scholarly journals Improving Engagement With Biomechanics: Student Perspectives and a Professional Development Initiative

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah P. Shultz ◽  
Sarah-Kate Millar ◽  
Philip W. Fink ◽  
Kim Hébert-Losier ◽  
Geoffrey Handsfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
High School ◽  
Teacher Training ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
First Year ◽  
Training Workshop ◽  
School Teaching

Abstract Student engagement is an essential aspect of educational environments, and this is especially true for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, where student engagement declines in middle and high school years. Techniques for bolstering student engagement, such as hands-on learning, may be especially effective in the field of biomechanics since this discipline is rooted in STEM and has fundamental applications to everyday movement. To this end, this paper describes (1) the perceptions of student teachers in their first year of tertiary (undergraduate) education regarding the biomechanics content from their secondary (high school) education, and (2) a professional development initiative, in the form of a discipline-specific teacher training workshop, to enhance biomechanics resources for teachers via peer networking. The perception of student teachers in their first year of tertiary education in teaching indicated a positive relationship between perception of secondary school teaching quality and self-confidence with specific biomechanical concepts. Open responses focused on the need to cover concepts thoroughly, using practical activities where possible, and taking time to ensure understanding before progressing to more advanced concepts. The teacher training workshop provided secondary school Physical Education teachers with an opportunity to network nationally with other teachers across New Zealand, and internationally with university-based biomechanics researchers. Peer focus groups helped to design and refine sets of experiential learning activities that could be easily implemented in the classroom.

The Teacher Won’t Teach Me!

1977 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 35-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
A-K. Eckermann
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Aboriginal Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
School Students ◽  
Rural Town ◽  
Grant Scheme

Throughout 1974 and 1975 I worked among Aboriginal people in Rural Town, S.W. Queensland. With one exception, all Aboriginal people in this country town have attained at least a primary education. Further, almost 30 per cent of men and women in the 16–30 age group have attended some secondary school; although only two completed grade 10 in 1974, a further three attended tenth arade in 1975.These figures reflect the pattern of Queensland Aboriginal education as presented in Roper (1970:55). On the basis of these trends it should be possible to hypothesize that younger Aboriginals are attaining higher educational standards than their parents. But the figures lie – simply because more children are staying at school for longer periods this does not mean that they either learn more at school or are experiencing more satisfaction in the school situation.Obviously the proportion of individuals who attend at least some secondary school is increasing; Aboriginal parents generally support the principle that education is essential if the child is to acquire reasonable employment. Such schemes as the Aboriginal Secondary Grant Scheme are recognised by the Aboriginal community as worthwhile endeavours, not only because they enable parents to support their children for longer periods at school, but because they make the whole educational issue topical. Discussions about the grant lead to discussions about children’s problems at school. Ambitions for “good jobs” are intrinsically linked with educational achievement. Education officers associated with the Aboriginal Secondary Grant are sought out, asked for help to “have the kids sent to boarding school”, as the Rural Town high school does not teach classes beyond Grade 10, and their expertise enlisted to find employment. This concern is not restricted to high school students either. Mothers generally recognise that: “Kids need the first year at school or they get buggered up for the rest. If they miss too much in that first year, they never catch up….”

Predicting Postsecondary Enrollment With Secondary Student Engagement Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 882-899
Author(s):  
Kathleen Fraysier ◽  
Amy Reschly ◽  
James Appleton
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
School Engagement ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
School Level ◽  
Secondary Student ◽  
Postsecondary Enrollment ◽  
The Relationship

As the economic landscape changes, a college degree has become increasingly necessary for securing employment in an information-based society. Student engagement is an important factor in predicting and preventing high school dropout, and improving student outcomes. Although the relationship between secondary school engagement and high school completion is well supported in existing research, the relationship between secondary school engagement and postsecondary enrollment and persistence is unclear. In this study, we examined whether students’ engagement in high school predicts postsecondary matriculation and persistence in the first year after accounting for demographic and school-level variables. Results indicated secondary student engagement does predict postsecondary enrollment and persistence beyond academic and behavioral variables. Consistent with research among secondary students, the Future Goals and Aspirations Scale of the Student Engagement Instrument was the strongest engagement predictor. Results have implications for early warning systems and college retention efforts.

scholarly journals An Examination of the Congruency between the University Teacher Training Contents and Secondary School Contents in Tanzania: The Case of Sokoine University of Agriculture

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Sotco Claudius Komba ◽  
Sarah Vincent Chiwamba
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Training Programmes ◽  
The University ◽  
University Teacher Training ◽  
Education Courses

<p>It is ideally expected that after student teachers have gone through comprehensive curricula contents, they should possess the necessary competences and skills to enable them deliver effectively as teachers. However, some student teachers in Tanzania have expressed their concerns that some of the contents found in the curricula for teacher training programmes do not link with the contents taught in secondary schools. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the congruency between the contents student teachers cover during their studies at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), one of the Tanzanian teacher training institutions, and contents taught in Tanzanian secondary schools. The study involved a randomly obtained sample of 181 third year students, pursuing various teacher education degree programmes. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design in which a set of questionnaire, which consisted of both open and closed-ended questions, was administered to the sampled respondents. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS in which frequencies and percentages of responses to the questions presented in the questionnaire were computed to answer research questions advanced for this study. The findings were as follows: First, the majority (66.9%) of student teachers felt that there was a congruency between the University contents and secondary school contents and about one third (33.1%) of student teachers felt that the congruency did not exist. Secondly, the majority (95%) of student teachers felt that the contents of education courses taught at the University were applicable in real school situations and the minority (5%) did not feel so. Third, the majority (91.7%) of student teachers felt that the teacher training programmes offered at SUA had enabled them to acquire sufficient classroom teaching skills and basic theories in education. Fourth, some challenges facing teacher training programmes offered at SUA, as reported by the respondents, included irrelevant contents in some university courses, inadequate infrastructures, and lack of opportunities for practice, to mention but a few. Based on these findings, it is recommended that whenever an opportunity to review the existing teacher training programmes comes, the exercise should be preceded with needs analysis to help determine if the existing programmes adequately address the needs of the teaching profession for which the student teachers are being prepared.</p>

scholarly journals Effects of data feedback in the teacher training community

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-50
Author(s):  
Tamar Tas ◽  
Thoni Houtveen ◽  
Wim Van de Grift
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Teaching Skills ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Year

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to answer the question, what progress student teachers make during one academic year, while being trained in a professional learning community, using objective classroom observation, using lesson preparation templates that match their developmental stage and stage-focused mentor feedback. Design/methodology/approach The teaching skills of the student teachers (n=101) were measured at the start and at the end of the academic year. For the measurements, the standardized and psychometrically tested International Comparative Analysis of Learning and Teaching observation instrument is used. Findings The student teachers achieved a small growth on the basic teaching skills and a medium growth on two of the three advanced skills for teachers. Research limitations/implications Because of the lack of a control group, causal conclusions cannot be made. This research provides knowledge on the actual observed level of teaching skills of student teachers trained in a close collaborating professional learning community. Originality/value Little is known about the actual growth of observable teaching skills of student teachers in elementary education. Teacher training colleges and internship schools in the Netherlands are in search of better ways to collaborate more closely in order to improve the quality of teaching of their student teachers. These findings can inspire teacher training communities to improve their own teaching quality and the teaching quality of their student teachers.

scholarly journals Foundation phase teachers’ (limited) knowledge of geometry

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kakoma Luneta
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Van Hiele ◽  
Limited Knowledge ◽  
Basic Concepts ◽  
Level 1

This study is about student teachers’ conceptual understanding of shapes. While the National Curriculum Statement stipulates that by the time learners exit high school they should have grounded knowledge of basic geometry and know shapes such as polygons and polyhedrons and their properties, this study finds that the majority of student teachers have limited knowledge of basic geometry and require not remedial, but re-learning of these basic concepts. The Van Hiele levels of geometric thought model is used as a lens to gauge and understand students’ knowledge of geometry. A cohort of 128 first-year students registered for a foundation phase programme took part in the study. It was found that while Grade 12 learners are expected to operate at levels 3 and 4 of the Van Hiele’s levels, the majority of the participants in the study were operating at level 1, the level of the learners they will be teaching when they complete the course. Suggestions are made for how to address this problem.

scholarly journals How Professional Development in Co-teaching Impacts Self-Efficacy Among Rural High School Teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-31
Author(s):  
Tori Colson ◽  
Yajuan Xiang ◽  
Moriah Smothers
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
High School ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
High School Teachers ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Rural High School ◽  
Significant Difference

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of professional development in co-teaching on teacher self-efficacy among general and special education rural high school teachers. A causal-comparative research design was used to survey 256 rural high school teachers from the South and Midwest regions of the U.S. to measure their self-efficacy in student engagement, instructional practices, and classroom management. One-way analysis and independent samples t-test was used to analyze these data using SPSS statistical software. The results indicated a significant difference between teachers with and without experience in a co-teaching classroom regarding their efficacy in using instructional practices. Furthermore, ANOVA results indicated a significant difference in the number of hours of professional development a teacher received in co-teaching as it relates to their efficacy in student engagement, instructional practices, and classroom management. Further discussion and recommendations are also included.

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