Sue Brindley

Teacher Perspectives on Integrating ICT into Subject Teaching: Commitment, Constraints, Caution, and Change

This paper examines how secondary teachers of the core subjects of English, mathematics, and science have begun to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) into mainstream classroom practice in English schools. It draws on an analysis of 18 focus‐group interviews with subject departments in these fields. Evident commitment to incorporating ICT was tempered by a cautious, critical approach, and by the influence of external constraints. Teacher accounts emphasized both the use of ICT to enhance and extend existing classroom practice, and change in terms of emerging forms of activity which complemented or modified practice. A gradual process of pedagogical evolution was apparent; teachers were developing and trialling new strategies specifically for mediating ICT‐supported learning. In particular, these overcame the potentially obstructive role of some forms of ICT by focusing pupils’ attention onto underlying learning objectives.

Practice makes perfect? Learning to learn as a teacher

The context of this research is one in which teachers are now expected to equip their pupils with the disposition and skills for life‐long learning. It is vital, therefore, that teachers themselves are learners, not only in developing their practice but also in modelling for pupils the process of continual learning. This paper is based on a series of post‐lesson interviews, conducted with 25 student teachers following a one‐year postgraduate course within two well‐established school‐based partnerships of initial teacher training. Its focus is on the approaches that the student teachers take to their own learning. Four interviews, conducted with each student teacher over the course of the year, explored their thinking in relation to planning, conducting and evaluating an observed lesson, and their reflections on the learning that informed, or resulted from, that lesson. The findings suggest that while the student teachers all learn from experience, the nature and extent of that learning varies considerably within a number of different dimensions. We argue that understanding the range of approaches that student teachers take to professional learning will leave teacher educators better equipped to help ensure that new entrants to the profession are both competent teachers and competent professional learners.

The Rush of Images: A Research Report into Digital Editing and the Moving Image.

Abstract This article is an interim report on a small action research project being carried out by a group of teachers into digital editing. The authors focus on a critical evaluation of a ‘conceptual framework’ for editing digitised moving images, devised as part of the research project. The body of the article is concerned with observations of students carrying out editing, with the framework being used to structure the observations.

Shifting the primary focus: assessing the case for dialogic education in secondary classrooms

Dialogic theories and practices in education have grown over the last decade; in the United Kingdom, however, most research in the field has been carried out in primary schools. Six leading academic researchers in the field are interviewed to explore the reasons for this primary bias to date, and their perceptions of both the difficulties and the potential benefits of dialogic education in secondary schools. Primary schools are portrayed as having greater flexibility and a more holistic approach that is conducive to dialogue; secondary schools, as restricted by organisational, psychological and assessment pressures. These issues are seen as significant but not insurmountable; furthermore, a consensus emerges about the validity and necessity of dialogic approaches in secondary schools. Distinct affordances are suggested and explored. The case is then made for greater research and practice of dialogic secondary education: away from the study of individual subjects as unitary and segregated bodies of knowledge, and towards encouraging dialogues within and across academic subjects as a way of increasing students’ motivation, enriching their learning, and promoting more flexible thinking.

Teacher education futures: compliance, critique, or compromise? A UK perspective

The construct of the ‘good teacher’ has teacher knowledge as a fundamental component; but teacher knowledge is contested. Policy makers offer one version, articulated through such documents as Teachers’ Standards. However, it might be argued that this version of teacher knowledge, largely defined by national curriculum and assessment demands, does not constitute the whole of what teacher knowledge might encompass. Using a card sort research approach, this article explores what teachers say about teacher knowledge, and the implications this might have for the future of teacher education. How might the development of ‘good teachers’ be impacted in the light of these findings?

Changing knowledge, changing technology: implications for teacher education futures

Recent research in teacher education futures has identified two themes that require further study: the changing nature of knowledge and the changing capabilities of technologies. This article examines the intersection of these two themes and their implications for teacher education. The research employed futures methodologies based on scenario creation. With a focus on the above themes or dimensions, a panel of experts was interviewed to draw on its collective wisdom to explore alternative teacher education futures. Data from these interviews were analysed to stimulate the construction of four future teacher education scenarios. Feedback on the scenarios was obtained from teacher educators in Europe and Australia. The scenarios were then revised based on this feedback. The final scenarios are presented here as a way of provoking discussion among teacher educators about teacher education futures.

Formative Conceptions of Assessment: Trainee Teachers' Thinking about Assessment Issues in English Secondary Schools.

This paper explores the developing thinking about assessment of graduate trainees preparing for secondary teaching in England. For some years teachers in English schools have worked in a context where the outcomes of formal testing have been used to judge school and teacher performance as well as student achievement. Research evidence that formative modes of assessment contribute more to student learning has in recent years led to strong recommendations that most classroom assessment should be ‘Assessment for Learning’ (AfL). In reality the new orthodoxy of AfL is being championed in a context where high‐stakes testing retains its perceived role in ensuring ‘accountability’. Interviews with a sample of trainee teachers at an early stage of preparation for teaching suggest that their preconceptions about the nature and purpose of assessment, and their interpretations of classroom observations on school placement, offer a confused and complex basis for adopting recommended assessment practices in their own teaching.

Understanding differences in trainee teachers' values and practice in relation to assessment

This study uses cluster analysis to examine groupings of trainee teachers against dimensions underpinning their values and practice in relation to assessment. Our sample comprised 220 trainees, studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, an initial teacher training and education course, at the University of Cambridge, UK. The survey instrument derives from D. Pedder and M. James, and aimed to discover how trainee teachers value and implement different classroom assessment practices in their teaching. Cluster analysis of factor scores from varimax rotated principal components analysis revealed four clusters of trainees in relation to their practice responses, and two clusters in relation to values responses. Similarities and differences between clusters are discussed, as are similarities and differences with corresponding solutions for qualified teachers. Membership of clusters was found to be associated with membership of particular subject disciplines. The implications for initial teacher education and training are discussed.

Towards an Understanding of the Place of Ethics in School-Based Action Research in the United Kingdom.

As school-based action research has taken a higher profile in UK schools, the place of ethics warrants particular attention. This paper draws on evidence from a taught online Master of Education course collated via chat room discussion where 53 researching teachers were asked to explore policy within their own institution regarding school-based action research ethics. None of these teachers identified the existence of any such policies but described instead current practices. We analysed their reported school-based action research practices and discovered three major categories of response: the unexamined use of gatekeepers; the unsupported use of existing ethics guidelines (such as those of the British Educational Research Association); and the conflation of legal and ethical demands by schools. We raise questions relating to the relationship between ethics and education and call for all those involved in school-based action research to take part in developing action research ethical policy in school.

Two secondary teachers’ understanding and classroom practice of dialogic teaching: a case study

Abstract Dialogic Teaching (DT) is effective in fostering student learning; yet, it is hard to implement. Little research focused on secondary teachers’ learning of DT and on the link between teachers’ understanding and practices, although these two are usually strongly intertwined. Using a wide range of evidence, this case study systematically investigated and compared two secondary teachers’ understanding and practice of DT during their participation in a continuing professional development programme (CPDP). The CPDP appeared effective to some extent. The History teacher’s understanding of DT, i.e. being a co-learner, appeared highly effective in implementing DT, whereas the Mathematics teacher’s understanding of DT, i.e. creating a democratic learning environment, seemed only effective to some extent. Focusing on both teachers’ understanding and practice when developing DT seemed fruitful in explaining differences in practice. Future research could further explore to what extent understanding DT as being a co-learner facilitates professional development.