From theory to practice: A case study of technology-enhanced O2O teaching

Stimulated by the isolation requirement of COVID-19 lockdown, online teaching method has been widely adopted by worldwide academic institutions and has been playing an essential role in accelerating education reform. While both traditional classroom teaching and pure online teaching have their drawbacks, an integrated online to offline (O2O) precision teaching model is considered to be the new trend. With the support of information technology, O2O precision teaching is capable of monitoring students’ behavior closely and tailoring the curriculum for each student. This study designed a detailed platform-based O2O precision teaching model and applied it to the Chinese Business Culture course teaching. Traditional offline teaching was also conducted as a control. Both test scores and student feedback were collected and analyzed. Results show that the technology-enhanced O2O precision teaching model can improve students’ test performance and various soft skills and has their high degree of satisfaction in the meantime, indicating that it can work as a promising new teaching model

Assessment of core teaching competency of health professional educators in Ethiopia:an institution-based cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES: Understanding the competency of educators is key to informing faculty development, recruitment and performance monitoring. This study aimed to assess the core teaching competency of nursing, midwifery and biomedical educators, and associated factors in Ethiopia. DESIGN: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2020 using structured tools adapted from the WHO’s nurse and midwifery educator competency frameworks. SETTING: Two health science colleges and nine student practice sites in Ethiopia. PARTICIPANTS: All classroom instructors and clinical preceptors of nursing, midwifery and biomedical technician training programmes, and all the graduating class students. MEASURES: Overall teaching competency scores, teaching domain competency scores, competency gaps and performance gaps of educators were outcome measures. Past training on teaching skills courses, teaching experiences and sociodemographic characteristics of educators are associated factors. RESULTS: Most educators were not trained in teaching methods (82%). The teaching competency scores of classroom instructors and clinical preceptors were 61.1% and 52.5%, respectively. Competency gaps were found in using active learning methods, performance assessment, feedback and digital learning. Professional background of classroom instructors had a significant and strong association with their competency score (p=0.004; V=0.507). Age and teaching experience of clinical preceptors had significant associations with their competency score (p=0.023 and p=0.007, respectively) and had strong associations (V=0.280 and 0.323, respectively). Sex of students and their perceptions of how well the educators give education resources had a significant and strong association (p<0.001; V=0.429). CONCLUSIONS: Nursing, midwifery and biomedical educators lacked the competency to undertake important teaching roles, which could contribute to the low quality of education. More attention should be given to strengthening faculty development

Improving Instructional Practice: The Value of Classroom Goal Teams as Measured by Elementary Teachers\u27 Perceptions

Student achievement is in the forefront of education as never before. Educators, parents, business leaders, community members, and politicians are all actively watching reports of student achievement. Wong (2003) found in more than 200 studies, the only way to improve student achievement is with a knowledgeable and skillful teacher. The expertise of a teacher is a critical variable in effecting student achievement (Marzano, 2003). In this study, Classroom Goals Team Project (CGTP) was utilized as a professional development program to bring about improvements in teaching and learning in an effort to positively impact student achievement. The CGTP, implemented in a suburban school district in Nebraska, is a process where classroom teachers were asked to identify an area of concern within their classroom based upon student performance assessment data. The major finding of the CGTP indicates the teachers of this district view the CGTP as an effective professional development model and classroom goals team meetings were perceived as productive by 89% of the teachers. Other findings of this study focus on the impact of five constructs identified in the research as critical to effective professional development programs. These constructs are: learning community/ collaborative teams, quality teaching/ instructional practices, leadership, data driven decision making, and equity. A benefit of the CGTP was the foundation for fundamental change in attitudes and perceptions of what professional development looks like and sounds like in this district. Professional development has gone beyond a one day, shot in the dark event to a much higher level of active engagement and monitoring of successful implementation with consistent and frequent feedback from peers. Students had an increased opportunity to learn through the CGTP, which according to Berlinger & Biddle (1997) is the single most powerful predictor of student achievement. The results of the review of literature and the data from this study support the need to have a professional development program, which is .student achievement driven, and teacher focused in learning communities

Research-based decision making: a comparison of final results of history teaching in two predefined groups of trainee teachers

This article stems from a research project conducted into possible factors involved in classroom learning. The project is based on a comparison of the academic performance of two groups within the subject of history teaching which, despite their morphological similarity, achieved different results. Analysis was carried out by comprehensively monitoring the individual activities of each student using the Moodle platform at the University of Barcelona. The project analyzed university entrance exams, academic performance in previous courses, academic backgrounds and other minor factors. The research concluded that none of these factors was decisive, meaning that other seemingly less important factors such as the emergence of leadership in the class and the management thereof during the academic yea must be studied in depth in order to illuminate the issue

Rethinking Teacher Evaluation in Chicago

Presents findings from the Excellence in Teaching Pilot, which included training and support, classroom observations, and feedback in principal-teacher conferences. Examines implementation issues and the validity and reliability of observation ratings

Assessing Learning-Centered Leadership: Connections to Research, Professional Standards, and Current Practices

Describes an assessment model designed to evaluate school leaders' performance. Unlike existing tools, this new system will assess both individuals and teams, and focuses specifically on instructional leadership and behaviors that improve learning

Schools Can't Wait: Accelerating the Redesign of University Principal Preparation Programs

Reviews recent efforts by 22 universities to provide higher quality training programs for school leaders. Includes examples of effective redesign practices and outlines an action plan for implementing successful educational leadership initiatives

Coping Skills for Students with ADHD

Students diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are often seen as problem students with little hope for academic success. It is common for these students to be medicated with a daily dosage of stimulants to help them function more appropriately in the classroom. This meta-synthesis identifies multiple ways to work with students with ADHD; effective interventions can help students with ADHD cope with their disorder and become more successful students