Teaching Experience - Science topic

You can use the Arabic word "لقد"

Also see kindly the following very good link: https://sace.org.za/assets/documents/uploads/sace_61547-2016-08-31-The%20Role%20of%20the%20South%20African%20Council%20for%20Educators.pdf

thank you dear colleagues

Dear Dr. Houda Boumediene ,

This link Demonstrates development critical thinking through teaching english:

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/ninamk/critical-thinking-skills

Dear Dr. Farid Kadri ,

I think that the LMD system cannot be generalized in all institutions of higher education, because it does not rely on clear criteria that are suitable for all countries, but from my point of view I suggest these points to improve it:

Increase the academic period to at least 4 hours, and giving students more space and more time in education and more activities.

Dear Dr. Chinedu Okafor ,

I recommend for you the scale of (Anandarajah and Hight, 2001), and You can go to this link about of moral teachers and moral student:

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar03/vol60/num06/Moral-Teachers,-Moral-Students.aspx

Dear Dr. Chinedu Okafor ,

The preparation or formation of a teacher is very important, as it is the stage of training and building the teacher who can change in successive generations of students so he can build a successful or failed generation. Therefore, the teacher must be prepared in an integrated manner in the academic, educational and cultural aspects, in line with the customs, traditions and capabilities of society.

I agree with Tylor Burrows .

Staff must perform their duties in accordance with the ethical principles as set out in the Code of Conduct (PPL 1.50.1).The criteria are intended to achieve clarity about University expectations of academic staff performance, without inappropriate rigidity.Flexibility in assessing staff where factors such as discipline constraints or location (Faculty/ Institute/Centre/Campus) impact upon the record should apply. Flexibility in assessing staff also applies across discipline-specific practices relating to dissemination.

I think experience is important for everybody to gain knowledge and learn from their mistakes. Teachers including this experience with student learning and teaching as in group discussion, active engagements or interactive teaching would improve the outcome of students learning and widen the learning scope of their teachers

The following publications should be helpful, particularly : Clark’s Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer; and the recommended books on writing (see: Pollock and Bono, 2013, p. 633).

Despite the importance of the course plan but I think it is possible to step down some of the less important topics of the curriculum if necessary

Best Regards El-Sadig Ezza

The problems can be temporarily forgotten during the exercise, but after they have finished, they come back and think about them

Best Regards Marta Vera Perez

Hi Benedek,

I would be very careful with a narrow notion of "measuring" - especcially if you have a small number of comparable  interventions  The very core of intervention research is to leave controlled lab conditions and to understand effects in real-life conditions. Therefore, you will get complex interactions that defy any attempt to controll or measure with any precision - often, you can miss the point completely. On the other hand, you can understand very much abot the mechanisms of your intervention (ant therefroe about their practical potential and shortcomings) by gathering and analysing  a broad spectrum of related data (interviews with single participants, focus group interviews, also some mearurements). I like using "constellation aanalysis" as a tool to map out the notions different people connect to an issue/an intervention , but ohter methods might work just as well, as long as they help you understand, rather than measure, the effects.

good luck with your interventions,

Richard

Could you please give me more information on what you are looking for? When we talk about children's rights is how to protect them online and not from their parents that want to send them away because they can't control them. Children rights online I would refer to more as protection from abuse bullying, sextortion and so on. For matters of control, I am not sure if the phones or the Internet are to blame but more the education they are given and the friends they surround themselves with, plus education in school regarding digital skills and raising awareness on what they should protect themselves from. 

Here is my email adebodea@gmail.com let me know if i can help.

Adela 

HI, Paul,

My "official" time distribution is 60% teaching (3x3 undergraduate load annually with 5 course preps), 30% research, and 10% service. I don't track my time carefully enough to tell if this is a fair estimation.

Last year, for example, I chaired 4 committees on campus, served on 3 national boards, and on 5 editorial boards. I was the book review editor for 2 journals. I'm not sure this takes up only 10% of my time.

For research, I submitted 1 program evaluation under contract, 9 book reviews, and 3 articles in the last academic year. I also lead a voluntary collaborative of 12+ academics at 9 or so institutions who conduct an annual research project with our students, and I directed 6 student research projects that were presented 10 times in the spring at different conferences. I'm not altogether sure that 30% of my time covers all of this.

So here I am, in July and off-contract, working daily from my office to get ti all done, and I love it! It sure beats the 30 years I spent helping entrepreneurs get rich on the backs of their employees!

David, I agree that Economic textbooks for students are biased considering only idealized world. You are right that land has escaped macroeconomic models being replaced by capital about a century ago. An interesting book by Brian Czech reveals why and how has this happened: https://supplyshock.org/

Pooling land with capital means not distinguishing with virtually unbounded growth of global financial capital and land in finite supply. I am trying to include spatial dependence of variables and explicit accounting of land in my models where it is possible.

Dear Dr. Stock, 

Loud prolonged applause for your efforts.  My field is a bit less erudite than yours, but I long ago developed the habits of saying three phrases:

1) "I am now pulling out my soapbox"  When I simply have to give an opinion, I make sure the students understand that it is an opinion, and they are truly free to have opinions of their own. (BTW, I do not test on opinion based topics)

2) "On the other hand"  For every technique and regimen of caring for patients, there exist some which are nearly opposite.  When the available evidence shows one to be superior, I let the data speak for themselves.

3)"Based on my experience"  These are interventions I have used and which worked to good effect (though this is often followed by quote number 2, followed by "more recent practice reflects...")

The simple fact that you are aware this might be a problem is scholarly reflection at its finest. A strong salute to you for broaching this topic, hope to hear how things worked out for you in your classes.

Cheers!

Rich

Ben is right at what we call R-I universities in the United States (i.e. University of Missouri, University of Kansas, University of Illinois, etc). Ben, does your university require a book by a faculty member seeking tenure or are their publications limited to referred journal articles?

X-parameters represent a new category of nonlinear network parameters for high-frequency design (Nonlinear vector network analyzers are sometimes called large signal network analyzers.[1])

X-parameters are applicable to both large-signal and small-signal conditions, for linear and nonlinear components. They are an extension of S-parameters[2] meaning that, in the limit of a small signal, X-parameters reduce to S-parameters.

They help overcome a key challenge in RF engineering, namely that nonlinear impedance differences, harmonic mixing, and nonlinear reflection effects occur when components are cascaded under large signal operating conditions. This means that there is a nonlinear and as such non-trivial relationship between the properties of the individual cascaded components and the composite properties of the resulting cascade. This situation is unlike that at DC, where one can simply add the values of resistors connected in series. X-parameters help solve this cascading problem: if the X-parameters of a set of components are measured individually, the X-parameters (and hence the non-linear transfer function) can be calculated of any cascade made from them. Calculations based on X-parameters are usually performed within a harmonic balance simulator environment.[3]  

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-parameters).

Thanks Liqaa. Sorry to take up some of your valuable time.

My organization was founded with the hope that is some small way children's curiosity should fostered through helping them in life-long learning by empowering them to answer their own questions.

After recess, if a child brings a caterpillar into the classroom, the "education set" of the total class is at a high level.  Curiosity, wonderment, apprehension, anticipation, fascination - all factors that put young people into a high learning mode.  Some of my teachers supported student-centered interests.  Most did not.

Most of my educational work has been in a museum or museum-like environment.  Real objects, authentic experiences and hand-on/on-hands play important roles.

By the end of high school, I believe a student should know 3 things.

1. Know what you know.

2. Know what you don't know.

3. Know how to get the answers to what you need to know.

A principal once gave me his 7th and 8th grade classes to try my techniques on.  He was skeptical that they had enough curiosity and enthusiasm left to get involved. 

After giving them all sorts of professional insect collecting equipment  [nets, loupes, containers, etc.], I only charged them with: "catch something!" First, they had questions about making the "equipment work better."  After the questioners were coached on "techniques," they were empowered to be coaches for others.  Then the questions became more scientific in nature.  Socratic methods came into play.  Empowerment to asked yourself questions - creative ignorance.

Mid-morning, the principal arrives to a scene of every student engaged - collecting and conferring.  Says: "What's going on?"  I said, "let me check.  I'll tell you at lunch."

Report to principal:  "All the students are gifted."  They had part of their curiosity restored and legitimized.  They had personalized/internalized the challenge. "How will "I' meet the challenge.  Socialites collaborated.  Jocks were fast. Nerds found strange stuff.  Artists were interested in the aesthetics of structure, form, or colors.

My personal experience is that it is easier to keep and foster curiosity in young students than it is to restore what is lost in older students.

Teachers should not be intimidated by their students' knowledge, but harness it.  Teachers should be ready to "mentor prep" advanced students in order to network them with scientists.  Teachers only launch their students into life-long learning. 

Yes, you can present this paper highlighting your findings.

Refer Pp8 - ONLINE TEACHING AND LEARNING TALKING POINTS

Giuseppe:

Very much needed project. Thank you for sharing your innovative mobile app.

Best regards,

Debra

Dear Basema Younes,

Generally speaking, age does not play a determinant role in publishing because there are numerous instances of young writers who started writing at the age of 16. Exemplifying this would be Benjamin Lebert's book "Crazy", which was written and published at the age of 16. Although age is not an index reflecting how good of a writer an individual is, publishing agents may be reluctant to take young writers seriously. As such, the young writers need to get an adult to sign the related contracts for them. Nonetheless,  people in the academic world believe that getting engaged in writing is mainly for the fun of it, not for getting it published.

Best regards,

R. Biria

Dear Professor Sudeep,

Thank you very much for initiating the discussion. Hopefully we all will be benefitted from the discussion. The most difficult part is developing the literature/content with respect of local culture, beliefs, and practices, and to integrate in the existing curriculum. Ideological viewpoints and social structure are other crucial issues. I am reading about the issue and hopefully to discuss further. Thank you very much for sharing the articles and the links.

Best wishes,

Zahid

You, as the person who was interviewed, have control of what you said.  Unless you have previously agreed not to, you can share your own thoughts, assuming you have recorded the interview yourself.

I do not think you should share the voice of your interviewer without permission.

Of course, if you want the interviewer to give you a copy of the recording, the interviewer would have the right to say no.

.

Dear Aitor Garces Manzanera,

The advent of communicative approaches challenged the prevailing structural view of language teaching. Notably, the new paradigm led to the re- conceptualization of views affecting post-communicative syllabus design. One of the ways for revisiting the fundamental tenets of communicative approach was the emergence of task-based syllabi where task cognitive complexity and its interaction with learners' performance in terms of fluency and accuracy became very crucial (McDonough & Shaw, 2003). Willis (1996) presents a task- based learning framework in which task planning, task type and task sequencing patterns are viewed within three phases; namely, prte-task, the task cycle, and language focus. Here, as Nation and Macalister (2010) maintain, the most important principle in format and presentation stage of task-based syllabus design is the provision of a balance of learning opportunities in what they call " four strands" : Meaning focused input, language focused learning, meaning focused output and fluency development. For further details, I refer you to the following links which I hope will satisfy your question.

Best regards,

R. Biria

https://larc.sdsu.edu/testassesswebinar/.../Norris2009-Handbook-of-Language-Teachin..

Dear Mahmoud,

as you write of  X-ray, that you mean a specific test method? As eg..:

X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)

X-Ray Microtomography (XRMT)

Energy-Dispersive X-ray Dpectroscopy (EDS)

It is a mistake to think of education as being only a utilitarian endeavor.   The curriculum SHOULD be designed based on research about the outcome skills AND knowledge.  

So the people who actually create the curriculum need to make this determination (or sometimes the governmental offices above the curriculum developers).

Your question about "should" may be answered differently in different countries and at different levels of education.  Some of the question may be what the students want, but the more important question is what do they NEED.

Dear sir,

can you please share me the materials related to environmental science

Yes, learning is part of human nature! The foetus in the body of the mother begins to learn and will never end his whole life as a human being.

The second question I can only answer for me: yes teaching is an important part of my life.

Best regards

Peter

You may be the only foreigner at your school

You will experience culture shock for the first few months

You have to sign at least a contract

Students are cute, but they are just normal kids… you’ll want to pull out your hair at times…

philosophies of education are very different than they are in your country.

You will get stared at. Relentlessly.

Dear Fatemeh,

I have the same problem as Veronica - I can not translate some parts. 

Rgds

You may follow these below links....

Yes, of course. Good Luck!!!

Dear Marcel,

The attached articles are helpful sources to develop the instrument.

Clarification of Selected Misconceptions in physical geography

Children's Misconceptions in primary science

Omani twelfth grade students’ most common misconceptions in chemistry

I am just thinking like nano technology in the field of Engineering ......in the field of teaching there could be nano teaching more micro level approach then micro teaching. In teacher training field we use micro teaching practice for skill development among would be teachers. In micro teaching would be teachers practice some skills in scale down the size, time and content for approx 5-7 or 7-10 minutes and they focus on only components of one teaching skill. So my curiosity is that will there a possibility nano teaching concept for developing skills among teachers for more specific skill development.

Satish Chandra 

Dear Michael, I embed a link to site containing various resources for teaching English, including a list of videos and films. An interesting field!

In Frankl's logotherapy, spawned in Nazi concentration camps, humor played a great role in survival and consequently in the search of man's meaning.  The inmates or victims in the camps would sometimes think of humorous future scenarios where they would meet and ask each other funny questions that only they would know or think of as funny.  

In Spain, the  adult ESL market is not as buoyant as it used to be, but there is still a lot of work available, at least for experienced teachers. However, I can see several clouds on the horizon. Firstly, companies are depending more on online courses and on blended learning, i.e. mixing face to face classes with online lessons. Secondly, recent measures like the introduction of bilingual education schemes are bound to improve the overall level of students' English in the long run, making it less necessary for them to receive classes as adults  in order to conduct professional tasks in English. Thirdly, younger adults are becoming increasingly aware of the possibilities of maintaining or improving their English level on their own through films, TV series, the Internet etc. Finally,  the competition from other languages, e.g. Mandarin, and other training needs ,e.g. information technology, may erode demand for English classes. However, my prediction is that teachers and language schools will survive if they are able to offer increasingly specialized courses.

Business English classes will need to address the need of specific companies or departments within companies far more closely than most language schools are doing now. All too frequently, teachers get away with offering general "conversational" English with a little bit of "business" thrown in, because the HR departments responsible for evaluating the classes don't  demand any more than this. In the future, some companies will become aware of the need to specialize in order to offer courses that are useful for students with a higher level of English, and others will need to be made aware of this need by more forward-thinking schools. 

EAP teaching at Spanish universities is a potential growth area for two reasons. Firstly, more universities are offering or looking into the possibility of offering courses taught through the medium of English. As a result, teachers will need specific courses to enable them to give lectures in English. Secondly, English for Research Publication Purposes will need to be developed if Spanish academics wish to get more work published in international journals. However,  this potential for growth will not be realized with current levels of  financial investment.

We have used a triangulation of close observation, traces in the written product, and a stimulated-recall interview immediately following the writing assignment. See the following article for a description of the methodology, which you can find on my ResearchGate site:

Kaplan, A., Lichtinger, E., & Margulis, M. (2011). The situated dynamics of purposes of engagement and self-regulation strategies: A mixed-methods case study of writing. Teachers College Record, 113, 284–324.

Best of luck,

Avi

Dear Inayat,

First, I will situate this question within the UK state education system as I am not clear at which teaching position you are aiming.  There are very different practical elements and expectations on 'teacher' based on their organisation (nursery, primary, secondary, college, university). 

For example, in state schools, there is a much greater demand on marking and planning compared to university.  For example, as a secondary school teacher, my working life was teaching, marking, planning. This is similar for primary schools too.  If we take my wife, for example, she leaves home about 7am in the morning and returns about 6pm. By 730pm she is marking the students work so that she can plan her lessons for the next day and typically finishes about 11pm. My practical life at university focuses on other facets but can be equally as time demanding. 

There are many blogs on the internet which cover work-life balance (example attached). Also, within the Uk all teacher unions carry stress surveys which include work-life balance data (see attached). 

Hope this helps

Mcardle, katch and katch - Exercise physiology : nutrition, energy and human performance. 

Marieb and hoehn - human anatomy and physiology. 

The book by Marieb is rather basic and covers both anatomy and physiology. I would recommend it at the undergrad level. it's easy to read and not to "dry". In my experience, students may fall asleep reading and may not be able to grasp a concept completely. This book is modern and contain periodic questions to help you with learning. 

For mcardle's book, it is well recognised by many institutions and often are used both in grad and undergrad. I will say it is more technical and a tougher read. But then students are expected to progress right?  It has some chapters at the latter half that are indeed quite demanding, and i would leave that only for the grad students. 

Hope that helps. 

Dearest I had this kind of experience and you know it is very constructive because, thanks to their collanorazione was born a wonderful experience to work and research. Pressol'Università of Urbino I met a group of students who have brought me to live hand to the solution that the DSA can rehabilitate answer .With Ritamaria Bucciarelli

Stress develop when one does not get what he or she wish to achieve in an organization. That is to say he becomes frustrated as a result of impediments that is put on his way either by management or colleagues.

Dear Noureen,

The following publications cover the answer to your question:

1-The Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers (WTMST)

Claude Fernet 

Caroline Senécal

Frédéric Guay

Herbert Marsh

Martin Dowson

2-A Measure of English Teacher Motivation: Scale Development and Preliminary Validation

Sunhee Choi1

3-A STUDY TO ASSESS THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG STUDENT

ACHIEVEMENT, TEACHER MOTIVATION, AND INCENTIVE PAY

Pamela A. McKinney

4-https://www.pdx.edu/sites/www.pdx.edu.psy/files/Assessment-11-Motivation-in-the-classroom--reciprocal-effects-of-teacher-behavior--Skinner-Belmont--1993.pdf

5- Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences

Volume 171, 16 January 2015, Pages 1388–1394

5th ICEEPSY International Conference on Education & Educational Psychology

Open Access

 

Developing Self-efficacy and Motivation to be a Teacher Scale, Thai Version ☆

Natthapol Jaengaksorn, ,

Auyporn Ruengtrakul,

Chayut Piromsombat

  Show more

doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.258

Get rights and content

Under a Creative Commons license

 

 Abstract

The measurement model of self-efficacy and motivation to be a teacher were developed for student teachers as an instrument to measure such variables as appropriate to Thai context. The validation of scales of self-efficacy and motivation to be a teacher for Thai student teachers are robust and showed excellent measurement properties. The purposes of this study were to validate the developed measurement model of self-efficacy and motivation to be a teacher. The sample consisted of 78 student teachers who studying in the last academic year in university. The research instruments were questionnaire related to self- efficacy and motivation to be a teacher. Data were analyzed by using SPSS to detect reliability and other psychometric properties, as well as LISREL program version 8.72 to validate the measurement model. Major research results were as follows: 1) the developed measurement model of self-efficacy consisted of 3 indicators: efficacy in student engagement, efficacy in instructional strategies, and efficacy in classroom management according to the empirical data (x2 = 0.02, df = 1, p = 0.08), and 2) the developed measurement model of motivation to be a teacher consisted of 2 indicators: intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation according to the empirical data (x2 = 2.23, df = 1, p = 0.13)

6- J Sports Sci Med. 2012 Mar; 11(1): 123–130.

Published online 2012 Mar 1.

PMCID: PMC3737859

The Relationship Between Teaching Styles and Motivation to Teach Among Physical Education Teachers

Vello Hein,1,✉* Francis Ries,2,* Francisco Pires,2,* Agnese Caune,1,* Judit Heszteráné Ekler,4,* Arunas Emeljanovas,3,*and Irena Valantiniene3,*

Author information ► Article notes ► Copyright and License information ►

 

Go to:

Abstract

This study aims to investigate how teachers' motivation to teach is related to different teaching styles. A hundred and seventy six physical education teachers from five European countries participated in the study. Teachers' motivation was measured using an instrument developed by Roth et al., 2007 based on the Self-Determination Theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985) which was tested for suitability for use with physical education teachers. The use of teaching styles was assessed through teachers' self-reported data according to the description of teaching styles presented by Curtner-Smith et al., 2001. The revised confirmatory factor model of the teachers' motivation instrument, with three factors, met the criteria for satisfactory fit indices. The results showed that teachers were more intrinsically motivated to teach than externally. Cross-cultural comparison indicated that the Spanish teachers were more intrinsically motivated whilst Lithuanian teachers were more externally motivated than teachers from the other four countries. Teachers from all five countries reported a more frequent use of reproductive styles than productive styles. The results of the present study confirmed the hypotheses that teachers' autonomous motivation is related to the student-centered or productive teaching styles whilst non-autonomously motivated teachers adopt more teacher-centered or reproductive teaching styles. Intrinsic and introjected motivation was significantly higher among teachers who more frequently employed productive teaching styles than teachers who used them less frequently. Intrinsically motivated teachers using more productive teaching styles can contribute more to the promotion physical activity among students.

Key points

PE teachers were more intrinsically motivated to teach than externally.

Spanish PE teachers were more intrinsically motivated, whereas Lithuanian PE teachers were more externally motivated.

Teachers from all five countries reported a more frequent use of reproductive styles than productive styles.

Teachers' autonomous motivation is related to student-centered teaching styles and not autonomously motivated teachers adopt more teacher-centered teaching styles.

Intrinsic and introjected motivations were significantly higher among PE teachers using frequently productive teaching styles.

Hoping this will be helpful,

Rafik

To Mr. Rikard,

Thank you for your response, and I am so sorry for my unclear questions. What I wanted to know is that, especially in Japan, some teachers tend to start children's question which seemed familiar with other student. This kind of lesson style has been believed to be better than traditional teacher-led class. However, I wonder whether this style is still effective or not since today's teenagers seem not to be interested in anything around them. But, thank you for your kind response.

Sincerely

I would like to refer you yo this article that I once wrote when I was researching into issues of quality from the perspective of  a teacher educator.

WanjalaG., “The Meaning of Quality in Teacher Education : Some Policy Implications for Educational Planning .” in The Fountain : Journal of Educational Research Vol.5 Issue 1 2011 Pp. 1-10  , ISSN 2079 – 3383.

Look at the following articles if these suit your interest:

Miss imane, first the Algerian education uses CBA nowadays. the traditional methods are about to be abandoned in favor of more modern ones. Second, using mobil apps is more than motivating because it encourages the learners to learn foreign languages and at the same time to be up to date with technology and communication. Though I dont know any apps top help you, I sincerely encourage you to carry on your research which, i am pretty sure, will be a success. Bye.

Prof. Bachir Bouhania

U Adrar

I will share them with you ,  inayat, 

these are my papers on CDA:

Shakil:

I think skills training requires a lot of demonstration and practice. Usually competency-based assessments are used in the latter scenario in which the student is assessed once and then again. If the assessor has any doubt that the student has fully demonstrated the skill to be deemed competent, then the student can be assessed a third time. If after the latter there is doubt, then the student has failed to be competent and would need to retake the module or course. I have attached a link of relevant studies here in RG.

Many thanks,

Debra

Dear Kristen Liesch-Goodkey

Just a short email to inform you that I could recommend a book by Glenda McNaughton (2000), "Rethinking Gender in Early Childhood Education," Unwin Hyman. I think might help to you.

Best regards

There is a good amount of research on the cognitive psychology of learning and memory that has some translations in educational applications. See this synthesis by John Kihlstrom for an introduction http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~kihlstrm/GSI_2011.htm 

I would be more careful regarding the applications of neuroscience in education, because the level of analysis is quite different in these two fields ( see here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46149279_Neuroscience_Viable_Applications_in_Education ) and, also, because current educational programes that claim to be neuro-based are quite unsuported empirically ( https://drive.google.com/a/psychology.ro/file/d/0B5JyY7bDUjP_ZWdrSEloZmVUVGc/edit ) and often lead to propagation of neuro-myths, rather than accurate knowledge ( http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00429/full#B5 ). Thus, I believe that bridging the gap between neuroscience and education has to start with clarifying, for everybody involved in educational process, what neuroscience is and isn't and what it can and cannot offer. Otherwise, many unsupported practices could hide under the “neuro umbrella”.

In determining an appropriate answer to the question, the first question to address is, “Is the teacher aware of her/his identity?”

In the mainstream educational system, the teacher is likely a member of the majority and as such sees the world normalized through their everyday experiences. They may perceive that their identity/experiences are shared by all and approach the classroom from what may be considered an acultural position. This, in turn, separates them from the experiences of their non-majority students. While they may be well-intentioned, compassionate and caring, they may not appreciate or understand the diverse situations that their students come from. Students, in turn, may perceive that the teacher does not understand or care about their situation; ethnoculturally, socioeconomically, geopolitically or spiritually. The teacher, in an effort to address the needs of all students, may end up addressing the needs of none as they continue to teach from a dominant social position.

If the teacher is not of the majority, then other situations may arise. Is the teacher attempting to present the mainstream position or are they addressing the individualistic needs of their students. Are they aware of their own unique identity to the point that they are comfortable in their own skin or do they view their identity as something to overcome in order to be successful, are they or have they assimilated to the mainstream at the expense of their individuality?

Other considerations to your question are ethnocultural identity, socioeconomic status identity, geographic identity (this may also be related to urban or rural differences), religious/spiritual identity.

However, as important as identity factors are, the relationships that the teacher forms with her or his students are far more important. If an authentic atmosphere of acceptance and care is established, the diversity of identities of the individuals in the classroom can strengthen the classroom community for the benefit of all.

Rahimi:

If students identify the teacher as one who is not inclusive, and he/she demonstrates evidence of this attribute in teaching such as choosing teaching materials and methods that do not accommodate for the diverse backgrounds of students, then students may feel isolated in the class and not be engaged in their learning. Please see my linked paper that helps to illuminate my point.

Best regards,

Debra

It's been widely disproven that VAD reflects a teacher's effectiveness. The only reason states use this measure is because it was a requirement of Race to the Top applications and NCLB waivers (in addition to Teacher Incentive Fund money, I believe). This is part of my research area, and I will address this topic in an upcoming article  on teacher evaluation. In short,  VAD reflects socio-economic status of student population, not teacher effectiveness.

Dear Helen, Although I have not taught on these topics, I recently chaired a China-Australia workshop on 'Circular Economy and Urban Systems' held at University of South Australia as part of UnMaking Waste 2015 Conference, and have written papers. My thinking is much influenced by Prof Walter Stahel (you can find him on ResearchGate), who originated the term CE also, I believe, cradle to cradle. Whilst many talk of CE solely in terms of recycling/reusing physical resources and materials, Prof Stahel takes a wider view that includes creating more jobs, substituting labour for energy, stock optimisation, decoupling resource consumption from wealth, and business models such as selling goods as services (PSS).  I believe that any course should include underlying philosophies such as the Japanese 'mottainai' (too precious to waste) and the Korean notion of a 'resource circulating society' may also be helpful. Pleased to discuss further and possibly collaborate, you can message me via ResearchGate or my UniSA email. Best regards, David

Thanks for these suggestions Stacie and will look out for published proceedings from AACTE this year. We are doing some embedding too - I do think it is helpful in terms of introducing edTPA language and vocabulary in particular (I am not a fan of the language used in the visual arts edTPA.)

One of my concerns is that the students are interpreting the edTPA process as THE way to teach. What do I mean by that? It seems that conceptually, it's difficult for them to separate or parse out an assessment experience -  learning segment (vs unit planning for example) that is video taped, (and capturing multiple criteria from rubrics in 20 minutes of video) from teaching and learning outside of this one assessment.  It's like another layer of technical learning/test taking that takes a lot of time to navigate and negotiate while doing their first student teaching experience. I do like the circular model presented of planning, teaching, assessing - but the format lends itself to a linear interpretation. I'll be interested to hear more from edTPA and AACTE about this.

I agree with Andrew Simpson. Getting students to look at real controversies is an excellent way to learn how to formulate good questions and refine their skepticism. I had a short assignment once asking student to read Woese and Mayr "battle it out" on the pages of PNAS about the three domain system. I simply asked the students to write a  short summary of each paper and a personal reflection (verdict and rationale).  We had excellent classroom discussions on the topic of systematics and evaluating theories

http://www.pnas.org/content/95/17/9720.full  Mayr

http://www.pnas.org/content/95/19/11043.full Woese

As long as the feedback nurtures  more writing and does not ruin self-confidence.

This study: Visser-Wijnveen, G. J., Stes, A., & Van Petegem, P. (2012). Development and validation of a questionnaire measuring teachers' motivation for teaching in higher education. Higher Education, 64(3), 421-436. doi:10.1007/s10734-011-9502-3 validated a such an instrument for teachers in higher education, but does not discuss any control variables for demographic factors.  The article is well-written and includes the validated instrument.  They looked at efficacy as composed of three subscales: personal, teaching and outcome.  Interest/Enjoyment and Importance/Effort were treated as separate scales.  You might consider adopting this instrument within your own instrument.  I have not fully explored the underlying studies referenced to determine whether they discuss demographic variables.  I have been working on designing such a study that includes prior background or training in educational theories and methods and professional culture items as controls of interest.  I had not thought of controlling for gender, but find that of interest.

An approach that was used for some time by Griffith is the scheduling of regular breakfast meetings with the mentors / practicum coordinators of our local schools. As an ex-deputy of one of the supervising schools I found these very useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, to build community with other schools supervising students. Secondly, to provide feedback from the university. Thirdly, to listen to new developments in the area of teacher education. Whilst more time consuming and costly than surveys, the positive outcomes from these meetings made them very worthwhile.  Cheers, Kevin.

I was told that no matter what you do as a teacher, approximately 5% of your students will love you and the class, and 5% will hate the experience. You should not worry about the "loudest" voices, but rather should look for what the common experience was for students in the class. Look for overarching trends. A few negative comments are not sufficient to justify major changes.

I generally find that formative evaluation is more helpful than end-of-semester summative evaluation. Give students several opportunities over the semester to provide feedback, and demonstrate that you are making adjustments based on the information you are receiving. You aren't really a reflective teacher if you are not using both formal and informal assessment of your teaching to adjust what you are doing in the classroom.

Finally, I agree with Tony that you should try to triangulate as much as possible by using multiple sources of information. If you department or university does not allow you to submit multiple form of evidence supporting your teaching effectiveness, well, then that is unfortunate and violates best education practices.

Pavel, putting students into groups and telling them to work together doesn't mean that we will make them great collaborators. That's why I take the suggestions of Johnson, Johnson & Smith (1991) seriously.

I still have to work hard to ensure:

a) Positive interdependence: Each member is responsible for maximizing other members’ learning. The success of learning is dependent on the effort of every member of the group.

b) ‘Promotive’ interaction: Occurs as individuals help each other learn, challenge each other, and strive together to accomplish the group’s goal. The interactions carried out by the group are meant to promote academic performance of every member.

c) Individual accountability: The performance of each member is taken individually and the result will be shared with other group members. Each member is assessed through individual test or weekly group presentation.

d) Interpersonal and small-group skills: Students have the opportunity to know other group members, to support and accept each other, to communicate accurately and resolve different opinions in a positive manner.

e) Group processing: Reflecting on the efforts that each member has contributed by checking group progress. This aims to improve the effectiveness of a collaborative group work. I encourage my students to do this reflecting regularly; and at times, I participate in this activity.

(Recently I sent an article on collaborative learning to an online journal.)

The above answers are all correct, particularly the one about assessments because in the end the students will try to do what they believe you want them to. If they believe you value regurgitation of facts then that is what they will give you. If they believe that you really value understanding then that is what they will give you. Unfortunately t is also not just what you do that has an effect. Students will carry the beliefs that they have developed from other years and other classes into yours and you need to keep working to convince them that what you say you value, you really do. As well, if the assessment for formal reporting is in conflict with what you are asking them to do that will be a problem too. All that being said, you should keep trying. My most successful strategies are:

1. To structure my criteria as 'things that they show they understand' eg To use the idea that the atom has subatomic particles that effect the way it behaves, or Show that forces change the motion and energy of objects. Students then tick these off as they demonstrate them.

2. To use 'tasks' in an inquiry situation similar to PBL. eg to build and explain a mouse trap vehicle to meet specifications like travel as far as possible using just one mouse trap, or To write an e-book explaining how cars are an issue for climate change and what we may be able to do about it in the future.

To reiterate however, what is important is that students believe that what you value and what they will be given credit for is their understanding.

Yes, by the word security I mean the social security. There are instances that some person makes a fake document, get the finger print of an illiterate farmer on that such that the document can be used to prove that the farmer's land was sold to the person long before. This way an illiterate poor can easily be deprived and exploited. There are many other instances like this. Therefore I think if we can at least teach them how to read and write one language and some basic arithmetic this type of problem may be reduced.

I wondered whether you are familiar with my 2009 publication, Approaches to Political Thought (published by Rowman & Littlefield). It is not a syllabus per se but does follow what I used as a syllabus for many years to introduce both undergraduate and graduate students to contemporary ways of understanding traditional political theory.

It's true that there are still some problems in science teaching in classroom. Everything has to be taught with conviction, it cannot be demonstrated, pathways can be best explained with diagrams or reactions which is better with the help of ppt etc etc. Some things are best explained by carrying out practicals , using research thesis. Writing a thesis also helps on teaching us many things!

I insist that one of the most important things is that the prospective teachers have a deep foundation on theoretical basis on education, because there is no differentiated instruction if them don't know the reasons they are teachers and whys they are for.

Varna, the Web has an abundance of these resources. Search using different key phrases. Also see: http://www.aitsl.edu.au/professional-learning/professional-learning.html

For example, for such a topic "Teacher identity: A Narrative Inquiry into My Life Experiences", can it have some other co-authors?