ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Debate as a Teaching Strategy in Online Education: A Case Study
Author: Park, Caroline
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Web Based Instruction,Online Courses,Computer Mediated Communication,Asynchronous Communication,Distance Education,Integrated Learning Systems,Open Source Technology,Teleconferencing,College Instruction,College Faculty,Educational Strategies,Case Studies,Reflective Teaching,Action Research,Persuasive Discourse,Debate,Journal Writing,Case Method (Teaching Technique)

This reflective case study was based on our independent use of the debate as an online instructional approach and our shared interest in teaching strategies. In an interdisciplinary manner, using narrative inquiry and action research, we melded our data sources and analyzed the findings, including our individual experiences with the technique. Our paper contributes to the field of research on faculty self-evaluations of teaching strategies, specifically debates. The topic will be of relevance to those who teach online. The findings suggest that examining faculty perceptions and views on the use of debates in text-based paced and un-paced courses at the online undergraduate and graduate levels can be a valuable undertaking. The process enabled us to benefit from our mutual reflective discussions on the use of debates to understand how each of us used the strategy. Despite our different approaches to the debate, we share many commonalities regarding debate as a teaching strategy.
Supernatural Explanations: Science or Not?
Author: Eastwell, Peter
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Evidence,Educational Strategies,Science Education,Religion,Hypothesis Testing,Feedback (Response),Students,Secondary School Students,Secondary Education,Theories,Beliefs

Contrary to the advice of supposedly authoritative sources, the a priori exclusion of supernatural explanations or claims from scientific scrutiny is not appropriate. This paper shows how supernatural hypotheses or claims should be treated by science and, in the process, differentiates scientific and non-scientific hypotheses or claims. Educational strategies are provided to help reduce the widespread belief in claims that have been contradicted by scientific testing and to help students avoid advancing hypotheses that are unlikely to be supported by empirical evidence. Both science and religion appear to play a role in societies, and there need be no conflict between these two very different domains.
The Mismatch among Students&apos; Views about Nature of Science, Acceptance of Evolution, and Evolutionary Science Understandings
Author: Cavallo, Ann M. L.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Evolution,Scientific Principles,High School Students,Teaching Methods,Science Instruction,Theories,Student Attitudes,Grade 9,Comprehension,Biology,Questionnaires,Data Collection,Correlation,Science Education

This study explored interrelationships among high school students' views about nature of science (NOS), acceptance of evolution, and conceptual understanding of evolution, and the extent to which these may have shifted from pre- to post-instruction on evolutionary theory. Eighty-one students enrolled in ninth-grade Biology responded to questionnaires measuring views about NOS and acceptance of evolution, and were tested on their conceptual understanding of evolution before and after a month-long instructional unit on evolution. Results revealed that students with more scientifically accurate views of NOS showed greater acceptance of evolutionary theory. Students' conceptual understanding of evolution significantly increased from pre- to post-instruction, but views about NOS and acceptance of evolution did not shift. No correlation was found between students' NOS views or evolution acceptance and their conceptual understanding of evolution. Findings imply that students may increase and refine their understanding of evolutionary theory without showing a change in their views about NOS or acceptance of evolution.
Towards an Empirically Grounded Theory of Action for Improving the Quality of Mathematics Teaching at Scale
Author: Cobb, Paul
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Grounded Theory,Urban Schools,Instructional Improvement,Measures (Individuals),Mathematics Teachers,Mathematics Instruction,Identification,Educational Practices,Professional Development,Educational Quality,Accountability,Middle School Teachers,Instructional Leadership

Our purpose in this article is to propose a comprehensive, empirically grounded theory of action for improving the quality of mathematics teaching at scale. In doing so, we summarise current research findings that can inform efforts to improve the quality of mathematics instruction on a large scale, and identify questions that are yet to be addressed. We draw on an ongoing collaboration with mathematics teachers, school leaders, and district leaders in four urban school districts in the US. The provisional theory of action that we report encompasses a coherent system of supports for ambitious instruction that includes both formal and job-embedded teacher professional development, teacher networks, mathematics coaches' practices in providing job-embedded support for teachers' learning, school leaders' practices as instructional leaders in mathematics, and district leaders' practices in supporting  the development of school-level capacity for instructional improvement. (Contains 1 footnote.)
Mechanisms Affecting the Sustainability and Scale-up of a System-Wide Numeracy Reform
Author: Bobis, Janette
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Evidence,Numeracy,Measures (Individuals),Program Implementation,Educational Change,Foreign Countries,Primary Education,Case Studies,Professional Development,Interviews,Models,Research,Theories,Mathematics Teachers,Mathematical Concepts,Mathematics Education

With deliberate system-level reform now being acted upon around the world, both successful and unsuccessful cases provide a rich source of knowledge from which we can learn to improve large-scale reform. Research surrounding the effectiveness of a theory-based system-wide numeracy reform operating in primary schools across Australia is examined to extract the elements most influential for the sustainability and scaling-up of this reform. The evidence suggests that key mechanisms or tools such as a framework in number and diagnostic interview, alongside a focus on deep understanding in teachers of children's mathematical thinking strategies and the strategic placement of support structures at various levels of program implementation are important elements for the sustainability and scale-up of this program. This article introduces the professional development program in question, presents an overview of three research studies, and then links their findings to Coburn's (2003) multi-dimensional conceptualisation of scale. (Contains 2 figures.)
Professional Learning Opportunities in the Classroom: Implications for Scaling up System-Level Professional Development in Mathematics
Author: Higgins, Joanna
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Expertise,Feedback (Response),Teacher Characteristics,Foreign Countries,Faculty Development,Teaching Methods,Numeracy,Classroom Environment,Facilitators (Individuals),Task Analysis,Thinking Skills,At Risk Persons,Professional Development

The New Zealand Numeracy Development Project is an example of a professional learning and development initiative that has been progressively scaled up across a system to improve teacher knowledge and practice and student outcomes in mathematics. This paper examines two elements of the project's design that have been pivotal in enabling teachers to adopt ambitious pedagogical practices in mathematics: classroom-focused opportunities to learn and access to external expertise. Four aspects of facilitator practice that impact on teachers' practice are identified: a focus on students' mathematical thinking; the use of pedagogical tools to structure teaching tasks; modelling and the provision of commentary; and observation and the provision of feedback. The question of sufficiency of professional learning and development opportunities is raised, particularly in enabling all teachers to respond to the challenge of providing equitable opportunities to learn for a diverse student population. The challenge of how systems can build the capability of facilitators so that they can engage teachers in substantive new learning and practice is highlighted as an important area for further investigation.
Japanese Lesson Study: Teacher Professional Development through Communities of Inquiry
Author: Doig, Brian
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Video Technology,Foreign Countries,Faculty Development,Professional Development,Literature,Japanese,Inquiry,Lesson Plans,Models,Planning,Goal Orientation,Chalkboards,Mathematics Teachers,Community,Elementary Secondary Education

Japanese Lesson Study has come under increasing attention from educators in the West and throughout South-East Asia since it was revealed outside Japan through the release of the TIMSS Video Study. In this paper we argue that Japanese Lesson Study provides a model for large scale, sustainable professional development. In particular, we draw on our own experience of Japanese Lesson Study and the research literature to describe its characteristic features and examine some of the cultural assumptions that underpin its implementation. (Contains 5 figures.)
Facilitating Sustainable Professional Development through Lesson Study
Author: Hunter, Jodie
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Faculty Development,Professional Development,Teaching Methods,Mathematics Education,Mathematics Instruction,Mathematics Teachers,Lesson Plans,Reflective Teaching,Learner Engagement,Observation,Foreign Countries,Primary Education

Developing sustainable professional development which facilitates teachers of  mathematics to develop effective mathematics pedagogy has been a key aim in recent years. This paper examines how lesson study can be used with networks of teachers as a vehicle to promote and sustain professional development. Drawing on findings from a year-long study involving four schools, the paper highlights how through the process of collaboratively planning a lesson, observing and discussing it, teachers were facilitated to adopt approaches to mathematics teaching that are aligned with the factors identified as effective mathematics pedagogy. It also illustrates how lesson study can support teachers to engage in a collaborative network, develop their professional knowledge, and reflect on their teaching practice. (Contains 1 table.)
Mathematics Professional Development: Critical Features for Developing Leadership Skills and Building Teachers' Capacity
Author: Koellner, Karen
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Education,Professional Development,Teacher Leadership,Leadership,Problem Solving,Mathematics Teachers,Program Effectiveness,Models,Educational Change,Middle Schools,Data Analysis,Urban Areas

This article focuses on three features of professional development (PD) programs that play an important role in developing leadership skills and building teachers' capacity: (1) fostering a professional learning community, (2) developing teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching, and (3) adapting PD to support local needs and interests. We draw from our current research on scaling up the Problem-Solving Cycle (PSC) model of PD to illustrate how we worked with novice teacher leaders to incorporate each of these features as they learned to facilitate the PSC in their schools. In addition, we illustrate how the teacher leaders took each feature into account in a particular PSC workshop. This article contributes to our understanding of PD features that can impact leadership skill and teacher capacity. Further, we conjecture that these features are critical to the scalability and sustainability of a wide variety of mathematics PD efforts. (Contains 3 figures, 2 tables, and 4 footnotes.)
Contributions of "Mathematics for Elementary Teachers" Courses to Teaching: Prospective Teachers' Views and Examples
Author: Zazkis, Rina
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teacher Education,Elementary School Curriculum,Teacher Education Programs,Elementary School Teachers,Teaching Methods,Mathematics Instruction,Elementary School Mathematics,Teacher Attitudes,Graduate Students

A Mathematics course for elementary school teachers (MFET) is required in North America in most teacher education programs. Our study investigates the perceptions of prospective elementary school teachers with respect to the contributions of such a course to their teaching. The results show that acquiring an understanding of concepts from the elementary school curriculum is the main contribution that they perceive. We conclude with two perspectives--a pessimistic one and an optimistic one--on this finding. (Contains 2 tables.)
First Year Pre-Service Teachers' Mathematical Content Knowledge: Methods of Solution for a Ratio Question
Author: Livy, Sharyn
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Education,Misconceptions,Preservice Teachers,Tests,Learning Strategies,Measurement,Error Patterns,Mathematical Concepts,Problem Solving,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Investigations,National Standards,Higher Education

In this article, pre-service teachers' mathematics content knowledge is explored through the analysis of two items about ratio from a Mathematical Competency, Skills and Knowledge Test. Pre-service teachers' thinking strategies, common errors and misconceptions in their responses are presented and discussed. Of particular interest was the range and nature of common incorrect responses for one whole-whole ratio question. Results suggested pre-service teachers had difficulty interpreting a worded multi-step, ratio (scale) question, with errors relating to ratio and/or conversion of measurement knowledge. These difficulties reveal underdeveloped knowledge of mathematical structure and mathematical connections as well as an inability to deconstruct key components of a mathematical problem. Most pre-service teachers also lacked knowledge of standard procedures and methods of solutions. (Contains 8 figures and 3 tables.)
The Facilitator's Role in Elementary Mathematics Professional Development
Author: Linder, Sandra M.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Motivation,Elementary School Teachers,Professional Development,Mathematics Teachers,Mathematics Instruction,Perception,Identification,Models,Facilitators (Individuals),Elementary School Mathematics

This study identified qualities of influential facilitators of elementary mathematics professional development. Extensive research relating to elementary mathematics professional development has emerged over the past three decades. Embedded in this body of research are recommendations for effective practices in professional development and examinations of models that have utilized these effective practices. However, little emphasis has been placed on the role of the facilitator in professional development for elementary mathematics. A phenomenological design was utilized to determine how twenty United States elementary school teachers characterized influential facilitators of professional development. Emerging themes indicate teachers in this sample perceived influential facilitators along five themes: (1) Credibility, (2) Support, (3) Motivation, (4) Management, and (5) Personality. Based on these findings, a multiplicative effect is introduced as a potential framework for increasing teacher motivation during professional development. (Contains 1 figure and 7 tables.)
Curriculum Innovation: Difference and Resemblance
Author: Hanley, Una
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Curriculum,Teacher Response,Innovation,Educational Change,Foreign Countries,Secondary Education,Investigations,Teacher Attitudes,Teaching Methods,Theories,Mathematics Education,Correlation,Mathematics Teachers,Outcomes of Education

How do teachers respond to a mathematics curriculum innovation? This paper reports some of the findings from a UK Research Council (ESRC)-funded project investigating how teachers in English secondary schools (students aged 12-16 years) responded to innovation. A Gatsby Foundation funded program implemented new materials; the project investigated processes and expectations of implementation. In this paper, we consider the &quot;gap&quot; between innovation and proposed practice from the position of the practitioner, employing the work of Foucault (1995) and Deleuze and Guattari (1998) as a framework for analysis. The paper takes a theoretical position, arguing that teachers construct individual and constantly changing amalgams of practice. These are founded on &quot;difference&quot; and understood in ways, which are shifting, and partial rather than &quot;known&quot; via a sense-making process. Expectations of a strong correspondence between innovation and teacher response have undermined alternative perspectives that regard the interruption and re-routing of innovation as productive of viable outcomes in sites of practice.
Second Language Vocabulary Learning and Teaching: Still a Hot Topic
Author: Larrotta, Clarena
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Spanish Speaking,Vocabulary Development,Glossaries,Individual Needs,Adult Learning

For many reasons second language vocabulary learning and teaching continues to be a topic of interest for learners, instructors, and researchers. This article describes the implementation of personal glossaries in a community program offering English as second language classes to Latina/o Spanish speaking adults. Field notes, interviews, and student work served as data sources to document the results. Suggested steps for the implementation of personal glossaries, pedagogical implications for the teaching of second language vocabulary, and suggestions for future research are provided. (Contains 6 figures.)
Technology in Adult Education ESOL Classes
Author: Ball, Nancy
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Adult Education,English (Second Language),Educational Technology,Second Language Instruction,Computer Uses in Education,Teaching Methods,Adult Literacy,Music

Today's world is filled with technology resources such as cellphones, iPods, laptops and the internet. By using these technological resources, adult education ESOL teachers can improve instruction, boost learning and better prepare students for real world English use. This article examines advantages of technology use and offers examples of successful classroom implementation. (Contains 1 figure.)
The Effect of Classroom-Based Assessment and Language Processing on the Second Language Acquisition of EFL Students
Author: Perrone, Michael
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Language Processing,Student Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Models,Feedback (Response),Private Schools,Grammar,Student Attitudes,Differences,Adult Learning,Language Tests,Classroom Environment

This study investigated the notions of washback and classroom-based assessment within the context of the &quot;First Certificate of English (FCE)&quot; examination and the students at the British Institute of Florence (BIF). A review of the literature examining classroom-based assessment revealed several limitations in previous research. This study examined the washback effects of a classroom-based assessment task on the language processing of two individual learners (i.e., one high-ability and one low-ability) studying at the BIF. The results suggested that the classroom assessment task had a differential impact on how the two learners processed the new learning point, impacting the accuracy and speed to which the new target language form was processed. The findings from the investigation suggested that there were distinct differences in student learning/processing at the individual level. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)
Principles of Adult Learning: An ESL Context
Author: Finn, Donald
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Adult Learning,Adult Students,English (Second Language),Student Characteristics,Barriers,Student Motivation,Instructional Effectiveness,Program Effectiveness,Andragogy,Educational Environment,Relevance (Education),Second Language Instruction

Given the current global economic situation, industries have been forced to examine their efficiency and effectiveness, and this is also true for adult education programs. Many programs, whether public or private, face budget downsizing which leads to questions of how to effectively instruct the adults they serve. This article provides an overview of the characteristics of adults who participate in English language programs. Potential barriers to participation and factors that might motivate them to persist in these programs will be briefly examined. Finally, this article concludes with an examination of principles of adult learning and their role in designing effective activities and environments for adult learners.
Harmonisation of the Educational Concept &quot;Learning Outcome&quot; in the Lithuanian Language
Author: Pukelis, Kestutis
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Semantics,Indo European Languages,Translation,Definitions,Sociolinguistics,Educational History,English,Outcome Measures,Academic Standards,Educational Principles,Credits,Outcomes of Education,College Instruction,Evaluation Criteria,Alignment (Education),Educational Objectives,Educational Policy,International Education,Communication Problems,Jargon,Intercultural Communication,Official Languages

In this article, an example of translation of the English term &quot;learning outcome&quot; into the Lithuanian system of educational terms is used to discuss semantic peculiarities of translating professional terms. Consistency of a concept signifier and content of a concept, as well as their tune with already existing systems of educational terms are revealed, taking into consideration different evolution of education, cultural tradition and linguistic as well as terminological differences. Semantic risks of direct translations from one system of educational terms into another when a translated term does not correspond to the original meaning of a phenomenon in a primary educational tradition are identified. (Contains 1 figure, 1 table and 46 footnotes.)
Study Programme Designing and Renewal: Learning Outcomes Paradigm
Author: Pukelis, Kestutis
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Curriculum Development,Credits,Instructional Effectiveness,Outcomes of Education,Instructional Development,Instructional Design,College Instruction,Curriculum Design,Program Effectiveness,Evaluation Criteria,Curriculum Evaluation,College Curriculum,Alignment (Education),Educational Objectives,Program Design,Educational Policy,International Education,Design Requirements

This article presents generalisations drawn from experience gained designing and renewing study programmes so that the use of learning outcomes became the underlying principle of curriculum organisation. Conceptions of a purpose (profile), aim and outcomes of a study programme are presented, their formulation requirements are discussed and examples of their formulations are given. The logic of designing study programmes on the basis of learning outcomes is discussed; the structure of learning outcomes and the links of its dimensions and parameters are analysed; possibilities for critical alignment of divided and grouped study programme outcomes, as well as examples and an analysis of links among components of a study programme, are presented; illustrative outcomes of study programme components, and criteria for assessment of their achievement, are provided; some problems related to allocation of study credits to learning outcomes are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 34 footnotes.)