessons for the amount of teacher direction, but a correlation existed between the level of inquiry and the amount of teacher direction. In effect, the elementary teachers taught their science curriculum materials with a high level of fidelity for both the features of inquiry and the amount of teacher direction. A smaller group of three case study teachers were followed for the school year to give a more in-depth explanation of the quantitative findings. Case

  19. The effect of certification and preparation on teacher quality.

    PubMed

    Boyd, Donald; Goldhaber, Daniel; Lankford, Hamilton; Wyckoff, James

    2007-01-01

    To improve the quality of the teacher workforce, some states have tightened teacher preparation and certification requirements while others have eased requirements and introduced "alternative" ways of being certified to attract more people to teaching. Donald Boyd, Daniel Goldhaber, Hamilton Lankford, and James Wyckoff evaluate these seemingly contradictory strategies by examining how preparation and certification requirements affect student achivement. If strong requirements improve student outcomes and deter relatively few potential teachers, the authors say, then they may well be good policy. But if they have little effect on student achievement, if they seriously deter potential teachers, or if schools are able to identify applicants who will produce good student outcomes, then easing requirements becomes a more attractive policy. In reviewing research on these issues, the authors find that evidence is often insufficient to draw conclusions. They do find that highly selective alternative route programs can produce effective teachers who perform about the same as teachers from traditional routes after two years on the job. And they find that teachers who score well on certification exams can improve student outcomes somewhat. Limited evidence suggests that certification requirements can diminish the pool of applicants, but there is no evidence on how they affect student outcomes. And the authors find that schools have a limited ability to identify attributes in prospective teachers that allow them to improve student achievement. The authors conclude that the research evidence is simply too thin to have serious implications for policy. Given the enormous investment in teacher preparation and certification and given the possibility that these requirements may worsen student outcomes, the lack of convincing evidence is disturbing. The authors urge researchers and policymakers to work together to move to a more informed position where good resource decisions can be

  20. "Boys Will Be Boys": What Do Early Childhood Teachers Have to Do with It?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bhana, Deevia

    2009-01-01

    This paper focuses on the ways in which a selected group of early childhood teachers in grades one and two, located in a predominantly white middle-class context in Durban, South Africa ascribe meaning to young boys they teach. The study finds that early childhood teachers are bearers of masculinity and incorporate taken-for-granted assumptions of…

  1. Finding Balance: The Professional Life of a Charter School Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, Marjorie

    2010-01-01

    This phenomenological study of one charter school teacher sought to answer the question, what is it like to be a teacher in a charter school? Exploring issues of preparation, working conditions, and job satisfaction, this teacher expressed a range of emotions about her chosen work environment. I found that the pervasive stress surrounding her work…

  2. Mature Teachers Matter

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berl, Patricia Scallan

    2005-01-01

    In this article, the author discusses the consequences of losing mature teachers due to voluntary separation or retirement and the mindset of a mature teacher that is different from younger teachers in a number of ways. Mature teachers are colleagues over 45 years of age possessing significant experience in the field. Future trends in teacher…

  3. The Metaphorical Perceptions of Students on a Teacher-Training Course towards the Concepts of "Teacher" and "Teacher Training"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sener, Zehra Taspinar; Bulut, Ahsen Seda; Ünal, Hasan

    2017-01-01

    Problem Statement: Two different teacher training programs have been implemented in Turkey over recent years. In addition to attending faculties of teacher training (on traditional educational degree programs), graduates from different faculties have the right to become teachers by way of the "pedagogical formation certification…

  4. Forms of Capital and Teachers' Views of Collaboration and Threat Relations with Parents in Israeli Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Addi-Raccah, Audrey; Grinshtain, Yael

    2017-01-01

    Neo-liberal ideologies have given parents influence over education. This requires teachers to find ways to engage with parents and use resources for dealing with them. Following Bourdieu's notion of field, in which different groups struggle over resources to maintain their social position, we examine the relations between teachers' attitudes…

  5. From the Teachers' Perspective: A Way of Simplicity for Multimedia Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hirca, Necati

    2009-01-01

    Presently, teaching and presentation methods are changing from chalk and blackboards to interactive methods. Multimedia technology is presently used in many schools, however much of the commercially-available software programs don't allow teachers to share their experiences. Adobe Captivate 3 is a computer program that enables teachers, without…

  6. Collaborative Teacher Learning: Findings from Two Professional Development Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Erickson, G.; Minnes Brandes, G.; Mitchell, I.; Mitchell, J.

    2005-01-01

    This article discusses two projects that were aimed at enhancing the opportunities for professional development of the participants through collaboration between classroom teachers and teacher educators. The two projects, the Australian Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) and the Canadian Learning Strategies Group (LSG), focused on the…

  7. A Collective Case Study of the Influence of Teachers' Beliefs and Knowledge on Error-Handling Practices during Class Discussion of Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bray, Wendy S.

    2011-01-01

    This collective case study examines the influence of 4 third-grade teachers' beliefs and knowledge on their error-handling practices during class discussion of mathematics. Study findings suggest that, although teachers' ways of handling student errors during class discussion of mathematics are clearly linked to both teacher beliefs and teacher…

  8. Banded vs Bonded Space Maintainers: Finding Better Way Out

    PubMed Central

    Kumar Pandit, Inder; Srivastava, Nikhil; Gugnani, Neeraj; Gupta, Monika

    2014-01-01

    ABSTRACT Objectives: Of this in vivo study was to evaluate various space maintainers in terms of survival rate, gingival health and presence of caries. Design: A total of 60 extraction sites in the age group of 4 to 9 years were divided into four groups and different space maintainers were placed in them viz (conventional band and loop, prefabricated band with custom made loop, Ribbond, Super splint). Results: Prefabricated bands with custom made loop showed maximum success rates (84.6%), while super splint (33.33%) was found to be least successful. In terms of gingival health, prefabricated band with custom made loop reported minimum cases with poor gingival health (27.2%), while maximum cases with poor gingival health (50%) were reported with Super splint. None of the space maintainers developed caries at the end of 9 months. How to cite this article: Setia v, Pandit IK, Srivastava N, Gugnani N, Gupta M. Banded vs Bonded Space Maintainers: Finding Better Way Out. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2014;7(2):97-104. PMID:25356008

  9. Continuous Self-Selection Processes in Teacher Education: The Way for Survival.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zak, Itai

    1981-01-01

    Three selection phases were found in a study investigating the selection process of students into the teaching profession: (1) self selection by the potential teacher; (2) admission to the teacher-training program; and (3) election to undergo the course of instruction. Results suggest that personality traits are more important than cognitive…

  10. Teachers' Beliefs and Practices Regarding the Role of Executive Functions in Reading and Arithmetic.

    PubMed

    Rapoport, Shirley; Rubinsten, Orly; Katzir, Tami

    2016-01-01

    The current study investigated early elementary school teachers' beliefs and practices regarding the role of Executive Functions (EFs) in reading and arithmetic. A new research questionnaire was developed and judged by professionals in the academia and the field. Reponses were obtained from 144 teachers from Israel. Factor analysis divided the questionnaire into three valid and reliable subscales, reflecting (1) beliefs regarding the contribution of EFs to reading and arithmetic, (2) pedagogical practices, and (3) a connection between the cognitive mechanisms of reading and arithmetic. Findings indicate that teachers believe EFs affect students' performance in reading and arithmetic. These beliefs were also correlated with pedagogical practices. Additionally, special education teachers' scored higher on the different subscales compared to general education teachers. These findings shed light on the way teachers perceive the cognitive foundations of reading and arithmetic and indicate to which extent these perceptions guide their teaching practices.

  11. Preservice Physical Education Teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scrabis-Fletcher, Kristin; Juniu, Susana; Zullo, Eric

    2016-01-01

    Effective technology integration within all areas of education is an objective in most schools given the amount of time students are using technology personally and at school. PE teachers have been challenged to find innovative ways to integrate technology to enhance student learning. A specific type of knowledge is necessary for integration…

  12. Science teacher's perception about science learning experiences as a foundation for teacher training program

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tapilouw, Marisa Christina; Firman, Harry; Redjeki, Sri; Chandra, Didi Teguh

    2017-05-01

    Teacher training is one form of continuous professional development. Before organizing teacher training (material, time frame), a survey about teacher's need has to be done. Science teacher's perception about science learning in the classroom, the most difficult learning model, difficulties of lesson plan would be a good input for teacher training program. This survey conducted in June 2016. About 23 science teacher filled in the questionnaire. The core of questions are training participation, the most difficult science subject matter, the most difficult learning model, the difficulties of making lesson plan, knowledge of integrated science and problem based learning. Mostly, experienced teacher participated training once a year. Science training is very important to enhance professional competency and to improve the way of teaching. The difficulties of subject matter depend on teacher's education background. The physics subject matter in class VIII and IX are difficult to teach for most respondent because of many formulas and abstract. Respondents found difficulties in making lesson plan, in term of choosing the right learning model for some subject matter. Based on the result, inquiry, cooperative, practice are frequently used in science class. Integrated science is understood as a mix between Biology, Physics and Chemistry concepts. On the other hand, respondents argue that problem based learning was difficult especially in finding contextual problem. All the questionnaire result can be used as an input for teacher training program in order to enhanced teacher's competency. Difficult concepts, integrated science, teaching plan, problem based learning can be shared in teacher training.

  13. Elementary School Teachers' Use of Technology during Mathematics Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Polly, Drew

    2014-01-01

    Various educational technologies have been advanced as potential vehicles to transform teaching and learning. Still, research studies have documented that primary school teachers struggle to integrate technology in meaningful ways. This article presents the findings of a year-long study in which the author frequently observed three primary school…

  14. Teacher Education Perceptions of a Proposed Mobile Classroom Manager

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marcial, Dave E.

    2015-01-01

    In a knowledge-driven enterprise, mobile learning introduces new ways for students to learn and educators to teach. This paper investigates the acceptability of a mobile classroom manager among teacher educators in Central Visayas, Philippines. Specifically, this paper presents findings from an empirical investigation on the level of perceived…

  15. Authentic Astronomy Research Experiences for Teachers: The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rebull, L. M.; Gorjian, V.; Squires, G.; Nitarp Team

    2012-08-01

    How many times have you gotten a question from the general public, or read a news story, and concluded that "they just don't understand how real science works?" One really good way to get the word out about how science works is to have more people experience the process of scientific research. Since 2004, the way we have chosen to do this is to provide authentic research experiences for teachers using real data (the program used to be called the Spitzer Teacher Program for Teachers and Students, which in 2009 was rechristened the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program, or NITARP). We partner small groups of teachers with a mentor astronomer, they do research as a team, write up a poster, and present it at an American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting. The teachers incorporate this experience into their classroom, and their experiences color their teaching for years to come, influencing hundreds of students per teacher. This program differs from other similar programs in several important ways. First, each team works on an original, unique project. There are no canned labs here! Second, each team presents their results in posters at the AAS, in science sessions (not outreach sessions). The posters are distributed throughout the meeting, in amongst other researchers' work; the participants are not "given a free pass" because they are teachers. Finally, the "product" of this project is the scientific result, not any sort of curriculum packet. The teachers adapt their project to their classroom environment, and we change the way they think about science and scientists.

  16. Democratic Teachers Mentoring Novice Teachers: Enacting Democratic Practices and Pedagogy in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Payne, Katherina A.

    2018-01-01

    Much like preservice teachers, who cite cooperating teachers as influential to the learning-to-teach process, this study and its findings center the work of cooperating teachers as essential to teacher education for democratic education. The mentoring practices of cooperating teachers often reflect their teaching practices with students in their…

  17. Lasting Legacy for Achievement: Colorado Coaches Boost Teacher Effectiveness with a Rubric for Professional Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cross, Jean

    2012-01-01

    In 2006, the Weld County School District Re-8 in Fort Lupton, Colorado, was eager to find a way to increase teacher effectiveness and, as a result, improve student achievement. This small, semirural district about 35 miles northeast of Denver grappled with high teacher turnover (34% in 2005) and low scores on state assessments (three out of four…

  18. Supporting the Professional Development of Teacher Educators in a Productive Way

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boei, Fer; Dengerink, Jurriën; Geursen, Janneke; Kools, Quinta; Koster, Bob; Lunenberg, Mieke; Willemse, Martijn

    2015-01-01

    This study reports on what 13 teacher educators going through a procedure to become registered as a teacher educator in 2011-2012 learned, what goals they formulated for their further professional development and what activities they planned to achieve these goals. The methods used in this study are mainly the same as were used at the time the…

  19. Teacher Compensation and School Quality: New Findings from National and International Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Zhijuan; Verstegen, Deborah A.; Kim, Hoe Ryoung

    2008-01-01

    Are teacher salaries related to school quality in terms of student academic achievement and teacher retention? Are teacher salaries important factors influencing teacher job satisfaction? Is teacher job satisfaction related to retention? This research addressed these questions using international and national data. First, the literature will be…

  20. The Alternative Certification of Teachers. Teacher Education Monograph No. 14.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawley, Willis D., Ed.

    Criticisms of teacher education, the low economic and political costs of trying to reform schools by reforming teacher education, along with the difficulty of filling some teaching positions with persons certified in traditional ways, have fueled a movement to create alternative routes to teacher certification in the vast majority of states. This…

  1. "Who Stays and Who Leaves?" Findings from a Three-Part Study of Teacher Turnover in NYC Middle Schools. Technical Appendices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marinell, William H.; Coca, Vanessa M.; Arum, Richard; Goldstein, Jennifer; Kemple, James; Pallas, Aaron; Bristol, Travis; Buckley, Clare; Scallon, Amy; Tanner, Barbara

    2013-01-01

    The technical appendices presented in this document correspond to the synthesis report, "'Who Stays and Who Leaves?' Findings from a Three-Part Study of Teacher Turnover in NYC Middle Schools." The appendices include: (1) Description of Data Source and Samples; (2) Methods; and (3) Who Are the Middle School Teachers in NYC? [The…

  2. Making Sense of Education "Responsibly": Findings from a Study of Student Teachers' Understanding(s) of Education, Sustainable Development and Education for Sustainable Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nikel, Jutta

    2007-01-01

    This article discusses findings from a tri-country study of student teachers' understandings of the purposes of education, their conceptions of sustainable development and the task of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). At its heart are case studies of 30 student teachers from Initial Teacher Education Programmes in England, Denmark and…

  3. Preparing Community-Engaged Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haddix, Marcelle

    2015-01-01

    The goals of teacher education must evolve beyond the teaching of strategies and methods toward a process for beginning teachers' critical interrogation of their social locations and the ways they engage with the realities of teaching and learning. One way that this is accomplished is by incorporating opportunities for community engagement…

  4. Mobile Learning and Teacher Education: Researching MLEARN Pilot Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Passey, Don; Zozimo, Joana

    2015-01-01

    MLEARN, a European Union (EU)-funded project, is exploring and promoting teacher development of mobile learning practices in four member states--the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK) (England), Greece and Italy. This paper details the ways research findings have both fed into and been elicited from this pilot, supporting development and…

  5. Beyond Developmentalism? Early Childhood Teachers' Understandings of Multiage Grouping in Early Childhood Education and Care

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edwards, Susan; Blaise, Mindy; Hammer, Marie

    2009-01-01

    Postdevelopmental perspectives in early childhood education and care increasingly reference alternative ways of understanding learning, growth and development in early learning. Drawing on these ideas, this paper examines research findings which focused on early childhood teachers' understandings of multiage grouping. The findings suggested that…

  6. A Case Study Exploring the Identity of an In-Service Elementary Science Teacher: a Language Teacher First

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marco-Bujosa, Lisa; Levy, Abigail Jurist; McNeill, Katherine

    2018-01-01

    Teachers are central to providing high-quality science learning experiences called for in recent reform efforts, as their understanding of science impacts both what they teach and how they teach it. Yet, most elementary teachers do not enter the profession with a particular interest in science or expertise in science teaching. Research also indicates elementary schools present unique barriers that may inhibit science teaching. This case study utilizes the framework of identity to explore how one elementary classroom teacher's understandings of herself as a science specialist were shaped by the bilingual elementary school context as she planned for and provided reform-based science instruction. Utilizing Gee's (2000) sociocultural framework, identity was defined as consisting of four interrelated dimensions that served as analytic frames for examining how this teacher understood her new role through social positioning within her school. Findings describe the ways in which this teacher's identity as a science teacher was influenced by the school context. The case study reveals two important implications for teacher identity. First, collaboration for science teaching is essential for elementary teachers to change their practice. It can be challenging for teachers to form an identity as a science teacher in isolation. In addition, elementary teachers new to science teaching negotiate their emerging science practice with their prior experiences and the school context. For example, in the context of a bilingual school, this teacher adapted the reform-based science curriculum to better meet the unique linguistic needs of her students.

  7. Specifying a curriculum for biopolitical critical literacy in science teacher education: exploring roles for science fiction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gough, Noel

    2017-12-01

    In this essay I suggest some ways in which science teacher educators in Western neoliberal economies might facilitate learners' development of a critical literacy concerning the social and cultural changes signified by the concept of biopolitics. I consider how such a biopolitically inflected critical literacy might find expression in a science teacher education curriculum and suggest a number of ways of materializing such a curriculum in specific literatures, media, procedures, and assessment tasks, with particular reference to the contributions of science fiction in popular media.

  8. Examining Connections between Teacher Perceptions of Collaboration, Differentiated Instruction, and Teacher Efficacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goddard, Yvonne L.; Kim, Minjung

    2018-01-01

    Background/Context: Teacher collaboration, instructional practices, and efficacy are linked in various ways in the literature. For example, in schools where teachers reported greater use of differentiated instruction, team collaboration and culture were reportedly higher (Smit & Humpert, 2012). Further, teachers' instructional mastery…

  9. Intersections between immigration, language, identity, and emotions: a science teacher candidate's journey

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rivera Maulucci, Maria S.

    2008-04-01

    This study reports a subset of findings from a larger, ongoing study aimed at exploring interactions between teacher identity, learning, and classroom practices in a social justice teacher education program at a selective liberal arts college in New York. This case-study explores the journey of Elena, as an immigrant, a student, and a pre-service teacher candidate towards becoming a social justice educator. Elena reflects upon her school language experiences as an immigrant youth, her learning in a social justice teacher education program, and her field experiences in an international high school. The analysis spans macro-, meso-, and microlevels to explore the ways globalization, particularly immigration, as well as schooling policies for English language learners interact with aspects of Elena's core identity, particularly in school settings. The findings show some of the ways language and literacy verified and/or denied aspects of Elena's core identity; specific instances where second language proficiency was cast as power and privilege versus disadvantage according to ethnic, language, and class categorizations; and the struggles Elena, and other immigrant youth may face given the focus on English language acquisition and high stakes accountability in schools, at the expense of students' primary language proficiency and affirmation of core identity markers.

  10. Scientist-teacher interactions: Catalysts for developing transformational classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCarty, Robbie Von

    Professional development leading to standards-based teaching practices in U.S. schools is a remarkably subtle and lengthy process. Research indicates that there are many effective tools for teaching through inquiry available to teachers (Lawson, Abraham, & Renner, 1989), but also that teachers continue to present traditional positivistic views of science (Hashweh, 1985; Maor & Taylor, 1995; Zucker, Young, & Luczak, 1996) and appear to view constructivism as a "method" of teaching rather than a way of thinking about learning (Tobin, Tippins, & Gallard, 1984). Teachers are expected to create enriched environments where students can develop the thinking skills of scientists (Roth & Roychoudhury, 1993) but the majority of teachers have never experienced such environments; the involvement of scientists in science education is encouraged by the NRC, AAAS, and NSTA. Teachers and students are expected to act as coresearchers, where negotiation, debate, consensus, and reflection are key. It is believed that scientist and teachers interacting as co-researchers could assist teachers in developing attitudes of freedom in exploration: the essence of science and a mindset that constructivism is a referent, or tool for critical reflection (Tobin, Tippins & Gallard, 1994). This study seeks to identify aspects of scientist-teacher interactions in the field that could serve as catalysts for developing transformational classrooms. Multiple data sources were collected for this study: audiotapes and transcripts of laboratory interactions and informal interviews, written narratives from applications and funding documents, field notes, and personal communications. Data were simultaneously collected, analyzed and coded as a perpetual review of the literature was conducted as in the grounded theory methodology defined by Glaser (1967) and later by Strauss & Corbin (1990). Findings indicate all four teachers valued field experiences in personal ways, developed new understandings of

  11. From Reluctant Teacher to Empowered Teacher-Researcher: One Teacher's Journey toward Action Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Esposito, Jennifer; Smith, Shayla

    2006-01-01

    The focus of this paper will be one of the authors' transformation from reluctant teacher-researcher to empowered teacher-researcher. The authors will describe Shayla's journey through action research because it was this journey from circumspection to empowerment that strengthened her in ways that she had not foreseen or anticipated. It allowed…

  12. Teaching for Empowerment and Excellence: The Transformative Potential of Teacher Expectations in an Urban Latina/o Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liou, Daniel D.; Rojas, Leticia

    2016-01-01

    The researchers conducted a study to gather information about one Chicano teacher's disposition and perception of high expectations for his Latina/o students and their opportunities to learn. Findings of this paper demonstrate the ways in which institutional memory such as an ethnic studies college education as well as this teacher's…

  13. Time, Things, Teacher, Pupil: Engaging with What Matters

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hohti, Riikka

    2016-01-01

    This article presents an empirical study of everyday life in school and a methodological attempt to emphasise children's views and to find ways other than representation to analyse them. The empirical portion took place in a Finnish elementary school in which the author was the class teacher. The ten-year-olds in the class engaged in an…

  14. Writing in elementary school science: Factors that influence teacher beliefs and practices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Glen, Nicole J.

    Recent calls for scientifically literate citizens have prompted science educators to examine the roles that literacy holds in students' science learning processes. Although many studies have investigated the cognitive gains students acquire when they write in science, these writing-to-learn studies have typically been conducted with only middle and secondary school students. Few studies have explored how teachers, particularly elementary teachers, understand the use of writing in science and the factors that influence their science and writing lessons. This was a qualitative case study conducted in one suburban school with four elementary teachers. The purpose of this study was to understand: (a) how teachers' uses of and purposes for writing in science compared to that in English language arts; (b) the factors that drove teachers' pedagogical decisions to use writing in certain ways; (c) teachers' beliefs about science teaching and learning and its relation to how they used writing; (d) teachers' perceptions of students' writing abilities and its relation to how they used writing; and (e) teachers' views about how writing is used by scientists. Seven main findings resulted from this research. In summary, teachers' main uses of and purposes for writing were similar in science and English language arts. For much of the writing done in both subjects, teachers' expectations of students' writing were typically based on their general literacy writing skills. The teachers believed that scientific writing is factual, for the purpose of communicating about science, and is not as creative or "fun" as other types of writing. The teachers' pedagogical practices in science included teaching by experiences, reading, and the transmission of information. These practices were related to their understanding of scientific writing. Finally, additional factors drove the decisions teachers made regarding the use of writing in science, including time, knowledge of curriculum

  15. The Easy Way of Finding Parameters in IBM (EWofFP-IBM)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Turkan, Nureddin

    E2/M1 multipole mixing ratios of even-even nuclei in transitional region can be calculated as soon as B(E2) and B(M1) values by using the PHINT and/or NP-BOS codes. The correct calculations of energies must be obtained to produce such calculations. Also, the correct parameter values are needed to calculate the energies. The logic of the codes is based on the mathematical and physical Statements describing interacting boson model (IBM) which is one of the model of nuclear structure physics. Here, the big problem is to find the best fitted parameters values of the model. So, by using the Easy Way ofmore » Finding Parameters in IBM (EWofFP-IBM), the best parameter values of IBM Hamiltonian for {sup 102-110}Pd and {sup 102-110}Ru isotopes were firstly obtained and then the energies were calculated. At the end, it was seen that the calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental ones. In addition, it was carried out that the presented energy values obtained by using the EWofFP-IBM are dominantly better than the previous theoretical data.« less

  16. The Classroom Strategy Study: Summary Report of General Findings. Research Series No. 187.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brophy, Jere; Rohrkemper, Mary

    Described are the background, rationale, research design, data collection, analysis, and findings of the Classroom Strategy Study, an investigation of 98 elementary school teachers' general strategies for coping with problem students and their ways of dealing with typical problem behaviors associated with each of 12 types of problem students.…

  17. Modelling Teacher Satisfaction: Findings from 892 Teaching Staff at 71 Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dinham, Steve; Scott, Catherine

    This survey was undertaken to build upon and validate understanding of teacher satisfaction and dissatisfaction, orientation to teaching, teachers' values, and teacher health. The purpose of this endeavor was also to develop an instrument suitable for identifying and quantifying the sources and relative strength of factors contributing to teacher…

  18. Finding a New Way: Reinventing a Sixth-Grade Reading Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahrens, Brooke Carey

    2005-01-01

    The author found that the reading program at her school did not address the needs of struggling readers and that reading teachers lacked the materials and knowledge needed to make improvements. As part of an action research project, she redesigned the reading program and introduced her colleagues to research-based teaching methods. The author…

  19. Metaphors as Two-Way Mirrors: Illuminating Preservice to In-Service Teacher Identity Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buchanan, John

    2015-01-01

    The transition from pre-service to in-service can be difficult for teachers. One means of looking into the minds and hearts of such teachers is to elicit the metaphors they adopt for themselves. Previous studies have indicated that during this transition much of the confidence, idealism and optimism of teacher metaphors is displaced by bleak and…

  20. Teacher Knowledge: A Complex Tapestry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adoniou, Misty

    2015-01-01

    Teachers need to know a great deal, in many areas and in multiple ways. Teacher knowledge is a complex tapestry, and teachers must successfully weave the multiple threads. In this article, I present a conceptualisation of teacher knowledge that provides a framework for describing the complexity of teacher knowledge. The framework describes three…

  1. Is there a way for clinical teachers to assist struggling learners? A synthetic review of the literature

    PubMed Central

    Boileau, Elisabeth; St-Onge, Christina; Audétat, Marie-Claude

    2017-01-01

    Struggling medical trainees pose a challenge to clinical teachers, since these learners warrant closer supervision that is time-consuming and competes with time spent on patient care. Clinical teachers’ perception that they are ill equipped to address learners’ difficulties efficiently may lead to delays or even lack of remediation for these learners. Because of the paucity of evidence to guide best practices in remediation, the best approach to guide clinical teachers in the field remains to be established. We aimed to present a synthetic review of the empirical evidence and theory that may guide clinical teachers in their daily task of supervising struggling learners, reviewing current knowledge on the challenges and solutions that have been identified and explored. A computerized literature search was performed using Medline, Embase, Education Resources Information Center, and Education Source, after which final articles were selected based on relevance. The literature reviewed provided best evidence for clinical teachers to address learners’ difficulties, which is presented in the order of the four steps inherent to the clinical approach: 1) detecting a problem based on a subjective impression, 2) gathering and documenting objective data, 3) assessing data to make a diagnosis, and 4) planning remediation. A synthesized classification of pedagogical diagnoses is also presented. This review provides an outline of practical recommendations regarding the supervision and management of struggling learners up to the remediation phase. Our findings suggest that future research and faculty development endeavors should aim to operationalize remediation strategies further in response to specific diagnoses, and to make these processes more accessible to clinical teachers in the field. PMID:28176916

  2. An Investigation of How a Physics Professional Development Course Influenced the Teaching Practices of Five Elementary School Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harlow, Danielle B.

    2014-01-01

    This paper reports the results of an investigation of how a professional development content course based on the Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET) curriculum affected the teaching practices of five case study elementary school teachers. The findings of this study highlight different ways that teachers use what they learn in content courses to…

  3. Student Learning, Student Achievement: How Do Teachers Measure up?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 2011

    2011-01-01

    The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) welcomes the efforts of federal, state, and local policymakers to find new ways to ensure an accomplished teacher for every student in America. The National Board has advanced this mission since its inception in 1987. Today, that mission is carried out by the tens of thousands of…

  4. A Different Model for School Success: Empower Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farris-Berg, Kim

    2014-01-01

    This article opens with a thought provoking question--When it comes to defining teacher leadership, how much do we limit ourselves by assuming that the way teachers work today must always be the way teachers work? The author points out that pioneering groups of public school teachers across the United States are advancing a new definition of…

  5. Paired Texts: A Way into the Content Area

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ciecierski, Lisa; Bintz, William

    2016-01-01

    Finding materials to help students make connections is difficult for many teachers across all grade levels. Traditionally, the textbook is the primary resource for instruction. Textbooks, however, do not naturally support students in making connections across texts. To do this, teachers must find other resources. Finding other resources is…

  6. Preschool Teachers' Use of ICTs: Towards a Typology of Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Masoumi, Davoud

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to identify the ways in which information and communication technologies (ICT) are integrated in three preschools in south-western Sweden. The case study involved observations of and interviews with preschool teachers. The findings support claims that ICT can enhance preschool practices by providing a variety of complementary…

  7. Teachers as Learners: What Makes Technology-Focused Professional Development Effective?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Curwood, Jen Scott

    2011-01-01

    Prompted by calls for research on technology-focused professional development, this article investigates how learning communities influence secondary English teachers' use of digital tools. Findings from this year-long study in the United States indicate that the ways in which technology is integrated within the English curriculum are still very…

  8. Observations of Children's Interactions with Teachers, Peers, and Tasks across Preschool Classroom Activity Settings.

    PubMed

    Booren, Leslie M; Downer, Jason T; Vitiello, Virginia E

    2012-07-01

    This descriptive study examined classroom activity settings in relation to children's observed behavior during classroom interactions, child gender, and basic teacher behavior within the preschool classroom. 145 children were observed for an average of 80 minutes during 8 occasions across 2 days using the inCLASS, an observational measure that conceptualizes behavior into teacher, peer, task, and conflict interactions. Findings indicated that on average children's interactions with teachers were higher in teacher-structured settings, such as large group. On average, children's interactions with peers and tasks were more positive in child-directed settings, such as free choice. Children experienced more conflict during recess and routines/transitions. Finally, gender differences were observed within small group and meals. The implications of these findings might encourage teachers to be thoughtful and intentional about what types of support and resources are provided so children can successfully navigate the demands of particular settings. These findings are not meant to discourage certain teacher behaviors or imply value of certain classroom settings; instead, by providing an evidenced-based picture of the conditions under which children display the most positive interactions, teachers can be more aware of choices within these settings and have a powerful way to assist in professional development and interventions.

  9. Reading Rocks: Creating a Space for Preservice Teachers to Become Responsive Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Assaf, Lori Czop; Lopez, Minda

    2012-01-01

    Set in a yearlong, school-based tutoring program, designed as a community of practice, we use qualitative methodology to examine how 14 preservice teachers learned to become responsive teachers. We focus on one question: In what ways does participating in a yearlong, supervised tutoring program mediate preservice teachers' learning about…

  10. Toward a Reconception of Absence in the School Workplace: Teacher Absenteeism as Invention and Social Exchange.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jacobson, Stephen L.; And Others

    Findings of a study that formulated and tested new ways of thinking about teacher absence are presented in this paper, which is based on the premise that teacher absenteeism is a social invention that must be studied within the context of the work site and understood as a function of the social exchange that occurs therein. Prior research has used…

  11. 101 Ways to Save Money in Small Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bratlie, Ron

    This paper is a checklist on ways to save money targeted to administrators of small rural schools but appropriate to schools of any size. Tips concerning staff include salary issues, early retirement, time management techniques, involving staff in budget and facilities planning, and utilizing limited-experience teachers, teacher-administrators,…

  12. Safety and economic impacts of converting two-way frontage roads to one-way : methodology and findings.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-01-01

    In the research documented here, researchers develop information to communicate the safety and : economic impacts of converting frontage roads from two-way to one-way. Researchers studied five : locations in Texas where frontage roads were converted ...

  13. The Viewpoints of Instructors about the Effects of Teacher Education Programs on Prospective Teachers' Affective Characteristics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taneri, Pervin Oya

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The affective skills in teacher education should pay attention and look for ways to include feelings, attitudes and beliefs of teachers in the discussion of effective teachers' competencies. This paper aims to reveal the perspectives of instructors about the teacher characteristics that prospective teachers will gain after taking the…

  14. Caring Enough to Teach Science. Helping Pre-service Teachers View Science Instruction as an Ethical Responsibility

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grinell, Smith; Rabin, Colette

    2017-11-01

    The goal of this project was to motivate pre-service elementary teachers to commit to spending significant instructional time on science in their future classrooms despite their self-assessed lack of confidence about teaching science and other impediments (e.g., high-stakes testing practices that value other subjects over science). Pre-service teachers in science methods courses explored connections between science and ethics, specifically around issues of ecological sustainability, and grappled with their ethical responsibilities as teachers to provide science instruction. Survey responses, student "quick-writes," interview transcripts, and field notes were analyzed. Findings suggest that helping pre-service teachers see these connections may shape their beliefs and dispositions in ways that may motivate them to embark on the long road toward improving their science pedagogical content knowledge and ultimately to teach science to their students more often and better than they otherwise might. The approach may also offer a way for teachers to attend to the moral work of teaching.

  15. The perception of science teachers on the role of student relationships in the classroom

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mattison, Cheryl Ann

    With the increased accountability of educators comes the responsibility of the entire educational community to find ways in which we can help our students succeed in the classroom. In addition, it is important to discover what it takes to keep those students in school Many science teachers enter the profession unprepared to handle the regular classroom routine. Classroom management, grading, lesson planning, setting up labs, and the myriad of other obligations, can leave teachers overwhelmed and sometimes can get in the way of actually helping students be successful. This study investigated how science teachers viewed the importance of developing strong teacher/student relationships to the increase of student success in a science classroom. I attempted to answer 4 major questions: · How do science teachers in a select high school community view the role of interactive relationships in their classrooms and how that might impact their students? · How do science teachers in a select high school community believe they establish successful interactive relationships with their students? · What do science teachers in a select high school community believe are some of the outcomes of those relationships? · What do science teachers suggest to increase the teacher's ability to form good relationships with their students? A qualitative research method was used including observations, interviews and group discussions of 5 high school science teachers in a small urban school.

  16. Collective pedagogical teacher culture, teacher-student ethno-racial mismatch, and teacher job satisfaction.

    PubMed

    Stearns, Elizabeth; Banerjee, Neena; Mickelson, Roslyn; Moller, Stephanie

    2014-05-01

    Teacher job satisfaction is critical to schools' successful functioning. Using a representative sample of kindergarten teachers from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, we investigate the association among professional learning community and teacher collaboration, teacher ethno-racial group, teacher-student ethno-racial mismatch, and teacher job satisfaction. We find that White teachers are significantly less satisfied than African-American and Latino teachers, especially when they teach in majority non-White classrooms. However, the existence of a professional community moderates the negative influence of teacher-student ethno-racial mismatch on White teachers' job satisfaction. In effect, strong professional communities serve as a cushion to bolster teacher job satisfaction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Ecological Understanding 1: Ways of Experiencing Photosynthesis.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carlsson, Britta

    2002-01-01

    Investigates 10 student teachers' understanding of the different ways in which the function of the ecosystem could be experienced. Explores the functional aspects of the ecosystem using a system approach. Concludes that the idea of transformation is crucial to more complex ways of understanding photosynthesis. (Contains 62 references.) (Author/YDS)

  18. Who Is the Rotten Apple? Mock Jurors' Views of Teacher-Student Sexual Contact.

    PubMed

    Anderson, Alissa; Wingrove, Twila; Fox, Paul; McLean, Kyle; Styer, Erin

    2018-05-01

    The present study investigated mock jurors' ( N = 541) perceptions of a hypothetical case of teacher-student sexual contact. Mock jurors read a brief vignette describing an alleged sexual encounter where the gender and age of both the teacher and student were manipulated. Participants rendered legal decisions (i.e., verdict, degree of guilt, and sentence length), as well as culpability judgments pertaining to both the teacher and the student (i.e., blame, cause, and desire for the sexual contact). In addition, the effects of mock juror gender and attitudes regarding both rape myth acceptance and homophobia were investigated. Teacher gender and both teacher and student age predicted mock jurors' recommended sentences, with male teachers, older teachers, and younger students leading to greater sentences. Overall, student age was most consistently related to multiple culpability judgments, and the culpability judgments regarding the victim were the most consistently predicted by the independent variables. We did not find any evidence of homosexist attitudes, meaning that same-gender teacher-student contact was not judged any differently than opposite-gender contact. Worth noting, we found an interaction such that male students victimized by female teachers were judged to have wanted the contact more than any other gender combination, especially by male participants. The authors discuss these findings in the context of the child sexual abuse (CSA) literature concluding that many of the findings of more prototypical CSA cases extend to the teacher-student context. We also discuss the implications of these findings in terms of gendered judgments of adolescents who are victimized by teachers, possibly decided by legal professionals, school administrators, and jurors themselves. In particular, the three-way gender interaction can be interpreted in the context of stereotypes regarding sexual development marking sexual contact between adolescent males and older females as a

  19. Learning with Teachers; A Scientist's Perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Czajkowski, K. P.

    2004-12-01

    Over the past six years, as an Assistant Professor and now as an Associate Professor, I have engaged in educational outreach activities with K-12 teachers and their students. In this presentation I will talk about the successes and failures that I have had as a scientist engaged in K-12 educational outreach, including teaching the Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) distance learning course, teaching inquiry-based science to pre-service teachers through the NASA Opportunities for Visionary Academics (NOVA) program, GLOBE, school visits, and research projects with teachers and students. I will reflect on the potential impact this has had on my career, negative and positive. I will present ways that I have been able to engage in educational outreach while remaining a productive scientist, publishing research papers, etc. Obtaining grant funding to support a team of educational experts to assist me perform outreach has been critical to my groups success. However, reporting for small educational grants from state agencies can often be overwhelming. The bottom line is that I find working with teachers and students rewarding and believe that it is a critical part of me being a scientist. Through the process of working with teachers I have learned pedagogy that has helped me be a better teacher in the university classroom.

  20. The Canon or the Kids: Teachers and the Recontextualisation of Classical and Popular Music in the Secondary School Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McPhail, Graham

    2013-01-01

    This article reports on some of the findings from case studies conducted with six secondary school music teachers in New Zealand. The purpose of the study was to investigate and explain the ways in which teachers manage the relationship between classical and popular music in their elective classroom programs, utilizing a theoretical framework…

  1. Teachers' learning about research for enhancing students' thinking skills in science learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nammungkhun, Wisanugorn; Satchukorn, Sureerat; Saenpuk, Nudchanard; Yuenyong, Chokchai; Chantharanuwong, Warawun

    2018-01-01

    This paper aimed to clarify teachers' learning about research for enhancing students' thinking skills in science learning. The study applied the lens of sociocultural view of learning to discuss teachers' learning about research. Participants included teachers who participated in the project of thinking research schools: research for enhancing students' thinking skills. The project of thinking research schools provided participants chance to learn knowledge about research and thinking research, doing research and publication, and participate in the international conference. Methodology regarded ethnographic research. The tools of interpretation included participant observation, interview, and document analysis. The researchers as participants of the research project of thinking research schools tried to clarify what they learned about research from their way of seeing the view of research about enhancing students' thinking skills through participant observation. The findings revealed what and how teachers as apprenticeship learn about research through legitimate peripheral participation in the research project community of practice. The paper clarified teachers' conceptualization about research for enhancing students' thinking through the workshop, doing research, writing up research article with supported by experts, presenting research in the international conference, editing their research article on the way of publishing, and so on.

  2. Finding the Teachers We Need. Policy Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hess, Frederick M.; Rotherham, Andrew J.; Walsh, Kate

    2005-01-01

    In recent years, the debate over teacher quality and preparation has gained new urgency. Competing groups of partisans have dominated this debate: one seemingly eager to assail the nation's education schools and to suggest that there is an insufficiently defined body of professional teaching knowledge, the other committed to advancing…

  3. Teachers' Withdrawal Behaviors: Integrating Theory and Findings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shapira-Lishchinsky, Orly

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The article aims to investigate the relationships between different dimensions of organizational ethics and different withdrawal symptoms--lateness, absence, and intent to leave work. Design/methodology/approach: Participants were 1,016 school teachers from 35 high schools in Israel. A joint model of Glimmix procedure of SAS was used for…

  4. The Cage-Busting Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hess, Frederick M.

    2015-01-01

    "The Cage-Busting Teacher" adopts the logic of "Cage-Busting Leadership" and applies it to the unique challenges and opportunities of classroom teachers. Detailed, accessible, and thoroughly engaging, it uncovers the many ways in which teachers can break out of familiar constraints in order to influence school and classroom…

  5. Preparing Teachers for Uncertainty.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Floden, Robert E.; Clark, Christopher M.

    An examination of the various ways in which teaching is uncertain and how uncertainty pervades teachers' lives points out that teachers face uncertainties in their instructional content, ranging from difficult concepts, to unclarity about how teaching might be improved. These forms of uncertainty undermine teachers' authority, creating situations…

  6. Writing Autobiographies: A Meaningful Way to Sensitize Trainee Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Quintero, Josefina C.; López, Margarita M.; Zuluaga, Carmen T. C.

    2013-01-01

    This article discusses the final results from a research work which aimed to identify the pedagogical processes that emerge from the autobiographies that modern languages trainee teachers at the University of Caldas write. These autobiographies become a starting point to develop their teaching practicum, and are considered to be of great…

  7. Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers: Effective Practices in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ellerbrock, Cheryl R.; Cruz, Bárbara C.; Vásquez, Anete; Howes, Elaine V.

    2016-01-01

    Despite the growing diversity in our nation's schools, many teacher educators avoid discussions on diversity issues for myriad reasons. As a result, numerous preservice teachers lack quality learning opportunities to become well versed on issues of diversity in meaningful ways that can translate to P-12 practice. This article elaborates on…

  8. One High School English Teacher: On His Way to a Flipped Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shaffer, Shelly

    2016-01-01

    This article describes a qualitative case study, conducted at a high school in the Southwestern United States, that follows a veteran teacher as he develops and implements a two-week unit on "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald using flipped classroom methods. The researcher collected data while the teacher used this method for the…

  9. Mentoring: Findings from a Title II Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suters, Leslie A.; Kershaw, Cheryl

    Urban Impact is a Title II Teacher Quality Enhancement Act partnership grant supporting the development of new strategies and structures to strengthen the preparation and development of beginning teachers in urban settings in Tennessee. This study evaluated the success of Urban Impact in establishing professional and social supports for the first…

  10. "Don't Be Uneasy, My Children": Finding Strength in Stories of the Enslaved

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gilbert, Lisa

    2014-01-01

    Tackling challenging topics in history can be difficult, and sometimes teachers struggle to find age-appropriate ways to help students confront painful stories from the past. About four years ago, this author spearheaded a focus group with the purpose of taking on such a challenge. In the initial meetings, members of the group (four educators from…

  11. A case study of a mathematics teacher's and science teacher's use of teacher wisdom in integrating middle school mathematics and science content

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saam, Julie Reinhardt

    The National Science Education Standards, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum Standards, the Interdisciplinary Team Organization structure and the Middle School movement collectively suggest to teachers to make connections between their subject areas. This case study of a middle school mathematics teacher and science teacher utilizes the framework of teacher wisdom to bring a unique perspective to the process of developing and implementing integrated curriculum. Data collection consisted of interviews with the teachers, students, and their principal; documents such lesson plans, team meeting minutes and teacher journal entries; and field notes acquired within team meetings and classroom instruction. The interpretations of this study reveal that teacher development of integrated curriculum occurs in two ways: naturally and intentionally. The natural label used to describe when teachers comfortably share information that could serve as connections between subjects. The intentional label used to describe when the teachers purposely plan integrated lessons and units. These findings also provide an image of middle school integration. This image exhibits more than connections between subject area content; it also shows connections with away-from-school skills and events, lifeskills, and lifelong guidelines. Although these teachers found it frustrating and overwhelming to meet the many views of integration, they assembled integration curriculum that followed their philosophy of education, coincided with their personal characteristics and met the needs of their students. The interpretations of this study reveal a new model of middle school integration. Teachers can use this model as a collection of integration examples. Integration researchers can use this model as a conceptual framework to analyze the integration efforts of middle level teachers. Additional research needs to focus on: developing new modeling and evaluation tools for teachers

  12. Teaching in the Information Age: The Creative Way!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamza, M. Khalid; Alhalabi, Bassem

    The mission of teachers as creative facilitators is not to assign a grade; the mission is to educate students to think, to learn, and to make new connections that they never before thought possible. A teacher's guidance, constructive feedback, and facilitated instruction should pave the way for students to meaningfully bridge prior knowledge with…

  13. Observations of Children’s Interactions with Teachers, Peers, and Tasks across Preschool Classroom Activity Settings

    PubMed Central

    Booren, Leslie M.; Downer, Jason T.; Vitiello, Virginia E.

    2014-01-01

    This descriptive study examined classroom activity settings in relation to children’s observed behavior during classroom interactions, child gender, and basic teacher behavior within the preschool classroom. 145 children were observed for an average of 80 minutes during 8 occasions across 2 days using the inCLASS, an observational measure that conceptualizes behavior into teacher, peer, task, and conflict interactions. Findings indicated that on average children’s interactions with teachers were higher in teacher-structured settings, such as large group. On average, children’s interactions with peers and tasks were more positive in child-directed settings, such as free choice. Children experienced more conflict during recess and routines/transitions. Finally, gender differences were observed within small group and meals. The implications of these findings might encourage teachers to be thoughtful and intentional about what types of support and resources are provided so children can successfully navigate the demands of particular settings. These findings are not meant to discourage certain teacher behaviors or imply value of certain classroom settings; instead, by providing an evidenced-based picture of the conditions under which children display the most positive interactions, teachers can be more aware of choices within these settings and have a powerful way to assist in professional development and interventions. PMID:25717282

  14. Building professional identity as computer science teachers: Supporting high school computer science teachers through reflection and community building

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ni, Lijun

    participation in DCCE supported their identity development as a CS teacher. Overall, I found that these CS teachers held different teacher identities with varied features related to their motivation and commitment in teaching CS. I identified four concrete factors that contributed to these teachers' sense of professional identity as a CS teacher. I addressed some of these issues for CS teachers' identity development (especially the issue of lacking community) through offering professional development opportunities with a major focus on teacher reflection and community building. Results from this work indicate a potential model of supporting CS identity development, mapping the characteristics of the professional development program with particular facets of CS teacher identity. This work offers further understanding of the unique challenges that current CS teachers are facing in their CS teaching, as well as the challenges of preparing and supporting CS teachers. My findings also suggest guidelines for teacher education and professional development program design and implementation for building committed, qualified CS teachers in ways that promote the development of CS teacher identity.

  15. Negotiating multiple roles: link teachers in clinical nursing practice.

    PubMed

    Ramage, Charlotte

    2004-02-01

    The background to this study was a concern about the teacher's role in clinical practice. Experience suggested that teachers believed that their role in practice was important but that there were significant forces which impeded their ability to move with ease between education and practice. A discrepancy between previous research findings and theoretical discussions, and the reality experienced by teachers, led to the adoption of grounded theory as a way of exploring uncertainties in the situation. Data were gathered over a period of 7 years and involved 28 in-depth interviews with nurses with a range of educational roles, employed in educational institutions and practice settings in inner city and provincial areas in the South of England. The data revealed four categories, 'gaining access', 'negotiating credibility', 'being effective' and the core category 'negotiating multiple roles'. The core category is addressed in this article. Experiences of moving from a position of clinical practitioner to link teacher involved: 'disassembling the self' through leaving behind old identities; 'reconstructing the self' through clarifying new ways of being; and, finally, 'realizing the self' through reciprocal interpersonal activity with students, educational and nursing colleagues. It is inevitable that an individual with a remit for change entering an established social group will experience difficulties in establishing their role. It is also clear that an individual who changes their role within a group to reflect behaviours not congruent with the primary activity in that setting will experience dimensions of social exclusion. Further work needs to address how educational roles can make a significant impact on the everyday lives of students and nurses working in practice. The findings of this study are as relevant for the new roles of practice educator, clinical facilitator and practice placement co-ordinator as they are for link teachers and lecturer practitioners

  16. Reggio Emilia: New Ways To Think About Schooling.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    New, Rebecca S.

    2003-01-01

    The Reggio Emilia approach to education reveals new ways for promoting children's academic learning; offers documentation as a tool for studying, sharing, and planning children's education experiences; and provokes a new way to think about the role of the teacher. (Contains 17 references.) (MLF)

  17. Collaborative Technologies: Three Ways Web Conferencing is Transforming PD

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raths, David

    2013-01-01

    The first five articles of this series on technologies that enable collaboration, highlighted ways to foster shared learning experiences among students. For this, the final installment, focus is shifted to teachers. States, districts, and groups of teachers are enhancing their collaboration opportunities through synchronous online meetings and…

  18. Phrasebook: a Way out for CLIL Teachers in Thailand

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kewara, Punwalai

    2017-01-01

    Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an alternative approach for English teaching and learning that is in focus in Thailand today. Preparing Thai content teachers to confidently use English as a means of instruction in the English integrated classroom just as they do in the Thai monolingual classroom takes time and long-term…

  19. White Teachers Talking Race

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Segall, Avner; Garrett, James

    2013-01-01

    In light of the increasing racial diversity in American schools and the consistently homogenous teacher workforce in the United States, understanding the ways white teachers consider and attend to racial issues is of crucial importance to the educational landscape. This paper, based on a qualitative study, explores five white American teachers'…

  20. Regulating Collaboration in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dobber, Marjolein; Akkerman, Sanne F.; Verloop, Nico; Vermunt, Jan D.

    2014-01-01

    Collaboration in teacher education can be seen as a way to prepare student teachers for future social practices at school. When people collaborate with each other, they have to regulate their collaboration. In the Dutch teacher education programme that was investigated, student teachers were members of different types of groups, each of which had…

  1. Developing Preservice Teachers' Knowledge of Science Teaching Through Video Clubs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Johnson, Heather J.; Cotterman, Michelle E.

    2015-06-01

    Though an adequate understanding of content is a natural prerequisite of teaching (Carlsen in Journal of Research in Science Teaching 30:471-481, 1993), teachers also need to be able to interpret content in ways that facilitate student learning. How to best support novice teachers in developing and refining their content knowledge for teaching is a crucial and ongoing question for preservice teacher educators. Recently, video clubs are being explored as potential contexts for teacher learning (Barnhart & van Es in Teaching and Teacher Education 45:83-93, 2015; Sherin & Han in Teaching and Teacher Education 20:163-183, 2004). We hypothesized that pairing video clubs with student teaching experiences would provide a forum for preservice teachers to discuss issues relevant to their professional trajectory through exposure to models of peer teaching and opportunities to reflect on practice. In this study, we explored how secondary science preservice teachers used video club to restructure their overall science knowledge into science knowledge for teaching. Our findings suggest that video clubs allowed preservice teachers to access and leverage student thinking and instructional resources to deepen their understanding of science content and trajectories for science learning.

  2. Learning and Teaching Together: Weaving Indigenous Ways of Knowing into Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tanaka, Michele T. D.

    2016-01-01

    Across Canada, new curriculum initiatives require teachers to introduce students to Aboriginal content. In response, many teachers unfamiliar with Aboriginal approaches to learning and teaching are seeking ways to respectfully weave this material into their lessons. At the same time, many teachers are also grappling with how to foster inclusive…

  3. Pay, working conditions, and teacher quality.

    PubMed

    Hanushek, Eric A; Rivkin, Steven G

    2007-01-01

    Eric Hanushek and Steven Rivkin examine how salary and working conditions affect the quality of instruction in the classroom. The wages of teachers relative to those of other college graduates have fallen steadily since 1940. Today, average wages differ little, however, between urban and suburban districts. In some metropolitan areas urban districts pay more, while in others, suburban districts pay more. But working conditions in urban and suburban districts differ substantially, with urban teachers reporting far less administrator and parental support, worse materials, and greater student problems. Difficult working conditions may drive much of the difference in turnover of teachers and the transfer of teachers across schools. Using rich data from Texas public schools, the authors describe in detail what happens when teachers move from school to school. They examine how salaries and student characteristics change when teachers move and also whether turnover affects teacher quality and student achievement. They note that both wages and student characteristics affect teachers' choices and result in a sorting of teachers across schools, but they find little evidence that teacher transitions are detrimental to student learning. The extent to which variations in salaries and working conditions translate into differences in the quality of instruction depends importantly on the effectiveness of school personnel policies in hiring and retaining the most effective teachers and on constraints on both entry into the profession and the firing of low performers. The authors conclude that overall salary increases for teachers would be both expensive and ineffective. The best way to improve the quality of instruction would be to lower barriers to becoming a teacher, such as certification, and to link compensation and career advancement more closely with teachers' ability to raise student performance.

  4. Prospective Mathematics Teachers' Ways of Guiding High School Students in GeoGebra-Supported Inquiry Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hahkioniemi, Markus; Leppaaho, Henry

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we study how prospective teachers guide students' reasoning in GeoGebra-supported inquiry tasks. Twenty prospective mathematics teachers wrote about how they would react as a teacher in hypothetical situations where high school students present their GeoGebra-supported solutions to the teacher. Before writing their reactions, the…

  5. Science in the Classroom: Finding a Balance between Autonomous Exploration and Teacher-Led Instruction in Preschool Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nayfeld, Irena; Brenneman, Kimberly; Gelman, Rochel

    2011-01-01

    Research Findings: This paper reports on children's use of science materials in preschool classrooms during their free choice time. Baseline observations showed that children and teachers rarely spend time in the designated science area. An intervention was designed to "market" the science center by introducing children to 1 science…

  6. Rethinking the Preparation of HPE Teachers: Ruminations on Knowledge, Identity, and Ways of Thinking

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tinning, Richard

    2004-01-01

    This paper explores assumptions about essential knowledge in degree programs that have traditionally prepared teachers of physical education, and discusses the question of what sort of teacher education is necessary or desirable to prepare teachers for the new Health & Physical Education (HPE) key learning area. I argue that the curriculum of the…

  7. Activist Teacher Leadership: A Case Study of a Programa CRIAR Bilingual Teacher Cohort

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Palmer, Deborah; Rangel, Virginia Snodgrass; Gonzales, Richard M.; Morales, Vanessa

    2014-01-01

    This case study on nine bilingual teachers in Texas during their first year in a graduate education program examines both the development of critical consciousness among the educators and the ways in which critical consciousness shapes how these teachers come to understand their roles as teachers and leaders of a sociopolitically marginalized…

  8. "I find it odd that people have to highlight other people's differences - even when there are none": Experiential learning and interculturality in teacher education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dervin, Fred

    2017-02-01

    This article examines the role of experiential learning in developing intercultural competences in the context of teacher education in Finland. Local and foreign students studying to become teachers were asked to write five short narratives each about meaningful intercultural encounters they experienced prior to enrolling in an intercultural course. Based on these narratives, the author analyses the potential overlap between the way the students reflect on and interpret these encounters and an understanding of interculturality which concentrates on the construction of self- other and social justice. The discourse analysis of the students' narratives shows that in most cases, important intercultural learning seems to have already taken place before these students embarked on the course. The article ends with a discussion of the importance of starting from this observation in teacher education and of providing the student teachers with theoretical tools and methods which can support them in expanding their understanding of interculturality in their job as teachers.

  9. Meanings teachers make of teaching science outdoors as they explore citizen science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Benavides, Aerin Benavides

    This descriptive case study examined the meanings public elementary school teachers (N = 13) made of learning to enact citizen science projects in their schoolyards in partnership with a local Arboretum. Utilizing Engestrom's (2001) framework of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), the Arboretum's outreach program for area Title 1 schools was viewed as an activity system composed of and acting in partnership with the teachers. The major finding was that teachers designed and mastered new ways of teaching (expansive learning) and transformed their citizen science activity to facilitate student engagement and learning. I highlight four important themes in teachers' expansive learning: (a) discussion, (b) inclusion, (c) integration, and (d) collaboration. Teacher learning communities formed when colleagues shared responsibilities, formed mentor/mentee relationships, and included student teachers and interns in the activity. This program could serve as a model for elementary school citizen science education, as well as a model for professional development for teachers to learn to teach science and Environmental Education outdoors.

  10. Listening to Early Career Teachers: How Can Elementary Mathematics Methods Courses Better Prepare Them to Utilize Standards-Based Practices in Their Classrooms?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coester, Lee Anne

    2010-01-01

    This study was designed to gather input from early career elementary teachers with the goal of finding ways to improve elementary mathematics methods courses. Multiple areas were explored including the degree to which respondents' elementary mathematics methods course focused on the NCTM Process Standards, the teachers' current standards-based…

  11. Technology Integration Coursework and Finding Meaning in Pre-Service Teachers' Reflective Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kimmons, Royce; Miller, Brant G.; Amador, Julie; Desjardins, Christopher David; Hall, Cassidy

    2015-01-01

    This study seeks to inform teacher preparation programs regarding technology integration by understanding (1) relationships between tasks with specific technologies and pre-service teachers' critical thinking about technology integration and (2) relationships between how pre-service teachers are critically thinking about technology integration and…

  12. A Better Way to Pay: Five Rules for Reforming Teacher Compensation. Backgrounder. No, 2681

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richwine, Jason

    2012-01-01

    Despite ongoing debates over the adequacy of teacher compensation, the design of merit pay systems, and the structure of pension benefits, there is broad agreement that teacher pay should be designed to recruit--and retain--the highest-quality teachers in a cost-effective manner. Policymakers should avoid across-the-board pay increases, and focus…

  13. Language experience narratives and the role of autobiographical reasoning in becoming an urban science teacher

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rivera Maulucci, Maria S.

    2011-06-01

    One of the central challenges globalization and immigration present to education is how to construct school language policies, procedures, and curricula to support academic success of immigrant youth. This case-study compares and contrasts language experience narratives along Elena's developmental trajectory of becoming an urban science teacher. Elena reflects upon her early language experiences and her more recent experiences as a preservice science teacher in elementary dual language classrooms. The findings from Elena's early schooling experiences provide an analysis of the linkages between Elena's developing English proficiency, her Spanish proficiency, and her autobiographical reasoning. Elena's experiences as a preservice teacher in two elementary dual language classrooms indicates ways in which those experiences helped to reframe her views about the intersections between language learning and science learning. I propose the language experience narrative, as a subset of the life story, as a way to understand how preservice teachers reconstruct past language experiences, connect to the present, and anticipate future language practices.

  14. Bullying: The Impact of Teacher Management and Trait Emotional Intelligence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Casas, José A.; Ortega-Ruiz, Rosario; Del Rey, Rosario

    2015-01-01

    Background: The bullying phenomenon has serious consequences for those that are involved. In order to find more effective ways to eradicate it from the schools, more research is needed. In this context, teacher management and emotional intelligence (EI) are shown to be relevant keys to consider. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse the ways…

  15. Teachers' Working Conditions. Findings from "The Condition of Education, 1996," No. 7.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Choy, Susan P.

    Working conditions play an important role in a school's ability to attract, develop, and retain effective teachers. Data presented here describe a number of aspects of teachers' working conditions, including workload, compensation, school and district support for teachers' professional development, school decision making, school safety, student…

  16. Male Teacher, Female Teacher: Exploring Children's Perspectives of Teachers' Roles in Kindergartens

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harris, Kylie; Barnes, Sally

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, the findings of a study investigating four-year-old children's perspectives on the roles that male and female teachers fulfil in a kindergarten setting are presented. The purpose of this study was to discover if the gender of a teacher impacts on children's perspectives of their teachers' roles and whether boys' and girls'…

  17. Early childhood teachers' self-efficacy toward teaching science: Outcomes of professional development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Clark, Sarah

    The teaching of science in the early childhood classrooms has slowly been decreasing. As the years have passed, the subject of science has been put on the backburner while mathematics and language arts have taken center stage in the educational system. Early childhood teachers need to find ways to integrate science with other subjects in order to ensure children are receiving a well-rounded and full education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of professional development on teachers' efficacy in teaching science. Volunteer teachers completed the Weisgram and Bigler scale (TWBS) pre and post training, in order to determine their self-efficacy toward teaching science, they also completed pre- and post- concept maps about their knowledge of teaching science, and a demographic questionnaire. Findings indicate the training provided was effective in increasing teachers' knowledge of teaching science. Teachers who had an increase in science teaching knowledge were also found to feel more efficacious about teaching science after completing the training and an academic year of implementing science lessons in their classrooms. There was not a relationship between teacher demographics and their science-teaching efficacy. This means that the demographics of participants in this study were not influential on teachers' efficacy, but professional development workshops enabled teachers to gain more knowledge about teaching as well as increase their efficacy about teaching science.

  18. Real Stories, Extraordinary People: Preliminary Findings from an Aboriginal Community-Controlled Cultural Immersion Program for Local Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burgess, Cathie; Cavanagh, Pat

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports on effective strategies for developing the cultural competence of teachers involved in Aboriginal education and presents the preliminary findings of a review into the Connecting to Country Program (CTC), a joint venture of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) and the NSW Department of Education and Communities…

  19. Video Use in Teacher Education: A Survey of Teacher-Educators' Practices across Disciplines

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arya, Poonam; Christ, Tanya; Chiu, Ming Ming

    2016-01-01

    Video methods utilize tenets of high quality teacher education and support education students' learning and application of learning to teaching practices. However, how frequently video is used in teacher education, and in what ways is unknown. Therefore, this study used survey data to identify the extent to which 94 teacher-educators used video in…

  20. Drill Sergeant or Math Teacher: Teacher Socialization and Computer Advertisements.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gribble, Mary; And Others

    This paper addresses the question of teacher socialization through contrived images, i.e., the influence of advertising as part of an educational and socialization process. It examines ways in which computer advertisements directed towards teachers influence their perceptions of how computers can and should be used, and how the same advertisements…

  1. Teach the Earth: On-line Resources for Teachers and Teachers of Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Manduca, C. A.

    2007-12-01

    Effective Earth science education depends on excellent teachers: teachers who not only possess a strong grasp of geoscience but are also well-versed in the pedagogic methods they need to connect with their audience. Preparing Earth science teachers is a task no less challenging that also requires strengths in both areas. The Teach the Earth website provides a variety of resources to support preparation of Earth science teachers. Here you can find collections of teaching activities addressing all aspects of the Earth system; discussions of teaching methods linked to examples of their use in geoscience courses; and the Earth Exploration Toolbook, a resource specifically designed for teachers who would like to incorporate data rich activities in their teaching. These resources are suitable for use by teachers, students in courses addressing the methodology of teaching Earth science and science, and faculty designing courses. Faculty working with current and future teachers will find a section on Preparing Teachers to Teach Earth Science with a collection of courses designed specifically to benefit future Earth Science teachers, examples of key activities in these courses, and descriptions of programs for pre-service and in-service teachers. The materials housed in this web-resource demonstrate a wide range of fruitful approaches and exciting opportunities. On the order of 25,000 individuals use the site repeatedly during the year. We estimate that 27 percent of these users are geoscience faculty and 12 percent are teachers. We invite teachers, faculty, researchers, and educators to enhance this resource by contributing descriptions of activities, courses, or programs as a mechanism for sharing their experience with others engaged in similar work.

  2. Bad Teacher! How Blaming Teachers Distorts the Bigger Picture. Teaching for Social Justice Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kumashiro, Kevin K.

    2012-01-01

    In his latest book, leading educator and author Kevin Kumashiro takes aim at the current debate on educational reform, paying particular attention to the ways that scapegoating public school teachers, teacher unions, and teacher educators masks the real, systemic problems. He convincingly demonstrates how current trends, like market-based reforms…

  3. Transformative Praxis in Teacher Practice: One Tauira Finds Her Place in Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sexton, Steven S.

    2011-01-01

    This paper reports on an initial teacher education programme that has been designed to facilitate and support Maori student teachers in New Zealand. This paper highlights the ambiguity in New Zealand on the theoretical foundation of initial teacher education. Therefore a background on transformative praxis and how it has impacted on the education…

  4. Elementary student teachers' science content representations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zembal-Saul, Carla; Krajcik, Joseph; Blumenfeld, Phyllis

    2002-08-01

    This purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which three prospective teachers who had early opportunities to teach science would approach representing science content within the context of their student teaching experiences. The study is framed in the literature on pedagogical content knowledge and learning to teach. A situated perspective on cognition is applied to better understand the influence of context and the role of the cooperating teacher. The three participants were enrolled in an experimental teacher preparation program designed to enhance the teaching of science at the elementary level. Qualitative case study design guided the collection, organization, and analysis of data. Multiple forms of data associated with student teachers' content representations were collected, including audiotaped planning and reflection interviews, written lesson plans and reflections, and videotaped teaching experiences. Broad analysis categories were developed and refined around the subconstructs of content representation (i.e., knowledge of instructional strategies that promote learning and knowledge of students and their requirements for meaningful science learning). Findings suggest that when prospective teachers are provided with opportunities to apply and reflect substantively on their developing considerations for supporting children's science learning, they are able to maintain a subject matter emphasis. However, in the absence of such opportunities, student teachers abandon their subject matter emphasis, even when they have had extensive background and experiences addressing subject-specific considerations for teaching and learning.

  5. Developing Teachers as the Learning Profession: Findings from the State of Educators' Professional Learning in Canada Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Campbell, Carol; Osmond-Johnson, Pamela; Faubert, Brenton

    2016-01-01

    Teachers' professional development and learning is of high interest in educational reform internationally. We present findings from the "State of Educators' Professional Learning in Canada" study. We identify ten features proposed for effective professional learning: evidence-informed subject specific and pedagogical content knowledge a…

  6. An Investigation of Teachers' Growing Understandings of the Picture Book Format

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martinez, Miriam G.; Harmon, Janis M.

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the impact of a graduate course that focused on picture books on teachers' understandings of the picture book format and the ways in which these understandings influenced their self-reports of picture book use in the classroom. Findings of this qualitative investigation revealed that immersion in and analysis of the picture…

  7. At the Elbows of Scientists: Shaping Science Teachers' Conceptions and Enactment of Inquiry-Based Instruction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McLaughlin, Cheryl A.; MacFadden, Bruce J.

    2014-12-01

    This study stemmed from concerns among researchers that reform efforts grounded in promoting inquiry as the basis for teaching science have not achieved the desired changes in American science classrooms. Many science teachers assume that they are employing inquiry-based strategies when they use cookbook investigations with highly structured step-by-step instructions. Additionally, most science teachers equate hands-on activities with classroom inquiry and, as such, repeatedly use prepackaged, disconnected activities to break the monotony of direct instruction. Despite participation in numerous professional development activities, many science teachers continue to hold misconceptions about inquiry that influence the way they design and enact instruction. To date, there is very limited research exploring the role of inquiry-based professional development in facilitating desired changes in science teachers' conceptions of inquiry. This qualitative study of five high school science teachers explores the ways in which authentic inquiry experiences with a team of scientists in Panama shaped their conceptions and reported enactments of inquiry-based instruction. Our findings suggest that professional development experiences engaging science teachers in authentic research with scientists have the potential to change teachers' naïve conceptions of inquiry, provided that necessary supports are provided for reflection and lesson design.

  8. Findings from a Yearlong Job Exchange: A Mentor Teacher's Bill of Rights in Teacher Education. Reading Research Report No. 74.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hudson-Ross, Sally; McWhorter, Patti

    After teaching and conducting research in each other's worlds for a year, a high school English teacher and a university teacher educator could never be the same. With their colleagues, they developed a model yearlong teacher education program founded on three key principles: equality of school and university participants; teacher research; and…

  9. Sexuality Education: Analysis of Moroccan Teachers' and Future Teachers' Conceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sabah, Selmaoui; Boujemaa, Agorram; Salah-Eddine, Khzami; Taoufik, EL Abboudi; Dominique, Berger

    2010-01-01

    Conceptions are analyzed as being the emergences from interactions between three poles:scientific knowledge (K), values (V) and social practices (P). The teachers' beliefs and values have a direct influence on the way of understanding and teaching a topic. These beliefs must be taken into account in the content and strategies of the teacher's…

  10. Astronomy Teacher Training: Towards Year 2009

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Doddoli, Consuelo

    2008-05-01

    The Direccion General de Divulgacion de la Ciencia is part of Mexico's National University; its purpose is science outreach. Most of its activities are dedicated to school level audiences; nevertheless due to the speed of science development, courses are given for teachers. The astronomy curricula includes: new results in astronomy research, general astrophysics and tools to teach astronomy. The courses offer twelve two hour long sessions. An astronomy researcher delivers a lecture and teachers are trained to use hands on activity. Beginning last in 2007 it has focused on Galileo. It addressed the way he was modern scientist, he observed and made experiments and wrote his results in common language. Year 2009 is a perfect incentive to carry out activities with teachers and keep them busy organizing telescope construction and observations during and after Galileo's commemoration. A book was written specially for them on the experiments Galileo made. In this book they can find interesting hand-on activities with materials that are readily available. (Los experimentos de Galileo, Silvia Torres y Consuelo Doddoli, Correo del Maestro, 2008, in press.) The magazine Correo del Maestro holds many articles written by the author on astronomical activities aimed to teachers.

  11. GE STEM Teacher's Conference

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-07-13

    Teachers participate in the Rocketry Engineering Design Challenge during the 2017 GE Foundation High School STEM Integration Conference at the Center for Space Education at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. High school teachers from across the country took part in the week-long conference, which is designed to explore effective ways for teachers, schools and districts from across the country to integrate STEM throughout the curriculum. The conference is a partnership between GE Foundation and the National Science Teachers Association.

  12. The Influence of Teacher Education on Mentor Teachers' Role Perception in Professional Development Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Klieger, Aviva; Oster-Levinz, Anat

    2015-01-01

    Apprenticeship and professional development schools (PDSs) are two models for teacher education. The mentors that are the focus for this research completed their initial teacher training through one of these models and now mentor in PDSs. The paper reports on how the way in which they were trained as student teachers influenced their role…

  13. Reflecting on Talk: A Mentor Teacher's Gradual Release in Co-Planning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pylman, Stacey

    2016-01-01

    The goal of this case study was to explore how a mentor teacher used video-recorded co-planning sessions to reflect on and improve one's mentoring practice. Findings reveal ways in which the mentor used talk in co-planning sessions to model one's thinking process and to gradually release planning responsibility to engage the intern in learning to…

  14. Language Teacher Research in the Middle East

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coombe, Christine, Ed.; Barlow, Lisa, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    An openness to new ways of teaching and learning is vital for growth among English language teachers, teacher educators, teachers in training, and students. This volume in the Language Teacher Research Series (Thomas S. C. Farrell, series editor) shares the studies and reflections of teacher researchers working in Middle Eastern countries with…

  15. Race, Gender, and Teacher Testing: How Informative a Tool Is Teacher Licensure Testing?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldhaber, Dan; Hansen, Michael

    2010-01-01

    Virtually all states require teachers to undergo licensure testing before participation in the public school labor market. This article analyzes the information these tests provide about teacher effectiveness. The authors find that licensure tests have different predicative validity for student achievement by teacher race. They also find that…

  16. Sticky Schools: How to Find and Keep Teachers in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Podolsky, Anne; Kini, Tara; Bishop, Joseph; Darling-Hammond, Linda

    2017-01-01

    To ensure that schools enjoy a steady supply of competent and committed teachers, federal, state, and local policymakers should look to the extensive research literature in this area, focusing on five strategies in particular: strengthening teacher preparation, improving hiring practices, increasing compensation, providing support for new…

  17. Teacher Residencies: Redefining Preparation through Partnerships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coffman, Ann Nutter; Patterson, Richelle

    2014-01-01

    Teacher preparation plays a critical role in ensuring that teachers are prepared to lead and impact student learning from the first day they are responsible for student learning. The best way to ensure that every teacher is "profession-ready" from their first day as a teacher-of-record is for preparation programs to incorporate teacher…

  18. Documentation Panels Enhance Teacher Education Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warash, Bobbie Gibson

    2005-01-01

    Documentation of children's projects is advantageous to their learning process and is also a good method for student teachers to observe the process of learning. Documentation panels are a unique way to help student teachers understand how children learn. Completing a panel requires a student teacher to think through a process. Teachers must learn…

  19. The Influence of Content Filtering and Teachers' Self-Efficacy on the Level of Use of the Internet in K-12 Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goines, Erika Kristine Kelly

    2012-01-01

    As the ideas behind traditional learning change the content delivery methods used by teachers should adapt as well. Teachers are being asked to find ways of introducing and relating the material to students in the web world that many digital natives live in outside of the classroom walls. To prevent the misuse of Internet inside of the classroom…

  20. Mentoring New Teachers. Updated Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Portner, Hal

    This book includes step-by-step instructions to help experienced teachers become just as skilled at mentoring beginning teachers as they are at teaching. It describes how teacher mentors can: relate to their proteges in ways that establish good working rapport; assess how the mentoring is progressing and make necessary adjustments; coach proteges…

  1. Towards Understanding EFL Teachers' Conceptions of Research: Findings from Argentina

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Banegas, Darío Luis

    2018-01-01

    This paper investigates the conceptions of research held by English as a foreign language teachers in Argentina. Quantitative data from 622 participants from an online questionnaire were followed by qualitative data from online interviews with 40 of those participants. Results show that the teachers conceptualised research through conventional…

  2. Hire Better Teachers Now: Using the Science of Selection to Find the Best Teachers for Your School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rose, Dale S.; English, Andrew; Finney, Treena Gillespie

    2014-01-01

    While it is clear that better teachers get better results with students, school leaders often put themselves at a disadvantage by not hiring the best teachers available. In this groundbreaking book, three human resource experts show how even small adjustments can help school districts' leaders, principals, and other human resource professionals…

  3. Where Have All the Teachers Gone? Finding Answers to the Most Basic Questions about California's Teacher Workforce. CenterView

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, 2005

    2005-01-01

    This policy brief presents a strong case for the creation of a statewide teacher data system in California by highlighting some of the simple teacher workforce questions that cannot be answered because such a system does not currently exist. At the state level, data on teacher qualifications are needed to fulfill the new reporting requirements of…

  4. Placing Teachers? Sustaining Rural Schooling through Place-Consciousness in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Simone; Reid, Jo-Anne

    2008-01-01

    This paper explores two seemingly disparate areas of social inquiry: teacher education and the sustainability of rural communities in Australia. It suggests that these may be usefully understood in close connection with each other, and that healthy rural communities may be supported via reform of the ways in which teacher education prepares…

  5. To Promote, or Not to Promote Fundamental British Values? Teachers' Standards, Diversity and Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elton-Chalcraft, Sally; Lander, Vini; Revell, Lynn; Warner, Diane; Whitworth, Linda

    2017-01-01

    In this article we seek to problematize the presence of the requirement within the teachers' standards (DfE, 2012), that they "should not undermine fundamental British values" in the context of initial teacher education in England. The inclusion of this statement within the teachers' code of conduct has made its way from the…

  6. Taking Time, Breaking Codes: Moments in White Teacher Candidates' Exploration of Racism and Teacher Identity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mason, Ann Mogush

    2016-01-01

    In three narrative vignettes, this paper challenges scholars and practitioners of teacher education to consider ways that our courses do and do not engage white teacher candidates to take on racially conscious orientations. The work addressed in this paper has implications for our understandings of how preservice teachers can learn about racial…

  7. Having It Both Ways: Building the Capacity of Individual Teachers and Their Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Susan Moore

    2012-01-01

    In this article, Susan Moore Johnson calls for a balanced approach to improving teaching and learning, one that focuses on both teachers and the contexts in which they work. Drawing on over a decade of research on the experiences of new teachers, Johnson argues that focusing on the effectiveness of individuals while ignoring how their schools are…

  8. What do mathematics teachers and teacher trainees know about the history of mathematics?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gazit, Avikam

    2013-06-01

    The aim of this study is to present the findings of a study that examined the knowledge of mathematics teachers and teacher trainees, in different tracks, about the concepts, topics and characters from the history of mathematics. The findings indicate a lack of knowledge concerning most of the topics examined. Only about 40% of the participants knew about the origin of our counting system and the only item that reached above 50% was the item relating to the man who edited the book which is the basis for the plane geometry - Euclid (about 83%). Another meaningful finding was that the group with the highest score was that of mathematics teacher trainees in the accelerated track - a unique training scheme for middle school teachers (65.7%). The group with the lowest score was that of the elementary school mathematics student teachers (19.3%). One obvious conclusion is that we need to strengthen the knowledge of the history of mathematics in teacher training and in-service teachers' advanced studies.

  9. Dual Language Teachers' Use of Conventional, Environmental, and Personal Resources to Support Academic Language Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lucero, Audrey

    2015-01-01

    This article reports findings from a study that investigated the ways in which first-grade dual language teachers drew on various resources to instructionally support academic language development among Spanish-English emergent bilingual students. Classroom observations, semistructured interviews, and document collection were conducted over a…

  10. Building Future Directions for Teacher Learning in Science Education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, Kathy; Lindsay, Simon

    2016-04-01

    In 2013, as part of a process to renew an overall sector vision for science education, Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM) undertook a review of its existing teacher in-service professional development programs in science. This review led to some data analysis being conducted in relation to two of these programs where participant teachers were positioned as active learners undertaking critical reflection in relation to their science teaching practice. The conditions in these programs encouraged teachers to notice critical aspects of their teaching practice. The analysis illustrates that as teachers worked in this way, their understandings about effective science pedagogy began to shift, in particular, teachers recognised how their thinking not only influenced their professional practice but also ultimately shaped the quality of their students' learning. The data from these programs delivers compelling evidence of the learning experience from a teacher perspective. This article explores the impact of this experience on teacher thinking about the relationship between pedagogical choices and quality learning in science. The findings highlight that purposeful, teacher-centred in-service professional learning can significantly contribute to enabling teachers to think differently about science teaching and learning and ultimately become confident pedagogical leaders in science. The future of quality school-based science education therefore relies on a new vision for teacher professional learning, where practice explicitly recognises, values and attends to teachers as professionals and supports them to articulate and share the professional knowledge they have about effective science teaching practice.

  11. Teachers' Perceptions of Teacher-Child Relationships: Links with Children's Observed Interactions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hartz, Karyn; Williford, Amanda P.; Koomen, Helma M. Y.

    2017-01-01

    Research Findings: The present study examined associations between children's classroom interactions and teachers' perceptions of teacher-child relationships during 1 year of preschool. Teachers (n = 223) reported their perceptions of closeness and conflict in their teacher-child relationships in the fall and spring. Children's (n = 895) positive…

  12. Assessment-Ready Preservice Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelting-Gibson, Lynn; Karsted, Kimberly; Weikert, Angela

    2013-01-01

    As teacher educators search for ways to prepare future educators for the challenges of assessment implementation, we suggest that authentic practice by preservice teachers in an informal learning environment promotes assessment implementation. The analysis of 28 volunteer assessment students' reflections revealed that practicing assessment…

  13. Teacher Evaluation in Chicago: Key Findings from Consortium Research. Research Retrospective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, 2016

    2016-01-01

    Teacher evaluation systems have been a pillar of recent efforts to improve instruction and ensure that all students have access to effective educators. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began revising its approach to teacher evaluation in 2006. An initial pilot, the Excellence in Teaching Project (EITP), launched in 2008. The current system, called…

  14. Superintendent Mentoring the State Way

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beem, Kate

    2007-01-01

    Rick Rege arrived at his job as superintendent of his western Massachusetts school district the way most folks do--advancing from classroom teacher to mid-level administrator to the district's top position. In Rege's case, he spent the nine years before becoming superintendent of the Chicopee Public Schools as a middle school vice principal and…

  15. Becoming a science teacher: The competing pedagogies of schools and teacher education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rozelle, Jeffrey J.

    classroom or not. To explore this disproportionate influence, this study documented the differences between the school-based placements and teacher education. Three contrasts were described. First, in schools, interns received support and assistance in real-time from cooperating teachers as they taught, while in teacher education, interns received support in planning for and reflecting on instruction. Second, in schools, interns and cooperating teachers' work had a task-orientation in which they solved concrete and contextualized problems together, while teacher educators were oriented toward ideas about teaching that might be generalized beyond the immediate context of the intern. Finally, in schools, interns acted like teachers. This meant dressing like a teacher, learning to use their bodies and voice in authoritative ways, and managing the physical space of the classroom. In teacher education classrooms, interns returned to talk and learn about teaching but reacquired the persona of students in their dress, movements, and social interactions. This study confirms the literature's consistent finding about the importance of cooperating teacher in the development of a student teacher's practices. In describing the worlds of the school and teacher education, it suggests reasons why the field experience acts as an influential "pedagogy of enactment" (Grossman, Hammerness, & McDonald, 2009) and discusses the implications for teacher education pedagogy.

  16. Physical Education Teacher Education in Norway: The Perceptions of Student Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mordal-Moen, Kjersti; Green, Ken

    2014-01-01

    A feature of academic literature on physical education teacher education (PETE) is the expectation that it can and should impact upon student teachers' beliefs and prospective practices in some significant ways. This is despite research over the last 20 years or more alluding to the apparent failure of PETE to "shake or stir" (Evans et…

  17. Engagement with a Teaching Career--How a Group of Finnish University Teachers Experience Teacher Identity and Professional Growth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Korhonen, Vesa; Törmä, Sirpa

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this qualitative study was to identify teachers' ways of experiencing their identity and development challenges as teachers in the social and professional context of university. Identity and development as a teacher were examined based on interviews and drawings of career paths collected from a group of university teachers representing…

  18. Physical Education Teachers: How Do I Sue Thee? Oh, Let Me Count the Ways!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henderson, Donald H.

    1985-01-01

    Physical education teachers face increased risks of tort liablity suits because athletic events tend to be dangerous due to physical contact. Areas that are most vulnerable to tort liablity cases of teacher negligence are discussed. (DF)

  19. GE STEM Teacher's Conference

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-07-13

    Teachers prepare to demonstrate the projects they built for the Rocketry Engineering Design Challenge during the 2017 GE Foundation High School STEM Integration Conference at the Center for Space Education at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. High school teachers from across the country took part in the week-long conference, which is designed to explore effective ways for teachers, schools and districts from across the country to integrate STEM throughout the curriculum. The conference is a partnership between GE Foundation and the National Science Teachers Association.

  20. Personalised Search Tool for Teachers--PoSTech!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seyedarabi, Faezeh; Peterson, Don; Keenoy, Kevin

    2005-01-01

    One of the ways in which teachers tend to "personalise" to the needs of their students is by complementing their teaching materials with online resources. However, the current online resources are designed in such a way that only allows teachers to customise their search and not personalise. Therefore, a Personalised Search Tool for…

  1. Assessment Literacy of Foreign Language Teachers: Findings of a European Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vogt, Karin; Tsagari, Dina

    2014-01-01

    Training of pre- and in-service teachers constitutes one of the most important aspects in the quality assurance of language testing and assessment (LTA). For instance, foreign language (FL) teachers have to deal with standardised tests as well as their own classroom-based assessment procedures. This means they need the necessary expertise that can…

  2. Riding on a Speeding Train? How Teacher Educators Perceive Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mevorach, Miriam; Ezer, Hanna

    2010-01-01

    This study investigates through structured questionnaires how teacher educators perceive current teacher education practices in Israel and at their colleges. An open-ended question provides their metaphorical viewpoint. The findings indicate that teacher educators believe teacher education in the country is at a high level. They perceive teacher…

  3. Teachers as Researchers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Klippel, Friederike

    2017-01-01

    A dedicated teacher, keen to try out new methods of teaching English and French and different ways of getting learners to talk. The teacher knows it is important to motivate the learners by bringing the real world and the target culture into the classroom and uses authentic newspaper articles on current events and takes the class out of the…

  4. Academic Induction for Teacher Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martinez, Kay

    2008-01-01

    This paper is a reflective exploration of major challenges facing new teacher educators as they make the transition into the academy, and of ways that best support them. The transition problems identified in the emerging body of literature about teacher educator career entry were offered for comment to a small group of new teacher educators in an…

  5. Investigating inquiry teaching and learning: The story of two teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barnett, George Michael

    Current national and state science standards emphasize inquiry as the central strategy to teaching science. Yet, these standards do not give specific prescriptions for how to conduct inquiry in within the context of a K--12 classroom. Fortunately, many teachers are creative and intelligent decision makers who have their own perspectives on and definitions of inquiry and will no doubt attempt to implement inquiry in ways that they feel best benefits their students given the constraints of their context. This study balanced "insider" and "outsider" perspectives to examine how two teachers' conceptions of inquiry changed over time, how those changes evolved, and how these teachers overcame the difficulties inherent with inquiry-based teaching. A naturalistic and interpretive research approach was used to collect and analyze the data. This approached entailed classroom observations, interviews, field notes, and analysis of teachers' journals. Findings indicate that inquiry-based teaching practices are inherently a local phenomenon that emerges within and through the interplay among a teacher's beliefs, student questions and goals, the teacher's goals, and the social context of the teacher's classroom. Results also indicate that teachers' conceptions of inquiry change gradually over time and not as of the result of single critical events or stages and are intimately tied to their teaching context.

  6. Portfolio-based Teacher Assessment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Curry, Stacie; Cruz, John

    2000-01-01

    Educators in the Fowler (California) Unified School District have found that teacher evaluation portfolios help link improvement and accountability concerns in the peer review process. Portfolios that are structured around professional standards and the school's accountability goals are a good way to measure teacher effectiveness. Implementation…

  7. Studying Biotechnological Methods Using Animations: The Teacher's Role

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yarden, Hagit; Yarden, Anat

    2011-12-01

    Animation has great potential for improving the way people learn. A number of studies in different scientific disciplines have shown that instruction involving computer animations can facilitate the understanding of processes at the molecular level. However, using animation alone does not ensure learning. Students sometimes miss essential features when they watch only animations, mainly due to the cognitive load involved. Moreover, students seem to attribute a great deal of authority to the computer and may develop misconceptions by taking animations of abstract concepts too literally. In this study, we attempted to explore teachers' perceptions concerning the use of animations in the classroom while studying biotechnological methods, as well as the teachers' contribution to the enactment of animations in class. Thirty high-school biotechnology teachers participated in a professional development workshop, aimed at investigating how teachers plan for and support learning with animation while studying biotechnological methods in class. From that sample, two teachers agreed to participate in two case studies aimed at characterizing teachers' contribution to the enactment of animations in class while studying biotechnological methods. Our findings reveal marked teacher contribution in the following three aspects: establishing the "hands-on" point of view, helping students deal with the cognitive load that accompanies the use of animation, and implementing constructivist aspects of knowledge construction while studying using animations.

  8. Gathering Requirements for Teacher Tools: Strategies for Empowering Teachers through Co-Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matuk, Camillia; Gerard, Libby; Lim-Breitbart, Jonathan; Linn, Marcia

    2016-01-01

    Technology can enhance teachers' practice in multiple ways. It can help them better understand patterns in their students' thinking, manage class progress at individual and group levels, and obtain evidence to inform modifications to curriculum and instruction. Such technology is most effective when it is aligned with teachers' goals and…

  9. "Who Stays and Who Leaves?" Findings from a Three-Part Study of Teacher Turnover in NYC Middle Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marinell, William H.; Coca, Vanessa M.

    2013-01-01

    This paper synthesizes findings from the Research Alliance's investigation of teacher turnover in New York City's public middle schools. These years are widely recognized as a critical turning point for students, and the NYC Department of Education (DOE) is pursuing a range of middle school improvement initiatives. The stability of the middle…

  10. Teacher-Principal Race and Teacher Satisfaction over Time, Region

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Viano, Samantha L.; Hunter, Seth B.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to replicate prior findings on teacher-principal race congruence and teacher job satisfaction and extend the literature by investigating trends over time and if the relationship between race congruence and teacher job satisfaction differs by principal race and region. Design/methodology/approach: The study…

  11. Six ways of experiencing information literacy in nursing: the findings of a phenomenographic study.

    PubMed

    Forster, Marc

    2015-01-01

    Information literacy plays a vital role in evidence-based practice in nursing. However there is currently little evidence to show how being information literate is actually experienced by nurses and therefore information literacy educational interventions are not genuinely evidence-based. Are they promoting the appropriate knowledge and skills to help nurses find and use the research evidence they need? To investigate how being information literate is experienced by nurses. To use the insights obtained to develop a description of the parameters of information literacy in nursing, including those of its role and value in evidence-based practice. Phenomenography. 41 UK nurses of varying experience, specialism and background. Open-ended interviews. 7 contexts in which information literacy is experienced, were mapped out and 6 representative ways of being an information literate nurse, in increasing levels of depth and sophistication, were described. These findings may form the basis of future evidence-based information literacy education programmes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Elementary Teacher's Conceptions of Inquiry Teaching: Messages for Teacher Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ireland, Joseph E.; Watters, James J.; Brownlee, Jo; Lupton, Mandy

    2012-01-01

    This study explored practicing elementary school teacher's conceptions of teaching in ways that foster inquiry-based learning in the science curriculum (inquiry teaching). The advocacy for inquiry-based learning in contemporary curricula assumes the principle that students learn in their own way by drawing on direct experience fostered by the…

  13. Race, Class, and Emerging Sexuality: Teacher Perceptions and Sexual Harassment in Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rahimi, Regina; Liston, Delores

    2011-01-01

    Sexual harassment is a highly troubling gendered phenomenon that plagues young women on a daily basis. The way in which sexual harassment is perceived and treated is varied and is largely based on racial and class stereotypes. This paper highlights the findings from a study in which a group of middle and high school teachers were interviewed and…

  14. Camel-Makers: Building Effective Teacher Teams Together. A Modern Fable for Educators.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kain, Daniel L.

    This book presents a modern fable for middle school teachers. It is a fanciful account of finding and sharing the "Jamal papers," the minutes of that first committee thousands of years ago in which a camel was created by reconstituting a horse. The tale provides a way to bring front and center such concerns as team isolation, personality…

  15. Beliefs of teachers versus non-teachers about people who stutter.

    PubMed

    Arnold, Hayley S; Li, Jian; Goltl, Kathryn

    2015-03-01

    Although prior research has investigated teachers' beliefs about people who stutter (PWS), this work has not indicated how these beliefs compare with those of the general public or taken into account key demographic variables that may be related to these beliefs. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate whether beliefs about PWS in teachers are different from those in the general public. The second purpose of this study was to examine whether gender is related to beliefs about PWS for teachers, who are more frequently women. Analyses were based on questionnaire responses regarding beliefs about PWS from 269 teachers and 1388 non-teachers in the United States. Due to their potential link to beliefs about PWS, familiarity with PWS and sociodemographic variables were included in the statistical model for this study. Teachers' beliefs about PWS are no different than those of people in non-teaching professions. Findings also indicated that, regardless of whether respondents were teachers, women had more accurate beliefs about PWS than men. The statistical model tested indicated that beliefs about PWS were more accurate when the respondents were older, had more education, and had familiarity with a PWS. In the first study to compare teachers' beliefs about PWS to the general public, findings indicated that teachers are no more accurate than the public in their beliefs about PWS. Associations found between these beliefs and several variables may indicate some promising mechanisms for improving beliefs, such as increased familiarity with individuals who stutter. Readers should be able to: (a) describe stuttering's potential effects on children's participation in the school setting; (b) identify actions teachers can take to improve the school experience of their students who stutter; (c) summarize findings regarding teachers' beliefs about people who stutter (PWS); (d) identify key variables that are associated with beliefs about PWS. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc

  16. Retaining Teacher Talent: Convergence and Contradictions in Teachers' Perceptions of Policy Reform Ideas. A Retaining Teacher Talent Report from Learning Point Associates and Public Agenda

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coggshall, Jane G.; Ott, Amber

    2010-01-01

    As a new decade dawns, teachers stand at the center of a policy vortex. They serve as the primary focus of one of the Obama administration's four pillars of educational reform--effective teachers and leaders. Educational reformers of all stripes have focused tremendous energy on thinking of ways to identify effective teachers and in turn recruit,…

  17. Transforming Supervisory Grading: Accountability in Supervising and Evaluating Beginning Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    St. Maurice, Henry; Yudchitz, Amber

    To study the ways that new ways of sharing responsibility for teacher quality affect grading discourses and practices, more than 900 surveys were collected from student/intern teachers and cooperating teachers and supervisors over a 9-year period. Opinions about pass/fail grading for student/intern teaching were tabulated and analyzed. Additional…

  18. Pre-Service Teachers' Efficacy Beliefs and Emotional States

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeMauro, Anthony A.; Jennings, Patricia A.

    2016-01-01

    Teachers' efficacy beliefs play an important role in how they create quality learning environments. When pre-service teachers (also known as initial teacher trainees) develop strong efficacy beliefs, they can be confident in their abilities to be successful teachers once they enter the field. One way pre-service teachers obtain efficacy…

  19. Workplace Experiences of Australian Lesbian and Gay Teachers: Findings from a National Survey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferfolja, Tania; Stavrou, Efty

    2015-01-01

    Historically, lesbian and gay teachers working in schools have experienced silencing, invisibility, and discrimination. This paper reports on research that examined the experiences of self-identified lesbian and gay teachers working in a variety of school types and school systems across Australia. Specifically, it explores these teachers'…

  20. Challenge: Reframing, communicating, and finding relevance. Solution: Teachers on the research team

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bartholow, S.; Warburton, J.

    2013-12-01

    PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is a program in which K-12 teachers spend 2-6 weeks participating in hands-on field research experiences in the polar regions. The goal of PolarTREC is to invigorate polar science education and understanding by bringing K-12 educators and polar researchers together. Program data has illuminated a crucial dynamic that increases the potential for a successful climate change science campaign. We contend that the inclusion of a teacher into the field research campaign can tackle challenges such as reframing climate change science to better address the need for a particular campaign, as well as garnering the science project the necessary support through effective, authentic, and tangible communication efforts to policymakers, funders, students, and the public. The program evaluation queried researchers on a.) the teachers' primary roles in the field b.) the impact teachers on the team's field research, and c.) the teachers' role conducting outreach. Additionally, researchers identified the importance of the facilitator, the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS), as an integral component to the challenge of providing a meaningful broader impact statement to the science proposal. Researchers reported the value of explaining their science, in-situ, allowed them to reframe and rework the objectives of the science project to attain meaningful outcomes. More than half of the researchers specifically noted that one of the strengths of the PolarTREC project is its benefit to the scientific process. The researchers also viewed PolarTREC as an essential outreach activity for their research project. Other researchers said that the outreach provided by their teacher also improved the research project's public image and articulated complex ideas to the public at large. This presentation will speak to the practices within the PolarTREC program and how researchers can meet outreach expectations, impact

  1. How Do School-Based Prevention Programs Impact Teachers? Findings from a Randomized Trial of an Integrated Classroom Management and Social-Emotional Program.

    PubMed

    Domitrovich, Celene E; Bradshaw, Catherine P; Berg, Juliette K; Pas, Elise T; Becker, Kimberly D; Musci, Rashelle; Embry, Dennis D; Ialongo, Nicholas

    2016-04-01

    A number of classroom-based interventions have been developed to improve social and behavioral outcomes for students, yet few studies have examined how these programs impact the teachers who are implementing them. Impacts on teachers may affect students and therefore also serve as an important proximal outcome to examine. The current study draws upon data from a school-based randomized controlled trial testing the impact of two prevention programs. In one intervention condition, teachers were trained in the classroom behavior management program, PAX Good Behavior Game (PAX GBG). In a second intervention condition, teachers were trained to use an integrated program, referred to as PATHS to PAX, of the PAX GBG and a social and emotional learning curriculum called Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS©). This study aimed to determine whether both interventions positively impacted teachers, with a particular interest in the teachers' own beliefs and perceptions regarding self-efficacy, burnout, and social-emotional competence. The sample included 350 K-5 teachers across 27 schools (18 schools randomized to intervention, 9 to control). Multilevel latent growth curve analyses indicated that the PATHS to PAX condition generally demonstrated the most benefits to teachers, relative to both the control and PAX GBG conditions. These findings suggest that school-based preventive interventions can have a positive impact on teachers' beliefs and perceptions, particularly when the program includes a social-emotional component. Several possible mechanisms might account for the added benefit to teachers. Additional research is needed to better understand how these programs impact teachers, as well as students.

  2. Evaluating the Effects of Lesson Study as a Way to Help Student Teachers Learn How to Use Student Thinking when Planning and Revising Mathematics Lesson Plans

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sisofo, Eric Joseph

    2010-01-01

    The use of student thinking in teaching has been linked to improved instruction and learning. It is reasonable to assume that the University of Delaware's undergraduate program might be interested in figuring out ways to develop this skill in its mathematics specialist pre-service teachers. Currently, the student teaching experience at the…

  3. The Big Picture: Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of "Expert" Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKinnon, Merryn; Perara, Sean

    2015-01-01

    This study adapted the Draw-A-Science-Teacher Test to compare 22 pre-service teachers' perceptions of their own strengths as science teachers against their perceived strengths of expert science teachers. The drawings identified a disconnection between theory and practice that we revisit in the literature. Our findings from this pilot study are…

  4. Mentoring Matters: Finding the Golden Mean--Mentors and Student Teachers Working for Success

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spangler, Susan

    2012-01-01

    The cooperating teachers who make the greatest positive impact on interns allow student teachers to make mistakes and learn from them, offer constructive feedback, invest in their student teachers' success, practice current pedagogy in their own classrooms, and remain positive throughout the experience. In this article, the author suggests that…

  5. Teacher Perceptions of the Mississippi Teacher Evaluation System: Insight for School Administrators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kappler, Lois A.

    2017-01-01

    A strong focus has been placed on accountability for the educational process and the achievement of all students. This has put tremendous pressure on teachers, as well as school administrators, superintendents, and school board members, to seek innovative ways to increase student achievement and to ensure that effective teachers are in all…

  6. De-Marginalizing Science in the Early Elementary Classroom: Fostering Reform-Based Teacher Change through Professional Development, Accountability, and Addressing Teachers' Dilemmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Berg, Alissa

    To develop a scientifically literate populace, students must acquire the motivation and foundational skills for success in science beginning at an early age. Unfortunately, science instruction is often marginalized in elementary schools for reasons including teachers' lack of confidence in teaching science and an overemphasis on literacy and mathematics. This study employed a case study design to examine the impact of teachers' dilemmas, career stage, coaching, and other forms of support on elementary teachers' abilities to teach science more often and in more reform-based ways. The conceptual lenses used to guide this dissertation include the theory related to teacher change, dilemmas, reform-oriented science teaching, and the professional learning continuum. Findings suggest that teachers' dilemmas must be addressed in order for them to move toward more reform-based science teaching practices. It was found that how teachers reconcile their dilemmas is due in part to their career stage, level of readiness, and access to a more knowledgeable other who can assist them in learning and enacting reform-based instruction. Moreover, the likelihood and extent of teacher change appears to be related to teachers recognizing a need to change their practice, developing the capacity to change, feeling accountable to change, and possessing the motivation to change. Implications for teacher educators, professional development providers, and curriculum developers are presented. It is argued that teachers require support the length of their career and, to be effective, this support must be personalized to their diverse and changing needs and responsive to the context in which they teach.

  7. What Teachers Say about Addressing Culture in Their EFL Teaching Practices: The Vietnamese Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nguyen, Long; Harvey, Sharon; Grant, Lynn

    2016-01-01

    This paper examines Vietnamese EFL teachers' beliefs about the role of culture in language teaching. It also considers how they address culture in their teaching practices in a Vietnamese university. Ethnographic data collected from semi-structured interviews indicated that opportunities for culture to find its way into EFL classroom activities…

  8. Closing the Gap Between Attitudes and Perceptions About ICT-Enhanced Learning Among Pre-service STEM Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barak, Miri

    2014-02-01

    The goal of this study was to examine pre-service STEM teachers' attitudes and perceptions about the effectiveness of various learning methods and, in specific, the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as means for enhancing progressive education. The study was conducted among two cohorts of pre-service STEM teachers (N = 103) in the years 2006 and 2012. The mixed method approach was used to compile data from two research tools: an attitudes questionnaire and reflective drawings. The findings of the first cohort indicated a conflict between the participants' declared attitudes and their perceptions, suggesting a gap between their inclination to coincide with educational trends, and their actual views about the use of ICTs in the classrooms. The first cohort's drawings illustrated ICTs as distractive technologies, ineffective tools for teaching and learning, impairing teachers' authority, and distancing teachers and students from each other. Findings of the second cohort indicated that the gap between attitudes and perceptions was narrowed in such a way that preservice STEM teachers did not see ICTs as threatening, but they perceived them as instrumental for leveraging progressive education.

  9. The challenges facing initial teacher education: Irish prospective elementary teachers' mathematics subject matter knowledge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hourigan, Mairéad; O'Donoghue, John

    2013-01-01

    Given the acknowledged relationship between teachers' knowledge, their teaching and pupil learning, teachers' mathematics subject matter knowledge (MSMK) has received increased attention internationally. As children's early mathematics experiences have been recognized as a critical stage, elementary teachers' MSMK has become a focal point among researchers and policy makers alike. International research findings have uncovered that in many cases, there is a mismatch between what is perceived to be an appropriate MSMK for teaching elementary mathematics and that demonstrated by many qualified and prospective elementary teachers. Following repeated incidences of weak MSMK during interactions with prospective elementary teachers in one Irish College of Education (provider of initial teacher education programme for elementary teachers), this study sought to examine and address the issue purposefully through two cycles of action research. This article focuses on the data collected prospective teachers' MSMK in the initial stage (reconnaissance) of these cycles, i.e. pre-test findings. While considerable differences were evident among the pre-test population, the findings suggest that prior to the intervention stage many participating prospective teachers; regardless of previous mathematics achievements or the level of mathematics study; demonstrate weaknesses and gaps in their 'common' MSMK. Particular difficulties were evident in relation to pre-test items requiring knowledge of rational numbers, conceptual understanding or problem solving. These findings highlight the inadequacy of previous mathematics achievements and indeed minimum entry requirements as predictors of MSMK for teaching. As well as its contribution at a local and national level, the findings provide an Irish perspective on this international issue.

  10. Student Attitudes to Teachers and Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Angus, L.

    1984-01-01

    Presents an analysis of good and bad teaching practices through the perceptions of students and teachers in an Australian Catholic boys' school. Investigates ways teachers negotiate order in the classroom. (MD)

  11. Learning and Teaching Technology in English Teacher Education: Findings from a National Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pasternak, Donna L.; Hallman, Heidi L.; Caughlan, Samantha; Renzi, Laura; Rush, Leslie S.; Meineke, Hannah

    2016-01-01

    This paper reports on one aspect of a large-scale nationwide study that surveyed English teacher educators about English teacher preparation programs throughout the United States. One aspect of the study focused on how technology is integrated within the context of English teacher education programs, asking the question, "As an area of…

  12. Finding a Voice through Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lobo, Jose; Vizcaino, Alida

    2006-01-01

    One question guided this experimental study: What impact does the change from teacher training to educational research have on university teachers' methodology and attitudes to teaching? To find answers to this question, the researchers selected five teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the language centre of a private university on…

  13. Celebrating Young Children and Their Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chenfeld, Mimi Brodsky

    2007-01-01

    Teachers usually enter the early childhood education profession aglow with purpose, drive, and imagination. Sometimes along the way, the inner flames flicker, or even disappear. In Celebrating Young Children and Their Teachers, Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld urges early childhood teachers to keep their lights alive by reflecting on the magic of the…

  14. Supplying Disadvantaged Schools with Effective Teachers: Experimental Evidence on Secondary Math Teachers from Teach For America

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chiang, Hanley S.; Clark, Melissa A.; McConnell, Sheena

    2017-01-01

    Teach For America (TFA) is an important but controversial source of teachers for hard-to-staff subjects in high-poverty U.S. schools. We present findings from the first large-scale experimental study of secondary math teachers from TFA. We find that TFA teachers are more effective than other math teachers in the same schools, increasing student…

  15. The Professional Work of Teachers in Singapore: Findings from a Work-Shadowing Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Y.-J.; Poon, C. L.

    2014-01-01

    The professional activities that constitute the work of school teachers are known to be both numerous and varied. While managing teacher workloads is a major priority for governments around the world, valid and reliable figures are difficult to obtain. From a larger qualitative study of teachers' work culture in Singapore, we report data obtained…

  16. What Can I Do About Teacher Apathy?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richey, Amanda; Petretti, Dante

    2002-01-01

    Details a preservice teacher's first experience tutoring in an inner-city high school, during which she found apathetic teachers and discouraged students. Notes that she does not want her upcoming student teaching experience to turn out the same way. Provides a response from another teacher, who suggests that apathy can be avoided if teachers are…

  17. Finding Their Way Back In: Family Reintegration Following Guard Deployment.

    PubMed

    Messecar, Deborah C

    2017-03-01

    The aim of this study was to describe deployed National Guard members' and their families' perceptions of their experience with family reintegration, and the causes and conditions of challenges reintegration presents after deployment. A total of 26 National Guard members and 19 family members participated in individual (n = 22), couples (n = 6), or focus group (n = 17) interviews. In-depth interviews were used to assess needs and maximize input from military families regarding deployment-related experiences and reintegration issues. Qualitative coding and analysis of data were completed using NVivo. Finding their way back in is the key process that the military members must complete to successfully reestablish their desired social connections with the family and reclaim their place within the family. Several conditions shape the degree of challenges with reintegration that veterans and their family will encounter. These include preparation for deployment, length and type of deployment, communication during deployment, and finally, awareness of how deployment changes the military member and the family. Support resources dedicated to providing National Guard members and their families with assistance in preparing for deployments and educating them about the importance of communication during deployment should be maintained and expanded. Broader educational efforts that increase awareness of what to expect regarding how deployment changes the military member and the family are needed. Reprint & Copyright © 2017 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

  18. Supporting School Teachers: Primary Teachers' Conceptions of Their Responses to Diverse Sexualities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Leent, Lisa

    2017-01-01

    Teachers experience a range of situations in the primary school context where students talk about, share ideas and use words and actions that might be described as non-heteronormative in character. This article reports on teachers' experiences of the ways in which they respond to actions and events they see as non-heteronormative. It identifies…

  19. A Measurement of Student Teachers' Parent-Teacher Communication Competences: The Design of a Video-Based Instrument

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Coninck, Karen; Valcke, Martin; Vanderlinde, Ruben

    2018-01-01

    This study reports on the design of a video-based instrument to assess student teachers' parent-teacher communication competences (PTCC) in a reliable and valid way. PTCC refer to the competences needed to communicate successfully with parents during conversations such as parent-teacher conferences. Taking into account both conceptual and…

  20. Emotional Development and Construction of Teacher Identity: Narrative Interactions about the Pre-Service Teachers' Practicum Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teng, Mark Feng

    2017-01-01

    Pre-service teacher identity research has directed limited attention to the construction and development of professional teacher identity through narrative interaction. An analysis of narrative interactions among pre-service teachers in the present study explored the ways in which they negotiated emotional flux in the process of training to become…

  1. Counter-Intuitive Findings from Teacher Education Accreditation Council's Surveys of Candidates and Faculty about Candidate Knowledge and Skill

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murray, Frank

    2013-01-01

    This article is a report of the findings from a sample of approximately 2,700 students and 1,000 faculty in the first 50 Teacher Education Accreditation\tCouncil (TEAC)-accredited programs for which the online surveys were used. The sample represents nearly all the full-time faculty members surveyed and approximately 30% of the students. On the…

  2. Enhancing Teacher Beliefs through an Inquiry-Based Professional Development Program.

    PubMed

    McKeown, Tammy R; Abrams, Lisa M; Slattum, Patricia W; Kirk, Suzanne V

    2016-01-01

    Inquiry-based instructional approaches are an effective means to actively engage students with science content and skills. This article examines the effects of an ongoing professional development program on middle and high school teachers' efficacy beliefs, confidence to teach research concepts and skills, and science content knowledge. Professional development activities included participation in a week long summer academy, designing and implementing inquiry-based lessons within the classroom, examining and reflecting upon practices, and documenting ways in which instruction was modified. Teacher beliefs were assessed at three time points, pre- post- and six months following the summer academy. Results indicate significant gains in reported teaching efficacy, confidence, and content knowledge from pre- to post-test. These gains were maintained at the six month follow-up. Findings across the three different time points suggest that participation in the professional development program strongly influenced participants' fundamental beliefs about their capacity to provide effective instruction in ways that are closely connected to the features of inquiry-based instruction.

  3. Spitzer Finds Clarity in the Inner Milky Way

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2008-01-01

    More than 800,000 frames from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope were stitched together to create this infrared portrait of dust and stars radiating in the inner Milky Way.

    As inhabitants of a flat galactic disk, Earth and its solar system have an edge-on view of their host galaxy, like looking at a glass dish from its edge. From our perspective, most of the galaxy is condensed into a blurry narrow band of light that stretches completely around the sky, also known as the galactic plane.

    In this mosaic the galactic plane is broken up into five components: the far-left side of the plane (top image); the area just left of the galactic center (second to top); galactic center (middle); the area to the right of galactic center (second to bottom); and the far-right side of the plane (bottom). From Earth, the top two panels are visible to the northern hemisphere, and the bottom two images to the southern hemisphere. Together, these panels represent more than 50 percent of our entire Milky Way galaxy.

    The swaths of green represent organic molecules, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are illuminated by light from nearby star formation, while the thermal emission, or heat, from warm dust is rendered in red. Star-forming regions appear as swirls of red and yellow, where the warm dust overlaps with the glowing organic molecules. The blue specks sprinkled throughout the photograph are Milky Way stars. The bluish-white haze that hovers heavily in the middle panel is starlight from the older stellar population towards the center of the galaxy.

    This is a three-color composite that shows infrared observations from two Spitzer instruments. Blue represents 3.6-micron light and green shows light of 8 microns, both captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Red is 24-micron light detected by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer.

    The Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire team (GLIMPSE) used the telescope's infrared array

  4. Supporting Early Career Teacher Learning: An Investigation into Induction Supports and Early Career Teacher Professional Learning in New Hampshire

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCurdy, Kathryn

    2016-01-01

    The past 20 years has seen a rise in the number of induction programs for beginning teachers, including those with mentoring. However, the way in which teacher education has been problematized is still calling into question the need for beginning teacher support. This dissertation study is situated in the belief that beginning teacher induction…

  5. TPACK Development in Science Teacher Preparation: A Case Study in Queensland, Australia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sickel, Jamie L.

    This study sought to identify key experiences that impact the development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) of preservice secondary sciences teachers at a medium-sized university in Queensland, Australia. TPACK is a conceptual framework of a body of knowledge that teachers draw upon to influence practice; it is a dynamic and emergent form of knowledge that informs the employment of technology for teaching specific subject matter. This study employed an embedded case study approach, including delivery of a TPACK survey instrument and analysis of participant interviews, to identify the context-specific experiences that promote the development of TPACK among twelve preservice secondary science teachers. The research addresses a specific need cited in the literature, identifying TPACK impact factors, and provides a novel way to visualize TPACK development through contextual experiences. A novel approach to visually representing context-specific experiences and their influence on teacher knowledge, self-efficacy, values and beliefs was employed. Three major findings are presented below: 1) the majority of preservice secondary science teachers were unable to define the constructs of learning and science; 2) a focus on motivation and interest paired with a disconnect between expressed and enacted pedagogical orientation lead to teacher-centered instruction augmented with superficial tactics aimed at generating interest; and 3) difficulty in integrating knowledge bases yielded lower TPACK self-efficacy, which has detrimental impacts on the instruction planned by pre-service teachers for their students. Findings are directly aligned with participants' prior experience, compared to the relevant literature, and utilized to identify implications for teacher preparation as well as recommendations for future research.

  6. Peer Mentoring: A Way forward for Supporting Preservice EFL Teachers Psychosocially during the Practicum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nguyen, Hoa Thi Mai

    2013-01-01

    During the past several years, the importance of practicum as a vital proportion of the preservice teacher education program has been increasingly emphasized. There have been a number of initiatives for supporting preservice teachers. Among these, peer based relationship is increasingly emerged as an innovative strategy to provide additional…

  7. Eight Ways to Make Sure Substitute Teachers Aren't Baby-Sitters.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Drury, William R.

    1988-01-01

    Substitutes might never be as good as regular teachers, but they still can provide high-quality instruction. Suggestions include meeting with them as a group twice a year, principal and peer support, and development workshops specifically for substitutes. (TE)

  8. The Unexamined Whiteness of Teaching: How White Teachers Maintain and Enact Dominant Racial Ideologies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Picower, Bree

    2009-01-01

    While much research that explores the role of race in education focuses on children of color, this article explores an aspect of the predominately White teaching force that educates them. This article explores findings from a qualitative study that posed questions about the ways in which White pre-service teachers' life-experiences influenced…

  9. Making Sense of Conceptual Tools in Student-Generated Cases: Student Teachers' Problem-Solving Processes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jahreie, Cecilie Flo

    2010-01-01

    This article examines the way student teachers make sense of conceptual tools when writing cases. In order to understand the problem-solving process, an analysis of the interactions is conducted. The findings show that transforming practical experiences into theoretical reflection is not a straightforward matter. To be able to elaborate on the…

  10. Competency-Based Student-Teacher Supervision

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spanjer, R. Allan

    1975-01-01

    This author contends that student-teacher supervision cannot be done effectively in traditional ways. He discusses five myths of supervision and explains a program developed at Portland (Ore.) State University that puts the emphasis where it should be--on the supervising teacher. (Editor)

  11. Reading Teacher Burnout and Stress.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hollingsworth, Paul M.

    1990-01-01

    Considers causes for stress and burnout in the reading teacher's profession. Suggests ways for reading teachers to reduce stress. Identifies two categories of problems: (1) work overload, excessive paperwork, and repetitive tasks; and (2) isolation from other teaching which leads to loneliness. (KEH)

  12. A Systemic Approach to Elevating Teacher Leadership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Killion, Joellen; Harrison, Cindy; Colton, Amy; Bryan, Chris; Delehant, Ann; Cooke, Debbie

    2016-01-01

    Teacher leadership is often defined as a "set of practices that enhance the teaching profession." States and districts are leveraging teacher leadership in multiple ways to professionalize teaching, create opportunities for teacher career advancement, facilitate school improvement, and facilitate professional learning for educator and…

  13. Investigation of Perceptions Regarding Teacher Leadership among Secondary School Teachers in Turkey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gülbahar, Bahadir

    2017-01-01

    Leadership is one of the most important roles expected from teachers today. Teacher leadership is a significant factor in the commitment of schools to their missions to guide societies, to develop a school's positive aspects and to manage education in an effective way. If this is the case, it is necessary to measure and evaluate the perceptions of…

  14. Community Building of (Student) Teachers and a Teacher Educator in a School-University Partnership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vandyck, Inne; de Graaff, Rick; Pilot, Albert; Beishuizen, Jos

    2012-01-01

    School-university partnerships (SUPs) are considered a way of improving teacher education. For the successful implementation of such partnerships, cooperation between the different stakeholders is of crucial importance. Therefore, most partnerships are organised in short- and long-term teams, which are usually composed of teachers, student…

  15. Exploring Pre-Service School Counselling Teachers' Learning Needs: Perceptions of Teacher Educators and Student-Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yuan, Rui

    2017-01-01

    Drawing on the dual perspectives of teacher educators and student-teachers, this research explores the complex learning needs of pre-service school counselling teachers (SCTs) in China. Relying on data from in-depth interviews and relevant curriculum documents, the findings of the study demonstrate four critical needs of SCTs, namely, developing a…

  16. A narrative inquiry into novice science mentor teachers' mentoring practices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Naseem, Samina

    account, the study revealed that each NSM had a core practice, which was based on their preferred teaching and learning styles, such as hands-on, lecture, etc. Given the core of their practice, the NSMs approached mentoring situations differently, thus making mentoring individualistic in nature. Sociality revealed that beliefs, relationships, and context as the major factors to inform the NSMs' mentoring practices. Place as a factor was significant only in one NSM's stories. These findings suggested a relationship between the NSMs' mentoring practices and professional identity. The study was concluded with an emphasis on the importance of taking in to account the biographies of teacher mentors and their professional identity to understand mentoring practices and the process of mentoring. Based on the findings, it was recommended to offer teacher mentor - centered professional development opportunities to help novice mentors build on their strengths and ways to use their skills to mentor interns in productive ways.

  17. Teachers' Sensemaking about Implementation of an Innovative Science Curriculum Across the Settings of Professional Development and Classroom Enactment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de los Santos, Xeng

    artifacts such as teacher-modified curriculum materials, classroom observation notes, and video-recordings of classroom instruction and professional development sessions. Data analysis involved descriptive coding of the interview transcripts and searching for linguistic markers related to components of an occasions of sensemaking. Findings show that teachers engaged in sensemaking about curriculum implementation in multiple and different ways that were either productive or unproductive for their learning of rigorous and responsive science teaching practices. Teachers that had productive outcomes for teacher learning were engaged in sustained sensemaking that involved critical noticing of interactions between the curriculum, themselves, and their students, with the goal of bridging the gap between what the curriculum offered and what their students could do. In contrast, teachers that had unproductive outcomes for teacher learning were engaged in sensemaking that often involved critical noticing of only one aspect and were motivated by local obligations. Four themes emerged: sustained sensemaking over time, the influence of school communities, teacher learning of content, and the influence of teachers' beliefs. Using these findings and themes, I present a model for teacher sensemaking within the context of long-term professional development around implementation of an innovative curriculum, with a mechanism for how teacher learning could occur over time. Implications for science teacher professional development and learning and directions for future research are offered.

  18. An Exploration of Teacher Learning from an Educative Reform-Oriented Science Curriculum: Case Studies of Teacher Curriculum Use

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marco-Bujosa, Lisa M.; McNeill, Katherine L.; González-Howard, María; Loper, Suzanna

    2017-01-01

    Educative curriculum materials provide teachers with authentic opportunities to learn new skills and practices. Yet, research shows teachers use curriculum in different ways for different reasons, and these modifications could undermine the learning goals of the curriculum. Little research, however, has examined the variation in teacher use of…

  19. Mentoring New Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Portner, Hal

    This book presents a guide for setting up a new teacher mentoring program. Chapter 1, "Relating," stresses the important part a relationship plays in the mentoring process. A set of introspective exercises teaches ways to establish trust and pay attention to nonverbal communication. Chapter 2, "Assessing," provides ways to gather and diagnose data…

  20. Finding Candidates May Be Closer to Home Than You Think.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McNiff, Timothy J.

    2001-01-01

    Discusses the current teacher shortage experienced by Catholic schools and offers several effective and cost-efficient ways to search for new teachers, including: (1) inviting parents to "coffee hours," where they can learn about teaching in Catholic schools; (2) establishing connections with public school teachers' retirement associations; (3)…

  1. The teacher benefits from giving autonomy support during physical education instruction.

    PubMed

    Cheon, Sung Hyeon; Reeve, Johnmarshall; Yu, Tae Ho; Jang, Hue Ryen

    2014-08-01

    Recognizing that students benefit when they receive autonomy-supportive teaching, the current study tested the parallel hypothesis that teachers themselves would benefit from giving autonomy support. Twenty-seven elementary, middle, and high school physical education teachers (20 males, 7 females) were randomly assigned either to participate in an autonomy-supportive intervention program (experimental group) or to teach their physical education course with their existing style (control group) within a three-wave longitudinal research design. Manipulation checks showed that the intervention was successful, as students perceived and raters scored teachers in the experimental group as displaying a more autonomy-supportive and less controlling motivating style. In the main analyses, ANCOVA-based repeated-measures analyses showed large and consistent benefits for teachers in the experimental group, including greater teaching motivation (psychological need satisfaction, autonomous motivation, and intrinsic goals), teaching skill (teaching efficacy), and teaching well-being (vitality, job satisfaction, and lesser emotional and physical exhaustion). These findings show that giving autonomy support benefits teachers in much the same way that receiving it benefits their students.

  2. Teacher Education, Teacher Effectiveness, and Developmental Psychology. Report No. 75-15.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brophy, Jere E.; Evertson, Carolyn M.

    This paper presents some of the major findings of the Texas Teacher Effectiveness Study, an investigation of the teacher characteristics that correlate with ability to produce student learning gain. In addition to general information about the study and its findings, specific attention is drawn to contrasts between optimal behavior in low SES and…

  3. Teacher Efficacy, Work Engagement, and Social Support Among Chinese Special Education School Teachers

    PubMed Central

    Minghui, Lu; Lei, Hao; Xiaomeng, Chen; Potměšilc, Miloň

    2018-01-01

    This paper investigates the relationship between teacher efficacy and socio-demographic factors, work engagement, and social support among Chinese special education school teachers. The sample comprised 1,027 special education school teachers in mainland China. The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale, the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale were used for data collection. Correlation analysis revealed that social support, work engagement, and teacher efficacy were significantly correlated with each other. Additionally, gender, years of experience, and monthly salary were significant predictors of teacher efficacy. Furthermore, structural equation modeling analysis showed that social support exerted its indirect effect on teacher efficacy through the mediation of work engagement. The findings of this study provide a new perspective on the complex association between social support and teacher efficacy. The explanations and limitations of these findings are discussed. PMID:29867634

  4. "Model Your Genes the Mathematical Way"--A Mathematical Biology Workshop for Secondary School Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martins, Ana Margarida; Vera-Licona, Paola; Laubenbacher, Reinhard

    2008-01-01

    This article describes a mathematical biology workshop given to secondary school teachers of the Danville area in Virginia, USA. The goal of the workshop was to enable teams of teachers with biology and mathematics expertise to incorporate lesson plans in mathematical modelling into the curriculum. The biological focus of the activities is the…

  5. Supporting Democratic Discourses of Teacher Professionalism: The Case of the Alberta Teachers' Association

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Osmond-Johnson, Pamela

    2015-01-01

    This paper explores understandings related to teacher professionalism amongst a sample of highly engaged members of the Alberta Teacher's Association (ATA). Highlighting the many ways in which the Association supported members in their bid to embody roles as leaders, learners, advocates, and policy actors, I argue that the ATA serves as a platform…

  6. Science Teacher Learning Progressions: A Review of Science Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schneider, Rebecca M.; Plasman, Kellie

    2011-01-01

    Learning progressions are the successively more sophisticated ways of thinking about an idea that follow one another over a broad span of time. This review examines the research on science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in order to refine ideas about science teacher learning progressions and how to support them. Research published…

  7. Cartooning Your Way to Student Motivation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sallis, Derek; Rule, Audrey C.; Jennings, Ethan

    2009-01-01

    Unmotivated, underachieving students pose a huge challenge for teachers. One way to motivate and stimulate student interest in a topic is to use humor. Humor can help students make new connections in learning and improves retention of information (Garner 2006). In this article, the authors describe how they integrated art and literature with…

  8. Browsing Your Way to Better Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winkel, Brian

    2013-01-01

    We describe the use of browsing and searching (in libraries, online, inside sources, at meetings, in abstracts, etc.) as a way to stimulate the teacher of undergraduate mathematics, specifically in differential equations. The approach works in all other areas of mathematics. Browsing can help build new and refreshing teaching materials based on…

  9. A comparison of teacher and principal perception of an outstanding biology teacher

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Searles, William E.; Ng, Raymond W. M.

    The purpose of this study was to ascertain the level of agreement or disagreement between principals and teachers when using established criteria to measure the effectiveness of a biology teacher. To obtain information regarding their perceptions of an outstanding biology teacher, twenty-two principals and forty-one biology teachers were chosen randomly from English-speaking high schools within a 50 km radius of metropolitan Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The measuring instrument was a modified version of Dieter's questionnaire that evolved from his doctoral study of the National Association of Biology Teachers-Outstanding Biology Teacher Award Program. The data collected from the two populations were tested using one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) or by applying normal approximation. Results indicated that both the principals and teachers agree on the relative importance of most criteria, particularly those related to the teacher's classroom behavior and academic background in biology. From such results, it was possible to construct one stereotype of the outstanding biology teacher. A number of recommendations were made from the results of the study, which were directed to the (a) teachers and their professional organization, (b) principals and the school boards, (c) teacher training institutions, and (d) researchers in teacher evaluation.

  10. Literacy Teacher Preparation: Ten Truths Teacher Educators Need to Know

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davis Lenski, Susan, Ed.; Grisham, Dana L., Ed.; Wold, Linda S., Ed.

    2005-01-01

    The quality of teacher preparation is frequently under public scrutiny. In this collection, experts in literacy teacher preparation offer ten truths--based on evidence, not ideology-- that support the ongoing positive efforts of teacher educators. In this book, the reader will find: A review of the existing knowledge base; Evidence of the improved…

  11. The Responsive Reading Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Latham, Gloria

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes the ways in which a literacy educator attempted to shift her own and pre-service teachers' mindsets towards the needs of 21st Century literacy learners by employing a pedagogy of discomfort. The focus of the disruption was on contesting normative practices and content while developing and refining novice teachers' skills in…

  12. Ethnographic Eyes: A Teacher's Guide to Classroom Observation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frank, Carolyn

    This book extends ethnography beyond the work of university researchers to include classroom teachers, student teachers, and teacher educators. It provides ways for student teachers and others to develop lenses for seeing the patterns and practices of life within classrooms. The book describes how developing "ethnographic eyes" can help student…

  13. Working Paper 5: American High Schools; Some Organizational Characteristics and Factors Related to Teacher Satisfaction, Counselor Satisfaction, and the Quality of Counseling Programs. Interim Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnston, Lloyd D.; And Others

    This working paper is the fifth in a series on Youth in Transition. Included are four papers plus comments on these papers. The findings are based on information gathered from approximately 2,000 high school teachers and 300 counselors. The teachers' and counselors' perceptions of the way our high schools are run and the impact of those schools on…

  14. Key Findings from a National Internet Survey of 400 Teachers and 95 Principals Conducted November 12-21, 2008

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCleskey, Nicole

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents the key findings from a national Internet survey of 400 teachers and 95 principals. This survey was conducted November 12-21, 2008. The sample was based on a list provided by EMI Surveys, a custom online research sample provider with an extensive portfolio of projects. The margin of error for a sample of 495 interviews is [plus…

  15. Challenging Negative Perceptions of Black Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milner, H. Richard

    2012-01-01

    In this article, the author focuses on a case study of an African-American teacher's perceptions about teaching and instructional practices in an urban middle school, Bridge Middle School. He provides a counter to some negative conceptions of Black teachers in general through a focus on this teacher: the way she thinks about her roles and…

  16. An Examination of Preservice Teachers' View of Multiliteracies: Habits, Perceptions, Demographics and Slippery Slopes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al-Hazza, Tami Craft; Lucking, Robert

    2017-01-01

    This research study examined the values and perceptions of prospective teachers relative to a series of issues in what has become known as the New Literacies, the way youngsters read, seek information, and react to it through use of new technologies. The findings of this research reveal significant differences between female and male prospective…

  17. New Courses for Trojan Horses: Rethinking RPL in a South African Teacher Education Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Volbrecht, Terry

    2009-01-01

    This article reflects on some of the findings of a research project which investigated the practice of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) within a major national teacher upgrading project in South Africa--the National Professional Diploma in Education (NPDE). The article analyses the ways in which a range of contextual factors have positioned RPL…

  18. Philippine Classroom Teachers as Researchers: Teachers' Perceptions, Motivations, and Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ulla, Mark B.; Barrera, Kenneth Ian B.; Acompanado, Meller M.

    2017-01-01

    This study explores teachers' perceptions and motivations, challenges, and needs of 50 teachers in Agusan del Norte, Philippines with regards to doing research. Methodologies used were survey questionnaire, and group and individual interviews. Findings revealed that teacher-respondents had a positive perceptions towards doing research and its…

  19. The linguistically aware teacher and the teacher-aware linguist.

    PubMed

    McCartney, Elspeth; Ellis, Sue

    2013-07-01

    This review evaluates issues of teacher linguistic knowledge relating to their work with children with speech, language and communication difficulties (SLCD). Information is from Ellis and McCartney [(2011a). Applied linguistics and primary school teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press], a state-of-the-art text deriving from a British Association of Applied Linguistics/Cambridge University Press expert seminar series that details: linguistic research underpinning primary school curricula and pedagogy; the form of linguistic knowledge useful for teachers supporting children with SLCD in partnership with speech and language therapists; and how and when teachers acquire and learn to apply such knowledge. Critical analysis of the options presented for teacher learning indicate that policy enjoinders now include linguistic application as an expected part of teachers' professional knowledge, for all children including those with SLCD, but there is a large unmet learning need. It is concluded that there is a role for clinical linguists to disseminate useable knowledge to teachers in an accessible format. Ways of achieving this are considered.

  20. Secondary science teachers' use of laboratory activities: Linking epistemological beliefs, goals, and practices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kang, Nam-Hwa; Wallace, Carolyn S.

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore how science teachers' epistemological beliefs and teaching goals are related to their use of lab activities. Research questions include (a) What are the teachers' epistemological beliefs pertaining to lab activities? (b) Why do the science teachers use lab activities? (c) How are the teachers' epistemological beliefs and instructional goals related to teaching actions? Two major aspects of epistemologies guided this study: ontological aspect (certainty/diversity of truth) and relational aspect (relationship between the knower and the known). The ontological aspect addresses whether one views knowledge as one certain truth or as tentative multiple truths. The relational aspect addresses whether one views him/herself as a receiver of prescribed knowledge separating self from knowledge construction or as an active meaning maker connecting self to the knowledge construction processes. More sophisticated epistemological beliefs include the acknowledgement of multiple interpretations of the same phenomena and active role of the knower in knowledge construction. Three experienced secondary science teachers were interviewed and observed throughout an academic course. The findings illustrate that a teacher's naïve epistemological beliefs are clearly reflected in the teacher's teaching practices. However, a teacher's sophisticated epistemological beliefs are not always clearly connected to the practice. This seems to be related to the necessary negotiation among their epistemological beliefs, teaching contexts, and instructional goals. Ontological and relational beliefs seem to be connected to different facets of teaching practices. Findings indicate that various syntheses of different aspects of epistemological beliefs and instructional goals are linked to teachers' diverse ways of using lab activities. Implications for research and teacher education are discussed.

  1. Specifying a Curriculum for Biopolitical Critical Literacy in Science Teacher Education: Exploring Roles for Science Fiction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gough, Noel

    2017-01-01

    In this essay I suggest some ways in which science teacher educators in Western neoliberal economies might facilitate learners' development of a critical literacy concerning the social and cultural changes signified by the concept of "biopolitics." I consider how such a biopolitically inflected critical literacy might find expression in…

  2. "But I'm a Language Teacher!" Dual Immersion Teacher Identities in a Complex Policy Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chesnut, Colleen

    2015-01-01

    This qualitative study examined dual immersion teachers' identities as they engaged in policy implementation within their school, collaborating in professional learning communities (PLC) with one-way immersion teachers. Data derived from participant observation, interviews, and interpersonal process recall were analyzed through a theoretical lens…

  3. An Investigation of How a Physics Professional Development Course Influenced the Teaching Practices of Five Elementary School Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harlow, Danielle B.

    2014-02-01

    This paper reports the results of an investigation of how a professional development content course based on the Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET) curriculum affected the teaching practices of five case study elementary school teachers. The findings of this study highlight different ways that teachers use what they learn in content courses to teach science to elementary children. While some teachers transferred pedagogical practices along with the content, others transformed the content to be useful in already existing pedagogical frameworks, and still others show little or no evidence of transfer. The range of transfer is explained by considering how each teacher interacted with the learning context (the PET curriculum) and their initial ideas about teaching science.

  4. Toward an Aristotelian Model of Teacher Reasoning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Orton, Robert E.

    1997-01-01

    Utilizes Aristotle's three-way distinctions between theory, practice, and production to describe a balanced model of teacher reasoning. Reviews differing models of teacher reasoning that emphasize the role of contemplation and subject-matter representations. Uses the Aristotelian model to point toward a normative vision of teacher reasoning. (MJP)

  5. In Search of Good Teachers: Patterns of Teacher Quality in Two Mexican States

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Luschei, Thomas F.

    2012-01-01

    This study uses longitudinal data from Mexico's Carrera Magisterial teacher incentive program to identify teacher attributes that are positively associated with student test scores and to describe how teachers with these attributes are distributed across schools in two diverse Mexican states, Aguascalientes and Sonora. I find that teachers' scores…

  6. A Review of Computer Simulations in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bradley, Elizabeth Gates; Kendall, Brittany

    2014-01-01

    Computer simulations can provide guided practice for a variety of situations that pre-service teachers would not frequently experience during their teacher education studies. Pre-service teachers can use simulations to turn the knowledge they have gained in their coursework into real experience. Teacher simulation training has come a long way over…

  7. Losing Our Favorite Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bigelow, Bill

    2010-01-01

    Howard Zinn was a brilliant teacher, a passionate activist, and a warm and generous friend. His most influential work, "A People's History of the United States," was a gift to teachers everywhere--an eloquent anti-textbook that pointed the way to an approach to the past that was at once angry, passionate, and hopeful. Corporate textbooks…

  8. Teachers as Rural Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kristiansen, Andrew

    2014-01-01

    In the article, education is seen as a hierarchical cultural encounter between urban and rural values and ways of life. Good teachers do not only deliver curriculum, they also consider the needs and values of their students, as well as those of the local community. The article discusses how teachers' competence, knowledge and attitudes can affect…

  9. Stroking Stressed-Out Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Black, Susan

    2004-01-01

    Stress seems to be a way of life for teachers. Many teachers describe themselves as over-whelmed. They admit to feeling anxious and apprehensive, especially about meeting the mounting needs of troubled students, doing justice to an all-consuming curriculum, and getting kids ready for a relentless series of tests. According to a study of Midwestern…

  10. Engaging pre-service teachers to teach science contextually with scientific approach instructional video

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Susantini, E.; Kurniasari, I.; Fauziah, A. N. M.; Prastowo, T.; Kholiq, A.; Rosdiana, L.

    2018-01-01

    Contextual teaching and learning (CTL) present new concepts in real experiences and situations, where students can find out the meaningful relationship between abstract ideas and practical applications. Implementation of CTL using scientific approach fosters teachers to find constructive ways of delivering and organizing science contents in science classroom settings. An instructional video for modelling by using a scientific approach in CTL was then developed. Questionnaires with open-ended questions were used to, asking whether modelling through instructional video could help them to teach science contextually with a scientific approach or not. Data for pre-service teachers’ views were analyzed descriptively. The aims of this research are to engage pre-service teachers in learning how to teach CTL and to show how their responses to learning and how to teach CTL using the video. The study showed that ten pre-service teachers in science department were involved, all observed through videos that demonstrated a combined material of CTL and scientific approach and completed worksheets to analyze the video contents. The results show that pre-service teachers could learn to teach contextual teaching and make use of scientific approach in science classroom settings with the help of model in the video.

  11. Engaging Pre-Service Teachers to Teach Science Contextually with Scientific Approach Instructional Video

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Susantini, E.; Kurniasari, I.; Fauziah, A. N. M.; Prastowo, T.; Kholiq, A.; Rosdiana, L.

    2018-01-01

    Contextual teaching and learning/CTL presents new concepts in real-life experiences and situations where students can find out the meaningful relationship between abstract ideas and practical applications. Implementing contextual teaching by using scientific approach will foster teachers to find the constructive ways of delivering and organizing science content. This research developed an instructional video that represented a modeling of using a scientific approach in CTL. The aim of this research are to engage pre-service teachers in learning how to teach CTL and to show how pre-service teachers’ responses about learning how to teach CTL using an instructional video. The subjects of this research were ten pre-service teachers in Department of Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia. All subjects observed the instructional video which demonstrated contextual teaching and learning combined with the scientific approach as they completed a worksheet to analyze the video content. The results showed that pre-service teachers could learn to teach contextually as well as applying the scientific approach in science classroom through a modeling in the instructional video. They also responded that the instructional video could help them to learn to teach each component contextual teaching as well as scientific approach.

  12. Teachers at Work: Improving Teacher Quality through School Design. Education Sector Reports

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silva, Elena

    2009-01-01

    Furman Brown has spent over a decade figuring out how to design a better school. As a first-year teacher in South Central Los Angeles in the early 1990s, he got a taste of what was wrong with the traditional public school model: It was not designed to serve students "or" teachers well. Convinced there was a better way to organize and…

  13. Professional Development That Promotes Powerful Interactions: Using Teacher Book Clubs to Reflect on Quality in Teacher-Child Relationships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Kelley Mayer

    2016-01-01

    For a majority of teachers, traditional professional development workshops lack relevancy and leave teachers on their own to implement what was learned. Workshops are frequently structured in ways in which teachers are seen simply as recipients of information handed down by trainers (a more passive role) versus those who reflect on and construct…

  14. Teachers Pedagogical Change Framework: A Diagnostic Tool for Changing Teachers' Uses of Emerging Technologies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tarling, Isabel; Ng'ambi, Dick

    2016-01-01

    One of the challenges facing education systems in general and the South African education system in particular is how to understand ways that teachers change from nonusers of technologies to becoming transformative teachers with technology. Despite numerous initiatives, not limited to training, workshops and so forth, to bring about sustained and…

  15. The Relationship Between Teachers' Mathematical Content and Pedagogical Knowledge, Teachers' Perceptions, and Student Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Campbell, Patricia F.; Nishio, Masako; Smith, Toni M.; Clark, Lawrence M.; Conant, Darcy L.; Rust, Amber H.; DePiper, Jill Neumayer; Frank, Toya Jones; Griffin, Matthew J.; Choi, Youyoung

    2014-01-01

    This study of early-career teachers identified a significant relationship between upper-elementary teachers' mathematical content knowledge and their students' mathematics achievement, after controlling for student- and teacher-level characteristics. Findings provide evidence of the relevance of teacher knowledge and perceptions for teacher…

  16. A moving imagination in spaces of distress: Teacher and student agency in a science classroom

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adamian, Annie S.

    This qualitative study explored the ways in which our classroom community (students and teacher) engaged with humanizing pedagogy in a seventh grade science classroom, toward the full development (e.g. personal, social, emotional, academic) of our classroom community, and the dismantling of inequitable practices and unjust policies that we recognized in our science classroom, school and/or community while utilizing the process of teacher and student participatory action research (tsPAR) (Adamian, 2015) and Critical Race Praxis for Educational Research (CRP-Ed) (Jayakumar & Adamian, 2015). This study examined the complexities of mutually engaging across differing positionalities while intentionally working in spaces of distress (e.g. push and pull between oppression and liberation). The findings demonstrated the ways in which building a beloved community while situated within an oppressive U.S. schooling system, supported students and teacher toward cultivating pedagogy rooted in love and agency, with a collective commitment toward social justice. As a result, this study contributed toward expanding the possibilities for teaching and learning toward social justice in constricting institutional contexts that honor students and teachers relationships while simultaneously defining for ourselves the purpose of schooling and who we are.

  17. Understanding Changes in Teachers' ICT Practices: A Longitudinal Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Orlando, Joanne

    2009-01-01

    With the introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into schools came the expectation that teachers would adopt ICT and change their practices in particular ways. Research indicates that teachers have not changed in the ways expected. Suggested in this paper is that limitations in current research methodologies documenting…

  18. Unraveling the "Teacher Shortage" Problem: Teacher Retention is the Key.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    2002

    This paper examines how the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future will address the high teacher attrition rates. Sections discuss: "The Conventional Wisdom is Wrong" (it is important to focus on how to keep the good teachers who have been recruited, trained, and hired rather than ask how to find and prepare more teachers); "A Closer…

  19. SETI: another way to find habitable worlds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tarter, Jill

    2003-10-01

    There are currently eleven active SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) programs on telescopes around the world. They operate at microwave and optical frequencies, as either sky surveys or targeted searches in the direction of (primarily) solar-type stars. Each is attempting to detect an electromagnetic biosignature of a technological civilization. Although detectable technologies will be far older than our own, these searches are constrained by our current understanding of physics and the terrestrial technologies available in the 21st century. Moore's Law suggests that most of these detection technologies will improve their capacity exponentially. Thus if any of the current strategies is valid, a thorough exploration of the Milky Way Galaxy should be possible within decades (not centuries), and success, or a significant null-result is predictable. Giving up, incorporating new search strategies based on emergent technologies, or adding beacon transmission to the listening strategies are all future possibilities.

  20. A Study--Isolation Bonuses and Teacher Housing. Project North Findings and Recommendations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wahlstrom, E. G. (Gunnar)

    This study and its recommendations focus on isolation allowances and teacher housing in northern Alberta. The research on isolation allowances addresses the need (1) to develop an equitable isolation allowance plan, or some alternate plan, for providing financial aid to teachers or to Alberta North school systems or both to facilitate recruitment…

  1. Child Behavior Problems, Teacher Executive Functions, and Teacher Stress in Head Start Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Friedman-Krauss, Allison H.; Raver, C. Cybele; Neuspiel, Juliana M.; Kinsel, John

    2014-01-01

    Research Findings: The current article explores the relationship between teachers' perceptions of child behavior problems and preschool teacher job stress, as well as the possibility that teachers' executive functions moderate this relationship. Data came from 69 preschool teachers in 31 early childhood classrooms in 4 Head Start centers and were…

  2. Revisiting "The Widget Effect": Teacher Evaluation Reforms and the Distribution of Teacher Effectiveness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kraft, Matthew A.; Gilmour, Allison F.

    2017-01-01

    In 2009, the New Teacher Project's "The Widget Effect" documented the failure of U.S. public school districts to recognize and act on differences in teacher effectiveness. We revisit these findings by compiling teacher performance ratings across 24 states that adopted major reforms to their teacher evaluation systems. In the vast…

  3. Attracting, Recruiting and Retaining Male Teachers: Policy Issues in the Male Teacher Debate

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mills, Martin; Martino, Wayne; Lingard, Bob

    2004-01-01

    Frequent calls for more male teachers are being made in English-speaking countries. Many of these calls are based upon the fact that the teaching profession has become (even more) 'feminized' and the presumption that this has had negative effects for the education of boys. The employment of more male teachers is sometimes suggested as a way to…

  4. Preparing Science Teachers for the future

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stein, Fredrick

    2002-04-01

    What will teachers need in the future to be successful? What will "successful" mean in the future? Are the teaching approaches learned 40 years ago still relevant for tomorrow's classrooms? Will technology really change the way physics is taught (K-16)? Will we close the performance gap between students of differing ethnicity? Are schools of education rising to the challenge to answer these questions? Can college and university physics departments rise to the challenge of presenting physics to all students in an engaging manner? What can the APS, in partnership with AAPT and AIP, do to find the answers and provide strategies to improve the science preparation of future teachers? PhysTEC aims to help physics and education faculty work together to provide an education for future teachers that emphasizes a student-centered, hands-on, inquiry-based approach to learning science. The compelling evidence produced from Physics Education Research warrants this approach. A National Science Foundation grant of 5.76 million and a 498 thousand grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education support PhysTEC, its partners and activities. http://www.phystec.org/

  5. Science Student Teachers' Preferences for Ways of Learning: Differences and Similarities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Efe, Rifat; Gonen, Selahattin; Maskan, A. Kadir; Hevedanli, Murat

    2011-01-01

    Knowing an individual's learning style is considered important because it can help educators to prepare and develop learning environments in which the individual can enhance his/her learning. In this study, Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Primary science student teachers' learning styles were investigated. The participants were 387 student…

  6. Attitudes of Nigerian Secondary School Teachers to Student Evaluation of Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Joshua, Monday T.; Joshua, Akon M.

    2004-01-01

    This study was designed to assess the attitudes of Nigerian secondary school teachers to student evaluation of teachers (SET), and to find out if the attitudes expressed were influenced by teacher characteristics such as gender, professional status, geographical location, academic qualification and teaching experience. The study was a survey, and…

  7. Theorising Changes in Teachers' Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Christine

    2004-01-01

    This article discusses recurrent themes in the literature about teaching in developed countries: the intensification of work, increased central control, diminished professional autonomy, and fears about the deskilling of teachers. Labour Process theory is used to consider how we might understand the ways in which teachers' work and professionalism…

  8. Deliberate Practice in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bronkhorst, Larike H.; Meijer, Paulien C.; Koster, Bob; Vermunt, Jan D.

    2014-01-01

    Deliberate practice is increasingly recognised as necessary for professional development. This paper sets out to explore in what ways student teachers' learning activities in a teacher education programme can be characterised as deliberate practice. Based on an in-depth exploration of 574 learning activities, our results highlight the different…

  9. Teachers as Agents of Social Change

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bourn, Douglas

    2016-01-01

    Teachers are seen as key actors of change within programmes and projects on global learning. But all too often they are regarded in an instrumental way or as promoters of some form of ideal global teacher. Evidence from the UK and elsewhere suggests that if a pedagogical approach is taken to the role of teachers within the process of learning,…

  10. Understanding Teachers' Perspectives on Student Mental Health: Findings from a National Survey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Froese-Germain, Bernie; Riel, Richard

    2012-01-01

    This 2012 research report, based on a national online survey conducted by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) in collaboration with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, gathers the responses of over 3,900 teachers who voluntarily took part in the survey. Teachers were asked to identify the potential barriers to the provision of mental…

  11. Teachers' Approaches to Finding and Using Research Evidence: An Information Literacy Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Dorothy; Coles, Louisa

    2007-01-01

    Background: The use of research evidence produced by others is seen as central to the reflective practice of school teachers. There have been many recent UK initiatives aimed at improving access to research evidence, but there are still concerns about the lack of engagement by teachers. Previous research has looked at this issue from different…

  12. To See Is Not to Own: Child Study as a Practice of Attention for Beginning Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roosevelt, Dirck

    2011-01-01

    Prospective teachers are often found to have difficulty focusing their attention on students in sustained and constructive ways. Instead, in what is sometimes understood as a developmental matter, beginners may seem highly concerned with their own feelings and needs. This article offers a contrary finding. It examines two cases of prospective…

  13. Peer group reflection helps clinical teachers to critically reflect on their teaching.

    PubMed

    Boerboom, Tobias B B; Jaarsma, Debbie; Dolmans, Diana H J M; Scherpbier, Albert J J A; Mastenbroek, Nicole J J M; Van Beukelen, Peter

    2011-01-01

    Student evaluations can help clinical teachers to reflect on their teaching skills and find ways to improve their teaching. Studies have shown that the mere presentation of student evaluations is not a sufficient incentive for teachers to critically reflect on their teaching. We evaluated and compared the effectiveness of two feedback facilitation strategies that were identical except for a peer reflection meeting. In this study, 54 clinical teachers were randomly assigned to two feedback strategies. In one strategy, a peer reflection was added as an additional step. All teachers completed a questionnaire evaluating the strategy that they had experienced. We analysed the reflection reports and the evaluation questionnaire. Both strategies stimulated teachers to reflect on feedback and formulate alternative actions for their teaching practice. The teachers who had participated in the peer reflection meeting showed deeper critical reflection and more concrete plans to change their teaching. All feedback strategies were considered effective by the majority of the teachers. Strategies with student feedback and self-assessment stimulated reflection on teaching and helped clinical teachers to formulate plans for improvement. A peer reflection meeting seemed to enhance reflection quality. Further research should establish whether it can have lasting effects on teaching quality.

  14. Being and Becoming a Teacher: How African American and White Preservice Teachers Envision Their Future Roles as Teacher Advocates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mawhinney, Lynnette; Rinke, Carol R.; Park, Gloria

    2012-01-01

    This article captures the life histories and professional futures of preservice teachers at three institutions of higher education. In this article, we focus on the experiences and expectations of 4 preservice teachers. We find that, although African American and White preservice teachers both see themselves as advocates for their students, they…

  15. Effective Administrative Support for Able Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Willing, Delight C.

    1979-01-01

    The continuing education administrator should provide support that will enable teachers to perform effectively. By using Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory as a framework, the administrator can develop a positive working environment and seek ways of providing motivation to the teacher. (SK)

  16. The Culturally Responsive Teacher Educator

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gist, Conra D.

    2014-01-01

    Recent research on teacher diversity has highlighted the challenges new teachers of color face when they enter diverse school settings. In this study the pedagogy of three sociopolitically conscious teacher educators is investigated to understand how they tailor preparation for teachers of color. Findings revealed that teacher educators'…

  17. GE STEM Teacher's Conference

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-07-13

    Education Specialists Lynn Dotson, left, of the NASA Public Engagement Center, and Lester Morales, right, of Texas State University's NASA STEM Educator Professional Development Collaborative, explain the Rocketry Engineering Design Challenge to teachers participating in the 2017 GE Foundation High School STEM Integration Conference at the Center for Space Education at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. High school teachers from across the country took part in the week-long conference, which is designed to explore effective ways for teachers, schools and districts from across the country to integrate STEM throughout the curriculum. The conference is a partnership between GE Foundation and the National Science Teachers Association.

  18. Possibilities and Limits of Integrating Science and Diversity Education in Preservice Elementary Teacher Preparation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bravo, Marco A.; Mosqueda, Eduardo; Solís, Jorge L.; Stoddart, Trish

    2014-08-01

    In this paper we present findings from a project that documented the development of preservice teachers' beliefs and practices in delivering science instruction that considers issues of language and culture. Teacher candidates in the intervention group ( n = 65) received a science methods course and teaching practicum experience that provided guidance in teaching science in culturally and linguistically responsive ways. Comparisons between a control group of preservice teachers ( n = 45) and those involved in the intervention yielded stronger beliefs about the efficacy in promoting collaboration in science teaching than the intervention group. Observations of these preservice teachers during their teaching practicum revealed differences in favor of the intervention group in: (a) implementing science instruction that addressed the language and literacy involved in science; (b) using questions that elicited higher order thinking and; (c) providing scaffolds (e.g., purposeful feedback, probing student background knowledge) when confronting abstract scientific concepts. Implications for preservice teacher education are addressed.

  19. Improving teacher perceptions of parent involvement patterns: Findings from a group randomized trial.

    PubMed

    Herman, Keith C; Reinke, Wendy M

    2017-03-01

    For children with the most serious and persistent academic and behavior problems, parent involvement in education, particularly teacher perceptions of involvement, is essential to avert their expected long-term negative outcomes. Despite the widespread interest in and perceived importance of parent involvement in education, however, few experimental studies have evaluated programs and practices to promote it. In this group randomized trial, we examined the effects of the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management program (IY TCM) on teacher perceptions of contact and comfort with parents. One hundred five classrooms with 1818 students were randomly assigned to an IY TCM or to a control, business as usual condition. Measures of key constructs included teacher ratings of parent and student behaviors, direct observations in the classroom, and a standardized academic achievement test. Latent transition analysis (LTA) was used to identify patterns of involvement over time and to determine if intervention condition predicted postintervention patterns and transitions. Four patterns of involvement were identified at baseline and at follow-up; parents of students with academic and behavior problems were most likely to be in classes with the least adaptive involvement patterns. Intervention status predicted group membership at follow-up. Specifically, intervention classroom parents were significantly more likely to transition to more adaptive teacher-rated parenting profiles at follow-up compared to control classroom parents. This is the first randomized trial we are aware of that has found that teacher training can alter teacher perceptions of parent involvement patterns. Clinical implications for students with behavior and academic problems are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Traditional or Alternative--Finding New Teachers along Different Pathways

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reese, Susan

    2010-01-01

    In 2009, the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) brief, "Alternative Certification Programs: Meeting the Demand for Effective Teachers," noted that each state had its own requirements for alternative certification, and while some states and school districts have become more open to alternative certification, other states are very…

  1. English-Language Teachers' Engagement with Research: Findings from Bangladesh

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anwaruddin, Sardar M.; Pervin, Nasrin

    2015-01-01

    In this article, we report on a small-scale study in which we investigated English-language teachers' engagement with educational research. We conceptualized engagement with research as reading and systematically using research for professional development. Using questionnaires and in-depth interviews, we gathered empirical materials from 40…

  2. Science Laboratory Safety: Findings and Implications for Teacher Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swami, Piyush

    1986-01-01

    Summarizes a survey of the condition of high school science laboratories in the greater Cincinnati area (N=36). Reports safety measures undertaken for fire and burn and eye and face protection, waste disposal, storage facilities, and ventilation. Offers suggestions and plans for enriching safety education programs for teachers. (ML)

  3. Plate Tectonics: The Way the Earth Works. Teacher's Guide. LHS GEMS.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cuff, Kevin

    This teacher guide presents a unit on plate tectonics and introduces hands-on activities for students in grades 6-8. In each unit, students act as real scientists and gather evidence by using science process skills such as observing, graphing, analyzing data, designing and making models, visualizing, communicating, theorizing, and drawing…

  4. Supporting Beginning Teacher Planning and Enactment of Investigation-based Science Discussions: The Design and Use of Tools within Practice-based Teacher Education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kademian, Sylvie M.

    explanation construction. Student opportunities to engage in practices that prioritize scientific discourse also occurred when interns were using dialogic voice and the tools designed to foster development of teacher knowledge for facilitating investigation-based science discussions. However, several intern characteristics likely moderated or mediated intern use of tools, dialogic voice, and productive teaching practices to capitalize on student contributions. These characteristics included intern knowledge of the science content and practices and initial beliefs about science teaching. Missed opportunities to use a combination of several teaching practices and tools designed to foster the development of knowledge for science teaching resulted in fewer opportunities for students to engage in data analysis, argumentation based on evidence, and construction of scientific explanations. These findings highlight the potential of teacher-educator provided tools for supporting beginning teachers in learning to facilitate investigation-based discussions that capitalize on student contributions. These findings also help the field conceptualize how beginning teachers use tools and teaching practices to plan and enact investigation-based science lessons, and how intern characteristics relate to tool use and planned and enacted lessons. By analyzing the investigation-based science lessons holistically, this study begins to unpack the complexities of facilitating investigation-based discussions including the interplay between intern characteristics and tool use, and the ways intern engagement in synergistic teaching practices provide opportunities for students to engage in data analysis, explanation construction, and argumentation. This study also describes methodological implications for this type of whole-lesson analysis and comments on the need for further research investigating beginning teachers' use of tools over time. Finally, I propose the need for iterative design of scaffolds to

  5. Teachers with a Passion for the Profession

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phelps, Patricia H.; Benson, Tammy R.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to describe commonalities among teachers who have sustained passion for the teaching profession, identify ways to instill a similar passion in teacher education candidates, and encourage teacher educators to maintain and model an enthusiastic passion. The authors present the results of a study that consisted of…

  6. CO-CREATE: Teachers' Voices to Inform Special Education Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Kirsty

    2018-01-01

    Teacher education is under increasing scrutiny regarding the preparedness of graduates to work in the profession in the early years of their career. To inform a teacher education program on the issues affecting graduates working in the field of special education, 77 special education teachers and principals were surveyed. Findings highlight the…

  7. The DESTIN: Preservice Teachers' Drawings of the Ideal Elementary Science Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mensah, Felicia Moore

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study is to report findings from the Drawing-Elementary-Science-Teacher-Ideal-Not, or the DESTIN procedure. The study utilizes a simple drawing procedure accompanied by a narrative and discussion for understanding preservice teachers' images of science, science teaching, and the science teacher. Ninety drawings from two sections of…

  8. Oral Proficiency Standards and Foreign Language Teacher Candidates: Current Findings and Future Research Directions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glisan, Eileen W.; Swender, Elvira; Surface, Eric A.

    2013-01-01

    The renewed national focus on teacher quality and effectiveness has resulted in more rigorous standards that describe the knowledge and skills required of teacher candidates across all disciplines. In the area of foreign languages, three sets of professional standards address the oral proficiency of teachers in the target languages they teach…

  9. Teacher Job Satisfaction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marlow, Leslie; And Others

    The objective of this study of teachers located in the Northwestern United States was to examine their reasons for considering leaving the teaching ranks. The research analyzed teacher perceptions in order to achieve a clearer understanding of the realities of the work place and how they affect a teacher's decision to leave. The findings reported…

  10. Evidence, explanations, and recommendations for teachers' field trip strategies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rebar, Bryan

    their practices. A subset of eight teachers were interviewed using guided conversations in order to shed further light on their use of the aquarium field trip and their pedagogical preparation. Data from all sources were organized by repeating ideas relevant to the questions of interest. The resulting evidence was interpreted to support distinct categories of teacher strategies and experience and related claims about these strategies and experiences. Thus, findings reveal that teachers attempt to link the curriculum to the activities, resources, and content encountered on the trip using a variety of connections. However, these curriculum connections are characterized as products of opportunistic situations and reveal limited depth. Evidence further indicates that teachers treat the aquarium visit as a background experience for their students rather than as an opportunity to introduce new concepts or do an activity that is integrated into the curriculum. Nevertheless, teachers included in this study were leading field trips that created countless learning opportunities for their students. Because training specific to field trips is rarely included in preservice programs, teachers were asked about influences on their field trip practice with specific focus on observed strategies. Findings suggest four categories of training experiences that teachers apply to their practice: (1) informal mentoring; (2) past experience trip leading; (3) outdoor education training; (4) traditional education training. Overall findings along with a review of previous research are suggestive of many ways in which efforts to enhance students' learning opportunities may be developed by means of support for teachers. Foremost among recommendations is the idea that field trip pedagogy be integrated into science methods courses required for preservice teachers (the premise for the final manuscript). Furthermore, the findings of this study may serve as a starting point for museums interested in the

  11. Teachers Should Be Human Too.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andrew, Michael D.

    This document indicates the practices and goals needed in educational programs in order to create more humanistic teachers. To illustrate the content and methods of more humanistic teacher education, four areas are discussed: a) the development of knowledge and skill in characteristically human ways of knowledge acquisition and means of…

  12. Adapting Math Instruction to Support Prospective Elementary Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    LeSage, Ann

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Elementary teachers' understanding of mathematics is a significant contributor to student success with mathematics. Consequently, teacher educators are frequently charged with the responsibility of supporting the development of prospective elementary teachers' mathematics content knowledge as they re-learn concepts in ways they are…

  13. Developing Teachers' Leadership Knowledge: Pillars for the "New Reform"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neumann, Maureen D.; Jones, Laura C.; Webb, P. Taylor

    2007-01-01

    This work describes how teacher education programs can inform teachers' knowledge and practice of leadership. We introduce a leadership typology to illustrate how teachers can lead organizational reform for pedagogical excellence and socially just practices. The model provides teacher educators ways to identify and resolve conflicts generated by…

  14. The Transcendent Teacher-Learner Relationship: A Class Investigation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Hara, Hunter

    2005-01-01

    As children's challenges and needs climb at an alarming rate, teachers are called to a new pedagogy, called to move beyond the barriers of the past. Moreover, to meet the needs of all learners effectively, teachers must relate to children in new ways that transcend the obstacles that have long stood in the way of meaningful learning. All children,…

  15. Teacher Mentoring as a Community Effort

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bradley-Levine, Jill; Lee, Jean Sangmin; Mosier, Gina

    2016-01-01

    This article presents the findings from a study of a mentoring program for novice mathematics and science teachers, which was provided by their teacher education program. This study reports the findings of interviews with novice math and science teachers, their mentors, and the mentoring program administrators to explore stakeholder perceptions of…

  16. Helping Students Make Meaning of Authentic Investigations: Findings from a Student-Teacher-Scientist Partnership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peker, Deniz; Dolan, Erin

    2012-01-01

    As student-teacher-scientist partnerships become more widespread, there is a need for research to understand the roles assumed by scientists and teachers as they interact with students in general and in inquiry learning environments in particular. Although teacher roles during inquiry learning have been studied, there is a paucity of research…

  17. Impact of Teacher Supports and Workplace Settings on Retaining Teachers in New Jersey Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cheasty, Michelle E.

    2011-01-01

    Teacher turnover in New Jersey public schools continues to grow every year. As a result, schools and school districts are continuously seeking ways to ensure that every position available is staffed with highly qualified teachers. In addition, schools seek to provide familiarity and stability to those involved with the schools. In an effort to…

  18. Seeing, Hearing, and Talking Race: Lessons for White Teachers from Four Teachers of Color

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Michie, Gregory

    2007-01-01

    As student populations in K-12 schools in the United States continue to diversify and the teaching force remains largely White, cross-cultural teaching is an increasingly common phenomenon. In this article, a White teacher educator draws upon interviews with four teachers of color who work in Chicago public schools to examine ways White teachers…

  19. Learning by doing? Prospective elementary teachers' developing understandings of scientific inquiry and science teaching and learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haefner, Leigh Ann; Zembal-Saul, Carla

    This study examined prospective elementary teachers' learning about scientific inquiry in the context of an innovative life science course. Research questions included: (1) What do prospective elementary teachers learn about scientific inquiry within the context of the course? and (2) In what ways do their experiences engaging in science investigations and teaching inquiry-oriented science influence prospective elementary teachers' understanding of science and science learning and teaching? Eleven prospective elementary teachers participated in this qualitative, multi-participant case study. Constant comparative analysis strategies attempted to build abstractions and explanations across participants around the constructs of the study. Findings suggest that engaging in scientific inquiry supported the development more appropriate understandings of science and scientific inquiry, and that prospective teachers became more accepting of approaches to teaching science that encourage children's questions about science phenomena. Implications include careful consideration of learning experiences crafted for prospective elementary teachers to support the development of robust subject matter knowledge.

  20. Ways to Prepare Future Teachers to Teach Science in Multicultural Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Billingsley, Berry

    2016-01-01

    Roussel De Carvalho uses the notion of superdiversity to draw attention to some of the pedagogical implications of teaching science in multicultural schools in cosmopolitan cities such as London. De Carvalho makes the case that if superdiverse classrooms exist then Science Initial Teacher Education has a role to play in helping future science…

  1. Who Wants to Become a Teacher? Typology of Student-Teachers' Commitment to Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moses, Ikupa; Berry, Amanda; Saab, Nadira; Admiraal, Wilfried

    2017-01-01

    Understanding student-teachers' decisions to enter and stay in the teaching profession after graduation could help teacher educators to find appropriate procedures to enhance commitment to teaching. This study classified student-teachers based on their levels of commitment to teaching, and described these types based on student-teachers'…

  2. Urban Teacher Stress: A Critical Literature Review.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodman, Victor Brian

    This review of literature on stress among teachers in urban schools examines the stress concept as it is defined in medicine, psychology, and teaching; causes of teacher stress; the nature of the stress response in teachers; ways of coping with stress and the effects of various stress reduction techniques; economic and educational costs of teacher…

  3. Transforming Future Teachers' Ideas about Writing Instruction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Florio-Ruane, Susan; Lensmire, Timothy J.

    A course was developed which offers opportunities for prospective teachers to transform their prior experiences with teaching, writing, and children as they began to assume the role of the teacher. The course breaks with the ordinary understanding of beginning teachers in three ways: (1) instead of placing writing in genre boxes, writing is viewed…

  4. Teachers' selection and enactment of mathematical problems from textbooks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Son, Ji-Won; Kim, Ok-Kyeong

    2015-12-01

    In order to investigate how teachers' use of textbooks creates different kinds of opportunities for student learning, this study focused on teachers' selection and enactment of problems and tasks from the textbooks and their influence on the cognitive demand placed on students. By drawing on data from three elementary teachers in the USA, two of which used a reform-oriented textbook— Math Trailblazers and one a commercially developed textbook—this study examined kinds of problems the teachers chose and ways in which they enacted those problems in relation to the cognitive demand of the problems. In particular, we attended to the kinds of questions the teachers asked in enacting the problems and ways in which those questions influenced the cognitive demand of the textbook problems. This study also identified critical issues involved in teacher decision-making on task selection and enactment, such as the match between teachers' goals and those of the textbooks, and teachers' perception of textbook problems. Based on the results of the study, we discuss implications for teacher education and professional development.

  5. Students' and teachers' cognitions about good teachers.

    PubMed

    Beishuizen, J J; Hof, E; van Putten, C M; Bouwmeester, S; Asscher, J J

    2001-06-01

    Good teachers have been studied ever since Plato described how Socrates taught by asking questions of his audience. Recent findings shed light on two characteristics of good teachers: their personality and their ability. However, more attention has been paid to teachers' practices and opinions than to students' views. The study reported here attempted to deepen our understanding of what students think about good teachers. Students of four age groups (7, 10, 13, and 16 years of age) and teachers from primary and secondary schools were asked to write an essay on the good teacher. The correspondence between conceptual items in the essays was investigated by determining the extent to which they were used in the same essays to describe good teachers. Correspondence analysis revealed two dimensions. The first dimension reflected the preference of students and teachers for describing the good teacher in terms of either personality or ability characteristics. The second dimension was interpreted as an orientation in the essays towards either attachment to, detachment from or commitment to school and teachers. Students and teachers were compared to establish the amount of (dis)agreement about what makes a good teacher. Primary school students described good teachers primarily as competent instructors, focusing on transfer of knowledge and skills, whereas secondary school students emphasised relational aspects of good teachers. Teachers, however, considered good teachers in the first place a matter of establishing personal relationships with their students. Consequently, primary school students and teachers disagreed about the characteristics of good teachers. In secondary education, disagreements between teachers and students were relatively small. The research method of collecting free essays and utilising correspondence analysis to represent conceptual items and groups of participants seems promising as long as a theoretical framework is available to interpret the

  6. Modeling Secondary Instructional Strategies in a Teacher Education Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watson, Sandy White; Bradley, Janetta Fleming

    2009-01-01

    In most teacher education courses, instructional strategies are merely listed and explained. Students rarely have the opportunity to see these strategies in use until they become student teachers. What better way to teach secondary instructional strategies to pre-service teachers than by modeling these strategies using teacher education content?…

  7. Using Interactive Video to Develop Preservice Teachers' Classroom Awareness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fadde, Peter; Sullivan, Patricia

    2013-01-01

    This study investigates the use of interactive video in teacher education as a way of laying the cognitive groundwork for developing teacher self-reflection. Two interactive video approaches were designed to help early preservice teachers (novices) align what they observed in classroom teaching videos of other preservice teachers with what…

  8. The Nerdy Teacher: Pedagogical Identities for a Digital Age

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hull, Glynda; Scott, John; Higgs, Jennifer

    2014-01-01

    Professional learning around digital media often focuses on tool use and neglects consideration of teachers as interested, creative producers of digital media artifacts. The best way to help teachers learn about and adapt technology in their classrooms is by immersing them in hands-on work in the same way their students use social networks and…

  9. Conversations about the Moon with Prospective Teachers in Japan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suzuki, Mariko

    2003-01-01

    As an instructor in courses for prospective teachers, I am interested in my students' ideas and ways in which they reconstruct their ideas in conversations about science. In the case study presented here, I reflect upon (a) ways in which I engaged prospective teachers in thinking together about their observations of a natural phenomenon, the…

  10. Understanding Writing: Ways of Observing, Learning, and Teaching. K-8. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newkirk, Thomas, Ed.; Atwell, Nancie, Ed.

    Written by teachers of elementary school students, the 30 articles in this collection are designed to provide insights into the way children learn to write and to encourage teachers to examine their own theories and perceptions of writing and writing instruction. The articles are grouped in six sections, covering beginning writing, collaborative…

  11. Embarking on the Teaching Journey: Pre-Service Teachers Reflecting upon Themselves as Future Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lyngsnes, Kitt Margaret

    2012-01-01

    This article reports on a research study that examined 25 reflective papers written by pre-service teachers a few weeks into attending primary teacher education. The overall aim of the study was to gain insight into the students' thoughts and ways of reflecting as a basis for taking action to improve lecturing, tasks and exercises which promote…

  12. Responding to Teacher Shortages: Relationships among Mobility Experiences, Attitudes, and Intentions of Dutch Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Geffen, Renske E.; Poell, Rob F.

    2014-01-01

    From all over the world there have been calls from governmental institutions to address a shortage of high quality teachers. As changing jobs generates new experiences, job mobility could be a way for teachers to adhere to the government's call to develop themselves into the teaching force needed. The research question of this study was: How do…

  13. Teacher training: the quick fix that stuck.

    PubMed

    Coldevin, G

    1988-01-01

    Of all the strategies for coping with teacher shortages that have been attempted, the effort that has gained the most ground in the past 20 years involves recruiting untrained or unqualified teachers pressing them into service, and then bringing them up to pedagogical or academic certification through distance education. The benefits of this approach include: for teachers, home-based study means attaining professional certification or academic upgrading without interrupting earnings; in-service training obviates the problem of finding substitute teachers who may have poorer qualifications than the teachers they are replacing; in-situ training reduces the possibility of urban migration that may result when college-based trainees do not want to return to their rural posts; and larger numbers of teachers can be served at 1 time and at lower costs than with campus-based instruction. According to the available studies, training costs for distance education students are typically 1/4 to 1/2 as expensive as conventional instruction. At least 50 3rd world countries are estimated to be involved in some form of distance teacher training. Mostly, countries combine correspondence with broadcasting and other support media, correspondence with occasional face-to-face sessions, and the 3-way combination of print/broadcasting/occasional residential teaching approaches. The broadcast medium typically is radio, but some programs, particularly programs offered by distance education universities, use television also. Tutorial counseling and local resource center support vary considerably and represent the most pressing challenges to the bulk of operations. 4 systems initiated during the 1980s in Pakistan, Burma, Zimbabwe, and Kenya are presented to illustrate the need for distance education training and the diversity of distance education methods.

  14. Envisioning New Technologies in Teacher Practice: Moving Forward, Circling Back Using a Teacher Action Research Approach. New Literacies and Digital Epistemologies. Volume 47

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strong-Wilson, Teresa, Ed.

    2012-01-01

    How do classroom teachers envision new technologies within their practice? In the conversation on incorporating new technologies into classrooms, teachers are often sidelined. "Envisioning New Technologies in Teacher Practice" looks at the complex ways in which teachers move forward to embrace change as well as how they circle back, continually…

  15. Lighting the way: photonics leaders II (PL2) optics and photonics teacher professional development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gilchrist, Pamela O.; Hilliard-Clark, Joyce; Bowles, Tuere; Carpenter, Eric

    2014-07-01

    A sample group of nineteen teachers completed the second phase of the Photonics Leaders II Optics and Photonics professional development program. Participants took a basic Physics content knowledge test that was designed by a Professor of Physics. The test was completed before the teachers participated in the program and at the end of the program to gather data for statistical inquiry. Statistical studies on pre-test and post-test data indicated significant gains in physics content knowledge over time, and that instructors teaching at the middle school level or only teaching one subject area scored significantly lower during the pretest. Reports from previous participants are summarized to disseminate the percentage of teachers who have incorporated at least one workshop activity and the kind of activity performed. The concerns and limitations reported by previous participants are reviewed as well.

  16. Supervision of Student Teachers: Objective Observation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neide, Joan

    1996-01-01

    By keeping accurate records, student teacher supervisors can present concrete evidence about physical education student teachers' classroom performance. The article describes various ways to collect objective data, including running records, at-task records, verbal flow records, class traffic records, interaction analysis records, and global scan…

  17. Music Teachers' Computer Anxiety and Self-Efficacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kiliç, Deniz Beste Çevik

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to examine the computer anxiety and self-efficacy of music teachers in terms of different variables. The research is implemented on 124 music teachers. A personal information form and scales of Computer Anxiety and Self Efficacy are implemented on 124 music teachers. Data are analyzed with one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and…

  18. Power-sharing Partnerships: Teachers' Experiences of Participatory Methodology.

    PubMed

    Ferreira, Ronél; Ebersöhn, Liesel; Mbongwe, Bathsheba B

    2015-01-01

    This article reports on the experiences of teachers as coresearchers in a long-term partnership with university researchers, who participated in an asset-based intervention project known as Supportive Teachers, Assets and Resilience (STAR). In an attempt to inform participatory research methodology, the study investigated how coresearchers (teachers) experienced power relations. We utilized Gaventa's power cube as a theoretical framework and participatory research as our methodologic paradigm. Ten teachers of a primary school in the Eastern Cape and five teachers of a secondary school in a remote area in the Mpumalanga Province in South Africa participated (n=15). We employed multiple data generation techniques, namely Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) activities, observation, focus group discussions, and semistructured interviews, using thematic analysis and categorical aggregation for data analysis. We identified three themes, related to the (1) nature of power in participatory partnerships, (2) coreasearchers' meaning making of power and partnerships, and their (3) role in taking agency. Based on these findings, we developed a framework of power sharing partnerships to extend Gaventa's power cube theory. This framework, and its five interrelated elements (leadership as power, identifying vision and mission, synergy, interdependent role of partners, and determination), provide insight into the way coresearchers shared their experiences of participatory research methodology. We theorise power-sharing partnerships as a complimentary platform hosting partners' shared strengths, skills, and experience, creating synergy in collaborative projects.

  19. Partnerships with Cultural Organisations: A Case for Partnerships Developed by Teacher Educators for Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lemon, Narelle; Weller, Jacolyn

    2015-01-01

    New ways of working in teacher education are currently being highlighted, especially in relation to partnerships. One type of partnership that is under utilised is that with cultural organisations. This paper reports on two projects where the authors work with preservice teachers in partnership with a wildlife sanctuary and a national gallery.…

  20. Introducing Curriculum Innovations in Science: Identifying Teachers' Transformations and the Design of Related Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pinto, Roser

    2005-01-01

    This paper introduces the four research papers in this paper set, which all derive from a European research project, STTIS (Science Teacher Training in an Information Society). The central concern of the project was to study curriculum innovations in science, and to investigate ways in which teachers transform these innovations when putting them…

  1. Preservice Teachers' Identity Development during the Teaching Internship

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nghia, Tran Le Huu; Tai, Huynh Ngoc

    2017-01-01

    This article reports the analysis of two preservice teachers' narratives to highlight the process of teacher identity development during their teaching internship. The analysis showed that their teacher identities had been shaped before they entered the teacher education program where it continued to be shaped by educational experts. In that way,…

  2. Exploring Potentialities for Cosmopolitan Learning in Swedish Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scheja, Max

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to explore student teachers' experiences of learning in teacher education, with a focus on how students describe their ways of thinking about their own learning in relation to their future professional role as teachers and how these descriptions relate to emerging cosmopolitan visions for student learning in teacher education.…

  3. Schoolyard Lessons: More and More Schools Are Finding Ways To Take Education Outdoors.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boss, Suzie

    2001-01-01

    School gardens can teach kids about cooperation, nature, science, creativity, and community service. Gardens also help teachers address students' diverse needs and interests. Tips for school gardeners include: make it easy to use, keep groups small, be inclusive, build partnerships, have clear rules, think year-round, have fun, and celebrate…

  4. Every teacher an English teacher? Literacy strategy teaching and research in the content area of science education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buckingham, Thomas

    Recent statements from teachers of English and literacy (NCTE, 2007) have voiced the failure of schools to help minority students and ELLs close the literacy achievement gap and the responsibility of all teachers to help with this endeavor. Central to this effort in secondary schools are the content area teachers, as their subjects constitute the bulk of school day instruction. While there have been small studies and field reports of what content teachers are or are not teaching in the way of literacy instruction (Fisher and Ivey, 2005; Verplaste, 1996, 1998; Vacca and Vacca 1989), researchers have not had success measuring the literacy practices of content area teachers in a broad-based study. This study focuses specifically on what many researchers in both the content literacy and ESL fields have emphasized for promoting literacy in the classroom---teaching metacognitive strategies. Twelve metacognitive functions derived from a literacy strategies handbook are employed as a means to ascertain strategy usage within the lessons whether specifically known content strategies are named or not. The initial analysis is performed on over 100 lesson plans hosted at four prominent university science education sites, all within a five year period (2003-7). In addition to the lesson plan analysis, a review of 100 articles taken from five on-line science education journals reveal what the science education field addresses this issue. Findings suggest that while 80% of science teachers include some type of strategic teaching and learning in their lessons, only about 20% of science teachers explicitly utilize strategies as listed in content literacy manuals and promoted by literacy and ESL experts. Rather, most science teachers implicitly include these strategies within their lessons and/or promote their own subject-specific strategies in content teaching. Analysis of science education research and publications shows that there is a focus on literacy and specifically strategic

  5. Teacher Participation in Online Communities: Why Do Teachers Want to Participate in Self-Generated Online Communities of K-12 Teachers?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hur, Jung Won; Brush, Thomas A.

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine reasons for teacher participation in online communities of K-12 teachers. The authors interviewed 23 teachers from three self-generated online communities and analyzed more than 2,000 postings in those communities. The findings indicated five reasons for participation: (a) sharing emotions, (b) utilizing…

  6. Investigating the Influence of Teachers' Characteristics on the Teacher-Student Relations from Students' Perspective at Ilam University of Medical Sciences.

    PubMed

    Maleki, Farajolah; Talaei, Mehri Hosein; Moghadam, Seyed Rahmatollah Mousavi; Shadigo, Shahryar; Taghinejad, Hamid; Mirzaei, Alireza

    2017-06-01

    Establishing an effective teacher-student relationship may affect the quality of learning. Such a complex human relationship may be influenced by various factors in addition to teacher and student. The present study aimed at investigating the influence of teacher characteristics on the Teacher-student relationship from students' perspective. In this descriptive-survey research, statistical population included 1500 students at Ilam University of Medical Sciences Ilam, Iran. Out of which 281 students were selected by simple random sampling, they received and completed series of questionnaires. Data was collected using a researcher-made questionnaire containing 37 Likert type items from which five items measured demographic profile of participants and 32 items measured impact of teacher's characteristics upon the teacher-student relationship. Data was analysed by SPSS software version 16 using descriptive statistics, t-test and One way ANOVA. The current study included 281 students (117 (41.6%) male, 164 (58.4%) female) studying at Ilam University of Medical Sciences. The effect of teachers' characteristics on the teacher-student relationship from the students' perspective in three areas (personal, professional and scientific) scored 4.37±0.54, 4.05±0.27, and 3.91±0.44, respectively. The highest score was related to "respect for students" (Mean=4.74, SD=0.55) and the lowest score was dedicated to 'gender' (Mean=2.40, SD= 0.64). Effect of other studied parameters was also higher than the average level. The findings indicated that teacher-student relationship and consequently the quality of education was overshadowed by the overall characteristics of teacher (namely-personal, professional and scientific). Notably, coupled with the professional and scientific properties of the teacher, his/ her communication skills may also help to provide a favourable learning condition for the students. Therefore, attention to the education of scientific as well as professional

  7. Case Study of Instructional Innovation among Elementary Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCracklin, Patricia

    2012-01-01

    In one mid-western elementary school, teachers received training designed to change their teaching methods in their classrooms. Research has shown teachers have difficulty changing teaching behaviors. The research questions addressed teachers' beliefs and understandings of teaching in a new way. The theoretical framework for this study is…

  8. Learning from Preservice Teachers' Thoughts about Teaching in Urban Schools: Implications for Teacher Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bauml, Michelle; Castro, Antonio J.; Field, Sherry L.; Morowski, Deborah L.

    2016-01-01

    Preparing new teachers to work in urban schools has become a priority for many teacher education programs. This study explored 20 preservice teachers' responses to a scenario about working in an urban school as a beginning teacher. Specific attention was placed on what participants believed were key challenges and concerns. Findings indicated that…

  9. How teachers can help learners build storage and retrieval strength.

    PubMed

    Desy, Janeve; Busche, Kevin; Cusano, Ronald; Veale, Pamela; Coderre, Sylvain; McLaughlin, Kevin

    2018-04-01

    To be an effective teacher, content expertise is necessary but alone does not guarantee optimal learning outcomes for students. In this article, the authors discuss ways in which medical teachers can shape the learning of their students and enable them to become more efficient and effective learners. Using Bjork and Bjork's new theory of disuse as their framework, the authors discuss strategies to improve storage strength of to-be-learned information and strategies to improve retrieval strength of learned information. Strategies to improve storage strength include optimizing cognitive load, providing causal explanations, and giving effective feedback. Strategies to improve retrieval strength include situated cognition and various types of retrieval practice. Adopting these teaching strategies should hopefully help teachers improve the learning outcomes of their students, but there is still a need for further research into the science of learning and the science of instruction, including comparative effectiveness of different teaching strategies and how best to translate findings from the psychology literature into medical education.

  10. Tech Talk for Social Studies Teachers: Using the Internet to Explore the French Revolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Street, Chris

    2005-01-01

    Although the mandate to promote information literacy in the classroom is no longer a new one, many teachers still struggle to find trustworthy Web sites and tools that allow them to meet that challenge in a meaningful way. The Internet is an exciting and powerful tool for research and learning. It also is one of the ultimate conduits for freedom…

  11. The impact of a student-teacher-scientist partnership (STSP) on students' and teachers' content knowledge and attitudes toward science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Houseal, Ana K.

    Engaging elementary students in science through inquiry-based methodologies is at the center of science education reform efforts (AAAS, 1989, NRC 1996, 2000). Through scientific problem solving, students can learn that science is more than just learning facts and concepts (NRC, 2000) The process of scientific inquiry, as a way of approaching scientific problem solving, can be taught to students through experiential, authentic (or real-world) science experiences. Student-teacher-scientist partnerships (STSPs) are one vehicle used to connect students to these science experiences with practicing research scientists. However, the literature on STSPs demonstrates they are fraught with challenges and very little is known of their effects on teachers' and students' content knowledge growth or changes in their attitudes about science and scientists. This study addressed these two areas by researching a particular STSP. The STSP, called Students, Teachers, and Rangers and Research Scientists (STaRRS), designed to be incorporated into the existing long-standing education program Expedition: Yellowstone! (E:Y!) was the focus of this study. For teachers, a pre-test, intervention, post-test research design addressing content knowledge gains, attitude changes, and pedagogical changes was used. A quasi-experimental pre- post-test design using treatment and comparison groups of students addressed content knowledge gains and attitude changes. Findings provided evidence of significant positive shifts in teachers' attitudes regarding science and scientists, and trends of shifting pedagogical choices made by teachers. Students showed significant content knowledge gains and an increased positive attitude regarding their perceptions of scientists.

  12. Organizing Physics Teacher Professional Education around Productive Habit Development: A Way to Meet Reform Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Etkina, Eugenia; Gregorcic, Bor; Vokos, Stamatis

    2017-01-01

    Extant literature on teacher preparation suggests that preservice teachers learn best when they are immersed in a community that allows them to develop dispositions, knowledge, and practical skills and share with the community a strong vision of what good teaching entails. However, even if the requisite dispositions, knowledge, and skills in…

  13. Primary Teacher Educators' Perception of Desired and Achieved Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Geography Education in Primary Teacher Training

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blankman, Marian; van der Schee, Joop; Volman, Monique; Boogaard, Marianne

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents the findings of a study conducted among primary geography teacher educators. The research examines the perceptions of educators of primary teacher students' desired and achieved levels of substantial knowledge, syntactic knowledge, and beliefs about the subject of geography. The findings indicate that primary teacher educators…

  14. Laptops for Teachers: Practices and Possibilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cowie, Bronwen; Jones, Alister; Harlow, Ann

    2011-01-01

    The Laptops for Teachers scheme in New Zealand provides teachers whose schools opt into the scheme access to a laptop for their exclusive use. This paper reports on the findings of the three-year evaluation of the impact of the laptops on secondary teachers' work. The findings indicate that school leadership has been pivotal to the provision of…

  15. Investigating Elementary Teachers' Thinking About and Learning to Notice Students' Science Ideas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luna, Melissa Jo

    Children naturally use observations and everyday thinking to construct explanations as to why phenomena happen in the world. Science instruction can benefit by starting with these ideas to help children build coherent scientific understandings of how the physical world works. To do so, science teaching must involve attending to students' ideas so that those ideas become the basis for learning. Yet while science education reform requires teachers to pay close attention to their students' ideas, we know little about what teachers think this means in practice. To examine this issue, my dissertation research is two-fold. First, I examine teacher thinking by investigating how teachers understand what it means to pay attention to students' science ideas. Specifically, using new digital technology, three participating teachers captured moments of student thinking in the midst of instruction. Analysis of these moments reveals that teachers capture many different kinds of moments containing students' ideas and think about students' science ideas in different ways at different times. In particular, these three teachers most often think about students' ideas as being (a) from authority, (b) from experience, and (c) under construction. Second, I examine teacher learning through the development of an innovative science teaching video club model. The model differs from previous research on video clubs in several key ways in an attempt to focus teachers on student thinking in a sustained way. I investigate the ways in which this model was effective for engaging teachers in noticing and making sense of their students' science ideas during one implementation. Results indicate that teachers talked about student thinking early, often, and in meaningful ways. Science education leaders have recognized the potential of science teaching video clubs as a form of professional development, and the model presented in this work promotes the conditions for successful teacher learning. This

  16. Teacher Attitudes toward Career Ladder.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dickson, LouAnn

    An evaluation of teacher attitudes toward a public schools career ladder program is presented. Survey questionnaires mailed to 3,239 administrators, nonprogram teachers, and participating teachers elicited 1,683 returns for a 52 percent response rate. Findings indicate that the majority of teachers favored continuation of the career ladder…

  17. Coping with Stress in the Special Education Classroom: Can Individual Teachers More Effectively Manage Stress?. ERIC Digest #E545.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brownell, Mary

    This digest discusses why special education teachers may become stressed by role overload and lack of autonomy, and presents strategies for successfully managing stresses related to teaching. Strategies include: (1) setting realistic expectations; (2) making distinctions between job and personal life; (3) finding ways to exercise professional…

  18. Reclaiming Instructional Supervision: Using Solution-Focused Strategies to Promote Teacher Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stark, Marcella D.; McGhee, Marla W.; Jimerson, Jo Beth

    2017-01-01

    To positively affect teacher quality, instructional leaders must engage teachers in ways that support improved practice and seek to empower teachers as creative and knowledgeable risk takers. A collaborative, strengths-based approach that promotes teacher growth, rather than one that conditions teachers to await administrator directive or…

  19. Negotiating science and engineering: an exploratory case study of a reform-minded science teacher

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guzey, S. Selcen; Ring-Whalen, Elizabeth A.

    2018-05-01

    Engineering has been slowly integrated into K-12 science classrooms in the United States as the result of recent science education reforms. Such changes in science teaching require that a science teacher is confident with and committed to content, practices, language, and cultures related to both science and engineering. However, from the perspective of the science teacher, this would require not only the development of knowledge and pedagogies associated with engineering, but also the construction of new identities operating within the reforms and within the context of their school. In this study, a middle school science teacher was observed and interviewed over a period of nine months to explore his experiences as he adopted new values, discourses, and practices and constructed his identity as a reform-minded science teacher. Our findings revealed that, as the teacher attempted to become a reform-minded science teacher, he constantly negotiated his professional identities - a dynamic process that created conflicts in his classroom practices. Several differences were observed between the teacher's science and engineering instruction: hands-on activities, depth and detail of content, language use, and the way the teacher positioned himself and his students with respect to science and engineering. Implications for science teacher professional development are discussed.

  20. Greek Teachers' Experience and Perceptions of Child Abuse/Neglect

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bibou-Nakou, I.; Markos, A.

    2017-01-01

    The present paper focuses on teachers' experiences of child abuse/neglect cases, teachers' awareness of reporting or discounting, and their ways of responding to a hypothetical disclosure of abuse/neglect. A total of 1877 teachers in Greek public schools participated from a national teacher in-service training across the country; of them, 306…

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