(An item from the ISHN Member information service) A randomized controlled trial of the impact of a teacher classroom management program on the classroom behavior of children with and without behavior problems, reported in Issue #5, 2013 of Journal of School Psychology, indicates that such training can improve teacher practices and reduce behavior problems among students. The researchers report that " Six intervention and six control classrooms comprising 12 teachers and 107 children (aged 3 to 7 years) were recruited. Children were screened for high or low behavior problems using the cut-off points of the teacher-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997). The primary outcome measure was independent classroom observations using the Teacher–Pupil Observation Tool (Martin et al., 2010). Multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to examine the effect of the intervention on teacher, classroom, and child behavior. Results showed a significant reduction in classroom off-task behavior (d = 0.53), teacher negatives to target children (d = 0.36), target child negatives towards the teacher (d = 0.42), and target child off-task behavior (d = 0.48)." Read more>>
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(An item from the ISHN Member information service) A blog post from Edutopia underlines the need to understand teacher belief systems when we try to integrate health & social programs more closely with their work. Robert Garmston (with co-author Arthur Costa) identifies six predominant ideologies that influence educators' decision making:
Elena Agular, the author of the Edutopi blog suggests that conflict among teachers can arise when these six beliefs collide. Now imagine the collisions when non-teachers, with different belief systems, seek to enter the school. Read More>> (An item from the UCLA School Mental Health Project) After damning indictments in the 1970s and 1980s, classroom ability grouping and tracking practices fell into disrepute and declined. 1 Data over the last decade indicatea resurgence of grouping practices in classrooms. 2 Tracking in the form of assigning students to certain classes based on designated ability also dipped initially, but for the most part continues to produce differential course placements of students that are associated with inequities in post-secondary opportunities. At the outset, we want to be clear that academic tracking per se is inappropriate. Grouping and placing students in classes solely based on their test performance and grades has negative repercussions to the students and to the society. The potential negatives include reducing equity of opportunity at school and beyond, perpetuating inequities and disparities based on race and socio-economic status, fostering a climate of hopelessness and disengagement at school and in the community and contributing to mental health problems. That said, in the 21st century, discussions of classroom grouping practices must focus on the appropriate role for grouping in facilitating student learning. At the same time, attention must be given to the dilemma of minimizing potential negative effects. Our emphasis here is on (1) grouping as a fundamental feature of most efforts to teach in classrooms and (2) learning supports that directly address barriers to learning and teaching as essential in minimizing the dilemma of negative effects. Read More>>
(From ASCD) Discover how the learning environment, instruction, and teacher attributes combine to cultivate resilience. Although research indicates that resilient students most likely have personal characteristics like social competence and a sense of purpose, it is helpful to consider additional aspects that contribute to resilient students' achievement: the learning environment, instructional pedagogy, and teacher dispositions. Learning environments that foster resilience are academic, supportive, and promote opportunities for success (Schussler & Collins, 2006). Students not only perceive that they are welcome in class but also feel comfortable asking questions. For at-risk learners, especially, research suggests that students have a strong need to perceive that an environment is caring, respectful, and supportive. Fostering resilience requires instruction that is student-centered and engaging,Although educators tend to believe that struggling students have a preference for less complicated tasks, research indicates that they instead favor assignments that spark curiosity and encourage thinking. Teachers who contribute to resilient students' positive learning experiences express high expectations, are competent in their content areas, and challenge students to do their best. Read More>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #2, 2013 of the Asia-Pacific Journal on Teacher Education reports on a survey of 1397 teachers in Australia, followed by interviews with 37 teachers. the authors report that one-half to two-thirds of teachers were knowledgeable and confident about selected components of mental health promotion. The authors report that "Independent judgments by staff about students’ mental health status concurred with students’ scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in about 75% of cases, indicating a good level of staff awareness about students’ mental health status. Exposure to the KidsMatter Primary mental health promotion initiative was associated with improvements in teachers’ efficacy, knowledge and pedagogy, with small to medium effect sizes. Qualitative analysis indicated that teachers’ subject-matter and pedagogical knowledge were heavily reliant on curriculum resources." Implications of these findings are discussed. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) The school health movement has focused on transforming schools through "whole school" strategies. As proponents, we would learn much from reading Issue #2, 2013 of Improving Schools, where the concept of "schoolwide pedagogies" is discussed in a special issue. There are several articles but this quote from the concluding article is quite revealing. "The term schoolwide pedagogy was once rarely heard and yet has now become a part of most discussions around school improvement. But what does it really mean and why is the presence of a schoolwide pedagogical framework important? Some would say that in their school the adoption of an authoritative approach such as Habits of Mind, Bloom’s Taxonomies or the Productive Pedagogies is a schoolwide pedagogical framework. To some extent they are, but what is often lacking is the intellectual and social capacity that is built through collective professional sharing and articulation of strongly held beliefs about contextually relevant teaching and learning practices. Without this sense of ownership, teacher adoption ends up being sporadic at best with some teachers paying only lip service to imposed quality frameworks". If this is the case for matters at the heart of the school (ie how to teach), then what can we expect for matters such as health, which are often seen as secondary? (unless we truly understand and commit to working within schools in a sustained manner) Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Knowing that there is often too much content to cover in a health/personal-social development curriculum, health advocates often suggest that other subjects be used to convey health messages. This is an attractive idea but a qualitative study from singapore, reported in Volume 31 of Teaching & Teacher Education, reports that implementing an integrated curriculum strategy may be difficult for teachers. The authors report that "In this qualitative study, we examined eleven Singapore teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning as related to their experiences implementing integrated curriculum. Interviews revealed that the teachers' conceptions of integration spanned the spectrum of ideas found in relevant literature. Further, although participants saw benefits to integration, including greater engagement of learners, they also spoke of significant obstacles to its implementation, such as teachers' own perceived lack of subject knowledge and a misalignment with the assessment system. The findings, while echoing previous studies conducted in various countries, highlight implementation difficulties in settings where high stake examinations and disciplinary-based curriculum prevail.". Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Volume 30, 2013 of the Journal of Teaching & Teacher Education explores how the micro=politics of the school, particularly the staffroom, where teachers spend much of their non-teaching time, as a key factor in teacher development, particularly their professional identity. The article examines the effect of the staffroom on beginning health/PE teachers. The authors suggest that "Staffroom occupants shaped situations which beginning teachers encountered. Micropolitical practices reflected personal and professional interests and knowledge. The staffroom context had the capacity to [re]shape beginning teacher learning." Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Three articles in the June 2013 issue of the Journal fo School Health help us to understand how teacher concerns, their perceived efficacy and their normative beliefs will determine their responses to student bullying. The first article describes how teachers in conflict prone urban schools employed a number of strategies associated with resilience, such as prayer and seeking support from family and colleagues, but also engaged in some avoidance strategies, such as emotional withdrawal and avoiding difficult students. The second study of reported that perceived threat and efficacy were associated with teachers' likelihood of intervening. For less experienced teachers, perceived efficacy, but not perceived threat, was strongly associated with likelihood of intervening. For more experienced teachers, both perceived threat and perceived efficacy were significantly associated. The third article notes that teacher normative beliefs about sexual harassment reduced the likelihood of intervention. Read more>>
(An item from ISHN Member information service) An article in the March 2013 issue of the Journal of Physical education, Recreation & Dance notes that negative early student experiences with PE and sports can last a lifetime and affect their levels of physical activity. The researchers report on "a survey that asked 293 students about recollections from their childhood or youth physical education and sport experiences revealed that participants who had been picked or chosen last for a team had a significant reduction in physical activity later in life. Long recognized as an "inappropriate" instructional practice by NASPE, "captains picking teams" still occurs in some physical education and sport settings." Read more>>
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