Assessing Writing in French-as-a-Foreign-Language: Teacher Practices and Learner Uptake

Formative assessment and adaptive instruction have been focus areas in Norwegian educational policy for more than a decade. Writing instruction in the language subjects is no exception; assessment of writing should help the learners improve their writing skills and, thus, feedback must be adapted to the individual learner’s needs. The present study aims to shed light on the relations between teacher feedback practices and learner uptake in French-as-a-foreign-language upper secondary classes in Norway. Using material from a longitudinal corpus of learner texts, including teacher feedback (the TRAWL corpus), the study investigates the written feedback practices of three L3 French teachers, and explores whether any signs of uptake can be identified in 27 learners’ new pieces of writings. The findings show that although the teachers followed best practice principles for formative assessment and written corrective feedback, less than half of the students showed any signs of uptake in subsequent pieces of writing. With one exception, these were students with an intermediate-high to very high proficiency level in French. The study emphasises the importance of strategies that could encourage learners to use the feedback they receive, thus moving the centre of attention from teacher practices to learner activities.

An exploration of ako-rich teaching practices in an English-medium mathematics classroom drawing from the voices of Year 9 and 10 students, and their parents

<p>Ako is a traditional Māori concept underpinned by the notion of reciprocity. Ako-rich teacher practices are considered important for creating culturally responsive classroom learning environments, particularly for Indigenous Māori students. The confident implementation of teacher practices that reflect ako, gleaned from information provided in policy documents and professional development programmes, has proven challenging for many English-medium teachers. To help assist adoption of teaching practices consistent with ako, this study explored ways a Pakeha teacher could demonstrate ako-rich teacher behaviour indicator elements within student–teacher and parent–teacher interactions. A mixed method ethnographic approach underpinned by sociocultural and kaupapa Māori theories was selected for this research carried out in a multiethnic junior secondary school mathematics classroom (Māori, New Zealand European/Pākehā, Asian). The sample comprised of the study teacher from a large, urban, English-medium school, one of the researcher’s Year 9 mathematics class, one of the researcher’s Year 10 mathematics class, and some students’ parents. Two data collection periods were used: the second of four 10-week school terms, over two consecutive years. Each data collection period included classroom observations, student surveys, student and parent interviews, teacher reflection, and cultural advice. Within a holistic context of ako in mathematics, characteristics of ako-rich interactions were found to fit within three aspects of teacher practice where the teacher positioned themselves as a learner who gained knowledge by researching on their own, interacting with students, and interacting with students’ parents. The notion of reciprocity within ako was realised in this model when participants were recognised as individuals who have valuable knowledge to share, contributing to the collective knowledge generated in the classroom. There is evidence that, for many students, mathematics teachers can enhance students’ engagement and enjoyment of mathematics by explicitly using ako-rich practices in the classroom. Evidence also indicates that positive parent–teacher partnerships were encouraged by ako-rich teacher practices, inside and outside of the classroom. This research has shown that by explicitly practicing ako-rich behaviours in early secondary mathematics classrooms, shared understandings developed between students and teachers facilitated positive student experiences, which were accompanied by increased student engagement and achievement. Moreover, this research has also shown that shared understandings that developed between the students’ parents and the teacher through ako-rich teacher behaviours encouraged positive and reciprocal partnerships that facilitated parents’ involvement in their children’s mathematics learning. The ako in mathematics model can be used by teachers, school leaders, and teacher educators to increase their confidence in understanding how to more authentically bring life to the rich Māori concept of ako in mathematics classrooms.</p>

An exploration of ako-rich teaching practices in an English-medium mathematics classroom drawing from the voices of Year 9 and 10 students, and their parents

<p>Ako is a traditional Māori concept underpinned by the notion of reciprocity. Ako-rich teacher practices are considered important for creating culturally responsive classroom learning environments, particularly for Indigenous Māori students. The confident implementation of teacher practices that reflect ako, gleaned from information provided in policy documents and professional development programmes, has proven challenging for many English-medium teachers. To help assist adoption of teaching practices consistent with ako, this study explored ways a Pakeha teacher could demonstrate ako-rich teacher behaviour indicator elements within student–teacher and parent–teacher interactions. A mixed method ethnographic approach underpinned by sociocultural and kaupapa Māori theories was selected for this research carried out in a multiethnic junior secondary school mathematics classroom (Māori, New Zealand European/Pākehā, Asian). The sample comprised of the study teacher from a large, urban, English-medium school, one of the researcher’s Year 9 mathematics class, one of the researcher’s Year 10 mathematics class, and some students’ parents. Two data collection periods were used: the second of four 10-week school terms, over two consecutive years. Each data collection period included classroom observations, student surveys, student and parent interviews, teacher reflection, and cultural advice. Within a holistic context of ako in mathematics, characteristics of ako-rich interactions were found to fit within three aspects of teacher practice where the teacher positioned themselves as a learner who gained knowledge by researching on their own, interacting with students, and interacting with students’ parents. The notion of reciprocity within ako was realised in this model when participants were recognised as individuals who have valuable knowledge to share, contributing to the collective knowledge generated in the classroom. There is evidence that, for many students, mathematics teachers can enhance students’ engagement and enjoyment of mathematics by explicitly using ako-rich practices in the classroom. Evidence also indicates that positive parent–teacher partnerships were encouraged by ako-rich teacher practices, inside and outside of the classroom. This research has shown that by explicitly practicing ako-rich behaviours in early secondary mathematics classrooms, shared understandings developed between students and teachers facilitated positive student experiences, which were accompanied by increased student engagement and achievement. Moreover, this research has also shown that shared understandings that developed between the students’ parents and the teacher through ako-rich teacher behaviours encouraged positive and reciprocal partnerships that facilitated parents’ involvement in their children’s mathematics learning. The ako in mathematics model can be used by teachers, school leaders, and teacher educators to increase their confidence in understanding how to more authentically bring life to the rich Māori concept of ako in mathematics classrooms.</p>

The Extent of Employing Classroom Teaching Skills in e-learning from the Point of View of Teaching Members and Proposals for their Activation and Behaviours

The current research aims to know the extent of application of classroom teaching skills in e-learning, it is known that classroom teaching skills are behaviours that the teacher practices in the classroom and are represented by a large number of main skills, each of which has a set of sub-skills that share - if all of them are practiced - in achieving the goal of the educational process and contributing in the behavioural changes drawn upon the learner. The results of the research showed the absence of some skills for e-learning, and the uneven application of others, and based on these results the author presented a set of recommendations and proposals, in addition to some manipulations for skills that are not applied or significantly reduced when applying the e-learning.

Influence of Classroom Teacher Practices on the Teaching and Learning Effectiveness in Secondary Schools in Tanzania: A Case of Selected Schools in Kilimanjaro By

The study focused on investigating the influence of classroom teacher practices on teaching and learning effectiveness in secondary schools. The study used a number of different psychological perspectives relating to the teaching and learning process in school classrooms such as behaviourism and constructivism ideas to establish the basis for effective teacher practices and characteristics in relations to teaching and learning process. A cross section survey and naturalistic design method was used to investigate the influences of teacher practices in selected secondary schools. A simple random sampling and automatic inclusion was used, and the selected sample was made up of 200 secondary school teachers, 10 of whom were heads of schools. The data collection process included interviews, classroom observation and questionnaire instruments. The findings indicated that the teaching and learning process is greatly influenced by teacher practices and characteristics. Teachers demonstrated little knowledge of teaching techniques and skills to improve teaching effectiveness and pupil learning. The study concludes that teaching and learning processes can be improved by providing teacher support and improving the quality of teacher education through professional development practices to update teacher skills. The study recommends that efforts should be made to improve instructional processes in schools in order to achieve the intended educational goals through different strategies such as seminars, workshops, improved In-service teacher Education at school, District and National levels.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN SCHOOLS: A GROUNDED THEORY TO UNDERSTAND IN-SERVICE TEACHERS’ PRACTICES

This exploratory study is guided by the underlying importance of in-service teacher practices in the development of students’ community engagement. The main objective is to highlight, describe and understand the role of teachers in the development of community engagement by employing the Grounded Theory methodology. Thirty teachers from urban areas and with at least five years of experience were interviewed to investigate their perspective, approach and practices in promoting community engagement in school settings. The Grounded Theory method was employed in order to develop a descriptive model of the role of teachers in the community engagement development process. Following the open, axial and selective coding process, a theoretical explanation of the process emerged that highlights the pre-conditions of promoting community engagement, conceptualizes the phenomenon, and displays the challenges and educational practices employed. Several categories and sub-categories of the process elements were identified and illustrated by qualitative data. Further, the educational implications of the findings are thoroughly discussed.