Section archive - Instruction in Teacher Training

The current study examines how two teachers in an inner-city elementary school have interacted successfully with African American parents to encourage their involvement in the academic efforts of their children. The article identifies five effective parental involvement practices emerged in each teacher’s story: reaching out to the parents, developing positive teacher–child–parent relationships, creating a positive classroom climate, teaching to involve the parents, and establishing community–school connections. The study found that these two teachers developed positive relationships with parents.

The current study uses an experimental approach to investigate effects that analyzing videos of one’s own versus others’ teaching and experience with video has on teacher learning. The study particularly focuses on the influences of these videos analysis on knowledge activation and professional vision.

Studies in other countries have reported that time plays a significant role in teachers’ decisions about teaching methods. Student-centered teaching tend to be more time-consuming and unpredictable than whole-class lecturing. China has been promoting a reform in its curriculum and pedagogy toward student-centered approach. Therefore, this research article will investigate 1) how this curriculum reform influences rural teachers’ experience of lesson time, and 2) whether and how their concerns over time advance or hinder the promotion of student-centered teaching in rural areas. This study supports the findings in the literature that time is a crucial factor for teachers’ pedagogical decisions.

The present study investigated the relationship between young Chinese children’s motivation, teachers’ use of motivating instructional strategies and children’s reading comprehension. The theoretical framework of the present study was based Motivating Instructional Contexts Inventory that postulated that teachers’ cognitive support could motivate Chinese students to learn. In conclusion, this study indicates how teachers can provide cognitive support in reading classrooms through providing students with challenging tasks, stimulating students’ curiosity about the reading materials, and recognising students’ efforts in reading comprehension.