The purpose of this study was to investigate the purpose and role portfolios are playing in developing reflective practice in student teachers and to assess the degree to which this role is being achieved in practice. This study was a interpretive small scale case study. The target groups were 3 student teachers in their final year of study, 3 teacher educators and the vice-rector of the college. Data were obtained through interviews and document analysis. The findings indicated that the students had no meaningful orientation to both the role of portfolio development and reflective skills. The sources of this were the lack of common understanding among teacher educators, lack of support for both teacher educators and student teachers and lack of time, lack of guidelines for construction and clear assessment rubric. The results of this study indicated that the teacher educators were in need of vigorous professional development and considerable implementation strategies are needed to develop the desired reflective skills.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-04-16Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:32:02Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 barbosa_ep_me_rcla.pdf: 459189 bytes, checksum: af33037be8e3b7ad0baa3c4603a39a36 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Este trabalho tem por objetivo identificar de que modo as ações educacionais públicas podem estar afetando a vida profissional dos professores, a partir do discurso deles mesmos. Para tanto, mostramos que este estudo é relevante para a educação matemática pois evidencia uma carência na literatura científica sobre a influência de Políticas Educacionais na vida profissional do professor de Matemática, na voz deles mesmos. Num outro momento fazemos um paralelo entre as mudanças ocorridas no Reino Unido, no governo de Margareth Thatcher, e o brasileiro, principalmente na décade de 90, particularmente em relação ao sistema educacional. No segundo capítulo fazemos uma análise da entrevista que efetuamos com um professor de Ensino Fundamental, com o objetivo acima em mente. E por fim, fazemos conclusões de modo a dialogar com nosso objetivo inicial e assim oferecer, talvez, subsídios aos formuladores/implementadores de políticas educacionais e formadores de professores de Matemática. / This aimed at identifying the ways in which public educational actions (policies) can be affecting the professional life of teachers of mathematics, By examining their own speeches. We show that this is a relevant study for the field of Mathematics Education (by eliciting a void on literature related to this subject). We then present, for the sake of better positioning the current situation in Brazilian school systems, a reading of the similitude between what has happened in the UK (Thatcher and post-Thatcher era) and in Brazil (beginning from Fernando Collor s government), in terms of an increased control of school systems, opposed to a consistent effort to remove government from the productive system. In Chapter 2 we analyse an interview made with a teacher who works on grades 5 to 8 and, finally, on Chapter 3 we offer conclusions and some possible suggestions for educational policymakers and for mathematics teacher educators.

Orientador: Romulo Campos Lins / Banca: Carlos Roberto Vianna / Banca: Rosana Giaretta Sguerra Miskulin / Resumo: Este trabalho tem por objetivo identificar de que modo as ações educacionais públicas podem estar afetando a vida profissional dos professores, a partir do discurso deles mesmos. Para tanto, mostramos que este estudo é relevante para a educação matemática pois evidencia uma carência na literatura científica sobre a influência de Políticas Educacionais na vida profissional do professor de Matemática, na voz deles mesmos. Num outro momento fazemos um paralelo entre as mudanças ocorridas no Reino Unido, no governo de Margareth Thatcher, e o brasileiro, principalmente na décade de 90, particularmente em relação ao sistema educacional. No segundo capítulo fazemos uma análise da entrevista que efetuamos com um professor de Ensino Fundamental, com o objetivo acima em mente. E por fim, fazemos conclusões de modo a dialogar com nosso objetivo inicial e assim oferecer, talvez, subsídios aos formuladores/implementadores de políticas educacionais e formadores de professores de Matemática. / Abstract: This aimed at identifying the ways in which public educational actions (policies) can be affecting the professional life of teachers of mathematics, By examining their own speeches. We show that this is a relevant study for the field of Mathematics Education (by eliciting a void on literature related to this subject). We then present, for the sake of better positioning the current situation in Brazilian school systems, a reading of the similitude between what has happened in the UK (Thatcher and post-Thatcher era) and in Brazil (beginning from Fernando Collor’s government), in terms of an increased control of school systems, opposed to a consistent effort to remove government from the productive system. In Chapter 2 we analyse an interview made with a teacher who works on grades 5 to 8 and, finally, on Chapter 3 we offer conclusions and some possible suggestions for educational policymakers and for mathematics teacher educators. / Mestre

Since the Namibian independence in 1990, the education system has undergone some major revamping which involved the adoption of social constructivist perspectives in the teaching and learning of sciences. This learning theory acknowledges learners’ background prior knowledge as valuable tools in the effective construction of science concepts during lessons. A corollary is that the socio-cultural circumstances of learners might negatively influence the way learners construct new knowledge in the science classroom if they are not taken into consideration. This study was thus prompted by the need to understand how trainee science teachers engage with prior everyday knowledge and experiences, so as to enhance the conceptual development of biological concepts. The study was qualitative and it was underpinned by an interpretive paradigm with some elements of action research. Science trainee teachers at Katima Mulilo, Unam Campus were used as research participants. The techniques used to gather data included document analysis, brainstorming, observation, audio-visual, microteaching and semi-structured interviews. The results of this study showed that the changes that occurred during microteaching practices of the four trainee teachers involved in the study reflected their professional development in this approach. However, it emerged that prior everyday knowledge can be both a barrier and enabler to the construction of meaningful teaching and learning; hence its oversight may lead to instructional failures. The findings also indicated that selected platforms are essential to enable trainee teachers to incorporate prior everyday knowledge and experiences into the teaching of Western science. However, larger scale study should be conducted in order to deepen the understanding of the topic.

No description available.

Preservice teachers (PSTs) bring a plethora of knowledge and experiences to their educator preparation courses. The PSTs have also formed ideas about how to teach based on their observations during the thousands of hours they spent as students in the classroom from kindergarten through high school graduation. This phenomenon, coined by Lortie, is called the apprenticeship of observation. Past research has focused on the apprenticeship of observation in general while neglecting to specifically explore how this phenomenon influences PSTs in regards to writing. Guiding this study were three research questions: (1) what are the PSTs' beliefs about writing instruction and themselves as writers, (2) how have PSTs' experiences as students affected their beliefs about themselves as writers, and (3) how do PSTs' experiences as students influence their plans to teach writing? After conducting a thematic analysis, there are four findings that stemmed from the data. First, PSTs come to their educator preparation programs with beliefs about themselves as writers. Particularly, the PSTs believe they are either writers or non-writers, Next, PSTs believe that writing instruction should be high-quality and foster student interest. Additionally, data suggested that PSTs' past experiences as students in a writing classroom influenced the PSTs' beliefs. Particularly, the PSTs' experiences around feedback and the control they had over writing were the most discussed. Lastly, past experiences stemming from the PSTs' apprenticeship of observation formed the basis for the plans the PSTs had about teaching writing. These findings have implications for both teacher educators and the PSTs they teach. It is imperative that teacher educators take steps to uncover the beliefs and past experiences of the PSTs as these serve as a lens through which the PSTs look through during their writing methods courses. Teacher educators must also use this information as a springboard for instruction. Finally, teacher educators must challenge the apprenticeship of observation to ensure that the plans PSTs have for teaching writing are not simply a conservative recreation of past experiences devoid of a theoretical basis.

No description available.

No description available.

Resumo Sob o enfoque do trabalho colaborativo esta pesquisa qualitativa pretende contribuir, com seus resultados, para ampliar informações com relação ao desenvolvimento profissional do formador de professores de ciências. O interesse está em viabilizar caminhos que promovam a melhoria tanto na formação dos professores, como no próprio ensino de ciências nas séries iniciais, através da formação dos formadores de professores de ciências. Compreendemos que pouco adianta os investimentos em formação de professores se não voltarmos nossas atenções para aquele profissional que é responsável por essa formação, por exemplo, o Assistente Técnico Pedagógico, que atua nas Diretorias Regionais de Ensino. Através de uma proposta de ensino de ciências para as séries iniciais, por meio de atividades investigativas no contexto da física, surge a iniciativa de nove Assistentes Técnico Pedagógicas (ATP), formadoras de professores de ciências, em realizar um projeto de melhoria no ensino, integrando a universidade, as diretorias regionais de ensino e as escolas públicas. O projeto O conhecimento físico no ensino fundamental: dos programas de formação continuada à implementação de novas práticas em sala de aula, financiado pela FAPESP, é o objeto de estudo da presente pesquisa, que contou com dados coletados em diferentes instâncias ao longo do período em que a pesquisadora acompanhou o Grupo das ATP. Dentre os dados analisados, destacam-se fragmentos de reuniões realizadas na universidade e nas diretorias de ensino, entrevistas, relatórios e outras produções escritas do grupo. A investigação possibilitou uma compreensão mais ampla sobre a formação de formadores de professores e, neste sentido, merece destaque a construção de um ambiente efetivamente colaborativo entre os participantes do processo, que pode ser relacionado, entre outros, a uma constante valorização dos saberes trazidos por cada uma das ATP. / Abstract Under the focus of cooperative work, this qualitative research intends to contribute, with its results, to enlarge information with regard to the professional development of the teachers of sciences teachers. The interest is in make possible ways that promote the improvement of teachers of teachers, and of the science education in primary school, through the formation of the teachers of science teachers. We understand that the investments on teachers\' formation are not successful if we do not pay attention for that professional who is responsible for this formation, for example, the Assisting Pedagogical Teaching, which acts in the Regional Directories of Teaching. Through a science teaching proposal for the primary school, by means of investigative activities in the context of physics, arises an initiative of nine Assisting Pedagogical Technician (ATP), teachers of sciences teachers, in accomplish an improvement project in the teaching, integrating the university, the regional directories of teaching and the public schools. The project The physical knowledge in the fundamental teaching: of the formation programs continued to the new practices implementation in class room, financed by the FAPESP, is the study object of this research, which relied on data collected in different instances along the period in which the researcher accompanied the Group of ATP. Among the analyzed data, we highlight meetings fragments accomplished at university and in the teaching directories, interviews, reports and another writings productions of the group. The investigation enabled a wider comprehension about teachers formation and, in this sense, deserves highlight the construction of an indeed cooperative environment among participants of the process, which can be related, among others, to a constant valorization of the knowledge brought by each one of ATP.

This research investigated the educational orientation of teacher educators in colleges of education in Botswana whether pedagogic or andragogic, and how they influence their educational practice. The methods of investigation were, a literature study of belief systems, andragogy and pedagogy as well as the nature of educational orientation, a survey of the educational orientation of teacher educators in Botswana using a structured Educational Orientation Questionnaire (EOQ) adopted from Hadley (Quam, 1998) and a semi-structured group interview to a stratified random sample of student teachers at two of the colleges of education. The results showed that most teacher educators in colleges of education in Botswana had a pedagogical rather than an andragogical orientation. They predominantly use educator-centred rather student-centred teaching methods. / Educational Studies / M Ed. (Didactics)