Empowering Multilingual Learners Through Critical Liberating Literacy Practices in English-Dominated Speech Communities

This chapter explores the nuances of critical literacy reviewing the influence of the sociocultural context and the critical element that arises from the individuals who negotiate their identities as they interact with others in a variety of settings. The perspective adopted here focuses on multilingual learners as they engage in literacy practices in English, the dominant language, within schooled environments resulting in hybrid productions within a Third Space, which is a metaphorical setting that promotes expansive learning. Such literacy productions consider the lived-in experiences of the individuals and their personal histories as tools for learning with the potential to liberate themselves from the dominant literacy practices. The chapter includes a discussion of the role and status of English to empower non-dominant groups within English-speaking settings.

Exploring teacher learning process in Chinese lesson study: a case of representing fractions on a number line

PurposeThis paper presented the learning process of a group of primary mathematics teachers who participated in two iterations of lesson design, enactment and reflection in a Chinese Lesson Study.Design/methodology/approachAn expansive learning theory was employed to examine the teachers’ learning process in lesson study (LS) on representing fractions on a number line. The evolution of a germ cell was utilized to feature the transformation of the object of activity from abstract to concrete through resolving contradictions among LS members. The videos of lesson planning, research lessons (RLs) and debriefing meetings were collected and analyzed to reveal the expansive learning process.FindingsThe analysis showed that the teachers expanded their learning through transforming the object from diffuse to concrete and expanded through consciously articulating the germ cell. The outcomes of object-oriented activity include improving the enacted lesson which promoted students’ conceptual understanding.Originality/valueThis study made a unique contribution to understanding the learning process of teachers in Chinese LS from the perspective of expansive learning.

Expansive Design for Teachers

Innovative designs for learning have implications for the teaching practices and the system in which they are created, often with conflicting motives and tensions on systemic levels. Co-design processes with teachers and researchers require tools and concepts to grasp this complexity and to create durable changes. In the case studied in this article, activity theory and change laboratory methodologies were used in a participatory design process with a small group of teachers. Five key characteristics of the epistemological principles behind the change laboratory methodology were identified and analysed. The theoretical framework enabled tools for a collective analysis of the origin and development of systemic contradictions as well as a model to envision future practices and concrete learning designs. Findings suggest that the combination of participatory design and change laboratory methodologies can serve as a vehicle for expansive learning and new innovative learning designs in educational settings.

Evidence-Informed Teaching: Investigating Whether Evidence from ‘Flipping the Classroom’ Research Improves Students’ Motivation for Mathematics

This study from 2019 investigates whether the impact on a STEM teacher’s evidence-informed teaching approach using the evidence of flipping the classroom research improves students’ (13–14 years old) motivation in a Dutch setting and if this approach allows students to perform better. We report this approach in line with the cycle of expansive learning of Engeström. We asked: “To what extent can evidence based on the flipping the classroom approach improve the motivation and results of grade 8 preuniversity track students doing mathematics?”, followed by the subquestions: “To what extent does education by the FtCA increase student motivation?” and “To what extent does education by the FtCA ensure better test results for students?”. A questionnaire is used to investigate to what extent the motivation of students increased, and a teacher is interviewed about his experiences with the “flipping the classroom” model. To test whether the results have improved, a pre- and post-test is taken and analyzed. A significant increase in both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation has been found, and students gained a stronger sense of autonomy, competence, and belonging. The test results improved, but the difference is not statistically significant. However, despite the disappointing test results, the teacher was very positive about the new way of working.