Advances in the Provision of Mathematics Teacher Professional Development in Botswana (original) (raw)
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Professional Development as a Process of Change: Some Reflections on Mathematics Teacher Development
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
Based on theoretical overviews covering feedback and partners in teaching practice, this paper reports on a cohort of South African third year B.Ed. student teachers' impressions of feedback during a specific period of teaching practice by means of a quantitative study. By focusing on feedback on lesson presentations, 82 randomly sampled student teachers shared their impressions of feedback provided by supervisor teachers and university lecturers. Although the findings suggest that student teachers experience feedback of university lecturers as of higher quality than feedback provided by supervisor teachers, much must still be done to improve feedback practices during teaching practice periods.
Factors Influencing Quality of Feedback in Teaching in Botswana Senior Secondary Schools
2014
Feedback is a very effective technique in assessment for learning and its absence during teaching rids classroom assessment of its effectiveness in enhancing learning. This study explored the quality of teacher feedback in Gaborone senior secondary schools through determining the extent to which the school culture, the level of students’ achievement, the gender of the teachers, as well as the level of difficulty of the questions that the teachers ask influence the quality of feedback in mathematics classrooms. A questionnaire (α = .78) was used to collect survey data from 306 students in three private and four public senior secondary schools in the city of Gaborone. Data were analyzed using ttest, and ANOVA inferential statistical techniques. The main findings showed that the quality of feedback in mathematics lessons was significantly poor; and the gender of teachers had no significant influence on the quality of feedback. However, the type of school, the level of difficulty of que...
Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science
The purpose of the study is to re-emphasis the importance of feedback and show how it could be used to improve instruction and learner performance in mathematics. The study adopted action research design that resulted in the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data through observation checklists, self administered questionnaires and in-depth interviews. A sample of grade 6 newly qualified mathematics educators from Johannesburg west schools was randomly selected for the study. The data was analyzed through the thematic approach. The study established that the educators observed did not provide immediate feedback. Planning or preparation was not informed by the feedback from previous lessons. Errors that were indicators of misconceptions were not identified and corrected in their marking. Furthermore, teachers did not move around to probe and discuss with individual learners how they got their answers. Feedback was largely by educators, yet Farai et al.; JESBS, 24(1): 1-13, 2018; Article no.JESBS.36269 2 its purpose was to inform instruction. The educators employed the talking method that was not child centered. The use of the traditional chalk and talk method did not take into cognizance other approaches that could capture learners' interests. The study established that there was a need for effective mentoring and in-class training for newly qualified mathematics educators who had acquired their teaching qualifications through open distance learning. There was a methodological gap that could have resulted from lack of mentoring during teaching practice. Furthermore schools did not fully support newly qualified educators due to the fact that some of the heads of departments for sciences had not specialized in mathematics. The study also found that the newly qualified educators delayed feedback due to too much work load as some of them were teaching too many subject areas. The study recommended intensive mentoring and coaching of both new and experienced educators during teaching practice so that they could share the right practices at the school level.The study further recommends that teachers should value the learners' work and effort by giving prompt, corrective and immediate feedback. Officials who design annual teaching plans should leave enough time for feedback and revision. Congestion in the primary school curriculum contradicts the value of feedback and self regulation. The annual teaching plan should provide enough time for teachers to elaborate on concepts that are not well understood by learners towards the end of each term.
Features of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of School Mathematics Teachers in Zimbabwe
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
Based on theoretical overviews covering feedback and partners in teaching practice, this paper reports on a cohort of South African third year B.Ed. student teachers' impressions of feedback during a specific period of teaching practice by means of a quantitative study. By focusing on feedback on lesson presentations, 82 randomly sampled student teachers shared their impressions of feedback provided by supervisor teachers and university lecturers. Although the findings suggest that student teachers experience feedback of university lecturers as of higher quality than feedback provided by supervisor teachers, much must still be done to improve feedback practices during teaching practice periods.
New Reforms to Improve Professional Development of Mathematics Teachers in Morocco
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES, 2015
Based on theoretical overviews covering feedback and partners in teaching practice, this paper reports on a cohort of South African third year B.Ed. student teachers' impressions of feedback during a specific period of teaching practice by means of a quantitative study. By focusing on feedback on lesson presentations, 82 randomly sampled student teachers shared their impressions of feedback provided by supervisor teachers and university lecturers. Although the findings suggest that student teachers experience feedback of university lecturers as of higher quality than feedback provided by supervisor teachers, much must still be done to improve feedback practices during teaching practice periods.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
Based on theoretical overviews covering feedback and partners in teaching practice, this paper reports on a cohort of South African third year B.Ed. student teachers' impressions of feedback during a specific period of teaching practice by means of a quantitative study. By focusing on feedback on lesson presentations, 82 randomly sampled student teachers shared their impressions of feedback provided by supervisor teachers and university lecturers. Although the findings suggest that student teachers experience feedback of university lecturers as of higher quality than feedback provided by supervisor teachers, much must still be done to improve feedback practices during teaching practice periods.
The Role of Feedback in Teacher Professional Development
EIKI Journal of Effective Teaching Methods, 2023
This paper examines how professional development (PD) facilitators obtain feedback about the effectiveness of sessions they facilitate, and to what extent feedback is an integral part of their planning. Three professional development facilitators with varying degrees of experience served as participants in this study. One-on-one semi-structured interviews was used to collect data, and the data were analyzed utilizing an interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA). The findings showed that the participants obtained feedback from teachers using different methods before, during, and after their professional development sessions. The facilitators used feed-back to plan and check the effectiveness of their sessions, and feedback was an integral part of their professional development work.
Mathematics student teachers' views on tutor feedback during teaching practice
A group of students studying to become mathematics teachers were asked to comment on the tutor feedback they received during teaching practice (TP) and to offer suggestions aimed at improving this feedback. Analysis of the written data – which was collected through emails – suggests the need for: (i) all TP tutors to provide good quality feedback; (ii) action aimed at deepening students’ understanding of feedback; and (iii) feedback improvement strategies that take into consideration the students’ sense of practicality. The ensuing discussion serves to promote the idea that teachers-to-be can learn a lot about the constructive role of feedback when they observe their tutors managing successfully during TP the inherent tensions between the formative and summative dimensions of assessment. This would require however a shift in pre-service teacher education from simply ‘teaching by telling’ to also ‘teaching by example’.
An Analysis of Teacher Feedback for Improving Teaching Quality in Primary Schools
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2014
Feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning. This article provides an overview of the current state and problems of feedback for teachers and students in primary schools. Data were gathered from national test scores, readiness tests, teachers' interviews, teachers' self-assessment and classroom observation. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyze data. The findings revealed that teachers received feedback on their instruction with superficial results. Slight recommendations could not improve teacher performance and student achievement. Teachers did not use evidence from assessment to improve their students' performance individually. Most teachers misinterpreted the responses on the readiness test of grade 6 students in mathematics and sciences. All teachers assessed themselves as having low ability of teaching. Moreover, there is no feedback for students addressed in the lesson plans. Teachers needed to improve their performance on teaching and assessment individually. All information from the analysis was used to design a feedback system which can be used to enhance its effectiveness in classrooms on teaching and learning. Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Servet Bayram Keywords:training self-assessment and classroom observation, low ability of teaching.