Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Being A Teacher Educator: Exploring Issues Of Authenticity And Safety Through Self-Study, Dawn Garbett, Alan Ovens

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The catalyst for this self-study was implementing peer-teaching in our respective science education and physical education teacher education courses. Because our students taught one another it meant we redefined our roles as teacher educators as well as the roles that our students took in the teaching and learning community. We documented and explored our learning about teaching and teacher education through journaling, observations, discussions and interviews with students. Our students’ responses to peer- teaching provided a critical lens through which we considered our efficacy as teacher educators. Through this collaborative self-study, we have learnt to manage the issues of authenticity …

Professional Learning Community Impacts On Student Achievement In Middle School Mathematics, Jessica Stuewe

Mathematics Graduate Theses

The development of professional learning communities in middle level education is a relatively new and trendy concept sweeping the nation. School professional development committees are training large numbers of teachers through conferences, book studies and online webinars on how to collaborate to improve student learning. This research will explore the impact of the first year of implementation of a departmental professional learning community (PLC) on student achievement at the middle school level in the content area of mathematics. Student standardized test scores from 2010 and 2011 will be compared as a measure of success of the PLC. Teacher surveys are …

The Use Of The Epostl To Foster Teacher Autonomy: Elt Student Teachers’ And Teacher Trainers’ Views, Abdulvahit Cakir, Cem Balcikanli

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

It was the aim of this pilot study to investigate ELT (English Language Teaching) student teachers’ and teacher trainers’ views on the use of the EPOSTL (The European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages) in pre-service language teacher education of a Turkish state university. Upon the implementation of the EPOSTL as a reflection tool for the second semester of 2010, 25 student teachers and 4 teacher trainers were interviewed through the questions prepared and piloted. The findings indicated that both student teachers and teacher trainers found the use of the EPOSTL beneficial in terms of reflection, self-assessment and awareness. …

School Co-Ordinators: Leaders Of Learning In Professional Experience, Rosie J. Le Cornu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

It is widely accepted that professional experience or practicum is ‘a critically important part of teacher education courses and is consistently valued highly by student teachers’ (eg Ramsey, 2000; Teaching Australia, 2006; Parliament of Australia, 2007). In Australia and overseas there is a growing emphasis on teacher educators working in partnership with schools to construct professional experiences that maximise student teacher engagement and learning (Parliament of Australia, 2007).

The literature on professional experience in pre-service teacher education provides varied and detailed accounts of the roles of the Pre-service Teacher, the Mentor Teacher and the University Mentor (see for example, Gaffey …

University-School Partnerships: Pre-Service And In-Service Teachers Working Together To Teach Primary Science., John Daniel Kenny

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on a partnership approach preparing pre-service primary teachers to teach science. Partnerships involving pre-service teachers and volunteer in-service colleagues were formed to teach science in the classroom of the colleague, with support from the science education lecturer. Each pre-service teacher collaboratively planned and delivered a sequence of at least six science lessons over six weeks.

An earlier paper reported on how the program affected the confidence of the pre-service teachers. Over three iterations, 61 in-service teachers from 23 local schools participated.

In this paper the data from the colleague teachers and principals who participated is explored. The …

This Much I Know Is True: The Five Intangible Influences On Collective Bargaining, Nicholas Digiovanni

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

Studies of collective bargaining have often centered on technique, style and the economic data that each side can use in bargaining a labor contract. Often overlooked, however, are the more subtle factors that influence the outcome of a round of bargaining. This article will reflect upon five of those intangible influences, namely, 1) the role of history; 2) the setting of expectations; 3) the nature and character of the people in the process; 4) the aspects of timing in negotiations and 5) the element of catharsis. The author has noted these five factors in his long career at the bargaining …

Ua41 Information Literacy And Critical Thinking: Applying Elements To Academic Research Practices In The First Year, Sara Mccaslin

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

Kelly Campbell Tssa Winter 2012, Kelly Campbell

Teaching Skills Study Awards (TSSA) Reports

Enhances faculty's teaching by attending a conference devoted to university teaching, a high-impact practice, evidence-based practice or a newly developing teaching practice.

Janine Kremling Tssa Winter 2011, Janine Kremling

Teaching Skills Study Awards (TSSA) Reports

Enhances faculty's teaching by attending a conference devoted to university teaching, a high-impact practice, evidence-based practice or a newly developing teaching practice.

Min-Lin Lo Tssa Winter 2012, Min-Lin Lo

Teaching Skills Study Awards (TSSA) Reports

Enhances faculty's teaching by attending a conference devoted to university teaching, a high-impact practice, evidence-based practice or a newly developing teaching practice.

Vipin Gupta Tssa Fall 2010, Vipin Gupta

Teaching Skills Study Awards (TSSA) Reports

Enhances faculty's teaching by attending a conference devoted to university teaching, a high-impact practice, evidence-based practice or a newly developing teaching practice.

Moving Beyond Seeing With Our Eyes Wide Shut. A Response To “There Is No Culturally Responsive Teaching Spoken Here”, Kenneth J. Fasching-Varner, Vanessa Dodo Seriki

Democracy & Education

A struggle exists to engage in culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) that authentically represents the voices and interests of all across the K–20 spectrum, from higher education institutions, to teacher preparation programs, and into U.S. classrooms. This article responds to Hayes and Juárez's piece “There Is No Culturally Responsive Teaching Spoken Here” by extending the conversation with the suggestion that one of the major problems in speaking CRP has to do with a disconnect between articulated commitments and actual practices. This response article takes a critical look at the landscape in which educators work to reveal the nature of overrepresentation of …

Listening To Unheard Voices: Professional Development Reforms For Pakistani Tertiary Teachers, Imran Anjum Chaudary, Shahida Imran

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Fragmented, unfocused, and top down approaches to professional development are unrealistic, ineffective and do not promise anything significant to teachers and their contexts. This paper questions professional development for tertiary teachers in Pakistan. It does so from the perspectives of Pakistani tertiary teachers gained through a qualitative, ethnographic case study. The analysis of these previously unheard voices revealed themes that expand our understanding of the problematic nature of professional development. The results of this study indicate the need to reform professional development and to assist in these reforms, the study suggests that teachers need to gain a wide repertoire of …

Some Assembly Required: How Scientific Explanations Are Constructed During Clinical Interviews, Bruce L. Sherin, Moshe Krakowski, Victor R. Lee

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This article is concerned with commonsense science knowledge, the informally-gained knowledge of the natural world that students possess prior to formal instruction in a scientific discipline. Although commonsense science has been the focus of substantial study for more than two decades, there are still profound disagreements about its nature and origin, and its role in science learning. What is the reason that it has been so difficult to reach consensus? We believe that the problems run deep; there are difficulties both with how the field has framed questions and the way that it has gone about seeking answers. In order …

Using A Professional Learning Community To Include Emotionally And Behaviorally Disordered Students And Their Teachers In Inclusion Programs, Melody Alegria

Theses and Dissertations

Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) are considered the most difficult to include within school inclusion programs, and therefore, are often excluded from inclusion programs (Yell, 2004). One of the main challenges with implementing successful inclusion programs is that teachers are not equipped with the skills to work with all students. The purpose of this mixed methods action research study is to evaluate and improve an inclusion program that is not only successful for student achievement, but one that also relies heavily on teachers' voice and input and that will encourage teachers to improve their attitudes towards emotionally behaviorally …

Rethinking The “Apprenticeship Of Liberty”: The Case For Academic Programs In Community Engagement In Higher Education, Dan W. Butin

Education Faculty Publications

This article articulates a model for the “engaged campus” through academic programs focused on community engagement, broadly construed. Such academic programs—usually coalesced in certificate programs, minors, and majors—provide a complementary vision for the deep institutionalization of civic and community engagement in the academy that can revitalize an “apprenticeship of liberty” for students, faculty, and academic staff.

Factors Influencing Teachers' Technology Self-Efficacy: A Case Study, Amy Farah

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Factors influencing teachers` levels of technology self-efficacy were examined through a qualitative multi-site, multi-subject case study research design. An initial survey was administered to all full-time, certified teachers at three school sites in order to gauge teachers` current level of technology self-efficacy. From that population, purposive and systematic samplings were used to draw the participants for the case study. A group of nine teachers with varying levels of technology self-efficacy was interviewed and participated in one of three focus groups to better understand factors influencing their current level of self-efficacy. A document analysis was also performed of local school professional …

Pre-Service Chemistry Teachers’ Expectations And Experiences In The School Experience Course, Zubeyde D. Kirbulut, Yezdan Boz, Elif S. Kutucu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this study is to investigate prospective chemistry teachers’ expectations and experiences of teaching practice. Six (four females and two males) pre-service chemistry teachers taking a School Experience II course participated in the study. A case study design was employed. The data were collected from multiple sources including observations, lesson plans, and semi-structured interviews before and after the school experience course. Pre-service teachers’ expectations and experiences were categorized regarding the faculty, placement school, and teaching practice. It was found that school experience courses are crucial for pre-service teachers in deciding whether to continue in the teaching profession. It …

Teacher Professional Development: Who Is The Learner?, Kirsten Petrie, Clive Mcgee

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

One of the challenges in in-service teacher education is how teachers can be given professional development (PD) that enables them to respond to national curriculum and policy change. In recent years primary teachers in New Zealand have been inundated with Ministry of Education-funded professional development programmes to help them implement a plethora of curriculum policy and reform initiatives. This paper explores how the design and delivery of one PD programme, the Physical Activity Initiative (PAI), positioned and supported teachers as learners. An evaluation of the programme sought data from 25 teachers and 14 advisers to schools. The focus was the …

Understanding Learning And Teaching In Papua New Guinea: Elementary Teacher Trainers Engaged In Cultural Authorship In The Context Of National Educational Reforms, Joanne M. Brownlee, Ann Farrell, Julie Davis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Over the last decade, Papua New Guinea (PNG) has pursued educational reform in elementary teacher education. Because elementary teachers and teacher education are central to the reform agenda, there is a need to gain empirical evidence about how PNG teacher trainers’ understandings about learning and teaching impact on their practice. The study uses cultural-authorship as a theoretical framework to investigate the nature of changes in understanding about learning and teaching for 18 teacher trainers as they progressed through a two-year Bachelor of Early Childhood upgrade course. It addresses the research question: What do elementary teacher trainers in PNG understanding about …