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Deep Learning (DL)-based models have been successfully applied for medical image classifications. However, the performance of traditional medical image classifiers is limited by insufficient training samples and inaccurate annotations due to labeling noise. Numerous methods were proposed to address the issues, to no avail. To fill this gap, we propose a Fuzzy Semi-supervised Distillation Network (FSD-Net) to improve the noise-resistant classification performance. Firstly, with the aid of semi-supervised training based on the pseudo-labels, the problem of insufficient training samples can be alleviated by using unlabeled data to a certain extent. Then, a Confidence Filtering model (CF-model) is designed to improve the quality of the pseudo-labels and filter the noisy labeling data by combining the soft labels generated from the classification model and the improved Soft Fuzzy C-Means (SFCM) model. Compared with the setting thresholds, the data with low confidence are reclassified as unlabeled to participate in training, while the labeled and unlabeled data (generating pseudo-labels) with high confidences are added into the mixed dataset. Finally, the mixed data are fed to train a multi-model online distillation module consisting of the SFCM and two other student models. The weighted average value of the three student models is used as teacher knowledge to train the students and obtain the final classification results. Experimental results on multiple medical datasets show that the proposed FSD-Net can solve the problems of insufficient labeled samples and labeling noise simultaneously to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Text-matching software (TMS) is a standard part of efforts to prevent and detect plagiarism in upper secondary and higher education. While there are many studies on the potential benefits of using this technology, few studies look into potential unintended side effects. These side effects include students worrying about being accused of plagiarism due to TMS output, even though they did not intentionally plagiarise. Although such worries are frequently mentioned in the literature, little is known about how prevalent they are, why they occur and how students react to them. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap. The data for the study comprise 36 interviews with upper secondary and Bachelor students from three European countries combined with survey data from 3,424 students from seven European countries representing a broad range of disciplines. The study found that a substantial proportion of the two groups of students – 47% of upper secondary and 55% of Bachelor students – had experienced TMS-related worries during their current studies. Furthermore, there were substantial differences across countries. Students worry partly because they have a poor understanding of how TMS is used in their institution, and partly because they know that plagiarism is taken very seriously. The study shows that TMS-related worries can lead students to become very focused on not being caught plagiarising, to such an extent that some adopt citation practices that they believe are suboptimal. The paper concludes that institutions using TMS should always combine it with training for students and teachers. Students should be clearly informed about how TMS is used and should develop an understanding of plagiarism and good citation practice that goes beyond the narrow focus on any overlap between texts elicited by the software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online teacher education programs can be more situated by engaging student teachers in Internet-based collaborative reflection (ICR) and e-learning-oriented assessment (ELOA) via Web 2.0 technology. Thus, this study explored how the role of English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) student teachers' ICR practices and ELOA can enhance student teachers' situated online teacher education. In this qualitative study, 15 Iranian EFL student teachers were chosen purposively within a transcendental phenomenology to conduct ICR on ELOA practices during situated learning in online teacher education. The results showed that implementing ICR on ELOA tended to enhance student-centered teacher education; collaborative and reflective teacher development; social, professional, cognitive, and emotional growth; and the connection of teaching, learning, and assessment within online teacher education. More specifically, ELOA practices allowed for meaningful tasks and authentic activities based on practical experience, triggered continuous feedback on EFL student teachers' performance via technology, directed online learning and teaching, and enhanced a performance-based and learning-oriented assessment process. Pedagogical implications for the design of student teacher programs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As digitalisation is becoming increasingly important in educational settings, teachers' key competencies – in particular, their professional knowledge regarding the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in the classroom – warrant targeted development. Aside from their general pedagogical knowledge (GPK), teachers' technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) and technological knowledge (TK) are becoming increasingly necessary for mastering professional teaching-related tasks (as outlined in the well-known technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) model). To date, however, the question of whether these knowledge facets are discrete or interrelated – at least, on the basis of standardised assessments – has remained largely unanswered. In the present study, therefore, a sample of 619 preservice teachers (320 bachelor's and 299 master's students in their second semesters) were considered via an online survey with three different knowledge tests. In this article, we investigate hypotheses concerning the structures of those knowledge facets and further hypothesise that initial teacher education learning opportunities relate to preservice teachers' GPK, TPK, and TK. Our findings reveal that the three knowledge facets can be empirically separated. Master's students outperform bachelor's students in all three tests, however, with effects varying from strong (GPK) to medium (TPK, TK). As expected, pedagogical learning opportunities – surveyed through students' self-reports – directly correlate with GPK. By contrast, technological pedagogical and technological learning opportunities are not correlated with TPK and TK, respectively. We discuss the findings' implications for future initial teacher education design – in particular, the evident need to update the curriculum to meet the needs of the current era of digitalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high labor cost of image captioning datasets limits the application scenarios of image captioning methods. Therefore, the semi-supervised image captioning research that utilizes partially labeled datasets and a large amount of unlabeled data has gained widespread attention in recent years. The key issue of current semi-supervised image captioning research is how to obtain pseudo-labels that well match unlabeled images, providing valuable training samples for semi-supervised model training. To this end, we propose a semi-supervised image captioning method improved by incorporating semantic consistency (Semi-SC), which adopts both self-training and adversarial training for Teacher and Student models. Semi-SC constructs a semantic consistency discriminator to evaluate data of two modalities with global and local semantic similarity, which helps to filter out high-quality paired pseudo-samples from Teacher model to optimize the training of for Student model. To improve the semantic consistency between the generated captions and original images, a semantic confidence loss is designed to inject important semantic information of images into the generated captions with the global semantic content. Extensive experiments on the MSCOCO dataset and Unlabeled-COCO dataset verify the effectiveness of Semi-SC, which shows significant advantages in CIDEr and SPICE metrics, achieving 78.1 % and 15.8 % in the Scarcely-paired COCO setting and outperforming other existing semi-supervised image captioning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, computational thinking (CT) has gained importance in education systems worldwide, specifically the CT training of pre-service teachers. This study conducted a systematic literature analysis (2011–2021) of 38 works on pre-service teachers' CT based on Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases. The results were as follows: (1) Six training methods were found, (2) CT training effectively improved pre-service teachers' CT, (3) A positive relationship was found between pre-service teachers' CT ability and the five factors affecting the ability, (4) A mode of training to improve CT ability of pre-service teachers and the relationship between CT ability and teaching methods were considered. This study suggested ideas for designing training modules of CT ability and a reference for realizing the best training effect. Finally, future research trends and a general model of training were presented as references for researchers, instructors, and policy makers to promote the CT of pre-service teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge distillation, which extracts dark knowledge from a deep teacher model to drive the learning of a shallow student model, is helpful in several tasks, including model compression and regularization. While previous research has focused on architecture-driven solutions for extracting information from the teacher models, these solutions are focused on a single task and fail to extract rich dark knowledge from large teacher networks in the presence of capacity gaps for broader applications. Hence, in this paper, we propose a supervised contrastive learning-based intermediate knowledge distillation (SCL-IKD) technique that is more effective in distilling knowledge from teacher networks to train a student model for classification tasks. SCL-IKD, unlike other approaches, is model agnostic and may be used in a variety of teacher-student cross-architectures. Investigations on several datasets reveal that SCL-IKD can achieve 3 - 4 % better top-1 accuracy over several state-of-the-art baselines. Furthermore, compared to the baselines, SCL-IKD is found better to handle capacity gaps between teacher and student models and is significantly more robust to symmetric noisy labels and data availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes an upper-division university course in Mars literature taught online since Fall 2013. The course readings comprise six novels relating to Mars. Authors include H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Phillip K. Dick, Greg Bear, and Kim Stanley Robinson. After an introduction, sections of the paper discuss course organization and syllabus, Americanist conceptual approaches, anti-colonialism, habitat sustainability, and pedagogical possibilities for future discussion of Mars literature. The paper argues for a fiction-based approach to understanding historical and potential future relationships with Mars and Mars science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model to analyze pre-service teachers' views on the nature of science (NOS). This approach can be used to automate the classification of documents, and at the same time, the researcher does not need to deduce with a NOS framework prior to evaluation. Participants were 155 pre-service teachers studying at the Shandong Normal University in China. To gather our data, we used an open questionnaire, namely, the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire—Form C (VNOS-C). LDA topic modeling was used to classify the document, which was divided into 12 topics. By comparing the LDA topic modeling results with the theoretical framework behind the VNOS-C questionnaire, we categorized these 12 topics into eight descriptive aspects of the NOS: The Empirical Nature of Scientific Knowledge, Observation, Inference, and Theoretical Entities in Science, Scientific Theories and Laws, The Theory-Laden Nature of Scientific Knowledge, The Social and Cultural Embeddedness of Scientific Knowledge, The Myth of The Scientific Method, The Tentative Nature of Scientific Knowledge, and The Nature of Scientific Theory. The results show that pre-service teachers usually hold naive or mixed views of the NOS. In addition, each aspect of NOS is not independent of each other but interrelated and influencing each other. In the future, more consideration can be given to the relationship between each aspect of NOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intervention study presented in this paper explored pre-service science teachers' (PSSTs) understanding of scientific inquiry (SI) and scientific practices (SPs) during a laboratory application in science education course. Thirty-nine secondary school PSSTs, who study in the Science Education Department in a public university in Turkey, enrolled in a 14-week-long course and volunteered to participate in the study. The participants were exposed to a method is called the 4-phase implementation that includes laboratory-based inquiry activities addressing SI and SPs and they completed microteaching presentations. Their understanding of SI and SPs was examined through the course period. The main data sources included Views about Scientific Inquiry (VASI) Instrument and concept maps were used to track the changes in these understandings. The findings indicated that PSSTs had inadequate understanding of inquiry on some aspects even after the treatment. Yet, the method had positive impact in PSSTs' understanding inquiry especially in terms of facilitating the comprehension that scientific investigations begin with questions, there is no single method in investigations, and explanations are derived from collected data. The concept maps created by some of the participants also supported these results and revealed a more coherent and holistic understanding of SPs by integrating both epistemic and social components into their maps. However, PSSTs did not seem to have totally understood other aspects of inquiry including the inquiry procedures, the research conclusions, and the difference between data and evidence. Further implications are critically discussed in terms of designing future laboratory applications for science education courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the use of AI tools may not always be consistent with academic integrity, we consider it important to familiarise all education stakeholders with how to use AI tools responsibly and in accordance with academic integrity practices and values. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are constantly being released into the public domain. Therefore, students and educators should be guided on the benefits and limitations of AI tools in order to learn and use AI ethically and uphold academic integrity. [Extracted from the article]

This research continues the tradition of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) studies aimed at better understanding the development of pre-service teachers' TPACK. The aim of the study is to show what are the areas of TPACK that pre-service teachers perceived as important and relevant for them, from a teacher training course. This course can be seen as a one of the many teacher training courses within teacher training. The course is not specially designed for mere educational technology, instead the course focuses on biology, using inquiry-based learning activities supported with various technologies. This study was conducted using qualitative methods. The research data consists of pre-service teachers' (n = 165) answers to two short questions focusing on the elements that pre-service teachers gained from a teacher training science course for building their TPACK. The aim of this method was to highlight only the area that pre-service teachers felt important and relevant without providing any guiding structures. Results show the important role of Pedagogical content Knowledge (PCK) as the core area that respondents gained from the course. The results indicate that the role of Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) remained modest, the number of responses focusing on TPK was low, and the responses remained at a very general level. The results suggest that in order to provide pre-service teachers with better and more balanced support for the development of their TPACK, we need to highlight technology and make its role more explicit, especially from the perspectives of teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mentalization-based interventions (MBIs) have been increasingly applied in school settings to support the social-emotional development and mental health of children and adolescents. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the evidence on the effectiveness of MBIs implemented in educational contexts for students aged 6–18 years. A comprehensive search was conducted in PsychInfo, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and ERIC databases from inception to October 2023. The search strategy combined terms related to mentalization, school-based interventions, and the target age group. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022302757). Inclusion criteria included peer-reviewed publications in English, studies published between 1980 and 2023, interventions based on mentalization principles, and a primary focus on children aged 6 to 18 years. Exclusion criteria involved non-mentalization based interventions and research outside the 6–18 age range. The risk of bias was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tools from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data were synthesized narratively due to the heterogeneity of study designs and outcomes. Of the 5,250 articles screened, 21 studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising over 7,500 participants. The reviewed interventions targeted various aspects of mentalizing, such as emotion-understanding, empathy, perspective-taking, and Theory of Mind. Significant improvements were found in social-cognitive abilities, emotion regulation, and mental health outcomes, including reductions in disruptive behaviours. Interventions that combined mentalizing training for both students and teachers showed promising results. However, the long-term sustainability of these benefits remains unclear. Limitations of the reviewed studies include the lack of control groups, small sample sizes, and variations in outcome measures. The findings highlight the potential of MBIs as a promising approach to fostering socio-emotional competence, positive behaviour, and well-being in school-aged children. Future research should aim to establish the active components and optimal delivery of these interventions through well-designed randomized controlled trials with larger, more diverse samples and extended follow-up periods. The integration of MBIs within educational systems holds promise for promoting resilience and positive mental health outcomes in young people. Embedding MBIs within school curriculums and evaluating cost-effectiveness are important next steps to guide widespread implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the relationship between pre-service teachers' information search and information evaluation literacy and their information and communication technology (ICT) self-efficacy in teaching. Theoretical analysis confirmed a direct relation between information literacy and pre-service teachers' ICT self-efficacy in teaching. However, there is insufficient understanding regarding the effect that specific components of information literacy, i.e., information search and evaluation, have on teachers' ICT self-efficacy in teaching. Data were collected using an online survey of students in teacher training programs who were engaged as research participants. The analysis disclosed that perceived information evaluation literacy has a more strongly expressed indirect impact on teachers' ICT self-efficacy than a direct impact, while perceived information search literacy has a stronger direct impact on teachers' ICT self-efficacy in teaching. Therefore, for teacher educators, it is important to develop a sufficient level of information literacy and ensure a positive experience with information search and evaluation, which are related to higher pre-service teachers' ICT self-efficacy in teaching. This finding may help support calls for teacher training and/or professional development programs with a focus on information literacy, which might increase teachers' ICT self-efficacy in teaching and improve ICT use in teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic has precipitated dramatic changes in education systems around the world and pre-service teacher preparation programs have been notably impacted by the associated difficulties and constraints. Due to lockdown of universities and schools, practicum placements had to shift from in-person to virtual learning environments. However, being a practical classroom activity, practicum posed particular challenges that prompted teacher educators to make adjustments in their pedagogical strategies to meet the course requirements. The present study reports on the first cycle of an action research project undertaken to respond to the practicum crisis caused by the Covid-19 restrictions. Conducted with eleven practicum students, this research investigated whether engaging student teachers in vicarious experiences of critical incidents through Kolb's experiential learning cycle via a collaborative virtual application could create meaningful learning. The results indicated that the intervention process had the characteristics of active, constructive, authentic, intentional, and collaborative, and as well it led to improvements in practicum students' domain-specific knowledge and skills. Despite a few number of concerns raised, which will be utilized to refine the future implementations of the first action plan, the practicum students reported that this experience supported them during remote practicum and contributed positively to their development. Drawing on the results of the study, a series of rationales for the use of virtual vicarious experiences of critical incidents during Covid-19 and beyond are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This mixed-methods study explored K-12 teachers' feelings, experiences, and perspectives regarding online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also examined teachers' perspectives of the "new normal" after COVID-19 and of what should be done to better prepare teachers for future emergencies. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from an online survey and follow-up interviews. A total of 107 teachers from 25 different states in the United States completed the online survey, and 13 teachers from 10 different states participated in the follow-up interviews. The results revealed teachers' feelings about online teaching and various strategies and tools they used during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The major challenges faced by teachers during the pandemic included lack of student participation and engagement (or lack of parental support), students without access to technology, concerns about students' well-being, no face-to-face interactions with students, no work-life balance, and learning new technology. Four major themes emerged regarding how to better prepare teachers for future emergencies: (1) professional development for online learning, (2) technology access, (3) technology training for both teachers and students, and (4) action plans and communication. Regarding teachers' perspectives of the "new normal," five major themes emerged: (1) more online or blended learning, (2) rethinking normal, (3) hygiene and social distancing, (4) smaller classes and different school schedules, and (5) uncertainty and concerns about the "new normal." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instructional practice plays a significant role in revealing how well teachers understand the subjects they teach. Many studies have been conducted in South Africa on the relationship between teachers' knowledge of well-established subjects like Science and Mathematics and how well teachers apply their knowledge in the classroom. However, relatively little research has been done on the subject of Technology, which was only included in the national school curriculum after 1994. The aim of this study was to explore pre-service (i.e. in-training) Technology teachers' content knowledge and instructional knowledge in the context of various theories about teaching. The study followed a case study approach. Five female pre-service Technology teachers, who were in their final year of teacher training at a South African university of technology and were doing their in-school practicum were observed. Video recorder was used to capture the delivering of a lesson to a class of Grade 8 learners. The researcher used the 9E instructional model, which comprises nine phases in the presentation of a lesson, as the basis for her observation work and final analysis. A key finding was that the content and instructional knowledge displayed by most pre-service Technology teachers was inadequate, which weakened their effectiveness in the classroom. As a result, learners were deprived of the opportunity to sharpen their cognitive skills and develop authentic interest in Technology. This study, though limited in scope, has laid an important foundation for more in-depth studies to be conducted on the extent of content and instructional knowledge in the sphere of Technology Education, which should be of value to other universities offering teacher-training programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key global trend in initial teacher education is the 'practice turn' where jurisdictions are increasingly mandating that teacher education providers include more 'practicum' time in teacher education programmes. In New Zealand, the Teaching Council's recent revision of accreditation requirements has extended the minimum number of days that pre-service teachers (PSTs) must spend in practice settings (in: Teaching Council, ITE programmeme approval, monitoring and review requirements, TCANZ, Wellington, 2019). The more time spent on practicum, the more important mentors in schools become. This study reports on the challenges mentors faced in working with PSTs in secondary school where less is known about mentor practice than is known about how primary school mentors work with their PSTs. Unless addressed, these challenges may prove impediments to meeting two of the new Requirements for providers of initial teacher education, that PSTs spend more time in schools on practicum, and that all mentors of PSTs be formally trained for their role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues associated with nature of science (NOS) have long been recognized as an essential component of scientific literacy. While consensus exists regarding the importance of an explicit reflective approach, precisely how to teach NOS remains elusive. The present study explores one particularly promising approach, namely the use of historical narratives. The purpose of the study was to examine whether narratives based on the history of research on the structure of DNA shared using an explicit and reflective approach would affect students' understandings of NOS. A mixed method approach was used to assess students' NOS understanding in two different versions of a biology course. In the intervention version, students learned about research on the structure of DNA through historical narratives. In the alternative version, students learned the same material without historical narratives. The Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry (SUSSI) instrument was administered pre- and post- intervention to all students. Semi-structured interviews with a total of 27 participants from both treatments were conducted to further clarify students' responses. Results indicate that most of the participants in the intervention treatment made significant changes from pre- to post-assessment in their understanding of two targeted aspects of NOS including scientists' use of creativity and imagination, and social and cultural influences on science. Female participants in the intervention treatment also stated that learning about Rosalind Franklin's contributions by way of the story had given them additional confidence to learn science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate if neuroscience, a contemporary example of science-in-the-making, provides a useful domain for contextualized Nature of Science (NOS) instruction. Six pre-service teachers (PSTs) enrolled in an NOS course participated, where the focus of this study was on how NOS views changed as a result of the course and how PSTs attempted to connect neuroscience and NOS. Data included the Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry (SUSSI) Survey, reflection reports, and audio recordings with transcripts. Results indicated that PSTs held more naïve views of NOS prior to the course. As a result of the course, PSTs improved their understanding of multiple aspects of NOS. Additionally, PSTs grounded their informed understanding of NOS in how science operates as a cultural institution and discovered a conflict between a prescriptive version of NOS via the Lederman tenets versus a descriptive version of how scientists actually operate, influencing the way in which PSTs might teach NOS in their classrooms. The study also found that PSTs connected neuroscience and NOS in different ways. Either PSTs considered neuroscience as a "hard science" that is not subject to NOS tenets, or they found that neuroscience loses its "seductive allure" once it is critically analyzed through a lens of NOS. The findings suggest that neuroscience was a useful context for NOS instruction and, in combination with the explicit reflective approach, had a positive impact on PSTs' understanding of NOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: COVID 19 pandemic has brought crucial changes in the field of medical education. Ad mist university examinations in India medical schools have switched to online assessment methods to avoid student gatherings. In this context, we conducted online anatomy practical evaluation and we have aimed at quantifying the students' experience on virtual assessment. Methods: A total of 250 first year MBBS students appeared for online anatomy practical examinations. Immediately after the completion of exams electronic feedback about their experience, in questionnaire format was obtained after getting informed consent. Their feedback was analysed and quantified. Results: Completed feedback forms were submitted by 228 students. More than 50% of students favoured online anatomy spotter examinations. Only 32.8% of students were comfortable with soft parts discussion using images. For image based viva voce 61.4%, 80% & 82% of students responded that the features and orientation of osteology, radiology and embryology images, respectively, were good. For surface marking 55% of the participants preferred online verbal evaluation. Finally, more than 60% of the students preferred the conventional over online assessment methods. Conclusions: The inclination of students' preference for traditional anatomy examination methods mandates adequate training of both students and teachers for virtual examination. The superiority of conventional anatomy practical examination methods is unbiased but pandemic situations warrant adequate preparedness. In the future the anatomy teaching and evaluation methodology in Indian medical schools have to be drastically reviewed in equivalence with global digitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers are often at the forefront of efforts to help students struggling socially at school and their support may be particularly critical during the early adolescent developmental period after youth transition to middle school when social concerns become increasingly salient to students. Given their daily interactions with students, teachers have the unique opportunity to observe students' day-to-day experiences and can provide insight into the social challenges their students face. Our main study aim was to learn teachers' perspectives about the pressing social issues they see for students, the types of strategies they use to mitigate those struggles, and the barriers teachers face in supporting youth socially. To assess teachers' perspectives, we employed a qualitative study design and collected data from 39 middle school teachers who participated in 6 focus groups. Results reveal that teachers see students as highly concerned with peer acceptance, often at the cost of their academic engagement. To support students socially, teachers reported strategies such as establishing classroom expectations, having positive teacher-student interactions, and managing peer social dynamics. Barriers to providing support included difficulty keeping track of peer relationship and lack of understanding about how best to manage peer dynamics. Implications for teacher training and students' overall adjustment at school are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although functional analysis (FA) is often recommended as a behavioral assessment tool, researchers have identified barriers limiting its use in schools. Trial-based FA (TBFA) was designed to address some of those limitations. However, few studies have examined classroom-based training methods for teachers to implement TBFA, and none have assessed teachers as independent intervention agents. This study addresses these gaps by using an enhanced behavioral skills training package incorporating video self-modeling and performance feedback to train teachers in TBFA with students in the classroom. Following training, all three teachers independently embedded FA trials with fidelity during natural routines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted among 269 student teachers at 11 primary teacher training colleges in the Netherlands. To investigate their competence in integrating theory and practice in their reflections on mathematics teaching, a learning environment was designed to evoke theory use in reflections on practice. To be able to systematically describe the use of theory, we distinguished two dimensions, which we called the nature and level of theory use. A Reflection Analysis Instrument was used to univocally code the nature and level of the student teachers' theory use in the reflective notes of their final assessments into 1740 meaningful units. We found that nearly all student teachers used theory. However, they differed markedly in the way they linked theory and practice and with which depth they used theoretical concepts in their reflections. A remarkable finding of the study was the important influence of prior mathematics education on the nature and level of theory use, especially the low results of the third-year student teachers in their level of theory use. The outcome may have consequences for the design of the teacher education curricula and for the intake of first-year student teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematical models that are constructed through modeling activities should be appropriate for the situation at hand. In this study, we seek to monitor the modeling routes of different learners as well as their modeling sub-competencies in order to learn how these are related to the semiotic characteristics of the resulting mathematical models. Our data sources include video recordings of six groups of pre-service and practicing teachers engaging with one modeling activity, their working drafts, and their final written reports. The mathematical models constructed by the six groups were written in different semiotic registers (numeric and algebraic) and hence differ in their appropriateness to the situation demands. The analyses of these modeling processes suggest that the mathematical models constructed in the activity are indicative both of the groups' modeling sub-competencies and of their modeling routes. Algebraic models emerged from more complicated and less sequential modeling routes compared with the modeling routes of the groups that produced numeric models. In addition, the groups that produced the less effective numeric models lacked certain sub-competencies in the transition from the situation model to the real model and in the transition from the real model to the mathematical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an analysis of the discussion and written work produced during an experiment in which two students in teacher training were asked to solve a version of the fixed-point problem initially proposed by Pontille, Feurly-Reynaud and Tisseron. Our interest lies in how the problem can be broken down into five tasks (proposed by us), and specifically the effect of an intermediary phase involving the set of numbers that have a maximum of five decimal places. We are also interested in how the students reorient their mathematical work based on the hints and clues provided by the researchers. In our analysis, we discuss─as much from an epistemological perspective as from a cognitive perspective─the problem of how to conceptualize/coordinate the properties of density and completeness when it comes to extending the set of rational numbers to the set of real numbers. We are particularly interested in the property of density (intrinsic, with respect to order) in ordered sets D and Q and the role it can play in the learner's ability to separate the numerical-arithmetic structure of the theoretical "real axis" from its representation in the figural register, which, according to our analysis, is one of the key aspects in the conceptualization of R. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative case study examines how a preservice English as an Additional Language (EAL) teacher from the Faculty of Education at a large Melbourne-based university learned to scaffold EAL learning during a two-week practicum in a secondary school and the factors shaping his cognition. The data sources include individual interviews, oral reflections on lessons and recordings of those same lessons. The study was underpinned by a sociocultural perspective on scaffolding and van de Pol, Volman and Beishuizen's (2010) framework for analysing scaffolding, which is based on a synthesis of previous models and findings. The findings indicate that the preservice teacher implemented a number of scaffolding strategies during the EAL practicum. The use of these strategies was shaped by the preservice teacher's theoretical knowledge of scaffolding and belief about its importance, which he gained from the teacher education coursework and his prior practicum experience. Learning within practice was also found to be important in his cognition of scaffolding as through the practicum he developed knowledge about his students' abilities and their difficulties in learning EAL, which are the basis for his contingent scaffolding strategies. Based on the findings, the paper suggests that instructional scaffolding is an important area of professional learning, especially for teachers working with EAL students, and needs to be explicitly built into teacher education in both coursework and the teaching practicum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the transference of an informational brochure elucidating the importance of developmentally appropriate practice, along with assessing the interplay between prior implicit beliefs about educating and raising children and the informational brochure. Participants included 210 college students who completed the modified Modernity Scale and half of the participants read a brochure designed to highlight developmentally appropriate practice. All participants then viewed videotaped vignettes showing preschool children participating in either a child or teacher directed numeracy project. Following the video presentation, all participants were asked to rate the video's curriculum using an author created questionnaire. In general, participants preferred developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) to didactic practice (DP) regardless of whether they read the brochure. Additionally, participants with higher traditional child rearing beliefs preferred the DP video, while more modern beliefs preferred the DAP video. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas various studies have examined the effects of in-service training, relatively little is known about effective approaches for improving interaction skills among pre-service teachers for early childhood education and care. In this study, the evidence-based in-service Caregiver Interaction Profile training course was implemented in Dutch pre-service teacher training. The pre-service teachers on the program with relatively low scores at the pretest showed a significant growth in relation to four interaction skills: sensitive responsiveness, respect for autonomy, structuring and limit setting, and verbal communication. We discuss these results in the context of effective professional development in early childhood education and care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early childhood teacher preparation programs play a critical role in preparing teachers to work with young children, yet the field knows relatively little about how these programs carry out this important function. The culminating classroom-based experience, generally termed 'student teaching', is an important component in teacher preparation. The current study presents descriptive data from a survey of 103, 2- and 4-year early childhood teacher preparation programs related to key features of student teaching in these programs, including field placement sites, criteria for cooperating teachers, and student requirements. Comparisons of 2- and 4-year programs show several areas of similarity as well as some differences, with 4-year programs generally requiring more intense student teaching experiences. The findings are discussed in terms of the different foci in for 2- and 4-year programs and suggest that additional effort to strengthen and perhaps establish some consistent expectations for student teaching experiences may be useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a framework for constructivist pre-service teacher training in Technology Enhanced Learning, adopting a view of teachers as designers of innovative content, working individually and/or collaboratively, discussing and interacting with the instructor, technology and their peers. In such a context, a challenging issue is the content and structure of appropriate activities for cultivating various types of synthetic knowledge combining technology, pedagogy and content through asynchronous collaboration. In this paper, we elaborate on the social orchestration of a training course around collaborative design activities and on the emerging challenges from two successive cycles of implementation. We highlight the elements used to expand and augment online interaction, drawn from two known approaches in teacher training and online learning, the TPACK (Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge) framework and the CoI (Community of Inquiry) model. We specifically examine a) the impact of synthetic design activities to the development of pre-service teachers' synthetic knowledge (of Technology, Pedagogy and Content) and b) the relationships among specific elements of TPACK and CoI. Findings drawn from the examination of pre-service teachers' perspectives through two structured questionnaires reveal important potential of synthetic activities for teachers' TPACK development and highlight specific connections among elements of the TPACK and CoI frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of this study utilized the TPACK (Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge) framework in developing and assessing these skills within an advanced technology integration course for preservice teachers. The research contributes to the use of TPACK as a metric for measuring technology integration of pre-service teachers. Two groups of students enrolled in an undergraduate teaching certification program, at a medium size liberal arts university participated in this study. One group was explicitly taught the TPACK framework while the other group was not. Both groups then completed a pre/post TPACK assessment. Analysis of the pre/post TPACK assessment instrument and fieldwork reflections revealed positive results in explicitly using the TPACK framework in developing these skills in preservice teachers. However, the positive results were not as evident when analyzing the student lesson plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given expanding concepts of literacy and evolving communication patterns literacy teacher educators face a daunting task – preparing student teachers for a world where literacy is very complicated and contested. This paper addresses two key questions: What are the elements of a pedagogy of literacy teacher education? What opportunities for learning do literacy/English teacher educators offer to help student teachers understand the changing conception of literacy? For this research 28 literacy/English teacher educators in four countries were interviewed three times. Two overall conclusions are: the need to anchor their course in the concept of literacy as expanding and evolving; and to approach literacy teacher education holistically. Three elements of a pedagogy of literacy teacher education are discussed in this paper; that there is a need to: value and respond to diversity; read, discuss, and analyse a range of texts and genres; create authentic reflection activities. These elements are relevant for our increasingly diverse student body and can work dialogically. This paper provides a broad road map for literacy teacher educators who are often faced with conflicting messages from governments and feel tremendous pressure to teach to the test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports the main insights from a study aimed at equipping a group of pre-service teachers with the knowledge, skills, and practical experience required to effectively integrate educational games within the mathematics curriculum. An instructional intervention based on the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge framework was implemented in an undergraduate mathematics methods course attended by thirteen (n = 13) prospective primary teachers. Participants experimented with different ways in which educational games could help students internalize key mathematical concepts across the primary curriculum, and were familiarized with the design principles for constructivist gaming environments. Upon completion of a unit on game-enhanced learning, they worked in small groups to develop and deliver, during their teaching placements, instructional episodes integrating the use of serious games. Findings indicate a positive impact on pre-service teachers' perceptions regarding game-based learning, and on their competence in selecting, evaluating, and productively utilizing digital games as an instructional tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology integration, an integral component of teaching and learning, has been widely investigated during the past several decades as teacher education programs have struggled to implement and model best teaching technology integration practices in the preparation of pre-service teachers. Initiatives led by educational organizations at the federal, state, and local levels have recognized these challenges and have, in response, allocated time, money, and effort to develop and incorporate methods to better prepare pre-service teachers to teach with technology. This report provides a brief glimpse at a number of these initiatives and reforms developed by the government, national professional organizations, accreditation agencies, and business collaborations that affect and strengthen the adoption of technology in teacher education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educators advocate that science education can help the development of more responsible worldviews when students learn not only scientific concepts, but also about science, or 'nature of science'. Cosmology can help the formation of worldviews because this topic is embedded in socio-cultural and religious issues. Indeed, during the Cold War period, the cosmological controversy between Big Bang and Steady State theory was tied up with political and religious arguments. The present paper discusses a didactic sequence developed for and applied in a pre-service science teacher-training course on history of science. After studying the historical case, pre-service science teachers discussed how to deal with possible conflicts between scientific views and students' personal worldviews related to religion. The course focused on the study of primary and secondary sources about cosmology and religion written by cosmologists such as Georges Lemaître, Fred Hoyle and the Pope Pius XII. We used didactic strategies such as short seminars given by groups of pre-service teachers, videos, computer simulations, role-play, debates and preparation of written essays. Along the course, most pre-service teachers emphasized differences between science and religion and pointed out that they do not feel prepared to conduct classroom discussions about this topic. Discussing the relations between science and religion using the history of cosmology turned into an effective way to teach not only science concepts but also to stimulate reflections about nature of science. This topic may contribute to increasing students' critical stance on controversial issues, without the need to explicitly defend certain positions, or disapprove students' cultural traditions. Moreover, pre-service teachers practiced didactic strategies to deal with this kind of unusual content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a form of teacher reasoning that we call proclivities for teaching mathematics. We define proclivities for teaching mathematics as the beliefs, knowledge, and dispositions that are actionable in the flow of instruction, and we argue that growth in this area contributes to positive change in mathematics instruction. Proclivities for teaching mathematics encompass four domains: productive disposition, openness to new ideas, thought processes, and organization of mathematical thought; in this article, we focus on productive disposition. The article provides a rationale for the construct of proclivities for teaching mathematics, and describes an initial attempt to develop measures for these proclivities. Analyses of data from a sample of 63 teachers indicate that measures of proclivities for teaching mathematics are associated with increases in teacher knowledge, self-efficacy, and instructional improvement over time, and although the dataset is small, these positive indicators suggest that further exploration of this construct is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors for our future workforce is growing, yet fewer students are choosing to major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics areas, and many are underprepared, in part because elementary school preservice teachers are also underprepared. This National Science Foundation-supported project developed and tested the first of several planned modules of a video game based on the Next Generation Science Standards. Results suggest that preservice teachers who play the video game demonstrate improved science content knowledge. The study also found that preservice teachers had positive attitudes toward video games as instructional tools. Implications for preservice teacher education relating to games and science education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Attribute' and 'measurement' are two fundamental concepts in mathematics and physics. Teaching these concepts is essential even in elementary school, but numerous studies have pointed out pupils' difficulties with them. These studies emphasized that pupils must learn about attributes before being taught how to measure these attributes, which can be done through activities involving comparing and sorting. In France, as in numerous English-speaking countries, official teaching instructions for the elementary-school years (Grades 1 to 5) recommend this approach. We consider that to be able to teach attributes, teachers themselves must master and differentiate the concepts of attribute and measurement. Indeed, these concepts are part of any teacher's subject matter knowledge, especially of what Ball called 'specialized content knowledge', which is needed to effectively teach both attributes and measurement. In this study, we analyze the level of mastery of these concepts among French teacher trainees. Our findings suggest that future teachers do not clearly differentiate these concepts, and that the concept of attribute is the less well understood. We highlight that an erroneous understanding of attribute is extremely prevalent: almost half of our participants think of attribute as a vague, imprecise notion. Finally, we discuss the possible causes of this misconception and its implications for teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was (a) to develop an instructional design model for preservice teachers' learning of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in multidisciplinary technology integration courses and (b) to apply the model to investigate its effects when used in a preservice teacher education setting. The model was applied in a technology integration course with fifteen participants from diverse majors. Data included individual participants' written materials and TPACK survey responses, group lesson plans, and the researchers' field notes. The data analysis results revealed that: (1) the participants had difficulties understanding pedagogical knowledge (PK), which hindered their learning of integrated knowledge of TPACK and (2) their learning of TPACK was the combination rather than the integration of PK, technological knowledge, and content knowledge. Suggestions and implications for refining the model and future research possibilities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study summarizes the results of a survey administered to 48 elementary schools in the largest school district in a southeastern U.S. state, conducted by university faculty to evaluate the use of SMART Boards and handson experiences, the objectives of which were to identify preparedness of elementary classroom teachers in teaching elementary Science, in using SMART Boards and in using manipulatives for teaching in the elementary Science classroom, as well as to identify frequency with which elementary classroom teachers use SMART Boards and/or manipulatives and reasons for using or not using SMART Boards and/ or manipulatives in the elementary Science classroom. Results of the survey will be used to address areas of needed improvement among pre-service teachers, to identify areas in which early career teachers need additional training or information and how best to improve the quality and training of the Elementary Science component of the education degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work analyses the answers to a questionnaire from 8,285 in-service and pre-service teachers from 23 countries, elaborated by the Biohead-Citizen research project, to investigate teachers' conceptions related to the genetic determinism of human behaviour. A principal components analysis is used to assess the main trends in all the interviewed teachers' conceptions. This illustrates that innatism is present in two distinct ways: in relation to individuals (e.g. genetic determinism to justify intellectual likeness between individuals such as twins) or in relation to groups of humans (e.g. genetic determinism to justify gender differences or the superiority of some human ethnic groups). A between-factor analysis discriminates between countries, showing very significant differences. There is more innatism among teachers' conceptions in African countries and Lebanon than in European countries, Brazil and Australia. Among the other controlled parameters, only two are significantly independent of the country: the level of training and the level of knowledge of biology. A co-inertia analysis shows a strong correlation between non-citizen attitudes towards and innatist conceptions of genetic determinism regarding human groups. We discuss these findings and their implications for education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher education institutions conduct information and communications technology (ICT) courses to prepare preservice teachers (or initial teacher education candidates) to support their teaching practice with appropriate ICT tools. ICT course evaluations based on preservice teachers’ perception of course experiences are limited in indicating the kinds of ICT integration knowledge or technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) preservice teachers have gained throughout the course. Preservice teachers’ ICT course experiences was found to influence their intentions to integrate ICT but its influence on their TPACK perceptions, if better understood, can inform teacher education institutions about the design of ICT courses. This study describes the design and validation of an ICT course evaluation instrument that examines preservice teachers’ perceptions of ICT course experiences and TPACK. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed on survey results collected from a graduating cohort of 869 Singapore preservice teachers who had undergone a compulsory ICT course during their teacher training program. These preservice teachers were being prepared to teach the different subject areas at primary, secondary, and junior colleges (or postsecondary institutions for 17–19 year olds) in Singapore. The regression model showed that preservice teachers’ perceived TPACK was first influenced by their perceptions of course experiences that supported the development of intermediary TPACK knowledge components such as technological knowledge and technological pedagogical knowledge. The methodological implications for the design of ICT course evaluation surveys and the practical applications of survey results to the refinement of ICT course curriculum are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the level of information and knowledge 150 Spanish kindergarten and elementary school teachers in pre-service training have about human rights. We compared two groups of students: students with no specific training and students with specific training (the students with specific training study with the new training teaching programme that includes a compulsory subject related to citizenship education). The contents are organized around three thematic areas. Human rights are included in the first area 'Basic concepts to promote equality and participation in Elementary Education'; the other two areas are: 'Learning to participate at Elementary School' and 'Building a civil school that promotes equality and participation at Elementary School'. It is a one semester subject with 3 h of teaching per week. The main hypothesis is that a specific training on human rights will lead to an important improvement not only in student's level of knowledge but also in the way they categorize this specific content. We have administered a questionnaire designed for the study. In general, our results show that students of both groups have a basic and limited knowledge about human rights. The group with specific training shows a higher level of knowledge than the other group and a different way of organizing it. This would go in the direction of other studies of supporting and reinforcing the inclusion of specific training on human rights during the initial teacher training programmes at the university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In times of teacher shortage, well-considered, goal-oriented teacher recruitment is important. An understanding of the reasons why different groups of students undertake teacher training would be useful in developing targeted campaigns. Against this background, the research question is as follows: what are the motivations prompting students to enter primary teacher training and do these motivations vary according to student characteristics? A questionnaire based on the reasons and expectations included in the Learning and Studying Questionnaire was administered during a compulsory course. Participants were 1,805 pre-service primary education teachers starting their first year of study at 14 different schools in Flanders (Belgium). Results show that students mainly undertake teacher training for intrinsic and altruistic reasons such as developing skills and knowledge that will be useful in their future teaching career, attending interesting and well-taught courses, gaining an understanding of the subject and helping children and making a difference in the world. In addition, students also take into account extrinsic factors such as good working conditions, long holidays and the ability to balance work and family responsibilities. Significant differences in motivation were found to be related to student characteristics such as gender, age, educational background and self-reported academic achievement, suggesting that teacher recruitment could benefit from population-specific approaches aimed at increasing the attractiveness of teaching and teacher training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to other subjects Technology Education (TE) is regarded as a new subject both nationally and internationally. In the absence of an established subject philosophy Technology educators had little alternative than to base their professional teaching and learning practices on approaches from other fields of knowledge and to adapt these. TE is one of the compulsory subjects for learners in South Africa from grade 4-9 since 1998. One of the challenges was the fact that no previous teacher training programmes existed for Technology thus new ones had to be developed. This research described what the necessary knowledge, skills and values are that a qualified Technology teacher should possess and determined if teacher training institutions in South Africa provide opportunities to develop this qualities. Qualitative research was used to provide insight into the nature of pre-service Technology training programmes in South Africa, in order to identify shortcomings in the pre-service training of Technology teachers. The population consisted of senior faculty who have experience in the developing of pre-service training programmes and the training of Technology teachers. Findings of the study suggest a greater focus on the training of Technology teachers as subject specialists by establishing standards that is appropriate for tertiary training in order to enhance the development of subject knowledge; subject specific pedagogical content knowledge by implementing micro lessons; revision of time, planning and facilities for the practising of subject skills; and sufficient opportunities to practise, analyse and reflect on teaching processes to develop appropriate teaching strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of teacher education centers is one of the most important teacher education reforms in Taiwan, the purpose of which is to enhance the effectiveness of education by increasing teacher diversity. However, ever since teacher education centers have been established, teaching quality has not improved-or even declined. This study thus endeavors to identify the abilities which are most essential for secondary school teachers and to determine to what extent these abilities are actually learned by the pre-service teachers. The researchers suggest that teacher education centers place practical training at the center of the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the importance of behaviour management, many student teachers report being inadequately trained in this area. The aim of this study was to identify the strategies, confidence and reported levels of success in regard to various behaviour management strategies, across 509 first, second, third and fourth year student teachers training to be primary teachers. The most significant differences were found between first and second year student teachers in regard to their use of, and confidence in, initial and later corrective strategies, and between second and third year student teachers in terms of their use of, and confidence in, differentiating curriculum and preventive strategies. The findings have implications for teacher training programs and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every aspect of teaching, including the instructional method, the course content, and the types of assessments, is influenced by teachers' attitudes and beliefs. Teacher education programs play an important role in the development of beliefs regarding teaching and learning. The purpose of the study was to document pre-service teachers' views on science, scientists, and science teaching as well as the relations between these views and the offered courses over several years spent in an elementary science teacher training program. The sample consisted of 145 pre-service elementary science teachers who were being trained to teach general science to students in the 6th through 8th grades. The research design was a cross-sectional study. Three different instruments were used to collect the data, namely, the 'Draw a Scientist Test', 'Draw a Science Teacher Test', and 'Students' Views about Science' tests. The elementary science teacher training program influenced pre-service science teachers' views about science, scientists and science teaching to different degrees. The most pronounced impact of the program was on views about science teaching. Participants' impressions of science teaching changed from teacher-centered views to student-centered ones. In contrast, participants' views about scientists and science did not change much. This result could be interpreted as indicating that science teacher training programs do not change views about science and scientists but do change beliefs regarding teaching science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a qualitative study which examined students' problem-solving, metacognition, and motivation in a learning environment designed for teaching educational technology to pre-service teachers. The researchers converted a linear and didactic learning environment into a new open learning environment by contextualizing domain-related concepts and skills and providing ill-structured, collaborative problem-solving opportunities. The intervention called Learning Environments Approaching Professional Situations (LEAPS) took into account issues surrounding motivation and situativity that are of particular interest to instructional developers and design-based researchers. In this study, four classes were assigned as either traditional or LEAPS environments from which four cases were selected for further examination. The results suggested that the LEAPS approach was beneficial in supporting students' problem-solving, motivation, and self-reflections, but only under specific conditions. The implications for instructional design and motivation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]