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Eric.ed.gov – Teacher Perspectives as a Framework for Strengthening Teacher Education. Draft.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This presentation reports on the third phase of research associated with the Teacher as Decision Maker Program (TADMP), a graduate-level program for middle/secondary school certification at Indiana University. Seven teacher perspectives have emerged from the study of 86 individuals from the fields of science, English, foreign language, math, and social studies: (1) Scholar Psychologist; (2) Friendly Scholar; (3) Inculcator; (4) Facilitator of Thinking; (5) Friendly Pedagogue; (6) Empowerer, and (7) Nurturer. The latest research explores the utility of these teacher perspectives as a tool for strengthening self-reflection on teaching among TADMP students. The paper describes and analyzes the impact of four interventions based on the perspectives: (1) initial reflections; (2) choosing a center and gaining confidence; (3) reflecting back on perspectives and teaching; and (4) confirming and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Strengthening Partnerships: How Communication and Collaboration Contribute to School Improvement

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: For most of the past decade, this author has studied union-management efforts to improve public education, and has witnessed extraordinary examples of teachers, union leaders, and administrators working together to improve teaching and learning. In this article, seven case studies on collaborative partnerships between teachers’ unions and administrators from districts located across the country and a mix of urban, rural, large and small schools are analyzed. He identifies themes and patterns common to all these districts: (1) Motivation for initiating collaboration; (2) Strategic priorities for improvement; (3) Supportive system infrastructures; and (4) Sustaining characteristics. Rubenstein then reports on the partnership attitude and climate survey data from the California Academic Performance Index (API), and social network analysis. The API includes standardized test results in math, English, social studies,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Unlocking Young Children’s Potential: Governors’ Role in Strengthening Early Mathematics Learning. NGA Paper

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: As governors respond to the need to significantly improve the quality of public education, they should consider incorporating stronger actions to improve mathematics instruction as part of their overall reform agenda. Governors can take the following actions to promote high-quality mathematics instruction for young children: (1) Become a champion for improvements in the quality of early math education with legislators, business leaders, educators, parents, and students; (2) Align high-quality mathematics standards through the educational pipeline, and support appropriate use of student assessments to measure results. State leaders could consider raising standards for the math skills and concepts children should learn in their state’s early learning guidelines; and (3) Promote changes in policies that improve educator preparation and that support their capacity to teach mathematics to young children.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Professional Development Supports and Teacher Practice in Low-Income Pre-K Programs: Strengthening the Diversity and Quality of the Early Care and Education Workforce Paper Series. Research Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Public investment in pre-K programs across the US has expanded over the past two decades, primarily to increase access to pre-K programs, especially among low-income children and children of color. However, program quality varies across states. One key question policymakers and practitioners have posed is how to create high-quality early childhood educational environments that promote successful outcomes for all preschool-aged children. This study considers the role of professional development supports in helping teachers create high-quality learning experiences for children. It examines three professional development supports that early childhood programs often provide (teacher training, coaching, and common planning time), whether these supports predict various aspects of observed teacher practice, and whether the associations between professional development supports and teacher practice vary based on teachers’ experience. Findings suggest that… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Changing Lives, Strengthening America. National Math and Science Initiative Annual Report, 2010

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper presents the annual report of the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) for 2010. Four years ago, NMSI was just an idea. NMSI not only hit the ground running in 2007, it picked up the best ideas in the country and rolled them out in schools and universities from coast to coast. Within a year of its creation, NMSI had awarded grants to six states to bring college-level Advanced Placement courses to more students, raising the bar in math and science education in public high schools. A new foundation was established for more students–rich or poor, urban or rural–to succeed in college. Grants were also awarded to 13 universities to implement the highly successful UTeach program to recruit, inspire and train the next generation of… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Strengthening Children’s Math Skills with Enhanced Instruction: The Impacts of Making Pre-K Count and High 5s on Kindergarten Outcomes

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Early math skills are a strong predictor of later achievement for young children, not only in math, but in other domains as well. Exhibiting strong math skills in elementary school is predictive of later high school completion and college attendance. To that end, the Making Pre-K Count and High 5s studies set out to rigorously assess whether providing high-quality math instruction, aligned across prekindergarten (pre-K) and kindergarten, could lead to long-term gains across a variety of domains for students growing up in low-income communities in New York City. In Making Pre-K Count, pre-K programs were randomly assigned to receive an evidence-based early math curriculum (Building Blocks) and associated professional development or to a pre-K-as-usual control condition. Pre-K in New York City changed rapidly during the study, with… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Strengthening the Math-Related Teaching Practices of the Early Care and Education Workforce: Insights from Experts. Policy Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: As a growing body of evidence links school success and early mathematical experiences, there is increasing interest in offering young children opportunities to bridge their informal understanding of mathematics with more formal concepts and processes. At the same time, many teachers and caregivers in the early care and education (ECE) field may not be adequately equipped to provide appropriate math-related experiences and instruction to young children age birth through five. The aim of this project, Strengthening the Math-Related Teaching Practices of the Early Care and Education Workforce, has been to identify promising practices and strategies for enhancing the ability of ECE practitioners to promote children’s mathematical understanding and competence. This paper summarizes the perspectives of nationally recognized experts in the field of mathematics and early care and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Role of Language Objectives: Strengthening Math and Science Teachers’ Language Awareness with Emergent Bilinguals in Secondary Classrooms

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study focuses on the linguistic foundation of sound pedagogic practices related to non-language content areas referring especially to language objectives; it employ Tharp and Gallimore’s theory on learning: making teaching visible in order to develop the students’ thinking. In the contexts of training both before and after service, a study was conducted on how secondary-science and math teachers contextualize their own teaching according to Emergent Bilinguals (EBs) by using interviews and focus group discussions. Findings reveal that teachers gradually develop an increased sense of importance of language objectives over time. The strengths and challenges highlighted through the study show the need for increased teacher training in the area of teacher language awareness (TLA). So far, the predominance of TLA in the classrooms has been on language,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Strengthening Maths Learning Dispositions through ‘Math Clubs’

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this paper, I argue that the establishment of after-school mathematics clubs in early grades holds rich potential for supporting the development of increasingly participatory and sensemaking maths learning dispositions. Within the South African Numeracy Chair project, lead by the author, multiple after-school mathematics clubs have been set up for learners in Grades 3-6 across Eastern Cape schools. These clubs are a complementary initiative to teacher development, aimed at improving low levels of numeracy learning across the majority of schools in the province. Two sources of data, learner interviews and teacher questionnaires, from one case study club, are shared in this article to illuminate the potential such clubs hold in developing increasingly participatory mathematics learning dispositions. Link til kilde