The initial education of high school teachers : a critical review of major issues and trends

This paper draws on major research findings in international literature in order to provide a critical review of a number of key issues and trends in the initial education of high school teachers. Firstly, this paper contextualizes the prevalent discourse surrounding the field of initial teacher education (ITE) and explores the effect that this discourse has on the conceptualization of teachers’ work. Secondly, this paper focuses on the debates regarding the most propitious site for the teacher education enterprise, the programme structure for ITE, the field placement or practicum, the relationship between subject study and pedagogy, and the overall effectiveness of teacher education. The paper concludes by considering the new challenges that the field of initial teacher education must confront and the implications of such challenges for the ITE curriculum.peer-reviewe

Investigating the use of sensor-based IoET to facilitate learning for children in rural Thailand

A novel sensor-based Internet of Educational Things (IoET) platform named OBSY was iteratively designed, developed and evaluated to support education in rural regions in Thailand. To assess the effectiveness of this platform, a study was carried out at four primary schools located near the Thai northern border with 244 students and 8 teachers. Participants were asked to carry out three science-based learning activities and were measured for improvements in learning outcome and learning engagement. Overall, the results showed that students in the IoET group who had used OBSY to learn showed significantly higher learning outcome and had better learning engagement than those in the control condition. In addition, for those in the IoET group, there was no significant effect regarding gender, home location (Urban or Rural), age, prior experience with technology and ethnicity on learning outcome. For learning engagement, only age was found to influence interest/enjoyment. The study demonstrated the potential of IoET technologies in underprivileged area, through a co-design approach with teachers and students, taking into account the local contexts

Investigating science teachers’ transformations when implementing inquiry-based teaching-learning sequences

In this study we aimed to investigate the most transformed/accepted aspects of scientific inquiry when it is implemented in classroom practice. Thirteen secondary school teachers participated in the study. The teachers were first involved in a professional development (PD) course aimed at familiarizing them with inquiry principles, using seven teaching-learning sequences (TLSs) as training contexts. Then, teachers implemented one TLS in their classrooms for at least 5 h. A knowledge transfer framework, Adaption and Re-Invention Model, was used to investigate teachers’ transfer of TLS in classroom practice. In particular, core and non-core elements of the TLSs were identified: core elements are essential features of inquiry teaching that should not be changed while implementing a TLS since they characterize it in a unique way. Non-core elements concern classroom management and activities timing and can be changed to fit the TLS into the specific educational context. Collected data have been audio/video recordings. Results show that most accepted aspects of inquiry teaching are related to data collection, support to students, activities timing, and homework tasks. Moreover, most teachers acted as resource persons and valued classroom discussions. Overall, our findings may usefully inform PD courses by providing evidence of teachers’ enactment of inquiry in their practice