Rethinking the identity artist-researcher, from the project “Dialogues with women art teachers”

The questioning of identity and the various roles that artists have begun to explore, from the last century, are fundamental aspects in this article. Today it is difficult to speak of the artist as individual isolated innate talent working in his studio, but the various social, political and cultural effects, have moved the artists to become part of the social world and to generate artistic practices that visualize and manifest critically these concerns. To explain these transits deeper, we will share part of the personal artistic practice and reflections, and how it has begun to intertwine with the doctoral research, through the art project “Dialogues with women art teachers”. From the experience as an artist and researcher in training, we will share what this project of artistic inquiry is about and reflect their points with the notion of `artistic practice as research´ developed by Graeme Sullivan (2010, 2011). On the other hand, we will seek to reflect how the identities of `artist´ and `academic´ are in constant dialogue. This art project seeks to show that these identities are not in a fixed position, but rather reflect, from the place of an artist, how through the various shifts in different disciplines, can conceive an identity ‘in-between’. The latter refers to the ability to understand the processes of being a woman, artist and researcher who travels and forms its identity among both disciplines.

The use of interactive video in teaching teachers: an evaluation of a link with a primary school

This paper presents an evaluation of the use of videoconferencing in learning and teaching in a United Kingdom higher education institution involved in initial teacher education. Students had the opportunity to observe naturalistic teaching practices without physically being present in the classroom. The study consisted of semi-structured interviews with the co-ordinator of the link, the head of ICT services in Stranmillis University College and the teacher of the classroom being observed. Students were invited to complete an online questionnaire. The views of the students, the co-ordinator of the link, the teacher of the classroom being observed and the head of ICT services in Stranmillis University College were then triangulated to gain an overall view of the effectiveness of the videoconferencing link. Interviews suggested students benefited in terms of pedagogy. In the early stages of the project, the teacher thought it acted as a form of classroom control. Technical problems were encountered initially and camera control was modified in the light of these. The online questionnaire suggested that students viewed this experience in a positive way and were impressed with the content, technical quality, and potential benefits of the use of this example of new technologies.

Evidence from a Baseline Study of Teachers and Young People in Northern Ireland: Implications for Peace Education.

Peace education initiatives in schools are often based on social psychological theories assuming that social identity affects ingroup and outgroup attitudes and, in turn, behaviors relating to relevant outgroups. However, research evidence on the role of young people’s social identity has often failed to take account of different social identity dimensions or to conceptualise outgroup behavior in the context of young people’s understandings of the social world. While recent research relating to bullying and bystander behavior amongst young people has addressed the latter point, this has rarely been considered in conjunction with a differentiated view of social identity. This paper is therefore distinctive as it will address the role of social identity dimensions with regards to behavior as captured in bystander scenarios relating to intergroup discrimination. This is particularly important in the context of divided societies, where peace education initiatives are crucial in promoting positive community relations for the future and where such initiative may be hampered by communities’ concerns about loss of identity and hardened intergroup attitudes. Furthermore, previous research frequently highlighted teachers’ fears to tackle outgroup attitudes in the classroom, especially in contexts where pupils and the wider school community are seen as entrenched in community divisions (Hughes, Donnelly, Hewstone, Gallagher & Carlisle, 2010). However, there is no research investigating the relationship between pupils’ attitudes and teacher confidence to talk about such issues in the classroom, which is explored in this paper.

In the context of Northern Ireland, a divided society emerging from sectarian conflict, social identity, outgroup attitudes and outgroup behaviours have been key concepts addressed by peace educators for many years. Building on this work, this paper provides a detailed picture of young people’s strength of group identification and their willingness to explore ingroup perspectives, sectarian attitudes and their reported willingness to challenge sectarian bullying. Using data from a baseline survey, which forms part of a randomized control trial investigating the effect of an educational intervention aimed to promote reconciliation, the sample involved young people of different denominational backgrounds, attending separate school sectors. The baseline data will be used to compare with post intervention data. Therefore, the data and its findings would be of particular interest to educators and policy makers in other European countries who are working to develop peace education interventions in societies emerging from conflict. Additionally, this paper considers the results from a baseline teacher survey, collected before training and teaching of the intervention began. The teacher survey focused on confidence in tackling sectarian issues in the classroom, previous experience of teaching such issues and their hopes and concerns for the reconciliation intervention.

This paper therefore set out to investigate the relationship between dimensional concept of social identity, sectarian attitudes and pupils’ reported willingness to challenge sectarian bullying and to compare this with their teachers’ attitudes to teaching about sectarian issues in the classroom.



Method

The pupil sample included 35 primary and post-primary schools and about 800 pupils from 8-11 years old who completed an online questionnaire in December 2011 and January 2012. Main instruments for young people’s survey included an adapted version of the Multi-ethnic identity measure (Phinney, 1992) incorporating the dimensions identity affirmation and exploration, outgroup attitude scales, including an adaptation of the social distance measure (Bogardus, 1947), as well as a measure adapted from Palmer and Cameron (2011) involving scenarios to capture pupils’ intentions in bystander situations relating to intergroup discrimination. Results are analysed using regression analysis and take account of potential gender and religious differences. The teacher questionnaire was completed by the 35 primary and post-primary teachers who will deliver the intervention. Results are analysed in terms of how teachers’ responses compare with their pupil attitudes by considering their confidence in tackling sectarian issues in the classroom and how their previous experience and training relate to their hopes and concerns for the intervention.


Expected Outcomes

Results from the young people’s survey are discussed in the light of the role of social identity dimensions and their relationship to sectarian attitudes and reported bystander behaviour in sectarian school incidents. Furthermore, results related to pupils’ sectarian attitudes will be compared with teachers’ reported confidence in tackling sectarianism in the classroom. The teacher questionnaire also presents interesting findings in relation to teachers’ previous training and experience and how this may influence different perspectives on peace and reconciliation interventions and their expectations of what these could achieve. The paper concludes with potential implications for peace education initiatives and related teacher training in Northern Ireland and beyond. The implications will be of particular interest to policy makers, educators and those working in the area of peace education to design and implement interventions.


References

Bogardus, E. S. (1947) Measurement of Personal-Group Relations. Sociometry, 10: 4: 306–311. Hughes, J., Donnelly, C., Hewstone, M., Gallagher, T. & Carlisle, K. (2010) School partnerships and reconciliation: An evaluation of school collaboration in Northern Ireland. Belfast: Queen’s University Belfast. Available online: http://www.schoolsworkingtogether.com/documents/School%20collaboration%20in%20NI%202010.pdf. (accessed 27th Jan 2010) Palmer, S. & Cameron, L. (2011, May). What are the moderators and mediators of children’s bystander behaviour in the context of intergroup discrimination? Paper session presented at the UNA Global Biennial Conference 2011: Building Peaceable Communities: The Power of Early Childhood, Amsterdam, Holland. Phinney, J. S. (1992). The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure: A new scale for use with diverse groups. Journal of Adolescent Research, 7, 156–176.

Staffing, status and subject knowledge: what does the construction of citizenship as a new curriculum subject in England tell us about the nature of school subjects?

Almost a decade ago, the new subject of citizenship was created in the English National Curriculum and several universities were funded to train teachers in this new subject. This presented a rare challenge, namely how to train people to teach a subject that did not exist in schools, and in which they were unlikely to have a specialist degree. In this article we have taken the opportunity afforded by the
tenth birthday of the report in which Crick recommended this curriculum reform to reflect on that experience from the perspective of teacher educators. Through reflecting on the case study of citizenship education in England we highlight several themes that are of more general interest to teacher educators. The key issues that have emerged in this case study relate to the general problems of translating central policy into classroom practice; the nature and aims of subjects in the curriculum; and the identities of teachers in secondary schools. The article illustrates how teacher educators responded to the formidable challenge of creating (or at least contributing to) a new subject and a subject community.

Teachers’ Perspectives on Moving Image as a digital literacy tool in Creative Classrooms

Eight Creative Classroom (CCR) elements are used as a framework for analysing teachers’ current attitudes towards the use of moving images as a tool for teaching digital literacy to pupils aged 11-18 years in the context of ‘Creative Classrooms’. This paper reports on the challenges being faced by innovative teachers willing to adopt moving image (as a new ICT) into their teaching, and highlights the gaps currently present in the systemic support structures in schools which need to be addressed for innovative pedagogical practices to occur in these Creative Classrooms. By ensuring educators learn from their experiences of poor ICT uptake in the past and utilise these lessons for future innovations in classrooms, it is hoped that the transition to moving image, and its associated digital literacy skills, will be smooth and beneficial to the learners.

A-level Mathematics Options – Views of Secondary-level Teachers

The A-level Mathematics qualification is based on a compulsory set of pure maths modules and a selection of applied maths modules with the pure maths representing two thirds of the assessment. The applied maths section includes mechanics, statistics and (sometimes) decision maths. A combination of mechanics and statistics tends to be the most popular choice by far. The current study aims to understand how maths teachers in secondary education make decisions regarding the curriculum options and offers useful insight to those currently designing the new A-level specifications.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with A-level maths teachers representing 27 grammar schools across Northern Ireland. Teachers were generally in agreement regarding the importance of pure maths and the balance between pure and applied within the A-level maths curriculum. A wide variety of opinions existed concerning the applied options. While many believe that the basic mechanics-statistics (M1-S1) combination is most accessible, it was also noted that the M1-M2 combination fits neatly alongside A-level physics. Lack of resources, timetabling constraints and competition with other subjects in the curriculum hinder uptake of A-level Further Maths.

Teachers are very conscious of the need to obtain high grades to benefit both their pupils and the school’s reputation. The move to a linear assessment system in England while Northern Ireland retains the modular system is likely to cause some schools to review their choice of exam board although there is disagreement as to whether a modular or linear system is more advantageous for pupils. The upcoming change in the specification offers an opportunity to refresh the assessment also and reduce the number of leading questions. However, teachers note that there are serious issues with GCSE maths and these have implications for A-level.

Attitudes of students, parents, and teachers toward glasses use in rural China.

OBJECTIVE:

To use focus groups to understand barriers to glasses use among children in rural China.

METHODS:

Separate focus groups were conducted between December 17, 2007, and August 5, 2008, for the following 3 groups at each of 3 schools in rural China: children aged 14 to 18 years with myopia of less than -0.5 diopters in both eyes, those children's parents, and those children's teachers. Participants were also asked to rank their responses to questions about glasses use. The focus group transcripts were coded independently by 2 investigators using qualitative data management software.

RESULTS:

Respondents of all 3 types indicated that glasses purchase and wear should be delayed in children with early myopia and might be harmful to the eyes. Parents and students reported being uncertain about children's actual myopia status and whether glasses should be worn. Parents ranked their most common reason for not buying glasses as being "too busy with work," whereas "too expensive" ranked low. Inconvenience was ranked as an important reason for not wearing glasses among all 3 student groups. "Accuracy of lens power" was the first-ranked requirement for glasses among all student groups, whereas "new and attractive styles" was ranked last by all. All 3 types of respondents believed that wearing glasses or failing to wear them might worsen myopia.

CONCLUSIONS:

Educational programs are needed to address significant knowledge gaps in families and schools about glasses use in rural China. Cost and the need for attractive styles may not be significant barriers to use in this setting, raising the possibility of paying for such programs through cost recovery.

Language anxiety in English teachers during their teaching practice

Este estudo explora a influência da ansiedade linguística em futuros professores de Inglês em situação de prática pedagógica. Setting the Scene descreve o aumento de interesse pela ansiedade linguística por parte dos investigadores no contexto da aprendizagem e do ensino, e a relevância desta questão para professores estagiários fazendo a transição de aluno para professor. O autor também considera a sua própria experiência de ansiedade – enquanto estudante e investigador – de modo a gerar um maior entendimento desta emoção complexa. O Capítulo 1 da Parte 1 descreve como o afecto na aprendizagem e na investigação da língua tem vindo a ser um factor preponderante no interesse mais alargado sobre as emoções em contextos educacionais. A recente influência da teoria social na aquisição de uma segunda língua e como esta pode ajudar a repensar a investigação das emoções é discutida antes do final do capítulo, onde se examina ainda como as emoções são expressas na comunicação e interacção. O Capítulo 2 concentra-se na ansiedade na aprendizagem da língua e em como o peso da noção em contexto social alargado tem provavelmente influenciado uma abordagem dominantemente de cariz positivista na investigação sobre a ansiedade linguística. Controvérsias e variáveis da personalidade relacionadas com a ansiedade linguística são discutidas, considerando-se a possibilidade de novas direcções para a investigação. A prática pedagógica é vista como um campo fértil de investigação sobre a ansiedade linguística em estagiários, com estilos de supervisão e discursos – nomeadamente estratégias de delicadeza e de mitigação – sendo considerados influências importantes na experiência desta emoção. O Capítulo 3 da Parte 2 detalha a abordagem etnográfica e etnometodológica do estudo e o procedimento de investigação em si. Os dados foram recolhidos em três momentos distintos. Primeiro, através de inquéritos aplicados aos estagiários antes do começo do estágio. Numa segunda fase, durante o estágio, os dados principais foram recolhidos através das aulas e duma entrevista semi-estruturada com os estagiários, ambas vídeo gravadas, e dos encontros de pós-observação áudio-gravados. Os dados subsidiários recolhidos nesta mesma fase incluem reflexões escritas e dossiers dos estagiários, observações escritas das aulas do investigador e o relatório intercalar dos professores supervisor e cooperante. Na última fase, posterior às aulas, a recolha dos dados principais foi realizada através de uma vídeo gravação da reunião de avaliação final com todos os participantes e de stimulated recall protocols com cada professor estagiário. O Capítulo 4 é predominantemente uma análise qualitativa de discurso, utilizando categorias de análise para identificar sinais de ansiedade emergentes dos dados. Os resultados mostram que um dos estagiários pode ser caracterizado como tendo uma experiência de ansiedade mais debilitadora, outro uma ansiedade mais facilitadora, enquanto a experiência do terceiro é menos pronunciada e mais difícil de caracterizar. Sinais e fontes múltiplos e complexos de ansiedade foram identificados mas as próprias autoimagens dos sujeitos como professores de Inglês, construídas em interacção ao longo do estágio, estão no centro desta experiência emocional. O Capítulo 5 considera as implicações e as conclusões deste estudo. São dadas indicações para a relação estagiário-supervisor e quanto aos estilos do supervisor no quadro da prática pedagógica assim como sugestões para que a ansiedade linguística seja explicitamente abordada na formação em supervisão. Finalmente, é ponderada se a experiência da ansiedade linguística destas estagiárias e as suas fontes têm ou não implicações na formação dos alunos de línguas.

Mathematica in the classroom: new tools for exploring precalculus and differential calculus

Prémio de Melhor Artigo de Jovem Investigador atribuído pela empresa Timberlake, apresentado na 1ª Conferência Nacional sobre Computação Simbólica no Ensino e na Investigação - CSEI2012, que decorreu no IST nos dias 2 e 3 de Abril.

Interpretation of pictograms by 3rd grade pupils: the teacher’s role

In this paper we analyze how a primary school teacher (João) leads the discussion of a task in a grade 3 class aimed at reading and interpreting pictograms. The paper is part of a larger study that follows an interpretative and qualitative research methodology with a case study design. The results indicate that, in his teaching practice, the teacher strives to ask questions so that his pupils are not limited to the identification of categories of high and low frequency characteristic, that is, "reading the data", but also raises questions related to "reading between the data" and "beyond the data."

Teacher educators: proposing new professional development models within an English further education context

At a time of increasing public and government focus on the quality of teacher education, little is known about the professional development needs of those who teach teachers in further education (FE). Yet they are crucial players. Efforts are intensifying across a significant number of countries to promote the professional development of teacher educators, but there is little support for new or experienced practitioners and no substantive professional standards regarding this role in English FE. This has an impact on the professional practice and career trajectories of teacher educators themselves. Based on a series of semi-structured interviews, an online survey and focus groups, this mixed-methods study uses a sequential exploratory design. The study captures the voices of English FE teacher educators who identified mentoring, induction and a choice of continuous professional development sessions as important strategies to improve the effectiveness of their role over time. This article will propose flexible models of professional development, following an analysis of new and experienced teacher educators’ needs in FE in England. The article recommends that new professional standards for teacher educators could be written collaboratively by practitioners, within a policy and institutional framework which supports the scholarship and research requirements of teacher educators.

Planning and implementing a new assessment strategy using an e-learning platform

One of the most difficult issues of e-Learning is the students’ assessment. Being this an outstanding task regarding theoretical topics, it becomes even more challenging when the topics under evaluation are practical. ISCAP’s Information Systems Department is composed of about twenty teachers who have been for several years using an e-learning environment (at the moment Moodle 2.3) combined with traditional assessment. They are now planning and implementing a new e-learning assessment strategy. This effort was undertaken in order to evaluate a practical topic (the use of spreadsheets to solve management problems) common to shared courses of several undergraduate degree programs. The same team group is already experienced in the assessment of theoretical information systems topics using the b-learning platform. Therefore, this project works as an extension to previous experiences being the team aware of the additional difficulties due to the practical nature of the topics. This paper describes this project and presents two cycles of the action research methodology, used to conduct the research. The first cycle goal was to produce a database of questions. When it was implemented in order to be used with a pilot group of students, several problems were identified. Subsequently, the second cycle consisted in solving the identified problems preparing the database and all the players to a broader scope implementation. For each cycle, all the phases, its drawbacks and achievements are described. This paper suits all those who are or are planning to be in the process of shifting their assessment strategy from a traditional to one supported by an e-learning platform.