实施先学后教、师生互教教学模式的体会

在有害微生物控制技术课程实施先学后教、师生互教教学模式,经过教师4个阶段的引导,营造了愉快和谐的教学氛围,较好地实现了师生间的有效互动.这种教学模式确定了学生在学习过程中的主体地位,有利于培养学生自主学习、表达交流沟通等多方面的能力,增强他们的竞争与合作意识及质疑问难精神,同时也可促进教师角色转变,教学策略与技能改进.     

Learning genetics through a scientific inquiry game

In this paper we discuss an activity through which students learn basic concepts in genetics by taking part in a police investigation game. The activity, which we have called Recal, immerses students in a scientific-based scenario in which they play a role of a scientific assessor. Players have to develop and use scientific reasoning and evidence-based decision-making to solve the given enigmas along the game. The activity aims to improve students’ knowledge of genetics and show them how genetic evidence can be applied in forensic science. The activity (known as ‘the Recal case’) uses a problem-based learning educational methodology. It is learner-centred and students play an active collaborative role. The methodology requires students to structure their knowledge, and develop their reasoning processes and self-directed learning skills. The activity has been developed for a range of audiences, including high school students, undergraduates engaged in pre-service teaching and adults of all ages. A case study has also been carried out with a group of 120 pre-service student teachers from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona, Spain) to check whether the coherence in the running of the game, whether its effectiveness as a learning activity and whether its dynamics and motivational aspects are acceptable.     

Integrating Art and Aesthetics

Educational quality is a central issue in higher education and music teacher education. In this article, the author discusses problems concerning the development of and research into quality in music teacher education in Western societies' contemporary socio-cultural dynamics. He begins with a presentation of the concept of educational quality, its importance for music teacher education, and traditional designs for this inquiry. Thereafter, he discusses the promotion of educational quality as an external, political initiative, as a meeting between a traditionally modern project and a condition of late modernity, as well as focusing on particularly illustrative areas. The author details challenges inherent in the development of and research into educational quality as a late modern project and presents recommendations and strategies.     

Designed to Sell

The purpose of this study was to construct a profile of K–12 music teachers in the United States and develop a model to predict their retention, turnover, and attrition. Responses to the Schools and Staffing Survey from 47,857 K–12 public and private school teachers, including 1,903 music teachers, were analyzed using comparative statistics, factor analysis, logistic regression, and structural equation modeling. Results indicated that music teachers were far more likely than other types of teachers to hold itinerant or part-time positions, and were less likely to receive support for working with special needs students. Music teachers changed teaching positions because of dissatisfaction with workplace conditions and for better teaching assignments. Music teachers left the teaching profession for better salary or benefits, and were generally more satisfied in their new field. Music teachers’ perceived level of administrative support had the most prominent influence on both music teacher satisfaction and retention.     

Early Childhood Music Education in Australia: A Snapshot

Policy for early childhood music education (birth to eight years of age) in Australia covers a complex and diverse range of curriculum guidelines and legislation relating to the contexts of day care, preschool, and the early years of school. Australian models and policies vary from state to state and according to setting. Furthermore, early childhood education is constantly changing and evolving, responding to new practices, altered government priorities and funding, and community needs. In this article, the author aims to provide a snapshot of the situation by reviewing and analyzing educational policies, teacher training, and providers of early childhood music programs as well as suggesting some future directions.     

Navigating Contradictory Communities of Practice in Learning to Teach for Social Justice

In this article, I explore the contradictions that four new teachers experienced as their commitments to social justice collide with urban school culture. Framed within Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger's (1999) theory of situated learning and development concepts of identity, practice, and relationships illustrate how teachers' ideals are challenged as socializing features of two communities of practice—the universities and schools—intersect in new teachers' development. This research contributes empirical evidence of the application of critical multicultural teacher preparation into practice, a cultural representation of how educational inequities are reproduced or disrupted in the situated contexts of urban schools, an application of Lave and Wenger's theory of Legitimate Peripheral Participation that incorporates formal and informal education across multiple activity settings, and a call for collaborative communities of practice that support teachers' situated learning in creating transformative practices.     

Action Research as a Professional Development Activity

Reflective teachers are always searching for ways to improve their teaching. When this reflection becomes intentional and systematic, they are engaging in teacher research. This type of research, sometimes called action research, can help bridge the gap between theory and practice by addressing topics that are relevant to practicing teachers. This article synthesizes literature within music education and general education to address (a) the conceptual underpinnings of action research, (b) characteristics of action research and teacher research, (c) action research critiques, and (d) implications for teacher research as a form of professional development.     

Black-Fired Pottery

Abstract

Thomas Sowell. Inside American Education: The Decline, The Deception, The Dogmas. The Free Press, 1993. 303 pages; $24.95 hardback.     

Looking Backwards to Reach Forward: A Strategic Architecture for Professional Development in Music Education

The article analyzes professional development in music education considering the ways in which policy change depends on conditions where renewed practice can become self supporting. The authors situate professional development amid the current politico-educational climate while offering an interpretive framework based on key issues and actions identified by other authors in this issue of Arts Education Policy Review. Further, they suggest a pragmatic policy agenda focused on the notion of a strategic architecture for professional development in music education, arguing that it may bring (1) greater confidence in teacher's capacity to adapt, engender concepts, intervene in instructional patterns, and establish positive feedback loops; and (2) improvement in teacher retention and productivity. The article calls for a professional development agenda that sees teachers as capable change agents and that is jointly incentivized by union leaders, government, and institutions of higher learning.     

Guatemala Conquers America

This article raises questions about the breadth and depth of content-area expertise in initial licensure programs for art teachers, K–12. An analysis of some of the promises made in the name of art education suggests that art teachers need a high level of expertise and deep understanding of art in order to deliver on these promises. To consider the odds of teacher preparation reflecting that depth, a study of art teacher preparation in the state of Maryland is used as an example of what may be the case in that state and may also reflect preparation elsewhere. Course requirements in the content area of art for all of Maryland's state-approved and nationally accredited programs for undergraduate and graduate certification are reported. The article concludes by posing ten questions to institutions of higher education, national accreditation agencies, and national leadership concerned with policy in art education.