Authentic Contexts Research Articles

Use of reflective journals in professional development

Much of the education literature places improving teacher professionalism at the context of any educational improvement. Researchers in education have built their arguments on the assumptions that increasing student performance requires fostering professional growth for teachers. A key aspect of a teacher's applying learning in an authentic professional development context is reflection. Analysis of reflective journals also shows how student teachers grew and interacted with others in the learning community. So it's no wonder that professional developers have implemented many Professional Development programs in their effort to bring out positive change in education and improvement. Undoubtedly, the success of any professional development effort largely depends on the readiness and willingness of the teachers. In this article, I argue that based on such a premise and approach professional development will hardly yield any positive results. Drawing on existing literature, the concept of teachers as reflective practitioners will be incorporated into the theme to encourage them to incorporate reflection into daily teaching practices. By doing so, teachers will adopt an autonomous approach to professional development that makes it easier for them to participate in the lifelong learning process.

The impact of intelligent personal assistants on adolescent EFL learners’ listening comprehension

Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) has emerged as a valuable tool for EFL learning by offering interactive authentic contexts. Although IPA is believed to be motivational and useful, empirical evidence is limited and contradictory, especially the efficacy of listening comprehension. Therefore, the study investigated the impact of IPA on adolescent EFL learners’ listening comprehension, particularly regarding the presentation mode of IPA responses and its interaction styles. Ninety-two ninth-grade EFL learners were recruited from three intact classes and randomly divided into two experimental groups (i.e. GA-Hub group, using Google Nest Hub with multimodal responses; GA-Mini group, using Google Nest Mini with audio responses) and one control group (non-GA group, using a CD player as they did in the conventional class). Both quantitative (English listening tests) and qualitative data (questionnaires and interviews) were collected and analyzed in the 10-week study. The results showed that Google Assistant, especially via Google Nest Hub, positively promoted the participants’ listening comprehension. Detailed analyses of interviews demonstrated that Google Assistant provided interactive listening, presented multimodal screen-based responses, encouraged peer collaboration, and offered edutainment (a combination of IPA- and game-based learning), which added authenticity, flexibility, and enjoyment for meaningful interaction and thus promoted EFL listening.

Facilitating Physics Learning Using Ubiquitous-Physics App With Learning Guided Map (gMap) in Authentic Contexts

This article integrated inquiry behaviors and a guided learning map (gMap) into a mobile app called Ubiquitous-Physics (U-Physics), which helps students to explore inclined plane phenomena in authentic contexts. The article investigated inquiry behaviors such as interpreting graphs, applying formulas, drawing conclusions, and peer collaboration, and how these influenced learning achievement. The app&#x0027;s and the learning activities&#x2019; effects on learning perceptions and motivation were also analyzed. A total of 45 first-grade vocational high school students majoring in housekeeping management were volunteered and divided into an experimental with gMap (<i>n</i> &#x003D; 20) and a control group without gMap (<i>n</i> &#x003D; 25). The results show that the inquiry behaviors of the experimental group who used U-Physics with gMap significantly outperformed the control group. Analysis of the correlations among inquiry behaviors and learning achievement revealed that the quantity of learning records on gMap had the greatest influence on learning achievement. Additionally, most students reported positive perceptions of the U-Physics app and were highly motivated to use it for future learning. These findings confirm that exploring and conducting physics phenomena outside of the classroom enhances students&#x2019; understanding of the physics phenomena being studied. It also enriches their authentic experiences because an outdoor activity can provide useful experience to connect students&#x2019; knowledge with daily life environments, enrich their scientific understanding, and stimulate their motivation to learn physics anytime at anywhere.

Training for Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Environmental Planning: The Shore-land Project, Taiwan

ABSTRACT Interdisciplinary collaboration is must-have competence for planners. To provide interdisciplinary training, educators introduce ‘authentic learning environments’ where students conduct a ‘real-world’ project within a multi-disciplinary team. This paper reports on a course in which the instructors, students and local stakeholders worked together on a real project. Qualitative interview and participatory observation were used to understand the experience and organization of interdisciplinary training in an authentic context. This study finds students experienced different levels of boundary crossing – identification, coordination, reflection and transformation. The instructors played a role of facilitating students’ teamwork and mutual understanding, which leads to reflection on interdisciplinary collaboration.

How will a conceptualized GCE curriculum function within Chinese secondary schools?

Global citizenship education (GCE) advocates global interdependency and interconnectedness, encouraging students to actively defend social justice, equity, and sustainable development at both local and global levels. When putting GCE into use, educators need specifications to transform it from normative ideals into knowledge suitable for conceptual learning. This case study explores Chinese educators’ views on GCE regarding operationalized intents, practices, and preparation for implementation in a curriculum. It aims to understand how the conceptualization of GCE functions as a curriculum innovation at secondary school level. Principals (n = 6) and teachers (n = 10) from six participating schools in an anonymous city in Jiangsu province were purposely sampled, providing data for the researcher in semistructured interviews. The study reveals a GCE curriculum prototype in which the intents were subject to Confucian values and Moral Education’s disciplines, whereas pedagogies and instructional approaches were planned to be consistent with constructivist teaching and delivered in an authentic learning context.

Development of Social and Culture Aspects Pre-service Science Teachers on Learning for Nature of Science

Understanding aspects of the Nature of Science (NOS) for preservice science teachers is one of the essential components to be able to understand Science and its processes. There are seven aspects of NOS: empirical, inference, creative, latent theory, tentative, scientific procedural myths, theories and laws of science, social and cultural dimensions, and their embedding in science. There are 48 preservice science teachers involved in this study. Researchers explored their views about NOS and Indigenous Knowledge (IK) through a validated questionnaire. Results showed that the students' opinions on NOS consisted of empirical, tentative, inference, law, scientific theory, and creativity. Meanwhile, aspects of laden theory, myths of scientific procedures, and social and cultural dimensions embedded with science have not been described by students. Fortunately, the students presented IK as an authentic context based on the culture in science learning. Students express IK ideas: 1) biomedicine (40 students), Biopesticide (2 students), beauty ingredients (2 students), additives (1 student), and supernatural medicine (1 student). Integrating Science and IK as an authentic context in science learning leads IK toward high technology and strengthens NOS aspects. In addition, the assumption that IK has no future is declining.

Orientations of preservice teachers’ practical knowledge during school placement: Concept mapping as a reflective tool

ABSTRACT School placement is a critical part of initial teacher education (ITE) that provides authentic contexts in which preservice teachers (PSTs) can bridge theory and practice. This paper presents an exploratory study of PSTs’ practical knowledge orientations during a six-week school placement. As a reflective tool, concept mapping helped the nine Chinese PSTs probe the orientations of their practical knowledge. The follow-up interviews strengthened our findings of the following three orientations of PSTs’ practical knowledge: interpersonal-interaction-oriented, problem-solving-oriented, and professional-identity-oriented knowledge. Based on the participants’ annotation, the differences in the PSTs’ knowledge orientations are influenced by their prior teaching experience, received mentoring, and critical events during placement. This study provides transnational implications for developing PSTs’ practical knowledge with reflection by using concept mapping during on-site practice.

The role of authentic contexts and social elements in supporting organic chemistry students’ interactions with writing-to-learn assignments

Student affect is an important factor in the learning process and may be especially important in gateway courses such as organic chemistry. Students’ recognition of the relevance of the content they are learning and interactions with their peers can support their motivation to learn. Herein, we describe a study focused on how Writing-to-Learn assignments situate organic chemistry content within relevant contexts and incorporate social elements to support positive student interactions with organic chemistry. These assignments incorporate rhetorical elements—an authentic context, role, genre, and audience—to support student interest and demonstrate the relevance of the content. In addition, students engage in the processes of peer review and revision to support their learning. We identified how the authentic contexts and peer interactions incorporated into two Writing-to-Learn assignments supported students’ interactions with the assignments and course content by analyzing student interviews and supported by feedback survey responses. Our results indicate that assignments incorporating these elements can support student affect and result in students’ perceived learning, but that there should be careful consideration of the relevance of the chosen contexts with respect to the interests of the students enrolled in the course and the complexity of the contexts.

Improving College Students' Speaking Skills with the Assist of Information Technology

With the acceleration of economic globalization and the increase of foreign exchanges in all walks of life, the application of oral English is becoming more and more important. However, college school English education pays more attention to mechanized ways to train students on grammar, as well as reading and writing ability. Coupled with the lack of the authentic language learning contexts, students’ speaking ability is hard to be developed. Thus, how to improve the efficiency of college oral English teaching has become a hot issue in the field of college English education. In the times of network information, a great amount of scholars have highlighted the potential values of integrating information technology into English speaking teaching and learning. This paper makes a brief discussion on technological products assist students' speaking skills in college.

Uloga nastavnika u koncipiranju kompetencijskog modela profesionalnog razvoja

Professional development of teachers can be viewed as a heterotopia of simultaneous presence of different schools of opinion on teachers' professional competence. The underlying premise of this research is that professional development can simultaneously rely on various theoretical approaches, with boundaries between individual forms of teacher education being fluid, without the existence of a single view of the teaching profession that is regarded as fixed, unique, and correct. Alternative research paradigms and diverse schools of thought have not resulted in a single theory of teachers' professional development that would be applicable in all educational systems. One of the solutions is for teachers to get involved, create, and adapt professional development programs to their needs, and to the needs of the institution, community, and the context of authentic school discourse. Teacher competence and professional identity explicitly require the involvement of teachers in the exchange of ideas (practitioner's voice), taking into account the context in which they work and their experience, promoting reflexivity and research approach, balancing individual and community interests, and the like. One of the solutions pointed out in this paper is to emphasize the importance of the philosophy of professional development and the role of teachers in relation to this metalevel of the pedeutological field of pedagogy. The metalevel of the pedeutological field of pedagogy, shaped in the form of a defining philosophical opinion on teachers' professional development, in which teachers become one of the factors in creating and implementing alternative schools of opinion on teacher education, can have two effects: (1) directly affect professional development of teacher competencies; and also (2) indirectly influence the improvement of educational practice. This separate type of teacher competence can be an important factor in teachers' professional development, but also a significant component of the quality of the educational process that is realized in schools. The metalevel of professional development of teachers, if regarded as a known and recognized concept to be used in professional education of teachers (both pre-service and in-service), could also have certain effects on teacher personal development lying at the basis of professional development: satisfying the need for belonging and recognition-awareness of teachers that they are an important part of their community and that their activities have a purpose and meaningdeveloping internal motivation and a positive attitude towards the profession, developing self-confidence and a feeling of being professionally autonomous and able to predict the consequences of their own decisions and to critically evaluate and self-evaluate their own work, and also to constructively participate in the processes of joint evaluation with other stakeholders of teachers' professional development. This approach to professional competencies and teachers' professional development needs to be empirically verified so that its possible contributions in authentic (diverse) educational contexts can be determined.

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Teaching statistics to students using authentic research is one way to highlight the transferability and value of the material taught in the class. Below we describe an activity in Statistics for Biological and Health Sciences (STAT2510), an introductory required course for the specified majors, at Auburn University in Fall 2018. In this activity, the students were asked to read and critically evaluate a scientific paper, and perform the quantitative analysis themselves. The scientific paper is based on research conducted by another researcher from within the Biology Department of the same institution. This was an effective activity for introductory statistics because it: (1) did not require substantial background knowledge for students, (2) encouraged students to grapple with real data in an authentic research context, and (3) relates to gender equity, which is of general interest to students both within and outside of STEM . Suggestions for adapting this approach to other topics and audiences are provided.

Integrated Mixed Methods Design-Based Research: A Critical Dialectical Pluralistic Approach

Design-based research (DBR) is an educational research methodology in which researchers work with practitioners (e.g., teachers) and other stakeholders (e.g., parents) to develop and to implement multiple iterations of an intervention in an authentic educational context. Although DBR lends itself to mixed methods research, it has been largely ignored by the mixed methods research community. In this article, after describing what DBR is and situating it historically, we provide results from a systematic review of Scopus-indexed articles since 1960, which yielded only 68 published works wherein the author explicitly declared their study as representing some form of a mixed methods DBR study. For all but 4 of these 68 studies, the level of integration occurred at the low end of the integration continuum, being characterized by mixed methods research designs wherein integration only occurred at the interpretation stage of the DBR process. As a result, we apply critical dialectical pluralism (i.e., CDP; Onwuegbuzie &amp; Frels, 2013; Onwuegbuzie, Abrams, &amp; Forzani, in press), a research philosophy, or meta-paradigm, focused on privileging the voices of marginalized people, to DBR as one way to think about how the mixed methods research community might utilize DBR in ways that provide full(er) integration and, at the same time, promote equity. As such, we hope that the meta-framework that we have presented heretofore motivates both the mixed methods research community and the DBR community to consider using a CDP approach to mixed methods DBR studies while adopting an integrative, integrated, and integral way of thinking.

The synthesis of qualitative evidence-based learning by design model to improve TPACK of prospective mathematics teacher

Teachers in the 21st century are required to have the ability to integrate technology for content knowledge and teaching strategies known as TPACK. 21st-century teachers must have the knowledge and skills to use various technological tools, both traditional and modern, to facilitate learning and improve learning outcomes. For this reason, it is necessary to prepare prospective teachers who have the knowledge and skills to integrate technology into education. This research aims to design a learning model to develop TPACK of prospective elementary teachers in mathematics learning. This literature study is based on related articles or books and analyzed to formulate applicable learning models. The results showed that The synthesis of qualitative evidence-based learning by design could improve the TPACK of prospective teachers. Because it provides an authentic context to learn about educational technology by starting from the difficulties of students. Also, it enhances prospective teachers’ self-regulated learning and collaboration.

Mogućnosti i izazovi u ovladavanju polisemičnom leksikom i frazeologizmima u učenju stranog jezika na osnovu analognih postupaka u maternjem jeziku

The paper points out some of the potential problems in foreign language learning that may arise during the enrichment of one's vocabulary with polysemous words and idioms (phrasemes). The aim is to analyse when exactly their acquisition should start in second language learning, as well as to indicate some of the methodological possibilities that allow for its realisation. Their acquisition requires consistency and continuity in the presentation of these lexical layers, and understanding-interpretation of contextual meaning. It is necessary to start enriching student vocabulary with such lexical layers in a timely manner. This timeliness means that the acquisition of such vocabulary and lexical layers should begin at an early age, in the very first stages of second language learning, and some methodological procedures, such as didactically guided play, allow for its realisation. Different types of games (imagination and drama games: pantomime, role-play, and dramatization), which can also be used to for modelling games in foreign language learning, and enriching student vocabulary with polysemous words and idioms, as well as creating an authentic context that allows students to understand the concept of figurative meaning in real-life language use, are presented on the examples of the Serbian language as the native language.

Investigation on the Intercultural Sensitivity of English Teachers in Chinese Elementary Schools

The development of technology has driven human beings into a globalized world, which requires intercultural communication competence (ICC). As its affective aspect, the subject of intercultural sensitivity (IS) is being heatedly discussed nowadays. This study focuses on the importance of intercultural sensitivity (IS) among Chinese EFL teachers and attempts to explore their current level and the possible reasons for it. For this purpose, questionnaires were distributed to 29 Chinese elementary school English teachers, and the results from the questionnaire showed that the IS level of these teachers is satisfactory, scoring high in five dimensions: interaction engagement, respect for cultural differences, interaction confidence, interaction attentiveness, and interaction enjoyment. The follow-up interview suggested that the high IS level may be a result from intercultural communication training. Moreover, this research found that Chinese teachers were more engaged and enjoyed less in view of scarce opportunities for communication in authentic cross-cultural contexts. Several suggestions and implications for further research have also been included in this article.

The Power of Inquiry in Equity-Oriented Teacher Education

Abstract The international problem of differential achievement between groups of students has particular significance for New Zealand given its persistent problem of inequitable outcomes for Māori and Pasifika students, and those from poor communities. This qualitative study investigated how engagement in teacher inquiry supported student teachers’ understandings of, and practice for, equity. The 28 participants were in a one-year, equity-oriented Master’s initial teacher education programme. The data set comprised 84 research-related assignments participants completed for their teacher inquiry course. Thematic data analysis showed that the structured inquiry process supported participants to challenge inequity by problematizing student engagement and to address this by using a range of evidence to enhance their teaching. Overall, the study suggests that inquiry as research process and stance, along with the application of the Facets equity framework in authentic teaching and learning contexts, is a powerful source of student teacher equity-focused professional learning and practice.

Expertise acquisition through deliberate practice

AbstractIn his influential 2006 publication, Shreve, in citing Ericsson (1996, 21), outlines a series of fundamental conditions that must be met in order for the translator to acquire expertise. While expertise research on professional translator performance in authentic contexts has only recently started to gain traction in earnest, these conditions for expertise acquisition, while well-suited for academic contexts involving formal translator training, may not be as readily realizable within the language industry. In an attempt to complement recent workplace studies on translation (Risku and Windhager 2013;Ehrensberger-Dow 2014), our questionnaire-based explorative study sets out to gain a better understanding of how expertise in translation is conceptualized and fostered from within the language industry. By gauging how professional translators, as well as the project managers for whom they work, regard expertise from the perspective of the requisite conditions outlined by Shreve, we hope to establish greater clarity as to how expertise is envisioned, practiced, and valued along emic lines.

Simulating Professional Practice in STEAM Education: A Case Study

Situated learning could benefit STEAM education because both aim to develop skills that can deal with complex real-life situations. Although ample research has been conducted into situated learning within higher vocational education in general, there exists little research on the implementation of the educational approach in STEAM education specifically. To gain insight into what is needed for this implementation, a case study of a situational simulation was conducted within a STEAM education context, in which we observed students in simulating media design studios. We observed the setup, working and evaluation phases of the simulation and analyze the data this yielded - setup surveys, studio agreements, feedback forms, individual reflections and concluding surveys - based on three core features of situated learning: community of practice, participation and authentic context. Based on this analysis, we conclude that our study confirms the potential of situated learning for STEAM education. Our case study also suggests four guidelines for, as well as one challenge in, the implementation of situated learning in STEAM education. These guidelines and challenge are 1.) to actively facilitate quality feedback between students within a situational simulation; 2.) to promote taking various professional roles within the simulation, 3.) to provide situational-specific scaffolding based on the determination of which skills and information should be offered by tutors and which skills and information students already possess or are best left to develop and find by themselves; and 4.) to gain insight into individual learning goals for the benefit of the cognitive realism of the simulation; while 5.) the absence of real financial or commercial consequences compromises the authenticity of a situational simulation and, consequently, challenges the implementation of situated learning in STEAM education.

Participation in Biology Education Research Influences Students' Epistemic Development.

Knowledge construction is an essential scientific practice, and undergraduate research experiences (UREs) provide opportunities for students to engage with this scientific practice in an authentic context. While participating in UREs, students develop conceptualizations about how science gathers, evaluates, and constructs knowledge (science epistemology) that align with scientific practice. However, there have been few studies focusing on how students’ science epistemologies develop during these experiences. Through the analysis of written reflections and three research papers and by leveraging methods informed by collaborative autoethnography, we construct a case study of one student, describing the development of her science epistemology and scientific agency during her time participating in a biology education URE. Through her reflections and self-analysis, the student describes her context-dependent science epistemology, and how she discovered a new role as a critic of scientific papers. These results have implications for the use of written reflections to facilitate epistemic development during UREs and the role of classroom culture in the development of scientific agency.

Use of data obtained in the field and its contribution to the process of construction of the geological change model by preservice elementary teachers

ABSTRACT Background Science education should encompass enculturation in science which implies performing scientific practices such as use of data and modelling, in authentic contexts like the field. Purpose This work aims to determine how preservice elementary teachers (PETs) use data obtained in the field, and how these data contribute to the process of building a model of geological change. Sample Forty-one Preservice Elementary Teachers (PETs) participated in the study. Design and methods A mixed methods design was used. The data from the conversations of nine groups during the six sessions following a field trip were categorized by constant comparison according to how the data from the field were used. The cases of field data used for modelling were further categorised through the Modelling Model Diagram framework. The PETs´ perception was examined by means of an open-ended question. Results PETs did use field trip as a learning resource and appealed to it without being explicitly required to. Seven groups used the data for the modelling process, mainly for creating and testing the model. Data were used in four of the groups as evidence for evaluating the validity of models. PETs perceived the field trip to be useful. Specifically, they acknowledged its usefulness whilst carrying out operations related to the creation of the model but they showed lack of awareness about the usefulness of performing other important operations. Conclusion The findings suggest that the field trip may be a valuable resource for developing scientific practices such as the use of data and modelling in science education. The positive perception of the PETs about the usefulness of the field trip for the learning process may foster their involvement in the design and implementation of such field trips in the future.