Curriculum Deliberations over Time: A Nexus of Teacher Dilemmas, Questions, Experimentation, and Agency

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Sawyer
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Level ◽  
Adaptive Expertise ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Interdisciplinary Curriculum ◽  
Alternate Route ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Learning Centered ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Curricular Choices ◽  
The Subject

This article examines 24 teachers’ perceptions of their curriculum and curricular choices over their first 11 years of teaching. Adaptive expertise and teacher visioning were used as a conceptual frameworks. A theme of diversity runs through the alternate route elementary teachers. Some of these teachers from diverse backgrounds promoted a social justice curriculum, but their teaching skills often lagged behind their goals for societal change. Eventually, on both the alternate route elementary and secondary levels, some of these teachers valued and implemented an integrated and interdisciplinary curriculum. The college-prepared teachers focused more on the creation of integrated learning environments on the elementary level and the adaptation of content to learning on the secondary level. Some of the college-prepared secondary teachers used more learning-centered approaches in all their classes from the start of their careers. Others were more influenced by the classroom context (the level of the class or the subject matter) and initially were more innovative in their beginning or “basic skills” classes than in their advanced classes. Most of the teachers in both preparation groups who remained in the classroom began to develop a sense of adaptive expertise.

The Equity Collection: Analysis and transformation of the Monash University Design Collection

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 119-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romany Manuell ◽  
Kate McEntee ◽  
Marcus Chester
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Collection Development ◽  
University Staff ◽  
Current State ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Design Resources ◽  
Academic Faculty ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Library Staff ◽  
The University

Collection development at Monash University Library aims to fulfil the research and curriculum needs of university staff and students. To support the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (MADA), collection development operates as a collaboration between academic faculty and the Subject Librarian. In order to further develop this collaboration and to encourage the selection and use of design resources by authors from diverse backgrounds, design lecturers and library staff have initiated The Equity Collection project. The aim of the project is to investigate the diversity of the collection in its current state and to improve its ability to reflect and extend the multicultural nature of the university community. The project includes a campaign to collect and promote books from the design world authored by under-represented groups, including Indigenous Australians, people of colour, and female and non-binary authors. This project is unique in its utilisation of the expertise of the design faculty who have extensive knowledge of authors, small publishers and less widely distributed publications.

Lesson Study as a bridge between two learning contexts

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgitta Lundbäck ◽  
Helen Egerhag
Keyword(s):  
Lesson Study ◽  
After School ◽  
School Age ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teaching Situation ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Subject

PurposeLesson Study is a model for advancing knowledge about how teachers can enhance teaching through collaboration in schools. This study aims to focus on two learning situations for students in Grades 1–3: elementary school (the first years of school) and school-age educare (activities for students before and after school while their parents are working or studying). The case study aims to describe how teachers use Lesson Study to enhance students' mathematical learning in the two learning situations. The objectives were to describe teachers' perceptions of Lesson Study activities and collaboration and students' knowledge before and after lessons.Design/methodology/approachData were collected as a narrative case study using audio-recorded conversations between researchers and teachers in the different learning contexts. A questionnaire comprising five open-ended questions was used to map students' knowledge of the subject.FindingsTeachers found it advantageous to cooperate with each other across the different learning situations. Mapping students' knowledge before and after a teaching session helped them understand how to create a teaching situation that benefits their students. They saw the value of continued collaboration and called for implementation of the Lesson Study method throughout the school.Research limitations/implicationsAn important limitation of this case study is that it was conducted in a very specific context, and the findings cannot, therefore, be generalized to other situations. However, there is a need for similar case studies to be conducted in different contexts, both in Sweden and in other countries, to pay attention to ways in which elementary schools and school-age educare can develop supplementary teaching situations.Originality/valueThe originality of this case lies in planning and reporting a Lesson Study in two different learning situations in the same school, and the conclusion that educators identify and develop collaborative links in different subjects.

scholarly journals ‘Perhaps a Bit Different to What We Did Twenty Years Ago’: Senior Teachers' Perceptions of Outdoor Adventure within Primary Education in England.

Sports ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Webber ◽  
Hardwell
Keyword(s):  
Primary Education ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Leadership Teams ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Outdoor Adventure ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Approach To Learning ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Northern City

Outdoor and adventurous activities (OAA) are now a compulsory component of the primary education curriculum in England, with senior leadership teams exerting significant influence on its delivery in schools. This study considers senior teachers’ perceptions and value of the OAA strand of the Physical Education (PE) National Curriculum (NC) in primary education. Six senior teachers from across a large northern city took part in semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed using an interpretivist paradigm incorporating a multistage thematic coding process. Findings centred on the lack of guidance given by the NC within OAA and ensuing issues for experienced and less confident teachers of the subject. Different interpretations of OAA were prevalent from traditional skills-based activities to personal and social development through basic activities delivered outside the classroom. Finally, all senior staff highly regarded OAA and offered a strong rationale for its inclusion within curriculum time. The full potential of OAA as a cross-curricular approach to learning in primary education is not being realised and can be partially mitigated by more purposeful integration within teacher education programmes.

An Exploratory Study of Teachers’ Experiences in Physical Education With Children Thought to Have Developmental Coordination Disorder

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Chantelle Zimmer ◽  
Janice Causgrove Dunn
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Developmental Coordination Disorder ◽  
Semistructured Interview ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Elementary Years ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Positive Experiences ◽  
Movement Difficulties ◽  
Coordination Disorder

Teachers can create supportive conditions in physical education to mitigate experiences of stress for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD); however, most are unfamiliar with DCD and lack adequate training to instruct children with impairments. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of and interactions in physical education with children thought to demonstrate functional difficulties associated with DCD. A semistructured interview was conducted with 12 teachers across all elementary years with diverse backgrounds and thematically analyzed. Four themes were produced. Teachers (a) had differing views on the etiology of children’s movement difficulties, though (b) all recognized a range of difficulties children demonstrated. They (c) believed it was their role to facilitate positive experiences for these children in physical education but (d) experienced challenges in doing so. Training that increases teachers’ knowledge of and abilities to address the needs of children thought to have DCD is warranted.

scholarly journals Public school teachers’ perceptions about mental health

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 940-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Gonçalves Simões Soares ◽  
Gustavo Estanislau ◽  
Elisa Brietzke ◽  
Fernando Lefèvre ◽  
Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Public School ◽  
General Health ◽  
The Body ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Public School Teachers ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
The Subject

OBJECTIVE To examine public school teachers’ perceptions about general health and mental health, and the way in which they obtained this information. METHODS Qualitative research was conducted with 31 primary and secondary school teachers at a state school in the municipality of Sao Paulo, SP, Southeastern Brazil, in 2010. The teachers responded to a questionnaire containing open-ended questions about mental health and general health. The following aspects were evaluated: Teachers’ understanding of the terms “health and “mental health,” the relevance of the need for information on the subject, the method preferred for obtaining information, their experience with different media regarding such matters, and perceptions about the extent to which this available information is sufficient to support their practice. The data were processed using the Qualiquantisoft software and analyzed according to the Discourse of the Collective Subject technique. RESULTS From the teachers’ perspective, general health is defined as the proper physiological functioning of the body and mental health is related to the balance between mind and body, as a requirement for happiness. Most of the teachers (80.6%) showed great interest in acquiring knowledge about mental health and receiving educational materials on the subject. For these teachers, the lack of information creates insecurity and complicates the management of everyday situations involving mental disorders. For 61.3% of the teachers, television is the medium that provides the most information on the topic. CONCLUSIONS The data indicate that there is little information available on mental health for teachers, showing that strategies need to be developed to promote mental health in schools.

Hong Kong’s curriculum reform: intentions, perceptions and practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-106
Author(s):  
Joe Tin-yau Lo ◽  
Irene Nga-yee Cheng ◽  
Emmy Man-yee Wong
Keyword(s):  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Inquiry Teaching ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Intended Curriculum ◽  
Local Schools ◽  
Teaching Learning

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the complex, intricate relationships between the central (intended) curriculum, teachers’ perceived curriculums, and the enacted/assessed curriculum in classroom contexts. To do this, the authors have used Hong Kong’s new core senior-secondary liberal studies (LS) curriculum as a case study, with a special focus on its key pedagogical component – inquiry teaching/learning. Design/methodology/approach This study’s objects are two teachers (from two local schools), each with a LS teacher’s education. Documentary analysis, lesson observation, and focus interviews were used to triangulate data for interpretation and analysis. Findings The findings illuminate: how LS teachers’ perceptions of inquiry teaching/learning relate to and align with the advocacy embodied in the intended curriculum, the relationships between teachers’ perceptions and practices of inquiry learning and teaching, and how this aspect of the intended curriculum reform can be made more relevant to the classroom context. Originality/value This paper contributes to the under-researched area of curriculum gaps and (mis)alignments in Hong Kong’s LS curriculum reform.

scholarly journals Teachers' Perceptions of Learning Technologies: An Informing Issue in High School Education

10.28945/2363 ◽  
2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Cope ◽  
Peter Ward
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
High School Teachers ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Subject Material ◽  
Enhanced Learning

A study of the perceptions of learning technologies of a group of high school teachers was undertaken. Underlying the study was the research-based notion that enhanced learning outcomes are likely only if learning technologies are perceived as a means for students to seek the meaning of the subject material. The teachers were interviewed about their perceptions at the beginning and end of a two year period. The interview transcripts were analyzed using phenomenographic research approaches to identify critical variation in perception. The teachers' perceptions of learning technologies were found to have unrelated "what" and "how" components. The "what" component concerned perception of technology. The "how" component concerned perception of the nature of enhanced learning. The various perceptions were found to be inadequate with regard to the "how" component and unlikely to lead to enhanced student learning outcomes. The research findings lead to the suggestion that the teachers need professional development in the nature of enhanced learning and how learning technologies can be used in the classroom to facilitate better learning outcomes.

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