Suchergebnisse

Because ethical decisions about what is fair or just are at the heart of most controversial issues in the public sphere, understanding how high school seniors reason ethically about conflicting democratic values is important. Teachers and teacher educators would be assisted in leading discussions if they know the ethical frameworks most often used by students and how the facilitator might encourage consideration of alternative ethical viewpoints. By creating a professional community of practice between four U.S. government teachers, a university researcher, and a political science professor, we asked high school seniors to discuss their position relative to the Supreme Court decision in Texas v. Johnson (1989), which upheld flag burning as an expression of free speech. We were curious to know what ethical frameworks students used in wrestling with the value conflict in freedom of expression. We found all students used Lawrence Kohlberg's (1976) ethic of justice framework almost exclusively and reasoned primarily in stages four and five on Kohlberg's hierarchy.

This study explored the use of a scaffolded version of lesson study to develop professional teaching knowledge for problem-based historical inquiry among three 4th-grade social studies teachers who taught Alabama History at the same high-poverty elementary school. Lesson study is a collaborative professional development approach that involves teachers designing, implementing, and reflecting on instruction in recursive cycles. Drawing upon observations of lesson study planning and debriefing sessions as well as classroom instruction, researchers examined the three teachers' adoption of professional teaching knowledge for problem-based historical inquiry following three yearlong lesson study cycles. Findings suggest lesson study can be used to cultivate professional teaching knowledge for problem-based historical inquiry among elementary social studies teachers, though the transfer of that knowledge to more typical classroom instruction is fraught with challenges. Three factors appeared to explain variations in teachers' adoption of professional teaching knowledge for problem-based historical inquiry: the degree to which each teacher deferred to professional authorities, whether and how each teacher prioritized developing prior knowledge before higher order thinking, and the extent to which each teacher held idiosyncratic views on teaching and learning.

Presented here are the cases of two secondary social studies teachers who were participants in a larger research endeavor designed to examine the enduring effects of a preservice teacher preparation program rooted in problem-based historical inquiry (PBHI) on their in-service beliefs and practices. The study was designed to revisit graduates of this teacher preparation program after they completed their induction into the profession. The two teachers selected for closer examination in this piece had relatively similar preservice teacher experiences and taught in the same city school system. Findings indicate that the preservice program continued to impact both to some extent. However, their current beliefs about social studies teaching and their typical classroom practices differed greatly. Evidence suggests that these differences may be attributed to their personal dispositions and their conceptions of the role of the teacher.

This study examined whether scaffolded lesson study might contribute to the emergence of a shared professional teaching knowledge culture among 4th grade social studies teachers. The study reports findings from a three-year lesson study professional development project that sought to develop professional teaching knowledge for problem-based historical inquiry among participating teachers. Participants included six 4th grade State History teachers from three different schools and three different school systems. Using qualitative data collected during three yearlong lesson study cycles, we present evidence that suggests that lesson study can be used to develop a shared professional teaching knowledge culture among 4th grade social studies teachers. We suggest, however, that a combination of factors might contribute to variations in teachers' participation in that shared professional teaching knowledge culture including the degree to which the teachers embraced the public nature of lesson study. These factors include the teachers' idiosyncratic views of teaching and learning, the teachers' individual tolerance for socially constructing curricula, and the degree to which teachers acceded to cultural obstacles within elementary schooling.

This study examined the impact of varying levels of authentic pedagogy on student learning in select 9th and 10th grade history classrooms. The sample included four junior high and four high school teachers. During the initial phase of the study, instructional artifacts (tasks) and classroom observational data were collected and analyzed to determine the level of authentic pedagogy students experienced in their classes. Participating teachers were assigned an authentic pedagogy score based on this analysis that was used as the primary independent variable in subsequent statistical analyses designed to evaluate student learning outcomes. The findings suggest that the use of authentic tasks and instruction has a small, but positive correlation with student performance on the Alabama High School Graduation Exam in use at the time the study was done. A performance benefit was also noted for students who experienced multiple courses at the moderate authentic pedagogy level. The benefit, however, could be attributed to an advanced placement effect since advanced placement students in the sample were more likely to receive moderate authentic pedagogy.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of scaffolded lesson study on the content knowledge, conceptions of curriculum, and classroom practice of 22 elementary and secondary history teachers in four school districts.


Design/methodology/approach
Teachers, teacher educators, and historians collaborated to design and test research lessons grounded in a theory-based framework for problem-based historical inquiry (PBHI) practice. The authors sought to support consonance between the reform ideas of the formal, professional development, curriculum, and the curriculum as enacted in participants' classrooms.


Findings
Project participation was associated with significant gains in content knowledge and the conceptualization and implementation of more challenging instruction consistent with the PBHI model and the standards of authentic intellectual work (AIW). Mean AIW instruction scores for research lessons were more than double the scores for participants' non-lesson study lessons and indicated noteworthy progress in integrating the formal and enacted curricula. Evidence suggested that many teachers developed more nuanced understandings of historical phenomena, gained greater appreciation for the importance of authentic purpose in motivating student engagement in challenging learning, and began to reconsider what is required to facilitate complex learning and to refine their repertoire of learning strategies.


Originality/value
Evidence from the first year of this project offers hope for the potential of collaborative communities of practice to facilitate a shared professional knowledge base of wise practice that brings the formal, intended, and enacted curriculum into greater alignment. These results also emphasize the evolutionary process of conceptual change.