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1 – 10 of over 5000Holly Hungerford-Kresser and Amy Vetter
The purpose of this paper was to highlight ways two novice secondary English teachers negotiated the politics of college and career readiness along with the literacy needs…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to highlight ways two novice secondary English teachers negotiated the politics of college and career readiness along with the literacy needs of students, in the age of accountability.
Design/methodology/approach
This three-year longitudinal qualitative case study focused on two participants in English teacher preparation and their first two years in the classroom.
Findings
The findings focus on participants’ definitions of college and career readiness as it pertains to their English Language Arts classrooms. Next, the focus is on two themes: tensions these novice teachers experienced as they attempted to build classrooms focused on postsecondary readiness, and the ways in which they worked to bridge the gap between their definitions of college and career readiness and the realities of their classrooms.
Research limitations/implications
Connections among high stakes testing environments, postsecondary readiness and literacy teacher education are important to the field. Studying the experiences of novice teachers can fill a present gap at the intersection of these concepts.
Practical implications
Curriculum in teacher education should introduce standards, as well as provide a platform for negotiating and critiquing them. Three focus areas to help pre-service teachers mitigate tensions between minimum skills assessments, college readiness and literacy are personal experience, collaboration and reflective partnerships.
Originality/value
There has been little to no research done on the tensions between preparing all students to be college and career ready and the minimum skills based priorities that govern many school systems and its impact on novice teachers. This classroom reality is important to literacy teacher education.
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The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the learning effectiveness and engagement of blended learning tools in a management course of negotiation skills. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the learning effectiveness and engagement of blended learning tools in a management course of negotiation skills. The study addresses the dilemma brought to light through literature regarding the learning effectiveness of roleplays as a teaching tool in negotiation training. The study compares the impact of traditional roleplays vis-à-vis roleplays fused with blended tools on learner's performance. The endeavour is to investigate the learning effectiveness of traditional tools (roleplay simulation and lecture) vs blended learning tools (flipped classroom, massive open online courses, independent study fused with roleplay simulation).
Design/methodology/approach
The current study delves into a negotiation course to conduct experimental research comparing traditional and blended learning tools. The total number of students who participated in this study were 80.
Findings
The findings indicate the improved learning effectiveness of blended learning tools vis-à-vis traditional tools. Generation Z students were more engaged with the use of blended learning tools and enjoyed the experience. The study recommends blended learning tools for educators aiming to transition from traditional learning to interactive learning to create experiential classrooms.
Research limitations/implications
Limited sample size and single group experimentation are some limitations of the study. Some latent flaws in the implementation of roleplay simulations in negotiation training were revealed during the study. The study focuses solely on a negotiations course taught to management students.
Practical implications
The study would help academic institutes to comply with the pressing need to impart experiential learning in the classroom. The research would act as a bridge between the industry expectations and academia deliverables.
Social implications
The study would help academic institutes to comply with the pressing need to impart experiential learning through blended learning in the classroom. The research would act as a bridge between the industry expectations and academia deliverables.
Originality/value
The study addresses the dilemma in the literature, which, on the one hand, upholds the learning effectiveness of roleplays as a teaching tool, and on the other hand, suggests that roleplays have lost their applicability due to advancement in students' exposure to technology. The study in itself is unique, as it addresses the need for higher student engagement in the classroom.
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Mark Pearcy and Jeremiah Clabough
The purpose of this paper is to explore the subtle racist rhetoric used by members of the Republican Party over the last 60 years connected to issues of race. The authors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the subtle racist rhetoric used by members of the Republican Party over the last 60 years connected to issues of race. The authors start by providing a brief history of the Republican Party and race issues. Then, the authors discuss the civic thinking skills stressed within the C3 Framework, specifically the ability to analyze politicians’ arguments. Then, the focus shifts to look at the racial literacy framework discussed by King et al. Finally, three activities are provided that enable students to grasp the subtle racist rhetoric used by some Republicans connected to issues of race.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors explore race issues with members of the modern Republican Party. The authors design three classroom-ready activities by drawing on the best teaching practices advocated for in the C3 Framework. To elaborate, these activities allow students to research and analyze arguments made by some Republican politicians. This enables students to engage in the four dimensions of the Inquiry Arc in the C3 Framework.
Findings
The authors provide three activities that can be utilized in the high school social studies classroom to enable students to dissect American politicians’ messages connected to race issues. These activities can be adapted and utilized to enable students to examine a political candidate’s messages, especially those that contain subtle racist rhetoric. By completing the steps of these three activities, students are better prepared to be critical consumers of political messages and to hold elected officials accountable for their words, policies and actions.
Originality/value
In this paper, the authors explore the role of racist political rhetoric employed by members of the Republican Party over the last 60 years. The authors use the racial literacy framework advocated for by King et al. in three classroom-ready activities. The three activities are provided to help students break down the racist political rhetoric employed by notable members of the Republican Party.
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Kalinda R. Jones, Leah A. van Belle, Gary V. Johnson and Robert W. Simmons
President Obama’s policies, while broad in scope, offer some specific attention to college and career readiness (CCR) and are necessary for urban youth to realize their…
Abstract
Purpose
President Obama’s policies, while broad in scope, offer some specific attention to college and career readiness (CCR) and are necessary for urban youth to realize their career potentials. However, by primarily defining CCR in terms of academic achievement, many of the previously mentioned policies ignore the varied college access skills needed to ensure successful preparation for, enrollment in, and graduation from postsecondary institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
This chapter explores the current definition of CCR represented in the Obama administration’s policies, while also expanding the definition to include missing policy pieces related to college access.
Findings
The underutilization of school counselors and classroom teachers as college access facilitators who can expand CCR for urban schools is addressed. The paper discusses recent Obama administration initiatives and recommendations for urban schools and higher education institutions.
Originality/value
The administration initiatives and recommendations recently put in place by the Obama administration for urban schools and higher education institutions, if integrated within urban schools, may facilitate the realization of one of President Obama’s educational reform goals of ensuring that every student graduates from high school well prepared for college and a career.
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Erinn Bentley, Madison Workman and Alex Overby
In order to prepare new members of the education profession, it is imperative that teachers enter their classrooms with the confidence, knowledge, and skills to serve…
Abstract
Purpose
In order to prepare new members of the education profession, it is imperative that teachers enter their classrooms with the confidence, knowledge, and skills to serve their students from day one. One method for preparing such teacher candidates or student teachers is through school-based field placements during their preparation program. The purpose of this paper is to describe one example of a yearlong field placement and the mentoring relationships that emerged among participants.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study used the following data sources: focus group interviews among the teacher candidates, focus group interviews among the mentor teachers, field placement reflections and teaching analyses composed by the teacher candidates, and interviews conducted among teacher candidates and mentor teachers.
Findings
Analysis of the data revealed that the yearlong field placement promoted positive mentoring relationships between teacher candidates and their classroom teachers. Specifically the following themes emerged: the “adoption” of teacher candidates into the high school classrooms, risk-taking within the classrooms, the mentor teachers’ use of constructive feedback, and collaborative “mentoring-down-the-hall.”
Originality/value
In recent years, various scholars have investigated the impact of field placement experiences on teacher candidates; however, these studies have lacked a detailed analysis of how such experiences impacted mentoring relationships among candidates and their mentor teachers in a collaborative setting. This paper provides an in-depth study of the perceived experiences of mentor teachers and their candidates.
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Teaching performance assessments (TPAs) have developed in the USA and Australia as a “bar exam” for the profession and are used means to assure that graduates are classroom…
Abstract
Purpose
Teaching performance assessments (TPAs) have developed in the USA and Australia as a “bar exam” for the profession and are used means to assure that graduates are classroom ready. The purpose of this paper is to outline how these assessments have been implemented in teacher education in the USA and Australian contexts. The edTPA is embroiled in controversy in the USA and there are important lessons from the related research literature that could inform the how other countries engage with TPAs in pre-service teacher education.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper outlines how Australia has introduced TPAs in initial teacher education (ITE) through policy borrowing from the USA. The paper synthesises critiques of the edTPA (USA) from research literature and considers the implications of TPAs in the Australian context.
Findings
The TPA impacts the focus of pre-service teacher practicum teaching, and pedagogy and curriculum in ITE education. The TPA could be used to mobilise detrimental accountability mechanisms. With the outsourcing of assessment to edu-business, Pearson Education, teacher education institutions in the USA have a sense that they have lost control over determining which students are credentialed to teach. Although pre-service teacher assessment is still administered and assessed by ITE institutions in Australia, there is a concern that could change. It is argued that educators, administrators and policy makers should avoid moves to outsource TPAs in Australia.
Originality/value
Because it is in its infancy, there is a little robust research into the implication of introducing teacher performance assessments into the Australian teacher education context.
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Christina Hoffman and Susan Goodwin
The purpose of this study is to provide an initial assessment of an Audience Response System (clicker technology) for library instruction as experienced at Texas A&M…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide an initial assessment of an Audience Response System (clicker technology) for library instruction as experienced at Texas A&M University Libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
Clickers were tested in three different types of instructional sessions with unique class objectives and different student populations. The study provides an overview of the technology, followed by a report on some of the benefits and challenges the authors encountered in the classroom.
Findings
Clickers are fairly easy to use, and provide a fun way to quickly turn traditional classroom lectures into interactive learning experiences.
Practical implications
This paper provides concrete applications for how to access student knowledge and implement active learning techniques in the classroom.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates an innovative way librarians can improve library instruction in order to meet information literacy standards and other educational challenges.
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This chapter is focused primarily on the detailed analysis of a segment of a single classroom exercise involving the use of a worksheet to reinforce the teaching of…
Abstract
This chapter is focused primarily on the detailed analysis of a segment of a single classroom exercise involving the use of a worksheet to reinforce the teaching of “surface area” by a seventh grade mathematics teacher and the classroom context in which the exercise occurred. The analysis examines traditional teaching and the engagement and respect for students’ own constructive capacities in relation to the individual teacher’s consciousness and motivation. The larger issue though is to better understand teaching as a unity in the person as a whole. How does the unity of connection to subject matter, deeper motivation for teaching, and care for student learning manifest in the classroom? This chapter looks at how one teacher goes about it.
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Jeremiah Clabough and Mark Pearcy
The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of angry political rhetoric employed by George Wallace and Donald Trump. The authors start by discussing the civic thinking…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of angry political rhetoric employed by George Wallace and Donald Trump. The authors start by discussing the civic thinking skills stressed within the C3 Framework, specifically the ability to analyze politicians’ arguments. Then, the focus shifts to look at angry political rhetoric within the US history. Next, the authors discuss the parallels of the angry political rhetoric employed by both Wallace and Trump. Finally, two activities are provided that enable students to grasp the convergences with the angry political rhetoric utilized by both Wallace and Trump.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors explore angry rhetoric in American politics. The authors designed two classroom-ready activities by drawing on the best teaching practices advocated for in the C3 Framework. To elaborate, both activities allow students to research and analyze arguments made by George Wallace and Donald Trump. This enables students to engage in the four dimensions of the Inquiry Arc in the C3 Framework.
Findings
The authors provide two activities that can be utilized in the high school social studies classroom to enable students to dissect American politicians’ messages. These two activities can be adapted and utilized to enable students to examine a political candidate’s messages, especially those that draw on angry rhetoric. By completing the steps of these two activities, students are better prepared to be critical consumers of political media messages.
Originality/value
In this paper, the authors explore the role of angry political rhetoric in American politics. The authors examine the parallels of political style between George Wallace and Donald Trump. Two activities are provided to help students break down the angry political rhetoric employed by these two controversial figures.
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Christina M. Borders, Molly Herman, Kristi Probst and Molly Turner
General education and special education teachers may have limited experience working with students who are deaf/hard of hearing and be unaware of the professionals and…
Abstract
General education and special education teachers may have limited experience working with students who are deaf/hard of hearing and be unaware of the professionals and specialist who may work with those students. When a student has a hearing loss, there are a variety of additional professionals with whom teachers must collaborate. The roles of these professionals may be different than those experienced by other educators. An understanding of the roles of these various professionals is important to ensuring the most appropriate service provision for students with hearing loss. This chapter will specifically discuss the roles of teachers of the deaf, interpreters, and audiologists as well as some other related service providers within the context of a fictional case scenario.
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