Researchers have explored second language (L2) teachers' knowledge focusing not only on their prior language learning experience, previous L2 teacher education, and teaching practices, but also on specific curricular areas, such as teaching L2 grammar, teaching L2 reading, and teaching L2 writing. This line of research has contributed to L2 teacher education, particularly how to develop an effective knowledge base for teacher candidates. This dissertation was conducted to investigate English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' knowledge of vocabulary instruction. Specifically, employing three qualitative techniques for data collection (i.e., interviews, classroom observations, and stimulated recall), the study examined seven Chinese EFL university teachers'knowledge of vocabulary instruction from four dimensions: their beliefs about vocabulary learning, their understandings about vocabulary teaching, the relationship between their knowledge of vocabulary instruction and vocabulary teaching practices, and the sources of their knowledge about vocabulary instruction. The findings of the study indicate that Chinese EFL teachers have well-developed content knowledge of EFL vocabulary. They also have well-established belief systems about how to learn and teach vocabulary. Moreover, their beliefs about vocabulary teaching tend to be consistent with their vocabulary teaching practices though some inconsistencies have been identified as well. It was also found that Chinese EFL teachers¡¯ knowledge of vocabulary instruction is derived from a variety of sources, of which formal EFL education and teaching practices are considered as the two most influential. EFL teachers' individual differences were also identified to impact their beliefs about vocabulary instruction. This dissertation has at least three potential contributions. As one of the first attempts to investigate teacher knowledge of vocabulary instruction in the field of L2 teacher education, this research expands studies on L2 teachers' knowledge base. It also provides information about L2 teachers' knowledge in one less studied context, i.e., Chinese EFL vocabulary teaching. Finally, the use of observations, interviews, and stimulated recall to collect data in this study serves as an impetus for enriching techniques to examine Chinese EFL teacher knowledge.

This evaluation research study is concerned with the quality of support and in-service development for Malawian primary teachers through the medium of radio. The study aims to evaluate the influence that the current United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded interactive radio instruction (IRI) programme has on teachers’ behaviours, with the aim of proposing some guidelines for the development of a model of continuing professional development (CPD), appropriate to the Malawian context, using IRI. It identifies the teacher as a critical entity in raising levels of learners’ achievement within the primary school and posits that through improved teacher support and development, higher levels of learner achievement can be attained. The study identifies the potential that communication technology in the form of interactive radio instruction (IRI) offers in improving CPD of teachers at a cost that could be affordable to disadvantaged school communities in the country. The study takes place in a context where the Malawi government has been challenged to provide quality universal primary education after introducing free primary education (FPE) in 1994, which resulted in a massive expansion of primary schools, resulting in acute shortages of teachers. The study has drawn on aspects of practice theory and in particular the work of Giddens (1984), Bourdieu (1977, 1978), Shatzki et al (2001) and Reckwitz (2002a) in an attempt to emphasise the role of artefacts, such as interactive radio, as part of social practice. A practice theoretic perspective has been used to highlight the contentious role played by learning-objects in teacher practice and the need for flexibility and innovation in employing learning-objects like interactive radio as part of teaching practice. To carry out a critical exploration of the issues of teacher learning and practice, a longitudinal qualitative research approach was proposed for the evaluation of the existing IRI programme in Malawi. As the researcher was also actively involved in the planning of the Malawi IRI programme from onset, he therefore maintained a dual role of researcher and co-founder throughout the research process. The empirical evidence employed within this research was elicited through three main processes: interview survey, participant observation and focus groups in order to achieve validity through methodical triangulation. The analysis of this evidence shows the considerable difficulties faced by classroom teachers in attempting to adopt interactive radio and therefore be able to use interactive/active learner-centred instruction as part of their ongoing teaching practice. The analysis, however, also highlights the possibility of exploiting interactive radio for provision of an integrated, sustainable CPD of teachers in educationally deprived school communities. Overall, the research study puts emphasis on the need for paying attention to the social practices (contextually specific) within which the use of educational technologies (such as interactive radio), are enmeshed. There is need to explicate the details of such practices (instead of adopting a narrow, technical, focus on attributes of interactive radio itself) in order to improve the efficacy of using interactive radio.

No description available.

The research reported here is a qualitative case study aimed to identify the position of digital game-based learning (DGBL) in the public and private preschools of Stockholm. The research is placed within the broader framework of digital game-based learning and the practical implementation of digital games in education, while the emphasis of the study is given to the role of the teachers in the practical implementation of digital games into the classroom. The research examines the attitude of the teachers towards digital games and investigates the role of these attitudes in the implementation of DGBL. The empirical findings of the study are analyzed and discussed through the prism of the existing literature on the field.The study shows that the perception of teachers on digital games and on the use of technology in early childhood education is the main factor that influences the implementation of digital games in preschools. The attitudes of the teachers can be distinguished in two categories: the positive teachers and the sceptical teachers. Furthermore, there are several other barriers that prevent the spreading of DGBL in the education institutions. Regardless of the teachers’ stance and the existing barriers, teachers are aware of the existence of digital games applicable to the early childhood education and many of them do make use of them. In this study, the ways of implementation of the digital games are also presented. However, teachers do not discuss digital games with the parents, while the discussion among colleagues is limited. The lack of information and appropriate training reveal a gap between the research community and the educational practice of DGBL.

O presente estudo tem por objetivo analisar as reflexões sobre a prática de ensino, feitas pelo próprio pesquisador enquanto professor de francês, língua estrangeira, em contexto exolíngue de ensino-aprendizagem, por meio da análise de seus relatos de vida ou narrativas (auto)biográficas (Connelly & Clandinin, 1995; Zabalza, 2002; Souza, 2008; Holly, 2013; Nóvoa, 2013) acompanhados de seus diários de aula. Como forma discursiva, os relatos permitem ao narrador a rememoração e o resgate de experiências vividas; dessa forma, a narrativa apresenta-se, igualmente, como um retrato da situação no momento acontecido, trazendo consigo uma significação social, cheia de descrições e informações sobre um determinado contexto sociocultural e permitindo aos indivíduos, envolvidos no relato ou não, a compreensão do vivido pela perspectiva do narrador. Os relatos aqui trazidos dizem respeito à minha formação docente como um todo. Quanto aos diários de aula, eles concernem as atividades didáticas que realizei nos cursos FLE, FOS, FOU do CFIPOLI- USP. A presente pesquisa se define como uma investigação qualitativa, feita à luz da metodologia de pesquisa heurística de Clark E. Moustakas (1994). O registro de vida e das aulas constituem um espaço de expressão e de elaboração do pensamento do professor, no qual ele se expõe como profissional e pessoa; ao (se) expor, ele explica e interpreta sua ação pedagógica em aula e fora dela. Desta forma, como sujeitonarrador trago questões que influenciaram minhas ações e decisões pedagógicas e complemento os relatos com estudos específicos e analíticos, além de reflexões sobre práticas de aulas apresentadas. Todo esse processo, apenas possível pela ação reflexiva docente, contamina todos os envolvidos gerando um processo consciente e reflexivo também no(s) aluno(s). / The present study aimed to analyze the reflections about the teaching practice performed by the researcher as a French teacher, foreign language, in exolingual context of teaching and learning, by analyzing his life reports or autobiographical narratives (Connelly & Clandinin, 1995; Zabalza, 2002; Souza, 2008; Holly, 2013; Nóvoa, 2013) together with his class diary. As discursive form, the reports allows the narrator the recalling and the rescue of past experiences, thus, the narrative is presented as a picture of the situation from the that moment, bringing with it a social meaning, full of descriptions and information about a certain sociocultural context and allowing the subjects, involved in the report or not, the understanding of moment by the narrator perspective. The reports of this article are about the authors graduation being a teacher as a whole. About the class diary, they report the didactics activities performed in courses of FLE, FOS, FOU of CFI-POLI-USP. The present research is defined as a qualitative investigation, done by the methodology of heuristic research of Clark E. Moustakas (1994). The class and life records constitute a space of expression and development of teachers thought, exposing him professionally and as a person, doing it, the teacher explains and interprets his pedagogical actions inside and outside the class. Thus, as narrator subject, bringing issues that influenced the actions and pedagogical decisions and adding the reports with specific and analytics studies, besides the reflections about the practice of presented classes. All this process, only is possible by the teachers reflective action, contaminates everyone involved promoting a conscious and reflective process for students also.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an instructional program designed to explicitly teach text structure awareness to fourth grade students to assist in their understanding of science content in a unit of study on weather. The changes that occurred in teacher thinking and practice were also examined throughout the process of developing and implementing the instructional program. A quantitative analysis was performed to reveal any differences in mean posttest scores between a control group and a treatment group. Results indicated that the treatment group students' science content knowledge was increased significantly more than the students in the control group. A qualitative analysis was also performed to reveal the changes that occurred while this program was implemented into science instruction. Results indicated that by using research and results to guide her instruction, the researcher became more refined as a teacher. Recommendations for further research are discussed.

This study reports on the impact of the Authorial Empathy Scale (AES), a tool designed to measure responses to literature that balance attention both to authors’ aesthetic choices and to empathetic engagement with the narrative world, on teachers’ instructional practices and students’ written and spoken responses. The research is guided by the following research questions: (1) In what ways, if any, does a literary unit intervention designed to foster readings of authorial empathy shape the teaching practice of two secondary ELA teachers? (2) In what ways, if any, does a literary unit intervention designed to foster readings of authorial empathy shape secondary students’ responses to texts? Data consist of stimulated-recall interviews and discussion transcripts of teachers and students that were analyzed for the goals, tools, and sources of their decisions. The major findings are the use of the AES seemed to facilitate a common approach among teachers and students for generating more balanced responses to texts. However, sustaining the balanced responses faced challenges in the form of institutional rubrics, IRE discussion patterns, and the specific demands of writing tasks. Students who evidenced greater mastery of the conventions of academic writing tended to generate more authorially empathetic responses to texts. During the Authorial Empathy unit, students tended to engage in more extensive and collaborative talk turns during discussion. The results make clear the importance for teachers to select texts, tasks, and tools that support the use of the AES in guiding students to respond with authorial empathy. / Literacy & Learners

Research reviews have shown that the use of formative assessment in classroom practice can substantially improve student achievement. However, a strong research base about how to support teachers’ implementation of such formative classroom practice is lacking. In this thesis, I investigate the effects of a comprehensive professional development programme (PDP) in formative assessment on teachers’ classroom practice and students’ achievement in mathematics. In addition, I identify reasons for the changes made in the teachers’ formative classroom practice. Fourteen randomly selected year - 7 mathematics teachers participated in the PDP. The teachers’ formative classroom practice before and after attending the programme was analysed and described, and reasons for their change in practice were explored. The effect of the changes in formative classroom practice on students’ mathematics achievement was examined using pre- and post-tests administered to both the intervention group and a control group. A mixed methods approach with classroom observations, teacher interviews, questionnaires and student achievement tests in mathematics was used in the studies included in the thesis. The results show that the teachers used aspects of formative assessment in their classroom practice before the PDP, but that there was plenty of room for development towards a more effective formative assessment practice. Several possibilities for developing the practice were identified. After the PDP the teachers believed in the idea of formative assessment and were motivated to make changes towards a more formative classroom practice. The teachers included new formative assessment activities in their classroom practice, but in different ways and to different degrees. The characteristics of these changes were identified, and also the characteristics of the PDP that the teachers found to be influential for their development of the formative classroom practice. Results also show that the teachers’ motivational beliefs held after the PDP was an explanatory factor for their changes in practice. However, the formative assessment practice the teachers implemented did not have a significant effect on their students’ achievement compared to the control group. In addition, there was no correlation between the number of formative assessment activities implemented by the teachers and their students’ achievement gains. Reasons for these non-effects on student achievement, and for the teachers’ degree and type of implementation of formative assessment in the classroom practice, are discussed in the thesis.

Teachers are an essential link between the curriculum and student achievement. Teachers make instructional decisions that (1) determine the success or failure of a curricular intervention and (2) can result in either alignment or disconnect between the written and enacted curricula. Despite overwhelming evidence linking the success or the failure of a curricular intervention to the classroom teacher, little is known about the instructional decisions teachers make when using a standards-based curriculum. The use of standards-based curriculum is becoming common, therefore, it is essential to know how teachers are using it. This study focused on three questions. First, can the factors that influence instructional decisions be consolidated into manageable, representative, and useful categories? Second, what instructional decisions did six science teachers in a rural central Texas school district make when using the standards-based curriculum, CSCOPE? Finally, what steps did one district take to select and adopt the SBC, CSCOPE? This study found that the factors that influence instructional decisions could be clustered into four categories: (1) working conditions, (2) pedagogical content knowledge, (3) prior experiences, and (4) beliefs. Further, that teachers made instructional decisions both to use CSCOPE as intended and to modify CSCOPE lessons. Modifications to CSCOPE were made despite (1) an administrative mandate not to modify CSCOPE, (2) good administrative support, and (3) the stated intention of these teachers to adhere to CSCOPE. Teachers omitted, replaced and/or supplemented lessons and/or parts of lessons in order to (1) accommodate the needs of their students and (2) prepare students for the state assessment. Finally, several steps taken by Bluecat ISD administrators assisted teachers in using CSCOPE as intended. This study makes three contributions to the educational literature. First, no useful categorization exists of the factors that influence teachers‟ instructional decisions. Chapter II provides an initial categorization of these factors that is manageable, representative, and useful. Second, administrators need to be able to anticipate how teachers may use a standards-based curriculum. Chapter III identifies the instructional decisions made by these six science teachers. Chapter IV identifies the measures put in place to support teachers as they adjusted to CSCOPE.

A major thrust in assessment reform is the instructional use of assessment (Ministry, 2010). Assessment for learning (AFL) has, however, proven challenging for teachers to implement (Brookhart, 2004; Swaffield, 2011; Tierney, 2006). Researchers have called for studies of classrooms that show how AFL works in practice (Bennett, 2011; Shepard, 2000). This study gathers images of practice from classrooms where teachers have been implementing a structure-based approach called Question Structure. Although a key premise of AFL is that assessment can be used instructionally to support learning, Question Structure’s constructivist-information-processing approach is rooted in educational measurement traditions usually juxtaposed to AFL theory and practice (Broadfoot & Black, 2004). Images of practice were drawn from classroom observation, teaching artifacts, and interviews from teachers who had been implementing the system for three to six years in three Ontario school boards. Data were analyzed through sub-questions emerging from the literature and through grounded theory. The study found that Question Structure supported AFL principles and practices. It also supported a Tylerian, backwards-design approach to program design, but not to excess. Technical revisions tended to evolve into significant change in practice, including program reconceptualization and increased focus on students’ learning. The structure-based approach functioned in a variety of ways, for example to support task clarification, (re)reading and comprehension of text, writing process, open-ended collaborative work, and student-generated questions. Teachers were able to clarify the meaning of ‘structure,’ to distinguish structures from instructional and cognitive strategies, and to use universal structures and strategies as subject-specific pedagogy in Language Arts/English. The role of the technical interest and implications for professional learning are also discussed.