Student Teachers (student + teacher)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Elementary Students' Sleep Habits and Teacher Observations of Sleep-Related Problems

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 2 2005
Denise H. Amschler PhD Professor
ABSTRACT: Sleep affects the health and well-being of children and plays a key role in preventing disease and injury, stability of mood, and ability to learn. Unfortunately, children often do not get adequate sleep on a regular basis. This study surveyed 199 fifth-grade students regarding their sleep habits using the Sleep Self-Report (SSR) instrument (child's form), the Morningness/Eveningness (M/E) Scale, and additional demographic questions. Students' teachers also were asked to evaluate their students' behavior using the Teacher's Daytime Sleepiness Questionnaire (TDSQ). Results indicated many students experienced problems with sleep-related behavior. However, correlating the TDSQ scale with the SSR Daytime Sleepiness Subscale produced a weak correlation coefficient, indicating teachers may not be able to accurately identify students with sleep problems. Overall findings indicated these students displayed sleep behavior similar to other US children. However, research involving children's sleep behavior is limited, and more research is needed. Parents should monitor their children's sleep times, and teachers need to be aware how sleep deprivation can affect children's mood, reaction time, and concentration. Health education curricula need to include sleep-related instruction at all grade levels to address this concern. [source]


Teaching, Exploring, Learning,Developing Tutorials for In-Class Teaching and Self-Learning

COMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 4 2007
S. Beckhaus
Abstract This paper presents an experience report on a novel approach for a course on intermediate and advanced computer graphics topics. The approach uses Teachlet Tutorials, a combination of traditional seminar,type teaching with interactive exploration of the content by the audience, plus development of self-contained tutorials on the topic. In addition to a presentation, an interactive software tool is developed by the students to assist the audience in learning and exploring the topic's details. This process is guided through set tasks. The resulting course material is developed for two different contexts: (a) for classroom presentation and (b) as an interactive, self-contained, self-learning tutorial. The overall approach results in a more thorough understanding of the topic both for the student teachers as well as for the class participants. In addition to detailing the Teachlet Tutorial approach, this paper presents our experiences implementing the approach in our Advanced Computer Graphics course and presents the resultant projects. Most of the final Teachlet Tutorials were surprisingly good and we had excellent feedback from the students on the approach and course. [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]


How Foreign Language Teachers in Georgia Evaluate their Professional Preparation: A Call for Action

FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 1 2004
Article first published online: 31 DEC 200, Thomas C. Cooper PhD
The project involved conducting an online survey of 341 current foreign language teachers in Georgia in order to determine how these K-12 teachers perceived and evaluated the effectiveness of their professional preparation. Close to 60% of the teachers in the sample were graduates of colleges and universities in Georgia. Most of the others had received their training from various other colleges and universities in the United States, and 51 individuals reported that they had graduated from foreign institutions. The survey consisted of 42 questions asking teachers to evaluate their preparation in language skills, knowledge of foreign language standards, planningfor instruction, methodology, using technology in instruction, meeting the needs of socially and economically diverse students, classroom management skills, and professional growth. The survey results strongly suggest that foreign language teacher development programs should include (1) more time spent in carefully supervised and monitored prestudent-teaching field experiences; (2) more careful mentoring of student teachers during the student-teaching internship; (3) more time spent in language learning experiences in countries where the target language is spoken; (4) more emphasis on developing foreign language proficiency in the requisite university classes; and (5) more effort spent on teaching effective classroom management. [source]


Exploring the nutrition and lifestyle knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of student home economics teachers: baseline findings from a 4-year longitudinal study

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 4 2008
Mary Isobelle Mullaney
Abstract It is widely acknowledged that obesity linked with reduced exercise contributes to health problems, and that, conversely, individuals who embark on weight reducing diets may become deficient in key nutrients. It is often advocated that these problems, which can be grouped together as poor dietary practice, be tackled through education. This study attempts to examine the relationship between nutrition education and lifestyle behaviours in a select group of third level students. The Irish Home Economics curriculum aims to teach secondary school pupils about nutrition and lifestyle practices conducive to health. However, the attitudes and lifestyle practices of those teaching this subject have never been examined in Ireland. The purpose of the present 4-year longitudinal study, whose first year findings are presented here, is to investigate the nutrition and lifestyle knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of a cohort of Irish student home economics teachers over the 4 years of their Bachelor of Education (Home Economics) degree course. The study was designed to explore possible changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices over the course of their professional education. Nutritional knowledge was measured using a 220-question adapted version of the test devised by Parmenter and Wardle. Attitudes were measured using a questionnaire adapted from the Pan-EU Survey on Consumer Attitudes to Physical Activity, Body-weight and Health. Food, alcohol consumption and exercise were measured using a 7-day reported dietary/exercise diary. Nutrient intake data were determined using dietary analysis. Weight, height and waist circumference were measured and body mass index (BMI) calculated. When starting college, student home economics teachers have broadly similar anthropometric, dietary and lifestyle characteristics to those of their contemporaries. Mean BMI was identical [24.4 kg/m2 (SD 4.3)] to that reported in the North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey (NSIFCS) for those aged 18,35 years, although energy intakes were significantly higher in the cohort of student teachers (P = 0.000). Thirty-eight per cent were overweight or obese vs. 33.6% in the NSIFCS. Only 17% (n = 6) of students achieved an intake of 300 µg/day of folate as recommended by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and only one the recommended intake of non-starch polysaccharides (18 g/day). One in three students in this study smoke (16 of 48) and alcohol consumption was high. Only one student was very active. Students scored a mean of 55% (SD 8%) on the knowledge test, with similar scores attained for specific aspects of nutritional knowledge (i.e. food groups, constituents of foods, current dietary advice, nutrients, lifestyle practices). However, knowledge of nutrition definitions was weaker with a mean score of 31% (SD 8.6%). Students had a positive attitude towards food choice, the link between food and health and control over their own diet. Similar attitudes towards exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption were displayed despite students perceiving themselves as not having a balanced diet, having insufficient exercise and having regretted something done as a result of consuming alcohol. They appear to display optimistic bias in relation to health risks. These findings provide baseline data for the longitudinal study and indicate that those choosing to pursue a career as a home economics teacher in Ireland have similar nutritional and lifestyle characteristics to those of their contemporaries. [source]


The interplay between learning and the use of ICT in Rwandan student teachers' everyday practice

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 6 2009
E. Mukama
Abstract The paper describes a study conducted in Rwanda involving 12 participants selected from a larger cohort of 24 final-year university students who were part of a group-based training programme. The programme was about how to search, retrieve, and use web-based literature. Empirical data were collected through interviews and focus group discussions. The purpose was to explore ways of using information and communication technology (ICT) in student teachers' everyday learning practice. The study draws from a sociocultural perspective and emphasis is put on a literature review involving ICT in teacher education. The findings reveal that utilization of ICT pertains to three major types of variation among student teachers who use ICT: passive, reluctant, and active users. The active ICT users demonstrated a capacity to cross group boundaries and play a central role as agents of change in learning practice. The point is that more experienced student teachers can assist their colleagues in the zone of proximal development and, therefore, enhance the integration of the new technology in teacher education. This implies that having access to ICT together with some instruction is not sufficient to prompt students to start using this technology as a pedagogical tool. Moreover, confrontation of different experiences regarding the use of ICT can spearhead change in student teachers' learning practice through critical reflection. [source]


The effect of questioning on concept learning within a hypertext system

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 1 2002
P.A. Howard-Jones
Abstract Two studies report upon the effect of asking learners to answer questions when learning in a hypertext environment, even when no immediate feedback is given to learners about the appropriateness of their responses. Such questions may be useful as a means to induce responses that can be used to monitor learning, but here the hypothesis was investigated that their inclusion would also improve learning directly. In the first study, 80 student teachers answered embedded multiple-choice questions that encouraged analysis of examples. Concept learning achieved using this environment was significantly reduced when compared with an environment requiring no such responses. In the second study, a cohort of 68 students were asked to summarise the information illustrated by the examples. Here, learning was significantly improved as compared with the no-response condition. [source]


Case-based pedagogy as a context for collaborative inquiry in the Philippines

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 5 2001
Elvira L. Arellano
The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential for using case-based pedagogy as a context for collaborative inquiry into the teaching and learning of elementary science. The context for this study was the elementary science teacher preparation program at West Visayas State University on the the island of Panay in Iloilo City, the Philippines. In this context, triple linguistic conventions involving the interactions of the local Ilonggo dialect, the national language of Philipino (predominantly Tagalog) and English create unique challenges for science teachers. Participants in the study included six elementary student teachers, their respective critic teachers and a research team composed of four Filipino and two U.S. science teacher educators. Two teacher-generated case narratives serve as the centerpiece for deliberation, around which we highlight key tensions that reflect both the struggles and positive aspects of teacher learning that took place. Theoretical perspectives drawn from assumptions underlying the use of case-based pedagogy and scholarship surrounding the community metaphor as a referent for science education curriculum inquiry influenced our understanding of tensions at the intersection of re-presentation of science, authority of knowledge, and professional practice, at the intersection of not shared language, explicit moral codes, and indigenization, and at the intersection of identity and dilemmas in science teaching. Implications of this study are discussed with respect to the building of science teacher learning communities in both local and global contexts of reform. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 502,528, 2001 [source]


Strategies and students: beginning teachers' early encounters with national policy

LITERACY, Issue 2 2006
Andrey Rosowsky
Abstract The 1-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education Secondary English method course at the University of Sheffield's School of Education has, since 2001, asked its students to write an essay of around 4000 words on their initial understanding and experience of the National Strategies promoted by the United Kingdom's Department for Education and Skills. The essay expects a critical, reflective and analytical piece of writing that records the student teacher's developing views on the place, role and value of the National Strategies in the classroom. Using grounded theory and content analysis techniques, this small-scale study of the 2005 cohort identifies common perceptions regarding the National Strategies among student teachers of English and seeks to categorise these to account for their developing identities as future English teachers. Drawing on Twiselton's identification of teacher types, Task Manager, Curriculum Deliverer and Concept/Skill Builder, and Shulman's classification of knowledges necessary for teaching, this article will argue that the National Strategies and their respective Frameworks, while successful in moving teachers on from the role of ,Task Managers', runs the risk of locking teachers into being ,Curriculum Deliverers', and not developing the pedagogical content knowledge necessary for teaching English expertly. [source]


Analysing Student Teachers' Codeswitching in Foreign Language Classrooms: Theories and Decision Making

MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2001
Ernesto Macaro
This article draws on a case study of 6 student teachers in secondary schools and their codeswitching between the first language (L1) and the second language (L2) over the course of 14 foreign language (FL) lessons, where French was the L2 and English was the L1 of the learners. It describes how the student teachers had been exposed to theoretical positions and empirical studies on this issue during their 36-week training programme. It analyses the quantity of L1 used by these student teachers as well as the reflections and beliefs of 2 of the student teachers on the codeswitching process. The findings reveal comparatively low levels of L1 use by the student teachers and little effect of the quantity of student teacher L1 use on the quantity of L1 or L2 use by the learners. They also reveal very little explicit reference by the student teachers to the research and professional literature they had read, yet their decision making did not necessarily stem from their personal beliefs. Some aspects of codeswitching appear to be a source of conflict for the student teachers while others do not. Implications for teaching are drawn. [source]


Training teachers to safeguard children: developing a consistent approach

CHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 5 2005
Mary Baginsky
Abstract Earlier work on the preparation of student teachers to deal with child protection concerns had indicated that initial teacher training (ITT) providers were often struggling to determine what to include on the subject and who should provide the input, as well as coping with the difficulty of trying to fit it into an overfull curriculum. In an attempt to support this work, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) developed a course for this group of students. Although an evaluation indicated the need for the materials to be redrafted, the views of both those involved in the exercise and a subsequent survey of ITT providers not only contributed to the redraft but also to the debate around the most effective approach to training professionals to protect children and young people. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The interplay between learning and the use of ICT in Rwandan student teachers' everyday practice

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 6 2009
E. Mukama
Abstract The paper describes a study conducted in Rwanda involving 12 participants selected from a larger cohort of 24 final-year university students who were part of a group-based training programme. The programme was about how to search, retrieve, and use web-based literature. Empirical data were collected through interviews and focus group discussions. The purpose was to explore ways of using information and communication technology (ICT) in student teachers' everyday learning practice. The study draws from a sociocultural perspective and emphasis is put on a literature review involving ICT in teacher education. The findings reveal that utilization of ICT pertains to three major types of variation among student teachers who use ICT: passive, reluctant, and active users. The active ICT users demonstrated a capacity to cross group boundaries and play a central role as agents of change in learning practice. The point is that more experienced student teachers can assist their colleagues in the zone of proximal development and, therefore, enhance the integration of the new technology in teacher education. This implies that having access to ICT together with some instruction is not sufficient to prompt students to start using this technology as a pedagogical tool. Moreover, confrontation of different experiences regarding the use of ICT can spearhead change in student teachers' learning practice through critical reflection. [source]