The present study primarily aims to explore the English language (EL) teachers’ current practices and their experiences of teacher evaluation, and how these are related to the introduction of peer observation of teaching (POT) in the Malaysian university system. Then, it aims to explore the possibilities and challenges faced by Malaysian universities in introducing peer observation. The participants of the study were determined by 2 stages of the research design. In Stage 1, from 10 different universities around Malaysia, 72 teachers completed the online questionnaire and eight semi-structured interview were conducted. In Stage 2, at the university where the study was conducted, 24 participants completed the after-workshop questionnaire and ten observations as well as eight semi-structured interview were carried out. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS descriptive statistics while qualitative data were transcribed and then analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings on teacher evaluation revealed that there was teacher evaluation in place at every university involved in the survey. However, there seemed to be some major shortcomings that need to be addressed. Shortcomings such as teachers were not reminded of the real purposes of each evaluation undertaken, some evaluations were wasted because they were not studied, and teachers were not given ownership in setting out the suitable methods for evaluation. The findings on peer observation revealed that teachers had different understanding about it. Through the intervention study, it was discovered that the tone of the discussion between teachers were sometimes calm and celebrating, whilst some were critical and judgemental. The findings also showed that introduction of peer observation may be possible at the university under study provided the purposes were for developmental. However, teachers still had the feeling of nervousness and being judgemental about the whole process because of the common top-down approach. The findings from the study have provided several implications for the improvement of the existing EL teacher evaluation in particular, as well as evaluation of teachers of other subjects in general. In addition, the findings have also provided several implications for the introduction of peer observation especially to the university managements and the teachers in particular. The current study also contributes to knowledge by proposing: i) a model for teacher evaluation, and ii) one plan for the procedure of peer observation of teaching; which can be adjusted according to the suitability of any given context.

The problem of this study was to determine if significant differences in scores attained by students on academic achievement, problem-solving, and attitudes were associated with closed-circuit television observations. More specifically, the problem was resolved into seeking solutions to the following! 1. Will college students' academic achievement be extended through television observations of children in classroom situations? 2. Will college students' ability to solve problems be improved through television observations? 3. Will college students' attitudes toward teacher-pupil relationships be affected through television observations?

Forskning om särskolan kan ses som bristfällig och allt för sällan har forskningsområdet behandlat utbildningens ”vad” och ”hur” när det gäller särskolans verksamhet. Det finns mycket kunskap, material och metoder kring språkinlärning och undervisning generellt, men mindre kring språkinlärning och undervisning för elever med intellektuell funktionsnedsättning. Ett verktyg som är användbart i grundskolan är observationsverktyget Communication Supporting Classroom Observation Tool (CSCOT). Syftet med den aktuella studien är att skapa kunskap om och hur observationsverktyget CSCOT kan vara användbart för att utveckla och höja kvaliteten på språk- läs- och skrivundervisningen i grundsärskolan. Detta genom att med hjälp av yrkesverksamma speciallärare i grundsärskolan undersöka hur speciallärare uppfattar observationsverktyget CSCOT:s användbarhet i grundsärskolan, samt om speciallärarna anser att observationsverktyget kan bidra till en kvalitetshöjning av språkundervisningen i grundsärskolan. Den teoretiska inramningen är det sociokulturella perspektivet, ett socialinteraktionistiskt perspektiv på språk-, läs- och skrivundervisning samt Det flerstämmiga klassrummet. En kvalitativ metod med fokusgruppintervjuer användes för att behandla frågeställningarna. Resultatet visar att CSCOT kan vara användbart för lärare i särskolan, både som ett material för kollegialt lärande, för individuell utveckling samt för att kartlägga och observera undervisningen. Detta i ett led för att utveckla undervisningen och verksamheten i grundsärskolan.

The need to improve on the quality and equity in education has been a direct challenge for the Department of Education in the South African post-apartheid era. The Department of Education, in agreement with the Education Labour Relation Council, implemented the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) as a quality management system, consisting of three programmes, aimed at enhancing and monitoring performance of the education system. The Integrated Quality Management System was the focus of this study and, in particular, the attitudes of educators towards Developmental Appraisal and Classroom Observation. The research was guided by the following three main research questions: What are the attitudes of educators towards Developmental Appraisal as an evaluation policy for accountability purposes? What are the attitudes of educators towards Classroom Observation as a practice for staff development with a developmental purpose? and To what extent do the attitudes of educators influence the implementation of Developmental Appraisal and Classroom Observation? Several factors influencing the implementation of Integrated Quality Management Systems were identified from literature and were selected for the study, namely the objectives, prevalence and frequency, benefits and difficulties of Developmental Appraisal and Classroom Observation. These were conceptualized in terms of three opposing dimensions using the Cube Model of Evaluation: internal and external, pull and push and bottom-up and top-down, all of which have varying degrees of tensions between them. Thus a point of balance on this three-dimensional continuum has to be delicately managed. The findings of this study, which resulted from analysing data collected from forty-four educators by means of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, revealed the following: the overall conclusion regarding the educators' perceptions on the policy objectives of Developmental Appraisal is that the majority of the respondents tended to agree with the policy objective of Developmental Appraisal. However, one should take note of participants who did not agree, which illustrates the tension between policy and implementation and the possible resistance of educators. The findings of this study further revealed that initially educators were 'threatened' by Internal and External Evaluation and Developmental Appraisal, weighing heavily on the Performance Management aspect, which could be seen as manifesting a resistance to change. However, over time and through deeper understanding, there has been a shift in attitude once educators realised the developmental function of Developmental Appraisal in informing teaching and learning which consequently plays a major role in educators' professional development. In addition, this may have a positive effect on the implementation of Developmental Appraisal in future. However, the aspect of pressure, represented in the adapted model, is aimed at accountability of the various stakeholders within the schools to the Department of Education to ensure that quality education is provided. This suggests that there was a shift in the educators' attitudes from one of resistance to top-down directives to compliance and even a willingness to participate in the process of Developmental Appraisal and Classroom Observation. This could be a result of the monetary reward attached to performance. There was also a growing realisation of the potential effect on teaching and learning, which has resulted in the policy being viewed in a more positive light. However, there was concern about the lack of support, resources and facilities from the Department of Education, which resulted in the policy not being properly implemented. Finally, the findings of this study bring another dimension to the issue of the politics of resistance towards Integrated Quality Management Systems, in that rejection of evaluation is not against the system per se; educators as represented by the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU) want appraisal to be an essential part of their development and not a mechanism for enforcing control or imposing a 'police unit' on educators. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

Motivation and mathematics anxiety both impact student achievement in the early grades. However, few if any studies have examined the patterns of kindergarten students' motivation and mathematics anxiety and their associations with teachers’ practices and student demographics. In this study, I investigate both these issues. Specifically, using a diverse sample of 355 students from 24 kindergarten classrooms, I examined (a) whether there were distinct profiles of motivation and mathematics anxiety among students and (b) the associations between student profiles and teachers’ practices. Using cluster analysis, I identified three student profiles. The largest student profile (52.4%) demonstrated a positive pattern of High Motivation and Low Anxiety; whereas two other profiles had smaller numbers of students reporting negative outcomes: Low Motivation and Moderate Anxiety (32.3%) and Moderate Motivation and High Anxiety (15.3%). Student profiles were associated with students’ socioeconomic status and race. Students of distinct profiles differed significantly on their reports of mathematics motivation, mathematics anxiety, and performance on mathematics achievement – measured by standardized tests. In addition, teachers’ ratings of student motivation for mathematics were significantly different across student profiles.<br><div>To investigate the associations between teacher practices and student outcomes, I purposively selected six teachers based on a combination of multiple criteria and rated their mathematics lessons by using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (Pianta et al., 2008). Three teachers with high concentrations of students reporting positive outcomes had more positive ratings across the domains of Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support, compared to the other three teachers with high percentages of students reporting negative outcomes. I compared descriptions of teacher practices between the two groups of teachers to illustrate associations between teacher practices and student outcomes. Implications for mathematics instruction in the early elementary grades are discussed.<br></div>

One type of instruction that is of particular interest in STEM education is instruction that actively engages students in inquiry and discovery. The author develops an operational definition of instruction for discovery learning (IDL) that adopts some of the fundamental commonalities among many reform-oriented instructional frameworks such as inquiry-based and project-based instruction. Four teachers—who received their bachelor’s degree in mathematics and teacher certification from the same undergraduate teacher-preparation program—and their Algebra I classes were observed with the focus on how particular features of IDL were being implemented in their classrooms. To gain further perspective on classroom practices and interactions, student surveys were administered to a total of 142 students and each teacher was interviewed. The student surveys focused on student orientations toward IDL, attitudes toward mathematics, and their perspective of IDL implementation in their class. Student survey data was analyzed through ANOVA, post hoc tests were used to identify significant pair-wise differences between teachers for which the ANOVA identified significance, and a factor analysis was used to evaluate the component loadings for the survey questions. The surveys revealed significant differences between perceived activities in the classes (p<0.05), but did not show very significant differences between student orientations toward IDL. All four teachers expressed familiarity with and commitment to reform-oriented frameworks such as inquiry-based and project-based instruction, and certainly experienced inquiry-based learning as students themselves in their undergraduate program. However, only one teacher—the one teaching in a New Tech high school that was structured on the framework of project-based instruction (PBI)—showed consistent differences in both student perspectives of IDL and observed implementation of IDL. The author discusses the levels at which these teachers implemented IDL, the differences among student perceptions across the classes, teacher orientations toward mathematics and learning, and the importance of a supportive school culture and administration in order to fully implement IDL and influence both student and teacher orientations toward reform-oriented pedagogy. / text

Classroom observation - particularly the post observation conference - is one of the most important aspects of staff development. The headmaster should create the climate in which the teacher has scope for self-development. During and especially after the class observation, it is imperative that the headmaster provides a restful, relaxed atmosphere, particularly for the post observation conference. This conference is of the utmost importance, as it provides feedback to the teacher on how another knowledgeable person experiences his presentation of a lesson. This research initially focused on staff development, what it entails and how it can be utilized by headmasters in schools. A closer look was taken at the post observation conference after a classroom observation, a questionnaire was distributed among the headmasters of various schools and the paper closes with recommendations and definite guidelines to headmasters. It is important for the school to be a pleasant working environment, where mutual respect and trust should exist. In such a climate, it is possible for the headmaster, during the post observation conference, to make recommendations and give advice without causing any hurt-feelings, enabling the teacher to develop professionally. A staff development plan with clear goals and target dates should ultimately be compiled. / Skripsie (MEd (Onderwysbestuur))--PU vir CHO, 1996

Classroom observation - particularly the post observation conference - is one of the most important aspects of staff development. The headmaster should create the climate in which the teacher has scope for self-development. During and especially after the class observation, it is imperative that the headmaster provides a restful, relaxed atmosphere, particularly for the post observation conference. This conference is of the utmost importance, as it provides feedback to the teacher on how another knowledgeable person experiences his presentation of a lesson. This research initially focused on staff development, what it entails and how it can be utilized by headmasters in schools. A closer look was taken at the post observation conference after a classroom observation, a questionnaire was distributed among the headmasters of various schools and the paper closes with recommendations and definite guidelines to headmasters. It is important for the school to be a pleasant working environment, where mutual respect and trust should exist. In such a climate, it is possible for the headmaster, during the post observation conference, to make recommendations and give advice without causing any hurt-feelings, enabling the teacher to develop professionally. A staff development plan with clear goals and target dates should ultimately be compiled. / Skripsie (MEd (Onderwysbestuur))--PU vir CHO, 1996

This diploma thesis deals with the teaching of mathematics in Italian language in the bilingual Italian-Czech section of Grammar School Ústavní in Prague, the Czech Republic, where I have been teaching since 2012. The main aim of this work is to analyse and systematize the positives and negatives of the bilingual teaching of mathematics in this environment. The most important problems and challenges, a teacher has to deal with while teaching mathematics in Italian, the language different from pupils' mother tongue, are introduced in this work. All the used and illustrating examples are based on my own practical training of an Italian Math teacher and are taken within one school year. Moreover, these examples are supported by my own problem solving options. The thesis also contains reflections about results of the bilingual teaching of mathematics both in mathematical and linguistic terms. Theoretical part deals with a general description of bilingualism, bilingual teaching of mathematics, and bilingual Grammar School Ústavní. Practical part describes not only the main differences between curriculums, textbooks, and mathematical assessments in Italy and the Czech Republic but also the course of school year 2016/2017 in classes 3.C and 4.C. The description is based on both the analysis of lessons of...

The aim of my study is to find out more about the pupils’ early attempts at writing fictional texts. More specifically, I examine how different teachers work to teach pupils in the third grade to write narrative texts or fiction. I have chosen to interview teachers who have been working for different periods of time, to get a picture of how their lessons are planned. Furthermore, through classroom observations, I get an idea of what pupils think about writing narrative texts and how they do it.     The results of the study show that there are several methods that teachers use to teach writing in the case of narrative texts. The result also points out that even though society itself is digitalized, work in school has not been affected to the same degree. / Mitt arbete syftar till att ta reda på mer om elevernas tidiga möte med den skönlitterära texten. Jag undersöker i detta arbete hur olika lärare i årskurs 3 arbetar med att lära sina elever att skriva berättande texter, eller berättelser. Då vi befinner oss i ett alltmer digitaliserat samhälle har jag valt att intervjua lärare som varit verksamma olika länge för att få en bild av hur deras synsätt eventuellt påverkats av den ökade användningen av datorer, surfplattor etc. Genom observationer i klassrummet har jag kunnat bilda mig en uppfattning av vad eleverna anser om att skriva berättande texter och på vilket sätt de gör det.      Studiens resultat visar att det finns flera metoder som lärarna använder för att undervisa i skrivning när det gäller berättande texter. Resultatet pekar även på att trots att samhället i sig är digitaliserat så har det inte gått riktigt lika fort fram i skolan.