Education Commons^™

Informing Teacher Education Through Cross-Cultural Teaching And Learning: Dialogic Inquiry Into Japanese And Canadian School Experiences, Mitsuyo Sakamoto, Elaine Chan

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This article examines the hermeneutic, narrative, and social co-construction of cultural understanding as two educators shared their teaching and learning experiences in Japanese and Canadian schools. Our dialogic inquiry reveals how perceptions of practices in one culture—including curricula in non-core, academic subjects, stances on student assessment, and attitudes toward extracurricular activities—were shaped by our prior school experiences. The study reveals that reconstruction of previous overseas experience and co-construction of meaning from this reconstruction can serve as a powerful means of enhancing understanding of cross-cultural issues. The reconstruction process also offers a means of engaging those who do not have international, …

Going Home? Schooling In Mexico Of Transnational Children, Víctor Zúñiga, Edmund T. Hamann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The literature in international migration from Mexico to the U.S. has usually examined labor, juridical, political, and public health dimensions of the phenomena. However, the educational aspect of international migration is becoming a major concern for both countries. This article offers preliminary results from a survey of transnational students coming back from the U.S. to Mexican schools. The database includes information from a representative sample of public and private schools of Nuevo León (1st to 9th grade). It includes estimates of the number of transnational students, their school trajectories, and perspectives on their educational experience in both countries.

Pensando En Cynthia Y Su Hermana: Educational Implications Of United States–Mexico Transnationalism For Children, Edmund T. Hamann, Victor Zuniga, Juan Sanchez Garcia

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

We use 3 brief educational biographies of students in Mexico who have previously attended public school in the United States to introduce this literature review on United States–Mexico transnational students. This article is also the first of several planned articles stemming from a currently ongoing, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia-supported research study. As such, the purpose here is to highlight some of the dynamics faced by students who need to negotiate 2 educational systems (the United States and Mexico) and who fit neither a classic United States immigrant typology nor the typical premises around which schooling in Mexico is …

Identities In The Making: Realized In-Between Self And Other, Margaret A. Macintyre Latta, Lori Olafson

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

A middle school is a complex setting in which to develop a sense of self. The following accounts of three young women reveal ways that identity is confronted, offering insights for all learners. The intent is to show how prospective and practicing teachers can gain greater access to fostering identities in the making. The language of Bakhtin gives expression to the necessary teaching and learning conditions for students to look at the sense and selves being made on a continual basis. We conclude that valuing and validating identities in the making require that learning spaces be created, sustained, and nurtured …

Teaching Courses Online: A Review Of The Research, Mary K. Tallent-Runnels, Julie A. Thomas, William Y. Lan, Sandi Cooper, Terence C. Ahern, Shana M. Shaw, Xiaoming Liu

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This literature review summarizes research on online teaching and learning. It is organized into four topics: course environment, learners’ outcomes, learners’ characteristics, and institutional and administrative factors. The authors found little consistency of terminology, discovered some conclusive guidelines, and identified developing lines of inquiry. The conclusions overall suggest that most of the studies reviewed were descriptive and exploratory, that most online students are nontraditional and Anglo American, and that few universities have written policies, guidelines, or technical support for faculty members or students. Asynchronous communication seemed to facilitate in-depth communication (but not more than in traditional classes), students liked to …

Risks And Opportunities Within Self-Study: A Presentation For The S-Step Sig, American Educational Research Association, 2006, Margaret A. Macintyre Latta, Gayle A. Buck, Teresa Abrahams, Chandra Diaz-Debose, Sandra Dop, Kathy Fuchser, Joyce Lehn, Colette Mast, Virginia Newton, Judith Ruskamp, Sarah Thomas

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This paper documents a self-study research group from its inception, storying its development and impacts on the curricular lives of 11 participating educators individually and collectively. Drawing on the scholarship of the self-study tradition within educational research (Loughran et al. 2004), we see teacher knowledge as largely untapped and an important source for the improvement of teaching. Positioning participants to look at the sense and selves being made on a continual basis places reflexivity is at the heart of self-study. Our paper reveals multiple ways educators might engage reflexively, considering and reconsidering beliefs about the nature of learners, learning, teachers, …

Starting Conversations With Content Area Peers [Out Of The Box], Jenelle Reeves

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

I offer three principles to guide you as you initiate conversations with content area peers: make it personal, make it positive, and make a connection.

Considering the importance of the relationship between ESOL professionals and content teachers, it is critically important to consider how you engage colleagues in conversation about effective English language learner inclusion. If you open your conversations with content area peers in a positive way, it will set the tone for harmonious, mutually beneficial relationships to follow.

Comparing Science Teaching Styles To Students' Perception Of Scientists, Kevin D. Finson, Jon E. Pedersen, Julie A. Thomas

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Many educational researchers seem to concur with the idea that, among other factors, the teacher's teaching style has some impact on student learning and the perceptions students develop about science learning and the work of scientists. In this study, nine middle grades teachers' teaching styles were assessed using the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Teaching Test Checklist (DASTT-C) and categorized along a continuum from didactic to inquiry/constructivist in orientation. Students' (n = 339) perceptions of scientists were determined using the Draw-a-Scientist-Test Checklist (DASTC). Teachers' teaching styles and their students' perceptions of scientists were then compared using nonparametric correlational methods. Results showed that no significant correlation …

Secondary Teacher Attitudes Toward Including English-Language Learners In Mainstream Classrooms, Jenelle Reeves

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Researchers have given limited attention to teacher attitudes toward inclusion of English-language learners (ELLs) in mainstream classrooms. The author explored four categories within secondary teacher attitudes toward ELL inclusion: (a) ELL inclusion, (b) coursework modification for ELLS, (c) professional development for working with ELLs, and (d) perceptions of language and language learning. Findings from a survey of 279 subject-area high school teachers indicate a neutral to slightly positive attitude toward ELL inclusion, a somewhat positive attitude toward coursework modification, a neutral attitude toward professional development for working with ELLs, and educator misconceptions regarding how second languages are learned.

Teacher Experiences Of Culture In The Curriculum, Elaine Chan

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In this study, I examined the experiences of two middle-school-level teachers as they attempted to acknowledge the ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity of their students in their curriculum and through their teaching practices, to identify the kinds of complications and challenges they encountered in the process. I presented one particular curriculum event to explore ways in which diverse beliefs and values intersected as the teachers implemented the event.

I employed a narrative inquiry approach with an emphasis on stories to learn about the experiences of my participants. I took part in all aspects of school life, including staff meetings and …