scholarly journals Opening Doors. Guiding teachers to intentionally facilitate science for young children.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sola Freeman

<p><b>Research has acknowledged the limited range of scientific opportunities for young children in New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) services. The identified reasons include a lack of confidence by ECE teachers, their narrow understanding of science, and their pedagogical approaches to teaching. A complex and non-prescriptive curriculum and dominance of developmental theories in ECE has resulted in science learning via osmosis through a process of a hands-off play-based philosophy of practice. Many have argued for pedagogical approaches that can accommodate scientific learning within a play-based sociocultural-historical setting (e.g., Broström, 2015; Fleer & Pramling, 2015; Kumar & Whyte, 2018). This study investigated the things that influence the occurrence of scientific experiences in ECE. It explored how participating in collaborative action research (CAR) and the involvement of a critical friend influences scientific experiences in centres.</b></p> <p>This study involved two phases: a national survey and CAR with teaching teams in six centres. The researcher took on the role of a critical friend through the CAR process, guiding teachers to critically examine their practice and their centre programme. Action plans were achieved collaboratively within each teaching team. Data was collected over 12 weeks in each centre through focus groups, reflective journals, observations, field notes, and through two research hui with participating teachers from all centres.</p> <p>The findings highlighted the importance of the teachers recognising and fostering children’s scientific experiences. It found that science was enabled in a variety of ECE settings by a shift in teachers’ pedagogical practices, adjustments to centre environments, and recognising and responding to children’s interests. Teachers enabled rich, authentic, and meaningful scientific interactions with children by their active participation in supporting and extending children’s science interests with intentional teaching practices and provocations.</p> <p>This thesis argues for the value of CAR and the role of a critical friend to facilitate teachers’ motivation, engagement, learning and reflection on practice. Seeking a change in practice through professional learning and CAR, brought about ownership of their goals and action plans, and the eventual shifts in teachers’ pedagogy of practice.</p> <p>The shift towards intentional teaching practices, provocations, and opening doors to knowledge, validated and forefronted the importance of the teachers’ role and emphasised their value in noticing, recognising, and responding to children’s scientific interests in authentic and meaningful ways.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sola Freeman

<p><b>Research has acknowledged the limited range of scientific opportunities for young children in New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) services. The identified reasons include a lack of confidence by ECE teachers, their narrow understanding of science, and their pedagogical approaches to teaching. A complex and non-prescriptive curriculum and dominance of developmental theories in ECE has resulted in science learning via osmosis through a process of a hands-off play-based philosophy of practice. Many have argued for pedagogical approaches that can accommodate scientific learning within a play-based sociocultural-historical setting (e.g., Broström, 2015; Fleer & Pramling, 2015; Kumar & Whyte, 2018). This study investigated the things that influence the occurrence of scientific experiences in ECE. It explored how participating in collaborative action research (CAR) and the involvement of a critical friend influences scientific experiences in centres.</b></p> <p>This study involved two phases: a national survey and CAR with teaching teams in six centres. The researcher took on the role of a critical friend through the CAR process, guiding teachers to critically examine their practice and their centre programme. Action plans were achieved collaboratively within each teaching team. Data was collected over 12 weeks in each centre through focus groups, reflective journals, observations, field notes, and through two research hui with participating teachers from all centres.</p> <p>The findings highlighted the importance of the teachers recognising and fostering children’s scientific experiences. It found that science was enabled in a variety of ECE settings by a shift in teachers’ pedagogical practices, adjustments to centre environments, and recognising and responding to children’s interests. Teachers enabled rich, authentic, and meaningful scientific interactions with children by their active participation in supporting and extending children’s science interests with intentional teaching practices and provocations.</p> <p>This thesis argues for the value of CAR and the role of a critical friend to facilitate teachers’ motivation, engagement, learning and reflection on practice. Seeking a change in practice through professional learning and CAR, brought about ownership of their goals and action plans, and the eventual shifts in teachers’ pedagogy of practice.</p> <p>The shift towards intentional teaching practices, provocations, and opening doors to knowledge, validated and forefronted the importance of the teachers’ role and emphasised their value in noticing, recognising, and responding to children’s scientific interests in authentic and meaningful ways.</p>


Author(s):  
Gisela Wajskop

The present study is the result of an investigation carried out for eight months, from March to October 2006, comprises Grade 1 classes at the São Paulo Public Education System, Brazil. Forty teacher students performing literacy activities during their pre-service activities simultaneously conducted this action research in 40 Grade 1. Six-year-old children were moved from preschool education to elementary schools since 2006 in order to respect the legal determinations defined by the Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional (Brasil, 1996), which expanded basic education from 8 to 9 years. Such democratic governmental action, however, has raised issues concerning the way very young children are taught in a typically school-like context. From this perspective, our study enables us to raise sociocultural problems regarding the non-inclusive pedagogical practices in use. Results show non-inclusive pedagogical practices, as well some paths to change this educational setting.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 19-30
Author(s):  
Guru Poudel

Teachers have to identify their own potentials and problems in order to look their way forward. In their ongoing process of teaching and learning, teachers might have encountered many critical incidents. Recalling critical incidents has worth in restructuring the pedagogical approaches and reshaping the classroom activities because teachers develop themselves if there is challenge and responsibility. Having such a claim in mind set, this article aims to unpack the Nepalese ESL lectures stories of critical incidents and to examine the role of recalling critical incidents for their professional learning. It has been developed on the basis of the narrative of three EFL lecturers. After the thematic analysis of the data obtained through in-depth interview, it has been found that EFL lectures had a story of unplanned and unexpected event of the classroom and they recalled such stories as a part of professional learning. Similarly, the reflection of critical events gave them some kind of relief in teaching practices and the events taught them a number of strategies like persuasive or threatening, co-operating, caring and sometimes being indifferent to the students.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Steve Paul Confait

<p>Supporting teachers at the start of their career can help them to develop their pedagogical practice, and to understand the educational, political, and school systems within which they teach. Similarly, effective support can enhance the professional development and learning of beginning teachers, and contribute towards their overall path towards greater effectiveness, ensuring quality teaching. Recent education reforms in the Seychelles have placed an expressed focus on improving quality teaching.  This study explores the support for and challenges faced by beginning teachers in the Seychelles in their efforts to implement effective teaching practices. In order to understand the phenomenon of beginning teacher support, a mixed methodology within an ethnographic, sociocultural framework with an emphasis on qualitative data was used. Research was conducted in two sequential phases within the Seychelles: in-depth, site-based qualitative cases studies of three beginning teachers and their school-based contexts, followed by a national quantitative survey completed by 56 beginning teachers. The qualitative phase generated data through interviews (with beginning teachers, deputy heads, and heads of department), document analysis and classroom observations in three schools across the main island, Mahe.  The findings of this research identified that both the policy context and the more localised practical factors such as resource allocation, confidence in working with student diversity, and collegial relationships, combined to contribute to how beginning teachers experienced their induction period. The research revealed that whilst the central policy advocates for a school-based mechanism that would support and evaluate beginning teachers, schools' policies and practices around induction were for the main part, inadequately supporting beginning teachers. These results highlighted that the developmental and learning needs of beginning teachers were not clearly understood, either by school leaders or by beginning teachers. This limited understanding combined with a general conservative approach towards teaching within the schools impacted on how beginning teachers were supported and how they learnt from their pedagogical practices. The findings showed how participating beginning teachers endeavoured to align themselves with their schools' expectation for effective teaching, challenging their own beliefs about effective practice. In order to comply with routine expectations, they embraced predominantly teacher-centred practices, rather than a student-centred approach to their teaching.  In view of the ongoing effort to augment the quality of education in the Seychelles, supporting beginning teachers could be recognised as part of this endeavour. For effective ongoing support, the research findings identified the need for contexts where open dialogue around teaching is culturally encouraged, and that embrace effective support policies, professional learning, and development for all teachers. It is in such contexts that beginning teachers are more likely to work alongside colleagues, address their professional issues, and join in the collective endeavour to improve their own and their students' learning and achievements.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Feltham

This research explores the pedagogical practices employed by ballet instructors for engaging boys in ballet. It also examines inclusion practices for gender non-conforming children in ballet, using principles of inclusion to make recommendations for instructors to employ with all children. Four current ballet instructors shared their experiences in semi-structured interviews. An overarching finding involved the role of parents in engaging boys in ballet and in creating more inclusive practices. Findings indicate that parent education is needed for more boys to be presented with ballet as an option. With regard to teaching practices involving gender non-conforming children, participants noted the need for parents to support an inclusive environment, and be open to their child’s gender expression in order for inclusive practices to be implemented. This paper presents recommendations for ballet instructors to create more welcoming environments for all students and suggestions for implementing gender-inclusive practices.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 167
Author(s):  
Maria da Glória Carvalho Moura ◽  
Djanira do Espírito Santo Lopes Cunha

O presente estudo é parte de uma pesquisa sobre a Andragogia e da Teoria Experiencial, vinculada ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação da Universidade Federal do Piauí. Objetiva analisar como a prática pedagógica do professor, a partir dos princípios andragógicos e da teoria experiencial de Kolb, contribui para a aprendizagem de pessoas jovens e adultas, nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental. Trata-se de uma pesquisa-ação colaborativa, fundamentada nos pressupostos teóricos de Desgagné (2007), Thiollent (2011). O corpus desta investigação é constituído por dados a partir de questionário e encontros formativos por meio dos Ciclos de Estudos Colaborativos (CEC) com base organizacional no ciclo de Kolb, realizados com professores que atuam no ensino fundamental na modalidade de EJA, estão organizados em eixos temáticos e interpretados à luz da técnica da Análise de Discurso, a partir das concepções de Bardin (2009), Pêcheux (2008). Nossa investigação está fundamentada nas formulações teórico-conceituais de Knowles (2009), Finger e Asún (2003), DeAquino (2007); Kolb (2014), Freire (1987,1996); Moura (2007), entre outros. A análise desenvolvida o papel da aula andragógica como orientação didática. Os resultados apontam para a reflexão da prática pedagógica visando à qualidade do ensino oferecido as pessoas jovens e adultas, e apontam para a necessidade de redimensionar essas práticas no contexto escolar.CONTINUED EDUCATION IN YOUTH AND ADULT EDUCATION: the class based on andragogyand its implications in the (re)construction of the practice Abstract: This present study is part of a research with on Andragogy and Experiential theory, linked to the Postgraduate Program of National University of Piauí. It aims to analyze how the teacher’s pedagogical practice from andragogy principles and the experimental theory of kolb, contributes to learning of young and adults, in the initial years of Elementary School level. This is a collaborative action research, based on the theoretical assumptions of Desgagné (2007), Thiollent (2011). The corpus of the research consisted of data from questionnaires and formative through the Cycles of Collaborative Studies, with an organizational basis in Kolb cycle, carried out with teachers teaching Youth and Adult Education. Such data is organized into thematic axes and interpreted based on Discourse Analysis, according to the conceptions of Bardin (2009), Pêcheux (2008). These investigations are based on the theoretical-conceptual formulations of Knowles (2009), Finger and Asún (2003), DeAquino (2007); Kolb (2014), Freire (1987, 1996); Moura (2007), among others. The analysis developed highlights the role of the andragógica class as didactic orientation in the EJA. The results point to the reflection of the pedagogical practice aiming at the quality of teaching offered to students young and adults and point to the need of resize pedagogical practices in the school context.Keywords: Youth and Adult education. Formation. Andragogy. Pedagogical practice.LA FORMACIÓN CONTINUADA EN LA EDUCACIÓN DE JÓVENES Y ADULTOS: la clase andragógica y las implicaciones en la (re)construcción de la prácticaResumen: El presente texto es parte de una pesquisa sobre Andragogia y la Teoría Experiencial, vinculada al l Programa de Pós-Graduación en Educación de la Universidade Federal do Piauí. Objetiva analizar como la práctica pedagógica del profesor, a partir de los principios andragógicos y de la teoría experiencial de Kolb, contribuye para el aprendizaje de personas jóvenes y adultas, en los años iniciales de la enseñanza fundamental. Se trata de una pesquisa- acción colaborativa, fundamentada en los presupuestos teóricos de Desgagné (2007), Thiollent (2011). El corpus de la investigación es constituidao por dados a partir de cuestionarios y encuentros formativos por medio de los Ciclos de Estudios Colaborativos (CEC) con base organizacional en ciclo de Kolb, realizado con profesores que actúan en la enseñanza fundamental en la modalidad de EJA, están organizados en ejes temáticos e interpretación a la luz de la técnica de Discurso a partir de las concepciones de Bardin (2009), Pêcheux (2008). Nuestra investigación está fundamentada en las formulaciones teórico – conceptuales de Knowles (2009), Finge e Asún (2003), DeAquino (2007), Kolb (2014), Freire (1987, 1996), Moura (2007), entre otros. El análisis desarrollado destaca el papel de la clase andragógica como orientación didáctica en la EJA. Los resultados apuntan para la reflexión de la práctica pedagógica visando la cualidad del enseño ofrecido a las personas jóvenes y adultos, y apuntan para la necesidad de redimensionamiento de las prácticas pedagógicas en el contexto escolar.Palabras Llaves: Educación de Jóvenes y Adultos. Formación de Profesores. Clase. Práctica Pedagógica.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Feltham

This research explores the pedagogical practices employed by ballet instructors for engaging boys in ballet. It also examines inclusion practices for gender non-conforming children in ballet, using principles of inclusion to make recommendations for instructors to employ with all children. Four current ballet instructors shared their experiences in semi-structured interviews. An overarching finding involved the role of parents in engaging boys in ballet and in creating more inclusive practices. Findings indicate that parent education is needed for more boys to be presented with ballet as an option. With regard to teaching practices involving gender non-conforming children, participants noted the need for parents to support an inclusive environment, and be open to their child’s gender expression in order for inclusive practices to be implemented. This paper presents recommendations for ballet instructors to create more welcoming environments for all students and suggestions for implementing gender-inclusive practices.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Steve Paul Confait

<p>Supporting teachers at the start of their career can help them to develop their pedagogical practice, and to understand the educational, political, and school systems within which they teach. Similarly, effective support can enhance the professional development and learning of beginning teachers, and contribute towards their overall path towards greater effectiveness, ensuring quality teaching. Recent education reforms in the Seychelles have placed an expressed focus on improving quality teaching.  This study explores the support for and challenges faced by beginning teachers in the Seychelles in their efforts to implement effective teaching practices. In order to understand the phenomenon of beginning teacher support, a mixed methodology within an ethnographic, sociocultural framework with an emphasis on qualitative data was used. Research was conducted in two sequential phases within the Seychelles: in-depth, site-based qualitative cases studies of three beginning teachers and their school-based contexts, followed by a national quantitative survey completed by 56 beginning teachers. The qualitative phase generated data through interviews (with beginning teachers, deputy heads, and heads of department), document analysis and classroom observations in three schools across the main island, Mahe.  The findings of this research identified that both the policy context and the more localised practical factors such as resource allocation, confidence in working with student diversity, and collegial relationships, combined to contribute to how beginning teachers experienced their induction period. The research revealed that whilst the central policy advocates for a school-based mechanism that would support and evaluate beginning teachers, schools' policies and practices around induction were for the main part, inadequately supporting beginning teachers. These results highlighted that the developmental and learning needs of beginning teachers were not clearly understood, either by school leaders or by beginning teachers. This limited understanding combined with a general conservative approach towards teaching within the schools impacted on how beginning teachers were supported and how they learnt from their pedagogical practices. The findings showed how participating beginning teachers endeavoured to align themselves with their schools' expectation for effective teaching, challenging their own beliefs about effective practice. In order to comply with routine expectations, they embraced predominantly teacher-centred practices, rather than a student-centred approach to their teaching.  In view of the ongoing effort to augment the quality of education in the Seychelles, supporting beginning teachers could be recognised as part of this endeavour. For effective ongoing support, the research findings identified the need for contexts where open dialogue around teaching is culturally encouraged, and that embrace effective support policies, professional learning, and development for all teachers. It is in such contexts that beginning teachers are more likely to work alongside colleagues, address their professional issues, and join in the collective endeavour to improve their own and their students' learning and achievements.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 602-612
Author(s):  
Nabila Jad ◽  
Khadija Raouf ◽  
Nawal Chibouba ◽  
Khadija Elkababi ◽  
Mohamed Radid

The objective of this work is to identify and analyze the representations of a sample of Moroccan learners of the sixth year of primary school regarding the Electricity concept, which, to our knowledge, has never been done before and to raise teachers’ awareness and encourage them to improve their pedagogical practices concerning the management of the representations of their learners. The choice of the school level and the concept are justified respectively by the certifying status of this level and by the existence of prejudices from the social and family environment (Moroccan dialectal) about the concepts “Electricity and Light”. To this end, a survey was elaborated and administered to a sample of 80 learners in the sixth year of primary school. Considering the important role of teachers in processing representations, we also investigated the teaching practices of a sample of 50 teachers and their representations of the concepts “Electricity and Light”. The main results have shown that almost half of the learners (46,25℅) still confused the concept “Electricity” with the concept “Light”, and the majority (94℅) thought that batteries contained electricity. These same representations, with practically the same rate, have been found among teachers as well. Concerning the management of the learners’ representations, most of the teachers have declared that they didn’t exploit them in class and explained their persistence by the fact that these erroneous representations originated from the learners’ family and social environment.


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