Review of the Studies on Teachers\u27 Knowledge and Cognition

Recently many researchers began to research on teachers\u27 cognition in the classroom. This paper reviews these studies under three topics as follows : (1) studies on decision-making processes, (2) studies on nature of knowledge for teaching, (3) studies on formation of the knowledge. First, as for research on decision-making processes, an elaborated model was developed and the differences between experts and novices about perceptions of events in classrooms and about inferences and decisions have been demonstrated. The more researches are needed about the inferences on students\u27 learning of specific substances. Second, as for the nature of knowledge, context specificity and personal propensity of the knowledge are demonstrated from the studies about content of knowledge, representation of knowledge, and beliefs. Third, on the formation of knowledge, researches into reflection on teaching and mentoring processes have been focused and progressed. Finally, careful selections for research methods and necessity of original studies in Japan are pointed

A Developmental Study of the Role Assignment Processes in the Symbolic Play

This study examines the developmental processes of 4-year-old children\u27s choice of roles and negotiation about role assignment with peers in the symbolic play. The children at the same corner in the classroom, "playing house corner" were observed and recorded by a video camera and field-notes for one year. The three major results were as follows : (1) There is a developmental tendency to use from a symbolic token to verbal declaration as expression of the choice of a role. (2) The individual differences of choice and negotiation are salient at the earlier time of school year. (3) The failure of role assignment results from role refusal by other children and role abandonment by oneself. The developmental processes of role-negotiation and assignment processes among children show the relationship building and self-realization processes through play

Analysis of School Oral History : Curriculum Development and Innovation of Project-Based Learning in Japan

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the multiple processes of curriculum development and innovation of Inquiry-based learning by Japanese school teachers in secondary education. In Japan inquiry-based learning, especially Problem-based Learning and Projectbased Learning, are currently receiving considerable attention for addressing the rapid-social changes anticipoted in the knowledgebased society by the year 2030 and beyond. The curriculum based on the educational policy, the curriculum experienced by students, and the reality of the curriculum mended and experienced by teachers have not been adequatly studied. This paper presents the multiple aspects of the the curriculum development by teachers by collecting narratives from the teachers themselves as one of the research projects of the Japan Innovative Schools Network supported by OECD. The project provides a means by which both teachers and researchers can work together to develope innovative curricula

A study on structuring ways of preschool teachers learning mindsets through on-site training session : Focusing on remarks “remained in your mind” and “deepened your understanding of practices”

In order to depict a mechanism of preschool teachers’ ways of learning at their on-site training session, this study consists of two research projects: project 1 is to clarify preschool teachers and directors overall learning experiences through on-site training session, and project 2 is to examine ways of preschool teachers’ and directors’ learning process at their actual on-site training session. As results, the feel-secured atmosphere of on-site training session facilitates preschool teachers learning process and making practice visible and being aware of its importance through exchanging their minds and thoughts with each other are considered as what they learnt at the session. In order to give on-site training sessions a structure, it is implied that examining its phase, each teachers learning process, and their interweaving mindsets emerged between within inner-self and interaction with others is crucial

Literature Review of Research on Digital Media for Early Childhood Education and Care

This paper aimed to review international and domestic studies on the use of digital media in ECEC environments. The review focused on: 1） an introduction to the rapidly changing digital environment surrounding young children and national guidelines of several countries pertaining to the use of technology with young children; 2） an overview of scholarly investigations on digital media in ECEC settings as an information receiving tool; 3） an examination of studies on digital media as a tool for exploration and expression; 4） an appraisal of domestic research endeavors on digital media in ECEC settings. Finally, the paper presented future directions for the research on the topics and shared ideas for the more effective application of technology for the education and care of young children

Partical Thinking Styles of Teachers: Comparing Experts\u27 Monitoring Processes with Novices

It is well known that expert teachers form and use elaborate practical knowledge and thinking styles in their teaching. This paper illuminates five expert teachers\u27 and five novice teachers\u27 practical thinking in on-line (thinking aloud) and off-line (writing report) monitoring. Through comparing the experts\u27 thought processes with novices, our research comes to a conclusion that the practical thinking styles of expert teachers are characterized as the following five features: (1) impromptu thinking in teaching, (2) active, sensitive and deliberative involvement in an ill-structured situation, (3) multiple view points to probe and to detect a practical problem, (4) contextualized thinking in pedagogical reasoning, and (5) problem framing and reframing strategy in a context. The result offers several implications for rethinking the concept of teaching expertise

The formation processes of habits of studying after the entrance to junior high school : The influences of school and family environmental factors on academic core competences

This is an interim report of a longitudinal field-based study, designed to examine how students develop their study habits as they affect the development of core academic competences. The study has been conducted at a private junior high school for the first term, as it will be for the entire three years, of its curriculum. Qualitative and quantitative data have been collected through classroom observations and through questionnaires for students and parents, respectively. It is assumed that three layers of environments affect the development of study habits: school, such as curriculum design and evaluation system; classroom, such as discourse among a teacher and students; and family, such as parental involvement in children\u27s education. Of these, evaluation system and classroom discourse have been found particularly influential. For example, the teachers help to develop study habits by giving daily homework and morning tests as well as by explaining how best to study each subject. As regards students, high achievers have been found more adaptive to the culture of the school than low achievers, in that they have developed study habits that are more attuned to its evaluation system and that draw on larger networks of supportive friends

The Memory of Classroom Discourse in Mathematical Lessons : Relations between Participant Styles and Memory

The purpose of this study is to investigate how children\u27s participant styles in the classroom discourse affect their memory of lessons. Four mathematical lessons in the second grade were observed and the children were asked to recall the utterances and speaker\u27s name after each lesson. There are three main findings as follows: The first one is that the structures of the lessons have effects on the memory representation. The children recalled the same important part at the well-organized lessons. The second one is that the relation between frequency of utterances and the way of the recall is not linear. The typical four styles are identified. The third one is there are salient differences of ratings of important utterances between the teacher and researchers

Practical Thinking Styles of Teachers--A Lesson of Descriptive Inquiry on Thought Processes

This paper presents practical thinking styles which six expert teachers display in monitoring a videotape of science teaching. Three issues are taken into consideration. First, through describing their thought processes, we inquire the rhetorics which the thoughtful practitioners use. Next, the concept of pedagogical expertise is examined. In accord with uncertainty and complexity of teaching situation, pedagogical expertise should be regarded as of being complicated. Finally, we rethink such conceptions as context of generating practical knowledge, function of pedagogical content knowledge and role of case method in teacher education, in order to promote further research on teachers\u27 practical thinking

De Novo Mutations in GNAO1, Encoding a Gαo Subunit of Heterotrimeric G Proteins, Cause Epileptic Encephalopathy

Heterotrimeric G proteins, composed of α, β, and γ subunits, can transduce a variety of signals from seven-transmembrane-type receptors to intracellular effectors. By whole-exome sequencing and subsequent mutation screening, we identified de novo heterozygous mutations in GNAO1, which encodes a Gαo subunit of heterotrimeric G proteins, in four individuals with epileptic encephalopathy. Two of the affected individuals also showed involuntary movements. Somatic mosaicism (approximately 35% to 50% of cells, distributed across multiple cell types, harbored the mutation) was shown in one individual. By mapping the mutation onto three-dimensional models of the Gα subunit in three different complexed states, we found that the three mutants (c.521A>G [p.Asp174Gly], c.836T>A [p.Ile279Asn], and c.572_592del [p.Thr191_Phe197del]) are predicted to destabilize the Gα subunit fold. A fourth mutant (c.607G>A), in which the Gly203 residue located within the highly conserved switch II region is substituted to Arg, is predicted to impair GTP binding and/or activation of downstream effectors, although the p.Gly203Arg substitution might not interfere with Gα binding to G-protein-coupled receptors. Transient-expression experiments suggested that localization to the plasma membrane was variably impaired in the three putatively destabilized mutants. Electrophysiological analysis showed that Gαo-mediated inhibition of calcium currents by norepinephrine tended to be lower in three of the four Gαo mutants. These data suggest that aberrant Gαo signaling can cause multiple neurodevelopmental phenotypes, including epileptic encephalopathy and involuntary movements