Since classrooms have become more diverse, professional development on adaptive teaching seems critically important, yet turns out to be complex. Lesson Study may address this issue due to its ...explicit focus on student learning. In total, 22 Lesson Study participants from different school contexts were interviewed. Clarke and Hollingsworth's Interconnected Model of Professional Growth was used as the analyzing framework to explore its adequacy for understanding teacher professional growth. The results reveal teacher professional growth in adaptive teaching competence and show how the intensive focus on student learning, collaborative professional experimentation and the facilitators' role may contribute to this.
•Suggests the potential of Lesson Study to promote adaptive teaching competence.•Approaches Lesson Study as a means to stimulate teacher professional growth.•Stresses and clarifies the importance of appropriate school conditions in Lesson Study practice.•Proposes a model for teacher professional growth in the context of Lesson Study.
In times such as this pandemic, where the spread of COVID-19 has resulted in school shutdowns, emergency remote learning was implemented in several countries and different educational settings. ...School closures made it challenging for special education teachers to support their children with special needs and families. This research aimed to identify the support provided by Spanish teachers in special education schools to children with intellectual and developmental disabilities who exhibit challenging behaviour and the support given to their families. Data were collected from 22 teachers from seven special education schools by using focus group interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse, and report patterns within the data. The results show that teachers deployed many different interventions to provide adequate support to their students and families, such as delivering materials to families, communicating in diverse ways, providing academic or functional tasks, and working with other services. Despite these efforts, teachers also reported difficulties when providing support to students and families. Therefore, future research needs to continue exploring experiences during COVID-19 to inform more accurate educational practices, especially considering children with special needs.
There are practical questions about how inclusive schools can enable quality teaching and teachers' professional development that are relevant to students with special educational needs (SEN). In ...moves towards inclusive education, teachers are confronted with issues about their knowledge, skills and perceived efficacy to adopt inclusive teaching approaches. Based on an explicit approach to inclusive teaching, this paper illustrates how Lesson Study (LS) and Lesson Study related professional development practices embody the values of inclusive teaching and reflective practice. Peer-reviewed academic papers about LS and LS related practices were reviewed. This found that these practices were predominantly used in continuing professional development and evaluated with a focus on their contexts, processes and outcomes in ordinary and specialist settings. The extent to which LS and LS related practices have been evaluated in these settings with different kinds of SEN is also examined. Based on this review increased use and evaluation of lesson study and lesson study related practices are recommended.
Purpose Despite their pivotal role in classroom social dynamics, teachers are not always aware of, and/or do not know how to respond to, bottlenecks in these dynamics. This study investigated the ...effectiveness of the Social Classroom Dynamics Intervention with Lesson Study (SKILS, acronym of the Dutch program name) in supporting teachers with regards to improving their classrooms' social dynamics. Design/methodology/approach A sample of Dutch secondary school classrooms was divided into five SKILS classrooms ( n = 86; 53.5% boys; M age-T0 = 13.62 years and SD = 1.02 years) and nine control classrooms ( n = 156; 50.6% boys; M age-T0 = 13.55 years and SD = 0.89 years). Involvement in bullying and social cohesion was assessed pre- and post-intervention using student peer reports. Teachers of SKILS classrooms formed SKILS teams of five teachers ( N = 25; 60% male; M age-T0 = 42.45 years and SD = 12.81 years; teacher's experience: M T0 = 11.35 years and SD = 8.36 years). Teachers were interviewed post-intervention. Findings While SKILS had little effect on classroom bullying dynamics, it had a positive effect on student social cohesion. Teachers indicated a learning effect with regard to identifying bottlenecks within classroom dynamics and felt more competent to intervene in response to bottlenecks due to SKILS. Originality/value The findings suggest that teachers can successfully impact classroom social cohesion by increasing their knowledge of classroom dynamics and working in Lesson Study (LS) teams with colleagues to develop tailored interventions for these dynamics.
PurposeThis study explores how lesson study (LS) can promote elementary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers’ professional development (TPD) in terms of new pedagogical ...practices, attitudes and beliefs in the maker education (ME) context.Design/methodology/approachThis is a case study of a LS conducted in China involving four primary school teachers, 20 grade-4 students, and one researcher who also acted as a facilitator. This study adopted an integrated model that combined the unique characteristics of Chinese LS (CLS) with the Dutch LS (LSNL) model.FindingsThis study revealed that LS participation facilitates teachers’ integration of new ME pedagogical practices in their classrooms, while their attitudes and beliefs regarding teaching and learning are increasingly aligned with ME principles. However, challenges such as time constraints, lack of research skills, and insufficient learning resources have also been identified.Research limitations/implicationsThis was a small-scale study, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.Practical implicationsThis study expands the use of LS in the ME context by highlighting its effectiveness in enhancing teachers’ PD in terms of new pedagogical practices, attitudes, and beliefs. It also recommends incorporating diverse international LS models to address the limitations associated with localized models of TPD.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in its adoption of an integrated LS model to enhance STEM teachers’ PD in an ME context. The findings of this study further strengthen evidence supporting the positive impact of LS on teachers’ PD.
Computer-based virtual learning environments (CBVLEs) have attracted attention as a learning innovation that can foster students' self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation. Research on the instructional ...design regarding these aspects of learning in a virtual learning environment is rather piecemeal. This study investigates the instructional design of a CBVLE for mathematical medication learning by nursing students in vocational education. The instructional design was based on a task-centered approach, and students' future learning tasks formed the backbone. We examine the extent to which the CBVLE fostered the nursing students' mathematical learning, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation, and the ways in which the design components of the CBVLE met nursing students' satisfaction. In total, 118 nursing students were assigned to four groups, with or without extra support from worked examples, and were trained via the CBVLE on mathematical medication learning tasks over four consecutive weeks. Students were pre- and post-tested on their mathematical medication learning, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation. Students also rated their satisfaction with the instructional design. Our results showed that the CBVLE fostered nursing students' mathematical medication learning, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation, but no significant differences were found between the four conditions. Overall, student satisfaction was above average. The design components were able to predict nursing students' mathematical medication learning, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation.
This study explores teachers' experiences with School-Wide Positive Behaviour Interventions and Support (SWPBIS) at three special education (SPED) schools type 4 in the Netherlands. These SPED ...schools focus on supporting children with mental health difficulties or challenging behaviour. In 2014, an Act was introduced in the Netherlands with the aim of mainstreaming students with special educational needs (SEN) meaning they are educated in an inclusive environment with students who do not have such needs unless the nature and degree of those needs are such that they warrant a more specific support measure or intervention, which mainstream education cannot cater for. As a result, the manifestation of problem behaviour of students in SPED schools became more complex and intense. Based on 25 individual interviews and three group interviews with 40 SPED teachers, results indicate they experienced a safer and predictable school climate due to SWPBIS. In addition, teachers mentioned positive developments concerning team building, staff turnover and coping with a changing student population. More specifically they mentioned more open and positive communication, a sense of belonging and loyalty to their colleagues, and a shared commitment to their students in comparison to the situation prior to the introduction of SWPBIS. Staff also emphasised this approach contributed to a shared language. The development and dialogue on shared school values and the teaching of behavioural expectations as rules and procedures across school settings supported new staff-members to more easily integrate this with organisational routine and school culture and this contributed to a more predictable and safer environment for their vulnerable students.
The use of digital environments in nursing education offers new opportunities for nursing students' medical mathematics learning. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Digital ...Learning Materials (DLMs) on nursing students' mathematics learning, self-efficacy, and task value. A pre-test/post-test control group design was used. Students were assigned to the DLMs group (experimental condition) or the face-to-face group (control condition). Students in both conditions completed the same assignments and discussed these with their peers and the (online) teacher via the discussion board or in the classroom setting. The results showed that the mathematics learning of students undergoing DLMs training and of those undergoing face-to-face training improved from the pretest to the post-test, but no significant differences were found between the two conditions. A significant interaction effect between condition and self-efficacy was reported, producing a large reduction in the self-efficacy of students in the DLMs condition and a small reduction in the self-efficacy of students in the face-to-face condition. No significant differences were found for students' task value. The study offers new insights for the future design of mathematics training with DLMs, focusing on students’ appreciation of DLMs features, considering students with low and high learning abilities separately.
•Digital Learning Materials offer opportunities for nursing students' mathematics learning.•Teachers should encourage students to actively participate in DLMs environments.•Online teachers should support self-efficacy of students.•Students with high learning abilities appreciate instructional domain-specific clips.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an analytic framework for studying interdisciplinary learning in collaboration between schools and child support services. The analytic framework ...connects the concept of boundary crossing with the social–psychological processes of trust and identity formation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is written from a theoretical point of view. Empirical research data from two schools are used to illustrate the use and merit of the proposed framework.
Findings
The framework proved to be useful for identifying the level of co-work in the two schools. In addition, the framework helped to shed light on how the support for trust and identity formation by the school management aids interdisciplinary learning.
Research limitations/implications
The most essential feature of the suggested framework is its use of complex theoretical concepts. Examining each concept in detail would ignore the interconnected nature of concepts in the framework, as well as the fact that it is not yet known how this interconnectedness works. Therefore, the framework is based on a generalised use of the concepts.
Practical implications
The contribution of the framework for practice lies in its potential to shed light on how processes in interdisciplinary collaboration can be shaped. The framework can be used to inform contextual interventions that seek to optimize collaborative structures.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to understanding the complex processes that constitute interdisciplinary learning in collaboration.
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