Quantitative Analysis of Classroom Communication Environments for Learners With Deafblindness

Classroom environments were analyzed to better understand adult language modeling rates and whether teacher certification practices contributed to differences with learners with deafblindness (DB). Student characteristics were also examined in relation to communication rates. When there is a dual sensory loss, access to tactile and visual communication forms (i.e., multimodal) in addition to verbal communication is needed. Data were collected from 15 teacher–student dyads from four states through behavioral coding of videotaped language samples, teacher surveys, and the Communication Matrix assessment. Overall, teachers used verbal communication significantly more than additional classroom staff. Teachers in a state that required a severe/profound certification had significantly higher rates of overall communication, visual communication, and had students with higher communication levels.

Developing a “dry lab” activity using lower body negative pressure to teach physiology

In this paper we assessed how lower body negative pressure (LBNP) can be used to teach students the physiological effects of central hypovolemia in the absence of the LBNP and/or a medical monitor using a “dry lab” activity using LBNP data that have been previously collected. This activity was performed using published LBNP papers, with which students could explore LBNP as an important tool to study physiological responses to central hypovolemia as well as consider issues in performing an LBNP experiment and interpreting experimental results. The activity was performed at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, with 31 graduate students and 4 teachers of physiology. Both students and teachers were provided with a set of questionnaires that inquired about aspects related to the structure of the activity and how this activity integrated research and knowledge, as well as aspects related to motivation of the students and teachers to perform the activity. Our results from student and teacher surveys suggest that a “dry lab” activity using LBNP to teach physiology can be an important tool to expose students to the basics of systems physiology as well as to provide useful insights into how research is performed. Providing insight into research includes formulating a research question and then designing (including taking into account confounding variables), implementing, conducting, and interpreting research studies. Finally, developing such an activity using LBNP can also serve as a basis for developing research capacities and interests of students even early in their medical studies.

Identifying and Distinguishing Among Teachers’ Supplementary Curriculum Use Patterns Using the Lasso

Research has shown that officially-adopted textbooks comprise only a small part of teachers’ enacted curriculum. Teachers often supplement their core textbooks with unofficial materials, but empirical study of teacher curriculum supplementation is relatively new and underdeveloped. Grounding our work in the Teacher Curriculum Supplementation Framework, we use data from two state-representative teacher surveys to describe different supplement use patterns and explore their correlates. (We use RAND’s American Teacher Panel survey of K-12 ELA teachers, representative of Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and Harvard’s National Evaluation of Curriculum Effectiveness survey of fourth and fifth grade math teachers, representative of California, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Washington.) We find evidence of four distinct supplement use patterns. We then predict each pattern, producing sparse models using the lasso estimator. We find that teacher-, school-, and textbook-level characteristics are predictive of teachers’ supplement use, suggesting that it may be affected by structures and policies beyond the individual teacher. We recommend researchers use consistent measures to explore the causes and consequences of supplementation.

PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT OF TPACK APPROACH-BASED MATHEMATICS SUBJECTS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Assessing students' knowledge and success during and after learning and teaching is an ingrained part of education because it offers the most important specifics for teachers. This action research aims to determine the influence of portfolio assessment in TPACK-based mathematics subjects. The two methods used include student portfolio attitude surveys and teacher surveys. It found that most students had a clear understanding of how portfolios were created and recognized that portfolios could help them in learning maths better in many aspects. Likewise, most teachers consider portfolios practical especially in pointing out student problems and monitoring their learning progress.

This is Depressing: The Emotional Labor of Teaching During the Pandemic Spring 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic affected teachers and students worldwide. In March 2020, more than 5,000 teachers reported feeling overwhelmed, sad, fearful, anxious, and worried. We evaluated those feelings through the lens of emotional labor using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Results indicated that professors were experiencing signs of emotional exhaustion as the result of surface acting—the disconnect they felt between trying to reassure and support students when they themselves felt sad and anxious. Results supported findings from several student and teacher surveys regarding stress and COVID-19. It also supported prior research that found gender differences in extent of emotional labor.

Assessing Teacher and Librarian Collaboration: A Preliminary Report

Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the structure of a 32-item teacher and librarian collaboration survey (TLC-II). The survey consisted of two scales with 16 items in each scale, Frequency and Importance to Student Learning. Scores from teacher surveys (N=194) were examined using principal axis factoring and oblique rotation to identify underlying constructs. A four factor interpretable structure of teacher and librarian collaboration emerged providing support for a proposed model of teacher and librarian collaboration. Internal consistency was high for the overall scale and for each of the factors. The results of this study provide a basis for further refinement of the instrument in preparation for broad distribution among teachers and librarians.

Intelligent CALL Systems for Writing Development

Technological innovation in supporting feedback on writing is well established in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) literature. Regarding writing development, research has found that intelligent CALL systems that respond instantly to learners' language can support their production of better-written texts. To investigate this claim further, this chapter presents a study on learner use of Write & Improve (W&I). The study, based on learner engagement with W&I and learner and teacher surveys and focus groups, demonstrates that learners find W&I to be engaging and motivating. Moreover, there is evidence of improvements in learner writing practices and written language proficiency. For teachers, W&I can render feedback more efficient, allowing them to focus on more complex aspects of learner texts, while spelling and syntactic accuracy are addressed by W&I. Issues also emerge in the use of W&I, which present problem areas for teachers and learners and which signal important future considerations for CALL research.

A Missed Opportunity? Instructional Content Redundancy in Pre-K and Kindergarten

Policy observers have expressed concern over whether misalignment between pre-K and K–12 has negative consequences for children. This study considers students’ exposure to redundant content across the pre-K and kindergarten years. Specifically, it asks, to what extent are skills and concepts taught in kindergarten redundant with skills and concepts taught in one state’s public pre-K program, and for whom is redundancy most likely? Overall, findings from teacher surveys show that about 37% of the language, literacy, and math content covered in kindergarten is redundant with content covered in pre-K. The highest rates of redundancy seem to occur for basic (rather than advanced) content items, including the identification of letters and sight words. Moreover, children from families who live at or below the poverty line experience significantly higher rates of redundant content. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.

Music across the waves: an international comparative examination of the Irish generalist and the American specialist models of music education from the teacher’s perspective

The structure, implementation and operation of music education at the primary level differs depending on the legislation of the education system within which the school operates. An inquiry-based project was completed over a 10-week period, with the overall aim of gaining an understanding of current teacher practice within music education in both Ireland and the United States. This article examines the Irish generalist and the American specialist models of music education from the teacher’s perspective. The overarching question guiding this research was ‘How is music education realised in Irish and American schools at the primary/elementary level?’. The project sought to investigate the specific challenges of both the generalist and specialist models to ascertain if one educational context might inform the other. Teacher surveys, teacher interviews, curriculum artefacts, expert interviews and contemporary literature around the topic were utilised as data sources to assimilate music educators’ perceived experiences of implementing their respective music curricula. Drawing from the data gathered, coded and quantitively and qualitatively analysed, two contrasting vignette-style stories are presented. A brief discussion follows that compares both models, highlighting some of their relative advantages and drawbacks.

Distributed Leadership Globally: The Interactive Nature of Principal and Teacher Leadership in 32 Countries

Purpose: This study provides cross-country evidence regarding the extent to which distributed leadership operates in schools globally and offers preliminary insights about country education policies that explain the reported distributed leadership results. The researchers also investigate the relationship between principals’ reports of distributed leadership and teachers’ reports of the school culture, demonstrating the alignment of principal and teacher perspectives of distributed leadership. The conceptual framework highlights the interaction between leaders in varied situations characterized by leadership functions and country contexts. Research Design: Researchers use both principal and teacher surveys from the 2013 TALIS. In the first analytical stage, latent measures using confirmative factor analysis capture the extent to which principals and teachers were responsible for each of the three leadership functions; scatterplots explore distribution of interactive leadership, and further explanation is offered by document analysis of country policy profiles. In the second stage, the research uses hierarchical linear models for the effect of distributed leadership, specifically principal leadership, teacher leadership, and interactive leadership, on school culture for each country, synthesizing country results with meta-analysis. Findings: Distributed leadership varies by leadership function and appears to be influenced by country education policy. Teachers report that their school culture is conducive to distributed leadership when, in fact, they have the opportunity to lead. Conclusions: Findings add global evidence that country context is an important part of the situation for distributed leadership. The patterns of distributed leadership by function invite further research within each country, particularly to examine the influence of educational policy.