Simulation of Teacher Interventions in a Training Course of Mathematics Teacher Educators

This work aimed to characterize simulated teacher interventions to manage a didactic configuration in which students solve problem situations using an ICT resource. We also aimed to identify patterns of interaction between the teacher and the students that make it possible to characterize styles of interaction and assess both their interactional and their ecological suitability. To do this, we used the tools of the Onto-semiotic Approach to Mathematical Cognition and Instruction to analyze the level of reflection of 102 educators of preservice teachers of mathematics, about hypothetical problem resolutions of their students and the types of interactions simulated by them to manage the students’ learning. The educators were participants of a Teacher Training of the Teacher Specialization in Education and ICT in Argentina. The results show that there are three levels of reflection and four types of interaction (maieutic, falsificationist, dogmatic and paternalistic). We did not find a high interactional suitability in their proposals of dialogues, and participants do not consider aspects of the ecological suitability, such as the adaptation to the official curriculum. We conclude that the type of interventions that teacher educators propose is closely related to their level of reflection about the reasons why their students respond to problems in one manner or another.

Science and Environment Education in the Times of the Anthropocene: Some Reflections from India

In this article, we critically discuss the notion of Anthropocene and its sociopolitical implications for science and environmental education. We do so by laying out how the Anthropocene discourse has shaped the debates around development, environment, and technoscience in postcolonial India. Subsequently, we shift to a conversational format wherein each of us deliberate on our engagements as critical science educators, discussing how, in our respective work, we find the official curriculum promoting the Anthropocene discourse. We then discuss ways by which the Anthropocene discourse constitutes student subjectivities in terms of the nature of their values and aspirations. While engaging in this dialogue, we find ourselves reimagining alternatives.

Rola lekcji filozofii wobec programu nieoficjalnego w szkole

The Role of Philosophy Lessons in Context of Non-Official Curriculum in School Bohdan Chwedeńczuk has asked provocatively: what is the purpose of doing philosophy? We can treat this question as a philosophical one. Nevertheless in this article I would like to treat it as a question concerning education. Polish philosophical community basically agrees that providing philosophy lessons would be a valuable supplement for general education in Poland. However there is no agreement in case of how and what exactly we should teach in philosophy class. I argue that philosophy lessons are beneficial for students. My argumentation is based on critical theory in educational research, in which key theme is educational curriculum’s inquiry. I separate three kind of educational curriculum: hidden curriculum, null curriculum and informal curriculum. I’m going to argue that philosophy lessons are not only beneficial for future students’ lives, but also helpful for coping with school routine.

Analysis of Word Problems in Primary Education Mathematics Textbooks in Spain

A textbook constitutes the hegemonic material of the educational institution. It acts as a mediator between the official curriculum and the educational practice. Given its potential influence in the classroom, this study analyzes the treatment of word problems included in the mathematics textbooks published by the publishing houses with the greatest diffusion in Spain at every primary education grade. Three variables were analyzed: their semantic structure, their degree of challenge, and their situational context. The results indicate that most of the problems included in textbooks are characterized by low complexity and variability regarding their semantic structure. They are also characterized by a limited degree of challenge and by being presented in highly standardized situational contexts. Likewise, it is found that there is no evolution in the treatment of these problems with respect to previous studies carried out in the Spanish context. Therefore, it is concluded that the mathematics textbooks currently used in schools are not effective tools to address the process of teaching-learning problem solving.

Young Adult Literature (YAL): An Analytical Study Among Selected EFL Teachers in Jordanian Public Schools

The purpose of this study is to shed light on Young Adult literature (YAL) in Jordan. Eleven English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers and 62 EFL students in Jordanian public schools participated in this research to first measure their awareness of the YAL and to evaluate the academic benefits of integrating English YA literature into the Jordanian public school curricula. A group of EFL instructors and EFL learners were interviewed using a semi-structured guide. The instructors' interview questions focused on demographics, definitions of YA literature, age classification of YAL, benefits, and challenges of using YA novel in Jordanian English curricula. Questions for the learners centered on demographics, definition and age classification of YAL, and the use of YA novels in the EFL classroom. The study revealed that EFL teachers' reliance on the official curriculum tends to remove innovation and creativity from their teaching and limit their opportunities to adapt the curricula to the competence and interest of their EFL students. The research also revealed that EFL students who read English YA novels developed necessary competencies in both the English language and daily life experiences. The results showed that most EFL teachers in this research paper asserted that English YA novels positively affected EFL students in Jordan. This effect led to increased motivation and engagement in EFL classrooms. Received: 27 January 2021 / Accepted: 8 April 2021 / Published: 10 May 2021

Hidden, Null, Lived, Material, and Transgressive Curricula

Alternative dimensions of curricula fall outside explicit and official curriculum. There is much more to teaching and learning than the formal, planned curriculum claimed by many teachers, administrators, and organizations. Beyond and within the textbooks, lesson plans, tests, and standards exist hidden, null (or absented), lived, material, and transgressive dimensions of curricula (to name only a few). Hidden curricula are messages that are sent implicitly, for example, giving students numerical scores on a quiz and using those scores to assess students as successes and failures functions as a form of micro-tracking, ranking students’ success and achievement in relation to one another in a hierarchical range. This scoring and ranking system implies that students are in competition with one another, that self-worth is evaluated with a score. The action of scoring and ranking itself teaches the lesson and is woven into the fabric of schooling, though it is neither explicitly stated nor explicitly taught (i.e., hidden) that success in learning requires winners and losers at learning. Null (or absented) curricula are topics that are specifically not taken up in the official curriculum. For example, although Protestant Christianity shapes a hidden curriculum of many U.S. schools, religion is largely excluded as an explicit topic of study in most state schools. This fulfills a claim of separation of church and state and religion’s obvious absence reveals a null curriculum. Lived curricula are the lived experience of the learner. For example, a student might experience being bullied, and this would comprise part of their lived curriculum, teaching lessons that are learned, retained, and tapped into over time, long after the specific encounters have passed. Material curricula (a term the authors coin in this article) are the material effects that curricula have on the learner, and more broadly, the world. For example, the grades and scores that students receive in school have direct effects on the future opportunities available to them as people. This is a material curriculum of sorting students into social roles and positionings, with accompanying material outcomes (e.g., a student is denied entry into college and further denied a class of jobs and their corresponding material aspects, such as salary and—in the United States—health benefits). Transgressive curricula are defined through the prism of teaching and learning in resistance to something, in the refusal of something, in defiance of something, or in disregard of something. These alternative dimensions of curricula exist anyplace learning occurs, not just in schools.

A formação inicial dos professores de História da Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte (UERN) a partir do currículo: traços de uma ausência acerca da temática ‘Mulheres’

O presente artigo tem por finalidade analisar a formação inicial dos professores de História da Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte - UERN, construída a partir do currículo oficial. Nesse ínterim, discutimos, de modo específico, o currículo do curso de História e sua relação com o ensino, a partir da temática ‘mulheres’. Trata-se de uma pesquisa bibliográfica, cotejando os estudos de Bittencourt (2011), Fonseca (2003), Nóvoa (2005) e Pinsky (2009), seguida de uma análise documental da estrutura curricular 2019.1 do referido curso. Resultados, ainda que parciais, indicam a predominância de uma formação tradicional dos professores de História. Ademais, verificou-se também a dicotomia entre a discussão teórica tecida na academia e a prática docente cotidiana, evidenciando um desalinho entre currículo e ensino de História. A partir dessas sistematizações, há indicativos para se repensar a formação inicial dos futuros professores, a fim de formar um profissional para uma cultura de tolerância e respeito à diversidade, possibilitando o desenvolvimento de um saber plural e significativo.Palavras-chave: Formação de Professores de História. Currículo. Ensino. Mulheres.The initial training of History of professors of the Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte (UERN) from the curriculum: traces of an absence on the topic ‘women’ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to analyze the initial training of the history professors of the Universidade do Estado Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), built from the official curriculum. In the meantime, we specifically discuss the curriculum of the History course and its relationship with teaching, based on the gender / women theme. This is a bibliographical research, comparing the studies of Bittencourt (2011), Fonseca (2003), Nóvoa (2005) and Pinsky (2009), followed by a documental analysis of the 2019.1 curricular structure of the course. Results, even partial, indicate the predominance of a traditional formation of history professors. In addition, there was also a dichotomy between the theoretical discussion woven in academia and the daily teaching practice, showing a mismatch between curriculum and history teaching. From these systematizations, there are indications to rethink the initial formation of future teachers, in order to train a professional for a culture of tolerance and respect for diversity, enabling the development of a plural and meaningful knowledge.Keywords: History Professors training. Curriculum. Teaching. Women.La formación inicial de los profesores de Historia de la Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte (UERN) a partir del currículo: rasgos de una ausencia sobre el tema ‘mujeres’RESUMENEl presente artículo tiene por finalidad analizar la formación inicial de los profesores de Historia de la Universidad do Estado Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), construida a partir del currículo oficial. Mientras tanto, discutimos, específicamente, el currículo de estudios del curso de Historia y su relación con la enseñanza, basado en el tema mujeres. El presente estudio se presenta como una investigación bibliográfica, basado en los estudios de Bittencourt (2011), Fonseca (2003), Nóvoa (2005) y Pinsky (2009), seguido de un análisis documental de la estructura curricular 2019.1 del curso. Los resultados, aunque parciales, indican el predominio de una formación tradicional de los profesores de Historia. Además, también hubo una dicotomía entre la discusión teórica entretejida en la academia y la práctica docente diaria, evidenciando un desajuste entre el currículo y la enseñanza de Historia. A partir de estas sistematizaciones, hay indicaciones para repensar la formación inicial de los futuros docentes, a fin de capacitar a un profesional para una cultura de tolerancia y respeto a la diversidad, posibilitando el desarrollo de un saber plural y significativo.Palabras clave: Formación de Profesores de Historia. Currículo. Enseñanza. Mujeres.

Characterization of Environmental Education in Spanish Geography Textbooks

Environmental problems endanger the sustainability and survival of our planet. A way to raise awareness of the seriousness of the current environmental situation among future citizens and instill proactive behaviors that place the environment at the center of decision-making is environmental education. This study analyzes nine primary and secondary education textbooks in order to see what environmental education students receive as part of the subject of geography across the years of compulsory education in Spain. These textbooks are published by three different and main companies, which are a good example of the adaptation of the official curriculum. The study was conducted using the design and development of a coding sheet combining analysis of format (quantitative) and content (qualitative). The results show much room for improvement there is in environmental education in Spain. This improvement should start from the organization of the curriculum and its subsequent transposition into the textbooks. Thus, many changes are needed if we wish to build a society capable of effectively solving the threat of the environmental problems that surround us.

Notes on the Development of the Official Biography in the Russian Tradition

This article covers the principles of the formation of the data that constituted the basis for the official curriculum vitae in the Russian tradition. There is reason to believe that this data had been worked out mainly within the bureaucratic institutions. The data was identified by analyzing the available documents, which describe the official portrait and the life path of a person. The research issue can be formulated as follows: what kind of data about the person, his or her social characteristics and life events were considered necessary by the authorities to be registered in various documents? To answer this question, it was necessary to study parish registers, passports from different time periods, service records, family lists, Soviet questionaries filled out by newly hired employees, and other documents. Since the time of Peter the Great, the following data have been gradually included in the official portrait of a person: name (first name, patronymic, family name), social estate (social standing), age, place of residence, religion (nationality), marital status, military status. In the description of the life path, it was necessary to provide information about close relatives, education, employment history, awards and penalties. Soviet questionaries always included questions about a person’s involvement with the Komsomol (Young Communist League) or the Communist Party and participation in social work. As a result, an individual’s life story presented in the official curriculum vitae consisted not of events, but of his various social statuses. The bureaucratic apparatus required information not so much of the individual himself as of his social environment. The change in the type of information required was determined by aspects of the political and social system in which the respective person existed.