Education Commons^™

“Big History At Other Institutions: “Introduction’ And ‘The Big History Project: Bill Gates’S Favorite Course.’ ”, Mojgan Behmand

Mojgan Behmand

“Assessing Big History Outcomes: Or, How To Make Assessment Inspiring.”, Mojgan Behmand

Mojgan Behmand

"Big History And The Goals Of Liberal Education”, Mojgan Behmand

Mojgan Behmand

Teachers' Discourse On English Language Learners: Cultural Models Of Language And Learning, Amy Heineke

Amy J. Heineke

This qualitative case study explores teacher learning about English language learners (ELLs) in a small-group, school-based context at an urban elementary school inArizona. Sociocultural perspectives on teacher learning guided the analysis of teachers’ participation in a teacher study group over six months. The teacher study group aimed to support educators of ELLs at a time of new language policy implementation, which required ELLs to enroll in an English language development (ELD) classroom for four hours of skill-based English language instruction.

In the first semester of language policy implementation, I collected discursive data that showcased the social interaction of teachers and …

Staff In Australia’S Schools 2013: Main Report On The Survey, Phillip Mckenzie, Paul R. Weldon, Glenn Rowley, Martin Murphy, Julie Mcmillan

Dr Glenn Rowley (retired)

This report provides an overview of the results obtained from the Staff in Australia’s Schools (SiAS) 2013 survey commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Education and conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The work was supported by an Advisory Committee of government and non-government school authorities and other stakeholder groups. The survey was intended to provide a detailed picture of the Australian teacher workforce, and to gather information to assist in future planning of the workforce. It was also designed to provide comparative and updated data following on from the previous SiAS surveys conducted in 2006-07 …

Leveraging Resources Across Units And Universities To Address Academic Literacies And Research Skills In Ontario Graduate Students, Melanie Mills, Elan Paulson

Melanie Mills

Examining Digital Innovation In K-12 Schools: Variances Related To Identified School Typologies, Savilla Banister, Rachel Reinhart

Savilla I Banister

High-Leverage Teaching Practices: Toward A Practice-Based Model Of Ta Professional Development, Heather W. Allen

Heather Willis Allen

No abstract provided.

Open Your Research Without Opening Your Wallet, Janelle L. Wertzberger

Janelle Wertzberger

Open scholarship promotes sharing and collaboration, increases readership, and amplifies impact. It is gaining traction as institutions, professional associations, and funding agencies encourage or require broad sharing of research results. Yet many authors believe that the only way to open their work is to pay publishers thousands of dollars for the privilege. Luckily for us, that just isn’t the case. Come hear about a range of ways to open your research without paying for the privilege! Lunch provided. (Limited seating, RSVP to jwertzbe@gettysburg.edu)

Global Trends In Higher Education Policies, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

This paper outlines the current global context for higher education in 2015, as a basis for examining the key trends in teacher education in the first decades of the 21st century. The purpose of this paper is to outline the current global contexts for higher education, and to provide an overview of the policies found in teacher education in those countries that consistently produce students who perform highly on international standardized tests such as PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS. The policies guiding teacher education in ‘high-performing’ countries tends to be aligned and inter-connected. These policies include public investment in education; creating …

Fostering Preservice Teachers' "Nature Of Science" Understandings In A Physics Course, Ehsan Kattoula, Geeta Verma, Lisa Martin-Hansen

Geeta Verma

In this paper, the authors examine an algebra-based physics course designed for preservice teachers and explore how the course integrated two pedagogical strategies to bridge the gap between inquiry-learning experiences and the teachers' nature of science (NOS) understandings. The results of this research show that the explicit, reflective process allowed participants to examine their NOS understandings, which thereby fostered changes in their understanding.

Examining The Mediation Of Power In A Collaborative Community: Engaging In Informal Science As Authentic Practice, Anton Puvirajah, Geeta Verma, Horace Webb

Geeta Verma

Focusing on the interplay of context and language, this study examined a group of high school students and their mentors’ use of language during a robotics competition. This informal setting allowed us to gain insights into the mediation and manifestation of power within the group. Using critical discourse analysis of competition transcripts and interviews we found that both students and mentors felt a sense of ownership and community leading to symmetry in power amongst them. The shift in power led to greater student ownership and agency and created a space for authentic and meaningful science learning. The context of the …

Middle Grade Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Chemistry Teaching Efficacy: Findings Of A One Year Long Professional Development Program, Issaou Gadp, Geeta Verma, Doris Simonis

Geeta Verma

A professional development (PD) program, Conceptual Chemistry for Middle School Teachers, was designed to facilitate teachers’ learning and teaching of basic chemistry concepts. This study explored (a) whether the PD increased teachers’ self-efficacy and teaching outcome expectancy and (b) how the PD program influenced teachers’ chemistry content knowledge and attitudes toward learning chemistry concepts. Thirty-six teachers (N = 36; 26 women, 10 men) who taught grades 5-9 were selected from a population of science teachers in north eastern Ohio. A mixed method approach was used in the study and qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed simultaneously. The quantitative …

The Influence Of University Coursework On Pre-Service Middle And High School Teachers’ Experiences With Multicultural Themes, Geeta Verma

Geeta Verma

The study explored the influence of university-based teacher education courses on pre-service middle and high school teachers’ experiences with multicultural themes in a secondary science alternative certification program. Eight participants (N = 8), six women and two men, volunteered to be a part of the study that took place over a period of four semesters. Qualitative data was collected, coded and analyzed to make meaning of the participants’ experiences. Data comprised of participants’ reflective journals, personal and group interviews, and classroom observations done in middle school practicum and high school student teaching placements. The findings indicated that while the participants …

Power Examined In Paradoxical Educational Contexts: Creating And Valuing Knowledge [Book Chapter], Geeta Verma

Geeta Verma

No abstract provided.

Science And Society In The Classroom: Using Sociocultural Perspectives To Develop Science Education, Geeta Verma

Geeta Verma

In 21st-century America, one of the goals of the education is to successfully prepare students for their meaningful, sustained, and robust participation in a democratic society. In the context of K–12 science education, this means educating students so that they develop into future adult citizen capable of considering and deciding on conflicting issues and policies influenced by science, technology, and sustainability issues. The challenge for science education is thus to find successful ways to integrate content, pedagogy, and citizenship education.

It is important to examine curricular approaches in science classrooms since most of the science education a student receives take …

Critical Mass In The Teacher Education Academy: Symbiosis And Diversity, Gertrude Tinker Sachs, Geeta Verma

Geeta Verma

Critical Mass in the Teacher Education Academy is a book that will generate a great deal of conversation about the value and contributions of teacher educators in preparing the next generation of teachers and teacher educators. Our work in the field of teacher education is ultimately grounded in who we are, where we have come from, and the extent to which we are prepared to acknowledge and critique our learning experiences. This book affirms the value of theorized self-critique and critical reflection in anchoring the field to empower educators to be active agents of change for the greater good. The …

Virtual Worlds In Pre-Service Teacher Education : The Introduction Of Virtual Worlds In Pre-Service Teacher Education To Foster Innovative Teaching-Learning Processes, Lisa Jacka

Dr Lisa Jacka

Few pre-service teacher education programs have integrated virtual worlds despite their capacity to provide a platform upon which new forms of teaching and learning can be explored. This research identified factors that influence the level of readiness of pre-service teacher educators and students to introduce, develop and support innovative teaching-learning processes using Virtual Worlds. Over three years Second Life and Sim-on-a-Stick were introduced in a School of Education and the perceptions, experiences, motivations and barriers of the participants were documented. A model was developed to assist pre-service teacher educators in the integration of virtual worlds in higher education.

Youth Participatory Action Research And The Future Of Education Reform, Oiyan Poon, Jacob Cohen

OiYan Poon

This article presents a youth participatory action research (YPAR) study, which was conducted through a theoretical lens incorporating the social justice youth policy framework and Critical Race Theory. Led by youth from the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA), the study explored the impacts of post-Katrina school reforms on student experiences at six New Orleans high schools. The findings from the study exposed troubling educational disparities by race, class, limited English status, and geography. The YPAR project’s results counter neoliberal reform advocates’ narrative of a post-Katrina New Orleans school “miracle.” This article illuminates YPAR as both research method and pathway …

Learning From Classroom Ethnographies: Same Places, Different Times [Book Chapter], David Fernie, Rebecca Kantor, Kimberlee Whaley

Rebecca Kantor

No abstract provided.

Social Constructivism [Book Chapter], Samara Madrid, Rebecca Kantor

Rebecca Kantor

No abstract provided.

"There It Is!" Exploring The Permanence Of Objects And The Power Of Self With Infants And Toddlers [Book Chapter], N. May, Rebecca Kantor, M. Sanderson

Rebecca Kantor

No abstract provided.

What We Have Learned Through An Ethnographic Lens [Book Chapter], David Fernie, Rebecca Kantor

Rebecca Kantor

No abstract provided.

Career Pathways In Ohio's Early Childhood Profession: Linking Systems Of Preparation Inside And Outside Of Higher Education [Book Chapter], Rebecca Kantor, David Fernie, J. Scott, O'Brien

Rebecca Kantor

No abstract provided.

Viewed Through A Prism: The Enterprise Of Early Childhood In Higher Education [Book Chapter], David Fernie, Rebecca Kantor

Rebecca Kantor

No abstract provided.

Our Reflections On Collaborative Research [Book Chapter], David Fernie, Rebecca Kantor

Rebecca Kantor

No abstract provided.

New Ideas And Existing Frameworks: Learning From Reggio Emilia [Book Chapter], Rebecca Kantor, K. Whaley

Rebecca Kantor

No abstract provided.

Cultural Knowledge And Social Competence Within A Preschool Peer Culture Group [Book Chapter], Rebecca Kantor, P. Eglas, David Fernie

Rebecca Kantor

No abstract provided.

Becoming Ethnographers Of An Early Childhood Classroom [Book Chapter], Rebecca Kantor, David Fernie

Rebecca Kantor

No abstract provided.

Early Childhood Classroom Processes, Rebecca Kantor, David Fernie

Rebecca Kantor

This Volume is the culminating project of 10 years of collaborative study in a preschool classroom, where each year, 3- and 4-year olds and their teachers meet daily to construct a life together in an early childhood program. In the chapters, each author presents a discussion of his or her early childhood education topic of interest. In each chapter the uniqueness of a sociocultural/ethnographic perspective and the field of a data analysis is highlighted through a comparison with a traditional early childhood literature on that topic. Certain salient and pervasive "cultural themes" emerged across analyses: peer culture and school culture, …