Pedagogical Responses Research Articles

Addressing the Language and Literacy Needs and Challenges of Students with Refugee Experiences: Integrated Supports

This paper reports on an ethnographic research study with experienced K-12 teachers and paraprofessionals in Western Canada to understand (1) the language and literacy needs and challenges of students with refugee experiences; and (2) the pedagogical responses used to build trusting, collaborative relationships of power. Our theoretical framework draws on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model, which we align with a literacy ecology of communities perspective. Working with 15 participants in a school district with a long history of resettlement, we address the following questions: (1) What do teachers and paraprofessionals identify as the language and literacy learning needs and challenges for students with refugee experiences? and (2) What are the most appropriate and empowering pedagogical responses to meet curricular expectations and use language and literacy for social impact and identity representation? Using thematic analysis, we identify four interweaving themes: relationships, mindful pedagogies, well-being, and safety. We provide illustrative examples from ethnographic focus group discussions, triangulated with informal interviews and observations in relation to an integrated model of supports for students with refugee experiences. We conclude with four critical lessons learned about relationships, communication flows within and across nested ecological systems, flexibility and structure, and inspirational pedagogies.

Generative AI

The integration of Generative AI (GenAI) technology in higher education demands active and creative pedagogical responses. In this paper we report on an emerging creative educational design approach which introduces activities for working with GenAI in imaginative ways. Through multidisciplinary research, we are iteratively designing activities to engage educators and students in creative and critical inquiry of GenAI with metaphors. First, we introduce the background and rationale for using metaphor to explore GenAI in education. Our approach to generative AI draws on postdigital ideas that consider technology as entwined in our lives, rather than as separate tools. Put simply, GenAI is neither inherently good nor bad for education. Research on metaphor as a powerful learning tool of analogy is reviewed. A detailed account of workshop learning activities is then provided, including their design, implementation, and preliminary findings. The aim is to broaden approaches to using and integrating such technologies, and to serve as an alternative model for other educators to adapt for their own practices. Finally, we discuss future, creative possibilities with GenAI and metaphor.

School administrators’ and teachers’ pedagogical responses to demographic change based on their meaning-making of multicultural students in South Korea

ABSTRACT Public schools in South Korea have faced unprecedented changes because of demographic shifts, particularly the influx and growth of three types of ‘multicultural students’: children of married migrant women, foreign workers, and North Korean refugees. In this situation, teachers are challenged to implement educational policies and a standardised national curriculum for those unfamiliar with the Korean language, culture, and education system. This study, conducted between Fall 2022 and Summer 2023, involved interviews with 16 elementary and secondary school administrators and teachers from urban and rural regions. It revealed that teachers’ perceptions and biases about multicultural students significantly influenced their educational practices, resulting from interpretive processes and problematic framing. The data indicate that teachers’ meaning-making and pedagogical responses to multicultural students are insufficient for systematically addressing the structural inequalities and social injustices faced by these students. Ultimately, these teachers’ responses and practices fell short of providing equitable education that South Korea’s multicultural education policies aim for. The study concluded that comprehensive teacher training in cultural competence and bias awareness is essential for bridging the gap between policy and practice. It recommends the development of reflective practices, continuous professional development, and the creation of supportive school environments to enhance multicultural education’s effectiveness.

Preparing Teachers for the ‘Ummah’: A Case Study of Hayat Foundation

This preliminary study initiates an exploration into a novel informal Islamic teacher education programme developed by a community organisation. The presented case study explores the Afghan Muslim inspired Hayat Foundation’s communal educational initiative, the Marefat programme. The programme, derived from Islamic educational theoriesis ‘imbued with notions of reflective, critical, and reflexive thinking’, which are designed to recognise the individual levels of development for every educator and simultaneously elevate their efficacy, agency, and person. Adopting an interpretivist-narrative methodology conveyed through a dialogical approach, this study focuses on the lived experiences of this social-welfare organisation by seeking to decipher the teleological nature of the programme. This examination is guided by three questions which seek to identify its intended audience, the specificity of the issue it attempts to address, and the approaches it has adapted to implement its programme. The findings suggest that the overarching purpose of this educational initiative is to foster empowering liberatory pedagogical responses to counter oppressive narratives in the reading of the Islamic tradition.

Pronunciation Challenges of Saudi Female EFL Learners: A Multidimensional Needs Analysis

Mastering English pronunciation poses persistent obstacles for Saudi learners pursuing higher education and careers reliant on strong oral skills. This mixed methods study explores female Saudi university students’ and vocational trainees’ self-reported experiences with pronunciation via questionnaires and interviews. Quantitative findings reveal ongoing segmental and suprasegmental difficulties, with consonant contrasts, vowel distinctions, and stress/rhythm issues most prevalent. Participants emphasize interconnected sociocultural variables influencing development, including class size, technology access, family support, teacher expertise, and learner confidence. Qualitative insights underscore pronunciation as a multifaceted process requiring aligned pedagogical responses. Recommendations center on specialized instructor training, personalized feedback techniques, targeted lessons, and technology integration. By capturing diverse learner perspectives, this research contributes an inclusive examination of needs to advance responsive policies and practices that optimize Saudi females’ pronunciation attainment. Findings affirm pronunciation as a complex yet critical developmental process necessitating comprehensive support structures.

Walking-wit(h)nessing: propositions for walking with waste landscapes in early childhood education

ABSTRACT This paper takes walking-based research in early childhood education as a propositional space, one grounded in reconsidering witnessing as a practice attuned to co-emergence in waste landscapes. I draw from Ettinger’s (2001) and Boscacci’s (2018) word-concept wit(h)nessing to stake out some possibilities for walking-wit(h)nessing as an affective, relational practice for pedagogical responses to child-waste subjectivities in the ongoing global waste crisis. In doing so, I am careful to frame walking alongside waste landscapes as an invitational move towards resisting passive observation, one that refuses to extricate children, educators, and researchers from living-and-becoming with waste. I conclude by offering three propositions for walking-wit(h)nessing waste landscapes that open towards walking practices that embrace the tensions of waste and human/more-than-human enmeshment for enacting pedagogies that confront and counter status quo waste logics of invisibility, the problematics of scale, and solvability.

Teacher identity and pedagogy: strategies and responses of teacher educators during the covid-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This small-scale qualitative research project is located within post-compulsory education in England and explores some of the strategies and responses employed by three initial teacher educators to carry out their professional role while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The central argument is that teacher identity was significant as a pedagogical tool to respond to the pandemic. Therefore, more consideration should be given to the interconnectedness of who I am, what I do and why I do it, when pedagogical responses are needed to address emergent issues. The first part of the paper paints a picture of the available literature related to learning during covid-19, followed by an articulation of the research design. The second part discusses the relationship between identity and pedagogy, which is the central theme constructed from the data gathered from the research participants. It closes with a reflection about how educators as a collective have shown resilience and creative ways to deal with challenges, thus adding new layers of their identity, and this can be pedagogically powerful.

Developing Personalised Learning Support for the Business Forecasting Curriculum: The Forecasting Intelligent Tutoring System

In forecasting research, the focus has largely been on decision support systems for enhancing performance, with fewer studies in learning support systems. As a remedy, Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) offer an innovative solution in that they provide one-on-one online computer-based learning support affording student modelling, adaptive pedagogical response, and performance tracking. This study provides a detailed description of the design and development of the first Forecasting Intelligent Tutoring System, aptly coined FITS, designed to assist students in developing an understanding of time series forecasting using classical time series decomposition. The system’s impact on learning is assessed through a pilot evaluation study, and its usefulness in understanding how students learn is illustrated through the exploration and statistical analysis of a small sample of student models. Practical reflections on the system’s development are also provided to better understand how such systems can facilitate and improve forecasting performance through training.

Pedagogical Response to the Needs of Preschool Children in a Disadvantaged Situation

The aim of this article is to analyse the pedagogical response of Croatian ECEC teachers to the needs of preschool children in a disadvantaged situation. The quality of pedagogical practise to prevent unfavourable developmental trajectories in children in a disadvantaged situation, particularly in the Croatian system, is poorly researched. A vignette describing an imaginary child in a disadvantaged situation was used and 35 preschool teachers from 15 ECEC institutions described in writing in an online application how they would support the child in his or her development. The qualitative thematic analysis was conducted according to the five components of the strengths-based approach (relationships, empowerment, collaboration, strengths and focus on change). This approach assumes that through reciprocal relationships between children, parents and teachers, previously agreed goals are achieved and personal resources, motivation and belief in the possibility of achieving sustainable change are unleashed. The results show that ECEC teachers are predominantly oriented towards individual components of the strengths-based approach (quality of relationships, focus on children's strengths), while the implementation of the entire strengths-based approach in its entirety is lacking. It is emphasised that the strengths-based approach needs to be more strongly affirmed in Croatian ECEC system so that its principles are recognisable in the pedagogical practise of all ECEC teachers.

Pedagogical and Education-Related Measures suggested by the Algerian and British governments for the higher education sector during the COVID-19 pandemic – a comparative study

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching effects, not only on public health but also on the global economy, social interactions, and daily life. It has highlighted the importance of global cooperation and the need for more investment in public health and emergency preparedness. The pandemic also exposed weaknesses in many countries’ educational management systems; it has forced many higher education institutions to adopt new teaching and learning methods to minimize the risk of transmission. This resulted in the need for comparative studies to evaluate the effectiveness of different pedagogical responses and to find common ground on the most effective practices and responses that would help higher education institutions better prepare for similar challenges in the future. The present study provides a comparative study and outcomes through a record of the pedagogical responses by higher education authorities in two completely different contexts (Algeria and the UK). The authors of the paper adopted a desktop analysis approach through valid and first-hand reliable sources like government and university official releases. This research methodology would involve a systematic and rigorous approach to data collection and analysis to ensure the reliability and validity of the research findings. Through coding and thematic analysis of the collected data, the researchers concluded that the efficiency of the responses and decisions adopted by higher education institutions varied depending on a range of factors such as the institution’s resources, infrastructure, and student population. However, the pandemic highlighted the need for agile and serious responses to ensure the safety and well-being of students and the campus community.

Critical Thinking and Conspiracy Theories. Towards Rhetorical Virtues

The rhetorical model that has emerged in recent years calls for a diversification of pedagogical responses to critical thinking and, particularly, to the pedagogical treatment of conspiracy theories. Rhetoric is often defined, by the rhetoricians themselves, as a neutral art of persuasive discourse, sensitive to standards of effectiveness, but independent of truth and morality. However, the sole aim of rhetoric is not to train “skillful persuaders”, without any other consideration, since at the same time it presents itself as a broader education in democratic citizenship. These orators, trained by the rhetorical technique, are never defined, however, insofar as contemporary rhetoricians have gradually abandoned the normative reflection on (good) orators that was once conducted in the rhetorical tradition. Yet conspiratorial discourse, more vividly than other pedagogical objects, implies, by its very designation, norms, and values that isolate it from other categories of discourse deemed more acceptable or less dangerous to democratic life. Faced with this observation, this article proposes a reconceptualization of rhetoric that makes explicit the normative dimension of its educational project. Defined as a discipline – and no longer as a neutral technique – the aim of rhetoric today is to train (good) orators who possess the dispositions to act (well), speak (well) and think (well) in the context of contemporary pluralist democracy and its values. These dispositions could be called, in the vocabulary of virtue ethics, “rhetorical virtues” or “speaker virtues”.

Proactive Autonomous Assignments as Pedagogical Responses to the Rise of Artificial Intelligence Solutions in Sport Management Teaching Practice

Introducing ChatGPT offered higher education students a chance to use artificial intelligence to automatically generate assignment texts, and some might cheat in behaviorist tasks by using generative artificial intelligence. However, the introduction of ChatGPT could also lead instructors to expect more (rather than less) academic integrity in terms of their students’ assignment preparation. That is especially crucial in sport management education, where many instructors apply experiential learning. This essay suggests theory-driven content for proactive autonomous project assignments, addressing some students applying ChatGPT when generating experiential assignment content. The target of such projects is to ensure the greatest possible academic integrity and that students perceive a satisfactory return on their resources invested in education.

Teachers’ Beliefs and Actions on affective responses during music listening activities in higher education in China

Music listening is very important in all stages of music learning. Affective response and cognition take place simultaneously during the music-listening process. However, there is a paucity of research on how university music teachers deal with the issues of involving the affective responses of students in listening. This study employed a questionnaire survey to investigate the current situation of teaching beliefs and actions of music academics towards affective responses while listening to music in China. The views of 160 music university teachers recruited from 15 different universities have been surveyed. The questionnaire was designed based on the concept of music teaching and learning with an acceptable reliability of K=0.58. The survey data identified the potential correlation between the teacher’s beliefs and their actions (r=0.67). Moreover, the possible correlation between several predictors associated with the teachers (gender, educational degree, teaching experience and the type of university, and so on) also have been investigated. The results of this study revealed that around 90% of respondents agreed that affective responses can be enhanced music cognition during the teaching process. The relationship between teachers’ beliefs and actions is found to be positive but not linear related. In addition, it was found that the teacher’s knowledge of effective pedagogical responses during music listening has the potential to broaden the scope of their teaching.

“It’s Avoiding Getting Sued for Concussion for Those Kids”: Pedagogical Responses of Youth Soccer Coaches to New Guidelines on Heading

Purpose: To describe nine youth soccer coaches’ pedagogical responses to the implementation of the new guidelines on heading introduced by the United States Soccer Federation. The specific research questions we attempted to answer were: (a) What were the coaches’ perspectives and practices regarding the coaching of heading? and (b) What factors shaped the coaches’ perspectives and practices? Method: The theoretical framework employed was occupational socialization. Data were collected using four qualitative techniques and reduced to themes using analytic induction and constant comparison. Findings: Key findings were that the coaches fell into one of three groups: rejectors, acceptors, and skeptics. Differences in the coaches’ acculturation, professional socialization, and organizational socialization were responsible for the coaches’ differing responses to the new guidelines on heading. Conclusions: Should they transfer to other coaches, these findings should help coach educators to develop stronger programs.

Reimagining Death in an All-Too-Human World: A Pedagogical Exploration of Pinar Yoldas' Ecosystem of Excess

This article offers a pedagogical response to Pinar Yoldas’ Ecosystem of Excess, a speculative marine ecosystem of creatures that have evolved to survive the human-induced proliferation of plastic. In questioning our relationship to death in an era of ecological devastation due to excessive consumption, it proposes a pedagogy of ambivalence to explore what Ecosystem of Excess can teach us about our complicated relations with death. The article then develops three articulations of death—death beyond finality, silent death, and relational death—that are generative for attending to the multi-faceted ways ambivalence manifests itself in the context of more-than-human death.

COVID Learning Loss: A Call to Action

The COVID-19 pandemic and policy responses designed to mitigate transmission have caused deep and persistent mathematics learning loss among K–12 students. While initial data might have been read optimistically as a blip that would reverse once schools returned to normal, 2023 data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that losses persist. While the NAEP does not directly measure quantitative reasoning (QR), the data present a disturbing picture for QR instruction and call for new lines of research that inform QR pedagogical response.

Designing for digital transformation of residency education – a post-pandemic pedagogical response

BackgroundThe forced transition to emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted health professions education worldwide. In Sweden, the need for alternative solutions for the training of junior doctors became urgent, as many of the mandatory onsite courses required for residents to qualify as specialists were canceled. The purpose of this study was to understand course leaders' perceptions and experiences of using digital technologies, such as video conferencing, to teach medical residents (ST) during the pandemic and beyond.MethodsA qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted with seven course leaders responsible for residency courses during the first year of the pandemic to capture their perceptions and experiences. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis, drawing on the technology affordances and constraints theory (TACT) as a framework to explore pedagogical strategies and new teaching practices emerging from the forced use of digital technologies for remote teaching.ResultsThe data analysis revealed affordances of, as well as constraints to, teaching specialist medical training during the pandemic. The findings show that the use of digital conference technologies for ERT can both enable and inhibit social interactions, the interactive learning environment and the utilization of technological features, depending on the individual course leaders’ goals of using the technology and the situated context of the teaching.ConclusionsThe study reflects the course leaders' pedagogical response to the pandemic, as remote teaching became the only way to provide residency education. Initially, the sudden shift was perceived as constraining, but over time they found new affordances through the enforced use of digital technology that helped them not only to cope with the transition but also to innovate their pedagogical methods. After a rapid, forced shift from on-site to digital courses, it is crucial to utilize experiences to create better preconditions for digital technology to facilitate learning in the future.

Responding to racist contempt with counter-contempt: Moral and pedagogical dilemmas

ABSTRACT The goal of this paper is to explore arguments about the moral (in)appropriateness of counter-contempt as a justified moral and pedagogical response to racist contempt. Drawing on debates for and against contempt in moral philosophy, the paper suggests a contextual approach to contempt that pays attention to both the specifics of the concrete situation that agents are in when they are experiencing racist contempt and the context of the agents themselves, understood as the conceptual and affective tools that are available to them in order to discern and challenge the meaning of racist contempt. The paper discusses the moral and pedagogical dilemmas entailed in efforts to cultivate in the classroom (and beyond) the right kind of contempt—both as a pedagogical stance and as a political message—which does not backfire but instead inspires a productive engagement with racism.

Uses and Limits of Data and Student Feedback in Pedagogical Response to COVID-19: A Case Study

ABSTRACTThis article examines how one political science department used data and student feedback to make pedagogical choices about course modalities and pedagogical approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic. This case demonstrates that gathering data from students through surveys and other means and then utilizing that data in decision making is a valuable practice. However, there are constraints on collecting quality data in a crisis. With a need to react quickly and to gather and analyze data in a timely fashion, data-informed and student-empathetic decision making is a more accurate characterization of the outcomes in this case and a more achievable goal for the future than data-driven and student-centered decision making in a crisis. This study concludes that data-informed and student-empathetic decision making may be preferable in circumstances in which the data are inconclusive or support multiple conclusions as well as when there are conflicting needs and preferences among both faculty members and students.

A Dialogical Exploration of Student Teacher Reflections: From Notions of Insideness and Outsideness to Pedagogical Alongsideness

This article offers a dialogical exploration of student teachers’ reflections on notions of insideness and outsideness, the focal themes of an Erasmus+ ten-day intensive programme (IP). The arts-based, interdisciplinary IP involved 32 student participants and twelve members of staff from eight European universities hosted by the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. The data for this paper are based on the final written essays of student participants as they reflected on their understanding of outsideness and insideness at the end of the IP. The dialogic approach used in the analysis allows for a careful exploration of how the students attended to different experiences, surmised the meaning of insideness and outsideness, and used these reflections to develop their pedagogical response. The findings highlight how the participants drew on their own experiences and relationships within and beyond the IP to navigate and negotiate their pedagogical understanding. This study offers useful insights into the formation of pedagogical understanding as well as the role and responsibilities of teacher education in guiding this formative process, all the more important in times of emergencies.