Schooling in Cultural Context

A child\u27s culture may be the mainstream or dominant culture, or it may be one of many subcultures that can be found in almost any country. Children\u27s experiences and expectations are determined by their local communities, particular political and economic strata, and specific ethnic or cultural groups. Therefore, children need educational services that take into account their diverse cultural, economic and ethnic backgrounds. More than ever, those responsible for educational planning and delivering educational services must be responsive to children\u27s diverse needs. They must consider both the learners and the learning context when defining what type of education to produce. To be effective, education agendas must be provided in ways that focus upon sameness and difference, that recognize children\u27s uniqueness as well as their common ground, and that are rooted in each child\u27s primary frames of reference like family, society, and culture. Children\u27s development and learning can only be fully understood when viewed in the larger cultural context Today\u27s diverse, heterogeneous societies demand culturally responsive education practices and programs that can actively engage learners, help them build upon their own sense of identity, and increase their meaningful participation in and contribution to society

4 Practical Resources for Linking Service Learning and the Florida Sunshine State Standards

In the 1990s, the Florida Department of Education (FLDoE) and other state education agencies established and adopted education standards to cover major curricular areas in K-12 public education. Florida\u27s standards are linked with statewide assessments in reading, writing, mathematics, and science. The statewide assessment, termed the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test, or FCAT, is a primary tool used to evaluate student and school performance. Student promotion and graduation are based partly on FCAT scores. In addition, schools receive a grade each year, from A-F, based on their students\u27 FCA T performance and other weighted factors

Reviewing the Impact of the National Strategies Design and Technology Framework for Key Stage Three: A small-­‐scale evaluation of the Design and Technology Framework in England

Since the beginning of Design and Technology (D&T) in the English secondary school curriculum, the teaching of design has been identified as less effective than that of making. Research Questions: What are the experiences of pupils between the ages of 12 and 14 of design learning? Purpose of Study: In 2004 as part of the National Strategies, the D&T framework was launched, aiming to support the teaching of design skills. This is a small-­‐scale study, which begins to explore the experiences of pupils and teachers in four schools in the Northwest of England. Research Methods: The study used a mixed methods approach, gathering quantitative and qualitative data in a questionnaire with a convenience sample of school pupils. The questionnaire responses are analysed alongside qualitative interviews with D&T teachers from the schools. Findings: The findings indicate that many pupils had a clear understanding of the role of designing. However, some common assumptions of the nature of design activity centering on the act of sketching or drawing were evident. The majority of pupils were unable to accurately identify the names of many of the design activities introduced as part of the framework. Conclusions: Whilst some progress has been made in the teaching of design, through the use of design activities introduced in the D&T Framework, the support experienced by teachers was limited and were not sustained beyond the initial training. There are implications for initial teacher educators in supporting beginning teachers and balancing the tensions trainees experience whilst on placements in school. Key Words: Design, designing, pedagogy, teacher educatio

Young children\u27s acquisition of mathematical knowledge and mathematics education in kindergarten

Kindergarten is a bridge linking children\u27s informally learned mathematical knowledge to formal school-taught Mathematics; To gain a better understanding of young children\u27s acquisition of mathematical knowledge and actual mathematics teaching and learning in kindergarten, this dissertation aims to (1) examine existing literature on young children\u27s acquisition of mathematical knowledge, (2) examine existing literature on the current classroom practices in kindergarten, and (3) investigate actual classroom practices relating to mathematics teaching and learning in kindergarten;To investigate kindergarten classroom practices in mathematical teaching and learning, 30 Iowa kindergarten teachers and children in their classes were studied. Relations between the observed teaching and learning behaviors and developmental appropriateness scores were examined. Results indicated that mathematics teaching was integrated with other learning activities in kindergarten. Teachers spent about one-fourth of their classroom time teaching mathematics and kindergarten children spent about one-third of their classroom time participating in mathematics-related learning activities. Although the use of higher cognitive distancing was less frequent than use of low cognitive distancing across all learning activities in kindergarten, teachers used higher cognitive distancing during a greater proportion of mathematics teaching time than of time spent teaching nonmathematics-related activities. Kindergarten children\u27s classroom behaviors reflected their teachers\u27 teaching behaviors in that children spent more time responding to teachers\u27 higher cognitive distancing in learning mathematics than in learning nonmathematics-related activities. The study also found that the degree of kindergartens\u27 developmental appropriateness, as measured by the Assessment Profile for Early Childhood Programs, was correlated with the amount of time children spent participating in learning activities. Children in kindergartens whose practices were more in accord with the NAEYC guidelines on developmentally appropriate practices more frequently initiated learning-related conversations, such as asking questions and offering suggestions, than children in other kindergartens. They also had more opportunities to interact with the teacher, peers, and classroom materials. The theories supporting these findings and implications of the results are discussed

Statistics learning : a constructivist approach.

Tam Ha-ting.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-106).Abstracts in English and Chinese.Declaration --- p.2Acknowledgement --- p.3Abstract --- p.4本文摘要 --- p.5Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.8Chapter §1.1 --- The role of examination in the Hong Kong education systemChapter §1.2 --- Examination-oriented approach and teachingChapter §1.3 --- Examination-oriented approach and learningChapter §1.4 --- Cross-cultural comparisonsChapter §1.5 --- Evolution and impact of learning theoriesChapter §1.6 --- The layout of this thesisChapter Chapter 2 --- Behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning --- p.15Chapter §2.1 --- IntroductionChapter §2.2 --- Behavioral approachChapter §2.3 --- Ivan. Pavlov: Classical conditioningChapter §2.4 --- B. F. Skinner: Operant conditioningChapter §2.5 --- Components of behavioral learningChapter 2.5.1 --- The role of consequencesChapter 2.5.2 --- Schedule of reinforcementsChapter 2.5.3 --- ShapingChapter 2.5.4 --- Stimulus controlChapter §2.6 --- The impact of behavioral approach to teaching and learningChapter §2.7 --- Evaluation of behavior approachChapter §2.8 --- Rise of cognitive psychologyChapter Chapter 3 --- Constructivism --- p.35Chapter §3.1 --- Nature of knowledgeChapter §3.2 --- The acquisition of knowledgeChapter §3.3 --- Constructivist view of learningChapter §3.4 --- Piaget and constructivismChapter §3.5 --- The impact of constructivism on teaching and learningChapter §3.6 --- Evaluation of constructivismChapter Chapter 4 --- Constructivist approach to statistics learning --- p.62Chapter §4.1 --- Constructivist approach to science learningChapter 4.1.1 --- Physics instructionChapter 4.1.2 --- Mathematics instructionChapter §4.2 --- Constructivism and ill-structured disciplineChapter 4.2.1 --- Nature of ill-structured domain: Conceptual complexity and across-case irregularityChapter 4.2.2 --- Statistics as an ill-structured disciplineChapter 4.2.3 --- "Example: Statistics in sociology, 1950 -2000"Chapter 4.2.4 --- Constructivism based teaching strategies in ill-structured domainChapter §4.3 --- Development of on-line teachingChapter 4.3.1 --- Multiple representation of informationChapter 4.3.2 --- Interactive between users and the informationChapter Chapter 5 --- Case study --- p.83Chapter §5.1 --- Description of workshopChapter §5.2 --- Features of workshopChapter §5.3 --- EvaluationChapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusions --- p.91Bibliography --- p.9

The effect of teacher scaffolding and student comprehension monitoring on a multimedia/interactive videodisc science lesson for second graders

Imagery based computer instruction is predicted to have a major impact on educational curriculum in the next century. Yet research on the effectiveness of imagery technology for early elementary-age children is a relatively unexplored area. The purpose of this study was to examine age-appropriate uses of a multimedia/interactive videodisc (IVD) science lesson for second graders in two areas. First, the unique properties that these media offer as a stand-alone teaching tool were assessed. Second, the non-technological strategies of teacher scaffolding and comprehension monitoring as supplements to IVD programs were investigated. A learner controlled multimedia/IVD instructional program was specifically designed for this study. The learning objectives were to teach the scientific processes of classification and problem solving through observing, comparing, and contrasting two species of primates: apes and monkeys