Education Commons^™

Creativity In Childhood: The Role Of Education, Doireann O'Connor

Dee O'Connor

Creativity in adults is highly valued in our society. Personal creativity contributes toinventiveness, innovation, social and cultural change as well as political development andeconomic progression. The creator is an innovator, a problem solver, an entrepreneur, anartist. Creative people have rapid and effective responses that help them to achieve their life goals and allow them to enjoy the journey. Creativity is both a skill set and a unique and individual personality structure that is developed throughout childhood and fine tuned in adolescence and adulthood. Education has a key role to play in its development. Positive creativity inspiring experiences at every stage …

Shall We Play Us And Them Or All Together Now? Leadership Opportunities For Cohesiveness And Unity Within A Fractured Western Australian Early Childhood Education Sector, Doireann O'Connor, Christine Mcgunnigle, Tracy Treasure, Serena Davie

Dee O'Connor

This paper presents the qualitative and quantitative findings of a research project that examines the perceptions and expectations held by pre-service teachers regarding the Childcare sector. It presents the experience based position of a group of pre-service teachers both before and after their exposure to practice within Childcare following a ten week practicum.

It offers a contribution to the evolving body of research relevant to a recent Government decision that requires the employment of qualified teachers in all Childcare Services by 2014. This decision came about as a response to the 2006 report by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and …

A Pedagogy Of Freedom: Why Primary School Teachers Should Embrace Educational Emancipation, Doireann O'Connor

Dee O'Connor

Rich stories of learning journeys that arose from a Life History Research Project resulted in the development of a growing awareness on the part of the author in the role that freedom can productively play within the primary school classroom. The stories that adults told of their most memorable learning experiences almost exclusively occurred outside of the classroom within play and social situations where they were free to engage in a meaningful and personalised learning experience. Learning stories involving risk and even danger, conflict and resolution, freedom from supervision and responsibility as a self-regulated mantle of growing maturity were common …

Teaching, Learning, And Leading: Preparing Teachers As Educational Policy Actors, Amy J. Heineke, Ann Marie Ryan, Charles Tocci

Charles Tocci

Within the current federal, state, and local contexts of educational reform, teachers must be recognized as central actors in policy work, but rarely do we explicitly consider preparing teachers to become policy actors. Understanding these implications for teacher education, we investigate teacher candidates’ learning of the complexity and dynamism of educational policy through a field-based teacher preparation program. Situated across four unique school contexts in the diverse neighborhoods of Chicago, Illinois, we qualitatively study the cases of eight teacher candidates as they explore policy in practice. We found that candidates developed enduring understandings about policy as complex, situated, and multilayered, …

Investing In Teachers

Adeola Capel

And Our Feelings, Just Don’T Feel It Anymore”: Re- Feeling Whiteness, Resistance, And Emotionality, Cheryl E. Matias

Cheryl Matias

To effectively deliver racially just projects, we must theoretically understand from where emotional resistance to them stems, why this resistance is regularly expressed, and what role they play in stifling antiracism. This theoretical paper examines how emotional investment in whiteness recycles normative behaviors of white resistance and unveils how they painfully reinforce the supremacy of whiteness. Using a black feminist approach to emotionality and an interdisciplinary approach to critical whiteness studies and critical race theory, this paper begins with positing how the emotions of white resistance are rooted in the shame of revealing a repressed childhood racial abuse. The concern …

Towards Excellence In Mathematics Teaching: Forging Links Between National Curriculum And Professional Standards Initiatives, Hilary Hollingsworth, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

No abstract provided.

Making Performance-Based Evaluation Work For You: A Recipe For Personal Learning, Audrey Church

Audrey P. Church

Teacher observation and teacher evaluation are a given in American schools, and Charlotte Danielson's work in teacher effectiveness and professional practice has guided evaluation efforts for many years. There is a new, big kid in town, however. As Race to the Top requires documentation of student growth, and research shows that teacher effectiveness is a key factor in student learning, people see full implementation of performance-based teacher-evaluation systems in states and school districts across the nation. The goal of performance-based teacher evaluation is actually two-fold: first, to document teacher effectiveness and, second, to guide professional growth. Educators must not lose …

Innovating Today’S Learning And Teaching To Engage Tomorrow’S Learners And Teachers, Daniela Signor, Kulari Lokuge, Anne-Marie Chase

Dr Anne-Marie Chase

Stem Professional Development For Early Childhood Teachers., Kimberly Brenneman, Alissa A. Lange

Alissa A. Lange

No abstract provided.

Plan To Recruit Our Best And Brightest, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Australia faces a number of challenges over the next decade in planning the future teacher workforce, according to Geoff Masters.

School Improvement On Australia’S Horizon, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

While Australia has seen a steady decline in 15-year-olds’ reading literacy achievement over the past decade, Geoff Masters identifies promising signs at the primary level that this trend may soon be reversed.

Thelma Perso And Colleen Hayward, Teaching Indigenous Students: Cultural Awareness And Classroom Strategies For Improving Learning Outcomes, Jacynta Krakouer, Troy Meston

Jacynta Krakouer

Assessment And Reporting – Key Concepts, Ray Philpot

Ray Philpot

A one-day workshop on the key concepts of assessment and reporting across the subjects of English, Mathematics and Science presented to teachers. Included how to use good quality assessments to monitor student growth and to inform teaching and learning.

Creativity Exercises In The Field Of Entrepreneurship, Todd A. Finkle, Mark Shrader

Todd A Finkle

Professional Learning Communities: What Are The Important Questions For An Educator To Ensure A Sustainable Community?, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

No abstract provided.

Australian Teachers And The Learning Environment: An Analysis Of Teacher Response To Talis 2013: Final Report, Chris Freeman, Kate O'Malley, Frances Eveleigh

Chris Freeman

The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is the first international survey programme to focus on the learning environment and the working conditions of teachers in schools. The overarching aim of TALIS is to provide robust, policy relevant indicators and analysis on teachers and the learning environment for an international audience. It aims to provide an opportunity to examine best practice in education systems around the world, to allow countries to identify other education systems facing similar challenges to their own and to learn from other policy approaches. TALIS provides internationally comparable information in the areas of teacher demographic …

On The Front Lines: The Role Of Teachers In The Prevention Of Child Trafficking Through Education And Awareness Of Online Recruitment Tactics, Lucinda S. Spaulding, Timothy R. Spaulding

Lucinda S. Spaulding

Generating an estimated 32 billion US dollars annually (International Labor Organization [ILO] 2009), sex trafficking is one of the fastest-growing industries internationally and domestically. Further, children constitute approximately 25% of trafficked individuals (ILO, 2012). The Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act (TVPA; 2000) states that an individual under the age of 18 involved in any form of commercial sexual exploitation meets the criteria for sex trafficking of a minor, and the National Strategy focuses on 4 types of exploitation: (a) child pornography, (b) online enticement of children for sexual purposes, (c) commercial sexual exploitation of children, and (d) child sex tourism. The …

Scaffolding Numeracy: Pre-Service Teachers' Perspective, Irina Verenikina, Mohan Chinnappan

I. Verenikina

Scaffolding has become increasingly popular as it provides teachers with an appealing alternative to traditional classroom techniques of teaching. Recent research identified a number of different ways that scaffolding can be used in the classroom to improve students’ numeracy levels in primary schools. However, despite the importance of scaffolding, pre-service teachers experience difficulties in understanding the complex techniques of scaffolding and often fail to make connections between theoretical explanations and their practical use. This paper examines current perceptions of scaffolding by a cohort of pre-service teachers, both in its conceptual framework and its practical implications to teaching in the classroom, …

Diversity Analysis Of Challenge Day: Examination Of The Outcomes Of Diversity Training, Kelly Liane Glick

Kelly Liane Glick

The purpose of this paper was to use a synthesis of peer-reviewed research articles to investigate the effectiveness and learning outcomes of various forms of diversity training for pre-service, and more specifically, in-service teachers. The literature reveals limited research related to the benefits and learning outcomes of diversity training for practicing K-12 teachers. Bolman and Deal’s (1997) four frames model, Vaara et al.’s (2004) framework for discourse analysis, and Challenge Day’s website were used to analyze the organization’s diversity and potential for use as diversity training for teachers within K-12 schools. I examined my positionality of Challenge Day and the …

A Teacher's Guide To Pisa Mathematical Literacy, Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Lisa De Bortoli

Lisa De Bortoli

This report focuses on mathematical literacy and is one of a series of three reports on Australian students' performance in PISA. The report provides an overview of the PISA mathematics framework and Australia's results in the PISA 2003 international assessment. Also included are mathematics items released for public viewing after the PISA 2003 assessment and examples of responses, marking guides and comparisons of results with other countries. The context behind achievement, e.g. attitudes, engagement and learning strategies, is also presented.

Students With Asd In Mainstream Primary Education Settings: Teachers' Experiences In Western Australian Classrooms, Rebecca Soto, Julie Ann Pooley, Lynne Cohen, Myra Taylor

Myra F Taylor

The shift to inclusive education within Australia has resulted in increasing numbers of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) being placed in mainstream educational settings. This move has created new demands on teachers who are not necessarily trained to meet the challenge. Therefore, the present study aimed to develop an understanding of how 12 Western Australian primary school (K-7) teachers adapted to the challenge of having a student with ASD in their mainstream classroom. Using an interpretivist framework, data from semistructured interviews revealed that teachers perceived a need to first recognise and accept the challenges associated with having a student …

Rethinking Assessment In Vet, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

No abstract provided.

Teacher Quality And Student Inequality - Web Appendix (Revised 2014), Richard K. Mansfield

Rick Mansfield

This appendix is a supplement to the author's paper, Teacher Quality and Student Inequality, which can be found here: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/workingpapers/162/

Teacher Quality And Student Inequality (Revised 2014), Richard K. Mansfield

Rick Mansfield

This paper examines the extent to which the allocation of teachers within and across public high schools is contributing to inequality in student test score performance. Using ten years of administrative data from North Carolina public high schools, I estimate a flexible education production function in which student achievement reflects student inputs, teacher quality, school quality, and a school-specific scaling factor that allows the impact of teaching quality to vary across schools. The existence of nearly 3,000 teacher transfers, combined with a testable exogenous mobility assumption, allows separate identification of each teacher’s quality from both school quality and school sensitivity …

Fostering Creativity: Ontario Teachers’ Perceptions, Strategies, And Experiences, Catharine M. Dishke Hondzel

Catharine Dishke Hondzel

This study provides a broad overview of perceptions elementary school teachers hold regarding creativity, the strategies those teachers use to foster creative thinking and behaviour in their students, and the environmental challenges and opportunities they navigate when striving to develop 21st century skills in students. Earlier research examining teachers’ perceptions and creativity-fostering behaviours have typically asked teachers to describe their classroom practices, or self-report their perceptions regarding creative children or children’s creative actions. Using a mixed-methods approach, in this study 22 Grade 5-7 teachers working in Ontario completed an online questionnaire which measured their creativity-fostering behaviours. Following the survey, 12 …

Living Among Guatemalan Mayans Is Fascinating Experience, Irene Scharf

Irene Scharf

I have just lived a dream. Five years ago I learned of a school where students of all ages could study Spanish intensively while living among the Guatemalan Mayans. Peace Accords had been signed in 1996, the government was encouraging tourism, and it was, finally, safe to visit.

Why a dream? Because, 25 years ago, when I traveled through Central and South America, I promised my family I would avoid Guatemala because of the perceived was dangers. During that trip, as I met my Europeans and other who had visited, remained safe, and found it a fascinating country, I vowed …

Storylines About Rural Teachers In The United States: A Narrative Analysis Of The Literature, Kara Brown

Kara D. Brown

No abstract provided.

A Teacher's Guide To Pisa Mathematical Literacy, Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Lisa De Bortoli

Kylie Hillman

This report focuses on mathematical literacy and is one of a series of three reports on Australian students' performance in PISA. The report provides an overview of the PISA mathematics framework and Australia's results in the PISA 2003 international assessment. Also included are mathematics items released for public viewing after the PISA 2003 assessment and examples of responses, marking guides and comparisons of results with other countries. The context behind achievement, e.g. attitudes, engagement and learning strategies, is also presented.

Educating Teachers For The Knowledge Economy, Tony Fetherston

Tony Fetherston

Driven by common international trends and the acceptance of such constructs as the knowledge economy, p re service teacher education institutions are forced to conceptualise how to integrate ICT into their curriculum. In this paper the author proposes that Habermas’s three domains of human interest are an excellent beginning in organizing the curriculum to include ICT. Using these domains he proposes possible curriculum content under headings of What should they be able to do, What should they actually do (in the classroom) and What knowledge empowers them.