Can teacher collaboration overcome barriers to interdisciplinary learning in a disciplinary university? A case study using climate change

A teacher network was formed at an Australian university in order to better promote interdisciplinary student learning on the complex social-environmental problem of climate change. Rather than leaving it to students to piece together disciplinary responses, eight teaching academics collaborated on the task of exposing students to different types of knowledge in a way that was more than the summing of disciplinary parts. With a part-time network facilitator providing cohesion, network members were able to teach into each other’s classes, and share material and student activities across a range of units that included business, zoology, marine science, geography and education. Participants reported that the most positive aspects of the project were the collegiality and support for teaching innovation provided by peers. However, participants also reported being time-poor and overworked. Maintaining the collaboration beyond the initial one year project proved difficult because without funding for the network facilitator, participants were unable to dedicate the time required to meet and collaborate on shared activities. In order to strengthen teacher collaboration in a university whose administrative structures are predominantly discipline-based, there is need for recognition of the benefits of interdisciplinary learning to be matched by recognition of the need for financial and other resources to support collaborative teaching initiatives.

Accounting for student/educator diversity: resurrecting coaction theory

This chapter challenges current approaches to defining the context and process of entrepreneurship education. In modeling our classrooms as a microcosm of the world our current and future students will enter, this chapter brings to life (and celebrates) the everpresent diversity found within. The chapter attempts to make an important (and unique) contribution to the field of enterprise education by illustrating how we can determine the success of (1) our efforts as educators, (2) our students, and (3) our various teaching methods. The chapter is based on two specific premises, the most fundamental being the assertion that the performance of student, educator and institution can only be accounted for by accepting the nature of the dialogic relationship between the student and educator and between the educator and institution. A second premise is that at any moment in time, the educator can be assessed as being either efficient or inefficient, due to the presence of observable heterogeneity in the learning environment that produces differential learning outcomes. This chapter claims that understanding and appreciating the nature of heterogeneity in our classrooms provides an avenue for improvement in all facets of learning and teaching. To explain this claim, Haskell’s (1949) theory of coaction is resurrected to provide a lens through which all manner of interaction occurring within all forms of educational contexts can be explained. Haskell (1949) asserted that coaction theory had three salient features.

Re-thinking discourses of teacher professionalism in early childhood education: An Australian perspective

The professionalism of early childhood teachers has been the subject of increasing attention globally for over a decade (Moss, 2006; Osgood, 2012; Urban, 2010. In order to understand ways pre-service early childhood teachers make sense of professionalism, this chapter examines some of the discourses of early childhood teacher professionalism, and focuses on qualifications as one way in which being professional is discursively produced. In particular, the chapter makes visible some of the discursive tensions involved in student intentions to pursue careers in primary school teaching/specialist early childhood teacher in primary school, rather than in the child care sector. In doing so, it makes visible some of the effects of particular discourses of professionalism and the ways they may be taken up by students as they make important career decisions.

The social tasks of learning to become a physical education teacher: Considering the HPE subject department as a community of practice

Initial teacher education (ITE) students participate in various workplaces within schools and in doing so, form understandings about the numerous, and at times competing, expectations of teachers’ work. Through these experiences they form understandings about themselves as health and physical education (HPE) teachers. This paper examines the ways communities of practice within HPE subject department offices function as sites of workplace learning for student teachers. In particular this research focused on how ITE students negotiate tacit and contradictory expectations as well as social tasks during the practicum and the ways in which their understandings are mediated through participation in the workspace. Qualitative methods of survey and semi-structured interview were used to collect data on a cohort of student teachers during and following their major (10 week) practicum experience. Analysis was informed by theories of communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), workplace learning (Billett, 2001), and social task systems (Doyle, 1977). It was evident that considerable effort, attention, and energy was expended on various interrelated social tasks aimed at building positive relationships with their supervisor and other HPE teachers at the school. The social dynamics were highly nuanced and required a game-like approach. In our view the complexity that student teachers must negotiate in striving for an excellent evaluation warrants specific attention in physical education teacher education (PETE) programs. This study raises questions regarding our responsibilities in sending student teachers into contexts that might even be described as toxic. We offer some suggestions for how PETE might better support students going into practicum contexts that might be regarded as problematic workplaces.

The association between student characteristics and the development of clinical reasoning in a graduate-entry, PBL medical programme

This study sought to assess the extent to which the entry characteristics of students in a graduate-entry medical programme predict the subsequent development of clinical reasoning ability. Subjects comprised 290 students voluntarily recruited from three successive cohorts of the University of Queensland's MBBS Programme. Clinical reasoning was measured once a year over a period of three years using two methods, a set of 10 Clinical Reasoning Problems (CRPs) and the Diagnostic Thinking Inventory (DTI). Data on gender, age at entry into the programme, nature of primary degree, scores on selection criteria (written examination plus interview) and academic performance in the first two years of the programme were recorded for each student, and their association with clinical reasoning skill analysed using univariate and multivariate analysis. Univariate analysis indicated significant associations between CRP score, gender and primary degree with a significant but small association between DTI and interview score. Stage of progression through the programme was also an important predictor of performance on both indicators. Subsequent multivariate analysis suggested that female gender is a positive predictor of CRP score independently of the nature of a subject's primary degree and stage of progression through the programme, although these latter two variables are interdependent. Positive predictors of clinical reasoning skill are stage of progression through the MBBS programme, female gender and interview score. Although the nature of a student's primary degree is important in the early years of the programme, evidence suggests that by graduation differences between students' clinical reasoning skill due to this factor have been resolved.

The relationship between class participation and law students' learning, engagement and stress: Do demographics matter?

Student participation in the classroom has long been regarded as an important means of increasing student engagement and enhancing learning outcomes by promoting active learning. However, the approach to class participation common in U.S. law schools, commonly referred to as the Socratic method, has been criticised for its negative impacts on student wellbeing. A multiplicity of American studies have identified that participating in law class discussions can be alienating, intimidating and stressful for some law students, and may be especially so for women, and students from minority backgrounds. Using data from the Law School Student Assessment Survey (LSSAS), conducted at UNSW Law School in 2012, this Chapter provides preliminary insights into whether assessable class participation (ACP) at an Australian law school is similarly alienating and stressful for students, including the groups identified in the American literature. In addition, we compare the responses of undergraduate Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and graduate Juris Doctor (JD) students. The LSSAS findings indicate that most respondents recognise the potential learning and social benefits associated with class participation in legal education, but remain divided over their willingness to participate. Further, in alignment with general trends identified in American studies, LLB students, women, international students, and non-native English speakers perceive they contribute less frequently to class discussions than JD students, males, domestic students, and native English speakers, respectively. Importantly, the LSSAS indicates students are more likely to be anxious about contributing to class discussions if they are LLB students (compared to their JD counterparts), and if English is not their first language (compared to native English speakers). There were no significant differences in students’ self-reported anxiety levels based on gender, which diverges from the findings of American research.

Working with Identities Promoting Student Teachers Professional Development

The starting point of the study was that good teaching requires a teacher to be aware of the sources of his or her pedagogical decisions; that is, personal values, beliefs and understandings. From this perspective, a teacher s professional development refers to a process of extending one s self-knowledge. The aim of this study was to promote student teachers' professional development with the help of identity work. Identity work refers to reflecting on both personal and professional experiences. Identity work consists of student teachers self-reflection on their life experiences (self-identity) and video diary-based reflection on their classroom practice (professional identity). The research questions of the study were 1) how is identity work manifested by the participants? and 2) what is the potential of identity work in promoting student teachers professional development? The research data was collected from four student teachers in the academic year 2007-2008; the research group had 24 meetings during the research process. Student teachers take part in a multimode teacher education programme, where students work as ordinary teachers in schools during their university studies. The data collection was conducted by using two methods: participants narratives based on autobiographical writings and video diaries based on participants lessons. Narrative research data was analysed by employing qualitative methods and strategies as they were needed in the research. The research results revealed four different ways of working with identities, each of them revealing different aspects of and approaches to identity work. The results also showed that identity work has the potential to promote professional development. As the research progressed, there were visible changes in the participants reflection. However, despite encouraging results, some issues should be critically questioned. Although reflection sounds attractive and fruitful as a tool for promoting professional development, there are also difficulties and obstacles. On the basis of the results, a proposal for promoting student teachers professional development is offered. Keywords: Teacher identity, identity work, reflection, teacher professional development

Didactical reconstructions for organizing knowledge in physics teacher education

Physics teachers are in a key position to form the attitudes and conceptions of future generations toward science and technology, as well as to educate future generations of scientists. Therefore, good teacher education is one of the key areas of physics departments education program. This dissertation is a contribution to the research-based development of high quality physics teacher education, designed to meet three central challenges of good teaching. The first challenge relates to the organization of physics content knowledge. The second challenge, connected to the first one, is to understand the role of experiments and models in (re)constructing the content knowledge of physics for purposes of teaching. The third challenge is to provide for pre-service physics teachers opportunities and resources for reflecting on or assessing their knowledge and experience about physics and physics education. This dissertation demonstrates how these challenges can be met when the content knowledge of physics, the relevant epistemological aspects of physics and the pedagogical knowledge of teaching and learning physics are combined. The theoretical part of this dissertation is concerned with designing two didactical reconstructions for purposes of physics teacher education: the didactical reconstruction of processes (DRoP) and the didactical reconstruction of structures (DRoS). This part starts with taking into account the required professional competencies of physics teachers, the pedagogical aspects of teaching and learning, and the benefits of the graphical ways of representing knowledge. Then it continues with the conceptual and philosophical analysis of physics, especially with the analysis of experiments and models role in constructing knowledge. This analysis is condensed in the form of the epistemological reconstruction of knowledge justification. Finally, these two parts are combined in the designing and production of the DRoP and DRoS. The DRoP captures the knowledge formation of physical concepts and laws in concise and simplified form while still retaining authenticity from the processes of how concepts have been formed. The DRoS is used for representing the structural knowledge of physics, the connections between physical concepts, quantities and laws, to varying extents. Both DRoP and DRoS are represented in graphical form by means of flow charts consisting of nodes and directed links connecting the nodes. The empirical part discusses two case studies that show how the three challenges are met through the use of DRoP and DRoS and how the outcomes of teaching solutions based on them are evaluated. The research approach is qualitative; it aims at the in-depth evaluation and understanding about the usefulness of the didactical reconstructions. The data, which were collected from the advanced course for prospective physics teachers during 20012006, consisted of DRoP and DRoS flow charts made by students and student interviews. The first case study discusses how student teachers used DRoP flow charts to understand the process of forming knowledge about the law of electromagnetic induction. The second case study discusses how student teachers learned to understand the development of physical quantities as related to the temperature concept by using DRoS flow charts. In both studies, the attention is focused on the use of DRoP and DRoS to organize knowledge and on the role of experiments and models in this organization process. The results show that students understanding about physics knowledge production improved and their knowledge became more organized and coherent. It is shown that the flow charts and the didactical reconstructions behind them had an important role in gaining these positive learning results. On the basis of the results reported here, the designed learning tools have been adopted as a standard part of the teaching solutions used in the physics teacher education courses in the Department of Physics, University of Helsinki.

Subject Teacher Training and Teaching in English

The purpose of this Master s thesis is on one hand to find out how CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) teachers and English teachers perceive English and its use in teaching, and on the other hand, what they consider important in subject teacher education in English that is being planned and piloted in STEP Project at the University of Helsinki Department of Teacher Education. One research question is also what kind of language requirements teachers think CLIL teachers should have. The research results are viewed in light of previous research and literature on CLIL education. Six teachers participate in this study. Two of them are English teachers in the comprehensive school, two are class teachers in bilingual elementary education, and two are subject teachers in bilingual education, one of whom teaches in a lower secondary school and the other in an upper secondary school. One English teacher and one bilingual class teacher have graduated from a pilot class teacher program in English that started at the University of Helsinki in the middle of the 1990 s. The bilingual subject teachers are not trained in English but they have learned English elsewhere, which is a particular focus of interest in this study because it is expected that a great number of CLIL teachers in Finland do not have actual studies in English philology. The research method is interview and this is a qualitative case study. The interviews are recorded and transcribed for the ease of analysis. The English teachers do not always use English in their lessons and they would not feel confident in teaching another subject completely in English. All of the CLIL teachers trust their English skills in teaching, but the bilingual class teachers also use Finnish during lessons either because some teaching material is in Finnish, or they feel that rules and instructions are understood better in mother tongue or students English skills are not strong enough. One of the bilingual subject teachers is the only one who consciously uses only English in teaching and in discussions with students. Although teachers good English skills are generally considered important, only the teachers who have graduated from the class teacher education in English consider it important that CLIL teachers would have studies in English philology. Regarding the subject teacher education program in English, the respondents hope that its teachers will have strong enough English skills and that it will deliver what it promises. Having student teachers of different subjects studying together is considered beneficial. The results of the study show that acquiring teaching material in English continues to be the teachers own responsibility and a huge burden for the teachers, and there has, in fact, not been much progress in the matter since the beginning of CLIL education. The bilingual subject teachers think, however, that using one s own material can give new inspiration to teaching and enable the use of various pedagogical methods. Although it is questionable if the language competence requirements set for CLIL teachers by the Finnish Ministry of Education are not adhered to, it becomes apparent in the study that studies in English philology do not necessarily guarantee strong enough language skills for CLIL teaching, but teachers own personality and self-confidence have significance. Keywords: CLIL, bilingual education, English, subject teacher training, subject teacher education in English, STEP

Dimensions of University Student Learning in Medicine and Pharmacy

Study orientations in higher education consist of various dimensions, such as approaches to learning, conceptions of learning and knowledge (i.e. epistemologies), self-regulation, and motivation. They have also been measured in different ways. The main orientations typically reported are reproducing and meaning orientations. The present study explored dimensions of study orientations, focusing in particular on pharmacy and medicine. New versions of self-report instruments were developed and tested in various contexts and in two countries. Furthermore, the linkages between study orientations and students epistemological development were explored. The context of problem-based (PBL) small groups was investigated in order to better understand how collaboration contributes to the quality of learning. The participants of Study I (n=66) were pharmacy students, who were followed during a three-year professionally oriented program in terms of their study orientations and epistemologies. A reproducing orientation to studying diminished during studying, whereas only a few students maintained their original level of meaning orientation. Dualism was found to be associated with a reproducing orientation. In Study II practices associated with deep and surface approaches to learning were measured in two differing ways, in order to better distinguish between what students believed to be useful in studying, and the extent to which they applied their beliefs to practice when preparing for examinations. Differences between domains were investigated by including a sample of Finnish and Swedish medical students (n=956) and a Finnish non-medical sample of university students (n=865). Memorizing and rote learning appeared as differing components of a surface approach to learning, while understanding, relating, and critical evaluation of knowledge emerged as aspects of a deep approach to learning. A structural model confirmed these results in both student samples. Study III explored a wide variety of dimensions of learning in medical education. Swedish medical students (n=280) answered the questionnaire. The deep approach to learning was strongly related to collaboration and reflective learning, whereas the surface approach was associated with novice-like views of knowledge and the valuing of certain and directly applicable knowledge. PBL students aimed at understanding, but also valued the role of memorization. Study IV investigated 12 PBL tutorial groups of students (n=116) studying microbiology and pharmacology in a medical school. The educational application was expected to support a deep approach to learning: Group members course grades in a final examination were related to the perceived functioning of the PBL tutorial groups. Further, the quality of cases that had been used as triggers for learning, was associated with the quality of small group functioning. New dimensions of study orientations were discovered. In particular, novel, finer distinctions were found within the deep approach component. In medicine, critical evaluation of knowledge appeared to be less valued than understanding and relating. Further, collaboration appeared to be closely related to the deep approach, and it was also important in terms of successful PBL studying. The results of the studies confirmed the previously found associations between approaches to learning and study success, but showed interesting context- and subgroup-related differences in this respect. Students ideas about the nature of knowledge and their approaches to learning were shown to be closely related. The present study expanded our understanding of the dimensions of study orientations, of their development, and their contextual variability in pharmacy and medicine.

Student Engagement in the School: Interpersonal and Inter-Center Differences

Traducido al castellano e inglés

Tutoria e formação humana no ensino superior a distância

O presente estudo trata da relação que se estabelece entre o atual modelo de sociedade e os objetivos para a formação dos alunos no ensino superior, com foco nos processo educacional na modalidade a distância. Os impactos das transformações causadas pela sociedade do Informacionismo foram estudados em áreas como a cultura, a economia e a sociedade, mas ainda estão carecendo de estudos mais profundos sobre seus reflexos sobre a educação e a formação humana. Um novo tempo exige uma nova forma de compreender como esses processos se dão e como podemos viabilizá-los, para além da técnica, com o olhar voltado para a educação, mas também para a formação humana, com objetivos que nos permitam conceber uma Universidade para o século XXI. Os cursos superiores na modalidade a distância oferecem a possibilidade de um processo educacional com o uso das novas tecnologias digitais, em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem, como novas forma de comunicação e interação que reconfiguram as relações entre: espaço e tempo; professor e aluno e, principalmente, ensino e formação. Por esse motivo, a tese central centra-se na necessidade dos tutores, docentes responsáveis diretamente pela interação com os alunos na EAD, exercerem a sua autonomia para a escolha das estratégias de mediação que façam seus alunos aprenderem efetivamente e com liberdade para a tomada de decisões sobre as suas práticas em sala de aula, para uma EAD formadora.

Por nós mesmos : as práticas sindicais dos professores públicos na Argentina, no Brasil e no México

A presente pesquisa comparativa mostra por que ao longo do século XX se consolidou o sindicalismo docente de base na Argentina, no Brasil e no México e explica as particularidades nacionais desse processo. A categoria sindicalismo docente de base, desenvolvida no contexto da presente investigação, pretende captar um fenômeno que aparece com clareza na segunda metade do século XX: as organizações de professores tem reivindicações fundamentalmente trabalhistas, legitimidade para organizar medidas coletivas de pressão sobre os governos (particularmente greves) e, além disso, a base da categoria tem uma importante gravitação sobre as entidades que pretendem representá-la. A comparação histórica e sociológica permite identificar três processos sucessivos que foram fundamentais para a afirmação do sindicalismo docente de base: a propagação das associações da categoria, a implantação das organizações na base docente e, finalmente, a consolidação do sindicalismo docente de base. Esses processos constituem conjunturas críticas e as características particulares que as práticas sindicais adquiriram nesses contextos tendem a se reproduzir basicamente por dois mecanismos: a tradição sindical e a regulamentação estatal da atividade sindical e do trabalho docente. As práticas sindicais docentes são estruturadas pelas características dos professores e das suas condições de existência. Também são mediadas pelas particularidades das organizações docentes, pela tradição sindical e pela ação governamental perante a atividade reivindicativa e associativa dos trabalhadores. A reconstrução desses elementos estruturantes e dessas mediações contribui para explicar quando as conjunturas críticas aconteceram e quais características particulares apresentaram. No México, a situação política geral e a relação que estabeleceram os quadros docentes com os governos pós-revolucionários em particular, permitiram uma rápida consolidação das associações docentes e uma implantação na base através do Estado na primeira metade do século. Também nesse período, no México, o professorado perdeu parcialmente as suas características femininas e o confronto com as autoridades como forma de pressão coletiva legitimou-se. Isso contrasta com os outros países, nos quais a organização da categoria se generalizou sem apoio estatal decisivo. A concentração da categoria em escolas e cidades fortaleceu a afirmação do sindicalismo docente de base cujas consequências já podem ser vistas nos três países em finais da década de 1950. Nesse contexto, as organizações docentes argentinas se implantaram na base (depois de que falisse a tentativa do governo de implantar o sindicalismo docente através do Estado), mas as brasileiras não. As organizações brasileiras só se implantariam na base após 1978. Processos que na década de 1950 já estavam em desenvolvimento (como a consolidação do professor como trabalhador de base de sistemas burocráticos dirigidos por especialistas, a regulamentação e burocratização da carreira, a perda de importância das recompensas simbólicas como incentivo para exercer o professorado) e outros que apareceriam nas décadas seguintes (como a incorporação crescente da mulher no mercado de trabalho, a radicalização do movimento estudantil e o recrutamento do professorado entre as camadas mais pobres da população) explicam a consolidação do sindicalismo docente de base entre as décadas de 1970 e 1980

A pesquisa docente: sobre o conceito de professor pesquisador na formação inicial de agentes de letramento

Esta dissertação é um estudo de natureza teóricoconceitual que se debruça sobre a construção do conceito de professor pesquisador. Seu objetivo é definir a pesquisa na prática docente nas séries iniciais do ensino fundamental e caracterizar essa pesquisa como processo de busca do sujeito real. Por sujeito real, nesse estudo, entendese um sujeito que possui modos de ser, pensar e agir fora dos parâmetros hegemônicos impostos pela cultura científica moderna. Estes parâmetros delinearam um tipo ideal de sujeito de conhecimento caracterizado como ahistórico e atemporal que se impõe nas práticas escolares resultando no fracasso escolar relacionado, sobretudo, ao custo de alfabetização que os sujeitos reais apresentam. Com este trabalho busca-se definir a pesquisa docente e contribuir para a elaboração de um conceito que leve em conta os sujeitos reais para os quais são aplicados os processos de ensino-aprendizagem. Este conceito visa a informar às práticas de formação de professores sobre a necessidade de formar um professor pesquisador. Este professor, precisa ser aquele que procura enxergar seu aluno e, então, elabora formas de atuações para ele. Para o cumprimento do objetivo acima expresso, problematiza-se a relação entre a produção científica do conhecimento e a pesquisa; define-se o sujeito real em oposição ao sujeito ideal; analisa-se o tipo de conhecimento que se produz na formação do professor para a sala de aula dos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental; discute-se o que se entende por pesquisa docente nas áreas acadêmicas e do conhecimento científico; confronta-se o conhecimento que se produz na formação do professor à noção de aluno e as demandas do ensino público. Esta dissertação foi desenvolvida considerando a urgência de se pensar a formação e a atuação do professor em contextos de educação inclusiva. Com os resultados desse trabalho, espera-se contribuir, também, para tornar mais frágeis os processos de exclusão e banimento social na busca por garantir o direito à educação, que é um direito que muitos ainda não têm.

As relações entre as medidas de habilidades sociais do professor do ensino fundamental II e seu desempenho social em sala de aula

O conceito atual de um comportamento socialmente habilidoso deve incluir capacidade de o indivíduo obter satisfação pessoal e, ao mesmo tempo, de desenvolver e manter relacionamentos mutuamente benéficos e sustentadores. No âmbito da educação, identifica-se uma crescente preocupação de pais, diretores de escolas e professores com o desenvolvimento interpessoal dos alunos, com o propósito de reduzir conflitos, aumentar a qualidade das relações entre os alunos e facilitar a aprendizagem. Neste sentido, é necessário que o professor se dedique a desenvolver as próprias habilidades interpessoais para que seja capaz de facilitar o desenvolvimento social e intelectual do aluno. Diante dessas constatações, torna-se relevante identificar que habilidades sociais do professor estão mais relacionadas com o seu desempenho social em sala de aula. Tais constatações fundamentaram esse estudo que avaliou os níveis de habilidades sociais de professores, assim como o desempenho social destes em sala de aula. Participaram da pesquisa oito professoras e dois professores do Ensino Fundamental II (do 6 ao 9 Ano), do Instituto Nossa Senhora Auxiliadora, no Rio de Janeiro. Suas idades variavam entre 24 e 50 anos. Participaram também 198 adolescentes, 100 do sexo masculino e 98 do sexo feminino. Suas idades variavam entre 11 e 15 anos. O desempenho social dos professores em sala de aula foi avaliado pelos próprios professores e pelos alunos, através do Questionário do Desempenho Social do Professor (QDSP). Os professores também responderam ao Inventário de Habilidades Sociais (IHS) e ao Inventário de Empatia (IE). Os resultados das medidas de auto-relato apontaram níveis de assertividade e de empatia acima da média na maioria dos professores dessa amostra, especialmente nos fatores relacionados a: auto-afirmação com risco; conversação e desenvoltura social; auto-exposição a desconhecidos e a situações novas; autocontrole da agressividade; tomada de perspectiva; flexibilidade; altruísmo e sensibilidade afetiva. As medidas de desempenho social dos professores foram satisfatórias, tanto a partir da perspectiva do professor quanto dos alunos. Entretanto, a auto-avaliação dos professores mostraram-se mais favoráveis do que a avaliação feita pelos alunos. Além disso, com base na avaliação dos alunos, apenas quatro professores apresentaram desempenho social assertivo e empático de forma equilibrada. Tais resultados indicam a necessidade de se desenvolver programas de treinamento em habilidades sociais educativas.