Maria Antonietta Impedovo

Technical Objects Between Categorisation and Learning: An exploratory case study in French middle school

In this article we present a review of literature on the concept of Artefact, Tool and Technical Object in the light of in sociocultural approach. Particular attention is given to present and discuss the French research tradition on the Technical Object and Technological education. The aim is to give a broad perspective to explore the mediation between the individual and their environment.

Participating in an international master’s programme: impact on agency for African in-service teachers

Abstract This paper investigates teachers’ agency in relation to their professional development. In particular, we refer to research skills and attitude in-service teachers may acquire while attending an international master of research in education. A semi-structured interview was administrated to nine in-service teachers, coming from three different African countries. All of them are attending an international master course aimed to acquire skills in science educational research. The data collected was qualitatively analysed through a category system based on five types of agency. Teachers express the various types of agency in their attempt to extend their action in the context of belonging, with a strong social connotation towards colleagues, students, and the community.

Expanding Student Teachers’ Implicit Theories About Explanations for the Science Classrooms

This study explored student teachers’ implicit theories about explaining for the science classroom in three courses at diverse universities. Based on microteaching situations, the participants simulated explanations and discussed the elements they considered relevant for giving peer feedback. This led to the design of rubrics for peer assessment, which expressed their implicit theories about what a good explanation for the science classroom would look like. The three rubrics are presented and discussed in the light of the connections between teachers’ thinking and practice. Shulman’s ideas about professional teaching knowledge development, as well as negotiation of meaning, provide theoretical under-pinning for understanding and expanding student teachers’ thinking about explanations for the science classrooms.

Agency Online: Trends in a University Learning Course.

Abstract This article aims to investigate how university students perform agency in an online course and whether the collaborative nature of the course affects such expression. A total of 11 online web forums involving 18 students (N = 745 posts in total) were qualitatively analysed through the use of a codebook composed of five categories (individual, interpersonal, epistemic, transformative and collective) and several sub-categories purposely developed for the sake of this research. The results show that each category follows a specific path, although two events – the re-mixing of the groups and the assumption of the peer-tutor role – particularly affected the evolution of trends. Although this study needs further development, the authors believe that an in-depth understanding of the nature of agency, including how to analyse it as well as empower it when implementing blended educational activities, engages relevant theoretical and pedagogical issues.

Learning trajectories and professional development: student teacher in electrical engineering

The article is set within the framework of teacher professional development. The research presented in this paper aims investigating the learning trajectory of a student teacher during practical experience. To understand the process of learning trajectories of the student teacher, we observed and analysed three video sessions: the first records the student teacher in a real classroom at a vocational high school in Electronics, Energy and Communicating (ELEEC). The lesson was attended by 12 male students, with an average age of 17, enrolled in the last year of vocational high school; the second video records a meeting between the student teacher with the university trainer; and the third video shows a meeting with the senior teacher. The videos and field notes were collected and qualitatively analysed by two researchers. The aim of this analysis was to single out the dimensions able to give an account of the learning trajectory of the student teacher toward their professional development as a teacher. Eight indicators were found and they were grouped into three dimensions able to describe the process of gradually gaining expertise.