The effects of a General Instructional Strategies course on the utilization of effective instructional strategies by teachers

The focus of this study was to explain the extent to which theoretically effective teaching strategies taught in a course on generic instructional strategies are being implemented by teachers in their actual teaching practice. ^ A multivariate causal-comparative (ex-post-facto) design was used to answer the research question. A teacher observation protocol, the General Instructional Strategies Analysis (GISA) was constructed and used to assess the utilization of instructional strategies in the classroom. The data of this study also included open-ended field notes taken during observations. ^ Multivariate Analyses of Variance (MANOVA) was used to compare the teaching strategies (set, effective explanation, hands-on activity, cooperative learning activity, higher order questioning, closure) of the group who had taken a general instructional strategies course (N=36) and the group who had not (N=36). Results showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups. The group who had taken the course implemented these strategies more effectively in almost all categories of effective teaching. Follow-up univariate tests of the dependent variables showed significant differences between the two groups in five of the six areas (hands-on activity being an exception). A second MANOVA compared the two groups on the effective use of attending behaviors (teacher movement/eye contact/body language/physical space, brief verbal acknowledgements/voice inflection/modulation/pitch, use of visuals, prompting/probing, praise/feedback/rewards, wait-time I and II). Results also showed a multivariate difference between the two groups. Follow-up univariate tests on the related dependent variables showed that five of the six were significantly different between the two groups. The group who had taken the course implemented the strategies more effectively. An analysis of the field notes provided further evidence regarding the pervasiveness of these differences between the teaching practices of the two groups. ^ It was concluded that taking a course in general instructional strategies increases the utilization of effective strategies in the classroom by teachers. ^

Exploring the goals, content, and methods of entrepreneurship professors: A multiple case study

Along with the accumulation of evidence supporting the role of entrepreneurship in economic development (Acs & Armington, 2006; Kuratko, 2005, Reynolds, 2007), governments have persisted in encouraging people to become entrepreneurs (Acs & Stough, 2008; Brannback & Carsrud, 2008). These efforts have tried to reproduce the conditions under which entrepreneurship emerges. One of these conditions is to develop entrepreneurial skills among students and scientists (Fan & Foo, 2004). Entrepreneurship education within higher education has experienced a remarkable expansion in the last 20 years (Green, 2008). To develop entrepreneurial skills among students, scholars have proposed different teaching approaches. However, no clear relationship has been demonstrated between entrepreneurship education, learning outcomes, and business creation (Hostager & Decker, 1999). Despite policy makers demands for more accountability from educational institutions (Klimoski, 2007) and entrepreneurship instructors demands for consistency about what should be taught and how (Maidment, 2009), the appropriate content for entrepreneurship programs remains under constant discussion (Solomon, 2007). Entrepreneurship education is still in its infancy, professors propose diverse teaching goals and radically different teaching methods. This represents an obstacle to development of foundational and consistent curricula across the board (Cone, 2008). Entrepreneurship education is in need of a better conceptualization of the learning outcomes pursued in order to develop consistent curriculum. Many schools do not have enough qualified faculty to meet the growing student demand and a consistent curriculum is needed for faculty development. Entrepreneurship instructors and their teaching practices are of interest because they have a role in producing the entrepreneurs needed to grow the economy. This study was designed to understand instructors’ perspectives and actions related to their teaching. The sample studied consisted of eight college and university entrepreneurship instructors. Cases met predetermined criteria of importance followed maximum variation strategies. Results suggest that teaching content were consistent across participants while different teaching goals were identified: some instructors inspire and develop general skills of students while others envision the creation of a real business as the major outcome of their course. A relationship between methods reported by instructors and their disciplinary background, teaching perspective, and entrepreneurial experience was found.

A hermeneutic phenomenology of graduate education students' understandings of instructor power in a higher education classroom

Higher education is a distribution center of knowledge and economic, social, and cultural power (Cervero & Wilson, 2001). A critical approach to understanding a higher education classroom begins with recognizing the instructor's position of power and authority (Tisdell, Hanley, & Taylor, 2000). The power instructors wield exists mostly unquestioned, allowing for teaching practices that reproduce the existing societal patterns of inequity in the classroom (Brookfield, 2000). ^ The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore students' experiences with the power of their instructors in a higher education classroom. A hermeneutic phenomenological study intertwines the interpretations of both the participants and the researcher about a lived experience to uncover layers of meaning because the meanings of lived experiences are usually not readily apparent (van Manen, 1990). Fifteen participants were selected using criterion, convenience, and snowball sampling. The primary data gathering method were semi-structured interviews guided by an interview protocol (Creswell, 2003). Data were interpreted using thematic reflection (van Manen, 1990). ^ Three themes emerged from data interpretation: (a) structuring of instructor-student relationships, (b) connecting power to instructor personality, and (c) learning to navigate the terrains of higher education. How interpersonal relationships were structured in a higher education classroom shaped how students perceived power in that higher education classroom. Positive relationships were described using the metaphor of family and a perceived ethic of caring and nurturing by the instructor. As participants were consistently exposed to exercises of instructor power in a higher education classroom, they attributed those exercises of power to particular instructor traits rather than systemic exercises of power. As participants progressed from undergraduate to graduate studies, they perceived the benefits of expertise in content or knowledge development as secondary to expertise in successfully navigating the social, cultural, political, and interpersonal terrains of higher education. Ultimately, participants expressed that higher education is not about what you know; it is about learning how to play the game. Implications for teaching in higher education and considerations for future research conclude the study.^

Pre-Disaster Risk Management in Post-Earthquake (1999) Turkey

This paper assesses the status of pre-disaster risk management in the case of Turkey. By focusing on the period following the catastrophic August 17, 1999 earthquake, the study benefits from USAID’s Disaster Risk Management Benchmarking Tool (DRMBT). In line with the benchmarking tool, the paper covers key developments in the four components of pre-disaster risk management, namely: risk identification, risk mitigation, risk transfer and disaster preparedness. In the end, it will present three major conclusions: (i) Although post-1999 Turkey has made some important progress in the pre-disaster phase of DRM, particularly with the enactment of obligatory earthquake insurance and tightened standards for building construction, the country is far away from substantial levels of success in DRM. (ii) In recent years, local governments have had been given more authority in the realm of DRM, however, Turkey’s approach to DRM is still predominantly centralized at the expense of successful DRM practices at the local level. (iii) While the devastating 1999 earthquake has resulted in advances in the pre-disaster components of DRM; progress has been mostly in the realm of earthquakes. Turkey’s other major disasters (landslides, floods, wild fires i.e.) also require similar attention by local and central authorities.

Playing the Game: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology of Graduate Education Students’ Perceptions of Instructor Power in a Higher Education Classroom

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore students’ experiences with the power of their instructors in a higher education classroom. This study provides a deeper understanding of instructor power from student perspectives to inform teaching practices in the higher education classroom.

A educação popular para todos de uma cidade educadora (Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, 1957-1964)

This work has as a research subject of popular education policies of the city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, in the years 1957 to 1964. It aims to identify and analyze popular education policies developed and implemented by the Municipality of Natal in these years. To get the historical data, we establish as a guiding reserch question the following: Which elaborated educational policies were implemented by the Municipality of Natal in the years 1957-1964? and took over as the method Evidential Paradigm as proposition in Pinheiro (2009). This is anchored in documentary sources of Educational Legislation at National, State and Municipal levels as well as in the newspapers Folha de Tarde and Jornal de Natal; in existing documents from the archives of the Historical and Geographical Institute of Rio Grande do Norte (IHGRN), the Municipal Public Archives of Natal; iconographic sources; interviews and academic publications. In addition to these sources, we were inspired by the works of Aristotles (2011), Hobbes (2009), Freire (2011), Góes (1980), Germano (1989), Cortez (2005) and Galvão (2004). This research allowed us to understand that policies of popular education of Natal (RN) were based on a democratic educational practice, supported on three pillars, namely: participation and involvement of Natal population; construction and reconstruction of teaching practices in prioritizing their action programs to mass literacy and the training of lay teachers; and the democratization of culture. This historical process made Natal on educating city.

O canto dos vestibulandos em 140 caracteres: linguagem e construção de identidades no Twitter

The revolution caused by the internet and its various social networks eventually bring forth fruitful reflections on cyberculture and the power of identity construction. What seemed purely fashion has become way of being, representation of self, reality creation (Lévy, 1996). Considering language as a social phenomenon, which occurs through interaction, as explicit in Bakhtin (1929), the speech aired on social networks shapes the profile of their users, constructing identities which, according to Hall (2006), are multiple and non-permanent . This research seeks to examine the use of Twitter by school students, developing a reflection on the construction of their own identities in cyberspace. The subjects are students of Educandário Nossa Senhora das Vitórias, private school in Assú/RN, all graduates from high school. Understanding the Vestibular year as a decisive and a reflection engine ever present about their condition of students, subjects eventually express their anxieties, fears and perspectives in the virtual environment, providing us with enough material to analyze how they are high school students, expectations for appropriate selection processes, plus several representations belonging to the school environment. From the discourse conveyed on Twitter expressed in Featured posts, this study reveals the identities of high school students that emerge from it, which led the cast of some evidence. From them, despite the multiplicity of identities observed, presented some common aspects that corroborate the requirements provided for specific objectives, such as: feeling of belonging to a group - class and school; change of routine and behavior towards education; desecration of traditional teaching practices; changing the identity of students'writings. The analysis of postings enables us to know the perceptions of students regarding the school, the disciplines , the pace of studies, interest in school practices, and from such evidence, the perception of how vestibular modify your daily life and a fondness their identities as school students.

Gestão do sistema de produção e práticas enxutas adotadas nas indústrias paraibanas: um estudo multicaso

The evolution of the practices and strategies of manufacturing management, over the years, has made many companies realign their production systems in order to raise their competitiveness and operational performance. However, in most cases these changes are made in a heterogeneous manner, which ends up leaving the production system without a defined goal, which may end up damaging the managerial strategies of the organization as a whole. Thus, some organizations seek to use techniques and/or successful production practices used by other companies, believing can be able to reproduce the same results. An efficient production system must be fully planned and appropriate to the strategic objectives of the organization. Thus, this paper aims to identify the manufacturing management strategies adopted in paraibanas industries, as well as identify the lean practices used by them. Thus, a qualitative study was conducted, using as methodological basis the multicase study. Were made: direct observations, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires applied to those responsible by the production sector of the participating companies. As a result, it was possible to identify the type of manufacturing management system adopted by companies. Where it was detected that Company A uses a system of Modern Mass Production with focus on productivity and low cost and the Company B is using Lean Manufacturing system focused on quality and diversity. In the two organizations was possible to realize the application of lean practices where the Company what does not use the LM, possessed lean practices in standard extremely mature of utilization.

A interação ensino-serviço no processo de formação dos graduandos em fisioterapia da UFPB: a percepção dos docentes

The health paradigm, consolidated in the last century, directed the training of health professionals, educated under the aegis of the Flexnerian training, fragmentary and hospital-centered model. However, it proved to be insufficient to meet the demands of the Unified Health System and the population. In this sense, the National Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate health courses emerge as a normative framework in proposing a new professional profile, as well as the recommendation of strategies for the restructuring of curricula and teaching practices, and one of them is the teaching-service integration. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the process of training of Physiotherapy course students of the Federal University of Paraíba with the guiding principle of teaching-service integration, considering DCN. In this sense, the chosen method was a case study with qualitative approach. The sample was intentional, including all faculty members of the permanent staff of the Department of Physiotherapy at UFPB, linked to curriculum components whose practice scenarios occur in the SUS network and time longer than one year in that component. The data collection technique was the semi-structured interview. Data analysis was performed using the content analysis technique. The following categories were considered: professional training for SUS, integration of students to the SUS network services, the relationship between theory and practice in the training of physiotherapists, teaching and health professional partnership in the teaching-learning process and programs of training reorientation and their integration with the course. The results allowed identifying positive points in the teaching-service integration: recognition of the importance of integration activities between university and health services based on the insertion of students in the network, the combined actuation with health service professionals and the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team; the existence of structured and organized School Network; participation of students and teachers in government programs that offer the experience of insertion in the labor market. The following weaknesses stood out: difficulties in agreement, planning and evaluation of activities by the service; gap between theoretical and practical activities; lack of definition of roles of teacher and health service professionals in the training process and the fragile relationship of reorientation of vocational training programs with the curricular activities of the course. The teaching-service integration as a guiding principle in the analysis of the formation of physiotherapists reveals limits and possibilities for training that meets the health needs of the population. Thus, the choices of educational institutions regarding the care model have an influence on health practices, as well as the commitment by management and services and the permeability to social control instances decisively contribute to the improvement in the training of future professionals. Thus, the commitment of all involved for the effective change in the training process of health paradigm is indispensable.

A interação ensino-serviço no processo de formação dos graduandos em fisioterapia da UFPB: a percepção dos docentes

The health paradigm, consolidated in the last century, directed the training of health professionals, educated under the aegis of the Flexnerian training, fragmentary and hospital-centered model. However, it proved to be insufficient to meet the demands of the Unified Health System and the population. In this sense, the National Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate health courses emerge as a normative framework in proposing a new professional profile, as well as the recommendation of strategies for the restructuring of curricula and teaching practices, and one of them is the teaching-service integration. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the process of training of Physiotherapy course students of the Federal University of Paraíba with the guiding principle of teaching-service integration, considering DCN. In this sense, the chosen method was a case study with qualitative approach. The sample was intentional, including all faculty members of the permanent staff of the Department of Physiotherapy at UFPB, linked to curriculum components whose practice scenarios occur in the SUS network and time longer than one year in that component. The data collection technique was the semi-structured interview. Data analysis was performed using the content analysis technique. The following categories were considered: professional training for SUS, integration of students to the SUS network services, the relationship between theory and practice in the training of physiotherapists, teaching and health professional partnership in the teaching-learning process and programs of training reorientation and their integration with the course. The results allowed identifying positive points in the teaching-service integration: recognition of the importance of integration activities between university and health services based on the insertion of students in the network, the combined actuation with health service professionals and the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team; the existence of structured and organized School Network; participation of students and teachers in government programs that offer the experience of insertion in the labor market. The following weaknesses stood out: difficulties in agreement, planning and evaluation of activities by the service; gap between theoretical and practical activities; lack of definition of roles of teacher and health service professionals in the training process and the fragile relationship of reorientation of vocational training programs with the curricular activities of the course. The teaching-service integration as a guiding principle in the analysis of the formation of physiotherapists reveals limits and possibilities for training that meets the health needs of the population. Thus, the choices of educational institutions regarding the care model have an influence on health practices, as well as the commitment by management and services and the permeability to social control instances decisively contribute to the improvement in the training of future professionals. Thus, the commitment of all involved for the effective change in the training process of health paradigm is indispensable.

Currículo escolar e inclusão de estudantes com deficiência: diálogos com uma escola pública

This work of qualitative approach, has as its study object the school curriculum, resulting from the implementation of public policies for inclusion in the Brazilian educational field and of the teaching organization in State School Despertar. While we acknowledge advances in government discussions and proposals related to school inclusion in our country, it is still important to develop studies and interventions in the context of basic education focused on the curriculum. With methodological basis in collaborative-critical action research and contribution by Barbier, the survey was conducted in 2013, in a state school in the Natal - Rio Grande do Norte - school system, and aimed to analyze the curriculum of the State School Despertar, in particular issues related to the inclusion of students with disabilities in common teaching classes expressed in the school and in collective situations of continuing education with teachers and interpreter of Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). The school was previously chosen because it had already been locus of research in a study conducted by a professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte promoting the knowledge of their formative needs. The study subjects were 26 teachers in the early years and the end of elementary school and a Libras interpreter. The instruments were direct observation, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and a proposal for continuing education called Collaborative Group on School Inclusion (GCEI), established with the participating subjects and the other research collaborators. The analyzed data showed eight dialogues built with the State School Despertar, being basic the contributions of Goffman (1988) on stigma and of Forquin (1993) on school culture. As a theoretical framework, there were important contributions on School Curriculum (SACRISTÁN, 2000; 2007; APPLE, 2006; 2008), School Inclusion (BUENO, 2008), Continuing Education (NÓVOA, 2002; GATTI, 2003) and the existing studies on the dialogues between Curriculum and Special Education (MAGALHÃES, 2002; SILVA, 2008; 2010; OLIVEIRA, 2004; VIEIRA, 2012). The study highlighted the importance of extending the dialogue, the theoretical deepening of GCEI for the understanding of school curriculum and the specifics of any students, with or without disability. It will be necessary to revisit the school teaching practices that do not correspond to the students, for instance the formation of classes made in classrooms. It is also important to consider the organization of the school day and its interface with the pedagogical functions of each member of the school in building curriculum practices consistent with the diversity of modes and learning styles. Subliminal aspects of the curriculum should be reviewed, given its implications in the context of the classroom and management. However, significant changes identified in the practices of some teachers, such as the use of audio description, stimulus to the participation of students with disabilities and use of images, favored the development of other students, who benefit of more exciting and participatory classes. Based on the conducted research, we conclude on the importance of collectively discuss the conditions for / in schooling of different students and the (re)thinking of curriculum practices in the school as a whole, and therein lies a paradox because, on the one hand, it is not about minimizing the specific knowledge in dealing with the needs of students with disabilities, on the other, we are not interested in distancing these needs from those inherent in human nature, therefore peculiar to the other students. The questioning of our own practices is the challenge imposed, not to special education, or its target audience, but this is undoubtedly task of education.

Currículo escolar e inclusão de estudantes com deficiência: diálogos com uma escola pública

This work of qualitative approach, has as its study object the school curriculum, resulting from the implementation of public policies for inclusion in the Brazilian educational field and of the teaching organization in State School Despertar. While we acknowledge advances in government discussions and proposals related to school inclusion in our country, it is still important to develop studies and interventions in the context of basic education focused on the curriculum. With methodological basis in collaborative-critical action research and contribution by Barbier, the survey was conducted in 2013, in a state school in the Natal - Rio Grande do Norte - school system, and aimed to analyze the curriculum of the State School Despertar, in particular issues related to the inclusion of students with disabilities in common teaching classes expressed in the school and in collective situations of continuing education with teachers and interpreter of Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). The school was previously chosen because it had already been locus of research in a study conducted by a professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte promoting the knowledge of their formative needs. The study subjects were 26 teachers in the early years and the end of elementary school and a Libras interpreter. The instruments were direct observation, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and a proposal for continuing education called Collaborative Group on School Inclusion (GCEI), established with the participating subjects and the other research collaborators. The analyzed data showed eight dialogues built with the State School Despertar, being basic the contributions of Goffman (1988) on stigma and of Forquin (1993) on school culture. As a theoretical framework, there were important contributions on School Curriculum (SACRISTÁN, 2000; 2007; APPLE, 2006; 2008), School Inclusion (BUENO, 2008), Continuing Education (NÓVOA, 2002; GATTI, 2003) and the existing studies on the dialogues between Curriculum and Special Education (MAGALHÃES, 2002; SILVA, 2008; 2010; OLIVEIRA, 2004; VIEIRA, 2012). The study highlighted the importance of extending the dialogue, the theoretical deepening of GCEI for the understanding of school curriculum and the specifics of any students, with or without disability. It will be necessary to revisit the school teaching practices that do not correspond to the students, for instance the formation of classes made in classrooms. It is also important to consider the organization of the school day and its interface with the pedagogical functions of each member of the school in building curriculum practices consistent with the diversity of modes and learning styles. Subliminal aspects of the curriculum should be reviewed, given its implications in the context of the classroom and management. However, significant changes identified in the practices of some teachers, such as the use of audio description, stimulus to the participation of students with disabilities and use of images, favored the development of other students, who benefit of more exciting and participatory classes. Based on the conducted research, we conclude on the importance of collectively discuss the conditions for / in schooling of different students and the (re)thinking of curriculum practices in the school as a whole, and therein lies a paradox because, on the one hand, it is not about minimizing the specific knowledge in dealing with the needs of students with disabilities, on the other, we are not interested in distancing these needs from those inherent in human nature, therefore peculiar to the other students. The questioning of our own practices is the challenge imposed, not to special education, or its target audience, but this is undoubtedly task of education.

Contradições como força de mudança: o processo de formação continuada de professores do ensino médio enquanto potencializador da práxis transformadora à luz da teoria histórico-cultural

The intervention research proposed was based on the Cultural-Historical Theory based on the laws and logic of materialism historical-dialectical. Therefore, we tried to design a research process that involved all as responsible for the process. In the field of continuous teacher's training usually has been found dualistic relationship / paradoxical processes as a result of the adopted training models which are characterized by individualist human processes. The teacher training work sought to overcome this dualism, to promote the unveiling of the contradictions with regard to teaching models. As a hypothesis, we imagined that immersed in this process, teachers recognize such contradictions, and this recognition would make the contradictions become the driving force of change in teaching practice, realizing the teaching-learning-development triad as the basis of praxis. Aiming to develop a process of continuing education to bring results to the professional teachers development looking for answer the following research question: How and what the changes of teachers who participated in the Didactic-Formative Intervention process raised the quality of their teaching practices? In this context, the objective of the research was to develop a process of Didactic-Formative Intervention from the perspective of Cultural-Historical Theory with high school teachers in order to theorize about the changes in pedagogical practices of teachers and learn aspects that transform the essence teaching practice. The research involved two high school teachers of a public school in Uberlândia-MG. The training meetings took place at the school through a collective study group between the years 2013 and 2015. As procedures were used two interconnected aspects: classes observations, and a theoretical and methodological training, both for diagnosis and for the process evaluation, the second aspect has a formative dimension, and a didactic dimension (double meaning) to form didactically the teacher and to elaborate didactic procedures. The collected data were analyzed by observing the assumptions of the method, analysis by units and the processuality. As results teachers showed changes in their teaching practices regarding the organization of the pedagogical work and also centered their design educational actions based on learning and development of the students. The presence of continuous diagnosis during the classes, work with a systems of concepts and their conceptual links, problematization as a teaching method can be pointed as meaningful changes in their praxis. Regarding the training activities that emerged from the analysis of the compiled materials and analyzed throughout the process can be emphasized: forming a collective group of school teachers continuous training, diagnostics, development of practical activities, increase relationships among participants, the choice of scientific material used should have direct relation to the needs of the participants, promoting conditions that enable the emergence of contradictions between the pedagogical practice of teachers and teaching based on the perspective of the Cultural-Historical Theory. This research craved to develop and design a teachers' training processes that increase the quality of teachers life and ways of teaching in the Brazilian public school.

Processus d’appropriation des technologies de l’information et de la communication par les enseignants : le cas des tablettes

L’intégration des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) en contexte éducatif représente un moyen concret d’action et de réflexion en sciences de l’éducation. Les scientifiques et les acteurs de terrain se questionnent sur l’intégration des technologies et sur les moyens à mettre en place afin de réussir ce processus parfois complexe. De fait, la pénétration des outils technologiques dans les établissements scolaires a été exponentielle ces dernières années. Il est aujourd’hui nécessaire de comprendre selon quelles perspectives ces outils s’intègrent en salle de classe. Un exemple marquant est celui de la tablette tactile, récemment intégrée massivement dans les écoles d’Amérique du Nord et d’Europe. Cet outil, relativement récent dans la sphère scolaire, demande une réflexion précise vis-à-vis des pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants et des processus d’intégration inhérents. Afin de répondre à ces questionnements, nous avons élaboré une recherche en trois temps. Dans un premier temps, nous avons dressé un portrait exhaustif des pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants utilisant quotidiennement la tablette tactile en salle de classe. Ce portrait nous permet d’esquisser une synthèse des usages et réalités pédagogiques qui entourent cet outil. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons répertorié, analysé et classifié les modèles d’intégration des TIC présents dans la littérature. L’analyse de ces modèles nous a permis d’en extraire les forces et les lacunes intrinsèques. Ensuite, nous avons créé un modèle synthèse rassemblant les réflexions issues de ces analyses. En parallèle, nous avons créé une typologie permettant d’identifier et de classifier ces modèles. Dans un troisième temps, nous sommes partis des pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants et du modèle général d’intégration des TIC que nous avons conçu afin de comprendre quel était le processus d’intégration de la tablette en salle de classe. Les résultats obtenus mettent en évidence que l’utilisation de la tablette induit des usages pédagogiques novateurs qui facilitent l’enseignement et qui favorisent l’apprentissage des élèves. Cependant, nous constatons que la tablette n’est pas utilisée à son plein potentiel et que certains usages devraient être envisagés selon une perspective plus efficiente et adaptée. En ce qui concerne les processus d’intégration, nous avons identifié plusieurs éléments indispensables: ces processus doivent être itératifs et constructifs, des facteurs internes et externes doivent être considérés et des niveaux d’intégration doivent être identifiés. Le modèle ainsi conçu spécifie le modèle à privilégier et les aboutissants à considérer. À la suite de cette étape, nous avons conçu un modèle d’intégration spécifiquement dédié à la tablette. Celui-ci met en évidence, au-delà des caractéristiques définies dans le modèle général, une nécessaire formation, une implication des acteurs, un ajustement constant des pratiques pédagogiques et une itération indispensable. À la suite de ces considérations, nous constatons que le processus d’appropriation de la tablette est en cours de construction et que les nouvelles implantations, comme les existantes, doivent procéder à une analyse minutieuse des tenants et aboutissants des pratiques médiées par l’intégration de l’outil. En fin de document, une synthèse des résultats et des recommandations est proposée afin de favoriser l’intégration de la tablette tactile - et des TIC en général – dans la salle de classe.

A Jaworskian analysis of four senior class primary teachers endeavouring to teach mathematics from a constructivist-compatible perspective

A constructivist philosophy underlies the Irish primary mathematics curriculum. As constructivism is a theory of learning its implications for teaching need to be addressed. This study explores the experiences of four senior class primary teachers as they endeavour to teach mathematics from a constructivist-compatible perspective with primary school children in Ireland over a school-year period. Such a perspective implies that children should take ownership of their learning while working in groups on tasks which challenge them at their zone of proximal development. The key question on which the research is based is: to what extent will an exposure to constructivism and its implications for the classroom impact on teaching practices within the senior primary mathematics classroom in both the short and longer term? Although several perspectives on constructivism have evolved (von Glaserfeld (1995), Cobb and Yackel (1996), Ernest (1991,1998)), it is the synthesis of the emergent perspective which becomes pivotal to the Irish primary mathematics curriculum. Tracking the development of four primary teachers in a professional learning initiative involving constructivist-compatible approaches necessitated the use of Borko’s (2004) Phase 1 research methodology to account for the evolution in teachers’ understanding of constructivism. Teachers’ and pupils’ viewpoints were recorded using both audio and video technology. Teachers were interviewed at the beginning and end of the project and also one year on to ascertain how their views had evolved. Pupils were interviewed at the end of the project only. The data were analysed from a Jaworskian perspective i.e. using the categories of her Teaching Triad of management of learning, mathematical challenge and sensitivity to students. Management of learning concerns how the teacher organises her classroom to maximise learning opportunities for pupils. Mathematical challenge is reminiscent of the Vygotskian (1978) construct of the zone of proximal development. Sensitivity to students involves a consciousness on the part of the teacher as to how pupils are progressing with a mathematical task and whether or not to intervene to scaffold their learning. Through this analysis a synthesis of the teachers’ interpretations of constructivist philosophy with concomitant implications for theory, policy and practice emerges. The study identifies strategies for teachers wishing to adopt a constructivist-compatible approach to their work. Like O’Shea (2009) it also highlights the likely difficulties to be experienced by such teachers as they move from utilising teacher-dominated methods of teaching mathematics to ones in which pupils have more ownership over their learning.