Towards guidelines for curriculum design and development in English language teacher education in Cambodian higher education institutions

In the current Cambodian higher education sector, there is little regulation of standards in curriculum design of undergraduate degrees in English language teacher education. The researcher, in the course of his professional work in the Curriculum and Policy Office at the Department of Higher Education, has seen evidence that most universities tend to copy their curriculum from one source, the curriculum of the Institute of Foreign Languages, the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Their programs fail to impose any entry standards, accepting students who pass the high school exam without any entrance examination. It is possible for a student to enter university with satisfactory scores in all subjects but English. Therefore, not many graduates are able to fulfil the professional requirements of the roles they are supposed to take. Neau (2010) claims that many Cambodian EFL teachers do not reach a high performance standard due to their low English language proficiency and poor background in teacher education. The main purpose of this study is to establish key guidelines for developing curricula for English language teacher education for all the universities across the country. It examines the content of the Bachelor‘s degree of Education in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (B Ed in TEFL) and Bachelor‘s degree of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (BA in TESOL) curricula adopted in Cambodian universities on the basis of criteria proposed in current curriculum research. It also investigates the perspectives of Cambodian EFL teachers on the areas of knowledge and skill they need in order to perform their English teaching duties in Cambodia today. The areas of knowledge and skill offered in the current curricula at Cambodian higher education institutions (HEIs), the framework of the knowledge base for EFL teacher education and general higher education, and the areas of knowledge and skill Cambodian EFL teachers perceive to be important, are compared so as to identify any gaps in the current English language teacher education curricula in the Cambodian HEIs. The existence of gaps show what domains of knowledge and skill need to be included in the English language teacher education curricula at Cambodian HEIs. These domains are those identified by previous curriculum researchers in both general and English language teacher education at tertiary level. Therefore, the present study provides useful insights into the importance of including appropriate content in English language teacher education curricula. Mixed methods are employed in this study. The course syllabi and the descriptions within the curricula in five Cambodian HEIs are analysed qualitatively based on the framework of knowledge and skills for EFL teachers, which is formed by looking at the knowledge base for second language teachers suggested by the methodologists and curriculum specialists whose work is elaborated on the review of literature. A quantitative method is applied to analyse the perspectives of 120 Cambodian EFL teachers on areas of knowledge and skills they should possess. The fieldwork was conducted between June and August, 2014. The analysis reveals that the following areas are included in the curricula at the five universities: communication skills, general knowledge, knowledge of teaching theories, teaching skills, pedagogical reasoning and decision making skills, subject matter knowledge, contextual knowledge, cognitive abilities, and knowledge of social issues. Additionally, research skills are included in three curricula while society and community involvement is in only one. Further, information and communication technology, which is outlined in the Education Strategies Plan (2006-2010), forms part of four curricula while leadership skills form part of two. This study demonstrates ultimately that most domains that are directly and indirectly related to language teaching competence are not sufficiently represented in the current curricula. On the basis of its findings, the study concludes with a set of guidelines that should inform the design and development of TESOL and TEFL curricula in Cambodia.

Schulische Gesundheitsförderung im Kontext von Klassenklima und sozialem Rückhalt durch die Lehrer. Wirkungen eines Präventivprogramms auf gesundheitsrelevantes Wissen und auf Erwartungen und Verhalten

Berichtet wird über die Evaluation eines schulischen Gesundheitsförderungsprogramms, wobei es spezifisch um Wechselwirkungen zwischen Programmeffekten und schulklimatischen Bedingungskonstellationen (Klassenklima/Lehrerrückhalt) auf Wissen über, Erwartungen an und Konsum von Zigaretten geht. An der Untersuchung waren 388 Schüler und Schülerinnen achter und neunter Klassen beteiligt. Im Rahmen eines quasi-experimentellen Untersuchungsdesigns wurde in der Hälfte der Schulklassen ein 28stündiges Unterrichtsprogramm zur Gesundheitsförderung durchgeführt, während die andere Hälfte als Kontrollgruppe ohne Treatment diente. In der Interventionsgruppe zeigten sich Wissenszuwächse sowie positive Veränderungen in den Ergebniserwartungen, zum Teil in Abhängigkeit von den Klassenklimavariablen. Positive Veränderungen im Konsumverhalten als Folge der Intervention ergaben sich bei jüngeren Raucher/innen, und es zeigten sich Zusammenhänge zwischen Veränderungen in den Erwartungen an den Zigarettenkonsum und solchen im Konsumverhalten. (DIPF/Orig.)

Interação didática em língua estrangeira: contributos de um estudo baseado na dimensão sócio-afetiva da aprendizagem colaborativa

Pretendeu-se com este projecto de investigação estudar a interação didática co-construída por alunos do ensino superior em moldes de aprendizagem colaborativa na aula de Inglês língua estrangeira, com enfoque na dimensão sócio-afetiva da aprendizagem. Na base do quadro teórico encontra-se o pressuposto de que o conhecimento é algo dinâmico e construído colaborativamente, e que é na interação didática que emergem os comportamentos verbais reveladores do Saber―Ser/Estar/Aprender dos sujeitos, nomeadamente através da coconstrução e negociação de sentidos. Subjacente portanto ao estudo está a convicção de que “o trabalho crítico sobre a interação permite entender os modos relacionais entre os sujeitos pedagógicos, as relações interpessoais que se estabelecem e articular o desenvolvimento linguístico-comunicativo com o desenvolvimento pessoal e social dos alunos” (Araújo e Sá & Andrade, 2002, p. 82). Esta investigação centra-se exclusivamente nos aprendentes, na sequência de indicações provenientes da revisão de literatura, as quais apontam para uma lacuna nas investigações efetuadas até à data, referente ao número insuficiente de estudos dedicado à interação didática interpares, já que a grande maioria dos estudos se dirige para a relação professor-aluno (cf. Baker & Clark, 2010; Hellermann, 2008; O'Donnell & King, 2014). Por outro lado, o estado da arte relativo às investigações focalizadas na interacção entre aprendentes permite concluir que a melhor forma de exponenciar esta interação será através da aprendizagem colaborativa (cf. Johnson, Johnson, & Stanne, 2000; Slavin, 2014; Smith, Sheppard, Johnson, & Johnson, 2005). Circunscrevemos o nosso estudo à dimensão sócio-afetiva das estratégias de aprendizagem que ocorrem nessas interações, já que a revisão da literatura fez evidenciar a correlação positiva da aprendizagem colaborativa com as dimensões social e afetiva da interação (cf. Byun et al., 2012): por um lado, a dinâmica de grupo numa aula de língua estrangeira contribui grandemente para uma perceção afetiva favorável do processo de aprendizagem, incrementando igualmente a quantidade e a qualidade da interação (cf. Felder & Brent, 2007); por outro lado, a existência, na aprendizagem colaborativa, dos fenómenos de correção dos pares e de negociação de sentidos estimula a emergência da dimensão sócio-afetiva da aprendizagem de uma língua estrangeira (cf. Campbell & Kryszewska,1992; Hadfield, 1992; Macaro, 2005). É neste enquadramento teórico que se situam as nossas questões e objetivos de investigação. Em primeiro lugar procurámos saber como é que um grupo de aprendentes de Inglês língua estrangeira do ensino superior perceciona as estratégias de aprendizagem sócio-afetivas que utiliza em contexto de sala de aula, no âmbito da aprendizagem colaborativa e nãocolaborativa. Procurámos igualmente indagar quais as estratégias de aprendizagem sócio-afetivas passíveis de serem identificadas neste grupo de aprendentes, em situação de interação didática, em contexto de aprendizagem colaborativa. Finalmente, questionámo-nos sobre a relação entre a perceção que estes alunos possuem das estratégias de aprendizagem sócio-afetivas que empregam nas aulas de Inglês língua estrangeira e as estratégias sócio-afetivas identificadas em situação de interação didática, em contexto de aprendizagem colaborativa. No que respeita à componente empírica do nosso projecto, norteámo-nos pelo paradigma qualitativo, no contexto do qual efetuámos um estudo de caso, a partir de uma abordagem tendencialmente etnográfica, por tal nos parecer mais consentâneo, quer com a nossa problemática, quer com a natureza complexa dos processos interativos em sala de aula. A metodologia quantitativa está igualmente presente, pretendendo-se que tenha adicionado mais dimensionalidade à investigação, contribuindo para a triangulação dos resultados. A investigação, que se desenvolveu ao longo de 18 semanas, teve a sala de aula como local privilegiado para obter grande parte da informação. Os participantes do estudo de caso foram 24 alunos do primeiro ano de uma turma de Inglês Língua Estrangeira de um Instituto Politécnico, sendo a investigadora a docente da disciplina. A informação proveio primordialmente de um corpus de interações didáticas colaborativas audiogravadas e posteriormente transcritas, constituído por 8 sessões com uma duração aproximada de uma hora, e das respostas a um inquérito por questionário − construído a partir da taxonomia de Oxford (1990) − relativo à dimensão sócio-afetiva das estratégias de aprendizagem do Inglês língua estrangeira. O corpus gravado e transcrito foi analisado através da categorização por indicadores, com o objetivo de se detetarem as marcas sócio-afetivas das estratégias de aprendizagem mobilizadas pelos alunos. As respostas ao questionário foram tratadas quantitativamente numa primeira fase, e os resultados foram posteriormente triangulados com os provenientes da análise do corpus de interações. Este estudo permitiu: i) elencar as estratégias de aprendizagem que os aprendentes referem utilizar em situação de aprendizagem colaborativa e não colaborativa, ii) detetar quais destas estratégias são efetivamente utilizadas na aprendizagem colaborativa, iii) e concluir que existe, na maioria dos casos, um desfasamento entre o autoconceito do aluno relativamente ao seu perfil de aprendente de línguas estrangeiras, mais concretamente às dimensões afetiva e social das estratégias de aprendizagem que mobiliza, e a forma como este aprendente recorre a estas mesma estratégias na sala de aula. Concluímos igualmente que, em termos globais, existem diferenças, por vezes significativas, entre as representações que os sujeitos possuem da aprendizagem colaborativa e aquelas que detêm acerca da aprendizagem não colaborativa.

Uma prática colaborativa na construção do portifólio educacional

Acompanha: Unidade didática: elementos de astronomia e energia

Finnish Preclinical and Clinical Medical Students as Strategic L2 English Learners: Language Learning Strategies and Communicating with Patients

This thesis focused on medical students’ language learning strategies for patient encounters. The research questions concerned the types of learning strategies that medical students use and the differences between the preclinical students and the clinical students, two groups who have had varying amounts of experience with patients. Additionally, strategy use was examined through activity systems to gain information on the context of language learning strategy use in order to learn language for patient encounters. In total, 130 first-year medical students (preclinical) and 39 fifth-year medical students (clinical) participated in the study by filling in a questionnaire on language learning strategies. In addition, two students were interviewed in order to create activity systems for the medical students at different stages of their studies. The study utilised both quantitative and qualitative research methods; the analysis of the results relies on Oxford’s Strategic Self-Regulation Model in the quantitative part and on activity theory in the qualitative part. The theoretical sections of the study introduced earlier research and theories regarding English for specific purposes, language learning strategies and activity theory. The results indicated that the medical students use affective, sociocultural-interactive and metasociocultural-interactive strategies often and avoid using negative strategies, which hinder language learning or cease communication altogether. Slight differences between the preclinical and clinical students were found, as clinical students appear to use affective and metasociocultural-interactive strategies more frequently compared to the preclinical students. The activity systems of the two students interviewed were rather similar. The students were at different stages of their studies, but their opinions were very similar. Both reported the object of learning to be mutual understanding between the patient and the doctor, which in part explains the preference for strategies that support communication and interaction. The results indicate that the nature of patient encounters affects the strategy use of the medical students at least to some extent.

EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF TEACHER PRACTICE ON STUDENT LEARNING IN INTERACTIVE RADIO INSTRUCTION (IRI) CLASSROOMS: LESSONS FROM NEW DELHI AND RAJASTHAN (INDIA)

This quantitative study examines the impact of teacher practices on student achievement in classrooms where the English is Fun Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) programs were being used. A contemporary IRI design using a dual-audience approach, the English is Fun IRI programs delivered daily English language instruction to students in grades 1 and 2 in Delhi and Rajasthan through 120 30-minute programs via broadcast radio (the first audience) while modeling pedagogical techniques and behaviors for their teachers (the second audience). Few studies have examined how the dual-audience approach influences student learning. Using existing data from 32 teachers and 696 students, this study utilizes a multivariate multilevel model to examine the role of the primary expectations for teachers (e.g., setting up the IRI classroom, following instructions from the radio characters and ensuring students are participating) and the role of secondary expectations for teachers (e.g., modeling pedagogies and facilitating learning beyond the instructions) in promoting students’ learning in English listening skills, knowledge of vocabulary and use of sentences. The study finds that teacher practice on both sets of expectations mattered, but that practice in the secondary expectations mattered more. As expected, students made the smallest gains in the most difficult linguistic task (sentence use). The extent to which teachers satisfied the primary and secondary expectations was associated with gains in all three skills – confirming the relationship between students’ English proficiency and teacher practice in a dual-audience program. When it came to gains in students’ scores in sentence use, a teacher whose focus was greater on primary expectations had a negative effect on student performance in both states. In all, teacher practice clearly mattered but not in the same way for all three skills. An optimal scenario for teacher practice is presented in which gains in all three skills are maximized. These findings have important implications for the way the classroom teacher is cast in IRI programs that utilize a dual-audience approach and in the way IRI programs are contracted insofar as the role of the teacher in instruction is minimized and access is limited to instructional support from the IRI lessons alone.

Child-to-child interaction and corrective feedback during a tandem chat exchange project

L’objectif principal de cette recherche était d’examiner l’interaction entre élèves d’ALS et de FLS de sixième année du primaire du Québec et de l’Ontario communicant par clavardage et utilisant l’approche en Tandem. Plus spécifiquement, elle visait à vérifier si ces apprenants offraient de la rétroaction corrective et, le cas échéant, si cette dernière suscitait de la réparation. L’opinion des participants par rapport à leur expérience de communication en Tandem a été examinée. Les sessions de clavardage ont eu lieu sur une période de quatre mois produisant 16 séances de clavardage (8 en anglais et 8 en français). Les résultats montrent que des apprenants de langue seconde ont offert de la rétroaction corrective à 370 occasions. L’examen des données révèle que les sujets ont utilisé les trois types de rétroaction: la rétroaction explicite, la reformulation et la négociation de la forme. Contrairement à ce qui a pu être observé dans d’autres études antérieures impliquant de jeunes apprenants, une des découvertes majeures de cette recherche fut l’utilisation, par les participants, de la rétroaction explicite plutôt que la reformulation. Par contraste avec la recherche de Morris (2005) qui impliquait également de jeunes apprenants de niveau primaire utilisant le clavardage, le taux de réparation a été plutôt bas. La grande majorité des élèves d’ALS ont aimé utiliser l’ordinateur comme moyen d’apprentissage de leur L2 et de leur L1 contrairement aux élèves de FLS. Les implications pédagogiques des résultats de cette recherche ainsi que des suggestions pour de futures recherches sont également discutées.

A estrutura psicossocial na turma de uma criança portadora de autismo

Dissertação submetida para satisfação parcial dos requisitos do grau de Mestre em Ciências da Educação — Especialização em Educação Especial

Objetos de ensino, suas potencialidades e dificuldades para aprendizagem de física no ensino médio

Acompanha: Procedimento para o uso do Tracker como objeto de ensino, suas potencialidades e dificuldades para aprendizagem de física no ensino médio

Papel do educador e do professor do 1.º ciclo do ensino básico : conceções dos diferentes agentes envolvidos no processo educativo

Relatório de estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Santarém para obtenção do grau de mestre em Educação pré-escolar e ensino do 1.º ciclo do ensino básico

Aspectos do desenvolvimento da experiência docente na educação superior: um estudo sob a ótica da teoria dos gêneros de atividade

This analysis introduces results related to development of teaching experience from two professors of one Federal University who have taken part of one action of continued teacher training. We consider that the interplay among the individual, the language and the world cannot function straightly. It occurs through utterances, defined like real unit discursive communication, and genres of discourse (BAKHTIN, 1979/2011). Along the same line, the relation between the employee and his employment do not occur in a direct manner. This relationship takes place through genres of activity (CLOT, 2008/2010). As well as, a domain of speech genres has given possibility to individual an interaction with several discursive fields, a domain of activity genre allows the professional protruding in difficult situations traced in his employment. We know that the drafting for wield the teaching in the Tertiary Education is recommended by LDBEN (9394/96), which suggests that should be done in postgraduate program. In the mean time, what frequently happens an educational background based in a survey and not in the teaching. Thereby, several times we have observed difficulties in the accomplishment of teaching practice. Considering such aspects, this study seeks to comprehend the manner how the lecturers deal with the difficulties encountered in the classroom and how the years of experience have contributed or not for a domain of activity genre. In this regard, we have propped up in the development approach, introduced by Vigotsky, who asserts that the learning suitably organized results in development (VIGOTSKY, 1984/2007) and still explains the development of individual on the basis of relationship that it has with another, the social (VIGOTSKY, 1996b). For this purpose, were accomplished, by means of a snipped filmed lesson from each teacher, four sessions of self-confrontation (FAÏTA, 1996; CLOT, 2008/2010), two Simple and two Crusade, recorded in a visual format. This material was transcribed in accordance with standards from project NURC-SP (PRETI, 1999). For the analysis, we used three mains theories: of Linguistic, is mobilized the concept of speech genres (BAKHTIN) and all discursive topics (JUBRAN; FÁVERO); from Occupational Psychology, is utilized the activity genres (CLOT); from Psychology Historical-Cultural, is adopted the concept from Zone of Proximal Development and another/social in the development of individual (VIGOTSKY). In compliance with the study achieved, was possible to identify the aspects related to development of teaching experience of Tertiary Education. During the classes and reports of self-confrontation, we identify that both the professors, in the beginning of the career, they got more difficulties to deal with hindrances, and which now, with some years of experience, they get to domain better the difficult situations which they come across. They built up, for example, a greater facility in improvise examples in face of students’ difficulties in the comprehension of concepts. These aspects show that the professors have evolved the higher domain of genre, which allow them getting, in addition to turn the unexpected situation around that spring up in the professional context, as well know how to taking action in similar situation, which they have already run into in another moments. This domain enabled and enables the developing of the lecturers over the course of their professional performance.

Straddling The Gap: A MIddle School Teacher's Journey Towards Good Geography

Research points to a gap between academic or disciplinary based geography and what is taught in secondary classes across the nation. This study documents a teacher’s journey and efforts to bring a more disciplinary approach to two suburban heterogeneous sixth grade geography classrooms. The researcher traces student perspectives on geography and facility with geographic reasoning as well as his own perspectives and pedagogy with respect to student data. The study attempts to map the space where school geography meets and interacts with disciplinary oriented geography based upon the Geography for Life National Geography Standards. Participants completed two sets of baseline assessments and two sets of end of year assessments as well as an initial intake survey. The seven primary participants were interviewed five times each throughout the academic school year and data were openly coded. The data suggest that students can learn geography and geographic reasoning from a disciplinary perspective. Students sharpened their geographic skills through deeper subject matter knowledge and developing spatial and ecological perspectives. The data also indicate that the teacher researcher faced considerable challenges in implementing a disciplinary approach to teaching geography. The coverage demands of a crowded history-centric curriculum together with ill-fitting resources required a labor-intensive effort to put together and execute this study. Study findings indicate that the path to good geography pedagogy can be impeded by a host of external and internal challenges. However, to forward thinking practitioners, the effort to straddle the gap between school geography and disciplinary-based geography may be well worth it.

Educational Videos and Exposure to Nature as Predictors of Environmentally Responsible Behaviours among University Students

The purpose of this study was to examine if the effects of exposure to educational videos on climate change and exposure to a view of nature could elicit environmentalist behaviours and increase one’s environmental identity. It was predicted that participants who were exposed to a view of nature and saw a video on climate change would have a higher likelihood to plant a seed and experience greater connectedness to nature. Fifty-four students (38 females, 15 males, and 1 gender fluid) with ages ranging from 18 to 47 were recruited for the experiment. A 2 (type of video) x 2 (type of view) factorial design was conducted, in which participants were randomly assigned to watch either an educational video on climate change or on popsicles, and they either had a view of outdoors or indoors. There was no significant interaction for setting and video (p = .172) on whether participants chose to plant a seed or not. Likewise, there was no significant interaction for setting and video (p = .262) on planting intentions. There was a significant effect for the video on experiencing connection to nature (p = .039, ηp2 = .08). These findings suggest that this video could change one’s perception of nature.

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/

Action-Emotion Style, Learning Approach and Coping Strategies, in Undergraduate University Students

Action-Emotion Style (AES) is an affective-motivational construct that describes the achievement motivation that is characteristic of students in their interaction with stressful situations. Using elements from the Type-A Behavior Pattern (TABP), characteristics of competitiveness and overwork occur in different combinations with emotions of impatience and hostility, leading to a classification containing five categories of action-emotion style (Type B, Impatient-hostile type, Medium type, Competitive-Overworking type and Type A). The objective of the present research is to establish how characteristics of action-emotion style relate to learning approach (deep and surface approaches) and to coping strategies (emotion-focused and problem-focused). The sample was composed of 225 students from the Psychology degree program. Pearson correlation analyses, ANOVAs and MANOVAs were used. Results showed that competitiveness-overwork characteristics have a significant positive association with the deep approach and with problem-focused strategies, while impatience-hostility is thus related to surface approach and emotion-focused strategies. The level of action-emotion style had a significant main effect. The results verified our hypotheses with reference to the relationships between action-emotion style, learning approaches and coping strategies.