scholarly journals Talking about science in interactive whiteboard classrooms

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Murcia ◽  
Rachel Sheffield
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Wait Time ◽  
Interactive Whiteboards ◽  
Exploratory Talk ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Seven Principles ◽  
Open Questions

<span>Teachers using interactive whiteboards (IWB) effectively can engage and motivate students with a range of digital resources to explore science's role in making sense of our world and to construct knowledge of key scientific concepts. The case study research described in this paper illustrates how interactive pedagogies in the IWB classroom were used to support whole class substantive discourse about science. A sociocultural framework structured the exploration of the discourse surrounding four teachers and their students' use of IWB technology in their primary science classrooms. Action research methods and a professional learning intervention were used for both exploring and developing teachers' understanding of the interactive technology and its impact on the nature of classroom talk. Comparing video captured lessons with and without the use of the IWB provided some initial evidence of an increase in students' participation in substantive science conversations and exploratory talk. The preliminary analysis of the data summary across the four case studies suggested that the teachers were using more open questions, greater wait time and required greater participation from students. This research suggests that teachers' effective IWB pedagogy impacts positively on the way students talk about science. Seven principles of effective interactive pedagogy focused on enhancing discourse emerged from the action research. It is recommended that these principles be used with IWB technology to scaffold deep substantial science discourse, which is essential in developing students' scientific literacy.</span>

scholarly journals Brief Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Teacher and Course Attendee Perspectives on Content

Mindfulness ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Birtwell ◽  
Rebecca Morris ◽  
Christopher J. Armitage
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Stakeholder Involvement ◽  
The Body ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Home Practice ◽  
Mixed Methods Design ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Intervention Content

Abstract Objectives While brief mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) show promise, stakeholder involvement in their design is lacking and intervention content can vary substantially. The aim of this study is to explore stakeholder perspectives of brief MBIs, brief MBI content, and adapting existing MBIs. Methods In this convergent mixed methods design study, 22 mindfulness teachers and 20 mindfulness course attendees completed an online UK-based survey. Twenty-six participants were female, and mean age was 50.8 years. Data from closed questions were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, and data from open questions were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Findings suggest a brief MBI could comprise five 80-min sessions and include focused attention practice, informal mindfulness, inquiry, psychoeducation, and 20 min of daily home practice. Opinions of some elements differed among participants, such as the body scan, poetry, and the sitting with difficulty practice. Four themes were generated from participants’ comments about their attitudes to brief MBIs, which were generally positive but expressed concerns about insufficient content and poor delivery. Three themes were generated about adapting MBIs, suggesting tensions between adhering to a curriculum and meeting group needs. Five themes were generated from views about the content and characteristics of MBIs, highlighting the importance of accessibility, teacher training, and participant safety. Conclusions Brief MBIs may increase access to mindfulness training, yet there is a need for adequate governance and transparency regarding their strengths and limitations. Clarity and evidence of MBI mechanisms along with scientific literacy in teachers will support fidelity-consistent modifications.

Wittgenstein’s philosophy and action research

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Shotter
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Gain Control ◽  
Participatory Culture ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Social ◽  
Professional Research ◽  
The Many

Three themes seem to be common to both Greenwood’s and Gustavsen’s accounts: One is the social isolation of professional [research] elites from the concerns of ordinary people, which connects with another: the privileging of theory over practice. Both of these are connected, however, with a third: the great, unresolved struggle of ordinary people to gain control over their own lives, to escape from schemes imposed on them by powerful elites, and to build a genuinely participatory culture. An understanding of Wittgenstein’s later philosophy, and the recognition of its striking differences from any previous philosophical works, can make some important contributions to all these issues. Wittgenstein’s aim is not, by the use of reason and argument, to establish any foundational principles to do with the nature of knowledge, perception, the structure of our world, scientific method, etc. Instead, he is concerned to inquire into the actual ways available to us of possibly making sense in the many different practical activities we share in our everyday lives together: “We are not seeking to discover anything entirely new, only what is already in plain view.”

Making sense of sustainability transitions locally: how action research contributes to addressing societal challenges

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Maria Wittmayer ◽  
Niko Schäpke ◽  
Frank van Steenbergen ◽  
Ines Omann
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Sustainability Transitions ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Societal Challenges

scholarly journals Making sense of international variations in lesson study and lesson study-like practices

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brahm Norwich
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Problem Solving ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Learning Development ◽  
Definition Of

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine variations within lesson study (LS) practices and their connections with related traditions: teacher research/enquiry approaches, professional development models, professional learning communities and group problem-solving approaches. Questions are addressed about the relationships between different professional learning approaches in terms of definitions and frameworks. Design/methodology/approach Academic databases and website sources were searched in a purposive way to identify 20 practices associated with these traditions for comparative analysis. Findings A conceptual framework consisting of eight dimensions was constructed to account for the variations within and between these professional learning traditions: for instance, about the settings in which the practices take place, the purposes of the practices and the specific procedures involved. By illustrating how specific practices fitted within this framework it is concluded that the variations within the LS tradition are wide enough to make it difficult to identify a set of necessary and sufficient features of LS to distinguish LS practices from the other non-LS professional learning practices. Reasons are also given for considering whether a polythetic type of definition of professional learning/development practices might be constructed. Research limitations/implications The possibility for a more systematic review of professional learning approaches for the construction of a conceptual framework is discussed. Practical implications Ways in which this kind of conceptualisation can be useful in promoting clarity about professional learning practices and in developing these practices are discussed. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies in the construction of a conceptual framework to analyse similarities and differences within and between various professional learning traditions.

scholarly journals Implementing Action Research in a Teacher Preparation Program: Opportunities and Limitations

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-71
Author(s):  
Glenda L. Black
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Teacher Preparation Program ◽  
Preparation Program ◽  
Problem Solving Skills

Action research has the potential to reconstruct schools into professional learning communities that are able to identify educational issues and develop appropriate solutions for 21st century learning. Increasingly, teacher education programs are providing action research experiences to encourage analytical thinking and problem-solving skills (Darling-Hammond, 2009, 2012). The purpose of this study was to critically examine the experiences of the teacher educator and teacher candidates involved in the implementation of an action research component over four years in a revised consecutive initial teacher preparation program. A case study design using action research methodology was used in the research, which provided the tools to explore a complex phenomenon within its context: the implementation of an action research assignment in a core course in a teacher preparation program. The perceptions of the faculty teaching the course and the teacher candidates (n=544) in each of the four years provided insight into challenges, benefits, and lessons learned.  The discussion centers on the implementation of action research in a compulsory course in a teacher education program; identifying opportunities and limitations settled into four main categories: structural incongruence, reflection, growth, and recommendations.

scholarly journals From peer review to collaborative peer enquiry: Action research for school improvement and leadership development

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-389
Author(s):  
David M. Godfrey
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Action Research ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Peer Reviews ◽  
Academic Knowledge ◽  
Critical Social Science ◽  
Type 3

School peer reviews are increasingly part of the evaluation and school improvement landscape for school leaders and teachers in a number of countries. This article describes the growth of peer review, particularly in England, and its emergence elsewhere (for example, Australia, across Europe and in Chile). While these approaches provide a useful form of professional and moral accountability, this article identifies ways in which they could go further to empower practitioners through the use of an enquiry approach, combining formal academic knowledge with practitioner knowledge and school-based data. The term collaborative peer enquiry (CPE) is suggested as a way to explore this potential. The article sets out a typology of action research as a form of professional learning (type 1), practical philosophy (type 2) or as a form of critical social science (type 3). Four examples are given of different peer review models, two of them CPE approaches, and these are analysed using the above typology. A distinction is made between some peer review models that mimic external inspections and err towards self-policing, and others that encourage open enquiry and learning. In particular, the CPE models show the potential as forms of type 2 and type 3 action research. The role of peer review and CPE in the accountability system, in leadership development, and challenges for these models are explored in the discussion.

Instructional Change Through Collaboration and Peer Coaching

2020 ◽  
pp. 118-145
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Peer Coaching ◽  
Adult Learning Theory ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Instructional Change ◽  
Learning In Context

This chapter explains the connection made between Japanese Lesson Study (JLS) and adult learning theory. For the purpose of further understanding the action research process and how it connects to teacher learning, Phase 3, learning in context with a peer coaching emphasis, will be discussed. This chapter will inform leaders as they develop their own system of professional learning for teachers.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document