scholarly journals Complexity, Teacher Education and the Restless Jury: Pedagogical Moments of Performance

Author(s):  
Lynn Fels

This article explores the generative relationship between complexity, performance, and teacher education. In a moment of crisis, a drama educator comes to recognize the potential of role drama as a teaching strategy to introduce student teachers to the complexity of teaching and learning with students. With the assistance of cantankerous judge and a restless jury, the author illustrates how exploratory spaces of performance bring participants to the “edge of chaos” where new learning and insights emerge. The use of role drama as a strategy in teacher education creates valuable learning opportunities for student teachers that encourage mindful awareness and reflective practices.

Pythagoras ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wajeeh Daher

This article studies student teachers’ perceptions of the pedagogic and didactic aspects of teaching and learning mathematics in a democratic classroom. It is concerned primarily with issues of democracy in the mathematics classroom, specifically freedom, equality and dialogue. The research was conducted in two mathematics teacher education classes, where students were in their third year of study to major in mathematics. To find these students’ perceptions of democracy in the mathematics classroom the first two stages of the constant comparison method were followed to arrive at categories of democratic and undemocratic acts. The participants in the research emphasised that instructors should refrain from giving some students more time or opportunities to express themselves or act in the mathematics classroom than other students, because this would make them feel unequal and possibly make them unwilling to participate further in the mathematics classroom. The participants also emphasised that instructors should not exert their power to stop the flow of students’ actions in the mathematics classroom, because this would trouble them and make them lose control of their actions. Further, the participants mentioned that instructors would do better to connect to students’ ways of doing mathematics, especially of defining mathematical terms, so that students appreciate the correct ways of doing mathematics and defining its terms.


Author(s):  
Jaana Lepistö ◽  
Eila Lindfors

This paper describes the views of student teachers of craft about the future of craft as a school subject. The study was conducted at the University of Turku, Department of Teacher Education, in Rauma in 2014. The literature review revealed that the subject of craft in Finnish basic education is understood as a dialog between the maker and the materials. However, teaching and learning craft in schools and in teacher education has a strong gender-based tradition. The aim of this study is to investigate student teachers’ understanding of craft as a school subject in the future and their solutions to teaching craft in basic education. The data were collected from essays (N = 20) written by student teachers of craft. The essays were analyzed qualitatively using content analysis. The results showed that the student teachers of craft viewed holistic craft, reflective action readiness, entrepreneurial behaviour, multiple skills, the use of versatile materials, and craft as sources of pleasure and the main solutions for the future of craft as a subject.


Author(s):  
G. Latham

This chapter describes how two lecturers in teacher education (with the assistance of critical friends) developed a virtual primary school as a digital tool to help preservice teachers at the theory/HCI practice interface. The development and future directions of their online virtual environment will be discussed and will detail how scenario building in online learning communities fosters an alternative way of thinking about teaching and learning. Developing the virtual primary school was not based on a course requiring flexible delivery in distance education. The primary school was created to provide a place of learning not often available to preservice teachers on their professional practice placements. While the concept for a virtual school is not a new one, our goals for its design were different, and application was specifically oriented toward inquiry learning and new learning philosophies involving HCI. We will explore how a narrative-based scenario approach has been assisting our work at the edge of the traditional and the new.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Makie Kortjass

Background: This article gives an account of what I learned through the process of a self-study research project. Self-study teacher research allows teacher educators and teachers to improve their learning, plan new pedagogies and impact students’ learning.Aim: The aim of this self-study research was to improve my own practice in early childhood mathematics teacher education through interaction and collaboration with others, such as colleagues and students.Setting: As a South African university-based teacher educator, I piloted an integrated learning approach (ILA) in the teaching and learning of early childhood mathematics in a selected undergraduate programme.Methods: I began by tracking my personal development in mathematics education and in so doing was able to recognise my personal learning of mathematics as a child growing up in an African township context. I then worked with a class of 38 student teachers to create collages and concept maps to explore their understandings and experiences of ILA.Results: Through this project, I discovered that colleagues in the role of critical friends provided essential feedback on my work in progress. I also learned that student teachers need to be equipped with knowledge and hands-on experience of how integration can take place in teaching and learning early childhood mathematics. I realised that it was essential to constantly reflect on my own personal history and my professional practice to explore new ways of teaching mathematics.Conclusion: Teacher educators may consider engaging in self-study research that includes art-based self-study methods to reflect on their practices and see how they change for the benefit of their students and ultimately for the benefit of the learners.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 397-412
Author(s):  
Ernest Osei ◽  
Dominic Kwaku Danso Mensah ◽  
Judith Bampo

The purpose of the study was to explore teachers’ and student teachers’ perspective on reflective practices in teaching and learning in public basic schools in the Gomoa East District of the Central Region of Ghana. The study adopted sequential explanatory design. The study employed the theory of John Dewey (1932) as its theoretical framework. The study employed sequential explanatory design. The population was made up of teachers and student teachers in the Gomoa East District. The study used purposive and simple random sampling procedures to select student teachers and teachers respectively. Structured questionnaires and interview guides were used to gather data from one hundred and twenty nine (129) participants. Descriptive statistics such as simple frequency counts and percentages were used to analyse the quantitative data while content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. Finding from the study revealed that teachers understand the concept of reflective practices and its applications. Reflective practices enable teachers to reflect on their teaching experience. Reflective practices enable teachers to think about their knowledge in their subject area. Reflective practices help to improve teaching. Reflective practices provide direction on what could be done in future for professional growth and development. Reflective practices enable student teachers to engage in problem solving that helps to strengthen teaching ability. Findings from the study also indicate that there was inadequate in-service training for teacher and student teachers in the area of reflective practices. Strategies suggested to enhance reflective practice in teaching and learning were cordial relationship between teachers and student teachers, teachers and student teachers should encourage remedial teaching, effective collaboration in instructional activities between teachers and student teachers, teachers should provide adequate time for student teachers and supervise their performance, adequate in- service training for teacher and student teachers in the area of reflective practices and Regular support from headteachers, experience teachers and other educational stakeholders though mentorship and other teacher professional development programs.The study recommended that the Gomoa East District Education Directorate should organize intensive training in the area of reflective practices in teaching and learning for teachers and student teachers to enable them to gain adequate professional competencies to improve their teaching. Head teachers, experienced teachers and other educational stakeholders should readily offer support to ensure successful reflective practices in teaching and learning in schools. Finally, Ghanaian University Colleges of Education should offer teacher education programs or courses that teach pre-service teachers how to develop higher order thinking skills and how to critically reflect.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenche Elisabeth Thomassen

Grunnskolelærerutdanningen har som mål å utdanne studenter med både aktør- og kommentatorkompetanse. Kommentatorkompetanse innebærer evnen til kritisk refleksjon. Planer, forskrifter og retningslinjer for grunnskolelærer-utdanningene fastslår at studentene skal ha kunnskaper om flerkultur og undervisning av minoritetsspråklige elever. Slik kompetanse er fortsatt etterspurt, også blant nyutdannede lærere.I denne undersøkelsen er “kritisk multikulturalisme” brukt som teoretisk tilnærming for å analysere gruppeintervjuer med lærerstudenter. Drøftingen inkluderer også hvordan begreper fra denne teoretiske tilnærmingen fungerer for å forstå lærerstudentenes kommentatorkompetanse. Kritisk multikulturalisme er opptatt av å gi en analyse av undertrykking og institusjonalisering av ulike maktrelasjoner innen utdanning. Begreper som er særlig framtredende, er systemmakt, definisjonsmakt og avmakt. Empirien er en del av et større forskningsprosjekt ved UiS, som studerer praksis i grunnskolelærerutdanningen.Undersøkelsen viser at lærerstudentene viser oppmerksomhet og grad av kritisk kommentatorkompetanse når det gjelder systemnivå og pedagogiske praksiser, men ikke har nødvendigvis tilstrekkelig kunnskap om lover og regler for opplæringen. De savner mer oppmerksomhet på temaet innen lærerutdanningen, særlig konkret didaktikk. Funn i materialet indikerer at det ville være av betydning med en dypere forståelse og mer faglige begreper som grunnlag for refleksjon.Analysebegrepene fra kritisk multikulturalisme kan bidra til å sette studentenes utsagn inn i en større sammenheng og peke på potensielt diskriminerende diskurser, men fanger ikke alt studentene er opptatt av. Dette er et område som det ikke er mye forskning på i Norge, artikkelen er et bidrag til økt kunnskap om flerkultur i grunnskolelærerutdanningene.Nøkkelord: lærerstudenter, flerkultur, flerspråklige elever, kritisk multikulturalisme AbstractIncluded in the Norwegian government’s mandated Initial Teacher Education in Norway (ITE) curriculum and regulations is the aim that students should be able to both engage in teaching as a profession and to be able to reflect critically on their teaching practices. Moreover, students are expected to build knowledge about Norway as a multicultural country and to know how best to teach minority language pupils. There is still demand for these competencies, also amongst newly educated teachers.In this study, “Critical Multiculturalism” is used as a theoretical approach to analyze group interviews with student teachers. Critical Multiculturalism is concerned with analyzing suppression and institutionalization of different power relations in the education system. Central concepts are institutional power, systemic power, power of definition and not having power. Within the discussion, this approach will also be evaluated from a conceptual standpoint.The data is part of a larger research project at UiS, studying field practice in ITE. The study shows that student teachers pay attention to and critically reflect on multiculturalism and the education of minority language pupils within the framework of the school and pedagogic practice, but do not have sufficient knowledge about the rules and regulations which guide the ways the school at an institutional level organize these children’s learning opportunities. In addition, students report that they lack opportunities during their teacher education to focus on this topic, especially in didactics. Findings from the data indicate that in order for critical reflection to occur, students need to build a deeper understanding of subject matter concepts.Although concepts from “Critical Multiculturalism” may contribute to being able to place the students’ statements into a wider context, and to focus on potential discriminatory modes of discussion, they do not encapsulate some of the students’ concerns.There is not much research on this topic in Norway, and this article contributes to new knowledge about multiculture in teacher education.Keywords: Student teachers, multiculture, multilingual pupils, critical multiculturalism


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith Moore ◽  
Megan Powell Cuzzolino ◽  
Raha Moussavi ◽  
YJ Kim

In the past few decades, knowledge of human learning and development has proliferated rapidly (Darling-Hammond et al., 2020; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). New insights come from multiple fields, including neuroscience and biology, sociology, psychology, developmental science, and learning sciences, as well as applied educational research. As a whole, this growing body of research makes clear that children’s learning and development are shaped by interactions among environmental factors, relationships, and learning opportunities, along with internal cognitive, psychological, physical, social, and emotional processes (Darling-Hammond et al., 2020). In 2019, the Woodrow Wilson Graduate School of Teaching and Learning (WWGSTL) and MIT’s Playful Journey Lab undertook a project with the goal of incorporating SoLD throughout the teacher education program. In this paper, we detail the steps we have taken so far, as well as those we plan to take in the future, to achieve our ultimate vision of teacher education grounded in SoLD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98
Author(s):  
Khin Khin Thant Sin

Myanmar, a country of developing status, is facing many challenges in reforming its education system. This article investigates the current practices of school-university partnerships from the perspective of student teachers and mentor teachers in Myanmar, where there is an ongoing process of teacher education reform. The aim of this article is to investigate the practices of school-university partnerships and the tension between partners in the training of pre-service teachers within the context of teacher education. A qualitative research method is applied in this study where six candidates were interviewed individually. Participants include three student teachers from educational universities and three mentor teachers from basic education high schools in Myanmar. The results showed that, except for student teachers’ practice teaching, there is no intensive collaboration between schools and universities. Trust is a major problem between student teachers and mentor teachers. Different opinions and perspectives towards teaching and learning are also causing tension between partners. Although there is tension between mentor teachers and student teachers, they handle this through alternative collaboration activities and negotiation between partners.


Author(s):  
Christopher DeLuca ◽  
Heather Braund

A standards-based accountability paradigm of education currently shapes teaching and learning in many schools around the world. This paradigm is characterized by increased academic standards and greater levels of assessment throughout learning periods. Across policy and curriculum documents, teachers are called to implement assessments to monitor, support, and report on student learning. Assessments can be formative (i.e., used to inform teaching and learning processes) or summative (i.e., used to communicate achievement through grades) and based on a variety of evidence (e.g., tests, performance tasks, conversations, observations, and so on). Given the growing emphasis on assessment as a dominant aspect of contemporary teaching and learning, there is a need for teachers to be assessment literate. The term assessment literacy was initially used to refer to the knowledge and skills teachers required in the area of assessment, historically with a strong focus on principles of measurement and test design. Over the past decade, however, the concept of assessment literacy has evolved. Newer notions of assessment literacy have moved away from demarcating the knowledge and skills needed for competency in assessment and instead recognize that assessment literacy is a contextual and social practice that requires teachers to negotiate their knowledge of assessment in relation to their pedagogy, curriculum, and classroom contexts. Central to this conception is the view that teacher assessment literacy is both sociocultural and contextual, shaped by various factors including teacher background, experience, professional learning, classroom context, student interactions and behaviors, curriculum, and class diversity. With the increased role of assessment in schools, pressure has been placed on initial teacher education programs to prepare beginning teachers with the necessary capacity to become assessment literate. While much of the existing research in the area of assessment education has focused on the value of discrete courses on teacher learning in assessment or on specific pedagogical approaches to enhancing student learning in assessment, results continue to point toward the need for more comprehensive preparation of teachers for the current standards-based paradigm of education. Accordingly, two frameworks for assessment education are described that consider multiple dimensions to preparing assessment literate teachers. These frameworks are DeLuca’s Assessment Education Framework and Xu and Brown’s Teacher Assessment Literacy in Practice Framework. These assessment education frameworks were selected as they work within a contemporary constructivist and sociocultural view of assessment literacy. The two frameworks suggest areas for teacher education that not only include the fundamentals for assessment literacy but also move beyond the fundamentals to engage the messier dimensions of what it means to do assessment work in schools. In both cases, student teachers are pressed to make connections and challenged to enact ideas in context to refine and synthesize their thinking. Xu and Brown detailed the macro- and micro-level influences that further shape assessment decisions in action. The composite picture is that learning to assess is not a neat and tidy enterprise of textbook curriculum. Instead, it is about learning foundational ideas and building an integrated stance toward teacher as assessor through contextualized reflective learning. Driving this learning is an enduring understanding that one’s assessment literacy is always in the making—a continuously evolving competency in relation to new contexts and experiences.


Author(s):  
Donna M. Farina ◽  
Natalia Coleman

Next-generation learning (NxGL) approaches have been applied to improve learning outcomes for the diverse student population of New Jersey City University (NJCU), one of the top hundred most diverse institutions of higher education in the country. This chapter focuses on the variety of reactions that diverse students, both undergraduate and graduate, can have to unknown or unfamiliar learning experiences, as they move through different stages of adjustment to the next-generation classroom. The chapter discusses how instructors can anticipate common student reactions and what they can do to guide students toward successful participation in NxGL. The improved skills of the instructor will allow students to benefit to the fullest possible extent from new learning opportunities. If the instructor feels at home with next-generation teaching and learning, this will increase the potential for student success as well as satisfaction with these approaches.


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