Sample records for teachers teaching teachers

  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. Teachers Teaching Teachers (T3). Volume 6, Number 3

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Armstrong, Anthony, Ed.

    2010-01-01

    "Teachers Teaching Teachers" ("T3") focuses on coaches' roles in the professional development of teachers. Each issue also explores the challenges and rewards that teacher leaders encounter. This issue includes: (1) Teaching English Language Learners: Mainstream Teachers Make a Stellar Journey as a Team to Transform Classroom Practices (Elsa M.…

  3. Teachers Teaching Teachers (T3)[TM]. Volume 4, Number 7

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    von Frank, Valerie, Ed.

    2009-01-01

    "Teachers Teaching Teachers" ("T3") focuses on coaches' roles in the professional development of teachers. Each issue also explores the challenges and rewards that teacher leaders encounter. This issue includes: (1) Learning Cycle Spins Individuals into a Team (Valerie von Frank); (2) NSDC Tool: The Professional Teaching and Learning Cycle; (3)…

  4. Physics Teachers' Future Teaching Plans

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Physics Teacher, 2012

    2012-01-01

    There are two sides of the physics teacher turnover equation: teachers leaving and teachers entering. This month we will focus on teachers' future teaching plans. As seen in the figure, about 5% of the 27,000 teachers who taught physics in U.S. high schools in 2008-09 were in their first year of teaching physics (but not necessarily their first…

  5. 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.

  6. Physics teachers' future teaching plans

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2012-03-01

    There are two sides of the physics teacher turnover equation: teachers leaving and teachers entering. This month we will focus on teachers' future teaching plans. As seen in the figure, about 5% of the 27,000 teachers who taught physics in U.S. high schools in 2008-09 were in their first year of teaching physics (but not necessarily their first year of leaching at the high school level). Of those, about 9% planned to quit teaching; less than 3.5% of the experienced teachers planned to quit at the end of the current school year. The higher attrition rate among first-year teachers is common across all high school teachers—and other careers—as people enter new fields and then leave quickly for various reasons.

  7. Preservice Teachers' Teacher Efficacy Beliefs and Constructivist-Based Teaching Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Temiz, Tugba; Topcu, Mustafa Sami

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between preservice teachers' (PTs) teacher efficacy beliefs and their constructivist-based teaching practices. Data were gathered through the questionnaire (Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale) and the observation protocol (Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol) administered to the…

  8. Teachers Teaching Teachers (T3)[TM]. Volume 5, Number 3

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crow, Tracy, Ed.

    2009-01-01

    "Teachers Teaching Teachers" ("T3") focuses on coaches' roles in the professional development of teachers. Each issue also explores the challenges and rewards that teacher leaders encounter. This issue includes: (1) Building Bridges: Data Help Instructional Coach Make Vital Connections with Teachers (Theresa Long); (2) NSDC Tool: Instructional…

  9. Chinese Tertiary Teachers' Goal Orientations for Teaching and Teaching Approaches: The Mediation of Teacher Engagement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yin, Hongbiao; Han, Jiying; Lu, Genshu

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of Chinese tertiary teachers' goal orientations for teaching on their approaches to teaching mediated by teacher engagement. In a survey of 597 Chinese tertiary teachers, the respondents placed particular emphasis on relational and mastery goals and expressed a preference for student-focused approaches to…

  10. Correlation between Teaching Styles of Candidate Music Teachers and Mentor Music Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahmethan, Nurtug Bariseri

    2016-01-01

    Music teacher candidates spend part of their Bachelor education in practice schools with mentor teachers before starting work. Observing music teachers in the classroom empower candidates to understand how music teaching and learning occur in classrooms, and also enlightens them on how mentor teachers teach, which then expands their awareness…

  11. Pre-Service Teachers' Views of Inquiry Teaching and Their Responses to Teacher Educators' Feedback on Teaching Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yoon, Hye-Gyoung; Kim, Mijung; Kim, Byoung Sug; Joung, Yong Jae; Park, Young-Shin

    2013-01-01

    This study attempted to explore 15 Korean elementary pre-service teachers' views of inquiry teaching. During a science teaching methods course, pre-service teachers implemented a peer teaching lesson, had a group discussion to reflect on five teacher educators' comments on their first peer teaching practice, and revised and re-taught the lesson as…

  12. Planning for What Kind of Teaching? Supporting Cooperating Teachers as Teachers of Planning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norman, Patricia J.

    2011-01-01

    Planning is a central task of teaching and a central focus in learning to teach. But what does planning entail, and how is planning best learned? What challenges do experienced teachers serving as school-based teacher educators face in becoming teachers of planning? What role can university teacher educators play in helping mentor teachers learn…

  13. 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'…

  14. Teachers Teaching Teachers (T3)[TM]. Volume 4, Number 8

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    von Frank, Valerie, Ed.

    2009-01-01

    "Teachers Teaching Teachers" ("T3") focuses on coaches' roles in the professional development of teachers. Each issue also explores the challenges and rewards that teacher leaders encounter. This issue includes: (1) Tackling Behavior from All Sides (Valerie von Frank); (2) Tools: Effective Behavior Support Self-Assessment Survey; (3) Lessons from…

  15. Teachers Teaching Teachers (T3)[TM]. Volume 4, Number 6

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    von Frank, Valerie, Ed.

    2009-01-01

    "Teachers Teaching Teachers" ("T3") focuses on coaches' roles in the professional development of teachers. Each issue also explores the challenges and rewards that teacher leaders encounter. This issue includes: (1) Values and Clarity Build Classroom Language (Valerie von Frank); (2) Tools: Identifying and Clarifying Beliefs about Learning; (3)…

  16. Student Teachers' Approaches to Teaching Biological Evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borgerding, Lisa A.; Klein, Vanessa A.; Ghosh, Rajlakshmi; Eibel, Albert

    2015-06-01

    Evolution is fundamental to biology and scientific literacy, but teaching high school evolution is often difficult. Evolution teachers face several challenges including limited content knowledge, personal conflicts with evolution, expectations of resistance, concerns about students' conflicts with religion, and curricular constraints. Evolution teaching can be particularly challenging for student teachers who are just beginning to gain pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge related to evolution teaching and who seek approval from university supervisors and cooperating teachers. Science teacher educators need to know how to best support student teachers as they broach the sometimes daunting task of teaching evolution within student teaching placements. This multiple case study report documents how three student teachers approached evolution instruction and what influenced their approaches. Data sources included student teacher interviews, field note observations for 4-5 days of evolution instruction, and evolution instructional artifacts. Data were analyzed using grounded theory approaches to develop individual cases and a cross-case analysis. Seven influences (state exams and standards, cooperating teacher, ideas about teaching and learning, concerns about evolution controversy, personal commitment to evolution, knowledge and preparation for teaching evolution, and own evolution learning experiences) were identified and compared across cases. Implications for science teacher preparation and future research are provided.

  17. Teacher Observations for Diagnostic Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saunders, Russell W., Jr.

    Teachers at the primary level should resume the neglected practice of diagnostic teaching. This means that the teacher should observe all aspects of a student's cognitive behavior in the teaching/learning act and then plan instructional strategies for subsequent lessons. Some significant cognitive behaviors observable in diagnostic teaching are…

  18. Teachers' perceptions on primary science teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kijkuakul, Sirinapa

    2018-01-01

    This qualitative research aimed to review what primary teachers think about how to teach science in rural school contexts. Three primary schools in Thailand were purposively chosen for this study. Eleven primary science teachers of these schools were the research participants. Questionnaires, interviews, and observations were implemented to reveal the primary school teachers' educational backgrounds, science teaching context, and need for self-driven professional development. Content and discourse analysis indicated that the non-science educational background and the science teaching context implied a need for self-driven professional development. The non-science educational background teachers were generally unfamiliar with the current national science curriculum, and that they would not be comfortable when the researcher observed their science teaching practice. They also believed that experimentation was the only one strategy for teaching science, and that the priority for their teaching support was teaching media rather than their understanding of scientific concepts or teaching strategies. As implication of this research, subsequent developments on science teacher profession in rural context, therefore, need to promote teachers' understandings of nature of science and technological and pedagogical content knowledge. In addition, they should be challenged to practice on critically participatory action research for academic growth and professional learning community.

  19. Pre-Service Music Teachers Perceptions of Teaching and Teacher Training

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Legette, Roy M.; McCord, Dawn H.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of pre-service music teachers (n = 104) regarding school music teaching and the quality of their teacher training. Research questions were: 1) What are the perceptions of pre-service music teachers regarding skills and knowledge provided by their teacher training programs? 2) What aspects of the…

  20. The relationship between teaching styles and motivation to teach among physical education teachers.

    PubMed

    Hein, Vello; Ries, Francis; Pires, Francisco; Caune, Agnese; Heszteráné Ekler, Judit; Emeljanovas, Arunas; Valantiniene, Irena

    2012-01-01

    This study aims to investigate how teachers' motivation to teach is related to different teaching styles. A hundred and seventy six physical education teachers from five European countries participated in the study. Teachers' motivation was measured using an instrument developed by Roth et al., 2007 based on the Self-Determination Theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985) which was tested for suitability for use with physical education teachers. The use of teaching styles was assessed through teachers' self-reported data according to the description of teaching styles presented by Curtner-Smith et al., 2001. The revised confirmatory factor model of the teachers' motivation instrument, with three factors, met the criteria for satisfactory fit indices. The results showed that teachers were more intrinsically motivated to teach than externally. Cross-cultural comparison indicated that the Spanish teachers were more intrinsically motivated whilst Lithuanian teachers were more externally motivated than teachers from the other four countries. Teachers from all five countries reported a more frequent use of reproductive styles than productive styles. The results of the present study confirmed the hypotheses that teachers' autonomous motivation is related to the student-centered or productive teaching styles whilst non-autonomously motivated teachers adopt more teacher-centered or reproductive teaching styles. Intrinsic and introjected motivation was significantly higher among teachers who more frequently employed productive teaching styles than teachers who used them less frequently. Intrinsically motivated teachers using more productive teaching styles can contribute more to the promotion physical activity among students. PE teachers were more intrinsically motivated to teach than externally.Spanish PE teachers were more intrinsically motivated, whereas Lithuanian PE teachers were more externally motivated.Teachers from all five countries reported a more frequent use of reproductive

  1. The Relationship Between Teaching Styles and Motivation to Teach Among Physical Education Teachers

    PubMed Central

    Hein, Vello; Ries, Francis; Pires, Francisco; Caune, Agnese; Heszteráné Ekler, Judit; Emeljanovas, Arunas; Valantiniene, Irena

    2012-01-01

    This study aims to investigate how teachers' motivation to teach is related to different teaching styles. A hundred and seventy six physical education teachers from five European countries participated in the study. Teachers' motivation was measured using an instrument developed by Roth et al., 2007 based on the Self-Determination Theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985) which was tested for suitability for use with physical education teachers. The use of teaching styles was assessed through teachers' self-reported data according to the description of teaching styles presented by Curtner-Smith et al., 2001. The revised confirmatory factor model of the teachers' motivation instrument, with three factors, met the criteria for satisfactory fit indices. The results showed that teachers were more intrinsically motivated to teach than externally. Cross-cultural comparison indicated that the Spanish teachers were more intrinsically motivated whilst Lithuanian teachers were more externally motivated than teachers from the other four countries. Teachers from all five countries reported a more frequent use of reproductive styles than productive styles. The results of the present study confirmed the hypotheses that teachers' autonomous motivation is related to the student-centered or productive teaching styles whilst non-autonomously motivated teachers adopt more teacher-centered or reproductive teaching styles. Intrinsic and introjected motivation was significantly higher among teachers who more frequently employed productive teaching styles than teachers who used them less frequently. Intrinsically motivated teachers using more productive teaching styles can contribute more to the promotion physical activity among students. Key points PE teachers were more intrinsically motivated to teach than externally. Spanish PE teachers were more intrinsically motivated, whereas Lithuanian PE teachers were more externally motivated. Teachers from all five countries reported a more frequent use of

  2. Perceptions of Linguistically Responsive Teaching in Teacher Candidates/Novice Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tandon, Madhavi; Viesca, Kara Mitchell; Hueston, Colin; Milbourn, Tamara

    2017-01-01

    This qualitative study examined data from 36 teacher candidates and novice teachers to explore their perceptions and understandings of linguistic responsiveness. The findings illustrate the challenge of demonstrating linguistically responsive teaching practices in the early and initial stages of entering the teaching profession, and more research…

  3. How to Help Teachers Develop Inquiry Teaching: Perspectives from Experienced Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tseng, Chung-Hsien; Tuan, Hsiao-Lin; Chin, Chi-Chin

    2013-01-01

    This study has two purposes: the first is to explore experienced science teachers' perspectives on inquiry teaching, and the second is to categorize these perspectives into patterns. Fifteen junior high school science teachers experienced at inquiry teaching were selected, and a semi-structured interview was conducted to collect the teachers'…

  4. Teacher Training and Pre-Service Primary Teachers' Self-Efficacy for Science Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Velthuis, Chantal; Fisser, Petra; Pieters, Jules

    2014-01-01

    This study focuses on the improvement of pre-service teachers' self-efficacy for teaching science by including science courses within the teacher training program. Knowing how efficacy beliefs change over time and what factors influence the development by pre-service primary teachers of positive science teaching efficacy beliefs may be useful for…

  5. Teachers' approaches to teaching physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2012-12-01

    Benjamin Franklin said, "Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I remember. Involve me, and I learn." He would not be surprised to learn that research in physics pedagogy has consistently shown that the traditional lecture is the least effective teaching method for teaching physics. We asked high school physics teachers which teaching activities they used in their classrooms. While almost all teachers still lecture sometimes, two-thirds use something other than lecture most of the time. The five most often-used activities are shown in the table below. In the January issue, we will look at the 2013 Nationwide Survey of High School Physics teachers. Susan White is Research Manager in the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics; she directs the Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers. If you have any questions, please contact Susan at swhite@aip.org.

  6. High School Biology Teachers' Views on Teaching Evolution: Implications for Science Teacher Educators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hermann, Ronald S.

    2013-06-01

    In the US, there may be few scientific concepts that students maintain preconceived ideas about as strongly and passionately as they do with regard to evolution. At the confluence of a multitude of social, religious, political, and scientific factors lies the biology teacher. This phenomenological study provides insight into the salient aspects of teaching evolution as viewed by public high school biology teachers. Transcribed interviews were coded, and data were sorted resulting in key themes regarding teachers' views of evolution education. These themes are presented against the backdrop of extant literature on the teaching and learning of evolution. Suggestions for science teacher educators are presented such that we can modify teacher preparation programs to better prepare science teachers to meet the challenges of teaching evolution.

  7. Language Teachers: Research and Studies in Language(s) Education, Teaching, and Learning in "Teaching and Teacher Education," 1985-2012

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kleinsasser, Robert C.

    2013-01-01

    The article reviews twelve of 79 articles focusing on language teachers, language(s) teacher education, teaching, and learning published in "Teaching and Teacher Education" since 1985. The twelve articles, divided into three sections, include narrative inquiry and identity, teacher education topics, and contexts. The articles provide local and…

  8. Teachers' Mental Health and Teaching Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kovess-Masfety, Viviane; Rios-Seidel, Carmen; Sevilla-Dedieu, Christine

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and to identify the occupational risk factors of both psychiatric disorders and psychological distress for public school teachers in France depending on their teaching level. A survey was carried out on teachers aged 20-60 (N=3586). Some teaching levels, depending on the teacher's gender,…

  9. Changes in Student Teachers' Intention to Teach during Student Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, T. Grady; Greiman, Bradley C.; Murphy, T. H.; Ricketts, John C.; Harlin, Julie F.; Briers, Gary E.

    2009-01-01

    Over the course of the student teaching experience, a student teacher's intention to teach can increase, decrease, or remain the same. The purpose of this study was to explore differences in student teachers that were representative of each category. Teaching intention of 103 student teachers at four universities in 2005-2006 exhibited little…

  10. How Do Teachers Teach? Insights from Teachers and Students. Teaching in Focus No. 18

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    OECD Publishing, 2017

    2017-01-01

    Educational quality is defined and shaped by the classroom practices implemented by teachers in our schools. The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)-PISA link presents a unique opportunity to explore what takes place in the classroom by listening to the voices of teachers and students. Teachers, with their professional training and…

  11. Teachers Teaching Teachers: The Belen Goals 2000 Professional Development Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norton, Priscilla; Sprague, Debra

    Belen Public Schools (New Mexico) received a Goals 2000 grant for teacher education and technology integration. The Belen Goals 2000 professional development project established two three-day teachers-teaching-teachers workshops. The first focused on using an integrated software package and the second focused on using e-mail and the Internet.…

  12. Finnish Mentor Mathematics Teachers' Views of the Teacher Knowledge Required for Teaching Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Asikainen, Mervi A.; Pehkonen, Erkki; Hirvonen, Pekka E.

    2013-01-01

    Seven Finnish mentor mathematics teachers were interviewed about their views regarding the teacher knowledge required for teaching mathematics. The results of the interviews revealed not only the teachers' spontaneous views of the knowledge base needed for effective mathematics teaching but also their views of the particular types of teacher…

  13. Shifts in Teaching Motivation and Sense of Self-as-Teacher in Initial Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tang, Sylvia Y. F.; Cheng, May M. H.; Cheng, Annie Y. N.

    2014-01-01

    This article presents four student teacher cases using an examination of the nature of shifts in student teachers' motivation for choosing teaching as a career in relation to the development of their sense of self-as-teacher. The analysis relates positive and negative shifts in teaching motivation and sense of self-as-teacher to variation in…

  14. Florida Teachers' Attitudes about Teaching Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fowler, Samantha R.; Meisels, Gerry G.

    2010-01-01

    A survey of Florida teachers reveals many differences in comfort level with teaching evolution according to the state's science teaching standards, general attitudes and beliefs about evolution, and the extent to which teachers are criticized, censured, disparaged, or reprehended for their beliefs about the teaching of evolution.

  15. How Five Master Teachers Teach about Climate Chang

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bloch, L.

    2015-12-01

    The AGU Position Statement, "Human-Induced Climate Change Requires Urgent Action," calls on scientists to "[work] with stakeholders to identify relevant information, and [to convey] understanding clearly and accurately, both to decision makers and to the general public". Everyday, K-12 teachers communicate with an important segment of the general public, and they represent important stakeholders with unique needs. The terms 'global warming', 'greenhouse effect', and 'climate change' appear nowhere in the 1996 National Science Education Standards, but under the Next Generation Science Standards, millions of teachers- most of whom have little to no experience teaching about climate change- will be required to cover the topic. This presentation discusses research conducted with five veteran public school teachers, each of whom has been teaching about climate change for many years. The group comprises three high school teachers, a middle school teacher, and an elementary school teacher. The study examined: 1) What these teachers teach about climate change; 2) How they teach about climate change; 3) What resources they use in teaching and learning about climate change; and 4) How they think the scientific community can support teachers in their efforts to teach about climate change. The teachers varied in their teaching practices and in their conceptions of 'climate change', but they all said that the academic community can support climate change education by developing locally relevant educational resources. Scientists working with K-12 teachers can build on the work of these master teachers, and attendees can access detailed descriptions of all of the lessons and the associated learning materials.

  16. Teacher Evaluation: Archiving Teaching Effectiveness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nielsen, Lance D.

    2014-01-01

    Teacher evaluation is a current hot topic within music education. This article offers strategies for K-12 music educators on how to promote their effectiveness as teachers through archival documentation in a teacher portfolio. Using the Danielson evaluation model (based on four domains of effective teaching practices), examples of music teaching…

  17. Training Teachers to Teach Probability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Batanero, Carmen; Godino, Juan D.; Roa, Rafael

    2004-01-01

    In this paper we analyze the reasons why the teaching of probability is difficult for mathematics teachers, describe the contents needed in the didactical preparation of teachers to teach probability and analyze some examples of activities to carry out this training. These activities take into account the experience at the University of Granada,…

  18. Influences of Teacher Delivery, Student Engagement, and Observation Focus on Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching Effectiveness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Napoles, Jessica; MacLeod, Rebecca B.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine how teacher delivery, student engagement, and observation focus influenced preservice teachers' ratings of teaching effectiveness. Participants (N = 84 preservice teachers) viewed short teaching excerpts of orchestral and choral rehearsals wherein the teacher displayed either high or low teacher delivery,…

  19. Exploring Relationships between Teaching Efficacy and Student Teacher-Cooperating Teacher Relationships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edgar, Don W.; Roberts, T. Grady; Murphy, Tim H.

    2011-01-01

    Teaching efficacy beliefs of agricultural science student teachers, and their relationship with their cooperating teachers during field experiences, are variables that may affect the number of student teachers entering the profession. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects implementing structured communication between student…

  20. Approaches to Inquiry Teaching: Elementary teacher's perspectives

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ireland, Joseph; Watters, James J.; Lunn Brownlee, J.; Lupton, Mandy

    2014-07-01

    Learning science through the process of inquiry is advocated in curriculum documents across many jurisdictions. However, a number of studies suggest that teachers struggle to help students engage in inquiry practices. This is not surprising as many teachers of science have not engaged in scientific inquiry and possibly hold naïve ideas about what constitutes scientific inquiry. This study investigates teachers' self-reported approaches to teaching science through inquiry. Phenomenographic interviews undertaken with 20 elementary teachers revealed teachers identified six approaches to teaching for inquiry, clustered within three categories. These approaches were categorized as Free and Illustrated Inquiries as part of an Experience-centered category, Solution and Method Inquiries as part of a Problem-centered category, and Topic and Chaperoned Inquiries as part of a Question-centered category. This study contributes to our theoretical understanding of how teachers approach Inquiry Teaching and suggests fertile areas of future research into this valued and influential phenomenon broadly known as 'Inquiry Teaching'.

  1. Educating Primary Teachers to Teach Physical Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tsangaridou, Niki

    2012-01-01

    Research evidence suggests that, worldwide, physical education in early years is mainly taught by primary teachers (Graber et al., 2008; Hunter, 2006; Kirk, 2005). Descriptions of primary teachers' experiences of teaching physical education are particularly essential as an avenue for developing better-quality teacher training for teaching primary…

  2. Turkish Student Teachers' Concerns about Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boz, Yezdan

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the teaching concerns of Turkish student teachers and how these concerns differ among year groups within the teacher education programme. Data were collected from 339 student teachers using the Teacher Concerns Checklist. Analysis of the data, including both descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis…

  3. Cooperative Teaching: A Model for Teacher Collaboration.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bohlmann, Natalie L.

    1998-01-01

    A third grade teacher examines the effects of cooperative teaching in a two-teacher classroom. After discussing teacher roles in such classrooms, the paper describes how the advantages of such a system greatly outweigh the disadvantages. The paper presents keys to a successful teaching partnership and describes several models for lesson…

  4. Preservice teachers' perceived confidence in teaching school violence prevention.

    PubMed

    Kandakai, Tina L; King, Keith A

    2002-01-01

    To examine preservice teachers' perceived confidence in teaching violence prevention and the potential effect of violence-prevention training on preservice teachers' confidence in teaching violence prevention. Six Ohio universities participated in the study. More than 800 undergraduate and graduate students completed surveys. Violence-prevention training, area of certification, and location of student- teaching placement significantly influenced preservice teachers' perceived confidence in teaching violence prevention. Violence-prevention training positively influences preservice teachers' confidence in teaching violence prevention. The results suggest that such training should be considered as a requirement for teacher preparation programs.

  5. Co-Teaching and Team Teaching: Promising Practices for Special Education Teacher Induction. Induction Insights. Supporting Special Education Teachers - Teacher Educators [TEII-6

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development, 2010

    2010-01-01

    Co-teaching and team teaching represent collaborative opportunities that can counteract the historic isolation of special education teachers. They also have the potential for supporting novice teacher socialization in the school setting. More knowledge is needed to realize the benefit of these approaches in the context of induction. This Brief…

  6. Examining Preservice Teachers' Preparedness for Teaching Art

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hudson, Peter; Hudson, Sue

    2007-01-01

    The Australian Federal Government's call for another teacher education inquiry aims to investigate preservice teacher preparedness for teaching. Art education was selected for this study as the teaching of art education in primary schools occurs in less than ideal conditions and may often be avoided by generalist primary teachers (Russell-Bowie,…

  7. Enhancing Teacher Efficacy for Urban STEM Teachers Facing Challenges to Their Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seals, Christopher; Mehta, Swati; Berzina-Pitcher, Inese; Graves-Wolf, Leigh

    2017-01-01

    This paper explores challenges of teaching in relation to teachers' efficacy for 49 teachers who were part of a year-long teacher development program (PD) called the UrbanSTEM program. This program took place in an urban school district that serves over 300,000 students. This research asked if there are common challenges that urban teachers face…

  8. Learner-Centered Micro Teaching in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kilic, Abdurrahman

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Learner-Centered Micro Teaching (LCMT) on the development of teacher candidates' teaching competencies. To achieve this goal, teacher candidates' teaching behaviors on subject area, planning, teaching process, classroom management, communication, and evaluation have been pre- and…

  9. Understanding Legitimate Teacher Authority in a Cross-Cultural Teaching Context: Pre-Service Chinese Language Teachers Undertaking Teaching Practicum in International Schools in Hong Kong

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lai, Chun; Gu, Mingyue; Hu, Jingjing

    2015-01-01

    Legitimate teacher authority is fundamental to effective teaching, but is often a thorny issue that teachers need to grapple with when teaching in cross-cultural teaching contexts. By interviewing 18 pre-service Chinese language teachers on their understanding of legitimate teacher authority throughout teaching practicum at international schools…

  10. Teacher Education Graduates' Choice (Not) to Enter the Teaching Profession: Does Teacher Education Matter?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rots, Isabel; Aelterman, Antonia; Devos, Geert

    2014-01-01

    In an era of recurring teacher shortages, Flanders struggles with a considerable proportion of teacher education graduates who do not enter the teaching profession. This study identifies the predictors of teacher education graduates' choice on job entry (teaching profession or not). A prospective research design with two data collection phases is…

  11. Robert Frost: Democracy, Teaching, and Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frank, Jeffery M.

    2010-01-01

    The goal of this dissertation is to develop a connection between poetry and teacher education. I am motivated to undertake this project because poetry is an underappreciated resource, one that has a good deal to teach teachers. Specifically, I believe that poetry can teach teachers about how to creatively and democratically respond to problems of…

  12. Institutional Traditions in Teachers' Manners of Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lundqvist, Eva; Almqvist, Jonas; Ostman, Leif

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this article is to make a close case study of one teacher's teaching in relation to established traditions within science education in Sweden. The teacher's manner of teaching is analysed with the help of an epistemological move analysis. The moves made by the teacher are then compared in a context of educational philosophy and…

  13. Teaching Dispositions: Shared Understanding for Teacher Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeMuth, Lynn

    2012-01-01

    This qualitative phenomenological study explored the perceptions of 16 high-performing teachers related to teaching dispositions, effects of dispositions on teaching and learning, and recommendations for assessment of teaching dispositions during teacher preparation. Participants' perceptions were gathered using six guided interview questions…

  14. Enriching Student Teaching Relationships. Supervising Teacher Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clothier, Grant; Kingsley, Elizabeth

    This training series was developed to improve the working relationships between supervising teachers and their student teachers. This supervising teacher's edition contains suggestions for such teachers as regards various activities dealing with the supervising/teaching situation, behavior problems, change, conference sessions, communication,…

  15. Patterns in the Initial Teaching Assignments of Secondary English Teachers: Implications for Teacher Agency and Retention

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bieler, Deborah; Holmes, Stephen; Wolfe, Edward W.

    2017-01-01

    This study examined the teaching assignments of English teachers in 13 Mid-Atlantic high schools across five states. Data on the experience levels of 175 English teachers teaching 246 classes and surveys from 85 teacher participants were collected. Findings reveal that major agency-thwarting challenges face new English teachers: They typically are…

  16. Teaching Portfolios and the Beginning Teacher.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zubizarreta, John

    1994-01-01

    Teaching portfolios are becoming the most effective tool to improve new and seasoned teachers' instruction via a supportive, convincing evaluation method. In taking a concentrated three days to write a creditable portfolio, a new teacher feels more competent to think about teaching. The portfolio's process of written reflection invokes the power…

  17. Bridging the Gap from Teacher to Teacher Educator: The Role of a Teaching Portfolio

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamilton, Miriam

    2018-01-01

    This article explores the role of a teaching portfolio in supporting the transition from teacher to teacher educator. It uses aspects of self-study to catalogue the challenges and successes during this transition. Despite well-documented acknowledgement of the differing demands of teaching when compared to teaching how to teach, little is written…

  18. Influencing Intended Teaching Practice: Exploring pre-service teachers' perceptions of science teaching resources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cooper, Grant; Kenny, John; Fraser, Sharon

    2012-08-01

    Many researchers have identified and expressed concern over the state of science education internationally, but primary teachers face particular obstacles when teaching science due to their poor science background and low confidence with science. Research has suggested that exemplary resources, or units that work, may be an effective way to support primary teachers. This study explores the effect of one such resource on the intentions of pre-service primary teachers to teach science. The resource in question is Primary Connections, a series of learning resources produced by the Australian Academy of Science specifically designed for primary science. Evaluative studies of Primary Connections have indicated its efficacy with practising primary teachers but there is little evidence of its impact upon pre-service teachers. The purpose of this study was to investigate how effective these quality teaching resources were in influencing the intentions of primary pre-service teachers to teach science after they graduated. The theory of planned behaviour highlighted the linkage between the intentions of the pre-service teachers to teach science, and their awareness of and experiences with using Primary Connections during their education studies. This enabled key factors to be identified which influenced the intentions of the pre-service teachers to use Primary Connections to teach science after they graduate. The study also provided evidence of how quality science teaching resources can be effectively embedded in a teacher education programme as a means of encouraging and supporting pre-service teachers to teach science.

  19. 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.

  20. From Teacher Quality to Quality Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kennedy, Mary M.

    2006-01-01

    Proposals to improve teacher quality often focus on hiring teachers with the right combination of personality, values, and knowledge and skills. The author suggests that although these elements of teacher quality are important, schools also need to pay attention to the conditions of classroom life that can determine teaching quality. She…

  1. Impromptu Teaching Model for Pre-Service Teacher Preparation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peterson, Paul E.; Peterson, Susan L.

    The Impromptu Teaching Model was designed by the University of Central Arkansas for use by preservice teachers in laboratory teaching experiences. Two teaching exercises, microteaching and reflective teaching, form the basis for impromptu teaching. Microteaching provides teachers with the opportunity to master various technical skills of the…

  2. Looking at the Mirror: A Self-Study of Science Teacher Educators' PCK for Teaching Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Demirdögen, Betül; Aydin, Sevgi; Tarkin, Aysegül

    2015-01-01

    In this self-study, we aimed to delve into how re-designing and teaching re-designed practicum course offered to pre-service teachers (PTs) enriched our, as science teacher educators, development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching science teachers. This self-study was conducted during a compulsory practicum course in which we…

  3. Beyond Teacher Cognition and Teacher Beliefs: The Value of the Ethnography of Emotions in Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zembylas, Michalinos

    2005-01-01

    This article is an attempt to show the value of the ethnography of emotions in teaching, and the importance of exploring teacher emotion in understanding teaching. A coherent account of teacher emotion must find a dynamic outside the cognitive, discursive or normative practices that have monopolized attention in research on teacher cognition and…

  4. Learning Mathematics for Teaching Mathematics: Non-Specialist Teachers' Mathematics Teacher Identity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crisan, Cosette; Rodd, Melissa

    2017-01-01

    A non-specialist teacher of mathematics is a school teacher who qualified to teach in a subject other than mathematics yet teaches mathematics to students in secondary school. There is an emerging interest internationally in this population, a brief report of which is given in the paper. Because of concerns about the quality of non-specialists'…

  5. Making Visible Teacher Reports of Their Teaching Experiences: The Early Childhood Teacher Experiences Scale

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fantuzzo, John; Perlman, Staci; Sproul, Faith; Minney, Ashley; Perry, Marlo A.; Li, Feifei

    2012-01-01

    The study developed multiple independent scales of early childhood teacher experiences (ECTES). ECTES was co-constructed with preschool, kindergarten, and first grade teachers in a large urban school district. Demographic, ECTES, and teaching practices data were collected from 584 teachers. Factor analyses documented three teacher experience…

  6. New Minority Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stallworth, B. Joyce

    This study was a follow-up investigation of five minority first-year teachers who were 1992 graduates of the Peabody Internship/Induction Teaching Program. The study was designed to examine the socialization of new minority group teachers. Structured interview protocols for the teachers and their principals were the primary means of data…

  7. Teacher Cognition of Pronunciation Teaching: Teachers' Concerns and Issues

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Couper, Graeme

    2017-01-01

    This article reports on teachers' knowledge and perceptions and the issues they are concerned about in relation to pronunciation teaching. Understanding teacher cognition helps to ensure research and pedagogical advice are appropriately directed. However, there has been only a limited amount of research in this area. The researcher collected data…

  8. Preservice Teachers' In-the-Moment Teaching Decisions in Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffith, Robin

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the types of in-the-moment teaching decisions 97 preservice teachers made while teaching reading and how their growing bodies of teacher knowledge influenced their abilities to think, know, feel and act like a teacher (Feiman-Nemser, 2008). Findings indicated that the teacher educator's use of "metacognitive…

  9. Innovative Field Experiences in Teacher Education: Student-Teachers and Mentors as Partners in Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baeten, Marlies; Simons, Mathea

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates team teaching between student teachers and mentors during student teachers' field experiences. A systematic literature search was conducted, which resulted into a narrative review. Three team teaching models could be distinguished: (1) the co-planning and co-evaluation model, (2) the assistant teaching model, and (3) the…

  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. In-Service EFL Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching Reading Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bamanger, Ebrahim M.; Gashan, Amani K.

    2014-01-01

    Recent trends in teacher education have focused on exploring teachers' beliefs. Earlier studies have shown the important influence of teachers' beliefs on teaching practices. The present study was conducted to explore the beliefs of Saudi EFL teachers about the significance of teaching English reading strategies. The study aimed also to find the…

  12. Reliability of Scores Obtained from Self-, Peer-, and Teacher-Assessments on Teaching Materials Prepared by Teacher Candidates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nalbantoglu Yilmaz, Funda

    2017-01-01

    This study aims to determine the reliability of scores obtained from self-, peer-, and teacher-assessments in terms of teaching materials prepared by teacher candidates. The study group of this research constitutes 56 teacher candidates. In the scope of research, teacher candidates were asked to develop teaching material related to their study.…

  13. What Teachers Want: Supporting Primary School Teachers in Teaching Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fitzgerald, Angela; Schneider, Katrin

    2013-01-01

    Impending change can provide us with the opportunity to rethink and renew the things that we do. The first phase of the Australian Curriculum implementation offers primary school teachers the chance to examine their approaches to science learning and teaching. This paper focuses on the perceptions of three primary school teachers regarding what…

  14. Supporting New Teachers. Teaching in Focus. No. 11

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    OECD Publishing, 2015

    2015-01-01

    In many countries, less experienced teachers (those with less than five years' teaching experience) are more likely to work in challenging schools and less likely to report confidence in their teaching abilities than more experienced teachers. Most countries have activities in place aimed at preparing teachers for work, such as induction and…

  15. Effective Grammar Teaching: Lessons from Confident Grammar Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Petraki, Eleni; Hill, Deborah

    2011-01-01

    Learning the grammar of a language is an integral part of learning a second or foreign language. Studies on teacher beliefs, teacher language awareness (TLA) and grammar teaching have reported that the majority of English language teachers recognise the importance of teaching grammar (Borg, 2001; Borg & Burns, 2008). At the same time, many…

  16. Assessing Student Teaching Experiences: Teacher Candidates' Perceptions of Preparedness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Joohi; Tice, Kathleen; Collins, Denise; Brown, Amber; Smith, Cleta; Fox, Jill

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of student teaching experiences by measuring teacher candidates' perceptions of their preparedness. The participants were 130 teacher candidates who had completed their student teaching as part of a program preparing them to teach children in pre-K through grade 4. Teacher candidates…

  17. Science-for-Teaching Discourse in Science Teachers' Professional Learning Communities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lohwasser, Karin

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) provide an increasingly common structure for teachers' professional development. The effectiveness of PLCs depends on the content and quality of the participants' discourse. This dissertation was conducted to add to an understanding of the science content needed to prepare to teach science, and the discourse characteristics that create learning opportunities in teachers' PLCs. To this end, this study examined how middle school science teachers in three PLCs addressed science-for-teaching, and to what effect. Insight into discourse about content knowledge for teaching in PLCs has implications for the analysis, interpretation, and support of teachers' professional discourse, their collaborative learning, and consequently their improvement of practice. This dissertation looked closely at the hybrid space between teachers' knowledge of students, of teaching, and of science, and how this space was explored in the discourse among teachers, and between teachers and science experts. At the center of the study were observations of three 2-day PLC cycles in which participants worked together to improve the way they taught their curriculum. Two of the PLC cycles were supported, in part, by a science expert who helped the teachers explore the science they needed for teaching. The third PLC worked without such support. The following overarching questions were explored in the three articles of this dissertation: (1) What kind of science knowledge did teachers discuss in preparation for teaching? (2) How did the teachers talk about content knowledge for science teaching, and to what effect for their teaching practice? (3) How did collaborating teachers' discursive accountabilities provide opportunities for furthering the teachers' content knowledge for science teaching? The teachers' discourse during the 2-day collaboration cycles was analyzed and interpreted based on a sociocultural framework that included concepts from the practice

  18. Teaching Teachers to Search Electronically.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Nancy H. G.

    1992-01-01

    Describes an inservice teacher training program developed to teach secondary school teachers how to search CD-ROMs, laser disks, and automated catalogs. Training sessions held during faculty meetings are described, computer activities are explained, a sample worksheet for searching an electronic encyclopedia is included, and sources for CD-ROMs…

  19. Teaching about Teaching: Examining the Pedagogy of Teacher Education in India

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Srinivasan, Rajashree

    2016-01-01

    Developing a pedagogy of teacher education is an enduring concern for teacher educators. Drawing on data from a small study on teacher educators teaching in a secondary teacher education programme in India, this article examines their pedagogic practices. This is a qualitative study that sought to capture the narrations of 30 teacher educators…

  20. Prospective Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Reflections on Teaching after Their First Teaching Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yazgan-Sag, Gönül; Emre-Akdogan, Elçin; Argün, Ziya

    2016-01-01

    The aim of our study was to examine prospective secondary mathematics teachers' reflections about teaching after their first teaching experience. We carried out five interviews during the two semesters with four Turkish prospective secondary mathematics teachers. The data analysis suggests that prospective secondary mathematics teachers'…

  1. Helping Teachers Teach Plasma Physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Correll, Donald

    2008-11-01

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's E/O program in Fusion Science and Plasma Physics now includes both `pre-service' as well as `in-service' high school science teacher professional development activities. Teachers are instructed and mentored by `master teachers' and LLNL plasma researchers working in concert. The Fusion/Plasma E/O program exploits a unique science education partnership that exists between LLNL's Science Education Program and the UC Davis Edward Teller Education Center. For `in-service' teachers, the Fusion & Astrophysics Teacher Research Academy (TRA) has four levels of workshops that are designed to give in-service high school science teachers experience in promoting and conducting research, most notably in the filed of plasma spectroscopy. Participating teachers in all four TRA levels may earn up to ten units of graduate credit from Cal-State University East Bay, and may apply these units toward a Masters of Science in Education. For `pre-service' teachers, the Science Teacher and Researcher (STAR) program, as a partnership with the California State University System, includes attracting undergraduate science majors to teaching careers by allowing them to pursue professional identities as both a research scientist as well as a science teacher. Participating `pre-service' STAR students are provided research internships at LLNL and work closely with the `in-service' TRA teachers. Results from the continuum `pre-service' to `in-service' science teacher professional development programs will be presented.

  2. Teachers and Teaching: Current Issues.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hart, J. R.

    Nine chapters address current issues in teaching, focusing on: (1) "Teacher Quality and Quantity" (James B. Stedman); (2) "Progress Through the Teacher Pipeline" (Robin R. Henke, Xianglei Chen, Sonya Geis, and Paula Knepper); (3) "Raising the Achievement of Low-Performing Students: What High Schools Can Do" (Gene Bottoms); (4) "Knowledge and…

  3. Teaching Music in Our Time: Student Music Teachers' Reflections on Music Education, Teacher Education and Becoming a Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Georgii-Hemming, E.; Westvall, M.

    2010-01-01

    This article concerns students of music education in Sweden. It investigates the student teachers' perceptions of their ongoing music teacher education, with a particular focus on the task of teaching music today. It considers whether they believe their teacher education prepares them for this undertaking, and in that case, how. Their various…

  4. Preservice Elementary Teachers' Beliefs about Science Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yilmaz-Tuzun, Ozgul

    2008-01-01

    In this study, a Beliefs About Teaching (BAT) scale was created to examine preservice elementary science teachers' self-reported comfort level with both traditional and reform-based teaching methods, assessment techniques, classroom management techniques, and science content. Participants included 166 preservice teachers from three different US…

  5. Investigation of Teachers' Mathematics Teaching Self-Efficacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nurlu, Özge

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this research is to investigate primary school teachers' characteristics by comparing their mathematics teaching self-efficacy beliefs. In this research, qualitative research method is used. In order to determine the participant teachers, firstly, "Self-Efficacy Beliefs toward Mathematics Teaching Scale" (Dede, 2008) was…

  6. Teaching Electric Circuits: Teachers' Perceptions and Learners' Misconceptions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moodley, Kimera; Gaigher, Estelle

    2017-06-01

    An exploratory case study involving six grade 9 science teachers was undertaken to probe how teachers' understanding of learners' misconceptions relate to their perceptions about teaching simple circuits. The participants' understanding of documented misconceptions in electricity were explored by means of a questionnaire, while their perceptions about teaching electric circuits were also explored in the questionnaire, followed by a semi-structured interview. Results were analysed using content analysis and interpreted using pedagogical content knowledge as a theoretical lens. The results indicated that understanding learners' misconceptions did not always correlate with conceptual perceptions about teaching electric circuits. While fair understanding of misconceptions was demonstrated by teachers who studied Physics at undergraduate level, only those who also held qualifications in Education showed conceptual perceptions about teaching electricity. Teachers who did not study Science Education revealed technical perceptions, focused on facts, demonstrations and calculations. From these results, a developmental model for pedagogical content knowledge was proposed. It was recommended that teacher education programs should involve misconceptions and also facilitate the development of conceptual perceptions about teaching.

  7. A longitudinal investigation of the preservice science teachers' beliefs about science teaching during a science teacher training programme

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buldur, Serkan

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate the changes in preservice science teachers' beliefs about science teaching during a science teacher training programme. The study was designed as a panel study, and the data were collected from the same participants at the end of each academic year during a four-year period. The participants were composed of 76 preservice teachers, and the DASTT-C was used as the data collection tool. As a result of the study, it was determined that the students had conventional teaching beliefs after the first years of the teacher training programme. Moreover, the mental teaching styles of preservice teachers about the science teaching were found to undergo changes throughout their undergraduate education. Participants' beliefs about conventional teaching started to change, especially after they first took a science method course in their third year and their beliefs shifted towards student-centred teaching. Implications for science teacher training programmes were also addressed.

  8. Learning to Attend to Precision: The Impact of Micro-Teaching Guided by Expert Secondary Mathematics Teachers on Pre-Service Teachers' Teaching Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cheng, Jing

    2017-01-01

    Micro-teaching at universities and student teaching in secondary schools are standard forms of practice training for pre-service mathematics teachers in Chinese university teacher education programs. The former is guided by university professors, and the latter is guided by school teachers. In recent years, a special kind of micro-teaching…

  9. Teachers' Perceptions about Grammar Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thu, Tran Hoang

    2009-01-01

    This study investigates English as a second language (ESL) teachers' beliefs in grammar teaching. A 32-item questionnaire was administered to 11 ESL teachers in a language school in California. The results show that the participants generally believe that the formal study of grammar is essential to the eventual mastery of a foreign or second…

  10. Does clinical teacher training always improve teaching effectiveness as opposed to no teacher training? A randomized controlled study

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Teacher training may improve teaching effectiveness, but it might also have paradoxical effects. Research on expertise development suggests that the integration of new strategies may result in a temporary deterioration of performance until higher levels of competence are reached. In this study, the impact of a clinical teacher training on teaching effectiveness was assessed in an intensive course in emergency medicine. As primary study outcome students’ practical skills at the end of their course were chosen. Methods The authors matched 18 clinical teachers according to clinical experience and teaching experience and then randomly assigned them to a two-day-teacher training, or no training. After 14 days, both groups taught within a 12-hour intensive course in emergency medicine for undergraduate students. The course followed a clearly defined curriculum. After the course students were assessed by structured clinical examination (SCE) and MCQ. The teaching quality was rated by students using a questionnaire. Results Data for 96 students with trained teachers, and 97 students with untrained teachers were included. Students taught by untrained teachers performed better in the SCE domains ‘alarm call’ (p < 0.01) and ‘ventilation’ (p = 0.01), while the domains ‘chest compressions’ and ‘use of automated defibrillator’ did not differ. MCQ scores revealed no statistical difference. Overall, teaching quality was rated significantly better by students of untrained teachers (p = 0.05). Conclusions At the end of a structured intensive course in emergency medicine, students of trained clinical teachers performed worse in 2 of 4 practical SCE domains compared to students of untrained teachers. In addition, subjective evaluations of teaching quality were worse in the group of trained teachers. Difficulties in integrating new strategies in their teaching styles might be a possible explanation. PMID:24400838

  11. Assessing the Quality of Teachers' Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Weiyun; Mason, Stephen; Staniszewski, Christina; Upton, Ashley; Valley, Megan

    2012-01-01

    This study assessed the extent to which nine elementary physical education teachers implemented the quality of teaching practices. Thirty physical education lessons taught by the nine teachers to their students in grades K-5 were videotaped. Four investigators coded the taped lessons using the Assessing Quality Teaching Rubric (AQTR) designed and…

  12. From Students to Teachers: Investigating the Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs and Experiences of Graduate Primary Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deehan, James; Danaia, Lena; McKinnon, David H.

    2018-03-01

    The science achievement of primary students, both in Australia and abroad, has been the subject of intensive research in recent decades. Consequently, much research has been conducted to investigate primary science education. Within this literature, there is a striking juxtaposition between tertiary science teaching preparation programs and the experiences and outcomes of both teachers and students alike. Whilst many tertiary science teaching programs covary with positive outcomes for preservice teachers, reports of science at the primary school level continue to be problematic. This paper begins to explore this apparent contradiction by investigating the science teaching efficacy beliefs and experiences of a cohort of graduate primary teachers who had recently transitioned from preservice to inservice status. An opportunity sample of 82 primary teachers responded to the science teaching efficacy belief instrument A (STEBI-A), and 10 graduate teachers provided semi-structured interview data. The results showed that participants' prior science teaching efficacy belief growth, which occurred during their tertiary science education, had remained durable after they had completed their teaching degrees and began their careers. Qualitative data showed that their undergraduate science education had had a positive influence on their science teaching experiences. The participants' school science culture, however, had mixed influences on their science teaching. The findings presented within this paper have implications for the direction of research in primary science education, the design and assessment of preservice primary science curriculum subjects and the role of school contexts in the development of primary science teachers.

  13. An Exploration of the Preparation and Organization of Teaching Practice Exercise to Prospective Science and Mathematics Teachers toward Improving Teaching Profession at Morogoro Teachers' College

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mungure, Daudi Mika

    2016-01-01

    This paper explored the preparation and organization of teaching practice exercise to prospective science and mathematics teachers in Tanzania teachers college specifically Morogoro Teachers' College toward improving teaching profession. Due to the challenges stated by different scholars on preparation and organization of teaching practice…

  14. Student Teachers' Emotional Teaching Experiences in Relation to Different Teaching Methods

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Timoštšuk, I.; Kikas, E.; Normak, M.

    2016-01-01

    The role of emotional experiences in teacher training is acknowledged, but the role of emotions during first experiences of classroom teaching has not been examined in large samples. This study examines the teaching methods used by student teachers in early teaching practice and the relationship between these methods and emotions experienced. We…

  15. Assessing Pre-Service Teachers' Quality Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Weiyun; Hendricks, Kristin; Archibald, Kelsi

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to design and validate the Assessing Quality Teaching Rubrics (AQTR) that assesses the pre-service teachers' quality teaching practices in a live lesson or a videotaped lesson. Twenty-one lessons taught by 13 Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) students were videotaped. The videotaped lessons were evaluated…

  16. Novice Physical Education Teachers Learning to Teach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Banville, Dominique

    2015-01-01

    Support, or lack thereof, is often cited as the main reason for teachers to leave the profession early on (Ingersoll, 2003). Feiman-Nemser (2001) identifies five Central Tasks associated with Learning to Teach (CTLT) that could focus the support novice teachers need during their induction years: learning the teaching context (TC), designing…

  17. Investigating How Nontraditional Elementary Pre-service Teachers Negotiate the Teaching of Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shelton, Mythianne

    This qualitative study was designed to investigate the influences on nontraditional preservice teachers as they negotiated the teaching of science in elementary school. Based upon a sociocultural theoretical framework with an identity-in-practice lens, these influences included beliefs about science teaching, life experiences, and the impact of the teacher preparation program. The study sample consisted of two nontraditional preservice teachers who were student teaching in an elementary classroom. Data, collected over a five-month period, included in-depth individual interviews, classroom observations, audio recordings, and reviews of documentations. Interviews focused on the participants' beliefs relating to the teaching of science, prior experiences, and their teacher preparation program experiences relating to the teaching of science. Classroom observations provided additional insights into the classroom setting, participants' teaching strategies, and participants' interactions with the students and cooperating teacher. A whole-text analysis of the interview transcripts, observational field notes, audio recordings and documents generated eight major categories: beliefs about science teaching, role of family, teaching science in the classroom, teacher identity, non-teacher identity, relationships with others, discourses of classroom teaching, and discourses of teachers. The following significant findings emerged from the data: (a) the identity of nontraditional student teachers as science teachers related to early life experiences in science classes; (b) the identity of nontraditional student teachers as science teachers was influenced by their role as parents; (c) nontraditional student teachers learned strategies that supported their beliefs about inquiry learning; and (d) nontraditional student teachers valued the teacher preparation program support system. The results from this qualitative study suggest that sociocultural theory with an identity

  18. English-for-Teaching: Rethinking Teacher Proficiency in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freeman, Donald; Katz, Anne; Garcia Gomez, Pablo; Burns, Anne

    2015-01-01

    The expansion of English teaching in state education systems places increasing demands on English language teachers and how they are trained. A major thrust of these efforts has focused on improving teachers' English language proficiency. This expectation is manifested in policy and pedagogical directives that teachers "teach English in…

  19. Transformational Teaching Experience of a Novice Teacher: A Narrative of an Award-Winning Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kumi-Yeboah, Alex; James, Waynne

    2012-01-01

    This research investigates the transformational teaching experiences of a novice award-winning teacher. Data collection consisted primarily of interviews and observations. To support these methods, we utilized field notes and reflection journals to triangulate the data. To become a successful teacher, "the teacher" passed through transformational…

  20. Teaching as Designing: Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for Adaptive Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jordan, Michelle E.

    2016-01-01

    This conceptual article explores teaching as design work, arguing that a critical thing teachers do is design systems that enable their students to learn. Designing occurs when teachers generate new learning activities or modify curricular programs to create coherence for themselves and their students. Nonetheless, few teacher education programs…

  1. Teachers' Perceptions of Effective Teaching: A Theory-Based Exploratory Study of Teachers from China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meng, Lingqi; Muñoz, Marco A.; Wu, Dewen

    2016-01-01

    There is general agreement that teachers matter the most when it comes to student learning. However, there is an unquestionable need for educators to understand what constitutes effective teaching in K-12 classrooms. This research studied Chinese high school (N = 359) teachers' perceptions of effective teaching using an international theoretical…

  2. Teaching for Diversity in Teacher Education: Transformative Frameworks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ragoonaden, Karen O.; Sivia, Awneet; Baxan, Victorina

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines the practice and professional development of teacher educators engaged in diversity pedagogy in Canadian teacher education programs. Using a reflective inquiry combined with a self-study of teacher and teacher education practices (S-STEP), three educators discuss the complexity of their research and teaching experiences through…

  3. Influencing Technology Education Teachers to Accept Teaching Positions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steinke, Luke Joseph; Putnam, Alvin Robert

    2008-01-01

    Technology education is facing a significant teacher shortage. The purpose of this study was to address the technology education teacher shortage by examining the factors that influence technology education teachers to accept teaching positions. The population for the study consisted of technology education teachers and administrators. A survey…

  4. Science teachers teaching socioscientific issues (SSI): Four case studies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Hyunju

    Socioscientific issues (SSI) are a class of issues that represent the social, ethical, and moral aspects of science in society. The need for the inclusion of SSI into science curricula has been generally accepted, but relatively few science teachers have incorporated SSI into their courses. Most science teachers feel that their most important task by far is to teach the principles of science, and any substantive pedagogical changes represent a burden. However, there are some teachers who address SSI out of personal initiatives. This dissertation study investigates four high school science teachers who address SSI out of their own initiative and explores their deeper inspirations, values, philosophies, and personal ideals that lead them to teach SSI. The overall approach is based on essentialist methodology (Witz, Goodwin, Hart, & Thomas, 2001; Witz, 2006a) with its focus on "the participant as ally" and "essentialist portraiture." The primary data source is four to six in-depth interviews with individual teachers (about 40-90 minutes for each interview). The interviews are complemented by extensive classroom observations of individual teachers' teaching SSI and by document analysis (including teaching materials, rubrics, student group projects and journals, etc.). There are two major findings. First, the teachers' deeper values and ideals are a source of larger inspiration that plays a significant role in changing their teaching practice. This inspiration may involve higher aspects (e.g., deep concern for students' development, unselfishness, caring, etc.) and commitment. Their teaching represents an integration of their personal experiences, values, concerns, and worldviews, which forms a larger inspiration for teaching. Teaching SSI is a part of this larger process. Second, the current curriculum reforms (STS, SSI, and NOS) only suggest theoretical ideals and do not effectively touch teachers' deeper values and ideals. Basically, the teachers are doing what they

  5. Co-Teaching and Team Teaching: Promising Opportunities for Supporting Novice Special Education Teachers within the School Culture. Induction Insights. Supporting Special Education Teachers-Administrators [AII-10

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development, 2010

    2010-01-01

    A collaborative school context can support novice special education teachers. Co-teaching and team teaching represent collaborative opportunities that can counteract the historic isolation of special education teachers. Co-teaching and team teaching--the focus of this Brief--also have the potential for supporting novice teacher socialization in…

  6. Study of Turkish Preschool Teachers' Attitudes toward Science Teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erden, Feyza T.; Sönmez, Sema

    2011-05-01

    This study aims to explore preschool teachers' attitudes toward science teaching and its impact on classroom practices through the frequency of science activities provided in the classroom. In addition, the study investigates if their attitudes are related to factors such as educational level, years of teaching experience, and the school type they work in. The present research was conducted with 292 preschool teachers who work in public and private schools in different districts of Ankara, Turkey. The data were collected by administering the Early Childhood Teachers' Attitudes toward Science Teaching Scale. Our analyses indicate that there is a significant but weak link between preschool teachers' attitudes toward science teaching and the frequency of science activities that they provide in the classroom. Further, while teachers' characteristics such as educational level and experience are found to play an insignificant role on the overall measures of the scale, type of school appears to be a major factor in explaining the attitudes toward science teaching.

  7. Framing Teacher Education: Conceptions of Teaching, Teacher Education, and Justice in Chilean National Policies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fernández, M. Beatriz

    2018-01-01

    Chile shows high inequity and socioeconomic stratification in both K-12 education and teacher preparation. Drawing on the notion of frames, this critical policy analysis examines how teaching, teacher education, and justice were conceptualized in Chile's teacher preparation policies between 2008-2015. It also analyzes the narrative stories…

  8. Developing Teachers and Teaching Practice: International Research Perspectives.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sugrue, Ciaran, Ed.; Day, Christopher, Ed.

    This volume presents a selection of the 200 papers given at the 1999 biennial conference of the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching. The theme of the conference was "Teachers and Teaching: Revisioning Policy and Practice for the Twenty-First Century." The 15 papers are: (1) "Teaching in a Box: Emotional…

  9. Teaching Moral Character: Two Alternatives for Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Narvaez, Darcia; Lapsley, Daniel K.

    2008-01-01

    Debating whether or not teachers should teach values addresses the wrong question. Education already is a values-infused enterprise. The larger question is how to train teachers for positive character formation. Two teacher education strategies are presented in this article. A "minimalist" strategy requires teacher educators to make explicit the…

  10. Generalizing Effective Teaching Skills: The Missing Link in Teacher Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scheeler, Mary Catherine

    2008-01-01

    A clear need to teach preservice teachers to generalize newly acquired teaching skills across time and settings has been well established in the literature. Few empirical studies exist that inform teacher educators on ways to promote generalization of teaching skills with beginning teachers, however. Programming for generalization continues to be…

  11. The First Generation of the Implementation of Teachers Teaching Teachers, An Indiana Staff Development Model.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swan, Edward T.; And Others

    This study evaluated the success of Teachers Teaching Teachers, an Indiana staff development model in its first implementation. The project consisted of a cadre of teachers from one school system who trained teachers from four other school systems. Participants were evaluated on nine Likert-type pre- and post-measures at each of the four training…

  12. The Meaning of Teaching Mathematics: Teacher Positioning's as Embedded in Algebra Teachers' Guides

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suh, Heejoo

    2017-01-01

    Teacher educators have been examining the professional status of teaching, including defining central practices of teaching, comparing teaching to other professions, and understanding teachers' own perspective via interviews, surveys, and observations. The present study intends to contribute to the discussion by examining the meaning of teaching…

  13. Teacher Retention in Zimbabwe: Love for Teaching or Incentives?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gomba, Clifford

    2017-01-01

    This qualitative interpretive study investigated the lived experiences of qualified teachers who have remained in teaching for more than 10 years in Zimbabwean rural secondary schools. In understanding how teachers make meaning of their remaining in teaching, the focus is also on the role and place of teachers in society. The experiences were…

  14. A Tale of Two Teachers: Learning to Teach Over Time

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cochran-Smith, Marilyn

    2012-01-01

    In today's policy and political climate, where teacher quality is widely assumed to be the single most important influence on students' learning, viewpoints about where, when, and how people learn to teach are mixed. However, most teachers and teacher educators continue to believe that teachers learn how to teach over time. This article looks…

  15. Teachers' reported practices for teaching writing in England.

    PubMed

    Dockrell, Julie E; Marshall, Chloë R; Wyse, Dominic

    To date there have been no systematic studies examining the ways in which teachers in England focus and adapt their teaching of writing. The current study addresses this gap by investigating the nature and frequency of teachers' approaches to the teaching of writing in a sample of English primary schools, using the 'simple view of writing' as a framework to examine the extent to which different aspects of the writing process are addressed. One hundred and eighty-eight staff from ten different schools responded to an online questionnaire. Only the data from class teachers (n = 88) who responded to all items on the questionnaire were included in the final analyses. Respondents enjoyed teaching writing and felt prepared to teach it. However, despite feeling that they were effective in identifying approaches to support students' writing, nearly half reported that supporting struggling writers was problematic for them. Overall teachers reported more work at word level, occurring several times a week, than with transcription, sentence or text levels, which were reported to occur weekly. Planning, reviewing and revising occurred least often, only monthly. For these variables no differences were found between teachers of younger (age 4-7) and older students (age 8-11). By contrast, an examination of specific aspects of each component revealed differences between the teachers of the two age groups. Teachers of younger students focused more frequently on phonic activities related to spelling, whereas teachers of older students focussed more on word roots, punctuation, word classes and the grammatical function of words, sentence-level work, and paragraph construction.

  16. Out-of-Field Teaching: A Cross-National Study on Teacher Labor Market and Teacher Quality

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhou, Yisu

    2012-01-01

    In the past two decades, the issue of out-of-field teaching (OFT) has concerned policy makers and researchers alike who see raising teachers' subject matter knowledge as the main policy lever to improve teacher quality. The study of OFT has emerged as one of the important subfields of teacher quality and teacher labour market research.…

  17. Structured Communication: Effects on Teaching Efficacy of Student Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edgar, Don W.; Roberts, T. Grady; Murphy, Tim H.

    2009-01-01

    Teaching efficacy beliefs of agricultural science student teachers during field experiences may affect the number of student teachers entering the profession. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects implementing structured communication between cooperating teachers and student teachers would have on student teachers' self-perceived…

  18. Indonesian Primary Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Geometry: Implications for Educational Policy and Teacher Preparation Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ng, Dicky

    2011-01-01

    This study examines Indonesian primary teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching geometry and what factors contribute to this knowledge. A translated and adapted version of the Learning Mathematics for Teaching measures and the Indonesian Educational Survey were used to gather information on teachers' knowledge for teaching geometry and their…

  19. Teaching science as argument: Prospective elementary teachers' knowledge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barreto-Espino, Reizelie

    For the past two decades there has been increasing emphasis on argumentation in school science. In 2007, the National Research Council published a synthesis report that emphasizes the centrality of constructing, evaluating, and using scientific explanations. Participating in argumentation is seen as fundamental to children's science learning experiences. These new expectations increase challenges for elementary teachers since their understanding of and experiences with science are overwhelmingly inconsistent with teaching science as argument. These challenges are further amplified when dealing with prospective elementary teachers. The current study was guided by the following research questions: (1) What are the ways in which preservice elementary teachers appropriate components of "teaching science as argument" during their student teaching experience? (2) To what extent do components from prospective elementary teachers' reflections influence planning for science teaching? (3) What elements from the context influence preservice elementary teachers' attention to teaching science as argument? This study followed a multi-participant case study approach and analyses were informed by grounded theory. Three participants were selected from a larger cohort of prospective elementary teachers enrolled in an innovative Elementary Professional Development School (PDS) partnership at a large Northeast University. Cross-case analysis allowed for the development of five key assertions: (1) The presence of opportunities for interacting with phenomena and collecting first hand data helped participants increase their emphasis on evidence-based explanations. (2) Participants viewed science talks as an essential mechanism for engaging students in the construction of evidence-based explanations and as being fundamental to meaning-making. (3) Participants demonstrated attention to scientific subject matter during instruction rather than merely focusing on activities and/or inquiry

  20. Construction of teacher knowledge in context: Preparing elementary teachers to teach mathematics and science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lowery, Maye Norene Vail

    1998-12-01

    The purposes of this study were to further the understanding of how preservice teacher construct teacher knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge of elementary mathematics and science and to determine the extent of that knowledge in a school-based setting. Preservice teachers, university instructors, inservice teachers, and other school personnel were involved in this context-specific study. Evidence of the preservice teachers' knowledge construction (its acquisition, its dimensions, and the social context) was collected through the use of a qualitative methodology. Collected data included individual and group interviews, course documents, artifacts, and preservice teaching portfolios. Innovative aspects of this integrated mathematics and science elementary methods course included standards-based instruction with immediate access to field experiences. Grade-level teams of preservice and inservice teachers planned and implemented lessons in mathematics and science for elementary students. An on-site, portable classroom building served as a mathematics and science teaching and learning laboratory. A four-stage analysis was performed, revealing significant patterns of learning. An ecosystem of learning within a constructivist learning environment was identified to contain three systems: the university system; the school system; and the cohort of learners system. A mega system for the construction of teacher knowledge was revealed in the final analysis. Learning venues were discovered to be the conduits of learning in a situated learning context. Analysis and synthesis of data revealed an extensive acquisition of teacher knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge through identified learning components. Patience, flexibility, and communication were identified as necessities for successful teaching. Learning components included: collaboration with inservice teachers; implementation of discovery learning and hands-on/minds-on learning; small groupwork; lesson planning

  1. Watching Oneself Teach--Long-Term Effects of Teachers' Reflections on Their Video-Recorded Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harlin, Eva-Marie

    2014-01-01

    This study examines changes in teaching habits reported by teachers when they see themselves on video. It is a longitudinal study in which 43 student teachers participated in the first step during their teacher education. When the teachers saw themselves teaching, they were surprised by certain habits and wrote that they wanted to change them. Two…

  2. Generalist Teachers' Self-Efficacy in Primary School Music Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Vries, Peter

    2013-01-01

    This qualitative study focuses on the music teaching experiences of five Australian generalist primary school teachers in their third year of teaching. The aim was to identify these teachers' current practices in teaching music, in particular their self-efficacy in relation to teaching music. A narrative inquiry methodology was employed, drawing…

  3. Gender and Gender Role Differences in Student-Teachers' Commitment to Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moses, Ikupa; Admiraal, Wilfried F.; Berry, Amanda K.

    2016-01-01

    Low commitment to teaching amongst teachers is a problem facing the teaching profession in many countries. Gender might be an important factor in explaining what kinds of prospective teachers are attracted to teaching. This empirical study examined the relationship between student-teachers' gender, gender roles and commitment to teaching within…

  4. Teaching Teachers to Play and Teach Games

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wright, Steven; McNeill, Michael; Fry, Joan; Wang, John

    2005-01-01

    This study was designed to determine the extent to which a technical and a tactical approach to teaching a basketball unit to physical education teacher education (PETE) students would each affect their games playing abilities, perceived ability to teach, and approach preference for teaching the game. Pre- and post-unit data were collected through…

  5. The Effect of Student Teaching Experience and Teacher Beliefs on Pre-Service Teachers' Self-Efficacy and Intention to Use Technology in Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Han, Insook; Shin, Won Sug; Ko, Yujung

    2017-01-01

    The student teaching experience has been considered important in establishing pre-service teachers' beliefs and attitudes towards their teaching. However, few studies have investigated the effect of student teaching experiences as an educational intervention for increasing technology integration--especially pre-service teachers' pedagogical…

  6. Do Prospective Teachers Have Anxieties about Teaching Mathematics?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yavuz, Günes

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to analyse the level of prospective classroom and mathematics teachers' anxieties about teaching mathematics. Freshman and junior prospective teachers from educational faculties of two different universities participated in this study. "Anxieties About Teaching Mathematics Scale" which was developed by Peker…

  7. Student Teachers' Team Teaching: How Do Learners in the Classroom Experience Team-Taught Lessons by Student Teachers?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baeten, Marlies; Simons, Mathea

    2016-01-01

    This study focuses on student teachers' team teaching. Two team teaching models (sequential and parallel teaching) were applied by 14 student teachers in a quasi-experimental design. When implementing new teaching models, it is important to take into account the perspectives of all actors involved. Although learners are key actors in the teaching…

  8. Swedish technology teachers' attitudes to their subject and its teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nordlöf, Charlotta; Höst, Gunnar E.; Hallström, Jonas

    2017-04-01

    Background: From previous research among science teachers it is known that teachers' attitudes to their subjects affect important aspects of their teaching, including their confidence and the amount of time they spend teaching the subject. In contrast, less is known about technology teachers' attitudes.

  9. Ethical and Moral Matters in Teaching and Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bullough, Robert V., Jr.

    2011-01-01

    The author reviews a set of articles on ethical and moral matters in teaching and teacher education previously published by Teaching and Teacher Education. Comparisons are made and a summary of findings offered.

  10. `You Have to Give Them Some Science Facts': Primary Student Teachers' Early Negotiations of Teacher Identities in the Intersections of Discourses About Science Teaching and About Primary Teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Danielsson, Anna T.; Warwick, Paul

    2014-04-01

    In the broadest sense, the goal for primary science teacher education could be described as preparing these teachers to teach for scientific literacy. Our starting point is that making such science teaching accessible and desirable for future primary science teachers is dependent not only on their science knowledge and self-confidence, but also on a whole range of interrelated sociocultural factors. This paper aims to explore how intersections between different Discourses about primary teaching and about science teaching are evidenced in primary school student teachers' talk about becoming teachers. The study is founded in a conceptualisation of learning as a process of social participation. The conceptual framework is crafted around two key concepts: Discourse (Gee 2005) and identity (Paechter, Women's Studies International Forum, 26(1):69-77, 2007). Empirically, the paper utilises semi-structured interviews with 11 primary student teachers enrolled in a 1-year Postgraduate Certificate of Education course. The analysis draws on five previously identified teacher Discourses: `Teaching science through inquiry', `Traditional science teacher', `Traditional primary teacher', `Teacher as classroom authority', and `Primary teacher as a role model' (Danielsson and Warwick, International Journal of Science Education, 2013). It explores how the student teachers, at an early stage in their course, are starting to intersect these Discourses to negotiate their emerging identities as primary science teachers.

  11. To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ayers, William

    This book presents a framework for discussing the action of teachers in public elementary schools as the 21st century approaches. An educator with almost 30 years of teaching experience speaks from the perspective of teacher and parent. He tells tales about his family and his life as a teacher; he shares his social and moral philosophy and what he…

  12. Preservice Teachers' Perceptions about Teaching Mathematics through Music

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    An, Song A.; Tillman, Daniel; Shaheen, Andrea; Boren, Rachel

    2014-01-01

    This study examined preservice teachers' perceptions about teaching elementary level mathematics lessons integrated with music. It also sought to determine how preservice teachers would strategize the integration of music activities when introducing elementary level mathematics lessons. The participants, 53 undergraduate preservice teachers at a…

  13. Teaching Efficacy of Universiti Putra Malaysia Science Student Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bakar, Abd. Rahim; Konting, Mohd. Majid; Jamian, Rashid; Lyndon, Novel

    2008-01-01

    The objective of the study was to access teaching efficacy of Universiti Putra Malaysia Science student teachers. The specific objectives were to determine teaching efficacy of Science student teachers in terms of student engagement; instructional strategies; classroom management and teaching with computers in classroom; their satisfaction with…

  14. The effect of teacher education level, teaching experience, and teaching behaviors on student science achievement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Danhui

    Previous literature leaves us unanswered questions about whether teaching behaviors mediate the relationship between teacher education level and experience with student science achievement. This study examined this question with 655 students from sixth to eighth grade and their 12 science teachers. Student science achievements were measured at the beginning and end of 2006-2007 school year. Given the cluster sampling of students nested in classrooms, which are nested in teachers, a two-level multilevel model was employed to disentangle the effects from teacher-level and student-level factors. Several findings were discovered in this study. Science teachers possessing of advanced degrees in science or education significantly and positively influenced student science achievement. However, years of teaching experience in science did not directly influence student science achievement. A significant interaction was detected between teachers possessing an advanced degree in science or education and years of teaching science, which was inversely associated to student science achievement. Better teaching behaviors were also positively related to student achievement in science directly, as well as mediated the relationship between student science achievement and both teacher education and experience. Additionally, when examined separately, each teaching behavior variable (teacher engagement, classroom management, and teaching strategies) served as a significant intermediary between both teacher education and experience and student science achievement. The findings of this study are intended to provide insights into the importance of hiring and developing qualified teachers who are better able to help students achieve in science, as well as to direct the emphases of ongoing teacher inservice training.

  15. Effects of Pre-Service Teacher Learning and Student Teaching on Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    AlAjmi, Maadi M.; Al-Dhafiri, Mohammed D.; Al-Shammari, Zaid N.

    2016-01-01

    The purposes of this research were to investigate and examine the effects of pre-service teacher learning and student teaching on teacher education.Three hundred and ten out of 349 intentionally selected participants responded to a two-dimensional survey. The gender, nationality, marital status, age, and academic year had no significant effects,…

  16. The relationship between school environment, preservice science teachers' science teaching self-efficacy, and their use of instructional strategies at teachers' colleges in Saudi Arabia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alshalaan, Nasser A.

    Studies indicate that many teachers have negative beliefs about science, which translates into low teacher efficacy, resulting in avoidance of science teaching or in ineffective science teaching behaviors. Highly efficacious teachers have been found to be more likely to use inquiry and student-centered teaching strategies, while teachers with a low sense of science-teaching efficacy are more likely to use teacher-directed strategies, such as didactic lectures and reading from the textbook (Czemiak, 1990). The purpose of this study was to investigate preservice science teachers' science-teaching self-efficacy changes and their correlation to teaching environment factors during the student teaching semester. Moreover, it explains how teaching environment factors and preservice teachers' science-teaching self-efficacy beliefs may relate to their use of teaching strategies in the science classroom during their student teacher training at teachers' colleges in Saudi Arabia. The population of this study is consisted of 184 middle and elementary preservice science teachers who were doing their student teaching at nine teachers' colleges (i.e., teachers' colleges of Riyadh, Dammam, Alrras, Almadinah, Alihsa, Jeddah, Makah, Altaief, and Abha) in Saudi Arabia during the spring semester of 2005. Three instruments were used to collect data for this study: (1) to measure science teaching self-efficacy, the researcher adapted the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument form B designed specifically for preservice teachers (STEBI-B); (2) to measure the school environment, the researcher adapted the Organizational Health Inventory (OHI), developed by Hoy, Tarter & Kottkamp (1991); and (3) to measure the type and frequency of instructional strategies that preservice science teachers use in the classroom, the researcher adapted the teaching practice subscale from The Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement Science K-8 Teacher Questionnaire (Horizon Research, Inc., 2000

  17. Teacher Education and Teacher Autonomy: Creating Spaces for Experimentation in Secondary School English Language Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benson, Phil

    2010-01-01

    This article reports on a collective case study of four Hong Kong secondary school teachers' experiences of constraints on teacher autonomy in English language teaching, and their implications for teacher education. Findings suggested that the constraints were systemic and mainly organized around "Schemes of Work" and school-based…

  18. Prospective Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Perspectives and Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karagöz-Akar, Gülseren

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between prospective secondary mathematics teachers' perspectives and their mathematical knowledge for teaching in action. Data from two prospective teachers' practice-teachings, one in geometry and one in algebra, their lesson plans and self-reflections were analyzed with Teacher Perspectives and Knowledge…

  19. Teachers' Professional Learning Goals in Relation to Teaching Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Louws, Monika L.; van Veen, Klaas; Meirink, Jacobiene A.; van Driel, Jan H.

    2017-01-01

    In this study, we explored the relationships between teachers' self-articulated professional learning goals and their teaching experience. Although those relationships seem self-evident, in programmes for teachers' professional development years of teaching experience are hardly taken into account. Sixteen teachers with varying years of experience…

  20. The "Datafication" of Teaching: Can Teachers Speak Back to the Numbers?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stevenson, Howard

    2017-01-01

    Teachers face considerable and increasing pressure in their working lives. Labor intensification compels teachers to work faster, harder, and longer. However, teachers also experience increasing external control over what they teach and how they teach. These processes are increasingly made possible by the "datafication" of teaching,…

  1. Preparing Perservice Teachers to Teach Elementary School Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Amy D.

    2017-01-01

    The development of scientifically literate citizens begins in the elementary school. Yet elementary school teachers are ill prepared to teach science (Trygstad, Smith, Banilower, Nelson, & Horizon Research, Inc., 2013). The research base on teacher preparation finds that programs designed to prepare elementary teachers are inadequate in…

  2. Am I a Mathematics Teacher Who Teaches Middle Grades or a Middle Grades Teacher Who Teaches Mathematics? Untangling the Multiple Identities of Preservice Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kasten, Sarah E.; Austin, Christopher; Jackson, Christa

    2014-01-01

    This article reports on a qualitative study that investigated the identities of preservice middle grades teachers preparing to teach mathematics as one of their chosen content areas. Data were collected using open response reflective prompts questionnaires with 68 preservice middle grades teachers at 3 south-central universities. Findings indicate…

  3. Preservice elementary teachers' personal science teaching efficacy and science teaching outcome expectancies: The influence of student teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Plourde, Lee Alton

    This study was unique in garnering an early view at how the deterioration of science teacher education begins. This investigation examined the impact of the student teaching semester on preservice elementary teachers' personal efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancy beliefs in science teaching. Participants in the study included the student teachers of three separate cohort groups commencing and completing their student teaching semester at the same time. Qualitative data were gathered from interviews and observations from selected individuals of these cohort groups. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in the study. Utilizing a pretest and posttest one group research design, quantitative data were obtained from the administration of a psychometric test, Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument for preservice teachers (STEBI-B). The pretest was administered at the beginning of the student teaching semester, before the student teachers began their "soloing" teaching, and the posttest was administered at the completion of the student teaching semester and "soloing" period. Qualitative data were derived from interviews and observations which were audio recorded and transcribed. The results of this study revealed that the student teaching semester did not have a statistically significant impact on the subjects' sense of personal self-efficacy, but the influence was statistically significant in regards to the student teachers' beliefs about children's ability to learn science. Data gathered through interviews and observations suggested that beliefs appear to originate from one or more of the following: a lack of practical work, personal involvement, and hands-on manipulation in science related activities in elementary, secondary, and tertiary education; a dependence of science courses on textbooks and lectures; the dispassionate association with science teachers/instructors; a focus on formalized tests with no performance assessments; the

  4. 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…

  5. Preservice Teachers' Student Teaching Experiences in East Africa

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kulkarni, Saili S.; Hanley-Maxwell, Cheryl

    2015-01-01

    The world is changing. Human mobility is at an all-time high, and globalization is a consequence of that mobility. Traditionally, a preservice teacher preparation program would require students to spend one to two semesters teaching in local schools under the guidance of an experienced teacher. Conversely, intercultural student teaching programs…

  6. Establishing Mathematics for Teaching within Classroom Interactions in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ryve, Andreas; Nilsson, Per; Mason, John

    2012-01-01

    Teacher educators' processes of establishing "mathematics for teaching" in teacher education programs have been recognized as an important area for further research. In this study, we examine how two teacher educators establish and make explicit features of mathematics for teaching within classroom interactions. The study shows how the…

  7. Can "Any" Teacher Teach Sexuality and HIV/AIDS? Perspectives of South African Life Orientation Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Helleve, Arnfinn; Flisher, Alan J.; Onya, Hans; Mukoma, Wanjiru; Klepp, Knut-Inge

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we explore the perceived desirable characteristics of South African Life Orientation teachers for teaching sexuality and HIV/AIDS. We also investigate the extent to which these characteristics can be understood as parts of a role script for teaching HIV/AIDS and sexuality. Data were collected from teachers who taught Grade Eight and…

  8. Learning to Teach as Situated Learning: An Examination of Student Teachers as Legitimate Peripheral Participants in Cooperating Teachers' Classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McDonald, Eric J.

    Learning to teach science well is a complex endeavor and student teaching provides a time for emerging teachers to learn how to reason in this uncertain landscape. Many pre-service teachers have rated student teaching as a very important part of their teacher education program (Koerner, Rust, & Baumgartner, 2002; Levine, 2006) and there is little doubt that this aspect of teacher preparation has a great impact (Wilson, Floden, Ferrinin-Mundy, 2001). It is surprising, therefore, that the interaction between the cooperating teacher and student teacher represents a gap in the literature (Cochran-Smith & Zeichner, 2005). In fact, little effort has been made in science education "to understand the contributions of cooperating teachers and teacher educators" (p. 322). Research is needed into not only how teacher preparation programs can help pre-service teachers make this transition from student teacher to effective teacher but also how the expertise of the cooperating teacher can be a better articulated part of the development of the student teacher. This instrumental case study examines the nature and substance of the cooperating teacher/student teacher conversations and the changes in those conversations over time. Using the theoretical framework of situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Lave, 1996) the movement of the student teacher from their position on the periphery of practice toward a more central role is examined. Three cooperating teacher/student teacher pairs provided insight into this important time with case data coming from pre and post interviews, baseline surveys, weekly update surveys, and recorded conversations from the pair during their time together. Four major themes emerged from the cases and from cross case comparisons with implications for student teachers regarding how they react to greater responsibility, cooperating teachers regarding how they give access to the community of practice, and the teacher preparation community regarding the role

  9. Pre-Service Science Teachers' Epistemological Beliefs and Teaching Reforms in Tanzania

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tarmo, Albert

    2016-01-01

    In an effort to understand why recent initiatives to promote learner-centred pedagogy in science teaching made a little change in the actual teaching practices of science teachers, this study explored pre-service science teachers' beliefs about science knowledge and their teaching practices. Six pre-service science teachers were interviewed to…

  10. Awareness of Societal Issues Among High School Biology Teachers Teaching Genetics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lazarowitz, Reuven; Bloch, Ilit

    2005-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate how aware high school biology teachers are of societal issues (values, moral, ethic, and legal issues) while teaching genetics, genetics engineering, molecular genetics, human heredity, and evolution. The study includes a short historical review of World War II atrocities during the Holocaust when scientists from all the above-mentioned disciplines had been involved in trying to support and develop the eugenics theories. It investigates pre- and postwar theories of the eugenics movement in the United States which were implemented successfully in Germany and a literature survey of the studies of societal issues related to these subjects. The sample consisted of 30 male and female biology teachers. Enclosed are teachers' answers in favor or against including debates about societal issues in their classrooms while teaching the disciplines mentioned above. Teachers' answers were analyzed in relation to three variables: years of teaching experience, gender, and religion faith. Data were collected from questionnaires and personal interviews and analyzed according to qualitative and quantitative methods. The results show that amongst the teachers there is a medium to low level of awareness of societal issues, while mainly emphasizing scientific subjects in preparation of matriculation examinations. The majority of the teachers do not include societal issues in their teaching, but if students raise these issues, teachers claimed to address them. No differences in teachers' opinions to societal issues were found in relation to gender or religious faith. Teachers with more years of teaching experience tend to teach with a more Science, Technology, and Society (STS) approach than novice teachers. The results are discussed in relation to teachers' professional development and teaching strategies are suggested to be used in their classrooms based on a STS approach, which includes the societal issues as a main goal.

  11. Teaching and learning: Novice teachers' descriptions of their confidence to teach science content

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ford, Barbara Ann

    Statement of the problem. The problem being studied in this research is the relationship between a specific series of integrated science courses in a science teacher preparation program and the actual needs of the science teacher during the first years of teaching practice. Teachers often report that there is a disconnect between the coursework they have taken in college as pre-service teachers and the reality of their classroom practice during their first years of teaching. The intent of this study was to record the descriptions of three teachers who were members of a cohort and took a series of integrated science courses (NSCI series) during their teacher preparation program as it related to the influence of these courses on their teaching practice. The focus of inquiry is guided by a single question: How do former participants in the series of science courses who are currently novice teachers describe their confidence in their ability to teach science content to their middle school students? The theoretical framework was based on Shulman's (1987) pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). PCK involves the teacher understanding the content of science so thoroughly that ways are identified of representing and formulating the subject matter to make it understandable to others. The teacher who has a strong PCK uses powerful analogies, illustrations, examples, explanations and demonstrations that promote personally meaningful student understandings. Novice teachers' reflections on their confidence to teach science content to their middle school students were observed through the lens of PCK. All three novice teachers reported a high confidence level to teach middle school science and attributed their confidence level to a great degree to the integrated science series of courses (NSCI). Method. A qualitative design, specifically a case study, was used for this study. Multiple forms of data collection were employed including a semi structured interview and a focus group

  12. Evaluating Pre-Service Teachers Math Teaching Experience from Different Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harding, Jenni L.; Hbaci, Ilham

    2015-01-01

    Are pre-service teachers able to notice their strengths and challenges in teaching? This article reports on a study of pre-service teachers' teaching performance being simultaneously evaluated by themselves and their professor. Thirty-two pre-service teachers created and planned mathematics lessons approved by their professor to be taught in…

  13. Prospective Middle Grade Mathematics Teachers' Knowledge of Algebra for Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Rongjin; Kulm, Gerald

    2012-01-01

    This study examined prospective middle grade mathematics teachers' knowledge of algebra for teaching with a focus on knowledge for teaching the concept of function. 115 prospective teachers from an interdisciplinary program for mathematics and science middle teacher preparation at a large public university in the USA participated in a survey. It…

  14. 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.

  15. Female Teachers' Perception of Reflective Teaching as a Teacher Development Tool in the Saudi Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shukri, Nadia

    2014-01-01

    Teacher development in the EFL context has been well-established in Western educational institutions. However, although there are some limited studies in the Middle East, it is still under-researched in Saudi Arabia. This study investigates the EFL teachers' perceptions of reflective teaching as a tool for teacher development and its challenges in…

  16. Teacher Educators' Practice and Vision of Good Teaching in Teacher Education Reform Context in Ghana

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akyeampong, Kwame

    2017-01-01

    Teacher education in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) has been criticized for the lack of attention to learning to teach in real classrooms, which limits the opportunity for pre-service teachers to successfully introduce learner-centered pedagogy in African primary school classrooms. To address this problem, Ghana has implemented a teacher education reform…

  17. Difficulties in learning and teaching statistics: teacher views

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koparan, Timur

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to define teacher views about the difficulties in learning and teaching middle school statistics subjects. To serve this aim, a number of interviews were conducted with 10 middle school maths teachers in 2011-2012 school year in the province of Trabzon. Of the qualitative descriptive research methods, the semi-structured interview technique was applied in the research. In accordance with the aim, teacher opinions about the statistics subjects were examined and analysed. Similar responses from the teachers were grouped and evaluated. The teachers stated that it was positive that middle school statistics subjects were taught gradually in every grade but some difficulties were experienced in the teaching of this subject. The findings are presented in eight themes which are context, sample, data representation, central tendency and dispersion measure, probability, variance, and other difficulties.

  18. Teacher Educator's and Guidance Teachers' Evaluation of Student Teachers' Teaching Practice: A Qualitative Study = Procjena nastavne prakse studenata--buducih ucitelja--od mentora i savjetnika (kvalitativna studija)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Göçer, Ali

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine whether student teachers are sufficiently prepared for teaching practice in primary schools. In this study, student teachers' teaching practice in real classrooms was evaluated by using observation and interview methods. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with seven guidance teachers, and each…

  19. 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…

  20. Factors Influencing Secondary School Teachers' Adoption of Teaching Blogs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lai, Hui-Min; Chen, Chin-Pin

    2011-01-01

    Recently, there has been a significant proliferation in the number of teaching blogs; however, little has been explored about what motivates teachers to adopt teaching blogs. The purpose of this study is to find out which factors can significantly influence teacher decisions regarding their teaching blog adoption and the relative importance of…

  1. 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.

  2. Teacher Application and Enactment of Models of Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allphin, Danielle M.

    2011-01-01

    This study sought to identify factors that influence teacher decisions about pedagogy based on curriculum content and skills and the degree to which teachers transfer pedagogical content knowledge to practice, specifically through the use of various models of teaching. A purposeful sample included 14 elementary teachers from highly diverse, urban…

  3. From Student to Teacher: Changes in Preservice Teacher Educational Beliefs throughout the Learning-to-Teach Journey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wall, Carrie R. Giboney

    2016-01-01

    Preservice teachers enter programs with beliefs about teaching and learning, constructed from prior schooling experiences. This longitudinal study examines preservice teachers' K-12 memories, their initial educational beliefs, and the changes in those beliefs over their teacher education program. Analysis of questionnaires, interviews, work…

  4. Swedish Technology Teachers' Attitudes to Their Subject and Its Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nordlöf, Charlotta; Höst, Gunnar E.; Hallström, Jonas

    2017-01-01

    Background: From previous research among science teachers it is known that teachers' attitudes to their subjects affect important aspects of their teaching, including their confidence and the amount of time they spend teaching the subject. In contrast, less is known about technology teachers' attitudes. Purpose: Therefore, the aim of this study is…

  5. Improving Early Career Science Teachers' Ability to Teach Space Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schultz, G. R.; Slater, T. F.; Wierman, T.; Erickson, J. G.; Mendez, B. J.

    2012-12-01

    The GEMS Space Science Sequence is a high quality, hands-on curriculum for elementary and middle schools, created by a national team of astronomers and science educators with NASA funding and support. The standards-aligned curriculum includes 24 class sessions for upper elementary grades targeting the scale and nature of Earth's, shape, motion and gravity, and 36 class sessions for middle school grades focusing on the interactions between our Sun and Earth and the nature of the solar system and beyond. These materials feature extensive teacher support materials which results in pre-test to post-test content gains for students averaging 22%. Despite the materials being highly successful, there has been a less than desired uptake by teachers in using these materials, largely due to a lack of professional development training. Responding to the need to improve the quantity and quality of space science education, a collaborative of space scientists and science educators - from the University of California, Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) and Center for Science Education at the Space Sciences Laboratory (CSE@SSL), the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), the University of Wyoming, and the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education - experimented with a unique professional development model focused on helping master teachers work closely with pre-service teachers during their student teaching internship field experience. Research on the exodus of young teachers from the teaching profession clearly demonstrates that early career teachers often leave teaching because of a lack of mentoring support and classroom ready curriculum materials. The Advancing Mentor and Novice Teachers in Space Science (AMANTISS) team first identified master teachers who supervise novice, student teachers in middle school, and trained these master teachers to use the GEMS Space Science Sequence for Grades 6-8. Then, these master teachers were mentored in how to coach their

  6. Examples in the Teaching of Mathematics: Teachers' Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ng, Lay Keow; Dindyal, Jaguthsing

    2015-01-01

    As part of a study examining how teachers in Singapore select and use examples for teaching mathematics, 121 teachers from 24 secondary schools responded to three open-ended questions about the use of examples in teaching. The results show that students' abilities and the difficulty level of the examples were among the topmost considerations…

  7. Gesturing towards Teaching: A Teacher's Narrative

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krishnamurthy, Gopalakrishna

    2012-01-01

    This is a study of a 20 minute video recorded narrative of a participant-teacher at an inservice teacher education seminar in South India. My analysis involves the close observation of oral and visual elements of this narrative. I employ and deploy this as a telling case to study the conduct and consequences of teaching and educational relations…

  8. Jordanian Preservice Primary Teachers' Perceptions of Mentoring in Science Teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abed, Osama H.; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad

    2015-03-01

    Quality mentoring is fundamental to preservice teacher education because of its potential to help student and novice teachers develop the academic and pedagogical knowledge and skills germane to successful induction into the profession. This study focused on Jordanian preservice primary teachers' perceptions of their mentoring experiences as these pertain to science teaching. The Mentoring for Effective Primary Science Teaching instrument was administered to 147 senior preservice primary teachers in a university in Jordan. The results indicated that the greater majority of participants did not experience effective mentoring toward creating a supportive and reflexive environment that would bolster their confidence in teaching science; further their understanding of primary science curriculum, and associated aims and school policies; help with developing their pedagogical knowledge; and/or furnish them with specific and targeted feedback and guidance to help improve their science teaching. Substantially more participants indicated that their mentors modeled what they perceived to be effective science teaching. The study argues for the need for science-specific mentoring for preservice primary teachers, and suggests a possible pathway for achieving such a model starting with those in-service primary teachers-much like those identified by participants in the present study-who are already effective in their science teaching.

  9. Beginning Teachers' Perspectives on Attributes for Teaching Secondary Mathematics: Reflections on Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wasserman, Nicholas H.; Ham, Edward

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this collaborative study was to understand what factors beginning secondary mathematics teachers attribute their success to in the classroom, regardless of their preparation program. Further description of how and when beginning teachers reported acquiring important teaching attributes provides a perspective on how they make the…

  10. Exploring Teacher Knowledge and Actions Supporting Technology-Enhanced Teaching in Elementary Schools: Two Approaches by Pre-Service Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Figg, Candace; Jamani, Kamini Jaipal

    2011-01-01

    Two approaches to teaching with technology to highlight practice-based teacher knowledge and actions for teaching technologically enhanced lessons are presented. Participants were two elementary pre-service teachers teaching during practicum. Qualitative data sources included verbatim transcripts of participant interviews, field notes of planning…

  11. 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…

  12. Exploring Teacher Strategies in Teaching Descriptive Writing in Indonesia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suriyanti, Sufatmi; Yaacob, Aizan

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This paper is the outcome of a study which examined teacher strategies in teaching descriptive writing to junior high school students in Delitua, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The study was based on two questions: 1) What are the teaching strategies used by EFL teachers in teaching descriptive writing? 2) To what extent did the descriptive…

  13. Effect of Reflective Teaching Training and Teaching Aptitude on Teaching Skills among Elementary Teacher Trainees

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vijaya Kumari, S. N.; Naik, Savita P.

    2016-01-01

    Teachers serve education, which is an effective instrument of man making. The teachers learn this art through Preservice teacher education programme. Teaching has been a reflective process from the beginning. Reflection is used in all sectors of teacher education, including Vocational and Adult education, for a number of years. Despite numerous…

  14. Teachers' Influence on Integration of Tools into Mathematics Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yesildere, Sibel

    2010-01-01

    This paper examines the process through which three pre-service teachers learn to use mathematical tools; it also looks at pre-service teachers' instrumentation of tools into mathematics teaching. Three pre-service teachers were studying at a primary mathematics teacher training program at Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey. During an eight-week…

  15. 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,…

  16. Korean EFL Teachers' Perceptions of the Impact of EFL Teacher Education upon Their Classroom Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yook, Cheongmin; Lee, Yong-hun

    2016-01-01

    This study employed qualitative data collection and analysis methods to investigate the influence of English as a foreign language teacher education programme on Korean teachers' classroom teaching practices. Six in-service secondary-school teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was applied to the data collected…

  17. Frequency of Co-Teaching in Different Teacher Categories

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saloviita, Timo; Takala, Marjatta

    2010-01-01

    Co-teaching--or the use of more than one teacher in a classroom--has been commonly recommended as a means to promote inclusive education. The aim of the present study was to survey the actual frequency of co-teaching among different teacher categories in the comprehensive school level in one Finnish city. The data were collected through a…

  18. Minority Preservice Teachers' Conceptions of Teaching Science: Sources of Science Teaching Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Subramaniam, Karthigeyan

    2013-01-01

    This study explores five minority preservice teachers' conceptions of teaching science and identifies the sources of their strategies for helping students learn science. Perspectives from the literature on conceptions of teaching science and on the role constructs used to describe and distinguish minority preservice teachers from their mainstream…

  19. Challenges to the Use of Co-Teaching by Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chitiyo, Jonathan

    2017-01-01

    A total of 77 teachers working in inclusive settings in North Eastern USA were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the barriers that may hinder the use of co-teaching. Results indicated that (a) teachers lack the necessary skills required for implementing co-teaching, and (b) co-teaching may require a lot of resources for its successful…

  20. Rural K-8 Special Education Teachers' Perceptions of Their Positional Status as Special Education Teachers Who Co-Teach with Regular Education Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    LaPorte, Kristy L.

    2010-01-01

    This exploratory qualitative case study investigated rural K-8 special education teacher perceptions of their positional status as special education teachers who co-teach with their regular education peers. Four special education teachers participated in journal prompts, one-on-one interviews, and a focus group interview. The conceptual lens for…

  1. Teachers' Awareness of the Learner-Teacher Interaction: Preliminary Communication of a Study Investigating the Teaching Brain

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rodriguez, Vanessa; Solis, S. Lynneth

    2013-01-01

    A new phase of research on teaching is under way that seeks to understand the teaching brain. In this vein, this study investigated the cognitive processes employed by master teachers. Using an interview protocol influenced by microgenetic techniques, 23 master teachers used the Self-in-Relation-to-Teaching (SiR2T) tool to answer "What are…

  2. Teaching Efficacy and Teaching Performance among Student Teachers in a Jordanian Childhood Education Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weshah, Hani A.

    2012-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the teaching efficacy of student teachers in the Childhood Education Program at the University of Jordan. The sample consisted of (106) female student teachers. The Teacher Efficacy Scale and the Effective Teaching Behaviors Scale were used to collect the data of this study. Results showed that a third of the…

  3. Does Teaching Experience Matter? The Beliefs and Practices of Beginning and Experienced Physics Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Caleon, Imelda S.; Tan, Yuen Sze Michelle; Cho, Young Hoan

    2018-02-01

    This study utilized multiple data sources to examine the beliefs about learning and teaching physics and the instructional practices of five beginning teachers and seven experienced teachers from Singapore. Our study was implemented in the unique context of teachers teaching the topic of electricity to students grouped according to academic abilities. The topic of electricity is one of the most difficult physics topics for students to understand and for teachers to teach. It was found that the experienced teachers, compared to the beginning teachers, tended to have beliefs about teaching and learning physics that are closer to constructivist views. The majority of the teachers, particularly the beginning teachers, espoused beliefs about learning physics that were incongruent with their beliefs about teaching physics. Although transmission-oriented and teacher-directed practices dominated the classroom lessons of both groups of teachers, more elements of constructivist instruction were found in the classroom lessons of the experienced teachers. It was also found that the classroom practices of the teachers, especially those in their inductive years of teaching, were more aligned with their beliefs about learning physics than their beliefs about teaching physics.

  4. Constructivist Teaching Strategies: Projects in Teacher Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Jessie C., Ed.; Adams, Arlene, Ed.

    This book provides information from experienced teachers on constructivist teaching, offering examples of preservice teachers' projects, lesson plans, and real-life advice. The 11 chapters are: (1) "Writing Case Studies: Constructing an Understanding of Student and Classroom" (Bettejim Cates); (2) "Educating Children Who are Racial…

  5. Foreign Language Teaching Practicum Beliefs of Student Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sariçoban, Arif

    2016-01-01

    This study to be conducted with English Language Teachers at the secondary education in our country during the first semester 2014-2015 academic year, aims to explore the beliefs of these in-service ELT teachers during the micro teaching sessions by the prospective ELT teacher candidates. This study aims at reporting the progress inbetween the…

  6. 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.

  7. Exploring Teacher Beliefs in Teaching EAP at Low Proficiency Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexander, Olwyn

    2012-01-01

    Teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) requires teachers experienced in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) to acquire additional skills, abilities and approaches. Beliefs about CLT teaching may not be appropriate for teaching EAP, especially to low level learners. Making teachers aware of their beliefs is the first step in helping them to…

  8. Teachers' Transformation as Learning: Teaching Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong Schools with a Teacher-Artist Partnership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leung, Bo Wah

    2014-01-01

    The Hong Kong Government has advocated teaching Cantonese opera in the school music curriculum to promote Chinese culture education. This longitudinal study aims to examine how and why teachers transform within 3 years in learning and teaching Cantonese opera with a teacher-artist partnership approach in schools. Five primary and two secondary…

  9. Becoming Music-Making Music Teachers: Connecting Music Making, Identity, Wellbeing, and Teaching for Four Student Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pellegrino, Kristen

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this descriptive case study was to examine the developing music teacher identity of four student music teachers by exploring the meanings of music making and the intersections of music making and teaching. Participants all had dual student teaching placements: elementary general music and secondary band. Data were generated through…

  10. Teacher and Teaching Effects on Students' Attitudes and Behaviors.

    PubMed

    Blazar, David; Kraft, Matthew A

    2017-03-01

    Research has focused predominantly on how teachers affect students' achievement on tests despite evidence that a broad range of attitudes and behaviors are equally important to their long-term success. We find that upper-elementary teachers have large effects on self-reported measures of students' self-efficacy in math, and happiness and behavior in class. Students' attitudes and behaviors are predicted by teaching practices most proximal to these measures, including teachers' emotional support and classroom organization. However, teachers who are effective at improving test scores often are not equally effective at improving students' attitudes and behaviors. These findings lend empirical evidence to well-established theory on the multidimensional nature of teaching and the need to identify strategies for improving the full range of teachers' skills.

  11. Does Teaching Practice Effectively Prepare Student-Teachers to Teach Creative and Performing Arts? The Case of Botswana

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mannathoko, Magdeline C.

    2013-01-01

    Teacher Education involves the policies and procedures designed to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills they require to teach effectively. Teaching practice (TP) is an integral part in teacher education because it allows student-teachers to apply the theories into practice. Effective preparation of student-teachers in practical subjects…

  12. Understanding the racial perspectives of White student teachers who teach Black students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McKay, Trinna S.

    Statement of the problem. Most student teachers successfully complete their educational programs; however, some continue to express concern about becoming an actual practicing teacher. One of these concerns deals with White teachers interactions with Black students. This study investigated White student teachers' perceptions of teaching Black students. In particular, the study examined the racial perceptions student teachers expressed about being a White person in a racially diverse school and examined the student teachers' perceptions on race. The following questions guided the study: (1) What are the perceptions of White student teachers concerning being White? (2) What are the perceptions of White student teachers on teaching science to Black students in a racially diverse secondary school? (3) What recommendations can White student teachers give to teacher education programs concerning the teaching of Black students? Methods. Semi-structured interviews, personal profiles and reflective journals were used as the means for collecting data. All three sources of data were used to understand the racial perceptions of each student teacher. Analysis of the data began with the identification of codes and categories that later developed into themes. Cross analyses between the data sources, and cross analysis between participants' individual data were conducted. The use of semi-structured interview, personal profiles, and reflective journals provided in-depth descriptions of the participants' racial perceptions. These data sources were used to confirm data and to show how student teaching experiences helped to shape their racial perceptions. Results. Data analysis revealed three themes, various life experiences, variety of opinions related to teaching Black students, and limited recommendations to teacher education programs. Although all teachers remained at the contact stage of the White racial identity model (Helms, 1990), they were open to dialogue about race. The

  13. Teaching Pre-Service Teachers about Belonging

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gillies, Ann

    2017-01-01

    This article describes how a Teacher Educator teaches her university students (pre-service teachers) about belonging; how it feels to belong to a group, why they need to spend their time and energy during the school day working to make K-12 students feel that they belong, what belonging looks like, and how to make it happen in the pre-service…

  14. Bearing Witness to Teaching and Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hansen, David T.

    2017-01-01

    In this article, the author elucidates the idea of bearing witness to teaching and teachers. The orientation derives from a philosophical and field-based inquiry pivoting around the questions What does it mean to be a person in the world today? and What does it mean to be a person in the role of teacher? From 2012 to 2014, the author interacted…

  15. Teachers' Professional Development. Teachers in Society Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hughes, Phillip, Ed.

    This book is the first in a series on teachers and teaching, a result of the Australian Council for Educational Research program of research on teachers. The theme, teachers in society, has been constructed around three broad areas: the context of teaching, teacher education, and teachers' work. The book is divided into 8 chapters as follows: (l)…

  16. Teachers' Identities and Creative Teaching in Language Immersion Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kong, Kaishan

    2015-01-01

    The connection between teachers' identities and their influence on creative teaching can be found in literature on identity negotiation theory (Norton) and relationship between teachers' understanding of themselves, knowledge, and teaching practice (Johnson and Golombek). Informed by the relevant literature, this qualitative inquiry explores two…

  17. Teachers' Perceptions of Effective Teaching: A Comparative Study of Elementary School Teachers from China and the USA

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meng, Lingqi; Muñoz, Marco

    2016-01-01

    This international study investigated Chinese and American elementary school teachers' perceptions of effective teaching. The sample comprised Chinese (n = 108) and US (n = 110) participating teachers. The Effective Teaching Quality Survey (ETQS) was adopted for this comparative education research, an instrument that operationalized Stronge's…

  18. Are They Ready to Teach? Student Teachers' Readiness for the Job with Reference to Teacher Competence Frameworks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mohamed, Zulaikha; Valcke, Martin; De Wever, Bram

    2017-01-01

    This is the first report in a series of studies concerning student teachers' readiness-for-the-job, defined by a framework of 11 international teacher competences (ITCs). Attaining readiness-for-the-job is connected to four characteristics of teacher education, namely; (1) employing the ITCs in day-to-day teaching in initial teacher education, (2)…

  19. The Role of Legitimacy in Student Teaching: Learning to "Feel" Like a Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cuenca, Alexander

    2011-01-01

    A key factor in learning to teach during student teaching is the cooperating teacher, who supports and mentors prospective teachers. In the apprenticeship that is student teaching, the cooperating teacher serves as a gatekeeper to the experiential learning of pre-service teachers. Although several studies indicate the significant influence…

  20. Pre-Service Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Reflections on Good and Bad Mathematics Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dayal, Hem Chand

    2013-01-01

    Researchers suggest that teachers' beliefs about teaching are strongly influenced by their personal experiences with mathematics. This study aimed to explore Pacific Island pre-service secondary mathematics teachers' perceptions about good and bad mathematics teachers. Thirty pre-service teachers, enrolled in a mathematics teaching methods course…

  1. What is motivating middle-school science teachers to teach climate change?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McNeal, Peggy; Petcovic, Heather; Reeves, Patricia

    2017-05-01

    Adoption of science content standards that include anthropogenic climate change has prompted widespread instruction in climate change for the first time. However, the controversial nature of the topic can be daunting and many teachers share misconceptions that lead to weak treatment of climate change in classrooms. Nevertheless, numerous teachers have embraced the topic and are providing illustrations of deliberate climate change education. In this study we investigated teacher motivation using focus groups with middle school teachers who currently teach climate change. Qualitative analysis of the collective teacher voices yielded underlying motivations. Our findings suggest that these teachers' interest in environmentalism naturally translates to climate change advocacy and motivates teaching the topic. Their knowledge and expertise gives them confidence to teach it. These teachers see themselves as scientists, therefore their views align with the scientific consensus. They practice authentic scientific research with their students, thus confirming valued characteristics of their scientist identity. Finally, our findings suggest that teaching climate change gives these teachers a sense of hope as they impact the future through their students. This study contrasts with skepticism over the state of climate change education and contributes to an understanding of how climate change education is motivated in teachers.

  2. 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…

  3. Teachers' Voices: Teachers' Reflections on Learning and Teaching through the Medium of English as an Additional Language in South Africa.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Probyn, Margaret

    2001-01-01

    Explores perceptions and practice of teachers teaching through English as an additional language (EAL) in township schools in South Africa. Lessons of five excellent teachers teaching mathematics, accounting, science, business economics, and history through EAL were videotaped, and teachers were interviewed about their perceptions of teaching…

  4. Analyzing the Relationship between Four Teacher Competence Areas and Commitment to Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKim, Aaron J.; Sorensen, Tyson J.; Velez, Jonathan J.; Henderson, Thomas M.

    2017-01-01

    The success of education depends on highly competent teachers committed to stay in the teaching profession. In agricultural education, the need for teachers committed to teaching agriculture is heightened by the identified shortage of teachers. Previous research has linked teacher competence, most commonly operationalized as self-efficacy, and…

  5. When learners become teachers: a review of peer teaching in medical student education.

    PubMed

    Benè, Kristen L; Bergus, George

    2014-01-01

    Peer teaching engages students as teachers and is widely used in K-12 education, many universities, and increasingly in medical schools. It draws on the social and cognitive congruence between learner and teacher and can be attractive to medical schools faced with a growing number of learners but a static faculty size. Peer teachers can give lectures on assigned topics, lead problem-based learning sessions, and provide one on one support to classmates in the form of tutoring. We undertook a narrative review of research on peer teachers in medical school, specifically investigating how medical students are impacted by being peer teachers and how having a peer teacher impacts learners. Studies have shown that peer teaching has a primarily positive impact on both the peer teacher and the learners. In the setting of problem-based learning courses or clinical skills instruction, medical students' performance on tests of knowledge or skills is similar whether they have faculty instructors or peer teachers. There is also strong evidence that being a peer teacher enhances the learning of the peer teacher relative to the content being taught. It is common for peer teachers to lack confidence in their abilities to successfully teach, and they appreciate receiving training related to their teaching role. We find evidence from several different educational settings that peer teaching benefits both the peer teachers and the learners. This suggests that peer teaching is a valuable methodology for medical schools to engage learners as teachers.

  6. Crossing the Border from Science Student to Science Teacher: Preservice Teachers' Views and Experiences Learning to Teach Inquiry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kang, Emily J. S.; Bianchini, Julie A.; Kelly, Gregory J.

    2013-04-01

    Preservice science teachers face numerous challenges in understanding and teaching science as inquiry. Over the course of their teacher education program, they are expected to move from veteran science students with little experience learning their discipline through inquiry instruction to beginning science teachers adept at implementing inquiry in their own classrooms. In this study, we used Aikenhead's (Sci Educ 81: 217-238, 1997, Science Educ 85:180-188, 2001) notion of border crossing to describe this transition preservice teachers must make from science student to science teacher. We examined what one cohort of eight preservice secondary science teachers said, did, and wrote as they both conducted a two-part inquiry investigation and designed an inquiry lesson plan. We conducted two types of qualitative analyses. One, we drew from Costa (Sci Educ 79: 313-333, 1995) to group our preservice teacher participants into one of four types of potential science teachers. Two, we identified successes and struggles in preservice teachers' attempts to negotiate the cultural border between veteran student and beginning teacher. In our implications, we argue that preservice teachers could benefit from explicit opportunities to navigate the border between learning and teaching science; such opportunities could deepen their conceptions of inquiry beyond those exclusively fashioned as either student or teacher.

  7. Both preparing to teach and teaching positively impact learning outcomes for peer teachers.

    PubMed

    Gregory, Alexander; Walker, Ian; McLaughlin, Kevin; Peets, Adam D

    2011-01-01

    We sought to evaluate the independent effects of preparing to teach and teaching on peer teacher learning outcomes. To evaluate the independent contributions of both preparing to teach and teaching to the learning of peer teachers in medical education. In total, 17 third-year medical students prepared to teach second-year students Advanced Cardiac Life Support algorithms and electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation. Immediately prior to teaching they were randomly allocated to not teach, to teach algorithms, or to teach ECG. Peer teachers were tested on both topics prior to preparation, immediately after teaching and 60 days later. Compared to baseline, peer teachers' mean examination scores (±SD) demonstrated the greatest gains for content areas they prepared for and then taught (43.0% (13.9) vs. 66.3% (8.8), p < 0.001, d = 2.1), with gains persisting to 60 days (45.1% (13.9) vs. 61.8% (13.9), p < 0.01, d = 1.3). For content they prepared to teach but did not teach, less dramatic gains were evident (43.6% (8.3) vs. 54.7% (9.4), p < 0.001, d = 1.3), but did persist for 60 days (42.6% (8.1) vs. 53.2% (14.5), p < 0.05, d = 1.3). Increase in test scores attributable to the act of teaching were greater than those for preparation (23.3% (10.9) vs. 8% (9.6), p < 0.001, d = 1.6), but the difference was not significant 60 days later (16.7% (14.4) vs. 10.2% (16.9), p = 0.4). Our results suggest preparing to teach and actively teaching may have independent positive effects on peer teacher learning outcomes.

  8. Using Blended Learning in Developing Student Teachers Teaching Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Isman, Aytekin; Abanmy, Fahad AbdulAziz; Hussein, Hisham Barakat; Al Saadany, Mohammed Abdelrahman

    2012-01-01

    The research aims to determine the effectiveness of using blended learning Approach in developing student teachers teaching skills, and defining teaching skills that confront students of teachers college at King Saud University need it. The research uses the Quasi- Experimental approach, with four experimental groups (Mathematics (21)--Science…

  9. The Teacher and the Teaching Profession - An Ecological Adaptation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zak, Itai

    This study aimed at assessing the relationships between the structures of the teaching occupation and teacher training institutions and the personality characteristics of teachers in Israel. The hypothesis considered was that recruitment by self-selection would promote an image of conservatism by bringing into teaching people with matched…

  10. Science teachers' knowledge, beliefs, values, and concerns of teaching through inquiry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Assiri, Yahya Ibrahim

    This study investigated elementary science teachers' knowledge, beliefs, values, and concerns of teaching through inquiry. A mixed-methods research design was utilized to address the research questions. Since this study was designed as a mixed-methods research approach, the researcher gathered two type of data: quantitative and qualitative. The study was conducted in Mohayel School District, Saudi Arabia. The information was collected from 51 participants using a questionnaire with multiple choice questions; also, 11 participants were interviewed. After collecting the data, descriptive and comparative approaches were used. In addition, themes and codes were used to obtain the results. The results indicated that the mean of elementary science teachers' knowledge was 51.23%, which was less than 60% which was the acceptable score. Also, the qualitative results showed that science teachers had a limited background of teaching through inquiry. In addition, the elementary science teachers had a high level of belief to teach science through inquiry since the mean was 3.99 out of 5.00. These quantitative results were confirmed by the qualitative data. Moreover, the overall mean of elementary science teachers was 4.01, which indicated that they believed in the importance of teaching science through inquiry which was also confirmed by the responses of teachers in the interviews. Also, the findings indicated that elementary school science teachers had concerns about teaching science through inquiry since the overall mean was 3.53. In addition, the interviewees mentioned that they faced some obstacles when they teach by inquiry, such as time, resources, class size, and the teachers' background. Generally, the results did not show any significant differences among elementary science teachers' knowledge, beliefs, values, and concerns depending on gender, level of education, and teaching experience. However, the findings indicated there was one significant difference which was

  11. Teaching about Teaching Science: Aims, Strategies, and Backgrounds of Science Teacher Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berry, Amanda; Van Driel, Jan H.

    2013-01-01

    Despite pressing concerns about the need to prepare high-quality teachers and the central role of teacher educators (TEs) in this process, little is known about how TEs teach about teaching specific subject matter, and how they develop their expertise. This empirical study focuses on the specific expertise that science TEs bring into teacher…

  12. Pre-Service Teachers Identify Connections between Teaching-Learning and Literacy Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Kimy; Robinson, Quintin; Braun-Monegan, Jenelle

    2016-01-01

    This study explores the transformation of pre-service teachers in their attainment of effective teaching skills. Pre-service teachers learn about the learning-to-read process and implementations of component skills of teaching reading within the practicum. More importantly, pre-service teachers achieve a meaningful understanding of the…

  13. Working the Dialectic: Teaching and Learning Teacher Research in Social Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martell, Christopher C.; Sequenzia, Maria R.

    2016-01-01

    This article presents two narratives of teaching and learning teacher research in social studies. Organized around the concept of working the dialectic, two social studies educators discuss their experiences as teachers and learners of teacher research. This article highlights the power of practitioner research to transform teaching and teacher…

  14. Relationship Domain of Form Six Teachers Thinking in Teaching with External Factors of Form Six Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    bin Pet, Mokhtar; Sihes, Ahmad Johari Hj

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to examine the external factors of form six teachers who can influence thinking domain form six teachers in their teaching. This study was conducted using a quantitative approach using questionnaires. A total of 300 form six teacher schools in Johor were chosen as respondents. The findings were obtained as student background…

  15. Teachers' Conceptions of Excellent Teaching and Its Relationships to Self-Reported Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Junjun; Brown, Gavin T. L.; Hattie, John A. C.; Millward, Pam

    2012-01-01

    This study surveyed Chinese middle school (n = 951) teachers' conceptions of excellent teaching and examined the relationship of those conceptions to their self-reported teaching practices. Responses were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. These teachers identified one examination-oriented dimension and…

  16. Secondary Physical Science Teachers' Conceptions of Science Teaching in a Context of Change

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Dale L.; Booth, Shirley

    2015-01-01

    Pre-service teachers enter initial teacher education programmes with conceptions of teaching gleaned from their own schooling. These conceptions, which include teachers' beliefs, may be resistant to change, which is a challenge in contexts where teacher educators hope that teachers will teach in ways different from their own schooling. Conceptions…

  17. The Effect of Tertiary Teachers' Goal Orientations for Teaching on Their Commitment: The Mediating Role of Teacher Engagement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Han, Jiying; Yin, Hongbiao; Wang, Wenlan

    2016-01-01

    This study explored the effect of tertiary teachers' goal orientations for teaching on their commitment, with a particular focus on the mediating role of teacher engagement. The results of a survey of 597 Chinese tertiary teachers indicated that teacher commitment was positively predicted by ability approach, mastery and relational goals, but was…

  18. "Teachers and Teaching": From Classroom to Reflection.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frankes, Lisa

    1993-01-01

    Book review recommends "Teachers and Teaching," edited by Tom Russell and Hugh Munby, to educators who envision a symbiosis of professional practice and research to promote teacher researchers, suggesting that the book's strength lies in its diversity of forms of enquiry--from narrative dialogs between educators, to case studies, to more…

  19. A comparison of observed teaching practices with teacher perceptions of their teaching during and following major funding

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kimble, Larry Lee

    The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine how the teaching practices of eight exemplary Iowa teachers changed over time (1994--1999); (2) to investigate discrepancies between the perceptions of teaching compared with actual performance of these behaviors exhibited in videotapes of their teaching; and (3) to determine how STS/Constructivist teaching behaviors changed after major NSF funding. Data were collected at multiple times over a five year period. Quantitative data included use of the ESTEEM for evaluating three consecutive days of "best" teaching on the part of the eight teachers. The TPI and CLES were used for measuring perceptions of the teachers. Interviews concerning classrooms and teaching practices were conducted. Assessment and teaching methods were also reviewed. Major findings include: (1) Teaching practices indicate that all eight teachers achieved expert status in all four areas measured by the ESTEEM. These include (1) facilitating the learning process from a constructivist perspective; (2) content-specific pedagogy related to student understanding; (3) adjustments in strategies based on interactions with the students; and (4) teacher knowledge of subject matter. Constructivist practices improved significantly at each data sampling over the studied period (significant at the .05 level). (2) Teacher perceptions of their constructivist teaching practices as measured by the TPI and CLES were very high. This was especially true for the CLES where five areas of constructivist teaching were evaluated, namely: (1) personal relevance; (2) scientific uncertainty; (3) critical voice; (4) shared control, and (5) student negotiations. The perceptions continued to improve over the studied period (significant at the .05 level). (3) Similarities between teacher observed practices and their perceptions of their teaching were noted. In many cases, the actual practices were observed to be better. (4) The teachers improved regarding wait-time between teacher

  20. Rachel's Literacy Stories: Unpacking One Preservice Teacher's Moral Perspectives on Literacy Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Amy

    2010-01-01

    While teacher educators agree that teaching is a profoundly moral activity, little attention has been placed on the moral perspectives about teaching and learning of those entering the teaching workforce. As a way of illustrating the importance of helping both future teachers become aware of their own moral compasses and teacher educators to…

  1. Dogs, Ponies, and the Improvement of Teaching: English Teachers' Perceptions of the Texas Teacher Appraisal System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clift, Renee T.; And Others

    This paper explores the impact of the Texas Teacher Appraisal System (TTAS) through an analysis of interviews with 24 high school English teachers. The first part of the paper discusses the development of the TTAS and the second section describes the study. The teachers were asked if and how the TTAS had affected their teaching performance, what…

  2. Effective Mathematics Teaching in Finnish and Swedish Teacher Education Discourses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hemmi, Kirsti; Ryve, Andreas

    2015-01-01

    This article explores effective mathematics teaching as constructed in Finnish and Swedish teacher educators' discourses. Based on interview data from teacher educators as well as data from feedback discussions between teacher educators and prospective teachers in Sweden and Finland, the analysis shows that several aspects of the recent…

  3. Newly qualified teachers' visions of science learning and teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roberts, Deborah L.

    2011-12-01

    This study investigated newly qualified teachers' visions of science learning and teaching. The study also documented their preparation in an elementary science methods course. The research questions were: What educational and professional experiences influenced the instructor's visions of science learning and teaching? What visions of science learning and teaching were promoted in the participants' science methods course? What visions of science learning and teaching did these newly qualified teachers bring with them as they graduated from their teacher preparation program? How did these visions compare with those advocated by reform documents? Data sources included participants' assignments, weekly reflections, and multi-media portfolio finals. Semi-structured interviews provided the emic voice of participants, after graduation but before they had begun to teach. These data were interpreted via a combination of qualitative methodologies. Vignettes described class activities. Assertions supported by excerpts from participants' writings emerged from repeated review of their assignments. A case study of a typical participant characterized weekly reflections and final multi-media portfolio. Four strands of science proficiency articulated in a national reform document provided a framework for interpreting activities, assignments, and interview responses. Prior experiences that influenced design of the methods course included an inquiry-based undergraduate physics course, participation in a reform-based teacher preparation program, undergraduate and graduate inquiry-based science teaching methods courses, participation in a teacher research group, continued connection to the university as a beginning teacher, teaching in diverse Title 1 schools, service as the county and state elementary science specialist, participation in the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, service on a National Research Council committee, and experience teaching a

  4. Exploring the Relationship between Goal Orientations for Teaching of Tertiary Teachers and Their Teaching Approaches in China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Han, Jiying; Yin, Hongbiao; Wang, Wenlan

    2015-01-01

    This study addresses a paucity of research into teacher motivation in higher education by exploring the relationship between tertiary teachers' goal orientations for teaching and their approaches to teaching in China. A questionnaire gathered responses from 262 Chinese tertiary teachers, and the results showed these teachers reporting higher…

  5. The Impact of Collaborative Reflections on Teachers' Inquiry Teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lin, Huann-shyang; Hong, Zuway-R.; Yang, Kuay-keng; Lee, Sung-Tao

    2013-12-01

    This study investigates the impact of collaborative reflections on teachers' inquiry teaching practices and identifies supportive actions relating to their professional development. Three science teachers in the same elementary school worked as a cooperative and collaborative group. They attended workshops and worked collaboratively through observing colleagues' teaching practices and discussing with university professors about their own inquiry teaching. The pre- and post-treatment classroom observations and comparisons of their teaching reveal that the three teachers were more focussed on asking inquiry-oriented questions in the post-treatment teaching. With additional qualitative data analysis, this study identified supportive resources of professional development. Workshop training sessions and sample unit served as the initiative agent in the beginning stage. Discussions with peers and reflective observation of peer teaching acted as a facilitative agent. Finally, student responses and researchers' on-site visit comments worked as a catalytic agent for their professional development.

  6. Biology Teachers' Professional Development Needs for Teaching Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Friedrichsen, Patricia J.; Linke, Nicholas; Barnett, Ellen

    2016-01-01

    The social controversy surrounding the teaching of evolution puts pressure on secondary biology teachers to deemphasize or omit evolution from their curriculum. In this growing pressure, professional development can offer support to biology teachers. In this study, we surveyed secondary biology teachers in Missouri and report the data from…

  7. EFL Teachers' Assessment Literacy and Their Reflective Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ashraf, Hamid; Zolfaghari, Samaneh

    2018-01-01

    Understanding and employing useful classroom assessments are crucial to increase student achievement (Marzano, 2000). Teachers' assessment literacy is viewed as a key link in the connection between assessment quality and student achievement. Reflective teaching is a movement in teacher education and crucial kind of thought that enables teachers to…

  8. An Investigation of Early Childhood Teacher Self-Efficacy Beliefs in the Teaching of Arts Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garvis, Susanne; Pendergast, Donna

    2011-01-01

    The self-efficacy beliefs teachers hold about their ability to teach subjects shapes their competence in teaching. Teacher self-efficacy is defined as teacher beliefs in their ability to perform a teaching task. If teachers have strong teacher self-efficacy in the teaching of arts education, they are more likely to incorporate arts in the…

  9. Equity Issues in Teaching and Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burke, Penny Jane; Whitty, Geoff

    2018-01-01

    Concerns about creating greater equity in education are often projected outside of teaching. Yet the creation by teachers of more equitable and inclusive educational experiences and opportunities can play an important part in wider struggles for social justice. We argue that equity must become a central dimension of teacher education to challenge…

  10. Why Teachers Leave Teaching: The Case of Pretertiary Institutions in Ghana

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Agezo, Clement K.

    2010-01-01

    In Ghana, many professional teachers have been leaving teaching to seek employment in jobs that they think hold promise of better pay and prestige. This article critically examines the key factors that compel teachers to leave the teaching profession for other jobs. Thirty professionally trained teachers who had taught at pretertiary institutions…

  11. Evaluation of Pre-Service Teachers' Images of Science Teaching in Turkey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yilmaz, Hulya; Turkmen, Hakan; Pedersen, Jon E.; Huyuguzel Cavas, Pinar

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate elementary pre-service teachers' image of science teaching, analyze the gender differences in image of science teaching, and evaluate restructured 2004 education reform by using a Draw-A-Science-Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C). Two hundred thirteen (213) pre-service elementary teachers from three…

  12. Three Southern high school biology teachers' perspectives on teaching evolution: Sociocultural influences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kyzer, Peggy Mckewen

    Organizations in science and science education call for students to have a thorough understanding of the theory of evolution. Yet many high school biology teachers do not teach evolution and/or include creationism in their instruction (National Academy of Science, 1998). Historically, the controversy surrounding evolution has created tension for teachers. This case study explored the sociocultural influences related to teaching evolution in three Southern 10th-grade public high school biology classrooms. It also explored the socially and culturally embedded influences on teachers' instructional goals and personal perspectives toward evolution as well as modification of instruction when evolution is taught. Theoretically framed using symbolic interactionism and sociocultural theory, data were collected between October 2003 and April 2004 and included classroom observations two to three times per week, artifacts, and in-depth interviews of the participating teachers, their science department chairpersons, their students, and a Protestant minister. The classroom teachers were unaware of the focus of the study until after evolution was taught. The analysis used in this study was an inductive, interpretative approach that allowed exploration of the sociocultural influences that affect how teachers teach evolution. The sociocultural influences and the lived experiences of each teacher created a continuum for teaching evolution. One of the participating teachers who was heavily involved in the community and one of its fundamentalist churches elected to avoid teaching evolution. Another participating teacher at the same school integrated the theory of evolution in every unit. The third teacher who taught in another school elected to teach evolution in a superficial manner to avoid conflict. The data revealed that the participating teachers' sociocultural situatedness influenced their decisions and instruction on evolution. The influence of strong religious beliefs within

  13. Can Teacher Evaluation Improve Teaching?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Principal Leadership, 2013

    2013-01-01

    The answer to the question, Can evaluation improve teaching? is a qualified yes. Teacher evaluation has changed and the role of the principal has changed as well; the focus now is on evidence, not merely good judgment. With the right tools, systems, and support, it should be possible to help improve teaching performance and student learning…

  14. Examining Primary Pre-Service Teachers' Perspectives on Teaching Practice Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Basturk, Savas

    2016-01-01

    The courses "school experience" and "teaching practice" are undoubtedly among the central courses to be received by pre-service teachers who will be future teachers. Through them, pre-service teachers obtain the realistic information about their profession. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine pre-service teachers'…

  15. The Development of Interdisciplinary Teaching Approaches among Pre-service Science and Mathematics Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miranda Martins, Dominique

    This study sought to understand how a group of pre-service teachers in a combined secondary science and mathematics teaching methods course conceptualized and experienced interdisciplinary approaches to teaching. Although knowing how to plan interdisciplinary activities is an essential teaching practice in Quebec, these pre-service teachers faced many challenges during the process of learning to teach with this approach. By using two interdisciplinary frameworks (Nikitina, 2005; Boix Mansilla & Duraising, 2007), I qualitatively analyzed the development of the pre-service teachers' prior and emerging ideas about interdisciplinarity and their ability to plan interdisciplinary teaching activities. The provincial curriculum and issues related to time greatly shaped students' conceptions about interdisciplinarity in the classroom and constrained their ability to plan for and envision the enactment of interdisciplinary lessons in secondary science and mathematics classes. In addition, images of themselves as content-specialists, self-efficacy beliefs in relation to interdisciplinary teaching, and student learning as a source of teacher motivation emerged as key factors promoting or interrupting the development of interdisciplinary teaching approaches. Examination of these factors highlights the need for teacher-education programs to provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to explore how they see themselves as educators, increase their instructional self-efficacy beliefs, and motivate them to teach in an interdisciplinary fashion. Keywords: interdisciplinary teaching, student-teachers, curriculum, teacher-education program, self-efficacy, motivation.

  16. Teacher students' dilemmas when teaching science through inquiry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krämer, Philipp; Nessler, Stefan H.; Schlüter, Kirsten

    2015-09-01

    Background: Inquiry-based science education (IBSE) is suitable to teach scientific contents as well as to foster scientific skills. Similar conclusions are drawn by studies with respect to scientific literacy, motivational aspects, vocabulary knowledge, conceptual understandings, critical thinking, and attitudes toward science. Nevertheless, IBSE is rarely adopted in schools. Often barriers for teachers account for this lack, with the result that even good teachers struggle to teach science as inquiry. More importantly, studies indicate that several barriers and constraints could be ascribed to problems teacher students have at the university stage. Purpose: The purpose of this explorative investigation is to examine the problems teacher students have when teaching science through inquiry. In order to draw a holistic picture of these problems, we identified problems from three different points of view leading to the research question: What problems regarding IBSE do teacher students have from an objective, a subjective, and a self-reflective perspective? Design & method: Using video analysis and observation tools as well as qualitative content analysis and open questionnaires we identified problems from each perspective. Results: The objectively stated problems comprise the lack of essential features of IBSE especially concerning 'Supporting pupils' own investigations' and 'Guiding analysis and conclusions.' The subjectively perceived problems comprise concerns about 'Teachers' abilities' and 'Pupils' abilities,' 'Differentiated instruction' and institutional frame 'Conditions' while the self-reflectively noticed problems mainly comprise concerns about 'Allowing inquiry,' 'Instructional Aspects,' and 'Pupils' behavior.' Conclusions: Each of the three different perspectives provides plenty of problems, partially overlapping, partially complementing one another, and partially revealing completely new problems. Consequently, teacher educators have to consider these

  17. The implementation of equitable teaching strategies by high school biology student teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Scantlebury, Kate; Butler Kahle, Jane

    Teachers can perpetuate stereotypic cultural beliefs regarding girls' ability in, aptitude for, and suitability for science by their teaching practices and behaviors. As teachers have a major influence on girls' career choices their equitable teaching practices in the classroom are important to encourage all students, but especially girls, to continue with science. Researchers have studied science classrooms and have defined common strategies and practices that can help create an equitable classroom environment. The purpose of this study was to determine if high school biology student teachers could transfer learned equitable teaching strategies to actual teaching and the support conditions necessary for that transfer. Two support conditions were assessed: cooperating teacher and peer group support. Seven preservice teachers were placed into three groups. One group had both support conditions, the second group had only one condition (peer support), and the third group did not have either support condition. Both qualitative and quantitative data sources were collected. Results showed that preservice teachers could transfer learned equitable teaching into actual teaching practice. However, they were more successful in achieving the transfer if they were supervised by cooperating teachers who are sensitized to the issue of gender equity in education. Being involved in a peer support group was not as crucial to using the strategies as having a supportive cooperative teacher.

  18. Emotional Issues in Teaching Science: A Case Study of a Teacher's Views

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zembylas, Michalinos

    2004-08-01

    Science teaching environments are social environments, and teachers emotions interact with their science teaching in powerful ways. To value the teacher is to value the whole person, not just the intellect. In this paper, a theorization of teacher emotion in science teaching is developed which illustrates the role of emotion in establishing and maintaining self-esteem in science teaching situations. From the standpoint of social-constructionist theory of emotion, it is argued that emotion is a social construction within social relationships. Arising from this view, are the emotions of intellectual excitement, frustration and shame that play a key role in the development of self-esteem. The dynamics of these emotions, in the context of experiences of success and failure, may dispose teachers to act positively or negatively towards science teaching. The theorisation developed is illustrated in the emotional experiences of an elementary school teacher in an early childhood science classroom. These experiences indicate that emotion is constitutive of teaching, and merits greater consideration in science teaching.

  19. Why Teach? A Project-Ive Life-World Approach to Understanding What Teaching Means for Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Landrum, Brittany; Guilbeau, Catherine; Garza, Gilbert

    2017-01-01

    Previous literature has examined teachers' motivations to teach in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic motives, personality dimensions, and teacher burnout. These findings have been cast in the rubric of differences between teachers and non-teachers and the linear relations between these measures among teachers. Utilizing a phenomenological approach…

  20. 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

  1. Online Language Teaching: Teacher Perceptions of Effective Communication Tools, Required Skills and Challenges of Online Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Paepe, Liesbeth; Zhu, Chang; Depryck, Koen

    2018-01-01

    To date, teacher perceptions of online language teaching have attracted very little attention. However, these perceptions may influence decisions regarding instructional design, teaching practices and eventually the learning experience. Furthermore, teacher perceptions can contribute to the design of teacher training programs. This study provides…

  2. Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching English to Primary School Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shinde, Mahesh B.; Karekatti, Tripti K.

    2012-01-01

    This paper is a part of an ongoing doctoral research on "Teacher Talk in ESL Classrooms". The idea for this was gained through the hypothesis that teachers' beliefs about English teaching may also mould their talk. The researcher intends here to analyse and comment on teachers' English teaching beliefs. It is generally accepted that…

  3. Teaching in Inclusive Classrooms: Efficacy and Beliefs of Canadian Preservice Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Specht, Jacqueline; McGhie-Richmond, Donna; Loreman, Tim; Mirenda, Pat; Bennett, Sheila; Gallagher, Tiffany; Young, Gabrielle; Metsala, Jamie; Aylward, Lynn; Katz, Jennifer; Lyons, Wanda; Thompson, Scott; Cloutier, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    This study provides a Canada-wide snapshot of the self-efficacy and beliefs of 1490 preservice teachers in relation to inclusive teaching using the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice and the Beliefs about Learning and Teaching Questionnaire. At the time of data collection, these preservice teachers were in the final stages of their teacher…

  4. In Search of Teaching Quality of EFL Student Teachers through Teaching Practicum: Lessons from a Teacher Education Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Azkiyah, Siti Nurul; Mukminin, Amirul

    2017-01-01

    This study was intended to investigate the teaching quality of student teachers when they conducted their teaching practicum. Teaching quality is conceptualised based on eight classroom factors (orientation, structuring, modelling, application, questioning, building classroom as a learning environment, assessment, and time management) of the…

  5. Virtual Voices: Online Teachers' Perceptions of Online Teaching Standards

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Robin Davidson

    2009-01-01

    Online teachers' perceptions of online teaching standards published in 2006 by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and the National Education Association (NEA). Interviews with two teachers from each of the four online schools were studied following an online survey of 49 online teachers from these schools. Overall, participants reported…

  6. Predicting Elementary Classroom Teaching Practices from Teachers' Educational Beliefs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bauch, Patricia A.

    Using data from the national research project "A Study of Schooling," researchers sought to describe teachers' educational beliefs and to relate those beliefs to the teachers' classroom teaching practices. From 13 elementary schools in the national survey, 182 teachers were selected, based on their scores on two dimensions of belief:…

  7. Preparing Teachers to Teach English as an International Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matsuda, Aya, Ed.

    2017-01-01

    This book explores ways to prepare teachers to teach English as an International Language (EIL) and provides theoretically-grounded models for EIL-informed teacher education. The volume includes two chapters that present a theoretical approach and principles in EIL teacher education, followed by a collection of descriptions of field-tested teacher…

  8. Tensions and Paradoxes in Teaching: Implications for Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ben-Peretz, Miriam; Flores, Maria Assunção

    2018-01-01

    This paper focuses on the tensions and paradoxes in teaching. At present time, teacher education has the obligation to prepare teachers for diverse student populations, living in a highly varied context. This situation creates several competing expectations of the meaning of teacher education. For instance, preparing for professional autonomy in a…

  9. Analysis of Teacher Beliefs and Efficacy for Teaching Writing to Weak Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mohar, Tunku Mohani Tunku; Singh, Charajit Kaur Swaran; Kepol, Napisah; Ahmad, Ahmad Zainuri Loap; Moneyam, Sasigaran

    2017-01-01

    The present study investigated the beliefs and efficacy of a teacher teaching English to students who were weak at the language. The objective of the study was mainly to investigate the beliefs and efficacy of the ESL teacher for teaching writing to weak learners. The research was a case study of the English Language teacher teaching Form Three…

  10. Improving Teaching Does Improve Teachers: Evidence from Lesson Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Catherine C.; Perry, Rebecca R.; Friedkin, Shelley; Roth, Jillian R.

    2012-01-01

    The authors comment on the article by Morris and Hiebert in three ways. First, they add thoughts about why improvement efforts often focus on teachers, rather than teaching. Second, they offer evidence from U.S. lesson study research that focus on teaching can improve both students' learning and teachers' learning. Finally, they suggest that the…

  11. The Influence of Teacher Preparation Programs' Field Experiences on Pre-Service Teacher Candidates' Sense of Teaching Efficacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reddy, Alison Marie

    2012-01-01

    In this descriptive, mixed methods study, the researcher investigated the influence of teacher preparation programs' field experiences on teacher candidates' sense of teaching efficacy. Tschannen-Morgan & Woolfolk-Hoy's (2001) Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale questionnaire was sent to 221 teacher candidates enrolled in one of…

  12. Enriching Student Teaching Relationships. Student Teacher Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clothier, Grant; Kingsley, Elizabeth

    This document seeks to enable student teachers to deal more effectively with their cooperating teachers. The student teaching situation can be a time of stress for the student because of the abrupt change to near-professional status, the experience of being closely supervised by another person in foreign territory, and the knowledge that his…

  13. Bearing Witness: Poetry by Teachers about Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hatcher, Margaret, Ed.

    The purpose of this poetry anthology is to create a positive inspirational yet realistic picture of teachers and the very challenging and complex contexts within which they "weave their magic in students' lives" and make contributions to the world. The anthology aims to show how teachers think and feel about teaching, learning, and their…

  14. Analyze the Role of a Teacher. Module. A Pre-Student Teaching Field Experience for Pre-Service Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Browning, Ruth A.

    This module is designed to aid preservice teachers in their first student teaching experience. The module is composed of five learning experiences which enable participants to assess their feelings toward teaching by focusing on three module components: (1) getting to know the students; (2) analyzing the role and activities of a teacher; and (3)…

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Canipe, Martha Murray

    Preservice elementary teachers often have concerns about teaching science that may stem from a lack of confidence as teachers or their own negative experiences as learners of science. These concerns may lead preservice teachers to avoid teaching science or to teach it in a way that focuses on facts and vocabulary rather than engaging students in the doing of science. Research on teacher identity has suggested that being able to envision oneself as a teacher of science is an important part of becoming a teacher of science. Elementary teachers are generalists and as such rather than identifying themselves as teachers of particular content areas, they may identify more generally as teachers of students. This study examines three preservice teachers' identities as teachers of science and teachers of students and how these identities are enacted in their student teaching classrooms. Using a narrated identity framework, I explore stories told by preservice teachers, mentor teachers, student teaching supervisors, and science methods course instructors about who preservice teachers are as teachers of science and teachers of students. Identities are the stories that are told about who someone is or will become in relation to a particular context. Identities that are enacted are performances of the stories that are an identity. Stories were collected through interviews with each storyteller and in an unmoderated focus group with the three preservice teachers. In addition to sorting stories as being about teachers of science or students, the stories were categorized as being about preservice teachers in the present (actual identities) or in the future (designated identities). The preservice teachers were also observed teaching science lessons in their student teaching placements. These enactments of identities were analyzed in order to identify which aspects of the identity stories were reflected in the way preservice teachers taught their science lessons. I also analyzed the

  16. Experienced Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Teaching Acid-Base Chemistry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Drechsler, Michal; Van Driel, Jan

    2008-01-01

    We investigated the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of nine experienced chemistry teachers. The teachers took part in a teacher training course on students' difficulties and the use of models in teaching acid-base chemistry, electrochemistry, and redox reactions. Two years after the course, the teachers were interviewed about their PCK of (1)…

  17. EFL Teachers' Teaching Style, Creativity, and Burnout: A Path Analysis Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ghanizadeh, Afsaneh; Jahedizadeh, Safoura

    2016-01-01

    The present study delved into a rarely explored construct in the domain of English as a foreign language (EFL), i.e. teaching style. We hypothesized that teacher creativity plays a role in the styles teachers adopt in language institutes. It was also conjectured that teaching style affects burnout. The role of burnout in teacher creativity was…

  18. Finnish Student Teachers' Perceptions on the Role of Purpose in Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tirri, Kirsi; Kuusisto, Elina

    2016-01-01

    This study identifies the nature of the purposes that Finnish student teachers of different subjects (N = 372) have for teaching and how these perceptions could inform teacher education. Earlier studies have shown that both American and Finnish students have found the role of their teachers to be very important in teaching and learning purpose.…

  19. When Teachers Speak of Teaching, What Do They Say? A Portrait of Teaching from the Voices of the StoryCorps National Teachers Initiative

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liefshitz, Irene Anastasia

    2015-01-01

    There is a significant lack of educational research in which teachers' talk about teaching is not mediated by researchers. In the public sphere, teachers' voices rarely reach us unfiltered by the media, union and school district representatives, education reformers, and policymakers. What if we could listen to teachers talk about teaching…

  20. Preservice Teachers' Developing Conceptions of Teaching English Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly, Laura Beth

    2018-01-01

    In this study, 12 preservice teachers in a community college English as a second language (ESL) K-12 teacher education program drew pictures and wrote descriptions of teachers teaching English language learners (ELLs) at the beginning and end of an ESL methods course. Using content analysis, the researcher analyzed the drawings and descriptions…

  1. Teacher Identity in Language Teaching: Integrating Personal, Contextual, and Professional Factors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pennington, Martha C.; Richards, Jack C.

    2016-01-01

    This article reviews notions of identity and teacher identity, how these relate to the specific characteristics of language teaching, and how teacher identity can evolve or be developed through experience and teacher education. The notion of teacher identity highlights the individual characteristics of the teacher and how these are integrated with…

  2. Secondary Physical Science Teachers' Conceptions of Science Teaching in a Context of Change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taylor, Dale L.; Booth, Shirley

    2015-05-01

    Pre-service teachers enter initial teacher education programmes with conceptions of teaching gleaned from their own schooling. These conceptions, which include teachers' beliefs, may be resistant to change, which is a challenge in contexts where teacher educators hope that teachers will teach in ways different from their own schooling. Conceptions of teaching found in different cultural and disciplinary contexts have contextual differences but have resonances with the results of research into teacher beliefs. Our sample of eight South African secondary physical science teachers was schooled in a system which encouraged knowledge transmission, but they were prepared in their initial teacher education for a learner-centred approach. After they had taught for a few years, we explored their conceptions of science teaching, using phenomenographic interviews. Four conceptions emerged inductively from the analysis: transferring science knowledge from mind to mind; transferring problematic science knowledge from mind to mind; creating space for learning science knowledge and creating space for learning problematic science knowledge. Internally these conceptions are constituted by three dimensions of variation: the nature of the science knowledge to be learnt, the role of the students and the role of the teacher. Media and practical work play different roles in the external horizon of these conceptions. These conceptions reflect the disciplinary context as well as the emphases of the sample's initial teacher education programme. This suggests that initial teacher education can significantly shape teachers' conceptions of teaching.

  3. Using Torey Hayden's Teacher Stories to Teach Relationship Skills in Special Education Teacher Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoffman, Elin Meyers; Marlowe, Michael J.; Scharf, Kate Hoffman; Disney, Gayle H.; Macer, Alison; Poling, Daniel; Queen, Amber

    2015-01-01

    Torey Hayden's teacher stories are first-person accounts of being a teacher in classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Hayden's books offer readers a real-world look at the joys and challenges of teaching children whose lives are marked by emotional and behavioral disorders, child abuse and trauma, anger and defeat.…

  4. Collaborative Teaching and Self-Study: Engaging Student Teachers in Sociological Theory in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hogan, Vivienne; Daniell, Linda

    2015-01-01

    This article presents some of the findings of a three-year project researching the impact of changes made to teaching and learning in a first-year sociology paper for primary and early childhood education (ece) student teachers. The context of the research is an undergraduate Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme situated in the School of…

  5. Computers in the Classroom: Experiences Teaching with Flexible Tools. Teachers Writing to Teachers Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thompson, Charles, Ed.; Vaughan, Larry, Ed.

    First-hand accounts of what teachers have done with students and computers in their classrooms, how students have responded, and what and how teachers have learned from these experiences are discussed in the 19 articles in this book. The articles are presented under these headings: (1) teaching writing with word processors; (2) learning to inquire…

  6. What Motivates Pre-Service Teachers to Become Teachers and Their Perspectives of English Teaching as a Career Option

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tustiawati, I. A. Mela

    2017-01-01

    Teaching motivation issues are well-researched in several countries. However, these issues have been rarely investigated in the Indonesian context. This study investigated motivational factors that influence pre-service teachers to enter English teacher training and their perspectives of English teaching as a career option. It comprised a survey…

  7. Korean and American Teachers' Praising Styles and Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bang, Hyeyoung; Kim, Jungsub

    2016-01-01

    Praising is a crucial part of teaching performance that greatly impacts student performance and self-esteem. South Korean teachers are traditionally known to possess authoritarian attributes, whereas U.S. teachers have contradictory beliefs in terms of why and how to use praise. We used Q methodology among 16 American and 22 Korean teachers to…

  8. Factors predicting teachers' attitudes towards the use of ICT in teaching and learning

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    Ayub, Ahmad Fauzi Mohd; Bakar, Kamariah Abu; Ismail, Rohayati

    2015-10-01

    Technology has revolutionized in the field of Education. The importance of technology in schools cannot be ignored. While it is important that mathematics teachers should have positive attitudes towards adopting ICT in their teaching, various problems can arise when integrating ICT into classroom lessons. This study explored the factors that influence the attitudes of mathematic teachers in the integration of ICT in the teaching and learning process. A total of 187 mathematics teachers from the state of Selangor in Malaysia were randomly selected from a stratified cluster sample. The research examined five factors that were postulated to impact teachers' attitudes towards the integration of ICT in their lessons, viz. teachers' technology competence, school culture, access to ICT, school support, and years of classroom teaching experience. The findings showed that the teachers' attitudes towards using ICT in teaching and learning were positively correlated with the teachers' technology competence [r = .41; p < .01], ICT school culture [r = .261; p < .01], school support [r = .366; p < .01] and access to ICT resources [r = .220; p < .01]. However, a negative relationship existed between years of teaching and attitudes towards using ICT in teaching and learning [r = -0.192; p < .01]. A multiple regression analysis showed that 29.1% of the variation in teachers' attitudes towards using ICT in the classroom was explained by the variation in teachers' technology competence, school support and school culture, with the effects of teaching experience and ICT resource access being negligible.

  9. Developing an Instrument for Teacher Feedback: Using the Rasch Model to Explore Teachers' Development of Effective Teaching Strategies and Behaviors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van der Lans, Rikkert M.; van de Grift, Wim J. C. M.; van Veen, K.

    2018-01-01

    This study connects descriptions of effective teaching with descriptions of teacher development to advance an initial understanding of how effective teaching may develop. The study's main premise is that descriptions of effective teaching develop cumulatively where more basic teaching strategies and behaviors are required before teachers may…

  10. Multiple case studies of STEM teachers' orientations to science teaching through engineering design

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rupp, Madeline

    The following master's thesis is composed of two manuscripts describing STEM teachers' orientations to science teaching through engineering within the context of the Science Learning through Engineering Design (SLED) partnership. The framework guiding both studies was science teaching orientations, a component of pedagogical content knowledge. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews, multi-day classroom observations, pre- and post-observation interviews, implementation plans, and written reflections. Data sources were analyzed to generate two orientations to science teaching through engineering design for each participant. The first manuscript illustrates a single case study conducted with a sixth grade STEM teacher. Results of this study revealed a detailed picture of the teacher's goals, practices, assessments, and general views when teaching science through engineering design. Common themes across the teacher's instruction were used to characterize her orientations to science teaching through engineering design. Overall, the teacher's orientations showed a shift in her practice from didactic to student-centered methods of teaching as a result of integrating engineering design-based curriculum. The second manuscript describes a comparative case study of two sixth grade SLED participants. Results of this study revealed more complex and diverse relationships between the teachers' orientations to teaching science through engineering design and their instruction. Participants' orientations served as filters for instruction, guided by their divergent purposes for science teaching. Furthermore, their orientations and resulting implementation were developed from knowledge gained in teacher education, implying that teacher educators and researchers can use this framework to learn more about how teachers' knowledge is used to integrate engineering and science practices in the K-12 classroom.

  11. Crossing the Border from Science Student to Science Teacher: Preservice Teachers' Views and Experiences Learning to Teach Inquiry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kang, Emily J. S.; Bianchini, Julie A.; Kelly, Gregory J.

    2013-01-01

    Preservice science teachers face numerous challenges in understanding and teaching science as inquiry. Over the course of their teacher education program, they are expected to move from veteran science students with little experience learning their discipline through inquiry instruction to beginning science teachers adept at implementing inquiry…

  12. A Research on the Burnout and the Teaching Profession Attitudes of Teacher Candidates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kadi, Aysegül; Beytekin, Osman Ferda; Arslan, Hasan

    2015-01-01

    Purpose of this study is to examine burnout and teaching profession attitudes of teacher candidates. Research was conducted with 287 teacher candidates. By the findings; burnout and teaching profession attitudes of teacher candidates don't differ according to their gender. Burnout of teacher candidates differs according to their graduation status…

  13. Determining the Critical Skills Beginning Agriculture Teachers Need to Successfully Teach Welding

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pate, Michael L.; Warnick, Brian K.; Meyers, Tiffany

    2012-01-01

    Using the Delphi technique, agriculture teachers with significant experience teaching welding were asked to help determine the critical skills beginning agriculture teachers need to successfully teach welding. The study's objectives sought to (1) identify the knowledge and technical skill competencies that beginning agriculture teachers need to…

  14. Pre-Service Teachers' Retrospective and Prospective Evaluations: Program, Self, and Teaching Profession

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ulusoy, Mustafa

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate teacher candidates' retrospective and prospective evaluations about the classroom teacher education program, self, and the teaching profession. Observations, interviews, focus group interviews, and surveys were used to collect data from the 240 subjects. Teacher candidates believed that the teaching profession is…

  15. Developing the Effective Teaching Skills of Teacher Candidates during Early Field Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Welsh, Kelly A.; Schaffer, Connie

    2017-01-01

    This study examined the development of effective teaching skills in teacher candidates in the context of early field experiences directly tied to a pedagogical course. Evidence from faculty instructors, mentor teachers, and teacher candidates suggests secondary education candidates were able to develop effective teaching skills related to…

  16. Factors influencing pre-service physics teachers' skills of writing teaching materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sinaga, Parlindungan

    2016-02-01

    Writing teaching materials is one of the generic pedagogical skills. Teachers and pre-service teachers should be trained to have the skills of writing teaching materials. This study examines the factors that influence the skills of writing in the disciplines among pre-service physics teachers. This study in particular aims to contribute to the development of science writing in the disciplines and to the organization of workshops on writing teaching materials for pre-service teachers. The problems of this research are formulated in the question of what are the factors that influence the skills of pre-service physics teachers in writing teaching materials. The research adopted mixed methods with embedded experimental design. The research subjects were 18 students enrolled in the school physics course. The instruments used consisted of conceptual understanding tests, learning strategy questionnaire, tests of the multiple representation skills, and one-on-one semi- structured interview. Results of data analysis show that the ability and skills of writing physics teaching materials of the pre- service physics teachers are determined by the factors of conceptual understanding of the subject matter with a contribution of 20%, the skills of making multiple representations of concepts with a contribution of 9.8% and students' self-regulation and learning strategy with a contribution of 33.5%. There are other factors that have not been investigated in this study; therefore, it is recommended that future research conduct further investigation on other factors that influence pre-service teachers' skills in writing physics teaching materials.

  17. Co-teaching Perspectives from Secondary Science Co-teachers and Their Students with Disabilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    King-Sears, Margaret E.; Brawand, Anne Eichorn; Jenkins, Melissa C.; Preston-Smith, Shantha

    2014-10-01

    An in-depth case study of one team of co-teachers' practice from multiple perspectives is described. A high school science co-teaching team and their students with disabilities completed surveys about their perceptions of co-teaching. Additionally, observations of the two co-teachers occurred to determine roles and types of interactions for each co-teacher during science instruction. Observational data revealed effective teaching behaviors demonstrated by each co-teacher. Detailed descriptions of the co-teachers' instruction are provided. The science educator was observed interacting with the large group twice as often as the special educator. The science educator also presented new content nearly three times as often as the special educator. The co-teacher surveys were consistent with the observational data. Both educators disagreed that the special educator was primarily the lead for instruction. Both educators strongly agreed they had an effective co-teaching relationship, although the science educator indicated stronger agreement for parity in roles and responsibilities than the special educator noted. Forty-three percent of the students identified the science educator as in charge of lessons, while 43% identified both educators. Most students thought teaching was divided in half, and all students enjoyed having two teachers in science. Eighty-six percent of the students indicated team teaching was the most frequently used co-teaching model, and 14% indicated one teach, one drift. Implications for co-teachers' reflections on their collaboration, including the relevance of student perceptions (i.e., Who is the "real" teacher?), and the extent to which educators are prepared at preservice and inservice levels for co-teaching are discussed.

  18. Student teachers' pedagogical content knowledge for teaching systems thinking: effects of different interventions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rosenkränzer, Frank; Hörsch, Christian; Schuler, Stephan; Riess, Werner

    2017-09-01

    Systems' thinking has become increasingly relevant not only in education for sustainable development but also in everyday life. Even if teachers know the dynamics and complexity of living systems in biology and geography, they might not be able to effectively explain it to students. Teachers need an understanding of systems and their behaviour (content knowledge), and they also need to know how systems thinking can be fostered in students (pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)). But the effective development of teachers' professional knowledge in teaching systems thinking is empirically uncertain. From a larger study (SysThema) that investigated teaching systems thinking, this article reports the effects of the three different interventions (technical course, didactic course and mixed course) in student teachers' PCK for teaching systems thinking. The results show that student teachers' PCK for teaching systems thinking can be promoted in teacher education. The conclusion to be drawn from our findings is that a technically orientated course without didactical aspects seems to be less effective in fostering student teachers' PCK for teaching systems thinking. The results inform educators in enhancing curricula of future academic track and non-academic track teacher education.

  19. What Is "Good" Teaching? Teacher Beliefs and Practices about Their Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Devine, Dympna; Fahie, Declan; McGillicuddy, Deirdre

    2013-01-01

    There has been increasing attention on teacher "quality" and effectiveness internationally. There is, however, little research documenting experienced teachers' classroom practices and their beliefs on why they teach the way they do. Drawing on a mixed methodological study of practices and beliefs across 12 primary and secondary schools,…

  20. Chemistry Teachers' Views on Teaching "Climate Change"--An Interview Case Study from Research-Oriented Learning in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feierabend, Timo; Jokmin, Sebastian; Eilks, Ingo

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a case study from research-oriented learning in chemistry teacher education. The study evaluates the views of twenty experienced German chemistry teachers about the teaching of climate change in chemistry education. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews about the teachers' experiences and their views about…

  1. Why Do Student Teachers Enrol for a Teaching Degree? A Study of Teacher Recruitment in Portugal and Sweden

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flores, Maria Assunção; Niklasson, Laila

    2014-01-01

    This paper reports on findings from an exploratory study carried out in Portugal and Sweden, concerning student teacher recruitment to Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes. It addresses issues such as the motivations and expectations of the student teachers regarding the teaching profession. Drawing upon existing related literature, a…

  2. Preparing perservice teachers to teach elementary school science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lewis, Amy D.

    The development of scientifically literate citizens begins in the elementary school. Yet elementary school teachers are ill prepared to teach science (Trygstad, Smith, Banilower, Nelson, & Horizon Research, Inc., 2013). The research base on teacher preparation finds that programs designed to prepare elementary teachers are inadequate in providing both the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge necessary to teach science effectively (Baumgartner, 2010; Bodzin & Beerer, 2003; Bulunuz & Jarrett 2009). This mixed methods study examined what happened when a science methods course was interactively co-taught by an expert in elementary teaching methods and a physics expert. This study also aimed to discover what aspects of the curriculum pre-service teachers (PSTs) said helped them in developing their understanding of science content and scientific reasoning, and how to implement inquiry practices to teach science. A nested case study of three PSTs provided descriptive portraits of student experiences in the class. A whole class case analysis was used to examine what PSTs learned in terms of science, scientific reasoning skills, and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) from their experiences in the course. It was found that students often conflated science content with the experiences they had in learning the content. Although PSTs felt the interactive co-teaching model effectively created a balance between theory and practice, it was their experiences doing science--conducting physical experiments, developing and discussing scientific models, and the use of inquiry-based instruction--that they credited for their learning. Even with careful curriculum planning, and a course purposely designed to bridge the theory to practice gap, this study found one semester-long methods course to be insufficient in providing the vast content knowledge and PCK elementary school science teachers need.

  3. Preparing Elementary Prospective Teachers to Teach Early Algebra

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hohensee, Charles

    2017-01-01

    Researchers have argued that integrating early algebra into elementary grades will better prepare students for algebra. However, currently little research exists to guide teacher preparation programs on how to prepare prospective elementary teachers to teach early algebra. This study examines the insights and challenges that prospective teachers…

  4. Physics Teachers' Challenges in Using History and Philosophy of Science in Teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Henke, Andreas; Höttecke, Dietmar

    2015-05-01

    The inclusion of the history and philosophy of science (HPS) in science teaching is widely accepted, but the actual state of implementation in schools is still poor. This article investigates possible reasons for this discrepancy. The demands science teachers associate with HPS-based teaching play an important role, since these determine teachers' decisions towards implementing its practices and ideas. We therefore investigate the perceptions of 8 HPS-experienced German middle school physics teachers within and beyond an HPS implementation project. Within focused interviews these teachers describe and evaluate the challenges of planning and conducting HPS-based physics lessons using collaboratively developed HPS teaching materials. The teachers highlight a number of obstacles to the implementation of HPS specific to this approach: finding and adapting HPS teaching material, knowing and using instructional design principles for HPS lessons, presenting history in a motivating way, dealing with students' problematic ideas about the history of science, conducting open-ended historical classroom investigations in the light of known historical outcomes, using historical investigations to teach modern science concepts, designing assessments to target HPS-specific learning outcomes, and justifying the HPS-approach against curriculum and colleagues. Teachers' perceived demands point out critical aspects of pedagogical content knowledge necessary for confident, comfortable and effective teaching of HPS-based science. They also indicate how HPS teacher education and the design of curricular materials can be improved to make implementing HPS into everyday teaching less demanding.

  5. Adoption of Mobile Technology for Teaching Preparation in Improving Teaching Quality of Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nawi, Aliff; Hamzah, Mohd Isa; Ren, Chua Chy; Tamuri, Ab Halim

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to identify the readiness of teachers to use mobile phones for the purpose of teaching preparation. The study also reviewed the level of teachers' satisfaction when using the mobile technology applications developed for the purpose of teaching and learning in the classroom. This study used the mix method to collect data. A total of…

  6. Teacher to Teacher: What Is Your Most Compelling Reason for Teaching Grammar?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    English Journal, 2006

    2006-01-01

    This article presents compelling reasons from teachers why they teach grammar. Amy Benjamin from Hendrick Hudson High School says, she teaches grammar for two reasons. The first is that grammar instruction gives students metalanguage, "language about language." The second reason is that students are interested in language--its changes and…

  7. Teaching Interactive Practices and Burnout: A Study on Italian Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mameli, Consuelo; Molinari, Luisa

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to analyse the role played by teaching interactive practices (measured through a self-report Likert scale) in predicting teacher burnout, after controlling for school grade (primary vs. secondary school) and teaching experience. Participants were 282 Italian teachers equally distributed between primary and…

  8. Professional Development Needs of Idaho Technology Teachers: Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cannon, John G.; Kitchel, Allen; Duncan, Dennis W.; Arnett, Sally E.

    2011-01-01

    This study's purpose was to identify the teaching and learning professional development needs of [state] secondary technology teachers. Teachers' perceived level of importance and competence for 35 teaching and learning items were used to calculate mean weighted discrepancy scores (MWDS). Approximately 63% (n = 46) of [state] secondary technology…

  9. Urban High School Teachers' Beliefs Concerning Essential Science Teaching Dispositions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miranda, Rommel

    2012-01-01

    This qualitative study addresses the link between urban high school science teachers' beliefs about essential teaching dispositions and student learning outcomes. The findings suggest that in order to help students to do well in science in urban school settings, science teachers should possess essential teaching dispositions which include…

  10. Teaching Thinking Skills in Context-Based Learning: Teachers' Challenges and Assessment Knowledge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Avargil, Shirly; Herscovitz, Orit; Dori, Yehudit Judy

    2012-04-01

    For an educational reform to succeed, teachers need to adjust their perceptions to the reform's new curricula and strategies and cope with new content, as well as new teaching and assessment strategies. Developing students' scientific literacy through context-based chemistry and higher order thinking skills was the framework for establishing a new chemistry curriculum for Israeli high school students. As part of this endeavor, we developed the Taste of Chemistry module, which focuses on context-based chemistry, chemical understanding, and higher order thinking skills. Our research objectives were (a) to identify the challenges and difficulties chemistry teachers faced, as well as the advantages they found, while teaching and assessing the Taste of Chemistry module; and (b) to investigate how they coped with teaching and assessing thinking skills that include analyzing data from graphs and tables, transferring between multiple representations and, transferring between chemistry understanding levels. Research participants included eight teachers who taught the module. Research tools included interviews, classroom observations, teachers-designed students' assignments, and developers-designed students' assignments. We documented different challenges teachers had faced while teaching the module and found that the teachers developed different ways of coping with these challenges. Developing teachers' assessment knowledge (AK) was found to be the highest stage in teachers' professional growth, building on teachers' content knowledge (CK), pedagogy knowledge (PK), and pedagogical-content knowledge (PCK). We propose the use of assignments designed by teachers as an instrument for determining their professional growth.

  11. Learning to Teach a Blended Course in a Teacher Preparation Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kang, Jung Jin

    2014-01-01

    Teacher preparation programs have provided blended courses (a combination of online and face-to-face learning) for their students because of their availability and their convenience. Researchers need to understand how teacher educators perceive blended courses when they teach teacher candidates, because teacher preparation programs have different…

  12. Clinical teaching based on principles of cognitive apprenticeship: views of experienced clinical teachers.

    PubMed

    Stalmeijer, Renée E; Dolmans, Diana H J M; Snellen-Balendong, Hetty A M; van Santen-Hoeufft, Marijke; Wolfhagen, Ineke H A P; Scherpbier, Albert J J A

    2013-06-01

    To explore (1) whether an instructional model based on principles of cognitive apprenticeship fits with the practice of experienced clinical teachers and (2) which factors influence clinical teaching during clerkships from an environmental, teacher, and student level as perceived by the clinical teachers themselves. The model was designed to apply directly to teaching behaviors of clinical teachers and consists of three phases, advocating teaching behaviors such as modeling, creating a safe learning environment, coaching, knowledge articulation, and exploration. A purposive sample of 17 experienced clinical teachers from five different disciplines and four different teaching hospitals took part in semistructured individual interviews. Two researchers independently performed a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. Coding was discussed within the research team until consensus was reached. All participants recognized the theoretical model as a structured picture of the practice of teaching activities during both regular and senior clerkships. According to participants, modeling and creating a safe learning environment were fundamental to the learning process of both regular and senior clerkship students. Division of teaching responsibilities, longer rotations, and proactive behavior of teachers and students ensured that teachers were able to apply all steps in the model. The theoretical model can offer valuable guidance in structuring clinical teaching activities and offers suggestions for the design of effective clerkships.

  13. Use Root Cause Analysis Teaching Strategy to Train Primary Pre-Service Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lu, Chow-chin; Tsai, Chun-wei; Hong, Jon-chao

    2008-01-01

    This study examined the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) teaching strategy on pre-service primary science teachers and instinct pre-service teachers to apply RCA teaching strategy to science curriculums. RCA Teaching Strategy is to coordinates 5 Why Method and Fishbone Diagram. The participants included 18 pre-service primary science teachers and the…

  14. Teaching New Dogs New Tricks: Teacher Leadership in the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nordengren, Chase

    2016-01-01

    Institutions that work with teachers and teaching, from school districts to unions to preparation programs, find themselves under enormous pressure to define who teachers ought to be and what capabilities they ought hold, before outside forces define those ideas for them. Still, consensus is hard to find. While other professions "manage…

  15. Becoming-Teacher: The Negotiation of Teaching Practice of First-Year Secondary Science Teachers Prepared in a Hybrid Urban Teacher Education Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strom, Kathryn Jill

    2014-01-01

    While research suggests that new teachers work to put into practice the pedagogy learned from their preservice preparation programs during their first year of teaching, they often resort to traditional, teacher-centered pedagogies even when prepared to use innovative practices, particularly in urban schools. Relatively little is known, however,…

  16. Teacher Empowerment and Institutional Effectiveness in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jha, Avdhesh S.

    2011-01-01

    Teacher Empowerment means to equip a teacher for conceptual and practical teaching which focuses on the relevant syllabus topics. It means the power of the teacher to exercise his judgement of what, why, how, when and why to teach. It also insists on developing a harmonious relationship with the environment along with the right of the teacher to…

  17. Examination of Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers' Knowledge of Teaching Function Concept

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tasdan, Berna Tataroglu; Koyunkaya, Melike Yigit

    2017-01-01

    Teaching of mathematics could be improved with teachers who have a strong mathematical knowledge and have an ability to reflect this knowledge on their teaching. Therefore, it is important to develop mathematics teachers' theoretical and pedagogical knowledge. This study was designed to examine pre-service secondary mathematics teachers' (PSMT)…

  18. Exploring grade 3 teachers' resistance to `take up' progressive mathematics teaching roles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Westaway, Lise; Graven, Mellony

    2018-03-01

    This article addresses the question: Why teachers of mathematics have yet to `take up' progressive roles? Drawing on the philosophy of critical realism and its methodological equivalent, social realism, we analyse interview and observation data of four grade 3 teachers, with the view to identifying the mechanisms conditioning the expression of teachers' identities. In so doing, we show how post-apartheid changes in systemic roles of teachers create contradictory tensions for teachers as these bring their own mathematical learning and teaching experiences into contradiction with the new post-apartheid roles they are mandated to enact. We examine how this contradiction, together with beliefs about mathematics, pedagogy and learners, is expressed in the teaching of grade 3 mathematics. We maintain that the complementarity between teachers' beliefs and old systemic roles provides an explanation for why teachers of grade 3 mathematics have yet to `take-up' progressive roles. The implications point to the need for teacher development that creates enablers that lead to changes in classroom practices that align with policy-designated, progressive roles in teaching mathematics.

  19. How Do Mathematics Teachers Decide What to Teach? Curriculum Authority and Sources of Information Accessed by Australian Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clarke, David J.; Clarke, Doug M.; Sullivan, Peter

    2012-01-01

    Essential to teachers' planning are decisions regarding what should be taught. Curriculum documents are the most obvious authority. But what is a "curriculum document" for a mathematics teacher in Australia? Are there other credible sources of information that Australian teachers draw on when deciding what to teach? This article examines…

  20. Teaching Replays, Teaching Rehearsals, and Re-Visions of Practice: Learning from Colleagues in a Mathematics Teacher Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horn, Ilana Seidel

    2010-01-01

    Background/Context: Research shows that teachers' understandings of students, subject, and teaching influence their classroom practice. Additionally, teachers' colleagues have a role in shaping individuals' approaches to teaching and their responses to reform. Focus of Study: To understand how interactions with colleagues support teachers'…

  1. Tensions between Conflicting Beliefs of an EFL Teacher in Teaching Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mak, Sabina Ho-yan

    2011-01-01

    While it has been proposed that language teachers' beliefs could filter the way they perceive their teaching and influence their practice, few studies have investigated how their beliefs interact with their teaching decisions and why some beliefs override others. When EFL teachers adapt the Western-based Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) model…

  2. Preparing Preservice Teachers to Incorporate Geospatial Technologies in Geography Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harte, Wendy

    2017-01-01

    This study evaluated the efficacy of geospatial technology (GT) learning experiences in two geography curriculum courses to determine their effectiveness for developing preservice teacher confidence and preparing preservice teachers to incorporate GT in their teaching practices. Surveys were used to collect data from preservice teachers at three…

  3. How Three Prospective Teachers Construed Three Cases of Teaching. Research Report 94-3.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Linda M.; Bird, Tom

    This paper describes a case study of the use of cases in teacher education, comparing the responses of three prospective teachers to three cases of teaching. In an introduction to teaching course, the teacher educator used the three cases to provide alternative images of practice, hoping to influence the students' beliefs about teaching and about…

  4. Use of the "Tree" Analogy in Evolution Teaching by Biology Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marcelos, Maria Fátima; Nagem, Ronaldo Luiz

    2012-04-01

    This work discusses the use of Darwin's `Tree of Life' as a didactic analogy and metaphor in teaching evolution. It investigates whether biology teachers of pupils from 17 to 18 years old know Darwin's text `Tree of Life'. In addition, it examines whether those teachers systematically employ either the analogies present in that text or other analogies between the tree and evolution, and whether they adopt a specific methodology for teaching with analogies and metaphors (A&M). The academic training of teachers regarding use of A&M is review briefly. A diagnostic study was carried out with biology teachers in a public school in the town of Contagem in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The data were obtained through direct observation, questionnaires and a focus group. The teachers pointed out in the questionnaires that some details of Darwin's analogy are utilized as a resource. However, analysis of the data indicates that the `Tree of Life' text is not known or utilized in class. At the same time, the teachers state that they use aspects of the tree as a didactic resource to teach evolution and that its use facilitates the learning of content. The teachers have little knowledge of specific methodologies of teaching with analogies and metaphors, revealing that their training is incomplete in this area.

  5. Preservice Science Teachers' Uses of Inscriptions in Science Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tanis Ozcelik, Arzu; McDonald, Scott P.

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated preservice science teachers' uses of inscriptions in their peer teaching activities and was guided by the following research questions: (1) What kinds of inscriptions and inscriptional practices do preservice science teachers use in their peer teaching activity? and (2) How and for what purposes do preservice science…

  6. Teaching for Creativity by Science Teachers in Grades 5-10

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al-Abdali, Nasser S.; Al-Balushi, Sulaiman M.

    2016-01-01

    This classroom observation study explored how science teachers (N = 22) teach for creativity in grades 5-10 in Oman. We designed an observation form with 4 main categories that targeted the instructional practices related to teaching for creativity: questioning strategy, teacher's responses to students' ideas, classroom activities to support…

  7. Pre- and In-Service Preschool Teachers' Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aslan, Durmus; Tas, Isil; Ogul, Irem Gürgah

    2016-01-01

    In this study, pre- and in-service preschool teachers' science teaching efficacy beliefs were investigated. The sample included 100 pre-service (50 first grades and 50 last grades) and 73 in-service preschool teachers. As a data collection tool "Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument" was used. Findings indicated that in-service…

  8. Elementary Pre-Service Teachers' Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematics Teaching Anxiety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haciomeroglu, Guney

    2014-01-01

    The present study examined the structure of elementary pre-service teachers' mathematics anxiety and mathematics teaching anxiety by asking whether the two systems of anxiety are related. The Turkish Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale Short Version and the Mathematics Teaching Anxiety Scale were administered to 260 elementary pre-service teachers.…

  9. Middle school science teachers' teaching self-efficacy and students' science self-efficacy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pisa, Danielle

    Project 2061, initiated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), developed recommendations for what is essential in education to produce scientifically literate citizens. Furthermore, they suggest that teachers teach effectively. There is an abundance of literature that focuses on the effects of a teacher's science teaching self-efficacy and a student's science self-efficacy. However, there is no literature on the relationship between the two self-efficacies. This study investigated if there is a differential change in students' science self-efficacy over an academic term after instruction from a teacher with high science teaching self-efficacy. Quantitative analysis of STEBI scores for teachers showed that mean STEBI scores did not change over one academic term. A t test indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in mean SMTSL scores for students' science self-efficacy over the course of one academic term for a) the entire sample, b) each science class, and c) each grade level. In addition, ANOVA indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in mean gain factor of students rated as low, medium, and high on science self-efficacy as measured by the SMTSL, when students received instruction from a teacher with a high science teaching self-efficacy value as measured by the STEBI. Finally, there was no statistically significant association between the pre- and post-instructional rankings of SMTSL by grade level when students received instruction from a teacher with a high science teaching self-efficacy value as measured by the STEBI. This is the first study of its kind. Studies indicated that teaching strategies typically practiced by teachers with high science teaching were beneficial to physics self-efficacy (Fencl & Scheel, 2005). Although it was unsuccessful at determining whether or not a teacher with high science teaching self-efficacy has a differential affect on students' science self

  10. The Progression of Prospective Primary Teachers' Conceptions of the Methodology of Teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rivero, Ana; Azcárate, Pilar; Porlán, Rafael; Martín Del Pozo, Rosa; Harres, Joao

    2011-11-01

    This article describes the evolution of prospective primary teachers' conceptions of the methodology of teaching. Three categories were analyzed: the concept of activity, the organization of activities, and the concept of teaching resources. The study was conducted with five teams of prospective teachers, who were participating in teacher education courses of a constructivist orientation. The results showed very different itineraries in the processes of change, and the presence of two major obstacles—the belief that teaching is the direct cause of learning, and epistemological absolutism. The study allows us to deduce some implications for initial teacher education.

  11. University Teacher Competencies in a Virtual Teaching/Learning Environment: Analysis of a Teacher Training Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guasch, Teresa; Alvarez, Ibis; Espasa, Anna

    2010-01-01

    This paper attempts to shed light on the competencies a university teacher must have in order to teach in virtual learning environments. A teacher training experience was designed by taking into account the methodological criteria established in line with previous theoretical principles. The main objective of our analysis was to identify the…

  12. The Impact of Science Teachers' Beliefs on Teaching Science: The Case of Saudi Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alabdulkareem, Saleh Abdullah

    2016-01-01

    The researcher aims to investigate Saudi science teachers' beliefs about learning and teaching issues. The sample consisted of 247 middle school teachers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study conducted in the academic school year 2014/2015, and utilized a questionnaire and an interview that included 10% of the sample. The questionnaire targeted the…

  13. Teacher Pay and Teacher Aptitude

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leigh, Andrew

    2012-01-01

    Can changes in teacher pay encourage more able individuals to enter the teaching profession? So far, studies of the impact of pay on the aptitude distribution of teachers have provided mixed evidence on the extent to which altering teacher salaries represents a feasible solution to the teacher quality problem. One possible reason is that these…

  14. Elementary teachers' acquisition of science knowledge: Case-studies and implications for teaching preparation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stein, Morton

    Elementary school is a key time for students to develop their understanding of basic science concepts as well as their attitudes towards science and science learning. Yet many elementary teachers do not feel comfortable teaching science; as a result, they are likely to devote less time on that subject and to be less effective as science teachers. The literature suggests that weaknesses in elementary teachers' knowledge of science could be a main cause of this problem and, furthermore, that current elementary teacher preparation programs have contributed to this weakness. This study aims at gaining more knowledge about how elementary teachers who are successful in teaching science have acquired their science content knowledge and how such knowledge could be best acquired, with the ultimate goal of informing the design of more effective elementary teacher preparation programs. More specifically, this study addresses the following research questions: Which science learning experiences for elementary teachers seem most conducive to develop the kind of science content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge needed to support the teaching of science as called for by the most recent national and state standards? Which of these experiences should be included in elementary teacher preparation programs, and how? The core of this study consists of case studies of eight elementary school teachers who were identified as successful in teaching science. These subjects were selected so as to ensure differences in their teacher preparation programs, as well as gender and years of teaching experience. Information about each teacher's self-efficacy and motivation with respect to teaching science, history of pre-service and in-service preparation with respect to science, and how his/her current science knowledge was acquired, was sought through a series of interviews with each subject and triangulated with data collected from other sources. A cross-case analysis revealed some

  15. Teachers' Professional Knowledge for Teaching English as a Foreign Language: Assessing the Outcomes of Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    König, Johannes; Lammerding, Sandra; Nold, Günter; Rohde, Andreas; Strauß, Sarah; Tachtsoglou, Sarantis

    2016-01-01

    Despite an increasing research interest in subject-specific teacher knowledge, the scientific understanding regarding teachers' professional knowledge for teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) is very limited. This study therefore applies standardized tests to directly assess content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and…

  16. Teaching the Teachers To Understand and Teach Indigenous Australian Studies: New Models, Teaching Strategies and Resources To Empower and Educate a Nation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Craven, Rhonda G.; Mooney, Janet

    This review presents a rationale for teaching Australian teachers to understand and teach Aboriginal Studies, describing the structure and development of the Teaching the Teachers: Indigenous Australian Studies Project of National Significance. The project was designed in response to a government recommendation that all teacher training programs…

  17. Primary teachers conducting inquiry projects: effects on attitudes towards teaching science and conducting inquiry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Aalderen-Smeets, Sandra I.; Walma van der Molen, Juliette H.; van Hest, Erna G. W. C. M.; Poortman, Cindy

    2017-01-01

    This study used an experimental, pretest-posttest control group design to investigate whether participation in a large-scale inquiry project would improve primary teachers' attitudes towards teaching science and towards conducting inquiry. The inquiry project positively affected several elements of teachers' attitudes. Teachers felt less anxious about teaching science and felt less dependent on contextual factors compared to the control group. With regard to attitude towards conducting inquiry, teachers felt less anxious and more able to conduct an inquiry project. There were no effects on other attitude components, such as self-efficacy beliefs or relevance beliefs, or on self-reported science teaching behaviour. These results indicate that practitioner research may have a partially positive effect on teachers' attitudes, but that it may not be sufficient to fully change primary teachers' attitudes and their actual science teaching behaviour. In comparison, a previous study showed that attitude-focused professional development in science education has a more profound impact on primary teachers' attitudes and science teaching behaviour. In our view, future interventions aiming to stimulate science teaching should combine both approaches, an explicit focus on attitude change together with familiarisation with inquiry, in order to improve primary teachers' attitudes and classroom practices.

  18. Teach For America Teachers: How Long Do They Teach? Why Do They Leave?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Donaldson, Morgaen L.; Johnson, Susan Moore

    2011-01-01

    A large-scale, nationwide analysis of Teach For America teacher turnover presents a deeper picture of which TFAers stay, which ones leave the profession and some suggestions about why they leave. The authors learned that nearly two-thirds (60.5%) of TFA teachers continue as public school teachers beyond their two-year commitment; more than half…

  19. Influence on general practitioners of teaching undergraduates: qualitative study of London general practitioner teachers

    PubMed Central

    Hartley, Sarah; Macfarlane, Fraser; Gantley, Madeleine; Murray, Elizabeth

    1999-01-01

    Objective To examine the perceived effect of teaching clinical skills and associated teacher training programmes on general practitioners' morale and clinical practice. Design Qualitative semistructured interview study. Setting General practices throughout north London. Subjects 30 general practitioners who taught clinical skills were asked about the effect of teaching and teacher training on their morale, confidence in clinical and teaching skills, and clinical practice. Results The main theme was a positive effect on morale. Within teacher training this was attributed to developing peer and professional support; improved teaching skills; and revision of clinical knowledge and skills. Within teaching this was attributed to a broadening of horizons; contact with enthusiastic students; increased time with patients; improved clinical practice; improved teaching skills; and an improved image of the practice. Problems with teaching were due to external factors such as lack of time and space and anxieties about adequacy of clinical cover while teaching. Conclusions Teaching clinical skills can have a positive effect on the morale of general practitioner teachers as a result of contact with students and peers, as long as logistic and funding issues are adequately dealt with. Key messagesThe increase in community based teaching of clinical skills requires an increase in the number of general practitioner teachersLittle evidence is available about the effect of teaching of clinical skills and teacher training on general practitioner teachers and practicesGeneral practitioner teachers reported an increase in morale, improvements in clinical skills, and changes in clinical practice and in practice infrastructure as a result of teaching and trainingGeneral practitioner teachers reported problems because of pressure on time, lack of space, problems recruiting patients, and unsupportive practice partnersPositive effects on morale and clinical practice may be important for

  20. How to Activate Teachers through Teacher Evaluation?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tuytens, Melissa; Devos, Geert

    2014-01-01

    There is a general doubt on whether teacher evaluation can contribute to teachers' professional development. Recently, standards-based teacher evaluation has been introduced in many countries to improve teaching practice. This study wants to investigate which teacher evaluation procedural, leadership, and teacher characteristics can stimulate…

  1. Student-Teachers' Strategies in Classroom Interaction in the Context of the Teaching Practicum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heikonen, Lauri; Toom, Auli; Pyhältö, Kirsi; Pietarinen, Janne; Soini, Tiina

    2017-01-01

    Strategies student-teachers employ in classroom interaction with pupils during teaching practice periods are surprisingly understudied, considering that the teaching practicum provides a central arena for student-teachers learning to become teachers. This study investigates the primary strategies student-teachers utilised in classroom interaction…

  2. How Do Pre-Service Science Teachers' Views on Science, Scientists, and Science Teaching Change over Time in a Science Teacher Training Program?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ucar, Sedat

    2012-01-01

    Every aspect of teaching, including the instructional method, the course content, and the types of assessments, is influenced by teachers' attitudes and beliefs. Teacher education programs play an important role in the development of beliefs regarding teaching and learning. The purpose of the study was to document pre-service teachers' views on…

  3. Affording Explicit-Reflective Science Teaching by Using an Educative Teachers' Guide

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Shu-Fen; Lieu, Sang-Chong; Chen, Sufen; Huang, Mao-Tsai; Chang, Wen-Hua

    2012-01-01

    Although researchers have achieved some success in effective nature of science (NOS) teaching, helping teachers teach NOS continues to be a great challenge. The development of an educative teachers' guide would provide support for NOS teaching. In this study, we explored the effects that a research-based guide had on affording elementary school…

  4. Developing HALM Teaching Competencies in PETE Teacher Candidates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilkinson, Carol; Prusak, Keven; Zanandrea, Maria

    2018-01-01

    The lifetime activities approach, which grew out of the lifetime physical activity model, has informed the practice of one physical education teacher education (PETE) program as it prepares teacher candidates to teach K-12 students about the importance of health, health-related fitness, and physical activity. Health-enhancing behaviors such as…

  5. Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Instructors' Teaching Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sahan, Hasan Huseyin

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of pre-service teachers attending the pedagogical formation program offered by Balikesir University Necatibey Faculty of Education pertaining to instructors' teaching skills. A total of 220 pre-service teachers participated in the study. The data were collected by "Perceptions of…

  6. Outliers: Elementary Teachers Who Actually Teach Social Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Derek

    2014-01-01

    This mixed methods study identified six elementary teachers, who, despite the widespread marginalization of elementary social studies, spent considerable time on the subject. These six outliers from a sample of forty-six Michigan elementary teachers were interviewed, and their teaching was observed to better understand how and why they deviate…

  7. Future Teachers' Dispositions toward Teaching with Geospatial Technologies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jo, Injeong

    2016-01-01

    This study examined the effect of a minimal Web-based GIS experience within a semester-long methods course on enhancing preservice teachers' dispositions regarding the use of geospatial technologies for teaching. Fourteen preservice teachers enrolled in a senior-level methods course offered in geography and focused exclusively on how to teach…

  8. Teaching Children's Songs: A Taiwan-US Comparison of Approaches by Kindergarten Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liao, Mei-Ying; Campbell, Patricia Shehan

    2016-01-01

    The main purpose of this study was to compare differences in approaches to teaching children's song by kindergarten teachers in Taiwan and the USA. Five public school kindergarten teachers in Taipei, Taiwan, and five public kindergarten teachers in Seattle, USA, were invited to voluntarily participate in this study. They were asked to teach six…

  9. Teacher's Personality Type and Techniques of Teaching Pronunciation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shabani, Karim; Ghasemian, Atefeh

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to identify the most frequent techniques of teaching pronunciation used by Iranian EFL teachers and, (b) to find out any relationship between teacher's extroversion/introversion personality type and their techniques of teaching pronunciation. To this end, following an online survey a cohort of 60 teachers…

  10. Developing Preservice Teachers' Knowledge of Science Teaching through Video Clubs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Heather J.; Cotterman, Michelle E.

    2015-01-01

    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…

  11. Beginning Teachers' Perception of Their Induction into the Teaching Profession

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kidd, Lynda; Brown, Natalie; Fitzallen, Noleine

    2015-01-01

    Beginning teachers' induction into the teaching profession needs to be personally and professionally fulfilling, which is often not the case. The main objective of this mixed method study was to gain a deeper understanding of beginning teachers' experiences and the perceptions of their induction into the teaching profession and the support they…

  12. Preservice Secondary Teachers' Sense of Efficacy in Teaching Character Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Waters, Stewart; Russell, William B., III

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated the personal teaching efficacy and general teaching efficacy for character education of 130 preservice secondary teachers at a large university where there were no formal courses dedicated to character education, but the topic was included in some of the content coursework. The subjects were in one teacher education program…

  13. Emotional Experience of Caam(2) in Teaching: Power and Interpretation of Teachers' Work.

    PubMed

    Tsang, Kwok K; Kwong, Tsun L

    2016-01-01

    The study explores the social psychological process of teachers' emotional experiences. Twenty-one secondary schoolteachers in Hong Kong were interviewed. The findings show that the teachers generally felt caam(2) (a Cantonese adjective that covers a range of meanings like gloomy, dreadful, tragic, pitiful, pathetic, and miserable) in teaching. The social psychological process of the emotional experience of caam(2) involves how teachers interpret the significance of their actual work in attaining the teaching goal of making a difference. If they interpret their work as incapable of fulfilling the goal, they will experience negative emotions in teaching. The findings also suggest that the interpretation is affected by teachers' power which is unequally distributed according to teachers' teaching experience and managerial roles.

  14. Effects of a Teacher Professional Development Program on Science Teachers' Views about Using Computers in Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Çetin, Nagihan Imer

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine science teachers' level of using computers in teaching and the impact of a teacher professional development program (TPDP) on their views regarding utilizing computers in science education. Forty-three in-service science teachers from different regions of Turkey attended a 5 day TPDP. The TPDP was…

  15. Beliefs about Chemistry Teaching and Learning--A Comparison of Teachers' and Student Teachers' Beliefs from Jordan, Turkey and Germany

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al-Amoush, Siham; Markic, Silvija; Usak, Muhammet; Erdogan, Mehmet; Eilks, Ingo

    2014-01-01

    This paper discusses beliefs about teaching and learning chemistry. The sample includes chemistry student teachers and in-service teachers from Jordan, Turkey, and Germany. Two test instruments were used to investigate (student) teachers' beliefs. A qualitative instrument was used to explore Beliefs about Classroom Organization, Beliefs about…

  16. Tackling a Tough Task: Teaching Today's Teachers to Teach English Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ramos, Kathleen

    2017-01-01

    There is a critical need in the United States to understand how to best prepare preservice teachers for effectively teaching the steadily growing number of PK-12 English learners. The study described in this article, situated in a teacher preparation program in a small, private college in a largely monolingual, monocultural area of the…

  17. "You Have to Give Them Some Science Facts": Primary Student Teachers' Early Negotiations of Teacher Identities in the Intersections of Discourses about Science Teaching and about Primary Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Danielsson, Anna T.; Warwick, Paul

    2014-01-01

    In the broadest sense, the goal for primary science teacher education could be described as preparing these teachers to teach for scientific literacy. Our starting point is that making such science teaching accessible and desirable for future primary science teachers is dependent not only on their science knowledge and self-confidence, but also on…

  18. What Does Teaching for Social Justice Mean to Teacher Candidates?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Young Ah

    2011-01-01

    To better prepare teacher candidates to teach for social justice, teacher educators need to know students' understandings of social justice embedded in their personal histories and past and current learning experiences. Using participatory action research, this study examines how 6 early childhood (grades pre-K-3) teacher candidates understood and…

  19. Reforming Teacher Education through a Professionally Applied Study of Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ure, Christine Leslie

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents a review of research of teacher education and the formulation of a model of teacher development that encompasses five domains of knowledge. The model provides a curriculum and pedagogical framework for initial teacher education that links together the theoretical, practical and professional elements of teaching and learning.…

  20. Tensions of Teaching Media Literacy in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ngomba-Westbrook, Nalova Elaine

    2013-01-01

    This study investigates the tensions a teacher educator faces in facilitating a media literacy teacher education course at the university level. Teaching tensions are conceptualized as a three-tier framework. At the first level, tensions may arise in the selection and application of pedagogies associated with critical and new/21st century…

  1. Self-Perceptions of Preparedness for Teaching of Teacher Education Graduates.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lang, Catherine

    This study, currently in progress, explores the perceptions of 75 near graduate primary teacher education students at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, about their preparedness to teach. It investigates the students' views about the areas of teaching for which they feel the 3-year program of teacher education at the School of…

  2. Pathways to Teaching: An Examination of Black Females' Pursuits of Careers as K-12 Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farinde, Abiola A.; LeBlanc, Jennifer K.; Otten, Amanda S.

    2015-01-01

    White, female, middle-class teachers dominate the education field. As a result, Black female teachers are underrepresented in the teaching field. Statistically, Black female teachers represent 7.7% of the United States teaching force, while White female teachers make up over 60% of the American teaching workforce. With the aim of diversifying the…

  3. Rethinking Difficulties of Teaching Inquiry-Based Practical Work: Stories from elementary pre-service teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Mijung; Tan, Aik-Ling

    2011-03-01

    To alleviate teachers' reluctance toward practical work, there has been much discussion on teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, teaching materials, and failsafe strategies for practical work. Despite these efforts, practical work is still regarded as a challenging task for many elementary science teachers. To understand the complexity of teachers' conflicts in practical work, this study examines teachers' ideas about teaching and learning that influence teachers' decision-making and action on teaching practical work. More important than knowing technical-rational aspects of practical work is to understand the internal contradictions that teachers have to resolve within themselves regarding their capabilities and beliefs about science teaching and practical work. Using stories and experiences of 38 third-year university students in a science method course in Korea, we seek to understand the conflicts and negotiations that they experience as they make decisions regarding practical work throughout their course. Reflective writings and group discussions on their lived experiences and concerns were used to probe participants' ideas on teaching using practical work. From written and verbal data, themes were saturated in terms of the aspects which could (dis)encourage their practice. Results suggest that there are multifactorial challenges in pre-service teachers' understandings and concerns in practical work. Besides time, materials, and curriculum, pedagogical assumptions and values also compositely challenge the minds of teachers. As the pre-service elementary teachers negotiated within themselves the importance of science in classroom and social levels, the question is raised about their identities as pre-service elementary teachers to appreciate the balance between science teaching and practical work.

  4. Chinese EFL teachers' knowledge of basic language constructs and their self-perceived teaching abilities.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Jing; Joshi, R Malatesha; Dixon, L Quentin; Huang, Liyan

    2016-04-01

    The present study examined the knowledge and skills of basic language constructs among elementary school teachers who were teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in China. Six hundred and thirty in-service teachers completed the adapted Reading Teacher Knowledge Survey. Survey results showed that English teachers' self-perceived ability to teach vocabulary was the highest and self-perceived ability to teach reading to struggling readers was the lowest. Morphological knowledge was positively correlated with teachers' self-perceived teaching abilities, and it contributed unique variance even after controlling for the effects of ultimate educational attainment and years of teaching. Findings suggest that elementary school EFL teachers in China, on average, were able to display implicit skills related to certain basic language constructs, but less able to demonstrate explicit knowledge of other skills, especially sub-lexical units (e.g., phonemic awareness and morphemes). The high self-perceived ability of teaching vocabulary and high scores on syllable counting reflected the focus on larger units in the English reading curriculum.

  5. Detecting changes in student teachers' conceptions of teaching science to adolescent English language learners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pomeroy, Jonathon Richard

    2000-10-01

    This research study investigated the changes that occurred in six student teachers' conceptions of teaching science to adolescent English language learners over the duration of their participation in a one-year, graduate level, science teacher education program. Cases were created for each of the student teachers based on their concept maps, writing samples, interviews, lesson plans, informal interviews with cooperating teachers, and observation notes collected on biweekly visitations. The cases were divided into three dyads each consisting of two student teachers with similar preprogram and student teaching experiences. Cross case analysis revealed the existence of seven themes related to teaching science to adolescent English language learners. Further analysis suggested that student teachers that worked with experienced cooperating teachers and who had achieved a sense of autonomy over their student teaching demonstrated broad and sophisticated growth across all seven themes. Student teachers who had not achieved a sense of autonomy, demonstrated growth in two to three themes. Student teachers who demonstrated broad and sophisticated growth were able to clearly articulate their conceptions of teaching science to English language learners where as those who demonstrated limited growth were not. This research establishes the use of concept maps as a tool for detecting changes in student teachers' conceptions of teaching science to adolescent English language learners as well as the sensitivity of concept maps to detect the types of changes historically detected by writing samples and interviews. Recommendations based on the implications from are included.

  6. Critical Pedagogy's Problem with Changing Teachers' Dispositions towards Critical Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neumann, Jacob W.

    2013-01-01

    Increasing teachers' dispositions towards critical teaching is a fundamental goal for critical pedagogy. Because critical educational change cannot occur without teachers' "buy-in," developing teachers' inclination to implement critical teaching into their classrooms is a prerequisite for any successful critical pedagogy…

  7. Unpacking Personal Identities for Teaching Mathematics within the Context of Prospective Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hodges, Thomas E.; Hodge, Lynn Liao

    2017-01-01

    This article explores the personal identities of two prospective elementary teachers as they progressed from mathematics methods coursework into their capstone student teaching semester. Results indicate that both prospective teachers perceived contrasting obligations of effective mathematics teaching in the teacher education and student teaching…

  8. Elementary Teachers' Perceived Use of Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices and Their Relationship to Teachers' Demographics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hohensee, Jo-Anne

    2013-01-01

    The quantitative ex post facto study had a two-fold purpose: (1) to determine which of the cultural responsive teaching practices of kindergarten through sixth grade teachers were used most often and (2) to determine to what extent each of the teacher's demographics (i.e., the predictive variables) differ for each CRTI factor (i.e., the criterion…

  9. Can Early Careers Teachers Be Teacher Leaders? A Study of Second-Year Trainees in the Teach First Alternative Certification Programme

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muijs, Daniel; Chapman, Chris; Armstrong, Paul

    2013-01-01

    The most recent decade has seen a major growth in interest in teacher leadership, but there is limited research on the extent to which early career teachers can take on teacher leadership roles. In this article we explore this question by looking at teachers prepared through the alternative certification programme Teach First (TF), which aims to…

  10. Microteaching and Pre-Service Teachers' Sense of Self-Efficacy in Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arsal, Zeki

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the effect of microteaching on pre-service teachers' sense of self-efficacy in teaching using a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design. The sample of the study consisted of 70 pre-service teachers on a special education teacher preparation programme. The pre-service teachers in the experimental group were exposed to…

  11. Schools Make Teachers: The Case of Teach for America and Teacher Training

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maloney, Patricia Ann

    2012-01-01

    Teach For America, founded by Wendy Kopp in 1991, now boasts nearly 25,000 alumni and 5,000 current teachers, known as corps members. The culture of Teach For America, which is built on these corps members, is a culture of achievement. They have completed college as high-achievers, so they typically expect that trajectory to continue in their…

  12. Teacher Preparation and Language Policy Appropriation: A Qualitative Investigation of Teach For America Teachers in Arizona

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heineke, Amy J.; Cameron, Quanna

    2013-01-01

    In this qualitative study, we examined teachers' language policy appropriation in the English-only state of Arizona. Specifically, we investigated teachers who received their professional placement and preparation through the Teach For America organization. We conducted the research in 2010 and 2011, a period when Arizona state language policy…

  13. Teachers' confidence in teaching HIV/AIDS and sexuality in South African and Tanzanian schools.

    PubMed

    Helleve, Arnfinn; Flisher, Alan J; Onya, Hans; Kaaya, Sylvia; Mukoma, Wanjiru; Swai, Caroline; Klepp, Knut-Inge

    2009-06-01

    This study aimed to investigate how confident and comfortable teachers at Tanzanian and South African urban and rural schools are in teaching HIV/AIDS and sexuality. It also aimed at identifying factors associated with teacher confidence and investigated how reported confidence was associated with the implementation of educational programmes on HIV/AIDS and sexuality. A survey was conducted among South African grade 8 and 9 Life Orientation teachers, and among science teachers for grade 5 to 7 in public primary schools in Tanzania. Teachers' confidence levels were measured on a four-item scale (0-3). A total number of 266 teachers participated in a survey in 86 schools in South Africa and Tanzania. Overall, teachers report to be rather confident in teaching HIV/AIDS and sexuality. Tanzanian teachers reported higher levels of confidence then did their South Africa colleagues (2.1 vs. 1.8; p < 0.01). Confidence in teaching was significantly associated with the numbers of years teaching HIV/AIDS and sexuality, formal training in these subjects, experience in discussing the topics with others, school policy and priority given to teaching HIV/AIDS and sexuality at school. Finally, confidence in teaching remained positively associated with self-reported successful implementation of school-based programmes after adjusting for gender, age, religion and numbers of years teaching HIV/AIDS and sexuality. Across urban and rural sites in South Africa and Tanzania teachers reported to be fairly confident in teaching HIV/AIDS and sexuality. Further strengthening of their confidence levels could, however, be an important measure for improving the implementation of such programmes.

  14. The Impact of Facebook in Teaching Practicum: Teacher Trainees' Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goktalay, Sehnaz Baltaci

    2015-01-01

    Prompt feedback is one of the critical components of teacher education programs. To reap the greatest benefit from the teaching practicum process, the quality of feedback as well as its implementation by stakeholders, supervisors, cooperating teachers, and teacher trainees, takes on great importance. The purpose of this study is to examine how Web…

  15. Building a Well-Prepared Languages Teaching Force: Turkish Teacher Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beykont, Zeynep F.

    2012-01-01

    Teacher quality is a central issue in the provision of languages. This paper reports on a study that examines teachers' perceptions of the obstacles to creating a well-prepared and wellsupported languages teaching force. In one-on-one interviews, teachers of Turkish in Australia identified the essential knowledge base, understanding, and skills of…

  16. Relationships between Personality Type and Teaching Efficacy of Student Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, T. Grady; Mowen, Diana L.; Edgar, Don W.; Harlin, Julie F.; Briers, Gary E.

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine if relationships exist between teaching efficacy and personality type of student teachers. The population of interest was all agricultural science student teachers at Texas A&M University. The sampling frame included all student teachers during the spring and fall semesters of 2005 (n= 72). Teaching…

  17. Teaching Pharmacology to College Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerald, Michael C.

    1978-01-01

    Although pharmaceutical and biomedical educators are best prepared for teaching undergraduate nonprofessional drug-related courses, few students can capitalize upon such expertise. An alternative described by a course director is to train the college teachers of such students. Major topics presented and representative interim projects are…

  18. Pre-Service Teachers Observations of Experienced Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jenkins, Jayne M.

    2014-01-01

    Assigning pre-service teachers to observe experienced teachers is a common practice in teacher preparation programs. The purpose of this study was to identify what physical education pre-service teachers observe when watching an experienced teacher. While enrolled in a methods of teaching physical education course and engaged in their second…

  19. Teaching as a "Central Life Interest" of Metropolitan Secondary Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hanna, Charles Clifford

    This article examines the interrelationship between teachers and their work of teaching, as observed in a study conducted in 1969 in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and intended to assess the extent and kind of attachments which secondary school teachers hold for their teaching when the total of life attachments and interactions is taken into account.…

  20. Dialogic Ground: The Use of "Teaching Dilemmas" with Prospective Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hallman, Heidi; Deufel, Thompson

    2017-01-01

    This article describes a method of storytelling that can assist novice teachers in moving toward "re-seeing" their stories of teaching not just as narratives of experience, but as sites for work to be done. The assignment novice teachers undertook as part of a methods class in the teaching of English language arts has the potential to be…

  1. Examining Primary Pre-Service Teachers' Difficulties of Mathematics Teaching with the Micro-Teaching Method

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Savas Basturk; Tastepe, Mehtap

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to examine primary pre-service teachers' difficulties of the teaching of mathematics with micro-teaching method. The participants of the study were 15 third grade pre-service teachers from the department of primary education in the faculty of education. In this grade which includes four sections, there were…

  2. Teachers Get Personal about Teaching to Survive NCLB

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bunting, Carolyn

    2007-01-01

    So much of teaching is now driven by data (i.e., test scores) and dictated by "best practices" that teachers are losing confidence in their own creativity. Yet, despite these unfortunate consequences of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the important work of teachers remains unchanged. That work is the work of connecting personally and…

  3. Reflective Teaching Practices in Turkish Primary School Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tok, Sukran; Dolapcioglu, Sevda Dogan

    2013-01-01

    The objective of the study is to explore the prevalence of reflective teaching practices among Turkish primary school teachers. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used together in the study. The sample was composed of 328 primary school teachers working in 30 primary education institutions in the town of Antakya in the province of…

  4. Primary Teacher Commitment and the Attractions of Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Troman, Geoff; Raggl, Andrea

    2008-01-01

    The article examines data collected from six primary schools in the ESRC Project: Primary Teacher Identity, Commitment and Career in Performative Cultures, and compares it to classic analyses of teacher commitment made by Dan Lortie and Jennifer Nias in order to assess continuity and change. The "mission" to teach is still there, as is…

  5. Difficulties in Learning and Teaching Statistics: Teacher Views

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koparan, Timur

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to define teacher views about the difficulties in learning and teaching middle school statistics subjects. To serve this aim, a number of interviews were conducted with 10 middle school maths teachers in 2011-2012 school year in the province of Trabzon. Of the qualitative descriptive research methods, the…

  6. Pre-Service Teachers' Opinions on Teaching Thinking Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akinoglu, Orhan; Karsantik, Yasemin

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the present study is to determine pre-service teachers' opinions on teaching thinking skills. 134 senior pre-service pre-school, English and mathematics teachers studying at a state university in Istanbul participated in the study which is designed based on survey model. A questionnaire which was developed by the researchers was…

  7. The Effects of a Teaching Methods Course on Early Childhood Preservice Teachers' Beliefs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Isikoglu, Nesrin

    2008-01-01

    This study examines the effectiveness of an educational methods course for changing early childhood preservice teachers' instructional beliefs. The teaching methods course emphasized constructivist teaching principles. Seventy-eight of the early childhood education preservice teachers who were enrolled in this course filled out the Teacher Belief…

  8. What the Teaching Perspectives of Cooperating Teachers Tell US about Their Advisory Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clarke, A.; Jarvis-Selinger, S.

    2005-01-01

    This study drew upon the recently developed Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI) to compare and contrast the teaching perspectives of cooperating teachers against a range of demographic data specific to cooperating teachers. The outcomes indicate, among other things, that a high percentage of cooperating teachers base their pedagogical…

  9. Urban Elementary Teachers' Perspectives on Teaching Science to English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Okhee; Maerten-Rivera, Jaime; Buxton, Cory; Penfield, Randall; Secada, Walter G.

    2009-01-01

    This descriptive study examined urban elementary school teachers' perceptions of their science content knowledge, science teaching practices, and support for language development of English language learners. Also examined were teachers' perceptions of organizational supports and barriers associated with teaching science to nonmainstream students.…

  10. A Case Study on German First Year Chemistry Student Teachers' Beliefs about Chemistry Teaching, and Their Comparison with Student Teachers from Other Science Teaching Domains

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Markic, Silvija; Eilks, Ingo

    2008-01-01

    This paper gives insights into the beliefs of 85 German first year chemistry student teachers about chemistry teaching and learning at the beginning of their teacher education. The study is based on student teachers' drawings of themselves in a typical classroom situation and four open questions. The approach evaluated: (I) Beliefs about Classroom…

  11. Teachers' Perception Regarding Facial Expressions as an Effective Teaching Tool

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Butt, Muhammad Naeem; Iqbal, Mohammad

    2011-01-01

    The major objective of the study was to explore teachers' perceptions about the importance of facial expression in the teaching-learning process. All the teachers of government secondary schools constituted the population of the study. A sample of 40 teachers, both male and female, in rural and urban areas of district Peshawar, were selected…

  12. Home Economics Teachers' Intentions and Engagement in Teaching Sustainable Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haapala, Irja; Biggs, Simon; Cederberg, Riitta; Kosonen, Anna-Liisa

    2014-01-01

    Home Economics (HE) teachers can have a central role in teaching sustainable development (SD) to young adolescents through everyday household management and the promotion of personally and globally sustainable well-being. How well the teachers cope with this task is not well known. The objective of this study was to survey Finnish HE teachers'…

  13. Perspectives on Teaching from Alternative Certification Teachers from Diverse Backgrounds

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans, Brian R.

    2014-01-01

    This article presents an interview with five teachers in an alternative certification program at a university in New York. All of the teachers were from the New York City Teaching Fellows (NYCTF) program, which is an alternative certification program in New York designed to quickly place teachers in high need schools throughout the city. The…

  14. Quality Teaching Rounds in Mathematics Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prieto, Elena; Howley, Peter; Holmes, Kathryn; Osborn, Judy-anne; Roberts, Malcolm; Kepert, Andrew

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the study reported in this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of an implementation of teaching rounds as a practice-based approach to pre-service teacher education in mathematics. The teaching rounds implemented in the study utilised the NSW Quality Teaching model pedagogical framework as a tool for learning about and reflecting…

  15. Using Reflection as a Tool for Training Generalist Teachers to Teach Music

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dogani, Konstantina

    2008-01-01

    This article investigates the way future teachers can be encouraged to frame their pedagogy for music teaching through reflection. During student teachers' first experience of teaching music to children in preschool settings, data were gathered through questionnaires, real time and video observations of teaching, discussions and reflective…

  16. How Teachers Teach the Writing Process. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perl, Sondra; And Others

    Presented in this report are the results of a three-year case study designed (1) to document what happened in the classrooms of 10 teachers who were trained in a process approach to the teaching of writing, and (2) to provide those teachers with occasions to deepen their understanding of the process approach, by collaborating with them in the…

  17. Choosing the Teaching Profession: Teachers' Perceptions and Factors Influencing Their Choice to Join Teaching as Profession

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Avgousti, Charalambos

    2017-01-01

    The study discovered why teachers around the world choose the Teaching profession and the factors affecting their choices. The study is meaningful to teacher education curriculum developers and teacher recruiters, for revealing the effects of teachers' perceptions on their career planning and professional growth. The findings from inferential…

  18. South Dakota Middle School Mathematics Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching Competencies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bleecker, Heather A.

    2017-01-01

    This quantitative research study investigates South Dakota middle school (grades 5-8) mathematics teachers' perceptions of teaching competencies including general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) and mathematical pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK). The study also considered how teacher characteristics relate to teacher competencies. The study…

  19. A Survey on Weifang Teachers' Attitudes toward Teaching Chinese Folk Music

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Han, Ruochen; Leung, Bo Wah

    2017-01-01

    In mainland China, the implementation of the junior secondary school's music curriculum is highly dependent on music teachers' attitudes towards music and music education. This study investigated the possible relationship between teachers' attitudes towards teaching Chinese folk music and their music teaching practice in junior secondary schools…

  20. Self-Efficacy of Teacher Candidates for Teaching First Reading and Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gündogmus, Hatice Degirmenci

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine by different variables the self-efficacy of a teacher candidate for teaching first reading and writing in their 3rd and 4th year in the department of primary school teaching. In line with the purpose of the study, the self-efficacy levels of teacher candidates for teaching first reading and writing were…

  1. Science and Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs of Pre-School Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aydogdu, Bülent; Peker, Murat

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this research was to examine science and mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs of pre-school teachers in terms of some variables. The sample of the study was comprised of 191 pre-school teachers working in a city in Aegean Region of Turkey. Since it attempted to define self-efficacy beliefs of pre-school teachers toward science and…

  2. Exploring Biology Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge in the Teaching of Genetics in Swaziland Science Classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mthethwa-Kunene, Eunice; Oke Onwu, Gilbert; de Villiers, Rian

    2015-05-01

    This study explored the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and its development of four experienced biology teachers in the context of teaching school genetics. PCK was defined in terms of teacher content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and knowledge of students' preconceptions and learning difficulties. Data sources of teacher knowledge base included teacher-constructed concept maps, pre- and post-lesson teacher interviews, video-recorded genetics lessons, post-lesson teacher questionnaire and document analysis of teacher's reflective journals and students' work samples. The results showed that the teachers' individual PCK profiles consisted predominantly of declarative and procedural content knowledge in teaching basic genetics concepts. Conditional knowledge, which is a type of meta-knowledge for blending together declarative and procedural knowledge, was also demonstrated by some teachers. Furthermore, the teachers used topic-specific instructional strategies such as context-based teaching, illustrations, peer teaching, and analogies in diverse forms but failed to use physical models and individual or group student experimental activities to assist students' internalization of the concepts. The finding that all four teachers lacked knowledge of students' genetics-related preconceptions was equally significant. Formal university education, school context, journal reflection and professional development programmes were considered as contributing to the teachers' continuing PCK development. Implications of the findings for biology teacher education are briefly discussed.

  3. Foreign Language Teaching in Rudolf Steiner Schools. Guidelines for Class-Teachers and Language Teachers. First Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stott, Michael

    This book is intended for foreign language teachers interested in the approaches used in Rudolf Steiner schools, and also classroom teachers who teach foreign languages. Chapters address these issues: what the language lesson is to achieve; how the language lesson differs from other lessons; lesson design; examples of actual lessons; avoiding the…

  4. The Impact of the Student Teaching Experience on the Development of Teacher Perspectives.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tabachnick, B. Robert; And Others

    Research findings on teachers' perspectives on teaching tend to indicate that institutional pressures are not strong enough to control what teachers think and how they act within their classrooms. While teachers will conform to organizational demands, their basic teaching styles are likely to remain unchanged. This study explored the socializing…

  5. An Analysis of the Candidate Teachers' Beliefs Related to Knowledge, Learning and Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bay, Erdal; Vural, Ömer Faruk; Demir, Servet; Bagceci, Birsen

    2015-01-01

    Candidate teachers have several beliefs related to their knowledge, learning and teaching. The purpose of this study is to analyze the beliefs of candidate teachers about knowledge, learning and teaching. Candidate teachers were assigned a scale and from the answers "belief points" were obtained based on their attitudes about these three…

  6. Investigating Omani Science Teachers' Attitudes towards Teaching Science: The Role of Gender and Teaching Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ambusaidi, Abdullah; Al-Farei, Khalid

    2017-01-01

    A 30-item questionnaire was designed to determine Omani science teachers' attitudes toward teaching science and whether or not these attitudes differ according to gender and teaching experiences of teachers. The questionnaire items were divided into 3 domains: classroom preparation, managing hands-on science, and development appropriateness. The…

  7. The Teacher as Co-Musician: Exploring Practices in Music Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Espeland, Åsmund; Stige, Brynjulf

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, co-musicking in teaching is discussed on the basis of findings from a study on pop band and piano teaching. We understand co-musicking as collaboration between music-makers, including pupils. For this study, we chose to focus on the actions that teachers and student teachers take during pupils' performance of a piece of music in a…

  8. Turkish Pre-Service Teachers' Reflective Practices in Teaching English to Young Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Güngör, Muzeyyen Nazli

    2016-01-01

    The course "Teaching English to Young Learners" is the first stage where pre-service teachers are introduced to a child's world, developmental characteristics, needs, interests as well as teaching and learning techniques for these learners in English language teaching pre-service teacher education programmes in Turkey. This action…

  9. Structural equation modeling assessing relationship between mathematics beliefs, teachers' attitudes and teaching practices among novice teachers in Malaysia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borhan, Noziati; Zakaria, Effandi

    2017-05-01

    This quantitative study was conducted to investigate the perception level of novice teachers about mathematics belief, teachers' attitude towards mathematics and teaching practices of mathematics in the classroom. In addition, it also aims to identify whether there is a correspondence model with the data obtained and to identify the relationship between the variables of beliefs, attitudes and practices among novice teachers in Malaysia. A total of 263 primary novice teachers throughout the country were involved in this study were selected randomly. Respondents are required to provide a response to the questionnaire of 66 items related to mathematics beliefs, attitudes and practices of the teaching mathematics. There are ten sub-factors which have been established in this instrument for three major constructs using a Likert scale rating of five points. The items of the constructs undergo the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) procedure involve of unidimensionality test, convergent validity, construct validity and discriminant validity. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the frequency, percentage, the mean and standard deviation for completing some research questions that have been expressed. As for inferential statistical analysis, the researchers used structural equation modeling (SEM) to answer the question of correspondents model and the relationship between these three variables. The results of the study were found that there exist a correspondence measurement and structural model with the data obtained. While the relationship between variable found that mathematics beliefs have a significant influence on teachers' attitudes towards mathematics as well as the relationship between the attitudes with teaching practices. Meanwhile, mathematics belief had no significant relationship with mathematics teaching practices among novice teachers in Malaysia.

  10. Teaching planetary sciences to elementary school teachers: Programs that work

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lebofsky, Larry A.; Lebofsky, Nancy R.

    1993-01-01

    Planetary sciences can be used to introduce students to the natural world which is a part of their lives. Even children in an urban environment are aware of such phenomena as day and night, shadows, and the seasons. It is a science that transcends cultures, has been prominent in the news in recent years, and can generate excitement in young minds as no other science can. Planetary sciences also provides a useful tool for understanding other sciences and mathematics, and for developing problem solving skills which are important in our technological world. However, only 15 percent of elementary school teachers feel very well qualified to teach earth/space science, while better than 80 percent feel well qualified to teach reading; many teachers avoid teaching science; very little time is actually spent teaching science in the elementary school: 19 minutes per day in K-3 and 38 minutes per day in 4-6. While very little science is taught in elementary and middle school, earth/space science is taught at the elementary level in less than half of the states. It was pointed out that science is not generally given high priority by either teachers or school districts, and is certainly not considered on a par with language arts and mathematics. Therefore, in order to teach science to our youth, we must empower our teachers, making them familiar and comfortable with existing materials. In our earlier workshops, several of our teachers taught in classrooms where the majority of the students were Hispanic (over 90 percent). However, few space sciences materials existed in Spanish. Therefore, most of our materials could not be used effectively in the classroom. To address this issue, NASA materials were translated into Spanish and a series of workshops for bilingual classroom teachers from Tucson and surrounding cities was conducted. Our space sciences workshops and our bilingual classroom workshops and how they address the needs of elementary school teachers in Arizona are

  11. 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…

  12. Willard Waller's Sociology of Teaching Reconsidered: "What Does Teaching Do to Teachers?"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pajak, Edward F.

    2012-01-01

    Willard Waller's (1932/1976) classic account of what teaching does to teachers is examined through the lens of psychoanalytic theory in conjunction with Ovid's myth of Narcissus. Parallel themes within the two texts are analyzed and interpreted as suggesting that narcissistic psychological processes played a part in distorting teachers'…

  13. Determinants of Teachers' Intentions To Teach Physically Active Physical Education Classes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Jeffrey J.; Kulinna, Pamela Hodges; Eklund, Robert C.; Reed, Brett

    2001-01-01

    Investigated elementary and secondary teachers' intentions to teach physically active physical education classes, examining a model hypothesizing that teachers' intentions were determined by subjective norm, attitude, perceived behavioral control, and self-efficacy. Teacher surveys supported the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior.…

  14. Teacher Evaluation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saif, Philip

    This article examines why teachers should be evaluated, how teacher evaluation is perceived, and how teacher evaluation can be approached, focusing on the improvement of teacher competency rather than defining a teacher as "good" or "bad." Since the primary professional activity of a teacher is teaching, the major concern of teacher evaluation is…

  15. Factors Influencing Elementary Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs in Reform-Based Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sawyer, Amanda Gantt

    2017-01-01

    I investigated a reform based teachers' beliefs about the nature of mathematics, teaching mathematics, and learning mathematics, and the factors leading to their formation. I interviewed and observed a reform-based elementary mathematics teacher with 13 years' experience teaching first grade. She held a Platonist/problem solver view of…

  16. Teachers' Cultural Ideology: Patterns of Curriculum and Teaching Culturally Valued Texts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shkedi, Asher; Nisan, Mordecai

    2006-01-01

    This study sought to reveal teachers' personal cultural ideologies as reflected in their conceptions of the curriculum for, and in their actual teaching of, culturally valued texts. The concept "teachers' personal cultural ideologies" refers to their value orientation toward the curricular and teaching contents relating to, in this…

  17. Teacher beliefs and cultural models: A challenge for science teacher preparation programs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bryan, Lynn A.; Atwater, Mary M.

    2002-11-01

    The purpose of this paper is to present an argument for developing science teacher education programs that examine teachers' beliefs about multicultural issues and their impact on science teaching and learning. In the paper, we (a) delineate a rationale for the study of teacher beliefs about issues of culture and its impact on science teaching and learning; (b) assert three major categories of teacher beliefs to examine for designing teacher education programs that aim to meet the challenges of increasingly culturally diverse classrooms; and (c) discuss implications for science teacher education programs and research. Research has shown that knowing teachers' beliefs and designing instruction and experiences to explicitly confront those beliefs facilitate refinement of and/or transformation of beliefs and practices (Bryan & Abell, J Res Sci Teaching, 36, 121-140, 1999; Harrington & Hathaway, J Teacher Education, 46, 275-284, 1995; Hollingsworth, Am Educational Res J, 26(2), 160-189, 1989; Olmedo, J Teaching Teacher Education, 13, 245-258, 1997; Tobin & LaMaster, J Res Sci Teaching, 32, 225-242, 1995). Furthermore, prior to student teaching, preservice teachers need to be at least culturally sensitive teachers (Gillette, In Teacher Thinking in Cultural Contexts, F. A. Rios (Ed.); Albany, NY: State University of New York Press; 1996, pp. 104-128). Science educators need to continue to identify those beliefs and practices that undergird desirable and equitable science instruction.

  18. Promoting Effective Science Teacher Education and Science Teaching: A Framework for Teacher Decision-Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clough, Michael P.; Berg, Craig A.; Olson, Joanne K.

    2009-01-01

    Learning and effective teaching are both complicated acts. However, many administrators, teachers, parents, and policymakers appear not to recognize those complexities and their significance for practice. Fueling this perception, recommendations from "isolated" research findings often neglect the complexities in learning and teaching, and when…

  19. What Core Competencies Are Related to Teachers' Innovative Teaching?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhu, Chang; Wang, Di; Cai, Yonghong; Engels, Nadine

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate teachers' core competencies in relation to their innovative teaching performance. Based on the literature and previous studies in this field, four competencies (learning competency, educational competency, social competency and technological competency) are theorised as core competencies for teachers'…

  20. K-8 Teachers' Concerns about Teaching Latino/a Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anhalt, Cynthia Oropesa; Rodríguez Pérez, María Elena

    2013-01-01

    In this article, the authors examine elementary and middle school mathematics teachers' concerns about teaching Latino/a student populations across three regions in the United States: southern Arizona, northern New Mexico, and central California. Surveys were administered to 68 teachers who participated in professional development activities on…

  1. A Story of Culture and Teaching: The Complexity of Teacher Identity Formation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edwards, F. C. E.; Edwards, R. J.

    2017-01-01

    Research in teacher education repeatedly suggests that the background and underlying beliefs held by pre-service teachers about teaching and assessment act to shape their interpretations of ideas, powerfully influencing their praxis and their developing teacher identity. This paper explores how a young New Zealand secondary science teacher, raised…

  2. Urban Teacher Education and Teaching: Innovative Practices for Diversity and Social Justice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Solomon, R. Patrick, Ed.; Sekayi, Dia, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    This volume illuminates the most pressing challenges faced by urban schools, teachers, teacher candidates, and teacher training programs and offers a range of insights and possibilities for urban teacher education and teaching. Covering issues spanning the broadly theoretical to the urgently practical, it goes beyond the traditional discourses in…

  3. The effect of electronic networking on preservice elementary teachers' science teaching self-efficacy and attitude towards science teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mathew, Nishi Mary

    Preservice elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy and attitude towards science teaching are important determinants of whether and how they will teach science in their classrooms. Preservice teachers' understanding of science and science teaching experiences have an impact on their beliefs about their ability to teach science. This study had a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design (N = 60). Preservice elementary teachers in this study were networked through the Internet (using e-mail, newsgroups, listserv, world wide web access and electronic mentoring) during their science methods class and student practicum. Electronic networking provides a social context in which to learn collaboratively, share and reflect upon science teaching experiences and practices, conduct tele-research effectively, and to meet the demands of student teaching through peer support. It was hoped that the activities over the electronic networks would provide them with positive and helpful science learning and teaching experiences. Self-efficacy was measured using a 23-item Likert scale instrument, the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument, Form-B (STEBI-B). Attitude towards science teaching was measured using the Revised Science Attitude Scale (RSAS). Analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data, with pretest scores as the covariate. Findings of this study revealed that prospective elementary teachers in the electronically networked group had better science teaching efficacy and personal science teaching efficacy as compared to the non-networked group of preservice elementary teachers. The science teaching outcome expectancy of prospective elementary teachers in the networked group was not greater than that of the prospective teachers in the non-networked group (at p < 0.05). Attitude towards science teaching was not significantly affected by networking. However, this is surmised to be related to the duration of the study. Information about the

  4. Human dimensions in bedside teaching: focus group discussions of teachers and learners.

    PubMed

    Ramani, Subha; Orlander, Jay D

    2013-01-01

    Clinical teaching has moved from the bedside to conference rooms; many reasons are described for this shift. Yet, essential clinical skills, professionalism, and humanistic patient interactions are best taught at the bedside. Clinical teaching has moved from the bedside to conference rooms; many reasons are described for this decline. This study explored perceptions of teachers and learners on the value of bedside teaching and the humanistic dimensions of bedside interactions that make it imperative to shift clinical teaching back to the bedside. Focus group methodology was used to explore teacher and learner opinions. Four teacher groups consisted of (a) Chief Residents, (b) Residency Program Directors, (c) skilled bedside teachers, and (d) a convenience group of other Department of Medicine faculty at Boston University School of Medicine. Six learner groups consisted 2 each of 3rd-year students, PGY1 medicine residents, and PGY2 medicine residents. Each discussion lasted 60 to 90 minutes. Sessions were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative methods. Teachers and learners shared several opinions on bedside teaching, particularly around humanistic aspects of bedside interactions. The key themes that emerged included (a) patient involvement in discussions, (b) teachers as role models of humanism, (c) preserving learner autonomy, (d) direct observation and feedback of learners at the bedside, (e) interactions with challenging patients, and (e) admitting limitations. Within these themes, participants noted some behaviors best avoided at the bedside. Teachers and learners regard the bedside as a valuable venue in which to learn core values of medicine. They proposed many strategies to preserve these humanistic values and improve bedside teaching. These strategies are essential for true patient-centered care.

  5. Like Teacher, Like Student? Conceptions of Children from Traditional and Constructive Teachers Regarding the Teaching and Learning of String Instruments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    López-Íñiguez, Guadalupe; Pozo, Juan Ignacio

    2014-01-01

    While many studies have considered the association between teachers' and students' conceptions of teaching and learning and classroom practices, few studies have researched the influence of teachers' conceptions on students' conceptions. Our objective was to analyze the influence of music teachers' conceptions on student…

  6. Early Career Mathematics Teachers' General Pedagogical Knowledge and Skills: Do Teacher Education, Teaching Experience, and Working Conditions Make a Difference?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    König, Johannes; Blömeke, Sigrid; Kaiser, Gabriele

    2015-01-01

    We examined several facets of general pedagogical knowledge and skills of early career mathematics teachers, asking how they are associated with characteristics of teacher education, teaching experience, and working conditions. Declarative general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) was assessed via a paper-and-pencil test, while early career teachers'…

  7. Teaching (Un)Connected Mathematics: Two Teachers' Enactment of the Pizza Problem

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hill, Heather C.; Charalambous, Charalambos Y.

    2012-01-01

    This paper documents the ways mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) and curriculum materials appear to contribute to the enactment of a 7th grade "Connected Mathematics Project" lesson on comparing ratios. Two teachers with widely differing MKT scores are compared teaching this lesson. The comparison of the teachers' lesson enactments suggests…

  8. Relationships between Mathematics Teacher Preparation and Graduates' Analyses of Classroom Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hiebert, James; Berk, Dawn; Miller, Emily

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate the relationships between mathematics teacher preparation and graduates' analyses of classroom teaching. Fifty-three graduates from an elementary teacher preparation program completed 4 video-based, analysis-of-teaching tasks in the semester before graduation and then in each of the 3…

  9. Turkish Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs about the Importance of Teaching Chemistry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Uzuntiryaki, Esen; Boz, Yezdan

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe Turkish preservice chemistry teachers' beliefs about the importance of teaching chemistry in high schools. For this purpose, 45 pre-service chemistry teachers were administered a questionnaire involving open-ended questions which asked what the importance of teaching chemistry is, and why we teach…

  10. Teachers' Beliefs Concerning Teaching about Testicular Cancer and Testicular Self-Examination.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wohl, Royal E.; Kane, William M.

    1997-01-01

    This study compared secondary health teachers' beliefs concerning teaching about testicular cancer (TC) and self-examination (TSE) to actual instruction. TC and TSE education levels were low. Perceived barriers to teaching about TSE was the main predictor of TSE instruction. Teachers with previous preparation in TC and TSE provided the most…

  11. Preschool Teachers' Perspectives on Teaching as a Profession and Pedagogical Change

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maskit, Ditza; Firstater, Esther

    2016-01-01

    This study examines the associations between preschool teachers' (PTs) perceptions of teaching as a profession and attitudes toward pedagogical changes, in relation to their seniority and their work setting--public sector or private sector. Participants were 105 preschool teachers, who filled out three measures: (1) PTs' perceptions of teaching as…

  12. Turkish Student Teachers' Perceptions of a Model Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sahin, Ismail; Perkmen, Serkan; Toy, Serkan

    2004-01-01

    This study intends to provide some insights regarding Turkish student teachers' perception of a "Model Teacher" in terms of teaching methods, teacher personality, and teacher-student interaction in the classroom. These students are 26 graduate students who are doing their master's degree in Teacher Education at Bilkent University in…

  13. Prospective High School Physics Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching Practices: From Traditionalist to Constructivist

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Demirci, Neset

    2015-01-01

    The main aim of this study was to determine the teaching practices of prospective high school physics teachers with respect to their preference for teaching as a traditionalist or as a constructivist. To study the beliefs of prospective high school physics teachers on this subject, firstly, the Teacher Belief Survey was administered to 135…

  14. Views about Physics Held by Physics Teachers with Differing Approaches to Teaching Physics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mulhall, Pamela; Gunstone, Richard

    2008-01-01

    Physics teachers' approaches to teaching physics are generally considered to be linked to their views about physics. In this qualitative study, the views about physics held by a group of physics teachers whose teaching practice was traditional were explored and compared with the views held by physics teachers who used conceptual change approaches.…

  15. The SUPERCOMET 2 Project: Teacher Seminar and Teacher Guide

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Engstrom, V.; Ireson, G.; Latal, H.; Mathelitsch, L.; Michelini, M.; Peeters, W.; Rath, G.

    2008-05-01

    The Leonardo da Vinci pilot projects SUPERCOMET (2001-2004) and SUPERCOMET 2 (2004-2007) developed and tested teacher training materials for active, minds-on learning of electromagnetism and superconductivity at the level of upper secondary school. New multimedia materials for the pupils supported the teacher materials, including a teacher seminar in 4 half-day modules detailing the scientific contents, teaching methods, using ICT in physics teaching and learning, online collaboration and further resources for exploring the selected topics. The aim of these projects were to improve the quality of physics teaching on a European level, involving a combined total of 45 partners in 16 countries, and conducting trials at 67 schools with approx. 230 teachers, 280 trainee teachers and 2200 pupils. New follow-up projects develop hands-on materials for carrying out the activities described in the teacher guide and seminars and additional teacher materials involving modelling, simulations and data logging.

  16. Teacher and Teaching Effects on Students’ Attitudes and Behaviors

    PubMed Central

    Blazar, David; Kraft, Matthew A.

    2017-01-01

    Research has focused predominantly on how teachers affect students’ achievement on tests despite evidence that a broad range of attitudes and behaviors are equally important to their long-term success. We find that upper-elementary teachers have large effects on self-reported measures of students’ self-efficacy in math, and happiness and behavior in class. Students’ attitudes and behaviors are predicted by teaching practices most proximal to these measures, including teachers’ emotional support and classroom organization. However, teachers who are effective at improving test scores often are not equally effective at improving students’ attitudes and behaviors. These findings lend empirical evidence to well-established theory on the multidimensional nature of teaching and the need to identify strategies for improving the full range of teachers’ skills. PMID:28931959

  17. The Effect of Teachers' Social Networks on Teaching Practices and Class Composition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Chong Min

    2011-01-01

    Central to this dissertation was an examination of the role teachers' social networks play in schools as living organizations through three studies. The first study investigated the impact of teachers' social networks on teaching practices. Recent evidence suggests that teachers' social networks have a significant effect on teachers' norms,…

  18. Making Sense of Experienced Teachers' Interactive Decisions: Implications for Expertise in Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gün, Bahar

    2014-01-01

    Teachers' decision making has always been an area of curiosity in many studies related to teachers and teaching. One approach to understanding teachers' decisions is through the analysis of their reflection-in-action behaviours. This study, based on the premise that one can gain understanding from examining experienced teachers' classroom…

  19. How Teachers' Beliefs about Learning and Teaching Relate to Their Continuing Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Vries, Siebrich; van de Grift, Wim J. C. M.; Jansen, Ellen P. W. A.

    2014-01-01

    Teachers' continuing professional development (CPD) can improve teacher quality and teaching practice, yet teachers differ greatly in the extent to which they engage in CPD. In extensive research into which factors affect teachers' participation in CPD, the effects of teachers' beliefs have received limited attention, despite their strong…

  20. 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…

  1. Physics Teachers' Perceptions of the Difficulty of Teaching Electricity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gunstone, Richard; Mulhall, Pamela; McKittrick, Brian

    2009-01-01

    As part of a project concerned with developing a better understanding of the detail of appropriate teaching of direct current (DC) electricity concepts, extensive individual interviews were conducted with a number of experienced senior high school physics teachers. These interviews explored teachers' perceptions of difficulties in student learning…

  2. Primary Student Teachers' Ideas about Teaching a Physics Topic

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahtee, Maija; Johnston, Jane

    2006-01-01

    This study examines Finnish and English primary student teachers' ideas when planning to teach a physics topic during their science education studies. Many primary student teachers lack sufficient subject knowledge, which prevents them from constructing the scientific pedagogical content knowledge that enables them to concentrate on pupils'…

  3. Elementary Teachers' Views about Teaching Design, Engineering, and Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hsu, Ming-Chien; Purzer, Senay; Cardella, Monica E.

    2011-01-01

    While there is a growing interest in infusing engineering into elementary classrooms, very little is known about how well positioned elementary teachers are to teach engineering. This study examined elementary teachers' perceptions of and familiarity with design,engineering, and technology (DET). We collected data from 192 elementary teachers…

  4. Preparing Teachers for Technology Based Teaching-Learning Using TPACK

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Padmavathi, M.

    2017-01-01

    Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is a conceptual framework for teachers to teach effectively using technology. This framework originates from the opinion that use of technology in educational context would be effective only if content, pedagogy and technology are aligned carefully. It implies that for teachers to use technology…

  5. Teacher Preparation for the Global Stage: International Student Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chacko, Jacob B.; Lin, Miranda

    2015-01-01

    As globalization lessens the distance between peoples and diversifies the common classroom, teacher education programs lag behind in producing globally-minded educators. One approach used by some teacher education programs to remedy this issue is to offer international student teaching experiences. While the literature related to these programs is…

  6. Second-career teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2012-11-01

    Last month we saw that the age distribution for high school physics teachers skewed older than that of all teachers. We also noted that, even though they are older, at least three-fourths of the high school physics teachers indicated that they planned to teach high school for at least six more years. The figure shows the age and years of teaching experience for high school physics teachers. We see that almost 12% of the teachers who are 50 years old or older have five years or fewer of teaching experience. Thus, these are likely second-career teachers. The typical age range for second-career teachers is 33 to 59. However, the younger second-career teachers are more difficult to isolate because the average duration of the previous career is one and one-half to three years. In the December issue, we will look at teaching activities physics teachers use in the classroom, Susan White is Research Manager in the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics; she directs the Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers. If you have any questions, please contact Susan at swhite@aip.org.

  7. 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…

  8. Canadian In-Service Teachers' Concerns, Efficacy, and Attitudes about Inclusive Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sokal, Laura; Sharma, Umesh

    2014-01-01

    The study examined concerns, attitudes, and teacher efficacy of 131 in-service, Kindergarten to Grade 8 teachers in three school divisions in Manitoba, Canada. Analyses were conducted to identify the relationships between teachers' back-ground variables, their attitudes and concerns about teaching in inclusive classrooms, and their efficacy for…

  9. An Investigation of Elementary Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy for Teaching Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Giles, Rebecca McMahon; Byrd, Kelly O.; Bendolph, Angelia

    2016-01-01

    Research has consistently shown that teacher efficacy is related to a variety of desirable student outcomes, thus, making teacher efficacy an important factor in high quality mathematics instruction. The purpose of this study was to determine elementary preservice teachers' self-efficacy beliefs related to teaching mathematics. Forty-one…

  10. The Effect of a Collaborative Mentoring Program on Beginning Science Teachers' Inquiry-based Teaching Practice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nam, Jeonghee; Seung, Eulsun; Go, MunSuk

    2013-03-01

    This study investigated how a collaborative mentoring program influenced beginning science teachers' inquiry-based teaching and their reflection on practice. The one-year program consisted of five one-on-one mentoring meetings, weekly science education seminars, weekly mentoring group discussions, and self-evaluation activities. The participants were three beginning science teachers and three mentors at the middle school level (7-9th grades) in an urban area of South Korea. For each beginning teacher, five lessons were evaluated in terms of lesson design/implementation, procedural knowledge, and classroom culture by using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol. Five aspects of the beginning teachers' reflections were identified. This study showed that a collaborative mentoring program focusing on inquiry-based science teaching encouraged the beginning teachers to reflect on their own perceptions and teaching practice in terms of inquiry-based science teaching, which led to changes in their teaching practice. This study also highlighted the importance of collaborative interactions between the mentors and the beginning teachers during the mentoring process.

  11. Beliefs about Teaching and Uses of Technology among Pre-Service Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teo, Timothy; Chai, Ching Sing; Hung, David; Lee, Chwee Beng

    2008-01-01

    In the current learning environments, technology is integrated in different ways. Teachers acting in the capacity of main change agents bring with them beliefs about teaching which effects their use of technology in the classroom. This study aims to examine the possible relationship between teachers' beliefs about teaching and uses of technology.…

  12. Early Childhood Teachers' Views about Teaching Physical Education: Challenges and Recommendations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tsangaridou, Niki

    2017-01-01

    Background: Educational scholars emphasize that in order to gain a better understanding of the complexity of teaching, greater attention needs to be paid to teachers' views and perceptions of the challenges and barriers of teaching. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe preschool teachers' views and perceptions of the main challenges…

  13. Teaching, Rather than Teachers, as a Path toward Improving Classroom Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hiebert, James; Morris, Anne K.

    2012-01-01

    For several historical and cultural reasons, the United States has long pursued a strategy of improving teaching by improving teachers. The rarely questioned logic underlying this choice says that by improving the right characteristics of teachers, they will teach more effectively. The authors expose the assumptions on which this logic is built,…

  14. Self-Efficacy for Science Teaching Scale Development: Construct Validation with Elementary School Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yangin, Selami; Sidekli, Sabri

    2016-01-01

    The measurement of teacher self-efficacy has a history of more than 30 years. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the development and validation of a new scale to measure the science teaching self-efficacy of elementary school teachers. Therefore, a scale has been created to measure elementary teachers' science teaching self-efficacy and…

  15. The development of elementary teacher identities as teachers of science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carrier, Sarah J.; Whitehead, Ashley N.; Walkowiak, Temple A.; Luginbuhl, Sarah C.; Thomson, Margareta M.

    2017-09-01

    The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the contributions of pre-service teachers' memories of science and science education, combined with their experiences in a STEM-focused teacher preparation programme, to their developing identities as elementary school teachers of science. Data collected over three years include a series of interviews and observations of science teaching during elementary teacher preparation and the first year of teaching. Grounded within a theoretical framework of identity and using a case-study research design, we examined experiences that contributed to the participants' identity development, focusing on key themes from teacher interviews: memories of science and science instruction, STEM-focused teacher preparation programme, field experiences, first year of teaching, and views of effective science instruction. Findings indicate the importance of exposure to reform strategies during teacher preparation and are summarised in main assertions and discussed along with implications for teacher preparation and research.

  16. Becoming a Science Teacher: The Competing Pedagogies of Schools and Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rozelle, Jeffrey J.

    2010-01-01

    A culminating student teaching or internship experience is a central component of nearly every teacher education program and has been for most of teacher education's history. New teachers cite field experience and student teaching as the most beneficial, authentic, or practical aspect of teacher education. Teacher educators, however, have cause to…

  17. Understanding primary school science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge: The case of teaching global warming

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chordnork, Boonliang; Yuenyong, Chokchai

    2018-01-01

    This aim of this research was to investigate primary school science teachers understanding and teaching practice as well as the influence on teaching and learning a topic like global warming. The participants were four primary science teachers, who were not graduated in science education. Methodology was the case study method, which was under the qualitative research regarded from interpretive paradigm. Data were collected by openended questionnaire, semi-structure interview, and document colleting. The questionnaire examined teachers' background, teachers' understanding of problems and threats of science teaching, desiring of development their PCK, sharing the teaching approaches, and their ideas of strength and weakness. a semi-structured interview was conducted based on the approach for capturing PCK of Loughran [23] content representation (CoRe). And, the document was collected to clarify what evidence which was invented to effect on students' learning. These document included lesson plan, students' task, and painting about global warming, science projects, the picture of activities of science learning, the exercise and test. Data analysis employed multiple approach of evidence looking an issue from each primary science teachers and used triangulation method to analyze the data with aiming to make meaning of teachers' representation of teaching practice. These included descriptive statistics, CoRe interpretation, and document analysis. The results show that teachers had misunderstanding of science teaching practice and they has articulated the pedagogical content knowledge in terms of assessment, goal of teaching and linking to the context of socio cultural. In contrast, knowledge and belief of curriculum, students' understanding of content global warming, and strategies of teaching were articulated indistinct by non-graduate science teacher. Constructing opportunities for personal development, the curiosity of the student learning center, and linking context

  18. "Almost Everything We Do Includes Inquiry": Fostering Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning with Preschool Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hollingsworth, Heidi L.; Vandermaas-Peeler, Maureen

    2017-01-01

    Given the increased emphasis on science in early learning standards, two studies were conducted to investigate preschool teachers' efficacy for teaching science and their inquiry-based teaching practices. Fifty-one teachers completed a survey of their efficacy for teaching science and understanding of inquiry methods. Teachers reported moderate…

  19. The Evaluation of Micro Teaching Method Used in the Training of Primary School Teachers in Turkey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Musa, Taskaya Serdarhan

    2014-01-01

    Micro teaching, one of the most frequently used methods in the pre-service education of teachers, is used in many lectures for the training of teachers in the faculties of education in Turkey. Micro teaching is a teaching method which is especially used in the pre-service training of teachers and it aims to train prospective teachers by making…

  20. Foreign Language Teaching: An International Comparison of Teacher Beliefs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kissau, Scott; Rodgers, Marion; Haudeck, Helga

    2014-01-01

    Recent research has reported professional agreement among foreign language (L2) teachers with respect to the beliefs and behaviors associated with effective L2 teaching. While such research may contribute to an emerging professional consensus, it must be acknowledged that the participating teachers in the related studies were all living and…

  1. Empowering Student Teachers To Teach from a Multicultural Perspective.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, John A.

    This paper presents case studies of four middle school preservice teachers' experiences with multicultural education during their approximately 16-week student teaching practicum in the southeastern United States. Student teachers were male and female, aged 21 to 42 years; one was African-American and three were European-American. The study was…

  2. Collegial Climate and Novice Teachers' Intent to Remain Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pogodzinski, Ben; Youngs, Peter; Frank, Kenneth A.

    2013-01-01

    Using survey data from novice teachers across 99 schools, we estimated multilevel regressions to identify the association between novices' intent to remain teaching within their schools and their perceptions of the collegial climate. The results suggest that novice teachers who perceive a more positive collegial climate marked by higher degrees…

  3. Relationships Between Teacher Aptitudes, Teaching Behaviors, and Pupil Outcomes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ekstrom, Ruth B.

    A model of elementary school teacher behavior affecting pupil outcomes is presented, and research based upon that model is discussed. A portion of the model, the relationship between teacher aptitudes and knowledge, teaching behavior, and pupil outcomes is focused upon. Aptitudes considered important included verbal and reasoning ability, memory,…

  4. Preparing prospective physics teachers to teach integrated science in junior high school

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiyanto; Hartono; Nugroho, S. E.

    2018-03-01

    The physics education study program especially prepares its students to teach physics in senior high school, however in reality many its graduates have become science teachers in junior high school. Therefore introducing integrated science to prospective physics teachers is important, because based on the curriculum, science in the junior high school should be taught integratedly. This study analyzed integrated science teaching materials that developed by prospective physics teachers. Results from this study showed that majority of the integration materials that developed by the prospective physics teachers focused on topic with an overlapping concept or theme as connecting between two or three subjects.

  5. An Examination of the Relationship among Teachers' Perceptions of Social-Emotional Learning, Teaching Efficacy, Teacher-Student Interactions, and Students' Behavioral Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Poulou, Maria S.

    2017-01-01

    The study investigated how teachers' perceptions of emotional intelligence (EI), social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, and teaching efficacy relate to perceptions of teacher-student relationships and students' emotional and behavioral difficulties. Ninety-eight elementary teachers from public schools in central Greece completed the…

  6. Reflective Writing in Pre-Service Teachers' Teaching: What Does It Promote?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cohen-Sayag, Etty; Fischl, Dita

    2012-01-01

    In this study, we examined changes in levels of pre service teachers' reflective writing and tried to identify links between these changes and pre service teachers' success in teaching. Participants were two groups of pre-service special education teachers that taught in two different special education settings: learning difficulties classes and…

  7. Teacher Tensions when Adopting a New Approach to Teaching about Photosynthesis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kijkuakul, Sirinapa; Yutakom, Naruemon; Roadrangka, Vantipa

    2008-01-01

    This study examined a Thai biology teacher's creative tensions when she was challenged to adopt a new teaching approach to photosynthesis with her class. The teacher was purposively selected on her need of professional growth. Data from observations and interviews documented the tensions. The data indicated that the biology teacher experienced…

  8. Reflectivity and Teaching Performance of Novice Teachers: Three Years of Investigation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pultorak, Edward; Barnes, Debbie

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this 3-year investigation was to determine if a relationship exists between teacher reflectivity and the classroom performance of novice teachers when final evaluations are aligned with national standards. This study included 98 novice teachers enrolled in their final field-based teaching experience. Participants reflected over two…

  9. Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions with Regard to Teaching-Learning Processes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Özdas, Faysal

    2018-01-01

    Teaching-learning process has a great important medium where pre-service teachers develop experiences and competences. Pre-service teachers are introduced to this process in a professional sense through the school experience course in teacher training. In this process, it is crucial to identify the encountered difficulties and matters. For this…

  10. Turkish Preservice Primary School Teachers' Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs and Attitudes toward Science: The Effect of a Primary Teacher Education Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bayraktar, Sule

    2011-01-01

    The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a primary teacher education program in improving science teaching efficacy beliefs (personal science teaching efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancy beliefs) of preservice primary school teachers. The study also investigated whether the program has an effect on student…

  11. Teaching Efficacy in the Classroom: Skill Based Training for Teachers' Empowerment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karimzadeh, Mansoureh; Salehi, Hadi; Embi, Mohamed Amin; Nasiri, Mehdi; Shojaee, Mohammad

    2014-01-01

    This study aims to use an experimental research design to enhance teaching efficacy by social-emotional skills training in teachers. The statistical sample comprised of 68 elementary teachers (grades 4 and 5) with at least 10 years teaching experience and a bachelor's degree who were randomly assigned into control (18 female, 16 male) and…

  12. Teachers' Attitudes towards Teaching English Grammar: A Scale Development Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Polat, Murat

    2017-01-01

    In most ELT classes, the importance of grammar, how it should be taught or how much it should be integrated into language teaching are still matters of discussion. Considering this fact, learning teachers' attitudes towards teaching grammar is significantly valuable for researchers. This study thus aimed to design a scale that identifies teachers'…

  13. Analysis of Mathematics Teachers' Self-Efficacy Levels Concerning the Teaching Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ünsal, Serkan; Korkmaz, Fahrettin; Perçin, Safiye

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to identify mathematics teachers' opinions on the teaching process self-efficacy levels; and to examine mathematics teachers' teaching process self-efficacy beliefs with regards to specific variables. The study was conducted in Turkey during the second term of the 2015-2016 academic year. The study sample consisted of…

  14. 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.

  15. Investigating Chinese Preschool Teachers' Beliefs in Mathematics Teaching from a Cross-Cultural Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Xia; Liu, Song; DeBey, Mary; McFadden, Karen; Pan, Yue-Juan

    2018-01-01

    In China, preschool curriculum has undergone reform and profound changes. Much remains unknown, however, regarding preschool teachers' teaching beliefs after 30 years of curriculum reform and adaptation. This study aimed to address the issue and investigate teachers' beliefs concerning teaching mathematics. Twelve preschool teachers in China…

  16. The barriers encountered by teachers implementing education for sustainable development: discipline bound differences and teaching traditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borg, Carola; Gericke, Niklas; Höglund, Hans-Olof; Bergman, Eva

    2012-07-01

    Background : According to the Swedish curriculum teachers in all subjects have a responsibility to integrate a holistic perspective of sustainable development (SD) and teach according to an education for sustainable development (ESD) approach. However previous research has shown that teachers from different subjects perceive SD differently. Purpose : The study aimed at investigating if and how teachers' subject area influences their ability to implement a holistic perspective of ESD; we investigated both the impact of teaching traditions and the barriers that teachers experienced. Sample : A stratified sample of 224 Swedish upper secondary schools participated. An online questionnaire was sent and answered by a total of 3229 teachers at these schools. In total, there were 669 science teachers, 373 social science teachers, 483 language teachers, 713 vocational and esthetical-practical teachers, and 739 teachers from other disciplines who participated in the survey. Design and methods : The questionnaire consisted of questions requiring Likert-scale responses and multiple-choice questions. The data from the questionnaire were analyzed using Pearson's Chi-square test and one-way ANOVA. The significance level accepted was p < 0.05. Results : Teachers were influenced by their own subject traditions. Science teachers in our study were grounded in the fact-based tradition and lectures were the most common teaching method used. The teaching tradition of the social science teachers seemed to be most in line to an ESD approach. Many language teachers (41%) stated they did not include SD issues in their teaching at all. Among the barriers identified, the most common obstacles were that the teachers lacked inspiring examples of how to include SD in their teaching and that they lacked the necessary expertise about SD. Conclusion : This study highlights the need for the management within schools to create opportunities for teachers to work collaboratively when teaching ESD. It

  17. Swinging between Infatuation and Disillusionment: Learning about Teaching Teachers through Self-Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    North, Chris

    2017-01-01

    Background: School teachers who become teacher educators (TEs) are rarely prepared for the different pedagogies that teacher education requires. One pedagogical difference is the need for TEs to make their thinking and decisions explicit to pre-service teachers (PSTs) so PSTs can see teaching as an adaptive process rather than a set of routines to…

  18. Learning to teach upper primary school algebra: changes to teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching functional thinking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilkie, Karina J.

    2016-06-01

    A key aspect of learning algebra in the middle years of schooling is exploring the functional relationship between two variables: noticing and generalising the relationship, and expressing it mathematically. This article describes research on the professional learning of upper primary school teachers for developing their students' functional thinking through pattern generalisation. This aspect of algebra learning has been explicitly brought to the attention of upper primary teachers in the recently introduced Australian curriculum. Ten practising teachers participated over 1 year in a design-based research project involving a sequence of geometric pattern generalisation lessons with their classes. Initial and final survey responses and teachers' interactions in regular meetings and lessons were analysed from cognitive and situated perspectives on professional learning, using a theoretical model for the different types of knowledge needed for teaching mathematics. The teachers demonstrated an increase in certain aspects of their mathematical knowledge for teaching algebra as well as some residual issues. Implications for the professional learning of practising and pre-service teachers to develop their mathematics knowledge for teaching functional thinking, and challenges with operationalising knowledge categories for field-based research are presented.

  19. The Art of Teaching the Arts: A Workshop for High School Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Annenberg Media, 2005

    2005-01-01

    "The Art of Teaching the Arts: A Workshop for High School Teachers" is an eight-part professional development workshop for use by high school dance, music, theatre, and visual art teachers. The workshop examines how principles of good teaching are carried out in teaching the arts at the high school level. In the eight one-hour video programs,…

  20. Jamaica Higher Education: Utilizing the Benchmarks of Joint Board Teaching Practice at Church Teachers' College

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rose, Hyacinth P.

    2010-01-01

    This article reports a descriptive case study portraying a teaching-practice program designed to highlight the preparation of student-teachers for teaching practice, using the Joint Board of Teacher Education (JBTE) benchmarks, in a teachers' college in Jamaica. At Church Teachers' College (CTC) 22 informants of mixed gender were selected for the…

  1. High school health-education teachers' perceptions and practices related to teaching HIV prevention.

    PubMed

    Herr, Scott W; Telljohann, Susan K; Price, James H; Dake, Joseph A; Stone, Gregory E

    2012-11-01

    HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of illness and death in the United States with individuals between the ages of 13 and 19 years being especially vulnerable for infection. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes, perceptions, and instructional practices of high school health teachers toward teaching HIV prevention. A total of 800 surveys were sent to a national random sample of high school health teachers and 50% responded. There was almost complete agreement (99%) among respondents that HIV prevention instruction is needed. The factors that emerged as significantly influencing the attitudes and perceptions of high school health teachers about teaching HIV prevention were related to teacher preparation, training, and years of experience teaching health education. A state mandate requiring HIV prevention instruction was significantly associated with higher teacher efficacy expectations and more perceived benefits, but did not have a significant influence in relation to practices in the classroom. Characteristics of high school health teachers that were significantly related to attitudes, perceptions, and instructional practices included the instructor's age, sex, and race/ethnicity. High school health teachers who reported the least experience teaching health education had the least supportive attitudes, perceived the most barriers, and had the lowest efficacy and outcome expectations related to teaching about HIV prevention. Whereas these findings support the importance of teacher preparation and training, they also suggest that more recent college graduates may not be fully prepared to provide effective instruction in HIV prevention. © 2012, American School Health Association.

  2. Exploring Science Teaching Efficacy of CASE Curriculum Teachers: A Post-Then-Pre Assessment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ulmer, Jonathan D.; Velez, Jonathan J.; Lambert, Misty D.; Thompson, Greg W.; Burris, Scott; Witt, Phillip A.

    2013-01-01

    This descriptive-correlational study sought to investigate teachers' levels of Personal Science Teaching Efficacy (PSTE) and Science Teaching Outcome Expectancy (STOE) using the Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (STEBI). The population included all teachers completing a CASE Institute training session during summer 2010. Assessments…

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rozelle, Jeffrey J.

    A culminating student teaching or internship experience is a central component of nearly every teacher education program and has been for most of teacher education's history. New teachers cite field experience and student teaching as the most beneficial, authentic, or practical aspect of teacher education. Teacher educators, however, have cause to view student teaching skeptically; student teachers often move away from the reform-minded practices espoused in teacher education. This multi-site ethnographic study investigated a full-year internship experience for six science interns at three diverse high schools as part of a teacher preparation program at a large state university. In taking an ecological perspective, this study documented the dynamic and evolving relationships between interns, cooperating teachers, teacher educators, and the school and classroom contexts. The goals of the study were to describe the changes in interns throughout the course of a year-long internship as a science teacher and to determine the relative influences of the various aspects of the ecology on interns. Data include fieldnotes from 311 hours of participant observation, 38 interviews with interns, cooperating teachers, and teacher educators, and 190 documents including course assignments, evaluations, and reflective journals. Interns' teaching practices were strongly influenced by their cooperating teachers. During the first two months, all six interns "used their mentor's script." When teaching, they attempted to re-enact lessons they witnessed their cooperating teachers enact earlier in the day. This included following the lesson structure, but also borrowing physical mannerisms, representations, anecdotes, and jokes. When interns could no longer follow their cooperating teacher due to an increased teaching load, they "followed their mentors' patterns"---implementing instruction that emphasized similar strategies---regardless of whether they were experiencing success in the

  4. 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…

  5. Journey to Becoming a Thai English Teacher: New Perspective on Investigating Teacher Attrition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prabjandee, Denchai

    2014-01-01

    In this study, the author provides a unique perspective on teacher shortage by focusing on teacher retention, in terms of why teachers stay in the teaching profession, rather than focusing on teacher attrition, or why teachers leave the teaching profession. The change in perspective created an opportunity to study the journey of how teachers chose…

  6. The effect of different levels of constructive teaching practices on teacher question asking behaviors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erdogan, Ibrahim

    The purposes of the study were: (1) to examine the effectiveness of the Iowa Chautauqua Professional Development Program (ICPDP) in moving elementary science teachers toward the use of more constructive teaching practices and (2) to investigate the effectiveness of different levels of teaching practices, especially in terms of a sample of teachers achieving "expert" state at the end of program compared with some attaining only with "competent" level. The variables considered were their perceptions of their own classroom practices, stated philosophy of teaching and learning, and their actual classroom practices and question asking behaviors observed via videotape recording. Structured questionnaires, focus group interviews, teacher reflections, and examination of lesson modules were used to collect data from thirty-three K-5 in-service teachers who were involved in a one-year ICPDP. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of data revealed that: (1) Teacher perceptions regarding their teaching and learning, and their actual teaching practices in classroom in terms of constructivist approaches were significantly changed after participation in the ICPDP. (2) Teacher perceptions of their classroom practices and stated philosophies of teaching and learning have a great affect on their actual practices that can be observed. (3) Teacher stated philosophies of teaching and learning significantly influence the quantity and quality of their use of questions in their classrooms. (4) The "expert" teachers accept students' alternative answers and deliberately ask high cognitive level questions that enable students to think critically and to guide them based on what the students are thinking. Alternatively, the "competent" teachers do not follow student responses and used questions which do not help students to understand their current level of understanding nor encourage students to reflect on their own thinking. (5) The role of "expert" teacher is more geared toward challenging

  7. "Beyond" the Joys of Teaching: Stories from Four Novice Secondary Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cooper, Jewell E.; He, Ye

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to document four novice secondary teachers' experiences as they progressed from the last year in their teacher education program through their first three years of teaching. Autobiographies, interviews, and focus groups were conducted to record their stories as novice teachers. In addition to the development of their…

  8. Alternative Routes to Teaching: Mapping the New Landscape of Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grossman, Pam, Ed.; Loeb, Susanna, Ed.

    2008-01-01

    Over the past 20 years, alternative certification for teachers has emerged as a major avenue of teacher preparation. The proliferation of new pathways has spurred heated debate over how best to recruit, prepare, and support qualified teachers. "Alternative Routes to Teaching" provides a thorough and dispassionate review of the research evidence on…

  9. Teacher Turnover: Examining Exit Attrition, Teaching Area Transfer, and School Migration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boe, Erling E.; Cook, Lynne H.; Sunderland, Robert J.

    2008-01-01

    The purposes of this research were to quantify trends in three components of teacher turnover and to investigate claims of excessive teacher turnover as the predominant source of teacher shortages. Attrition and teaching area transfer rates were comparable in special and general education and increased substantially from 1991-1992 to 2000-2001.…

  10. Preservice Chemistry Teachers' Images about Science Teaching in Their Future Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elmas, Ridvan; Demirdogen, Betul; Geban, Omer

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to explore pre-service chemistry teachers' images of science teaching in their future classrooms. Also, association between instructional style, gender, and desire to be a teacher was explored. Sixty six pre-service chemistry teachers from three public universities participated in the data collection for this study. A…

  11. 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.

  12. Mothers' Trust toward Teachers in Relation to Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Kikas, Eve; Pakarinen, Eija; Poikonen, Pirjo-Liisa; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the extent to which mothers' trust toward the classroom teacher of their child in first grade is related to observed teaching practices in Finland and Estonia. Sixty-six teachers (32 in Finland, 34 in Estonia) were observed using the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (ECCOM; Stipek & Byler, 2004). Mothers in…

  13. Pre-Service Teachers Learn to Teach with Serious Games

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McColgan, Michele W.; Colesante, Robert J.; Andrade, Albert G.

    2018-01-01

    The goal of this study was to determine whether a game-based immersion experience in an introductory undergraduate course in education had an impact on pre-service teachers' skills, beliefs, and confidence using games for teaching academic content. 55 pre-service secondary-education teachers participated in the study. Their first course in the…

  14. Teachers as Mediators: An Exploration of Situated English Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly, Peter; Hohmann, Ulrike; Pratt, Nick; Dorf, Hans

    2013-01-01

    Within the context of lower secondary English teaching in South West England, this study identifies in broad terms the competing goals between which English teachers mediate and the explicit and hidden tensions that result. To understand the interactions of competing goals, teachers' goal-oriented behaviours are referenced to a set of idealised…

  15. Effective Teaching Approach Employed by Primary School Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sulaiman, Tajularipin; Suan, Wei Hui; Abdullah, Saifuddin Kumar

    2009-01-01

    Teachers are often urged to use a variety of modes of instruction to ensure that diverse student interests and abilities can be accommodated. Yet teachers can be limited in the instructional modes they can use because of insufficient background or knowledge about a specific instructional mode (Dawson, 2004). Teaching approaches are various in…

  16. Improving Teaching and Teachers: A "Generative Dance"?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lampert, Magdalene

    2012-01-01

    Working on teaching as a collective practice--understanding it, specifying it, and improving it--is crucially important and too often ignored. But setting up a choice between improving teaching and improving teachers is problematic for several reasons. To begin with, it seems that the very methods Hiebert and Morris outline for improving teaching…

  17. What Can Teacher Education Programs Do to Prepare Teachers to Teach High-Achieving Culturally Diverse Male Students?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milner, H. Richard; Tenore, F. Blake; Laughter, Judson

    2008-01-01

    In this article, the authors discuss what teacher education programs can do to prepare teachers to teach high-achieving culturally diverse male students. They suggest that special attention needs to be directed at the educational experiences of high-achieving Black male students. They also believe that diverse male learners, and especially high…

  18. Effective Middle Level Teaching: Perceptions on the Preparedness of Newly Hired Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howell, Penny B.; Cook, Chris; Faulkner, Shawn A.

    2013-01-01

    This interpretive, exploratory study utilized survey methodology to document middle level principals' perceptions of effective teaching practices and the preparedness of newly hired middle level teachers. The findings suggest that principals' descriptions of effective teaching differ from their descriptions of effective teachers. Additionally,…

  19. Primary Pre-Service Teachers' Epistemological Beliefs and Their Teaching and Learning Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Çam, Aylin

    2015-01-01

    The epistemological beliefs of pre-service teachers influence both their teaching experiences and their students' content understanding. Little research has been devoted to the interaction between teachers' epistemological beliefs and teaching practices (Schraw & Olafson, 2002). To address this gap, this study investigated primary pre-service…

  20. Saudi Science Teachers' Views and Teaching Strategies of Socioscientific Issues

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alamri, Aziz S.

    Scientific developments such as cloning and nuclear energy have generated many controversial issues pertain to many political, social, environmental, ethical and cultural values in different societies around the globe. These controversies delimited and encircled the potential of including and teaching some important aspects of science in schools and therefore caused less consideration to the influence of these issues on enhancing the scientific literacy of people in general. The purpose of this study was to investigate how Saudi science teachers in the city of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia view and teach SSI in Saudi Arabia. This study employed semi-structured interviews with Saudi science teachers. Methodologically, this study used a constructivist grounded theory as a method for analysis to generate in-depth descriptive data about Saudi science teachers' views and teaching strategies of socio-scientific issues. Some direct and indirect benefits pertain to teaching science, understanding the relationship between science, religion, and society and some other topics are discussed in this study.

  1. Sources of Science Teaching Self-Efficacy for Preservice Elementary Teachers in Science Content Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Menon, Deepika; Sadler, Troy D.

    2018-01-01

    Self-efficacy beliefs play a major role in determining teachers' science teaching practices and have been a topic of great interest in the area of preservice science teacher education. This qualitative study investigated factors that influenced preservice elementary teachers' science teaching self-efficacy beliefs in a physical science content…

  2. Culturally Responsive Teaching with New Taiwanese Children: Interviews with Class Teachers in Elementary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Su-Ling; Hsiao, Yun-Ju; Hsiao, Hsi-Chi

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to understand how elementary school teachers implemented culturally responsive teaching in their classes in Taiwan. Data were collected through interviews from five teachers with new Taiwanese children in their classes. The results indicated that teachers practised culturally responsive teaching based on the…

  3. Primary School Teacher Perceived Self-Efficacy to Teach Fundamental Motor Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Callea, Micarle B.; Spittle, Michael; O'Meara, James; Casey, Meghan

    2008-01-01

    Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) are a part of the school curricula, yet many Australian primary-age children are not mastering FMS. One reason may be a lack of perceived self-efficacy of primary teachers to teach FMS. This study investigated the level of perceived self-efficacy of primary school teachers to teach FMS in Victoria, Australia. A…

  4. Our Year of Dissonance: Teacher Identity and the Transition to Teaching Pre-K

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Delaney, Katherine K.

    2014-01-01

    This dissertation is a single case study of a teacher, Wanda, transitioning from teaching Kindergarten to teaching pre-K. A veteran public school Kindergarten teacher with more than ten years experience, Wanda saw teaching pre-K as an opportunity for professional growth and development. Wanda's transition to teaching pre-K was also a transition…

  5. State Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marchant, Gregory J.; David, Kristine A.; Rodgers, Deborah; German, Rachel L.

    2015-01-01

    Current accountability trends suggest an increasing role in state mandates regarding teacher evaluation. With various evaluation models and components serving as the basis for quality teaching, teacher education programs need to recognize the role teacher evaluation plays and incorporate aspects where appropriate. This article makes that case and…

  6. Teaching Genetics in Secondary Classrooms: a Linguistic Analysis of Teachers' Talk About Proteins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thörne, Karin; Gericke, Niklas

    2014-02-01

    This study investigates Swedish biology teachers' inclusion of proteins when teaching genetics in grade nine (students 15-16 years old). For some years, there has been a call to give attention to proteins when teaching genetics as a means of linking the concepts `gene' and `trait'. Students are known to have problems with this relation because the concepts belong to different organizational levels. However, we know little about how the topic is taught and therefore this case study focuses on how teachers talk about proteins while teaching genetics and if they use proteins as a link between the micro and macro level. Four teachers were recorded during entire genetics teaching sequences, 45 lessons in total. The teachers' verbal communication was then analyzed using thematic pattern analysis, which is based in systemic functional linguistics. The linguistic analysis of teachers' talk in action revealed great variations in both the extent to which they used proteins in explanations of genetics and the ways they included proteins in linking genes and traits. Two of the teachers used protein as a link between gene and trait, while two did not. Three of the four teachers included instruction about protein synthesis. The common message from all teachers was that proteins are built, but none of the teachers talked about genes as exclusively encoding proteins. Our results suggest that students' common lack of understanding of proteins as an intermediate link between gene and trait could be explained by limitations in the way the subject is taught.

  7. Later Leaders in Education: Roma Gans--Teacher of Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Almy, Millie

    1990-01-01

    Retired teacher Roma Gans is described in terms of her early life and education, early teaching experience, teaching experience at Teachers College, publishing experience, citizenship, and retirement. (DG)

  8. The Nature and Influence of Teacher Beliefs and Knowledge on the Science Teaching Practice of Three Generalist New Zealand Primary Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Dayle

    2015-01-01

    Students' negative experiences of science in the primary sector have commonly been blamed on poor teacher content knowledge. Yet, teacher beliefs have long been identified as strong influences on classroom practice. Understanding the nature of teacher beliefs and their influence on primary science teaching practice could usefully inform teacher…

  9. The Emotional Uncertainties of Teaching: A Missing Link in Teacher Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winograd, Ken

    The author conducted a self-study of his emotional experience as an elementary teacher. During a sabbatical from a position as an education professor in a teacher education department, he spent 1 year teaching half-time in a first-second-third grade blended classroom. Teacher emotions were located in a larger sociocultural context. The paper…

  10. Attitudes of Mathematics Teachers toward Using Smart Board in Teaching Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muhanna, Wafa; Nejem, Khamis Mousa

    2013-01-01

    This study aimed at investigating the attitudes of mathematics teachers toward using a smart board in teaching mathematics and also to determine the effect of gender, experience, and qualification of teachers on their attitudes. The sample of this study consisted of 74 mathematics teachers--35 males and 39 females--from private schools in Amman…

  11. Preparing Special Education Teachers to Teach Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hardwick, Leann T.

    2017-01-01

    Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present different needs to special education teachers in school today. Without the proper supports and preparation, 75% of special education teachers will leave the field of special education within the first ten years of teaching, with most of the teachers leaving the field within the first three years…

  12. Malaysian Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs about the Nature of Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zikre, Nuraini Mohd; Eu, Leong Kwan

    2016-01-01

    Teachers play a vital role in nurturing and shaping learners in school. Extensive researches have been conducted showing that beliefs in the nature of teaching and learning held by the teachers will affect their actual classroom practices. In Malaysia, not many studies have been done on mathematics teacher's beliefs at the national level. The…

  13. Multilingual Students in Greek Schools: Teachers' Views and Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitits, Lydia

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to investigate the views held by teachers in Thrace, Greece with respect to their multilingual students and the teaching practices. A questionnaire (De Angelis, 2011) was used to assess teachers' beliefs about the role of prior linguistic knowledge, the teacher, the school and the family in the education of…

  14. Technological pedagogical content knowledge and teaching practice of mathematics trainee teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tajudin, Nor'ain Mohd.; Kadir, Noor Zarinawaty Abd.

    2014-07-01

    This study aims to identify the level of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) of mathematics trainee teachers at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) and explore their teaching practices during practical training at school. The study was conducted in two phases using a mix-method research. In the first phase, a survey method using a questionnaire was carried out on 156 trainee teachers of Bachelor of Mathematics Education (AT14) and Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) with Education (AT48). The instrument used was a questionnaire that measures the level of content knowledge, pedagogy, technology and TPCK of mathematics. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, namely the mean. While in the second phase, the interview method involved four trainee teachers were performed. The instrument used was the semi-structured interview protocol to assess the trainee teacher's TPCK integration in their teaching practice. Data were analyzed using the content analysis. The findings showed that the level of knowledge of TPCK among trainee teachers was moderate with overall mean score of 3.60. This level did not show significant differences between the two programs with mean scores of 3.601 for the AT14 group and 3.603 for the AT48 group. However, there was a difference for gender classification such that the female trainees had mean score of 3.58 and male trainees with mean score of 3.72. Although students' TPCK level was moderate, the level of content knowledge (CK), technological knowledge (TK) and pedagogical knowledge (PK), showed a higher level with overall mean scores of 3.75, 3.87 and 3.84 respectively. The findings also showed that in terms of content knowledge, trainee teacher's learning mathematics background was good, but the knowledge of mathematics was limited in the curriculum, philosophy and application aspect. In terms of pedagogical content knowledge, all respondents tend to use lecture and discussion methods in teaching Trigonometry topic

  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. Does Teaching Experience Matter? The Beliefs and Practices of Beginning and Experienced Physics Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caleon, Imelda S.; Tan, Yuen Sze Michelle; Cho, Young Hoan

    2018-01-01

    This study utilized multiple data sources to examine the beliefs about learning and teaching physics and the instructional practices of five beginning teachers and seven experienced teachers from Singapore. Our study was implemented in the unique context of teachers teaching the topic of electricity to students grouped according to academic…

  17. Common Interest, Common Visions? Chinese Science Teacher Educators' Views about the Values of Teaching Nature of Science to Prospective Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wan, Zhi Hong; Wong, Siu Ling; Yung, Benny Hin Wai

    2011-01-01

    Teaching nature of science (NOS) is beginning to take root in science education in China. This exploratory study interviewed 24 science teacher educators from economically developed parts of China about their conceptions of teaching NOS to prospective science teachers. Five key dimensions emerged from the data. This paper focuses on the dimension…

  18. Mathematical knowledge for teaching: Making the tacit more explicit in mathematics teacher education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abdullah, Mohd Faizal Nizam Lee; Vimalanandan, Lena

    2017-05-01

    Teaching practice during school based experiences, afford an opportunity for pre service teachers to put into practice their knowledge for teaching mathematics. Like all knowledge, Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) is held in both tacit and explicit form, making it especially difficult to study and map during instruction. This study investigates the tacit and explicit nature of MKT held by pre service teachers in a Malaysian Teacher Education Program and how it impacts the Mathematical Quality of their instruction (MQI). This study of three mathematics pre-service teachers (PSTs), utilised videos of mathematics lessons, reflective debriefs and interviews. The findings suggest that factors such as reflecting, peer-sharing, conferencing with mentors and observing support in making tacit knowledge more explicit during planning and instruction. Implications for preparation of mathematics teachers capable of high Mathematical Quality of Instruction are also discussed.

  19. The difficulties of teacher in teaching geometry for mental retardation students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shomad, Z. A.; Kusmayadi, T. A.; Riyadi

    2018-03-01

    The purpose of this research is to find out the problems faced by teachers in teaching materials on mental retardation students. It focused on the difficulties faced by the teacher in teaching geometry. A qualitative method with field study approach used in this study. The subjects in this research are the teacher and mild mental retardation students. There are six teachers and six students involve as the subject which is chosen by purposive sampling. The data of this research is the observation and interview against teachers and mental retardation students. The data was analyzed qualitatively with Miles and Huberman steps. The results of this research show that mental retardation students have less attention to the materials, less special books or learning media props, difficult in the set the students, and the difficulty in choosing the material that suits the student needs and the condition of mental retardation students. There's not much pay attention to the children with special need, particularly mental retardation student. Thus, this study can help analyze the difficulties teachers so that learning math for mental retardation students more optimal.

  20. The Impact of Japanese Lesson Study on Preservice Teacher Belief Structures about Teaching and Learning Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fortney, Brian Scott

    2009-01-01

    This study investigates how preservice teachers make sense of student-centered instruction with existing traditional beliefs about teaching. Teacher educators assume that university instruction translates directly into practice, yet, research is clear that beginning teachers revert to traditional teaching practice. For elementary teachers, one…

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