The two main purposes of this study were to create a systematic observation instrument in order to obtain clearer and more specific feedback from junior high school teachers about student teachers' teaching performances during their practicum, and to provide a way for junior college, university teachers, student teachers, and practicum supervisors to observe student teachers' teaching and then to communicate their observations more effectively with one another. The participants were 57 student teachers, 19 college teachers, and 28 junior high school teachers. Four instruments were used: a written consent form, a questionnaire about 15 teaching skills (The Teaching Skill Questionnaire), a 60-minute videotape with a checklist (The Japanese COLT), and a 42-item questionnaire (The Student Teachers' Videotaped Instruction). The study produced four major findings. First, by using the Japanese COLT (Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching Observation scheme), the three groups of raters (student teachers, college teachers, practicum supervisor) identified four specific problems with individual student teacher's teaching. They (a) explained new sentence patterns without interacting with the students, (b) asked fewer questions than expected, (c) had the students practice reading for a shorter time than expected, and (d) provided few opportunities for the students to speak in Japanese or English, and spoke Japanese more than necessary. The second finding was that the student teachers differed from the older teacher groups in their views of specific teaching skills because of their limited teaching experience and lower English proficiency. The third finding was that the three groups of raters perceived the student teachers' teaching on the videotape similarly. The fourth finding indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in the three groups' views of the teaching techniques used by the student teachers; however, a statistically significant difference was found for the three groups' evaluations of the student teachers' teaching. The Japanese COLT was a useful instrument for assessing the student teachers' classroom performances, as it provided more specific feedback to the student teachers, and allowed the three groups to share their viewpoints more effectively. / CITE/Language Arts

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The purpose of this study was to describe how relationships between student teachers and pupils were constructed within the context of the middle school classroom. The questions guiding the study were: How do student teachers develop relationships with pupils in their classes? What factors in the teaching and learning environment influence the development of these relationships? How do these relationships influence the student teaching experience? This study was a qualitative case study. I observed and interviewed two middle school student teachers as they participated in their student teaching experience. Data include observations of student teachers as they worked with their pupils during typical school activities. In addition, interviews were conducted with the student teachers and the cooperating teachers of the two student teachers. All transcripts of interviews, observation notes and other field notes were analyzed for salient categories and subsequently major themes were developed (Patton, 1990). The findings of the data analysis indicated that the student teaching relationship building process could be explained within the five phases of relationship building (Levinger, 1982,1983). These five phases are: acquaintance, buildup of relationships, continuation and consolidation of relationships, deterioration and decline of relationships and the ending of relationships. Within this framework, relationship building between student teachers and pupils emerged as a multi-layered process, that includes such interactive factors as the educational history of the student teacher and their self-image as a teacher, knowledge of middle school pupils, tendency for self-disclosure, the demonstration of care and concern, extent of lesson planning and finally, classroom management. Suggestions for further research include such ideas as a study of relationship building with first year teachers and how relationship building would differ from a variety of student teaching experiences. Implications for the practice of teacher educators are that specific experiences need to be planned for student teachers that increase awareness of and strategies for building relationships with learners. / Ed. D.

This dissertation interprets a qualitative study designed to investigate the pedagogical practices of experienced science teachers who, through their teaching practices, promote learning and achievement of urban African American middle school students between the ages 10-13 years. Based upon the theoretical frameworks of the theory of third space and culturally-responsive pedagogy, this study targeted the pedagogical practices that connected home-to-school experiences. The study sample consisted of 17 students, 2 experienced science teachers, and 1 principal from the same urban middle school. Data collected over a six-month period include in-depth individual interviews, classroom observations, audio recordings, videotaping, and review of documentation. Interviews focused on the participants' experiences, views, and the role each played in learning and achievement. Classroom observations provided additional insights into the classroom setting, participants' actions, and participants' interactions with the teachers and other students. The student focus group emphasized the students' perspectives of their teacher and her teaching strategies. A whole-text analysis of the interview transcripts, observational field notes, video recording and documents generated three major categories: connection to students, classroom management, and instructional pedagogy. The following significant findings emerged from the data: (a) the beliefs and views of teachers affect their classroom practices; (b) when teachers build rapport with African American students, they are better able to create trust, increase the comfort level in their classroom, and motivate learning; (c) a teacher's use of home-to-school connections motivates students' interest in learning while helping them to make connections to curriculum, (d) the type of classroom management practices a teacher uses can enhance effective content implementation, and (e) a teacher's varied instructional pedagogical practices can provide African American students the opportunity they need to demonstrate knowledge and achievement. Implications for middle school teachers, students, parents, administrators, and teacher educators are included. Suggestions for future research are also provided. The results from this qualitative study strongly suggest that third space theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding the connections necessary for bridging a culturally-responsive disposition and a continuum between home and school experiences, which is critical in a science classroom populated by urban African American students. / Ph. D.

Syftet med detta arbete är att bidra med mer kunskap om hur lärarstudenterförbereds för att kunna bedriva sin kommande undervisning i de naturvetenskapliga ämnena utomhus. I en kvalitativ studie med semistrukturerade intervjuer som metod för insamling av data har vi undersökt hur lärarutbildare uppger att de implementerar de centrala innehållspunkterna som berör utomhusundervisning i Lgr22, samt hur lärarstudenter uttrycker att dessa punkter behandlas i deras NO-kurs. Samtliga lärarutbildare i denna studie tycker det är viktigt med utomhusundervisning och framhåller att de har höga ambitioner med sin undervisning men att tiden är ett hinder som begränsar dem. Alla lärarstudenter i studien har en positiv syn på utomhusundervisning men anser att de inte känner sig tillräckligt förberedda för sin egen undervisning utomhus. De eftersöker mer konkreta verktyg för undervisning som lektionstips, planeringar och anpassningar. / The purpose of this work is to contribute with more knowledge about how student teachers are prepared to be able to conduct their upcoming teaching in the natural science outdoors. In a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews as a method of data collection, we have investigated how teacher educators state that they implement the central content points concerningoutdoor education in the primary school curriculum, as well as how teacher students express that the same has been addressed in their course on the natural science subjects. All teacher educators in this study think it is important to teach outdoors and emphasize that they have high ambitions for their teaching, but time constraints limit them. All student teachers in this study have a positive attitude towards outdoor education but feel inadequately prepared for their own outdoor teaching. They ask for more concrete tools for teaching such as lesson tips, plans, and adaptations.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Curriculum and Instruction / M. Gail Shroyer / This study was designed to examine one component of impact within a High School Professional Development School (PDS) partnership. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived impact of pre-service teachers on the students they teach and the cooperating teachers who mentor them. More specifically, this study was designed to explore the impact on the learning environment of high school students who were taught by pre-service teachers and the cooperating teachers who mentored them from the perspective of 8 pre-service teachers, 130 high school students, and 8 cooperating teachers. The theoretical framework for this study was based on the concept of an Optimal Learning Environment (National Research Council, 1999). The overarching question for this study was: In what ways do pre-service teachers impact the learning environment of the PDS in which they complete their final clinical experience? Survey and interview data were gathered from participants to explore the perceived impact of the pre-service teachers on the (a) learner centered learning environment, (b) assessment centered learning environment, and (c) knowledge centered learning environment of the high school students and cooperating mentor teachers. The data collected were focused on what the high school students, pre-service teachers and cooperating mentor teachers perceived based on their personal experiences and understanding. The results of this study indicated a perceived positive impact on the learner centered, assessment centered, and knowledge centered learning environments of the high school students and the cooperating mentor teachers from the perspectives of the high school students, pre-service teachers and cooperating mentor teachers. The researcher thus concluded that the pre-service teachers positively impacted the perceived Optimal Learning Environment of the PDS in which they completed their final clinical experience.

The study used Social Cultural Theory as an analytical framework to understand the professional preparation of kindergarten teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). A multi-method approach to data collection was adopted, involving a questionnaire, interviews and documentary analysis of both the pre-school curriculum in KSA and the programme content. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were therefore employed to achieve the research objectives. The research methodology was based on the interpretive approach and included a case study. The participants were student-teachers studying on the four-year teacher training programme at one of the universities in KSA. Responses to four hundred and nineteen questionnaires completed by student-teachers across the four years of the programme were analysed, and a detailed case study involving 32 student-teachers was carried out. These student-teachers were interviewed three times each over three terms, with a focus on the nature of their knowledge and beliefs. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using SPSS to summarise the results of the closed questions in the questionnaire and to compare the differences between the student-teachers’ perspectives in each study year. All interviews were taped and transcribed. The data were coded and recoded several times using the continuous comparative process. When broad categories/themes emerged, these created sub-categories. Similarly, the data gained from the questionnaire’s open-ended questions were also analysed qualitatively. The findings focus on the results from the questionnaire for each study year, followed by a direct comparison of student-teachers’ knowledge and beliefs across the four years. The findings from the interviews with student-teachers are presented separately for each study year in order that the development of their knowledge and beliefs over the four-year programme can be seen. The findings revealed that student-teachers’ beliefs and their knowledge were closely linked. Although student-teachers’ knowledge developed as a result of their learning, some of their beliefs about Early Childhood Education (ECE) in general seemed to remain stable over the period of their university course. Many factors influenced the training of the student-teacher within Saudi culture and practices, such as the cultural context, the society, national policy, religion, module content, styles of teaching, visits to kindergarten, self-learning, and others’ knowledge/experience and support. These others included friends, other student-teachers, and relatives who were studying on the kindergarten programme or worked in the field of ECE. The findings showed that student-teachers built their teaching identities on the wider social-cultural purposes of education in Saudi society, which were consistent with expectations of their roles in society. However, various constraints related to the university context, to the kindergarten context and to the social-cultural context influenced their preparation as teachers. The study indicated many limitations to the current apprenticeship approach, due to the predominantly transmissive style of education at university. Student-teachers were not progressively immersed in a more fully developed apprenticeship model in which teachers learnt about the cultures and practices of ECE within the contexts of practice. This study strongly challenges a system where student-teachers only have one term of teaching practice. It is argued that teaching practice should start much earlier in the programme and be extended. A model for developing professional preparation programmes of Initial Teachers (IT) in the field of ECE is presented. Implications arising from this study and recommendations which could improve Teacher Education (TE) in KSA are outlined. Finally, suggestions for further research are presented.

Bien que les facteurs de risque associés au faible engagement scolaire aient été largement étudiés, les mécanismes qui conduisent les enfants moins bien préparés pour l’école à se désengager dès le début de leur parcours scolaire demeurent méconnus. Une meilleure compréhension de ces mécanismes permettrait de prévenir le désinvestissement de ces élèves et favoriserait leur persévérance scolaire. Étant donné l’importance des relations sociales en début de scolarisation, la présente étude a pour objectif d’examiner dans quelle mesure la relation que l’élève entretient avec son enseignant en première année peut expliquer le lien entre la préparation à l’école en maternelle et l’engagement scolaire en deuxième année. Des régressions linéaires multiples hiérarchiques réalisées sur un échantillon de 1492 élèves québécois ont permis de vérifier cette hypothèse. Les résultats obtenus confirment que la relation maître-élève chaleureuse et conflictuelle permet d’expliquer le niveau d’engagement des élèves qui présentent une faible préparation à l’école lorsqu’ils entrent à la maternelle. Les implications pour la recherche et la pratique des intervenants en milieu scolaire seront discutées. / Risk factors associated with lower school engagement have been widely studied. Children entering school with lower levels of school readiness tend to be less engaged in school activities. However, the mechanisms leading those children to early disengagement are yet to be discovered. Better understanding these mechanisms could help prevent disengagement and school dropout. Social relationships are known to be of high importance, especially at school entry. Therefore, the present study will test if the teacher-student relationship in grade 1 can explain the association between school readiness in kindergarten and school engagement in grade 2. This hypothesis was verified using multiple linear regressions and a sample of 1492 French-canadian pupils. Results show that children’s readiness for school in kindergarten can predict their level of school engagement two years later. Furthermore, conflict and closeness in the teacher-student relationship are mechanisms which can explain this predictive relationship. Implications for further research and school intervention will be discussed.

The dissertation is dealt with student's motivation for learning at secondary school and teacher's possibilities to influence this motivation. In the desk study the author defines psychological resources and analyses teacher's possibilities to support student's motivation. Attention has been paid to communication between teachers and students, educational methods and forms and evaluation. In the empirical part the author describes investigation, which took place at secondary school. The investigation inspected influence of some motivation factors to student's motivation for learning. The next topic of investigation was students' motivation structure. The valid of investigation is limited - it is valid only for students, who took part in the investigation. Results of the investigation can be useful not only for teachers teaching in those classrooms but for other teachers too.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:56:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Luiza Garitano de Castro.pdf: 1170559 bytes, checksum: 8f8bbb540b2e3f2a6cccfe642e1b0480 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-11 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The objective of this study is to characterize the today´s high school teacher at one school in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. In this sense, the focus turn to the good teacher as himself, who was chosen by his students as good professionals. As specific objectives, we seek to know the teacher-student relationship and the main challenges faced by Good High School Teacher in their teaching profession; to know the strategies and resources used by them to meet the challenges and the meaning attributed to work with young high school students. The methodological procedures used: City and School documents; questionnaires apllied to131 students of the first series degree in order to identify the teachers that were considered Good Teachers; questionnaires to characterize the management team and the five teachers chosen by the students; semi-structured interviews with a complete questionnaire with teachers. The data analysis indicated that Good High School Teachers are responsible people, aware of their responsibility and function, which constantly reflect on their daily activities. They realize that the major challenges to the teaching profession are the family distance from educational issues, the young people lack of interest and motivation about the knowledge itself, lack of support and assistance from the management team, lack of research infrastructure (space and equipments) and incentives, as well as training outside the public network. To face these challenges they research subjects and strategies in books, magazines and Internet to improve their classes, beyond considering the colleagues exchange of experiences very important while recognizing that this practice needs to be further stimulated. The Good High School Teachers enjoy working with young people, recognize that they are at particular development phase and that there is a need to establish empathic link with teenagers. They are conscious that they should be aware of the emotional demands. The teacher-student relationship for these Good Teachers should be emotional but also exercised with authority and respect from both of them / Este estudo busca caracterizar o Bom Professor do Ensino Médio de uma escola do interior do Estado de São Paulo. Nesse sentido, o olhar volta-se para o Bom professor a partir dele mesmo, escolhido por seus alunos como bons profissionais. Como objetivos específicos busca-se conhecer como se dá a relação professor-aluno e os principais desafios enfrentados pelos professores no exercício da docência; conhecer as estratégias e recursos por eles utilizados para enfrentar esses desafios e o significado atribuído ao seu trabalho com jovens do Ensino Médio. Os procedimentos metodológicos utilizados foram: levantamento documental do município e da unidade escolar; aplicação de questionários em 131 alunos da 1ª. Série do Ensino Médio a fim de identificar os docentes considerados Bons Professores; questionários de caracterização da equipe gestora e dos cinco docentes escolhidos pelos alunos; entrevistas semiestruturadas com os docentes e protocolo de frases para completar. A análise dos dados indicou que os Bons Professores do Ensino Médio são pessoas responsáveis, cientes de sua responsabilidade, de sua função, que refletem constantemente sobre sua prática. Consideram como principais desafios para a docência a ausência da família nos assuntos educacionais, a falta de interesse e motivação dos jovens frente ao conhecimento, a falta de apoio e suporte da equipe gestora, a falta de infraestrutura (física e de equipamentos), bem como de incentivo para a realização de pesquisas e cursos externos à Rede. Para enfrentar os desafios buscam em livros, revistas e material da internet, assuntos e estratégias para melhoria de suas aulas, além de considerarem a troca de experiências importante com os colegas, embora reconheçam que essa prática necessite ser mais estimulada. Gostam de trabalhar com os jovens, reconhecem que eles estão em fase específica do desenvolvimento e que há necessidade de estabelecimento de vínculo empático com os adolescentes. São conscientes que devem estar atentos às demandas afetivas. A relação professor-aluno para esses Bons Professores deve ser afetiva, mas também exercida com autoridade e respeito por parte de ambos os sujeitos