RSS 1.0Education
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Optimization analysis and implementation of online wisdom teaching mode in cloud classroom based on data mining and processingThe rapid development of Internet technology and information technology is rapidly changing the way people think, recognize, live, work and learn. In the context of Internet + education, the emerging learning form of a cloud classroom has emerged. Cloud classroom refers to the process in which learners use the network as a way to obtain learning objectives and learning resources, communicate with teachers and other learners through the network, and build their own knowledge structure. Because it breaks the boundaries of time and space, it has the characteristics of freedom, high efficiency and extensiveness, and is quickly accepted by learners of different ages and occupations. The traditional cloud classroom teaching mode has no personalized recommendation module and cannot solve an information overload problem. Therefore, this paper proposes a cloud classroom online teaching system under the personalized recommendation system. The system adopts a collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm, which helps to mine the potential preferences of users and thus complete more accurate recommendations. It not only highlights the core position of personalized curriculum recommendation in the field of online education, but also makes the cloud classroom online teaching mode more intelligent and meets the needs of intelligent teaching.
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Interactive study of multimedia and virtual technology in art educationArt education an important part of aesthetic education. It is indispensable for the comprehensive and healthy development of human beings. The basic task is to cultivate creative ability, human aesthetics, and appreciation. Art education is conducive to improving the humanistic cultivation of young students, enhancing the spiritual realm of human beings, and cultivating the creative ability of young people. It has irreplaceable social, cultural, and anthropological significance for promoting the comprehensive and healthy development of people. The development of multimedia information technology provides a new teaching method for art education and teaching in a contemporary setting. This teaching method can guide students to optimize or change the methods and concepts of traditional art creation and aesthetic value. However, traditional art education multimedia technology has poor teaching effects due to limited teaching conditions. This requires the use of multimedia technology and other technologies for interactive fusion. Therefore, this paper proposes an interactive fusion model of multimedia and virtual technology, which is verified by the model. It was found that this integrated education method could not only simulate the real environment and expand the cognitive scope of students, but also could promote students’ learning motivation as well as situational and authentic learning experiences.
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Building the foundations for academic success: learning from the experiences of part-time students in their first semester of studyThis article examines the findings from a mixed methods research study exploring part- time students' perceptions of their transition into higher education. Drawing on wider research in the field of transition and utilising Gale and Parker's (2014) conceptual framework as a means of viewing the transition process, the article identifies how one group of part-time undergraduates experienced the process of becoming an undergraduate. The results highlight the importance of offering a well-framed early learning experience for students, which enables them to learn the skills needed for early academic success and provides continued support as they progress in their own time towards recognition of themselves as undergraduates. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that transition is not time bound, and individual students will need individual approaches. This will require institutions to consider how the support they offer can be tailored to a student's specific needs.
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Emotions and professional reflections in a post-war community: teachers’ perspectives from KosovoBackground: Teaching is more complex than dealing with the cognitive aspects of learning alone and is also influenced by affective states. Because of this, more research is needed into the role of teachers’ emotions in classroom interaction. Of special importance is research into reflective thinking and the extent to which it may be disturbed by the prior experience of trauma. Purpose: This study aimed to shed light on these issues by analysing reports of Kosovan teachers’ emotional arousal when speaking about and/or teaching topics related to war experiences, their beliefs about these experiences, their opinions about students’ reactions and their reports on professional reflective practices. Methods: Descriptive study. Data were collected by means of a structured questionnaire completed by 70 teachers. Results: Teachers reported strong emotions were triggered by discussion of topics linked to the war. Their beliefs influenced how they engaged with sensitive and emotionally charged topics, but they interpreted their professional behaviour using reflective and critical thinking. Conclusion: Both external and internal factors affect post-war teachers cognitively and emotionally. Further research is needed to identify the extent to which this impacts teachers’ ability to use critical reflection and critical emotional reflexivity in school-based practice.
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Working with/in institutions: how policy enactment in widening participation is shaped through practitioners' experienceWidening participation in higher education is driven by policy which is then enacted by individual practitioners. Practitioners bring with them a wealth of personal and employment experiences which shape their interpretations and enactments. Drawing on sixteen in-depth semi structured interviews with practitioners across seven universities in England, a classification is developed in order to conceptualise their orientations to policy enactment. Whilst nationally focused, this study has international resonance especially in marketised HE systems where policies are similarly enacted. The model developed within the paper proposes that personal and professional experience can cause practitioners to orient towards the interests of the institution or the individuals they work with. This orientation can be in compliance with institutional policy or adopt a more transgressive stance. Through deeper theorisation of practitioner positions we can better understand how to ensure work in this area better serves the individuals which it is targeted at.
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Widening the discourse on team-teaching in higher educationTeam-teaching is arguably shifting from the realm of pedagogic choice to that of necessity in a complex and demanding Higher Education (HE) landscape. This research gives a voice to staff collaborating in team-teaching, considering their motivations and approach, to identify key challenges and opportunities. Results indicate that the changing landscape of HE in the UK is promoting innovative approaches to using existing team-teaching models rather than proposing new ones. The leadership dimension of the module leader role is highlighted, suggesting a need to explore and extend debates on developing academic leadership at all levels of academic employment. Consequently, the research contributes additional perspectives on existing work relating to academic leadership, the changing academic role, increasing workloads and professional teacher identity. The findings have implications for how staff are prepared and supported as practitioners in HE and the processes whereby we record and reward individuals contributions.
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Media literacy, curriculum and the rights of the childEngaging with digital media is part of everyday living for the majority of children, yet opportunities to learn about, through and with media are denied many pupils in compulsory schooling. Whilst Media Studies in the UK is internationally reputed to be well established, changes made to the primary and secondary national curriculum in 2014 included removal of existing media study elements. We demonstrate what is lost by these actions in relation to the United Nations Rights of the Child and, in particular, the right of the child to express identity. We demonstrate how media literacy had previously been included in curriculum, enabling opportunities to address children’s rights, and propose that the absence of media education is part of an overall trend of the non-prioritisation of children’s rights in England and Northern Ireland. The paper calls for media literacy to be reintroduced into primary and secondary curriculum
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Integrating computer-assisted language learning in Saudi schools: a change modelComputer-assisted language learning (CALL) technology and pedagogy have gained recognition globally for their success in supporting second language acquisition (SLA). In Saudi Arabia, the government aims to provide most educational institutions with computers and networking for integrating CALL into classrooms. However, the recognition of CALL’s efficacy does not translate into easy acceptance and integration in English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) classrooms in Saudi schools, particularly where teaching of both English language and information and communication technologies (ICT) is subject to religious and cultural constraints. There are other barriers that impede native Arabic speakers from learning English. Accordingly, the research question addressed in this paper is an exploration of the overt and covert factors that affect CALL use and integration in Saudi Arabian secondary schools. A case study approach using mixed methods was employed to interview and observe a sample of teachers and school inspectors in urban and rural secondary schools. Results were supplemented with an online questionnaire and analysed using both descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.
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Black supplementary school leaders: community leadership strategies for successful schoolsLong established in the United Kingdom, Black supplementary schools are valued by Black parents for their ability to nurture the academic potential of Black students and achieve positive educational outcomes where mainstream schools sometimes fail. Through exploratory qualitative interviews conducted with a small group of African-Caribbean supplementary school leaders, this article seeks to understand Black supplementary school leaders’ perceptions of educational leadership and supplementary school success. Utilising Yosso’s perspective on ‘community cultural wealth’, in particular the ways in which Black communities provide and are rich in cultural/educational resources, the article examines the extent to which the leadership perceptions of Black supplementary school leaders are rooted in notions of community and serving, along with the leadership strategies they employ in creating successful schools. Such insights are especially important at a time when mainstream education continues to deliver poor educational outcomes for Black students.
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Black supplementary school leaders: community leadership strategies for successful schoolsLong established in the United Kingdom, Black supplementary schools are valued by Black parents for their ability to nurture the academic potential of Black students and achieve positive educational outcomes where mainstream schools sometimes fail. Through exploratory qualitative interviews conducted with a small group of African-Caribbean supplementary school leaders, this article seeks to understand Black supplementary school leaders’ perceptions of educational leadership and supplementary school success. Utilising Yosso’s perspective on ‘community cultural wealth’, in particular the ways in which Black communities provide and are rich in cultural/educational resources, the article examines the extent to which the leadership perceptions of Black supplementary school leaders are rooted in notions of community and serving, along with the leadership strategies they employ in creating successful schools. Such insights are especially important at a time when mainstream education continues to deliver poor educational outcomes for Black students.
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Distinguishing between ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ possibility thinking: seen and unseen creativityThis paper proposes a model that describes potential ways in which creativity may be manifest in the classroom. Building on the work by Craft and her colleagues (e.g. Chappell, Craft, Burnard, & Cremin, 2008; Craft, Cremin, Burnard, Dragovic, & Chappell, 2012), this paper uses empirical evidence from the author's PhD study (Clack, 2011), to propose further developments in the ‘Possibility Thinking’ model. It is argued that it is possible to characterise ‘types’ of Possibility Thinking activity. The first ‘type’ identified is ‘macro’ Possibility Thinking, characterised by ‘large’, observable events in the classroom. The second type, ‘micro’ Possibility Thinking, may be characterised as 'smaller’, more thoughtful, personal moments that are less visible to an observer. Developing the existing model in this way helps provide insights into the creative process and as a result helps provide insights into how we may foster and develop creativity in the classroom and indeed in everyday life.
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A voice for advancing the profession of teaching?This chapter tells the story of the Advanced Skills Teachers (AST), drawing on extensive research data with ASTs themselves, Local Authority AST coordinators and a range of Senior School Leaders. It provides the experience of ASTs, their passion for teaching and learning, and their anger and disappointment at the summary abolition of their hard-earned status. The chapter explores Head Teachers and others who were equally concerned about the peremptory policy change. It examines the need to overcome the empty rhetoric of politicians who make much noise about ‘world class teachers’ but do nothing to develop the profession to achieve such a level. The chapter addresses the narrow prejudice of the media who often deride the models as ‘Super Teachers’. The chapter concludes with a new conceptual framework emphasising the nature of the ‘voice’ that leading teachers can offer the profession as a whole.
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Response to chapter 2: Educating Rita todayIn this response to Corley’s chapter on Educating Rita, the author considers elements that have contributed to the endurance of Russell’s play over the last 40 years. Acknowledging the importance of Corley’s focus on the mentor-mentee relationship, Goodwyn also considers how audiences have responded to the wide-ranging humor of the play, the relationship between student and teacher and the realistic connections to the UK’s Open University system.
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Contested territories: English teachers in Australia and England remaining resilient and creative in constraining timesGlobally teachers are experiencing reductions to their autonomy and constraints on their professional practice through legislative impositions of limiting standards, external testing and narrowing curricula. This study explores the ways English educators find a balance between these external expectations, contemporary pressures, professional aspirations, and personal values. It was a qualitative investigation into the perceptions shared by thirty-three English teachers from New South Wales, Australia and across England. A significant gap now exists between the ways English teachers conceive their subject, their purposes and the nature of their work, and that determined by regulation, formalised curriculum and accreditation requirements. The enduring resilience of these teachers is revealed but also the corrosive structural effects produced by narrowly focused, neoliberal policies especially in relation to high stakes testing. However, the research demonstrates how certain English teachers remain remarkably resilient–retaining autonomy where they can–and we define this attribute as ‘adaptive agency’.
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Newbolt to now: an interpretation of the history of the school subject of English in England2021 marks the 100th anniversary of The Newbolt Report, the first official report about English, in spirit a liberal document, arguing for an emancipatory English. Since 1870 The School Subject of English [SSE] has experienced several historical phases. One phase [1980-92] is presented as a period of ‘harmonious practice’, arguing that it offers a positive view of a future in which SSE and its teachers are at one. SSE is a democratic and emancipatory project, its boundaries constantly expanding to reflect societal change, the needs of its students and a belief in social justice. In the current ‘panopticon’ phase this emancipatory ambition is performatively diminished. The current dominance of ‘The English Literary Heritage’ and terminal examinations are stultifying teachers. This overview seeks to trace historical developments, considering ways to recapture the spirit of Newbolt but in a 21st century model of English, we are ready for a new phase.
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The invisible plan: how English teachers develop their expertise and the special place of adapting the skills of lesson planningThis paper analyses how English teachers learn to become expert designers of learning and why sharing that expertise is increasingly vital. Its conceptual framework is the widely recognised, empirically tested, five-stage developmental Dreyfus model of skill acquisition, exemplifying the development of teacher expertise, constituted by the “milestone” [m] and “transitory” [t] phases connecting with the five stages of: Novice [m], Advanced Beginner [t], Competent [m], Proficient [t] and Expert [m]. Teacher planning is analysed as one key tacit or non-tangible component of developing expertise. Focusing specifically on English teachers as key participants in this pioneer teacher cognition study, the defining characteristics of milestone stages of expertise development are explored with specific attention to the remarkably under-researched area of planning. We introduce three new categories, defining modes of planning: (i) visible practical planning, (ii) external reflective planning and (iii) internal reflective planning, demonstrating their role in teacher development through the Dreyfus five stages. English is a subject which suffers from frequent disruptive changes to curriculum and assessment: new learning designs are constantly demanded, making planning an ongoing challenge. The implications for practice include the importance of an explicit understanding of how teachers’ planning moves through the three phases from the very “visible” novice phase to the internal relatively “automatic” competent teacher and finally the seemingly “invisible” expert phase. Further research is needed to explore how English teachers can share planning expertise between the three phases to improve teachers’ skills and student learning.
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Laying the foundations for physical literacy in Wales: the contribution of the Foundation Phase to the development of physical literacyBackground: The Foundation Phase in Wales is a play-based curriculum for pupils aged 3–7 years old. Children learn through more holistic areas of learning in place of traditional subjects. As such, the subject of physical education in its traditional form no longer exists for pupils under the age of 7 in Wales. In light of the role of physical education in developing physical literacy and in particular the importance of this age group for laying the foundations of movement for lifelong engagement in physical activity, the disappearance of physical education from the curriculum could be deemed to be a concern. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the Foundation Phase as a naturalistic intervention and examine its contribution to the development of physical literacy. Participants and setting: Participants included year 1 pupils (N = 49) aged 5 and 6 from two schools in contrasting locations. A smaller group within each class was selected through purposive sampling for the repeated measures assessments (N = 18). Research design and methods: A complementarity mixed-method design combined quantitative and qualitative methods to study the Foundation Phase as a naturalistic intervention. Quantitative data were generated with the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 administered to the sample group of children from both schools as a quasi-repeated measure, the physical competence subscale of the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance and the Leuven Involvement Scale for Young Children. Qualitative data were generated throughout the study from the analysis of video and field notes through participant observation. Data from the mixed methods were analysed through complementarity to give a rich insight into pupils’ progress and experiences in relation to physical literacy. Results: Overall analysis of the data from TGMD-2 showed significant improvements in the Gross Motor Quotient and Locomotor skills from T1 to T3, but no significant improvement in object control. Data from qualitative methods were analysed to explore processes that may account for these findings. Video and field notes complement the quantitative data highlighting that children were developing their locomotor skills in many aspects of their learning. Observations using the Leuven Involvement Scale indicated that children had high levels of involvement in their learning and apparent in video and field notes was pupils’ motivation for movement. Paired sample t-tests (N = 18) conducted on the Harter and Pike perceived physical competence six-item score subscales (T1 and T3) indicated a significant difference in the mean perceived physical competence scores on the six-item scale between T1and T3. Qualitative data explored pupils’ confidence for movement in many areas of learning. Conclusion: The combination of quantitative and qualitative data indicates that the Foundation Phase is an early childhood curriculum that lays the foundations of physical literacy with the exception of aspects of the physical competence, specifically object control skills. Although these skills only contribute to psychomotor aspects of physical literacy they are strongly associated with later engagement in physical activity. The development of specific physical skills such as object control skills may need more specialist input with early childhood pedagogy teachers trained in motor development to see significant improvements.
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Dialogue or duel? a critical reflection on the gendered politics of engaging and impactingThis chapter seeks to offer a critical reflection on the politics of engaging stakeholders in research. Specifically, we shed light on the difficulties and tensions encountered in delivering a seminar series on the ‘inter-relationships of education and culture’ that had at its heart a desire to facilitate a dialogue between academics and policy makers and practitioners. This series of seminars, ‘New Perspectives on Education and Culture’ (http://educationandculture.wordpress.com/), ran from January 2011 to January 2013 and was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC, 2012).
