JOURNAL OF EDUCATION
Year:2019 | Volume:35 | Issue:1 (137) |Papers Count:9

Reflection on teaching is a known method of learning to teach. Reflection is a form of thinking wherein improvement is sought through self-observation. Recent approaches to teaching practicums have gravitated towards reflective ones. However, there are no exact models for the design and implementation of reflection-based practicum. In this study with a social constructivist perspective, the validity of one such model is explored. The basic elements of the instructional situation, i. e. conditions, methods, and results, along with the implementation stages of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation constitute the chosen model. A group of 5 educational technologists initially studied the model from an instructional design perspective. Then a group of 4 teacher educators, as users of the model, were asked to design a sample teaching situation using the given model. The feedback given by the two groups was used to improve the model in four rounds of validation. The final version of the model gained an approval measure of %88 by the two groups.

To improve any learning environment, its problems need to be identified. To do so at the Farhangian University campuses in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, initially a group of 135 graduates consisting of 6 different subgroups were asked to identify the main challenges facing their university. Then another group of 125 graduates was tasked with the prioritization of the identified problems. A hierarchical analysis of the collected data lead to the conclusion that the most challenging aspects of this university are the areas of human resources, curriculum and structure, and the cultural/educational/scientific domain. More specifically, teachers, administrators, the local culture, needs assessment, teaching of practical matters, content, and implementation were the most challenging areas of difficulty. Hence, it is necessary to author a set of directives in the identified areas in order to make the organization responsive to its clients.

Shahaab, or Identification and Orientation of Superior Aptitudes, Project’ s one-year trial required an assessment of its successes and failures through an opinion survey of a group of teachers, administrators, and experts. Respondents answered open questions both orally and in writing on different aspects of the project. The summarized and categorized responses indicate that the necessary conditions for the successful implementation of the project have not been present during the first year of the implementation. The methods and objectives of the project do not seem to be compatible with the existing economic and cultural contexts. The heavily centralized system of education emphasizing the implementation of predetermined programs do not fit the framework of the Shahaab Project. The respondents are not convinced enough of the practicality of the project and hence, have not committed themselves to its goals and objectives, leading to negative outcomes.

In centralized systems of education, the incongruence between the national and local cultures can be problematic. Hence, the identification of the local culture and exploration of its congruency with that governing the national curriculum is a must. To this end, a group of 18 elementary school teachers in the province of Lorestan was both observed and interviewed. The findings are indicative of both positive and negative cultural characteristics in general and in the areas of cooperation and communication in particular. Among the positive characteristics hard working, patience, and good manners stand out, while lacking a sense of cooperation in educational discussions, being low in occupational consciousness, and addiction are among the negative ones. There was a difference between older and younger teachers in terms of cultural concerns on clothing and choice of place of work. Cultures of communication and cooperation varied among teachers depending on their level of education and parental expectations. The findings can be used in making the case for decentralized educational planning.

Scientific validity or correctness is of paramount importance when it comes to the contents of textbooks used in elementary schools, as the very foundations of learners’ knowledge is constructed therein. Hence, an analysis of these contents from this perspective is necessary in order to guide any corrective measure that the publisher may want to undertake. The Farsi textbooks across the six grades in elementary school were chosen for such an analysis. Seemingly suspicious parts of these textbooks were initially derived and listed, and then checked against valid sources leading to elimination of parts that were evidently correct. The remaining list was categorized and instances of each category counted. Although most of the content is scientifically correct, inaccuracies were observed in the areas of vocabulary explanation, editing, referencing, literary information, and textbooks structure. The more specialized the content, the more frequent are the inaccuracies. Given that such inaccuracies could lead to students misunderstanding the lessons, it is for the authorities to take the necessary steps towards correcting the identified inaccuracies.

Given the environmental crises, it is necessary to help citizens with the improvement of their attitudes. Attitudes, or predispositions to react cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally towards their subject, which can be the environment as well, need to be positive in order for the person to have a constructive interaction with that subject (e. g. the environment). Preschool teachers’ attitudes towards the environment would have an impact on their teaching and pupils in such a way that it may shape the children’ s attitudes towards the environment in the future. Hence, helping teachers to improve their attitudes in this regard would be helping their current and future students as well. In this research, an accessible group of 29 pre-school teachers willing to help with the trial of a short course on the environment designed to improve the attitudes, was initially assessed on their knowledge, values, and behaviors (skills) in relation to the environment. At the end of the short course on environment, the same instruments were used to gather the same set of data. Comparing the two sets of pre-and post-test data lead to the conclusion that taking the course has resulted in improvements in all three dimensions of participants’ attitudes towards the environment. It is observed that the most improved dimension is the cognitive dimension, as the participants’ knowledge of the environment increased dramatically.

To identify the causes of the perceived gap between junior high school intended, implemented, and attained curricula, a group of 30 curriculum planners, 50 educational experts, and a set of 10 evaluation studies conducted within the previous 5 years were consulted through the use of a questionnaire and an observation list. Data analyses revealed that bridging the existing gap between the three curricula requires adjusting the intended curriculum to the learners’ levels of development, emphasizing the applicability of the content, attending to the social values and cultural beliefs, and avoiding highly abstract and difficult concepts. As for the implemented curriculum, it is the expansion and improvement of the in-service courses (real & virtual) and the training of specialized teachers for subjects that require specialized knowledge that need to be prioritized. Familiarization of teachers with methods and principles of evaluation and test construction, in the light of individual differences among learners, can help with the improvement of the curriculum outcome.