In recent years, there has been converging evidence on the relation between nature experiences and learning. Although outdoor experiences are not just seen as leisurely activities anymore, barriers, such as lack of resources or travel time can hinder the propagation of more outdoor educational programs. This study explores a relatively new outdoor educational setting that can help overcome these difficulties by decreasing the amount of resources, input and energy necessary to set up such measures: the educational forest garden. With lower maintenance in creating an environment that resembles an authentic ecosystem, the question remains if forest gardening can foster similar learning outcomes than those reported in other educational settings. A qualitative study in a Swedish mini-forest garden was employed to explore what types of learning are possible in this new type of setting. Interviews with two educators and eight children were conducted to find out what perceptions and experiences they communicate after spending time in the mini-forest garden. The educator’s ideas were compared with children’s accounts and observational notes on their behavior to see if there was a difference in perception and experience. Examples for learning were found in three different dimensions: cognitive, emotional and social. The explored categories were ecological literacy, language learning, attention; being comfortable outdoors, respect and care, awareness of surroundings, co-creation, teacher-student interaction, gender differences and free play and imagination. The findings indicate an overlap between teacher’s and children’s experiences and perceptions in almost all categories and similar beneficial learning outcomes with forest gardening to other outdoor educational endeavors. Along with the potential for self-development, forest gardening may be a new way to successfully teach in the outdoors with less input or resources. Although a small scale study that should not be generalized, the study gives insight to educators’ and children’s voices in a new outdoor educational setting and can help overcome the lack of children’s voices in research in general. At the same time, it adds to the limited amount of research on forest gardening and potentially helps to increase the popularity of forest gardening as a new outdoor educational method.

O presente trabalho trata das referências musicais de alunos da rede pública na cidade de São Paulo. A partir de um levantamento que envolveu 1.482 estudantes de cinco escolas estaduais, buscamos observar se os professores reconhecem estes componentes da cultura jovem, isto é, se sabem o que é, se respeitam e se já utilizaram ou entendem que é possível fazer uso de tais referências no processo de ensino-aprendizagem. O estudo se localiza no campo de convergência entre a Comunicação e a Educação e é pautado pela ideia de que as canções e artistas, como elementos que circulam em dado estrato social, podem ser utilizados na mediação das relações humanas, por meio do posicionamento crítico, que dê condições aos indivíduos de exercer sua autonomia, de construir o conhecimento na negociação de sentidos e na compreensão de que o processo de ensino-aprendizagem se estrutura na reciprocidade. Os instrumentos de pesquisa aplicados aos educandos foram o questionário e a observação direta. As informações obtidas nesta primeira etapa passaram por processo de organização e análise para posterior utilização em grupos de discussão promovidos com os educadores. Também foram realizadas entrevistas individuais e levantamento bibliográfico. Os resultados apontam que a grande maioria dos indivíduos que compõem a amostra mantém relação estreita com a música. O barateamento das tecnologias digitais e a proliferação de smartphones alteraram as formas de interação com os artistas e do consumo das canções, que se tornaram mais individuais, customizadas e móveis. Um dos impactos diretos das transformações é o crescimento da circulação dos conteúdos disponibilizados pelas mídias na escola e, inclusive, na sala de aula. Os professores, por sua vez, revelam um baixo reconhecimento a respeito das práticas de escuta dos estudantes: sabem pouco e demonstram relativo respeito em relação aos hits, aos compositores, grupos, cantores e intérpretes que fazem sucesso nas turmas em que dão aula. Além disso, as experiências de utilização destes produtos culturais como suporte pedagógico são pontuais. Entre os motivos para o fenômeno, está a aceleração social do tempo, que amplia as exigências pelo contínuo lançamento de produtos novos e cada vez mais perecíveis, assim como limita a possibilidade dos docentes de se manterem atualizados, uma vez que eles já têm de lidar com as pressões diárias de sua vida pessoal e profissional. / The work presented herein with the musical references of public school students in the city of São Paulo. We have conducted a survey with 1,482 students, from five \"Estate schools\" (Sao Paulo\'s Estate administered schools), in which we sought to observe if the teachers brought to their attention and cognition, the recognizing of these musical reference components prevalent on the youth culture, that is, whether they know what they are, whether they respect and whether they have already used or understand that it is possible to use such references in the teaching-learning process. The study is located in the field of convergence between Communication and Education and is guided by the idea that songs and artists, as elements circulating in a given social stratum, can be used in the mediation of human relations, with the aid of critical self-positioning to support the conditions necessary for individuals to exert their autonomy, in order to build the knowledge while in the negotiating of the senses, and in the comprehension that the teaching/learning process structures itself in reciprocity. The research instruments applied to the students were a questionnaire and simply the direct observation were the tools used to determine the results of this research. The information obtained in this first stage went through a process of organization and analysis for later use in discussion groups promoted to educators. Individual interviews and bibliographic surveys were also carried out. The results indicate that the great majority of the individuals that have a close relationship with music. The cheapening of digital technologies and the proliferation of smartphones have altered the forms of interaction with the artists and the consumption of the songs, which have become more individual, customized and mobile. A direct impact of these transformations can be seen in the growth of content circulation made available by the media in schools, and classrooms. Teachers, on the other hand, show a low level of recognizing their student\'s listening practices: little they know of it, and the respect they show is relative to how little they know of the hits and personalities which are successful amongst their students. In addition, the experiences of using these elements as a pedagogical tool are timely. Among the reasons for the phenomenon is the social acceleration of time, which expands the demands for the continuous launch of new and increasingly perishable products, and limits the possibilities for teachers to keep up to date, since they already have to deal with the daily pressures of their personal and professional life.

In 1 urban Tennessee school, students in Grades 3 through 5 had not met adequate yearly progress in reading for the past 5 years. The purpose of this case study was to explore teachers' perceptions of current district-recommended teaching practice in reading. The research questions related to current instructional strategies, teaching practices, challenges, and perceptions of current instructional strategies and changes needed to improve students' reading achievement. This study was grounded in the constructivist theoretical framework of Vygotsky. Twelve educators from Grades 3 through 5 and a reading specialist participated in this study. The data were collected from interviews, minutes from professional learning community meetings, and the district guidelines for instruction. Data analysis included open coding to determine common patterns and development of common themes. Findings indicated that teachers described the district learning strategies and guidelines as aligned with the reading curriculum map, and they saw the reading specialist as a valuable resource. Teachers specified that although they were trained in district-recommended strategies, they needed more professional development and support to implement the reading strategies effectively. Teachers wanted job-embedded professional development (PD) to help them develop expertise in implementing effective reading instruction to increase student achievement. To address this, a professional learning community PD project was created. Participation in the PD project may help teachers to implement reading instruction using research-based strategies in accord with district guidelines to improve student reading achievement.

At ABCD High School, students with disabilities (SWDs) pass state-mandated English High School Assessments (HSA) at a lower rate than do their nondisabled peers, even with remediation. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of appropriate remediation for preparing SWDs for the English HSA. The theoretical foundation for the study was based on social constructivism with an emphasis on individual experiences. The 3 key research questions investigated how teachers perceive their role in the delivery of remediation, how they describe the remediation program, and what factors they say influence their ability to remediate SWDs effectively. Data were collected from observations of remediation instruction (n = 12), individual interviews of English teachers (n = 6), and school documents pertaining to remediation. A qualitative data analysis was conducted with constant comparison and open, axial, and selective coding in order to identify emergent themes and sub-themes. Findings indicated inadequacies in instructional materials, teachers' poor understanding of student disabilities, a lack of formal teacher training, scheduling problems, difficulty motivating students, and a lack of collaboration among colleagues. The creation of teacher professional development workshops was recommended to study various disabilities and to share strategies for improving remediation of SWDs. Implications of positive social change include improved teacher buy-in regarding SWDs, a more cohesive learning community, and an openness to innovative strategies of remediation, leading to greater instructional effectiveness.

Outdoor education is considered to be a recent teaching approach and method in a general educational framework, which is related to learning through authentic places and different direct experiences. However, the learning process within the educational system in Cyprus is mainly based on traditional models of teaching. Despite that fact, a modified society established the necessity for a new educational curriculum, which was implemented in 2010. Thus, the current research is focused on a curriculum-related study on outdoor learning and teaching, based on experiential learning in primary schools in Cyprus. Specifically, the focal point is on teachers’ perceptions regarding the status of experiential learning within the Greek language curriculum and the possibilities of implementing outdoor language activities, in order to enhance students’ learning. Through a qualitative approach, this research included analysis of the data extracted from ten semi-structured synchronous online interviews with primary teachers. The data were analysed thematically and summarized in five themes related to the connections between outdoor learning, experiential learning and language teaching. In particular, the relevant findings demonstrated that experiential learning is mainly presented on a theoretical base through the language curriculum and that outdoor language activities, although they can enhance the implementation of more efficient lessons, are limited. The results reveal primary teachers’ basic knowledge on the field of outdoor education, as they additionally noted some important barriers of outdoor learning, such as time limitations, lack of support and the traditional way of thinking. Thus, they pointed out the necessity of applying significant changes that will support the new Greek language curriculum and its basic principles. Additionally, the teachers acknowledged several benefits of outdoor language teaching mainly related to the students’ personal and social development. The above findings contribute to the current limited scientific knowledge, concerning the practice of outdoor education in primary level in Cyprus. To conclude, the results of the specific study are focused on the perceptions of the ten participants, so they cannot be generalized. Therefore, further research on the related field would be important for a wider investigation of outdoor language learning within the Cypriot educational system.

Den nya läroplanen för grundskolan 2011 uppmanar alla lärare i den svenska skolan att stärka ett entreprenöriellt förhållningssätt hos eleverna. Enligt regeringens Strategi för entreprenörskap inom utbildningsområdet ska entreprenörskap löpa som en röd tråd genom hela skolan. Medan en del forskning är gjord på gymnasienivå och utifrån ett elevperspektiv så finns det dock i dagsläget relativt få undersökningar angående grundskolan och lärarnas perspektiv. Förutsättningarna för införandet av entreprenöriellt lärande är oklara. En viktig förutsättning är dock att lärarna är bekanta med begrepp som entreprenörskap och entreprenöriellt lärande. Studien syftar till att undersöka hur lärare i moderna språk uppfattar begreppet entreprenöriellt lärande, och vilka möjligheter och hinder de ser med att tillämpa entreprenöriella arbetsformer i språkundervisningen. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer undersöks hur sju lärare i moderna språk med olika uppfattningar resonerar kring entreprenöriellt lärande i sina ämnen. Lärarna finner det viktigt att utveckla egenskaper hos elever såsom att våga, förmågan att ta initiativ och omsätta idéer till handlingar men de ser sig också ställda inför en del svårigheter med att tillämpa de nya metoderna. Ett intressant utfall var att lärarnas uppfattning av sina förutsättningar hänger ihop väldigt starkt med deras uppfattning av och förhållningssätt till EL. Studien visar att det krävs större satsningar och framförallt mer forskning och beprövad erfarenhet inom fältet. / The new curriculum for primary education 2011 calls on all teachers in Swedish schools to strengthen an entrepreneurial attitude in students. According to the government's Strategy for entrepreneurship in education, entrepreneurship should permeate the whole school system. While some research has been done at secondary level and from a student perspective, relatively few studies have investigated the issue from a teachers' perspective and at primary level. The prerequisites for the introduction of entrepreneurial learning are somewhat unclear. An important condition is, however, that teachers are familiar with concepts such as entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial learning. This study aims to examine how teachers of modern languages perceive the concept of entrepreneurial learning, and what opportunities and obstacles they see to the application of entrepreneurial work in language teaching. By using qualitative interviews, the study investigates how seven teachers of modern languages with different experiences of the methods reason about enterprise learning in their subjects. The teachers find it important to help their students develop such characteristics as daring, the ability to take initiatives and turn their ideas into actions, but they also find themselves facing some difficulties in applying the new methods. An interesting outcome was that the teachers’ perceptions of their conditions are closely connected to their perceptions of and attitudes towards enterprise learning. The study shows that greater efforts and most importantly, more research and documented experience is needed in the field.

This study produced a theoretically grounded model of professional development suited for supporting teachers in Hong Kong to embed Information and Communication Technologies into the Primary School Curriculum. The model was developed and tested over two years through an intervention based on participatory action research involving school staff and the researcher as a critical friend. The model was tested through the analysis of extensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of teacher behaviours and curricular documents. Teachers' beliefs and practices were found to change significantly during the first year of the project and were further refined during the second year. Leadership, collegial support, physical infrastructure, teacher self-efficacy, and technical knowledge were identified as the most important factors underpinning the successful implementation of the program. The model addresses these factors and has considerable potential to impact on educational practice involving ICT in the Hong Kong context.

The aim of the study is to investigate some teachers´and students´perceptions of how the teaching of the subject Swedish is designed to motivate the development of students´ language, reading and writing when one to one is used. The study has a the communicative relationally oriented perspective on teaching. The method that has been used to answer the purpose of this study is qualitative and is based on semi structured interviews with some teachers´and students´. The result of the study shows that computers should be seen as an important part of the teaching design to increase students motivation to schoolwork when teachers are forming the teaching. The computer can be seen as a motivational boost for both teachers and students in teaching, but above all, the study shows it facilitates in students´ language-, reading- and writing development. The teachers´ perception is that the major benefits of one to one teaching with computers lies in the ability to adapt for students in need of support. The teachers have different perceptions on how computers can be used in teaching. Nevertheless, they are based essentially on the same motivational factors to increase students motivation for schoolwork, wich are the same as they always have used. Both teachers and students have an idea that other factors appear to be as important as the computer in order for them to be motivated; the importance of the teacher, the importance of the teaching to be structured, and that the teaching is based on the interest of the students, that it feels relevant and can be related to, are also important motivational factors in one to one teaching with computers. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka några lärares och elevers uppfattningar om hur svenskundervisningen är utformad för att motivera eleverna i deras språk-, läs- och skrivutveckling i en-till-en-undervisning med datorer. Studien har sin teoretiska utgångspunkt i det kommunikativa relationsinriktade perspektivet på lärande. Metoden som använts är kvalitativ och för att besvara studiens syfte har semistrukturerade intervjuer med några lärare och elever genomförts. Resultatet visar att datorn bör ses som en viktig del i lärares utformande av undervisning när det gäller att öka elevers motivation till skolarbete. Datorn kan ses som motivationshöjande för lärare och elever i undervisning, men framförallt visar studien att den underlättar i elevers språk-, läs- och skrivutveckling. Lärarnas uppfattning är att de stora fördelarna med en-till-enundervisning med datorer ligger i möjligheten att anpassa för de elever som är i behov av stöd på olika sätt. Lärarna har olika syn på hur datorn kan användas i undervisningen. Trots detta utgår de från i stort sett samma motivationshöjande faktorer för att öka elevernas motivation till skolarbetet, vilka är samma som de alltid har utgått från. Såväl lärarna som eleverna har en uppfattning om att andra faktorer framstår som minst lika viktiga som datorn för att de ska bli motiverade; lärarens betydelse, vikten av strukturerad undervisning, samt att det man arbetar med utgår från elevers intresse, att det känns relevant och går att relatera till är även de viktiga motivationshöjande faktorerna i en-till-en-undervisning med datorer.

Syftet med studien var att utröna hur fem lärare i årskurs 1–3 resonerar om och uppfattar dokumentation av elevers talspråkliga färdigheter. Vilken form av dokumentation lärare beskriver sig använda i syfte att bedöma och följa upp elevers talspråkliga färdigheter och vilka ändamål med denna dokumentation lärare redogör för var de frågor studien syftade att besvara. Fem lärare i årskurserna 1–3 intervjuades på plats i sina respektive skolor. Intervjumaterialet transkriberades och analyserades utifrån analysmetoden innehållsanalys och Åsa Hirshs (2015) fem ändamål med IUP:er. Resultatet visar att lärare använder flera olika former för att dokumentera elevers talspråkliga färdigheter. Det ändamål med dokumentationen lärarna framhäver mest frekvent är att de nyttjar den som ett informationsbärande dokument för föräldrar och elever. Alla lärare lyfter fram minst ett dokumentationsändamål som inte omfattas av Hirshs (2015) typologier vilket bidrog till att tre nya dokumentationsändamål skapades. Därtill visar det sig att skriftliga anteckningar används utifrån flest antal ändamål medan elevskapat och nedskrivet material bara används för att engagera eleverna i bedömningen av sina kunskaper och observationsscheman bara för att informera om elevens nuvarande kunskaper.

abstract: Given the current focus on high-stakes accountability in America's public schools, this study examined teacher evaluation specific to physical education. This study revealed current teacher evaluation practices used in physical education, perceptions of school administrators related to the value of the physical education evaluation process, and the perceptions of the physical education teachers related to the value of the evaluation process. The first phase of this study was an interpretive document analysis study conducted on four separate teacher evaluation systems commonly used within the public school system to evaluate physical education teachers. Those four systems were: Marzanos teacher evaluation model, Danielson framework for teaching (FFT), Rewarding Excellence in Instruction and Leadership (REIL), and Teacher Advancement Program (TAP). A separate evaluation instrument specific to physical education created by the National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) was used as a comparative evaluation tool. Evidence suggests that two of the four teacher evaluation systems had a high percentage of alignment with the NASPE instrument (TAP 87.5%, FFT 82.5%). The Marzano teacher evaluation model had the least amount of alignment with the NASPE instrument (62.5%). The second phase of this study was a phenomenological approach to understanding administrators' and physical education teachers' perceptions to teacher evaluation specific to physical education. The participants in this study were administrators and physical education teachers from an urban school district. An informal survey and formal semi-structured interviews were used to reveal perceptions of teacher evaluation specific to physical education. Evidence from the administrator's informal survey and formal semi-structured interviews revealed four common themes: (1) "I value PE, but I live in reality" (administrators value physical education, but practice in reality); (2) "good teaching is good teaching"; (3) "I know my limitations, and I want/need help" (relative to teacher evaluation in PE); and (4) where's the training beef? Evidence from the physical education teacher's informal survey and formal semi-structured interviews revealed three common themes: (a) physical education is valued, but not prioritized; (b) teacher evaluation in physical education is "greatly needed, yet not transparent; (c) physical educators are not confident in their evaluator. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physical Education 2014