Are Administrators Disconnected? A Comparison Case Study of Important Teacher Dispositions in Elementary Science

The identification of dispositions as a gauge for teacher effectiveness has become a part of many school systems and teacher education programs. Accrediting agencies, such as the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), have been instrumental in emphasizing teacher dispositions’ presence in higher education institutions and local schools. NCATE defines dispositions as: “Values, commitments, and professional ethics that influence behaviors toward students, families, colleagues, and communities and affect student learning, motivation, and development as well as the educator’s own professional growth” (2006, p. 53). NCATE and INTASC strongly suggest that teachers have certain dispositions to allow for teacher effectiveness (Smith, Knopp, Skarbek, & Rushton, 2005; Thornton, 2006; Koeppen & Davison-Jenkins, 2007). Administrators’ view of teacher dispositions is valuable as well. They will need to assess teachers’ dispositions to determine the effectiveness of instruction and their attitude towards the teaching profession

Phylogenetic Analysis of Bolivian Bat Trypanosomes of the Subgenus Schizotrypanum Based on Cytochrome b Sequence and Minicircle Analyses

The aim of this study was to establish the phylogenetic relationships of trypanosomes present in blood samples of Bolivian Carollia bats. Eighteen cloned stocks were isolated from 115 bats belonging to Carollia perspicillata (Phyllostomidae) from three Amazonian areas of the Chapare Province of Bolivia and studied by xenodiagnosis using the vectors Rhodnius robustus and Triatoma infestans (Trypanosoma cruzi marenkellei) or haemoculture (Trypanosoma dionisii). The PCR DNA amplified was analyzed by nucleotide sequences of maxicircles encoding cytochrome b and by means of the molecular size of hyper variable regions of minicircles. Ten samples were classified as Trypanosoma cruzi marinkellei and 8 samples as Trypanosoma dionisii. The two species have a different molecular size profile with respect to the amplified regions of minicircles and also with respect to Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma rangeli used for comparative purpose. We conclude the presence of two species of bat trypanosomes in these samples, which can clearly be identified by the methods used in this study. The presence of these trypanosomes in Amazonian bats is discussed

Building the Authority of Experience in Communities of Practice: The Development of Preservice Teachers\u27 Practical Knowledge through Coteaching in Inquiry Classrooms

Secondary science methods students\u27 thinking on coteaching practice was studied for the development of conscious elements of practical teacher knowledge supporting the use of structured inquiry. Reflective dialogue on practice in an electronic forum was analyzed for elements of formal learning and biography (past and present) that informed thinking on practice. Changes in thinking over time were considered in light of observed practice, including methods students\u27 thinking about inquiry through use of STC curriculum. Three concepts related to experience in learning to teach in this model emerged from the data: (a) movement from cultural acclimation to reflection on inquiry practice, (b) thinking through past educational knowledge and experience, and (c) integrating knowledge and experience in practice. Discussion highlights the integration of formal knowledge, biography, and peripheral participation with development of knowledge of students in learning to teach in this model. Implications for preservice teacher education highlight the important aspects of learning to teach in practice in order to begin developing practical teacher knowledge for teaching using structured inquiry

Science Teacher Educators as K-12 Teacher: Practicing What We Preach

Science teacher educators prepare and provide professional development for teachers at all grade levels. They seek to improve conditions in classroom teaching and learning, professional development, and teacher recruitment and retention. Science Teacher Educators as K-12 Teachers: Practicing What We Teach tells the story of sixteen teacher educators who stepped away from their traditional role and entered the classroom to teach children and adolescents in public schools and informal settings. It details the practical and theoretical insights that these members of the Association of Science Teacher Educators (ASTE) earned from experiences ranging from periodic guest teaching to full-time engagement in the teaching role. Science Teacher Educators as K-12 Teachers shows science teacher educators as professionals engaged in reflective analysis of their beliefs about and experiences with teaching children or adolescents science. With their ideas about instruction and learning challenged, these educators became more aware of the circumstances today\u27s teachers face. Their honest accounts reveal that through teaching children and adolescents, teacher educators can also renew themselves and expand their identities as well as their understanding of themselves in the profession and in relation to others. Science Teacher Educators as K-12 Teachers will appeal to all those with an interest in science education, from teacher educators to science teachers, as well as teacher educators in other disciplines. Its narratives and insights may even inspire more teacher educators to envision new opportunities to serve teachers, K-12 learners and the local community through a variety of teaching arrangements in public schools and informal education settings.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/facbooks2014/1047/thumbnail.jp

Computing Subgroups by Exhibition in Finite Solvable Groups

We present practical algorithms to compute subgroups such as Hall systems, system normalizers, F-normalizers and F-covering subgroups in finite solvable groups. An application is an algorithm to calculate head complements in finite solvable groups; that is, complements which are closely related to maximal subgroups. Our algorithms use the technique of exhibiting subgroups. Subgroups such as Hall systems, system normalizers, F-normalizers and F-covering subgroups arise naturally in the study of finite solvable groups. Here we present practical algorithms to compute such subgroups. Besides being of interest in the theory of formations, the algorithms also yield fast methods for constructing head complements. These complements are closely related to the maximal subgroups of the underlying group and they also arise in the determination of special polycyclic generating sequences for solvable groups. Such sequences have proved to be of central importance for fast computations with finite solvable groups, and thus a practical method to obtain them has important applications. Our approach is to start with a special type of generating set for a given solvabl

Science Teacher Educators as K-12 Teachers: Practicing what we teach

Science teacher educators prepare and provide professional development for teachers at all grade levels. They seek to improve conditions in classroom teaching and learning, professional development, and teacher recruitment and retention.Science Teacher Educators as K-12 Teachers: Practicing What We Teach tells the story of sixteen teacher educators who stepped away from their traditional role and entered the classroom to teach children and adolescents in public schools and informal settings. It details the practical and theoretical insights that these members of the Association of Science Teacher Educators (ASTE) earned from experiences ranging from periodic guest teaching to full-time engagement in the teaching role. Science Teacher Educators as K-12 Teachers shows science teacher educators as professionals engaged in reflective analysis of their beliefs about and experiences with teaching children or adolescents science. With their ideas about instruction and learning challenged, these educators became more aware of the circumstances today\u27s teachers face. Their honest accounts reveal that through teaching children and adolescents, teacher educators can also renew themselves and expand their identities as well as their understanding of themselves in the profession and in relation to others. Science Teacher Educators as K-12 Teachers will appeal to all those with an interest in science education, from teacher educators to science teachers, as well as teacher educators in other disciplines. Its narratives and insights may even inspire more teacher educators to envision new opportunities to serve teachers, K-12 learners and the local community through a variety of teaching arrangements in public schools and informal education settings.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/facbooks2013/1013/thumbnail.jp

Practicing What We Teach: A Self-Study in Implementing an Inquiry-Based Curriculum in a Middle Grades Classroom

A science teacher educator returned to teaching adolescents after more than 10 years in the professoriate. We studied his beliefs, practice and daily use of inquiry pedagogy while implementing a reform-based curriculum. Reflection on practice was evidenced by a weekly journal, classroom observations and debriefings, and extensive interviews. Newly developed practical knowledge from this experience shifted the science teacher educator’s beliefs away from the Piagetian structuralism espoused in prescribed curricula towards a more culturally responsive, student-driven approach to teaching science to middle grades students. The merits and limitations of curricula attempting to follow traditional scientific practices are discussed

Science Teacher Educators as K-12 TeachersPracticing what we teach /

IX, 322 p. 63 illus.online resource