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Classroom Practice (classroom + practice)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Education	82%
Psychology	5%

Selected Abstracts

DEWEY'S EPISTEMOLOGY: AN ARGUMENT FOR WARRANTED ASSERTIONS, KNOWING, AND MEANINGFUL CLASSROOM PRACTICE

EDUCATIONAL THEORY, Issue 1 2006
Deron R. BoylesArticle first published online: 3 FEB 200
Deron Boyles asserts that epistemology can and should represent an area of inquiry that is relevant and useful for philosophy of education, especially as it develops classroom practices that foster inquiry. He specifically seeks to revive Dewey's conception of warranted assertibility in an effort to show the value of fallibilist epistemology in practical and social teaching and learning contexts. By highlighting the distinctions between traditional epistemology and Dewey's conception of knowing, Boyles demonstrates that epistemology has value insofar as it highlights a more useful, instrumentalist theory of knowing that is applicable to classroom practice. [source]

Listening to Students, Negotiating Beliefs: Preparing Teachers for Urban Classrooms

CURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 2 2008
KATHERINE SCHULTZ
ABSTRACT Learning to teach in urban schools is difficult, particularly when prospective teachers come from different racial, ethnic and/or class backgrounds than their students. The task of urban-focused teacher education programs is to prepare prospective teachers to learn and enact practices that enable them to teach successfully in under-resourced districts that offer both opportunities and constraints. In this article, we report on a 2-year ethnographic study designed to investigate how new teachers enacted a listening stance in teaching that was introduced in their preparation program. Taking a listening stance implies entering a classroom with questions as well as answers, knowledge as well as a clear sense of the limitations of that knowledge (e.g., Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Lytle & Cochran-Smith, 1992; Schultz, 2003). The article focuses on how four teachers attempted to adopt a listening stance in their classroom practice, while also responding to the constraints of the standardized curriculum of their district. We conclude that the process of negotiating among teachers' beliefs, practices introduced in a teacher preparation program and district mandates is a critical practice for teachers to learn. We further suggest that in the current climate of high-stakes testing and mandated curriculum, explicit teaching of negotiation skills is likely to support more teachers to enter into and remain in classrooms. [source]

Animal Magnetism and Curriculum History

CURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 2 2007
BERNADETTE BAKER
ABSTRACT This article elaborates the impact that crises of authority provoked by animal magnetism, mesmerism, and hypnosis in the 19th century had for field formation in American education. Four layers of analysis elucidate how curriculum history's repetitive focus on public school policy and classroom practice became possible. First, the article surveys external conditions of possibility for the enactment of compulsory public schooling. Second, "internal" conditions of possibility for the formation of educational objects (e.g., types of children) are documented via the processes of différance that were generated from within the experiences of confinement. Third, the article maps how these were interpenetrated by animal magnetic debates that were lustered and planished in education's emerging field, including impact upon behavior management practices, the contouring of expertise and authority, the role of Will in intelligence testing and child development theories, and the redefinition of public and private. Last, the article examines implications for curriculum history, whether policy- or practice-oriented, especially around the question of influence, the theorization of child mind, and philosophies of Being. [source]

Schooling the Possible Self

CURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 4 2004
CYNTHIA MCCALLISTER
ABSTRACT From a social perspective, one's identity is entirely the product of interaction with others. As children participate in the vast range of social situations, they collect impressions of themselves that coalesce to form a sense of who they are, as well as a narrative framework that helps explain the world and their place within it. These insights create a dynamic identity that is stimulated by one's sense of potential and possibility. The social perspective provides a way to understand how school situations offer the substance from which children develop a sense of self. Literacy is a particularly powerful conduit for the development of self. An understanding of language and literacy, and how these processes are taken up by the child as means to shape his or her social connections and, by extension, his or her social reality, demands an understanding of self and how it evolves through interaction in a range of contexts. The purpose of this article is to describe how "self" plays out through literacy situations at home and school. Borrowing from social and cultural descriptions of the development of self, this article illustrates how these situations provide contexts for the expression and development of self, and offers implications for curriculum and classroom practice. [source]

TEACHER AS PROPHETIC TRICKSTER

EDUCATIONAL THEORY, Issue 1 2009
Jim Garrison
These include nurturing caregiver, guardian of morality, champion of the global economy, self-sacrificing do-gooder, cultural worker, intellectual, tyrant, and many more metaphors. Jim Garrison's essay introduces another figure, a mythological persona, to the pantheon of images depicting the school teacher , the Trickster. Tricksters are masters of multiple interpretation that cross, bend, break, and redefine borders. Garrison concentrates on prophetic tricksters that create openings in closed structures to reveal hidden possibilities. In practice, many teachers are tricksters. They know how to maneuver in, around, and through rigid bureaucratic structures and standards to connect with their students and make a difference while exercising creative autonomy in the classroom. Garrison's essay provides examples of trickster teachers drawn from literature depicting classroom practice. [source]

DEWEY'S EPISTEMOLOGY: AN ARGUMENT FOR WARRANTED ASSERTIONS, KNOWING, AND MEANINGFUL CLASSROOM PRACTICE

Diversions and diversity: Does the personalisation agenda offer real opportunities for taking children's home literacies seriously?

ENGLISH IN EDUCATION, Issue 2 2009
Marilyn Mottram
Abstract This paper argues that the current commitment to personalised learning opens up real opportunities for changing the language and practice of literacy teaching as it currently operates in England. We argue that there is a need to seize the opportunities currently on offer, to educate teachers differently and to develop classroom practice and pedagogies that acknowledge the complexities of children's lives and literacies. We draw on evidence from a year-long ethnographic research study, conducted between 2006,2007, of fourteen children and their families. The children attended the same inner city primary school in an area of urban regeneration characterised by high levels of economic deprivation, high crime and many social problems. The resulting evidence suggests that personalising learning becomes a reality when teachers are given space and time to develop their understanding of the uses and meaning of literacy in the communities they serve. [source]

Showing the Strategy where to go: possibilities for creative approaches to Key Stage 3 literacy teaching in initial teacher education

ENGLISH IN EDUCATION, Issue 1 2005
David Stevens
Abstract This paper arises from a research project undertaken with six PGCE student teachers of English, based on observation and discussion of English lessons based on the National Strategy's Framework for Teaching English. I draw also on the student teachers' reflections and written commentaries. The central thrust of the research was to enquire whether and how classroom practice could demonstrate an imaginative, meaning-orientated form of English teaching which included the Framework: how exactly learning opportunities might arise in lively, engaging and effective ways. [source]

Alas, Poor Shakespeare: Teaching and Testing at Key Stage 3

ENGLISH IN EDUCATION, Issue 3 2003
Jane Coles
Abstract In this article I briefly consider the ideological impetus for retaining Shakespeare as a compulsory component of the National Curriculum for English. I take issue with the current Key Stage 3 testing regime. In particular, I question the educational value of tests which ultimately undermine what is generally agreed to be good classroom practice and which force on teachers a narrow theoretical perspective of Shakespeare, where close textual analysis and Bradleyan notions of character predominate. [source]

Rhetoric and Practice in English Teaching

ENGLISH IN EDUCATION, Issue 1 2000
Mary Bousted
Abstract The empirical data collected for this article are derived from an analysis of the ideology and practice of English teachers working in three contrasting secondary schools. The analysis of the data reveals the following findings. The concept of personal growth, expressed in the pedagogy advocated by the London School, retains its ability to provide, for contemporary teachers of English, an underpinning rationale for their work. The pedagogical practices advocated by the London School writers - the use of oracy, the reading of contemporary children's literature and the drafting process - are supported by the respondents. Observation of lessons reveals that the respondents, through their use of mediating practices, are able to ,deliver' the cultural products of standard English and the literary canon in ways which retain elements of the process-based pedagogy advocated by the London School writers. The respondents do not, however, recognise this aspect of their classroom practice in their rhetorical representation of their work. The article concludes with the argument that the demand, by powerful external agencies, for the subject of English to furnish each new generation with icons of cultural stability in the form of spoken and written standard English and a knowledge of the literary heritage, has not declined. A less oppositional response on the part of English teachers to the demand that the subject deliver the cultural products outlined above, based upon a recognition of their use of mediating practices, may, it is argued, provide a means whereby the practitioners of the subject gain more control over its present condition and its future direction. [source]

Teacher-child interaction in the teaching of reading: a review of research perspectives over twenty-five years

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 1 2005
Ros Fisher
Taking as a starting point a paper published in 1981, this paper considers the importance of interaction between teacher and pupil in learning to read. Twenty-five years ago, the study of classroom language was relatively new. Research perspectives have moved from describing the process of interaction between teacher and child to considering the outcomes. At the same time a greater awareness of the sociocultural nature of language and classrooms has developed. An enduring theme in research from a variety of perspectives has been the call for more extended opportunities for exchanges about texts and more reciprocity in teacher-child dialogue. Studies of classroom practice, however, evidence persistence in the use of triadic dialogue in which the teacher controls the interaction and effectively closes down discussion. Despite initiatives calling for high-quality interaction, it is argued here that there is still no agreement about what high-quality interaction should look like. [source]

The developmental progression of comprehension-related skills in children learning EAL

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 1 2003
Jane M. Hutchinson
Many children who speak English as an additional language (EAL) underachieve in areas of English literacy, especially in the primary years. These difficulties are often attributed to low levels of English language fluency as they enter the education system. In an effort to provide a greater understanding of this underachievement, the cognitive-linguistic factors underlying literacy development in monolingual children and children learning EAL were examined in a three-year longitudinal project. The project, conducted in schools in the north of England, followed the developmental progression of forty-three children learning EAL and forty-three monolingual children from school years Two to Four. Children were assessed on measures of reading accuracy, reading and listening comprehension, receptive and expressive vocabulary, and reception of grammar. Analysis revealed similarities between the two groups of children on reading accuracy, but children learning EAL had lower levels of vocabulary and comprehension at each point in time. Data are discussed in terms of the development of underlying language skills and the impact of these skills on both reading and listening comprehension. The implications of the findings for classroom practice are considered. [source]

Fostering a community of practice through a professional development program to improve elementary teachers' views of nature of science and teaching practice

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 10 2009
Valarie L. Akerson
Abstract This study explored the development of a community of learners through a professional development program to improve teachers' views of nature of science (NOS) and teaching practice. The Views of Nature of Science questionnaire and interviews were used to assess teachers' conceptions of NOS three times over the course of the study. Notes and videotapes taken during workshops and classroom observations were used to track influence of the community of learners on classroom practice. The community of practice (CoP) was fostered through an intensive summer workshop, monthly school site workshops, and classroom support to aid teachers in incorporating new techniques and reflecting upon their learning and practice. We found that teachers became aware of their changes in views about NOS once they struggled with the concepts in their own teaching and discussed their struggles within the professional development community. The CoP on its own was not sufficient to change teacher's practice or knowledge, but it created a well-supported environment that facilitated teacher change when paired with NOS modeling and explicit reflection. Cases of three teachers are used to illustrate changes in views and teaching practice common to the teachers in this study. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 1090,1113, 2009 [source]

Measuring instructional congruence in elementary science classrooms: Pedagogical and methodological components of a theoretical framework

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 3 2007
Aurolyn Luykx
This article is situated within a theoretical framework, instructional congruence, articulating issues of student diversity with the demands of academic disciplines. In the context of a large-scale study targeting elementary school science, the article describes a research instrument that aims to combine the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative approaches to classroom data. The project-developed classroom observation guideline is a series of detailed scales that produce numerical ratings based on qualitative observations of different aspects of classroom practice. The article's objectives are both pedagogical and methodological, reflecting the dual functionality of the instrument: (a) to concretize theoretical constructs articulating academic disciplines with student diversity in ways that are useful for rethinking classroom practice; and (b) to take advantage of the strengths of qualitative educational research, but within a quantitative analytical framework that may be applied across large numbers of classrooms. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 424,447, 2007 [source]

Folk theories of "inquiry:" How preservice teachers reproduce the discourse and practices of an atheoretical scientific method

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 5 2004
Mark Windschitl
Despite the ubiquity of the term "inquiry" in science education literature, little is known about how teachers conceptualize inquiry, how these conceptions are formed and reinforced, how they relate to work done by scientists, and if these ideas about inquiry are translated into classroom practice. This is a multicase study in which 14 preservice secondary science teachers developed their own empirical investigations,from formulating questions to defending results in front of peers. Findings indicate that participants shared a tacit framework of what it means to "do science" which shaped their investigations and influenced reflections on their inquiries. Some facets of the participants' shared model were congruent with authentic inquiry; however, the most consistent assumptions were misrepresentations of fundamental aspects of science: for example, that a hypothesis functions as a guess about an outcome, but is not necessarily part of a larger explanatory system; that background knowledge may be used to provide ideas about what to study, but this knowledge is not in the form of a theory or other model; and that theory is an optional tool one might use at the end of a study to help explain results. These ideas appear consistent with a "folk theory" of doing science that is promoted subtly, but pervasively, in textbooks, through the media, and by members of the science education community themselves. Finally, although all participants held degrees in science, the participants who eventually used inquiry in their own classrooms were those who had significant research experiences in careers or postsecondary study and greater science-content background. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 481,512, 2004 [source]

Portraying science in the classroom: The manifestation of scientists' beliefs in classroom practice

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 7 2003
Sherry A. Southerland
If the goals of science education reform are to be realized, science instruction must change across the academic spectrum, including at the collegiate level. This study examines the beliefs and teaching practices of three scientists as they designed and implemented an integrated science course for nonmajors that was designed to emphasize the nature of science. Our results indicated that, like public school teachers, scientists' beliefs about the nature of science are manifested in their enactment of curriculum,although this manifestation is clearly not a straightforward or simplistic one. Personal beliefs about the nature of science can differ from those of the course, thus resulting in an enactment that differs from original conceptions. Even when personal beliefs match those of the course, sophisticated understandings of the nature of science are not enough to ensure the straightforward translation of beliefs into practice. Mitigating factors included limited pedagogical content knowledge, difficulty in achieving integration of the scientific disciplines, and lack of opportunity and scaffolding to forge true consensus between the participating scientists. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 669,691, 2003 [source]

"Maestro, what is ,quality'?": Language, literacy, and discourse in project-based science

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 4 2001
Elizabeth B. Moje
Recent curriculum design projects have attempted to engage students in authentic science learning experiences in which students engage in inquiry-based research projects about questions of interest to them. Such a pedagogical and curricular approach seems an ideal space in which to construct what Lee and Fradd referred to as instructional congruence. It is, however, also a space in which the everyday language and literacy practices of young people intersect with the learning of scientific and classroom practices, thus suggesting that project-based pedagogy has the potential for conflict or confusion. In this article, we explore the discursive demands of project-based pedagogy for seventh-grade students from non-mainstream backgrounds as they enact established project curricula. We document competing Discourses in one project-based classroom and illustrate how those Discourses conflict with one another through the various texts and forms of representation used in the classroom and curriculum. Possibilities are offered for reconstructing this classroom practice to build congruent third spaces in which the different Discourses and knowledges of the discipline, classroom, and students' lives are brought together to enhance science learning and scientific literacy. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 469,498, 2001 [source]

A Tiered Intervention Model for Early Vocabulary Instruction: The Effects of Tiered Instruction for Young Students At Risk for Reading Disability

LEARNING DISABILITIES RESEARCH & PRACTICE, Issue 3 2010
Paige C. Pullen
Vocabulary knowledge at school entry is a robust predictor of later reading achievement. Many children begin formal reading instruction at a significant disadvantage due to low levels of vocabulary. Until recently, relatively few research studies examined the efficacy of vocabulary interventions for children in the early primary grades (e.g., before fourth grade), and even fewer addressed vocabulary intervention for students at increased risk for reading failure. In more recent work, researchers have begun to explore ways in which to diminish the "meaningful differences" in language achievement noted among children as they enter formal schooling. This article provides a review of a particularly effective model of vocabulary intervention based on shared storybook reading and situates this model in a context of tiered intervention, an emerging model of instructional design in the field of special education. In addition, we describe a quasi-experimental posttest-only study that examines the feasibility and effectiveness of the model for first-grade students. Participants were 224 first-grade students of whom 98 were identified as at risk for reading disability based on low levels of vocabulary. Results of a multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant differences on measures of target vocabulary knowledge at the receptive and context level, suggesting that students at risk for reading failure benefit significantly from a second tier of vocabulary instruction. Implications for classroom practice as well as future research are provided. [source]

Narratives from popular culture: Critical implications for adult education

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT & CONTINUING EDUCATION, Issue 126 2010
Robin Redmon Wright
This chapter critically examines six political television narratives: The Weather Channel, The Fox News Channel, 24, The Rachel Maddow Show, The Daily Show, and Torchwood. The implications of those television narratives, their impact on adult learners, and suggestions for classroom practice are discussed. [source]

Using instructional logs to identify quality in educational settings

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, Issue 121 2009
Brian Rowan
When attempting to identify educational settings that are most effective in improving student achievement, classroom process (that is, the way in which a teacher interacts with his or her students) is a key feature of interest. Unfortunately, high-quality assessment of the student-teacher interaction occurs all too infrequently, despite the critical role that understanding and measuring such processes can play in school improvement. This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of two common approaches to studying these processes,direct classroom observation and annual surveys of teachers,and then describes the ways in which instructional logs can be used to overcome some of the limitations of these two approaches when gathering data on curriculum content and coverage. Classroom observations are expensive, require extensive training of raters to ensure consistency in the observations, and because of their expense generally cannot be conducted frequently enough to enable the researcher to generalize observational findings to the entire school year or illuminate the patterns of instructional change that occur across the school year. Annual surveys are less expensive but often suffer from self-report bias and the bias that occurs when teachers are asked to retrospectively report on their activities over the course of a single year. Instructional logs offer a valid, reliable, and relatively cost-effective alternative for collecting detailed information about classroom practice and can overcome some of the limitations of both observations and annual surveys. [source]

Scientifically Debased Research on Learning, 1854,2006

ANTHROPOLOGY & EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2007
Ray Mcdermott
By its emphasis on arbitrary standards and misleading systems of accountability, the No Child Left Behind Act has had deleterious effects on classroom practice, teacher education, and even educational research. The new constraints on educational research, driven by a logic of randomized field tests, are part of a larger and more invidious international managerialism that subordinates individual biographies to state-based bureaucratic control. [source]

"Quit Talking and Learn English!": Conflicting Language Ideologies in an ESL Classroom

ANTHROPOLOGY & EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2003
Assistant Professor Warren OlivoArticle first published online: 8 JAN 200
This article addresses the relationship between educational theory,as manifested in particular ideologies of teaching and learning,and classroom practice. Based on an ethnographic study of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learning at a Canadian senior public school, I outline a conflict between two language ideologies that give shape to, and are shaped by, the classroom practices of the ESL teacher, his assistants, and the students. I discuss the implications of this ideological conflict in terms of the opportunities ESL students are given, and that they create for themselves, to practice speaking English. I end by outlining how these findings can be used to shape educational policy as it relates to ESL classroom curricula in order to create a more equitable learning environment for ESL students. [source]

Modifying the metaphor in order to improve understanding of control languages,the little-person becomes a cast of actors

BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 4 2007
Peter Whalley
The instructional metaphor is an important bridge to understanding, particularly when students are undertaking tasks that are conceptually difficult and outside their previous experience. It is suggested that the limitations of the implicit metaphor of the procedural control languages are the main cause of the problems experienced with delivering the control topic within the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) curriculum. These continue to dominate classroom practice despite Papert warning more than 25 years ago of the conceptual restrictions that they place on children's thinking. It is also claimed that the procedural control languages do not provide an adequate representation of the underlying input,process,output model of control, and that this contributes to a systematic pattern of misunderstanding. Classroom trials of a graphic object-orientated language are related to a prior study made with the procedural control language Control Logo. The relatively more sophisticated mental models developed by students working with actor-lab are discussed in terms of the different underlying metaphors and the problem representation provided. [source]

How inclusive is the Literacy Hour?

BRITISH JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2001
Janice Wearmouth
In this article, Janice Wearmouth and Janet Soler, both lecturers in the Faculty of Education and Language Studies at the Open University, explore the implications of recent Government initiatives for pupils who experience difficulties in literacy development. The authors focus, in particular, on their perceptions of the contradictions between the inclusive requirements of the National Curriculum and the prescriptive pedagogy of the National Literacy Strategy. The National Curriculum now requires teachers to respond to pupils' ,diverse learning needs'; the National Literacy Strategy is founded upon an expectation that all pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 will be taught a daily Literacy Hour. This article explores the impact of these contrasting policies on classroom practice and concludes by drawing upon evidence of previously existing good practice in order to propose ways of resolving this dilemma. [source]

DEWEY'S EPISTEMOLOGY: AN ARGUMENT FOR WARRANTED ASSERTIONS, KNOWING, AND MEANINGFUL CLASSROOM PRACTICE

Investigation of secondary science teachers' beliefs and practices after authentic inquiry-based experiences

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 9 2006
Sherri L. Brown
This study continues research previously conducted by a nine-university collaborative, the Salish I Research Project, by exploring science teachers' beliefs and practices with regard to inquiry-oriented instruction. In this study, we analyzed the relationship among secondary science teachers' preparation, their beliefs, and their classroom practices after completion of a course designed to provide authentic inquiry experiences. From Teacher Pedagogical Philosophy Interview data and Secondary Science Teacher Analysis Matrix observational data, we analyzed links between the teachers' conveyed beliefs and observed practice regarding the teachers' actions (TA) and students' actions (SA). Also presented is a listing of teachers' perceived influences from university preparation course work. Results indicated that 7 of the 8 teachers professed a belief in teacher-centered or conceptual style with regard to TA and SA. The observational results indicated that 7 of the 8 teachers displayed a teacher-centered or conceptual style with regard to TA and SA. Inconsistencies between interview and observational data were unexpected, as half of the teachers professed slightly greater teacher-centered styles with regard to TA than what they actually practiced in their classrooms. All teachers reported that an inquiry-based science course was valuable. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 938,962, 2006 [source]

Characteristics of professional development that effect change in secondary science teachers' classroom practices

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 6 2005
Bobby Jeanpierre
We studied the outcome of a professional development opportunity that consisted of 2-week-long resident institutes for teams consisting of a secondary science teacher and two students. The science content of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded professional development institute was monarch butterfly ecology. The first institute took place in Minnesota during the summer, and the second in Texas during the fall. Staff scientists provided intense instruction in inquiry, with numerous opportunities for participants to conduct short inquiry-based research projects. Careful attention was paid to introducing each step of the full inquiry process, from asking questions to presenting research findings. All participants conducted independent team full inquiry projects between the two institutes. Project findings show that the number of teachers providing opportunities for their students to conduct full inquiry increased significantly after their participation. A mixed-methodology analysis that included qualitative and quantitative data from numerous sources, and case studies of 20 teachers, revealed that the characteristics of the program that helped teachers successfully translate inquiry to their classrooms were: deep science content and process knowledge with numerous opportunities for practice; the requirement that teachers demonstrate competence in a tangible and assessable way; and providers with high expectations for learning and the capability to facilitate multifaceted inquiry experiences. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Improving science inquiry with elementary students of diverse backgrounds

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 3 2005
Peggy Cuevas
This study examined the impact of an inquiry-based instructional intervention on (a) children's ability to conduct science inquiry overall and to use specific skills in inquiry, and (b) narrowing the gaps in children's ability among demographic subgroups of students. The intervention consisted of instructional units, teacher workshops, and classroom practices. The study involved 25 third- and fourth-grade students from six elementary schools representing diverse linguistic and cultural groups. Quantitative results demonstrated that the intervention enhanced the inquiry ability of all students regardless of grade, achievement, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), home language, and English proficiency. Particularly, low-achieving, low-SES, and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) exited students made impressive gains. The study adds to the existing literature on designing learning environments that foster science inquiry of all elementary students. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 337,357, 2005 [source]

The black,white "achievement gap" as a perennial challenge of urban science education: A sociocultural and historical overview with implications for research and practice,

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 10 2001
Obed Norman
A perennial challenge for urban education in the United States is finding effective ways to address the academic achievement gap between African American and White students. There is widespread and justified concern about the persistence of this achievement gap. In fact, historical evidence suggests that this achievement gap has existed at various times for groups other than African Americans. What conditions prevailed when this achievement gap existed for these other groups? Conversely, under what conditions did the gap diminish and eventually disappear for these groups? This article explores how sociocultural factors involved in the manifestation and eventual disappearance of the gap for these groups may shed some light on how to address the achievement gap for African American students in urban science classrooms. Our conclusion is that the sociocultural position of groups is crucial to understanding and interpreting the scholastic performance of students from various backgrounds. We argue for a research framework and the exploration of research questions incorporating insights from Ogbu's cultural, ecological theory, as well as goal theory, and identity theory. We present these as theories that essentially focus on student responses to societal disparities. Our ultimate goal is to define the problem more clearly and contribute to the development of research-based classroom practices that will be effective in reducing and eventually eliminating the achievement gap. We identify the many gaps in society and the schools that need to be addressed in order to find effective solutions to the problem of the achievement gap. Finally, we propose that by understanding the genesis of the gap and developing strategies to harness the students' responses to societal disparities, learning can be maximized and the achievement gap can be significantly reduced, if not eliminated entirely, in urban science classrooms. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 1101,1114, 2001 [source]