Journal of Educational Practice and Research

Instructional Planning for History Teaching: Case Studies of Exemplary Junior-high School Teachers

Pei-Fen Sung

Taiwan’s history teaching lacks the research of exemplary teachers who transform historical thinking into daily practices, and thus lacks good models for the Teacher Education curriculum. The purpose of this research is to understand how exemplary teachers teach historical thinking and how to prepare lessons through case studies. By employing the snow-bowling method, i.e., asking experts to introduce experts, the researcher described and analyzed three exemplary junior-high school history teachers and explored their beliefs about teaching, methods of teaching and factors that affected their approaches. The results show that the three teachers have their distinctive traits of teaching: Teacher A inclines to conduct disciplinary training , focuses on big ideas and the use of historical documents for inquiry, Teacher B leans toward using evidence to prove the textbook narratives, and help students empathize with historical figures, and Teacher C focuses on students’ critical thinking and personal engagement in history; hence, more efforts are made to make the connection between the past and the present. However, these teachers have a lot in common--they 1) care about historical empathy, 2) use evidence for historical thinking, 3) ask key questions and logically arrange them, 4) use cooperative learning methods to engage students, 5) use worksheets as the vehicle for teaching, learning and assessment, and 6) participate in more than one professional community to progress professionally. Through the descriptions and analyses of the cases, the present study raises three issues for the field of history teaching and encourages teachers to ponder if history teaching should be oriented toward rational-evidence, historical empathy, or reflective citizenship training.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together and Break Gold Together? - Cohesion Impacts of Group Members with Resemblance in Personality on Group Decision-Making and Groupthinks

Pei-Kuan Lin

The present study sought to explore the relationships among group cohesion, groupthinks, and group decision-making in random groupings and groupings by personality type when proceeding with a specific cooperative learning activity. This study adopted a quasi-experimental design and collected 120 samples from two classes of undergraduate students of the Department of Business Administration. The students in the controlled class were randomly grouped. Those in the experimental class were divided into groups upon their similar personality traits. In both classes a group discussion activity was conducted and students reached a group decision. The results of the study are as follows: 1) decision-making outcomes of groups were better than those of individuals for both classes; both had high group cohesion and good group decision-making outcomes; 2) there was no significant relationship between group cohesion and group decision-making outcomes among random groupings; 3) group cohesion can predict group decision-making outcomes among groupings by personality type; groupthinks partially mediated the relationships between them; and 4) group members with both high levels of neuroticism and conscientiousness traits can also create high-efficiency and high-quality group decision-making outcomes. The results suggested that: 1) teachers may consider frequently switching different cooperative learning grouping strategies, and systematically recording the learning process of groups and individuals respectively so that teachers can solve problems for and provide assistance to students in an effective and timely manner in the process of cooperative learning, and improve student learning effectiveness; 2) the homogeneous groupings had strong group cohesion but they also had strong groupthink effects. In order to increase students’ willingness to share ideas, resources, and exert greater creativity, teachers may incorporate a variety of active teaching approaches, and arrange a few constructive conflicts to enhance positive cohesion,; 3) teachers may give students free reins to develop their ideas with different types of discussion topics, materials, and guidance upon the differences in the personality strengths and weaknesses of members between groups; and 4) teachers may adopt qualitative-descriptive peer evaluations to deepen group collaboration. The present study helps academia and industry better understand practical operations of how personality traits affect group decision-making, group cohesion, and groupthinks.

The Formation and Development of Teacher Education in the Early 19th Century Massachusetts, United States

Yu-Chih Yen

The purpose of this study is to explore the history of the formation and development of teacher education in the early 19th century Massachusetts, United States. Through adapting historical research and documentary research, this study intends to understand the difficulties and controversies faced in teacher education reform in Massachusetts. The findings are as follows. First, the problems and deficiencies of teacher education before the beginning of the nineteenth century in Massachusetts were deeply affected by religious traditions, educational funding, and teacher recruitment mechanisms. Second, James G. Carter (1795-1849) proposed establishing a specific teacher training institution. Third, Charles Brooks (1795-1872) suggested imitating Prussian education experience and petitioned to establish Massachusetts state normal school. Fourth, Horace Mann (1796-1859) was the key figure in establishing the Massachusetts state normal school and resolving its related disputes. Fifth, the Massachusetts State Board of Education and the Massachusetts normal school were intervened by political factors and once encountered abolition crisis. Sixth, The Massachusetts state normal school operated by Cyrus Peirce (1790-1860) manifested the characteristic of the development of Massachusetts teacher training toward professionalization.

This study proposes suggestions for future development of teacher training in Taiwan: First, reconciling the advantages of different teacher training channels and implementing a blueprint for teacher professional development. Second, focus academic research on teacher training and shaping a model institution for teacher training practice. Third, cultivate Taiwan teachers’ professional development based on domestic culture and environment, bearing global educational perspectives.

Discussion on The Curriculum Modification Model for Preschool Inclusion

Shu-hsien Tseng

With the trend of inclusion, young children with special needs who attend regular classrooms are increasing in number. Also, as the gap in the context of inclusion among the developmental levels and special needs of preschool children becomes larger after the integration of kindergartens and nursery schools, preschool teachers need to implement differentiated instruction according to students’ individual needs, and make flexibly adjustment to the instructional content and assessments to enhance learning achievement and to guide students’ development. An essential way to implement differentiated instruction is through curriculum modification. However, the current literature and practice of preschool curriculum modification primarily focus on external modification strategies. Nevertheless, an increasing amount of preschool studies have confirmed the important role played by children’s key abilities and self-regulation in their development and learning. Studies show that internal modification strategies that emphasize on adjusting children’s behaviors to establish their inner abilities is a more indispensable part of curriculum modification. Therefore, this article reviews the literature critically and proposes a ‟PEACI curriculum modification model” that covers internal and external modification strategies as a frame reference for researchers and practitioners to design adaptive curriculum and instruction for preschool inclusion. It is also suggested that related policies and trainings should emphasize on internal modification expanding from current eight strategies of three dimensions to 10 strategies of five dimensions of PEACI model, to enhance teachers’ efficacy in implementing differentiated instruction.