IMPORTANCE OF PEDAGOGICAL DISCIPLINES IN POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION OF A SUBJECT TEACHER

The purpose of this study is to substantiate the importance of pedagogical disciplines in the postgraduate education of a subject teacher. To achieve the purpose of the study, the authors had to solve the following objectives: 1) to identify the problems that novice university teachers face in the professional, psychological and motivational spheres of the adaptation process; 2) to compare the frequency of these problems in the groups of novice university teachers with pedagogical education and novice university teachers without pedagogical education obtaining postgraduate education; 3) to identify significant differences in the studied samples; 4) based on the data obtained, to draw a conclusion about the need to include pedagogical disciplines in postgraduate curricula. Methodology: 2 groups of novice teachers from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (93 people) took part in this study: novice teachers of a foreign language with pedagogical education (40 people) and novice teachers without pedagogical education, obtaining postgraduate education (53 people). The study involved quantitative data analysis containing the descriptive statistical analysis and the correlation analysis. Main Findings: All novice university teachers face problems of adaptation to the professional activity. Comparison of novice university teachers with pedagogical education and postgraduate students without pedagogical education engaged in teaching resulted in the following findings: the difference between the values of novice teachers with and without a teaching degree is in most cases statistically significant. It makes it possible to conclude that novice university teachers without pedagogical education need support via additional educational programmes. This study can be useful in planning the curriculum for post-graduate students. The identified difficulties faced by young teachers without pedagogical education can be taken into consideration in the process of planning professional development programmes. Novelty/Originality of this study: This research is particularly relevant for improving the professional culture of specialists in the field of education and contributes to the solution of the professional adaptation problem faced by novice educators. The obtained results can enhance the programme of professional development of young university teachers.

Evaluation of One-Day Multiple-Choice Question Workshop for Anesthesiology Faculty Members

Background: Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are used commonly to evaluate medical health students. Most novice educators tend to create poor quality, flawed, and low-cognitive-level questions. Therefore, there is a need for educating the assessors to maximize the quality of MCQs and evaluations. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of a one-day MCQ workshop on anesthesiology faculty members. Methods: Faculty members were invited to participate in a four-hour, one-day MCQ workshop. At the beginning of the workshop, the participants were questioned about their knowledge about MCQ quality indexes and also were asked about MCQ general principles (pre-test). Participants were again asked about the questions which they had in the pre-test as their post-test and were questioned about their expectations and the influence of this workshop. Results: The participants declared that their expectations were fulfilled (9.4 ± 0.6 out of 10), and the course was applicable (9.7 ± 0.7 out of 10). Before the workshop, only 12.5% of the participants know MCQ indicators. This rate increased to 41% after the workshop (P < 0.05). Also, they were questioned about Millman’s checklist for the MCQ examination. Participants’ correct answers were increased from 2.75 to 3.05 out of four (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Although previous participation in MCQ training courses did not demonstrate an increase in knowledge and attitude, it could be theorized that short-term repetition would yield better results.

A Critical Period in Becoming a Teacher: How Novice Teachers Develop Their Professional Identity

It is important to understand how teachers develop their professional identity because teacher educators and supervisors can take necessary steps to ensure novice teachers are provided necessary opportunities to cultivate their identity. This article examines research on professional identity development and explains how teachers develop their professional identity and why it is important for mentors to aid in the development process. This article draws on previous research to both define professional identity and explore the many aspects that lead to identity development in novice teachers. Findings suggest that although any experience can contribute to professional identity development, key factors have a major impact on how teachers develop their identity and the role identity development plays in pedagogical thinking. Understanding how professional identity develops can help teacher educators, supervisors, and mentors make available opportunities to build agency among novice educators, helping them to grow into reflective teachers.

NOVICE UNIVERSITY TEACHERS: COMPARISON OF YOUNG PROFESSIONALS WITH AND WITHOUT PEDAGOGICAL EDUCATION

Purpose of the study: To determine problems of novice university teachers without pedagogical education face in professional, psychological, and motivational spheres of induction and compare the frequency of the detected problems in these spheres of induction process within the groups of novice university teachers with and without pedagogical education. Methodology: An exploratory inductive approach was adopted in this study. 93 novice educators took part in the series of surveys. The researchers applied the quantitative method to collect data using a questionnaire. The study involved quantitative data analysis containing the descriptive statistical analysis and the correlation analysis in SPSS Version 23 (IBM Corp., 2016), which provided the researchers with new insights and detailed results. Main Findings: All novice university teachers face problems of adaptation to professional activity. Comparison of novice university teachers with and without pedagogical education resulted in the following findings: the difference between the values of novice teachers with and without a teaching degree is, in most cases, statistically significant. It makes it possible to conclude that university teachers without pedagogical education need support via additional educational programmes. Applications of this study: This study can be useful in planning the curriculum for postgraduate students. Educational authorities should take into consideration the identified difficulties faced by young university teachers without pedagogical education in the process of planning the curriculum for postgraduate education programmes and professional development programmes. Novelty of this study: This research is particularly relevant for improving the professional culture of specialists in the field of education and contributes to the solution of the professional adaptation problem faced by novice educators. The obtained results can enhance the educational programmes of the professional development of young university teachers.

A COMPARISON OF THE TEACHING PRACTICES OF NOVICE EDUCATORS IN ENGINEERING AND OTHER POST-SECONDARY DISCIPLINES

There is a perception in higher education that engineering educators teach differently than those in other disciplines. Surveys of student engagement consistently rank the undergraduate engineering experience lowest among ten disciplines, as do faculty surveys of student engagement. These results suggest there is opportunity and need to improve the engineering education experience. This research sets out to identify differences in the teaching practices of beginning engineering educators from those in other disciplines. Using the Dreyfus and Dreyfus model of skill acquisition as a framework, this study examines institutional data collected during four consecutive terms of mandatory teaching observations of new full-time and selected part-time instructors. Descriptive statistics found that the performance of novice educators in engineering-related disciplines did rank lowest overall compared to all other disciplines. This analysis also found that there is little difference in the teaching practices of novice engineering educators from those of their more experienced colleagues. Thematic analysis found that traditional engineering classroom practices such as lecture and worked examples are common, and could be enhanced by including opportunities for meaningful active learning. These results can inform both engineering educators and those responsible for their educational development about the common teaching practices of novice instructors and will be useful in shaping the professional development opportunities offered to engineering educators.

Teachers being friendly

The ease of school relationships can wax and wane just as in any other group. When teachers get along well, the entire school can be a vibrantly productive and nourishing environ­ment. When teachers have conflicts, chilliness and fragmented collegiality can affect everyone. Why would we expect teachers to be happily cooperative all the time? Teachers likely do not have a hand in hiring their co- workers, and therefore they must adjust to all types of person­alities, pedagogical preferences, and teaching styles. Even with these sometimes strident differences, collegial relationships are essential to the health of schools and school personnel. Key to this vision is behaving with friendliness to others, rather than expecting all others to be our friends. When the “Be friendly, but not friends” mantra is given to student teachers and school interns, it is intended to help these novice educators maintain professional distances with students. But for teachers at any stage of their career, it also can be helpful to distinguish friendship and friendliness. We could define “friends” as: • Those with whom we spend time outside school hours • Those who know our family and home life • Those with whom we share personal, sometimes private information Using these criteria, we may have more acquaintances than friends at school. And those professional distances are not nec­essarily a hindrance to vibrant school communities. With courteous conversations, cordial comportment, and car­ing camaraderie, being friendly may be enough.

Communities of Practice and Legitimate Peripheral Participation: A Literature Review

This article is a review of theoretical and empirical literature on Wenger’s community of practice (CoP) theory and Lave and Wenger’s legitimate peripheral participation. It is organized into four broad parts: (a) Characteristics of CoPs in Music Communities, Education, and Teacher Education; (b) Benefits and Challenges Faced by Members of CoPs; (c) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation; and (d) Implications for Music Education. The theories posit that individuals within a CoP learn through social interaction, inform one’s identity development, and that participation and practice within a community change over time. Implications include (a) novice music educators may want to have access to multiple music mentors, (b) veteran music educators may want to be open to novice educators’ ideas and actively recruit new teachers who bring different experiences and perspectives into the field, and (c) music educators may want to allow all music educators into decision-making processes within their districts.