Gaining Insight into Teaching: A Phenomenological Exploration of the Lived Experience of the Teachers of the Year

What qualities, skills, and knowledge produce quality teachers? Many stake-holders in education argue that teacher quality should be measured by student achievement. This qualitative study shows that good teachers are multi-dimensional; their effectiveness cannot be represented by students’ test scores alone. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of quality in teaching by examining the lived experiences of 10 winners or finalists of the Teacher of the Year (ToY) Award. Phenomenology describes individuals’ daily experiences of phenomena, examines how these experiences are structured, and focuses analysis on the perspectives of the persons having the experience (Moustakas, 1994). This inquiry asked two questions: (a) How is teaching experienced by recognized as outstanding Teachers of the Year? and (b) How do ToYs feelings and perceptions about being good teachers provide insight, if any, about concepts such as pedagogical tact, teacher selfhood, and professional dispositions? Ten participants formed the purposive sample; the major data collection tool was semi-structured interviews (Patton, 1990; Seidman, 2006). Sixty to 90-minute interviews were conducted with each participant. Data also included the participants’ ToY application essays. Data analysis included a three-phase process: description, reduction, interpretation. Findings revealed that the ToYs are dedicated, hard-working individuals. They exhibit behaviors, such as working beyond the school day, engaging in lifelong learning, and assisting colleagues to improve their practice. Working as teachers is their life’s compass, guiding and wrapping them into meaningful and purposeful lives. Pedagogical tact, teacher selfhood, and professional dispositions were shown to be relevant, offering important insights into good teaching. Results indicate that for these ToYs, good teaching is experienced by getting through to students using effective and moral means; they are emotionally open, have a sense of the sacred, and they operate from a sense of intentionality. The essence of the ToYs teaching experience was their being properly engaged in their craft, embodying logical, psychological, and moral realms. Findings challenge current teacher effectiveness process-product orthodoxy which makes a causal connection between effective teaching and student test scores, and which assumes that effective teaching arises solely from and because of the actions of the teacher.

Fluency and attitudes

The goal of this article is to review how, when, and why f luency, or processing ease, affects attitudes. The current article first defines f luency and then discusses its direct impact on attitudes, noting that f luency usually makes attitudes more positive and that it does so for a wide array of attitude objects. Mechanisms and moderators of these direct effects are also described. The article then summarizes how f luency can affect attitudes indirectly, through its impact on other judgments (like perceptions of confidence or truth) and on cognitive operations (like information processing). The article ends by highlighting a few areas where additional research is likely to reap impressive benefits.

Grandes historias a pasos cortos

Documental de carácter intimista protagonizado por Paola Nieto, Álvaro Novoa y Mauricio Ardila, tres personas que a raíz de su enanismo siempre han visto el mundo desde una perspectiva única. En su día a día, enfrentan complejos estereotipos sociales y estigmas por su baja estatura, pero a través de su profesión, su vida social y acompañados de sus seres queridos, han superado esos retos para vivir a plenitud en un mundo de gigantes.

Efecto del consumo concomitante de inhibidores de bomba protones y levotiroxina : revisión sistemática y metaanálisis

Estudios afirman que la acidez gástrica es importante en la absorción de levotiroxina (LT4) con resultados controversiales sobre la interacción entre inhibidores de bomba de protones (IBP) y LT4. El objetivo del estudio fue establecer el efecto del uso concomitante de LT4 e IBP en los niveles de TSH en pacientes adultos con hipotiroidismo primario. Se realizó una revisión sistemática mediante búsqueda en Medline, Embase, Lilacs, Bireme, Scielo, Cochrane y Universidad de York, Access Pharmacy, Google Scholar, Dialnet y Opengray. La búsqueda no se limito por lenguaje. Se evaluó el efecto en la diferencia de medias de TSH luego del consumo de LT4 y luego del consumo concomitante con IBP. Se hizo un metaanálisis, análisis de subgrupos y análisis de sensibilidad utilizando el programa Review Manager 5.3. Se eligieron 5 artículos para el análisis cualitativo y 3 para el metaanálisis. La calidad de los estudios fue buena y el riesgo de sesgos bajo. La diferencia de medias obtenida fue 0.21 mUI/L (IC95%: 0.02-0.40; p=0.03; I2:0%). En el análisis de subgrupos en pacientes mayores de 55 años la diferencia de medias fue 0.21 mUI/L (IC95%: 0.01-0.40; p=0.27; I2:19%). En el análisis de sensibilidad se excluyo el estudio con mayor muestra y la diferencia de medias fue 0.49 mUI/L (IC95%: -0.12 a 1.11; p=0.12; I2:0%). La diferencia de medias de TSH luego del consumo concomitante no se considera clínicamente significativa pues no representa riesgo para el paciente. Son necesarios estudios clínicos aleatorizados y evaluar el efecto en los niveles de T4 libre.