第二辑（中）

Knowledge building and vocabulary growth over two years, Grades 3 and 4

Author(s):Yanqing Sun, Jianwei Zhang and Marlene Scardamalia

Source:Instructional Science, 2010, 38(2)

Abstract: Productive knowledge work and high-level literacy are essential for engagement in a Knowledge society. In the research reported in this article, students were engaged in sustained collaborative knowledge building in science and social studies. The vocabulary growth of 22 students over Grades 3 and 4 was traced, based on their entries to Knowledge Forum—a knowledge building environment used as an integral part of classroom work. It is the communal space where knowledge work–ideas, reference material, results of experiments, and so forth–is entered and continually improved. Analysis of lexical frequency profiles indicated significant growth in productive written vocabulary, including academic words. In a Grade 4 inquiry, students incorporated almost all the domain-specific terms at and below their current grade level, and most of those expected for upper grade levels (5–8) based on the curriculum guidelines. Domain-specific and academic words were correlated with depth of understanding. High correlations between student engagement in knowledge building and vocabulary growth suggest that productive vocabulary can be developed through sustained knowledge building in subject areas.

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Effects of different evaluative feedback on students’ self-efficacy in learning

Author(s): Joanne C. Y. Chan and Shui-fong Lam

Source: Instructional Science, 2010, 38(1)

Abstract:Two studies examined the effects of four types of teachers’ evaluative feedback on Chinese students’ self-efficacy in English vocabulary acquisition. In Study 1, a random sample of Grade 8 students (N = 79) learned prefixes and received either formative or summative feedback after failure in test. The results showed that students who received summative feedback showed a larger decrease in their self-efficacy than those who received formative feedback. In Study 2, a random sample of Grade 7 students (N = 77) went through similar procedures as in Study 1 except that students received either self-referenced or norm-referenced feedback. The results showed that self-referenced feedback was more beneficial to students’ self-efficacy than norm-referenced feedback. The influences of teachers’ evaluation and feedback on students’ self-efficacy are discussed.

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Teacher Study Group Impact of the Professional Development Model on Reading Instruction and Student Outcomes in First Grade Classrooms

Author(s): Russell Gersten, Joseph Dimino, Madhavi Jayanthi, James S. Kim and Lana Edwards Santoro

Source: American Educational Research Journal, 2010,47(3)

Abstract: Randomized field trials were used to examine the impact of the Teacher Study Group (TSG), a professional development model, on first grade teachers’ reading comprehension and vocabulary instruction, their knowledge of these areas, and the comprehension and vocabulary achievement of their students. The multisite study was conducted in three large urban school districts from three states. A total of 81 first grade teachers and their 468 students from 19 Reading First schools formed the analytic sample in the study. Classroom observations of teaching practice showed significant improvements in TSG schools. TSG teachers also significantly outperformed control teachers on the teacher knowledge measure of vocabulary instruction. Confirmatory analysis of student outcomes indicated marginally significant effects in oral vocabulary.

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Effects of representational guidance during computer-supported collaborative learning

Author(s): Jeroen Janssen, Gijsbert Erkens, Paul A. Kirschner and Gellof Kanselaar

Source: Instructional Science , 2010, 38(1)

Abstract: This research investigates the role of representational guidance by comparing the effects of two different representational tools. We used a design with two different groups defined by the type of argumentative diagram students co-constructed while working in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. The Graphical Debate-tool offered different representational guidance than the Textual Debate-tool. The results show that groups that worked with the Graphical Debate-tool constructed representations of higher quality and wrote essays that were better in terms of grounds quality. Furthermore, working with the Graphical Debate-tool was found to have a positive effect on students’ learning as measured by a knowledge post-test. In contrast to our expectations however, there was little difference between the two conditions regarding the online collaboration process. It can be concluded that representational guidance has an impact on group and individual performance and should therefore be taken into account during instructional design.

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The gap between educational research and practice: views of teachers, school leaders, intermediaries and researchers

Author(s): Ruben Vanderlinde; Johan van Braak

Source: British Educational Research Journal, 2010, 36(2)

Abstract: The relation between educational research and practice is a growing point of interest and has produced numerous lively debates. Although many reports and position papers have been published on this topic, little empirical data are available. The aim of this study is to explore the gap between educational research and practice and to assess the views of different key actors. After reviewing the literature, focus group interviews were organised with teachers, school leaders, researchers, and intermediaries. Questionnaire data were obtained from educational research professors in Flanders. Results indicate that the gap between educational research and practice should be approached as a complex and differentiated phenomenon. All participants agreed that more cooperation between researchers and practitioners is necessary. This could be achieved by establishing 'professional learning communities' or by promoting a 'design-based research' model.

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What Does "Highly Qualified" Mean for Student Achievement? Evaluating the Relationships between Teacher Quality Indicators and At-Risk Students' Mathematics and Reading Achievement Gains in First Grade

Author(s): Phillips, Kristie J. R.

Source: Elementary School Journal, 2010, 110(4)

Abstract: Policymakers and researchers continue to search for ways to improve K-12 education, which has led to an increased focus on teacher quality as an impetus for educational improvement. As such, current legislation under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) calls for highly qualified teachers in every classroom. But are the characteristics associated with highly qualified teachers associated with increases in student achievement gains? This article explores the relationships between first graders' achievement gains and policy-relevant teacher quality indicators. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K), this study finds that NCLB successfully places emphasis on at-risk students--a category of students who would, in theory, benefit most from improved teacher quality; however, little support is offered for the perspective that NCLB's indicators of teacher quality are related to achievement gains for either at-risk students or for nonrisk students.

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 Improving Children's Listening Comprehension with a Manipulation Strategy

Author(s): Scott C. Marley; Zsuzsanna Szabo

Source: The Journal of Educational Research, 2010, 103(4)

Abstract: The authors examined the cognitive benefits of physical manipulation. Participants were 76 kindergarten and first-grade students randomly assigned to 2 strategies: stories with pictures or manipulation. In the pictures strategy, participants listened to story content and viewed pictures. In the manipulation strategy, participants moved manipulatives as directed by the stories. After a training period, the pictures or manipulatives were removed and participants were instructed to imagine story events. Significant differences in favor of the manipulation strategy on free and cued recall were observed during all 3 instructional periods. Furthermore, strategy by recall type and strategy by grade-level interactions were identified during the training sessions. After training, the participants were instructed to imagine story events, and a significant difference was observed in favor of the manipulation strategy.

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Negotiations left behind: in-between spaces of teacher-student negotiation and their significance for education

Author(s): Anneli Frelin; Jan Granns

Source: Journal of Curriculum Studies, 2010, 42(3)

Abstract: This paper argues against a view of curriculum as a means for moulding students into, and making teachers accountable for, something pre-determined and singularly governed by qualification demands of the labour market. It makes a case for the value of inter-subjective teacher-student relationships in education and addresses the significance of negotiations and their open-endedness. This paper draws its empirical material from case studies for which interviews were the main source for gathering data. The data analyses were made using the AtlasTi software designed for qualitative analysis. In the empirical material were found instances of negotiations in which inter-subjective relationships are established and maintained; negotiations that are rendered obscured or even invisible from a qualification purpose but that influence the educational processes. The results show that teachers and students creatively use potentials within contextual conditions to attain relationships which sometimes constitute a precondition for education.

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Teaching Asia in US secondary school classrooms: a curriculum of othering

Author(s): Won-Pyo Hong; Anne-Lise Halvorsen

Source: Journal of Curriculum Studies, 2010, 42(3)

Abstract: This study examines six US social studies teachers' beliefs and curricular decisions that impact their teaching about Asia. Using interview data, the study seeks to understand the forces that influence what, how, and when teachers teach about Asia in their secondary classes, if and how they position Asians as 'others', and what bearing that has on how these teachers represent Asia in the curriculum. As the study investigates these topics in light of the wider social perceptions of Asia in US society, it uses cultural studies as a major theoretical framework. Major findings show that there is a significant gap between teachers' personal goals for instruction and students' perceptions about Asia, the latter of which are often influenced by mass media and popular culture. The study provides a new perspective on understanding the nature and social function of the school curriculum as producer of the collective perception of other peoples and cultures.

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Unfulfilled Hopes in Education for Equity: Redesigning the Mathematics Curriculum in a US High School

Author(s): Buckley, Lecretia A.

Source: Journal of Curriculum Studies, 2010, 42(1)

Abstract: Mathematics education aimed at empowering students for economic and democratic participation must address two critical issues: the long-standing function of mathematics as a gatekeeper, and the complicated nature of designing and implementing systematic reform at the school department level. The study reported here examines a curricular redesign implemented by teachers in one US high school department. The department was redesigning its curriculum to remedy high failure rates in targeted courses disproportionately populated by students of colour. Using a case-study methodology, this study examines the process of curricular redesign and its influence on these students' access to more advanced mathematics courses. It describes redesigned courses and department characteristics that aided or challenged the redesign process, and discusses the significance of the identified challenges in constructing placement policies that did little to increase students' likelihood of taking additional, and more advanced-level, mathematics courses. The analysis revealed a department that, despite its intentions, implemented a curriculum design which perpetuated inequities. This study discusses the teachers' expectations of their students and perspectives about the nature of mathematics as a partial explanation for the department's failure. The resigned curriculum failed to promote mathematics course-taking because it created more defined tracks with less rigorous courses for students in low-level courses. (Contains 3 tables and 18 notes.)