The purpose of the design-based research reported here is to show – as a proof of principle – how the idea of scaffolding can be used to support primary teachers in a professional development programme (PDP) to design and enact language-oriented science lessons. The PDP consisted of six sessions of 2.5 h each in which twelve primary school teachers took part over a period of six months. It centralised the language support that pupils need to reason during science lessons. In line with the idea of scaffolding, the structure of the PDP targeted teachers' gradual independence in designing lessons. The first research question is how scaffolding was enacted during the PDP. The analysis of video recordings, field notes, researcher and teacher logs, and teacher design assignments focused on the enactment of three scaffolding characteristics: diagnosis, responsiveness and handover to independence. The second research question concerns what teachers learned from the participation in the PDP that followed a scaffolding approach. The data analysis illustrates that these teachers had learned much in terms of designing and enacting language-oriented science lessons. In terms of diagnosis and responsiveness, our PDP approach was successful, but we problematise the ideal of scaffolding approaches focused on handover to independence.
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This study analyze data from three national contexts in which teachers worked with the same teaching materials and inquiry classroom activities, investigating teachers’ use of strategies to promote interaction and scaffolding when participating in a professional development program. The data material is collected from three case studies from the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, respectively. Each case is from a teaching unit about green plants and seed sprouting. In one lesson in this unit, students were involved in planning an experiment with sprouting seeds, and this (similar) lesson was videotaped in three national settings. The main research question is, as follows: How do primary teachers use questions to scaffold conceptual understanding and language use in inquiry science activities? The data analysis shows that teachers ask different kind of questions such as open, closed, influencing and orienting questions. The open, orienting questions induce students to generate their own ideas, while closed orienting and influencing questions often scaffold language and content-specific meaning-making. However, both open, closed, orienting and influencing questions can scaffold student language and conceptual understanding. Often, teacher questions scaffold both language content-specific meaning-making at the same time. The study shows the subtle mechanisms through which teachers can use questions to scaffold student science literacy and thereby including them in classroom interaction.
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In elke les kan het voorkomen dat leerlingen niet meer weten hoe ze verder moeten. Dat geldt eens te meer voor kunstlessen, waarin routes naar een oplossing minder vast liggen. Hoe kan de leerkracht hen weer op weg helpen? In dit artikel verkennen Ineke Haakma, Linda Hendriks en Henderien Steenbeek aan de hand van twee casussen de mogelijkheden van scaffolding in kunstlessen.
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To promote student writing development, integrated approaches such as genre-based writing instruction (GBWI) are advocated in tertiary education. However, most subject lecturers are not used to centralise writing in their subjects as they focus on content teaching. Capitalising on teacher learning within GBWI is therefore necessary. Design-based research can offer a fruitful learning environment for such innovative type of content and language integrated instruction. In a multiple case study (n=2) in Dutch higher professional education, we aimed to explore what subject lecturers can learn in a design-based research project in terms of scaffolding students’ writing. Qualitative data on teacher learning were collected through logs and interviews before, during and after three GBWI interventions. These data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using transcription software. Results showed the subject lecturers reported multifaceted learning outcomes, particularly concerning changed knowledge and beliefs. Some of these were directly related to GBWI (e.g., metalanguage, deconstruction, text features) whereas others were related to scaffolding language in subject learning more generally, and to the lecturers’ teaching roles. Both lecturers also reported learning outcomes in terms of changed practices, but to a lesser extent. This may be related to the challenging character of enacting GBWI in the subjects. On a more general level, this study has yielded valuable insights into what factors are at stake when subject lecturers learn to enact GBWI. Further, it has shown the potential of a design-based research learning environment which we view as part of a causal field instigating subject lecturers’ professional development.
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Leren is een sociaal gesitueerd, transactioneel proces, waarin zowel de leerkracht, de taak en de leerling een eigen, unieke bijdrage hebben. Een belangrijk hulpmiddel voor leerkrachten is het gebruiken van scaffolding, waarbij ‘externe’ ondersteuning wordt geboden als dat nodig is en wordt weggehaald als het leren heeft plaatsgevonden. Hierdoor kunnen talentmomenten ontstaan; momenten waarin het co-constructie proces van gezamenlijk denken en handelen wordt gekenmerkt door betrokkenheid, enthousiasme en motivatie. Dit symposium gaat over het bieden van scaffolding door de leerkracht, met als centrale vragen: Hoe ziet het bieden van scaffolding door de leerkracht eruit? Wat is het effect bij de leerlingen, c.q. studenten? Aan bod komen diverse onderwijsleersituaties, zowel in het basisonderwijs en in het hoger onderwijs.
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This paper presents a mixed methods study in which 21 first-year student teachers took part that investigated learning outcomes of a modified learning by design task. The study is part of a series of studies that aims to improve student learning, teaching skills and teacher training. Design-based science challenges are reasonably successful project-based approaches for breaking down the boundaries between traditional school subjects. Previous learning outcomes of the extensively studied Learning by Design (LBD) approach demonstrated a strong positive effect on students’ skills. However, compared to traditional classroom settings, LBD provided little or no profit on (scientific) concept learning. For this, according to two preliminary studies, a lack of explicit teaching and scaffolding strategies, both strongly teacher-dependent, bears a share of responsibility. The results of this third study indicate that more emphasis on these strategies indeed strengthens concept learning without reducing positive effects on skill performance.
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The Importance of a Robot Math Tutor’s Social Interaction Skills: Scaffolding and Personalization
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Worldwide, pupils with migrant backgrounds do not participate in school STEM subjects as successfully as their peers. Migrant pupils’ subject-specific language proficiency lags behind, which hinders participation and learning. Primary teachers experience difficulty in teaching STEM as well as promoting required language development. This study investigates how a professional development program (PDP) focusing on inclusive STEM teaching can promote teacher learning of language-promoting strategies (promoting interaction, scaffolding language and using multilingual resources). Participants were five case study teachers in multilingual schools in the Netherlands (N = 2), Sweden (N = 1) and Norway (N = 2), who taught in primary classrooms with migrant pupils. The PDP focused on three STEM units (sound, maintenance, plant growth) and language-promoting strategies. To trace teachers’ learning, three interviews were conducted with each of the five teachers (one after each unit). The teachers also filled in digital logs (one after each unit). The interviews showed positive changes in teachers’ awareness, beliefs and attitudes towards language-supporting strategies. However, changes in practice and intentions for practice were reported to a lesser extent. This study shows that a PDP can be an effective starting point for teacher learning regarding inclusive STEM teaching. It also illuminates possible enablers (e.g., fostering language awareness) or hinderers (e.g., teachers’ limited STEM knowledge) to be considered in future PDP design.
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Taalgericht vakonderwijs (TVO) is een didactiek waarbij niet alleen vakinhoudelijke doelen, maar ook taaldoelen centraal staan. Op die manier wordt getracht het vakbegrip én de vakspecifieke taalontwikkeling van leerlingen of studenten te bevorderen. Onderzoek heeft laten zien dat deze didactiek succesvol kan zijn, mits vakdocenten voldoende geprofessionaliseerd worden in TVO en het bieden van adaptieve taalondersteuning (scaffolding). In dit onderzoek wordt ingezoomd op verschillende typen leeropbrengsten die twee hbo-vakdocenten rapporteerden in zo'n professionaliseringstraject. Dat traject vond plaats voorafgaand aan en tijdens de uitvoering van een TVO-interventie in het hbo-jaar van een financieel-economische opleiding van hogeschool Saxion. In het onderzoek werden middels startinterviews, slotinterviews en logboeken kwalitatieve data verzameld rond het gerapporteerde leren van docenten. Data-analyse vond plaats aan de hand van een codeerschema bestaande uit vier categorieën van typen leeropbrengsten. De resultaten lieten zien dat de vakdocenten vooral leeropbrengsten in de categorie 'veranderingen in kennis en opvattingen' rapporteerden. In de categorieën 'verandering van lespraktijk' en 'intenties voor de lespraktijk' hadden leeropbrengsten vooral betrekking op geplande ondersteuning (designed scaffolding) en minder op ongeplande ondersteuning in interactie met studenten (interactional scaffolding). Al met al lijken de gerapporteerde leeropbrengsten van professionalisering in TVO op basis van deze kleinschalige studie veelbelovend.
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