Mediated Authentic Video: A Flexible Tool Supporting a Developmental Approach to Teacher Education

You Tube now has more searches than Google, indicating that video is a motivating and, potentially, powerful learning tool. This paper investigates how we can embrace video to support improvements in teacher education. It will draw on innovative approaches to teacher education, developed by the Open University UK, in order to explore in more depth the potential of video. It will use case studies from three continents, and draw on research from different sources, in order to highlight the successes and the challenges. Looking across the examples presented, the paper will describe models of teacher learning and video use, and demonstrate that video can add value to teacher development activities provided that appropriate support and mediation, consistent with the pedagogy that is being promoted, is in place. Sustainable Development Goal 4 emphasizes the importance of improving the quality of the experiences that children have in school. This requires new models for teacher education, and has become an urgent issue. Video could be a significant part of the solution

Moving forward with TESSA: what is the potential for MOOCs?

Teacher Education in sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) is an educational development project run by The Open University, UK. Working collaboratively with partners in Africa, The Open University published (in 2010) a set Open Educational Resources (OER) which support teachers in developing participatory approaches to learning. With the global focus for education shifting from ‘access’ to ‘quality’ (Sustainable Development Goal, 2015) the TESSA OER remain as relevant as ever; student-centred pedagogy is at the heart of the development of 21st Century skills. In a similar project, Teacher Education through School-based support in India (TESS-India) The Open University developed a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to support teacher educator professional development. The purpose of this paper is to present the TESSA strategy for 2016-2019 and to draw on data from the TESS-India MOOC in order to argue for a MOOC for African teacher educators. The MOOC had an innovative design drawing on socio-cultural theories of learning; it was task-based, with face-to-face facilitation provided in the project’s target states. Data comes from pre-and post- course surveys for the MOOC; weekly surveys conducted during the pilot phase and weekly reports from MOOC facilitators, including some case studies. The response to the MOOC was overwhelmingly positive and a completion rate of 51% was achieved (compared to the average for MOOCs of around 12%). Whilst acknowledging that the African context is different, the TESSA team believe that a MOOC for teacher educators in Africa would support the strategic objective of improving teacher education across the continent

Teacher Educators as Agents of Change? A Critical Realist Study of a Group of Teacher Educators in a Kenyan University

This study focuses on the professional identity of a group of teacher educators in a Kenyan university. In order to improve student outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa, the quality of teaching and therefore the quality of teacher education (TE) needs to improve. Policy aspirations across the region call for a greater focus on the teaching and learning of skills, attitudes and values, with many making specific reference to learner-centred education (LCE); teachers need to change their practice, which means that teacher educators need to change as well. The study concludes that these pedagogic changes require a public consensus around the nature of knowledge about teaching, alongside conscious efforts to create opportunities for collaboration amongst teacher educators. The context for the study is the Teacher Education in sub Saharan Africa (TESSA) programme of activities, run by The Open University alongside African partners, designed to support improvements in teaching and in teacher education. At the heart of the programme is a bank of Open Educational Resources (OERs). Experience gathered over the last ten years, suggests that achieving pedagogic change in teacher education is challenging; many will mediate the OERs for teachers, but do not see them as being relevant to their own practice. This study set about to determine why this is the case. Working within a critical realist framework, the perceived agency of five teacher educators was investigated, alongside the nature of the social structures in the institution in which they work and the way in which the structures interact to constrain and empower agency, with respect to pedagogic change. Analysis of data from documents, observations and interviews revealed a number of disconnections between theory and practice, and led to the identification for two underlying ‘causal mechanisms’ concerning the nature of knowledge about teaching and the importance of collaborative spaces. TESSA is identified as a causal mechanism that has not been fully activated in this institution. This has highlighted ways in which we can work more effectively with this professional group. The study has also demonstrated that critical realism can provide a robust theoretical framework for small-scale qualitative research

Design characteristics of a pipe crawling robot

This thesis deals with the design characteristics of a pipe crawling vehicle which utilises a unique, innovative and patented drive system. The principle of the drive system is simple. That is, if a brush is inserted into a pipe and its bristles are swept back at an angle, then, it is easier to push the brush forwards through the pipe than it is to pull it backwards. Thus, if two brushes are interconnected by a reciprocating cylinder, then, by cycling the cylinder, it is possible for the vehicle to "crawl" through the pipe. The drive mechanism has two main advantages. The first is the ability of the bristles to deflect over or around obstacles, thus, the vehicles can be used in severely damaged pipes. Secondly, the drive mechanism is able to generate extremely high "grip" forces, thus, the vehicle has a high payload to weight ratio. This "simple" traction mechanism has subsequently been proven to be extremely capable in significantly hostile environments, for example, nuclear plants and sewers. The development of the vehicle has resulted in brushes being considered as "engineering" components. This thesis considers the forces present when a brush moves forward through a pipe, further, it also considers the forces present if the brush is required to grip the walls of the pipe. A "simple" cantilever model has been developed which predicts the force required to push a brush forwards through the pipe. A second model has been developed which predicts the forward to reverse or "slip" to "grip" ratio of a brush, for given functional conditions. This model is deemed satisfactory up to the onset of bristle buckling. The experimental program determined three factors, they were, the force required to load a brush into a pipe, the force required to push a brush forward through a pipe and the reverse force a brush could support prior to failure. It can be concluded that this vehicle, through its tractive capability arid environmental compliance, is able to traverse irregularly shaped pipes. Ultimately, this allows tooling to be transported and used at previously unobtainable positions within such pipes

Teachers Taught, Lessons Learnt: Experiences of Using Video to Support Teacher Learning on Three Continents

This paper will focus on innovative approaches taken by the Open University UK, to school-based pre- and inservice teacher training, using video, across 3 continents – Africa, Asia and South America. It will use case studies to demonstrate various approaches, surfacing teachers’ voices and experiences of new ways of learning. It will share the successes and challenges of using video to support teacher education at scale and describe the impact that the training has had on teachers and their teaching. By examining common features across the examples presented, the paper will draw on models of teacher learning and video use and demonstrate that technology can add value to teacher development activities provided that appropriate support, consistent with the pedagogy that is being promoted, is in place

Teachers Taught, Lessons Learnt: Experiences of Using Video to Support Teacher Learning on Three Continents

This paper will focus on innovative approaches taken by the Open University UK, to school-based pre- and inservice teacher training, using video, across 3 continents – Africa, Asia and South America. It will use case studies to demonstrate various approaches, surfacing teachers’ voices and experiences of new ways of learning. It will share the successes and challenges of using video to support teacher education at scale and describe the impact that the training has had on teachers and their teaching. By examining common features across the examples presented, the paper will draw on models of teacher learning and video use and demonstrate that technology can add value to teacher development activities provided that appropriate support, consistent with the pedagogy that is being promoted, is in place

Challenges and Opportunities in the Implementation of School-Based Teacher Professional Development: A Case from Kenya

This study investigated how a school-based professional development programme, designed by the Headteacher and staff of a Kenyan primary school, and delivered by a Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) team, supported teacher learning and growth. The TESSA team observed teaching in the classroom before the implementation of the school-based teacher professional programme. This was followed by the training of the teachers in the school. The TESSA team did an evaluation of the school-based training programme through classroom observation, an interview schedule and a teacher questionnaire. The evaluations were done three months and one year, respectively, after the school-based training. The findings indicate that teachers experienced professional growth through collaborative learning with colleagues, used a greater range of approaches and learned to self-reflect on their classes with more use of active learning. Teachers made productive use of textbooks as well as accessing and using TESSA OER in teaching

A neonicotinoid insecticide reduces fueling and delays migration in songbirds

NSERC Discovery, Kenneth M Molson Foundation, NSERC RTI, Mitacs AcceleratePeer ReviewedNeonicotinoids are neurotoxic insecticides widely used as seed treatments, but little is known of their effects on migrating birds that forage in agricultural areas. We tracked the migratory movements of imidacloprid-exposed songbirds at a landscape scale using a combination of experimental dosing and automated radio telemetry. Ingestion of field-realistic quantities of imidacloprid (1.2 or 3.9 milligrams per kilogram body mass) by white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) during migratory stopover caused a rapid reduction in food consumption, mass, and fat and significantly affected their probability of departure. Birds in the high-dose treatment stayed a median of 3.5 days longer at the site of capture after exposure as compared with controls, likely to regain fuel stores or recover from intoxication. Migration delays can carry over to affect survival and reproduction; thus, these results confirm a link between sublethal pesticide exposure and adverse outcomes for migratory bird populations

Taking ownership: Including all teachers in SBCPD

The Zambian Education School based Training (ZEST) programme (2017 - 2022), funded by the Scottish Government, is an innovative response to government policy which engages all levels of the education system . Ministers in Zambia recognise that CPD provision based on the cascade model which takes teachers away from scho ol is disruptive and expensive , and often not effective , as key messages become diluted by the time they reach teachers . However, the alternative system in place in Zambia (modelled on the Japanese system of Lesson Study) has not delivered the expected ga ins in learning outcomes, partly as a result of a lack of resources, and partly as a result of the challenges of ‘cultural transfer’ . ZEST was designed, in partnership with The Ministry of General Education and World Vision Zambia. The system preserves t he aspects of current practice which work well (collaborative planning in regular teacher group meetings), and operationalises the MoGE’s revised Zambian school curriculum, supporting teachers and stakeholders in making a pedagogic shift to a more learner - centred approach to learning and teaching. ZEST strengthens the existing system through the provision of resources made available to all stakeholders and adapts it for the African context. The resources draw on a wide evidence - base about the nature of teacher learning and learner - cent re d education . They include the Teacher Education in sub - Saharan Africa (TESSA) OER, alongside bespoke training guides , and video materials . The paper explains the ZEST approach and present s evidence of impact, drawn from the first cohort of 200 teachers from the Chisamba district, including the challenges faced since its inception. The presentation will offer the opportunity for participants to discuss the resources developed, and to gain first - hand experience of a proposed method for making them widely available using Raspberry Pi computers which can be connected to their Smart phone