What is Crossing the Virtual Window? Collaboration in Virtual Team Teaching

Virtual Team Teaching (VTT) is a form of collaborative teaching and learning at the college level that involves two teachers with their respective classes working together in real time from two distant classrooms. This paper looks at collaboration that occurs during VTT practice in order to examine factors that support and inhibit collaboration. It is aimed at teachers, administrators, technical support, and pedagogical advisors concerned with collaborative practices at the college level. What kind of affordances does Virtual Team Teaching provide for teachers and students in terms of collaboration? 1) How do teachers collaborate to build the activities and content for a VTT session? 2) What are some of the outcomes of this collaboration between these teachers? 3) How do students collaborate across the two classrooms? 4) What are some outcomes of this collaboration between students? And 5) Does the teachers’ collaborative effort impact the students’ collaboration, and vice versa?

Influence of the perception of discrimination on women's work motivation

Nowadays, despite anti-discrimination policies, women suffer frequently from a lack of consideration from their male colleagues, altering their well-being and motivation to work. More precisely, perceived personal or groupal discrimination, could have a distinct influence on work motivation. Previous studies showed that the impact on women varies in function of the type of perceived discrimination (Bourguignon et al. 2006). Based on the self-categorization and the social identity theory, work motivation is differently structured as if employees categorized themselves as individuals or as part of a group. As a result, a different impact from personal and group discrimination on work motivation is expected. Moreover, it has been proved that typical men behavior is heavily associated with competence compared to women behavior (Marchand, Saint-Charles & Corbeil, 2007). Therefore, it is hypothesized that women with more masculine traits will suffer from less perceived discrimination, and work motivation. An online survey was created in order to collect data over work motivation, perceived personal and group discrimination. The respondents were also questioned on typical men and women behavior to determine their gender-conformity. To test our hypotheses, data were collected from 57 women stemming from the labour force, aged from 21 to 63 years old. Results indicate that perceived personal discrimination was negatively related to work motivation and that perceived group discrimination was negatively correlated with masculine behavior. Thereby, our study enhances the importance of work environment, and especially discrimination, on work motivation. This research also corroborates the self-categorization and the social identity theory framework to study these issues.

Teachers thinking together: novas tecnologias aplicadas à formação continuada de professores de língua inglesa

Acompanha: Teachers thinking together: novas tecnologias aplicadas à formação continuada de professores de língua inglesa

Ledroit Park, A Portrait In Black And White: A Study Of Historic Districts, Social Change, And The Process Of Neighborhood Placemaking

This research examines the process of placemaking in LeDroit Park, a residential Washington, DC, neighborhood with a historic district at its core. Unpacking the entwined physical and social evolution of the small community within the context of the Nation’s Capital, this analysis provides insight into the role of urban design and development as well as historic designation on shaping collective identity. Initially planned and designed in 1873 as a gated suburb just beyond the formal L’Enfant-designed city boundary, LeDroit Park was intended as a retreat for middle and upper-class European Americans from the growing density and social diversity of the city. With a mixture of large romantic revival mansions and smaller frame cottages set on grassy plots evocative of an idealized rural village, the physical design was intentionally inwardly-focused. This feeling of refuge was underscored with a physical fence that surrounded the development, intended to prevent African Americans from nearby Howard University and the surrounding neighborhood, from using the community’s private streets to access the City of Washington. Within two decades of its founding, LeDroit Park was incorporated into the District of Columbia, the surrounding fence was demolished, and the neighborhood was racially integrated. Due to increasingly stringent segregation laws and customs in the city, this period of integration lasted less than twenty years, and LeDroit Park developed into an elite African American enclave, using the urban design as a bulwark against the indignities of a segregated city. Throughout the 20th century housing infill and construction increased density, yet the neighborhood never lost the feeling of security derived from the neighborhood plan. Highlighting the architecture and street design, neighbors successfully received historic district designation in 1974 in order to halt campus expansion. After a stalemate that lasted two decades, the neighborhood began another period of transformation, both racial and socio-economic, catalyzed by a multi-pronged investment program led by Howard University. Through interviews with long-term and new community members, this investigation asserts that the 140-year development history, including recent physical interventions, is integral to placemaking, shaping the material character as well as the social identity of residents.

Prioritizing Purposes: Two American History Teachers' Choices Among Subject Matter and Classroom-Related Purposes

This study explores how two American history teachers - one novice and one experienced – make in-the-moment choices among their history subject matter and classroom-related purposes during the teaching of an American history unit. Using classroom observations, lesson artifacts, student work products, and deep, retrospective interviews with the teachers as they watched videos of their teaching, this study maps out in detail the teachers’ purposes, both within and across different lesson activity structures. This study finds that the novice and the experienced teacher navigated among their purposes differently from each other, and that the characteristics of each teacher’s purposes navigation aligned with student outcomes in that teacher’s class. The novice teacher acted more like a juggler, with visible, reactive navigation among each purpose operational throughout his teaching; student outcomes in his class were similarly fragmented and discrete. The experienced teacher presented more like an orchestra conductor, interweaving his purposes and anticipating the navigation decisions that would create a more seamless whole; student outcomes in his class were aligned with his holistic navigation of purposes. Findings from this study have important implications for education research and teacher practice, including the relationship between teachers’ navigation among purposes and desired student outcomes, the integral role of classroom-related purposes interwoven with history subject matter purposes in teachers’ decision-making, and the differences in purposes navigation between a novice and an experienced history teacher.

Implementing The KiVa Antibullying Program: What Does It Take?

There is variation in how teachers and schools implement bullying prevention programs. Although this variation has been discussed, there has been little empirical research concerning the relationship between implementation fidelity and program outcomes. This thesis contains three studies, each of them in the context of implementing the KiVa antibullying program, and examines teachers’ actions in preventing and intervening in school bullying. The first aim of this thesis is to examine implementation degree of the KiVa curriculum and its’ association with reductions in victimization and bullying perpetration (Study I). The second aim is to clarify why teachers displayed different degrees of adherence to the KiVa curriculum during a school year (Study II). Thirdly, it is investigated whether recognizing victimization can be difficult for school staff (Study III). In addition to these peer-reviewed studies, the thesis includes a qualitative analysis (unpublished) of the teachers’ open answers concerning their implementation experiences. The data were collected from elementary school teachers (Studies I–II; the unpublished study), elementary school students (Study I), and students on the elementary and middle school levels (Study III) during the evaluation of the effectiveness of KiVa antibullying program between 2007 and 2009. The findings demonstrate that a larger reduction in victimization can be achieved in classrooms where teachers display higher levels of adherence to the KiVa curriculum and invest more time for preparing the lessons. Bullying perpetration, however, was not equally affected by the level of curriculum implementation. With respect to the implementation process over one year, there was significant variation between individual teachers’ activity—ranging from systematic and high implementation to declining delivery from lesson to lesson. The sustained actions (high and moderate levels of implementation) were premised on principal support for antibullying work. Lesson preparation was associated with keeping implementation high throughout the school year. The findings also implied that the belief in the effectiveness of the program is important for a higher implementation degree at starting point of the process. Finally, there are severe flaws in teachers’ ability to identify students who are victimized. As it turns out, it is possible that only one-fourth of chronically victimized students are helped by the school staff. Especially when the victims are middle-school-aged girls, when they bully others themselves, or when they do not tell adults about bullying, reaching out for them is difficult. Implementation and dissemination of research-based interventions will take a good deal of time and effort. The findings demonstrate that active implementation is important for improving program outcomes. They also show how implementation can be sustained—there are both individual and interpersonal factors that facilitate or inhibit high-quality implementation. Thus, implications for future research regarding the implementation of school-based programs are suggested.

Receção estética do texto e promoção da educação literária : trabalho colaborativo interdisciplinar

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Supervisão e Avaliação Escolar.

EXAMINING THE IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING: A CASE STUDY

Title of Thesis: Thesis directed by: ABSTRACT EXAMINING THE IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING: A CASE STUDY Stefan Frederick Brooks, Master of Education, 2016 Professor and Chair Francine Hultgren Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership Department Project-based learning (PjBL) is a common instructional strategy to consider for educators, scholars, and advocates who focus on education reform. Previous research on PjBL has focused on its effectiveness, but a limited amount of research exists on the implementation challenges. This exploratory case study examines an attempted project- based learning implementation in one chemistry classroom at a private school that fully supports PjBL for most subjects with limited use in mathematics. During the course of the study, the teacher used a modified version of PjBL. Specifically, he implemented some of the elements of PjBL, such as a driving theme and a public presentation of projects, with the support of traditional instructional methods due to the context of the classroom. The findings of this study emphasize the teacher’s experience with implementing some of the PjBL components and how the inherent implementation challenges affected his practice.

Roda dos sentidos: a formação continuada de professores em espaços de coletividade

A dissertação de mestrado aqui apresentada está vinculada ao Programa de Pós Graduação em Educação – PPGEdu, da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande – FURG, situada na linha de pesquisa Culturas, Linguagens e Utopias. O objetivo do estudo é contribuir para que os professores possam pensar em outras práticas de formação docente dentro dos espaços educativos nos quais atuam, desenvolvendo suas ações pedagógicas, a partir da reflexão sobre cotidiano docente no coletivo. A pesquisa envolve um grupo de professores que se propôs a estudar a categoria trabalho e seus entrelaçamentos com o trabalho docente a partir da perspectiva marxista. Tal grupo organizou-se tendo em vista a metodologia das Rodas de Formação, conforme a perspectiva de Warschauer, intitulando-se Roda dos Sentidos. Como corpus de análise foram utilizados os registros escritos em um portfólio coletivo, realizado a cada semana por um dos professores da Roda. Tal escrita era alternada entre os sujeitos para que, assim, todos contribuíssem, ao seu modo, na composição dos registros da Roda dos Sentidos. Foram analisadas as escritas dos anos de 2011 e 2012, buscando-se responder ao questionamento: ―que significados de formação docente são vivenciados em espaços coletivos como os da Roda dos Sentidos?‖ A análise dos dados foi inspirada na Análise Textual Discursiva – ATD, de Moraes e Galiazzi, inicialmente realizou-se a impregnação do material produzido pelos sujeitos da pesquisa, para então proceder com a unitarização, a construção de categorias analíticas e a escrita de metatextos. As problematizações realizadas no decorrer da dissertação foram apontando compreensões sobre a importância da formação docente no coletivo, constituída pelos estudos e diálogos vivenciados pelos sujeitos envolvidos; a compreensão das amarras do sistema societário que interferem no trabalho docente, salientando a necessidade dos professores resgatarem, enquanto categoria, sua capacidade de luta, seu sentido de união e coletividade no trabalho, fortalecendo suas representatividades através dos sindicatos; a compreensão da profissão docente como interpelada pelas relações humanas, ao entrelaçar a construção do conhecimento aos sentimentos como afetividade, respeito, alegria e esperança, envolvidos nesse processo, estão, nesse sentido, os professores constituindo sua humana docência. A partir das análises realizadas, compreender-se que as vivências de estudo e formação na Roda dos Sentidos, proporcionaram momentos de avanços teóricos, realizados a partir de diálogos sobre o trabalho e o trabalho docente, potencializados pelos registros escritos e compartilhados nos encontros da Roda, possíveis a partir da construção do sentido de coletividade, compreendendo-se, assim, a importância dos elos afetivos na constituição docente.

Recent educational changes at higher educational level in Pakistan: English language teachers' perceptions and practices

Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) of any country could be a source of providing professionals to the country in many fields. By doing so, HEIs could play a pivotal role in the economic growth of the country. In Pakistan, it seems that, in the wake of this realization, steps have been taken to reform Higher Education. Drawing on the Triple I model of educational change covering Initiation, Implementation and Institutionalization (Fullan, 2007) this study focuses on the planning and implementation of reforms in the Education system of Pakistan at higher education level that have been introduced by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) since its inception in 2002. Kennedy’s model of hierarchical subsystems affecting innovation and Chin and Benne’s (1985) description of strategies for implementing change also provided guidelines for analyzing the changes in education in the country to highlight the role that the authorities expect the language teacher to play in the process of implementing these changes. A qualitative method is followed in this study to gather data from English language teachers at three universities of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. A questionnaire was developed to look into the perceptions of English language teachers regarding the impact of these reforms. This was followed up by interviews. Responses from 28 teachers were received through questionnaire out of which 9 teachers were interviewed for detailed analysis of their perceptions. Thematic Content analysis was used to analyze and interpret the data. Some of the most significant changes that the respondents reported knowledge of included the introduction of Semester System, extending the Bachelors degree to four years from two years, promotion of research culture, and increased teachers’ autonomy in classroom practices. Implications of these reforms for English teachers’ professional development were also explored. The data indicate that the teachers generally have a positive attitude towards the changes. However, the data also show concerns that teachers have about the practical effectiveness of these changes in improving English language teaching and learning in Pakistani Universities. Some of the areas of concern are worries regarding resources, the assessment system, the number of qualified teachers, and instability in the educational policy. They are concerned about the training facilities and quality of the professional training available to them. Moreover, they report that training opportunities for their professional development are not available to all the teachers equally. Despite the HEC claims of providing regular training opportunities, the majority of the teachers did not receive any formal training in the last three years, while some teachers were able to access these opportunities multiple times. Through the recent reforms HEC has empowered the teachers in conducting the learning/teacher processes but this extra power has reduced their accountability and they can exercise these powers without any check on them. This empowerment is limited to the classroom and there appears to be no or minimal involvement in decision making at the top level of policy making. Such lack of involvement in the policy decisions seems to be generating a lack of sense of ownership among the teachers (Fullan 2003a:6). Although Quality Enhancement Cells have been developed in the universities to assure the desired quality of education, they might need a more active role to contribute in achieving the level of enhancement in education expected from them. Based on the perceptions of the respondents of this study and the review of the relevant literature, it is argued that it is unlikely for the reforms to be institutionalized if teachers are not given the right kind of awareness at the initiation stage and are not prepared at the implementation stage to cope with the challenge of a complex process. The teachers participating in this study, in general, have positive and enthusiastic attitudes towards most of the changes, in spite of some reservations. It could also be interesting to see if the power centers of the Pakistani Higher Education appreciate this enthusiasm and channel it for a strong Higher Education system in the country.

External school evaluation : teachers’ perspectives : two case studies from Northern Portugal

The external evaluation of non-higher education schools in Portugal has been developed by the General Inspectorate of Education since 2006. A first cycle of evaluation was completed, covering all educational units in continental Portugal up to 2011. The model of evaluation has since been subject to alterations, and a second cycle of evaluation is now coming to an end. The current model of evaluation is based on documental analysis, analysis of students’ results, and panel interviews with a variety of representatives of the school community, and addresses three domains: results, provision of educational service and management. This paper is part of an ongoing research project, developed by 6 universities and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/CPE-CED/116674/2010) which intends to analyse the impacts and effects this process of external evaluation has had on Portuguese schools. This project includes a variety of perspectives and methodologies. In particular, we will focus on two case studies undertaken in two schools from the northern region of Portugal, and more specifically on the perspectives expressed by the teachers of those schools. These particular schools were chosen because they have been evaluated twice and represent different educational levels (basic and secondary), contexts and results. These case studies included the analysis of documental data, interviews to key informants and a questionnaire directed to teachers (n = 141) – the latter will be the main focus of this paper. Teachers are essential elements of the school community when considering the impacts of external evaluation, as any changes directed at teaching practices, student evaluation, among others are only possible through their direct action and implication. Therefore, their perceptions on the process and its impacts are crucial to the understanding of what does and does not change in schools as a consequence of external evaluation. Although teachers’ opinions are not homogenous and each school reveals a number of differences when it comes to teachers’ perceptions of School Evaluation, it was possible to stress some areas as the most and as the least consensual. Teachers in both schools agree External School Evaluation (ESE) is useful for the identification of the schools’ strengths and weaknesses, values students’ external evaluation results, imposes a model for schools internal evaluation (and in fact contributes to the very existence of internal evaluation practices), and contributes to schools improvement. However teachers in both schools do not believe ESE contributes to teachers’ autonomy produces changes in how curriculum is managed, or leads to innovative teaching practices. These results point to a greater emphasis on change at the levels of school management, self-evaluation and particularly internal evaluation, but little impact on the teaching practices. We believe the classroom is at the core of school practices and teaching processes are essential to any measure of school quality and to their impacts on student learning.

Relatório de Estágio

A construção da identidade profissional é um processo de aprendizagem constante que se encontra intimamente relacionado com o gosto, a vontade de crescer e evoluir continuamente, tanto a nível profissional, como pessoal. De facto, ser professor com sentido é um enorme desafio que ganha significado em contexto educativo. Nesse momento, torna-se possível refletir sobre as diversas dimensões implicadas no perfil de um (bom) professor. É neste quadro que a elaboração do presente relatório de estágio é extremamente significativa, na medida em que se desenvolve progressivamente, ao longo de um ano bastante exigente, embora riquíssimo em experiências e partilhas de ideias. A sua realização surge no âmbito da unidade curricular Integração Curricular: Prática Educativa e Relatório de Estágio, inserida no segundo ano do mestrado em Ensino do 1.º e 2.º Ciclos do Ensino Básico. É de salientar o papel preponderante dos professores orientadores cooperantes, dos supervisores institucionais e do par pedagógico, ao longo desta jornada. O espírito de cooperação vivido durante este processo evolutivo permitiu que a professora estagiária apurasse o seu caráter reflexivo e colaborativo. O estado de comprometimento assumido com o contexto educativo transformou-se numa experiência verdadeiramente inesquecível para a formanda. Repare-se que o presente trabalho apresenta um cariz investigativo no âmbito da exploração de um projeto onde a Transdisciplinaridade é abordada como um fator relevante para a formação de seres críticos, ativos e reflexivos. Com a Prática Pedagógica Supervisionada e o pleno envolvimento com o agrupamento de escolas X, foi possível traçar um mapa para a descoberta de um tesouro, isto é, para a construção de um perfil de docente que assegurará – assim se espera - uma viagem profunda, profícua e enriquecedora.

Profissão docente : laços de pertencimento e identidade

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Educação, Programa de Pós-graduação em Educação, 2015.

Relatório de Estágio

O Relatório de Estágio apresentado espelha todo um percurso de formação profissional e pessoal desenvolvido ao longo do Mestrado em Ensino do 1.º e 2.º ciclo do Ensino Básico com a finalidade de obter a habilitação para a docência. Do percurso experienciado salienta-se a importância da Prática Educativa Supervisionada realizada no âmbito da Unidade Curricular de Integração Curricular: Prática Educativa e Relatório de Estágio. Na base da Prática Educativa Supervisionada encontram-se um conjunto de pressupostos teóricos e legais que sustentaram toda a trajetória e que são apresentados neste Relatório. Do mesmo modo, são caracterizados os contextos onde se desenvolveu a prática educativa, visto que é fulcral que a ação do professor tenha em conta as especificidades dos mesmos. Assim, é apresentada uma descrição das experiências e vivências concretizadas ao longo da prática educativa. Esta descrição é acompanhada de uma forte dimensão reflexiva que advém de uma postura crítica e indagadora em que as bases teóricas, didáticas e pedagógicas adquiridas se encontram espelhadas. As singularidades mencionadas e das quais o professor se deve capacitar, contribuem para o desenvolvimento de uma prática pedagógica com características de investigação-ação, tendo como finalidade melhorar o ambiente educativo. Importa referir que esta etapa, apoiada numa dinâmica de supervisão que contribuiu significativamente para a construção da identidade profissional, constitui apenas o início de um longo caminho do “ser professor”.

Pre-service home economics teachers’ attitudes on selected aspects of practical teaching

This paper presents the results of a study conducted among pre-service home economics teachers from the Faculty of Education of the University of Ljubljana with different levels of practical experience in teaching. The pre-service Home Economics teachers in the 3rd year of their studies had just completed their first class of teaching experience in contrast to the pre-service teachers from the 4th year of their faculty studies, who had conducted more teaching lessons. The results showed that the 4th-year pre-service teachers had fewer doubts and problems concerning the planning and conducting of a lesson. They also statistically significantly agreed that they are sufficiently prepared to teach than the 3rd-year pre-service teachers are. The results showed that the majority of the pre-service teachers agreed that the feedback from their colleagues was helpful for their professional development. The results suggest the importance of practical teaching experience in the context of professional development and the intention to continue a career in education. However, the results also revealed some critical points in the teacher’s development of competency. The results suggest problems related to the application of theoretical knowledge on the children’s development in practice and pro problems related to classroom management in specific situations. (DIPF/Orig.)