Portraits of Teacher Dedication in Vermont.
The authors of this study have concluded, after an extensive review of the literature and the testimony of numerous Vermont teachers, that dedication and commitment are useful terms to apply when discussing teacher outstandingness and teacher excellence, especially in rural context, and that there are measures which can be quantified of these attributes. It may be that higher levels of teacher dedication or commitment are present in either end of the population spectrum among the very rural and the very urban. It is believed that measures of teacher commitment and dedication could include teacher time and teacher wealth. Outstanding or excellent teachers in Vermont over time have spent their own money and have given great quantities of discretionary time to their students in support of improving education. The authors of this paper became interested several years ago in teacher motivation, teacher commitment, and teacher dedication. Several literature searches spaced throughout the 80's up into the early 90's showed that, although there was some interest in teacher commitment, no work had been done in the area of teacher dedication, especially as it related to teacher quality, teacher effectiveness, and teacher excellence. In spite of the lack of research, words like commitment and dedication are often used in research on teaching and teacher motivation. The authors ccncluded that this phenomena was worthy of further investigation and set out to develop a design. Vermont, which at the time that field research was completed, was the most rural state in the nation. It seemed an excellent place to begin for several reasons. There was a readily identifiable population of teachers who had been labeled by their peers and administrators as excellent or of high quality. These teachers were those who had been selected for recognition by the University of Vermont through its Outstanding Teacher program run annually since 1981. By 1990, almost 800 Vermont teachers had been singled out for this accolade. A search of archival sources led to several diaries and previously unpublished works related to teachers and teaching in Vermont and Northern New England housed at both the Wilbur Collection at the University of Vermont and the Vermont Historical Society Museum in Montpelier. The existence of the second pool of information stimulated the researchers to develop a two-stage case study using the archival data for the first set of cases and eighteen purposefully selected teachers as the second set of cases. Thus, a qualitative design emerged using the two-stage case study mentioned above and incorporating purposive sampling techniques. Among the descriptors associated with rurality are remoteness, loneliness, scarcity, and lack of opportunity (Matthes and Carlson, 1987).
Supervision of Instruction: A Developmental Approach.
Each part ends with 'Conclusion,' and each chapter concludes with 'Exercises,' 'References,' and 'Suggested Readings.' I.INTRODUCTION. 1.Supervision for Successful Schools. Supervisory Glue as a Metaphor for Success. Who Is Responsible for Supervision? Organization of This Book. The Agony of Thought and Feeling. II.KNOWLEDGE. 2.The Norm: Why Schools Are as They Are. The Work Environment or Culture of Schools. The Legacy of the One-Room Schoolhouse. Blaming the Victim and Structural Strain. To Qualify, Summarize, and Propose. 3.The Exception: What Schools Can Be. Background to School Effectiveness Studies. Early Effective School Research. More Recent Effective School Research. Should All Schools Apply Effective Schools Research? The 'How' of Effective Schools. A Cause Beyond Oneself. What to Do with Successful Schools Research: Some Propositions. 4.Adult and Teacher Development within the Context of the School: Clues for Supervisory Practice. Adults as Learners. Adult and Teacher Development. Developmental Theories of Motivation. Development: Ebb and Flow. Considering Teacher Development within the Context of the School. Influences on Teacher Development. Propositions. 5.Reflections on Schools, Teaching, and Supervision. Effective Teaching Research: A Historical Perspective. Cautions Concerning Effective Teaching Research. The Coast of Britain. Effective and Good Schools: The Same? Instructional Improvement and Effective Teaching. Beliefs about Education. Supervision Beliefs. Supervisory Platform as Related to Educational Philosophy. Checking Your Own Educational Philosophy and Supervisory Beliefs. What Does Your Belief Mean in Terms of Supervisor and Teacher Responsibility? The Authors Supervisory Platform. Summary, Conclusions, and Propositions. III.INTERPERSONAL SKILLS. 6.Supervisory Behavior Continuum: Know Thyself. Outcomes of Conference. Your Own Interpersonal Behavior Approach. Valid Assessment of Self. Johari Window. Cognitive Dissonance. Summary, Conclusions, and Preview. 7.Developmental Supervision: An Introduction. Case Study One. Case Study Two. Case Study Three. Case Study Four. Developmental Supervision. Summary and a Look Ahead. 8.Directive Control Behaviors. Directive Control Behaviors with Individuals. Directive Control Behaviors with Groups. A History of Overreliance on Control. Issues in Directive Control. When to Use Directive Control Behaviors. Moving From Directive Control toward Directive Informational Behaviors. 9.Directive Informational Behaviors. Directive Informational Behaviors with Individuals. Directive Informational Behaviors with Groups. Issues in the Directive Informational Approach. When to Use Directive Informational Behaviors. Moving from Directive Informational toward Collaborative Behaviors. 10.Collaborative Behaviors. Collaborative Behaviors with Individuals.
Science fairs as learning tool for teaching excellence
Science fairs are usually considered to be a pedagogical and cultural activity that involves the students actively. Gifted students need challenges to further develop their skills while maintaining the motivation level. Science fairs may provide the informal environment that will request and allow these students of excellence to challenge themselves by developing a scientific research project. Despite being well known in different countries, in Portugal first steps are being made on the use and implementation of science fairs as effective pedagogical tool. In this work, we will present a 4 years study that was developed on a Portuguese school with the main goal of evaluating the advantages of this informal way of teaching. The study includes an analysis of the evolution of the students’ knowledge that have participated, or visited, the different science fairs. Some advices for the implementation of these projects will be given. The motivation of the students was monitored as well as the knowledge and skills effectively improved by this activity.