Implications For Teacher Training Research Articles

Intentional water and tired wood: exploring causes for primary teachers’ reference to intuitive construals in science education

ABSTRACT Research reveals that teachers regularly refer to intuitive construals (IC) in formal science education. Only a few studies, however, have investigated why teachers refer to them. Alarmingly, these studies suggest didactic consideration is not the main reason for this. Instead, teachers introduce IC unintentionally or due to a lack of expertise. A possible explanation for an unconsidered reference to IC – a part of lack of expertise – is that teachers spontaneously align their language with the students’ perspective as a form of implicit didactisation. We asked fifty prospective primary teachers to explain a basic scientific phenomenon of inanimate nature to fictitious recipients of varying expertise (a science expert and a student). We reasoned that if lack of knowledge was the reason for using IC, explanations should be equally intuitive for all addressees. If spontaneous language didactisation is the reason, only the explanations for students should contain intuitive elements. Results show that the majority of participants use IC exclusively when addressing students and not when addressing experts. In a substantial minority, however, lack of knowledge is a more likely cause. We conclude that there might be a tendency towards language didactisation even outside didactic professional knowledge. Implications for teacher training are discussed.

Enhancing Teachers’ Capacity to Manage Classroom Behavior as a Means to Reduce Burnout: Directed Consultation, Supported Professionalism, and the BASE Model

More than a buzzword, teacher burnout captures the zeitgeist of the last few years as schools grapple with the challenges of education in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world. Garwood sounds an alarm and issues a call to action to address teacher burnout given its implications on students in general and, more specifically, on its implications for the fidelity of service delivery interventions for those students most in need. Of the malleable factors related to burnout, this article focused on teachers’ capacity to manage classroom behavior and discusses the potential of the Behavioral, Academic, and Social Engagement (BASE) Model to disrupt processes that can lead to teacher burnout. To illustrate the model’s potential, we present perspectives from middle school teachers shared in focus groups about challenging classroom behaviors and their professional development needs, and we discuss how the BASE Model can help address teachers’ capacity for managing their classroom context. Implications for teacher training and supported professionalism to reduce burnout are discussed.

Digital rights and responsibility in education: A scoping review

Studies on digital rights in education have both gained attention and provided a framework for research, policy and practice in educational research within the field of educational technology. The potential benefits we appreciate in Internet use are inseparable from the maximum risks involved. Faced with this responsibility, individuals demand that their rights and freedoms be guaranteed in the digital environment according to their various roles as students, teachers, families or staff. This scoping review selects and analyses 54 theoretical and empirical studies from the last decade (2013-2023), identifying the main topics investigated as privacy protection in online environments, right to digital security or cybersecurity, and right to digital education. The review underscores the need to guide efforts towards digital education for citizens because the legal regulation of rights and responsibilities is necessary but insufficient. The paper also makes arguments about acceptance, limitations and implications for teacher training.

A model for problem creation: implications for teacher training

AbstractThe invention of problems is a fundamental competence that enhances the didactic-mathematical knowledge of mathematics teachers and therefore should be an objective in teacher training plans. In this paper, we revise different proposals for categorizing problem-creation activities and propose a theoretical model for problem posing that, based on the assumptions of the Onto-Semiotic Approach, considers both the elements that characterize a problem and a categorization of different types of problem-posing tasks. In addition, the model proposes a description of the mathematical processes that occur during the sequence of actions carried out when a new problem is created. The model is illustrated by its application to analyze the practices developed by pre-service teachers in three problem-posing tasks aimed at specific didactic-mathematical purposes (mobilizing certain mathematical knowledge or reasoning, contributing to achieving learning goals, or addressing students’ difficulties). We conclude discussing the potential of our model to analyze the mathematical processes involved in problem creation from the perspective of teacher education.

English as a Foreign Language Teachers’ Acceptance of Using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra in Higher Education

Educational technologies are increasingly becoming an essential part of higher education. Teachers are using different kinds of technology to facilitate their lessons. Nevertheless, teachers’ adoption of educational technology is influenced by their willingness to embrace these tools. This study examines English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ acceptance of Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (BCU) for teaching English in Saudi Arabia. The primary aim is to investigate the factors that impact teachers’ intentions to use a specific Blackboard feature for language teaching. The research adopts the technology acceptance model and external factors, such as subjective norms, facilitating conditions, and computer self-efficacy. Data was collected from 85 participants. After statistical analysis using SPSS and AMOS software, the findings indicate that all the investigated factors either directly or indirectly influence EFL instructors’ intentions to employ BCU. The study also reveals that EFL teachers’ attitudes towards BCU were the sole factor that directly influenced their intention to use it. The implications for teacher training are discussed below.

Students’ other-oriented cognitions: The roles of teachers’ emotional competence and classroom social support in a Greek sample

The current study examined whether the extent to which students perceived their teachers provided positive support influenced associations between teachers’ emotional intelligence and social emotional learning (SEL) beliefs and multiple dimensions of students’ other-oriented cognitions (i.e., perspective taking empathetic concern, and prosocial motivations and goals). Forty-three fifth-grade and sixth-grade teachers from 12 Greek elementary schools and 353 students (192 boys) were participants. The majority of students were White and of Greek nationality. Teachers’ emotional intelligence was associated positively with students’ empathic concern and prosocial goals. However, the association between teachers’ emotional intelligence was related negatively to students’ perspective taking skills, but only when students reported receiving less positive support from their teachers. Conversely, when students reported high levels of positive teacher support, teachers’ comfort with SEL teaching practices was related positively to students’ prosocial goals. Findings also highlighted differences in Greek teachers’ emotional intelligence and comfort with and commitment to SEL teaching practices as compared to those reported in other countries. Additionally, girls rated themselves as higher in empathetic concern than did boys. Implications for teacher training and professional development that support teachers and students’ SEL are discussed.

Beyond school-related learning: Parent-child homework talk as a morality building activity

Family interactions constitute an arena for children's moral development: it is indeed through ordinary talk, and shared, task-oriented activities that children are socialized into moral orders and culturally informed ways of thinking and acting. Drawing on a video-based study on the everyday life of 19 middle-class families and adopting a discourse analytic approach, the paper sheds light on the socializing function of a domestic activity: homework. We illustrate that, when it unfolds as a family activity, the issues at stake go far beyond its school-oriented goals: homework provides ‘ethical affordances’ that make relevant moral talk whereby parents introduce children to some unquestioned principles such as homework must be done neatly and it is part of the child's duties. We contend that, by participating in morally loaded homework interactions, children are socialized not only into a school-aligned cultural list concerning what is right and what is wrong about homework, but moreover into a constitutive, taken-for-granted pillar of human sociality: the moral assessability of human conduct, i.e., its being subject to evaluations informed by the ‘right vs. wrong’ category. Implications for teacher training and parent education programs are discussed in the conclusion.

Effect of cognitive attitude and affective attitude on formative assessment practice: Intention as a mediator

Despite the significance of formative assessment in the classroom, limited empirical research has been conducted on this topic in Mainland China. We investigated the relationship between formative assessment practice and both cognitive attitude and affective attitude, and explored whether the intention to implement a formative assessment would mediate this relationship. Participants were 504 Chinese primary school teachers. In this study formative assessment practice had two aspects: instructional adjustment and feedback practice. The results showed that the relationship between affective attitude and formative assessment practice was partially mediated by intention and that the relationship between cognitive attitude and formative assessment practice was fully mediated by intention. This study highlights the importance of affective attitude in practicing formative assessment and has implications for teacher training.

A Meta-Analysis on Behavioral Support Training and General Education Teacher Implementation

The success of teachers is tied to their effectiveness in managing student behavior. In this meta-analysis, we identified 49 single-case-design studies that evaluated the effectiveness of teacher training on their implementation of behavioral support strategies. Training was most often provided in a one-on-one format ( n = 18) and included ongoing coaching ( n = 20). Thirty-three of the 49 designs met What Works Clearinghouse standards with or without reservations. The overall between-case standardized mean difference effect size was d = 1.50. We analyzed and grouped teacher- and student-level outcomes as a result of training into five domains: (a) teacher-delivered praise ( d = 1.94), (b) teacher desirable behavior (e.g., treatment fidelity; d = 1.22), (c) teacher undesirable behavior (e.g., reprimands; d = 0.87), (d) student desirable behavior ( d = 1.88), and (e) student undesirable behavior ( d = 1.22). Across all studies, the combined nonoverlap of all pairs scores ranged from 0.37 to 1.0 ( M = 0.866). We discuss future areas of research as well as implications for teacher training in behavioral support implementation.

Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Performance of Pre-Service Economics Teachers: Implications for Teacher Training

Good teaching is crucial for implementing the school curriculum and is taken seriously by teacher training institutions. Pre-service teachers of various colleges of education are taken through multiple assessment strategies to obtain information for improving teacher training curricula to achieve the aim of training quality teachers for effective curriculum implementation. One of the ways of sourcing information for fine-tuning teacher training is the assessment of pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. Sourcing information on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs helps to determine their readiness to implement the school curriculum after their training. This study aimed to assess the self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service economics teachers at the University of Cape Coast using a quality teaching model as a framework. All 77 final-year pre-service economics teachers at the University of Cape Coast were included in the study. A questionnaire aimed at measuring the self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service economics teachers were used to collect data. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics. The study’s key findings were that pre-service economics teachers were highly self-efficacious in teaching economics; male pre-service economics teachers had a higher self-efficacy belief than their female counterparts; and there was a weak, insignificant positive relationship between self-efficacy belief and pre-service economics teachers’ performance in off-campus teaching practice. It was recommended that female pre-service economics teachers should be encouraged more by their lecturers to help them improve their self-efficacy beliefs in teaching senior high school economics.

Hizmet Öncesi Öğretmen ve Öğrenci Utangaçlığı: İngiliz Dili Eğitimi Bağlamı

Shyness appears as an important factor affecting teachers’, pre-service teachers’ and students’ performance and how teachers handle classroom management situations in the classroom environment. Thus, this study aims to bridge the gap in the research concerning teacher and student shyness and teachers’ classroom management strategies in the field of foreign language teaching and suggest new avenues for the investigation of the differences among teachers’ classroom management strategies in terms of teacher and student shyness. To achieve this goal, a sample consisting of 99 pre-service English teachers was requested to complete a survey measuring their shyness levels and their responses to hypothetical learners with different genders and shyness levels. The results suggested that pre-service English teachers’ high-powered strategy usage displayed a difference depending on student shyness, student gender, teacher gender, the interaction of student shyness and student gender and the interaction of student shyness and teacher shyness while social learning strategies indicated a significant difference depending on student shyness and the interaction of student shyness and student gender. A more detailed discussion of the findings and implications for teacher training and foreign language education were addressed in the article.

استخدام المواد الأصلية في تدريس اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية: التحديات، الأسباب، الانواع والتكرار

This descriptive analytical research study investigated English as a foreign language teachers’ attitudes towards the use of authentic materials in their classrooms, reasons for using authentic materials, challenges in using authentic materials, types of authentic materials they use and how often they use such materials. The participants of the study consisted of all 63 grade ten English as a foreign language teachers in one of the school districts in Palestine. The researches collected both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data were collected through open-ended questions that ask participants to report on use of, challenges, reasons and frequency of using authentic language in their classes. Quantitatively, a close-ended questionnaire was distributed to all participants. The study concluded the majority of the participants strongly support the use of authentic materials in spite of the challenges that they encounter. Approximately 36.5% of the participants reported it is challenging and 44.2% reported that it is not challenging at all. The factors behind each group’s perspective are discussed in the discussion section. Enriching EFL classrooms and enhancing students’ motivation are some of the reasons behind using authentic material. In addition, the majority supported the frequent use of authentic materials depending on students’ English level. Implications for teacher training and classroom instruction are presented and discussed.

Teachers' acculturation in culturally diverse schools - How is the perceived diversity climate linked to intercultural self-efficacy?

While in the school context, acculturation is often studied in relation to students of immigrant descent, the current study applies an acculturation framework to teachers mostly representing the mainstream culture. Specifically, we investigated whether teachers' acculturation attitudes towards their students mediate effects of the perceived cultural diversity climate at school on teachers' intercultural self-efficacy in culturally diverse classrooms. Analyses were based on reports of 186 teachers (14% of immigrant descent; M age = 40.8; SD age = 11.8, 73% female) in 22 culturally diverse secondary schools in Southwest Germany. Path analyses indicated that perceived norms of cultural pluralism, and perceived norms of equality and inclusion are directly and positively associated with facets of intercultural self-efficacy. Moreover, teachers' support for cultural maintenance amongst their students was associated with intercultural self- efficacy, but no mediation was found between climate and intercultural self-efficacy via acculturation attitudes. Implications for teacher training, educational practice and future research on the acculturation and adjustment of teachers in culturally diverse classrooms are discussed.

Analyzing English language teacher candidates’ assessment literacy: A case of Bruneian and Japanese universities

English language teacher candidates should possess Language Assessment Literacy (LAL) to help them determine the most suitable kinds of assessment for English language learners. This study investigated English language teacher candidates’ preparedness for assessment responsibilities. Participants were 56 English language teacher candidates from Brunei and Japan studying in universities. A mixed-methods approach to data collection was taken involving questionnaires completed by the English language teacher candidates and interviews with a subset of 14 of the participants. The results from this study revealed that teacher candidates in both Brunei and Japan lacked sufficient knowledge of LAL, even though some of them possessed some teaching experience before entering their teacher education program. Implications for teacher training in English language (L2) contexts are discussed.

A Look at Race, Skin Tone, and High School Students’ Perceptions of Teacher–Student Relationship Quality

Racial disparities in education have put a spotlight on the role of teachers and the school environment that is created for students. As teachers are seen as a vital element of school climate, the interactions between teachers and students can have a significant effect on students’ success. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between race, skin tone, and teacher–student relationship (TSR) quality. Data drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study included 995 ethnically and racially diverse adolescents. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that being Black, Hispanic, or Multi-racial was significantly associated with TSRs. However, there were no between-group differences in TSRs across racial categories. Skin tone was not a significant predictor of TSRs and did not moderate the relationship between race and TSRs. Findings raise important implications for teacher training and professional development focused on culturally relevant practices that support optimal student interactions and provide promising evidence for school connectedness as an intervening mechanism in improving TSR quality, particularly for students of color.

Analyse du processus de construction de connaissances dans des activités de programmation à l’école

The introduction of programming activities in the classroom has given rise to a variety of teaching methods. Some methods focus on learning to code while others take a creative programming approach (Resnick & Rusk, 2020). This study looks at creative programming as an opportunity for students to develop their reasoning skills. Drawing from both mathematics teaching and creative programming practices, we identify the elements of informatics thinking and use them to analyze the behaviour of students during a programming task in educational robotics. We also apply certain conceptual tools from both the field of mathematics teaching and the framework of informatics thinking in the course of our study. Creative programming practices provide six factors for analyzing how the students approached situational problems, framed the problems, learned the code, and developed the programs. From a didactics perspective, we use the components of DeBlois’ model (2001, 2003) for interpreting cognitive activities to analyze elements in the knowledge-building process. Our article ends with a comparison of the benefits of each analytical framework, which could have implications for teacher training on programming in the classroom.

Learning Evaluation in Mathematics Teaching Degree and the Possible Implications for Teacher Training

This study aims to analyze the perceptions of undergraduates in Mathematics Teaching on the evaluation practices of their teachers of specific content subjects and the possible implications of this practice in their training as teachers. It is a qualitative research, expositive and explicative, developed in a Mathematics Teaching degree in a Brazilian Federal University. We used random non-probabilistic sample to select the course and the students. To produce the data, we used: documental analysis, class observation, interviews, group talks, and social networks – Facebook and WhatsApp groups, followed by content analysis. The main intervening which emerged from the data were indications of possible dispositions composing the habitus of mathematics teachers. From these dispositions, undergraduates indicated, directly and indirectly, the legitimizing role of the evaluation practices in the subjects of mathematics content as a way of symbolic violence, when mentioning the tension between the bachelor’s and the teaching degrees, and criticizing or defending the expositive classes with demonstrations, the rigor of classificatory tests, and the relationship teacher-student with little dialogue. The analysis shows that the students do not clearly see the implications of these evaluation practices on their training as teachers. In this context, they have shown a propensity to incorporate the habitus of the mathematics teacher, becoming possible reproducers of a pedagogical practice focused on transmission and traditional evaluation in their future.

Understanding EFL university teachers’ synchronous online teaching belief change

To sustain students’ continuous learning in a Covid-19 pandemic context, schools and universities have shifted traditional classroom teaching to synchronous online teaching. However, there is limited understanding of acceptance and adoption of synchronous online teaching by university teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL). This study, therefore, examined EFL university teachers’ synchronous online teaching beliefs before and after the outbreak of Covid-19 in China drawing on Davis’s technology acceptance model. A total of 257 EFL university teachers participated in this study. Data were collected through a questionnaire which was designed to measure participants’ actual use (AU), attitudes toward use (ATU), perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), facilitating conditions (FC), social norms (SN), and self-efficacy (SE) in two synchronous online teaching conditions: before and after the Covid-19. The study showed that in-service EFL university teachers’ actual use of synchronous online teaching was subject to social (i.e. social norms), institutional (i.e. facilitating conditions), and individual (i.e. perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, self-efficacy, and attitudes toward use) levels. The main change of teachers’ synchronous online teaching beliefs, due to the Covid-19, was that perceived usefulness became a significant predictor of teachers’ actual use of synchronous online teaching, whereas perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness changed to be insignificant predictors of teachers’ attitudes toward use of synchronous online teaching. Implications for teacher training and service were discussed to better support EFL university teachers’ synchronous online teaching in the future.

From effective lecturing behaviour to hidden cognitions: a preliminary model explaining the Language-Teaching Methodology Interface

ABSTRACT This contribution reports on the findings of a project whose aim was to explore the construct of the language-teaching methodology interface (LTMI) in lecturing through English. Evidence of its existence will be provided and implications for teacher training will be considered. On the assumption that the LTMI can be characterised by the co-existence of a practical and a cognitive dimension, in previous contributions we focused on such elements. First, following Björkman ([2011] “Pragmatic Strategies in English as an Academic Lingua Franca: Ways of Achieving Communicative Effectiveness?.” Journal of Pragmatics 43 (4): 950–964), we carried out an intensive analysis of a number of observed lectures with the aim of exploring the interplay between the use of pragmatic strategies and non-standardness at the morphosyntax level in EMI lectures in an Italian context. Afterwards, through qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews, we sought to uncover those conditions lying underneath observable behaviour. In the present contribution, first, the extensive analysis of observed lectures is described. Second, steps taken within the framework of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (Ragin [2000] Fuzzy-set Social Science. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, [2008] Redesigning Social Inquiry. Fuzzy Sets and Beyond. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press) to analyse all findings obtained are illustrated. Empirical findings seem to support the claim according to which the two dimensions of language and teaching methodology do have blurred boundaries: the results obtained may therefore be interpreted as a first confirmation of the existence of the multifaceted construct of the LTMI.

Professional vision as a mediator for inclusive education? Unravelling the interplay between teachers’ beliefs, professional vision and reported practice of differentiated instruction

ABSTRACT To ensure inclusion and equity in education, both teacher beliefs and practice are cited as influential. However, the connection between beliefs on student diversity and inclusive practice is often more complex than straightforward. Professional vision is theorised to be important in aligning beliefs with practice. Hence, this study investigates whether teachers’ professional vision of differentiated instruction (DI) mediates between teachers’ beliefs about teaching diverse learners and teachers’ practice of DI, and is unique in investigating these constructs in concert with each other. Data are part of the Potential-project and were collected in a sample of secondary education teachers (N = 461) in Flemish schools (N = 23). Survey data measuring teachers’ beliefs (i.e. growth mindset, professional beliefs about diversity and about differentiating the curriculum) and teachers’ self-reported DI practice were combined with video-based comparative judgement data measuring teachers’ professional vision of DI. Multilevel models show that both teachers with a more expert professional vision and less expert professional vision implement DI. For a more expert professional vision, beliefs about teaching diverse learners explain the association. For a less expert professional vision, teachers’ reflective and experimental practice explains the relationship. Results suggest that aspects of teachers’ competence are related in more complex ways than linear theoretical frameworks propose. Implications for teacher training and professionalisation are discussed.