Why Law Teachers Should Teach Undergraduates

For many years, members of the law school faculty at Cornell have taught an introduction to law course that is offered by the government department in the College of Arts and Sciences. The course has surveyed law in general, structured thematically around what law is and what law can and cannot do. Although its teachers have used law school pedagogic techniques in the undergraduate setting, they certainly have not intended the course to be a prelaw practice run. In short, the course--The Nature, Functions, and Limits of Law--is a general education course about law. Our experience leads us to believe that law teachers should teach undergraduate courses on law

Why Law Teachers Should Teach Undergraduates

For many years, members of the law school faculty at Cornell have taught an introduction to law course that is offered by the government department in the College of Arts and Sciences. The course has surveyed law in general, structured thematically around what law is and what law can and cannot do. Although its teachers have used law school pedagogic techniques in the undergraduate setting, they certainly have not intended the course to be a prelaw practice run. In short, the course--The Nature, Functions, and Limits of Law--is a general education course about law. Our experience leads us to believe that law teachers should teach undergraduate courses on law

Report on a Boston University Conference December 7-8, 2012 on 'How Can the History and Philosophy of Science Contribute to Contemporary U.S. Science Teaching?'

This is an editorial report on the outcomes of an international conference sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) (REESE-1205273) to the School of Education at Boston University and the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University for a conference titled: How Can the History and Philosophy of Science Contribute to Contemporary U.S. Science Teaching? The presentations of the conference speakers and the reports of the working groups are reviewed. Multiple themes emerged for K-16 education from the perspective of the history and philosophy of science. Key ones were that: students need to understand that central to science is argumentation, criticism, and analysis; students should be educated to appreciate science as part of our culture; students should be educated to be science literate; what is meant by the nature of science as discussed in much of the science education literature must be broadened to accommodate a science literacy that includes preparation for socioscientific issues; teaching for science literacy requires the development of new assessment tools; and, it is difficult to change what science teachers do in their classrooms. The principal conclusions drawn by the editors are that: to prepare students to be citizens in a participatory democracy, science education must be embedded in a liberal arts education; science teachers alone cannot be expected to prepare students to be scientifically literate; and, to educate students for scientific literacy will require a new curriculum that is coordinated across the humanities, history/social studies, and science classrooms.Comment: Conference funded by NSF grant REESE-1205273. 31 page

Teaching Academic Concepts in a Play-Based Preschool Environment: A Case Study of Guided Play across Three Classrooms

This qualitative study examined interactions between preschool children and teachers during guided-play activities. These interactions were studied through observations and interviews in a case-study format. Classrooms were observed for 1 hour per week over the course of 4 weeks. Teachers were interviewed following each observation. All three preschool classrooms were located in northern California and belonged to the same chain of schools. A total of six teachers and 75 students participated in the study. Three main research questions drove the course of the study. The first research question examined the types of interactions between experienced preschool teachers and students during guided play. The second research question dealt with how preschool children respond to different types of interactions during guided play. Finally, the third research question involved recommendations for how school leaders can help teachers use their knowledge of each child’s individual abilities to make guided play more effective in the classroom. The study revealed that teacher interactions were extremely beneficial to student learning in a play-based environment. Teachers in each classroom organized a set of hands-on activities each day through which the children rotated. The activities had specific learning goals and objectives. Many activities were in the children’s zone of proximal development (ZPD), which is defined as the area between “the most difficult task a child can do alone and the most difficult task a child can do with help” (Vygotsky, 1986, p.83). Working in the ZPD requires some teacher support and interaction, as these are the types of activities children cannot do independently. Proper scaffolding is necessary when children are working toward a goal that is slightly above what they can do without assistance. Preschool teachers should take this into consideration when planning lessons and guided play activities. School leaders can support teachers by providing more training on how to manage guided play with a large group of children, as individualized attention is necessary for successful implementation. Suggestions for training topics are detailed in the findings and discussion of this study

A Proposed Program for Organization and Administration of Guidance Services in a Small Elementary School

The incidence of small schools that do not have organized programs and services that are found in the larger schools is fairly frequent (25). If administrators of some of these schools believe that such programs of service are not needed, this is a false assumption (17). Other administrators may believe that they cannot offer these services because of the lack of special personnel to head or direct these services (17). In such cases, it is possible to prove that classroom teachers can and would perform most of these duties within an organized program. But, because of the lack of organization, the teachers in schools without such programs are deprived of activities and services needed. These children are not receiving the education that should be guaranteed them—an education they should have, and the teachers of these children are unable to be as effective as they otherwise could be. This is not to say that small schools should mimic the larger schools, rather, they should try to be more effective with what they have. Thus, the purpose of establishing this program was, (1) to point out the need of an organized guidance service program in small elementary schools, (2) to identify specific services and activities, and (3) to show that these services, and even others, may be offered by small schools without access to specially trained personnel. It is not the purpose here to disparage the need for personnel with special guidance training, but rather to indicate that which can be accomplished without such personnel

Collaborative writing through GoogleDocs: An individual reflection

Communication is one of 21st century skills students need to acquire. The communication skill, of course, covers both oral and written form, especially in this digital era. Therefore, the teaching of writing should become of one of our priorities. Writing is a process, not merely a product. However, we commonly neglect the writing process since we cannot observe or accompany students in all stages of writing: planning, drafting, revising, and proofreading. The presence of technology can help teachers to address this issue. This paper will describe in detail what the writer has experienced in an online course while he was doing the collaborative writing assignment. It is a self-reflection on how technology has connection with English language teaching. It will present how GoogleDocs as collaborative software can integrate students, who are from different countries: Taiwan, Croatia, Turkey and Indonesia, to collaboratively do all stages of writing. It will explain how this activity promotes some advantages for the students: the joyful of writing, the collaborative value in work, and technology literacy. It will also share the step-by-step ideas on how to apply GoogleDocs for teaching writing so for those who are interested in utilizing this tool can use it in their classroom. Finally, it is expected that this article can increase teachers’ awareness that the use of technology will benefitted both the teachers and the students in learning process

TEACHER INSIGHTS AND FACILITATION OF EQUITABLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR DIVERSE & ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN SCIENCE CLASSROOMS

The number of diverse students within the American school system Is growing vastly. Researchers predict that language minority students will comprise over 40 percent of elementary and secondary students by 2030 (Thomas. Collier, & National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education, 1997). English language learners are the fastest-growing learner population, with 60% within the last 15years (Breiseth, 2015). However, the school setting does not adequately serve the needs of diverse students and. more so, those that are Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLO), such as ELLs. This study intends to examine how science teachers are creating equitable learning spaces and experiences within their classrooms for English Language learners and other diverse learners. The main research question that was studied is \u27In what ways do science teachers conceptualize equitable learning spaces and experiences within their classrooms for diverse language learners?\u27. The research question was examined through Interviews and focus groups. The significant findings of this study are that teachers play an essential role In creating equitable learning environments. It is challenging and complex for teachers to build these environments for students without the support of equity-focused professional development. Teachers can develop their pedagogical design to exceed Banks\u27 (1998} multicultural approaches past level two through equity-focused professional development. Students are essential, their backgrounds are Important. and their cultural differences are an asset to their learning. In the classroom, students should not feel like the inaccessible curriculum is penalizing them because of their cultural background. We cannot change our backgrounds or ethnicities, and they should not be held against us, especially in school

The Teacher is the Violent Existence : Looking at the origin of the corporal punishment

This paper is an attempt of looking hard at the violent nature of teacher existence. To do it, this paper focuses on corporal punishments which are the model of the violent nature of teacher existence. Problems of corporal punishments were discussed as right-wrong problem. But, it is nonsense because corporal punishments have already occurred. Therefore, we have to stop judging corporal punishments right or wrong, and expose the violent nature of teacher existence that producing corporal punishments. We cannot discuss about solutions of corporal punishments till it is attempted. This paper’s conclusion is following: 1) the essence of school that attempting to change students is violence and organizes the violent nature of teacher existence. 2) when teachers cannot control students, they use corporal punishments to restore their authority. 3) when teachers want to be good teacher and get some crisis, they use corporal punishments to protect themselves. 1) is never got rid of till we continue to carry on school education. 2) can be prevented with getting of teacher existence. is a principle that students depend on teachers voluntary. 3) can be prevented by self-reflection of teachers. Teachers should think that“ why do I want to be a teacher” and“ what is educational destination that I want to go to”

An Assessment of the Principal’s Practice in Delegation of Authority to Teachers in Some Selected Public Primary Schools of Wolkite Town Administration

The purpose of this study was to assess the principal’s practice in delegation of authority to teachers in wolkite town some selected public primary schools. In doing so, investigate the major problem and to provide possible improvement ways, the study was focused on addressing three basis or leading research questions, (a) to what extent school principals practice in delegation of authority? (b) Does authority delegated co-equal with responsibility? (c) How principals do pass their time in development activities? The objective of the study was generally to investigate major problems and to provide ways of improving the delegation practice of principals in wolkite town public primary schools. The study would be useful and timely because our education system now a day’s give due consideration for quality educational leadership and management as one part of the six educational quality assurance program. This study would provide some insight to improve the management capacity of principals from delegation prospective. The study was mainly focused and delimited on the principal’s practice in delegation of authority. Different literatures related to the issue were used to strength the study. Descriptive survey research design with both quantitative and qualitative method was concurrently used, and data was primarily collected through questionnaires and interview from primary school principals and teachers. Out of 5 public primary schools, 3 schools were selected through simple random sampling techniques from these schools 40 teachers and 3 principals were selected through sample random sampling and comprehensive sampling techniques respectively. The finding of the study revealed that there is moderate level of effective delegation practice on the part of the principal, yet teachers were reluctant to accept and carryout delegation of authority. The conclusion drawn from this study were mainly, there is no proper delegation authority, principals do not grant proper authority with assigned responsibility, and the principal does not append his time on development activities. Consequently, to improve the delegation practice of principals the major recommendations forwarded are principals should provide proportional authority to task delegated for teachers, it should be clearly spelled out in written form and monthly and quarterly meeting and report program should be set, the principal should clearly identify tasks that can be delegated and that cannot be delegated, individual teachers best performance in the school should be recognized, and incentives should be made available. Keywords: Delegation, Authority, Accountability, Decentralization, Responsibility and Primary Schools. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-7-04 Publication date:March 31st 202