Pedagogical Difficulties Research Articles

Teaching Large Classes in Chinese High Schools: What Do Teachers Say and Do?

AbstractTeaching English to large classes is a common phenomenon in developing countries, and China is no exception. Such an issue has attracted attention of many researchers worldwide over the past two decades. However, such research in China has been relatively rare. This paper reports an investigation into teachers’ perceptions and practices of teaching English to large classes in Chinese schools. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore teachers’ attitude towards their perceived problems regarding teaching English to large classes, and the strategies they used to cope with large classes. Results show that an overwhelming majority of the Chinese English teachers (92.6%) hold a negative attitude towards teaching English in large classes. Pedagogical issues, management-related difficulties and psychological burden emerged as major obstacles. Despite these problems, teachers were seeking strategies to cope with the problems in their daily practices with more or less success.

Language choice for science education: policy and practice

ABSTRACTThe Maltese National Minimum Curriculum published in 1999 sought to strengthen bilingualism by reinforcing the practice of teaching and assessing some subjects in English and others in Maltese. It also pointed out that code‐switching should only be used in cases of severe pedagogical difficulties. As a new National Curriculum Framework was being prepared some educators suggested language as a possible barrier to student progress and argued that the traditional practice of teaching subjects such as science in English should be reconsidered. This study investigated language choices, function and code‐switching in science lessons. Classroom observations, interviews and focus groups showed that in state schools 12–13 year old students were being taught science predominantly in Maltese while reading, writing and formal assessment were in English. Students who were more exposed to English, irrespective of class stream, used this language more frequently than those who were less exposed to the language. The findings seem to suggest that teachers may be overcautious. While code‐switching may initially provide technical terms and serve as a bridge between the two languages, eventually it can give way to a more precise and formal use of English thus ensuring both learning of science and development of bilingualism.

ПОДГОТОВКА ПРОФЕССОРСКО-ПРЕПОДАВАТЕЛЬСКОГО СОСТАВА К РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ ИНКЛЮЗИВНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ В ВУЗЕ

The article considers the problem of preparing faculty members for teaching physically challenged students and those with limited health capacities in the context of inclusive education. The current state of inclusive practice in higher education is analyzed, taking into account normative legal documents and the needs of society. The paper describes possible psychological and pedagogical difficulties that may be encountered by university staff while beginning to teach students with special needs. The authors of the article have singled out three components of the pedagogical activity of academic staff - motivational, informational and methodological - which make it possible to approach the process of inclusive education comprehensively. The content of each component is described and supported by the monitoring results of the faculty members of the Saint-Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO University) participating in the creation of special conditions for students with special needs. The conclusion is made about the need to create a special system for training academic staff, which makes it possible to solve the problems of organizing the education of the increasing amount of students with special needs.

The Impact of Class Size on Teaching and Learning English As a Foreign Language: The Case of the Department of English at Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University

This paper is devoted to the study of the impact of class size on teaching and learning English as a foreign language. The investigation was conducted at the department of English at Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University. The department has witnessed a huge increase in the enrollment figure in the past decade which resulted into an increase in class sizes. This has created problems for staff and students alike. Despite the steps taken by the administrators to reduce the number of students, the problem of class crowding still persists. The department of English, alone, has an enrollment of almost 3000 students, it is a huge number indeed if we take into consideration the availability of facilities and resources. The aim of this study is to explore the organizational and pedagogical difficulties that are frequently encountered by the teachers dealing with large classes and the effects on student learning. Additionally, this paper proposes some suggestions on how to deal with class overcrowding. As part of our research, we have given questionnaires to 200 students and 40 teachers. The findings of the survey clearly demonstrate that large class sizes have an adverse impact on the quality of teaching and learning.

Teachers’ pedagogical perspectives and teaching practices on human rights in Cyprus: an empirical exploration and implications for human rights education

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a qualitative study that explored the understandings of human rights, pedagogical perspectives and practices in human rights teaching of three Greek-Cypriot elementary teachers. The study revealed some significant challenges in human rights teaching that seemed to be common for all three participating teachers. First, all of the teachers experienced pedagogical difficulties in defining and talking about human rights. A second challenge was that these difficulties seemed to influence both their pedagogical perspectives about the teaching of human rights and their teaching practices. And the third challenge was that the difficulties that teachers faced in preparing their lessons were also reflected in their teaching practices in four ways: the dominance of a “declarational” approach; decontextualization; the trivialization of human rights; and the retreat to familiar discourses and activities. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for teachers, teacher educators, and theory in human rights education.

Promoting Metalinguistic and Metamathematical Reasoning in Proof-Oriented Mathematics Courses: a Method and a Framework

Students’ apprenticeship into proof-oriented mathematical practice requires that they become aware of a range of conventions and assumptions about mathematical language, reference, and inference that rarely appear as explicit components of the content of undergraduate courses. Because these matters of interpretation are often pre-conscious for students and taken for granted by instructors, students may fail to apprehend the problems at hand and thus misunderstand the mathematical community’s solutions. So, we argue that proof-oriented instruction must simultaneously help students understand problems of ambiguity and reference – which requires them to engage in what we call metalinguistic and metamathematical reasoning – as well as provide some informal language for discussing possible solutions to these problems. We provide three illustrative episodes from real analysis classrooms to highlight our common way of framing this class of learning challenge and the pedagogical difficulties they entail. In each case, we highlight the use of analogies as a method of helping students apprehend a problem of mathematical language, reference, or inference and discuss possible solutions. This paper’s contributions are thus both practical and theoretical: the instructional method is intended to serve as one possible approach to training students in mathematical conventions and assumptions, and it helps demonstrate our theoretical perspective on this class of teaching and learning phenomena.

Causes De La Reticence Des Etudiants Marocains VisA-Vis De La Geologie; Cas De La Faculte Des Sciences Dhar Mahraz De Fes

In this work, we try to diagnose the causes of reluctance of Moroccan students’ towards the geology. To achieve our goal, a study was conducted on the first year students of the Faculty of Science Dhar El Mehraz. Then a questionnaire was made and administered to professors and first year students. The obtained results revealed that the students' reluctance is mainly due to pedagogical difficulties.

Knowledge structures and their relevance for teaching and learning in introductory financial accounting

The structure of knowledge within a discipline has implications for the teaching and learning within the discipline. This research examines how the hierarchical knowledge structure found in accounting impacts on the teaching and learning which takes place in the first-semester introductory financial accounting course. Students used online questionnaires and interviews to explain how they engaged with the discipline and describe the difficulties they experienced during the semester. Bernstein's pedagogic device and Maton's Legitimation Code Theory were used to analyse the structure of knowledge within the discipline and as theoretical lenses through which to view these students’ perceptions. This research provides a theoretical explanation for the impact that a hierarchical knowledge structure has on teaching and learning within the discipline; how students need to develop a “trained gaze” and thereby gain mastery over the “procedures of investigation” to be able to produce the “legitimate text” required for success in the course. This research also explains why some students experience a “code clash” and the implications this has for their success in the discipline. Other pedagogical difficulties which were experienced by these students, as a result of the hierarchical knowledge structure within the discipline, are also discussed. In addition to providing a better understanding of the phenomena that drive or hinder student learning, which could contribute towards improving pedagogy and hence student learning, theorising these concepts provides a common language to enable more informed debate on these issues.

Teaching energy geography? It’s complicated

The premise of this essay is that energy geographies are complicated, and this in itself presents some pedagogical difficulties. As someone who wants students to critically examine and confront the complexity of energy systems, it can be frustrating when students react to demonstrate frustration, apathy, or even confusion. In what follows, I will lay out three complications of teaching energy geography: (1) empirical complexity, (2) confronting fossil fuel “embeddedness,” (3) the energy culture fallacy.

Examining Malaysian teachers’ online blogs for reflective practices: towards teacher professional development

Blogs are commonly used for online interaction because of their ease of use and access, which allow people to gather in a virtual space to share knowledge, experiences and practices. Teachers can also use blogs as an avenue to think, reflect and respond to views and comments regarding pedagogical practices and difficulties, thereby developing professionally. This paper examined the extent to which participation and reflection occurred in the blogs and how effective they were in building a community of practice that would lead to professional development. This objective was accomplished by analysing blog entries for evidence of participation and reflections and subsequently analysing the blogs to gain a clearer idea of the constraints that the teachers faced in blogging. The findings demonstrate that using blogs generated reflective practices to a certain extent in allowing teachers to express their thoughts, share their doubts and struggles in teaching, and manage learners. However, it is not possible to conclude that blogging contributed to teachers’ professional development.

Teaching the Next Generation of Transdisciplinary Thinkers and Practitioners of Design-Based Public and Social Innovation

Amidst a wide range of complex social issues and public governance challenges, both in the United States and internationally, there is an increasing interest in the public sector around the idea of social innovation, particularly design-based social innovation. There has been a proliferation of sites and spaces (“public innovation places”) in which designers have joined a multiplicity of actors all working to innovate new approaches to the provision of public goods. To train future designers adequately to operate within this new environment, it is imperative to rethink the ways in which we as design educators think through and approach issues of social and political complexity, and how we frame those in the context of studio projects. For the past five years, the Parsons DESIS Lab has been working through this question focusing on design for social innovation, dealing with community organizations, not-for-profits and the public sector to build new capacities, skillsets, and roles for design practitioners in order to position them as contributing agents of change. In this article we discuss the pedagogical opportunities, limits, and difficulties around the training of future transdisciplinary designers and thinkers seeking to address a range of complex social and political issues and willing to operate within the interstitials spaces between government, civil society, and the market, where new social innovations may arise. To do so, we will focus on a Fall 2013 studio course taught at Parsons Transdisciplinary Design MFA Program entitled “The NYC Office of Public Imagination”. The challenge was for students to design a hypothetical governmental agency, find a place for it inside the existing structure and parameters of city government, and imagine what that agency would do using design as a catalyst for social innovation.

Values in General Education School: Teachers’ Approach

Moral values are characterized as meaning of human life and plenitude condition. The basis of moral values are always spiritual and ensuring human as individual united becoming. The influence of moral values to better pupil achievements and thinking are based on academic research. Attention is drawn, that values of educators are related not only with their own work but also with ability to create more humane relations and educational process – to work with all age group students and base communication in educational process on self-esteem and creativity. The values of educators have an influence on student maturity – education based on moral values determine positive social behavior, allows the better understanding of behaviour impact on yourself and others, develop his ethic vocabulary. The research discovers that in modern school moral values are not frequent – they formed a quarter of all identified values. Values can be considered as aspect of organization of educational process, school management and work with parents. However by this way the attitude is expressed to school management and education based on humane relations, establishment of conditions is emphasized to correspond not only the need of educator but also the needs of other schools community members. Discussing values, educators often express problems arising while organizing educational process. So it must be assumed that various pedagogical difficulties have influence on value education – giving a sense to student activities require considerable amount of effort. Therefore short-term goals are set and pupil moral position is understood in school. Little attention to spiritual learning perspectives.

ACTIVATING THE MORAL SELF-DEVELOPMENT IN THE PROCESS OF ETHICS EDUCATION AND CULTURE STUDIES

The paper considers the problem of young people’s moral education with the reference to the system of secondary vocational education; the relevance of the study being enhanced by the greater independence of vocational college students compared to their high school peers. In addition, the paper describes the psychological and pedagogical difficulties in developing the moral norms, behavior principles, and life position in adolescence, when a mere moral declaration has little effect. Taking into consideration the students’ psychological and age characteristics, the authors suggest the active methods of dialogical interactions and recommend the system of ethical education and culture studies based on a differentiated understanding of specificity of the domestic moral culture, and axiological analysis of its educational potential. The multi-variant moral norms coexisting in modernRussiainclude the traditional, aristocratic, pragmatic and other types of values; all of them can be introduced in the series of educational discussions. The paper lists the approximate topics for such ethical and cultural debates, and demonstrates the expected effect of students’ moral self-assessment related to their life position and behavior patterns. The recognized moral values are likely to make a foundation for the students’ proper behavior both in college and in their future work.

STUDENTS’ SUBJECTIVENESS AND ITS MOULDING AS A PEDAGOGICAL PROBLEM

The essence of a student’s subjectiveness as “an image of his own self” in action: the totality of professional value-volitional directions, the ability to be an active strategist of one’s own educational activity, the experience of realized self- regulation in interaction with people are analysed. Pedagogical difficulties of specifying the peculiarities of individual experience and contradictions of moulding a contemporary student’s subjectiveness, conditions of its formation, which should be taken into consideration by the teacher in organizing interaction, are revealed. The components of a student’s subjectiveness, which moulding is carried out in the conditions of constructive interaction together with other subjects of educational process (with the use of the strategies of self-rientation, self-joining, and self-enrichment) are grounded. As a result of the student’s subjective need to creatively regard his learning, establish and develop contacts, a new self-constitution in professional and life decisions occurs.

A central support system can facilitate implementation and sustainability of a Classroom-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in Genomics.

In their 2012 report, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology advocated "replacing standard science laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses"-a challenging proposition that presents practical and pedagogical difficulties. In this paper, we describe our collective experiences working with the Genomics Education Partnership, a nationwide faculty consortium that aims to provide undergraduates with a research experience in genomics through a scheduled course (a classroom-based undergraduate research experience, or CURE). We examine the common barriers encountered in implementing a CURE, program elements of most value to faculty, ways in which a shared core support system can help, and the incentives for and rewards of establishing a CURE on our diverse campuses. While some of the barriers and rewards are specific to a research project utilizing a genomics approach, other lessons learned should be broadly applicable. We find that a central system that supports a shared investigation can mitigate some shortfalls in campus infrastructure (such as time for new curriculum development, availability of IT services) and provides collegial support for change. Our findings should be useful for designing similar supportive programs to facilitate change in the way we teach science for undergraduates.

INTEGRATING VISUALIZATIONS IN SCIENCE TEACHING: TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES AND PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES

This study is a qualitative research where it tries to finding out and analyze the teacher’s pedagogical approaches and difficulties to introduce visualizations in science classroom. The use of visualizations in classroom has increased substantially, especially since the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Fourteen in-service teachers were investigated across a teachers’ training course to seek their difficulties and pedagogical approaches for integrating these tools in teaching and learning sequences (TLS). During the training teachers were invited to build in group (five groups) teaching learning sequences about some science content using visualizations. The methodology is qualitative and a case study design was adopted. It was analysed the TLS made by them and the audiovisual record of their oral communications to the class. It was also analyzed the final semi-structured interview with these teachers’ groups and a final report about the TLS application in classroom. These teachers present mainly pedagogical difficulties in order to select the suitable resource and to realize the full potentialities of these resources and sometimes the role of the teacher towards students and resources in the classroom. The technical barriers were the lack of school computers and appropriated software. The results suggest that these teachers are using mostly constructivist approaches to incorporate the visualizations in classroom trying to take advantage of the interactivity that some of these tools allow. Two groups fall more in transmission view, using this resources mostly to present information and the rest tried to use this resources to build inquiry tasks. They chose above of all multimedia tools to enhance particular concepts and skills and sometimes to innovate presentations. Some difficulties related to pedagogical approaches and technical barriers to use these resources are discussed. Key words: approaches, difficulties, visualizations, teacher pedagogical education.

Teaching Polymer Chemistry: Revisiting the Syllabus

As anyone who has taught polymer chemistry to undergraduate students might already appreciate, we are faced with inherent difficulties in clearly communicating the subject matter due its interdisciplinary character. This paper is thus aimed at proposing a new educational plan to teach this fundamental course in order to overcome some inherent obstacles. It is especially devoted to professors in charge of teaching a first course in polymer chemistry. We intend to emphasize polymerization by beginning with the simplest chemical pathway, namely the living anionic polymerization. In addition, some pedagogical difficulties are outlined all along this paper. This novel and distinct way to teach polymer chemistry makes the students with a background in organic chemistry more equipped to face difficulties arising from the introduction of new concepts.

The Contribution of Movie Clips to Idiom Learning Improvement of Iranian EFL Learners

Learning idioms in a foreign language in which there are numerous problems in exposing the learners to authentic situations has faced many pedagogical difficulties. Many researchers (Gibbs, 1992: Honeck, 1997: Simpson & Mendi, 2003) have tried to know more about the process of idiom learning and the effect of mother tongue on understanding idioms, because idioms are among the difficult areas of learning a foreign or second language. This study was an attempt to examine the impact of applying movie clips including idioms on the quality of idiom learning. To this end, 100 gifted high school students, aged between 16 and 18 were selected. Then, an Oxford Placement Test (OPT) was administered to select 60 intermediate students. Due to the matched-pair technique, they were divided into two equal experimental and control groups. In order to find out whether the students have any prior knowledge about the new idioms, a pre-test including an idiom multiple choice test was used. The control group was taught 30 idioms conventionally using synonyms and antonyms. The experimental group received the treatment and the idioms were taught using movie clips. After 10 weeks an idiom multiple choice test based on the materials taught was administered to both groups. Then, 60 students and 10 high school English teachers completed an attitudinal questionnaire reflecting their attitudes towards learning idioms through the suggested way. The statistical analyses of the collected data showed that there was a significant difference between the obtained means of the two groups, meaning that, the experimental group outperformed the control one. Therefore, teachers, students, test makers, test designers, and materials developers should consider the effectiveness of using movie clips and films in L2 idiom learning/teaching.

Analyzing and attempting to overcome prospective teachers’ difficulties during problem-solving instruction

This article analyzes the experiences of prospective secondary mathematics teachers during a teaching methods course, offered prior to their student teaching, but involving actual teaching and reflexive analysis of this teaching. The study focuses on the pedagogical difficulties that arose during their teaching, in which prospective teachers lacked pedagogical content knowledge and skills. It also analyzes the experience of the course itself, which was aimed at scaffolding the work of prospective teachers on developing their pedagogical content knowledge and skills.

To Have and to Have Not

This year-long ethnographic study analyzed three California charter middle schools: one served mostly low-income, urban African American students; the second served students from working class Latino families; and the third served a middle class, predominantly White suburb. The study illustrates how socioeconomic context of a charter school's community, combined with charter reforms, affect school operations. Significantly, charters serving poor students lacked resources to fulfill their needs, and teachers lacked necessary professional development. As a result of financial and pedagogical difficulties, some charters took a more selective approach to finding students who would help the school, and its teachers, succeed.