Teachers' experiences in and perceptions of their 12th-grade British literature classrooms

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences and perceptions of 12th-grade literature teachers about curriculum, Post-Colonial literature, and students. Theories posed by Piaget (1995), Vygotsky (1995), and Rosenblatt (1995) formed the framework for this micro-ethnographic study. Seven teachers from public and private schools in South Florida participated in this two-phase study; three teachers in Phase I and four in Phase II. All participants completed individual semi-structured interviews and demographic surveys. In addition, four of the teachers were observed teaching. The analysis yielded three themes and two sub-themes: (a) knowledge concerned teachers' knowledge of British literature content and Post-Colonial authors and their literature; (b) freedom described teachers' freedom to choose how to teach their content. Included in this theme was dilemmas associated with 12th-grade classrooms which described issues that were pertinent to the 12th-grade teacher and classroom that were revealed by the study; and (c) thoughts about students described teachers' perceptions about students and how literature might affect the students. Two subthemes of knowledge were as follows:(1) text complexity described teacher responses to a Post-Colonial text's complexity and (2) student desirability/teachability described teachers' perception about how desirable Post-Colonial texts would be to students and whether teachers would be willing to teach these texts. The researcher offers recommendations for understanding factors associated with 12th-grade teachers perceptions and implications for enhancing the 12th-grade experience for teachers and curriculum, based on this study: (a) build teacher morale and capacity, (b) treat all students as integral components of the teaching and learning process; teachers in this study thought teaching disenfranchised learners was a form of punishment meted out by the administration, and (c) include more Post-Colonial authors in school curricula in colleges and schools as most teachers in this study did not study this type of literature nor knew how to teach it.

The influence of initial teacher training in future teachers' perceptions about mathematics teaching and learning

ICEMST 2014 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION IN MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY PROCEEDING BOOK (pp.865-869). Disponível em http://www.2014.icemst.com/

Primary teachers’ algebraic thinking: example from lesson study

Previous studies have reported on primary children’s algebraic thinking and generalising in a range of problem settings but there is little evidence of primary teachers’ knowledge of algebraic thinking. In this paper the development in algebraic thinking of one primary teacher who taught a research lesson in a Japanese Lesson Study project involving teachers from three primary schools is presented. The findings suggest the need for professional learning in algebra and reasoning and indicate the value of Lesson Study.

Enhancing the teaching of family and consumer sciences : the role of graphic organisers

In a world of constant and rapid change there are greater demands placed on learners to not only gain content knowledge, but also to develop learning skills and to adopt new strategies that will enable them to produce better and faster learning outcomes. Especially in internationally advancing nations like Kuwait this will be a major challenge of the future. This literature review examines theoretical frameworks that enhance Kuwaiti teachers’ knowledge and skill to adopt culturally relevant reform practices across a number of disciplines and provide guidance in an exploration and use of newer pedagogical tools like graphic organisers. It analyses the effects of graphic organisers on higher order learning and evaluates how they can effect professional development and pedagogical change in Kuwait.

Middle school students' perceptions of engineering

This paper focuses on implementing engineering education in middle school classrooms (grade levels 7-9). One of the aims of the study was to foster students’ and teachers’ knowledge and understanding of engineering in society. Given the increasing importance of engineering in shaping our daily lives, it is imperative that we foster in students an interest and drive to participate in engineering education, increase their awareness of engineering as a career path, and inform them of the links between engineering and the enabling subjects, mathematics, science, and technology. Data for the study are drawn from five classes across three schools. Grade 7 students’ responded to initial whole class discussions on what is an engineer, what is engineering, what characteristics engineers require, engineers (family/friends) that they know, and subjects that may facilitate an engineering career. Students generally viewed engineers as creative, future-oriented, and artistic problem finders and solvers; planners and designers; “seekers” and inventors; and builders of constructions. Students also viewed engineers as adventurous, decisive, community-minded, reliable, and “smart.” In addition to a range of mathematics and science topics, students identified business studies, ICT, graphics, art, and history as facilitating careers in engineering. Although students displayed a broadened awareness of engineering than the existing research suggests, there was limited knowledge of various engineering fields and a strong perception of engineering as large construction.

“More tick-the-box”: the challenge of promoting interdisciplinary learning in the middle years through the Australian history curriculum

The Australian Curriculum marks national reforms in social science education, first with the return to the disciplines of history and geography and second, through a new approach to interdisciplinary learning. This paper raises the question of whether the promise of interdisciplinary learning can be realised in the middle years of schooling if teachers have to teach history as a discipline rather than within an over-arching integrated curriculum framework. The paper explores the national blueprints and considers the national history curriculum in light of theories of teachers’ knowledge and middle school education. Evidence from teacher interviews indicates that historical understanding can be achieved through integrated frameworks to meet the goals of middle schooling.

Professional growth through working together : a study of reciprocal benefits for teacher and education advisor through classroom based professional development

Teacher professional development provided by education advisors as one-off, centrally offered sessions does not always result in change in teacher knowledge, beliefs, attitudes or practice in the classroom. As the mathematics education advisor in this study, I set out to investigate a particular method of professional development so as to influence change in a practising classroom teacher’s knowledge and practices. The particular method of professional development utilised in this study was based on several principles of effective teacher professional development and saw me working regularly in a classroom with the classroom teacher as well as providing ongoing support for her for a full school year. The intention was to document the effects of this particular method of professional development in terms of the classroom teacher’s and my professional growth to provide insights for others working as education advisors. The professional development for the classroom teacher consisted of two components. The first was the co-operative development and implementation of a mental computation instructional program for the Year 3 class. The second component was the provision of ongoing support for the classroom teacher by the education advisor. The design of the professional development and the mental computation instructional program were progressively refined throughout the year. The education advisor fulfilled multiple roles in the study as teacher in the classroom, teacher educator working with the classroom teacher and researcher. Examples of the professional growth of the classroom teacher and the education advisor which occurred as sequences of changes (growth networks, Hollingsworth, 1999) in the domains of the professional world of the classroom teacher and education advisor were drawn from the large body of data collected through regular face-to-face and email communications between the classroom teacher and the education advisor as well as from transcripts of a structured interview. The Interconnected Model of Professional Growth (Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002; Hollingsworth, 1999) was used to summarise and represent each example of the classroom teacher’s professional growth. A modified version of this model was used to summarise and represent the professional growth of the education advisor. This study confirmed that the method of professional development utilised could lead to significant teacher professional growth related directly to her work in the classroom. Using the Interconnected Model of Professional Growth to summarise and represent the classroom teacher’s professional growth and the modified version for my professional growth assisted with the recognition of examples of how we both changed. This model has potential to be used more widely by education advisors when preparing, implementing, evaluating and following-up on planned teacher professional development activities. The mental computation instructional program developed and trialled in the study was shown to be a successful way of sequencing and managing the teaching of mental computation strategies and related number sense understandings to Year 3 students. This study was conducted in one classroom, with one teacher in one school. The strength of this study was the depth of teacher support provided made possible by the particular method of the professional development, and the depth of analysis of the process. In another school, or with another teacher, this might not have been as successful. While I set out to change my practice as an education advisor I did not expect the depth of learning I experienced in terms of my knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and practices as an educator of teachers. This study has changed the way in which I plan to work as an education advisor in the future.

"More tick-the-box": the challenge of promoting interdisciplinary learning in the middle years through the Australian history curriculum

The Australian Curriculum marks national reforms in social science education, first with the return to the disciplines of history and geography and second, through a new approach to interdisciplinary learning. This paper raises the question of whether the promise of interdisciplinary learning can be realised in the middle years of schooling if teachers have to teach history as a discipline rather than within an over-arching integrated curriculum framework. The paper explores the national blueprints and considers the national history curriculum in light of theories of teachers’ knowledge and middle school education. Evidence from teacher interviews indicates that historical understanding can be achieved through integrated frameworks to meet the goals of middle schooling.

Embedding graphic organisers in the teaching and learning of family and consumer sciences (home economics) in Kuwait

Educational reforms currently being enacted in Kuwaiti Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) in response to contemporary demands for increased student-centred teaching and learning are challenging for FCS teachers due to their limited experience with student-centred learning tools such as Graphic Organisers (GOs). To adopt these reforms, Kuwaiti teachers require a better understanding of and competency in promoting cognitive learning processes that will maximise student-centred learning approaches. This study followed the experiences of four Grade 6 FCS Kuwaiti teachers as they undertook a Professional Development (PD) program specifically designed to advance their understanding of the use of GOs and then as they implemented what they had learned in their Grade 6 FCS classroom. The PD program developed for this study was informed by Nasseh.s competency PD model as well as Piaget and Ausubel.s cognitive theories. This model enabled an assessment and evaluation of the development of the teachers. competencies as an outcome of the PD program in terms of the adoption of GOs, in particular, and their capacity to use GOs to engage students in personalised, in-depth, learning through critical thinking and understanding. The research revealed that the PD program was influential in reforming the teachers. learning, understanding of and competency in, cognitive and visual theories of learning, so that they facilitated student-centred teaching and learning processes that enabled students to adopt and adapt GOs in constructivist learning. The implementation of five GOs - Flow Chart, Concept Maps, K-W-L Chart, Fishbone Diagram and Venn Diagram - as learning tools in classrooms was investigated to find if changes in pedagogical approach for supporting conceptual learning through cognitive information processing would reduce the cognitive work load of students and produce better learning approaches. The study as evidenced by the participant teachers. responses and classroom observations, showed a marked increase in student interest, participation, critical thought, problem solving skills, as a result of using GOs, compared to using traditional teaching and learning methods. A theoretical model was developed from the study based on the premise that teachers. knowledge of the subject, pedagogy and student learning precede the implementation of student-centred learning reform, that it plays an important role in the implementation of student-centred learning and that it brings about a change in teaching practice. The model affirmed that observed change in teaching-practice included aspects of teachers. beliefs, as well as confidence and effect on workplace and on student learning, including engagement, understanding, critical thinking and problem solving. The model assumed that change in teaching practice is inseparable from teachers. lifelong PD needs related to knowledge, understanding, skills and competency. These findings produced a set of preliminary guidelines for establishing student-centred constructivist strategies in Kuwaiti education while retaining Kuwait.s cultural uniqueness.

Översättningslärarens evaluerande ställningstaganden – uttryck för lärarens kunskap

Abstract (How the evaluating commentaries of a translation teacher reflect teacher knowledge): Teachers' knowledge has been found in research to be personal and experiential. In this article I discuss teacher knowledge from the perspective of a specific translation teacher. The aim of my study was to discover what kind of knowledge a translation teacher demonstrates when she evaluates her students’ translations. Focusing on attitude expressions in my qualitative analysis, I concentrate on an interview conducted with one teacher, who talks about her students’ translations. On this basis, one may conclude that the teacher’s knowledge is based on her experiences as both a teacher and a native speaker of Swedish.

Lehen Hezkuntzako irakasleen gaitasun digitala hobetzeko proposamena

Lan honen helburua, egungo gizarte eta hezkuntzaren desoreka digitala egiaztatzea eta horri aurre egiteko proposamen bat planteatzea izan da. Hori burutzeko, irakasle talde bati Informazio eta komunikaziorako Tresnen (IKT) inguruko galdera batzuk egin zaizkie, teknologia berriekiko haien jakintza, prestakuntza eta erabilera zeintzuk diren ezagutzeko. Jasotako emaitzak aztertu dira eta irakasle hauen ezjakintasun maila baliabide teknologiko berritzaileekiko altua dela ondorioztatu da, haien gaitasun digitala oso baxua izanda. Hori dela eta, arazo horri irtenbide berritzaile bat bilatu zaio, Lehen Hezkuntzako irakasleen prestakuntzara bideratutako tutorial ezberdinak sortu direlarik, web 2.0-ko baliabide batzuen erabilera zein den azalduz.

Uma experiência de formação de professores em serviço: curso de atualização de professores de escolas de horário integral

Esta investigação tem como tema a proposta de formação de professores em serviço do Curso de Atualização de Professores de Escola de Horário Integral, realizado no segundo governo de Leonel Brizola, no Estado do Rio de Janeiro (1991 1994), durante o Segundo Programa Especial de Educação (II PEE). Este estudo objetivou analisar a proposta de formação de professores em serviço, focalizando este Curso como uma das iniciativas desta formação e, partindo dela identificar contribuições significativas, produzidas naquele tempo e espaço específico, que possam enriquecer e suscitar questões para os debates atuais sobre a formação continuada de professores. Ao empreender esta tarefa se julgou necessário delinear a trajetória do I E II PEE para melhor compreensão da evolução deste plano e de sua proposta de formação de professores, até a elaboração do Curso. Após a retomada do II PEE, frente à necessidade de reestruturação pedagógica dos Centros Integrados de Educação Pública (CIEPs) foi criado o Curso, em convênio com a UERJ. O ponto mais importante identificado nesta proposta de formação foi considerar a escola como lócus de formação continuada tendo como base o saber do professor neste processo. Aspecto como se pode constatar, de grande relevância atualmente nas discussões sobre a temática, mas que naquele momento foi uma inovação. Supõe-se que os resultados deste trabalho poderão contribuir para ampliar os debates em torno das questões voltadas para a formação continuada de professores, e ainda, ampliar os debates, bem oportunos, sobre criação de diferentes alternativas de escolas públicas de horário integral, com suas proposta de formação para atender a uma necessidade da sociedade contemporânea e fundamentar ações de gestores das políticas públicas de Educação.

Arreta faltaren nahastea eta hiperaktibitatea duten lehen hezkuntzako umeentzako neurriak ikasgelan: erantzun egokia ematearen beharra

[eus] Arreta Faltaren Nahastea eta Hiperaktibitatea (AFNHa) gaur egun ikasgela batean aurki dezakegun nahaste ohikoenetariko bat da. Nahastea pairatzen duten umeek haien errendimendu akademikoan negatiboki eragiten duten zailtasun desberdinei aurre egin behar diete. Irakasleen ezagutza edo parte-hartze eza dela eta, ume horiei arrakasta lortzeko ez zaie beti bere esku jartzen gainontzekoei eskaintzen zaizkien aukera berdinak. Hortaz, irakasleak laguntzea eta ume horiei ikasgela baten barruan ahalik eta erantzun egokien ematea ikerketa lan honen helburua da. Horretarako, bilaketa bibliografiko baten bitartez, nahastean sakondu da eta estrategia desberdinak, metodologia egokia eta IKTen (Informazioaren eta komunikazioaren teknologien) erabilera proposatu dira. Inor atzean utzi gabe, guztientzako kalitatezko eta inklusiboa den hezkuntza defendatzen duen eta itxaropenerako bidea irekitzen saiatzen den lana da.

Conhecimento do professor do 1º ciclo sobre números racionais

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de mestre em Educação Matemática na Educação Pré-escolar e nos 1º e 2º Ciclos do Ensino Básico

Formação continuada: seus impactos na prática docente: um olhar sobre o programa pró-letramento

RESUMO: A preocupação central desta pesquisa foi compreendermos qual o impacto da formação continuada Pró-Letramento na prática pedagógica do professor a partir das necessidades e desafios do cotidiano escolar. Buscamos conhecer o conceito que os sujeitos da pesquisa têm sobre formação continuada, abordando a mesma como elemento da prática docente, comparamos o cotidiano de sala de aula de professores que passaram pela formação Pró-Letramento com os que não tiveram acesso a essa formação. Com respeito à formação continuada a percebemos como um processo dinâmico, reflexivo, que combina uma variedade de possibilidades e modalidades de aprendizagens, em que o professor vai adequando a sua formação às exigências sociais, culturais, educacionais. A formação continuada se dá, por meio da reflexão sobre a própria prática profissional no processo de ação-reflexão-ação, adquirindo significado na medida em que desenvolve e promove os diversos saberes docentes. A pesquisa foi conduzida com 90 professores do Ensino Fundamental – Anos Iniciais -, com oito coordenadoras que acompanham pedagogicamente os professores sujeitos dessa pesquisa e a observação em sala de aula. Procedeu-se à aplicação de um questionário validado e adaptado aos professores e uma entrevista aos coordenadores. A análise dos dados quantitativos foi realizada por meio do programa SPSS; enquanto a análise dos dados qualitativos foi orientada pela análise de discurso. A pesquisa aponta para algumas conclusões no que se refere a importância da Formação Continuada Pró-Letramento, tendo em vista a mesma possibilitar mudanças na prática pedagógica e colaborara para formação de um professor reflexivo, ao mesmo tempo que abre espaço para novos questionamentos e novos estudos.ABSTRACT: The central concern of this research was to understand the impact of the continuing education pro-literacy teaching practice from the teacher‘s needs and challenges of every day school life. We tried to know the concept that the subjects have on continuing education, addressing it as part of teaching practice, we compared the daily classroom teachers who have gone through training with Pro-Literacy did not access to such training. With respect to continuing education perceive it as a dynamic, reflective, which combines a variety of possibilities and modalities oF learning, the teacher will tailoring the training requirements to social, cultural, educational. The continuing education takes place, through reflection on own practice in the process of action-reflection-action, acquiring significance in that it develops and promotes the various teacher‘s knowledge. The research was conducted with 90 elementary school teacher‘s – Early Years – with eight coordinators accompanying teacher‘s pedagogically subject of research and observation in the classroom. Proceeded to the application of a validated questionnaire and adapted to an interview with the teachers and coordinators. The quantitative data analysis was performed using SPSS, while the analysis of qualitative data was guided by discourse analysis. The research points to some conclusions regarding the importance of Continuing Education Pro- Literacy in order to enable the same changes in teaching practice and collaborated to form a reflective teacher at the same time it makes room for new questions and new studies.