Principals Judge Teachers by Their Teaching     

Andy Nixon  Abbot Packard  Margaret Dam 《The Teacher Educator》2013,48(1):58-72

This quantitative study investigated the relationship between teacher dispositions, subject content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and reasons that school principals recommend non-renewal of probationary teachers' contracts. Principals in the Southeastern Unites States completed an e-mailed survey. Two nonparametric tests, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann Whitney U, were used to statistically analyze group responses. Principals reported that they observed most a lack of pedagogical content knowledge from ineffective teachers and they prioritized the importance of instructional skills in deciding whether to non-renew a teacher contract. Principals identified teacher integrity, dependability, and honesty as important dispositions. The studies' findings are important for universities that prepare preservice teachers and also for the planning of professional development initiatives. The study findings suggest that principals tend to view dispositions as personality characteristics rather than as teacher competencies and that teacher expertise in both subject content and pedagogy must be woven together.  相似文献   

Differential recognition of children's cultural practices in middle primary literacy classrooms     

Helen Nixon  Barbara Comber 《Literacy》2006,40(3):127-136

This paper argues that teachers' recognition of children's cultural practices is an important positive step in helping socio‐economically disadvantaged children engage with school literacies. Based on 21 longitudinal case studies of children's literacy development over a 3‐year period, the authors demonstrate that when children's knowledges and practices assembled in home and community spheres are treated as valuable material for school learning, children are more likely to invest in the work of acquiring school literacies. However, they also show that while some children benefit greatly from being allowed to draw on their knowledge of popular culture, sports and the outdoors, other children's interests may be ignored or excluded. Some differences in teachers' valuing of home and community cultures appeared to relate to gender dimensions.  相似文献   

Using stakeholder feedback to improve online professional development opportunities     

Rhonda N. T. Nese  Paul Meng  Sarah Breiner  Erin Chaparro  Robert Algozzine 《Journal of Research on Technology in Education》2020,52(2):148-162

Abstract

Traditional professional development is often characterized as being expensive, time consuming, and lacking impact. In contrast, online professional development provides greater flexibility and is becoming increasingly popular for school personnel. In this article, we report the process and outcomes of gathering feedback to adapt traditional in-person to online training differentiated for the participants to maximize utility, efficiency, and effectiveness in meeting the needs of key stakeholders. Focus groups were conducted with teachers, administrators, and other specialists to gather feedback on content as well as how online learning modules (OLMs) could be tailored to meet specific school site and team needs. We discuss our findings in the context of continuing efforts to improve general and specific professional development opportunities.  相似文献   

Making documentaries and teaching about educational disadvantage: Ethical issues and practical dilemmas     

Helen Nixon  Barbara Comber 《The Australian Educational Researcher》1995,22(2):63-84

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Elementary teachers’ science subject matter knowledge across the teacher career cycle     

Ryan S. Nixon  Leigh K. Smith  Richard R. Sudweeks 《科学教学研究杂志》2019,56(6):707-731

Although widely touted as important, there is little evidence regarding the influence of teaching experience on elementary teachers' science subject matter knowledge (SMK). To better understand this phenomenon, we administered an assessment of science topics taught in the fifth and sixth grades to 169 preservice teachers, 231 fifth-grade teachers, and 208 sixth-grade teachers. We then compared the mean scores of teachers at different stages in the career cycle using one-way and two-way ANOVA and explored the relationship between SMK scores and years of teaching experience using regression analysis. Findings indicate that (i) being assigned to a specific grade level had an impact on teachers' SMK for topics included in the grade level, (ii) teachers' SMK scores were lower later in their careers for both science topics they had never taught and for science topics they were responsible for teaching, and (iii) results differed for fifth and sixth grades. This study adds to the existing literature through the examination of a large sample of elementary teachers, with teachers of varying years of experience, while focusing on the science topics these teachers are responsible for teaching. The results of this study provide strong evidence that (i) years of experience teaching specific science topics is associated with the development of teachers' knowledge of these topics, and (ii) teaching experience, what teachers do in the context of their everyday practice, can be an effective means of self-directed learning for teachers. There is also evidence that this influence is not uniform across years of teaching experience or science topics taught. These findings raise important implications about future research into the mechanism of SMK development through teaching experience and teacher grade-level assignments.  相似文献   

What makes a cMOOC community endure? Multiple participant perspectives from diverse cMOOCs     

Maha Bali  Maureen Crawford  Rhonda Jessen  Paul Signorelli  Mia Zamora 《Educational Media International》2015,52(2):100-115

Imagine the challenge of being immersed in a dynamic learning network where you play brinkmanship with being overwhelmed by a plethora of information, comments, and conversations on a topic of intense interest to you. Through adept facilitation, the comments and encouragement of fellow participants, and your own perseverance, you develop a network of personal connections which serve as metaphorical flying buttresses creating enough stability that you are able to learn in a new, yet profoundly meaningful way – the connectivist massive open online course (cMOOC) way. Through the lens of autoethnography, five seasoned educators collaboratively reflect on their motivation for participating in their initial cMOOC. They analyze their lived experience, what they found most engaging, and most importantly, they grapple with why cMOOC communities often endure past official end-dates. This article attempts to provide insight into the thrill and depth of learning and connection possible through participation in cMOOCs.  相似文献   

Boarding schools: A longitudinal examination of Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous boarders’ and non-boarders’ wellbeing     

Anthony Dillon  Rhonda G. Craven  Jiesi Guo  Alexander S. Yeung  Janet Mooney  Alicia Franklin  Rob Brockman 《British Educational Research Journal》2022,48(4):751-770

Improving educational outcomes for Indigenous Australian students is a key strategy to helping Indigenous people reach their full potential. This has resulted in well-intentioned efforts by Australian educators and governments to ensure Indigenous children have positive school experiences. However, Indigenous students still lag behind their non-Indigenous counterparts in educational outcomes. This is particularly so for Indigenous students living in rural and remote parts of Australia where educational opportunities are limited, especially in high school. One solution to this problem has been to enrol these students in boarding schools in urban and metropolitan centres. While research on the success of boarding schools for Indigenous students is scarce, what little that does exist is not encouraging. The focus of this research was to examine the effects of boarding for Indigenous (n = 11) and non-Indigenous students’ (n = 158) wellbeing (N = 1423) in two large private boys’ schools. Participating students aged 12–18 years old completed a survey measuring wellbeing constructs on two occasions, 12 months apart. Non-Indigenous boys were generally higher in wellbeing compared with Indigenous boys. There was also evidence of improved social wellbeing beyond that of non-Indigenous boarders over time. Overall, while evidence of merit was weak, boarding schools may benefit their Indigenous students’ development in social wellbeing.  相似文献   

Reducing adolescents' involvement with relational aggression: Evaluating the effectiveness of the Creating A Safe School (CASS) intervention     

Charisse L. Nixon  Nicole E. Werner 《Psychology in the schools》2010,47(6):606-620

This study examined the effectiveness of a comprehensive, school‐based intervention program, Creating A Safe School (CASS; The Ophelia Project) designed to reduce relational aggression (RA) and relational victimization (RV). Sixth‐grade students (N = 406) were surveyed before and after the intervention. Program effects were tested using a repeated‐measures design. Results revealed significant reductions in RA and RV among students who reported initially high levels of involvement. Findings also showed that decreasing approval of RA accounted for a significant amount of variance in changes in RA between pre‐ and posttest. These results provide initial evidence of the effectiveness of the CASS intervention model in reducing RA among early adolescents. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.  相似文献   

Assessing irreversibility of an E-Government project in Kenya: Implication for governance     

Nixon Muganda Ochara 《Government Information Quarterly》2010

This paper offers an exploratory analysis into the relationship between E-Government conceptualization and its intended impacts. By combining three independent research streams of technology transfer, information technology conceptualization and impacts, the expected national impacts of E-Government were theorized to influence how policy makers and implementers in developing countries conceptualize E-Government. The paper utilizes a qualitative research approach that is underpinned by critical realist assumptions. Actor–Network Theory was used as the meta-theory for the analysis. The findings point to a thinly-veiled control agenda by the Central Government bid to extend their control over local authorities through E-Government. The process of building an E-Government infrastructure is unfolding in an environment in which local actors' interests are weakly inscribed, while interests of the global actors are strongly inscribed. The overall implication is a trend in which the Central Government is enhancing bureaucratization through managerialization.  相似文献   

Bridging the Gap Between Degree Programme Curricula and Employability Through Implementation of Work-related Learning     

J. M. Hills  G. Robertson  R. Walker  M. A. Adey  I. Nixon 《Teaching in Higher Education》2013,18(2):211-231

This article investigates the gap between employers' requirements of graduates and the skills which graduates are furnished with through degree programmes in the higher education (HE) sector in the UK. A survey of 88 subject review reports prepared by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for environmentally related units in the UK showed little emphasis on employability issues. Surveys of first destination statistics of a cohort of graduates from two biological degrees and from national data showed that a significant proportion of graduates were in non-science-based activities. The non-knowledge-based learning outcomes from one degree were investigated, and showed that employability aspects were partially covered in the programme, but were not always associated with secure assessments. The concept of work-related learning is defined and a conceptual framework for HE practitioners is presented that could be used when designing curricula to better map programme learning outcomes onto graduate employment.  相似文献