Docência Universitária: o professor agrônomo na construção de sua professoralidade

The aim of this study was to understand how does the teaching learning process of the agronomy professor from Universidade Federal de Uberlândia occurs, analyzing the relationship among training, knowledge and these professors professional identity. The questions which guided the research were: How does the professional identity of these professors are developed in the teaching learning process? Which are the main formation factors that influences this process? Which are the agronomy professors knowledge and how were them built and learned by these professionals in college? This is a research with a qualitative approach, in which most of the data was collected with the professors, through two questionnaires, a simplified and an in-depth one, as well as documents that depict the history of the institute and of the Agronomy department. To guide analysis, we have used, more than the scientific production in the area, the authors Cunha (2008), Tardif (2002), Pimenta (2005), Melo (2009, 2012), Malusá (2005), Pachane (2009), Magalhães (2012), Dubar (2005), Imbernón (2002),Nunez andRamalho (2008), Almeida andPimenta (2012) PimentaandAnastasiou (2002), Cavallet (1999) Pachane (2006), Behrens (2007) Isaia (2008), Malusá (2012) and Nóvoa (1999). The analysis indicated that the teaching learning process of the agronomy professor occurs since college, with the option of been a professor, and throughout their teaching career. Their challenges are related to work conditions, although, the dilemmas between the practices related to the conceptions of traditional and progressive pedagogy can be seen in their class, teaching and teaching learning process conception. Classes are considered by professors as an interaction place but also as a knowledge transference place. This research identifies the necessity of promote cooperation between teachers, so that, the collective and integrated work in formative spaces teachers will have the opportunity to develop the knowledge necessary for teaching. The implementation of institutional initial and continuous formation, through direct dialogue between undergraduate, graduate and training and professional development programs for teachers, with better work conditions will reflect in the constant improvement of training development within universities.

Tussen droom en daad Rapportage expertbevraging over professionalisering van leraren

Verslag van een symposium over docentprofessionalisering gehouden aan de Open Universiteit, Heerlen op 20 mei 2016 naar aanleiding van de oratie van Marjan Vermeulen en de afscheidsrede van Peter Sloep

Processo de reflexão orientada na formação de professores dos anos iniciais : concepções e práticas sobre o ensino de ciências

Esta investigação, de natureza qualitativa, visou conhecer as concepções e práticas de professores dos anos iniciais sobre o ensino de ciências e promover reflexões sobre tal ensino. O trabalho teve como base o Processo de Reflexão Orientada, uma estratégia para o desenvolvimento profissional a partir do enfoque de questões da prática docente. As questões de investigação foram: Como professores dos anos iniciais concebem, refletem, planejam e realizam o ensino de Ciências? Como refletem e realizam o ensino de Ciências a partir de um Processo de Reflexão Orientada? E, como a partir de um Processo de Reflexão Orientada para professores dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental avaliam o seu próprio desenvolvimento profissional? Os dados foram obtidos a partir de questionários, entrevistas, planejamentos escritos e de vídeogravações dos encontros e de aulas ministradas. Sequências de ensino foram planejadas e discutidas, novas reflexões foram realizadas e reelaborações foram propostas. As aulas desenvolvidas evidenciaram um progresso de Lívia com relação à participação dos alunos, com a proposição de uma situação-problema, da consideração das ideias prévias dos alunos, embora apresentasse ainda dificuldades em promover uma discussão orientada, que pudesse favorecer a argumentação dos alunos e a compreensão do fenômeno. Já, nas aulas de Roberta observaram-se atividades que privilegiaram a participação dos alunos. O processo de reflexão orientada mostrou ser uma estratégia importante para o desenvolvimento profissional dessas professoras, possibilitando reflexões significativas sobre a própria prática, bem como a tomada de consciência de uma nova sistematização das ações docentes.

A avaliação de desempenho docente vista por professores: realidades, expetativas, desafios e oportunidades

A avaliação de desempenho docente tem sido considerada o alfa e o ômega dos sistemas educativos, nas últimas décadas. Em Portugal, desde 2007, esta questão tornou-se mais acutilante devido às alterações introduzidas no Estatuto da Carreira Docente que originaram uma alteração profunda nas práticas de avaliação do desempenho docente. A implementação do novo modelo despoletou forte resistência por parte destes profissionais, alimentada por uma base concetual distante da realidade das escolas portuguesas e por tibiezas na execução do processo de avaliação. O principal objetivo deste estudo consistiu em apresentar os contributos de professores para um modelo de avaliação do desempenho docente, assumindo as expetativas e as perceções destes profissionais como referente imprescindível para a sustentabilidade avaliativa do modelo. Para além disso, procedeu-se a uma breve descrição e avaliação do modelo de avaliação docente, implementado entre 2007 e 2011, recuperando perceções depuradas pelo tempo. O estudo, descritivo e inferencial, conciliou abordagens de natureza quantitativa e qualitativa, tendo recorrido a um questionário, aplicado a 585 docentes em funções no Algarve, e à entrevista, realizada a quatro informadores privilegiados do processo avaliativo. Os resultados alcançados apontaram para i) de um conjunto de pareceres favoráveis face a alguns aspetos do modelo de avaliação vigente entre 2007 e 2011; ii) uma avaliação globalmente negativa do mesmo modelo, iii) a definição de componentes das diferentes dimensões de modelo avaliativo, onde se identificou a preponderância da vertente formativa; a articulação da avaliação dos docentes com a avaliação de escola e com outros documentos de gestão escolar; a coincidência dos ciclos avaliativos com a progressão na carreira; a autoavaliação como principal instrumento de recolha de dados; a observação facultativa de aulas; a existência de avaliadores com formação em supervisão ou avaliação e capacitados com um perfil adequado; e o uso dos resultados da avaliação para a melhoria das práticas letivas e para a progressão na carreira, sendo ainda de considerar a possibilidade de acionar mecanismos de recuperação, caso existissem indicadores de insucesso na prática profissional do docente. O estudo termina com o enunciado de recomendações para a reconceptualização do modelo de avaliação dos docentes, permitindo reconhecer e eliminar os fatores conflituantes, tendo em vista a concretização da avaliação docente como estratégia impulsionadora da melhoria do desempenho dos professores, da escola e do sistema educativo. Palavras-chave: avaliação educacional; avaliação de desempenho docente; modelos de avaliação de desempenho docente; desenvolvimento profissional do professor, educadores e professores dos ensinos básico e secundário; ABSTRACT:Teacher performance appraisal has been considered the alpha and omega of educational systems in recent decades. In Portugal, since 2007, this issue has become more incisive due to amendments to the Teaching Career Statute that brought deep changes in assessment practices of teacher performance. The application of the new system has triggered strong resistance by these professionals, powered by a distant conceptual basis of the reality of Portuguese schools and weaknesses in the implementation of the appraisal process. The aim of this study is to present the teachers contributions to this teacher performance appraisal model, taking the expectations and perceptions of these professionals as an essential reference for the sustainability of the appraisal process. In addition, a brief description and evaluation of the teacher performance appraisal model, implemented between 2007 and 2011, was given, recovering perceptions filtered by time. The study, descriptive and inferential, reconciled quantitative and qualitative approaches, has used a questionnaire applied to 585 teachers serving on the Algarve, and an interview to four held key informants of the teacher appraisal process. The achieved results showed i) a set of favorable opinions about some aspects of the current evaluation model between 2007 and 2011; ii) a generally negative evaluation of the same model, iii) the definition of components of different dimensions of the appraisal system, which showed preponderance of formative purposes; the joint assessment of teachers with school evaluation and other school management documents; the coincidence of the evaluation cycles with career advancement; self-evaluation as the main data collection instrument; the optional classroom observation; the existence of evaluators under supervision in training or evaluation and empowered with the right profile; and the use of evaluation results to improve teaching practices and to career advancement, still considering the possibility of using recovery mechanisms if there were failure indicators in professional teaching practice. The study ends with the statement of recommendations for the reconceptualization of teacher performance appraisal, which allowed to recognize and eliminate conflicting factors, with a view to implementing the teaching appraisal as a compelling strategy for improving teacher performance, school and educational system. Keywords: educational evaluation; teacher performance appraisal; teacher performance appraisal systems; teacher professional development; early years teachers, primary and secondary school teachers.

Relatório de Estágio

O presente relatório de Estágio, realizado no âmbito das Unidades Curriculares Prática Pedagógica Supervisionada na Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º CEB, pretende apresentar o processo formativo da mestranda relevando competências profissionais e pessoais desenvolvidas ao longo dos dois anos do Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico, e que constituíram um eixo fundamental para a construção da profissionalidade docente. Neste contexto, o relatório espelha a mobilização de um quadro teórico conceptual e legal que sustentou a prática educativa e denuncia novos conhecimentos construídos pela formanda e que se tornaram fundamentais para traçar o seu perfil profissional. Além disso, revela a metodologia que apoiou todo este crescimento profissional, permitindo a transformação da prática pedagógica e um melhoramento contínuo da sua profissionalidade. Ressalva, ainda, a prática pedagógica em díade, cujo contributo foi fundamental para um aperfeiçoamento e aprofundamento de saberes em contexto real. Note-se que o processo reflexivo de modo colaborativo permite, efetivamente, um reforço nas relações, um olhar crítico sobre a prática e a construção de um conhecimento mais abrangente. Deste modo, mostra-se que este mestrado permite o desenvolvimento pessoal e profissional de futuros educadores e professores do 1º CEB, contribuindo para a construção de um perfil docente pró-ativo, reflexivo e investigador.

Investigating the effects of cognitive apprenticeship-based instructional coaching on science teaching efficacy beliefs

The overall purpose of this collected papers dissertation was to examine the utility of a cognitive apprenticeship-based instructional coaching (CAIC) model for improving the science teaching efficacy beliefs (STEB) of preservice and inservice elementary teachers. Many of these teachers perceive science as a difficult subject and feel inadequately prepared to teach it. However, teacher efficacy beliefs have been noted as the strongest indicator of teacher quality, the variable most highly correlated with student achievement outcomes. The literature is scarce on strong, evidence-based theoretical models for improving STEB.^ This dissertation is comprised of two studies. STUDY #1 was a sequential explanatory mixed-methods study investigating the impact of a reformed CAIC elementary science methods course on the STEB of 26 preservice teachers. Data were collected using the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) and from six post-course interviews. A statistically significant increase in STEB was observed in the quantitative strand. The qualitative data suggested that the preservice teachers perceived all of the CAIC methods as influential, but the significance of each method depended on their unique needs and abilities. ^ STUDY #2 was a participatory action research case study exploring the utility of a CAIC professional development program for improving the STEB of five Bahamian inservice teachers and their competency in implementing an inquiry-based curriculum. Data were collected from pre- and post-interviews and two focus group interviews. Overall, the inservice teachers perceived the intervention as highly effective. The scaffolding and coaching were the CAIC methods portrayed as most influential in developing their STEB, highlighting the importance of interpersonal relationship aspects in successful instructional coaching programs. The teachers also described the CAIC approach as integral in supporting their learning to implement the new inquiry-based curriculum. ^ The overall findings hold important implications for science education reform, including its potential to influence how preservice teacher training and inservice teacher professional development in science are perceived and implemented. Additionally, given the noteworthy results obtained over the relatively short durations, CAIC interventions may also provide an effective means of achieving improvements in preservice and inservice teachers’ STEB more expeditiously than traditional approaches.^

The Relationship of Instructor Technical Literacy to the Academic Performance of Students in Career Academies

Career Academy instructors’ technical literacy is vital to the academic success of students. This nonexperimental ex post facto study examined the relationships between the level of technical literacy of instructors in career academies and student academic performance. It was also undertaken to explore the relationship between the pedagogical training of instructors and the academic performance of students. Out of a heterogeneous population of 564 teachers in six targeted schools, 136 teachers (26.0 %) responded to an online survey. The survey was designed to gather demographic and teaching experience data. Each demographic item was linked by researchers to teachers’ technology use in the classroom. Student achievement was measured by student learning gains as assessed by the reading section of the FCAT from the previous to the present school year. Linear and hierarchical regressions were conducted to examine the research questions. To clarify the possibility of teacher gender and teacher race/ethnic group differences by research variable, a series of one-way ANOVAs were conducted. As revealed by the ANOVA results, there were not statistically significant group differences in any of the research variables by teacher gender or teacher race/ethnicity. Greater student learning gains were associated with greater teacher technical expertise integrating computers and technology into the classroom, even after controlling for teacher attitude towards computers. Neither teacher attitude toward technology integration nor years of experience in integrating computers into the curriculum significantly predicted student learning gains in the regression models. Implications for HRD theory, research, and practice suggest that identifying teacher levels of technical literacy may help improve student academic performance by facilitating professional development strategies and new parameters for defining highly qualified instructors with 21st century skills. District professional development programs can benefit by increasing their offerings to include more computer and information communication technology courses. Teacher preparation programs can benefit by including technical literacy as part of their curriculum. State certification requirements could be expanded to include formal surveys to assess teacher use of technology.

Professional practice research : ensuring teacher development through a critical approach to professional learning

Currently the development of a national system for the ongoing enhancement of teacher professionalism across Australia is underway. The initiative led by Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) on behalf of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (now SCSEEC) is progressing rapidly with a finalised set of Professional Standards for Teachers and a set of Professional Standards for Principals approved by Ministers in 2011. It is clear that there is an inextricable link between the newly proposed professional standards and the professional education of teachers and principals across Australia. Further, it is imperative that the education sector will need to work in a unified manner through ongoing consultations to ensure the standards truly reflect what teachers and principals desire of the profession, in terms of teacher preparation, professional learning and training, and professional recognition.

Teacher leadership : interns crossing to the domain of higher professional learning with mentors?

Over the last two decades, the notion of teacher leadership has emerged as a key concept in both the teaching and leadership literature. While researchers have not reached consensus regarding a definition, there has been some agreement that teacher leadership can operate at both a formal and informal level in schools and that it includes leadership of an instructional, organisational and professional development nature (York-Barr & Duke, 2004). Teacher leadership is a construct that tends not to be applied to pre-service teachers as interns, but is more often connected with the professional role of mentors who collaborate with them as they make the transition to being a beginning teacher. We argue that teacher leadership should be recognised as a professional and career goal during this formative learning phase and that interns should be expected to overtly demonstrate signs, albeit early ones, of leadership in instruction and other professional areas of development. The aim of this paper is to explore the extent to which teacher education interns at one university in Queensland reported on activities that may be deemed to be ‘teacher leadership.’ The research approach used in this study was an examination of 145 reflective reports written in 2008 by final Bachelor of Education (primary) pre-service teachers. These reports recorded the pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their professional learning with a school-based mentor in response to four outcomes of internship that were scaffolded by their mentor or initiated by them. These outcomes formed the bases of our research questions into the professional learning of the interns and included, ‘increased knowledge and capacity to teach within the total world of work as a teacher;’ ‘to work autonomously and interdependently’; to make ‘growth in critical reflectivity’, and the ‘ability to initiate professional development with the mentoring process’. Using the approaches of the constant comparative method of Strauss and Corbin (1998) key categories of experiences emerged. These categories were then identified as belonging to main meta-category labelled as ‘teacher leadership.’ Our research findings revealed that five dimensions of teacher leadership – effective practice in schools; school curriculum work; professional development of colleagues; parent and community involvement; and contributions to the profession – were evident in the written reports by interns. Not surprisingly, the mentor/intern relationship was the main vehicle for enabling the intern to learn about teaching and leadership. The paper concludes with some key implications for developers of preservice education programmes regarding the need for teacher leadership to be part of the discourse of these programmes.

Enhancing professional ethics : service-learning in teacher education

The ethical conduct of professionals has been the focus of increasing scrutiny over the past several decades as members of the public, the media, professional bodies, and legislative authorities have struggled to define ethical behaviour in times of governmental change, increasing internationalisation, globalised communications, threats of terrorism, and the challenges of developments in science and medicine (e.g., Demmke & Bossaert, 2004). National governments and transnational bodies have responded to these concerns about ethics and corruption through measures such as the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2004), Transparency International’s annual corruption index (2010) and Queensland’s Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 (Queensland Parliament 1994). Similarly, academic interest in ethics and its application across a range of domains(e.g., business, health care, social welfare, criminal justice, law, journalism, defence, environment, and media) has also increased. To illustrate, in 1993, a non-partisan, non-profit national umbrella organisation, the Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics, was formed following a conference concerned with the teaching of ethics (http://www.arts.unsw.edu.au./aapae/about_aapae/about_aapae.htm), while a recent review of the Excellence in Research for Australian rankings of national and international academic journals revealed that 16 journals related to ethics had received the top ratings of A* or A (Australian Research Council, 2009). In this chapter we examine professional ethics and argue, with specific reference to the context of pre-service teacher education, that Service-learning is one way of enhancing emerging professionals’ understanding of ethics.

Elementary teacher’s conceptions of inquiry teaching : messages for teacher development

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- centred conception where teachers focused on providing interesting sensory experiences to students; (b) The Problem-centred conception where teachers focused on challenging students with engaging problems; and (c) The Question-centred 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 behaviours during professional development, with enhanced outcomes for engaging students in Science.

The teacher as reflexive professional : making visible the excluded discourse in teacher standards

In the current climate of accountability, political manoeuvring, changing curriculum, increasingly diverse student cohorts and community expectations, teachers, more than ever, need to develop the skills and abilities to be reflective and reflexive practitioners. This study examines national teacher professional standards from Australia and the UK to identify the extent to which reflexivity is embedded in key policy documents that are intended to guide the work of teachers in those countries. Using Margaret Archer's theories of reflexivity and morphogenesis, and methods of critical discourse analysis, we argue that these blueprints for teachers’ work exclude reflexivity as an essential and overarching discourse of teacher professionalism.

Identity development in career-changing beginning teachers : a qualitative study of professional scientists becoming school teachers

This qualitative study provides a critical case to analyse the identity development of professionals who already have a strong sense of identity as scientists and have decided to relinquish their professional careers to become teachers. The study followed a group of professionals who undertook a one-year teacher education course and were assigned to secondary and middle-years schools on graduation. Their experiences were examined through the lens of self-determination theory, which posits that autonomy, confidence and relationships are important in achieving job satisfaction. The findings indicated that those teachers who were able to achieve this sense of autonomy and confidence, and had established strong relationships with colleagues generated a positive professional identity as a teacher. The failure to establish supportive relationships was a decisive event that challenged their capacity to develop a strong sense of identity as a teacher.

A bridge over troubling waters : a snapshot of teacher graduates' perceptions of their ongoing professional learning needs

For graduating teachers, the bridging period between formal teacher preparation and joining the profession is a time of high anxiety and great excitement. While this transition influences efficacy, job satisfaction, career length and future teaching quality, it is widely recognized to be inconsistent, poorly planned and resourced and largely unsupported (DEST, 2002; Herrington & Herrington, 2004). In Australia, the transition to teaching remains largely a school-based affair. However, individual schools may not have the resources to support a comprehensive and cohesive transition program. This paper discusses a pilot university program of extended teacher preparation. It reports on the perceived professional learning needs of a group of graduates as they transition to teaching. The key findings indicate that these graduates are seeking ongoing support as they develop confidence in their canonical skills of teaching. We argue that university-based programs are one way of providing professional learning and support for beginning teachers.

The impact of transformative learning in a critical service-learning program on teacher development: Building a foundation for inclusive teaching

With international and national policies requiring teachers to adopt inclusive practices worldwide, this paper examines the impact of transformational learning in a critical service-learning program on final-year pre-service teachers’ approaches to inclusive teaching. Data from emailed questionnaires and focus group interviews are analysed through a social, critical framework. The results indicate that the critical service-learning program provided the students with an opportunity to consider diversity and inclusion in selecting teaching strategies, and to enact values suitable to inclusive practices and appreciation of diversity in schools. In this paper we argue that transformative learning experiences about inclusivity and diversity are needed if pre-service teachers are to be challenged to adopt inclusive values and practice in schools. A critical service-learning program for pre-service teachers provides a solid foundation on which to develop or build on the ability to think and teach inclusively.