Teacher Educators as Agents of Change? A Critical Realist Study of a Group of Teacher Educators in a Kenyan University

This study focuses on the professional identity of a group of teacher educators in a Kenyan university. In order to improve student outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa, the quality of teaching and therefore the quality of teacher education (TE) needs to improve. Policy aspirations across the region call for a greater focus on the teaching and learning of skills, attitudes and values, with many making specific reference to learner-centred education (LCE); teachers need to change their practice, which means that teacher educators need to change as well. The study concludes that these pedagogic changes require a public consensus around the nature of knowledge about teaching, alongside conscious efforts to create opportunities for collaboration amongst teacher educators. The context for the study is the Teacher Education in sub Saharan Africa (TESSA) programme of activities, run by The Open University alongside African partners, designed to support improvements in teaching and in teacher education. At the heart of the programme is a bank of Open Educational Resources (OERs). Experience gathered over the last ten years, suggests that achieving pedagogic change in teacher education is challenging; many will mediate the OERs for teachers, but do not see them as being relevant to their own practice. This study set about to determine why this is the case. Working within a critical realist framework, the perceived agency of five teacher educators was investigated, alongside the nature of the social structures in the institution in which they work and the way in which the structures interact to constrain and empower agency, with respect to pedagogic change. Analysis of data from documents, observations and interviews revealed a number of disconnections between theory and practice, and led to the identification for two underlying ‘causal mechanisms’ concerning the nature of knowledge about teaching and the importance of collaborative spaces. TESSA is identified as a causal mechanism that has not been fully activated in this institution. This has highlighted ways in which we can work more effectively with this professional group. The study has also demonstrated that critical realism can provide a robust theoretical framework for small-scale qualitative research

Teachers’ Assessment and grading Practices in upper secondary Science Classrooms in Sweden : The Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives

This dissertation acknowledges that accountability of educators for the grades they assign is a part of the foundation for a meritocratic society, based on fairness in judging merit and, therefore, in assigning grades. In this view, any grade obtained by any student must be both reliable and valid. This, in turn, implies that the process of assessment of students’ work on which the grade is based must also be both reliable and valid. A recognized method to obtain this is to base assessment of students’ work on verified standards which are known and recognized by all agents with an interest in the resulting grade. Accountability for grades may then be obtained by transparency, where it is possible to show what the grades are based on, whether it is quantitative or qualitative data.The empirical research conducted within the scope of this dissertation used qualitative research methods, including individual face-to-face interviews with 25 active and qualified science teachers working in science programs in different schools in southern Sweden, a four week ethnographic observation in three classrooms of one school—one observation in chemistry, one in physics and one in biology, and face-to-face interviews with teachers and students who participated in the ethnographic study. The findings show mutual agreement regarding assessment and grading practices among the teachers, both from teachers’ and students’ viewpoints.From the findings in this thesis it was concluded that, formally, assessment for grading is mainly based on paper-and-pencil tests, but that there are other factors influencing the assigning of grades, such as performance expectations and pressure from different agents inside and outside the school. The students are in general neither participating in the process of deciding on what and how to assess nor any decisions about the assessment itself. The assessment is, in practice, not confined to paper-and-pencil tests, but in general not supporting the learning process during the lessons.Taking into account the paradigm shift from merely cognitive assessment to today’s action-oriented learning and assessment, as it is established in the Swedish national curriculum, I suggest that further studies of classrooms interactions and assessment practices for grading, may benefit teachers and students, as well as the society as a whole

Open platform to model and capture experimental data in Technology enhanced learning systems

International audienceWe are working in the context of our research team (multidisciplinary with numerous and various TEL systems), on the design and implementation of an open platform to collect, save and share experimental data drawn from the interaction with TEL systems as well as to build, save and share the analysis processes executed on these traces. From our point of view both data and analysis processes are worth to be stored and shared, and moreover have to be joined in a unique repository to get the whole picture. This communication presents the data part of the project. An analysis of contemporary platforms shows the lack of solution for a repository of data joined to the analysis processes in the domain of TEL systems, and points out the limitations of current platform dedicated to TEL data. Hence a general, simple and customizable model of TEL systems interaction traces is proposed. It put emphasis on the users (learners, teachers) and allocates a reasonable weight to the pedagogical situation. This is implemented in a web platform, on one side connected to one (or several) TEL systems (via http protocol and javascript API) for the collection of the traces, and on the other side linked to pre- defined databases to save the data. Another added-value of the platform is to allow to share the data. The final part of the communication demonstrates several real use cases taken from our research team work

INVESTIGATING THE USE OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) FOR PEDAGOGIC CHANGE IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE (PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY) TEACHING/LEARNING IN NIGERIAN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS (HEIs)

This study identifies how for decades in Nigeria mathematics and science have been difficult to teach effectively, with lower-than-expected learning attainment. The study aims to explore the factors influencing underperformance in these subjects, in the context of the introduction by the Federal Government of the Vision 2020 policy aiming to address sub-optimal educational standards. Traditional teacher-centred pedagogy is predominant worldwide, including in the Nigerian education system, in the delivery of mathematics and science curricula. Despite the importance of these perceived “challenging and hard” subjects to economic, scientific and technological developments, this is, generally speaking, an inferior pedagogy to student-centred pedagogy, which promotes both memory and comprehension. This study investigates whether the introduction in this context of more Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based and Student-Centred Learning (SCL)-based approaches may improve the quality of teaching and learning. For teachers/lecturers to acquire the necessary competencies, pedagogical and ICT skills, they were specially trained to develop the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK/TPCK) needed in the effective use of ICT in mathematics and science mediated lessons that is focused towards boosting students’ performance and lowering failure rates. A mixed methods approach was used for this enquiry. A purposive sampling technique was used to select all participants who are from the Departments of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science of a Nigerian university. Interviews, questionnaires and observations of classes mediated through ICT were used to collect data. The study identifies that the use of ICT in mathematics and science teaching is especially effective in the promotion of a student-centred approach, assisting the pivotal role of teachers as facilitators and enabling a more autonomous learning environment to be created, which in turn enhances students’ understanding of basic concepts. Furthermore, the findings confirm that the use of ICT provides new ways of communicating, learning, working collaboratively and likely improving students’ performance in mathematics and science. The findings also confirm that ICT adoption and integration into mathematics and science curricula is, nonetheless, still very low in the university involved in this study, while many challenges to the use of ICT in mathematics and science teaching and learning remain. This in turn leaves Nigerian teachers/lecturers generally still not availing themselves of student-centred pedagogy. This thesis recommends that the obstacles and other challenges to using ICT in teaching are tackled, in order to promote their effective use in higher education and to prepare Nigeria’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates to be productive and competitive

Multiliteracies for academic purposes : a metafunctional exploration of intersemiosis and multimodality in university textbook and computer-based learning resources in science

This thesis is situated in the research field of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) in education and within a professional context of multiliteracies for academic purposes. The overall aim of the research is to provide a metafunctional account of multimodal and multisemiotic meaning-making in print and electronic learning materials in first year science at university. The educational motivation for the study is to provide insights for teachers and educational designers to assist them in the development of students’ multiliteracies, particularly in the context of online learning environments. The corpus comprises online and CD-ROM learning resources in biology, physics and chemistry and textbooks in physics and biology, which are typical of those used in undergraduate science courses in Australia. Two underlying themes of the research are to compare the different affordances of textbook and screen formats and the disciplinary variation found in these formats. The two stage research design consisted of a multimodal content analysis, followed by a SF-based multimodal discourse analysis of a selection of the texts. In the page and screen formats of these pedagogical texts, the analyses show that through the mechanisms of intersemiosis, ideationally, language and image are reconstrued as disciplinary knowledge. This knowledge is characterised by a high level of technicality in image and verbiage, by taxonomic relations across semiotic resources and by interdependence among elements in the image, caption, label and main text. Interpersonally, pedagogical roles of reader/learner/viewer/ and writer/teacher/designer are enacted differently to some extent across formats through the different types of activities on the page and screen but the source of authority and truth remains with the teacher/designer, regardless of format. Roles are thus minimally negotiable, despite the claims of interactivity in the screen texts. Textually, the organisation of meaning across text and image in both formats is reflected in the layout, which is determined by the underlying design grid and in the use of graphic design resources of colour, font, salience and juxtaposition. Finally, through the resources of grammatical metaphor and the reconstrual of images as abstract, both forms of semiosis work together to shift meanings from congruence to abstraction, into the specialised realm of science

English for science and technology: a computer corpus-based analysis of English science and technology texts for application in higher education

Doutoramento em LinguísticaThis thesis presents two analyses: first the analysis of computer corpora from undergraduate textbooks to isolate the (American) English language of science and technology they present; secondly an analysis of the English language competence of undergraduates starting their university studies in science and technology. These two analyses are contrasted in order to apply the results to the design of an English language syllabus for first year undergraduates. A frequency and range word list was produced using a large baseline corpus to contrast with the main corpora taken from physics and chemistry textbooks on the students’ bibliographies as a resource for syllabus design. Secondly, four corpora, two main and two sub-corpora produced from the physics and chemistry textbooks on the bibliographies of the undergraduates were analysed using Biber’s (1988) algorithms and functions for variation across speech and writing. The student intake was tested over five years and the results of those tests analysed. It was found that there was considerable variation in the students’ levels of language competence. However, there was a close correlation between the students’ competence and the number of years they had studied English in secondary school. Nevertheless there were students with extremely advanced competence and some with little or no competence in English amongst the undergraduates. Comprehension of scientific texts was generally found to correlate with more advanced competence and more years of study. The frequency and range word list showed the contexts which are appropriate for materials to be used with these students and demonstrated variation from many of the accepted views of the language of science and technology. The computer corpora analyses varied from Biber’s academic prose category. The sub-corpora demonstrated greatest variation which is believed to be as a result of specific cultural and/or literary material in the analogies used in the textbooks. The heavy load of cultural background knowledge which the reader would need in order to work with the textbooks adequately was also found in the exercises the students were supposed to use for practice on the topic presented in the chapter. This and the interpretation of visuals in the textbooks were considered to be two principle factors that needed to be emphasised in a syllabus for first year undergraduates. However, given the time constraints on language teaching for science and technology students, a methodology which would lead to greater student autonomy is suggested using computer corpus-based studies - data- viii driven learning and computer-supported distance communications and learning.Esta tese apresenta duas análises: primeiro uma análise de corpora computadorizados, criados a partir de livros dos estudantes de licenciaturas, para isolar a linguagem Inglesa (Americana) das ciências e tecnologias que apresentam; segundo uma análise dos conhecimentos da língua Inglesa que estes alunos apresentam ao iniciar os seus estudos universitários em ciências e tecnologias. Estas duas análises são postas em contraste para se aplicar os resultados obtidos ao desenho de um programa de língua Inglesa para os alunos do primeiro ano. Foi criada uma lista com a abrangência e a frequência das palavras de um corpus de larga base, para ser contrastada com os principais corpora compilados dos livros de física e química constantes das bibliografias dos estudantes, como uma fonte para o desenho de programas. Seguidamente, quatro corpora, dois principais e dois subordinados, produzidos a partir dos livros de física e química referidos nas bibliografias dos estudantes, foram analisados usando os algoritmos e funções de Biber (1988) para variações entre linguagem falada e escrita. Durante cinco anos, à entrada para a Universidade, os estudantes foram submetidos a testes e os resultados analisados. Constatou-se que havia variações consideráveis no nível de conhecimentos da língua por parte dos estudantes. Contudo, havia uma correlação apertada entre as competências dos estudantes e o número de anos que tinham estudado Inglês nas escolas secundárias. Todavia, havia estudantes com competências extremamente avançadas e outros com competências reduzidas, ou quase nulas, em Inglês. A compreensão de textos científicos estava geralmente correlacionada com os níveis mais avançados de competências e maior número de anos de estudo. A lista com a abrangência e a frequência das palavras mostrou os contextos apropriados dos materiais a utilizar com estes estudantes e demonstrou que havia diferenças em relação a muitos dos pontos de vista aceites em relação à linguagem das ciências e tecnologias. A análise dos corpora computadorizados varia das categorias da linguagem da prosa académica de Biber. Os corpora subordinados mostram uma maior variação, que se julga ser devida a materiais específicos, culturais e/ou literário, usados nas analogias dos livros de estudo. O grande peso dos conhecimentos de fundo de que os estudantes necessitam para trabalhar adequadamente com os livros de estudo foi, também, encontrado nos exercícios que necessitam de fazer para praticarem o que está referido nos tópicos dos capítulos. Isto, juntamente com a interpretação das imagens dos livros, foram considerados os dois principais factores a precisarem de ser relevados no programa para o primeiro ano dos estudantes. Contudo, atendendo às restrições de tempo x para o ensino de línguas a estudante de ciências e tecnologias, a metodologia que conduziria a maior autonomia dos alunos será baseada na utilização de corpora computadorizados (data-driven learning) e aprendizagem à distância assistida por computador

Evaluation of the development and application of multimedia computer assisted learning in Higher Education.

This thesis deals with approaches to the evaluation of multimedia computer assisted learning in higher education. The thesis is presented in two parts. The first part consists mainly of a literature based review of the rationale and methods employed in the development of multimedia CAL systems focusing on the ability of such systems to deliver a variety of pedagogic aims and objectives which the literature on the subject generally attributes to them. This was done in order to identify and examine the important features which should be incorporated in the effective evaluation of such systems. 1) the pedagogical basis of multimedia learning environments with particular reference to the mechanism by which they claim to encourage an approach to learning which facilitates 'deep' rather than 'shallow' learning' (Chapters 3 and 4); 2) the basis on which multimedia CAL systems claim to provide interactive learning environments which allow the teaching materials to be tailored by learners to accommodate their own individual preferences for adopting particular learning strategies. In particular this focused on the importance of individual learning styles and learners' degree of computer confidence (Chapter 5); 3) the institutional/delivery factors which must be understood to explain fully the context in which evaluations are carried out and which may have important effects on the outcomes of evaluation (Chapter 6). This literature review, together with a practical survey of a range of existing CAL courseware and an e-mail survey of CAL developers provides the basis for presenting an approach to evaluation which differentiates systems on the basis of the pedagogic approach they adopt and the context in which they are implemented. Finally, a critical review of existing evaluation methods was undertaken and important elements within these methods were incorporated into a new framework for evaluation. The framework provides a tool for determining an evaluation strategy that encompasses all stages of development, formative and summative evaluation of CAL courseware. Evaluation is based on the explicit aims and objectives of the courseware being provided and is moderated by contextual factors that define the pedagogical approach being taken, any individual learner differences that must be taken into account, and the institutional/delivery context within which the courseware is used. An analysis of the implications of the framework when formulating an evaluation strategy demonstrates weaknesses in the assessment instruments currently being used in evaluation studies - particularly for providing reliable measures of 'learning effect' as part of summative evaluation and also with respect to accurate quantification of costs associated with development and use of CAL courseware. The second part of the thesis tests the framework. The approach taken was to develop and formatively and summatively assess a multimedia CAL system used to teach parts of a course on bibliographic classification to students at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. Qualitative and quantitative tests to accomplish this are described and the result of statistical analyses of learner performance when using the system are presented. This empirical study provides further insights into the practical problems involved in developing and evaluating a multimedia CAL system and in particular highlights: 1) the influence which individual learning style (as measured by the Gregorc Style Delineator) has on student performance in a context in which postgraduate students were required to use the CAL courseware rather than attend lectures - results indicate that CAL does not serve all learners equally; 2) the importance of the delivery context in a study in which undergraduate students were provided with CAL materials to supplement the delivery of their course. The evaluation framework was found to be a robust framework for developing and testing didactic teaching packages which were developed in the context of improving the quality of the teaching and learning of bibliographic classification to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Recommendations are provided for future research based on using the framework to explore other contexts in which courseware is developed and implemented