A systematic review of pedagogical approaches that can effectively include children with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms with a particular focus on peer group interactive approaches

The broad background to this review is a long history of concepts of special pupils and special education, and a faith in special pedagogical approaches. The rise of inclusive schools and some important critiques of special pedagogy (e.g. Hart, 1996; Norwich and Lewis, 2001; Thomas and Loxley, 2001) have raised the profile of teaching approaches that ordinary teachers can and do use to include children with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms. Inclusive education itself is increasingly conceived as being about the quality of learning and participation that goes on in inclusive schools rather than simplistic matters of where children are place

Rich environments for active learning: a definition

Rich Environments for Active Learning, or REALs, are comprehensive instructional systems that evolve from and are consistent with constructivist philosophies and theories. To embody a constructivist view of learning, REALs: promote study and investigation within authentic contexts; encourage the growth of student responsibility, initiative, decision making, and intentional learning; cultivate collaboration among students and teachers; utilize dynamic, interdisciplinary, generative learning activities that promote higher-order thinking processes to help students develop rich and complex knowledge structures; and assess student progress in content and learning-to-learn within authentic contexts using realistic tasks and performances. REALs provide learning activities that engage students in a continuous collaborative process of building and reshaping understanding as a natural consequence of their experiences and interactions within learning environments that authentically reflect the world around them. In this way, REALs are a response to educational practices that promote the development of inert knowledge, such as conventional teacher-to-student knowledge-transfer activities. In this article, we describe and organize the shared elements of REALs, including the theoretical foundations and instructional strategies to provide a common ground for discussion. We compare existing assumptions underlying education with new assumptions that promote problem-solving and higher-level thinking. Next, we examine the theoretical foundation that supports these new assumptions. Finally, we describe how REALs promote these new assumptions within a constructivist framework, defining each REAL attribute and providing supporting examples of REAL strategies in action

Situated cognition in implementation : what teacher professional development looks like from a socio-psychological perspective

textMuch has been documented regarding the characteristics of effective professional development, but there is a conspicuous lack of research that attends to the ways that situational factors influence its implementation. Identifying and interpreting these factors can have important implications for designers and evaluators of professional development programs, especially if we are to understand knowledge construction as being culturally mediated, agentic, and situated within local contexts. This study seeks to uncover the social and psychological factors that mediate the way local actors implement professional development by analyzing how facilitators and teachers enact a large-scale professional development program in the absence of strict fidelity expectations.Educational Psycholog

Technology-enhanced Personalised Learning: Untangling the Evidence

Technology-enhanced personalised learning is not yet common in Germany, which is why we have tasked scientists with summarising the current status of international research on the matter. This study demonstrates the great potential of technology in implementing effective personalised learning. Nevertheless, it has not been assessed yet whether the practical implementation actually works: Even in countries such as the U.S., which lead the way in using techology in classroom settings, hardly any evaluation studies have been done to prove the effectiveness of technology-enhanced personalised learning. In the light of the above, the authors make recommendations for actions to be taken in Germany to make best use of the potential of technology in providing individual support and guidance to students

Introduction: Finding common ground beyond fragmentation

This chapter begins with an outline of the European context within which the twenty six research papers presented in this book emerged. A particularly important aspect of this context is Network 27 on Didactics, Learning and Teaching of the European Educational Research Association (EERA) which formed the core of the research community in which this work was developed over a five year period (2006-11). The next part of the chapter provides an overview of the six sections which make up the structure of the book as a whole. A discussion then follows of the clear continental divide with respect to didactics, learning and teaching in the European landscape which is based on the references used by the contributors to this book. This leads to a consideration of the historical origin of present-day didactics which can be traced back to a common heritage in the work of Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670) in order to provide a platform in the search for common ground. In the section which then follows there is a discussion of the didactic triad as a tool for holding the complexity of teaching-studying-learning situations and this is considered in an expanded context in which classroom interaction in the school is placed within a wider societal context. Based on a review of the contributions to this book, the final parts of this chapter consider existing knowledge gaps between different national traditions and also identify themes that form the basis for building and extending common ground. The themes that have been identified through this process of synthesis relate to pedagogical content knowledge, learner knowledge, joint didactical action, curriculum research, the so called shift from teaching to learning, the philosophy of Bildung and its practical implications, links between theory and practice and the significant role of experimental schools. Finally these themes are proposed for consideration within the wider research, policy and practice community as the basis for future international co-operation that offer the potential to advance mutual understanding and common insights in this fiel

Pedagogy, curriculum, teaching practices and teacher education in developing countries

This rigorous literature review focused on pedagogy, curriculum, teaching practices and teacher education in developing countries. It aimed to: 1. review existing evidence on the review topic to inform programme design and policy making undertaken by the DFID, other agencies and researchers 2. identify critical evidence gaps to guide the development of future research programme

Informing Writing: The Benefits of Formative Assessment

Examines whether classroom-based formative writing assessment - designed to provide students with feedback and modified instruction as needed - improves student writing and how teachers can improve such assessment. Suggests best practices

Rising to the challenge: supporting educators without arts experience in the delivery of authentic arts learning

Educators, policy makers and researchers have repeatedly affirmed the significance of a quality arts education in developing the capabilities necessary for 21st century citizenship. However, facilitating an Arts education can be extremely challenging, especially for the generalist classroom teacher who may not possess the necessary background learning across all five arts subjects. Revelations from the first phase of my doctoral research with Australian home educating parents identified a similar dilemma with the delivery of authentic Arts learning in home contexts. A significant proportion of the home educator study participants admitted to no educational or artistic training. My doctoral research project has sought to understand how Australian home educators approach arts education, of the challenges they face, and the way that existing knowledge and strengths are harnessed in delivering their children’s education. Moreover, using a Design Based Research approach, I have attempted to generate transformational research by working collaboratively with home educators to enact solutions to identified problems. This has resulted in the development and refinement of a website and online community aimed at supporting and enhancing home educators in the development of authentic arts learning, in addition to theoretical guidelines that can be applied to similar contexts. Thus, whilst home education is considered pedagogically distinct from institutional education, the findings of this project have highlighted that the challenges faced by home educating parents are very much like those faced by the generalist classroom teacher, and that similar means of support may be transferred across contexts

Developing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge in pre-service science teachers: Support from blended learning

The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework has been used to prepare pre-service science teachers at the Public Authority of Applied Education and Training in Kuwait for ICT integration in education. Pre-service teachers worked in teams to design an ICT solution for an authentic problem they faced during in-school training. Pre-service teachers were separated into two groups. The first group was coached by ICT, pedagogy, and content experts. The second group was offered a blended condition, by which they had access to an online portal with different tutorials and examples, with opportunities to meet with different experts whenever they wanted. Pre-test and post-test design data were collected for attitudes toward ICT, ICT skills, and TPACK. The findings show that the self-reported TPACK, the score of attitudes toward ICT, and ICT skills increased in both groups. However, the blended support condition reported a higher increase in the participants' technological knowledge (TK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), their attitude toward ICT as a tool for instruction and productivity, and ICT enjoyment. This indicated that students perceived the blended condition for supporting design teams as a more desirable method for enhancing their development of TPACK