Recruitment of Secondary School Physics Teachers--An International Viewpoint.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayfield, M. R.

This report of the findings of the working group on "recruitment" of the International Congress on the Education of Secondary School Physics Teachers held in Hungary in September, 1970, includes reasons for the shortage of physics teachers (low salaries, excessive class load, lack of prestige, and inadequate programs of teacher preparation),…

Effective Practices for Training and Inspiring High School Physics Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Magee-Sauer, Karen

It is well-documented that there is a nationwide shortage of highly qualified high school physics teachers. Not surprising, institutions of higher education report that the most common number of physics teacher graduates is zero with the majority of institutions graduating less than two physics teachers per year. With these statistics in mind, it is critical that institutions take a careful look at how they recruit, train, and contribute to the retention of high school physics teachers. PhysTEC is a partnership between the APS and AAPT that is dedicated to improving and promoting the education of high school physics teachers. Primarily funded by the NSF and its partnering organizations, PhysTEC has identified key components that are common to successful physics teacher preparation programs. While creating a successful training program in physics, it is also important that students have the opportunity for a ``do-able'' path to certification that does not add further financial debt. This talk will present an overview of ``what works'' in creating a path for physics majors to a high school physics teaching career, actions and activities that help train and inspire pre-service physics teachers, and frameworks that provide the support for in-service teachers. Obstacles to certification and the importance of a strong partnership with colleges of education will be discussed. Several examples of successful physics high school teacher preparation programs will be presented. This material is part of the Physics Teacher Education Coalition project, which is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. 0808790, 0108787, and 0833210.

Finnish Cooperating Physics Teachers' Conceptions of Physics Teachers' Teacher Knowledge

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Asikainen, Mervi A.; Hirvonen, Pekka E.

2010-01-01

This article examines Finnish cooperating physics teachers' conceptions of teacher knowledge in physics. Six experienced teachers were interviewed. The data was analyzed to form categories concerning the basis of teacher knowledge, and the tradition of German Didaktik and Shulman's theory of teacher knowledge were used in order to understand the…

Preparing Science Teachers for the future

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Fredrick

2002-04-01

What will teachers need in the future to be successful? What will "successful" mean in the future? Are the teaching approaches learned 40 years ago still relevant for tomorrow's classrooms? Will technology really change the way physics is taught (K-16)? Will we close the performance gap between students of differing ethnicity? Are schools of education rising to the challenge to answer these questions? Can college and university physics departments rise to the challenge of presenting physics to all students in an engaging manner? What can the APS, in partnership with AAPT and AIP, do to find the answers and provide strategies to improve the science preparation of future teachers? PhysTEC aims to help physics and education faculty work together to provide an education for future teachers that emphasizes a student-centered, hands-on, inquiry-based approach to learning science. The compelling evidence produced from Physics Education Research warrants this approach. A National Science Foundation grant of 5.76 million and a 498 thousand grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education support PhysTEC, its partners and activities. http://www.phystec.org/

Physical Education Student Teachers' Technology Integration Self-Efficacy

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Krause, Jennifer M.

2017-01-01

Pre- and in-service physical education teachers have evaluated themselves as not being very well prepared or proficient in technology use. Thus, better preparation of PE teachers to integrate technology is necessary. In this study, I examined the effects of technology-related mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, and social persuasion on…

Summer Institute for Physical Science Teachers

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Maheswaranathan, Ponn; Calloway, Cliff

2007-04-01

A summer institute for physical science teachers was conducted at Winthrop University, June 19-29, 2006. Ninth grade physical science teachers at schools within a 50-mile radius from Winthrop were targeted. We developed a graduate level physics professional development course covering selected topics from both the physics and chemistry content areas of the South Carolina Science Standards. Delivery of the material included traditional lectures and the following new approaches in science teaching: hands-on experiments, group activities, computer based data collection, computer modeling, with group discussions & presentations. Two experienced master teachers assisted us during the delivery of the course. The institute was funded by the South Carolina Department of Education. The requested funds were used for the following: faculty salaries, the University contract course fee, some of the participants' room and board, startup equipment for each teacher, and indirect costs to Winthrop University. Startup equipment included a Pasco stand-alone, portable Xplorer GLX interface with sensors (temperature, voltage, pH, pressure, motion, and sound), and modeling software (Wavefunction's Spartan Student and Odyssey). What we learned and ideas for future K-12 teacher preparation initiatives will be presented.

More and Better Prepared Teachers, More and Better Prepared Majors

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Gay

2010-02-01

A more scientifically literate society benefits physics as a profession. It is best realized by better serving all undergraduate physics students. Arguably, the most important are future K-12 teachers. In better serving all students, the department also benefits. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville has seen a drastic change in number of majors, the number of students active in research and the number of graduates pursuing graduate work while also increasing the number of majors who decide to teach. Building these numbers and strengthening these resources at Arkansas began with an NSF course revision project, grew as a we became primary program institution in the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (www.PTEC.org), received a Noyce Scholarship grant, and now continues in our building of an NSF Math Science Partnership utilizing our experiences coupled with PTRA materials, and expanding our efforts to Mathematics. Through APLU's SMTI, we are making changes in chemistry as well. These efforts will be discussed, with additional information on PTEC which is bringing together innovative ideas and practices throughout the country to help meet the critical shortage of well prepared and actively supported teachers. )

Psychological and physical features of teachers' labour activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kolumbet A.N.

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose of work - to educe professionally important physical internalss, personal properties and requirements to motive preparedness of teachers. It is set that implementation of professional duties requires from teachers of high schools of display of general endurance, force of muscles of back, neck, stomach and hands (especially brushes. It allows to count the indicated internalss professionally important. The terms of enhanceable nervously - emotional excitation foresee requirements to adaptation possibilities of workers, their psychical firmness and physical capacity. It is necessary to distinguish from a number psychophysical functions attention (distribution, volume, memory, even temper, communicability and firmness to stresses. It is set that insufficient physical preparedness of teachers straight influences on fatigueability in the process of work. It is educed, that most teachers see a benefit in the specialized physical preparation of students to the future profession.

Innovative Noyce Program for Preparing High School Physics Teachers.

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Hagedorn, Eric; Kosheleva, Olga; Wagler, Amy; Wagler, Ron

2011-10-01

The ``Robert Noyce Scholarships for Teaching Miners'' program at the University of Texas at El Paso currently consists of 14 mathematics majors minoring in secondary education, most of whom are preparing for the Mathematics-Physics Certification. From the time of their selection (junior year), till after they begin teaching, participants in this program will have financial support consisting of a 10,000 per year scholarship during the last two years in college. Programmatic support during these two years consists of four, half-day workshops emphasizing: 1) inquiry-based teaching, 2) mathematics & science integration, and 3) actual inquiry in the form of a senior research project. The workshops are facilitated by a team of university faculty and school district partners (EPISD and YISD). These district partners help with the workshops, but also mentor the scholars when placed at their classroom observation and student teacher sites. Once the scholars graduate and receive certification, they will experience unique induction year support: being hired in pairs or small groups and placed together in the same school. This placement with classmates combined with the mentoring of the same district personnel with whom they are familiar is hypothesized to be uniquely effective.

Preparing perservice teachers to teach elementary school science

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Amy D.

The development of scientifically literate citizens begins in the elementary school. Yet elementary school teachers are ill prepared to teach science (Trygstad, Smith, Banilower, Nelson, & Horizon Research, Inc., 2013). The research base on teacher preparation finds that programs designed to prepare elementary teachers are inadequate in providing both the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge necessary to teach science effectively (Baumgartner, 2010; Bodzin & Beerer, 2003; Bulunuz & Jarrett 2009). This mixed methods study examined what happened when a science methods course was interactively co-taught by an expert in elementary teaching methods and a physics expert. This study also aimed to discover what aspects of the curriculum pre-service teachers (PSTs) said helped them in developing their understanding of science content and scientific reasoning, and how to implement inquiry practices to teach science. A nested case study of three PSTs provided descriptive portraits of student experiences in the class. A whole class case analysis was used to examine what PSTs learned in terms of science, scientific reasoning skills, and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) from their experiences in the course. It was found that students often conflated science content with the experiences they had in learning the content. Although PSTs felt the interactive co-teaching model effectively created a balance between theory and practice, it was their experiences doing science--conducting physical experiments, developing and discussing scientific models, and the use of inquiry-based instruction--that they credited for their learning. Even with careful curriculum planning, and a course purposely designed to bridge the theory to practice gap, this study found one semester-long methods course to be insufficient in providing the vast content knowledge and PCK elementary school science teachers need.

Pre-service teachers' metaphorical perceptions of "physics" as a concept

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Aykutlu, Isil; Bayrak, Celal; Bezen, Sevim

2018-02-01

In this study, the aim is to reveal pre-service biology, chemistry and mathematics teachers' metaphorical perceptions for physics. This study was patterned by employing phenomenology, which is one of the qualitative research methods. Sampling of the study consists of 90 pre-service teachers enrolled at the departments of biology, chemistry, and mathematics education at the faculty of education of a state university in Ankara. A metaphor form was prepared to determine pre-service teachers' mental metaphors for the physics concept. Then, it was determined that a total of 80 pre-service teachers generated 34 different metaphors for physics concept. As a result of the study, 34 metaphors generated by pre-service teachers for "physics" concept were gathered under seven different categories. Also, it was determined that pre-service teachers express most frequently "life" (26,25%) and "a difficult to solve problem"(21,25%) which take place in conceptual categories.

Tracking the Career Paths of Physics Teachers in Texas

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Mount, Jennifer; Marshall, Jill; Fuller, Edward

2013-10-01

In Texas, and some other states, there is a documented shortage of physics teachers, in terms of both number and qualifications. The shortage in Texas is due as much to teachers leaving the field (attrition) as to a lack of teachers entering. There are efforts under way to prepare more and better-qualified physics teachers who will stay in the field longer,2 but increasing the overall supply and retention will not necessarily address localized teacher shortages. To investigate this issue, we obtained a database cataloging every teacher who taught science in Texas public schools from 2003 to 2008, indicating the school where they taught during each of those years, the subjects they taught, and their route to certification. This allowed us to track not only teachers entering and leaving the public school system, but also migration between schools within the system. We found that migration poses a much bigger problem than attrition for some schools. We also found patterns in the movement of physics teachers in Texas that we would not necessarily have predicted and that varied substantially depending on certification.

Teacher Educators' Views on Inclusive Education and Teacher Preparation in Ghana

Science.gov (United States)

Nketsia, William; Saloviita, Timo; Gyimah, Emmanuel Kofi

2016-01-01

The crucial role of initial teacher education programmes and teacher educators in preparing effective inclusive practitioners has been universally acknowledged. This study explored the attitudes of 125 teacher educators from four colleges of education towards inclusive education, their views and concerns about teacher preparation and the…

PhysicsTeachers@CERN2005

CERN Multimedia

Maximilien Brice

2005-01-01

PhysicsTeachers@CERN is a three day conference for high school teachers. It is a great opportunity to meet colleagues from other countries and keep up-to-date with today's physics. The conference is designed to provide a valuable experience for high school physics teachers and give them new insights into contemporary particle physics. The conference is open to physics teachers from all CERN member states.

PETE Faculty Beliefs Concerning the Preparation of Preservice Teachers for CSPAP Roles: An Exploratory Study

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Webster, Collin A.; Russ, Laura; Webster, Liana; Molina, Sergio; Lee, Hee Su; Cribbs, Jason

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived effectiveness and attitudes of physical education teacher education (PETE) faculty concerning the preparation of preservice teachers for Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) roles. Faculty (N = 175) responded to an electronic survey assessing perceived effectiveness and…

Physics Teacher Preparation as a Means for Growth

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Ron

2013-03-01

Physics departments across the country are experiencing pressures to increase the number of graduates. One response is to improve marketing and recruiting efforts to add students to existing pipelines. A more innovative approach is to create new pathways tied to career paths that are alternatives to graduate school. One occupation that currently needs more graduates than physics departments are supplying is physics teaching. About 3 years ago, MTSU began implementing a strategy to prepare physics majors for careers in high school teaching. These efforts included developing coursework specifically related to physics teaching, creating relationships with the college of education, moving to pedagogies that reflect physics education research (PER)-validated best practices, hiring a tenure-track PER expert, implementing new ways to reach potential majors, and seeking external funding. The cumulative result has not only added a number of physics teaching majors to our roles, but has affected our existing programs in a manner that has yielded further growth. Support provided by the APS/AAPT PhysTEC project.

All In: Teachers' and College Faculty's Roles in Recruiting Future Physical Educators

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Amelia Mays; Richards, K. Andrew R.; Ayers, Suzan F.

2016-01-01

A 10-year trend of nationwide decreases in teacher preparation enrollments has been notable in physical education teacher education (PETE) programs. Many factors have been offered as an explanation for this drop, including the convenience of online options, a strained economy, political factors, and widespread "teacher bashing." This…

Influence of Teacher Preparation Programmes on Preservice Teachers' Attitudes toward Inclusion

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ji-Ryun

2011-01-01

With the increased implementation of inclusive education, teacher educators have been challenged to make changes in programmes to prepare preservice teachers to educate diverse learners. These changes are reflected in various types of teacher preparation programmes that are transformations of traditional general education and special education…

Teacher Educators’ Views on Inclusive Education and Teacher Preparation in Ghana

OpenAIRE

Nketsia, William; Saloviita, Timo; Gyimah, Emmanuel Kofi

2016-01-01

The crucial role of initial teacher education programmes and teacher educators in preparing effective inclusive practitioners has been universally acknowledged. This study explored the attitudes of 125 teacher educators from four colleges of education towards inclusive education, their views and concerns about teacher preparation and the implementation of inclusive education in Ghana. The study found positive attitudes and considerable support for inclusive education. However, ...

Teachers' and Students' Perceptions of Effective Physics Teacher Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Korur, Fikret; Eryilmaz, Ali

2012-01-01

Problem Statement: What do teachers and students in Turkey perceive as the common characteristics of effective physics teachers? Purpose of Study: The first aim was to investigate the common characteristics of effective physics teachers by asking students and teachers about the effects of teacher characteristics on student physics achievement and…

Job Satisfaction of a Physical Education Teacher as Seen by School Community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rutkowska Katarzyna

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In A high level of satisfaction with a job influences the effectiveness and increases the quality of performed tasks. In the case of physical education teachers it is connected not only with a higher commitment to passing knowledge and skills but also with instilling passion in their students. The aim of the study was to analyse how school community perceives job satisfaction of physical education teachers. The research included 148 teachers and 171 students who were divided into three groups by means of random-purposive sampling. The groups were as follows: physical education teachers (n=22, teachers of other subjects (n=22 and students (n=22. The results obtained from these respondents (n=66 were subjected to further analysis. In the study a modified Polish version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS prepared by Juczyński (2001 was used. It made it possible to diagnose the job satisfaction of physical education teachers. The analyses revealed that the subjects assess the job satisfaction of a physical education teacher at an average or low level. This assessment showed significant differences between physical education teachers and teachers of other subjects. The study also revealed differences between groups with regard to two out of five scores in the SWLS.

Primary Physical Education (PE): School Leader Perceptions about Classroom Teacher Quality Implementation

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, Timothy; Soukup, Gregory J., Sr.

2017-01-01

Quality physical education (QPE) in primary school optimises children's well-being. However, international research indicates that the preparation of classroom teachers is impeded by systemic barriers, resulting in low-classroom teacher confidence, competence and subsequent interest. This empirical research investigates school principal…

Should We Extend Teacher Preparation?

Science.gov (United States)

Hawley, Willis D.

1989-01-01

Discusses the implications of five-year teacher preparation programs. Argues that different strategies and curricula should be tested and evaluated before mandating major system-wide changes in teacher certification requirements. (FMW)

Unraveling Gender Bias from Student Evaluations of their High School Physics Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Hazari, Zahra; Potvin, Geoff; Tai, Robert; Sadler, Philip

2009-05-01

In this talk, the evaluation of high school physics, chemistry, and biology teachers by their students is examined according to the gender of the student and the gender of the teacher. Female teachers are rated significantly lower than male teachers by male students in all three disciplines, while female students under-rate female teachers only in physics. Interestingly, physics is also the field that suffers the greatest lack of females and has been criticized most for its androcentric culture. The gender bias in teacher ratings persists even after accounting for academic performance, classroom experiences, and family support. Further, male and female teachers in each discipline appear equally effective at preparing their students for future science study in college, suggesting that students have a discipline-specific gender bias. Such a bias may negatively impact female students and contribute to the loss of females in STEM fields.

Physics Teacher Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Andrew; Bixler, David

2010-03-01

Physics Teacher Quality at Angelo State University (ASU) and Education Service Center Region XV is funded through a US Department of Education grant. In this program secondary science teachers from local and rural districts within Region XV learn and practice physics and principles of technology concepts emphasized in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), improve practice of 5E model of guided inquiry, and complete activity-based laboratories and field investigations. Investigations include field and laboratory safety, environmental responsibility, ethical practices, application of scientific methods to open-ended problems encountered in the physical sciences, and critical thinking and problem solving. Teachers are assessed through pre- and post- testing, lab practicum, and classroom observation over a two-year cycle. Assessment data from 2004 through 2008 indicates Physics Teacher Quality is changing teaching behavior in the secondary classroom.

Physics Teachers' Future Teaching Plans

Science.gov (United States)

Physics Teacher, 2012

2012-01-01

There are two sides of the physics teacher turnover equation: teachers leaving and teachers entering. This month we will focus on teachers' future teaching plans. As seen in the figure, about 5% of the 27,000 teachers who taught physics in U.S. high schools in 2008-09 were in their first year of teaching physics (but not necessarily their first…

Preparing Teachers for Anti-oppressive Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baber, Sikunder Ali

2004-01-01

While theories and recommendations continue to proliferate in the educational research literature on what it means to teach towards social justice and to prepare teachers for such teaching, so do concerns that these theories and recommendations fail to account for the ways that the contexts...... of teaching cultural contexts, national contexts, political contexts always affect teaching in idiosyncratic, unpredictable and even contradictory ways. Given that much educational research fails to trouble the US-centric nature of prevailing conceptions of social justice and teacher education......, it is important to learn about the unique as well as shared challenges facing teacher educators around the globe. In this article, teacher educators from Asia, Africa, North America and South America offer a sampling of initiatives in anti-oppressive teacher education; that is, initiatives to prepare teachers...

The Impact of Supply and Demand on Doctorates in Physical Education Teacher Education: The Future of the Profession

Science.gov (United States)

Boyce, Barbara Ann; Lund, Jackie; O'Neil, Kason

2016-01-01

Quality preparation of doctoral students is a key to the survival of physical education teacher education. Past research has revealed a shortage of students graduating with a doctoral degree in physical education and a general reluctance of teachers to leave their jobs to pursue an advanced degree. As the number of universities preparing new…

Raising the Bar: Aligning and Elevating Teacher Preparation and the Teaching Profession. A Report of the American Federation of Teachers Teacher Preparation Task Force

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American Federation of Teachers (NJ), 2012

2012-01-01

The American Federation of Teachers Teacher Preparation Task Force was established to examine the research on what works and what does not work in the field of teacher preparation as a basis for making policy recommendations. Just as important, the task force considered how best to implement such policy recommendations in a way that takes into…

Preservice and Inservice Teachers' Challenges in the Planning of Practical Work in Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Nivalainen, Ville; Asikainen, Mervi A.; Sormunen, Kari; Hirvonen, Pekka E.

2010-06-01

Practical work in school science plays many essential roles that have been discussed in the literature. However, less attention has been paid to how teachers learn the different roles of practical work and to the kind of challenges they face in their learning during laboratory courses designed for teachers. In the present study we applied the principles of grounded theory to frame a set of factors that seem to set major challenges concerning both successful work in the school physics laboratory and also in the preparation of lessons that exploit practical work. The subject groups of the study were preservice and inservice physics teachers who participated in a school laboratory course. Our results derived from a detailed analysis of tutoring discussions between the instructor and the participants in the course, which revealed that the challenges in practical or laboratory work consisted of the limitations of the laboratory facilities, an insufficient knowledge of physics, problems in understanding instructional approaches, and the general organization of practical work. Based on these findings, we present our recommendations on the preparation of preservice and inservice teachers for the more effective use of practical work in school science and in school physics.

Preparing Globally Competent Teachers: Indo-German Perspectives on Teacher Training

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Darji, Brijesh B.; Lang-Wojtasik, Gregor

2014-01-01

Globalization has an immense effect on education. Education relies on the teacher and the process by which teachers are developed. In this context, the expectations of teacher role and options for teacher preparation today have key roles to play in educating children to become responsible citizens of increasingly multicultural societies and active…

Optimization of professional preparation of future teacher of physical culture in informatively-educational space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragnev Y. V.

2012-06-01

Full Text Available It is marked that reformation of higher education is an objective necessity. It is marked that the educational system of Ukraine answers the new requirements of informative society not fully. It is certain that optimization of professional education of future teacher of physical culture must be characterized the choice of the most favourable variant of terms and teaching facilities. It is set that transitions within the limits of one informative space have an influence on professional development of future teacher during his studies. The followings terms of optimization of professional education of teacher are selected: system use of active and interactive methods; bringing in to the advanced study; the increase of role is informative of communication technologies in an educational process. The concordance of maintenance of curriculum of education of teachers of physical culture with the programs of education of the European countries and standardization is recommended them within the limits of Ukraine.

Analysis of Praxis physics subject assessment examinees and performance: Who are our prospective physics teachers?

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Shah, Lisa; Hao, Jie; Rodriguez, Christian A.; Fallin, Rebekah; Linenberger-Cortes, Kimberly; Ray, Herman E.; Rushton, Gregory T.

2018-06-01

A generally agreed upon tenant of the physics teaching community is the centrality of subject-specific expertise in effective teaching. However, studies which assess the content knowledge of incoming K-12 physics teachers in the U.S. have not yet been reported. Similarly lacking are studies on if or how the demographic makeup of aspiring physics educators is different from previously reported analyses of the actual high school physics teaching workforce. Here we present findings about the demographics and subject knowledge of prospective high school physics teachers using data from Praxis physics subject assessments administered between 2006 and 2016. Our analysis reveals significant variations in exam participation and performance between men and women, as well as those with different undergraduate majors and academic performance over the past decade. Findings from this work inform understandings and decisions about the quality, recruitment, and preparation of the high school physics teaching workforce.

A Collaboration between University and High School in Preparing Physics Teachers: Chicago State University's Teacher Immersion Institute

Science.gov (United States)

Sabella, Mel S.; Van Duzor, Andrea G.; Passehl, Jennie; Weisenburger, Kara

2012-01-01

Because of the diverse character of colleges and universities throughout the United States, it is naive to believe that a one-size-fits-all model of teacher preparation aligns with specific resources and student population needs. Exploring innovative models that challenge traditional programs is now being encouraged by organizations such as the…

Preparation Model of Student Teacher Candidate in Developing Integrative Science Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Wiyanto; Widiyatmoko, Arif

2016-01-01

According to 2013 Curriculum in Indonesia, science learning process in Junior High School is integrally held between physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science. To successfully implementing the 2013 Curriculum in school, the education institution which generates science teacher should prepare the student, so that they can develop integrative…

Mentoring as a Profession-Building Process in Physical Education Teacher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Fiona C.; Armour, Kathleen; Luttrell, Sinead; Bleakley, Walter; Brennan, Deirdre; Herold, Frank

2012-01-01

This paper describes the findings of a one-year collaborative research project funded by the Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS). The paper is derived from a Short Report on this study prepared for SCoTENS on 16th May 2012. The study examined the role of physical education (PE) teachers as mentors to new members of…

Preparing teachers for ambitious and culturally responsive science teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Seiler, Gale

2013-03-01

Communities, schools and classrooms across North America are becoming more ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse, particularly in urban areas. Against this backdrop, underrepresentation of certain groups in science continues. Much attention has been devoted to multicultural education and the preparation of teachers for student diversity. In science education, much research has focused on classrooms as cultural spaces and the need for teachers to value and build upon students' everyday science knowledge and ways of sense-making. However it remains unclear how best to prepare science teachers for this kind of culturally responsive teaching. In attempting to envision how to prepare science teachers with cross-cultural competency, we can draw from a parallel line of research on preparing teachers for ambitious science instruction. In ambitious science instruction, students solve authentic problems and generate evidence and models to develop explanations of scientific phenomenon, an approach that necessitates great attention to students' thinking and sense-making, thus making it applicable to cultural relevance aims. In addition, this line of research on teacher preparation has developed specific tools and engages teachers in cycles of reflection and rehearsal as they develop instructional skills. While not addressing cross-cultural teaching specifically, this research provides insights into specific ways through which to prepare teachers for culturally responsive practices. In my presentation, I will report on efforts to join these two areas of research, that is, to combine ideas about multicultural science teacher preparation with what has been learned about how to develop ambitious science instruction. This research suggests a new model for urban science teacher preparation--one that focuses on developing specific teaching practices that elicit and build on student thinking, and doing so through cycles of individual and collective planning, rehearsal

Preparing Elementary Prospective Teachers to Teach Early Algebra

Science.gov (United States)

Hohensee, Charles

2017-01-01

Researchers have argued that integrating early algebra into elementary grades will better prepare students for algebra. However, currently little research exists to guide teacher preparation programs on how to prepare prospective elementary teachers to teach early algebra. This study examines the insights and challenges that prospective teachers…

Peter Effect in the Preparation of Reading Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Binks-Cantrell, Emily; Washburn, Erin K.; Joshi, R. Malatesha; Hougen, Martha

2012-01-01

The Peter Effect (Applegate & Applegate, 2004) claimed that one cannot be expected to give what one does not possess. We applied this notion to reading teacher preparation and hypothesized that teacher educators who do not possess an understanding of basic language constructs would not prepare teacher candidates with an understanding of these…

Expanding Science Teacher Preparation: the Role of External Funding

Science.gov (United States)

Lindberg, John M.; Vokos, S.; Seeley, L.; Close, E.

2006-12-01

The Department of Physics and the School of Education at Seattle Pacific University are in the early stages of expanding the scope and reach of our science teacher preparation. We will describe how we are putting the puzzle together and our results to date. * Supported in part by NSF grant #ESI-0455796, NSF grant # DUE-0630460, NSF grant DUE-0310583, The Boeing Corporation, PhysTec and the SPU Science Initiative.

Support for New Physics Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Adrian, Brian W.; Zollman, D.; Stevens, S.

2006-12-01

Teachers of physics can often lack the type of support they desperately need. The Physics Teaching Web Advisory (Pathway) is a dynamic digital library for physics teaching that is designed to offer such support. Carnegie Mellon University’s synthetic interview technology provides the foundation for a system that allows physics teachers to ask questions of a virtual mentor and get video responses. A log of the questions asked of our system provides a rich database of information about just what types of support teachers are requesting. This talk will present a summary of the common types of questions teachers ask. Such information is valuable as we design support systems for physics teachers, both new and experienced. In addition, recent progress and developments will be discussed. Supported by NSF grant numbers DUE-0226157, DUE-0226219, ESI-0455772 & ESI-0455813

Teachers' voices: A comparison of two secondary science teacher preparation programs

Science.gov (United States)

Kohlhaas Labuda, Kathryn

This dissertation, using cross-case qualitative methodology, investigates the salient and latent features of two philosophically different university-based secondary science teacher preparation programs. Written documents from the two programs and from the Salish I Research project provided the salient data. New teachers' interview transcripts provided the latent data. This study provides the opportunity to hear teachers voice their perceptions of preparation programs. Three questions were investigated in this research study. First, What are the salient features of two different secondary science teacher preparation programs? Second, What are the latent features of two different secondary science teacher programs as perceived by new teachers? Third, How do new secondary science teachers from different programs perceive their preservice programs? The last question incorporates teachers' perceptions of gaps and coherence in the programs and teachers' recommendations to improve their preservice programs. Salient features of the programs revealed differences in the types of certification, and the amounts and types of required course work. Both programs certified teachers at the secondary science level, but only M program certified their teachers as elementary science specialists. Program M required more semester hours of education and science course work than Program S. Although teachers from both programs perceived little coherence between their science and education courses, S-teachers presented a more fragmented picture of their education program and perceived fewer benefits from the program. Lack of relevance and courses that focused on elementary teaching were perceived as part of the problem. M-teachers perceived some cohesion through the use of cohorts in three consecutive semesters of science methods courses that provided multiple field experiences prior to student teaching. S-teachers did not perceive an organized philosophy of their program. M-teachers

Use of information technologies in the process of professional preparation of future teacher of physical culture as pre-condition of professional development in the conditions of informatization of higher education.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragnev Y.V.

2011-04-01

Full Text Available It is marked that exactly application of information technologies in professional preparation must answer the modern world standards of professional development of future teacher of physical culture in the conditions of informatively-educational space. Specified, that presently in connection with sound changes in higher athletic education, which take place in sew on to the country, questions, related to professional self-determination of personality of future teacher of physical culture, rise; ways are determined by his self-realization in future professional activity.

Duncan Cites Shortcomings of Teacher Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Sawchuk, Stephen

2009-01-01

In what had been billed as a major speech on teacher education, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan last week reiterated concerns about the quality of the schools that produce a majority of the nation's teachers. But some observers said that by praising several new teacher-preparation initiatives, he struck a more conciliatory tone toward the…

Teachers' Basic Knowledge of Reading Instruction: Insights from a Teacher Preparation Program

Science.gov (United States)

Berkeley, Sheri; Regan, Kelley; Dimitrov, Dimiter; Guckert, Mary; Ray, Sharon

2016-01-01

Effective reading instruction is essential for all students, and especially students with disabilities; however, studies have indicated that both pre-service and in-service teachers lack an adequate knowledge of reading. To ensure adequate teacher knowledge, teacher preparation reform advocates suggest purposeful alignment of teacher preparation…

Teachers' approaches to teaching physics

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-01

Benjamin Franklin said, "Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I remember. Involve me, and I learn." He would not be surprised to learn that research in physics pedagogy has consistently shown that the traditional lecture is the least effective teaching method for teaching physics. We asked high school physics teachers which teaching activities they used in their classrooms. While almost all teachers still lecture sometimes, two-thirds use something other than lecture most of the time. The five most often-used activities are shown in the table below. In the January issue, we will look at the 2013 Nationwide Survey of High School Physics teachers. Susan White is Research Manager in the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics; she directs the Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers. If you have any questions, please contact Susan at swhite@aip.org.

Preparation of student teachers for multicultural classrooms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Karen Bjerg

2017-01-01

indicate that teachers are in need of professional training to better prepare them for working in multicultural and multilingual classroom settings. The aim of this article is to briefly investigate how curriculum in the 2013 reform of Danish teacher education suggests that student teachers address...

Influences of Teacher Preparation Program on Preservice Science Teachers' Beliefs

Science.gov (United States)

Nuangchalerm, Prasart; Prachagool, Veena

2010-01-01

Teacher preparation program is routinely make decisions regarding the best pedagogical methods from field experience studies, it can alter students' understandings about academic content and some characteristics through professional practices. This study tries to investigate the extent to which individuals learning to be teachers feel what…

Organizing physics teacher professional education around productive habit development: A way to meet reform challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Etkina, Eugenia; Gregorcic, Bor; Vokos, Stamatis

2017-06-01

Extant literature on teacher preparation suggests that preservice teachers learn best when they are immersed in a community that allows them to develop dispositions, knowledge, and practical skills and share with the community a strong vision of what good teaching entails. However, even if the requisite dispositions, knowledge, and skills in pursuing the shared vision of good teaching are developed, the professional demands on a teacher's time are so great out of, and so complex during class time that if every decision requires multiple considerations and deliberations with oneself, the productive decisions might not materialize. We argue that the link between intentional decision making and actual teaching practice are teacher's habits (spontaneous responses to situational cues). Teachers unavoidably develop habits with practical experience and under the influence of knowledge and belief structures that in many ways condition the responses of teachers in their practical work. To steer new teachers away from developing unproductive habits directed towards "survival" instead of student learning, we propose that teacher preparation programs (e.g., in physics) strive to develop in preservice teachers strong habits of mind and practice that will serve as an underlying support structure for beginning teachers. We provide examples of physics teacher habits that are to be developed during the program, propose mechanisms for the development of such habits, and outline possible future research agendas around habits.

Special Education Teacher Preparation in Singapore's Dual Education System

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Zachary

2016-01-01

Global comparisons of teacher education programs should start with an understanding of the school systems that teachers are being prepared for in their local contexts. The purpose of this article is to describe Singapore's dual education system as well as teacher preparation in a country that educates many students with disabilities in a separate…

Multicultural Education: Teachers' Perceptions and Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Alismail, Halah Ahmed

2016-01-01

This paper focuses on theory and practice in multicultural education as it pertains to the preparation of preservice teachers. The literature reviews the history and definition of multiculturalism and investigates multiple theoretical frameworks around the ongoing debate and issues of multicultural education. Teachers' perceptions of multicultural…

Physics Teachers Programme or how to bring modern physics to school

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

A new programme for teachers took place last weekend at CERN. Fifty high school teachers sacrificed their weekend and plunged into CERN physics to find new inspirations for exciting physics lessons.   The fifty participants in the Physics Teachers programme in the Microcosm garden. High school students are often convinced that physics is a boring and useless subject, and physics teachers have a hard time presenting interesting lessons. To help them, CERN has inaugurated the Physics Teachers Programme, whose goal is to present CERN and its activities, so that teachers can get an idea of what kind of physics research is going on at the frontier of science. 'Our philosophy is to show them today what they will read in textbooks of the future', says Antonella Del Rosso, responsible for this course, 'so that they can inspire their pupils'. This programme can be considered the younger brother of the High School Teachers Programme, since it has a similar aim, but instead of being three-weeks long, it las...

Preparing Teachers to Teach Digital Citizenship

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Searson, Michael; Voogt, Joke; Whittier, David; Plants, Robert; Gibson, David; Sutton, Bonnie; Ochoa, Marilyn; Sutton, Vic; McBride, Ron; Searson, Michael

2013-01-01

A team of SITE leaders was awarded a highly competitive “Digital Citizenship Award” from Facebook to explore the role of digital citizenship in teacher education. The focus of the SITE “Preparing Teachers to Teach Digital Citizenship” project is the development of a college based course, available

Teachers' Preparation Needs for Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Barcus C.

2013-01-01

School districts across the country are charged with preparing the next generation for competing in a global economy and have spent billions of dollars on technology acquisition and Internet use. However, teachers do not feel prepared to integrate technology in the classroom. To prepare teachers for technology integration, the most common approach…

Physics Teacher SOS: Supporting New Teachers without Pushing an Agenda

Science.gov (United States)

Baird, Dean

2013-01-01

Few workshops for teachers focus primarily on instruction methods for basic high school physics. In Northern California, Physics Teacher SOS (PTSOS) has gained popularity doing just that. PTSOS workshops are directed toward early-career science teachers, though veterans are welcome too. The program is not influenced by scientific supply companies,…

Organizing physics teacher professional education around productive habit development: A way to meet reform challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugenia Etkina

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Extant literature on teacher preparation suggests that preservice teachers learn best when they are immersed in a community that allows them to develop dispositions, knowledge, and practical skills and share with the community a strong vision of what good teaching entails. However, even if the requisite dispositions, knowledge, and skills in pursuing the shared vision of good teaching are developed, the professional demands on a teacher’s time are so great out of, and so complex during class time that if every decision requires multiple considerations and deliberations with oneself, the productive decisions might not materialize. We argue that the link between intentional decision making and actual teaching practice are teacher’s habits (spontaneous responses to situational cues. Teachers unavoidably develop habits with practical experience and under the influence of knowledge and belief structures that in many ways condition the responses of teachers in their practical work. To steer new teachers away from developing unproductive habits directed towards “survival” instead of student learning, we propose that teacher preparation programs (e.g., in physics strive to develop in preservice teachers strong habits of mind and practice that will serve as an underlying support structure for beginning teachers. We provide examples of physics teacher habits that are to be developed during the program, propose mechanisms for the development of such habits, and outline possible future research agendas around habits.

Physical Education Teacher Change: Initial Validation of the Teacher Change Questionnaire-Physical Education

Science.gov (United States)

Kern, Ben D.; Graber, Kim C.

2017-01-01

Program satisfaction, self-efficacy to change, and willingness to change, are dispositions that influence physical education teacher change. The study purpose was to validate an instrument measuring program satisfaction, self-efficacy to change, and willingness to change relative to teachers' likelihood to change. A 15-item Teacher Change…

Special Education Teacher Transition-Related Competencies and Preparation in Saudi Arabia

Science.gov (United States)

Alnahdi, Ghaleb

2014-01-01

Preparing special education teachers to engage in transition services is a critical part of their preparation. This study examined how special education teachers perceive their preparation for transition services in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 350 teachers participated in this study. Data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA. The findings…

Learning to Teach a Blended Course in a Teacher Preparation Program

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Jung Jin

2014-01-01

Teacher preparation programs have provided blended courses (a combination of online and face-to-face learning) for their students because of their availability and their convenience. Researchers need to understand how teacher educators perceive blended courses when they teach teacher candidates, because teacher preparation programs have different…

Empathy Research and Teacher Preparation: Benefits and Obstacles

Science.gov (United States)

Bouton, Bobette

2016-01-01

Teacher preparation is critical in cultivating good teachers, but more importantly in helping teachers learn how to meet the academic and emotional needs of preK-12 students. Teaching and training the socio-emotional trait of empathy is an important skill for pre-service teachers to develop. However, due to the multiple definitions, fields of…

Preparation of Social Studies Teachers at Major Research Universities.

Science.gov (United States)

Dumas, Wayne

1993-01-01

Reports on a study of the preparation of secondary social studies teachers at major state-supported research universities. Finds relatively few institutions have followed the Holmes Group recommendations and many continue to prepare broad field social studies teachers leaving them deficient in some social science fields. (CFR)

Supervision in Physical Education Teacher Education Programs: Making the Case for Paired Placements

Science.gov (United States)

Heidorn, Brent; Jenkins, Deborah Bainer

2015-01-01

Many student teaching experiences in physical education teacher education programs face challenges related to supervision and realistic preparation for the workplace. This article suggests paired placements as a model for effective supervision and increased collaboration during the student teaching internship.

Changes in teacher efficacy and beliefs during a one-year teacher preparation program

Science.gov (United States)

Lockman, Alison Schirmer

This study attempted to further understanding of factors affecting the teacher efficacy beliefs of secondary science preservice teachers, and to develop a model relating teacher efficacy to beliefs about teaching and students. A mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology was utilized in order to track participants' beliefs both broadly and in depth throughout a one-year teacher preparation program. Results from this analysis revealed that preservice teachers at the end of the program had significantly higher personal science teaching efficacy beliefs than at the beginning of the program. No significant difference in science teaching outcome expectancy beliefs was found, although individual preservice teachers did develop alternate beliefs. Teacher efficacy beliefs were directly affected by three of Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy beliefs---Mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, and verbal persuasion---with the influence of each source of self-efficacy information appearing to change during the course of the teacher preparation program. No evidence was found that affective states by themselves had resulted in belief changes, although many of the other experiences were more powerful because they were accompanied by an emotional incident. Connections between teacher efficacy beliefs, beliefs about students, and beliefs about teaching were uncovered, as was the importance of content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge on a teacher's sense of efficacy.

Views of Physics Teachers on the Need to Train and Retrain Physics ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Teacher education is an important enterprise because no education can rise above the quality of its teachers. The number of physics teachers is not as desired in Nigerian secondary schools. Many schools do not have physics teachers (Omosewo and Salami, 2002). For this reason, teachers that were teaching integrated ...

A Different Kind of Kid, a Different Kind of Teacher Education: Middle Grades Teachers Reflect on Their Preparation to Teach Young Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Ochanji, Moses K.; Chen, Rong-Ji; Daniels, Erika; Deringer, Marlene L.; McDaniel, Janet; Stowell, Laurie; Cambra-Adamson, Christina

2016-01-01

Good teaching at the middle grades comes out of a deep understanding of the unique cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and moral needs of young adolescents. Specialized preparation therefore is necessary to help teacher candidates understand how to operationalize the intersection of young adolescent development and the effective pedagogy that…

Physical Education Teachers' Organizational Commitment

Science.gov (United States)

Demir, Hayri

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine physical education teachers' organizational commitment levels. The sample consisted of 204 physical education teachers working in the city center of Konya in the 2011 to 2012 academic year. The respondents were randomly selected in this research. Data collected for this research by using the Scale for…

Teacher Preparation for Early Childhood: Special Education in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Hua-Kuo

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is intended to present the current model of teacher preparation for early childhood special education in Taiwan. Documentary analysis was conducted in the study to collect and analyze the obtained data. The main features of teacher preparation policies for early childhood special education in Taiwan could be summarized…

Determinants of Teachers' Intentions To Teach Physically Active Physical Education Classes.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Jeffrey J.; Kulinna, Pamela Hodges; Eklund, Robert C.; Reed, Brett

2001-01-01

Investigated elementary and secondary teachers' intentions to teach physically active physical education classes, examining a model hypothesizing that teachers' intentions were determined by subjective norm, attitude, perceived behavioral control, and self-efficacy. Teacher surveys supported the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior.…

Are preservice teachers prepared to teach struggling readers?

Science.gov (United States)

Washburn, Erin K; Joshi, R Malatesha; Binks Cantrell, Emily

2011-06-01

Reading disabilities such as dyslexia, a specific learning disability that affects an individual's ability to process written language, are estimated to affect 15-20% of the general population. Consequently, elementary school teachers encounter students who struggle with inaccurate or slow reading, poor spelling, poor writing, and other language processing difficulties. However, recent evidence may suggest that teacher preparation programs are not providing preservice teachers with information about basic language constructs and other components related to scientifically based reading instruction. As a consequence preservice teachers have not exhibited explicit knowledge of such concepts in previous studies. Few studies have sought to assess preservice teachers' knowledge about dyslexia in conjunction with knowledge of basic language concepts. The purpose of the present study was to examine elementary school preservice teachers' knowledge of basic language constructs and their perceptions and knowledge about dyslexia. Findings from the present study suggest that preservice teachers, on average, are able to display implicit skills related to certain basic language constructs (i.e., syllable counting), but fail to demonstrate explicit knowledge of others (i.e., phonics principles). Also, preservice teachers seem to hold the common misconception that dyslexia is a visual perception deficit rather than a problem with phonological processing. Implications for future research as well as teacher preparation are discussed.

Comparative Models for Preparing Teachers of Minorities.

Science.gov (United States)

Titus, Dale; Dolgos, Kathleen

This paper highlights three programs that prepare culturally sensitive teachers to meet the needs of minority students. The University of Hawaii's Preservice Education for Teachers of Minorities has a partnership with the Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate private school for children of Hawaiian ancestry. The school brings new culturally sensitive…

Preparing teachers to teach English as an international language

CERN Document Server

Matsuda, Aya

2017-01-01

This book explores ways to prepare teachers to teach English as an International Language, and provides theoretically-grounded models for EIL-informed teacher education. It includes two chapters that present a theoretical approach to EIL teacher education, followed by descriptions of field-tested teacher education programs, courses and activities.

Work Ability of Finnish Physical Education Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Mäkelä, Kasper; Hirvensalo, Mirja

2015-01-01

In the physical education (PE) teachers' profession, physical tasks comprise a large part of the job. PE teachers identify their health as good, and they are satisfied with their job. Nevertheless, the work ability of PE teachers may be decreasing. Purpose: The purpose of this article was to explore the work ability of Finnish PE teachers. What…

Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for Multicultural Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Premier, Jessica Aimee; Miller, Jenny

2010-01-01

Cultural diversity is evident throughout schools in Victoria, Australia. Many students are new arrivals from war-torn countries including Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq. To what extent do teacher training courses in Victoria prepare pre-service teachers to cater for the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) students? This paper…

Four discourse models of physics teacher education

OpenAIRE

Larsson, Johanna; Airey, John

2017-01-01

In Sweden, as in many other countries, the education of high-school physics teachers is typically carried out in three different environments; the education department, the physics department and school itself during teaching practice. Trainee physics teachers are in the process of building their professional identity as they move between these three environments. Although much has been written about teacher professional identity (see overview in Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004) little ...

Preparation and Professional Development of Teacher Educators in Tanzania: Current Practices and Prospects

Science.gov (United States)

Namamba, Adam; Rao, Congman

2017-01-01

Teacher educators play a key role in teacher education and education in general. Worldwide, little is known about preparation and professional development of teacher educators. This paper critically examined teacher educators' preparation and professional development in the context of educational reforms and mushrooming of teacher education…

American Association of Physics Teachers - AAPT.org

Science.gov (United States)

AAPT.org - American Association of Physics Teachers Skip to content Skip to navigation Skip to local navigation AAPT - American Association of Physics Teachers Go Sign In / Online Services Join ; Competitions Collaborative Projects U.S. Physics Team New Faculty Programs Publications American Journal of

A Culture of Thinking Like a Teacher: The Role of Critical Reflection in Teacher Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Lowenstein, Karen L.; Brill, Andra

2010-01-01

As teacher educators for an alternative urban teacher preparation program, we believe that because we cannot teach novice teachers everything they need to know in one year, our principal responsibility is to teach our novices to think like teachers. Central to this process is supporting novices to engage in critical reflection. Critical reflection…

High School Physics Textbooks, Resources and Teacher Resourcefulness: Results from the 2012-13 Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers. Focus On

Science.gov (United States)

Tesfaye, Casey Langer; White, Susan

2014-01-01

What textbooks are physics teachers using? How highly do they rate those textbooks? What other types of materials do teachers use? The textbooks and other resources used by high school physics teachers in the US have evolved along with the changing demands of physics classes and the evolving set of options available to teachers. In this report,…

Towards a high quality high school workforce: A longitudinal, demographic analysis of U.S. public school physics teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregory T. Rushton

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Efforts to improve the number and quality of the high school physics teaching workforce have taken several forms, including those sponsored by professional organizations. Using a series of large-scale teacher demographic data sets from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, this study sought to investigate trends in teacher quality at the national level in the two and a half decades between 1987 and 2012. Specifically, we investigated (i details about the degree backgrounds, main teaching assignments, and experience levels of those assigned to teach physics; (ii whether the proportion of those with certifications in physics as a fraction of the entire physics teaching workforce had changed; and (iii if workforce diversity (with respect to race and gender had changed over time. Our data indicate that trends in these domains have generally been positive, but still fall short of having a highly qualified physics teacher in each classroom. Additionally, the population of physics teachers has more novices and fewer veterans than it did 10 years ago, although veteran physics teachers are not as rare as those in other branches of high school STEM fields. We also analyzed trends in physics teacher race and gender diversity and found them to lag behind other STEM and non-STEM teacher communities. High school physics is still mostly taught by white males with backgrounds from outside of physics. Implications for future policy decisions at the local and national levels are discussed, including attending to the specific needs of degree-holding and non-degree-holding physics teachers separately and localizing teacher recruitment and preparation efforts in regional centers.

Towards a high quality high school workforce: A longitudinal, demographic analysis of U.S. public school physics teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Rushton, Gregory T.; Rosengrant, David; Dewar, Andrew; Shah, Lisa; Ray, Herman E.; Sheppard, Keith; Watanabe, Lynn

2017-12-01

Efforts to improve the number and quality of the high school physics teaching workforce have taken several forms, including those sponsored by professional organizations. Using a series of large-scale teacher demographic data sets from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), this study sought to investigate trends in teacher quality at the national level in the two and a half decades between 1987 and 2012. Specifically, we investigated (i) details about the degree backgrounds, main teaching assignments, and experience levels of those assigned to teach physics; (ii) whether the proportion of those with certifications in physics as a fraction of the entire physics teaching workforce had changed; and (iii) if workforce diversity (with respect to race and gender) had changed over time. Our data indicate that trends in these domains have generally been positive, but still fall short of having a highly qualified physics teacher in each classroom. Additionally, the population of physics teachers has more novices and fewer veterans than it did 10 years ago, although veteran physics teachers are not as rare as those in other branches of high school STEM fields. We also analyzed trends in physics teacher race and gender diversity and found them to lag behind other STEM and non-STEM teacher communities. High school physics is still mostly taught by white males with backgrounds from outside of physics. Implications for future policy decisions at the local and national levels are discussed, including attending to the specific needs of degree-holding and non-degree-holding physics teachers separately and localizing teacher recruitment and preparation efforts in regional centers.

Developing Understanding of Mathematical Modeling in Secondary Teacher Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Anhalt, Cynthia Oropesa; Cortez, Ricardo

2016-01-01

This study examines the evolution of 11 prospective teachers' understanding of mathematical modeling through the implementation of a modeling module within a curriculum course in a secondary teacher preparation program. While the prospective teachers had not previously taken a course on mathematical modeling, they will be expected to include…

Preparing pre-service teachers as emancipatory and participatory ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Preparing pre-service teachers as emancipatory and participatory action researchers in ... teachers to become more critically reflective and socially conscious. ... beliefs about teaching, and gain confidence in addressing social justice issues. ... focus on their work with learners and challenges in the real school environment.

Implementing the adapted physical education E-learning program into physical education teacher education program.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Eun Hye; Block, Martin E

2017-10-01

According to the Ministry of Education Korea (2014), the approximately 70.4% of all students with disabilities are included in general schools in Korea. However, studies show that Korean GPE teachers do not feel comforatble or prepared to include students with disabilities (Oh & Lee, 1999; Roh, 2002; Roh & Oh, 2005). The purpose of this study was to explore whether an APE e-learning supplement would have an impact on the level of self-efficacy and content knowledge of pre-service teachers related to including students with intellectual disabilities. An APE supplement was developed based on the Instructional Design Model (Dick, Carey, & Carey, 2005) to provide three sources of self-efficacy, mastery experience, vicarious experience, and social persuasions. Three groups of pre-service teachers (N=75) took the same content supplement with different delivery system, E-learning group (n=25) with online, traditional group (n=25) with printed handout, and control group (n=25) without supplement. Two instruments, the Physical Educators' Situation-Specific Self-efficacy and Inclusion Student with Disabilities in Physical Education (SE-PETE-D) and the content knowledge test, were given to all participants twice (i.e., pretest and posttest). A 3×2 mixed effect ANOVA revealed that pre-service teachers' perceived self-efficacy (p=0.023) improved after taking the e-learning supplement. However, there was no significant difference in the level of content knowledge (p=0.248) between the learning group and tranditional group. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teachers' attitudes and perceptions about preparation of public schools to assist students with type 1 diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Carral San Laureano, Florentino; Gutiérrez Manzanedo, José Vicente; Moreno Vides, Pablo; de Castro Maqueda, Guillermo; Fernández Santos, Jorge R; Ponce González, Jesús Gustavo; Ayala Ortega, María Del Carmen

2018-04-01

To assess teachers' attitudes and perceptions about preparation of public primary and secondary education schools in the Puerto Real University Hospital (Cádiz, Spain) area to care for students with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) METHODS: A descriptive observational study where answers to an attitude and perception questionnaire on the preparation of schools to care for pupils with T1DM were analyzed. A total of 765 teachers (mean age, 44.3±8.8 years; 61.7% women) from 44 public schools in the area of the Puerto Real University Hospital were selected by random sampling. Overall, 43.2% of teachers surveyed had or had previously had students with T1DM, but only 0.8% had received specific training on diabetes. 18.9% of teachers reported that one of their students with T1DM had experienced at least one episode of hypoglycemia at school, and half of them felt that their school was not prepared to deal with diabetic emergencies. 6.4% stated that their school had glucagon in its first aid kit, and 46.9% would be willing to administer it personally. Women, physical education teachers, and headmasters had a more positive perception of the school than their colleagues. Teachers with a positive perception of school preparation and with a positive attitude to administer glucagon were significantly younger than those with no positive perception and attitude. The study results suggest that teachers of public schools in our health area have not been specifically trained in the care of patients with T1DM and perceive that their educational centers are not qualified to address diabetic emergencies. Copyright © 2017 SEEN y SED. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Are Teacher and Principal Candidates Prepared to Address Student Cyberbullying?

Science.gov (United States)

Styron, Ronald A., Jr.; Bonner, Jessica L.; Styron, Jennifer L.; Bridgeforth, James; Martin, Cecelia

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the preparation of teacher and principal candidates to address problems created in K-12 settings as a result of cyberbullying. Participants included teacher and principal preparation students. Findings indicated that respondents were familiar with the most common forms of cyberbullying and its impact on…

Examining Perceptions of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Teacher Preparation and Teacher Leadership Candidates

Science.gov (United States)

Samuels, Amy J.; Samuels, Gregory L.; Cook, Tammy M.

2017-01-01

The study examined a multi-tiered approach for facilitating learning and examining perceptions about culturally responsive pedagogy in teacher preparation and teacher leadership programs. The study aligned with a learning unit we designed to (1) increase understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy and (2) investigate perceptions of cultural…

Preparing Every Teacher to Reach English Learners: A Practical Guide for Teacher Educators

Science.gov (United States)

Nutta, Joyce W., Ed.; Mokhtari, Kouider, Ed.; Strebel, Carine, Ed.

2012-01-01

"Preparing Every Teacher to Reach English Learners" presents a practical, flexible model for infusing English learner (EL) instruction into teacher education courses. The editors outline the key steps involved in this approach--winning faculty support, assessing needs, and developing capacity--and share strategies for avoiding pitfalls. The…

Personality Development during Teacher Preparation.

Science.gov (United States)

Corcoran, Roisin P; O'Flaherty, Joanne

2016-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this 3-year longitudinal study was to examine pre-service teachers' personality trajectories as measured by the IPIP Big-Five factor markers during teacher preparation. The relationship between students' personality traits, social desirability, and prior academic attainment was also examined. Method: This 3-year longitudinal study invited participants from the first year of a 4-year undergraduate (UG) pre-service teacher education program, the class of 2017. The sample consisted of 305 students. Results: The results suggest that extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience were best represented by a non-significant longitudinal change in means. Results also suggest that social desirability predicts agreeableness and emotional stability with small to moderate effect sizes. Conclusion: The study concludes that no value is added to pre-service teachers' personality traits during 3 years of tertiary education. Furthermore, the data presented does not support the view that academic attainment is a good predictor of personality traits. Implications for educational research, theory, and practice are considered.

A Systematic Review of Public Health-Aligned Recommendations for Preparing Physical Education Teacher Candidates

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, Collin A.; Webster, Liana; Russ, Laura; Molina, Sergio; Lee, Heesu; Cribbs, Jason

2015-01-01

Purpose: Since Sallis and McKenzie's seminal article in 1991 outlining physical education's role in public health, increased attention has been given to promoting youth physical activity in schools. The present study systematically reviewed the literature from 1991 to 2013 to identify recommendations for the preparation of physical…

Maintaining academic quality assurance for teacher preparation in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The essence of academic quality is to bring about totality of an improved classroom teacher for effective service delivery in the school system. Colleges of Education whose mandate is concerned with teacher preparation for basic education must consider students admission policy, funding, facilities and the entire curricula ...

Mentoring: A New Approach to Geography Teacher Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Bednarz, Sarah Witham; Bockenhauer, Mark H.; Walk, Fred H.

2005-01-01

Geography teacher preparation is an ongoing problem for the discipline. Changes in certification requirements and federal and state educational policies have diminished the role of colleges and universities in educating teachers. At the same time, geography education reform efforts have resulted in higher standards and an increased quantity of…

Considering the Future of University-Based Teacher Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser, James W.

2014-01-01

In this commentary, James W. Fraser, a noted historian of education, cites examples from several teacher education programs at more than 30 universities partnering with the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowships in various ways. Additionally, Fraser reviews decades of challenges to traditional teacher preparation, looks at some current reforms, and…

Child Development Knowledge and Teacher Preparation: Confronting Assumptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Lilian G.

This paper questions the widely held assumption that acquiring knowledge of child development is an essential part of teacher preparation and teaching competence, especially among teachers of young children. After discussing the influence of culture, parenting style, and teaching style on developmental expectations and outcomes, the paper asserts…

Rethinking Teacher Preparation: Conceptualizing Skills and Knowledge of Novice Teachers of Secondary Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Cummings, Margarita Borelli

2010-01-01

This dissertation examines the extent to which novice secondary mathematics teachers (licensed and currently teaching in Utah) perceive they are prepared to do the work of teaching secondary mathematics. It first examined if novice secondary mathematics teachers' perceptions of their knowledge and skills of doing their work fell into four…

"Physics and Life" for Europe's Science Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

2003-04-01

preparing related programs in their countries. Through these national activities, outstanding individuals will be selected to represent their teachers' communities at the final international event, the "Physics on Stage 3" festival. A list of national contact points is attached below. International festival The high-profile "festival" during the European Science and Technology Week 2003 will stimulate the dissemination of successful education tools and methods, identify the most effective ways to support teachers and motivate novel developments in science education. It will take place at the ESA-ESTEC site in Noordwijk (The Netherlands), from November 8 - 15, 2003 . The climax of the event will be the presentation of the European Science Teaching Awards , in recognition of teaching excellence, inspiration and motivation of young people. Online Resource Archive An online archive of the best teaching materials and practices in Europe will be established, forming a unique 'resource centre', which will make available all of the interesting materials identified through the programme and provide a forum for exchange which will last well beyond the duration of the activity. More information Full information about "Physics on Stage 3" is available at the central website: www.physicsonstage.net From here there is also direct connection to the national websites and the many related activities all over Europe. Be sure to check the site at regular intervals for new information about the developments!

Improving the Mathematics Preparation of Elementary Teachers, One Lesson at a Time

Science.gov (United States)

Berk, Dawn; Hiebert, James

2009-01-01

In this paper, we describe a model for systematically improving the mathematics preparation of elementary teachers, one lesson at a time. We begin by identifying a serious obstacle for teacher educators: the absence of mechanisms for developing a shareable knowledge base for teacher preparation. We propose our model as a way to address this…

Teacher Education Reform in Urban Educator Preparation Programs

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Banks, Tachelle

2015-01-01

The majority of teachers in the United States are of a different race, ethnicity, class, gender, and linguistic dominance from that of their students. Teachers are specifically challenged by a variety of racial and ethnic issues as they enter their classrooms. This paper discusses the importance of educator preparation programs devoting attention…

Physics teachers go back to school at CERN

CERN Multimedia

2004-01-01

Fifty physics teachers came together at CERN during a lovely spring weekend at the beginning of May to revitalise their teaching methods. CERN held the third of its programmes for physics teachers during the first weekend of May. This was the occasion for the presentation of the second 'CERN Education Award'. The fifty physics teachers who came to CERN to find exciting ideas to stimulate the interest of their pupils hardly had a spare minute during their three-day stay, which included a detailed tour of CERN, and different seminars. From their visit, which lasted from the evening of 29 April until 2 May, they came away with information on the latest developments in physics and a host of new ideas for teaching the subject (see Bulletin 11/2002). 'One of the reasons why I wanted to take part in the programme was to gain a better understanding of today's big physics projects and the results of the latest research,' explains Luigia Cazzaniga, a teacher from Italy. 'As a physics teacher, I wanted to make my pupil...

Influence of Children's Physical Attractiveness on Teacher Expectations.

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Kenealy, Pamela; And Others

1988-01-01

Ratings of the physical attractiveness of 11-to-12-year-old children were obtained, and the association between physical attractiveness and teachers' judgements of these children were examined. Teachers revealed a systematic tendency to rate girls higher than boys, and significant sex differences were observed in teachers' ratings of…

Confronting Challenges at the Intersection of Rurality, Place, and Teacher Preparation: Improving Efforts in Teacher Education to Staff Rural Schools

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Amy Price Azano

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers in rural schools is a persistent struggle in many countries, including the U.S. Salient challenges related to poverty, geographic isolation, low teacher salaries, and a lack of community amenities seem to trump perks of living in rural communities. Recognizing this issue as a complex and hard to solve fixture in the composition of rural communities, we sought to understand how teacher preparation programs might better prepare preservice teachers for successful student teaching placements and, ideally, eventual careers in rural schools. In this study, we explore teacher candidates’ perceptions of rurality while examining how specific theory, pedagogy, and practice influence their feelings of preparedness for working in a rural school. Using pre- and post- questionnaire data, classroom observations, and reflections, we assess the effectiveness of deliberate efforts in our teacher preparation program to increase readiness for rural teaching. In our analysis and discussion, we draw on critical and sociocultural theories to understand the experiences of a cohort of teacher candidates as they explore personal histories, the importance of place, expectations, and teaching strategies for rural contexts. While rural education researchers have long lamented the struggle to recruit and retain teachers, there is relatively little known about intentional efforts to prepare teachers specifically for rural classrooms. We conclude our article with recommendations for enhancing teacher preparation programs in ways that might result in significant progress toward the goal of staffing rural schools with the highly skilled teachers all students deserve.

The Role of Physical Educators in Helping Classroom Teachers to Promote Physical Activity

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Russ, Laura

2015-01-01

Elementary classroom teachers are an increasingly important constituency in school-based physical activity promotion. This article situates the need for classroom teacher physical-activity promotion at the intersection of what we know about teacher actions, what informs those actions, and what recent research has uncovered. Recommendations are…

The Perception of University Teacher of Physical Education

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Salvador Jesús López Alonzo

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: to find out the epistemological perception of university teachers about Physical Education, to contrast this approach with current literature and the needs for this subject. Methodology: A review of the reforms, standards, policies and physical education premises for the construction of a survey as a measurement instrument was performed. 41 teachers, who teach in the Undergratuate Course of Study of Physical Education, were surveyed. Results: The reliability of the instrument shows a Cronbach's alpha (.611, 64.3% of teachers thinks that the control of motor skills and movement forms necessary to participate in a variety of physical activities is very important; 54.8% considers that the assessment of the components of fitness that improve the physical performance and health is very important; 45.2% believes that regular participation in a variety of physical activities is very important. Conclusion: epistemological perception of teachers surveyed is not fully consistent with the epistemological point of view that arises internationally, so work should be done on training and reorientation of university teachers to have an epistemological point of view along with the current Physical Education

Moral Literacy through Two Lenses: Pre-Service Teachers' Preparation for Character Education

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Rizzo, Kelly; Bajovic, Mira

2016-01-01

In this paper, we explored how well prepared pre-service teacher candidates are to develop moral literacy. With the mandate in Ontario schools to deliver character education, we were intrigued by the question: How well prepared are teacher candidates to deliver on this requirement based on preservice preparation and the realities of classroom…

Evidence of the Need to Prepare Prospective Teachers to Engage in Mathematics Consultations

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van Ingen, Sarah; Eskelson, Samuel L.; Allsopp, David

2016-01-01

The mathematics consultation represents a powerful opportunity for mathematics teachers to leverage the knowledge base of special education professionals to advance equity for students with special education needs. Yet, most teacher preparation programs do not specifically prepare prospective teachers to engage in mathematics-specific…

Preparing Preservice Teachers to Incorporate Geospatial Technologies in Geography Teaching

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Harte, Wendy

2017-01-01

This study evaluated the efficacy of geospatial technology (GT) learning experiences in two geography curriculum courses to determine their effectiveness for developing preservice teacher confidence and preparing preservice teachers to incorporate GT in their teaching practices. Surveys were used to collect data from preservice teachers at three…

Analysis of pre-service physics teacher skills designing simple physics experiments based technology

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Susilawati; Huda, C.; Kurniawan, W.; Masturi; Khoiri, N.

2018-03-01

Pre-service physics teacher skill in designing simple experiment set is very important in adding understanding of student concept and practicing scientific skill in laboratory. This study describes the skills of physics students in designing simple experiments based technologicall. The experimental design stages include simple tool design and sensor modification. The research method used is descriptive method with the number of research samples 25 students and 5 variations of simple physics experimental design. Based on the results of interviews and observations obtained the results of pre-service physics teacher skill analysis in designing simple experimental physics charged technology is good. Based on observation result, pre-service physics teacher skill in designing simple experiment is good while modification and sensor application are still not good. This suggests that pre-service physics teacher still need a lot of practice and do experiments in designing physics experiments using sensor modifications. Based on the interview result, it is found that students have high enough motivation to perform laboratory activities actively and students have high curiosity to be skilled at making simple practicum tool for physics experiment.

Preparing Science Teachers: Strong Emphasis on Science Content Course Work in a Master's Program in Education

Science.gov (United States)

Ajhar, Edward A.; Blackwell, E.; Quesada, D.

2010-05-01

In South Florida, science teacher preparation is often weak as a shortage of science teachers often prompts administrators to assign teachers to science classes just to cover the classroom needs. This results is poor preparation of students for college science course work, which, in turn, causes the next generation of science teachers to be even weaker than the first. This cycle must be broken in order to prepare better students in the sciences. At St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida, our School of Science has teamed with our Institute for Education to create a program to alleviate this problem: A Master of Science in Education with a Concentration in Earth/Space Science. The Master's program consists of 36 total credits. Half the curriculum consists of traditional educational foundation and instructional leadership courses while the other half is focused on Earth and Space Science content courses. The content area of 18 credits also provides a separate certificate program. Although traditional high school science education places a heavy emphasis on Earth Science, this program expands that emphasis to include the broader context of astronomy, astrophysics, astrobiology, planetary science, and the practice and philosophy of science. From this contextual basis the teacher is better prepared to educate and motivate middle and high school students in all areas of the physical sciences. Because hands-on experience is especially valuable to educators, our program uses materials and equipment including small optical telescopes (Galileoscopes), several 8-in and 14-in Celestron and Meade reflectors, and a Small Radio Telescope installed on site. (Partial funding provided by the US Department of Education through Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program grant P120A050062.)

Both preparing to teach and teaching positively impact learning outcomes for peer teachers.

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Gregory, Alexander; Walker, Ian; McLaughlin, Kevin; Peets, Adam D

2011-01-01

We sought to evaluate the independent effects of preparing to teach and teaching on peer teacher learning outcomes. To evaluate the independent contributions of both preparing to teach and teaching to the learning of peer teachers in medical education. In total, 17 third-year medical students prepared to teach second-year students Advanced Cardiac Life Support algorithms and electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation. Immediately prior to teaching they were randomly allocated to not teach, to teach algorithms, or to teach ECG. Peer teachers were tested on both topics prior to preparation, immediately after teaching and 60 days later. Compared to baseline, peer teachers' mean examination scores (±SD) demonstrated the greatest gains for content areas they prepared for and then taught (43.0% (13.9) vs. 66.3% (8.8), p teach but did not teach, less dramatic gains were evident (43.6% (8.3) vs. 54.7% (9.4), p teaching were greater than those for preparation (23.3% (10.9) vs. 8% (9.6), p teach and actively teaching may have independent positive effects on peer teacher learning outcomes.

Relationships between Mathematics Teacher Preparation and Graduates' Analyses of Classroom Teaching

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Hiebert, James; Berk, Dawn; Miller, Emily

2017-01-01

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate the relationships between mathematics teacher preparation and graduates' analyses of classroom teaching. Fifty-three graduates from an elementary teacher preparation program completed 4 video-based, analysis-of-teaching tasks in the semester before graduation and then in each of the 3…

Preparing Teachers for a Mission: Six Lessons Shared with the Military

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Vespia, Kathleen L.; McGann, Barbara E.; Gibbons, Thomas J.

2016-01-01

Vast research and personal testimonies provide strong evidence that a highly effective teacher plays a critical role in the successes of their students, particularly those at risk of underachievement. That same evidence is now being demanded of teacher preparation programs. By comparison, military preparation programs have long been outcome-based…

A study of student perceptions of physics teacher behavior

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Brekelmans, Mieke; Wubbels, Theo; Créton, Hans

This study investigates student perceptions of the behavior of physics teachers in relation to some other variables in the classroom situation. The research was carried out as a Dutch option of the Second International Science Study. Data were gathered in 65 classrooms of physics teachers with pupils 15 years old. Some of the teachers (21) used the new PLON curriculum and the others a traditional one. Student perceptions of teacher behavior were measured with a questionnaire based on the interpersonal theory of Leary (1957). The aspect of behavior measured is called interactional teacher behavior. We found remarkably high correlations between student perceptions of teacher behavior and affective outcomes such as appreciation of the lessons and motivation for the subject matter. Also, the correlations with cognitive outcomes measured with a standardized international test were significant. It appears that some differences exist between teacher behaviors that are favorable for high cognitive outcomes and behaviors favorable for high affective outcomes in physics lessons. Hardly any differences were found in teacher behavior between teachers using the traditional and the new physics curriculum.

Preparing Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers for Uncertain Future(s): A Scenario-Based Learning Case Study from Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Meldrum, Kathryn

2011-01-01

Background: A key aim of a physical education teacher education (PETE) program is to promote wide and deep knowledge, enabling students to establish connections and understand contexts within and beyond education, physical education and their life worlds. Most often PETE programs equip students with content knowledge and pedagogical strategies…

The effectiveness of Concept Mapping Content Representation Lesson Study (ComCoReLS) model to improve skills of Creating Physics Lesson Plan (CPLP) for pre-service physics teacher

Science.gov (United States)

Purwaningsih, E.; Suyatno; Wasis; Prahani, B. K.

2018-03-01

This research is aimed to analyse the effectiveness of ComCoReLS (Concept Mapping Content Representation Lesson Study) model towards the improvement skills of Creating Physics Lesson Plan (CPLP) for pre-service physics teacher. This research used one group pre-test and post-test design on 12 pre-service physics teacher at University of Malang State (Indonesia) in academic year 2016/2017. Data collection was conducted through test and interview. Skills of creating physics lesson plan for pre-service physics teacher measurement were conducted through Physics Lesson Plan Evaluation Sheet (PLPES). The data analysis technique was done by using paired t-test and n-gain. The CoMCoReLS model consists of 5 phases, including (1) Preparation, (2) Coaching, (3) Guided Practice, (4) Independent Practice, and (5) Evaluation. In the first, second, third and fifth phases are done at University of Malang State, while the fourth phase (Independent Practice) is done in SMAN 1 Singosari, SMAN 2 Malang, SMA Lab UM, MAN 3 Malang. The results showed that there was a significant increase in skills of creating physics lesson plan for pre-service physics teacher at α = 5% and n-gain average of high category. Thus, the ComCoReLS model is effective for improving skills of creating physics lesson plan for pre-service physics teacher.

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Views on Designing and Developing Physics Digital Stories

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Kocakaya, Serhat; Kotluk, Nihat; Karakoyun, Ferit

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to determine the pre-service physics teachers' views on the effect of designing and developing physics digital stories (DST) on improving their 21st century skills. The study is a qualitative research carried out with 13 pre-service physics teachers, who participated in the course of designing and developing DST, during 6…

Tactical Decision Competency of Preservice Physical Education Teacher Education Students

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Williams, Skip M.; Coleman, Margo M.; Henninger, Mary L.; Carlson, Kristin B.

2013-01-01

The most recent publication of the "National Standards and Guidelines for Physical Education Teacher Education" (National Association for Sport and Physical Education [NASPE], 2009) requires physical education teacher education (PETE) programs to demonstrate that teacher candidates display both tactical knowledge and physical competence.…

Self-perceived assessment skill of prospective physics teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Efendi, R.; Rustaman, N. Y.; Kaniawati, I.

2018-05-01

Assessment skills are an important component of assessment practice, without adequate assessment skills it is unlikely that teacher assessment practices will produce desired student learning outcomes. This study was conducted to reveal self-perceived assessment skills of prospective physics teachers by using quantitative descriptive analysis, and involving 92 prospective physics teachers who were experiencing teaching practice in junior high school and final project related to assessment. Data was collected by using Self-Perceived Assessment Science Skills Questionnaire consisted of 29 items related seven assessment competencies was developed and used in the study. Internal consistency reliability coefficient for the total scale scores was 0.87 as measured by Cronbach’s alpha. Determination of self-perceived assessment science skills detected from prospective physics teachers was carried out in descriptive statistics, in the form of respondent average values. Research findings show that self-perceived assessment skills of prospective physics teachers was categorized as transition.

Pre-Service Science Teacher Preparation in China: Challenges and Promises

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Liu, Enshan; Liu, Cheng; Wang, Jian

2015-01-01

The purpose of this article was to present an overview of pre-service science teacher preparation in China, which is heavily influenced by Chinese tradition, Confucianism, and rapid social and economic development. The policies, science teacher education systems and related programs jointly contribute to producing enough science teachers for…

What teacher educators consider as best practices in preparing pre ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper reports on an investigation into what teacher educators consider to be best practices in how to prepare pre-service teachers to effectively deal with the challenges of teaching Mathematics in multilingual contexts, and how what teacher educators consider as best practices inform their own classroom practice.

Sexual Orientation Topics in Elementary Teacher Preparation Programs in the USA

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Jennings, Todd; Sherwin, Gary

2008-01-01

This investigation is a descriptive study documenting the inclusion of sexual orientation (gay and lesbian) topics in a sample of 65 public university elementary teacher preparation programs across the USA (representing the preparation of 14,000-19,000 new teachers annually). Findings indicate that only 55.6% of programs address sexual orientation…

Does Teacher Preparation Matter? Evidence about Teacher Certification, Teach for America, and Teacher Effectiveness.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linda Darling-Hammond

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Recent debates about the utility of teacher education have raised questions about whether certified teachers are, in general, more effective than those who have not met the testing and training requirements for certification, and whether some candidates with strong liberal arts backgrounds might be at least as effective as teacher education graduates. This study examines these questions with a large student-level data set from Houston, Texas that links student characteristics and achievement with data about their teachers' certification status, experience, and degree levels from 1995-2002. The data set also allows an examination of whether Teach for America (TFA candidates-recruits from selective universities who receive a few weeks of training before they begin teaching-are as effective as similarly experienced certified teachers. In a series of regression analyses looking at 4th and 5th grade student achievement gains on six different reading and mathematics tests over a six-year period, we find that certified teachers consistently produce stronger student achievement gains than do uncertified teachers. These findings hold for TFA recruits as well as others. Controlling for teacher experience, degrees, and student characteristics, uncertified TFA recruits are less effective than certified teachers, and perform about as well as other uncertified teachers. TFA recruits who become certified after 2 or 3 years do about as well as other certified teachers in supporting student achievement gains; however, nearly all of them leave within three years. Teachers' effectiveness appears strongly related to the preparation they have received for teaching.

Preparing Content Area Teachers for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction: The Role of Literacy Teacher Educators

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Fang, Zhihui

2014-01-01

The recent call for secondary reading instruction to move away from a focus on generic literacy strategies to discipline-specific language and literacy practices presents new challenges for secondary teacher preparation. This column identifies some of the roles literacy teacher educators can play in helping address these challenges.

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Teacher Preparation Programmes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan

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Iqbal Ahmad

2013-07-01

The trainee teachers were able to communicate easily and clearly in classroom situations. The prospective teachers could make lessons plans and implement it successfully. The teacher preparation program has developed classroom management skills of the prospective teachers. The teachers could use different strategies in their classrooms for student’s learning evaluations. The teachers were more confident to share their experiences with other teachers. However, a unique finding of the study is that the teacher preparation program has failed to develop research skills of the teachers. It was found that the trained teachers did not know how to conduct research in their contexts on various issues of teaching and learning. Therefore on the basis of this study it is recommended that a strong component of research project should be incorporated in the curriculum of the teacher preparation program of RITEs to enable the prospective teachers to conduct research on different issues of teaching and learning.

Enhancing Cultural Humility through Critical Service-Learning in Teacher Preparation

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Tinkler, Alan S.; Tinkler, Barri

2016-01-01

To provide opportunities for preservice teachers to move beyond the limitations of their life experiences, the teacher preparation program at the University of Vermont has worked to advance service-learning experiences that push preservice teachers to examine their own identities and biases by providing them with opportunities to interact with…

Reliability of Scores Obtained from Self-, Peer-, and Teacher-Assessments on Teaching Materials Prepared by Teacher Candidates

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Nalbantoglu Yilmaz, Funda

2017-01-01

This study aims to determine the reliability of scores obtained from self-, peer-, and teacher-assessments in terms of teaching materials prepared by teacher candidates. The study group of this research constitutes 56 teacher candidates. In the scope of research, teacher candidates were asked to develop teaching material related to their study.…

Preparing Teachers for Diversity: A Literature Review and Implications from Community-Based Teacher Education

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Yuan, Huanshu

2018-01-01

This study reviewed current issues in preparing qualified teachers for increasing diverse student populations in the U.S. and in other multicultural and multiethnic countries. Based on the framework of community-based and multicultural teacher education, this literature review paper analyzed issues and problems existed in the current curriculum,…

Are You Ready to be a Mentor? Preparing Teachers for Mentoring Pre-Service Teachers

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Ambrosetti, Angelina

2014-01-01

The use of mentoring has nowadays become a predominant practice for the professional placement component of pre-service teacher education programs. Research however has identified that being an effective teacher does not make you an effective mentor. The present research investigated the role of professional development in the preparation of…

Concerns of the Novice Physical Education Teacher

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Gordon, Evelyn J.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to examine novice physical education teachers in the first and second year of teaching. Participants included two novice physical education teachers, John in Year 1 and Mark in Year 2. Methodology included observations, semistructured interviews, and documents. Data were analyzed using open coding and constant…

English Education Program Assessment: Creating Standards and Guidelines to Advance English Teacher Preparation

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Zancanella, Don; Alsup, Janet

2010-01-01

When someone uses the term "standards," one tends to assume the topic under discussion is K-12 education, but standards for teacher preparation have their own parallel history. In English teacher education, that history has two strands: the NCTE Guidelines for the Preparation of Teachers of English Language Arts, which predate the "standards…

Classroom culture in a course on History and Epistemology of Physics for prospective physics teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neusa Teresinha Massoni

2007-03-01

Full Text Available This paper attempts to describe the construction process of a contextualized descriptive comprehension of the classroom culture of a subject on History and Epistemology of Physics pertaining to the curriculum of a teacher preparation course in a federal public university. In order to do that, participative observation of daily classroom activities was carried out during a one year period of time. The narrative of this process is extensive full of details that suggest some charges in students’ conceptions of science and, at the same time, how deeply rosted are some other ones.

Professionality of Junior High School (SMP) Science Teacher in Preparing Instructional Design of Earth and Space Sciences (IPBA)

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Marlina, L.; Liliasari; Tjasyono, B.; Hendayana, S.

2017-02-01

The teacher is one important factor in the provision of education in schools. Therefore, improving the quality of education means we need to enhance the quality and the professionalism of teachers. We offer a solution through education and training of junior high school science teachers in developing the instructional design of Earth and Space Sciences (IPBA). IPBA is part of the science subjects which is given to students from elementary school to college. This research is a preliminary study of junior high school science teacher professionalism in creating instructional design IPBA. Mixed method design is used to design the research. Preliminary studies conducted on junior high school science teacher in one MGMPs in South Sumatera, and the respondent are 18 teachers from 13 schools. The educational background of science teachers who teach IPBA not only from physical education but also biology and agriculture. The result of preliminary study showed that the ratio of teachers who teach IPBA are 56% from physic education, 39% from biology, and 5% from agriculture. The subjects of IPBA that considered difficult by teachers are the distribution of sun, moon, and satellite motion; specific processes in lithosphere and atmosphere; and the correlation between lithosphere and atmosphere with the environment. The teachers also face difficulty in preparing media, choosing the right methods in teaching IPBA.

Elementary Physical Education Teachers' Content Knowledge of Physical Activity and Health-Related Fitness

Science.gov (United States)

Santiago, Jose A.; Disch, James G.; Morales, Julio

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine elementary physical education teachers' content knowledge of physical activity and health-related fitness. Sixty-four female and 24 male teachers completed the Appropriate Physical Activity and Health-Related Fitness test. Descriptive statistics results indicated that the mean percentage score for the test…

Making of epistemologically sophisticated physics teachers: A cross-sequential study of epistemological progression from preservice to in-service teachers

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Ding, Lin; Zhang, Ping

2016-12-01

Previous literature on learners' epistemological beliefs about physics has almost exclusively focused on analysis of university classroom instruction and its effects on students' views. However, little is known about other populations or factors other than classroom instruction on learners' epistemologies. In this study, we used a cross-sequential method, combining both longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, to investigate an epistemological progression trend from preservice to in-service teachers. Six cohorts of participants were studied, who either were then attending or had completed an undergraduate teacher preparation program in physics at a major Chinese university. These cohorts were incoming freshmen, end-of-year freshmen, end-of-year sophomores, end-of-year juniors, end-of-year seniors, and 1st-year high school physics teachers who were about to enter the 2nd year of teaching. We used the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) as both a pretest and a post-test to gauge the changes in the participants' epistemological views over an entire academic year. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to explore factors responsible for such changes. Results showed that the epistemological trend as measured by CLASS did not increase monotonically. Instead, there was a decrease in the epistemological trend among the incoming freshmen in their first year undergraduate studies, followed by a long stasis until the end of the senior year. Then, there was a rebound for the end-of-year seniors in their 1st year of teaching, followed by another plateau. Interviews revealed that the competitive learning environment, increased content difficulty, and unfamiliar pedagogies in college were major factors that negatively influenced incoming freshmen's views about physics. Conversely, a role change from student to teacher and relatively easy content in high school positively impacted end-of-year seniors' views about physics and learning.

Making of epistemologically sophisticated physics teachers: A cross-sequential study of epistemological progression from preservice to in-service teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Ding

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Previous literature on learners’ epistemological beliefs about physics has almost exclusively focused on analysis of university classroom instruction and its effects on students’ views. However, little is known about other populations or factors other than classroom instruction on learners’ epistemologies. In this study, we used a cross-sequential method, combining both longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, to investigate an epistemological progression trend from preservice to in-service teachers. Six cohorts of participants were studied, who either were then attending or had completed an undergraduate teacher preparation program in physics at a major Chinese university. These cohorts were incoming freshmen, end-of-year freshmen, end-of-year sophomores, end-of-year juniors, end-of-year seniors, and 1st-year high school physics teachers who were about to enter the 2nd year of teaching. We used the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS as both a pretest and a post-test to gauge the changes in the participants’ epistemological views over an entire academic year. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to explore factors responsible for such changes. Results showed that the epistemological trend as measured by CLASS did not increase monotonically. Instead, there was a decrease in the epistemological trend among the incoming freshmen in their first year undergraduate studies, followed by a long stasis until the end of the senior year. Then, there was a rebound for the end-of-year seniors in their 1st year of teaching, followed by another plateau. Interviews revealed that the competitive learning environment, increased content difficulty, and unfamiliar pedagogies in college were major factors that negatively influenced incoming freshmen’s views about physics. Conversely, a role change from student to teacher and relatively easy content in high school positively impacted end-of-year seniors’ views about physics and

Physics teachers' perspectives on factors that affect urban physics participation and accessibility

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Angela M.

2013-06-01

The accessibility of secondary physics in U.S. urban school districts is a complex issue. Many schools do not offer a physics option, and for those that do, access is often restricted by various school policies and priorities that do not promote physics participation for all. To analyze this problem in greater depth, I adopted a qualitative phenomenological methodology to explore urban physics teachers’ views on school- and district-based conditions that may marginalize traditionally underrepresented students. Teachers from three large urban districts shared concerns and suggestions regarding administrative commitment, student preparedness for physics, reform initiatives and testing mandates, promoting physics enrollments, and implementing high quality instruction. Data from interviews and focus groups provided contextual insights into ways in which physics study may be improved and encouraged for urban youth. Teachers believed expanding access could be facilitated with differentiated levels of physics, incorporating mathematical applications with multiple representations, educating students and counselors on the ramifications of choosing or not choosing elective sciences, well-designed grant-funded initiatives, and flexibility with prerequisites and science course sequencing. Teachers experienced frustration with standardized testing, lack of curricular autonomy, shifting administrative directives, and top-down reforms that did not incorporate their feedback in the decision-making processes. Data from this study revealed that physics teacher networks, often housed at local universities, have been a key resource for establishing supportive professional communities to share best practices that may influence school-based reforms that promote physics participation in urban schools.

Physics teachers' nuclear in-service training in Hungary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ujvari, Sandor

2005-01-01

Teaching of science subjects, specifically physics among others, is important in Hungarian schools. The paper starts with some historical aspects on how the modern physics reached Hungarian schools, what kinds of methods the physics teachers use for their in-service training and what is their success. In 1985 Hungarian Government introduced the system of physics teacher's in-service training for a year. The courses end with a thesis and examination. Teachers have a possibility to join the nuclear physics intensive course of Nuclear Physics Department at Eottvos University. Curriculum and topics of laboratory practice are given together with some dissertations of the course. Moreover, several competition (Leo Szilard competition) is mentioned with starting that in each year the 5 best students get free entrance to the Hungarian universities. (S. Ohno)

Radiation oncology physics: A handbook for teachers and students

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Podgorsak, E.B.

2005-07-01

language and knowledge for all student groups will be the same. The text will also be of use to candidates preparing for professional certification examinations, whether in radiation oncology, medical physics, dosimetry or radiotherapy technology. The intent of the text is to serve as a factual supplement to the various textbooks on medical physics and to provide basic radiation oncology physics knowledge in the form of a syllabus covering all modern aspects of radiation oncology physics. While the text is mainly aimed at radiation oncology professionals, certain parts of it may also be of interest in other branches of medicine that use ionizing radiation not for the treatment of disease but for the diagnosis of disease (diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine). The content may also be useful for physicists who are involved in studies of radiation hazards and radiation protection (health physics). This book represents a collaborative effort by professionals from many different countries who share a common goal of disseminating their radiation oncology physics knowledge and experience to a broad international audience of teachers and students. This publication is aimed at students and teachers involved in programmes that train professionals for work in radiation oncology. It provides a comprehensive overview of the basic medical physics knowledge required in the form of a syllabus for modern radiation oncology. It will be particularly useful to graduate students and residents in medical physics programmes, to residents in radiation oncology, as well as to students in dosimetry and radiotherapy technology programmes. It will assist those preparing for their professional certification examinations in radiation oncology, medical physics, dosimetry or radiotherapy technology. It has been endorsed by several international and national organizations and the material presented has already been used to define the level of knowledge expected of medical physicists worldwide

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Metacognitive Knowledge about Their Instructional Practices

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Yerdelen-Damar, Sevda; Özdemir, Ömer Faruk; Ünal, Cezmi

2015-01-01

This study aims to investigate pre-service physics teachers' metacognitive knowledge about their teaching practices. The participants included six pre-service physics teachers. A taxonomy of metacognition for teaching was developed to analyze the level of pre-service physics teachers' metacognitive knowledge about their teaching practices.…

Perspective Consciousness and Cultural Relevancy: Partnership Considerations for the Re-Conceptualization of Music Teacher Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, Suzanne L.

2011-01-01

Strong school-university partnerships yield effective music teachers. However, music teacher preparation curriculum has undergone little reform over the years, resulting in a homogeneous P-12 curriculum. Encouraging preservice music teachers to consider cultural and pedagogical differences holds promise for changing music teacher preparation and…

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Opinions about the Difficulties in Understanding Introductory Quantum Physics Topics

Science.gov (United States)

Kizilcik, Hasan Sahin; Yavas, Pervin Ünlü

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to identify the opinions of pre-service physics teachers about the difficulties in introductory quantum physics topics. In this study conducted with twenty-five pre-service physics teachers, the case study method was used. The participants were interviewed about introductory quantum physics topics. The interviews were…

Integrating Science Content and Pedagogy in the Earth, Life, and Physical Sciences: A K-8 Pre-Service Teacher Preparation Continuum at the University of Delaware

Science.gov (United States)

Madsen, J.; Allen, D.; Donham, R.; Fifield, S.; Ford, D.; Shipman, H.; Dagher, Z.

2007-12-01

University of Delaware faculty in the geological sciences, biological sciences, and the physics and astronomy departments have partnered with faculty and researchers from the school of education to form a continuum for K- 8 pre-service teacher preparation in science. The goal of the continuum is to develop integrated understandings of content and pedagogy so that these future teachers can effectively use inquiry-based approaches in teaching science in their classrooms. Throughout the continuum where earth science content appears an earth system science approach, with emphasis on inquiry-based activities, is employed. The continuum for K-8 pre-service teachers includes a gateway content course in the earth, life, or physical sciences taken during the freshman year followed by integrated science content and methods courses taken during the sophomore year. These integrated courses, called the Science Semester, were designed and implemented with funding from the National Science Foundation. During the Science Semester, traditional content and pedagogy subject matter boundaries are crossed to stress shared themes that teachers must understand to teach standards-based science. Students work collaboratively on multidisciplinary problem-based learning (PBL) activities that place science concepts in authentic contexts and build learning skills. They also critically explore the theory and practice of elementary science teaching, drawing on their shared experiences of inquiry learning during the Science Semester. The PBL activities that are the hallmark of the Science Semester provide the backdrop through which fundamental earth system interactions can be studied. For example in a PBL investigation that focuses on kids, cancer, and the environment, the hydrologic cycle with emphasis on surface runoff and ground water contamination is studied. Those students seeking secondary certification in science will enroll, as a bridge toward their student teaching experience, in an

Initial and Ongoing Teacher Preparation and Support: Current Problems and Possible Solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Harold A.

2013-01-01

The effective initial preparation and ongoing support of teachers of students who are deaf and hard of hearing has always been a difficult and controversial task. Changes in student demographic characteristics and educational settings, combined with the rapidly diminishing number and diversity of deaf education teacher preparation (DETP) programs,…

Moving towards Effective Physical Education Teacher Education for Generalist Primary Teachers: A View from Cyprus

Science.gov (United States)

Tsangaridou, Niki

2016-01-01

The preparation of effective teachers continues to be a critical issue in the literature since what teachers know and are able do is the most significant influence on what students learn. Teacher education programmes are considered to be the best places for teacher candidates to learn the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to educate…

Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: Recommendations for Physical Education Teacher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoxia; Gu, Xiangli; Zhang, Tao; Keller, Jean; Chen, Senlin

2018-01-01

Comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) aim to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles among school-age children and adolescents. Physical educators are highly qualified individuals taking on the role of certified physical activity leaders. Physical education teacher education (PETE) programs should consider preparing…

The Use of Lego Technologies in Elementary Teacher Preparation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hadjiachilleos, Stella; Avraamidou, Lucy; Papastavrou, Stavros

2013-01-01

The need to reform science teacher preparation programs has been pointed out in research (Bryan and Abell in J Res Sci Teach 36:121-140, 1999; Bryan and Atwater in Sci Educ 8(6):821-839, 2002; Harrington and Hathaway in J Teach Educ 46(4):275-284, 1995). Science teachers are charged with the

The Preparation of Teacher Candidates for K-12 Online Learning Environments: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Nicole V.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine how teacher education programs may better prepare teacher candidates to teach in K-12 online learning environments. The primary research question addressed was: What specific knowledge, skills, and dispositions should teacher education programs include in their curriculum to better prepare teacher…

High School Physical Sciences Teachers' Competence in Some ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Teachers' lack of competence in cognitive skills and strategies would be an important limiting factor in the successful implementation of the Physical Sciences curriculum. An urgent need ... Keywords: Cognitive skills, thinking skills, questions testing skills, problem solving, teacher training, high school physical science ...

Physics Teachers' Education (PTE): Problems and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Sassi, Elena; Michelini, Marisa

A vast majority of the research results acknowledge the crucial role of teacher's education, as a vital tool in enhancing the quality of physics education. The projects like PISA, ROSE and TIMMS showcase the impact of teacher's education as a qualitative improvement in the physics learning environment. In Physics Education Research (PER), the impact of teacher's education had been addressed for the its role in the enhancement of positive interest among the students. The current world-wide state of the art characterizes a large variety of boundary conditions, traditions and practices that are being followed. In our present context, we foucus and discuss on the multidimensional challanges such as competencies needed, degrees required, problems encountered, support to be provided and the basic pre-requirements of Teacher's education for the secondary schools. We present some of the teaching methods and practices followed in coherent with, both, the Student centered and open learning environments along with some of the useful didactical indicators. Also, we potray a couple of research-based examples successfully experimented in Italy. Finally we propose some useful recommendations along with the criteria to be followed in the teachers education for the overall improvement.

Assessing Student Achievement in Physical Education for Teacher Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Mercier, Kevin; Doolittle, Sarah

2013-01-01

While many teachers continue to ignore the practice of assessing student achievement in physical education, recent federal pressures to include student assessment data in teacher evaluation systems has shown that assessment of student outcomes is here to stay. Though there is a strong tradition of assessing teacher practice in physical education,…

Are elementary school teachers prepared to tackle bullying? : A pilot study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oldenburg, Beau; Bosman, Rie; Veenstra, Rene

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate to what extent elementary school teachers were prepared to tackle bullying. Interview data from 22 Dutch elementary school teachers (M age=43.3, 18 classrooms in eight schools) were combined with survey data from 373 students of these teachers (M

Research Experiences in Teacher Preparation: Effectiveness of the Green Bank preservice teacher enhancement program

Science.gov (United States)

Hemler, Debra A.

1997-11-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the preservice teacher component of the Research Experiences in Teacher Preparation (RETP) project aimed at enhancing teacher perceptions of the nature of science, science research, and science teaching. Data was collected for three preservice teacher groups during the three phases of the program: (I) a one week institute held at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia where teachers performed astronomy research using a 40 foot diameter radio telescope; (II) a secondary science methods course; and (III) student teaching placements. Four Likert-type instruments were developed and administered pre and post-institute to assess changes in perceptions of science, attitudes toward research, concerns about implementing research in the classroom, and evaluation of the institute. Instruments were re-administered following the methods course and student teaching. Observations of classroom students conducting research were completed for seven preservice teacher participants in their student teaching placements. Analysis, using t-tests, showed a significant increase in preservice teachers perceptions of their ability to do research. Preservice teachers were not concerned about implementing research in their placements. No significant change was measured in their understanding of the nature of science and science teaching. Concept maps demonstrated a significant increase in radio astronomy content knowledge. Participants responded that the value of institute components, quality of the research elements, and preparation for implementing research in the classroom were "good" to "excellent". Following the methods course (Phase II) no significant change in their understanding of the nature of science or concerns about implementing projects in the classroom were measured. Of the 7 preservice teachers who were observed implementing research projects, 5 projects were consistent with the Green

The Use of Lego Technologies in Elementary Teacher Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Hadjiachilleos, Stella; Avraamidou, Lucy; Papastavrou, Stavros

2013-01-01

The need to reform science teacher preparation programs has been pointed out in research (Bryan and Abell in "J Res Sci Teach" 36:121-140, 1999; Bryan and Atwater in "Sci Educ" 8(6):821-839, 2002; Harrington and Hathaway in "J Teach Educ" 46(4):275-284, 1995). Science teachers are charged with the responsibility of…

Meet the Next Generation's Physics Teachers at Physics on Stage

CERN Document Server

2000-01-01

Physics on Stage is an international festival held at CERN where physics teachers from 22 countries will gather to invent new ways of making physics more interesting to students. From 6 to 11 November CERN will be flooded by 450 high school physics teachers from 22 European countries! So don't be surprised if you can't find a place to sit down in the cafeteria! People from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, The Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom will come here to show, discuss, and invent new ways of teaching physics and making the subject more interesting for school children and the general public. Indeed the lack of interest in Physics is a worrying concern ­ for example in Germany the number of first year physics students has dropped more than 30 percent in the last ten years! In the UK the number of physics graduates training to be ...

WebQuests and Collaborative Learning in Teacher Preparation: A Singapore Study

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chien-Hui; Tzuo, Pei-Wen; Komara, Cecile

2011-01-01

This research project aimed to introduce WebQuests to train special education preservice teachers in Singapore. The following research questions were posed: (1) Does the use of WebQuests in teacher preparation promote special education teacher understanding on Universal Design for Learning in accommodating students with diverse learning needs? (2)…

Teacher Competency in Classroom Testing, Measurement Preparation, and Classroom Testing Practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Dorothy C.; Stallings, William M.

An assessment instrument and a questionnaire (Appendices A and B) were developed to determine how well teachers understand classroom testing principles and to gain information on the measurement preparation and classroom practices of teachers. Two hundred ninety-four inservice teachers, grades 1 through 12, from three urban school systems in…

Teacher Education Preparation Program for the 21st Century. Which Way Forward for Kenya?

Science.gov (United States)

Katitia, David Melita Ole

2015-01-01

Teacher quality is always cited as the most significant efficiency of teacher preparation programs. This paper discusses the aspects of Teacher education factor that influences student achievement. There has always been an increased interest in examining the preparation program for the 21st century in Kenya and recommending the way forward for our…

Career Intentions of Australian Physical Education Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Mäkelä, Kasper; Whipp, Peter R.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate Australian physical education (PE) teachers' career intentions and factors influencing their intentions. A sample (N = 234) of Western Australian PE teachers responded to a questionnaire determining PE teachers' work and the primary motivators for intention to leave the profession. Half (51.3%) of the…

Activation of a critical attitude in prospective teachers: From research investigations to guidelines for teacher education

Science.gov (United States)

Viennot, Laurence; Décamp, Nicolas

2018-06-01

This paper is inspired by the widely accepted need to develop critical thinking in physics students and teachers. More specifically, it is focused on the development of a critical attitude in prospective physics teachers. The question of a possible interplay between the development of conceptual comprehension and that of a critical attitude prompted us to conduct a series of investigations with teachers at the end of their preparation. The goal of this paper is to provide a synthesis of five previously published papers on this topic in order to inform discussion about teacher preparation. Each investigation is centered on a particular aspect of physics, and all are based on in-depth interviews with different participants. We focus on prospective teachers' "intellectual dynamics," that is, the way their comprehension of nonobvious topics and their critical attitudes evolve during these interviews, taking into account metacognitive and affective aspects such as intellectual satisfaction and self-esteem. We characterize several types of intellectual dynamics: "early critique," "delayed critique," "unstable critique," and "expert anesthesia" and provide information on their frequency. An overall conclusion is that in this type of context, that is, a guided intellectual pathway of about an hour, the development of conceptual comprehension and critical attitude are most often deeply entangled. We discuss the implications of these results for future research and we advocate new objectives and strategies for physics teachers' preparation.

"Like, We Don't Want to Be PE Teachers": Preservice Classroom Teachers' Beliefs about Physical Education and Willingness to Incorporate Physical Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Linker, Jenny Mae; Woods, Amelia Mays

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine preservice elementary classroom teachers' (PCTs) beliefs about physical education and their willingness to incorporate physical activity as they progressed through an undergraduate physical education methods course. This course focused on quality physical education as well as the classroom teacher's role in…

Pre-service Physics Teachers Views on Designing and Developing Physics Digital Stories

OpenAIRE

Kocakaya, Serhat; Karakoyun, Ferit; Kotluk, Nihat

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to determine the pre-service physics teachers views on the effect of designing and developing physics digital stories (DST) on improving their 21st centuries skills. The study is a qualitative research carried out with 13 pre-service physics teachers, who participated in the course of designing and developing DST, during 6 weeks, at Yuzuncu Yil University, Turkey, in the spring term of 2013-2014 academic year. Data were collected using semi-structured interview...

Preparing Mathematics Teachers for Technology-Rich Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Sturdivant, Rodney X.; Dunham, Penelope; Jardine, Richard

2009-01-01

This article describes key elements for faculty development programs to prepare mathematics teachers for technology-rich environments. We offer practical examples from our experiences in teaching mathematics with technology and in teaching others to incorporate technology-based pedagogies. We address challenges faced by faculty using technology,…

Prospective Physics Teachers' Awareness of Radiation and Radioactivity

Science.gov (United States)

Tasoglu, Aslihan Kartal; Ates, Özlem; Bakaç, Mustafa

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate prospective physics teachers' knowledge of and attitude towards radiation and radioactivity. Participants of this study are 56 prospective physics teachers. A questionnaire related with the knowledge about radiation and radiation fear was conducted. The results of this study showed that most of the…

Exploring physics concepts among novice teachers through CMAP tools

Science.gov (United States)

Suprapto, N.; Suliyanah; Prahani, B. K.; Jauhariyah, M. N. R.; Admoko, S.

2018-03-01

Concept maps are graphical tools for organising, elaborating and representing knowledge. Through Cmap tools software, it can be explored the understanding and the hierarchical structuring of physics concepts among novice teachers. The software helps physics teachers indicated a physics context, focus questions, parking lots, cross-links, branching, hierarchy, and propositions. By using an exploratory quantitative study, a total 13-concept maps with different physics topics created by novice physics teachers were analysed. The main differences of scoring between lecturer and peer-teachers’ scoring were also illustrated. The study offered some implications, especially for physics educators to determine the hierarchical structure of the physics concepts, to construct a physics focus question, and to see how a concept in one domain of knowledge represented on the map is related to a concept in another domain shown on the map.

Views of Physics Teachers on How to Address the Declining Enrolment in Physics at the University Level

Science.gov (United States)

Oon, Pey-Tee; Subramaniam, R.

2010-01-01

Teachers' views are worth hearing in order to get ideas on how to address the trend of declining enrolment in physics at the university level, which is regarded as a global problem. This study explores physics teachers' views on how to encourage more students to study physics at the university level. A sample of 166 physics teachers in Singapore…

Turkish Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Preferred Learning Styles

Science.gov (United States)

Kandil Ingec, Sebnem

2015-01-01

This study aims to determine the dominant learning styles of pre-service physics teachers and to examine them in terms of variables such as gender, information and communication technologies skills, academic achievement and type of motivation. Survey model was used. The sample composed of 50 pre-service physics teachers. The data were collected…

Towards a Philosophy of Music Teacher Preparation.

Science.gov (United States)

Parr, N. Carlotta

1999-01-01

Summarizes six principles that might serve as a theoretical framework supporting a new vision for the purposes and processes of music teacher preparation. Draws the principles from the conceptions of learning and teaching of Jerome Bruner, Maxine Greene, and Vernon A. Howard. Provides background information on their ideas. (CMK)

Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs. Title II News You Can Use

Science.gov (United States)

Office of Postsecondary Education, US Department of Education, 2015

2015-01-01

Title II of the "Higher Education Act of 1965" ("HEA"), as amended in 2008 by the "Higher Education Opportunity Act," requires states to report annually on key elements of their teacher preparation programs and requirements for initial teacher credentialing, kindergarten through 12th grade. "Title II News You Can…

Graduate Teacher Preparation for Rural Schools in Victoria and Queensland

Science.gov (United States)

Kline, Jodie; Walker-Gibbs, Bernadette

2015-01-01

Graduate teachers' preparedness for working in rural settings are mediated by the development of pedagogical expertise, professional engagement with parents and the community, and broader notions of preparation to teach in rural contexts. The Studying the Effectiveness of Teacher Education (SETE) project is a four-year longitudinal study tracking…

Perceptions of physical education and sports teachers towards folk ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... to the teachers' specialties. Subsequent to the teachers who specialised in folk dance, the teachers who had the most positive attitude towards folk dance were the teachers in the martial arts (wrestling, judo, boxing, taekwondo) group. Keywords: Attitudes/Perceptions; Folk dance; Physical education; Sport; Teachers.

Preparing Globally Competent Teacher Candidates through Cross-Cultural Experiential Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Kopish, Michael A.

2016-01-01

This manuscript presents findings and implications from a case study of one global educator's attempt to develop globally competent teacher candidates in an elective teacher preparation course. Global Citizenship Education served as the framing paradigm for the course and human experiences of immigrants and refugees served as the milieu for…

An Observatory to Enhance the Preparation of Future California Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Connolly, L.; Lederer, S.

2004-12-01

With a major grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, California State University, San Bernardino is establishing a state-of-the-art teaching astronomical observatory. The Observatory will be fundamental to an innovative undergraduate physics and astronomy curriculum for Physics and Liberal Studies majors and will be integrated into our General Education program. The critical need for a research and educational observatory is linked to changes in California's Science Competencies for teacher certification. Development of the Observatory will also complement a new infusion of NASA funding and equipment support for our growing astronomy education programs and the University's established Strategic Plan for excellence in education and teacher preparation. The Observatory will consist of two domed towers. One tower will house a 20" Ritchey-Chretien telescope equipped with a CCD camera in conjunction with either UBVRI broadband filters or a spectrometer for evening laboratories and student research projects. The second tower will house the university's existing 12" Schmidt-Cassegrain optical telescope coupled with a CCD camera and an array of filters. A small aperture solar telescope will be attached to the 12" for observing solar prominences while a milar filter can be attached to the 12" for sunspot viewing. We have been very fortunate to receive a challenge grant of \\600,000 from the W. M. Keck Foundation to equip the two domed towers; we continue to seek a further \\800,000 to meet our construction needs. Funding also provided by the California State University, San Bernardino.

The role of proletarianization in physical education teacher attrition.

Science.gov (United States)

Macdonald, D

1995-06-01

As the quality of education provisions continues to come under scrutiny, so too have the conditions for teachers' work. The purpose of this study was to ascertain what were the dissatisfactions for beginning physical education teachers in Australian schools. Qualitative data were collected using interviews, journals, photographs, and field notes. Data yielded five main categories underpinning teacher dissatisfaction: (a) lack of status, (b) repetitive nature of physical education work, (c) limited decision making, (d) personal and professional surveillance, and (e) unprofessional staffroom culture. The construct of proletarianization was employed to explain the patterns that shape teachers' occupational socialization and underpin teachers' decisions to leave the profession.

Translanguaging in Bilingual Teacher Preparation: Exploring Pre-Service Bilingual Teachers' Academic Writing

Science.gov (United States)

Musanti, Sandra I.; Rodríguez, Alma D.

2017-01-01

Translanguaging, or the complex, dynamic, and integrated linguistic practices of bilinguals have been recently identified as a pedagogical strategy to facilitate learning in bilingual classrooms. Given its potential implications for teacher preparation, a qualitative case study was conducted at a university on the Texas-Mexico border to explore…

A Study Examining the Dimensionality of Core Competencies Measure in Teacher Preparation Programs: Challenges and Lessons

Science.gov (United States)

Kizil, Ruhan Circi; Briggs, Derek; Seidel, Kent; Green, Kathy

2014-01-01

The evidence that teacher preparation programs have an impact on teacher quality is often limited. Progress in research on this topic will remain rather limited in its influence on practice until more proximal measures of teacher education outcomes can be established. The dearth of variables to measure the impact of teacher preparation programs on…

Teaching the Conceptual History of Physics to Physics Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Garik, Peter; Garbayo, Luciana; Benétreau-Dupin, Yann; Winrich, Charles; Duffy, Andrew; Gross, Nicholas; Jariwala, Manher

2015-01-01

For nearly a decade we have taught the history and philosophy of science as part of courses aimed at the professional development of physics teachers. The focus of the history of science instruction is on the stages in the development of the concepts and theories of physics. For this instruction, we designed activities to help the teachers…

Using Critical Cosmopolitanism to Globally Situate Multicultural Education in Teacher Preparation Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Byker, Erik Jon; Marquardt, Sheila K.

2016-01-01

Globally-minded teachers often beget globally-minded students. The same relationship seems to hold true for multiculturalism; teachers who are committed to multiculturalism often nudge students toward the same commitment. Global citizenship and multicultural education share a strong bond. Yet, in the field of social studies teacher preparation,…

Students' Individual and Social Behaviors with Physical Education Teachers' Personality

Science.gov (United States)

Arbabisarjou, Azizollah; Sourki, Mehdi Sadeghian; Bonjar, Seyedeh Elaham Hashemi

2016-01-01

The main objective for this survey is to assess the relationship between physical education teachers' personality and students' individual with social behaviors. The statistical population of the study was all the teachers of physical education working at high schools in the academic year 2012-2013. The sample consisted of sixty teachers that were…

Practice or Theory: Situating Science Teacher Preparation Within a Context of Ecojustice Philosophy

Science.gov (United States)

Britton, Stacey A.; Tippins, Deborah J.

2015-06-01

Theory is taught to preservice teachers from the moment they enter the education program until they graduate. While theory serves as the foundation in many teacher preparation courses, these future teachers must also understand the relationship it has to practice. The focus of this article is on the journey of one group of preservice secondary science teachers toward becoming practitioners with a theoretical understanding of what and how they would teach science. Ecojustice philosophy, being implemented through citizen science pedagogy, served as the framework for this method course and proved challenging for both the professor and the preservice teacher. Hermeneutic ethnography served as the guiding methodological/theoretical framework for this research and provided an opportunity for extensive data collection in an attempt to better understand how participants made sense of learning to teach within a method course focused around ecojustice philosophy. By using hermeneutic ethnography, we are encouraged to make sense of what we are seeing, while considering our own cultural experiences and abilities to interact with others taking part in these events. This research highlights the need for dialogue within science teacher preparation classrooms, addresses the challenges in teaching for practice-theory, and suggests possibilities for future considerations within science teacher preparation.

Pedagogical and conflict situations of teacher of physical training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pechko O.M.

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The article reveals the essence of pedagogical and conflict situations between teacher and student. Considered ways of solving and preventing pedagogical and conflict situations in school. Principal reasons of conflict situations are selected, situations of activity, conduct and relations. The receptions of influence of teacher of physical culture are separated on personality of schoolchildren. It is well-proven that the profession of teacher of physical culture supposes possibility of conflict situations.

The Abacus: Teachers' Preparation and Beliefs about Their Abacus Preservice Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenblum, L. Penny; Hong, Sunggye; Amato, Sheila

2013-01-01

Introduction: This article reports on a study of 196 teachers who shared their experiences and opinions related to how they were taught to use the Cranmer abacus. Methods: In February and March 2012, the participants completed an online survey to gather information about their preparation in using and beliefs about computation with the Cranmer…

South African physical sciences teachers' perceptions of new ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper reports on South African teachers' perceptions of the educational value of new topics in a revised physical sciences high school curriculum, their content .... identify the core issues surrounding teachers' views on the new topics, and ... A were generated, enabling us to construct a profile of schools and teachers.

Digital Natives as Preservice Teachers: What Technology Preparation Is Needed?

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Jing

2009-01-01

This study focused on "digital natives" as preservice teachers to examine their beliefs, attitudes, and technology experiences and expertise, identify the strengths and weaknesses in their technology knowledge and skills, and explore what technology preparation was needed to prepare them to integrate technology in their future classrooms. Results…

Including a learner with physical disabilities: stressful for teachers?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Eloff

2002-08-01

Full Text Available Learners with physical disabilities have been entering mainstream schools for some years now. Whereas early research on inclusive education necessitated a strong focus on the needs of the learners, there has also been a recent interest in the role of the teachers in inclusive education. By adopting constructivism as the paradigm for inquiry a study was undertaken to establish the stress factors for teachers who have to include a learner with a physical disability in their mainstream classes. The rationale for the study is threefold: i Learners with physical disabilities are entering mainstream schools increasingly, ii it is often assumed that inclusive education is too stressful for teachers to cope with, and iii related research has shown that increased contact with individuals with disabilities has a positive effect on attitudes towards individuals with disabilities. In accordance with the dialectical methodology of constructivism, the Teacher Stress and Coping Questionnaire and in-depth interviews were utilised to establish the stress factors and the extent of the stress factors that may be present. The aim of the constructivist inquiry process is to promote understanding and reconstruction. In this article the quantitative results indicate overall low or non-existent levels of stress in teachers who have to include a learner with a physical disability, and the results therefore contribute to our understanding of this situation. The qualitative results reconstruct the meanings that these teachers attach to the inclusion of a learner with a physical disability and reveal some albeit limited concerns about the communication processes between parents and teachers and a perceived lack of pre-service training.

Associations between different types of physical activity and teachers' perceived mental, physical, and work-related health.

Science.gov (United States)

Bogaert, Inge; De Martelaer, Kristine; Deforche, Benedicte; Clarys, Peter; Zinzen, Evert

2014-05-30

The teaching profession is characterized by high levels of stress and physical complaints, which might be improved through regular participation in physical activity (PA). However, the effect of PA on mental and physical health is not always consistent and depends on the type of PA performed. The aim of this study was to examine the mental, physical, and work-related health of Flemish secondary school teachers and identify the impact on those health variables by demographic and teaching-related factors and various types of PA. This study included an online survey conducted across a representative sample of secondary school teachers (n = 1066, average age 40 years; 68 percent female). Level of PA and sitting time were estimated using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and perceived mental health and physical health were estimated using the Short Form 36. Work-related factors such as job satisfaction, occupational stress, and absenteeism were also collected. T-tests, ANOVAs, and linear regression analyses were performed. Flemish secondary school teachers have poorer perceived mental and physical health than a general healthy population. This difference is particularly evident among female teachers, who reported lower perceived health, more occupational stress, and more absent days compared to their male colleagues. Higher participation in leisure-time PA was associated with a more positive perceived health. In contrast, higher levels of occupational PA and sitting time had a negative impact on perceived health. Total amount of PA, total amount of moderate-to-vigorous PA, transportation-related PA, and PA at home were not associated to teachers' perceived health. Because secondary school teachers' levels of perceived health are low, they are an important target group for interventions aiming to improve health. Only leisure-time PA was associated with more positive perceived health. This finding may indicate that teachers performing more exercise

Science Teaching Experiences in Informal Settings: One Way to Enrich the Preparation Program for Preservice Science Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Pei-Ling

2016-01-01

The high attrition rate of new science teachers demonstrates the urgent need to incorporate effective practices in teacher preparation programs to better equip preservice science teachers. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate a way to enrich preservice science teachers' preparation by incorporating informal science teaching practice into…

Teachers' Views of Their Preparation for Inclusive Education and Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Zagona, Alison L.; Kurth, Jennifer A.; MacFarland, Stephanie Z. C.

2017-01-01

There is a need to advance inclusive education for students with significant disabilities, and one way to support this effort is to ensure educators have expertise in, and are prepared to implement, inclusive practices. We surveyed and interviewed general and special education teachers to understand their experiences and preparation to demonstrate…

Determining which introductory physics topics pre-service physics teachers have difficulty understanding and what accounts for these difficulties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Şahin, Esin; Yağbasan, Rahmi

2012-01-01

This study aims at diagnosing which subjects pre-service physics teachers have difficulty understanding in introductory physics courses and what accounts for these difficulties. A questionnaire consisting of two qualitative questions was used to collect data for this study. The questionnaire was administered to 101 pre-service physics teachers who have completed the courses Physics 1 (Mechanics 1), Physics 2 (Mechanics 2), Physics 3 (Electricity) and Physics 4 (Magnetism). Of the pre-service physics teachers 28 were second year, 26 were third year, 27 were fourth year and 20 were fifth year students. The results of the data analysis indicated that the percentage of students who think that Magnetism has the most difficult subjects is the highest compared to the others. The reasons why the pre-service physics teachers experience difficulty in understanding the subjects have been grouped into four categories. (paper)

An Exploration of the Preparation and Organization of Teaching Practice Exercise to Prospective Science and Mathematics Teachers toward Improving Teaching Profession at Morogoro Teachers' College

Science.gov (United States)

Mungure, Daudi Mika

2016-01-01

This paper explored the preparation and organization of teaching practice exercise to prospective science and mathematics teachers in Tanzania teachers college specifically Morogoro Teachers' College toward improving teaching profession. Due to the challenges stated by different scholars on preparation and organization of teaching practice…

Reading Preparation of Secondary ELA Teachers: A U.S. Survey of State Licensure Requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Lovette, Gail E.

2013-01-01

Secondary teacher preparation in reading in the U.S. has received minimal attention from the research community despite the almost universal implementation of the Common Core State Standards. In response, numerous publications have demanded that secondary teachers be fully prepared to support the needs of struggling readers, especially ELA…

Consolidating Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Subject Matter Knowledge Using Didactical Reconstructions

Science.gov (United States)

Mäntylä, T.; Nousiainen, M.

2014-01-01

In the Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, there are advanced physics courses designed for the needs of pre-service physics teachers. The starting point is that after introductory and intermediate physics courses, pre-service physics teachers know laws and definitions but the knowledge is quite fragmented and does not form coherent…

Using Critical Cosmopolitanism to Globally Situate Multicultural Education in Teacher Preparation Courses

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Erik Jon Byker

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Globally-minded teachers often beget globally-minded students. The same relationship seems to hold true for multiculturalism; teachers who are committed to multiculturalism often nudge students toward the same commitment. Global citizenship and multicultural education share a strong bond. Yet, in the field of social studies teacher preparation, the bond between global competencies and multiculturalism often seems permeable and quite fragile. In the context of multicultural education in the United States, teachers engage with issues of privilege, power, and oppression but with a heavy US-centric focus. The article contends that the predominant United States’ focus of multiculturalism limits the opportunities to engage the global: global competencies, global voices, and global citizenship. The article seeks to wed multiculturalism and global education. It does so by introducing and explaining Critical Cosmopolitan Theory (Byker, 2013, which is a theoretical framework to guide the preparation of globally competent and culturally responsive teacher candidates. Utilizing findings from an artifact analysis study of teacher candidates (n=51, the article discusses ways to assist teacher candidates in their development of becoming Critically Cosmopolitan citizens who embrace social justice by being informed by the global and multicultural.

Deaf Education Teacher Preparation: A Phenomenological Case Study of a Graduate Program with a Comprehensive Philosophy

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Engler, Karen S.; MacGregor, Cynthia J.

2018-01-01

At a time when deaf education teacher preparation programs are declining in number, little is known about their actual effectiveness. A phenomenological case study of a graduate-level comprehensive deaf education teacher preparation program at a midwestern university explored empowered and enabled learning of teacher candidates using the Missouri…

Developing HALM Teaching Competencies in PETE Teacher Candidates

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Wilkinson, Carol; Prusak, Keven; Zanandrea, Maria

2018-01-01

The lifetime activities approach, which grew out of the lifetime physical activity model, has informed the practice of one physical education teacher education (PETE) program as it prepares teacher candidates to teach K-12 students about the importance of health, health-related fitness, and physical activity. Health-enhancing behaviors such as…

Standards for Competence in Braille Literacy Skills in Teacher Preparation Programs.

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Amato, Sheila

2002-01-01

A survey was conducted with 45 instructors from teacher training programs for teaching students with visual impairments. Respondents evidenced a strong commitment to Braille literacy and teacher preparation, however, findings indicate a lack of consistency in Braille courses with respect to standards and criteria for competence in Braille…

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Argumentation in a Model Rocketry Physics Experience

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Gürel, Cem; Süzük, Erol

2017-01-01

This study investigates the quality of argumentation developed by a group of pre-service physics teachers' (PSPT) as an indicator of subject matter knowledge on model rocketry physics. The structure of arguments and scientific credibility model was used as a design framework in the study. The inquiry of model rocketry physics was employed in…

Differences between Social Science Teachers and Physics Teachers about Beliefs of Competences Model in Mexico

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Ramirez Díaz, Mario H.; Garcia Trujillo, Luís Antonio; Chávez-Campos, David A.

2016-01-01

This paper shows the results of a diagnostic research that evaluates the perception of teaching competencies by physics teachers, in universities and high schools that have experienced curricular change of the mode of competences-based education (EBC). The research was conducted in both physics teachers in high school and college level nationally…

Teacher Educators' and Student Teachers' Beliefs about Preparation for Working with Families Including Those from Diverse Socioeconomic and Cultural Backgrounds

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D'Haem, Jeanne; Griswold, Peter

2017-01-01

This mixed-methods study examined teacher preparation for developing family partnerships. The attitudes and practices of teacher educators and the attitudes and experiences of student teachers were explored in focus groups, documents, and a survey instrument. Results indicated that although partnerships were considered important by faculty and…

Does Teaching Experience Matter? The Beliefs and Practices of Beginning and Experienced Physics Teachers

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Caleon, Imelda S.; Tan, Yuen Sze Michelle; Cho, Young Hoan

2018-02-01

This study utilized multiple data sources to examine the beliefs about learning and teaching physics and the instructional practices of five beginning teachers and seven experienced teachers from Singapore. Our study was implemented in the unique context of teachers teaching the topic of electricity to students grouped according to academic abilities. The topic of electricity is one of the most difficult physics topics for students to understand and for teachers to teach. It was found that the experienced teachers, compared to the beginning teachers, tended to have beliefs about teaching and learning physics that are closer to constructivist views. The majority of the teachers, particularly the beginning teachers, espoused beliefs about learning physics that were incongruent with their beliefs about teaching physics. Although transmission-oriented and teacher-directed practices dominated the classroom lessons of both groups of teachers, more elements of constructivist instruction were found in the classroom lessons of the experienced teachers. It was also found that the classroom practices of the teachers, especially those in their inductive years of teaching, were more aligned with their beliefs about learning physics than their beliefs about teaching physics.

Beyond the dichotomy of teacher- versus student-focused education: A survey study on physics teachers' beliefs about the goals and pedagogy of physics education

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Belo, Nelleke; Belo, N.; van Driel, J.H.; van Veen, Klaas; Verloop, Nico

2014-01-01

This study explored the content and structure of physics teachers' beliefs on teaching and learning in general in relation to their domain-specific beliefs. A questionnaire was administered to secondary school teachers in physics (N = 126) in the Netherlands. The results showed that beliefs about

Beyond the dichotomy of teacher- versus student-focused education : A survey study on physics teachers' beliefs about the goals and pedagogy of physics education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Belo, Nelleke A. H.; van Driel, Jan H.; van Veen, Klaas; Verloop, Nico

This study explored the content and structure of physics teachers' beliefs on teaching and learning in general in relation to their domain-specific beliefs. A questionnaire was administered to secondary school teachers in physics (N = 126) in the Netherlands. The results showed that beliefs about

Educate at Penn State: Preparing Beginning Teachers with Powerful Digital Tools

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Murray, Orrin T.; Zembal-Saul, Carla

2008-01-01

University based teacher education programs are slowly beginning to catch up to other professional programs that use modern digital tools to prepare students to enter professional fields. This discussion looks at how one teacher education program reached the conclusion that students and faculty would use notebook computers. Frequently referred to…

Mathematical Making in Teacher Preparation: What Knowledge Is Brought to Bear?

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Greenstein, Steven; Seventko, Justin

2017-01-01

In this paper, we describe an experience within mathematics teacher preparation that engages preservice teachers (PSTs) in Making and design practices that we hypothesized would inform their conceptual and pedagogical thinking. With a focus on the design of new tools to support mathematics teaching and learning, this Learning by Design experience…

A Framework for Instructional Innovation in the Preparation of Tomorrow's Teachers

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Dilworth, Paulette; Donaldson, Ana; George, Marshall; Knezek, Don; Searson, Mike; Starkweather, Kendall; Strutchens, Marilyn; Tillotson, John; Robinson, Sharon

2012-01-01

Emergent technologies offer opportunities to understand concepts in deeper, often different, and more meaningful ways. However, this growth in understanding will occur only if teachers learn to use these technologies in effective ways. The federal initiative Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) was launched in 1999 to address this…

Effect of Physical Education Teachers' Computer Literacy on Technology Use in Physical Education

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Kretschmann, Rolf

2015-01-01

Teachers' computer literacy has been identified as a factor that determines their technology use in class. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between physical education (PE) teachers' computer literacy and their technology use in PE. The study group consisted of 57 high school level in-service PE teachers. A survey was used…

News Conference: Physics brings the community together Training: CERN trains physics teachers Education: World conference fosters physics collaborations Lecture: Physics education live at ASE Prize: Physics teacher wins first Moore medal Festival: European presidents patronize Science on Stage festival Videoconference: Videoconference brings Durban closer to the classroom

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-01

Conference: Physics brings the community together Training: CERN trains physics teachers Education: World conference fosters physics collaborations Lecture: Physics education live at ASE Prize: Physics teacher wins first Moore medal Festival: European presidents patronize Science on Stage festival Videoconference: Videoconference brings Durban closer to the classroom

The Reasons and Motivation for Pre-Service Teachers Choosing to Specialise in Primary Physical Education Teacher Education

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Spittle, Sharna; Spittle, Michael

2014-01-01

This study explored the reasons for pre-service teachers choosing to specialise in primary physical education and how these choices related to their motivation. Pre-service teachers who then elected to specialise in primary physical education (n = 248) completed the Attractors and Facilitators for Physical Education (AFPE) questionnaire and the…

The Use of Lego Technologies in Elementary Teacher Preparation

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Hadjiachilleos, Stella; Avraamidou, Lucy; Papastavrou, Stavros

2013-10-01

The need to reform science teacher preparation programs has been pointed out in research (Bryan and Abell in J Res Sci Teach 36:121-140, 1999; Bryan and Atwater in Sci Educ 8(6):821-839, 2002; Harrington and Hathaway in J Teach Educ 46(4):275-284, 1995). Science teachers are charged with the responsibility of incorporating both cognitive and non-cognitive parameters in their everyday teaching practices. This often results in their reluctance to teach science because they often lack disciplinary and/or pedagogical expertise required to promote science learning. The purpose of this study is to propose an alternative instructional approach in which Lego vehicles were used as a tool to promote pre-service elementary teachers' development and to examine whether there are non-cognitive parameters that promote or obstruct them from using Lego Technologies as a teaching tool. The context of the study was defined by a teacher preparation program of a private university in a small Mediterranean country. A sample of 28 pre-service elementary teachers, working in five 5-6-member groups were involved in scientific inquiries, during which they had to use vehicles in order to solve scientific problems related to concepts such as gear functioning, force, and motion. The nature of their cognitive engagement in the scientific inquiry process, non-cognitive parameters contributing to their cognitive engagement, and the impact of their involvement in the process on their development were examined through qualitative analysis of pre- and post-inquiry interviews, presentations of their solutions to the scientific problems and of their personal reflective journals.

Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers: Are New Mexico's Education School Graduates Ready to Teach Reading and Mathematics in Elementary Classrooms?

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Greenberg, Julie; Jacobs, Sandi

2009-01-01

As a follow up to National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ's) national studies of how well elementary teachers are prepared to teach reading and mathematics, NCTQ looks at preparation in both subjects in all undergraduate teacher preparation programs in New Mexico. This analysis evaluated New Mexico's eight undergraduate elementary teacher…

Mobilizing knowledge in physical education teacher education: building the knowledge of inclusion

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Victor J. Santos da Conceição

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This study aimed at understanding how teachers seek knowledge about inclusion, to work with Students with Special Educational Needs, included in physical education classes in ordinary elementary school classes. Participated in this study three Physical Education teachers, regents class in elementary school. Was used a interview with teacher about study objective. The information was transcribed and analyzed through a survey of the meaning units and construction of analytical categories. The results showed that the three teachers interviewed had direct contact with the physical education during their school life, as well as the sport of income. The teacher traning happens only the teacher of faces with student included.

A Quantitative Correlational Study of Teacher Preparation Program on Student Achievement

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Dingman, Jacob Blackstone

2010-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to identify the relationship between the type of teacher preparation program and student performance on the seventh and eighth grade mathematics state assessments in rural school settings. The study included a survey of a convenience sample of 36 teachers from Colorado and Washington school…

Contextualization processes and the initial education of physics teachers

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Cristina Cândida de Macedo

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Contextualization of school contents has been seen as a possibility of facilitating students’ learning, since it makes the educative process more significant to them. However, there is no agreement as to the meaning and the forms of applying such processes. Particularly in the area of Science teaching, the creation of thematic projects has been seen as a way of contextualizing school contents. It is noteworthy that the experience with the education of Physics teachers shows that the creation and execution of such projects brings many difficulties to teachers, the main obstacle being the understanding of what contextualized educative processes are. Having this in mind, a project has been elaborated with the objective of analyzing the comprehension Physics teachers that are going through teacher education courses have of the processes of contextualization. The data for this investigation has been obtained from students who attended a course of the Physics Teacher Education module at the Federal University of Itajubá. It is significant to mention that in this course students are asked to create three versions of a thematic project. In order to analyze the data, the procedure of Thematic Content and Category Analysis was adopted. This research shows that Physics teachers to be incorporate the discourses of the educative ideas throughout the course. However, there is a series of obstacles they face as they attempt to understand and carry out contextualized educative processes. Those difficulties are connected to their experience with this kind of educative process throughout the years they spend at school and in the teacher education course. We conclude thus that it is essential that contextualized educative activities be part of the reality of teacher education programs.

A comparative study on music teacher preparation in Portugal and Brazil

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Graça Mota

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The preparation of music teachers in Portugal and Brazil is the focus of this text, which aims at presenting preliminary aspects of a study in progress in the context of higher education in both countries. Inspired by comparative education methodology, the present study is investigating official documents and academic curricula offered in Portugal and Brazil for the music teachers’ preparation to promote, in different ways, the comparative reflection with an emphasis on school education. The music teachers’ education in both countries was analyzed taking into account the following elements: educational context in Portugal and Brazil; music preparation prior to higher education, and the entrance criteria in the courses that are offered for music teachers; curricular elements of the courses; teaching practice and professional perspectives. The preliminary results of this comparative analysis demonstrate similarities and differences in the two contexts: 1 in both countries, music teachers for regular schools receive their degrees in higher education institutions, and in Portugal, beyond the Licenciatura in Music, a Music Education Master degree is demanded; 2 in both countries specific entrance tests are accomplished in the universities, demanding previous musical knowledge; 3 the balance among the musical and pedagogical preparation is one of the curricular objectives; 4 the teaching practice is an emphasized component in the teachers’ preparation; 5 in Portugal, student’s motivation for the work in the regular school appears to be larger than in Brazil.

Teachers' Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the Art Education Preparation Program in Kuwait

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AlHaddad, Ghadeer

2014-01-01

This study was designed to investigate how pre-service, beginners, and advanced art teachers in Kuwait viewed their teacher preparation program by describing and evaluating its effectiveness. To examine the issues of art teacher training and current teaching, this study used quantitative and qualitative research approaches. The study included a…

But Good Intentions Are Not Enough: Preparing Teachers to Center Race and Poverty

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Milner, H. Richard; Laughter, Judson C.

2015-01-01

Drawing from principles of critical race theory, the authors consider the curriculum of teacher education as a potential policy and practice site for centering the interconnections of race and poverty in the preparation of teachers. Several macro-level recommendations are advanced that might influence practices in teacher education and ultimately…

Comparative Education on the Map of Teacher Preparation Programme in Kuwait

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Hamad, Al Rashid

2013-01-01

Comparative education represents one of the main topics included in teacher preparation programmes in most countries. This subject is critical for future teachers because it represents a window through which learners can look at other educational systems and see how they are managed and what sort of policies and educational philosophies are used.…

High school physics teacher forms of thought about simple electric circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kucukozer, H.

2005-01-01

According to some researches on students and on science teachers, they have same conceptual difficulties about simple electric circuits and these affect their further learning or/and teaching. [2], [5], [8], [9], [11], [13]. The main aim of this study was to investigate in-service high school physics teachers form of thought about simple electric circuits. In this purpose a test that was developed by Kucukozer [7], contains eight questions related to simple electric circuits was applied to in-service physics teachers (25 subjects) in various Anatolian Teacher High School in Turkey. After analyzing and evaluating of their data, it was found that, the physics teachers have conceptual difficulties about simple electric circuits, especially the concepts about source of stationary current and current usage

Earth Science for Educators: Preparing 7-12 Teachers for Standards-based, Inquiry Instruction

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Sloan, H.

2002-05-01

"Earth Science for Educators" is an innovative, standards-based, graduate level teacher education curriculum that presents science content and pedagogic technique in parallel. The curriculum calls upon the resources and expertise of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to prepare novice New York City teachers for teaching Earth Science. One of the goals of teacher education is to assure and facilitate science education reform through preparation of K-12 teachers who understand and are able to implement standard-based instruction. Standards reflect not only the content knowledge students are expected to attain but also the science skills and dispositions towards science they are expected to develop. Melding a list of standards with a curriculum outline to create inquiry-based classroom instruction that reaches a very diverse population of learners is extremely challenging. "Earth Science for Educators" helps novice teachers make the link between standards and practice by constantly connecting standards with instruction they receive and activities they carry out. Development of critical thinking and enthusiasm for inquiry is encouraged through engaging experience and contact with scientists and their work. Teachers are taught Earth systems science content through modeling of a wide variety of instruction and assessment methods based upon authentic scientific inquiry and aimed at different learning styles. Use of fieldwork and informal settings, such as the Museum, familiarizes novice teachers with ways of drawing on community resources for content and instructional settings. Metacognitive reflection that articulates standards, practice, and the teachers' own learning experience help draw out teachers' insights into their students' learning. The innovation of bring science content together with teaching methods is key to preparing teachers for standards-based, inquiry instruction. This curriculum was successfully piloted with a group of 28 novice teachers as

Quality of life and physical activity as indicators of health-preserving competence of teachers

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Pavlova Iu.A.

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The quality of life and physical activity of teachers of physical culture, basic of health, labour, the defense of Motherland and pedagogue-organizers from secondary schools Lviv region (Ukraine were investigated. The 402 persons (age 24-78 years were surveyed with the use of questionnaires MOS SF 36 and IPAQ. The highest quality of life and level of physical activity have teachers of physical culture. It is considered the quality of life of teachers of other subjects similar to persons with chronic diseases. The level of physical activity in leisure time was particularly low for teachers of Basic of Health and pedagogue-organizers. The teachers spent no more than 433 MET-min/ week for moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity. The level of physical activity of teachers (besides the physical education teachers was insufficient to improve health and indicate about low level of health-preserving competence.

Taiwan Teacher Preparation Program Evaluation: Some Critical Perspectives

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Liu, Tze-Chang

2015-01-01

This paper focuses on the influences and changes of recent Taiwan teacher preparation program evaluation (TTPPE) as one of the national evaluation projects conducted by the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan. The main concerns are what kind of ideology is transformed through the policy by means of evaluation, and what…

Are Science Teachers Prepared to Promote Argumentation? A Case Study with Pre-Service Teachers in Bogotá City

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Archila, Pablo Antonio

2014-01-01

This paper addresses the importance of argumentation in science education. A research project was done in order to know how a group of pre-service chemistry teachers has been prepared to promote students' argumentation. A Chemistry degree studies plan from a Colombian university was surveyed, and 18 future teachers' representations about…

From Technology Teacher to Technology Integration Specialist: Preparing for a Paradigm Shift

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Dalrymple, Jennifer Lynn Penry

2017-01-01

This dissertation examines the effectiveness of a professional development program designed specifically to provide foundational knowledge and skills to Technology Teachers in preparation for a transition to a Technology Integration Specialist position. Specifically, it evaluates the Technology Teachers' changes in knowledge and beliefs as a…

Preservice Teachers' Belief Systems toward Curricular Outcomes for Physical Education

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Kulinna, Pamela Hodges; Brusseau, Timothy; Ferry, Matthew; Cothran, Donetta

2010-01-01

This study was grounded in the belief systems and physical activity literature and investigated preservice teachers' belief systems toward curricular outcomes for physical education programs. Preservice teachers (N = 486; men = 62%, women = 38%) from 18 U.S. colleges/universities shared their beliefs about curricular outcomes. Preservice teachers…

Enhancing pre-service physics teachers' creative thinking skills through HOT lab design

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Malik, Adam; Setiawan, Agus; Suhandi, Andi; Permanasari, Anna

2017-08-01

A research on the implementation of HOT (Higher Order Thinking) Laboratory has been carried out. This research is aimed to compare increasing of creative thinking skills of pre-service physics teachers who receive physics lesson with HOT Lab and with verification lab for the topic of electric circuit. This research used a quasi-experiment methods with control group pretest-posttest design. The subject of the research is 40 Physics Education pre-service physics teachers of UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung. Research samples were selected by class random sampling technique. Data on pre-service physics teachers' creative thinking skills were collected using test of creative thinking skills in the form of essay. The results of the research reveal that average of N-gain of creative thinking skills are for pre-service physics teachers who received lesson with HOT Lab design and for pre-service physics teachers who received lesson with verification lab, respectively. Therefore, we conclude that application of HOT Lab design is more effective to increase creative thinking skills in the lesson of electric circuit.

The attitudes of classroom teacher candidates towards physical education lesson

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Gönül Tekkurşun Demir

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Aim: It is aimed to determine the attitudes of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade classroom teacher candidates towards the physical education lesson according to various variables. Material and Methods: For the current study, the screening method, one of the quantitative research models, was used. The research consists of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade, totally164 university students, 106 (%64,6 females, 58 (%35,4 males, attending Uşak University, Classroom Teaching Program in 2016-2017 academic year. The first-grade students were not included in this research, because the physical education and play teaching lessons are given to classroom student candidates in the second-grade at Uşak University, Classroom Teaching Program. “Personal information form" and “Physical Education Lesson Attitude Scale for Classroom Teacher Candidates" were used as data collection tools. Before analysis, the data were evaluated using the values of Skewness and Skewness (normal distribution of the data and Levene (equality of variance tests. In the analysis of the data; frequency, arithmetic mean, standard deviation; t-test, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation test were used. Results: When examined the total score of the teacher candidates obtained from Physical Education Lesson Attitude Scale for Classroom Teacher Candidates and age variable by the Pearson Moment Correlation analysis, it was found that there was a statistically significant negative relationship between the received scores at low level. It was determined that the attitudes of the classroom teacher candidates towards the physical education lessons did not show any significant difference according to the gender variable, but there was a significant difference when examined their class levels. While no significant difference was found in the attitudes of the classroom teacher candidates, who played and did not play sports in their past life, towards physical education lessons, no significant difference was found

Obstacles for physical education teachers in public schools: an unsustainable situation

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Renata Osborne

Full Text Available Abstract The study aimed to identify difficulties and aspirations of physical education teachers at public schools in Niterói, inspired by UNESCO's quality physical education goal. An action research containing quantitative and qualitative data was conducted. Thirty-five physical education teachers completed a questionnaire and seven teachers were interviewed. The results indicated that the major difficulties faced were low wages, precarious infrastructure and lack of materials. Physical education is devalued, the space allocated is inadequate, and it is treated as mere recreation. Teachers criticized the lack of commitment of some colleagues who work without planning. They also complained about undisciplined students and lack of interest from their families. They aspire to self-improvement, infrastructure improvements, and more support from school and families. Teachers who do not educate and lack of support from school and government are an unsustainable reality. A synergy of efforts should be implemented, based on a systems view.

Physics Education at University of Houston Clear Lake

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Masood, Samina

2011-03-01

We are developing a physics education program to prepare teachers to teach Physics in High Schools. The science teachers training needs to be brought to the level where they can motivate children and young adults in their classrooms to take interest in science learning to adopt science and engineering career. The early selection of career path helps the better preparation for the career.

Practice or Theory: Situating Science Teacher Preparation within a Context of Ecojustice Philosophy

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Britton, Stacey A.; Tippins, Deborah J.

2015-01-01

Theory is taught to preservice teachers from the moment they enter the education program until they graduate. While theory serves as the foundation in many teacher preparation courses, these future teachers must also understand the relationship it has to practice. The focus of this article is on the journey of one group of preservice secondary…

Factors influencing pre-service physics teachers' skills of writing teaching materials

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Sinaga, Parlindungan

2016-02-01

Writing teaching materials is one of the generic pedagogical skills. Teachers and pre-service teachers should be trained to have the skills of writing teaching materials. This study examines the factors that influence the skills of writing in the disciplines among pre-service physics teachers. This study in particular aims to contribute to the development of science writing in the disciplines and to the organization of workshops on writing teaching materials for pre-service teachers. The problems of this research are formulated in the question of what are the factors that influence the skills of pre-service physics teachers in writing teaching materials. The research adopted mixed methods with embedded experimental design. The research subjects were 18 students enrolled in the school physics course. The instruments used consisted of conceptual understanding tests, learning strategy questionnaire, tests of the multiple representation skills, and one-on-one semi- structured interview. Results of data analysis show that the ability and skills of writing physics teaching materials of the pre- service physics teachers are determined by the factors of conceptual understanding of the subject matter with a contribution of 20%, the skills of making multiple representations of concepts with a contribution of 9.8% and students' self-regulation and learning strategy with a contribution of 33.5%. There are other factors that have not been investigated in this study; therefore, it is recommended that future research conduct further investigation on other factors that influence pre-service teachers' skills in writing physics teaching materials.

Adoption of Mobile Technology for Teaching Preparation in Improving Teaching Quality of Teachers

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Aliff Nawi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This study aims to identify the readiness of teachers to use mobile phones for the purpose of teaching preparation. The study also reviewed the level of teachers’ satisfaction when using the mobile technology applications developed for the purpose of teaching and learning in the classroom. This study used the mix method to collect data. A total of 31 teachers were involved in answering the questionnaire and seven teachers were interviewed to obtain supportive data. The findings show that the use of applications on mobile phones can help teachers smoothen the lesson preparation. In addition, the use of mobile technology also gives satisfaction to the teachers in enhancing their knowledge in the field of teaching. However, the technical aspects are still a priority and influence the usability aspects of an educational application. The study also revealed that the end users’ age factor is important because it affects the frequency and usage of mobile technology in developing their skills. In conclusion, the use of mobile technology among teachers is appropriate and facilitates the teaching activities.

Preparing Mainstream Classroom Teachers of English Learner Students: Grounding Practice-Based Designs for Teacher Learning in Theories of Adaptive Expertise Development

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Von Esch, Kerry Soo; Kavanagh, Sarah Schneider

2018-01-01

Preparing classroom teachers to teach English Learner (EL) students continues to challenge teacher educators. This article argues for EL teaching work to be situated within theories of professional learning that focus on developing teachers who can flexibly and innovatively integrate EL instructional practice into content area teaching. We propose…

Concerns of early career agricultural science teachers and the perceived effectiveness of educator preparation programs in addressing those concerns

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Pearson, Camilla E.

Little is known about the concerns and needs of early career agricultural teachers associated with the various routes to certification and how these routes address those concerns. The purpose of this study is to determine how selected early career agriculture teachers perceive their teacher preparation program and how effective their programs were at addressing these concerns during their first year of teaching. The sample consisted of secondary agricultural teachers in Texas FFA Areas V and VI, who self-identified themselves as an early career agricultural teacher in their first 3 years of teaching. The first phase included a web-based survey administered to assess the concerns of early career agricultural teachers. Two Likert-type scales were used, and these were used to assess the perceived importance of problems faced by early career agricultural teachers and the frequency in which they encounter those problems. The second phase included a qualitative interview to better understand the perceived relationship between participants' undergraduate preparation, experiences in agriculture and related organizations, and other related activities in preparing them as agriculture science teachers. The teachers interviewed in this study indicated that overall, they were pleased with their preparation. Teacher educators from both programs should address the concerns presented from all teachers to further prepare them for issues faced by early career teachers because it is evident that these issues are not going away.

Preservice Teacher Preparation in International Contexts: A Case-Study Examination of the International Student Teacher Programs

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W. James Jacob

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This article examines the teacher preparation experiences of preservice teachers in six international contexts: China, Fiji, Kiribati, Mexico, Samoa, and Tonga. More specifically, it looks at the value-added components in an international teacher education program, with an emphasis on effective teaching and employability. Theoretically the study is based on Straus and Corbin’s (1998a substantive grounded theory and Patton’s (1997 Theory of Action Framework. Verbal and non-verbal forms of feedback were identified as essential aspects of the international preservice training experience. Cultural diversity, teaching English as a second language, collaboration, and exposure to a different educational system were identified among several components as advantages to individuals who conduct their preservice teacher training in international settings.

Feared, Forgotten, or Forbidden: Sexual Orientation Topics in Secondary Teacher Preparation Programs in the USA

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Sherwin, Gary; Jennings, Todd

2006-01-01

This study examined the coverage of sexual orientation topics within 77 public university secondary teacher preparation programs across seven US states, and represented programs preparing 8,300-11,500 teachers annually. Findings indicated that 40% of programs did not address sexual orientation as a diversity topic. Further, even programs that did…

Preparing Special Educators for the K-12 Online Learning Environment: A Survey of Teacher Educators

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Smith, Sean J.; Basham, James; Rice, Mary F.; Carter, Richard A., Jr.

2016-01-01

Pioneering research studies in teacher preparation in online settings have taken place, yet little to no work has been done specifically focused on teacher preparation for special education and learners with disabilities. In the present study, researchers from the Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities conducted a web-based…

The Doxa of Physical Education Teacher Education--Set in Stone?

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Larsson, Lena; Linnér, Susanne; Schenker, Katarina

2018-01-01

In this paper, we critically examine the potential of assessment components in physical education teacher education (PETE) to either reinforce or challenge PETE students' conceptions of what a physical education (PE) teacher needs to know to teach this school subject. To understand the mechanisms that may contribute to the difficulty of…

Preparing Teachers to Use GIS: The Impact of a Hybrid Professional Development Program on Teachers' Use of GIS

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Moore, Steven; Haviland, Don; Moore, William; Tran, Michael

2016-01-01

This article reports the findings of a 3-year study of a hybrid professional development program designed to prepare science and mathematics teachers to implement GIS in their classrooms. The study was conducted as part of the CoastLines Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers project funded by the National Science Foundation.…

An Investigation of the Teaching Approach Used by Tutors to Prepare Science and Mathematics Teachers during Training at Morogoro Teachers' College

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Mungure, Daudi Mika

2017-01-01

This paper investigated the teaching approach used by tutors to prepare science and mathematics teachers during training at Morogoro teachers' college. For six years consecutive the performance of science and mathematics in secondary school has become very poor even though the training colleges produce science and mathematics teachers every year…

"Out" Gay and Lesbian Faculty and the Inclusion of Sexual Orientation Topics in Teacher Preparation Programmes in the USA

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Jennings, Todd

2010-01-01

Do "out" lesbian and gay faculty influence the inclusion of sexual orientation as a form of diversity in their teacher preparation programmes? Data gathered from 142 teacher preparation programmes across the USA (representing the preparation of 23,000-30,000 new teachers annually) suggest they do not. Likewise, the priority placed upon…

Exploring what contributes to the knowledge development of secondary physics and physical science teachers in a continuous professional development context

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Nelms, April Wagnon

This dissertation used qualitative methodologies, specifically phenomenological research, to investigate what contributes to the development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of physics and physical science teachers who participate in a content-specific continuous professional development program. There were five participants in this study. The researcher conducted participant observations and interviews, rated participants degree of reformed teaching practices using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol, surveyed participants' self-efficacy beliefs using the Science Teacher Efficacy Belief Instrument "A," and rated participants'' level of PCK using the PCK Rubrics.. All data were analyzed, and a composite description of what contributes to physics and physical science teachers' PCK development through a continuous professional development program emerged. A theory also emerged from the participants' experiences pertaining to how teachers' assimilate new conditions into their existing teaching schema, how conditions change teachers' perceptions of their practice, and outcomes of teachers' new ideas towards their practice. This study contributed to the literature by suggesting emergent themes and a theory on the development of physics and physical science teachers' PCK. PCK development is theorized to be a spiral process incorporating new conditions into the spiral as teachers employ new science content knowledge and pedagogical practices in their individual classroom contexts.

Postglobal Teacher Preparation: Border Thinking along the Global South through International Cross-Cultural Experiences

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Rahatzad, Jubin; Sasser, Hannah L.; Phillion, JoAnn; Karimi, Nastaran; Deng, Yuwen; Akiyama, Reiko; Sharma, Suniti

2013-01-01

Preservice teachers' international cross-cultural experiences can provide opportunities for the exploration of epistemic frontiers. In this article we suggest that postglobal teacher preparation take a critically reflective approach that engages preservice teachers in border thinking, which allows for other ways of knowing while studying abroad.…

Reflective and Transformative Practice in Bilingual Teacher Preparation: Examining Cross-Cultural and Linguistic Equity

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Hernández, Ana M.

2017-01-01

Culture, class, and language are significant social markers that impact classrooms today with challenges in educating teachers to become culturally responsive and competent. This article presents a theoretical approach on the preparation of bilingual teacher candidates and how the literature can inform teacher education programs on developing…

Pedagogical Shift in the Twenty-First Century: Preparing Teachers to Teach with New Technologies

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Chigona, Agnes

2015-01-01

The expectation in education today is that pre-service teachers should graduate from teacher education adequately prepared to teach with Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) that have potential to enhance curriculum delivery, hence improving quality of education. However, research shows that pre-service teachers are graduating from…

Physical education candidate teachers' beliefs about vocational self-esteem

OpenAIRE

OZSAKER, Murat; CANPOLAT, A. Meliha

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine epistemological belief and vocational self-esteem physical education candidate teachers of Physical Education and Sports Department in 3 different universities, and also to examine effect of epistemological beliefs on vocational self-esteem. A total of 346 candidate teacher respondents (137 female and 209 male) participated in the study. Epistemological Beliefs and Vocational Self-Esteem Scale were used to determine candidate teachers’ epistemologica...

The Affordances and Constraints of Special Education Initial Teacher Licensure Policy for Teacher Preparation

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Blanton, Linda P.; Boveda, Mildred; Munoz, Lorena R.; Pugach, Marleen C.

2017-01-01

Initial licensure polices in special education were examined to determine how these policies support or hinder reform efforts to develop teacher education programs that prepare graduates for the increasingly complex needs of diverse students. Initial special education licensure policies are described with an emphasis on the differences across…

Teacher Explanation of Physics Concepts: A Video Study

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Geelan, David

2013-01-01

Video recordings of Year 11 physics lessons were analyzed to identify key features of teacher explanations. Important features of the explanations used included teachers' ability to move between qualitative and quantitative modes of discussion, attention to what students require to succeed in high stakes examinations, thoughtful use of…

Describing Physics Student Teachers' Orientations through Lesson Planning

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Karal, Isik Saliha

2017-01-01

Recent educational reforms realized in teacher education programs (TEPs) and secondary physics syllabus were aimed at placing the learning and teaching approaches in a constructivist framework. For this reason, student teachers in pre-service TEPs are expected to develop orientations adopting student-centred teaching approaches. The purpose of…

Validation of a Teachers' Achievement Goal Instrument for Teaching Physical Education

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Wang, Jian; Shen, Bo; Luo, Xiaobin; Hu, Qingshan; Garn, Alex C.

2018-01-01

Purpose: Using Butler's teacher achievement goal orientation as a conceptual framework, we developed this study to validate a teachers' achievement goal instrument for teaching physical education. Methods: A sample of 322 Chinese physical education teachers participated in this study and completed measures of achievement goal orientations and job…

Analysing the problems of science teachers that they encounter while teaching physics education

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Cihat Demir

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Even though physical science is very important in our daily lives, it is insufficiently understood by students. In order for students to get a better physical education, the teachers who have given physics lesson should first eliminated the problems that they face during the teaching process. The aim of this survey is to specify the matters encountered by science teachers during the teaching of physics and to provide them with solutions. The study group consisted of 50 science teachers who worked in Diyarbakır and Batman over the period of 2014 - 2015. This research is a descriptive study carried out by content analysis. In this study, semi-structured interview have been used along with qualitative research methods. According to the research findings, the top problems that the physics teachers encountered in physics lesson while processing the topics were laboratory problems. Some solutions have been introduced for science teachers in order to help them provide a better physics education.

Physical culture as a phenomenon of the development of socio-cultural competence of future teachers of physical education

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I.V. Ivanii

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose : to substantiate the phenomenon of formation of physical culture of the individual in terms of theoretical and methodological approaches to the development of socio-cultural competence of future teachers. Material : 22 literary sources analyzed on the issue of formation of physical culture of the individual. Used cultural studies, axiological and competence approach. Results : define the concept of socio-cultural competence of the teacher of physical education. Competence is considered as an integrative motivational tumor - activity sphere of the individual. It determines the focus of an expert on the formation of spiritual values and is the foundation for its further self-development. Disclosed structure sociocultural competence of the teacher in the unity components: cognitive, motivational-value, behavioral. For each component defined system of spiritual values. The system covers the socio- psychological, mental and cultural values of physical culture. Conclusions : the sociocultural competence of the teacher of physical education meaningful and functionally related to the values of the physical culture of the individual. Spiritual, value the personality of the teacher - is the foundation for all of the components of socio-cultural competence. This competence provides social and cultural development of the individual.

Pre-Service Bilingual Teachers and Their Invisible Scars: Implications for Preparation Programs

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Sarmiento-Arribalzaga, Matilde A.; Murillo, Luz A.

2010-01-01

In this paper, we describe how language "autobiographies" are used in a teacher preparation program (TEP) as a healing pedagogy to understand the impact longstanding traditions of symbolic violence in education have had on Latino students who are in the process of becoming teachers. Writing about themselves and their education experience…

Examining Preservice Elementary Teachers' Technology Self-Efficacy: Impact of Mobile Technology-Based Physics Curriculum

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Menon, Deepika; Chandrasekhar, Meera; Kosztin, Dorina; Steinhoff, Douglas

2017-01-01

While iPads and other mobile devices are gaining popularity in educational settings, challenges associated with teachers' use of technology continue to hold true. Preparing preservice teachers within teacher preparation programs to gain experience learning and teaching science using mobile technologies is critical for them to develop positive…

The Survey and Analysis of Excellent Senior High School Physics Teachers' Professional Growth Actuality

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Sun, Haibin; Liu, Tingting

2010-01-01

Excellent senior high school physics teachers are the backbone power in the new course reform of physics in China. The excellent senior high school physics teachers' professional growth actuality in Shandong is surveyed in this article by the self-made "Questionnaire of Excellent Senior High School Physics Teachers' Professional Growth",…

Views of Physical Education Teachers on Values Education

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Görgüt, Ilyas; Tutkun, Erkut

2018-01-01

Values education is very important for supporting and directing the attitudes and behaviors that brings from birth and changes by the effects of surroundings. The most effective people to provide this support after family are the teachers, especially the physical education teachers who are constantly communicating with the students. Therefore,…

Opinions of Physical Education Teachers on the Concept of Sportsmanship

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Koç, Yakup; Esentürk, Oguz Kaan

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the opinions of physical education teachers on the concept of sportsmanship. This study, which has been based on the qualitative research paradigm, involves opinions of 13 physical education teachers (9 males and 4 females) which serve in public schools of Turkey and which have been specified through a…

Examining the Knowledge and Capacity of Elementary Teachers to Implement Classroom Physical Activity Breaks

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Danae M. DINKEL

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This study examined teachers’ zone of proximal development for classroom physical activity breaks by assessing teachers’ knowledge and capacity for implementing classroom physical activity breaks. Five school districts of various sizes (n=346 teachers took part in a short online survey. Descriptive statistics were calculated and chi-square analyses were used to identify differences between districts. Almost all teachers utilized classroom physical activity to some extent. A third of teachers who stated they implemented classroom physical activity, experienced barriers to implementation. A majority of teachers were interested in learning more about classroom physical activity. There were significant differences between districts on the number of days per week classroom physical activity was integrated, the frequency of collaboration that occurred between teachers, the percentage of teachers who experienced barriers, and preferred delivery method of professional development. These findings support the importance of identifying teachers’ zone of proximal development to increase the use of classroom physical activity breaks. Understanding teachers’ knowledge and capacity for implementing classroom physical activity breaks can allow educational professionals to shift the implementation of classroom physical activity beyond sporadic use by isolated teachers and schools to a more systematic and consistent delivery across classrooms and throughout districts.

The Physical activity of persons with a focus on teachers

OpenAIRE

TETOUROVÁ, Marie

2015-01-01

This thesis deals with the topic: "Physical activity of persons employed with a focus on the teaching profession." In the theoretical part concepts related to history and the intensity of teaching, teachers and related mental stress health risks. are characterized. We also deal with the influence of physical activity on human health, and the ability to reduce the occurrence of various health risks. The aim of the thesis is to monitor physical activity among teachers in kindergarten, Basic sch...

Determining Which Introductory Physics Topics Pre-Service Physics Teachers Have Difficulty Understanding and What Accounts for These Difficulties

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Sahin, Esin; Yagbasan, Rahmi

2012-01-01

This study aims at diagnosing which subjects pre-service physics teachers have difficulty understanding in introductory physics courses and what accounts for these difficulties. A questionnaire consisting of two qualitative questions was used to collect data for this study. The questionnaire was administered to 101 pre-service physics teachers who…

[The role of physical education teachers to support overweight and obese pupils].

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Jodkowska, Maria; Oblacińska, Anna; Tabak, Izabela; Radiukiewicz, Katarzyna

2010-01-01

School-based physical education (PE) is often proposed as a strategy for obesity prevention and treatment. Thus the role of PE teachers is crucial on this field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of PE teachers towards overweight and obese pupils aged 13-15 years, especially psychosomatic problems and support for obese adolescents in realisation of physical activity programme. A random sample of 185 PE teachers from 112 lower secondary schools in Poland were surveyed regarding their perception of pupils obesity and their support for obese adolescents. PE teachers observed many negative features among obese pupils: Two thirds of teachers (67% male and 74% teachers with work experience 6-10 years) observed decreased physical fitness and exercise capacity in this group of pupils. Body-related barriers in obese pupils and anxiety caused by weight related peer teasing were observed by respectively 30% and 20% teachers more often women teachers and teachers with shorter work experience. PE teachers were engaged in activities to support obese pupils: 90% of them assessed obese pupils by personal development, 70% conducted counseling and 20% cooperated with obese pupils' parents. Two third of teachers reported successes in their work with obese pupils. Their difficulties were connected with body-related barriers in pupils (24%), and aversion to exercise and physical efforts and location of PE lessons at school (9-16%). 1. The PE teachers can play an important role in preventing and combating obesity in pupils. 2. PE teachers should be motivated to organize interesting PE lessons, school sport and competitions for both normal and overweight pupils.

Features of physical training of teachers of postdiploma pedagogical education.

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Bezuglaya L. I.

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The tendencies of education are considered during all of life. The categories of respondent which 30 years were more senior are chosen. Actuality and necessity of postdiploma education for the professional competence of specialists on a physical culture is grounded. Directions of organization of continuous education of physical culture teachers are certain: informative education; perfection of motive abilities and skills; creative development. For development of creative activity of physical culture teachers is recommended to leadthrough scientific practical seminars in form of disputes, dialogs, exchange by work experience, presentations of the opened lessons. Noted importance of creation of the differential programs which would take into account national traditions and had a correction, restoration, health influence. It is set that a leading place in the professional competence of teachers of physical culture is level of their motive abilities and skills.

An Analysis of Metaphors Used by High School Students to Describe Physics, Physics Lesson and Physics Teacher

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Çetin, Ali

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe high school students' "physics", physics lesson" and "physics teacher" conceptions by using metaphors. 313 students participated in the study from different high school types in Siirt, Turkey. A metaphorical perception form constructed by researcher was individually conducted,…

Expanding Mathematics Preparation of Elementary and Middle School Teachers

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Buck, Robert E.

2004-01-01

One of the major problems facing education today is the inadequate mathematics' preparation of pre-college students and their teachers. Most colleges and universities have well established programs for students planning to teach mathematics at the secondary schools; however, in many institutions pre-secondary mathematics has been addressed only…

Teachers' and students' reactions to the Revised Nuffield A-Level Physics Course (RNAP)

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Sela, David

1990-07-01

A battery of questionnaires and interviews with teachers and students experienced in RNAP, produced statistical data on many aspects of the course that leads to some guidelines and suggestions for better use of the course design and materials. The patterns described in this article relate to the responses of almost 200 teachers and about 100 students who were teaching and studying RNAP course during school year 1987/8. Though many of them criticised some aspects of the course, generally they were very enthusiastic about it and most of the information they gave us was accurate and reliable. The A-level physics teachers can choose either a `traditional' course or RNAP. We found that most of them don't like to change from one course to another. In the few cases it was done, the reasons generally were like `changing of school', `decreasing number of A-level physics students' or similar reasons. Most of RNAP teachers were keen about the course, its objectives and the way it prepares the students toward higher education as physicists or in other areas. Though pointing out its weaknesses, when comparing it with a `traditional' course, they stress much upon its advantages. We found a tendency to favour the course for the able student than for the weak or the average one. There was more than a feeling among teachers that the less motivated student can better succeed in a `traditional' course. This feeling became even stronger along the interviews where some teachers pointed out the high proportion of the selective schools doing RNAP, which made it more difficult (according to their feeling) for the average student to get an A or B grade. In some of the teachers' opinions RNAP is less suitable for girls who prefer a more `straightforward' course. It is interesting to point out that more than 50% of the students found the course more difficult than they expected it to be. Only 5% found it to be easier than they had suggested. Another point to think about is that almost one

Learning Strategies of Physics Teacher Candidates: Relationships with Physics Achievement and Class Level

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Selçuk, Gamze S.; Çalişkan, Serap; Erol, Mustafa

2007-04-01

Learning strategy concept was introduced in the education field from the development of cognitive psychology. Learning strategies are behaviors and thoughts that a learner engages in during learning which are intended to influence the learner's encoding process. Literature on learning strategies in physics field is very scarce. Participants of the research consist of teacher candidates (n=137) from 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade attending Department of Physics Education, Education Faculty of Buca, Dokuz Eylül University in Turkey. Data of this research was collected by ``Scale of Learning Strategies Usage in Physics'' (Cronbach's Alpha=0.93). Mean, Standard Deviation, Analysis of Variance were used to analyze the research data. This paper reports on teacher candidates' learning strategies used in physics education The paper investigates the relationships between learning strategies and physics achievement, class level. Some important outcomes of the research are presented, discussed and certain suggestions are made.

Implementation of Mobile Pedagogy During Continuous Education of Physical Culture Teachers

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Roman S.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: one of the urgent problems in the field of continuous training of future teachers of physical culture is the training of students using mobile devices and innovative educational Internet technologies. The scientific literature has thoroughly studied the introduction of mobile technologies in the professional training of teachers, but the development of foundations for the formation of physical competence based on innovative approaches, such as mobile training, has not been implemented to date. Hence, the necessity of setting the research goal that is to create a methodological model for the continuing education of teachers of physical culture on the basis of the ideas of mobile pedagogy in the cluster “college - university” and the use of experimental methods to substantiate the effectiveness of its implementation in the professional training of students. Materials and Methods: to create a model of continuous education, including the integration of various clusters, components and innovative technologies, the systemic approach is applied to the study with the additional use of competency, activity, qualification, personality-orientedness, culturological and innovation-technological approaches. Systematisation, comparison, comparison and generalisation are used in modeling the continuous education of teachers of physical culture. Results: in the process of research, the integrating resources and the scientific and educational potential of secondary and higher education were revealed. These recourses allowed the systematisation and modeling of the process of continuing education of teachers of physical culture based on the ideas of mobile pedagogy in the cluster “college - university”. At the experimental stage of the study, the effectiveness of the implementation of mobile pedagogy is proved and the author’s approach to the training of future teachers of physical culture is methodologically grounded. Discussion and

"Context-Specific" Teacher Preparation for New York City: An Exploration of the Content of Context in Bard College's Urban Teacher Residency Program

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Hammerness, Karen; Craig, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

In this article, we examine a residency program that was developed to prepare teachers specifically for New York City schools--the Bard College Master of Arts in Teaching Urban Teacher Residency program. This focused preparation on the particular urban context of New York City provides us with a unique opportunity to examine the nature of…

Influence of Ethics Education on Moral Reasoning among Pre-Service Teacher Preparation and Social Work Students

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Salopek, Michelle M.

2013-01-01

This comparative case study examines the influence of ethics education on moral reasoning among pre-service teacher preparation and social work students. This study specifically investigates the ethical values of students enrolled in a teacher preparation and social work education program by their fourth year of study; the degree of ethical…

Pre-service physics teachers' ideas on size, visibility and structure of the atom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uenlue, Pervin

2010-01-01

Understanding the atom gives the opportunity to both understand and conceptually unify the various domains of science, such as physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and geology. Among these disciplines, physics teachers are expected to be particularly well educated in this topic. It is important that pre-service physics teachers know what sort of theories regarding the atom they will bring into their own classrooms. Six tasks were developed, comprising size, visibility and structure of the atom. These tasks carried out by pre-service physics teachers were examined by content analysis and six categories were determined. These are size, visibility, subatomic particles, atom models, electron orbit and electron features. Pre-service physics teachers' ideas about the atom were clarified under these categories.

Engaging and Working in Solidarity with Local Communities in Preparing the Teachers of Their Children

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Zeichner, Ken; Bowman, Michael; Guillen, Lorena; Napolitan, Kate

2016-01-01

This article analyzes a programmatic effort in teacher education, "The Community Teaching Strand" (CTS), to engage local community members as mentors of teacher candidates (TCs) in two postgraduate teacher preparation programs in a large research university. Three different conceptions of the nature and purpose of…

Preparing Teachers for Diversity: The Role of Initial Teacher Education. Annex 2 To the Final Report to DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission. Case Study Summaries

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European Commission, 2017

2017-01-01

"Preparing Teachers for Diversity: The Role of Initial Teacher Education. Annex 2 To the Final Report to DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission. Case Study Summaries" is designed as a companion document to the final report "Preparing Teachers for Diversity: The Role of Initial Teacher Education. Final…

A Three-Year Journey: Lessons Learned from Integrating Teacher Preparation and Urban Studies

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Yontz, Brian D.

2012-01-01

This narrative outlines the process of how an independent liberal arts college integrated coursework and learning experiences focused on urban school teacher preparation with an existing university program in Urban Studies. Programmatic changes and additions to teacher education programs at independent liberal arts colleges are often very…

News Quantum physics: German Physical Society spring meeting Journal access: American Physical Society's online journals will be available for free in all US high schools Award: High-school physics teacher receives American award for excellence Teacher training: Fobinet offers coordination of teacher-training activities Astronomy: Astronomy fans see stars at Astrofest Conference: Delegates enjoy the workshops and activities at CPD conference Forthcoming events

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-01

Quantum physics: German Physical Society spring meeting Journal access: American Physical Society's online journals will be available for free in all US high schools Award: High-school physics teacher receives American award for excellence Teacher training: Fobinet offers coordination of teacher-training activities Astronomy: Astronomy fans see stars at Astrofest Conference: Delegates enjoy the workshops and activities at CPD conference Forthcoming events

Ground of specialized physical training of teacher of middle school

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Kolumbet A.N.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose of work - to expose important physical qualities of teacher, personal properties and psychophysiological qualities professionally. Also to expose requirement to motive preparedness of teachers. 674 teachers of middle schools of city of Kiev and Kiev area took part in an experiment. It is set that professional activity requires a display typical professionally the important personal qualities: communicability, of principle, tolerance, kindness, sympathy, empathy, eloquence. It is exposed that to professionally important physical qualities of teacher it is possible to take general and local (hands, feet, back, neck static endurance, force of basic muscular groups and power endurance of hands, exactness and speed of motive reaction. It is well-proven that it is necessary to take to the most essential psychophysiological qualities: perception, memory, imagination, restraint, ability quickly to make a decision, ability to work in a nervous situation, ability expressly to execute the tasks in the conditions of emotional tension, good reaction. It is marked that an important role in mastering of profession and achievement of tops of professionalism is played by the use of values of physical education in providing of the proper health, physical and spiritual development, motive preparedness level.

Preparing Novice History Teachers to Meet Students' Literacy Needs

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Nokes, Jeffery D.

2010-01-01

In spite of calls for increased literacy instruction in secondary content classes, there appears to be little change in practice. One reason for this may be that content area literacy courses inadequately prepared teachers to teach literacy skills specific to their content area. This article describes a program that embeds content area literacy…

Constraints in the preparation of mathematics teachers: the way ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study investigated the constraints in the preparation of Mathematics teachers in the colleges of education and the possible way forward. It used an ex-post facto research design in the colleges of education in Nigeria. 165 final year students of Mathematics and 30 Mathematics lecturers were selected samples from the 6 ...

The Failure of Inquiry: Preparing Science Teachers with an Authentic Investigation

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Lustick, David

2009-12-01

This mixed methodology action research study examined the impact of a curricular innovation designed to provide an authentic science inquiry learning experience for 15 secondary science teacher candidates enrolled in a master’s level initial certification program. The class investigated the question “How can peak autumn color in New England be determined?” The project goals were to help teacher candidates acquire the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary to foster learning through inquiry in their respective content areas as defined by teacher preparation professional standards. Though the teacher candidates were successful at identifying a likely answer to the question, the project failed to achieve its learning goals. Reasons for the project’s failure and implications for the science education community are discussed.

Analysis of the physical activity of primary school teachers

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J.J. Grigoniene

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study - to identify the ratio of primary school teachers in physical education and sport and to establish their level of physical activity, depending on the length of teaching. The volume of the experimental sample consisted of 74 people. To conduct questionnaires designed questionnaire including 29 questions open and closed. The study found that 77.3% of primary school teachers in Kaunas with 16 to 20 years of work experience were engaged in physical activity and sports. Two - three times a week, they practiced in walking, sports games, cycling, swimming, etc., with this 4-10 hour. All respondents, regardless of their teaching experience, consider physical activity and sports as an excellent means of healing and disease prevention. According to them, they should be engaged in physical activity throughout life and children need to develop positive attitudes towards physical education from their childhood.

Brazilian Physical Education Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching Students with Disabilities

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Hodge, Samuel R.; Haegele, Justin; Gutierres Filho, Paulo; Rizzi Lopes, Gleides

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyse Brazilian physical education teachers' beliefs about their experiences teaching students with disabilities. Participants were six physical education teachers from schools located in the city of Brasília, Brazil. The research paradigm was descriptive-qualitative situated in the theory of planned behaviour.…

Preparing student teachers for constructivist teaching about society in primary grades

OpenAIRE

Dvořáková, Michaela

2012-01-01

Preparing student teachers for constructivist teaching about society in primary grades Michaela Dvořáková Abstract The content of primary social studies could be described as cultural universals - domains of human existence that form part of everybody's experience. Despite that, children do need a skilled instruction helping them to elaborate these topics. We suppose that for the constructivist teachers, deep content knowledge and pedagogic content knowledge is necessary to elaborate and conc...

Career intentions of Australian physical education teachers

OpenAIRE

Mäkelä, Kasper; Whipp, Peter R

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate Australian physical education (PE) teachers’ career intentions and factors influencing their intentions. A sample (N = 234) of Western Australian PE teachers responded to a questionnaire determining PE teachers’ work and the primary motivators for intention to leave the profession. Half (51.3%) of the respondents wanted a change from their current PE teacher job and 39.8% were intending to leave PE teaching. The most frequent reasons for wanting to...

What Do Pre-Service Physics Teachers Know and Think about Concept Mapping?

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Didis, Nilüfer; Özcan, Özgür; Azar, Ali

2014-01-01

In order to use concept maps in physics classes effectively, teachers' knowledge and ideas about concept mapping are as important as the physics knowledge used in mapping. For this reason, we aimed to examine pre-service physics teachers' knowledge on concept mapping, their ideas about the implementation of concept mapping in physics…

News Competition: Physics Olympiad hits Thailand Report: Institute carries out survey into maths in physics at university Event: A day for everyone teaching physics Conference: Welsh conference celebrates birthday Schools: Researchers in Residence scheme set to close Teachers: A day for new physics teachers Social: Network combines fun and physics Forthcoming events

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-01

Competition: Physics Olympiad hits Thailand Report: Institute carries out survey into maths in physics at university Event: A day for everyone teaching physics Conference: Welsh conference celebrates birthday Schools: Researchers in Residence scheme set to close Teachers: A day for new physics teachers Social: Network combines fun and physics Forthcoming events

SOFTWARE TRAINING AIDS DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION IN PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION PRACTICE OF TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION TEACHER

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Anatoliy G. Gritchenko

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The article outlines the theoretical and practical aspects of software training aids development and implementation in professional preparation practice of technological education teacher. The myriad opportunities of new information technologies are described; the characteristic features of modern software training tool (STT are revealed; the main algorithmic structure circuits of training programs construction (linear, cyclic, with hyperlinks, to the labels, which enable the development of STT variety and functionality are given; the methodology of STT creating is described based on the analysis of the technology teacher preparation in HEE content, MITE didactic functions and selection criteria of educational software for this area of specialist’s preparation.

Preparing for the Market. Teacher Edition. Fashion Buying Series.

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Collins, Cindy

This teacher's guide presents material for a unit on preparing for the retail fashion market. Content focuses on merchandise plans, computing open-to-buy, computing turnover, the components of a model stock plan, and criteria used when selecting a supplier. The guide contains 5 objectives, 6 group learning activities keyed to the objectives, 21…

Consistency between Constructivist Profiles and Instructional Practices of Prospective Physics Teachers

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Ates, Ozlem; Unal Coban, Gul; Kaya Sengoren, Serap

2018-01-01

This study aims to explain the extent to which prospective physics teachers' views and practices are consistent with the constructivist framework. A case study design was employed as the research approach. The study was conducted with 11 prospective physics teachers attending a state university in Turkey. Data was collected through semi-structured…

Learning in Context: Technology Integration in a Teacher Preparation Program Informed by Situated Learning Theory

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Bell, Randy L.; Maeng, Jennifer L.; Binns, Ian C.

2013-01-01

This investigation explores the effectiveness of a teacher preparation program aligned with situated learning theory on preservice science teachers' use of technology during their student teaching experiences. Participants included 26 preservice science teachers enrolled in a 2-year Master of Teaching program. A specific program goal was to…

The Role of Empathy in Preparing Teachers to Tackle Bullying

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helena R Murphy

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Much research on bullying behaviour in schools among students has been carried out since the 1970’s, when Olweus started a large-scale project in Norway which is now generally regarded as the first scientific study on bullying. Yet, there has been little research on how teachers respond to reports of bullying and tackle bullying behaviour in post-primary schools.  This paper reports on a preliminary study investigating teacher empathy levels and their preparedness for tackling bullying in a post-primary school in Ireland. There were two research questions central to this research.  The first looked at how empathic are teachers in this school? The second examined to what extent it prepares them for tackling bullying?  In answering these questions we relied on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI to gather data on empathy levels among teachers (n=10, with findings related to existing research in the field. The results showed that teacher empathy is an important factor in creating and maintaining a positive school climate, which in turn leads to a prevention of bullying situations.

Criteria, indicators and levels of formed professional functional competences of future teachers of physical culture

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Samsutina N.M.

2012-09-01

Full Text Available It is shown the structural components of the functional competence of professional teachers of physical education: motivational, cognitive and action-practical. We used the following methods of scientific knowledge, as the analysis of psychological, educational and methodological literature, synthesis, comparison, generalization, specification, classification, ordering Criteria and levels of occupational functional competence of future teachers of physical education. It is determined that the high level of professional formation of the functional competence of future teachers of physical culture is characterized by the motivation to perform professional functions of a teacher of physical culture, fundamental knowledge required to perform professional functions of a teacher of physical culture, a high level of general physical fitness, pronounced specific motor abilities and skills.

High school Physical Sciences teachers' competence in some basic cognitive skills

OpenAIRE

Selvaratnam, Mailoo

2011-01-01

The successful implementation of the national high school Physical Sciences curriculum in South Africa, which places strong emphasis on critical thinking and reasoning abilities of students, would need teachers who are competent in cognitive skills and strategies. The main objectives of this study were to test South African high school Physical Sciences teachers' competence in the cognitive skills and strategies needed for studying Physical Sciences effectively and also to identify possible r...

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHING STYLES AND MOTIVATION TO TEACH AMONG PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

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Vello Hein

2012-03-01

Full Text Available 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

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Difficulties in Understanding Special Relativity Topics

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Ünlü Yavas, Pervin; Kizilcik, Hasan Sahin

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to identify the reasons why pre-service physics teachers have difficulties related to special relativity topics. In this study conducted with 25 pre-service physics teachers, the case study method, which is a qualitative research method, was used. Interviews were held with the participants about their reasons for…

Preparing Prospective Physical Educators in Exercise Physiology.

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Bulger, Sean M.; Mohr, Derek J.; Carson, Linda M.; Robert, Darren L.; Wiegand, Robert L.

2000-01-01

Addresses the need for continued assessment of course content and instructional methods employed within physical education teacher education programs to deliver theoretical and applied information from the foundational subdiscipline of exercise physiology, describing an innovative course at one university (Exercise for School-Aged Children) which…

Primary Student Teachers' Ideas about Teaching a Physics Topic

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Ahtee, Maija; Johnston, Jane

2006-01-01

This study examines Finnish and English primary student teachers' ideas when planning to teach a physics topic during their science education studies. Many primary student teachers lack sufficient subject knowledge, which prevents them from constructing the scientific pedagogical content knowledge that enables them to concentrate on pupils'…

The teacher benefits from giving autonomy support during physical education instruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheon, Sung Hyeon; Reeve, Johnmarshall; Yu, Tae Ho; Jang, Hue Ryen

2014-08-01

Recognizing that students benefit when they receive autonomy-supportive teaching, the current study tested the parallel hypothesis that teachers themselves would benefit from giving autonomy support. Twenty-seven elementary, middle, and high school physical education teachers (20 males, 7 females) were randomly assigned either to participate in an autonomy-supportive intervention program (experimental group) or to teach their physical education course with their existing style (control group) within a three-wave longitudinal research design. Manipulation checks showed that the intervention was successful, as students perceived and raters scored teachers in the experimental group as displaying a more autonomy-supportive and less controlling motivating style. In the main analyses, ANCOVA-based repeated-measures analyses showed large and consistent benefits for teachers in the experimental group, including greater teaching motivation (psychological need satisfaction, autonomous motivation, and intrinsic goals), teaching skill (teaching efficacy), and teaching well-being (vitality, job satisfaction, and lesser emotional and physical exhaustion). These findings show that giving autonomy support benefits teachers in much the same way that receiving it benefits their students.

Preparation in and Use of the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics by Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments

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Rosenblum, L. Penny; Amato, Sheila

2004-01-01

This study examined the preparation in and use of the Nemeth braille code by 135 teachers of students with visual impairments. Almost all the teachers had taken at least one course in the Nemeth code as part of their university preparation. In their current jobs, they prepared a variety of materials, primarily basic operations, word problems,…

Narratives of continued formation: meanings produced by Physical Education Teachers

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André da Silva Mello

2015-06-01

Full Text Available It discusses the meanings given by 14 physical education teachers about their experiences with the continued formation process. It is a (auto biographical narrative research, which used focal groups and interviews as tools for compiling the data. The colaborators are six male teachers and eight female teachers of municipal networks from Serra, Vitoria and Viana municipalities in the metropolitan region of Vitória, ES. The analyzes indicate that the assigned meanings are related to the collective need to reorganize institutional provided formations in dialogue with the political interests of teachers and the specificity of Physical Education as a curriculum component. In general, teachers consider the formation focused on practice and in the teaching profession as those that best reflect their expectations. The practice appears as a know-how to be appropriate from continued formetion to be experienced in school; a knowledge that, when apprehended, is reframed to produce other experiences.

Teaching Chemistry in a Spiral Progression Approach: Lessons from Science Teachers in the Philippines

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Orbe, Joymie R.; Espinosa, Allen A.; Datukan, Janir T.

2018-01-01

As the Philippines moves towards implementing the K-12 curriculum, there has been a mismatch in teacher preparation in science. The present teacher education curriculum prepares science teachers to specialise in a specific field (e.g. integrated science, biology, chemistry, and physics). However, in the K-12 curriculum, they are required to teach…

The Pedagogical Orientations of South African Physical Sciences Teachers Towards Inquiry or Direct Instructional Approaches

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Ramnarain, Umesh; Schuster, David

2014-08-01

In recent years, inquiry-based science instruction has become widely advocated in science education standards in many countries and, hence, in teacher preparation programmes. Nevertheless, in practice, one finds a wide variety of science instructional approaches. In South Africa, as in many countries, there is also a great disparity in school demographic situations, which can also affect teaching practices. This study investigated the pedagogical orientations of in-service physical sciences teachers at a diversity of schools in South Africa. Assessment items in a Pedagogy of Science Teaching Test (POSTT) were used to identify teachers' science teaching orientations, and reasons for pedagogical choices were probed in interviews. The findings reveal remarkable differences between the orientations of teachers at disadvantaged township schools and teachers at more privileged suburban schools. We found that teachers at township schools have a strong `active direct' teaching orientation overall, involving direct exposition of the science followed by confirmatory practical work, while teachers at suburban schools exhibit a guided inquiry orientation, with concepts being developed via a guided exploration phase. The study identified contextual factors such as class size, availability of resources, teacher competence and confidence, time constraints, student ability, school culture and parents' expectations as influencing the methods adopted by teachers. In view of the recent imperative for inquiry-based learning in the new South African curriculum, this study affirms the context specificity of curriculum implementation (Bybee 1993) and suggests situational factors beyond the curriculum mandate that need to be addressed to achieve successful inquiry-based classroom instruction in science.

Prospective High School Physics Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching Practices: From Traditionalist to Constructivist

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Demirci, Neset

2015-01-01

The main aim of this study was to determine the teaching practices of prospective high school physics teachers with respect to their preference for teaching as a traditionalist or as a constructivist. To study the beliefs of prospective high school physics teachers on this subject, firstly, the Teacher Belief Survey was administered to 135…

Snapshots of Authentic Scientific Inquiry and Teacher Preparation: Undergraduate STEM Courses, Preservice and Inservice Teachers' Experiences

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French, Debbie Ann

In this dissertation, the researcher describes authentic scientific inquiry (ASI) within three stages of teacher preparation and development: a1) undergraduate STEM courses, b2) preservice secondary science education methods courses, and c3) inservice teacher professional development (PD). Incorporating (ASI)-- pedagogy closely modeling the research practices of scientists--is at the forefront of national science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) initiatives and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In the first of three research articles, 42 students participated in an introductory astronomy course which employed inquiry-based pedagogy. The researcher administered the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) pre/post instruction. In the second article, 56 preservice secondary science teachers completed ideal lesson plan scenarios before and after 80 hours of methods instruction. The researcher scored the scenarios using a rubrirubric developedc according to the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices, and analyzed the components from the scenarios. The third article surveyed 63 inservice STEM teachers with prior research and industry experience. The researcher highlights teacher ASI perspectives. Overall, teachers incorporated opportunities for K-20 students to use scientific instrumentation and technology to collect and analyze data, work collaboratively, and develop evidence-based conclusions. Few teachers provided opportunities for students to ask scientific questions or disseminate results, suggesting the need that teachers (at all levels) need scaffolded instruction in these areas. The researcher argues that while ASI and STEM PDs are effective for teachers, developing similar interest, on-going communities of practice may provide support for teacher to implement the ASI practices in their classrooms.

Premenarcheal Mexican Girls' and Their Teachers' Perceptions of Preparation Students Receive about Menstruation at School.

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Marvan, Luisa; Bejarano, Janett

2005-01-01

This survey explored how fifth-grade Mexican premenarcheal girls (N = 80) and their teachers (N = 16) view the preparation students receive about menstruation at school. The most discussed topics in class included hygiene and body functions. The main discrepancies between girls and teachers were as follows: (a) more teachers than girls reported…

Effects of Teacher Preparation Courses: Do Graduates Use What They Learned to Plan Mathematics Lessons?

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Morris, Anne K.; Hiebert, James

2017-01-01

We investigated whether the content pre-service teachers studied in elementary teacher preparation mathematics courses was related to their performance on a mathematics lesson planning task 2 and 3 years after graduation. The relevant mathematics knowledge was studied when the teachers were freshmen, 5 to 6 years earlier. Results showed that when…

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Conceptions of Nature of Science

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Buaraphan, Khajornsak

2011-01-01

Understanding of NOS (nature of science) appears as a prerequisite of a scientifically literate person. Promoting adequate understanding of NOS in pre-service physics teachers is, therefore, an important task of science educators. Before doing that, science educators must have information concerning their pre-service teachers' conceptions of NOS.…

Teacher-Led Change in Secondary School Physical Education

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Cameron, Jay; Mercier, Kevin; Doolittle, Sarah

2016-01-01

How and why meaningful curriculum or program changes happen in physical education is important, but not well understood, especially at the secondary school level. In this longitudinal case study, we examined teacher-initiated changes in a high school physical education program. Data were collected through prolonged engagement over 5 years and…

Strategies for Astronomers in the Preparation of Pre-Service Elementary and Secondary Teachers

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Schultz, G. R.

2004-12-01

Making an impact on pre-service teacher preparation is challenging and requires a multi-faceted approach. To begin with, it's advisable to be informed by the education research and consensus policy statements published by the teacher education community, and to make meaningful connections with educators in this field. Two significant books to consult in this area come from the National Academy Press: "How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School" (NRC, 2000; see in particular chapter 8 on 'Teacher Learning') and "Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology: New Practices for the New Millennium" (NRC, 2001). Much can also be learned from joining the Association for the Education Teachers of Science (AETS; www.TheAETS.org) and/or attending its annual conferences, which attract various science teacher educators. It goes without saying that most teachers tend to teach science the way they learned it themselves, at least as a "default" pedagogical approach. Thus, initiatives in pre-service teacher preparation should include efforts to involve constructivist, inquiry-based teaching and learning in the undergraduate science lecture and laboratory courses that future teachers are enrolling in. Another important area in teacher education is the "science methods" course that a pre-service teacher enrolls in, through a college or school of education. Science methods courses are usually offered in both elementary and secondary education, and the approaches in each are of course different. Pre-service teachers in methods courses are often most concerned with classroom management strategies, and there is usually not much time in these courses for guidance on astronomy-specific (or any discipline-specific) curriculum and instruction. But experiences with short "interventions" in both elementary and secondary science methods courses have demonstrated that talking about and working hands-on with a well-designed space science curriculum resource (e.g. "The

Physical content of preparation-question structures and Brouwer-Zadeh lattices

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Cattaneo, Gianpiero; Nisticó, Giuseppe

1992-10-01

We give a criterion to compare the physical content of different mathematical structures derived from a preparation-question structure. Then this criterion is used in order to compare the physical content of the (Jauch-Piron's) property lattice with the physical content of the poset of testable properties. We prove that for complete preparation-question structures these two structures carry the same physical content; moreover the set of testable properties has the algebraic structure of the Brouwer-Zadeh lattice. For more general preparation-question structures the physical content of the poset of testable property can be larger than that of the property lattice. Physically relevant examples of the possible cases are given.

What Teacher Preparation Programs Teach about K-12 Assessment: A Review of Coursework on K-12 Assessment from a Sample of Teacher Preparation Programs

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National Council on Teacher Quality, 2012

2012-01-01

Over the past several decades, federal and state governments, school districts and education leaders have invested significant resources to develop assessments and data systems to track student performance. Yet little attention has been paid to the importance of building the capacity of teachers in assessment so that they are prepared to use data…

An Analysis of the Selection and Distribution of Knowledge in Massachusetts Music Teacher Preparation Programs: The Song Remains the Same

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Borek, Matthew

2012-01-01

Music teachers occupy a conflicted and contested position in many secondary schools, and music teacher education programs have been given the task of preparing students to enter this challenging environment. This qualitative dissertation study examined the explicit, implicit, and null curricula of music teacher preparation programs in…

Professional Preparation in Physical Education and Coaching.

Science.gov (United States)

American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Washington, DC.

This booklet is the product of a conference of the American Association of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, the purpose of which was to revise professional preparation quidelines in dance, physical education, recreation education, and health and safety education. This report includes sections on physical education and coaching and on…

Adoption of Mobile Technology for Teaching Preparation in Improving Teaching Quality of Teachers

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Nawi, Aliff; Hamzah, Mohd Isa; Ren, Chua Chy; Tamuri, Ab Halim

2015-01-01

This study aims to identify the readiness of teachers to use mobile phones for the purpose of teaching preparation. The study also reviewed the level of teachers' satisfaction when using the mobile technology applications developed for the purpose of teaching and learning in the classroom. This study used the mix method to collect data. A total of…

[Safety in physical education - a teacher's perspective].

Science.gov (United States)

Greier, K; Heinzle, A; Nepo, S; Ratschiller, J; Gafriller, R; Riechelmann, H

2015-03-01

A high percentage of all sports injuries occur during school sports. The aim of this study was to collect statements and opinions of sports teachers for safety in physical education. In a cross-sectional study, 296 teachers (202 with, 94 without a teaching qualification in "exercise and sports") at 77 Tyrolean "New Middle Schools" (former secondary schools) were interviewed. They judged various statements on school sports safety using a 5-point verbal rating scale. Irrespective of gender, teachers with a teaching qualification stated significantly more frequently (p = 0.015) that they have participated in continuing education on accident prevention than had their colleagues without qualification. The same applies to the checking of gymnastic and sports equipment before use (p sportswear in physical education than did their male counterparts. Of all respondents, 57 % knew about technical faults in sports halls, which have also been reported to the school administration. In more than half (58 %) of these, reported defects were repaired completely and in one-third (36 %), a partial repair was reported. Participants estimated that the major risk for school sports injuries was due to the low motor skills of the pupils, inhomogeneous groups, large numbers of pupils, outdated sports equipment, and ball games. Since about a third of all surveyed teachers had no teaching qualification in exercise and sports, this group should come into the focus of regular continuing education in accident prevention. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Skill Levels of Prospective Physics Teachers on Problem Posing

Science.gov (United States)

Cildir, Sema; Sezen, Nazan

2011-01-01

Problem posing is one of the topics which the educators thoroughly accentuate. Problem posing skill is defined as an introvert activity of a student's learning. In this study, skill levels of prospective physics teachers on problem posing were determined and their views on problem posing were evaluated. To this end, prospective teachers were given…

Connecting Biology and Mathematics: First Prepare the Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Developing the connection between biology and mathematics is one of the most important ways to shift the paradigms of both established science disciplines. However, adding some mathematic content to biology or biology content to mathematics is not enough but must be accompanied by development of suitable pedagogical models. I propose a model of pedagogical mathematical biological content knowledge as a feasible starting point for connecting biology and mathematics in schools and universities. The process of connecting these disciplines should start as early as possible in the educational process, in order to produce prepared minds that will be able to combine both disciplines at graduate and postgraduate levels of study. Because teachers are a crucial factor in introducing innovations in education, the first step toward such a goal should be the education of prospective and practicing elementary and secondary school teachers. PMID:20810951

Connecting biology and mathematics: first prepare the teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorgo, Andrej

2010-01-01

Developing the connection between biology and mathematics is one of the most important ways to shift the paradigms of both established science disciplines. However, adding some mathematic content to biology or biology content to mathematics is not enough but must be accompanied by development of suitable pedagogical models. I propose a model of pedagogical mathematical biological content knowledge as a feasible starting point for connecting biology and mathematics in schools and universities. The process of connecting these disciplines should start as early as possible in the educational process, in order to produce prepared minds that will be able to combine both disciplines at graduate and postgraduate levels of study. Because teachers are a crucial factor in introducing innovations in education, the first step toward such a goal should be the education of prospective and practicing elementary and secondary school teachers.

New forms of nurse teacher preparation 1989-1992 : Development and evaluation.

OpenAIRE

Race, Angela J.

1995-01-01

Radical reform of the arrangements for pre-registration nurse education and the recommendation that nurse teaching become a graduate profession prompted a reappraisal of the arrangements for nurse teacher preparation. This thesis reports an evaluation of a new form of preparation for nurse teaching. The new courses were intended to combine advanced study of nursing with educational theory and practice, and led to an honours degree and a teaching qualification recordable on the professional re...

Innovative Training of In-Service Teachers for Active Learning: A Short Teacher Development Course Based on Physics Education Research

Science.gov (United States)

Zavala, Genaro; Alarcon, Hugo; Benegas, Julio

2007-01-01

In this contribution we describe a short development course for in-service physics teachers. The course structure and materials are based on the results of educational research, and its main objective is to provide in-service teachers with a first contact with the active learning strategy "Tutorials in Introductory Physics," developed by…

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Ideas on Size, Visibility and Structure of the Atom

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Unlu, Pervin

2010-01-01

Understanding the atom gives the opportunity to both understand and conceptually unify the various domains of science, such as physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and geology. Among these disciplines, physics teachers are expected to be particularly well educated in this topic. It is important that pre-service physics teachers know what sort of…

Physics teachers' perspectives on High School national curriculum policies

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Gleice Ferraz

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to identify, in the context of an activity developed in online course for continuing education and from the theoretical approach of Mikhail Bakhtin, the discursive appropriation of PCNEM by high school physics teachers who work in different regional realities. The analysis indicated a positive perspective by teachers related to PCNEM, in addition to full accordance with the main path indicated by the legislation: the contextualized teaching. Despite the differences between educational regions we could not identify explicit signs of how these differences impacted the appropriation of terms found in PCNEM. The silence of teachers in relation to non-methodological aspects of physics teaching shapes their perspectives and also emphasizes the concern for didactic transposition of the content required by the curriculum, leaving out the question of why we have this curriculum and not other.

Inclusion of students with special education needs in physical education

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Martin Kudláček

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to present phenomena of inclusive physical education from the point of view of needs of students with SEN, teachers from the point of view of support and university PE teacher preparation programs (PETE.Inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN in physical education is in Czech Republic still marginal topic, although issues related to inclusive physical education are among key challenges of students with SEN, their teachers, parents and university departments preparing prospective teachers. In the area of support in inclusive PE we present the model of support in inclusive PE (Sherrill, 2004; Kudláček & Ješina, 2008 and in the area of PETE we present of key outcomes of project EIPET (Theoretical knowledge, competence and skills framework.

Peculiarities of domestic and foreign experience of teachers preparation to training robotics

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Наталья Александровна Ионкина

2018-12-01

Full Text Available Robotics within the subject “Technology” is included in the curriculum of Russian schools. This fact transforms robotics from the subject of additional education into a full-fledged academic subject of the school curriculum. The introduction of robotics into the curriculum of Russian schools requires significant changes in the system of training teachers who will teach students this discipline. Training of teachers for the training of students in robotics is carried out, both in the framework of programs for the preparation of masters in pedagogical universities, and within the framework of various refresher courses. Different countries carry out such training in different ways. In some countries, the training of teachers of robotics is financed by the state, in others by private initiatives. The mission of most foreign educational organizations is to use the motivational effects of robotics to activate schoolchildren and involve them in STEM-education. Many manufacturing companies not only sell robotic equipment, but also prepare methodological and training materials for the implementation of STEM-education technology, as well as create electronic educational resources, training programs, online lessons, evaluation materials and much more. Teaching teachers and schoolchildren, while it is based on the equipment that produces such companies.

Pre-Service Special Education Teachers' Professionalism and Preparation in Terms of Child Sexual Abuse

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Zboon, Eman; Ahmad, Jamal

2016-01-01

This study aimed at examining Jordanian pre-service special education teachers' professionalism and preparation on the topic of child sexual abuse (CSA). Qualitative research data from interviews with 20 pre-service special education teachers were analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that these participants generally hold avoiding…

The Politics and Statistics of Value-Added Modeling for Accountability of Teacher Preparation Programs

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Lincove, Jane Arnold; Osborne, Cynthia; Dillon, Amanda; Mills, Nicholas

2014-01-01

Despite questions about validity and reliability, the use of value-added estimation methods has moved beyond academic research into state accountability systems for teachers, schools, and teacher preparation programs (TPPs). Prior studies of value-added measurement for TPPs test the validity of researcher-designed models and find that measuring…

History of Science in Physics Teaching: A Study About the Teaching of Gravitational Attraction Developed Among Prospective Teachers

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Sandra Regina Teodoro Gatti

2010-03-01

Full Text Available We report here some outcomes of a research related to a didactical experience aiming to integrate the History of Science to the Physics Teaching, taking as background the historical development of the gravitational attraction. The research, of qualitative approach, is a case study and it was carried out in a sample of eleven students belonging to an undergraduate physics program (called licenciatura in Brazil designed to from High School physics teachers in a São Paulo State Public University. We tried initially to reveal prospective teachers’ conceptions in order to provide a prepare that was used to guide the activities from the reality’s diagnosis. The aim was to promote discussions on the existence and persistence of alternative conceptions, on the historical evolution of the subject gravitational attraction, through readings and debates of texts contemplating recent subjects on the Science Education research, in order to generate dissatisfaction with traditional teaching models. The future High School physics teachers were asked to construct their own teaching proposal, through the development, in real situations, in a High School, of a mini-course based on: debates and synthesis developed in University classroom, the History of the Science and the student’s alternative conceptions. In this paper we will analyze future teachers’ alternative conceptions, the development of the course proposed, and details of the mini-courses taught by the prospective teachers in real situations, among High School students, its coherence and the posture changes observed in them.

"My Attitude, My Responsibility" Investigating the Attitudes and Intentions of Pre-Service Teachers toward Inclusive Education between Teacher Preparation Cohorts in Melbourne and Pretoria

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Subban, Pearl; Mahlo, Dikeledi

2017-01-01

This study explored the attitudes and intentions of pre-service teachers towards inclusive education, across two teacher preparation institutions in Australia and South Africa. There were multiple aims to the study: among these was a need to explore the impact of contextual factors on pre-service teacher attitudes towards inclusive education, and…

Physical education Teachers' and public health Nurses' perception of Norwegian high school Students' participation in physical education - a focus group study.

Science.gov (United States)

Abildsnes, Eirik; Stea, Tonje H; Berntsen, Sveinung; Omfjord, Christina S; Rohde, Gudrun

2015-12-24

High quality physical education programs in high schools may facilitate adoption of sustainable healthy living among adolescents. Public health nurses often meet students who avoid taking part in physical education programs. We aimed to explore physical education teachers' and public health nurses' perceptions of high school students' attitudes towards physical education, and to explore physical education teachers' thoughts about how to facilitate and promote students' participation in class. Prior to an initiative from physical education teachers, introducing a new physical education model in two high schools in the South of Norway, we conducted focus groups with 6 physical education teachers and 8 public health nurses. After implementation of the new model, we conducted two additional focus group interviews with 10 physical education teachers. In analyses we used Systematic Text Condensation and an editing analysis style. In general, the students were experienced as engaged and appreciating physical education lessons. Those who seldom attended often strived with other subjects in school as well, had mental health problems, or were characterized as outsiders in several arenas. Some students were reported to be reluctant to expose their bodies in showers after class, and students who seldom attended physical education class frequently visited the school health services. Although the majority of students were engaged in class, several of the students lacked knowledge about physical fitness and motoric skills to be able to master daily activities. The participants related the students' competence and attitude towards participation in physical education class to previous experiences in junior high school, to the competence of physical education teachers, and to possibility for students to influence the content of physical education programs. The participants suggested that high school students' attitudes towards participation in physical education is heterogeneous

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

Science.gov (United States)

Hein, Vello; Ries, Francis; Pires, Francisco; Caune, Agnese; Heszteráné Ekler, Judit; Emeljanovas, Arunas; Valantiniene, Irena

2012-01-01

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

The relationship between teaching styles and motivation to teach among physical education teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hein, Vello; Ries, Francis; Pires, Francisco; Caune, Agnese; Heszteráné Ekler, Judit; Emeljanovas, Arunas; Valantiniene, Irena

2012-01-01

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. 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

Health status of teachers who teach physical education

OpenAIRE

Petan, Mateja

2012-01-01

The theoretical part of this thesis describes the most common health problems, defects, and injuries faced by physical education teachers in elementary schools and those who are involved in the sports education process. Presented are occupational diseases and injuries occurring among employees in the education profession. In the second, empirical part, I explored the health problems and disabilities that teachers most often face and whether these types of problems are related to the teaching ...

Strength and sources of self-efficacy beliefs by physical education student teachers

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Roberto Tadeu Iaochite

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In the teaching domain, self-efficacy (SE is related to teachers' judgment about their own ability to achieve learning outcomes and student engagement. SE is formed by four sources of information: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and psychophysiological states. We measured and analyzed SE and its sources for teaching physical education. Student teachers (n = 114 from three universities responded to two Likert scales - Physical Education Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale and Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale Sources - and a social demographic questionnaire. SE for teaching was classified as moderate, and vicarious experiences and social persuasion were the main sources of information. Results were discussed for future researches related to teaching practices in undergraduate programs as well as in-service teacher training.

ICT and Teachers' Performance in Terms of Lesson Preparation and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper is a report of a study carried out to examine how information and Communication Technology (ICT) and teachers' performance in terms of lesson preparation and delivery in primary schools in Ogoja Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of the study, one research question was ...

Preparation of Teachers of Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders. Retrospective Series on Critical Issues in Emotional/Behavioral Disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Bullock, Lyndal M., Ed.; Gable, Robert A., Ed.; Rutherford, Robert B., Jr., Ed.

The third in a series, this collection of previously published monographs examines the challenges of preparing teachers to work with students who have emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Monographs include: (1) "Issues in Training Teachers for the Seriously Emotionally Disturbed" (Frank H. Wood), which discusses preparing regular and special…

Educational Philosophies Adhered by Filipino Preservice Teachers: Basis for Proposing Initiatives for 21st Century Teacher Education Preparation Program

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Gilbert C. Magulod Jr.

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The study endeavoured to ascertain the educational philosophies adhered by Filipino preservice teachers. Descriptive survey research method was employed. The participants of the study were the 76 fourth year Bachelor in Elementary Education (BEED and Bachelor in Secondary Education (BSED of the College of Teacher Education in one state university in the Philippines. Data were gathered with the use of standardized research tool. Research findings showed that the Filipino preservice teachers espoused a very high adherence to progressivism educational philosophy and high orientation to existentialism and reconstructionism. They also showed a moderate adherence to perennialism and existentialism philosophies. These imply that they espoused a high student-centred teaching belief with partial acceptance to teacher-centred teaching belief. Test of difference and Post hoc analysis revealed that course, residence and scholastic standing in high school spelled differences on the educational philosophies of the Filipino preservice teachers. Findings of the study present initiatives for 21st century teacher education preparation program.

PREPARING FUTURE TEACHERS TO RISK WARNING IN PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITIES

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Maryna Butyrina

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to identify the peculiarities of professional activities for teachers’ physical and mental health; to implement comprehensive analysis of the negative impact on teaching profession; to disclose accidents and mental destruction of future teachers’ individuals. The professional health is an integral characteristic of functional state of human mental and physical indicators to assess his/her abilities to a certain professional activities and practice of a given duration over a period of life and endurance to adverse factors that accompany this activity. Violation of a teacher’s mental and physical health, signs of combustion syndrome affect the students’ health. So the problem of preserving and strengthening teachers’ health should be a priority in his/her life and among professional problems; the main object of study is future teachers’ training in the course “Health in the field (of education”. Distinctive features of the teaching profession reflect the state of his/her health: working as a teacher is both mental and physical activity, which combines creative, organizational and research ones; high density of interpersonal contacts; a lot of stress, high nervous and emotional tension; periodic need for the scheduled amount of work in a tightly regulated period; special responsibility for students and colleagues; the need to make operational decisions; significant mobilization of analyzers, attention, and memory functions. In educational activities along with common risk factors for mental health (such as neuro-emotional stress, information overload, hypokinesia there are specific risk factors such as a significant voice load, prevalence static load, a large amount of visual work, violation of work regime and rest points. The unfavorable effects of teaching profession, such as neuro-psychiatric and physical (static overloading teachers, in addition to occupational diseases can also lead to accidents due to

Becoming a Health and Physical Education (HPE) Teacher: Student Teacher "Performances" in the Physical Education Subject Department Office

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Rossi, Tony; Sirna, Karen; Tinning, Richard

2008-01-01

This study considered how physical education teacher education students "perform" their "selves" within subject department offices during the practicum or "teaching practice". The research was framed by a conceptual framework informed by the work of Goffman on "performance" and "front". The findings revealed three common performances across the…

Student evaluations of physics teachers: On the stability and persistence of gender bias

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Geoff Potvin

2016-08-01

Full Text Available [This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] There is a long history of research which confounds the simple interpretation that evaluations in an educational context are purely measures of competency. One such issue is that of gender bias in student evaluations of their teachers. In our prior work, we found that male students underrated female high school teachers in biology and chemistry while all students underrated female high school teachers in physics. In the current work, we independently checked and extended this earlier work to examine the effect of physics identity on student evaluations and gender bias. Employing multiple regression on survey data from a representative sample of 6772 college students across the U.S., attending both 2-year and 4-year post-secondary institutions (including STEM and non-STEM majors, we find the core physics effect is unchanged despite a gap between studies of nearly 10 years. Namely, both male and female students underrate their female high school physics teachers, even after controlling for physics grades and classroom experiences. Our new focus on physics identity reveals that students with a strong physics identity show a larger gender bias in favor of male teachers than those with less of a physics identity. These results may help to explain how structures that privilege certain groups and marginalize others are prevalent amongst the youngest members of a defined physics community and may serve to uphold the status quo as these young members traverse to higher levels of physics community membership. Furthermore, biased evaluative feedback structures may be one of the propagators of women’s lower competency beliefs in physics, a result that has been found by many prior studies.

Student evaluations of physics teachers: On the stability and persistence of gender bias

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Potvin, Geoff; Hazari, Zahra

2016-12-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] There is a long history of research which confounds the simple interpretation that evaluations in an educational context are purely measures of competency. One such issue is that of gender bias in student evaluations of their teachers. In our prior work, we found that male students underrated female high school teachers in biology and chemistry while all students underrated female high school teachers in physics. In the current work, we independently checked and extended this earlier work to examine the effect of physics identity on student evaluations and gender bias. Employing multiple regression on survey data from a representative sample of 6772 college students across the U.S., attending both 2-year and 4-year post-secondary institutions (including STEM and non-STEM majors), we find the core physics effect is unchanged despite a gap between studies of nearly 10 years. Namely, both male and female students underrate their female high school physics teachers, even after controlling for physics grades and classroom experiences. Our new focus on physics identity reveals that students with a strong physics identity show a larger gender bias in favor of male teachers than those with less of a physics identity. These results may help to explain how structures that privilege certain groups and marginalize others are prevalent amongst the youngest members of a defined physics community and may serve to uphold the status quo as these young members traverse to higher levels of physics community membership. Furthermore, biased evaluative feedback structures may be one of the propagators of women's lower competency beliefs in physics, a result that has been found by many prior studies.

Pre-Service and In-Service Physics Teachers' Ideas about Simple Electric Circuits

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Kucukozer, Huseyin; Demirci, Neset

2008-01-01

The aim of the study is to determine pre-service and high school physics teachers' ideas about simple electric circuits. In this study, a test containing eight questions related to simple electric circuits was given to the pre-service physics teachers (32 subjects) that had graduated from Balikesir University, Necatibey Faculty of Education, the…

Pre-K Physical Education: Universal Initiatives and Teacher Preparation Recommendations

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Ross, Susan M.

2013-01-01

The "National Physical Activity Plan", as well as professional and government agencies (NASPE, 2008a; US Department of Health and Human Services, 2000) acknowledge pre-kindergarten (pre-K) children should be part of comprehensive school physical activity initiatives anchored in quality physical education programming. These…

Physics Teacher Knowledge Aimed in Pedagogical Studies in Finland and in South Korea

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Krzywacki, Heidi; Kim, Byeong-Chan; Lavonen, Jari

2017-01-01

This paper analyzes the pedagogical studies of Finnish and South Korean physics teacher education programs that guide teacher educators to support student teachers' to build readiness for acting as professional teachers in a secondary school classroom. Research on the domains and origin of teachers' professional knowledge provides a framework for…

Learning from the Learners: Preparing Future Teachers to Leverage the Benefits of Laptop Computers

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Grundmeyer, Trent; Peters, Randal

2016-01-01

Technology is changing the teaching and learning landscape. Teacher preparation programs must produce teachers who have new skills and strategies to leverage the benefits of laptop computers in their classrooms. This study used a phenomenological strategy to explain first-year college students' perceptions of the effects of a 1:1 laptop experience…

Improving Science Teacher Preparation through the APS PhysTEC and NSF Noyce Programs

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Williams, Tasha; Tyler, Micheal; van Duzor, Andrea; Sabella, Mel

2013-03-01

Central to the recruitment of students into science teaching at a school like CSU, is a focus on the professional nature of teaching. The purpose of this focus is twofold: it serves to change student perceptions about teaching and it prepares students to become teachers who value continued professional development and value the science education research literature. The Noyce and PhysTEC programs at CSU place the professional nature of teaching front and center by involving students in education research projects, paid internships, attendance at conferences, and participation in a new Teacher Immersion Institute and a Science Education Journal Reading Class. This poster will focus on specific components of our teacher preparation program that were developed through these two programs. In addition we will describe how these new components provide students with diverse experiences in the teaching of science to students in the urban school district. Supported by the NSF Noyce Program (0833251) and the APS PhysTEC Program.

The relationship between physical activity and work ability - A cross-sectional study of teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Grabara, Małgorzata; Nawrocka, Agnieszka; Powerska-Didkowska, Aneta

2018-01-01

To assess relationship between physical activity (PA) and perceived work ability amongst teachers from the Upper Silesia, Poland. The study involved 171 teachers (129 women, 42 men) of primary and secondary schools of the Upper Silesia, Poland. Physical education teachers were excluded from the study. The level of PA was estimated using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short version, and perceived work ability was estimated using Work Ability Index (WAI). Male teachers had significantly higher levels of vigorous-intensity PA, moderateintensity PA, and total weekly PA than female teachers. The recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) met 46% of studied women and 74% of men. Work ability did not differ between male and female teachers. Work ability was related to age, body mass index (BMI), and PA (vigorous-intensity PA, moderate-intensity PA, total weekly PA). The female teachers with excellent or good WAI had significantly higher levels of vigorous-intensity PA, moderate-intensity PA and total weekly PA than female teachers with moderate or poor WAI. The teachers involving in high or moderate intensity PA could improve their work ability. Further studies should focus on relation between physical activity and work ability among teachers of various age and seniority, from both, urban and rural schools. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2018;31(1):1-9. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Integrating Technology into Teacher Preparation and Practice: A Two-way Mentoring Model

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Jim Kerr

2004-07-01

Full Text Available This article reports on a pilot case study exploring the opportunity for authentic professional development in the use of technology. Self-selected pre-service and in- service teachers were paired so as to reinforce and enhance, firstly, their computer skill development and, secondly, their ability to integrate these same skills into classroom teaching practices. It was proposed that both groups of participants would derive benefit from these pairings. Results overwhelming support this and suggest (a a model for better preparing teacher candidates to be able to integrate computer skills into classroom programming and (b a new, perhaps more efficient, method of professional development for busy, dedicated classroom teachers.

Examining Attitudes of Physical Education Teacher Education Program Students Toward the Teaching Profession

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Gunay Yildizer

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate attitudes of pre-service teachers toward the teaching profession with respect to their gender, grade level, whether participants regularly participate in physical activities, and whether pre-service students have a teacher-parent in their family. Research was conducted on 469 pre-service physical education teachers (Mage=21.35, SDage= 2.49, 188 female (Mage=20.89, SDage= 2.30 and 281 male (Mage=21.66, SDage= 2.57 students from five different universities in Turkey. In this study the “Attitude Scale for the Profession of Physical Education Teaching” was used. It has two factors: “concern for profession” (CP and “affection for profession” (AP. Independent sample t-test results indicated that there were no significant differences with respect to gender or having a teacher-parent in both factors and total attitude points (p> 0.05. Pre-service physical education teachers who participate in physical activity had significantly higher points in AP and the total scale in comparison to those who do not participate in physical activity (p< 0.05. ANOVA results indicated that based on grade level there were significant differences in CP and total attitude (p< 0.05. Students’ concern about employment may be associated with differences in attitude scores between grade levels. The positive effect of physical activity participation and their professional teaching education on stress resilience might also be an important factor for increasing positive attitudes toward the teaching profession.

Secondary school physics teachers' conceptions of scientific evidence: A collective case study

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Joseph A.

Engaging secondary school students in inquiry-oriented tasks that more closely simulate the scholarly activities of scientists has been recommended as a way to improve scientific literacy. Two tasks that are frequently recommended include students' design of original experiments, and students' evaluation of scientific evidence and conclusions. Yet, little is known about teachers' conceptions of experimentation. The principal aim of this study, therefore, was to describe the nature of prospective and practicing physics teachers' conceptions of scientific evidence. More specifically, the following research questions guided this study: (1) What types of issues related to the measurement reliability and experimental validity of scientific evidence do practicing and prospective physics teachers think about when designing experiments? (2) When presented with hypothetical scenarios that describe unsound experimental procedures or poorly supported conclusions (or both), what concerns will prospective and practicing physics teachers raise? And (3) When the participants' responses to parallel research prompts are compared across protocols, what similarities and differences exist? The nature of the teacher-participants' conceptions was described from an analysis of data collected from research prompts such as interviews and hand written artifacts. In these research prompts, the teachers "thought aloud" while designing experiments and critically evaluated student-collected evidence presented in hypothetical classroom scenarios. The data from this study suggested that the three teachers, while contemplating the reliability and validity of scientific evidence, frequently used their conceptions of evidence in conjunction with specific subject matter conceptions. The data also indicated that the relationship between subject matter knowledge and conceptions of evidence was more pronounced for some conceptions of evidence than for others. Suggestions for future research included

Reversing the AAPT Photo Contest: A Physics Teacher Education Activity

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Hechter, Richard P.

2016-01-01

This year while awaiting the arrival of the AAPT High School Physics Photo Contest poster, I developed an idea for my physics teacher education course that used the photo contest in a new context. While using an external source like a photograph to learn physics is not new to physics education, this article describes how we used the foundational…

Amotivation in Physical Education: Relationships with Physical Self-Concept and Teacher Ratings of Attainment

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Jackson-Kersey, Rachel; Spray, Christopher

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Amotivation Inventory in Physical Education (AI-PE). In addition, the study sought to identify the relationships between students' amotivation, physical self-concept, and teacher ratings of National Curriculum attainment levels in PE. Students ("N" = 510) from a…

Physical Education Teacher Effectiveness in a Public Health Context

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McKenzie, Thomas L.; Lounsbery, Monica A. F.

2013-01-01

The health benefits of physical activity are well documented, and the important role that schools and physical education (PE) can play in reducing sedentary behavior and contributing to population health has been identified. Although effective teaching is ultimately judged by student achievement, a major component of teacher and school…

Exploring Relationships: Teacher Characteristics and Student Learning in Physical Science

Science.gov (United States)

Close, Eleanor; Vokos, S.; Seeley, L.

2006-12-01

The Department of Physics and the School of Education at Seattle Pacific University, together with FACET Innovations, LLC, are beginning the second year of a five-year NSF TPC grant, Improving the Effectiveness of Teacher Diagnostic Skills and Tools. We are working in partnership with school districts in Washington State to identify and characterize widespread productive and unproductive modes of reasoning employed by both pre-college students and teachers on foundational topics in physical science. In the first year of the grant, base-line preand post-test data were collected from a large number (N 2300) of middle and high school students. We will discuss relationships between preand post-test results, student learning gains, and student and teacher characteristics. * Supported in part by NSF grant #ESI-0455796, The Boeing Corporation, and the SPU Science Initiative.

High School Physical Education Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching Students with Mild to Severe Disabilities

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Casebolt, Kevin M.; Hodge, Samuel R.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze high school physical education teachers' beliefs about teaching students with disabilities in inclusive physical education. The participants (3 men, 2 women) were certified physical education teachers at four suburban high schools. The research method was descriptive-qualitative using a case study approach…

Design of an assessment to probe teachers' content knowledge for teaching: An example from energy in high school physics

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Etkina, Eugenia; Gitomer, Drew; Iaconangelo, Charles; Phelps, Geoffrey; Seeley, Lane; Vokos, Stamatis

2018-06-01

Research into teacher learning and practice over the last three decades shows that the teachers of a specific subject need to possess knowledge that is different from the knowledge of other content experts. Yet this specialized version of content knowledge that teachers need to plan instruction, respond to student ideas, and assess student understanding in real time is a theoretically elusive construct. It is crucial for the fields of precollege teacher preparation, teacher professional education, and postsecondary faculty professional development to (a) clarify the construct that underlies this specialized content knowledge, (b) operationalize it in some domain, (c) measure it in both static contexts and as it is enacted in the classroom, and (d) correlate its presence with "richness" of classroom instruction and its effect on student learning. This paper documents a piece of a multiyear, multi-institutional effort to investigate points (a)-(d) in the domain of energy in the first high school physics course. In particular, we describe the framework that we developed to clarify content knowledge for teaching in the context of high school energy learning. We then outline the process through which we developed, tested, and refined a "paper-and-pencil" assessment administered on a computer and discuss the substantive and psychometric features of several items based on a field test of the final form of the assessment. We choose to discuss these items for a dual purpose: to illustrate the application of our general framework and to present performance findings from a sample of 362 practicing high school teachers of physics.

Physical Attractiveness, Year of University, and the Expectations of Student-Teachers

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Clifton, Rodney A.; Baksh, Ismael J.

1978-01-01

Extends previous research (Clifford & Walster, 1973) on the relationship between pupils' physical attractiveness and teacher expectations. Examines the extent to which the length of time that a student-teacher has been in university mediates this relationship. (Author/R K)

Listening to Country Voices: Preparing, Attracting and Retaining Teachers for Rural and Remote Areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Yarrow, Allan; Herschell, Paul; Millwater, Jan

1999-01-01

Examines the need for better preparation of teachers to live and work in rural Australia. Uses responses from a rural Queensland community meeting to discuss preparation needs related to multiage classrooms, cultural differences, and school-community involvement. Describes a new internship/mentor program at Queensland University of Technology that…

Physical Education Teachers: How Do I Sue Thee? Oh, Let Me Count the Ways!

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Henderson, Donald H.

1985-01-01

Physical education teachers face increased risks of tort liablity suits because athletic events tend to be dangerous due to physical contact. Areas that are most vulnerable to tort liablity cases of teacher negligence are discussed. (DF)

Physical Education Teachers' Career-Long Professional Learning: Getting Personal

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Makopoulou, Kyriaki; Armour, Kathleen M.

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to build upon previous PE-CPD (Physical Education Continuing Professional Development) research by exploring Greek case study physical education (PE) teachers' engagement in professional learning. It is argued that in the contemporary European context, where the teaching profession is viewed as central to achieving wider…

Navigating Academia: Developing a Road Map for a Professional Journey for Physical Education Teacher Candidates

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Lee, Okseon; Ravizza, Dean M.; Muller, Susan M.; Satern, Miriam N.

2017-01-01

Physical education teacher education programs provide teacher candidates with the knowledge, skills and dispositions required to impact student learning. Over the course of a long and successful career, however, quality physical education teachers must continue to adapt to the changing demands of their profession. The professional growth that…

Professional "Development" and Professional "Learning": Bridging the Gap for Experienced Physical Education Teachers

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Armour, Kathleen M.; Yelling, Martin

2004-01-01

This article analyses the career-long continuing professional development (CPD) of 85 experienced physical education (PE) teachers in England. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews (20 teachers) and open-ended profile questionnaires (a further 65 teachers) to find out what forms of professional development these teachers had…

Talk | Physical preparation before a sports competition | 16 April

CERN Multimedia

2013-01-01

In the run-up to the annual CERN Relay Race and as part of the Move! Eat better campaign, the Medical Service is organising a talk on physical preparation before a sports competition or before the start of a sporting season.     Come along to the Council Chamber on 16 April at 5:00 p.m. to discover the secrets of good physical preparation. You'll get plenty of tips, techniques and exercises, and find out how your whole sporting experience can be enhanced by good physical preparation.  This advice will be especially useful to help you prepare for the CERN Relay Race, whether you’re a casual jogger or a hardened road-racer. The talk will be moderated (in French) by: Rachel Bray, President of the CERN Fitness Club; Olivier Baldacchino, professional running coach and trainer of the CERN Running Club, who will give tips on how to prepare for races, in particular the CERN Relay Race; and Jean-Yves Le Meur, a member of the French national disa...

The Multiple Abilities Paradigm: Integrated General and Special Education Teacher Preparation.

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Ellis, Edwin S.; And Others

1995-01-01

The Multiple Abilities Program (MAP) at the University of Alabama is a five-semester, competency-based preservice program preparing teachers to teach all students regardless of settings or disability labels. This article outlines the program rationale, organizational framework, and the program feature in which undergraduates spend over 50 percent…

Reading Comprehension in Test Preparation Classes: An Analysis of Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge in TESOL

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Irvine-Niakaris, Christine; Kiely, Richard

2015-01-01

This article examines the pedagogical content knowledge which underpins the practices in reading lessons of experienced teachers in test preparation classes. It takes as a starting point the assumption that practice is shaped by teacher cognitions, which are established through professional training and classroom experience. Thus, the study…

Merging Regular and Special Education Teacher Preparation Programs: The Integrated Special Education-English Project (ISEP).

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Miller, Darcy E.

1991-01-01

Describes the Integrated Special Education-English Project (ISEP) which facilitated the gradual integration of special education and English teacher preparation programs. A description of the ISEP model and a case study are included. The case study indicated student teachers who participated in the ISEP improved special education and English…

Value-Added Models for Teacher Preparation Programs: Validity and Reliability Threats, and a Manageable Alternative

Science.gov (United States)

Brady, Michael P.; Heiser, Lawrence A.; McCormick, Jazarae K.; Forgan, James

2016-01-01

High-stakes standardized student assessments are increasingly used in value-added evaluation models to connect teacher performance to P-12 student learning. These assessments are also being used to evaluate teacher preparation programs, despite validity and reliability threats. A more rational model linking student performance to candidates who…

Physical Education Teacher Educator's Perceptions toward and Understanding of K-12 Online Physical Education

Science.gov (United States)

Daum, David N.; Woods, Amelia M.

2015-01-01

K-12 online physical education (OLPE) is as an educational opportunity in at least 30 states in the US (NASPE, 2006; 2010; 2012). The purpose of this study was to examine physical education teacher educators' perceptions toward and understanding of K-12 OLPE. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (1986) served as the theoretical framework for this…

The Significance of Physical Education Content: "Sending the Message" in Physical Education Teacher Education

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Johnson, Tyler G.

2012-01-01

Mind-body dualism has likely influenced how many view human beings and their behavior--mind (i.e., thinking) is elevated over body (i.e., performing)--even in Physical Education Teacher Education. The problem is that such a perspective makes physical education content (i.e., dance, games, play, and sport) subsidiary to more "intellectual" or…

Teacher Feedback and Interactions in Physical Education: Effects of Student Gender and Physical Activities

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Nicaise, Virginie; Cogerino, Genevieve; Fairclough, Stuart; Bois, Julien; Davis, Kathryn

2007-01-01

Previous research conducted in both classroom and physical education (PE) settings has examined the impact of student gender on teacher-student interactions. The purpose of this study was to extend this line of research by analysing the influence of student gender and different types of physical activity on the frequency and nature of teacher…

Scientists are from Mars, educators are from Venus: Relationships in the ecosystem of science teacher preparation

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Duggan-Haas, Don Andrew

2000-10-01

Great problems exist in science teaching from kindergarten through the college level (NRC, 1996; NSF, 1996). The problem may be attributed to the failure of teachers to integrate their own understanding of science content with appropriate pedagogy (Shulman, 1986, 1987). All teachers were trained by college faculty and therefore some of the blame for these problems rests on those faculty. This dissertation presents three models for describing secondary science teacher preparation. Two Programs, Two Cultures adapts C. P. Snow's classic work (1959) to describe the work of a science teacher candidate as that of an individual who navigates between two discrete programs: one in college science and the second in teacher education. The second model, Scientists Are from Mars, Educators Are from Venus adapts the popular work of John Gray to describe the system of science teacher education as hobbled by the dysfunctional relationships among the major players and describes the teacher as progeny from this relationship. The third model, The Ecosystem of Science Teacher Preparation reveals some of the deeper complexities of science teacher education and posits that the traditional college science approach treats students as a monoculture when great diversity in fact exists. The three models are described in the context of a large Midwestern university's teacher education program as that program is construed for future biology teachers. Four undergraduate courses typically taken by future biology teachers were observed and described: an introductory biology course; an introductory teacher education course; an upper division course in biochemistry and a senior level science teaching methods course. Seven second semester seniors who were biological Science majors were interviewed. All seven students had taken all of the courses observed. An organization of scientists and educators working together to improve science teaching from kindergarten through graduate school is also

The Influence of Aggressors' Characteristics on Teachers' Responses to Physical and Relational Aggression

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Rogowicz, Samantha T.; Del Vecchio, Tamara; Dwyer-Masin, Tanya; Hughes, Elizabeth M.

2014-01-01

In the present study, middle school teachers responded to written vignettes describing physical and relational aggressive incidents. The aggressors were male or female children committing an aggressive act against same-sex peers, who were also described as good or bad. Among the results, teachers rated female physical aggression as more serious…

Relationship between Job Statisfaction Levels and Work-Family Conflicts of Physical Education Teachers

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Ulucan, Hakki

2017-01-01

Study aims to examine the relationship between perceived job satisfaction levels and work-family conflicts of the physical education teachers. Research group consists of 154 volunteer physical education teachers that work full time in governmental institutions in Kirsehir city and its counties. To acquire the job satisfaction datum; the Minnesota…

Professional Insiders/Outsiders? Teacher Professionalism and the Primary School Physical Education Specialist

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Brooks, Caroline; DinanThompson, Maree

2013-01-01

This paper provides a context for exploring the positioning of Physical Education specialist teachers (PE specialist teachers) in primary schools in Queensland in the discourses of teacher professionalism. A critical analysis of literature on the history and status of the subject and its practitioners aims to contextualize discourses in and about…

Whole Class Dialogic Discussion Meets Taiwan's Physics Teachers: Attitudes and Culture

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Eshach, Haim; Wu, Hsin-Kai; Hwang, Fu-Kwun; Hsu, Ying-Shao

2014-02-01

There is a distance between the power that whole class dialogic discussions (WCDD) may offer to the science class and their use in practice. Teachers' attitudes toward WCDD are part of the problem. The aims of this study were twofold: (a) to examine Taiwanese physics teachers' attitudes toward WCDD by considering cultural perspectives and describe how these attitudes changed as a result of a special workshop designed for this purpose, and (b) to report on how these attitudes should be taken into account in designing such workshops in the future. Nine experienced physics teachers participated in the WCDD workshop. The workshop was based on the WCDD model developed by Eshach (2010). Inductive analyses were performed on interviews with the teachers and their students, which were composed of 36 questions and developed specially for the purpose of this study, yielded the following categories: (1) In-school reasons for opposing WCDD—reasons belonging to school ways/tradition of teaching that may cause barriers to WCDD implementation; (2) External Factors—cultural reasons relating to Taiwanese views concerning education in general, which cause barriers to WCDD implementation; and (3) Cognitive aspect—refers to what teachers know about WCDD. The paper concludes with a discussion on what should be done in order to successfully bring WCDD to the Taiwanese physics class.

Perspectives of Teachers Regarding Inclusive Education in Ghana

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Deku, Prosper; Vanderpuye, Irene

2017-01-01

The study explored teachers' perspectives on the curriculum, the physical environment and their preparation for the inclusive education programme. Data was collected using questionnaires. A sample of 120 teachers from schools identified as inclusive was used for the study. The t-test of independent samples and chi-square test were used to analyse…

Preparation of future teachers to psychological and pedagogical parental culture improvement in incomplete families

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Tetiana Strutynska

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article reveals the need for special training of future teachers for improvement ofpsychological and pedagogical parents’ culture who live separately from incomplete families. Efficiency conditions of such training in semantic and technological aspects are highlighted.Key words: incomplete family, psychological and pedagogical culture of a father,efficiency conditions of future teachers preparation for working with a parent from singleparentfamilies.

Preparing Preservice Teachers for 21st Century Classrooms: Transforming Attitudes and Behaviors about Innovative Technology

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Williams, Mia Kim; Foulger, Teresa S.; Wetzel, Keith

2009-01-01

Keeping-up with progressing technology tools has been a troublesome issue for educational technology instructors for over ten years as they endeavor to prepare beginning teachers to integrate technology in their future classrooms. This paper promotes instructors' ideas about behaviors of 21st century teachers, and explores efforts to support their…

Mentor preparation: A qualitative study of STEM master teacher professional development

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Click-Cuellar, Heather Lynn

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has required districts to staff all classrooms with highly qualified teachers. Yet, retaining certified teachers in the profession has been a national concern, especially among new teachers who leave at alarming rates within their first three years. This comes at a heavy cost to districts financially and in trying to maintain highly qualified status, but also to the continuity and effective education of students. Mentoring has been identified by many researchers as a plausible solution to reducing attrition rates for beginning teachers. In this dissertation, I conducted qualitative research to explore and understand the perceptions of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Master Teachers' mentoring professional development in the context of the Master Teacher Academies program situated at Desert State University (pseudonym), a large institution located on the Texas-Mexico border. Additionally, I examined the reported teaching self-efficacy of STEM Master Teachers (mentors), as well as that of their novice teachers (mentees). Another purpose of the study was to investigate the forms and elements of interactions between these mentors and their mentees. Participants of this study were Texas certified Master Mathematics or Master Science Teachers, and their novice mathematics or science teacher mentees; all of whom teach in a high need U.S. Mexico border city school district serving a student population that is over 93% Hispanic. A grounded theory approach was used in examining and analyzing mentor and mentee perceptions and experiences through case studies. A constructivist framework was utilized to derive findings from interviews and the review of documents and contribute a diverse context and population to the literature. The study reveals conclusions and recommendations that will benefit educators, universities, school districts, and policy makers in regard to teacher mentor preparation.

Definitions of Physical Concepts: A Study of Physics Teachers' Knowledge and Views. Research Report

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Galili, Igal; Lehavi, Yaron

2006-01-01

A study was made of the ability of a population of high-school physics teachers to define physics concepts and of their views regarding the importance of such definitions. It was found possible to arrange the definitions accumulated in categories, and the classification so obtained was consonant with that of the philosophy of science. Although the…

Tablet Technology in Teacher Preparation: A Case Study--The Nook Initiative

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Jordan, Hope; Hunter, Elizabeth; Douglas, Maegan; Wighting, Mervyn

2015-01-01

Regent University's Special Education and Reading Specialist Programs introduced the Nook Initiative fall 2013. This paper discusses the implementation, the need for integrated tablet technology in teacher preparation, initial outcomes of the study, and offers suggestions for practice. A second tablet pilot program introducing the iPad mini in the…

Obscuring Power Structures in the Physics Classroom: Linking Teacher Positioning, Student Engagement, and Physics Identity Development

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Hazari, Zahra; Cass, Cheryl; Beattie, Carrie

2015-01-01

In the process of reforming physics education over the last several decades, a tension has developed between engaging students with the content in more conceptually challenging ways and helping them identify with physics so they are personally motivated in their learning. Through comparative case studies of four high school physics teachers, we…

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Physical Education Teachers' Career Intentions

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Mäkelä, Kasper; Hirvensalo, Mirja; Whipp, Peter R.

2014-01-01

Purpose: This study investigated Finnish physical education (PE) teachers' intentions to leave the profession and the reasons behind them. Method: A large sample (N = 808) of PE teachers who graduated between 1980 and 2008 (432 women, 376 men) answered a modified job satisfaction and teacher follow-up questionnaire that elicited career…

Are Elementary Teacher Education Programs the Real Problem of Unqualified Teachers?

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Weitman, Catheryn J.; Colbert, Ronald P.

This paper describes 10 factors that impact misguided perceptions of teacher preparation and teacher quality, especially elementary teachers prepared in highly-structured, university-based teacher preparation programs: (1) the offshoot of P-12 preparation, prior to attending postsecondary programs; (2) alignment of certification tests to state…

Perceptions on the Role of a Pre-Service Primary Teacher Education Program to Prepare Beginning Teachers to Teach Mathematics in Far North Queensland

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Chigeza, Philemon; Jackson, Cliff; Neilson, Aaron

2017-01-01

This paper employs a collaborative auto-ethnographic method to reflect on perceptions and design of a pre-service primary teacher mathematics education program in a regional university and the role of that program to prepare beginning teachers for classroom mathematics practice in Far North Queensland. A four-phase analysis that reflected on: a…

Prospective Physics Teachers' Views on Their Knowledge about the New Concepts in Turkish High School Physics Curricula

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Kapucu, Serkan; Yildirim, Ufuk

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to a) investigate prospective physics teachers' views on their knowledge about new physics concepts introduced in Turkish High School Physics Curricula; b) investigate the sources of their acquired knowledge about these new physics concepts; and c) explore if there were differences in views on knowledge about these…

Probing Pre-and In-Service Physics Teachers' Knowledge Using the Double-Slit Thought Experiment

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Asikainen, Mervi A.; Hirvonen, Pekka E.

2014-01-01

This study describes the use of the double-slit thought experiment as a diagnostic tool for probing physics teachers' understanding. A total of 9 pre-service teachers and 18 in-service teachers with a variety of different experience in modern physics teaching at the upper secondary level responded in a paper-and-pencil test and three of these…

A Bolman and Deal Framework of Science Teachers' Beliefs on Teacher Preparation and Reform Practices for Diverse Learners

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Whitmyer, Charnita P.

This dissertation uses Bolman and Deal's Four Framework approach to reframing an organization to examine science teachers' beliefs on teacher preparation and reform practices for diverse learners. Despite the national emphasis on "science for all students" in the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 2011), some traditionally underserved groups tend to underperform on standardized measures of science learning (Kober, 2001; Darling-Hammond, 2010; Bracey, 2009; Kozol, 2009, 2007; PCAST, 2012); and teachers struggle to meet the needs of these students (Hira, 2010). The literature is replete with calls for a better understanding of teacher quality as an entry point into increased student achievement in science. In the current study, the 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education (NSSME) was used to gain an understanding of science teacher quality in the United States, and SPSS 22.0 software was used to evaluate descriptive and inferential statistics, including bivariate correlation analysis, simple linear regression, and a multiple regression of the survey responses. The findings indicated that professional development was the most salient predictor of teachers' preparedness to teach diverse learners. Findings further showed that teachers who held favorable perceptions of preparedness to teach diverse learners were more likely to use reform-oriented practices. This study contributes to an emerging area of research on science teacher quality and its influence on instructional reform for diverse learners. The study concludes with a discussion of supports and obstacles that may enable or inhibit the development of these relationships.