Student-centred and teacher-centred learning environments: what students think     

Jan Elen  Geraldine Clarebout  Rebecca Léonard  Joost Lowyck 《Teaching in Higher Education》2013,18(1):105-117

This contribution explores the relationship between teacher-centred and student-centred learning environments from a student's perspective. Three different views with respect to this relationship can be retrieved. The balance view suggests that the more teacher-centred a learning environment is, the less student-centred it is and vice versa. The transactional view stresses the continuous renegotiation of teacher- and student-roles. The independent view argues that teacher- and student-centredness are independent features of learning environments. Results from three survey studies of higher education students’ conceptions of quality education are discussed. While the practice-oriented literature regularly seems to adopt a balance view, factor analyses did not reveal evidence for the balance view in any of these studies. In students’ minds student-centredness and teacher-centredness seem to be mutually reinforcing features of high quality education. From a curricular point of view, and especially with regard to teacher training, the results warrant to argue for the development of so-called powerful learning environments rather than for the transition from teacher-centred towards student-centred learning environments.  相似文献   

'There's no way this kid's retarded': teachers' optimistic constructions of students' ability     

Christi Kasa-Hendrickson 《International Journal of Inclusive Education》2013,17(1):55-69

Historical research in the field of autism has suggested that judgements regarding the ability of students with autism should be made carefully, taking into consideration the person with autism's difficulty with communication, movement and performance in general. Although the historical literature has urged professionals to proceed with caution regarding judgements about ability, a haphazard understanding of people with autism as retarded prevails. This qualitative study analyses the experiences of four teachers who, within the context of the inclusive classroom, resist interpreting non-verbal students with autism as mentally retarded and seek to form a new understanding of ability. The following themes will be discussed: (1) finding situations where students demonstrate competence, (2) rethinking performance and understanding, and (3) expecting struggles.  相似文献   

‘Go over there and look at the pictures in the book’: an investigation of educational marginalisation,social interactions and achievement motivation in an alternative middle school setting     

Marnie Best  Deborah Price  Faye McCallum 《International Journal of Inclusive Education》2013,17(4):422-434

The middle years of school represent a time of educational turbulence, serving to marginalise some students from educational opportunities. Much research has focussed on individual cognitive factors influencing educational engagement, with less attention directed towards social interactions. Theoretically positioned within an expectancy–value model of achievement motivation, this study draws on the lived experience of a 12-year-old student within an alternative school in South Australia, Australia, to explore how social encounters may contribute to educational marginalisation. Findings from a narrative case study employing a semi-structured interview suggested that connections exist between social influences, such as interactions with teachers and peers, and subsequent achievement motivation. This study suggests that social interactions are critical determinants to an individual's educational engagement, affecting educational ability, expectancy and value beliefs.  相似文献   

Effects of the WhyTry social skills program on students with emotional and/or behavioral problems in an alternative school     

Shannon Wilhite 《Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties》2013,18(2):175-194

Social skills training (SST) is an evidence-based intervention to help increase social competence for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), but there is limited research that addresses SST for students identified as experiencing EBD at alternative campuses. A mixed methods design was utilized to examine SST at an alternative campus for students identified as experiencing EBD. Pre-intervention data were collected for students' attendance, grades, office disciplinary referrals, and behavioral rating scales, after which the WhyTry SST program (Moore 2008 Moore, C. 2008. The WhyTry Program, Salt Lake City, UT: WhyTry.  [Google Scholar], WhyTry, Salt Lake City, UT, USA) was implemented. Following the intervention, the same data were collected. Non-parametric statistics guided the quantitative analysis, because of the small population being studied. Differences from pre- to post-intervention were examined. Students exhibited significant differences from pre- to post-intervention in the number of office disciplinary referrals and several areas on the behavioral rating scales. Triangulation methods drove the qualitative data collection through observations, student interviews, and teacher interviews. Insight into motivation and perceptions was gained through the qualitative analysis.  相似文献   

Editorial     

Kaili Chen Zhang 《Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties》2013,18(3):179-192

This study reports data on the challenges and needs of girls engaged in delinquent behaviour and the effectiveness of services provided by a girls' home. Implications and suggestions for the planning and implementation of effective programmes and services in alternative educational settings are included. It concludes that alternative education is not just a change of educational environment for youths in trouble, an understanding of the unique needs of girls and female offenders must be translated into practice as educators continue to find solutions for helping girls who are engaging in risky or delinquent behaviours.  相似文献   

Allowing Idiosyncratic Learners to Thrive     

《Journal of School Choice》2013,7(4):27-52

Abstract

School-within-a-school programs are an alternative school choice that can provide differentiated learning opportunities for academically gifted students, but they are often politically contentious. In a recent study, we interviewed 530 students and teachers in gifted and regular streams in three publicly funded secondary schools with different approaches to high-ability school-within-a-school programs: gifted, International Baccalaureate, and science-focused. Although teachers and students across conditions expressed strong satisfaction with the academic challenges provided by the special programs, they also expressed serious concerns about the relationship between these programs and the larger schools within which they are housed. Taking into consideration concerns about gifted education usurping resources from more urgent educational and societal goals, we discuss policy implications of our findings, considering ways to “allow idiosyncratic learners to thrive” (in the words of a teacher interviewed in this study), while minimizing misconceptions, prejudices, and perceptions of elitism.  相似文献   

Teach For/Teach First candidates: what conclusions do they draw from their time in teaching?     

Suzanne Rice  Veronica Volkoff  Nicky Dulfer 《Teachers and Teaching》2013,19(5):497-513

Teach For and Teach First programs now constitute a significant pathway into teaching in a number of countries. One criterion for selection into these programs is leadership capacity, and evidence indicates that many candidates do move into leadership roles in education, business, and policy in the years following their time as a Teach For/Teach First candidate. Given their capacity to influence policy directions and school practice, and to speak with the authority of at least some experience in challenging schools, it is important to understand the types of conclusions they draw from their time in teaching, and the solutions they propose to the problems of educational inequality. This study set out to explore the types of attributions made by 76 Teach For candidates for the low achievement of disadvantaged students, and what they consider to be potential means of effectively addressing the achievement gap. Participants gave most importance to the types of people attracted to and retained in teaching, and placed relatively little importance on improving school resourcing or addressing systemic and structural contributions to educational disadvantage. Implications for those training and working with Teach For candidates are discussed.  相似文献   

如何利用英文报刊激发高职学生英语学习兴趣     

王炜英 《新疆职业大学学报》2013,21(3):70-72

英文报刊综合性、时事性和实用性的特点决定了阅读英文报刊对提高高职院校学生英语的综合运用能力具有举足轻重的作用。但是目前很多师生却不知怎样有效利用英文报刊,在分析高职生学习英语的现状及英文报刊阅读特点的基础上,重点分析如何有效利用英文报刊激发高职生英语学习兴趣。  相似文献   

From mainstream school to pupil referral unit: a change in teachers’ self-understanding     

Shaalan Farouk 《Teachers and Teaching》2013,19(1):19-31

As teachers are at the heart of education, a substantial number of studies have researched the perception that mainstream school teachers have of themselves in relation to their work. This investigation extends this field of inquiry by examining how teachers’ self-understanding is altered when they transfer from mainstream to special school education. This study adopts the methodology of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to examine in detail how three female teachers in inner London experienced the transition from mainstream secondary schools to teaching in alternative provision for excluded students referred to as a pupil referral unit (PRU). Central to IPA is how an individual experiences a substantial change in life and the influence this may have on his or her world views. The research approach adopted is, therefore, idiographic and reliant on the experiences of a small number of participants. The findings from this investigation indicate that the participants chose to leave mainstream school education when they came to the self-realisation that they wanted to engage in more creative and personally engaging professional practice with a stronger moral purpose. When they started to teach at a PRU, the more persistent and personal relationships with their students brought about a substantial change in self-understanding.  相似文献   

通识教育体系下的学生思辨能力培养研究——以报刊英语教学为例     

陈艳君 《宁波教育学院学报》2013,15(1):89-92

本研究将思辨能力的构念模型作为理论框架,以报刊英语教学为实践基础,从开展多元化阅读任务,主题式课堂讨论,真实性互动实践和自主性阅读评价四个方面探讨培养思辨能力的教学模式,为通识教育体系下如何更好地将语言技能训练与思维训练紧密地结合起来提供了实践方面的建议和参考。  相似文献