Implications For Teacher Education Research Articles

Pre-service teachers’ search strategies when sourcing educational information on the Internet

Teachers need to be able to inform and justify their teaching practice based on available research knowledge. When searching for research knowledge, the Internet plays a crucial role as it allows teachers to search for and access evidence long after their own education at university. On the Internet, however, educational information can have varying levels of scientific groundedness (e.g., science articles or blogs from colleagues), and research indicates that (pre-service) teachers struggle to find, select, and evaluate online educational information. It is precisely for this reason that it is important to educate (pre-service) teachers on how to competently source online information. This study describes pre-service teachers’ search strategies when sourcing online educational information about the topic “students’ use of mobile phones in class.” It sheds light on their use of (1) basic or advanced search strategies and (2) the role of Internet-specific epistemological beliefs (ISEBs). N = 77 pre-service teachers conducted a realistic search on the Internet and selected those web items (WI) that they perceived relevant for justifying whether mobile phones should be used in class. Their sourcing behavior was screen-recorded and analyzed. Most selected WI were found via search engines of Google LLC (91.4%). Advanced search strategies were defined as (1) using two or more search engines (performed by 62.3% of participants), (2) adapting search terms and/or formulating new search terms (90.9%), (3) selecting at least one WI that was not listed among the first four ranks on the first search engine results page (54.7%), and (4) checking for the trustworthiness of the author/source (14.3%) or the quality of the content (13%). Binary logistic regressions were used to analyze the relationship between ISEBs and (1) search strategies and (2) science-relatedness of WI as dependent variables. The predictor ISEB did not contribute to the models, meaning that differences in participants’ ISEBs did not significantly relate to their search strategies nor to the science-relatedness of WI, all β ≤ |0.36|, Wald ≤ 0.64, p ≥ 0.43. The role of pre-service teachers’ search strategies is discussed with respect to teachers’ evidence-informed reasoning and its implications for teacher education.

Examining peer group mentoring in teaching practicum and its impact on the process of pre-service teachers’ joint reflection

ABSTRACT This case study examines joint reflection in the context of peer group mentoring during the teaching practicum, involving three pre-service teachers and a mentor engaging in discussions supported by the video recorded lessons taught by the pre-service teachers. The approach to joint reflection was non-prescriptive and pre-service teacher-initiated. The roles of the peer group and the mentor are explored in the light of their impact on pre-service teachers’ joint reflection process. The findings challenge prior research by demonstrating that pre-service teacher-initiated reflection has the potential to assist peer groups in creating a common language and learning context to acquire practicum knowledge, develop practical tools and build inferential knowledge. The findings also reveal that mentors’ role needs not be directive, but they can maintain the role of a co-reflector throughout the peer group mentoring process. The implications for teacher education are discussed.

Factors Shaping Bilingual and ESL Teachers’ Perceptions of Successes and Barriers in Meeting Emergent Bilingual Students’ Needs

ABSTRACT This paper explores the experiences of practicing bilingual (English/Spanish, English/Portuguese, and English/Haitian Creole) and English as a Second Language teachers after completing a Bilingual Bicultural Education Certification program. It highlights how teachers defined success when working with their emergent bilingual students and names the barriers that teachers identified as preventing them from success. Using a Systems Theory for Career Development framework, analysis indicated that, from teachers’ perspectives, elements that contributed to success were often framed as the result of interpersonal and social factors while major barriers to success were often described as resulting from environmental and, to a lesser degree, social factors. Implications for teacher education and professional development are provided.

Configuring the landscape of research on problem-solving in mathematics teacher education

The purpose of this study is to configure the landscape of empirical mathematics educational research on problem-solving in teacher education, and thereby disentangle how mathematical problem-solving is understood and used. The method consists of a configurative review of empirical mathematics education research on problem-solving in teacher education. A two-dimensional model is presented to illustrate how different aspects of problem-solving in teacher education are connected to and complement each other. Using the model, the configuration results in the proposition of four major categories of research on problem-solving in teacher education. The result indicates an almost equal distribution of research which views problem-solving as an aim for mathematics education versus research which views problem-solving as a means for learning mathematics. However, within the former, roughly three quarters of the articles focus on content knowledge, and only a quarter on pedagogical content knowledge. Implications for teacher education and future research are discussed.

Characteristics and Formative Experiences of DEI Leaders in Music Education Professional Associations

In music education professional associations (MEPAs), volunteer member-leaders collaborate to guide music education and provide services such as professional development. Recently, we observed some MEPAs creating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, positions, or committees. The purpose of this survey study was to examine the characteristics and formative experiences of the people leading these efforts. Survey participants ( n = 62) were representative of the music educator profession in terms of gender. Regarding other characteristics, respondents were older, more educated, and more racially diverse than music educators as a group. Respondents were nearly all practicing music educators who taught a variety of content areas in PK–16 settings. Most did not feel prepared to lead DEI initiatives. While few respondents described their undergraduate education as relevant to DEI leadership, some named graduate education as an important formative experience. Respondents described life experiences as catalysts and preparation for leadership and indicated they taught themselves about DEI through reading, social media, and attending optional professional development. We discuss how these findings illustrate a leadership conundrum and exemplify structural issues in MEPA DEI action. We conclude with implications for teacher education and professional development.

SELF-REGULATED LEARNING STRATEGY USE AND LEARNING OUTCOMES ACHIEVEMENT IN AN ONLINE ESP COURSE AT TERTIARY LEVEL DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Understanding the benefits of using self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies in online courses may help both EFL teachers and students improve the quality of teaching and learning EFL at tertiary level. The current study aims to investigate students’ use of SRL strategies, their perceived learning outcomes, and the correlation between the use of SRL strategies and perceived learning outcomes in an online ESP course at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH University) in Vietnam with the participation of 148 fourth-year English-majored students. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered via the employment of the questionnaire and interview. Data were analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and content analysis. The study revealed 3 major findings: (a) all the 6 categories with 24 online SRL strategies were used at a rather high level; (b) most students perceived that they could achieve their learning outcomes; and (c) a positive correlation exists between the use of SRL strategies and the achievement of perceived learning outcomes. Based on the findings of the study, several pedagogical implications for teachers, students and researchers are offered.

“It wasn't going to happen until I made it happen”: World language teacher agency for multilingual advocacy

This article explores how multilingual teachers form and enact agency to advocate for multilingualism in a region where monolingualism is dominant. Grounded in an ecological perspective toward language teacher agency, this qualitative interview study analyzed how six American secondary world language teachers generated and enacted agency through the formation and implementation of a local multilingual advocacy initiative in an English-only state. Results of the analysis indicated that the world language teachers’ sociopolitical beliefs about language, their identities and those of their students, and the urgency of language advocacy, in addition to the school and policy structures within which they worked, intensified their efforts to advocate for their students. Four themes were identified illustrating how the teachers engaged their agency for the purposes of multilingual advocacy: building relationships as bridges, pushing students, leveraging school administration, and working collectively. Implications for teacher education and future research in language teacher agency and multilingual advocacy are discussed.

USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING SPEAKING TO GRADE 10 STUDENTS: TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES

Authentic materials are considered as a beneficial tool for teachers and students in teaching speaking English as a foreign language. Speaking is one of the most significant skills for EFL students to communicate with other peers. It is also important for tertiary students in the Vietnamese context. However, a few studies about the relationship between authentic materials and speaking ability were conducted in Vietnamese high school contexts. Therefore, the current study aimed to find out high school teachers’ perceptions and practices of using authentic materials in teaching English speaking to Grade 10 students in a Vietnamese context. Data collected in this study include questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Participants in this study were seventy-seven high school teachers in five provinces in the Mekong delta. Findings from this study reveal that teachers had positive perceptions of using authentic materials in teaching English speaking to Grade 10 students. Pedagogical implications for teachers and school administrators are also made.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0347/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

TEACHERS’ STRATEGIES IN INCORPORATING HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS IN READING CLASSES

<p>Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) have been mentioned in education including teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Vietnam. However, how to integrate HOTS into teaching, particularly reading skill, has been one of the greatest concerns of EFL high school teachers in the current context. Therefore, the study was carried out to explore teachers’ strategies for incorporating HOTS in reading classes. Questionnaires, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data from eighty high school teachers. The findings of the research indicate that the strategies for applying HOTS in reading were playing games, making predictions, modeling, structuring the classroom, asking questions and giving feedback. Pedagogical implications for teachers and school administrations are presented.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0330/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Digitalization during the era of COVID-19: An analysis of the psychophysiological strain of university students

The pandemic has created a push for changes in education and technology that are driving progress in all areas of instruction. This impetus is forcing all stakeholders to address the transformation of traditional education into online education. This change in the education system requires students and teachers to train new competencies, knowledge, skills, and abilities. In this context, this paper aimed to determine the psychophysiological strain of university students in relation to distance learning during the pandemic COVID-19. For this aim, quantitative data collection was conducted in this research. The results indicated that the distance learning format increased neuropsychic strain, decreased mood, activity, and wellbeing, and increased situational anxiety in college students. Based on the obtained results, social pedagogical educational technologies were developed, and hybridity, interactivity, multiformat, and feedback were identified as the main factors for their success. Pedagogical implications for teaching in higher education are presented.

Preservice Teachers and the Notion of Care: An Analysis of Classroom Management Plans

ABSTRACT Teachers leave the profession due to many reasons, one of which is difficulty with classroom management skills. A significant part of a well-run classroom is having affirming and positive relationships with students. In this study, teacher caring is explored via a content analysis of preservice teachers’ classroom management plans, a required component of their education preparation program. Findings revealed three themes: Remembering Their ABC’s; Keeping Culture Close and Peers Always Present; and Everyday Expectations Equal Engagement. Implications for teacher educators are presented with a summary of ways to encourage relational caring and bonding in the secondary classroom.

What’s In a Name? The Signifiers and Empty Signifiers of Environmental Sustainability Education: Implications for Teacher Education

The purpose of this article is to examine how signifiers and empty signifiers may contribute to the mainstreaming of environmental and sustainability education in teacher education. We argue that the moniker of environmental and sustainability education is an empty signifier in that it fails to convey meaning about what it signifies. Tracing the history of the pre- sustainability, sustainability, and post-sustainability field signifiers, and their respective sub- field signifiers (e.g., environmental education and education for sustainable development), we conduct a philosophical inquiry, augmented by a modified form of semiotic analysis, to expose the degree to which these signifiers are empty. The limitations and benefits of empty signification are explored through philosophical interpretation. Implications of empty signifier limitations are considered in teacher education and the manner in which they may contribute to the unsuccessful mainstreaming of environmental and sustainability education in teacher education. We conclude that a core or compulsory environmental and sustainability education course should be mandated in teacher education to ensure that all teacher candidates receive the education they require to educate future generations of children to live well on Earth.

A Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study of Norwegian Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs About Sources of Teaching Knowledge and Motivation to Learn From Theory and Practice

We set out to investigate preservice teachers’ beliefs about sources of teaching knowledge and their motivation to learn from practice and theory in teacher education in a longitudinal study ( n = 96, at the beginning of the study). Participants placed more trust in experiential knowledge sources compared with formalized sources and participants’ beliefs about sources of teaching knowledge generally predicted their motivation to learn from different sources. Quantitative results were further supported and elaborated by qualitative interview data that suggested development of preservice teachers’ beliefs about sources of teaching knowledge and their understanding of the relation between theoretical and practical knowledge over time. The findings extend existing literature by providing a window on how (preservice) teachers may articulate their views about sources of teaching knowledge and relations between theory and practice, with expected consequences for teaching practice. Implications for teacher educators’ practice are also discussed.

Global Competence in Canadian Teacher Candidates

The purpose of the study was to determine the global competence of 115 Canadian teacher candidates using a new measurement tool. Non-parametric tests indicated several differences in self-reported global competence within individual indicators across the three areas of Exploring, Engaging, and Acting with global competence. Two indicators showed that male teacher candidates reported higher levels of global competence than did females in the Exploring and Acting areas. Teacher candidates intending to teach in middle and senior high school reported higher levels in one indicator within the Acting area. Moreover, Canadian-born teacher candidates reported higher levels of Engaging and Acting than did non-Canadian-born students across six indicators total. While there were no differences across the three areas by age, results showed that higher levels of experience in their teacher education program were associated with greater global competence across all three areas as indicated by five indicators total, with three at the Acting stage. Implications for teacher education are discussed.

Students’ Perceptions of the Use and Efficacy of Error Correction Symbols on Written Drafts: A Study at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences Ibra, Oman

The present quantitative research study investigates students’ perceptions of the use and efficacy of error correction symbols on written drafts. The study is significant because it has pedagogical implications for teachers, students, and policymakers. It answers the pertinent research question “whether the use of error correction symbols on students’ written drafts is helpful for students in improving their writing accuracy or not”. A structured questionnaire was distributed to students (N=396) via Moodle LMS to collect data. Study participants were General Foundation Program students in the English Language Centre of the University of Technology and Applied Sciences-Ibra, Sultanate of Oman. The findings of this study suggest that the students found the use of error correction symbols on their written drafts practical, helpful, and effective in improving their writing accuracy. Nevertheless, a similar research study needs to be conducted in other higher educational institutions in Oman to sustain the policy directions.

Teachers’ professional knowledge for teaching early literacy: conceptualization, measurement, and validation

This study suggests a comprehensive conceptualization of teacher knowledge for teaching early literacy in primary schools. Following the discourse on the professional knowledge of teachers, we argue that teachers’ knowledge relevant to support reading and writing at the beginning of primary school education is multidimensional by nature: Teachers need content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and general pedagogical knowledge (GPK). Although research on teacher knowledge has made remarkable progress over the last decade, and in particular in domains such as mathematics, relevant empirical research using standardized assessment that would allow in-depth analyses of how teacher knowledge is acquired by pre-service teachers during teacher education and how teacher knowledge influences instructional quality and student learning in early literacy is very scarce. The following research questions are focused on: (1) Can teachers’ professional knowledge for teaching early literacy be conceptualized in terms of CK, PCK, and GPK allowing empirical measurement? (2) How do teachers acquire such knowledge during initial teacher education? (3) Is teachers’ professional knowledge a premise for instructional quality in teaching early literacy to students? We present the conceptualization of teacher knowledge for teaching early literacy in primary schools in Germany as the country of our study and specific measurement instruments recently developed by our research group. Assessment data of 386 pre-service teachers at different teacher education stages is used to analyze our research questions. Findings show (1) construct validity of the standardized tests related to the hypothesized structure, (2) curricular validity related to teacher education, and (3) predictive validity related to instructional quality. Implications for teacher education and the professional development of teachers are discussed.

A Conceptual Analysis of the Semantic Use of Multiple Intelligences Theory and Implications for Teacher Education.

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (MI) has been at the center of a long-running debate in educational psychology in terms of its generalizable validity. In this article, MI theory is discussed for a review of why and how MI theory may be contextually discussed for preservice teachers to learn about in their teacher education program. The semantic conceptual basis of intelligence in MI theory is discussed in comparison to learning styles theory with implications for the importance of the teaching of Universal Design for Learning and related frameworks in teacher education curriculum.

The Use of Social Capital in Teacher Research: A Necessary Clarification.

In this paper, we present a critical reflection on the concept of social capital. We argue that there is no such idea of an umbrella concept of social capital. Instead, two overarching conceptualizations of social capital exist, namely individual social capital and collective social capital. As these conceptualizations of social capital are completely different, we emphasize that studies using social capital as a theoretical lens should clarify the concept as well as be consistent in the interpretation of the concept, from its definition to its methodological operationalization. In this article, we first map the two different conceptualizations of social capital. Next, these conceptualizations are illustrated with well-known teacher research studies, followed by examples of studies in which individual and collective social capital are mixed. Finally, we discuss the consequences of the use and the mix of these different conceptualizations in terms of measurement methods. Additionally, implications for teacher education are presented.

A case study of the impact of a teacher education course on two Iranian EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices about grammar teaching

Despite the substantial growth of research on teachers’ beliefs and practices in the past decades, little research has examined the impact of teacher education on in-service teachers’ grammar beliefs and practices. The present study aimed to fill part of this gap in relation to two Iranian novice EFL teachers. Data were collected before and after a grammar-oriented teacher education course from semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The findings showed that the course influenced the teachers’ beliefs to move from a more teacher-fronted approach toward an approach that marked attention to the importance of learners’ socioemotional states. Moreover, the teachers’ practices after the course featured more attention to the collaborative and pragmatic aspects of grammar instruction. Based on the findings, we provide several implications for teacher education, which highlight the role of sociocultural and personal dimensions in programs that are structured around grammar instruction.

Pillars of online pedagogy: A framework for teaching in online learning environments

The growing shift toward online learning has brought new expectations for teachers, including skills needed to combine content knowledge with engaging pedagogical strategies that leverage the affordances of technology. As a result, online pedagogy has become increasingly relevant in modern-day schools. The challenge is understanding the nature of online pedagogy, the skills needed for teachers to succeed in online settings, and the theoretical underpinnings surrounding why these skills are essential. This article unpacks the foundational components of online pedagogy, comprised of five pillars grounded in the principles of learner-centeredness, constructivism, and situated learning. These pillars include the ability to (a) Build Relationships and Community, (b) Incorporate Active Learning, (c) Leverage Learner Agency, (d) Embrace Mastery Learning, and (e) Personalize the Learning Process. We describe their theoretical underpinnings, discuss related literature, and consider implications for teacher education with subsequent implications for scholarship across educational technology, educational psychology, and the learning sciences.