Educational Reasons Research Articles

The enactment of critical digital pedagogical (CDP) practices through pedagogical reasoning.

Abstract This study examines the influence of educator beliefs and pedagogic awareness apropos of their teaching practices due to the invisible nature of pedagogical reasoning especially when facilitating in online teaching environments. The research question focuses on the role of pedagogical reasoning in the enactment of critical digital pedagogy (CDP) at a Centre for Learning, Teaching and Development (CLTD) mandated to support academics. A transformative learning theory lens and the model for pedagogical reasoning and action was employed as the theoretical analytical framework. This study aligns with the qualitative paradigm and considers pedagogical reasoning in CDP practices through a reflective journal as a research instrument and data source. Thematic analysis was engaged in to identify underlying themes. The study foregrounds the importance of reflection through pedagogical reasoning thereby showing how critical practice in CDP endorses the outline and enactment of inclusive teaching settings in blended learning (BL) environments.

Pedagogical and Social Transformations in Post-Apartheid Mathematics Education

This special issue addresses the complexities of mathematics teaching and learning in post-apartheid South Africa by exploring themes such as pedagogical reasoning, decoloniality, rural education challenges, and teacher preparation. It contributes to the ongoing dialogue on mathematics education's role in social transformation, enhancing the body of knowledge and deepening practitioners' understanding of its impact.

Music education training for kindergarten teachers: a workshop integrating Shulman’s pedagogical content knowledge and pedagogical reasoning and action model

ABSTRACT Kindergarten teachers often express concerns about the insufficient preparation they receive in their training programs to effectively teach music. This lack of confidence in their music teaching and musical ability can impact their effectiveness of teaching, which in turn can affect children’s music learning. To address this deficiency in music training for preservice teachers, this study consists of a workshop that integrates Shulman’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) through the Pedagogical Reasoning and Action Model (PRA). The workshop takes an experiential approach, moving away from the traditional separation of content knowledge and pedagogy. Nine participants took part in the workshop and were interviewed to address two research questions: 1. How do preservice teachers perceive the significance of their musical competence and music pedagogy skills when conducting a music lesson? 2. In what ways does the workshop contribute to the professional growth and effectiveness of preservice teachers in music teaching? The integrated approach employed in the workshop proved effective in enhancing the preservice teachers’ comprehension of PCK through PRA model. The study emphasizes the significance of designing training programs that encompass the breadth and depth of Shulman’s theory of teaching, equipping teachers to deliver music education.

Developing student teachers’ critical awareness of information and communications technology in primary teacher education

ABSTRACT This article focuses on Swedish primary teacher education and the conditions for student teachers’ development of digital competence. Previous research has pointed to the importance of preparing teachers to use digital technology to support pupils’ learning. The aim of this study is to examine the development of course content to enhancing student teachers’ critical awareness of information and communications technology in primary teacher education. Data was collected from groups of primary student teachers consisting of anonymised course materials, a survey and course assignments. The results show that primary student teachers experience that digital technology facilitates the planning and organising of their teaching, digital technology can support the children’s learning and critical pedagogical reasoning is important when using digital technology in the teaching situation. The results have relevance internationally for teacher educators and highlight the importance of promoting a critical awareness of the pedagogical use of digital technology in the classroom.

Fiqh Teaching Action Among Islamic Educators in Brunei Darussalam

Effective teaching is often associated with mastery of the content of the lesson and pedagogical skills. Thus, to implement effective teaching, Shulman introduced six-cycle processes of pedagogical reasoning and action that can help teachers organize their teaching. However, this study only focused on teaching action (the instruction process) in the class. Therefore, this study aims to explore the teaching practices of Fiqh teachers in religious schools. The study uses a method of qualitative research, through interviews, observation of teaching, and document analysis, to collect data. The study participants consisted of 10 Fiqh religious teachers who taught Grades IV, V, and VI. Thematic analysis was used in this study for the formation of themes and sub-themes. The results of the study found that there are several important elements for the instruction process in the cycle of pedagogical reasoning and actions in the classroom. The mastery of the teacher's pedagogical content knowledge and its application in the teaching practice in the classrooms has a positive impact on teaching Fiqh in religious schools. As a recommendation, religious teachers need to constantly expand their pedagogical content knowledge from time to time so that they can implement effective teaching.

Geography Teachers’ Pedagogical Reasoning and Action While Integrating Sustainable Development into APHG Courses

The aim of this study is to explore the pedagogical reasoning and action of high school geography teachers when teaching sustainable development within the context of the Advanced Placement Human Geography classroom. Through a multiple case study approach, this research examines the instructional decisions and rationales of seven APHG teachers throughout their entire teaching activities. The findings illuminate how participating teachers make informed instructional decisions through specific teaching strategies and practices and the rationale behind their decisions, encompassing both planned pedagogical actions and responses to unexpected instructional challenges in their classrooms.

Informing Non-native Teachers’ Decision Making and Pedagogical Reasoning Through Skills and Systems Mode

Informing Non-native Teachers’ Decision Making and Pedagogical Reasoning Through Skills and Systems Mode

An exploration of in-service teachers’ framing, instrumental, and core design judgments in dynamic decision-making for technology integration

Dynamic decision-making plays a critical role in teachers’ instructional design and technology integration processes; it directly influences the design and development of teaching practices, student learning experiences, and learning environments. However, limited studies have investigated how teachers engage in dynamic decision-making processes in designing instruction and technology integration, wherein teachers are involved in multiple types of design judgments that inform their design decisions for instruction and technology integration. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ framing, instrumental, and core judgments that were intertwined in dynamic decision-making for technology integration. The study utilized the critical decision method approach to investigate teachers’ three prioritized design judgments in dynamic decision-making. The findings of this study helped us gain a better understanding of teachers’ dynamic decision-making processes, pedagogical reasoning, and design judgments while designing instruction for technology integration. It also informs professional development strategies to develop teachers’ instructional design decision-making skills for technology integration.

Learning by design: Enhancing online collaboration in developing pre‐service TESOL teachers' TPACK for teaching with corpus technology

AbstractIn this study, we integrated corpus technology in pre‐service TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) development in corpus technology, termed corpus‐based language pedagogy (CBLP), and highlighted the collaborative effort for knowledge building among participants for TPACK development. The study examined the role of online collaboration in facilitating how pre‐service TESOL teachers developed their CBLP (TPACK in corpus technology) using a learning‐by‐design approach, enacted it in co‐designing lessons, revised their lessons and reflected on their collective knowledge building processes. Using a case study approach involving 33 participants, the study focused on both intra‐ and inter‐group interactions to understand the pre‐service teachers' learning dynamics/changes and unpack the interaction mechanism involved in online collaborative learning. To these ends, we collected data including CBLP group lesson designs, intra‐group data (interviews) and inter‐group peer critical comments and analysed them based on the two stages (comprehension and transformation) of Shulman's pedagogical reasoning. The results suggest that engaging in online collaboration, facilitated by the learning‐by‐design approach, is instrumental in enabling pre‐service teachers to learn corpus technology and expand their repertoire of teaching strategies. Our findings imply that both intra‐ and inter‐group collaboration modes are important to help pre‐service TESOL teachers holistically develop TPACK for language teaching. Similar implications may be applied to other subject‐specific TPACK training.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Teacher preparation programmes play a crucial role in developing pre‐service teachers' technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) TPACK integration into pedagogical practice and subject‐specific professional development opportunities are important for effective teaching, but there is a lack of research on subject‐specific TPACK development (eg, TPACK in language teaching) Online collaborative learning can support TPACK development, but most studies focused on intra‐group interactions with little attention to inter‐group interactions What this paper adds Introduces a new corpus‐based language pedagogy (CBLP) for TESOL teachers to help them develop TPACK in language teaching Presents an innovative two‐step training framework for developing TESOL teachers' TPACK in corpus technology Examines the role of online collaboration in developing pre‐service TESOL teachers' TPACK for teaching with corpus technology through learning by design Provides in‐depth qualitative data analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively to investigate the specific roles that intra‐group and inter‐group interactions play in shaping pre‐service TESOL teachers' CBLP development Develops an analytical framework comprising nine categories (under the comprehension and transformation stages of Shulman's pedagogical reasoning model) to code pre‐service TESOL teachers' TPACK development in corpus technology Finds that intra‐group interactions facilitate both comprehension and transformation stages, while inter‐group interactions predominantly facilitate the transformation stage of CBLP Implications for practice Emphasises hands‐on corpus‐searching skills and guidance on browsing corpora when designing CBLP lessons Encourages both within‐group and between‐group interactions in online collaborative learning to foster TPACK development for using corpus technology in teaching language subjects Considers incorporating similar approaches for developing other subject‐specific TPACK for other teaching subjects

Examining interactions between dominant discourses and engineering educational concepts in teachers' pedagogical reasoning

AbstractBackgroundEngineering's introduction into K–12 classrooms has been purported to support meaningful and inclusive learning environments. However, teachers must contend with dominant discourses embedded in US schooling that justify inequitable distributions of resources.PurposeDrawing on Gee's notion of discourses, we examine how teachers incorporate language legitimizing socially and culturally constructed values and beliefs. In particular, we focus on the discourse of ability hierarchy—reflecting dominant values of sorting and ranking students based on perceived academic abilities—and the discourse of individual blame—reflecting dominant framings of educational problems as solely the responsibility of individual students or families. We aim to understand how these discourses surface in teachers' reasoning about teaching engineering.MethodWe interviewed 15 teachers enrolled in an online graduate program in engineering education. Utilizing critical discourse analysis, we analyzed how teachers drew on discourses of blame and ability hierarchy when reasoning about problems of practice in engineering.ResultsTeachers drew on engineering education concepts to reinforce dominant discourses (echoing specific language and preserving given roles) as well as to disrupt (utilizing different language or roles that [implicitly] challenge) dominant discourses. Importantly, teachers could also retool discourses of ability hierarchy (arguing for a more equitable distribution of resources but problematically preserving the values of ranking and sorting students).ConclusionsK–12 schooling's sociohistorical context can shape how teachers make sense of engineering in ways that implicate race, gender, disability, and language, suggesting a need to grapple with how discourses from schooling—and engineering culture—maintain marginalizing environments for students.

A Case Study of a Secondary Biology Teacher’s Pedagogical Reasoning and Action with Augmented Reality Technology

While recognizing the vital role of teachers in augmented reality (AR) integration, a noticeable literature gap exists regarding how science educators address challenges related to technology, pedagogy, and content during AR instructional design and implementation. Conducted in a secondary school in Taiwan, this study addressed this gap by conducting a qualitative single-case analysis of a science teacher’s integration of AR technology into her biology lessons. The teacher’s pedagogical reasoning and action processes were observed and analyzed over 10 weeks, with a focus on micro-level exploration across two iterations of pedagogical analysis, design, implementation, reflection, and revision. The primary data collection includes teacher interviews, supplemented by teacher reflective notes, lesson plans, teaching materials, researcher observations and field notes taken during the weekly, one-hour teacher learning community meetings, and the AR-integrated lessons, student assessment results, and feedback. The study was informed by both the Technology Integration Planning model and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework. Data analysis techniques involved deductive coding and thematic analysis. The findings reveal the teacher’s developmental proficiency in AR, a reimagined depiction of AR-enhanced instructional content, a shift from didactic-based to inquiry-based teaching approaches, and an intertwined development of technological pedagogical knowledge, technological content knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge. This study provides valuable insights into how the educator became a pedagogical designer, overcame individual and contextual challenges, and leveraged reflective strategies to enhance biology lessons using AR technology, emphasizing technology’s potential to enrich pedagogy in science education.

Which ideas, when, and why? An experienced teacher's in‐the‐moment pedagogical reasoning about facilitating student sense‐making discussions

AbstractTeaching to support students' sense‐making is challenging. It requires continuous, context‐dependent decision‐making about which student ideas to pursue, when, how, and why. This paper presents a single case study of an experienced teacher, Nadine, as an illustrative case in order to provide a rich description of this teacher's decisional episodes. Specifically, we characterize Nadine's pedagogical reasoning for decisions to make space for or close down student sense‐making while facilitating whole‐class discussions. We analyzed video recordings of (1) Nadine's classroom teaching over the course of two instructional units, (2) classroom moments tagged by Nadine or researchers in the midst of her teaching capturing her rationales for instructional decisions, and (3) interviews about those tagged moments. Using constant‐comparative analytic methods, we identified three dimensions of criteria that Nadine considered in her decisions about whether to pursue student ideas: (1) disciplinary potential, (2) potential for fostering the classroom community, and (3) curricular considerations. We present four episodes that feature Nadine's reasoning, two in which she intentionally made space for student sense‐making and two in which she intentionally closed down lines of student reasoning. Regardless of the decision, the criteria Nadine considered were sometimes aligned, supporting a straightforward decision, and other times created tensions. Across four episodes, we show how Nadine navigated multidimensional criteria; considered students' long‐term trajectories; and considered for whom pursuing sense‐making would be beneficial. We argue that these navigational considerations might serve as focal points as teachers, researchers, and professional learning facilitators make sense of teachers' instructional decisions as they occur during instruction and that leveraging them to open opportunities for discourse with teachers can support complex teaching practices.

Scenario-based classroom context mode: reshaping non-native teachers’ decision-making and pedagogical reasoning

Teacher decision-making and pedagogical reasoning have been extensively investigated in the last two decades. However, there is a scarcity of research that examines the two constructs together in one single study. This study was an attempt to address this gap by implementing a teacher education course using the self-evaluation of teacher talk (SETT) framework that aimed to reshape the decision-making and pedagogical reasoning of ten non-native teachers. Data were collected over a 10-week period through Camtasia, which facilitated video-stimulated recall sessions. Conversation analysis was employed to analyze the interactions in classroom context between the learners and the novice teachers and the interactions between the novices and the first researcher-as-a-participant or experienced teacher. The findings showed that the novices relied on the SETT-oriented metalanguage to justify their decisions after the teacher education course (POST-TEC). In addition, although in the PRE-TEC phase, they lost their temper and codeswitched because of frustration when facing learners’ reticence, they used a number of useful interactive decisions such as avoiding teacher echoes and on-the-spot corrections during discussions in the POST-TEC. It can be concluded that examining the SETT modes separately contributes to our richer understanding of classroom discourse, as each mode has its own specific pedagogic goals that teachers should pay attention to in their classroom decisions. Suggestions for further research and implications for making the decision-making and pedagogical reasoning of language teachers more explicit are provided.

Pedagogical Reasoning for Speaking Instruction: A Longitudinal Study of Novice Language Teachers’ Cognition

Pedagogical reasoning, as one of the major components of teacher knowledge base, is crucially important in teacher education. Motivated by the dearth of research in this area, this study investigated the pedagogical reasoning of four novice language teachers in relation to speaking instruction in order to further our understanding of language teacher cognition. For this purpose, a qualitative approach was adopted and classroom observations and post-observation stimulated recall interviews were conducted over a period of eight months. The analysis of the data related to pedagogical reasoning episodes and reasoning complexity indicated that novice teachers employed varied pedagogical arguments for different aspects of teaching speaking to justify their pedagogical decisions, which included instruction-based, students-based, teacher-based, and context-based arguments. The findings also pointed to the developmental changes in terms of the complexity and comprehensiveness of novice teachers’ pedagogical reasoning. Although they initially tended to focus primarily on the subject matter and instructional activities, their reasoning gradually expanded to include students’ cognitive and affective characteristics. The findings of this study contribute to the research on the teacher knowledge base and cognition. Having a clear understanding of novice teachers’ pedagogical reasoning and how they utilize it to explain their classroom practices provides us with valuable insights into the process of learning to teach.

Understanding ESL Preservice Teachers’ Metaphorical Epistemology in the Teaching Practicum Context

This study examined twenty English as Second Language (ESL) preservice teachers’ learning-to-teach experiences amid the teaching practicums from the perspectives of social realist theory and practice architectures in the US. Through iterative discourse analysis and constant-comparative approach, this paper reveals four aspects of the participants’ metaphorical epistemology. First, the participants developed the constructivist metaphorical epistemology on ESL teaching by grappling with the emergent properties and practice architectures. Second, the participants’ metaphorical epistemology changed from pre-reflection and surface reflection to pedagogical reflection. Third, the participants modeled the reflective disposition by activating their personal emergent properties and tackling the social-political arrangements. Fourth, the participants’ metaphorical epistemology predominantly focuses on their pedagogical reasoning and negotiation of their multiple professional identities. Implications for facilitating ESL preservice teachers’ metaphorical epistemologies in the teaching practicum context are discussed.

Novice and expert teachers’ use of content-related knowledge during pedagogical reasoning

We investigate the use of content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge among 32 novices' and different types of experts' pedagogical reasoning, as exemplified in the field of mathematics education. Think-aloud interviews based on a planning task that required pedagogical reasoning were evaluated using verbal analysis. Our results show differences in the use of mathematics-related content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge between novices and experts, as well as between types of experts. We conclude that novices tend to emphasise knowledge of teaching procedures and that experts’ use of knowledge is related to their respective qualifications and experiences.

Applying Lee Shulman’s Model of Pedagogical Reasoning and Action to Analyze the Transformation of Elementary School Teachers Teaching of Chinese Language Arts

<p>國語教學是奠定學生學習的基礎。然因國語教學內容龐雜，學科知識結構不確定，不易體察教學現場的複雜多變和解決教學問題。因此，本研究以Lee Shulman「教學推理與行動模式」為架構，透過互動取向質性研究方式，觀察四位國小教師經由教學轉化，建構學科教學知識 (Pedagogical Content Knowledge, PCK) 歷程。研究者並以個人實踐知識輔佐教師，藉由分析十二則教學案例，建構深化的「國語教學推理與行動模式」，作為檢核國語教學之工具。研究發現如下：一、國語教學須經「教學前教材轉化」、「教學中教法轉化」、「教學後省思」三階段，具循環遞迴 (recursive) 現象。其中的教學前教材轉化是教學推理與行動核心；教師教學重在「學習者」理解，且須隨時反省及改變策略；最後依據個案教學歷程，建構「國語教學推理與行動模式」。二、教師的學科內容知識、教學知識、學生特性知識是建構PCK的關鍵；實踐知識有助於教學轉化；且教學轉化須植基於教師的基礎知識。三、教師先備知識、專家教師介入，及教材、學校文化因素，對教師教學推理與行動皆有影響。四、國語教學轉化須植基於「課文本位」 (textbook-based)。因此建議教師須增強學科內容知識，透過「國語教學推理與行動模式」檢核教學，提升教學轉化能力，建構學科教學知識。</p> <p> </p><p>Chinese language arts build the foundation where students consolidate their learning, but, due to the complex contents of its teaching and the yet-to-be-discovered structure of subject knowledge, it is not easy to understand the complex and ever-changing nature of such teaching as well as to solve related teaching problems. In light of that, this qualitative research took an interactive approach to identify and understand four elementary school teachers’ teaching transformation and their construction of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) by using Lee Shulman’s Model of Pedagogical Reasoning and Action as the theoretical structure. The researcher also provided assistance to the teachers with personal practice knowledge, coming up with twelve cases of their teaching to further facilitate the understanding of “pedagogical reasoning and action model for Chinese language arts teaching” and to evaluate the teaching of this subject. The research findings are as follows. 1. The teaching of Chinese language arts is recursive among three stages - the pre-teaching transformation of teaching materials, the during-teaching transformation of teaching methods, and the post-teaching reflection-among which the first one is the core of pedagogical reasoning and action. All four teachers have properly implemented their knowledge about the learners and were able to reflect and change their strategies at any time in terms of teaching. A “pedagogical reasoning and action model for Chinese language arts teaching” was established in accordance with these teaching cases. 2. The content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of students’ characteristics possessed by a teacher are extremely crucial in regards to the establishment of their PCK. Practice knowledge did help with teaching transformation whereas the teaching transformation must be based upon the teacher’s basic knowledge. 3. Factors, such as prior knowledge of teachers, the intervention of expert teachers, teaching materials, and school culture, did influence the pedagogical reasoning and action of teachers. 4. The transformation of Chinese language arts teaching must be textbook-based. It isherefor suggested that teachers should enhance subject content knowledge, check their teaching through the “pedagogical reasoning and action model for Chinese language arts teaching” to improve their teaching transformation ability, and construct pedagogical content knowledge.</p> <p> </p>

Practice-based 21st-century teacher education: Design principles for adaptive expertise

Currently, there is consensus about an education to promote 21st-century skills; however, limited research has explored how to incorporate them into practice-based teacher education. This article characterizes three design principles underpinning a one-year design-based research project that planned and tested a learning sequence for developing early adaptive expertise through critical thinking and collaboration. On average, the 14 prospective teachers who participated in this study scored 63% for core practices and 66% for pedagogical reasoning. Our study proposes a set of tools and activities for 21st-century teacher education that foregrounds specific progressive pedagogies to increase core practices and pedagogical reasoning performances.

From "content" to "competence": A cross-cultural analysis of pedagogical praxis in a Chinese science lesson.

This research is based on an approach that looks at cross-cultural research design as a "lens" for a deeper understanding of what goes on in the classroom. The research question is how a cross-cultural study like this one can lead to identifying the cultural script of teaching and help educators reflect on their practice. In this context, Chinese lessons could be described as a case-based study of pedagogical reasoning that drives a shift from focusing on "content" to "competence". This article draws on qualitative data collected by the researchers and a cross-cultural analysis of a science lesson in an elementary school in Beijing, China. Using the Japanese educators' critiques and Chinese reviews, the article determines the cultural script of teaching science (the first research question) and the way Chinese teachers reflect on their practice through the Japanese lens (the second research question). This study exposes the importance of teachers' understanding and reflecting on their practice, technically, practically, and critically. The analysis results show how teachers learn to change their lenses, to reflect on their teaching and reconstruct their understanding about teacher professionalism through at least four basic elements: didactics, praxis, pedagogy, and theory.

Novice and Expert Teachers’ Content-Related Pedagogical Reasoning

Abstract In this exploratory study, we seek to contrast the content-related pedagogical reasoning shown by prospective and experienced teachers – i.e., their reasoning for or against the use of subject-matter representations that draw on content knowledge or pedagogical content knowledge. We conducted think-aloud interviews with seven prospective teachers and seven experienced teachers based on a situation of planning to teach with a specific task. The teachers’ pedagogical reasoning was analysed by means of content analysis. The data showed that expert teachers engage substantially more in content-related pedagogical reasoning than novices. In particular, expert teachers’ reasoning is predominantly based on their knowledge of content and students and on curricular knowledge.