Education Commons^™

The Effect Of Design Teams On Preservice Teachers' Technology Integration, Laurene Johnson

Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation - Dissertations

This study examined the effect of a specific instructional approach called design teams on preservice teachers' attitudes toward technology, their technology skills, and their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). In a design teams approach, participants work in collaborative teams to design solutions to solve real-world problems. This quasi-experimental study explored the efficacy of an educational technology course implemented with a design teams approach compared to the same course that utilized a standard instructional approach. The sample included 53 preservice teachers from one university majoring in either Early Childhood Inclusive or Elementary Inclusive Education. Preservice teachers in the treatment condition worked …

Teacher Education And Supporting Immigrant Students In The Standards-Based Education Era, Edmund T. Hamann

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

This commentary reflects on pre-service and in-service teachers' sense that teaching to standards and being responsive to immigrant newcomers are, if not incompatible, unlikely to be reconciled by peers or administration. It highlights that away from classroom leaders (e.g., superintendents) are positioned to challenge this unnecessary dichotomy in the interest of educational equity and success.

Professional Conversations: Mentor Teachers’ Theories-In-Use Using The Australian National Professional Standards For Teachers, Simon N. Leonard

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper the written feedback provided by mentor teachers using a new assessment model for preservice teacher professional experience deployed in the Australian Capital Territory and based on the Australian National Standards for Teachers is analysed. The analysis reveals mentor teachers hold a pervasive theory-in-use in regards to the needs of beginning teachers that may restrict the developmental ambition of the assessment model. The restricted vision of what is important for beginning teachers held by mentor teachers is possibly a reaction to continual change within school education. The analysis is preceded by a description of the ‘Professional Conversations’ model …

Using Teachliveᵀᴹ To Improve Pre-Service Special Education Teacher Practices, April N. Enicks

Dissertations

Currently, there is a body of research available that clearly specifies effective teaching behaviors and quality indicators of a given behavior (Rosenshine, 2012; Danielson, 2007; Stronge, 2007; Rosenshine, 1983; Brophy, 1979). Research is lacking in defining practices that develop effective teaching behaviors in pre-service teachers. The primary objective of this study was to determine the effects of various forms of instructional modes, settings, and experiences on students’ ability to demonstrate desired effective teaching behaviors. The secondary objective of this study was to determine if on-going self-reflection coupled with various forms of feedback supported students in becoming more effective reflective practitioners. …

The Anything Writing Project In First Grade, Stephanie J. Koplitzharty, Konnie Serr

NALS Journal

This article gives an overview of varying levels of engagement observed in the Grace B. Luhrs University Elementary School First Grade classroom during “Anything Writing” writing workshop. Children in first grade at Grace B. Luhrs are encouraged to use topics of their own choosing when creating their written work while at the same time following basic steps in the writing process.

The “Anything Writing” approach offers differentiated instruction opportunities for diverse learners within a community of writers. Observations by university faculty, university students and the first grade teacher are included along with student writing samples. This article is the result …

The Teachers’ Role In Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs: Implications For Teacher Education., Laura Scholes, Christian Jones, Colleen Stieler-Hunt, Ben Rolfe, Kay Pozzebon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In response to the diverse number of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs currently implemented in school contexts, this paper examines key considerations for selecting such initiatives and the multiplicity of understandings required to inform facilitation of contextually relevant prevention curriculum. First, the paper examines concerns about the lack of explicit professional development for educators concerning child protection, and the need to develop understandings about prevention program best practices within pre-service and in-service training. Second, drawing on a systematic review of literature, the paper identifies five key considerations to inform teachers’ selection and facilitation of CSA prevention curriculum in school …

Gender Equality And Social Cohesion : Reflection On The Experiences Of Strengthening Teacher Education In Pakistan, Dilshad Ashraf, Kausar Waqar

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

Strengthening The Professional Development For Teachers At Uc-Trc Level – A Hub For Teachers Professional Development, Rakhshinda Meher

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Professional development is a continuous improvement process, on job training and support needed to improve teaching, it encompasses the processes that educators engage in to initially prepare themselves, continuously update themselves, and review and reflect on their own performance. The experiences suggest that continuing professional development is needed to reinforce learning and support educational change process. This paper encompass on strengthening the professional development for teachers at Union Council Tehsil Resource Center (UC-TRCs). Teacher Mentors, developed by AKU-IED, STEP Project initiated the Cluster-based Mentoring Programme (CBMP) and also providing teachers follow-up support through Schools visits. Teachers professionally support each other, …

Swimming In Deep Waters. A Response To "A Review Of Teaching As A Moral Practice", Deborah Schussler, Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Mary E. Diez, Peter Murrell

Democracy and Education

The authors respond to a review of their book, Teaching as a Moral Practice: Defining, Developing, and Assessing Dispositions. The authors emphasize a vision of shared commitments for quality teaching whereby teacher-educators instill and nurture the wisdom and virtue that a moral teacher must possess in order to teach in a variety of circumstances where clear-cut answers do not exist. In addition, teacher-educators help teachers discern how, in that context, they should enact particular knowledge, skills, and commitments to reach desired ends. The key to enact this vision of teaching as a shared, moral practice is critical colleagueship.

Reflective Writing In Pre-Service Teachers' Teaching: What Does It Promote?, Etty Cohen-Sayag, Dita Fischl

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this study, we examined changes in levels of pre service teachers' reflective writing and tried to identify links between these changes and pre service teachers' success in teaching. Participants were two groups of pre-service special education teachers that taught in two different special education settings:learning difficulties classes and multiple and profound intellectual disabilities classes. Data collection was performed during two consecutive academic semesters, including a monthly structured journal about teaching events during field experience and summative grades, assessing pre service teachers' teaching activities for each semester. Journal analysis referred to three reflective levels of explanations, descriptive, comparative and critical. …

Standards For Graduation And Initial Teacher Certification: The International Experience, Lawrence C. Ingvarson

Dr Lawrence Ingvarson (Consultant)

The focus of this report is on policies and practices for assuring the quality of teacher education programs and of teachers who graduate from those programs. International interest in policies that promote teacher quality has increased markedly in recent years (OECD, 2005). With mounting evidence that the most important in school influence on student achievement, is teachers’ knowledge and skill (e.g., Hattie, 2008; Hanushek, 2004) policymakers have been giving closer attention to strategies that will recruit, prepare and retain the best possible teachers. These strategies call for clear and valid descriptions of what good teachers know and do, which teaching …

A Review Of Teaching As A Moral Practice: Defining, Developing, And Assessing Professional Dispositions In Teacher Education, Barbara S. Stengel

Democracy and Education

A review of the book Teaching as a Moral Practice: Defining, Developing, and Assessing Professional Dispositions in Teacher Education, by Peter C. Murrell Jr., Mary Diez, Sharon Feiman-Nemser, and Deborah L. Schussler (Harvard University Press, 2010).

Codes Of Ethics In Australian Education: Towards A National Perspective, Daniella J. Forster

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teachers have a dual moral responsibility as both values educators and moral agents representing the integrity of the profession. Codes of ethics and conduct in teaching articulate shared professional values and aim to provide some guidance for action around recognised issues special to the profession but are also instruments of regulation which position teachers in sanctioned roles. This paper offers a rationale for reviewing the purposes of codes of ethics in Australia as instruments which profoundly influence teacher morality and have significant educational implications. As one of the first comparative reviews of Australian state and territory codes of ethics and …

Teacher Counternarratives: Transgressing And Restorying Disability In Education, Alicia Broderick, Greta Hawkins, Stefanie Henze, Corinthia Mirasol-Spath, Rachel Pollack-Berkovits, Holly Prozzo Clune, Elizabeth Skovera, Christina Steel

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

This inquiry aims to explore the disconnect between the disability studies in education (DSE) perspectives on inclusive schooling held by a group of dually certified inclusive educators and the everyday, lived experiences of these same teachers who find themselves teaching students with labelled disabilities within the confines of the special education bureaucracy. Through a collaborative inquiry circle (with a teacher educator who is a faculty member in a dual-certification programme informed by a DSE perspective and seven teachers who are graduates of this teacher education programme), this study aims to: (1) articulate the dominant narratives or storylines about disability in …

Dead Certainty? The Case For Doubt In Teacher Education., Sandy Schuck, John Buchanan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this conceptual paper we discuss the value of doubt in teacher education for ourselves and, by implication, more broadly. We develop an argument for the value of doubt in teacher education that grows out of the recognition of the complexity of teaching. We interrogate meanings of doubt in this context and debate the value of doubt and certainty. We also indicate the challenges of fostering and nurturing doubt in teaching and teacher education. We suggest that doubt is a necessary element of teacher education as its presence helps to prepare our students for their careers as teachers in a …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Conceptions Of Education For Sustainability, Neus (Snowy) Evans, Hilary Whitehouse, Ruth Hickey

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Environmental education researchers argue that pre-service teachers have a limited understanding of education for sustainability. The research described in this article applies a phenomenographic approach to investigating variations in how a representative cohort of 30 pre-service teachers, at various stages of completing an education degree at a small regional Australian university, understands the concept of education for sustainability. The results distinguish four related but distinctive categories of descriptions: (1) education that is continuous; (2) education about ecological systems and environmental systems; (3) education that is active, hands-on, local and relevant; and (4) education for the future. This paper discusses the …

Does Study Of An Inclusive Education Subject Influence Pre-Service Teachers' Concerns And Self-Efficacy About Inclusion?, Stuart Woodcock, Brian Hemmings, Russell Kay

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Survey data were collected from pre-service teachers studying at a large regional Australian university. These data were examined with the purpose of determining whether pre-service teachers’ views (and concerns) about inclusion and their confidence to teach in inclusive classrooms had changed as a result of studying an inclusive education subject and undertaking a practicum linked to that subject. The results of an analysis based on mean values indicated that the various concerns, namely, resources, acceptance, workplace, and academic standards, did not change markedly as a consequence of the subject and practicum experiences. This analysis also showed a hierarchy of concerns …

The Role Of Field Experience In The Preparation Of Reflective Teachers, Maria Liakopoulou

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A basic condition for teachers developing their personal theory about teaching and utilising their knowledge in practice and perceiving and managing the complexity of the teaching process, is their ability to analyse the teaching process and to reflect on it. The research data presented in this article comes from research carried out, during which the role of field experience in teachers training was examined, and in particular to what extent and under what conditions field experience contributes to developing the ability of teachers to analyse and evaluate the teaching process. To answer those questions, information was primarily obtained from reflection …

Development Of Teaching Beliefs And The Focus Of Change In The Process Of Pre-Service Esl Teacher Education, Eunice Lai-Yiu Tang, John Chi-Kin Lee, Cecilia Ka-Wai Chun

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study sets out to investigate how pre-serviceESLteachers shape their beliefs in the process of experimenting with new teaching methods introduced in the teacher education programme. A 4-year longitudinal study was conducted with four randomly selectedESLpre-service teachers. Their theoretical orientations ofESLinstruction were tracked at intervals through a protocol which consisted of i) descriptive accounts, ii) surveys, iii) lesson plan analysis, iv) lesson recording and v) interviews. Despite the fact that these 4 student teachers had shown different theoretical orientations in the protocols, they shared similar patterns of instructional practices in the Teaching Practicum. It was also found that the new …

Teach For Australia Pathway : Evaluation Report Phase 2 Of 3, Paul R. Weldon, Phillip Mckenzie, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Kate Reid

Teacher education

The evaluation of the Teach for Australia Pathway was commissioned by DEEWR and commenced in March 2010. The purpose of the evaluation is to assess whether the delivery of the Pathway can be modified to better achieve intended outputs and outcomes, and whether the Pathway is achieving expected outcomes.

This report (Part 2) concerns the second of three phases of the evaluation of the TFA Pathway. The first report (Part 1) was designed to provide a summary of data gathered on the operation of the Pathway in its initial stages. Data for that report were collected via site visits with …

Elementary Teacher Education In Papua New Guinea: Towards A Culturally Connected Perspective Of Teaching, Casper Hahambu, Joanne M. Brownlee, E. Anne Petriwskyj

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Global and national agendas for quality education have led to reforms in Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) elementary education, but criticism of the learner-centred Western pedagogies has emerged. One key influence on quality teacher education relates to perspectives of teaching. Existing research shows teachers’ beliefs and perceptions of teaching influence their practice, however to date little research has investigated perspectives of teaching for elementary education in PNG. This single exploratory case study investigated the perspectives of teaching for eighteen elementary teacher trainers as they studied for a Bachelor of Early Childhood (Teacher Education). The study, drawing on an interpretivist paradigm, analysed …

Teachers' Perspectives And Suggestions For Improving Teacher Education To Facilitate Student Learning, Dina Linkenhoker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to give teachers a voice to express their self-efficacy beliefs, their opinions about the content and the effectiveness of their teacher preparation programs to facilitate student learning, and to hear their suggestions for improving teacher education to enable future educators to achieve that goal. The advent of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2002, referred to as No Child Left Behind, has reframed the debate on teacher quality. Across the board, from scholars to government officials to private foundations, there is a call for reform of schools of …

The Need To Teach Civility In Ece Classrooms, Michael Borders, Donna Borders

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019)

Methods for the teaching of civility to teacher education candidates—the why, what and how—are premised on the current societal need to emphasize altruistic behaviors. Survey results from 120 teacher candidates and 120 clinical supervisors within an eight- county Georgia area will be exhibited along with research literature reviews, lesson plans, and pre- and post-test data analyses.

Addressing The Research/Practice Divide In Teacher Education, Ryan Flessner

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Educational scholars often describe a research/practice divide. Similarly, students in teacher education programs often struggle to navigate the differences between university coursework and expectations they face in field-based placements. This self-study analyzes one researcher's attempt to address the research/practice divide from the position of a teacher educator. Teaching in a university-based mathematics methods course during the academic year and an elementary classroom during the summer recess provided opportunities to make connections between research and practice. This article examines the effects this study had on the researcher's instruction at the university level. Specifically, the article suggests ways for teacher educators to …

Dispositions In The Twenty First Century School Library Profession, Sue C. Kimmel, Gail K. Dickinson, Carol A. Doll

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Within the school library profession there is an emerging focus on dispositions, defined as "a tendency to exhibit frequently, consciously, and voluntarily a pattern of behavior that is directed to a broad goal" (Katz, 1993). Directed focus groups of practicing school librarians were asked to articulate their vision for school libraries of the future. Data from these groups informed development of six dispositional continua to guide both school library education and school librarianship in the 21st century. This study clarifies the dispositions needed by school librarians in the future.