Gaining Insight into Teaching: The Lived Experiences of Teachers of the Year

What qualities describe outstanding teachers? Many stakeholders in education argue that student achievement indicates teacher quality. Ten Teachers of the Year participated in this qualitative study, showing their lives as outstanding teachers personify four roles and two phenomena. Findings indicate the need to investigate the moral dimension of teaching.

Language Learning Motivation

This study aimed to measure how authentic material motivates students to perform well and have positive attitudes toward foreign language learning. Participants were 32 eighth grade students at Aquinas College in Nassau the Bahamas. Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (adapted Gardner, 2004), interviews, and open ended discussions were used.

Instructional Gaming

This action research will investigate instructional games as a strategy to increase third grade students’ engagement and motivation. A researcher-created behavior checklist and survey will document students’ behavior and attitudes during baseline, intervention, and post intervention. Analysis will investigate changes in engagement, motivation, and grades due to the gaming intervention.

Optimaliseren van leren in en rond PO, VO en MBO.

In deze presentatie wordt ingegaan op mogelijkheden het onderwijs voor en het leren van jonge kinderen en leerlingen in het PO, VO en MBO te optimaliseren.

Doing Kyd: Essays on The Spanish Tragedy

Doing Kyd reads Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, the box-office and print success of its time, as the play that established the revenge genre in England and served as a 'pattern and precedent' for the golden generation of early modern playwrights, from Marlowe and Shakespeare to Middleton, Webster and Ford. Interdisciplinary in approach and accessible in style, this collection is crucial in two respects: firstly, it has a wide spectrum, addressing readers with interests in the play from its early impact as the first sixteenth-century revenge tragedy, to its afterlife in print, on the stage, in screen adaptation and bibliographical studies. Secondly, the collection appears at a time when Kyd and his play are back in the spotlight, through renewed critical interest, several new stage productions between 2009 and 2013, and its firm presence in higher-education curriculum for English and drama.

Livsfrågor och religionskunskap : En belysning av ett centralt begrepp i svensk religionsdidaktik

This thesis focuses on “livsfrågor” (questions of life) a typical Swedish concept introduced in the RE syllabus in the curriculum for compulsory schools in 1969. The study poses three questions: what can qualify as a “livsfråga”, why are they regarded important, and how do they fit into teaching? The main purpose is to study differences of the concept in two materials. Primarily interviews with Teacher educators all over Sweden and, secondly in the R.E. syllabus for compulsory and secondary schools from 1962 until today. Finally, the two materials used, will be brought together, and foci are recognized with the help of a tool for thought.  The study is using the concept dialogicity from Bachtin. Syllabus are viewed as compromises in accordance with a German tradition. In the syllabus, “livsfrågor” is one within many different words used with none what so ever stringency. It is not necessarily the most important term, as “livsåskådningsfrågor” (questions within philosophies of life)  is often dominating in objectivities. Also “existential questions” etc is used. The relation between the words are never made clear.  The syllabus are in one sense monologial as different meanings of the word are not made explicit, and other utterances are not invoked. In the interviews the dialogicity is more obvious. Philosophy is mentioned, eg.. Martin Buber, Viktor Frankl, theology (Paul Thillich), but also literature (Lars Gyllensten) and existentialism in a general sence. Other words are not as frequent – but “livsåskådningsfrågor” are of course mentioned, eg. Faith vs. knowledge. In the last chapter “livsfrågor” is problematized with the help of Andrew Wright and his three metanarrativies within the modern R.E. And the assumption, especially in the syllabus, of “livsfrågor”, as common between cultures and over time is problematized with the help of . feministic theory of knowledge.

O desenvolvimento profissional docente em discussão

This collection is the result of theoretical considerations made in the education field with emphasis on the teacher’s professional development. The diversity of authors, which came from distinctive higher education institutions located in Brazil and some arising from international context, reveals a multiplicity of relations between the themes that blend the centrality of “Rede de Aprendizado em Foco”. The studies and researches are organized around three themes: teacher’s learning in initial training and professional integration; teacher learning’s evaluations process and policies; and teacher’s professional development. The professionality’s formation in a period of deep and complex transformations in the social and educational scenarios is projected as a big challenge, especially when it is understood that a person is not born as a teacher, but it is constituted as such by processes that occur over a long period. The contact with the professional practice stands as an essential element in the context of teacher training, which in the course of professional learning experience different stages of training. The one that should be highlighted would be the learning moments that involve teaching’s practices. Thus, the main point of this work was based on the reflection of the teacher’s formative processes from the initial training to the professional development going through the teaching practice, which is considered as the beginning of the relationship between theoretical and practical knowledge in the context of educational reality and reporting formative experiences that have contributed to this training.

O processo de implementação da educação do campo nas escolas do Núcleo Regional de Educação de Pato Branco: limites, desafios e possibilidades

This work is part of the Graduate Program in Regional Development of the Federal Technological University of Paraná, Pato Branco campus, the research line Education and Development. The line of research concerns the Regionality and Development. In this study, investigate sought the implementation of the Field Education Curriculum Guidelines in the State of Paraná, whose locus, SEED / PR, the NRE / Pato Branco and Field Schools belonging to the NRE. The theme is to respond to the research problem, to identify the limits and challenges of the implementation process of Rural Education in rural schools in the Regional Center of Pato Branco Education. Exploratory research covers a time frame comprising the years 2002-2014 in order to identify and analyze the documents and perceptions of the subjects that guide the implementation of the field of education in the state of Paraná. The results show that the education field has not yet overcame the challenge of implementing public policies, in particular the field of Education Curriculum Guidelines. In general, the texts point to the concerned school education with the urban environment, in an attempt to solve the problems related to truancy, low school enrollment,flunk, among others. The reality of the field displays more serious such problems, however, is visible the development of proposals in an attempt to achieve definitive solutions to the issues of the field. However, a positive factor is the increase in continuing education courses, some offered by the Department of Education Field Regional Center of Education, others initiatives by the own teacher, which demonstrate the concern in improving their teaching practices, concomitant with need to change the identity of the field school. In this sense, we seek to deepen the discussion in order to demystify the idea that the subject field to be synonymous with poor education, poor quality. Documents such as the Field Operational Guidelines established by the CNE - National Education Council in 2002, the Curriculum Guidelines field developed by SEED - Secretary of State and Education in the State of Paraná in 2004 and established as a public policy in 2010 provide data that allow make a study of public policy and educational field context in order to understand the challenges for the development of an education as culture, ways of life, history, finally, the specificities of the subject field.

A Figured Worlds Perspective on Middle School Learners' Climate Literacy Development

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of the relationship between middle school science learners’ conditions and their developing understandings of climate change. I applied the anthropological theoretical perspective of figured worlds (Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, & Cain, 1998) to examine learners’ views of themselves and their capacities to act in relation to climate change. My overarching research question was: How are middle school science learners’ figured worlds of climate change related to the conditions in which they are embedded? I used a descriptive single-case study design to examine the climate change ideas of eight purposefully selected 6th grade science learners. Data sources included: classroom observations, curriculum documents, interviews, focus groups, and written assessments and artifacts, including learners’ self- generated drawings. I identified six analytic lenses with which to explore the data. Insights from the application of these analytic lenses provided information about the elements of participants’ climate change stories, which I reported through the use of a storytelling heuristic. I then synthesized elements of participants’ collective climate change story, which provided an “entrance” (Kitchell, Hannan, & Kempton, 2000, p. 96) into their figured world of climate change. Aspects of learners’ conditions—such as their worlds of school, technology and media use, and family—appeared to shape their figured world of climate change. Within their figured world of climate change, learners saw themselves—individually and as members of groups—as inhabiting a variety of climate change identities, some of which were in conflict with each other. I posited that learners’ enactment of these identities – or the ways in which they expressed their climate change agency – had the potential to reshape or reinforce their conditions. Thus, learners’ figured worlds of climate change might be considered “spaces of authoring” (Holland et al., 1998, p. 45) with potential for inciting social and environmental change. The nature of such change would hinge on the extent to which these nascent climate change identities become salient for these early adolescent learners through their continued climate change learning experiences. Implications for policy, curriculum and instruction, and science education research related to climate change education are presented.

Facteurs susceptibles d’influencer l'implantation de l'Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français des personnes immigrantes adultes et du Programme-cadre de français pour les personnes immigrantes adultes au Québec

La coexistence des services de francisation au Québec pour les personnes immigrantes adultes a fait l'objet de divers enjeux liés notamment au passage des apprenants d'un lieu de formation à un autre (Québec, MICC, 2011a). Dans le but de répondre à ces enjeux et d’harmoniser l'offre de services gouvernementaux en matière de francisation des adultes, le ministère de l'Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (MICC) a élaboré en collaboration avec le ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS), une innovation pédagogique, soit un référentiel commun québécois composé de deux instruments : l’Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français des personnes immigrantes adultes et le Programme-cadre de français pour les personnes immigrantes adultes au Québec. Le but de notre étude était de mieux comprendre l'implantation du référentiel commun québécois, de faire état des représentations du personnel enseignant en francisation vis-à-vis de cette innovation pédagogique et d’identifier les principaux facteurs qui structurent son implantation. Pour atteindre ces objectifs de recherche, nous avons mené une étude qualitative dans laquelle nous nous sommes appuyée sur le modèle d'implantation de Vince-Whitman (2009) qui identifie douze facteurs facilitant l’implantation d’une politique et d’une pratique. Nous avons accédé aux représentations de douze enseignantes et enseignants en francisation qui œuvrent au MICC et au MELS lors d’entretiens de groupe en leur permettant de s'exprimer sur leurs pratiques pédagogiques et sur leurs impressions du référentiel commun québécois. À l’aide du logiciel QSF NVivo 8, nous avons analysé le contenu des propos de nos participants de recherche. Nos résultats démontrent que le manque appréhendé de ressources – humaines, matérielles et financières, et un manque de temps, de formation et de collaboration professionnelle pourraient représenter des obstacles et nuire à une éventuelle implantation du référentiel commun québécois. À la lumière de ces résultats, nous proposons un cadre de référence composé de sept facteurs d’implantation d’une innovation pédagogique afin de mieux rendre compte d’une réalité spécifique et contemporaine, celle de l'implantation du référentiel commun québécois pour la francisation des immigrants adultes scolarisés. Les écrits scientifiques et nos résultats de recherche démontrent que de diverses formes de soutien, principalement du matériel pédagogique approprié et suffisant, peuvent constituer un facteur-clé dans la réussite de l’implantation d’une innovation pédagogique.

Preliminary assessment of the numerical competencies of children from a public preschool and kindergarten in Cuenca

Existe abundante evidencia de que los niños pequeños son capaces de desarrollar un conocimiento matemático y que las destrezas aritméticas de estos niños son predictores de su desempeño académico futuro. También existe un acuerdo común de que la calidad de la educación matemática inicial tiene una importante influencia en el aprendizaje posterior de los niños. En Ecuador hay escasos estudios sobre las competencias matemáticas tempranas de los niños y sobre su enseñanza. Por ello, se inició un estudio para (1) evaluar las competencias numéricas de los niños de pre-escolar y kindergarten (primero de básica) que asisten a una escuela pública de Cuenca, con el objetivo de analizar críticamente su pensamiento y razonamiento numérico; y (2) examinar las prácticas y creencias de los profesores con relación a la enseñanza de la matemática y a las competencias matemáticas de los niños. La aplicación del Test de Conocimiento Numérico (Griffin, 2005) demostró que la mayoría de los niños participantes no habían desarrollado habilidades numéricas básicas. Adicionalmente, los profesores expresaron una fuerte creencia de que los niños pequeños no son capaces de tener un pensamiento matemático. Como consecuencia, las actividades matemáticas que realizan los niños y profesores son desarrolladas de manera insuficiente. Las implicaciones científicas y prácticas de estos resultados son discutidas.

Contributos para a análise do ensino médio brasileiro: finalidades curriculares e rendimento escolar - o caso de uma escola pública de Fortaleza

Este estudo, configurou uma investigação de perfil misto, procurando congregar contributos qualitativos e quantitativos, tem como principal objetivo à análise do Ensino Médio brasileiro tentando verificar se as metas que este nível de ensino preconiza estão atendendo às expectativas educacionais de um público diversificado de alunos numa escola pública de Fortaleza. Para tal, realizamos a análise de entrevistas semiestruturadas a doze professores, e aplicamos questionários a 60 professores. Procedemos, também, à análise documental do Projeto Político Pedagógico da escola, das Diretrizes Curriculares e Orientações Curriculares Nacionais para o Ensino Médio, do Mapa Curricular da escola, bem como, o Relatório de notas dos alunos e a classificação dos mesmos no Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (ENEM) referentes ao ano de 2012. O estudo evidencia a importância das estratégias de ensino, nomeadamente, a meritocracia no contexto escolar, a avaliação interna e externa nas dimensões: ensino aprendizagem e resultados do rendimento escolar, formação e prática docente, o trabalho da equipe escolar, a estrutura da escola, e ainda, a gestão e autonomia nas escolas, mas principalmente, as ideias dos participantes do estudo sobre a importância de trabalhar com uma estrutura de ensino vocacionado composto por áreas e disciplinas que atenda as intenções profissionais e acadêmicas do aluno; ABSTRACT: This study, set up a mixed profile research, looking gather qualitative and quantitative contributions, aims to analyze the Brazilian high school trying to understand if the goals that this level of education advocates are meeting the educational expectations of a diverse audience of students in public school in Fortaleza. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews to twelve teachers, e apply questionnaires to 60 teachers. Proceeded, too, the documentary analysis of the school Pedagogical Policy Project, the National Curriculum Guidelines and Curriculum Guidelines for Secondary Education, Curriculum Map of the school and the students' notes Report and the classification thereof in the Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (ENEM) the brazilian national examination to High School graduates for the year 2012. The study highlights the importance of teaching strategies in particular meritocracy in the school context, internal and external evaluation dimensions: teaching and learning results in school performance, training and teaching practice, the work of the school team, the school structure, and also the management and autonomy in schools, but mainly the ideas of the study participants about on the importance of working with a vocationed teaching structure consists of areas and disciplines that will meet future professional and academic intentions of the student.

INVESTIGATING THE USE OF MAZE-CBM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Recent legislation and initiatives set forth high academic expectations for all high school graduates in the area of reading (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, 2010; Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015). To determine which students need additional support to meet these reading standards, teachers can conduct universal screening using formative assessments. Maze Curriculum-Based Measurement (Maze-CBM) is a commonly used screening and progress monitoring assessment that the National Center on Intensive Intervention (2013) and the Center on Instruction (Torgesen & Miller, 2009) recommend. Despite the recommendation to use Maze-CBM, little research has been conducted on the reliability and validity of Maze-CBM for measuring reading ability for students at the secondary level (Mitchell & Wexler, 2016). In the papers included in this dissertation, I present an initial investigation into the use of Maze-CBM for secondary students. In the first paper, I investigated prior studies of Maze-CBM for students in Grades 6 through 12. Next, in the second paper, I investigated the alternate-form reliability and validity for screening students in Grades 9 and 10 using signal detection theory methods. In the third paper, I examined the effect of genre on Maze-CBM scores with a sample of students in Grades 9 and 10 using multilevel modeling. When writing these three papers, I discovered several important findings related to Maze-CBM. First, there are few studies that have investigated the technical adequacy of Maze-CBM for screening and progress monitoring students in Grades 6 through 12. Additionally, only two studies (McMaster, Wayman, & Cao, 2006; Pierce, McMaster, & Deno, 2010) examined the technical adequacy of Maze-CBM for high school students. A second finding is that the reliability of Maze-CBM is often below acceptable levels for making screening decisions or progress monitoring decisions (.80 and above and .90 and above, respectively; Salvia, Ysseldyke, & Bolt, 2007) for secondary students. A third finding is that Maze-CBM scores show promise of being a valid screening tool for reading ability of secondary students. Finally, I found that the genre of the text used in the Maze-CBM assessment does impact scores on Maze-CBM for students in Grades 9 and 10.

Aprendizagem da quantificação no processo da formação do graduando de cursos de geografia

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Humanas, Departamento de Geografia, Programa de Pós Graduação em Geografia, 2015.

Contribuição do origami para a exploração de conteúdos de geometria no ensino básico: propostas de tarefas

A arte de dobrar papel teve origem na China no século I ou II d.C., e difundiu-se pelo Japão no século VI. Esta arte milenar tem cativado a atenção dos estudiosos ao longo de séculos. Inicialmente ligada ao culto religioso, adoptada posteriormente pelos samurais como entretenimento, é hoje mundialmente aceite como uma arte. Transmitido de mães para filhas durante gerações, foi no século XIX, pela mão do pedagogo Frõebel, introduzido no currículo escolar alemão, sendo desde então considerado por muitos como um instrumento primordial na aquisição de conhecimentos, especialmente na área a geometria e por outros um elemento básico de interdisciplinaridade. Este trabalho pretende demonstrar as potencialidades do Origami como instrumento essencial nas diversas áreas curriculares, especialmente no estudo de conceitos matemáticos, nomeadamente no âmbito da geometria e a sua inclusão no currículo escolar. O uso do Origami na sala de aula inspira curiosidade e motiva a criatividade. ABSTRACT: The art of paper folding arose in China during the first or second century A.D. By the sixth century, it had spread to Japan. This millenary art got the scientific community's attention for centuries. At the beginning, folding was associated with a ceremonial act, later on it was use by Samurais as entertainment, and today it is accepted as an art by all. Transmitted from mothers to children during generations, it was introduced by Frõebel in the German curriculum and since then has been considered by some as an instrument for teaching basic geometry and by others as essential in interdisciplinary concepts. With this work we would like to show the Origami potentialities as an instrument connecting different curriculum areas, especially in mathematics, particularly in geometry and his inclusion in education curriculum. The use of Origami in the classroom helps children to obtain and consolidate basic concepts and inspire curiosity and promote their creativity.