IEJLL: International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning
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Schools as Professional Communities: Addressing the Collaborative Challenge, 6(17)
No full textIncreasingly, attention is being given to the need to establish and sustain schools as professional learning communities. No aspect of that objective is more critical than that of fostering the collective capacity of teachers to work together toward continuous school improvement, and by extension, toward enhanced student outcomes. Beyond this recognition and the appended rhetoric, however, remain very real practical concerns—not the least of which is the professional perspectives of teachers themselves. The study reported here used survey data collected from 238 Louisiana teachers in ten districts and eighty-eight schools to reveal additional understandings about what is at once a cogent yet complex and highly contextual aspiration. Although there appears to be a general sense among teachers as to what is desirable in terms of sustaining schools as collaborative communities, conditions in their own schools continue to impede such realization, and some schools, by their very structure and size, may be more or less predisposed to collaborative orientations
Teachers\u27 Views on Technology and the Future of Teaching, 6(21)
No full textThis paper explores the views of high school teachers on technology and the future of teaching. Literature is reviewed related to predictions that have been made related to the use of information and communication technology in educational settings. The results of this qualitative study of teachers’ views on technology and the future of teaching provide insight into the nature of changes and what may be ahead in relation to teaching and technology. The views of teachers at a school at the forefront in the integration of information and communication technology are presented on the future of school administration, the design of classrooms, the obsolescence of school buildings, private online schooling and the role of teachers
Preparing School Leaders: Understanding, Experiencing, and Implementing Collaboration, 6(6)
No full textEducational leaders have been increasingly called to lead and participate in collaborative governance structures with little explicit instruction in facilitating the collaborative process. This study explored a two-course sequence in an educational administrator preparation program that was designed to immerse students in understanding, experiencing, and implementing collaborative decision making in school governance. Analysis of interviews with students, instructor observations, and student written cases document that immersion of students in collaborative processes at three levels is effective in increasing educational leaders’ understanding and facilitating their implementation of collaborative governance in schools
Review Essay: The Director in the Classroom: How Filmmaking Inspires Learning by N. Theodaskis, 6(16)
No full textThe Introduction of Interactive Whiteboards into Schools in the United Kingdom: Leaders, Led, and the Management of Pedagogic and Technological Change, 6(24)
No full textThere has been a recent, and considerable, investment in the installation of interactive whiteboards in schools in the United Kingdom. In part this has been a response to government pressure for enhanced understanding and use of information and communications technology (ICT), as shown by the National Grid for Learning (NGFL) initiatives and the allocation of ”Standards Fund” money in response to school bids for technological improvement. In part it is also a reflection of more widespread teacher understanding of the value of interactive learning as demonstrated, for example, by McCormick and Scrimshaw (2001) in their analysis of pedagogic change in teaching mathematics, and by Glover and Miller (2002) in charting change within one secondary school. Both articles highlight the need for pedagogic change from the didactic to the interactive, and from the use of multimedia as a visual support for lessons to the integration of the technology and media into lesson planning. Grieffenhagen (2000) has shown that the use of the technology as an adjunct rather than as an integrated element in teaching minimizes interaction and the matching of teaching to learning needs. Joyce, Calhoun, and Hopkins (1997), Touhy (1999), Collins and Cook (2000), and Glover and Law (2002) provide evidence of the need for a match between teaching approaches and the learning style favoured by individuals and groups in schools. Simpson, Payne, Munro, and Lynch (1998), and Colley (1998) demonstrate the use of interactive technology within specific subject areas and stress the need for changed approaches to teaching. The introduction of the new technology and the required change in pedagogic approach have, however, posed challenges for those involved in leadership and administration in three directions: resource allocation, curriculum modification, and the professional development of staff. This article reports on the management of change within 11 schools in the U.K. and considers the interaction of teachers and headteachers in securing change
Skills for Success in College: What Students Need from High School, 6(4)
No full textFueled by growing concern about retention, a coalition of faculty and staff has developed a first-year seminar at Colorado State University to address various transition issues. We wanted students to benefit froma deeper understanding of their own learning, thinking, development, motivations and values in addition to the support and assistance they could receive from various communities, e.g., small group discussion sections, study and project groups. Promoting some ecological awareness about our shared environment, local and global, allowed us to provide a meaningful, cohesive context for learning and the introduction of action research principles for campus improvement efforts
A Test-Driven Accountability System in Texas: Principals’ Voices, 6(7)
No full textWe investigated the views of two groups of principals in the State of Texas regarding the state accountability system — in particular, use of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Border-county principals with high minority student enrollments and a comparison group of principals with low minority student enrollments were surveyed through the use of six open-ended questions on the state accountability system. For the most part, both groups of respondents reported that the state accountability system had positive outcomes for students. Even so, issues such as excessive pressure, impact on the graduation rate, and possible cultural and language bias were raised. For states considering the implementation of an accountability system, our findings may be of interest
Strengthening Family-School Relationships: A Story About Using Research to Develop Policy and Practice in Tasmania, Australia, 6(13)
No full textIt is rare for Australian public education systems to systematically find and use research on a regular basis in the processes of policy development (Slee, 1995). One exception to this rule is the Education Department of Tasmania.
In 2001, I was employed as a consultant to assist in the redevelopment of the parent participation policy and my tasks were to: write a literature review and discussion paper, summarise feedback to the paper; hold face to face consultations around the island, and draft a new policy; and develop a professional development package for teachers. I am now over half way through these tasks. The focus of the project has shifted from parent participation to strengthening family-school relations and has been extended to cover the next four years. This paper tells the story of how and why these changes occurred.
My narrative also describes a harmonious and productive partnership between a university researcher and an education system. This example stands in stark contrast to the experiences of many of my colleagues who find that they are increasingly censored and silenced by contractual arrangements with state and federal education systems. I speculate about why my experiences have been different.
Reference
Slee, R. (1995). Changing theories and practices of discipline. London, Falmer
Using Action Research and Provincial Test Results to Improve Student Learning, 6(20)
No full textDuring the 1999/2000 school year, seventeen elementary school teachers and five consultants, from two Ontario school boards, conducted action research based on the 1999 EQAO provincial test results for Grades 3 and 6 and used feedback/corrective action to improve those results. Paired with a “critical friend,” individual teachers analyzed their schools’ results and identified areas for improvement. They developed action research questions, investigated the questions in their own classrooms, collected data to evaluate the impact of their work, and recorded their investigations. The teachers’ own assessments and the 2000 EQAO test results indicated substantial success. Teachers began to see provincial test results as friendly data that schools can use to improve student learning and action research and feedback/corrective action as powerful methods to do so. The study contributes to understanding how provincial testing can be used to improve student learning and what constitutes effective teacher in-service education. It shows how professional teachers can play a leading role in school improvement by taking charge of their own professional learning
Multimedia Assessment of Social Communicative Competence, 6(1)
No full textFor many professionals, mastery of adequate and effective interpersonal communication skills is of vital importance nowadays. Thus, assessing and improving the communication competence of students are issues of interest in training situations. In this study, we examined the effectiveness of diagnostic multimedia assessment of communication competence of first-year radiological technology students. For this purpose, a series of ten multimedia tests was developed and put on the Internet, enabling flexible use. Each test contained a video conversation, where fragments were alternated with questions.
We supposed that individually working at one’s own pace behind a computer screen, being able to see a videotaped real-life setting, as well as getting immediate elaborate feedback after answering questions would be appreciated by students who grew up in a multimedia world.
First, we examined how students value working with multimedia communication tests. As was expected, we found that students showed a great deal of enthusiasm with respect to the multimedia test, reporting that they liked to make use of the test. Next, we wanted to know if participation in the multimedia test would improve the results on their final regular end of the school year exam on communication competence. Therefore, we offered part of the student population the opportunity to participate in the multimedia test. The control group did not get this opportunity. We compared the results on the regular school exam of both groups and noticed that there was a slight difference. Although no strong significant effects were found, we believe that the regular use of multimedia tests can improve the students’ communication competence in a way that is attractive for both students and their coaches