Pedagogical Choices Research Articles

“It's the thoughts you don't really say in your head”: Building narrative identity in the high school to college writing transition

AbstractThis article presents the findings of a study in which college freshman reflected on the process of writing a literacy narrative and considered the impact of such writing on their narrative identities. The author synthesizes existing scholarship on literacy narratives, discusses the methodology of interpretive phenomenological analysis utilized, and highlights the pedagogical choices that writing instructors can make to utilize this assignment to support academic confluence based on the findings.

Como os saberes da neurociência da aprendizagem podem contribuir com o ensino da graduação e com as escolhas pedagógicas docentes?

In Brazil, University teaching is generally a responsibility of professors who are required to postgraduate training, generally master's and Ph.D. degrees, in specific areas, depending on the discipline taught. Rarely is there a concern with teacher pedagogical training in stricto sensu courses – when there is, it does not usually include neuroscience of learning concepts. In fact, neuroscience has a limited presence even in the initial training of teachers. On the other hand, it is clear that understanding how the brain learns and the factors that can influence this learning is crucial for teachers' performance. In this article, we present reflections on this topic and share our experiences in teaching Human Physiology, which confirm the potential contribution of the neuroscience of learning in updating and teaching teachers' pedagogical choices.

Negotiating quotidian justice in the science classroom

ABSTRACT In this conceptual paper, we explore how science teachers might enact social justice through their everyday science instruction. Drawing on empirical literature and our own K-12 teaching experience, we develop a heuristic for mapping classroom discourses to engage in action and reflection to change both the world of the classroom community, and the world beyond the school. We suggest how this heuristic can be used for justice-oriented science teaching independently of (or as a supplement to) any existing frameworks for science teaching to promote social justice. Our proposed model for social justice through disciplinary science teaching frames justice not as an abstract goal, but as the act of iterating ‘quotidian justices’ achievable in moment-to-moment pedagogical choices. We contend that this approach allows teachers to resist systemic injustices while also navigating institutional constraints.

Instructor Communicative Behaviors as Cultivators of Students’ Task Value

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to understand students’ task value toward a class. Task value is the utility students see in the course material. As expected, good instructional practices (i.e. clarity, nonverbal immediate behaviors) were positive contributors of task value. However, the substantive impact on task value came from information flow, a variable borrowed from the organizational culture literature. The supported model showed instructor clarity and nonverbal immediate behaviors indirectly, positively influenced task value through the mediation of perceived immediacy and information flow. This indicates that a large proportion of whether students have task value in a course hinge upon whether students understand the rationale behind instructors’ pedagogical choices.

“Out of the Comfort Zone”: Creating a Safely Brave Space for Dialogues about Race

This article is a constructively self-critical autoethnography of my evolving identity as an instructor in a race and ethnicity course. I supplement and contextualize my self-reflections with data in the form of comments from student evaluations. I begin by considering how my social location mediates class dynamics. I then present comments from earlier in my career when students routinely expressed discomfort and admonished me for what they felt was bias. Next, I discuss pedagogical strategies I adopted to address such criticism. Finally, I explore recent comments that affirm my pedagogical choices while encouraging continuing assessment of and modifications to the course. Because most respondents in my analysis are white, this article focuses primarily on their discomforts with and reactions to racial conversations in my classes and how I, as a white instructor, have responded. A discussion of the need for similar research on experiences of students of color is included.

Why We Need a Long View of Abolition to End the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Drawing on experiential, literary and historical narratives, this article connects the long history shaping the school-to-prison-pipeline to the contemporary experiences of Black youth in today’s educational system. It maps abolitionism from its origins as a movement to end slavery through the ongoing Black freedom struggles that have challenged state and vigilante violence throughout the eras of Jim Crow and Civil Rights to today’s efforts to dismantle the prison state. By situating the criminalization of African American education from our nation’s founding until the present with particular focus on the post Brown years, the article stresses how policies that funded policing over education persisted through liberal and conservative administrations. This longer and broader historical approach to school discipline should help teachers, school administrators and policy makers devise anti-racist teaching practices that can resist the seemingly unyielding and ever adaptable strictures of white supremacy, most recently evidenced in the attacks on “Critical Race Theory,” “Diversity Equity and Inclusion” initiatives and so-called “wokism.” By listening to how those who have been enslaved and incarcerated regarded education, I join a chorus of voices suggesting how we might structure our pedagogical choices as a fugitive practice that looks for solutions outside the institution and imagines as yet unthought of alternatives to the ways punishment is incorporated into today’s public education.

Beginning mathematics teachers’ values and beliefs about pedagogy during a time of policy flux

AbstractThis study interrogates how beginning secondary mathematics teachers align their beliefs with their practice when they justify their pedagogical choices in the context of recent English mathematics education policy which is strongly influenced by approaches to mathematics teaching in Shanghai and Singapore currently referred to as ‘mastery’ approaches. It seeks to understand beginning teachers’ perceptions and understandings of these approaches and the extent to which they recognise aspects of ‘mastery’ in practice. In setting the context, pre-service teachers’ beliefs were surveyed and found to be congruent with constructivist approaches to learning. We then draw on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews secondary mathematics teachers in their first year post-qualification. The interviews were designed to interrogate and capture understanding of the features of mastery within their own classrooms. By using vignettes to capture participants’ beliefs, our aim was to present a ‘more nuanced understanding of the phenomena’ (Skilling and Stylianides in Int J Res Method Educ 43(5):541–556, 2019, 10.1080/1743727x.2019.1704243). The analytical framework developed draws on Guskey’s (In: Wright J (ed) International encyclopedia of the social & behavioural sciences, 2015, vol 14, 2nd edn, Elsevier, pp 752–759) interpretation of Bloom’s theory of mastery learning together with features of mastery learning in mathematics articulated by Drury (How to teach mathematics for mastery, 2018, Oxford University Press) and Boylan et al. (Edu Sci 8(4):202, 2018, 10.3390/educsci8040202). This posed a research design challenge given the variation in interpretation of mastery learning as it is understood in practice. The data exposes differences in the interpretation of mastery approaches in the settings where they learn to teach, as well as the tensions that arise between beginning teachers’ beliefs, practice, professional knowledge and agency in their developing classroom roles.

Systematic review of educator behaviours associated with physical activity of early years children.

Educators in early years settings influence children's physical activity (PA) levels through their pedagogical choices and behaviours. To date, minimal research has been conducted on the relationship between educator action and children's PA levels. The purpose of this systematic review was to understand which educator behaviours and actions in early years settings have been shown to engage children in PA. Five online databases (Academic Search Complete, ERIC, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL Complete and PubMed) were searched for articles that showed an association between educator behaviour and the PA level of children between the ages of zero and eight. Eleven studies met all inclusion criteria, yet showed great variability in design and data collection methods. The risk of bias was assessed using previously published criteria adapted to this study and inline with the CONSORT statement. A binomial test on the data revealed a statistically significant deviation from chance expectation (p < .001) in relation to educator action influencing child PA. Ten of the studies focussed on educator PA, four studies highlighted the use of prompting and encouragement, three studies analysed broad statements of adult interaction, two studies called for planning activity sessions and discussions and two studies encouraged role modelling. The low number of studies included in the review and the high risk of bias indicates that caution with these results is needed. While this review highlights the importance of educator PA (and other behaviours that had a positive association) on child PA level, it underscores the need for high-quality research to examine the relationship between educator actions and child PA. (PROSPERO registration: CRD42022338819).

A Teaching Practicum Model for Constructing Cogenerative Dialogue Amongst Preservice Teachers to Improve Science Teaching

The specific focus of this study is how a team of four preservice teachers experienced a collaborative practicum model to support the development of cogenerative dialogue and foster professional growth. Data sources included individual video club annotations and the associated group discussions facilitated by comparison of groups members selected annotations. The analysis found that participation in peer collaboration provided multiple viewpoints of shared teaching experiences that enabled preservice teachers' different ways to notice student thinking. Providing a structured framework for reflection, namely the individual video club annotations, served as the genesis for cogenerative dialogues centered on instructional change for the preservice teachers. This work's implications showcase the importance of allowing for the iterative enactment and reflection on pedagogical choices by preservice teachers early in their professional development.

Social and Cultural Factors Beyond Washback of the National Examination: Exploring the Impact of High-Stakes Testing in Indonesian Secondary Schools from Teachers’ Experiences and Sociocultural Factors

This article investigates the conditions that cause a negative washback impact on English as language teaching (ELT) in Indonesian secondary schools. I interviewed eight English teachers to learn about the factors influencing their pedagogical choices for the test. This research draws on the literature of washback research and empirical evidence for the notion that contextual factors and external social cultural elements may have a significant role in defining the form of washback. Emphasizing the causal relationship concerning instruction and testing may be unduly simplified if it only covers its washback effect on the teachers and their teaching practices. High-stakes testing could impact several factors beyond learning and teaching activities. It may include elements in which teaching and testing are embedded. The findings of this study implied social and cultural factors influence the washback effect of the national examination, including social pressure, collectivism, curriculum alignment, and fairness. This study demonstrated how schools used test results as a source of promotion to provide stakeholders with the knowledge they needed to fully engage in the marketized educational system. The conclusions of this article have significant implications for school administrators and policymakers.

Critical language pedagogues in Japan: enhancing student receptivity

Abstract This paper reports on part of a larger study of critical language pedagogy (CLP) in university EFL classes in Japan. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews, we examined the philosophies, approaches, pedagogic choices, and adaptations of nineteen self-identifying critical pedagogues. Here, we focus on the theme of student receptivity to the use of critical practices. We report that the majority of teachers thought that CLP was viable in their situations and we show the strategies that they have used to make it work. We particularly focus on the ways in which teachers have created classroom environments conducive to communication about challenging issues. The results may inform and guide teachers in their own explorations of CLP as they make decisions relevant to their own educational contexts.

Designing historical empathy learning experiences: a pedagogical tool for history teachers

This article explores the pedagogies that history teachers use to foster historical empathy, drawing from interviews with secondary school history teachers in Canada. The findings highlight that historical empathy is nurtured by teachers over time using a variety of different teaching approaches and activities, tasks and projects. The article begins by examining the pedagogical choices that teachers make when designing and implementing historical empathy lessons, categorised as implicit, thematic, student-centred, scaffolded and comparative approaches. Next, consideration is given to the types of learning experiences that teachers use to develop historical empathy, and some of the opportunities and challenges involved. These learning experiences include role plays and simulations, first- and third-person writing tasks, experiential learning and virtual reality, and collaborative and project-based learning. The perspectives shared by the teachers in this study contributed towards the development of a research-informed pedagogical tool to guide the future design of learning experiences that foster historical empathy, which may be applied by teachers across educational jurisdictions, and adapted for various grade levels.

"Teaching capital"- a sociological analysis of medical educator portfolios for promotion.

Medical educator portfolios (MEP) are increasingly recognized as a tool for developing and documenting teaching performance in Health Professions Education. However, there is a need to better understand the complex interplay between institutional guidelines and how teachers decode those guidelines and assign value to teaching merits. To gain a deeper understanding of this dynamic, this study employed a sociological analysis to understand how medical educators aspiring to professorships use MEPs to display their teaching merits and how cultural capital is reflected in these artefacts. We collected 36 medical educator portfolios for promotion from a large research-intensive university and conducted a deductive content analysis using institutional guidelines that distinguished between mandatory (accounting for the total body of teaching conducted) and optional content (arguing for pedagogical choices and evidencing the quality, respectively). Our analysis showed that the portfolios primarily included quantifiable data about teaching activities, e.g., numbers of students, topics and classes taught. Notably, they often lacked evidence of quality and scholarship of teaching. Looking at these findings through a Bourdieusian lens revealed that teachers in this social field exchange objectified evidence of hours spent on teaching into teaching capital recognized by their institution. Our findings highlight how institutional guidelines for MEPs construct a pedagogical battlefield, where educators try to decode and exchange the "right" and recognized teaching capital. This indicates that MEPs reflect the norms and practices of the academic field more than individual teaching quality.

Ink, Blood, Bones

Abstract Natasha Trethewey's poem “Native Guard” begins and ends with the phrase “Truth be told,” but the poem demonstrates just how difficult it can be to tell the truth — or even a truth — about history. “Native Guard” excavates historical events that many readers will find unfamiliar: the experience of Black Union troops guarding Confederate prisoners on Ship Island in the Mississippi Gulf Coast during the Civil War. This complex history is expressed in a crosshatched poetic form: contemporaneous journal entries arranged in a series of interlinked sonnets that juxtapose the history written in ink on paper with the pain written in blood on people's bodies and the bones buried beneath every historical account. While teaching the poem requires careful attention to historical context, poetic form, and repetition of words, the experience provides an answer to the question students keep asking: Why do we have to keep reading about slavery? This essay describes some pedagogical choices that may help students grasp their responsibility for seeking truths that can't easily be told because they lie buried beneath unexamined historical narratives.

Adapting to the Transformation of Education: New Challenges for Teachers

It is increasingly evident to the educational community today that technology is rapidly transforming Education and learning. Ubiquitously present, the digital criterion is inevitably and surely making learning and teaching move to a next step never experienced before. Moreover, the COVID19 disruption has contributed to the acceleration of this transformation that moved the educational and learning community into new virtual environments. And while good practice is necessary for an appropriate transition to the digital transformation era, it will require time, motivation, technology tools and infrastructures. It will also need knowledge, skills, appropriate pedagogical choices, support and a real mind-set and culture. Education needs to adapt, but adaptation can only be possible if it relies on both teachers’ efforts towards learning sustainability and an adequate use of technology. Many questions come, therefore, to impose themselves in this new context as to: What challenges are facing teachers today? What competencies need to be developed by teachers and learners to be able to function appropriately and efficiently in order to thrive successfully in this era of digital learning? How can teachers manage their contents and pedagogy to respond to their learners’ needs as far as skills and knowledge development, matched to a responsible and informed use of virtual spaces for learning?

“Thinking Like an Activist”: Preservice Teachers Make Sense of the Past

History education holds strong potential for students to examine how racism and other intersecting forms of oppression embedded within U.S. institutions have and still impact today’s social fabric. When rooted in Martell and Stevens’ “thinking like an activist” framework, history education provides opportunities for preservice teachers (PSTs) to see, understand, and disrupt the dominant narrative. They can begin to reimagine their roles as future leaders in the classroom and beyond to ensure that all students thrive and not just survive. Thus, for this qualitative study, we engaged our PST in a book study of A Different Mirror for Young People: A History for Multicultural America. Through intentional content and pedagogical choices, we investigated the question, “ How do preservice teachers make sense of history using the ‘thinking like an activist’ framework?” Findings indicated how Takaki’s different mirror, as a counternarrative centering the perspectives and experiences of historically marginalized groups, allowed PSTs 1) to unlearn oppressive structures (cultural preparation), 2) begin to develop a sociopolitical consciousness of systemic oppression, albeit through an outsider’s perspective (critical analysis), and 3) to analyze how collective action in the past enacted change–although through an already, but not yet, understanding of their role in social change in the present (collective action).

Considering the Educationally Marginalized: A Quiz as Social Justice?

Giving quizzes to get students to read may continue to be misunderstood, even grossly undervalued. Using a quiz to encourage (enforce) reading plays a significant role not only in students learning content of their chosen field, but also as the critical first step toward an awakening of the mind—or, at the very least, the mind being more informed, where new knowledge begins with the interplay of reading the world and reading the word. And for those students who have come from the margins of life and school, reading not only informs and prepares them, but also can have other personal and academic significance not immediately seen. Considering the educationally marginalized when making pedagogical choices, such as using a quiz to get students to read in preparation for class, is an important part of social justice in education.

Observing Complexity in Teachers’ Choices: Preparing Preservice Teachers for Work-Integrated Learning

Although preservice teachers are familiar with classroom life, they are largely unfamiliar with teachers’ intentions and reasoning. Those completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) have just one year to acquire new insights into teaching. This article investigates whether their school-based learning can be enhanced by preparing them to analyse the classroom practices of diverse teachers. A module used to augment work-integrated learning, Teacher Choices in Action, has introduced more than 70,000 South African preservice teachers to key choices that all teachers make. They see how diverse teachers enact these choices through guided studies of recorded lessons. We use Legitimation Code Theory to compare lesson observation reports written by 83 PGCE preservice teachers at the start and end of completing this module. Initially, most participants gave superficial descriptions of classroom activities with basic explanations of what teachers do and why. Afterwards, their reports contained more complex interpretations of teaching, with more connections between their lesson observations and insights from their coursework. Guided lesson study potentially empowers them to interpret prevalent teaching practices and consider pedagogic choices for their lessons more thoughtfully and systematically, regardless of their educational backgrounds. It may also address some concerns about vastly different mentoring that preservice teachers receive during the practicum.

Know thy audience: Children teach basic or complex facts depending on the learner's maturity.

What kind of information is appropriate to teach depends on learner characteristics. In three experiments, 5- to 7-year-old children (N = 170, 50% female, 68% White; data collection: 2022-2023) chose between basic and complex information to teach an infant or adult audience. The older, but not younger, children, taught more complex information to adults and more basic information to infants, (OR = 2.03). Both ages overcame their own preference for complex information when teaching infants (h = .45). Children's reflections on why they made particular pedagogical choices did not predict audience-contingent teaching. The findings suggest that young children can infer what kind of information is suitable given a learner's maturity, with a key developmental progression between ages 5 and 7.

The world religions paradigm: Why context matters in religious studies

The World Religions Paradigm (WRP) has long served as the predominant framework for teaching Religious Studies globally and in South Africa. However, criticisms of the WRP highlight its tendency to marginalize non-Christian, non-Western, and non-white perspectives. This article examines these critiques in the context of South Africa, particularly in light of the events of 2015–2016, when the #MustFall movement sought to raise and address issues of decolonization. This article will argue that South Africa provides a pertinent example of the need to re-evaluate pedagogical choices in Religious Studies education by emphasizing the importance of context in re-shaping the curriculum.