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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 February 2022

Pernilla Nilsson and Jesper Lund

This study aims to investigate how primary teachers, when taking part in digital didactic design (D3) workshops at the Digital Laboratory Centre at the university, develop their…

2382

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how primary teachers, when taking part in digital didactic design (D3) workshops at the Digital Laboratory Centre at the university, develop their insights about how digital tools can be designed and further used in their teaching of science. The research question addresses how D3 can be used to develop primary teachersknowledge about teaching science with digital technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

During two semesters, 14 primary science teachers from three different schools participated in an in-service course at the university. Five D3 workshops lasting 4 h each were conducted with the aim to analyze, design and implement digital tools based on the needs of teachers and students. This includes discussions about the technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) framework and further recommendations about how to choose, design, implement and evaluate digital tools for different teaching and learning situations. In between the workshops, the teachers were told to reflect on their experiences with colleagues and students and share their ideas and reflections to support collegial learning.

Findings

The results indicate that D3 has an opportunity to promote deep learning experiences with a framework that encourages teachers and researchers to study, explore and analyze the applied designs-in-practice, where teachers take part in the design process. This study further indicates that having teachers explicitly articulates their reasoning about designing digital applications to engage students’ learning that seems important for exploring the types of knowledge used in these design practices and reflecting on aspects of their teaching with digital technologies likely to influence their TPACK.

Research limitations/implications

This research indicates that the increasing prevalence of information communication technology offers challenges and opportunities to the teaching and learning of science and to the scientific practice teachers might encounter. It offers solutions by investigating how primary teachers can design their own digital technology to meet students’ science learning needs. One limitation might be that the group of 14 teachers cannot be generalized to represent all teachers. However, this study gives implications for how to work with and for teachers to develop their knowledge of digital technologies in teaching.

Practical implications

As this project shows teachers can take an active part in the digital school development and as such become producer of knowledge and ideas and not only become consumers in the jungle of technical applications that are implemented on a school level. Therefore, it might well be argued that in science teaching, paying more careful attention to how teachers and researchers work together in collaborative settings, offers one way of better valuing science teachers’ professional knowledge of practice. As such, an implication is that digital applications are not made “for” teachers but instead “with” and “by” teachers.

Social implications

The society puts high demands om teachersknowledge and competencies to integrate digital technologies into their daily practices. Building on teachers’ own needs and concerns, this project addresses the challenge for teachers as a community to be better prepared for and meet the societal challenge that digitalization means for schools.

Originality/value

Across the field of science education, knowledge about the relation between teachers’ use of digital technology and how it might (or might not) promote students’ learning offers access to ideas of how to design and implement teacher professional development programs. This offers enhanced communication opportunities between schools and universities regarding school facilities and expectations of technology to improve teachers’ experiences with integrating technology into their learning and teaching. This pragmatic approach to research creates theory and interventions that serve school practice but also produces challenges for design-based researchers.

Details

Interactive Technology and Smart Education, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-5659

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 June 2020

Birgitta Lundbäck and Helen Egerhag

Lesson Study is a model for advancing knowledge about how teachers can enhance teaching through collaboration in schools. This study aims to focus on two learning situations for…

2012

Abstract

Purpose

Lesson Study is a model for advancing knowledge about how teachers can enhance teaching through collaboration in schools. This study aims to focus on two learning situations for students in Grades 1–3: elementary school (the first years of school) and school-age educare (activities for students before and after school while their parents are working or studying). The case study aims to describe how teachers use Lesson Study to enhance students' mathematical learning in the two learning situations. The objectives were to describe teachers' perceptions of Lesson Study activities and collaboration and students' knowledge before and after lessons.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected as a narrative case study using audio-recorded conversations between researchers and teachers in the different learning contexts. A questionnaire comprising five open-ended questions was used to map students' knowledge of the subject.

Findings

Teachers found it advantageous to cooperate with each other across the different learning situations. Mapping students' knowledge before and after a teaching session helped them understand how to create a teaching situation that benefits their students. They saw the value of continued collaboration and called for implementation of the Lesson Study method throughout the school.

Research limitations/implications

An important limitation of this case study is that it was conducted in a very specific context, and the findings cannot, therefore, be generalized to other situations. However, there is a need for similar case studies to be conducted in different contexts, both in Sweden and in other countries, to pay attention to ways in which elementary schools and school-age educare can develop supplementary teaching situations.

Originality/value

The originality of this case lies in planning and reporting a Lesson Study in two different learning situations in the same school, and the conclusion that educators identify and develop collaborative links in different subjects.

Details

International Journal for Lesson & Learning Studies, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 25 April 2017

Abstract

Details

Crossroads of the Classroom
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-796-0

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 April 2023

Peter Wardrip and Louis Gomez

The study seeks to understand what teachers know about students’ friend networks and how they use that information for instruction.

Abstract

Purpose

The study seeks to understand what teachers know about students’ friend networks and how they use that information for instruction.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative study relied on interviews and sociograms that teachers drew of students’ friend networks.

Findings

Our data suggest that teachers’ awareness of their students’ friend networks varies by their experience and their exposure to students. Also, their use of this information for instruction coalesces around dimensions of grouping and social support.

Research limitations/implications

This study took place at one school. To more deeply understand what teachers perceive about their students’ friend networks and how they use that information for instruction, more studies could be done with teachers in more schools.

Practical implications

Implications might suggest developing teachers’ social competence to support their students’ learning and development.

Originality/value

While studies cited in this paper have explored teachersknowledge of students’ social networks, this study builds on this work by exploring how that information can be useful for instruction. In addition, this study explores the use of teachers drawing sociograms as representations of what they know about students’ friend networks.

Details

Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-7604

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 April 2022

Robert Holmgren and David Sjöberg

The purpose of this study is to explore Swedish police education teachers’ informal workplace learning and its perceived value for their professional development. Two categories…

1389

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore Swedish police education teachers’ informal workplace learning and its perceived value for their professional development. Two categories of teachers, police teachers and university teachers, with different professional knowledge and experience, work together at the police education unit.

Design/methodology/approach

The method used was in-depth interviews with teachers working at a Swedish police education unit.

Findings

Informal workplace learning was perceived by both teacher groups to be of great value for gaining knowledge about the local practice and for their professional development. Their learning emerged in discussions, observations and practically oriented activities in their daily work. Four conclusions: firstly, the teachers’ informal workplace learning was socially and practice-oriented and learning emerged in a collaborative, reciprocal and active process. Secondly, the embodied nature of the learning is evident in the teachers’ joint activities in the teaching practice. Thirdly, it takes time and active involvement in the local practice to become a professional teacher in this kind of education. Fourthly, an educational structure where academic knowledge and experience can be integrated with police knowledge and experience constitutes an important basis for teachers’ professional development in police education and training.

Originality/value

The study’s focus on police education and the professional development of teachers in this specific practice contributes to increased knowledge of the social, practice-oriented and embodied nature of informal workplace learning.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 34 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 September 2022

Mairead Holden

This paper presents emerging findings from an ongoing research project which aimed to explore online lesson study (OLS) as a vehicle for teacher collaborative professional…

1370

Abstract

Purpose

This paper presents emerging findings from an ongoing research project which aimed to explore online lesson study (OLS) as a vehicle for teacher collaborative professional learning.

Design/methodology/approach

Two parallel OLS cycles with two OLS teams were facilitated by the author using Zoom and Google Drive as digital collaborative tools. Each OLS team comprised three primary teachers who taught in three different schools, with both teams' research lessons taking cross-curricular science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) focus. In order to explore the influence of OLS on teachers' collaborative professional learning outcomes in STEM, a qualitative case study approach was adopted, with data drawn and thematically analysed from OLS meeting transcripts, semi-structured interviews with teachers and the author's reflective diary. Boundary crossing is used as a theoretical lens to ascertain the potential of OLS as a vehicle for teacher collaborative professional learning.

Findings

Findings suggest that OLS facilitated collaborative learning and positively contributed to teacher participants' co-construction of knowledge in relation to STEM teaching approaches.

Originality/value

The study described in this paper represents the first OLS conducted in the Irish context and also represents the first inter-school lesson study (LS) conducted in the Irish primary context.

Details

International Journal for Lesson & Learning Studies, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 April 2020

Robert Weinhandl, Zsolt Lavicza and Tony Houghton

Flipped classroom approaches (FCA) are an educational innovation that could increase students' learning outcomes in, and their enjoyment of, mathematics or STEM education. To…

2194

Abstract

Purpose

Flipped classroom approaches (FCA) are an educational innovation that could increase students' learning outcomes in, and their enjoyment of, mathematics or STEM education. To integrate FCA into education sustainably, professional teacher development (PTD) is a promising tool. The research aim is to explore which aspects should be considered when developing and implementing professional mathematics or STEM teacher development for flipped approaches.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 20 expert interviews were conducted and analysed according to a synthesis of grounded theory approaches and qualitative interview study principles.

Findings

Evaluating the interview data indicates that the characteristics of different teacher types in PTD, learning activities in PTD and the DSE model derived in this study could be vital elements in professional mathematics or STEM teacher development for flipped approaches.

Originality/value

Evaluating the interview data indicates that the characteristics of different teacher types in PTD, learning activities in PTD and the DSE model derived in this study could be vital elements in professional mathematics or STEM teacher development for flipped approaches.

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 10 August 2023

Abstract

Details

Studying Teaching and Teacher Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-623-8

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 August 2022

María del Pilar Sepúlveda Ruiz, Monsalud Gallardo Gil and Elena García-Vila

This paper focusses on the tutoring process developed by three teachers during the implementation of two lesson studies (LSs) by students of the Bachelor of in Primary Education…

1047

Abstract

Purpose

This paper focusses on the tutoring process developed by three teachers during the implementation of two lesson studies (LSs) by students of the Bachelor of in Primary Education as a methodological strategy to facilitate the reconstruction of the teachers' practical knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is set within the framework of qualitative research and the methodology adopted is borne out by the case study.

Findings

The analysis shows how an adequate process of tutoring and accompaniment during the design, development and evaluation of the LS assists students to reconstruct their practical knowledge through action and to reflect on their actions and to develop key professional competences for initial teacher training.

Research limitations/implications

This study was constrained by the need to develop a particular methodology of the study over a single four-month period, given that this type of process requires some quiet time for analysis and reflection. And the time that the tutors could make available due to the high ratio and the need to provide continuity to these processes to allow the students to consciously modify the tutors' lessons plans and incorporate this vision of being a teacher.

Practical implications

The paper advised to repeat the experience in successive courses, to accompany the students in order to analyse the educational value of LS and how educational value of LS affects the how the students reconstruct their practical knowledge.

Originality/value

This paper shows the strategies adopted to promote the reconstruction of practical knowledge in initial teacher training.

Details

International Journal for Lesson & Learning Studies, vol. 11 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

Open Access

Abstract

Details

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2077-5504

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