Authentic Teaching Research Articles

Virtual Summer Institutes as a Method of Rural Science Teacher Development

Key Policy documents call for science teacher preparation programs to provide teacher candidates with approximations to authentic teaching experiences that occur in realistic contexts. Providing such opportunities for teacher candidates located in communities that are rural and geographically far from university settings is especially difficult. Stakeholders also point to the importance of positive coaching and mentoring relationships as key factors impacting the growth of teacher candidates. In this paper we discuss the positive potential of virtual science-related summer institutes as a vehicle to (a) provide authentic science teaching experiences for teacher candidates, and (b) promote the development of positive coaching and mentoring relationships. We also share features of a summer science institute developed as a launch to our teacher residency preparation program that incorporated teacher candidates, school-based teacher educators, and university-based supervisors to maximize the potential positive impacts. Data included quantitative and qualitative post-institute survey data from teacher candidates, school-based teacher educators, and university-based supervisors. Findings revealed that residents’ perception of their content knowledge development, pedagogical knowledge development, and overall effectiveness of the summer institute were high; additionally, school-based teacher educators and university-based supervisors indicated positive perceptions of the institute, noting their knowledge of coaching increased, helpful resources were provided, and institute structures promoted the development of positive coaching relationships. These results provide tentative evidence to support the continued use of virtual science summer institutes as a viable option for supporting both preservice and in-service teacher development.

'A time of constant innovation!' - The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the teaching of food practical Home Economics in Ireland, and learning for future best practice: an explanatory mixed methods study

Background: The ongoing global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) (WHO, 2020) utterly disrupted traditional modes of education nationally and internationally. Mastering online teaching imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for many teachers. The purpose of the study was to illuminate the challenges experienced by food practical Home Economics teachers, investigating their ability to innovate, adapt and proceed with food practical classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also aimed to discover best practical methodologies for online and face-to-face food practical classes while looking forward with reimagined approaches to teaching and learning for a post-pandemic world and documented teachers experiences, agency, adaptations and innovations. Methods: Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed to meet study objectives. Data was gathered in the Republic of Ireland via 132 questionnaires with Home Economics teachers and semi-structured interviews with six Home Economics teachers. Results: Results revealed that COVID-19 imposed serious challenges on teachers who nonetheless adapted well to the changing environment. They employed innovation and determination to proceed with practical classes in very challenging working environments, resulting in many positive educational advances. Teachers up-skilled, reflected and collaborated to proceed safely with practical’s and deduced best practice methodologies which in a number of cases arose from trial and error. Findings were employed to produce frameworks for best practice when conducting food practical Home Economics classes (both online and face-to-face). These frameworks have national and international relevance in considering new models of teaching in which authentic teaching can occur and provide alternative pedagogies and technologies to support the food practical. Conclusion: This study recommends more technological training for Home Economics teachers, specifically regarding practical classes, as well as support for physical working environments, collaboration and innovation. This research is focused on how teaching can be reimagined, strengthened and valued to inform future teaching and learning models.

Neurolinguistic and Semiotic Film Structure Modelling as the Linguistic Student Engagement Technique

The research paper aims to improve the methodology platform and engage language students. The study’s main aim is to optimize the effectiveness of the learning process. Therefore, the authors of the article focused on solving the following tasks: 1) to revise the theoretical linguistic semiotics and lingua didactic approaches to understanding the notion of film/cinema; 2) to design the model of the neurolinguistic semiotics structure of a film; 3) to formulate the practical recommendations for applying the criterion of ecological impact to select authentic teaching video materials; 4) to experimentally prove their expediency. We utilize both general scientific research tools and unique experimental methods. We use observation, description, analysis, synthesis, generalization, and systemization, applied neurolinguistic programming (NLP), and lingua didactic techniques. We use the first group of strategies to formulate the theoretical basis of the work, logical arrangement of scientific facts, expression of conclusions, and qualification of actual material. With the help of the second group of methods, we design a model of the neurolinguistic semiotic structure of the film and experimentally verify its effectiveness in the teaching process. The main results: 1) the range of impact varieties is in the following way: weak degree – persuasion, moderate – suggestion, moderate and considerate – manipulation; 2) symbols are oriented to suggestive impact, copies – to suggestive and persuasion impact, indices – to the ability to actualize all impact varieties, including manipulations; 3) the use of publicist documentaries with persuasive and suggestive elements helps to increase student activity in the classroom. The significance of the work is that its results can be helpful to language teachers in the selecting of educational video materials for students.

TEACHER AUTHENTICITY IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

In education, the phrase "authenticity" has various connotations, including in language education. This article begins by examining different meanings of the term authenticity in language teaching. Some of these meanings refer to authenticity in the assessment, tasks, and materials that language teachers use. The main part of the article looks at another meaning of authenticity. The literature on teacher authenticity and personal authenticity in general is applied to the situation of language teachers while viewing authenticity through the lens of student-centered learning (SCL) and the overall paradigm shift from which SCL grew. Topics discussed include whether teachers should behave according to students’ views of what teachers should do or according to how teachers themselves believe they should behave. The article next looks at how teachers can develop their authenticity via their lifelong, lifewide, and lifedeep learning. The article also delves into various issues in which teachers can be authentic by “walking their talk,” e.g., teachers who encourage students to read need to be readers themselves, and teachers who encourage their students to cooperate with their peers should cooperate with their own peers in education and elsewhere in their lives. The two final parts of the article ask what impact teacher authenticity might have on the teachers’ students and how authenticity, which seems to be such an individual construct, can be put to the service of society as a whole.

Promoting Prospective Mathematics Teachers’ Professional Vision on a Whole-class Reflective Discussion: Contributions of Digital Resources

The present study aims to understand how the professional vision of prospective teachers (PTs) regarding whole-class reflective discussion develops as they explore a multimedia case (MC) in a mathematics teacher education course. The data come from the written productions of seven groups of PTs (N=15) related to whole-class discussion of one 6th grade lesson in two sections of the MC: first, they have focused on the teacher’s lesson plan and on her intentions for the whole-class discussion aiming at the students’ algebraic thinking; and in the second, they have analysed two video episodes of that lesson phase. The results show an integrated development of two processes of PTs’ professional vision – noticed events and the nature of the reasoning about them – with significant evolution from one section to another as they explore the MC. The study shows PTs’ alternative ways of accessing and making sense of the complexity of both ambitious and authentic teaching practices that can also be employed in at distance teacher education and mitigate the consequences of the impossibility to access the classrooms, such as that resulting from the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Students’ Perception of YouTube as Authentic Material in Online Learning

The purpose of the study was to analyze students' perceptions of YouTube as authentic teaching material in online classes. The research method uses qualitative. Participants were taken from the Grammar and Speaking classes as many as 50 students from the English Language Program at Universitas Indraprasta Jakarta. Data were collected using interviews and questionnaires. Data analysis used interactive model analysis form Miles and Huberman that were the stages of data reduction, data display, and concluding. The results show that YouTube can become authentic material if it has content, plot, duration, and originality that suit the needs and learning objectives. Videos on YouTube also have quality and clear sound. However, YouTube is not only assumed to be the main authentic teaching material, but it will be better if it is equipped with journals, websites and books. The results of this study have implications that teachers must know the needs of students regarding teaching materials and videos that are made should be by the level of learning needs

Comparing video and virtual reality as tools for fostering interest and self‐efficacy in classroom management: Results of a pre‐registered experiment

AbstractVideo is a widely used medium in teacher training for situating student teachers in classroom scenarios. Although the emerging technology of virtual reality (VR) provides similar, and arguably more powerful, capabilities for immersing teachers in lifelike situations, its benefits and risks relative to video formats have received little attention in the research to date. The current study used a randomized pretest–posttest experimental design to examine the influence of a video‐ versus VR‐based task on changing situational interest and self‐efficacy in classroom management. Results from 49 student teachers revealed that the VR simulation led to higher increments in self‐reported triggered interest and self‐efficacy in classroom management, but also invoked higher extraneous cognitive load than a video viewing task. We discussed the implications of these results for pre‐service teacher education and the design of VR environments for professional training purposes.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Video is a popular teacher training medium given its ability to display classroom situations. Virtual reality (VR) also immerses users in lifelike situations and has gained popularity in recent years. Situational interest and self‐efficacy in classroom management is vital for student teachers' professional development. What this paper adds VR outperforms video in promoting student teachers' triggered interest in classroom management. Student teachers felt more efficacious in classroom management after participating in VR. VR also invoked higher extraneous cognitive load than the video. Implications for practice and/or policy VR provides an authentic teacher training environment for classroom management. The design of the VR training environment needs to ensure a low extraneous cognitive load.

Navigating pedagogical challenges through authentic pedagogy during the transition to online learning amid COVID-19

COVID-19 has required a significant and abrupt shift in the way we teach and learn in the field of Higher Education (HE). This paper explores an innovation in pedagogy in HE as lecturers and students transition from learning on campus to learning online. The transition to online learning, in this context, is problematised within the broader context of digital exclusion and the significance of foregrounding students' needs. The reflections presented in this paper derive from a re-envisioned undergraduate final year research project module delivered to a large diverse cohort of students (100+). In this module we applied premises underpinning authentic pedagogy, bringing the challenges faced by learners to the foreground whilst privileging student agency, autonomy, and competency. An element of the module previously delivered through in-person group supervisions was reconfigured into one-hour online workshops structured through a cycle of opportunities for participation. In our reflections we identify that students' agency, the promotion of social int eraction, and continuity in pedagogy were key elements in enabling the formation of a community of learning.

Políticas e práticas de avaliação externa de escolas: quais os espaços para a colaboração docente?

Abstract Teaching has traditionally been a solitary profession. However, both because of the growing awareness of the complexity of teaching and the emergence of a notion of curriculum based on transversal competences, teachers’ collaborative work is currently the focus of increased attention and research. Teacher collaboration has a paradoxical status in schools, as desired by educational policies and by teachers’ and schools’ discourses, but there is little evidence of authentic teacher collaboration practices. The present article intends to identify how teacher collaboration is at stake in schools. The perspective considered here is that of the frame of reference and reports of the third cycle of External Evaluation of Schools, conducted by the General Inspectorate of Education and Science in Portugal. The study uses document analysis as a data-gathering technique and content analysis for data analysis. The results point to the transversal valuing of teacher collaborative work in order to promote the improvement of teachers’ practices related to supervision.

Language Teaching in the New Normal: A Comparative Study between Malaysia and Iraq

Covid-19 has a severe impact on the way we teach and learn today. As the global pandemic has severely impacted our education sector, adaptation is much needed in the way we teach and learn as we adapt to the new normal. This comparative study involves four sets of data involving two teachers from Malaysia and two teachers from Iraq. The researchers interviewed the respondents and sorted their feedbacks according to the themes of this study. The study reveals the differences and similarities in how teachers adapt to the new way of teaching English and teaching methods for receptive and productive English skills to high school students in both countries. It also reveals teachers’ opinions on using first language materials in their English teaching. The study highlights the teaching theories and principles applied by teachers in both countries in teaching in the new normal. The study also reveals that the respondents managed to adapt authentic teaching and learning materials for online teaching and revamped their lesson plans and timetables. The respondents also used the Telegram application to share teaching and learning materials and connect with their students. All respondents agree with the use of first language materials in teaching English and the role of teachers to motivate students in learning English in the new normal. Finally, the study reveals that all respondents from both countries manage to adapt to the new teaching method in the pandemic.

How to Become a Memorable Teacher for Your Pupils?

Through this study, we set out to find out what teachers can do to be effective and to generate positive learning experiences for all students. The main research question from which our study started was related to the actions that teachers can take to strengthen their relationship with students and to design and carry out relevant and authentic teaching and learning activities. We were also interested in determining which of the educational activities where members of the community were invited were real and unforgettable learning opportunities for the students. An important aspect for optimizing the activities of the teacher is related to the ability to ask for feedback. The feedback received from students is a useful tool through which the quality of the teaching-learning-assessment process increases considerably.

CADA: a teacher-facing learning analytics dashboard to foster teachers’ awareness of students’ participation and discourse patterns in online discussions

Despite the potential of learning analytics (LA) to support teachers’ everyday practice, its adoption has not been fully embraced due to the limited involvement of teachers as co-designers of LA systems and interventions. This is the focus of the study described in this paper. Following a design-based research (DBR) approach and guided by concepts from the socio-cultural perspective and human-computer interaction (HCI), we design, test, and evaluate a teacher-facing LA dashboard, the Canvas Discussion Analytics Dashboard (CADA), in real educational settings. The goal of this dashboard is to support teachers’ roles in online environments through insights into students’ participation and discourse patterns. We evaluate CADA through 10 in-depth interviews with university teachers to examine their experiences using CADA in seven blended undergraduate and graduate courses over a one-year period. The findings suggest that engaging teachers throughout the analytics tool design process and giving them control/agency over LA tools can favour their adoption in practice. Additionally, the alignment of dashboard metrics with relevant theoretical constructs allows teachers to monitor the learning designs and make course design changes on the fly. The teachers in this study emphasise the need for LA dashboards to provide actionable insights by moving beyond what things are towards how things should be. This study has several contributions. First, we make an artefact contribution (e.g. CADA), an LA dashboard to support teachers with insights into students’ online discussions. Second, by leveraging theory, and working with the teachers to develop and implement a dashboard in authentic teaching environments, we make an empirical, theoretical and methodological contribution to the field of learning analytics and technology enhanced learning. We synthesise these through practical design and implementation considerations for researchers, dashboard developers, and higher education institutions.

EFFECT OF DIALOGIC TEACHING ON ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS

This paper aims to investigate the influence of dialogic teaching on the development of the learners’ speaking skills. It is questioning why Kazakh students are unable to express themselves efficiently and comfortably. This seems crucial and imperative for students and it shouldn’t shape any obstacle for future development. Accordingly, this paper poses a significant issue that every learner of English needs to ponder. To collect data for the study, three tools has been used; a questionnaire, an interview and an observation. The questionnaire was distributed throughout the students who had been selected from different universities. The collected data is analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Data analysis has shown that dialogic teaching enables students to develop the skills of argumentation, questioning and debate which contribute to the development of their speaking skills. Generally, the findings indicate that authentic dialogic teaching components are effective if students are given enough time to practice its skills.

Teacher paths for developing corpus-based language pedagogy: a case study

The development of corpus-based language pedagogy (CBLP) is a complex and intriguing process that pertains to how corpus technology is directly applied to classroom teaching. Using a case study approach, this study investigated how two experienced university English teachers integrated corpus technology in authentic classroom teaching. Data sources included CBLP lesson materials, pre-interviews, lesson observations, and post-interviews. Our study detailed the process of how both teachers designed and implemented their CBLP teaching activities to address their student needs. The results indicate that the CBLP development draws on five components of teacher knowledge and practice: 1) knowledge of English language; 2) knowledge of corpus technology; 3) pedagogical knowledge; 4) contextual knowledge; and 5) learning and practice. Teacher learning and practice are integral and key to their CBLP development. Although the paths taken by each teacher shared some similarities and differences, both led to a relatively high level of CBLP growth after considerable learning and practice. Moreover, while one teacher developed the CBLP primarily from a strong knowledge of corpus technology, the other drew on solid pedagogical knowledge. A series of factors under each of the five components were also examined in relation to their influence on teacher paths to CBLP development. Based on the findings, several practical implications are provided to facilitate the process of developing CBLP for language teachers.

Development of an authentic concept of engineering activities based on product redesign

AbstractToday's job market is seeking engineers with competencies to design innovative solutions that meet sophisticated customer needs. Engineering education is then challenged to equip future engineers with holistic engineering design skills, especially functional ones. A powerful means to strengthen these skills is the use of reverse‐engineering‐based activities, which consist of examining, extracting information, and redesigning existing products. However, most current education endeavours, based on reverse engineering, consist only of practicing simple teardowns that have circumscribed impact on the acquisition of skills. Therefore, there is a need for more elaborated authentic hands‐on activities to gain a broad set of design skills. This study addresses this gap by the development of a concept of wide‐ranging engineering activities that start with the study of an existing product and ends with an improved redesigned three‐dimensional (3D) printed product. This concept of activities was developed to strengthen a conventional course on product design. Thus, a tailored comprehensive redesign process is proposed first, and expanded as a concept of a set of experiential activities, with associated measures for skills acquisition. This concept encompasses teardown, 3D digitizing and rapid prototyping, and aims mainly at facilitating the understanding of components' functionalities, the numerical reconstruction by 3D digitizing, the mechanical modelling and engineering analysis of parts and finally the 3D printing of the redesign output. To understand, experience, and weigh up the relevance of the proposed concept of activities, a preliminary implementation, and a case study are illustrated. Particularly, the relevance of the concept is demonstrated through the assessment of the activities' measures. In short, this study provides educators with an authentic education tool that leverages on a broader reverse engineering vision to boost the job's sought‐after design skills.

Authentic Teaching Strategy and Learning Outcomes of Undergraduate Adult Education Students in a Public University in Ogun State, Nigeria

Poor teaching strategies has been linked to poor learning outcomes of undergraduate adult education programs and poor-quality graduates forthe Nigerian society. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between authentic teaching strategy and learning outcomes of undergraduateadult education students in a public university in Nigeria. Using descriptive survey design, one hundred and twenty participants were selectedusing purposive and simple random sampling methods. A modified ‘‘Authentic Teaching and Learning Outcomes of Adult Education Questionnaire’’(ATLOAEQ) with Cronbach Alpha test of internal consistency of 0.86 was administered for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptivestatistics including frequency counts, percentages and inferential statistics i.e., multiple correlation matrix at 0.05 level of significance. Correlationanalysis showed that authentic teaching strategy has significant positive relationship with subject/content knowledge (r.872), knowledge of real-lifesituation (r.998), participatory group strategy (r. 988), communication skills for real world audience (r.975). Based on this, all the three null hypothesestested at 0.05 level of significant were rejected. It is recommended that the Nigeria government and international donor agencies should direct morefunds towards the improvement in university undergraduate adult education teaching, learning outcomes and service delivery for better curriculumimplementation.Keywords: Authentic, Teaching, Learning, Outcomes, Adult Education

Elevator speech: Students’ discussions of forces and acceleration by means of a scale in an elevator

Students’ challenges in learning mechanics are well documented from test situations, and group discussions are considered a fruitful way to meet these challenges. In this paper, we present a study from an authentic teaching setting where upper secondary students in groups solve the task of calculating the acceleration of an elevator by means of a scale. The group work was audio recorded in three groups with different ability levels. Analysis was performed inductively using the analytical tool of semantic gravity and semantic waves. The results reveal multiple challenges solving the task, even among high-achieving secondary physics students. The study shows that for group discussions to be fruitful, students must be able to negotiate for meaning by alternating between different levels of semantic gravity. In this study, only the group consisting of relatively high-achieving students was able to do this. For the groups that did not succeed, this is found to be due to insufficient knowledge base, poor integration of the required concepts in their own language and inappropriate epistemological framing of the situation. It is concluded that more effort should be put into learning basic concepts than curricula and teaching traditions normally provide. This should include tasks carefully adapted to students’ ability, where students can practice alternation between levels of semantic gravity.

From Roots to Seeds: Authentic Indigenous Museum Education

ABSTRACT In this article, the tree is used as a metaphor for the birth, nourishment, growth, stress, pruning, resilience, and regeneration of decolonial work to indigenize museum education. At the center of this work is Indigenous peoples, perspectives, and ways of knowing and being. This principle has guided the work of the authors who assert that when museum education is led by Indigenous and racialized women with a shared commitment to foster authentic relations with Indigenous peoples through anti-oppressive education, the decolonial work to indigenize museums is possible. Indigenous staff, advisors, and community members worked in coalition with non-Indigenous staff, who shifted from working in allyship when convenient to working as accomplices when risk was involved. To indigenize museum education means to challenge the colonial narratives perpetuated by museums and to fight for narrative sovereignty by Indigenous peoples in a colonial institution – that is at the heart of the decolonial work in this case study.

Making and learning: Envisioning a third place for Lakota artists

ABSTRACT This case study discusses a course where 125 South Dakota State University School of Design (SoD) students collaborated with faculty, staff, and 30 artists at Sitting Bull College (SBC), Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, North Dakota, US. Students received authentic instruction through SBC artist workshops, conversations, and storytelling, then joined visioning exercises to design festival grounds, workshop spaces, kitchen and dining facilities, and guest camping. Students demonstrated that they understood the function of a “third place” by asking informed questions, reflecting on unique cultural requirements, and looking to the future to supply sustainable site and building recommendations. All interactions were held online. Students’ reflections were gathered using Brookfield’s Critical Incident Questionnaire. Tara Page’s embodied and material pedagogies are useful when making, designing, and learning about sites, local culture, and people. Future work will examine how knowledge, understanding, learning, and belonging strengthen the placemaking process to better prepare students for professional practice.

Remote Family Engagement through Virtual Tutoring: An Emergency Response to Support Children, Families, and Students

Family engagement is a reciprocal relationship between educators and families that supports whole child development. In response to the unique contexts and situations created by the COVID-19 pandemic, a faculty member in the School of Education at Hunter College, City University of New York (SOE), and families that had opted in to 100 percent remote instruction for their children conceptualized a remote virtual tutoring model that supplemented and supported asynchronous instruction, learning, and development. The model also gave fieldwork interns in the SOE early childhood program the opportunity to engage in authentic teaching and learning experiences; to plan and implement culturally and linguistically responsive activities; and to assess development, learning, and engagement. In this field note, I discuss the virtual tutoring model and its impact on the participating families, children, and fieldwork interns. I also describe lessons learned during the implementation and provide suggestions for replicating the model.