The Teacher of the 21st Century: Quality Education for Quality Teaching [1 ed.] 9781443857987, 9781443856126

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The Teacher of the 21st Century

The Teacher of the 21st Century: Quality Education for Quality Teaching

Edited by

Linda Daniela, Ineta /njND, /njFLMD5XWNDDQG,UƝQDäRJOD English language editor

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The Teacher of the 21st Century: Quality Education for Quality Teaching Edited by Linda Daniela, Ineta /njND/njFLMD5XWNDDQG,UƝQDäRJOD This ERRNILUVWSXEOLVKHG Cambridge Scholars Publishing %DFN&KDSPDQ6WUHHW1HZFDVWOHXSRQ7\QH1(;;8. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record IRUWKLVERRNLVDYDLODEOHIURPWKH%ULWLVK/LEUDU\ &RS\ULJKW‹E\/LQGD'DQLHOD,QHWD/njND/njFLMD5XWND, ,UƝQDäRJODDQGFRQWULEXWRUV $OOULJKWVIRUWKLVERRNUHVHUYHG1RSDUWRIWKLVERRNPD\EHUHSURGXFHGVWRUHGLQDUHWULHYDOV\VWHP or trDQVPLWWHGLQDQ\IRUPRUE\DQ\PHDQVHOHFWURQLFPHFKDQLFDOSKRWRFRS\LQJUHFRUGLQJRU RWKHUZLVHZLWKRXWWKHSULRUSHUPLVVLRQRIWKHFRS\ULJKWRZQHU ,6%1 ---,6%1 -1---

CONTENTS ATEE Spring Conference 2013 ................................................................. ix Editorial Board .......................................................................................... xi Review Committee ................................................................................... xii About the Articles.................................................................................... xiii Chapter One ................................................................................................ 1 Development of Support Systems for Decreasing Social Exclusion Linda Daniela, Dita NƯmante and Gunta KraƧe Chapter Two ............................................................................................. 14 Educational Robotics in Teacher Education: An Innovative Tool for Promoting Quality Education Dimitris Alimisis Chapter Three ........................................................................................... 28 Addressing Diverse Learning Needs: Differentiation Behaviours of Five Teachers Towards the Same Class of Students Alaster Scott Douglas Chapter Four ............................................................................................. 40 Problem-Based Learning in Portugal: Contributions of the SCENE Project to Promote Teachers/Trainers Skills for the 21st Century Paulo Dias, John Mergendoller and Ana Sofia Bastos Chapter Five ............................................................................................. 53 Interaction of Teachers’ Professional Development and the School Environment: Practice and Possible Solutions KarƯna Brikmane and AlƯda Samuseviþa Chapter Six ............................................................................................... 71 Where Does the Difference Between PIRLS 2006 and PISA 2009 Results Come From? Antra Ozola and Andrejs Geske

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Chapter Seven........................................................................................... 83 Pushing the Boundaries: A Study of Higher Education Students’ Responses to a Creative, Art-Based Learning Experience Jan Watson Chapter Eight ............................................................................................ 98 Curriculum Development for Quality Teaching and Learning Rudite Andersone Chapter Nine........................................................................................... 106 Towards Integrated Learning: Linking Psychology, Sociology and School Experience in Initial Teacher Education Anne Ryan and Leah O’Toole Chapter Ten ............................................................................................ 132 Teacher Education for Inclusion: Challenge for the 21st Century Teacher SarmƯte Tnjbele Chapter Eleven ....................................................................................... 146 Assessment of Student Teachers’ Professional Activity During Practicums Using the Validpack Instrument Evija Latkovska and Lnjcija Rutka Chapter Twelve ...................................................................................... 162 In Search of Quality Language Teacher Education in the Polish Context: Attitudes and Multilingualism Katarzyna Cybulska Chapter Thirteen ..................................................................................... 177 Teacher Authority as a Basis for School Culture: Pedagogical Ethos, Interaction Culture and Effective Learning Sandra Smilga, Ineta Lnjka and Irena Zogla Chapter Fourteen .................................................................................... 194 The Existential Meaning of Personal Experience in the Learning Process Martins Veide Chapter Fifteen ....................................................................................... 208 Impact of Six Sigma: Dmaic Approach in Learning ICT Concepts by Prospective Teachers R. Hariharan and K. Mohanasundaram

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Chapter Sixteen ...................................................................................... 219 Teachers’ Beliefs and Understanding about the Learning and Teaching Process: From Student Years to an Experienced Professional Rea Raus and Sandra Ozola Chapter Seventeen .................................................................................. 228 Experienced Emotions by Prospective Teachers as Primary School Pupils in Mathematics Lessons Ineta Helmane Chapter Eighteen .................................................................................... 239 The Influence of Teachers’ Citizenship Activities on Students’ Civic Knowledge and Skills Ireta Cekse and Andrejs Geske Chapter Nineteen .................................................................................... 250 Upbringing Phenomena in Modern Families Dace Medne Chapter Twenty ...................................................................................... 262 Primary School Staff Assessment of Features: State and Success Factors of Kurzeme District Schools Ivars Muzis Chapter Twenty-One .............................................................................. 270 Directions of Changes in Teacher Thinking in the Context of Improving the Quality of Education Agnieszka Nowak-àojewska Chapter Twenty-Two.............................................................................. 282 Nature Studies and Technologies Competence and Criteria of its Development in the Context-Oriented Process of Learning Physics JƗnis Poplavskis and JƗnis Dzerviniks Chapter Twenty-Three............................................................................ 297 Learning Environment and Study Process as Tools for Facilitating Leadership Development Ineta Lnjka, Maija Rozite and Janis Eriks Niedritis

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Chapter Twenty-Four ............................................................................. 314 Psychological Pedagogical Approach to Reducing Social Exclusion of Adolescents in Latvia Evija Latkovska, Linda Daniela and Lnjcija Rutka Chapter Twenty-Five .............................................................................. 324 Children’s Comprehensive Preparation for School in Out-Of-Family Institutional Care Lubova Vasechko Chapter Twenty-Six................................................................................ 336 Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Ecological Education and Environmental Education in Biology Mariana Iancu

ATEE SPRING CONFERENCE 2013

The overarching theme of the Spring conferences in Riga remains as it has been for several years Teacher of the 21st Century: Quality education for quality teaching. However, each year, the organizers ask the participants to consider narrower problems related to teacher education and to leave space for innovative ideas and their implementation. Over the past two decades and even longer, countries have been trying to build standards-based accountability as a foundation for a higher– achieving education system. In practice, however, we have created several experiences with certain domains, including test-based accountability and internal and external evaluation of the achievements. Also, a function of control appears, instead of facilitating students and pupil self–regulated learning, context knowledge and understanding, higher–order thinking, problem solving, and creativity needed for teachers to succeed in the 21st century. The organizing and academic committee of the Spring Conference 2013 highly appreciate the participants’ attempts to consider the quality of tertiary teacher education and teaching–learning in institutions affected by constant changes. Pedagogy, coupled with accountability and evaluation, new paradigms in learning sciences, as well as in communication technologies, and digitally–based tutoring that influence teaching and learning, from time to time is still narrowing creativity and flexibility in teaching and learning. Implementation of productive findings does not always lead to student and pupil success. Why? How can tertiary teacher education obtain a stronger educative function, become more personalized, and invite teachers to be constantly aware of the quality of teaching, while catching up with the ongoing changes in our social life and education, as well? How can educators, teachers and researchers create a dynamic pedagogy and a multifaceted approach to teaching and learning in order to

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integrate teaching, learning, and assessment, thereby leading to teacher flexibility, creativity and innovative practices that meet the high standards of 21st century education? What successful practices should we share and how can teacher education meet the need for change in the tertiary educational process and teacher life–long professional development?

EDITORIAL BOARD Linda Daniela Ineta Lnjka Lnjcija Rutka IrƝna Žogla

REVIEW COMMITTEE Linda Daniela Ineta Lnjka Lnjcija Rutka IrƝna Žogla SarmƯte Tnjbele DainuvƯte Blnjma Dita NƯmante Ivars Muzis

ABOUT THE ARTICLES Linda Daniela, Dita NƯmante and Gunta KraƧe write about research-based preventive support systems for decreasing the social exclusion risk for children and young people from age 7 to 25 in the article “Development of Support Systems for Decreasing Social Exclusion”. These ensure successful inclusion of those learners who are at high risk of dropping out of general comprehensive school, or not receiving primary education or a certificate of general secondary education and the basic knowledge and key skills that have been developed, for the first time in Latvia, within the framework of the project “Development and implementation of support programs for young people at the risk of exclusion”. Dimitris Alimisis, in his article “Educational Robotics in Teacher Education: An innovative tool for promoting quality education”, writes about robotics, which has acquired a high interest of teachers and researchers in European countries as a valuable tool to develop cognitive and manual skills in students from pre-school to high school and as a learning tool in the teaching of science, mathematics, technology, informatics and other school subjects or in interdisciplinary learning activities. The paper concludes with a proposal for creation of a Europeanwide network in educational robotics including teachers and researchers in the field. Alaster Scott Douglas, in his article “Addressing Diverse Learning Needs: Differentiation behaviours of five teachers towards the same class of students”, writes about a study which addresses teachers’ differential behaviour and follows one class of Year 8 students (12/13 year olds) being taught by five teachers in different subjects in one secondary school in London. The research explores how teachers differentiate among their students and identifies the individual student characteristics and group characteristics that teachers take into account in their teaching practice. The findings consider why classroom differentiation exists between the five subject teachers. The data analysis uses a cultural historical activity theory framework to give suggestions as to what may constrain the development of future teaching activity for the students in the Year 8 class.

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Paulo Dias, John Mergendoller and Ana Sofia Bastos, in their article “Problem-based learning in Portugal: Contributions of the SCENE project in promoting teacher/trainer skills for the 21st century”, describe a part of a European project on problem-based learning (PBL) in education. Its aim is to explore the use of this innovative pedagogical model in the Portuguese context. In PBL, unlike “traditional” pedagogical teaching models where the teacher is the centre and “knowledge provider” (Savery, 2006), student thinking and action is at the centre of the teaching-learning interaction. PBL is a constructivist pedagogy emphasizing real-world problem solving, group learning and discussion, and subsequent reflection about what has been learned and accomplished (Hmelo-Silver and Barrows, 2006). They discuss interview results and, propose, based on these data, a program of continuing education for teachers and adult trainers, to enable them to promote 21st century skills of their students. KarƯna Brikmane and AlƯda Samuseviþa – “Interaction of Teachers’ Professional Development and the School Environment: Practice and possible solutions” – describe the professional development dimension of teachers in Latvia, highlighting teaching experience and the opportunities to develop skills within the school environment, based on the transformation of the teaching process and interaction with resources in the school environment. The significance of the research is determined by the need to provide modern, competitive education for the younger generation. A need for continuing professional development of teachers arises as a consequence. It is important that teacher professional development feedback should be incorporated into the teaching process and not just formally remain on paper. The purpose of Antra Ozola and Andrejs Geske’s article “Where Does the Difference Between PIRLS 2006 and PISA 2009 Results Come From?” is to find out how changes in reading achievement scores can be explained. In the research, PIRLS 2006 and PISA 2009 data are used to compare situations in countries that participated in both studies. Comparing PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2009 and PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) 2006 results for some countries, there is a relative rise of average reading literacy performance, and for some countries there is a drop in average achievement. Jan Watson in her article “Pushing the Boundaries: A study of higher education students’ responses to a creative, art-based learning experience” examines student responses to an open-ended, art-based task, which involved the documentation of the creative process and culminated in the

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production of individual art pieces. She explores how students approached the work, and how working independently in a collaborative, learning space impacted on their personal and professional identities. The findings support the view that students are more engaged with their learning when they have access to challenging, creative experiences that enable them to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, and skills in different ways. Rudite Andersone in her article “Curriculum Development for Quality Teaching and Learning” writes about the digital generation, the development of a digital economy and globalization. Restrictions and the development of the branches of the national economy are significant factors for sustainable development of education for it to become one of the most significant issues in the development of society. Education in school practice takes place in a dramatically new information environment (social networking, digitalization, plenitude) and for the future, which cannot be clearly characterized and described. Given the complexity of today’s ever-changing world, contemporary approaches to curriculum development far exceed traditional understanding of curricula as merely plans of study or lists of prescribed content. One of the objectives of curriculum development is the assurance of teaching and learning in classrooms at all levels. This article analyses approaches to curriculum development in order to put into effect the principles of qualitative teaching and learning. Anne Ryan and Leah O’Toole present “Towards Integrated Learning: Linking psychology, sociology and school experience in initial teacher education”. The authors, who teach Sociology and Psychology respectively to pre-service teachers in Ireland, describe their recently revised approach to the teaching and assessment of their courses. This approach, which provides for greater integration of the components in ITE, potentially enhances student teachers’ preparation for practice, and particularly acknowledges the value of the students’ cooperative learning in this process. SarmƯte Tnjbele, in her article “Teacher Education for Inclusion – Challenge for the 21st century teacher”, notes that pedagogical processes are developing very rapidly and are connected with changes in society. Although differences among countries in Europe are significant, there are also similarities that need to be taken into account. Latvia’s entry into the European Union in 2004 provided more possibilities to become acquainted with life, and especially pedagogical processes, in other European countries.

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Evija Latkovska and Lnjcija Rutka, in their article “Assessment of Student teacher Professional Activity during Practicum Using Validpack Instrument”, note that in teacher education, a question of assessing student teacher professional activity in practicums is still topical. A new approach to this issue is provided by Validpack: an innovative instrument meant to assess, document and validate psycho-pedagogical competence of those working in the field of education, no matter whether they have acquired it in formal, non-formal or informal learning contexts. The article provides scientifically grounded theoretical substantiation of the use of the Validpack instrument to assess student teacher professional activity and reveals student teachers’ attitudes towards efficiency of its use during practicums. Katarzyna Cybulska’s article, “In Search for Quality Language Teacher Education in the Polish Context: Attitudes and multilingualism”, is set in the context of European language policy. Her study aims to examine Polish pre-service and in-service EFL teacher attitudes to foreign languages other than English and to FL learning processes, combined with analysis of their own multilinguality and interests in new approaches/programmes. It offers valuable insights into the quality of present and future EFL teacher overall preparation for fostering students’ positive attitudes to language learning, with special attention being paid to linguistic diversity. Sandra Smilga, Ineta Lnjka and Irena Zogla’s article, “Teacher Authority as a Basis for School Culture: Pedagogical ethos, interaction culture and effective learning”, is an evaluative study conducted from 2008-2012 in Latvia. The purpose of the study was to analyse the effectiveness of teacher authority in creating interaction to promote student teacher relationship as a component of school culture, viewed here as a precondition of shifting the accent from teaching to effective learning. The findings show that pedagogical authority is a complex phenomenon in which the teacher’s subject competence is closely intertwined with the teacher’s ethos and classroom management skills. Authority is a component of teacher pedagogical ethos, which is expressed in mutual relationships and the culture of interaction. Martins Veide, in his article “The Existential Meaning of Personal Experience in the Learning Process”, discusses the existential aspects of the learning process and content. These aspects are reviewed in the light of four learning dimensions: knowledge, abilities, living, and learning. Choice and meaning are analyzed as important prerequisites for self-

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realization and development of the participants of the learning process. Based on the findings of personal experience as an important element for learning existential meaning, the author develops his proposition for the development of the learning process and content. R.Hariharan and K. Mohanasundaram, in their article “Impact of Six Sigma – Dmaic approach in learning ICT concepts by prospective teachers”, write about renewed interest in the quality perspectives of teacher education, which has been spurred on as if it is the mother of all education. Six Sigma is the qualitative analysis method used extensively in industrial units for operational improvement – its adoption is relatively new to the teacher education process. This Six Sigma based experimentation analyses various psycho-somatic factors, which may tend to change abruptly in a particular situation and governs the process improvement of learning of the prospective teachers. Rea Raus and Sandra Ozola, in their article “Teachers` Beliefs and Understandings about the Learning and Teaching Process – From student years to experienced professional” notes that novice teachers quitting their jobs during the first years of teaching is a world-wide problem (Richardson, 2005). Previous research has shown that while in-service teachers form their professional identity through teaching and learning experiences, pre-service programs can make a difference. Many researchers see professional identity as an ongoing process of integration of the personal and professional sides of becoming and being a teacher. Ineta Helmane’s article “Emotions Experienced by Prospective Teachers as Primary School Pupils in Mathematics Lessons” deals with teachers’emotions. The quality of the study process is influenced by the prospective teacher’s emotions experienced during the educational process at school. The prospective teacher’s emotions experienced at school as a pupil are initiators of psychic and physical strengths, or can be an impediment to them. The aim of the article is to investigate the experienced emotions by prospective teachers when learning mathematics as primary school pupils and highlight the factors arousing emotions in learning mathematics in primary school. The article analyses the data obtained in empirical research about the emotions experienced by prospective teachers during mathematics lessons in primary school. Ireta Cekse and Andrejs Geske – “The Influence of Teacher Citizenship Activities on Student Civic Knowledge and Skills”. The paradigm of citizenship and citizenship education has changed since Latvia and Estonia

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regained independence and became members of international organizations, such as the European Union and NATO. Today, each member of society, including teachers, is responsible for the development of democratic values. All subject teachers are accountable for citizenship education and the development of the school environment. The research based on teacher data obtained from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2009 (ICCS) in Estonia and Latvia. Dace Medne, in her article “Upbringing Phenomena in Modern Families”, discusses the need to study the problems of the upbringing process in the family in the transformative society of Latvia. This is determined by changes in the economic situation and the philosophical paradigm, as they result in changes in family upbringing. From 2006 to 2010, research took place on the specifics of upbringing in present-day Latvia: “Upbringing in the Transformative Society of Latvia”. This article analyzes pedagogical techniques in the upbringing phenomena that facilitate the development of an independent and responsible personality. Ivars Muzis, in his article “Primary School Staff Assessment of Features, State and Success Factors in Kurzeme District Schools”, discusses today’s primary schools that are under pressure of various changes. A random sample of four primary schools in Kurzeme was used in which 80 teachers filled in questionnaires. The data were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The aim of the research is to analyze the expression of the staff of primary schools of Kurzeme district in terms of assessment of feature, state and success factors. It was discovered that the more diligence and dutifulness were valued, the more positive attitude was towards professional knowledge and ability improved. Agnieszka Nowak-àojewska, notes in her article “Directions of Changes in Teacher Thinking in the Context of Improving the Quality of Education” that changing cultural, social and political conditions must be taken into account when changing schools. It should be expressed as the so-called adequacy of school – its relevance to new expectations and the adequacy of the teacher. This, in turn, entails the need to improve the quality of teacher education, update their knowledge and develop their modes of interpretation and moral, communication, and practical competences. Janis Poplavskis and Janis Dzerviniks in their article “Nature Studies and Technologies Competence and Criteria of its Development in the Contextoriented Process of Learning Physics” point out that nowadays increasingly greater attention is paid to the development of nature studies

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and technologies. It is exactly in nature studies that pupils learn to observe nature and natural phenomena objectively, analyse and understand them, make assumptions and experiments, and draw conclusions. Nature studies give pupils everything needed to form and gradually broaden their understanding of the surrounding world. Ineta Lnjka, Maija Rozite and Janis Eriks Niedritis – “Learning Environment and Study Process as a Tool for Facilitating Leadership Development”. The present formative evaluation study was conducted in 2009-2011 in one of the largest tertiary education institutions of Latvia. It comprised a survey of tourism students, employers, graduates, and students of the Board of the University Student Council. This paper addresses the issue of evaluating the tourism curriculum and making improvements in order to create a curriculum that would enable the development of knowledgeable, innovative, creative specialists who are pro-active leaders and are able to efficiently manage their own and other employees’ work and can successfully operate in the century of innovation. Evija Latkovska, Linda Daniela and Lnjcija Rutka in their article “Psychologically Pedagogical Approach to Reducing Social Exclusion of Adolescents in Latvia” present their idea about research project. As a result of rapid political changes and the economic crisis, children and adolescents in Latvia are experiencing increasingly different psychosocial problems. Reasons for these problems are varied: parents go abroad in order to earn a living for their families, development of different addictions, new forms of aggression in society, and rapid reforms in the system of education. One of the most widespread problems in Latvian society is social exclusion of children and adolescents. These ask for an interdisciplinary approach and new creative methods to be solved effectively. Authors of the article offer an idea as to how the problem might be solved – psychologically pedagogical approaches to reducing social exclusion of adolescents, consisting of a scientifically grounded and practically planned content, methods, and expected results. Lubova Vasechko’s article “Children’s Comprehensive Preparation for School in Out-of-family Institutional Care” is based on empirical research result analyses of the comprehensive preparation for school of children who are cared for in out-of-family institutions. Previous research results show that, while being in out-of-family institutional care, a child’s development is delayed due to insufficient external stimulation. Despite the fact that the institutional out-of-family care provides the child with

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physical security and satisfies his/her basic needs, it cannot provide the most important aspect of the development of the child – the close relationship with at least of one of the adults, who would be able to connect with and become a trusted adult for several years. The paper raises questions about and analyses the conditions that affect the process of preparation for school. Mariana Iancu, in her article “Formal, Non-formal and Informal Ecological Education and Environmental Education in Biology”, writes that there are two components of pupil and student education, each of them achieved through formal education, non-formal education and informal education from the perspective of educational science, which is closely related to psychology. These sciences are needed in teaching biology, namely in instructive and educational teaching process during biology classes, but also in extracurricular activities. Ecological education, which substantiates environmental ecology, is gradually realized in various interrelated stages, i.e. the cognitive stage, the awareness stage, in the formation of attitudes and values, and practice stage through various strategies and student-centred methods.

CHAPTER ONE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR DECREASING SOCIAL EXCLUSION LINDA DANIELA, DITA NƮMANTE AND GUNTA KRAƦE Summary Research-based preventive support systems for decreasing the social exclusion risk for children and young people from age 7 to 25, which ensures successful inclusion of those learners who have a high risk of dropping out from general comprehensive school, or not receiving the certificate for the acquisition of basic education or certificate of general secondary education and the acquisition of basic knowledge and key skills in due time, has been developed for the first time in Latvia within the framework of the project “Development and implementation of the support programs for establishing the support system for young people under the exclusion risk”. The social exclusion risk in the context of the project means both the risks created by poverty and various other risks, which arise due to problems of behaviour regulation, insufficient interaction skills, and learning difficulties. The support system was developed on the basis of research results (NƯmante, Daniela, SamusƝviþa, MoƺƼika, 2012; Rašþevska, Raževa, Martinsone, Tnjbele, VucenlazdƗns, Vazne, 2012), and has been tested in 15 local municipalities and 25 educational institutions in Latvia. It has been developed to work in two directions: 1) a program for decreasing social exclusion implemented in educational institutions ensuring versatile support to all children and young people of the educational institutions involved in the project to prevent or decrease the influence of social exclusion risks. The program consists of 6 mutually related parts – *Support of positive behaviour; *Social and emotional upbringing; *Peer learning for promoting reading literacy; *Career support activities; *Mentoring for alternative life

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experience “LakstƯgala” (Nightingale), as well as parts for parents *Improvement of parent competence in supporting children’s education, and cooperation with the educational institution, local municipality, and state. The program in the educational institutions minimizes factors that facilitate social exclusion risks, including learning difficulties, problems of behaviour regulation, social emotional problems, and lack of family support that result in decreasing the number of learners who do not attend school for a long period of time or drop out; 2) inter-institutional cooperation where working out and testing cooperation models for ensuring support outside school is provided for both for learners and their families, helping them reduce risks caused by socio-economics, organizing support activities for learners inside and outside school, as well as giving support to schools in implementing the program for decreasing social exclusion and working together to introduce systemic support on different levels. Keywords: decreasing social exclusion, support system.

Introduction The implementation of the project “Development and implementation of the support programs for establishing the support system for the young people under the exclusion risk” (Agreement Nr.2010/0328/1DP/1.2.2.4.1/ 10/IPIA/VIAA/002) within the framework of the European Social Fund (hereafter in the text ESF) 1.2.2.4.1 “The establishment of inclusive education and the support system for young people under the social exclusion risk, the training, supply, and increasing of the competence of needed personnel” began on January 3, 2011. The aim of the project was to explore, model, test, and evaluate the system for decreasing and preventing the risk of social exclusion for young people aged 13 to 25 in 15 municipalities by decreasing the social exclusion risks and the number of those young people who are early dropouts, as well as to promote vocationally-oriented education and employment by strengthening the capacity of the institutions involved, developing support systems, and increasing the competence level of the personnel involved in the project. The need of the project was determined by several aspects, the most important of which was the negative data on the increase in the number of early dropouts (NƯmante, Daniela, Tnjbele, Rašþevska, KraƧe, et al., 2009). Dropping out of school causes both indirect and direct social exclusion risks – young people do not acquire basic or vocational education and do not join the labor market and society as a whole.

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Several studies performed in Latvia after 2000 identified these problems: Students drop out in primary school – Solutions to the problem (Bebriša, IeviƼa, KrastiƼa, 2007); Students who have dropped out from primary education and its consequences (Kraitone, et al, 2006); and Students leaving primary school (Dedze, el at, 2004). Recommendations summarized in the studies urge solving the problem on all levels: educational institutions, universities, local municipalities, and state. Researchers from leading higher education institutions, cooperation partners from municipalities, and state and non-governmental organizations were invited to participate in the implementation of the project “Development and implementation of support programs for establishing support systems for young people at risk of exclusion” at the University of Latvia, in order to work together on developing a systemic approach for decreasing social exclusion in educational institutions and municipalities, which would decrease the number of early school dropouts from primary or secondary education. The article describes the system of decreasing social exclusion that has been implemented in 25 educational institutions and 15 municipalities; it provides the theoretical background and shows the implementation of the system.

Conceptual basis of the support system As the problem of decreasing social exclusion is a complex phenomenon, its solution needs a complex and all-embracing approach. We believe that social exclusion is a socially multidimensional marginalization process that involves economic and social, as well as cultural and political aspects. It is described by the inability of individuals or groups of people to join society fully or partially because they do not have access, or access is limited to such resources, services, and activities that are vitally important for the development of a fully-fledged functioning individual in society. It is connected with insufficient social participation and social integration and the inability to participate in processes taking place in society (NƯmante, Daniela, Tnjbele, Rašþevska, KraƧe, et al., 2009). The developers of the support system have based their work conceptually on the results of two studies carried out within the project. Researchers singled out four main factors that teachers mention that explain key problems students face at school and why they could drop out of school. The study “Credibility and validity of the teachers’ survey on students’ learning and behaviour” (Rašþevska, Raževa, Martinsone, Tnjbele, VucenlazdƗns, Vazne, 2012) reveals: 1) learning difficulties, 2)

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problems connected with behaviour regulation, 3) lack of family support, and 4) social emotional problems. The results of the study confirm that there is not one single factor that negatively influences the development of problems at school; the factors are diverse and can combine. Thus, further pedagogical intervention for lessening the factors also should be diverse and combined. As a result of the study “Description of the situation for decreasing young people’s social exclusion in municipalities: the opinion of young people, teachers, specialists of the support staff, representatives of school administration, leading specialists of the municipalities and parents” (NƯmante, Daniela, Samuseviþa, MoƺƼika, 2012) about trends pertaining to educational institutions of Latvia, schools that have support staff functioned successfully – there was a support system for students with learning difficulties; but in schools where there were no support specialists, such systemic support for students with learning difficulties was not provided. Secondly, there is no unified system on how to promote positive behaviour at school and how to react in case of violating school rules, which included simple to complicated cases. Schools also had not developed a common support system in cases of early dropouts. Although the responsibility and competences of the municipal institutions were known, it was not always implemented according to regulations and did not serve as a support to educational institutions in solving serious cases. When starting the project, the situation was characterized by the complexity and scale of the problem to be solved. The situation in schools in municipalities indicated the necessity for complex solutions that would influence as large a number of students as possible. The study showed it was not always possible to predict clearly the social exclusion risks. Factors that influence the formation of students’ problems at school are diverse, and they can mutually overlap and combine. Besides, the mechanism of causes of these problems is not always clear. Not only do those students, who already have difficulties at school and are under the threat of dropping out face problems, but also the actual number of students, who need support or will need it in the near future, is much larger. It is important to define the link between cause and consequences in order to solve the problems and avert the possible consequences. Any system is a part of a much larger system within which any changes in one system causes changes in another system. This includes education. Midgley (2000) points out that one of the challenges of the 21st century is to decrease social exclusion by not only predicting what is good or bad, but what services should be accessible, what the level of life should be to ensure the basic needs, and also predict the mobility

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possibilities of the system so that in cases where social exclusion arises, due to the influence of several and changeable factors, the system is able to adjust to these changeable needs (Midgley, 2000). All systems have aims, even if the aim is self-preservation or survival. The aim is the desired state of the system in which the system is in a state of peace or balance. A system cannot function better than its weakest link; what is good for each link of the system, in turn, often is good for the whole system (O’Connor, McDermott, 1997). Each of us is in continuous interaction with the surrounding world, thus with different systems. Individuals belong to these systems and their quality influences the individual’s existence, relations, emotions, thoughts, intentions, and behaviour, as well as health. Thus, the quality of systems determines the quality of the individual’s life, which confirms the importance of system improvement in the development of society and in the development of each individual, especially the child/youth. This proves the necessity of improving the support system, which is important for every child or youth’s acquisition of education and for ensuring the quality of life. When working with systems, it should be taken into consideration that effect or changes have a time delay. The changes will not give immediate results, but all that we do in the present will have future consequences (O’Connor, McDermott, 1997).

Description of the support system The support system for decreasing social exclusion includes several mutually connected elements: development and introduction of programs for decreasing social exclusion in 25 educational institutions, development and introduction of interinstitutional cooperation models in 15 municipalities, and establishment and introduction of a common eenvironment in 25 educational institutions and 15 municipalities.

Program for decreasing social exclusion as part of the support system The program was developed on the basis of the analysis of studies performed in Latvia (2004 – 2009) and the results and recommendations, summary of good practice experiences (Latvia, Norway, Lithuania, Germany), and theoretical analysis. The aim of the program is to decrease social exclusion risks (factors of negative influence) for as large a number of young people in 15 municipalities and 25 educational institutions in 5 regions of Latvia, as possible.

Chapter One

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Midgley recommends taking into consideration a factor of decreasing social exclusion – the solution of the problems of one socially rejected group should not take place at the expense of other groups, meaning it should not create new problems of social exclusion (Midgley, 2000). This principle is integrated in the model developed in the project. The work is carried out with all students without selecting those students who are more subject to social exclusion risks by offering everyone special services or assistance. Support and assistance are given within the whole system to children, who are currently subjected to and who could be subjected to social exclusion. The objectives were to improve the quality of the functioning of school as a system, in order to ensure greater support to young people in their education and development, according to their needs, and to promote the cooperation of school and other support institutions in the municipality in decreasing the factors that facilitate social exclusion and ensuring education possibilities (including alternative). The basis of implementing the program is the social approach or social model. This is based on the understanding that obstacles to the learning process and participation can exist in the environment, or arise as a result of interaction between students and the context – surrounding people, politics, laws, educational and other institutions, and social and economic conditions. The program includes several interventions aimed at decreasing the risks and strengthening the impact of proactive factors promoting social inclusion. The program incorporates several interventions in different combinations that seek to decrease the impact of diverse negative factors. The primary target group of the program is students from Grades 1 to 12, including young people up to age 25. The secondary target group is teachers, support staff and technical staff of the school, students’ parents, and employees of municipal institutions. The whole school participates in the implementation of the program.

Structure of the support program for decreasing social exclusion The program consists of 6 mutually related integrated parts: − − − −

Support of positive behaviour (SPB); Social emotional upbringing (SEU); Peer learning for promoting reading literacy (PLPRL); Career support program for students at risk of social exclusion;

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− Mentoring for alternative life experience: “LakstƯgala” (Nightingale); − Improvement of parents’ competence for supporting student education; and − Cooperation on the level of educational institution, municipality, and state (IPC). All students from Grade 1 to Grade 12 participated in two parts of the program Support for positive behaviour and Social emotional upbringing. The aim of SPB is to develop a common system for promoting positive behaviour at school. The aim of SEU is to facilitate the development of students’ emotional intelligence. Initially, students from Grades 5-7 were involved in PLPRL, and gradually students from other grades were included. The aim of PLPRL is to use peer learning to promote active participation of every student in the reading process and thus promote the development of reading competence. The aim of IPC is to improve parents’ competence in supporting their children’s education, promoting positive behaviour in the family, and facilitating cooperation on the level of the educational institution, municipality, and state. Individual young people aged 14-25 were nominated by schools to participate in the career support program for students at social exclusion risk and mentoring for the alternative life experience “LakstƯgala”. The aim of the career support program is to promote the choice of career and learning for real life on the basis of cooperation between the school, municipality, and employers. The “LakstƯgala” program offers school students cooperation with university student-mentors to acquire life skills and develop motivation to participate in school life.

Interinstitutional cooperation models as part of the support system In order for the tasks delegated to the municipalities to be carried out in a coordinated way, the support system developed in the project envisages that the Interinstitutional cooperation model is established in the municipality for supporting children/youth subject to social exclusion. This includes the idea that municipality specialists cooperate purposefully to solve problems to prevent social exclusion in a proactive way or to seek solutions for averting already existing risks. The legal justification for establishing the cooperation unit is found in Chapter VII of the “Law on State management”, Cooperation in state management, which defines the

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procedure for establishing, functioning and termination of the cooperation structure of the municipality and Article 61 of the “Law on municipalities”. It notes that it is possible to establish boards, commissions, or working groups for executing particular functions of the municipality or for managing administrative territories of the municipality by municipal deputies or the local inhabitants. The system envisages that the education board, school, social services, custody court, and police participate in the cooperation model and solve problems via cooperation: Decrease systemically different social exclusion risks, including support for the improvement of the pedagogical processes of the school, taking into account different factors that influence the exclusion processes in solving problem cases. Such a cooperation model is approved as a structural unit of the municipality, which has the right to become acquainted with the information, make decisions, and develop recommendations for improving the system.

Development of a common e-system as part of the support system The system envisages that the school uses e-journals that accumulate all records, not only about student academic achievement and absences from school, but also behaviour problems and their solutions. The municipalities participating in the project have access to an e-module, which enables exchange of information on-line, become acquainted with the information accumulated in school, and participate immediately in the solution of the problem. This speeds up the search for solutions and creates conviction in students and their families that their problems are serious and are being solved.

Introduction of the support system The developed support system (see Fig.1) includes different components to decrease systemically the social exclusion risk by envisaging the individual risks, changing the cultural environment in the whole school, and developing support systems in municipalities. The system is based on the idea that it is forbidden to pinpoint one socially rejected group and to solve its problems at the expense of other groups. The introduction of the support system was started in February 2012 with the implementation of the preparatory stage and in practice on 1 September 2012. Many and varied components, which mutually interact and influence each other, are involved.

Development of Support Systems for Decreasing Social Exclusion Figure 1. System for decreasing social exclusion risks

9

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In order to ensure that the support system is put into practice and the aims and objectives put forward in the project are achieved, a management system for introducing the system (see Fig. 2) was developed. This ensured the introduction of the support system developed in the project in 25 educational institutions and 15 municipalities. The professional development parts of the program were carried out in the first stage; all employees of the educational institutions participated in it, learning in their own schools. Supervision was carried out during the introductory process, which ensured support to schools in the implementation of the program, gradually introducing changes at school. During the introductory process, there were consultations with the representatives of municipal institutions about the improvement of interinstitutional cooperation and the establishment of a unit for interinstitutional cooperation. Alongside the introduction of the support system, an evaluation process was organized to determine the effectiveness of the program and the attainment of the set aims and objectives. Figure 2. Management of the system for decreasing social exclusion

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Conclusions Several aspects should be taken into consideration when developing a system for decreasing social exclusion. Before introducing a social exclusion program, it is necessary to perform an analysis of the situation in schools and municipalities in the local context; the results of the study should be considered when developing the program for decreasing social exclusion. An analysis of the regulating documents should be performed to understand regulations in the country and the division of functions between the state and municipality institutions. During the introduction of the social exclusion system, school and municipal employees should be trained for systemic cooperation implementing professional development in the workplace. The program for decreasing social exclusion should be introduced in the whole school simultaneously with the participation of teaching and technical staff, students’ parents, and municipality employees. When introducing the program for decreasing social exclusion, work should be carried out simultaneously also on the municipal level to establish a support system for schools and individual students. Consider monitoring possibilities of the system (supervision, analysis of problem cases, etc.), as well as consultations (for schools in cases of problem situations and for municipalities to make interinstitutional cooperation more effective). The mobility possibilities of the system should be predicted to be able to adjust to the multidimensional risks and consequences caused by them and to find solutions to them. The results of the developed and implemented system are being summarized but initial results indicate the positive benefits as the number of students who drop out of school, violate behaviour rules, or disturb the teaching/learning process decreases.

References Bebriša, I. IeviƼa, I., KrastiƼa, L., (2007), SkolƝnu atbiršana pamatskolƗs. ProblƝmas risinƗjumi. RƯga, Baltic Institute of Social Sciences. Pieejams: http://www.biss.soc.lv/downloads/resources/dropout/skolenu _atbirsana_pamatskolas.pdf [SkatƯts: 5.01.2012.] Dedze, I el at (2004) SkolƝnu atbiršana pamatskolƗs. ProblƝmas risinƗjumi. RƯga, Providus. Kraitone, Dž., et al (2006) PamatizglƯtƯbu nepabeigušie skolƝni, Skolu nepabeigušie un tƗ sekas:nenodrošinƗtie, neapmierinƗtie, nozudušie. RƯga, Providus Pieejams: http://s3.amazonaws.com/politika/public/

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article_files/979/original/skolu_nepab.pdf?1326716653 [SkatƯts: 02.02. 2012.] Midgley, G. (2000). Systemic intervention: Philosophy, methodology and practice. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum 447 p. NƯmante, D., Daniela, L., Tnjbele, S., Rašþevska, M., KraƧe, G. et al. (2009) IekƺaujošƗs izglƯtƯbas un sociƗlƗs atstumtƯbas riskam pakƺauto jauniešu atbalsta sistƝmas izveides un tƗs darbƯbai nepieciešamƗ personƗla sagatavošanas un kvalitƗtes uzlabošanas koncepcija. Latvijas UniversitƗte Pieejams: http://www.ppf.lu.lv/v.3/eduinf/ files/2009/ESF_koncepcija.pdf [SkatƯts: 5.09.2011.] NƯmante, D., Daniela, L., SamusƝviþa, A., MoƺƼika, B (2012) SituƗcijas raksturojums jauniešu sociƗlƗs atstumtƯbas mazinƗšanƗ pašvaldƯbƗs: jauniešu, pedagogu, atbalsta personƗla speciƗlistu, izglƯtƯbas iestƗžu administrƗcijas pƗrstƗvju, pašvaldƯbas atbildƯgo speciƗlistu un vecƗku viedoklis. Latvijas UniversitƗte (Nodots publicƝšanai). O’Connor, J., McDermott, I. (1997) The Art of Systems Thinking: Essential Skills For Creativity and Problem Solving, London, Thorsons, 265 p. Par pašvaldƯbƗm, 1994.gada 19.maijs, http://www.likumi.lv/doc.php?id= 57255, [SkatƯts: 18.04.2013.] Rašþevska, M., Raževa, A., Martinsone, B, Tnjbele, S., VucenlazdƗns, P., Vazne, Ž. (2012) SkolotƗju aptaujas par skolƝnu mƗcƯšanƗs darbƯbu un uzvedƯbu (SASMDU) ticamƯba un validitƗtes. Latvijas UniversitƗte ISBN978-9984-45-560-0 http://www.atbalsts.lu.lv/uploads/f/20120824 185915223.pdf [SkatƯts: 14.12.12.] Valsts pƗrvaldes iekƗrtas likums, 2002.gada 6.jnjnijs, http://www. likumi.lv/doc.php?id=63545 [SkatƯts: 18.04.2013.]

About the Authors Linda Daniela – Dr. paed. (Ph. D.), assistant professor and senior researcher at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and Art, Department of Pedagogy. Main research interests are social pedagogy and classroom management. She is the author of the book (in Latvian): “Students and classroom discipline” and one of the developers of a support system for decreasing social exclusion. There are also several publications on these issues. e-mail: [email protected]

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Dita NƯmante – Dr. paed. (Ph. D.), assistant professor and senior researcher of the University of Latvia, Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and Art, Department of Pedagogy. Main research interests are inclusive education and classroom management. She is the author of the book (in Latvian): “Classroom management” and co-author of “School for all”, “Is it school for all?”, “Novice teacher”, and “Inclusive school in inclusive society” and one of developers of the support system for decreasing social exclusion. There are also several publications on these issues. e-mail: [email protected] Gunta KraƧe- Dr.oec. (Ph.D), assistant of dean at the Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and Art. Main interests are management of education systems. She is one of the developers of the support system for decreasing social exclusion in Latvia. There are also several publications on these issues. e-mail: [email protected]

CHAPTER TWO EDUCATIONAL ROBOTICS IN TEACHER EDUCATION: AN INNOVATIVE TOOL FOR PROMOTING QUALITY EDUCATION DIMITRIS ALIMISIS Abstract During the last decade, robotics has acquired the high interest of teachers and researchers in European countries as a valuable tool to develop cognitive and manual skills in students from pre-school to high school and as a learning tool in the teaching of science, mathematics, technology, informatics, and other school subjects and interdisciplinary learning activities. Many individual or team efforts (e.g. www.terecop.eu) have been developed in Europe by researchers and teachers to research and exploit the benefits of educational robotics, including teacher training, introduction of robotic projects in classrooms, development of methodologies, and creation of educational materials. However, these efforts still remain isolated, suffering from the lack of coordination of the individual efforts and of well-organized and coordinated collective action at the European level. There is also a need for well-designed and validated curricula in both teacher education and school education. This paper proposes the use of educational robotics as a tool for promoting constructivist (Piaget) and constructionist (Papert) pedagogy and consequent innovative teaching and learning methodologies, while training teachers to use robotics for teaching and learning purposes. Constructivist methodologies for integrating robotics in professional teacher training are suggested, and two exemplary projects are reported on to demonstrate the learning potential of the proposed educational methodologies involving teachers and student teachers, while using

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robotics to teach physics and informatics concepts in secondary school classes. The paper concludes with a proposal for the creation of a Europeanwide network in educational robotics, including teachers and researchers in the field. I suggest the inclusion of robotics in teacher education programmes in Education departments and in courses provided by training centres to enable student teachers and in-service teachers to use robotics as a learning tool in school classes based on the constructivism and constructionism theory. The network will offer a portal for collaborative work for the development of a European curriculum with exemplary robotics teaching and learning activities, worksheets, tutorials and other materials, with open access for teachers and learners. The network will offer summer schools for teachers, where parts of the above curriculum will be implemented and tested, offering feedback for continuous improvement of the curriculum. Finally, the network will connect and support teachers in educational robotics, promote sharing of good practices and introduce educational robotics in schools using constructivist pedagogy. The impact envisaged by this network includes the development of a vibrant and active European teacher community in educational robotics that will improve the quality of teacher education and training and finally the quality of school education. Keywords: educational robotics, teacher networking, constructivism.

Introduction Educational Robotics is a growing field with the potential to significantly impact the nature of science and technology education at all levels, from kindergarten to university. It has emerged as a unique learning tool that can offer hands-on, fun activities in an attractive learning environment, arousing students’ interest and curiosity (Eguchi, 2010). This paper starts with an investigation of the state of art in the field of educational robotics. Then, existing problems and new challenges are discussed and implications for teacher education are identified. Two recent projects are reported on briefly to exemplify the proposal for constructivist/constructionist methodologies in training teachers and in using robotics in schools. Finally, conclusions and some proposals are suggested for teacher education and for promoting cooperation and networking of researchers and teachers in Europe.

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Robotics in education: Current situation, problems, and challenges The main theories behind educational robotics are constructivism and constructionism. Manipulating artefacts is key for children to construct their knowledge (Piaget, 1974). This construction happens especially effectively in a context where the learner is consciously engaged in constructing an entity, whether it is a sand castle on the beach or a technological artefact (Papert, 1980). For constructivism/constructionism, the educator’s role is to offer opportunities for children to engage in hands-on explorations and to provide tools for knowledge construction. Educational robotics can be a great tool for children to have constructionist-learning experiences, as it creates learning situations in which children can interact with their environment and work with realworld problems. Studies in the field (e.g. Eguchi, 2010; Benitti, 2012) report that robotics have great potential impact on student learning in different subject areas (physics, mathematics, engineering, information, and more) and on their personal development, including essential skills (research, creative thinking, decision making, problem solving, communication, and team work) necessary in the workplace of the 21st century. Three different approaches to educational robotics are reported in literature (Eguchi, 2010): − Theme-based curriculum approach: curriculum areas are integrated around a special topic for learning and studied mostly through inquiry and communication (Detsikas and Alimisis, 2011; Litinas and Alimisis, 2013). − Project-based approach: students work in groups to explore realworld problems; this is, for example, the methodology developed by the European project “Teacher Education in Robotics-enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods” (TERECoP) (Alimisis, 2009). − Goal-oriented approach: children compete in challenges in robotics tournaments that take place mostly out of school. However, there is no systematic introduction of robotics in school curricula in European school systems. Although there have been some directives issued by national education authorities encouraging the development of educational robotics in schools, it has not been introduced in European school curricula. Most robotics activities are not integrated into regular classroom settings and usually take place in after-school programs, on weekends, or in summer camps (Benitti, 2011). Teachers

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who have implemented robotics activities in schools report that they felt only after-school classes or special in-school activities for certain students are more convenient (Sullivan and Moriarty, 2009). Obstacles to implementing robotics as part of the regular school curriculum appear to be the time-consuming nature of robotics activities, cost of the equipment needed, and practical work required by teachers to cope with the mess resulting in robotics class. There are also misconceptions among teachers that robotics is hard, highly gender-biased, and only for gifted children (Blikstein, 2013). In addition, teachers and students have to overcome bias inherent within educational systems, which separate intellectual work in the classroom from student experience in making and building things in everyday life. It is widely accepted (e.g. Innovation Union Flagship Initiative, 2012) that skills for future responsible innovators/researchers, as well as for “science-active” citizens have to be built starting from an early age, including scientific reasoning, as well as transversal competences such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, teamwork, and communication skills. To succeed in today’s “creative society” (Resnick, 2007), students must learn to think creatively, plan systematically, analyse critically and collaboratively, communicate clearly, design iteratively, and learn continuously. However, most uses of technologies (including robotics) in schools today are simply reinforcing the old ways of teaching and learning. Current typical school labs are built for rigorous, disciplined, and scripted experiences; they do not seem appropriate for fostering critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and teamwork and communication skills (Blikstein, 2013). The way robotics is currently introduced in educational settings is unnecessarily narrow (Rusk et al., 2008). So far, most of the applications of robotic technologies in education have focused on supporting the teaching of subjects that are closely related to the robotics field, such as robot programming, robot construction, or mechatronics (Benitti, 2011). It is obvious that while robots have positive educational potential, their impact in promoting student learning and in developing skills needs to be validated through research evidence. However, there is a lack of systematic evaluations and reliable experimental designs in educational robotics. Most of the literature on the use of robotics in education is based on teacher or student perceptions and in small-scale initiatives (Benitti, 2011). The expected benefits are not clearly measured and defined, since there is not a system of indicators or a standardized evaluation methodology (Ortiz, Bustos and Rios, 2011).

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Implications for teacher education The role of teachers for the effective introduction and use of robotics in schools is crucial, so investments in teacher education are necessary. Few projects have tackled the problem of teacher education and further training in designing and implementing robotics in classroom settings (Bers et al., 2002; Portsmore et al., 2003; Chambers and Carbonaro, 2003, Sullivan and Moriarty, 2009; Alimisis, 2009). The TERECoP project, involving eight educational institutions from six European countries, was active from 2006-2009 in the field of teacher education and training in educational robotics, resulting in a proposal of constructivist methodology meant to enable teachers to introduce robotics into their classrooms as a learning tool in a constructivist context (Alimisis, 2009; Alimisis et al., 2010). According to TERECoP methodology, teachers should be trained in the same way they are expected to educate their students. This means that the teacher-trainer is invited to act not as an intellectual authority that transfers ready knowledge to teachers, but rather as an organizer, coordinator, and facilitator of learning. S/he organizes the learning environment, raises questions/problems to be solved, offers hardware and software necessary for teachers’ work, discreetly helps where and when necessary, encourages teachers to work with creativity, imagination and independence, and finally organizes the evaluation of the activity in collaboration with teachers. Although teachers prefer educational technologies that align with their own pedagogical beliefs, studies show that they are open-minded to pedagogical practices and appear to be willing to try a new practice, even if they are initially critical of it (Zhao et al., 2002). Therefore, professional development efforts may do well to introduce robotics and novel pedagogical approaches with the confidence that, though they may be criticized, they will also be tried (Sullivan and Moriarty, 2009). There is a trend among teachers when they encounter difficulties in applying novel constructivist methodologies and technologies, such as robotics: They worry about student frustration while adapting to the new methods by providing more guidance and instruction and moving the method to guided teaching (Sullivan and Moriarty, 2009). This means that teachers should be well prepared to cope with expected (and unexpected) difficulties to guided, instructional practices. In order to engage young people with a wider range of interests in robotics, teacher education in robotics should embrace projects of a broader perspective and a wider range of possible robotic applications.

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Pursuing this challenge, teacher education courses should point out new and innovative ways to increase the attractiveness and learning benefits of robotics projects. Rusk et al. (2008) suggest four strategies for engaging a broad range of learners in robotics: projects focusing on themes, not just challenges; projects combining art and engineering; projects encouraging storytelling; and organizing exhibitions, rather than competitions. Young people, who are not interested in traditional approaches to robotics, become motivated when robotics activities are introduced as a way to tell a story (for example, creating a mechanical puppet show), or in connection with other disciplines and interest areas, such as music and art (Resnick, 1991; Rusk et al., 2008). Different students are attracted to different types of robotics activities; students interested in cars are likely to be motivated to create motorized vehicles, while students with interests in art or music are likely to be more motivated to make artistic robotic creations (Benitti, 2012). Current societal developments call for a shift in educational technology from technical (or computer) skills towards technological and computational fluency or literacy. For the field of teacher education in robotics, it dictates a move from just training teachers to offering vocational skills for future science, technology, engineering and mathematics workers towards fluency or literacy with robotic technology, making its intellectual and manual advantages available to every future citizen. Coupled with this, teacher education in robotics should offer educational approaches that will foster creativity and inventiveness. Teachers must learn to use robotics in ways that support problem solving, creative and critical thinking, collaborative work, and clear communication in their classroom. Implementing robotics activities in the classroom is a highly demanding task for teachers, who have to handle the robotic equipment, the programming environment, a challenging pedagogy, and groups of students working at different paces and asking highly intricate questions. These facts indicate the need for well-prepared teachers to use robotics in the classroom, as well as the possibility of group facilitators for the activities (Benitti 2012). In each robotic project or course, teachers need to prove that learning goals were reached and determine whether more children have become interested in science and technology or have developed significantly better cognitive, meta-cognitive, or social skills. To this end, teacher education courses should help teachers move beyond naïve and descriptive evaluations and equip them with rigorous qualitative and quantitative evaluation design, validation strategies, techniques, and tools tailored well

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to the peculiar needs of robotics projects. During robotics class, student work in project development or in problem solving usually takes diverse and unpredictable paths, making it difficult for evaluators to follow student progress. Monitoring environments have been proposed to allow the teacher to monitor and model the learning process based on the data coming from the learning situation. Data mining methods have been tested with authentic data collected from a robotics class to provide useful and interpretable information about the students’ progress (Jormanainen, Sutinen, 2012).

From theory to practice: Two exemplary projects The Educational Technology Lab (ETL) at the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education, Patras, Greece (www.etlab.eu), acting in close collaboration with enthusiastic, young and experienced teachers, has developed several experimental robotics activities in schools. Following the educator’s axiom “teachers teach as they are taught, not as they are told to teach”, the training methodology aims at engaging teachers in robotics activities in the very same way they are expected to implement them with their students. Two pathways for integrating robotics in teacher education and training are used by ETL: first, within the frame of initial teacher education courses in educational technology and second, in the further training programs for in-service teachers, specifying the methodology in each case according to the specialization, needs, interests, and existing educational experience of learners. From the beginning of the course, trainees are encouraged to participate in all the practical activities of the course – discussions, teamwork, and finally in presentations in plenary sessions. There is a rotation of teachers’ roles: they act first as learners in training courses, then as designers, and finally as developers of their own robotic projects in school classes. In the case of in-service teacher training, the methodology focuses on utilizing the existing, rich experience of trainees and on sharing with them explorations of new ways to use robotics in the learning process. Teachers are invited, after an initial familiarisation with the necessary tools, to realise through their own efforts and in collaboration with their trainer, experimental robotics-based activities that they consider useful for their students. Training is followed by development of projects in school classes by the trainees themselves, where they are expected to implement the pedagogic ideas offered and discussed during their training. The classroom

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experiences offer a criterion of success of the training program itself and confirm the effectiveness of the proposed training methodology.

1st project: Integrating robotics in training courses for future teachers Within the framework of one-year training programs held for future teachers of secondary technical education at the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (Patras, Greece), starting in 2010-2011, a robotics module has been integrated in the educational technology course. The robotics module starts with a theory session that includes discussions about the theories behind educational robotics (constructivism and constructionism) and its educational potential, suggestions on the potential use of robotics in school classes, presentation of the LegoMindstorms NXT package, and introduction to programming with the Lego Mindstorms Education NXT software (www.legoeducation.us). Lab sessions follow, where students participate in a series of practical activities. An illustrative scenario implemented in these activities follows: Students are divided into groups of 3-4; each group is allocated a Lego Mindstorms NXT kit and is invited to plan and discuss the construction of a simple robot. They are asked first to sketch with paper and pencil their artefact, and then they build the robot using the Lego Mindstorms kit. Students are free to experiment with the software and the robot they have constructed. Then, the trainer invites students to design and realize their own scenario using their robot; they work in groups to realise their ideas by programming the robot. The trainer discretely helps the students when necessary, without restricting their inventiveness and self-motivation. In the end, each team designates a representative to present their work to the plenary of the class. The trainer comments and makes recommendations where necessary. Upon completion of their training, students are encouraged and supported to transfer the robotics activities in classroom on topics of their choice. A case study from such a classroom project is reported on shortly in the next section. Two student teachers, who attended the robotics training course (spring 2011), undertook the role of teacher for two teaching sessions (2 hours for each session) in a lower secondary school IT class with 21 pupils aged 13 (April 2011, Patras, Greece) and taught two basic programming concepts – making decisions and loop control. Robots (simple cars with four wheels, one motor and one ultrasonic sensor) were given to the class to be programmed by the pupils, in order to perform simple motions and

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actions, which would involve the use of making decisions and loop behaviours in computer programs. The student teachers only explained the basic steps necessary to build a program and to download it to the robot. In the second part of the activity, pupils were called upon to imagine behaviour for their robot involving decision-making and/or repetition and then to describe it using paper and pencil before programming it in their robots. In the end, the groups were asked to present the behaviours they had thought of and to demonstrate them with their robots in front of the whole class. Most groups managed to program the intended behaviours after several attempts. The student teachers acted as experienced advisors, encouraging pupils towards solutions, but not doing the work for them. Finally, they valued their whole teaching intervention based on the analysis of pupil work as it had been saved on their computers and in pupil diaries (Detsikas, Alimisis, 2011). After the end of the project, the student teacher experiences were recorded in written reports and non-structured interviews. Evaluating teaching intervention, we recognised the obvious similarities between the methodology proposed in the training course and that applied by the student teachers in class; the student teachers had successfully implemented, in a real classroom setting, the methodology they had been taught in the training course. This connection between the training course and the school class had proved useful for them because they were provided valuable feedback from pupil work, which strengthened their self-confidence for future use of robotics in school.

2nd project: Integrating robotics in further training for in-service science teachers Within the framework of further training courses for in-service physics teachers held at the University of Athens (September-December 2011), we introduced robotics in the curriculum for ten teaching hours for a group of six trainees. All of them had long in-service experience and high educational qualifications. The aim of the robotics module was to explore, together with the trainees, ways to use robotics as a learning tool, focusing on the phenomenon of motion and kinematics concepts. After the necessary familiarization with the Lego Mindstorms NXT kit (five of the six trainees were novices in robotics), we focused on laboratory activities intended to find ways to teach the phenomenon of motion and relevant kinematics concepts with robotics. Trainees worked in two groups of

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three, exploring questions/problems related to kinematics phenomena and concepts (time, distance, speed, motion at constant speed, motion at accelerated speed) and designing suitable lab activities based on a robotic vehicle. An ultrasonic sensor had been attached to the car to provide data for the position of the car (actually the distance from a wall). In the discussion that followed for the evaluation of this training experience, the trainees concluded that the methodology used had resulted in a study of kinematics concepts through active participation; they appreciated that they could build, step-by-step, a deep understanding of the concepts, triggering curiosity and encouraging further study and research. The use of robots had allowed repeated, controlled, and interesting experiments. Finally, the execution of the programmed movements of the robot had helped them to see their thinking and to understand their failures or achievements, as expressed in the algorithm, as they came alive with the robot moving on the floor. The above methodology was tested in a physics classroom by an experienced physics teacher, who had already been trained in methodology adapted to the needs of his students. It was a class of nine students aged 13 in a lower secondary school located in Western Greece (Ilia Prefecture, April 2012). Specific teaching materials, including worksheets and assessment tools, were developed for the teaching and learning of basic concepts of kinematics. The pupils were divided into groups of three and initially became familiar with the Lego Mindstorms kit and the programming environment. Each group built their own vehicle. In order to encourage student initiative, imagination and creativity in building the car their own way, no detailed instructions for building were given. The students used their robots to explore the phenomenon of linear motion at a constant speed and the underlying concepts. From the diaries written in the end of each day, it appears that the most enjoyable moments of the children were at the end of the day when they used their cars for competing in races. The teacher’s report, submitted after course completion, concluded that the robotics-based teaching method had effectively helped students achieve cognitive goals in the subject of kinematics and acquire problem solving skills and team working competences (Litinas and Alimsis, 2013).

Conclusions and proposals In the light of the above discussion, it is obvious that a need for rethinking our approaches in teacher education in robotics emerges. Robotics has much to offer for quality education. However, the benefits in

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learning are not guaranteed just by the simple introduction of robotics in the classroom. The real fundamental issue for improving quality learning is not the robot itself; rather, it is the curriculum and teaching methodology that will determine the learning results. This, in turn, dictates the introduction of well-designed robotics modules within teacher training courses, more specifically within the frame of educational technology courses offered by education departments. Teacher education courses have to emphasise the role of educational robotics as a tool to foster essential life skills: cognitive, meta-cognitive, personal development, and teamwork. They should also highlight that robotics benefits are relevant for all children, not just for those talented in science and technology. To this end, broader perspective projects and strategies should be employed by trainers to provide multiple pathways for teachers to introduce robotics in school and to engage young people with diverse interests and learning styles (Rusk et al., 2008). Teacher education should also equip teachers with qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods and tools necessary for the validation of their implementations in robotics classes, based on a system of indicators and a standardized evaluation methodology for clearly measured and defined benefits. This will allow teachers to test, refine, and continuously improve their teaching practices with robotics. The existing local and regional communities and networks in educational robotics in Europe still remain small and in isolated groups, suffering from lack of coordination. However, development has high potential, if these networks could link together and synchronize their actions into a European network (Bredenfeld et al., 2010). Such a network would promote communication and collaborative work between researchers, teachers, and learners, establishing a forum for the community to share experiences, products, and expertise. The network could create and share open educational and technological products and practices (curricula and resources) in a way that would reflect the best pedagogical practices and educational research in the field; support teacher education by establishing and running summer schools for teachers; encourage and support teachers to try practical implementations of robotics curricula in schools, and test and validate curricula and methodologies at both the teacher education and school class level; and finally form special interest groups to study specific issues and the latest developments in the field of educational robotics.

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References Alimisis, D. (ed.) (2009). Teacher Education on Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods. ǹthens: School of Pedagogical and Technological Education. Alimisis, D., Arlegui, J., Fava N., Frangou, S., Ionita, S., Menegatti, E., Monfalcon, S., Moro, M., Papanikolaou, K., and Pina, A. (2010). Introducing robotics to teachers and schools: experiences from the TERECoP project. In J. Clayson and I. Kalas (eds.), Proceedings for Constructionism 2010 (pp. 1-13). Paris: American University of Paris. Barker, B. S., and Ansorge, J. (2007). Robotics as means to increase achievement scores in an informal learning environment. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 39(3), 229-243. Benitti, F. B. V. (2012). Exploring the educational potential of robotics in schools: A systematic review. Computers and Education, 58(3), 978988. Blikstein, P. (2013). Digital fabrication and ’making’ in education: The democratization of invention. In J. Walter-Herrmann and C. Bȩching (eds.), FabLabs: Of Machines, Makers and Inventors (pp. 1-21). Bielefeld: Transcript Publishers. Bredenfeld, A., Hofmann, A., and Steinbauer, G. (2010). Robotics in education initiatives in Europe: Status, shortcomings and open questions. Emanuele Menegatti (ed.), Proceedings of International Conference on Simulation, Modeling and Programming for Autonomous Robots (SIMPAR 2010) Workshops (pp. 568-574). Darmstadt: published online http://www.2010.simpar.org/ws/sites/ teachingrobots.html. Detsikas, N., and Alimisis, D. (2011). Status and trends in educational robotics worldwide with special consideration of educational experiences from Greek schools. In D. Bezakova and I. Kalas (eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Informatics in Schools: Situation, Evolution and Perspectives (pp. 1-12). Bratislava: Comenius University. Eguchi, A. (2010). What is educational robotics? Theories behind it and practical implementation. In D. Gibson and B. Dodge (eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2010 (pp. 4006-4014). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Innovation Union Flagship Initiative (2012). Europe 2020. European Commission. Retrieved 16 May 2012, from http://ec.europa.eu/

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europe2020/europe-2020-in-a-nutshell/flagship-initiatives/index_en. htm. Gershenfeld, N. (2007). Fab: the coming revolution on your desktop. from personal computers to personal fabrication. Basic Books (AZ). Jormanainen, I., and Sutinen, E. (2012). Using data mining to support teacher’s intervention in a robotics class. In Editors’ names (eds.), Proceedings of the 2012 IEEE Fourth International Conference on Digital Game and Intelligent Toy Enhanced Learning (pp. 39-46). Washington, DC, USA: IEEE. Litinas, A., and Alimisis, D. (2013). Planning, implementation and evaluation of lab activities using robotic technology for teaching the phenomenon of motion. In A. Ladias, A. Mikropoulos, C. Panagiotakopoulos, F. Paraskeva, P. Pintelas, P. Politis, S. Retalis, D. Sampson, N. Fachantidis, A. Chalkidis (eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd Pan-Hellenic conference “Integration of ICT in education process” (pp. page numbers). City: Greek Scientific Association of ICT in Education and Univ. of Piraeus (in Greek). OECD (2008). New millennium learners: a project in progress optimising learning: implications of learning sciences research. Retrieved 1 March 2013 from www.oecd.org/dataoecd/39/51/40554230.pdf. Ortiz, J., Bustos, R., and Rios, A. (2011). System of Indicators and Methodology of Evaluation for the Robotics in Classroom. In Editors’ names (eds.), Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Robotics in Education (RiE 2011) (pp. 63-70). Vienna: Austrian Society for Innovative Computer Sciences. Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Computers, Children and Powerful Ideas. NY: Basic Books. Piaget, J. (1974). To Understand is to Invent. N.Y.: Basic Books. Resnick, M. (1991). Xylophones, hamsters, and fireworks: The role of diversity in constructionist activities. In I. Harel and S. Papert (eds.), Constructionism (pp. 151-158). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation. —. (2007). Sowing the seeds for a more creative society. Learning and Leading with Technology, 35(4), 18-22. Rusk, N., Resnick, M., Berg, R., and Pezalla-Granlund M. (2008). New pathways into robotics: strategies for broadening participation. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 17, 59–69. Sullivan, F. R., and Moriarty, M. A. (2009). Robotics and discovery learning: pedagogical beliefs, teacher practice, and technology integration. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 17(1), 109142.

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Zhao, Y., Pugh, K., Sheldon, S., and Byers, J.l. (2002). Conditions for classroom technology innovations. Teachers College Record, 104 (3), 482-515.

CHAPTER THREE ADDRESSING DIVERSE LEARNING NEEDS: DIFFERENTIATION BEHAVIOURS OF FIVE TEACHERS TOWARDS THE SAME CLASS OF STUDENTS ALASTER SCOTT DOUGLAS This study addresses teachers’ differential behaviour and follows one class of Year 8 students (12/13 year olds) being taught by five teachers in different subjects in one secondary school in London. The research explores how teachers differentiate among their students and identifies the individual student characteristics and group characteristics that teachers take into account in their teaching practice. The findings consider why differences regarding classroom differentiation exist between the five subject teachers. The data analysis uses a cultural historical activity theory framework to give suggestions as to what may constrain the development of future teaching activity for the students in the year 8 class. Keywords: differentiation, student learning, teacher expectations, cultural historical activity theory.

Introduction With increased use of performance data and added pressures of meeting targets and middle manager objectives, the values derived from a result-orientation school culture (Friedman 2011) can impact on teaching practices. When teachers plan and teach lessons, they may take into account student differences by considering student readiness, their interests, and learning profile (Tomlinson 2003). When selecting tasks and modes of instruction, teachers can draw on information about students’ previous performance assessments. However, with the focus on continuing testing as identified in the concept of performativity (Ball 2003), rather

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than on the facilitation of individual student learning, a lot of information that teachers rely on stems from their own perceptions of students’ educational needs (Rubie-Davies, 2007). The literature on teacher expectations questions whether teachers form specific perceptions of individual students based on their learning profile or whether they form expectations based on group and student characteristics. The pilot study in this paper addresses teachers’ differential behaviour and follows one class of secondary school students being taught by five teachers in different subjects. The study aims to identify whether relevant differences regarding classroom differentiation exist between the teachers and will provide input for teacher training programmes aimed at empowering teachers to address diverse learning needs. A follow-up study will incorporate student teacher-led research strategies on differentiation with the work of school mentors who are seen as teacher educators (Livingston 2013) in teaching practice schools in the UK and the Netherlands. An equivalent pilot study is being undertaken in the partner country, and this is designed to act as preliminary data generation and analysis for strengthening the design of an international project. Research results will be fed back to student teacher education programmes at the University of Roehampton and will then be disseminated along with findings from the university in the Netherlands. One aim is to raise awareness of differentiation practices and counter student teachers being overly concerned with curriculum delivery at the expense of paying attention to children’s learning (Edwards and Protheroe 2003). The value of acceptance and celebration of difference closely mirrors political and cultural processes occurring within the European Union, which is “bound together by common values such as freedom, tolerance, equality, solidarity, cultural diversity …” (European Communities, 1997). A concern for effectively meeting the needs of a diverse range of students has been identified in previous research projects across Europe (see Humpreys et al., 2006). Such research has cited an increase in immigration, special needs students attending mainstream schools, and the challenge of meeting literacy and other competences required in modern society as indications why in recent years schools in Europe have witnessed increasingly heterogeneous classrooms.

Research Rationale One objective of this research is to contribute to understanding how to help teachers teach more responsively to the learning needs of the variety

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of students that typifies contemporary classrooms. The study compares the personal perspectives of five teachers and how they give meaning to diversity, in order to facilitate the development of theoretical and practical knowledge regarding responsive teaching and inclusive practice. In the European Union in particular, this kind of inquiry can also be seen as directly in line with the trans-national movement to support and respect diversity in all its forms (UNESCO, 2005). Therefore, the purpose of the research study is to explore how teachers differentiate among their students and identify the individual student characteristics and group characteristics that teachers take into account in their teaching practice. By comparing different teachers, the research identifies whether differences regarding classroom differentiation exist between the subject teachers teaching the same Year 8 class. The research questions ask: 1. How do teachers use differentiation in the classroom? 2. How are teaching-activity tools used by the teachers in the lessons? 3. How do the teachers understand the object/motive of the teaching activity system?

Theoretical Framework The analysis in this study focuses on the social and cultural practices in school classrooms and uses a cultural historical and activity theory (CHAT) analysis (Engeström 2008). This focuses attention on learning as a social phenomenon, a process that takes place within social systems that have evolved culturally and historically and that offer participants in those systems certain tools with which to work on a shared object. For example, lesson plans, instruction techniques, behaviour management strategies and teaching tasks can all be seen as tools used in lessons. When analysing the significance and use of these tools and how they are inherently situated culturally, institutionally, and historically, a researcher can consider a number of claims that characterise them in the context of the school classroom’s cultural history. For example, are the tools employed because they are a fixed and unquestioned part of the context? The essence of an activity is that it has an object (the problem space or societally significant goal that is being worked on by the participants in the activity), which, in the teaching activity, could be pupil learning. This object defines the activity and provides a direction:

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An activity’s object is its real motive … some need always stands behind it. Thus, the concept of activity is necessarily connected with the concept of a motive. (Leont’ev, 1981, p. 59)

This research explores the object of the teaching activity (which is one of many school activities) in order to help reveal aspects of social practice, and support interpretations of the generated data. Whatever their main motives, voicing how the teachers see the object of the teaching activity would help to develop their understanding of it. Participants in activities rarely talk in terms of how the object of an activity is constructed. However, for the researcher, understanding how participants see the object may be possible by analysing how tools are used in the activity (Stetsenko, 2005; Kaptelinin, 2005). Therefore, one focus of the analysis is identifying how tools are used in the activity, thereby exploring what this reveals about teachers’ motives in teaching the class.

Materials and Methods With the pilot study, two lines of research and theories concerning classroom differentiation are combined. While from a didactics approach, a focus lies on the benefits of differentiation, and the sociological approach focuses on risks of self-fulfilling prophecies and groupstereotyping. The study consists of qualitative data regarding the observation of students’ characteristics, teachers’ differentiation practices, and teachers’ accounts of their classroom practices. Questions on differentiated teaching practices were addressed over two weeks of fieldwork comprising participant observations of the year 8 class (12/13 year olds) taught by teachers of religious education, geography, history, information and communication technology, and citizenship, as well as semi-structured interviews with each of the teachers. The class was a mixed ability group of 21 pupils (13 boys and 8 girls). Analysing teacher perceptions of their students is done using the Teacher Class Maps method (Denessen et al. 2012). In this method, the class teacher maps photographs of the individual students they teach, based on characteristics they find relevant for their teaching. Data analysis is guided by a coding technique based on a grounded theory approach to the analysis of qualitative data (Glaser, Strauss 1967). Initial codes are refined by repeated analysing and used to define recurring themes and patterns, before then viewing them through the lens of a CHAT analytic framework. The data set comprises field notes, interview transcripts, and numerous school documents.

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Findings Exploring the structural tensions in and between different dimensions of teaching as defined by CHAT, such as the rules, tools, and divisions of labour that have emerged in practices over time, gives suggestions as to what may constrain the development of future teaching activity. Data analysis suggests that findings are around the specific differentiation behaviours that teachers display towards their students and these assign a mediating role in translating expectations to students. Several categories of teachers’ differentiating behaviour have been identified and these are related to teachers’ perceptions of the student’s socio-emotional teacherstudent relationship, student feedback, classroom interactions and the type of teaching activities planned. For the purpose of this paper, the data analysis will focus on differentiating behaviours identified in relation to the type of teaching activities planned and observed. Many of the tools identified in the teaching were taken from the school’s teaching policy and were therefore evident throughout the lessons. For example, raising a hand for silence, counting down aloud to gain full class attention, using personal warnings and then writing pupil names on the board, adopting a no ‘hands up’ policy (all questions being directed to specific pupils) using seating plans, and adopting an electronic merit system. Some pupils also received detentions, and the class was occasionally kept back until after the lessons were due to finish; on two occasions, pupils were sent out of the classrooms into another class or work area. However, these tools were appropriated in different ways, depending on the nature of the lesson and the behaviour of the class. This appeared to be dependent upon the other tools that were being used in the lessons, which were influenced by the type of teaching activities planned. Two themes identified in relation to the teaching activities will be considered separately before discussing how a comparison of the five teachers and lessons reveals some differences with regards to the suggested object motives of the class teaching.

Structure of the lessons A number of lessons were planned around short activities designed to add pace to the lesson and to keep the pupils on task. The teachers controlled the pace and timing of the tasks and played a key role in reminding the pupils how many minutes each task should take:

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Teacher: we didn’t need all them 7 minutes; you have a choice of two activities … 4 minutes for this one; right guys I want this sentence done (Field notes – 18 March) Teacher: 2 minutes and counting – I am coming around and checking (Field notes – 21 March)

Advocating encouragement to complete tasks by warning that there is ‘so much to get through today’ one teacher felt that the pupils should be pushed: It’s easier to go around with individual work to really push them, come on, come on, come on, and then the week after to say for example, Kim, you did a full page last week and that’s a really small answer. I expect you to produce the same in your groups (interview – 19 March)

The focus of the lessons was on doing the work and getting the activities completed. Differentiation was built in to many of the tasks planned by mixing the pupils seating arrangements when in small groups in order for them to help one another and for them to identify how much of the tasks needed to be completed. For example, some tasks required students to glue suggested answers into their books whilst other students had to create their own. These lessons also contained quick question and answer sections, which acted as links between previous tasks and the tasks to come (“you raise a good point which takes us to the next task” – 18 March). Differentiation practices were evident when pupils were asked questions and the difficulty of these varied, with some pupils praised for re-wording an answer already given. The teachers ensured an overview of the class working on the tasks by lightly ‘touching base’ with each group table (“you guys all good?” – 22 March) and orchestrated their support from a distance in order to maintain an awareness of all the pupils’ actions in the classroom. Physically, they often remained quite separate from the pupils in order to establish what could be described as an omniscient presence. Teacher leans back against the side classroom wall and gazes across the room – “again you have 2 minutes ok? I have already started counting” (Field Notes 21 March)

One teacher used a similar teaching style but did not plan the lesson as a series of shorter tasks and had the majority of the session with pupils working individually on one task, which was the same for all pupils. Here the differentiating factor was identified as the outcome of the poster they

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were creating. This meant that much of the focus of the teacher’s attention was reminding pupils to “get on with your work” and “come on, can you get on with some images?” (Field notes – 22 March). As the lesson progressed, the physical distance he remained from the class dwindled as he was forced to intervene in those situations where pupils did not comply with his wishes. In contrast, the short and quick task-based lessons often pre-empted off task behaviour by using pace to divert unwarranted distractions and by focusing on pupils who were straying from the task at hand. One lesson focused for a greater amount of time on full class discussion. This seemed to last for as long as the group’s concentration would allow before the teacher then required them to write ideas from the discussion into their books in order to encourage a quieter working atmosphere. Teacher: Once again we have to wait because Lauren and Tom have got it wrong. (The group is asked about the importance of listening in order to focus the class on their behaviour.) I am waiting for people to show me they want to go to lunch on time. (Field notes – 20 March)

Another subject lesson divided one activity into tasks but each task contributed to the same activity. This activity was an evaluation of a pupil’s work assignment, which the teacher had typed for the children to mark. The tasks were designed to build complexity into the work and each full group discussion initiated by the teacher in between the shorter tasks was further developed from previous discussions. Noticeably, this teacher spent a greater amount of time with the individual groups in between the class discussions, and used her interactions with them to feed into the class discussion. She spent equal time with the pupils but was able to differentiate her support in how she varied her questioning: Teacher: you’re highly skilled students and will all be doing GCSE History or Geography or Sociology, so what I want to know … do you like all the paragraphs equally? See this person has run out of time, how do you overcome that? (She challenges the students.) Where does it say you have to write about all historians? (Field notes – 22 March)

Types of activity Activities were seen to be individual, group, static or active. The teachers differed in their perceptions of how the group best worked and used these ideas to design the type of activities planned:

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Teacher: A couple of things I try and do with this group, whereas with others I’ve got the better teacher student relationship, I tend not to get these guys out of their chairs, as instead of being on task they suddenly become their social clique. That can sometimes become a forum where they become less nice so I tend to bring the activities to them’ (Interview – 19 March)

In contrast, others felt a ‘bigger trust’ with this group: I gave them something more active to do and I trust them more to do that kind of stuff than I probably do with the year 8 class I had afterwards (Interview – 21 March) They allow me to be experimental as a teacher so we went down into the market place (the atrium in the school) and we acted out … I was surprised at how quickly I got to this point with this class (Interview – 22 March)

The confines of this paper do not give room for discussion on the cultural history of the lessons or the relationship the teachers have developed with the class. Such aspects in a CHAT analysis help to further explore why teachers use tools (for example, for active experimentation) in different ways in the lessons. The level of challenge in the tasks also differed considerably. The longer the task, the greater the challenge needed to be in order to maintain the pupils’ concentration or the greater the teacher interventions required to keep their work commitment. This was acknowledged by one of the teachers as a particular goal for his teaching: It is a feature of the lessons that they (the class) are not yet independent in terms of staying focused on tasks for a long extended period of time and that needs to be something I develop with them. I feel that as a group, they need to work on that. (Interview – 19 March)

However, others did not interpret the pupils’ behaviour in the same way. Reasons for poor behaviour were attributed to external factors outside the classroom (“if you’ve got really stable parenting it’s easier and if you’ve got a strict stable school, they can’t mess about with you”, interview – 22 March). Responses from this teacher as to why pupils acted in certain ways in the lesson were less forthcoming: Researcher: What is it about them (the class) that makes them challenging? Teacher: I don’t know to be honest because it is not all of them. It’s some of them. I don’t know to be honest. (Interview – 22 March)

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Worksheets were used as a way of instigating initial lesson activity in order to begin lessons quietly and for extra support in homework tasks. Teachers also talked about these tools in different ways in relation to the pupils’ learning. Sometimes they were primarily used as a mechanism for controlling behaviour at the start and end of lessons and at other times they were integral to the overall lesson plan.

The objects of the teaching activity The differentiating behaviours identified in relation to the type of teaching activities planned and taught indicated possible tensions in how the teachers saw the activity. Where the lessons focused on ‘doing’ rather than ‘thinking’, the learning was accepted as a natural outcome of completing the tasks, and the teachers spoke in terms of ‘getting the work done’, and saw their goal as establishing trust with the class so that they would do the work without the necessary cajoling from the teacher. Where teachers identified concerns in their lessons that were to do with influences from outside the classroom (the school or parental upbringing), there was less onus on differentiation beyond the different expected student outcomes from the lessons’ tasks and more attention given to behaviour management. When discussing the importance of the curriculum subject, those teachers who identified specific skills in relation to the curriculum specification tended to relate learning with identified subject specific assessment levels. Whereas those who described learning with a more holistic definition saw the children’s learning as being on a learning trajectory that related to their on-going maturity. These teachers also tended to value pupils learning from one another, sharing their ideas, and drawing on their own experiences: With respect in the room, the children can learn from each other more than what I can necessarily bring to the table (Interview – 20 March)

Other teachers saw lesson planning with differentiation built into the tasks as crucial to managing the behaviour of the class and attempted to inspire the pupils with varied amounts of risk and experimentation. This sometimes led to more challenging behaviour from the class, but where the generic school policy ‘tools’ were established and used with clarity and assurance and integrated into the lesson, the behaviour was managed so that the lesson could progress. Where tools were used as activities in themselves, preventing the lessons from progressing (discussing why one needs to listen for example), the lessons needed to be clearly and carefully planned in order to maintain pupil commitment. Where the use of tools

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became the main activity and the lesson was not planned for differentiation or with enough pace to deflect distracting behaviours, the progress of the lesson was hindered and the lack of social skills of the pupils blamed. This suggests a restrictive object of activity and hampers recognition of the complexity inherent in teaching and learning situations, which was also little discussed in some of the teacher interviews and in the classroom’s social practices. In those lessons where the social practices did acknowledge the complexity of learning, the lesson activities were used as tools to open up pupil thinking and to challenge their ideas. This task takes teachers a long time and a year’s training to do (evaluating essays). I’ll give you thinking time because I hate it in staff training when we are asked questions and then not given time to think. (Field notes – 22 March) Other activities (copying sentences into tables from sheets of paper stuck around the room, or creating a poster to replicate one already displayed on the whiteboard) were rarely seen as offering opportunities to develop pupil thinking, and subsequently the tools used suggested that this wasn’t part of their function. Instead, the lesson plans created an opportunity for students to record facts and show evidence of this in their books. The most able pupils were expected to monitor their own responses by answering extra questions specifically written in green differentiation boxes on the whiteboard slide.

Conclusions Examples of differentiation practices illustrate the importance of culture and context in the classroom comparisons (the evolution of tools and the cultural history of the classes are the subject of a future paper). The importance of culture and context in classroom settings has been identified on a broader scale in studies across Europe (see Osborn et al., 2003). Previous research has also identified the importance of students’ awareness of ability hierarchies, task-related interest in peers and overt evaluative comments on classmates’ performance (Dardon et al., 2009). Examples of pupils’ appreciation of one another’s work were evident with this year 8 class (“Chris worked out that it was Troy’s essay (which the class had been evaluating) and said ‘Miss, can I go and say well done, it’s really good’” interview – 22 March). Where the lessons enabled an understanding of the learning process, the pupils showed interest and willingness to benefit from each other. This study’s findings also support

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the idea of adopting flexible student groupings, which have been seen to help diminish classroom management problems and to better consider students’ social objectives (Rytivaara, 2011).

References Ball, S. (2003) The teacher’s soul and the terrors of performativity, Journal of Education Policy, 18(2): 215-228. Dardon, C., F. Butera, G. Mugny, A. Quiamzade, and C.S. Hulleman (2009) ‘Too complex for me!’ Why do performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals predict exam performance? European Journal of Psychology of Education 24: 423-434. Denessen, E., Willems, F., Hermans, C. and Vermeer, P. (2012) Students’ perceptions and teachers’ self-ratings of modelling civic virtues: an exploratory empirical study in Dutch primary schools, Journal of Moral Education, 41(1): 99-115. Edwards, A. and Protheroe, L. (2003) Learning to See in Classrooms: What are student teachers learning about teaching and learning while learning to teach in schools? British Educational Research Journal, 29(2): 227-242. Engeström, Y. (2008) From teams to knots: activity-theoretical studies of collaboration and learning at work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. European Communities (1997) Treaty of Amsterdam Available online at: http://www.unizar.es/euroconstitucion/Treaties/Treaty_Amst.htm (Accessed 24 January 2006). Friedman, H. (2011) The myth behind the subject leader as a school key player, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 17(3): 289-302. Glaser, B. and Strauss, A. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Chicago, Aldine. Humphrey, N., Bartolo, P., Ale, P., Calleja, C., Hofsaess, T., Janikova, V., Mol Lous, A., Vilkiene, V. and Wetso, G. M. (2006) Understanding and responding to diversity in the primary classroom: an international study, European Journal of Teacher Education, 29(3): 305-318. Kaptelinin, V. (2005) The Object of Activity: Making Sense of the SenseMaker, Mind, Culture and Activity, 12(1): 4-18. Leont’ev, A. N. (1981) The Problem of Activity in Psychology in: J. V. Wertsch (ed.) The Concept of Activity in Soviet Psychology, pp. 37-71 New York: Armonk NY. Livingston, K. (2013) Teacher Educators: what does the concept mean and who are they? European Journal of Teacher Education, 36(1): 1-2.

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Osborn, M., Broadfoot, P., McNess, E., Planel, C., Ravn, B. and Triggs, P. (2003) A world of difference? Comparing learners across Europe. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Rubie-Davies, C. M. (2007) Classroom interactions: Exploring the practices of high and low expectation teachers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77: 289–306. Rytivaara, A. (2011) Flexible grouping as a means for classroom management in a heterogeneous classroom, European Educational Research Journal 10(1): 118-128. Stetsenko, A. (2005) Activity as Object-Related: Resolving the Dichotomy of Individual and Collective Planes of Activity, Mind, Culture, and Activity, 12(1): 70-88. Tomlinson, C. A. (2003) Fulfilling the promise of the differentiated classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. UNESCO (2005) Guidelines for inclusion: ensuring access to education for all. Paris: UNESCO.

About the Author Alaster Scott Douglas is a Reader in Education and Professional Practice and has worked as a teacher and senior manager in four high schools in the UK. He currently leads the Centre for Educational Research in Equalities, Policy and Pedagogy (CEREPP) at the University of Roehampton and is an associate member of the Oxford Centre for Sociocultural and Activity Theory Research (OSAT) at the University of Oxford.

CHAPTER FOUR PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING IN PORTUGAL: CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE SCENE PROJECT TO PROMOTE TEACHERS/TRAINERS SKILLS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY PAULO DIAS1, JOHN MERGENDOLLER2 AND ANA SOFIA BASTOS1 Abstract This paper describes part of a European project on problem-based learning (PBL) in education. Its aim is to explore the use of this innovative pedagogical model in the Portuguese context. In PBL, unlike “traditional” pedagogical teaching models where the teacher is the centre and “knowledge provider” (Savery, 2006), student thinking and action is at the centre of the teaching-learning interaction. PBL is a constructivist pedagogy emphasizing real-world problem solving, group learning and discussion, and subsequent reflection about what has been learned and accomplished (Hmelo-Silver and Barrows, 2006). According to literature, PBL promotes intrinsic motivation, self-regulatory methods and study habits, cooperative work experiences, and more effective transference of learning (Artino, 2008; Hung, 2007). The teacher plays the role of tutor, mentor, and facilitator of students’ learning processes (Artino, 2008). Most PBL research has been conducted in higher education (especially in the disciplines of medicine and engineering), and there is little research conducted at other educational levels. The SCENE project, “Professional Development for an Effective PBL approach: a practical experience through ICT-enabled Learning Solutions” (www.sceneproject.eu), aims to explore the use of PBL in secondary, vocational, and adult education. SCENE is a cooperative project among seven European countries and with the participation of a U.S. partner, co-funded by the European Lifelong

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Learning Programme (Key Activity 3: ICT). It seeks to create training programs for the use of PBL by secondary teachers and headmasters, as well as preparing trainers for the use of PBL in vocational and adult learning. In this paper, interviews conducted with 10 teachers and 10 trainers are explored. Results show a general lack of PBL training, as well as ignorance of PBL’s pedagogical principles. We discuss the interview results and propose, based on these data, a program of continuing education for teachers and adult trainers, to enable them to promote students 21st century skills. Keywords: Problem-based continuous training.

learning,

teacher/adult

trainers

skills,

Acknowledgements The SCENE – “Professional Development for an Effective PBL approach: a practical experience through ICT-enabled Learning Solutions” – project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use of the information contained therein.

Introduction Discussions of teaching, learning, and educational success as a whole tends to repeatedly highlight the central role of the teacher. Teachers’ reflections on and evaluation of the quality of education in general and thoughts regarding the improvement of instructional practices are considered particularly important (OECD, 2009, 2013). Despite this, the main emphasis has been dedicated to teacher characteristics, teacher interaction, communication, etc. Much less research has been directed towards teacher methodology in the classroom. In an attempt to contribute to this debate, this article seeks to explore the possible contributions of problem-based-learning (PBL) in teacher practice and student learning improvement. This pedagogical model has been shown to be implemented by teachers who emphasize interpersonal goals, such as collaboration, problem solving, and independent learning, as well as professional skills, such as planning and management tasks (Schmidt, Van Der Molen, 2001; Schmidt, Vermeulen, Van Der Molen, 2006). PBLusing teachers also emphasize developing their students’ 21st century

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skills (Mergendoller, Markham, Larmer, Ravitz, 2006; Ravitz, Hixson, English, Mergendoller, 2012). PBL is rooted on constructivist theories of education. Unlike pedagogical models of “traditional” teaching, where the teacher is the centre and “knowledge provider” (Savery, 2006, p. 15), in PBL the student becomes the centre of the teaching-learning process through problem solving of real life cases with subsequent reflection on their work (HmeloSilver, Barrows, 2006). The PBL teacher places students in small groups and plays the roles of tutor, mentor, and facilitator of learning. PBL allows students to have a voice in their learning and make appropriate choices, as well as take an active role in the planning, management, and evaluation of their learning process (Mergendoller, Markham, Larmer, Ravitz, 2006). Considering the potential of this methodology, the SCENE project, cofunded by the EU Lifelong Learning Programme (Key Activity 3: ICT), aims to promote PBL use among teachers and trainers. Based on literature and best practices, we intended to draw a path of lifelong learning among these target groups and use PBL to promote the quality of teaching practice and student learning. To begin, we conducted a set of interviews with teachers and trainers to assess their knowledge about PBL and its applicability in their classrooms. These data will help us to design a training course for teachers and adult trainers.

Aims of the study In the last decades there has been much research conducted on the ways students and adults learn. This work has definite implications on teaching methods and classroom practices. This work has informed the development of constructivist theory, which has changed the way we think about the nature of knowledge and, therefore, teaching and learning (Coll, Marchesi, Palacios, et al., 2004). The principles underlying Problem Based Learning and Project Based Learning (PBL) are constructivist in origin and provide one approach to operationalising the constructivist theory of learning. There is also empirical evidence that, when well implemented, PBL has positive results on learning and achievement (Davies, Kolmos, de Graaff, 2011; Strobel, van Barneveld, 2009). A basic assumption in PBL is that life in general involves problem solving with opportunities to learn (Hung, Jonassen, Liu, 2008). Assuming the primacy of problems on learning, PBL takes knowledge as an individual construction derived from social interaction with the environment. An individual’s thinking and the meaning made by him/her as a result of interacting with the world, is influenced by the individual’s culture, community, and the tools s/he has

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at hand. Consequently, when academic content is presented and considered by students to be relevant, they are more likely to learn and remember this content. This assumption is clear, but in the literature, Problem Based Learning and Project Based Learning are not well defined, due to unclear and multiple definitions (Graaff and Kolmos, 2003) and indistinct use and lack of clear limits between both constructs (e.g.: Davies, Kolmos, de Graaff, 2011; Rongbutsri, Khalid, Ryberg, 2011). In this case, we will consider PBL as an integrative concept and focus mainly on the commonalities of the process of Problem and Project Based Learning, rather than subtle differences. Although asking students to solve problems is at least as old as Socrates, the current interest in PBL began in a chemistry class taught by Don Woods at McMaster University in Canada. This focus on problem solving soon spread to McMaster Medical School (Dirckinck-Holmfeld, 2009). The success of those experiences inspired other medical schools, such as those in Aalborg and Maastricht (Davies, de Graaff, Kolmos, 2011), as well as primary, secondary, and training schools (for a review, see Hung, Jonassen, Liu, 2008). PBL is not a fixed or unified theory of classroom implementation, and research on that implementation varies widely (Davies, de Graaff, Kolmos, 2011; Hung, Jonassen, Liu, 2008). However, a large body of research has proven the positive effects of PBL on student learning outcomes, including performance in knowledge application and reasoning, long-term retention of contents, problem solving skills, high order thinking skills, self-directed learning/life-long learning, and self-perception or confidence. Research has also demonstrated positive outcomes from PBL implementation issues, including the creation of new role definitions for teachers and students, positive use of group, as well as individual learning, more engaging curriculum designs, performance assessment, and the use of ITC (Artino, 2008; Hung, Jonassen, Liu, 2008). Despite the challenges that must be faced while transitioning from a traditional learning approach to PBL (Ribeiro, 2011), researchers highlight its innovative features and positive impact on the dynamics between students and teachers in the classroom. While it is possible to do PBL in almost any school environment, it is most feasible and most effective when certain school conditions are in place (Larmer, Mergendoller, 2012). Teachers need to be prepared to implement PBL. “PBL provides an opportunity for educators to redefine the nature of learning and, in turn, reposition their roles in teaching from a knowledge/information transmitter to a learning/thinking process facilitator” (Hung, Jonassen, Liu, 2008, p. 493). This shift requires PBL tutors to reconsider their educational roles. The PBL tutor must balance a

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degree of participation in students’ learning processes and resist the temptation to lecture. They must have effective communication skills in order to help students think through problems on their own. A tutor’s authentic interactions are revealed in his or her ability to communicate with students informally while maintaining an empathetic attitude. In addition, effective tutors must be willing to be actively involved with students (Hung, Jonassen, Liu, 2008). PBL prepares students for problem solving and continuous professional development that is required of all professions, including trainers and teachers. Knowles writing on PBL (cit. in Onyon, 2012) highlights how by encouraging self-directed learning by drawing on previous experiences, valuing learning that integrates into everyday life, and by preferring problem-centred learning, learners identify their own learning objectives and resources and devise strategies to use them. These assumptions and guidance are integral to learning through PBL and, moreover, prepare the student for problem solving and continuous professional development. According to the literature, successful learning experiences should be personally meaningful for the student and fulfil an educational purpose (Larmer, Mergendoller, 2010). To design and implement them properly, seven essentials steps must be considered: 1. Promote curiosity and involvement in the task – show students why they need to know some content in order to launch the project; 2. Present an engaging driving question, thus challenging students to think about what to do in the project and what they might learn; 3. Give students voice and choice, making the project meaningful to the students; 4. Promote 21st century skills, such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and use of technology, which are not only essential to their projects, but also to their lives; 5. Encourage students to ask new questions, encouraging a spirit of inquiry that might deepen knowledge, learning, and innovation; 6. Review students’ work, providing feedback and revision during the project; and 7. Publicly present the project; by giving meaning to schoolwork and presenting it to a real audience, students develop skills they will need in their personal and professional lives. In Portugal, educational institutions face significant new challenges in preparing students as future professionals, who are able to cope with a rapidly changing society. Students are required to develop critical thinking

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and reasoning and diverse learning abilities, among other skills. To accomplish such goals, new teaching and learning models have been introduced, specifically the PBL model. The first steps to PLB implementation in Portugal occurred in 2001 in two universities, the Health Sciences School (ECS-UM) and the Faculty of Health Sciences (FCS – UBI). Then, PBL implementation proceeded at the Health Technology School of Porto (ESTSP-IPP) in three of the 13 existing undergraduate courses: physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and nuclear medicine. In addition to health, it was also included in other educational fields such as technologies (Dores, Martins, Salgado, Fonte, 2010) at the University of Aveiro Business Simulation Course in Portugal, to improve undergraduate student performance and ability to face the labour market. An evaluation of this course showed that for students, the presence of real problems in various professional areas and the innovative nature and pragmatic characteristics of the methodology were highly motivating. At the same time, the feedback students received on their work, together with the opportunity to reformulate their mistakes, was particularly important in increasing students’ enthusiasm and confidence (Pinheiro, Sarrico, Santiago, 2011). Although there has been less research at the secondary level, a study conducted in Finland with secondary school students in an electricity course demonstrated PBL’s impact on student motivation and course performance (Pietilã, Virkkula, 2011). Similar results are also reported in a review by Guerra and Kolmos (2011), which examined different models of PBL and found evidence that PBL has been used effectively in curricula, programs, courses, and subjects, as well as in specific modules. But PBL is not a panacea. To be effective, it needs to be tailored to specific professional areas and the nature of knowledge being taught, among other particulars of the learning environment. The optimal implementation of PBL also includes integration of new interdisciplinary knowledge linking theory and practice through peer collaboration; open problems and projects promotion through student project support; student progress assessment throughout the curriculum with specific assessment times; bibliographic support access; physical space that facilitates teamwork; and teacher guidance (Guerra, Kolmos (2011). Taking this research as a whole, it appears that for PBL to be used effectively, previous preparation is required. This preparation must be done at the school level, so that PBL could be consistently and successfully implemented. Moving PBL from individual schools to mass implementation will require vision and leadership at the district, state, and, eventually, the national level. An example is found in the U.S. state of

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West Virginia, which launched a multi-faceted initiative to better prepare students to meet 21st century educational goals. It included rethinking and revising state standards and assessment, teacher accreditation, and professional development. The West Virginia Department of Education staff used wikis and other technologies to share information, disseminate approved project designs, and support educators and students (Larmer, Mergendoller, 2012). Considering the lack of evidence about PBL use at the lower school level in Europe, especially in Portugal, this qualitative study aims to explore teachers’ and trainers’ knowledge about and practices of PBL in their classrooms. We are seeking to learn more about the realities of teaching in order to tailor a specific intervention that encourages the effective use of PBL in secondary schools and adult training centres.

Data Collection and Analysis The Sample The sample consists of 10 secondary teachers and 10 adult education teachers. Secondary teachers have academic degrees in basic education (2 teachers), languages (2), and math and sciences (5). Their teaching experience is between one year and more than 20 years: 1 year (2), 5-10 years (1), 10-20 years (1), and more than 20 years (5). These teachers have worked for the present educational institution for one year (3), 2-4 years (1), 5-10 years (1), 10-20 years (3), and over 20 years (3). The adult education teachers have degrees in education (3 teachers), primary school (2), languages (4) and philosophy (1). Their teaching experience: 2-4 years (2), 5-10 years (3), 10-20 years (1), and more than 20 years (4.). They have worked for the present educational institution for one year (2), 2-4 years (3), 5-10 years (3), 10-20 years (1), and over 20 years (1).

Interviews A semi-structured interview, adapted from research conducted by Jonassen, Strobel, and Lee (2006), was used to measure PBL in the classroom. It is comprised of three parts: a) institution background information (type of school, dimension, courses); b) interviewee background information (academic degree, subject, teaching experience); and c) PBL information, which comprises of 7 questions on the learning problem/challenges teachers face in the classroom; the frequency with

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which students address classroom problems/challenges and their skills in solving these problems/challenges; and the tasks, activities, support given by the teacher, results, and difficulties experienced by the teacher when facing problems/challenges in the classroom. To better understand teachers’ PBL experiences in educational settings (secondary education or vocational training), we held face-to-face, semistructured interviews with both teachers and trainers. All answers were transcribed and content analysis was performed. One interview was eliminated because it focused on classroom management problems rather than PBL.

Results Secondary school teachers reported having already used the formulation of a problem to address subject content in their classroom. Teachers in general assumed the importance of promoting practical everyday situations, using analogies to support the understanding of any kind of phenomena, and to promote student motivation, engagement, and performance in learning. Two teachers referred having used a problem to approach subject content for the first time, but most of them reported having used it before, depending on the nature of the lesson or contents to be learned. One teacher reported using a problem to introduce a subject frequently, often starting classes with questions or problems to be solved. It was evident that teachers are able to establish and identify problems to propose to their students (how to change a bulb to explain the theory of electricity, what is air; what is the cardiovascular system; how to assess the air in a specific region). To solve these problems, students must conduct research and collect data and then describe their results in a multi-media presentation. In contrast to these accomplished PBL teachers, we found examples where the idea given students for solving problems was very vague (one teacher asked students to carry out his instructions for the construction of the solar panel). There was also a case in which the teacher stated that using word problems caused difficulties in classroom management and student learning difficulties. When teachers were asked how they structured learning tasks and activities in PBL, 50% of them mentioned group work, although one teacher focused on conducting class discussions before introducing the content to be learned. Another teacher spoke about the importance of research, the establishment of research hypotheses, and the importance of providing support and tutoring.

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Only one teacher reported having used group work with support and tutoring, as well as peer learning (with more advanced students supporting students with more difficulties), and public presentation of the contents through podcasts. The teacher’s role in PBL was identified as being an important element responsible for student engagement and the way the content of the class was contextualized to make it more understandable to students. Teachers also mentioned that it was important to diagnose students’ prior learning and engage them in class discussions by using group dynamics or by providing examples. Generally, teachers who used such approaches had positive perceptions of the results of these classroom instructional strategies, but they were very conscious of and concerned about the time constraints they faced. Furthermore, they stated that sometimes students do not adapt to this way of teaching, depending on their past success and level of involvement in the class. The greatest difficulties reported by teachers were related to making group work effective (5 teachers), encouraging peer organization and collaboration, gender differences in the time required to learn content, selection of information available to students, and the understanding of more abstract content. In addition, one teacher pointed out that many students have difficulties in time management skills, and that many students lack the prior knowledge necessary to solve specific problems. Adult education teachers’ described their classroom instructional strategies more clearly and more completely than secondary school teachers. They engage adults in problems and challenges through debates (2), making sketches (3), producing pamphlets (3), or by providing classroom demonstrations of problems (3). The adult education teachers use problems in their instruction to engage students in learning (4), provide more practical learning opportunities (3), draw on students’ previous skills (1), and to enhance content integration and understanding. They reported that by doing these things, their students experienced better peer relationships, displayed more creativity and responsibility, and appeared more self-confident (1). Some adult teachers (4) seem to be concerned about the adjustment of methodologies to students’ characteristics, mentioning that they frequently use problems to introduce a learning subject and try to adjust contents and activities to students’ real life experiences (6). Also, when implementing PBL, some used group work (10), included research and contact with other local institutions (3), group discussions or simulations of the content learning (3), and content presentations (2). They perceive their role to be

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supporting students’ work plan construction, organizing time and tasks, material sharing, and individual or group specific needs support. In their opinion, use of problems to structure learning has positive results, both for learning and for sharing knowledge among students. Student success was repeatedly associated with the engagement of students, but also with students’ previous experiences, the gap between students’ prior knowledge, and the content currently being learned. The greatest student difficulties reported by vocational teachers were in oral presentations of results, in writing up research results, and summarizing in writing the oral presentation.

Conclusions As found in other studies (Artino, 2008; Hung, Jonassen, Liu, 2008), our research suggests that using problems as a way to organize and structure instruction motivates and engages students, whether in high school or in adult education. The teachers interviewed stressed the importance of defining challenging questions, collaborative work, and including public presentations as part of classroom instruction. However, several challenges remain. These include time management, the maintenance of positive peer relationships, and the transition from lecturebased to PBL-based instructional methods (Ribeiro, 2011). Despite both groups’ initial training in education, the results allow us to have deeper knowledge about PBL (types of problems and their management and assessment) in the adult education group. Moreover, teachers who referred to use of learning problems do not seem to apply the essential steps mentioned (Mergendoller, Larmer, 2012). Therefore, a need exists to explore in depth the stages of implementation of PBL, as well as to promote a new vision of education and learning. If we are to move from a transmission model of education, where the main goal is moving information from the head of the teacher to the head of the student, to a model of education built upon student development of content knowledge and 21st century skills (Hung, Jonassen, Liu, 2008; Larmer, Mergendoller, 2012), then PBL is one approach worth considering. That is the main goal of the SCENE project. To improve teaching practices among European countries, especially partner countries (United Kingdom, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Turkey), the SCENE project is focused on the development of a training course entitled “Problem-Based Learning in Secondary and Vocational Schools: A student-centred pedagogy based on real-world experiences” for the target-groups of the problem scenario – teachers, trainers and

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headmasters. To do so, the course explores the role of the driving questions, contents, methods of assessment, and management of learning activities in PBL with the use of examples from different scientific disciplines and exercises aimed at different target-groups over four different modules. Finally, the learning outcomes are evaluated to promote the transference of learning to a working context. Further articles will describe the development and impact of the SCENE project in more detail.

References Ardaiz-Villanueva, O., Nicuesa-Chacón, X., Brene-Artazcoz, O., Lizarraga, M., and Baquedano, M. (2011). Evaluation of computer tools for ideas generation and team formation in project-basedlearning. Computers and Education, 56, 700-711. Artino, A.R (2008). A Brief Analysis of Research on Problem-Based Learning. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/record Detail?accno=ED501593. Bender, W.N. (2012). Project-Based Learning: Differentiating Instruction for the 21st Century. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Coll, C., Marchesi, A., Palacios, J. and Colaboradores. (2004). Desenvolvimento psicológico e educação – Psicologia de educação escolar (Vol. 2). (2ª edição). Porto Alegre: Artmed. Davies, J., de Graaff, E., and Kolmos, A. (2011). Introduction. In J. Davies, E. de Graaff, and A. Kolmos (Dirs.), PBL across the disciplines: research into best practice (pp. 1-2). Aalborg: Aalborg University Press. Dirckinck-Holmfeld, L. (2009). Guest Editorial for Special Issue on Problem Based Learning and ICT Innovation of Problem Based Learning through ICT: Linking Local and Global Experiences. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT, 5(1), 3-12. Dores, A., Martins, H., Salgado, A., and Fonte, R. (2010). O Problembased Learning e suas implicações nas atitudes e comportamentos de estudo: Estudo exploratório do 1º ano de cursos de tecnologias da saúde. Actas do VII Simpósio Nacional de Investigação em Psicologia (pp. 2820-2838). Braga: Universidade do Minho. Graff, E., and Kolmos, A. (2003). Characteristics of Problem-based learning. International Journal of Engineering Education, 19 (5), 657662. Guerra, A., and Kolmos, A. (2011). Comparing problem based learning models: Suggestions for their implementation. In J. Davies, E. de

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Graaff, and A. Kolmos (Dirs.), PBL across the disciplines: research into best practice (3-16). Aalborg: Aalborg University Press. Hmelo-Silver, C. E., and Barrows, H. S. (2006). Goals and Strategies of a Problem-based Learning Facilitator. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 1(1), 21-39. Hung, D. H. (2007). Problem-Based Learning. In J. M. Spector (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology (pp. 486-500). Local: AECT Series. Hung, W., Jonassen, D. H., and Liu, R. (2008). Problem-based learning. In J. M. Spector, J. G. van Merriënboer, M. D., Merrill, and M. Driscoll (Eds.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (3rd ed., pp. 485-506). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Jonassen, D.H., Strobel, J., and Lee, C.B. (2006). Everyday problem solving in engineering: Lessons for engineering educators. Journal of Engineering Education, 95 (2), 139–151. Larmer, J. and Mergendoller, J. R. (2010). 7 Essentials for the projectbased learning. Educational Leadership, 68(1), 34-37. Larmer, J. (2009). PBL Starter Kit: To-the-Point Advice, Tools and Tips for Your First Project in Middle or High School. Novato: Buck Institute for Education. Larmer, J., and Mergendoller, J. (2012). The main course, not dessert: How are students reaching 21st century goals? With 21st century project based learning. February 2012 from PLB 101 Workbook: http://www.bie.org/services/workshop_menu/. Markham, T., Larmer, J. and Ravitz, J. (2003). Project Based Learning Handbook: A Guide to Standards-Focused Project Based Learning for Middle and High School Teachers. Novato: Buck Institute for Education. Mergendoller, J. R., Markham, T., Ravitz, J, and Larmer, J. (2006). Pervasive Management of Project based learning: Teachers as Guides and facilitators. In C. M. Evertson and C. S. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of Classroom Management: Research, Practice, And Contemporary Issues, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, Inc. Morales, L., Castro, M., and Odi, J. (2010). Aprendizaje Orientado a proyectos como apoyo para la integración de asignaturas en la formación profesional. Apertura, 13, 6-17. OECD (2009). TALIS. Teaching and Learning International Survey. OECD Publishing. —. (2013). Teachers for the 21st Century: Using Evaluation to Improve Teaching. OECD Publishing.

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Onyon, C. (2012). Problem-based learning: a review of the educational and psychological theory. The Clinical Teacher, 9, 22-26. Pietilã, M., and Virkkula, E. (2011). Integrating theory and practice according to PBL-based project designs in secondary vocational education of engineering and music. In J. Davies, E. de Graaff, and A. Kolmos (Dirs.), PBL across the disciplines: research into best practice (53-66). Aalborg: Aalborg University Press. Pinheiro, M., Sarrico, C., and Santiago, R. (2011). Motivação e desempenho num curso de Simulação Empresarial. Revista Portuguesa de Educação, 24 (1), 145-191. Ravitz, J., Hixson, N., English, M., and Mergendoller, J., (2012). Using Project Based learning To teach 21st century skills: Findings from A statewide initiative. Paper presented At Annual Meetings Of the American Educational Research Association. Vancouver, BC. April 16, 2012. Ribeiro, L.R. (2011). The Pros and Cons of Problem-Based Learning from the Teacher’s Standpoint. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 8(1). Available at: http://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol8/ iss1/4. Rongbutsri, N., Khalid, M. S., and Ryberg, T. (2011). ICT support for students’ collaboration in problem and project based learning. In J. Davies, E. de Graaff, and A. Kolmos (Dirs.), PBL across the disciplines: research into best practice (351-363). Aalborg: Aalborg University Press. Savery, J. R. (2006). Overview of Problem-based Learning: Definitions and Distinctions. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 1, 9-20. Shui-fong, L., Cheng Wing-yi, R., and Choy, H. (2010). School support and teacher motivation to implement project-based learning. Learning and Instruction, 20, 487-497. Spoormans, H. (1999). Problem-based Learning in European Public Affairs. ECSA Sixth Biennal Conference. Pennsylvania. Strobel, J. and van Barneveld, A. (2009). When is PBL More Effective? A Meta-synthesis of Meta-analyses Comparing PBL to Conventional Classrooms. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 3(1), 44–58.

Authors 1. Portuguese Catholic University, Braga, Portugal. 2. Buck Institute for Education, U.S.A.

CHAPTER FIVE INTERACTION OF TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: PRACTICE AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS KARƮNA BRIKMANE AND ALƮDA SAMUSEVIýA Abstract The goal of the article is to describe the professional development dimension of teachers in Latvia, highlighting teaching experience and the opportunities to develop skills within the school environment, based on the transformation of the teaching process and the interaction with resources in the school environment. The development of teachers’ professional proficiency is the improvement of the quality of teachers’ professional activities that take place mainly in the form of further education courses. Teachers’ professional development in Latvia is currently being guided by an overall mission in education – to create a society that is engaged in life-long learning. This is why on-going development of competence is planned, and results are expected in the goals of further education programmes. The significance of schools as educational institutions in a knowledgebased society is changing. The school is becoming a social, multifunctional community centre. For a teacher to be able to successfully carry out professional activities, new pedagogic activity competences, and opportunities to enrich their experience in a school environment through interactive processes are required. The significance of the research is determined by the need to provide modern, competitive education for the younger generation. A need for continuing professional development of teachers arises as a consequence. It is important that professional development feedback takes place in the teaching process and not just formally ‘on paper’. Theory and practice

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have shown that further education is more effective when it is based in theory, educational strategy, and real demand/need. Teachers want a wider exchange of experiences. The school environment, which is a teacher’s living and working environment and should be understood as more than just the physical space in which the teacher works; it is a cultural space and the most effective space for ensuring the exchange of professional experience. Through the professional interactive process of developing teacher proficiency, teachers’ professional growth develops within the school environment – from professionally creative self-realization to a self-analysis of the effectiveness of activities. Keywords: competences, cooperation, professional proficiency, school environment, teacher professional development.

Introduction Teaching proficiency and professional growth in teachers’ work are the primary strategies, which, to a large extent determine, influence, and implement change in the education sphere. The level of innovation needed in schools and educational practice is evidence for the introduction of comprehensive reforms, which highlight the need for teachers to experience new knowledge and skills, as well as emphasise the significance and problems of further education. The internal motivation and self-direction of teachers in the continuing education process are influenced by the choice of professional development opportunities. Teachers, as the main facilitators of innovation in education, require a clear and well-founded understanding of the solutions to pedagogic work problems and the competence to act. With focussed development of teacher self-reflection on the quality of their work in schools and encouraged discussions about professional competence and growth issues, it is possible to develop an understanding and knowledge about the transformations required in the goals of education, process, and changes in the 21st century. In developing organizational teaching in the school – which for teachers is associated with complex aspects of the development of the student’s personality, as well as with the development of the teaching process and environment in the educational institution – teachers’ competence, professional growth, and collegial collaboration in the initiation and implementation of educational changes becomes more important. The ability of teachers to lead changes, to learn to facilitate them, and to bring together the diverse experiences involved in educational processes, will promote more

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productive implementation of teaching and education goals. Z. Rubene (2013) points out that the modern person lives in two worlds – the real and the virtual. The ability to access both is needed for self-realization. Unfortunately, pedagogical research shows that more and more, the younger generation lacks the skills to reach out to what is happening in the real social world. Adults have to look at the world from the perspective of the child’s experience, and only then will the teacher understand what s/he has to teach and how. It is a great challenge for teachers to comprehend and understand that they have to change, how they have to change, and how they have to develop their teaching proficiency. Investment in the development of teachers’ professional growth is one of the most significant resources for improving education quality in the nation. The wider meaning of the idea of investment as self-discovery, awareness, respect for and fulfilment of the needs of all participants involved in education includes: investment in important pedagogic development practice, promoting social cooperation, analysing the results of student achievements and the causes of their difficulties and lack of success, and listening to the opinions and wishes of parents and employers, as well as predicting the future development of society and each student’s individual capacity for development. In developing educational institutions on trust-based communities, the potential for solving education problems will be widened. In searching for new and influential resources for the growth and development of teaching competences, the professional development system and opportunities of practising teachers and examples of good practice in the promotion of teachers’ professional growth will be analysed. We will describe the professional development dimension of teachers in Latvia and accentuate pedagogic experience and the opportunities for the development of proficiency in the school environment, based on the transformation of the teaching process and interaction with resources in the school environment.

Data collection We include theoretical analysis of literature, case studies, processing of questionnaires, and interviews. This article reviews the creation and operation of the further education system in the context of educational reform in Latvia. It describes the change in focus of teachers’ professional development, reveals teachers’ further education opportunities, and highlights both the positive

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experience of the acquired changes, as well as the difficulties in developing teachers’ professional proficiency in the organization of the process of further education. The research analyses survey results from the ESF project “General education teachers’ continuing education”, and examples of good practice for improving the professionalism of teachers are also highlighted.

Teacher professional development in the context of reform in Latvia Steven Farr (2010) maintains that the role of a teacher in the achievement of results in education is greater than the content of education or the role of the school. Every teacher has to be able to professionally create the sort of learning environment in which the student is provided with the opportunity to use all of their abilities and potential, to reveal their individuality, be fully involved in all aspects of life, and to develop the ability to be a creative, successful, and happy person. This means that, more and more, teachers require various sets of professional competences, of which an inseparable part are IT competences and the skills to use, locate, and create digital teaching resources themselves. If the teacher and students can find a common language in the learning process, students are treated as cooperation partners on the path to the common goal (standard), selected teaching methods are such that they are able to address and involve them, and assessment criteria are clear and understandable to everyone, then the learning process will most likely be successful, and teachers, students, and parents will all be satisfied. Since 2004, Latvia’s education system has been developing as a part of the European education system, although reform of the education system has been significant since the beginning of the 1990s. Its improvement is planned based on international education standards. The democratization of the education process in Latvia means that qualitative changes are inevitable. However, it should be emphasized that specifically teachers’ capacity for further education has, up until now, been the weakest link in the operation of our contemporary education system. Marija Golubeva, senior researcher at the Providus Centre for Public Policy, points out the low effectiveness, lack of teacher motivation, and formalized approach to the teaching process (Golubeva, 2010). The attractiveness of the profession and, as a consequence, the prestige in the perception of the community, has declined over the past 10 years (Providus, 2008). A number of reforms have been implemented in Latvia’s education system since the re-establishment of independence – the transformation of

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the system from a centralized to decentralized system, democratization and humanization, implementation of bilingual education, change of teaching subject standards and methodology, and changes in the management of the education system. A new teacher professional proficiency development support system commenced after the closure of the MES Teacher Qualification Improvement Institute and the Learning Methodology Laboratory. The education reform activities of the 1990s finished with a document prepared by the MES, “Development concept for teachers’ further education” (1999), which was significant for teachers’ further education and determined the strategic development of reforms from 1999 to 2004. At the same time, “Noteikumi par pedagogu profesiju un amatu sarakstu” [Regulations on the teaching profession and positions register] were adopted, regulating education and professional qualifications required for the teaching profession, as well as professional development. Reform of the continuing education system for general education teachers goes on, even though it was forecasted that the development of the new system would be complete by 2004. In the education reform implementation process, the centralized teacher qualification improvement system was abandoned, and work is continuing on the development of a new continuing education system for teachers, as well as implementation of on-going professional development for working teachers at the national, local, and educational institution level. In 2002 responsibility for the further education of teachers was delegated to the MES Centre for Curriculum Development and Education [ISEC], and the financing of centralized further education was discontinued. To obtain funding in the market economy situation from 1993 to 2005, teacher professional development programme competitions were organized by the MES. During this period, the OECD report established that the “…weak point in the structure of the teacher training system is the lack of scientific research related to effectiveness of training. Most of the teacher pre- and in-training programmes have been designed using external models, or are based simply on what the organizers believe to be ‘good practice’”. (National Education Policy Analysis, Latvia, 2000, 83) In 2001, the MES commissioned and developed the “Further Education Quality Evaluation Handbook”, which incorporated basic principles on understanding and evaluating quality, as well as an education programme quality evaluation system. The continuing education of teachers and their on-going professional development are inseparable components of the education system. Research (Providus, 2004, Dorus, 2007, BSZI, 2007) has shown that reforms have taken place more slowly here, than in the

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content of education. In the EU Structural Fund national programme project “Ensuring Further Pedagogical Education Methodology Network Development”, five separate practical surveys were undertaken in the period from 2006 to 2007: The requirements for professional development content, as well as an exploration of further education and school needs (Dorus Ltd.); Professional competences required by teachers (Marketing and Public Opinion Research Centre); Organizational and supervisory systems for the further education of teachers in Latvia and European Union nations (BSZI); Teacher professional career development in EU nations and Latvia (BSZI); and Survey on the prestige of the teaching profession and possibilities for its improvement in the eyes of various target audiences (Invite Ltd.). The results of all of the surveys confirm that improvements in teacher further education, the development of a more effective system of further education, and the introduction of the type of operating principles in the system that can influence the quality of education are required. Since 2006, the operation of the further education system has been provided by the teacher further education section of the NCE, which coordinate and provide methodological support for the operation and development of the general education teacher further education system and consult and inform representatives of the country’s regional education authorities, teachers’ professional unions and associations, administrators of educational institutions, teaching methodological subject association leaders, and the community. In evaluating what has been achieved in the reform of further education, Zeiberte summed up the following: “The transformations, which have taken place in twenty years in the further education of teachers, can be described as fragmented with individual elements (strategy, planning, organization, implementation, evaluation) of the system being characterized by detachment, a lack of coordination, and often also, [a lack] of professionalism” (Zeiberte, 2011). An analysis of the organization and operation of the further education of teachers leads to the assertion that in order to develop life-long learning strategies in practice and to promote their readiness and openness to innovations and education reforms, the further education system itself needs to be substantially improved, highlighting teachers’ professional development opportunities and their motivation for professional growth and using the teachers’ own opportunities to learn in the school environment.

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A change in focus in teacher professional development Teacher education is a developing process. Currently, as rapid change is taking place in society, and almost convulsive change in the case of Latvia, it is becoming patently obvious that changes in education are connected not only to a re-orientation in the education curriculum, but that the development of education strategy is much more important. As the volume of knowledge significantly increases, new technology is established, and society’s values and needs are simultaneously changing, affecting the social demands of schools. The significance and value of teacher’s professional competences is increasing, because students have to become active investigators and participants in the learning process. The basic understanding of education is changing – education is no longer perceived as an event completed at a certain time in a certain place, but is instead an on-going process that continues after school as further education and life-long education. The implementation of the sustainability principle in teacher education focuses on such operational directions in the provision of education and further education as assessment and development, management and policy, cooperation, and exchange of experience (Grabovska, 2006). All of the important issues about life-long learning – giving people the opportunity to learn at every phase of life; in all fields of life, irrespective of previous education, age, gender, or place of residence; and experience or social status – are outlined in the life-long learning strategy for 2007 – 2013. The long-term goal of the strategy is to provide life-long education corresponding to people’s interests and abilities, as well as the needs of a particular region’s socio-economic development. The concept of life-long learning stresses that further education should be based on a person’s internal needs or requirements brought about by external factors and to obtain and continually supplement knowledge, skills and competences in formal, informal, or everyday education (Basic principles of life-long learning, 2006). Levin and Fullan, collating research results about the process of education reform in recent years in more than twenty countries, concluded that for an education system to be sustainable and focused on the person being educated, the following must be the focus of attention: − A small number of ambitious but achievable and well-grounded goals, publicly stated, because the totality of everything that society expects from schools cannot be achieved simultaneously;

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− A positive attitude, because changes are possible if people are individually and collectively motivated; − Multi-level engagement with strong leadership and a support system, so that reforms can really be implemented; the attention to specific issues of those who have been in the system for a long time is necessary; − Capacity, which includes all strategies to facilitate the effectiveness of activities (knowledge and competences, material resources, motivation) is required simultaneously to get results; new capacity creates motivation; − Effective use of resources with a focus on the key strategy, while managing and supporting other interests and issues; and − Independent, transparent communication, and feedback to society as a whole and the parties involved, as pluralism of opinion and understanding dominates in any social system, requiring the provision of accurate communication to create a common understanding of what is happening in education (Levin, Fullan, 2007). The most important role in the implementation of all of these goals for the education system is cooperation between professional teachers. Latvia did not take part in this research, but in the context of teachers’ professional development, it is important to take into consideration the results gained in this work. To support teachers, personally and professionally, a new theoretically and practically feasible further education system was developed in Latvia in 2008, based on the development of competences and affecting teachers’ professional career development opportunities. In this system, teachers are given the opportunity to develop not only their professional competences, but to also develop personally, thus gaining competences that are not directly connected with subjects to be taught. Progressive recommendations for the redefinition of the nature of the profession are being developed: − Teacher as manager of the learning process, a change manager, a facilitator of change (not as a custodian of a “knowledge museum”) and − Redefinition of the skills required by the profession deriving from a new understanding of the profession: change management skills, learning (not just teaching) skills, and communication skills, as the primary ones.

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As these skills are ‘soft skills’, professional development is practice, not the gaining of theoretical knowledge through lectures. The external image as a medium can only be the result of real change, not a goal in itself (Golubeva, 2008). Based on the methodology developed and the further education course module system in the ESF project “Ensuring Further Pedagogical Education Methodology Network Development”, the ESF project “General education teachers’ continuing education” implemented by the National Centre for Education began work in 2010 with the goal of improving competences and renewing skills for ensuring a modern learning process for general education teachers and creating a society based on knowledge and innovation. At the moment, this project includes the greatest number of teachers. Through the implementation of the project, 39 new further education programmes have been developed and 57 have been implemented in five components – improvement of foreign language skills, development of IT competences, development of general teaching competences, development of competences in the education area, and development of competences in the management of the education process. Handouts have been developed for each programme. In total, 17,000 teachers have already attended the project’s courses. Before the project commenced operation, all of the substantial conceptual aspects of the project’s professional development programme were developed (see Figure 1). Figure 1. ESF project “General education teachers’ continuing education programme content development concept”

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In implementing the project, current topics of use to teachers were selected, such as the development of innovator and entrepreneurial competences in the education process or education for sustainable development. The problem in the current further education system is that these kinds of programmes are not popular. If teachers are teaching a specific subject, the school expects that the content of their further education will be connected with teaching the specific subject. In interviews with developers of the courses, they noted the great range of choices, which confuses teachers. Teachers do not know how to make the right choices, as the view still dominates that courses must be taken only in the subject area in which one teaches. Teachers still do not know how to complete self-evaluation in the context of professional development to determine which competences should be developed. As can be seen in Figure 1, the important project key word alongside creativity, self-development, IT, and teaching, is cooperation. Course participants in the further education process can gain experience by participating in activities, which are led in accordance with the specifics of each programme by a practicing teacher and a university teaching staff member. Two approaches are used in course organization. There are courses, which take place as close as possible to the teacher’s place of residence, but there are also groups in Riga, where teachers come from throughout Latvia. Programmes in the project are developed according to the module principle, and each teacher, after learning the module, can evaluate the teaching and learning process. Course monitoring and supervision also take place during the courses. The course participants fill in an electronic course evaluation questionnaire after the completion of a module. Programme evaluation is focused on determining the quality of a programme and/or improving it according to the determined criteria. As one of the project’s primary goals is the improvement of IT skills and possibilities for using technology in the teaching process at schools, the satisfaction/dissatisfaction of the learners about the learning of new technology is also included in the evaluation questionnaire (see Table 1). There were suggestions in the questionnaire that differing level groups should be formed, as there are still a lot of teachers with weak computer skills. Particular attention was focussed on the development of education process management competences, so that changes in the teaching process and education institution as a whole could be implemented.

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Table 1. Results from question 7 of the survey questionnaire in the “Development of professional and teaching competences for teachers of politics and law” programme

Only one aspect of the survey’s 10 questions has been collated in Table 1 – the self-evaluation of teachers in developing IT skills. It can be seen that teachers have marked that their IT skills have improved overall. The project concept was designed so that teachers, even though they may have varying IT skills, use computers in learning any new programmes. In collating the results, it is important to analyse the teachers’ comments in the survey questionnaires. They often reveal the main areas, which have been successful in the courses and the ones, which need further development. The participants’ comments, collated in Table 2, reveal the most important gains from the professional development courses as seen by teachers. As always, subject methodology, the need for methodological diversity and the psychological environment and pedagogical interaction in the course were appreciated and emphasized. This confirmed our assumptions that teacher collaboration in courses, the education environment, and in schools is a significant professional growth opportunity.

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Table 2. Comments from the “Development of professional and teaching competences for teachers of politics and law” programme’s participants’ questionnaire (1 group) Development of professional and teaching competences for teachers of politics and law Participants’ comments: -Diversity of methods -Practical examples from the lecturers’ experiences -Good materials and opportunities to use them in the future -More materials with options for resolving situations -Gained new information, examples for my work in lessons -Availability of materials on the internet -Suggested tests in the virtual environment -Updating examples in the environment – presentation materials -I liked everything, thank you -Thanks for the opportunity to supplement my knowledge and skills. Pleasant atmosphere -Liked the lecturer’s “real-life” examples. Was obvious that the activities were led by a professional -Thanks, for showing practical and useful internet resources -I really liked the court game In surveying the teachers on their wishes for improvements to the further education course, the same responses heard for a number of years came out: − Create a common data base, where one can see all further education programmes offered and the costs of the courses; − Provide a more individualised approach so that the further education programmes are not so defined and structured, but more flexible and more applicable to the specific situation and needs; and − Select more professional development course presenters from the ranks of practitioners.

Opportunities for teachers’ professional development opportunities in the school environment Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers require teachers to develop their professional proficiency by undertaking further education. It is not possible to evaluate the quality of teachers’ professional activities and education in schools effectively, if the context factors which describe

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those economic and social influences affecting the education system that are beyond the direct control or sphere of control of this system, are not taken into account. In collating teacher experiences, ESAO TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Survey) in its 2009 report, concluded that about 75% of teachers lack the motivation to improve the quality of teaching, because teachers’ investment in raising quality does not get noticed or valued. Similarly, many teachers also admit that the most effective teachers do not necessarily receive the highest recognition from school leadership, and the quality of their work is not reflected in their remuneration. Unfortunately, Latvia has not yet participated in this survey. However, some surveys do point to problems in the work of teachers. For example in 2010, a survey was undertaken about the use of technology in general education schools. In Latvia, the weak skills of teachers in integrating information technology into the learning process were emphasized, and are at an equal level for both young teachers and experienced teachers. To encourage participation of Latvia’s teachers in European Union further education and experience exchange programmes, teachers’ foreign language skills also need to be improved. The psychological competence of teachers to manage the most diverse situations in a changing world will also become increasingly important. The ESF project “General education teachers’ continuing education” is operating to develop these teachers’ competences, but often what is learnt in courses does not get used when the teacher returns to school – either due to a lack of a suitable technical base or the teacher does not feel the need to use it. “The teacher and the quality of education cannot be separated. Their cohesion needs support. One of the foundations for this is the further education of teachers,” emphasizes Evija Papule from the MES Department of Education. The most significant indicator of the quality of further education is everyday practice of what was learnt in courses and in the exchange of experience. Teacher participation in a number of EU financed projects and their implementation in the local context has revealed opportunities for the development of teacher experience, as teachers participate in processes of change, both defining the problem and offering and implementing solutions. “…a process of change in any field, and in education too, is dependent on changes in people… to a large degree democratic processes depend on teachers’ professional skills to safeguard democracy, by encouraging free, creative, critical thinking in the development of students’ personalities in the education process.” (Blnjma, 2004)

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Research carried out in Latvia poses the rhetorical question: “Are the teachers and leaders themselves motivated for change?” The research shows that teachers complain of overwork and lack of time, but not about a shortage of skills. Such factors as inadequate and rather low wages; time-consuming work spent writing, forming, and sorting documents; and unresponsive colleagues are named as hurdles in applying teachers’ competences in schools (Golubeva, 2008). Teachers and school administrations consider that what is offered in further education is adequate: − 55% of teachers rate the courses offered as suitable and predominantly suitable for their needs, and − 73% of representatives from administration consider that the courses offered predominantly suit the requirements of teachers (Golubeva, 2010). In evaluating difficulties in the quality of teaching, the views of respondents vary. Teachers stated they lacked teaching materials, resources (glue, plastic covers, etc.), time, teaching programmes are overloaded, and they had too much work. School administrators and representatives from the education administration partly agree with the views of teachers, but point out antiquated teaching routines, low teacher motivation, fear of innovations, and use of existing methods. The “Barometer of teachers’ tolerance” research data (Austers, Golubeva, Strode, 2008) shows a lack of faith by teachers in the value of courses. Teachers seek less assistance in courses and methodological literature about tolerance and diversity in society and rely more on life experience. In autumn 2009, the Ministry of Education and Science began implementing the “Promotion of educators’ competitiveness within the optimization of the educational system”, a European Social Fund project that provided support to teachers. The goal of the project was to promote teachers’ competitiveness and implement supportive measures for general and professional education institution teachers. The project activities show that the further education problems of teachers are being solved in a focussed way by developing professional competence to improve competitiveness. The further education content module system operates within this framework, and the introduction of a teacher professional career model has also been implemented by reviewing the level of the quality of teacher professional activities. The teachers themselves have to know how to evaluate their further education needs, how to plan a supportive school environment, and how to implement the educative process.

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As it has been mentioned before, the potential challenges to and opportunities for professional growth confirm the significance of today’s teachers’ further education problems in the context of change. Bearing in mind that school is a true and unrepeatable part in the lives of many people, with its comfort and necessary quality, examples of good practice in teachers’ further education are evidence of this significance. In a pedagogic collaborative process, the teacher will become competitive among colleagues, and in this way also ensure the competitiveness of students in obtaining an education. When describing school support for the development of teachers’ professional proficiency, M. Pimanova, director of Balvi Primary School, points out that teachers are willing to learn from each other and share their positive experiences. She emphasizes that other schools in Latvia have been visited frequently, taking the very best of what was offered, and experience in European schools had also been observed. The development of professional proficiency with available material resources is also supported financially by trying to pay for work visits and providing opportunities to take part in conferences and seminars, as well as inviting lecturers to school. Teachers are prepared to evaluate and plan work of the school, using materials provided by the World Bank. The work invested pays off, as each teacher can be included in evaluating and analysing processes at the school, and everyone can participate in a highly qualitative way by providing their contribution to the common task (Pimanova, 2009, 6). Primary school teachers in the city of CƝsis use their free time to reflect on the following questions: How could I improve my work? How could I create that special moment in my lesson? Have I put in full effort to use all available resources? Am I ready for all possible difficulties and hardship? And the most important thing – have I done everything I could so that the lesson I present turns out to be outstanding? Often good ideas can be obtained from the closest colleagues, and that is why a day devoted to the exchange of experience in the possible use of modern technology in the teaching process is organized at the school. Teachers from ten different subjects showed colleagues how they use the opportunities offered by modern technology in their lessons – internet resources, previously prepared teaching materials, how to create your own presentations, assessments and tests, as well as diverse work forms which can be done with an interactive whiteboard and digital camera. Often it is these skills specifically that are gained from further education courses. A. Melle, Jugla Secondary School Director, explained in an interview that teacher meetings/workshops for exchanging experience are

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incorporated in the school’s methodological system; teachers share insights and methods they have learnt at further education courses and successfully use in practice. In the teacher professional development process, the evaluation of the impact of further education courses is a very important stage in a teacher’s growth. It should be noted that even now, the degree to which and what kinds of changes courses bring to the professional activities of teachers, how they encourage self-evaluation by teachers, and when they become a stable part of the structure of teachers’ professional growth, is not being researched.

Conclusions Teacher professional growth in a knowledge-based society is encouraged if teachers’ professional learning is cooperative and based on teachers’ real professional needs in the growth and development context. It should incorporate focussed and planned formal/institutional learning in a variety of forms, providing further education, and encouraging learning brought about by pedagogic challenges in the work place and in the work process. A creative and diverse professional development process can be ensured by highlighting analysis and self-reflection on teachers’ professional experience, as well as developing self-organized learning strategies in the school environment. This is successfully reflected in the methodological work at Balvi Primary School, CƝsis Primary School, and Jugla Secondary School where it is aimed at teachers’ professional growth. Teachers’ professional growth is reflected in their teaching competence, the body of and depth of their knowledge, and the high level of proficiency, which constantly expand enriching their experience with the purpose of fulfilling their mission. The development of teachers’ competence in the school environment has to be based, to a large degree, on the self-analysis of the effectiveness of teachers’ professional activities, motivation for professional growth, and professional self-realization. Table 2 shows survey participants’ answers about the benefits gained in teacher professional development courses. A teacher who understands today’s change processes and can adapt is not only more competitive in the labour market, but also knows how to provide the kind of environment that encourages the education process and helps students get ready for the labour market and motivates them for lifelong education. Teacher professional growth takes place in a school environment, which is supportive and open to cooperation. Professional learning forms at an educational institution – peer observation of lessons,

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cooperation and coordination of work outside school, pedagogic dialogue and councils, teachers’ work and discussion groups, and project implementation teams. These are opportunities for pedagogic growth and provide an invaluable investment in teachers’ professional proficiency. Teachers’ professional proficiency develops and improves specifically through the pedagogic interaction process in the school environment. Creative self-realization in one’s work is put into practice, and goals for growth are selected for future activity.

References Austers, M., Golubeva, I., Strode, I. SkolotƗja tolerances barometrs. No: Tolerances jautƗjumi skolƗ. RƯga:SabiedriskƗs politikas centrs Providus, 2008, 25.- 44.lpp. Blnjma, D. SkolotƗji kƗ mnjžizglƯtƯbas veicinƗtƗji. ZinƗtnisko rakstu krƗjums. 760 sƝj. RƯga: LU, 2004, 19.-28.lpp. —. SkolotƗja un mƗcƯšanas/ mƗcƯšanƗs situƗcija LatvijƗ. No: CeƺƗ uz sociƗlo saliedƝtƯbu un labklƗjƯbu. RƯga: Sorosa fonds – Latvija, 2004, 67.lpp. ESF projekti LatvijƗ. SkolotƗjs, 2011, Nr. 1(81), 61.-73.lpp. European Commision. Common European principles for teacher competences and qualifications (2005). Retrieved March 6, 2013 from http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm. Eiropas Komisijas ziƼojums: SkolotƗjiem arƯ vajadzƯga laba izglƯtƯba! Komisija iesaka uzlabot skolotƗju izglƯtƯbas kvalitƗti Eiropas SavienƯbƗ. http://www.mfa.gov.lv/lv/eu/Jaunumi/EKP-pazinojumipresi/2007/augusts/06-1/, skatƯts 2008.11.08. Golubeva, M. Eksperta komentƗrs. Pedagogu profesionƗlƗ pilnveide. Projekts “Pedagogu tƗlƗkizglƯtƯbas metodiskƗ tƯkla nodrošinƗjuma izveide” RƯga: ESF,VIKNA, 12. jnjnijs, 2008. —. Diskusiju ziƼojums “Latvijas skolas pƝc 2009. gada: pƗrmaiƼas tikai sƗkas?” RƯga: Valsts prezidenta StratƝƧiskƗs analƯzes komisija, 2010. Grabovska, R. IlgtspƝjƯbas principa Ưstenošana skolotƗju izglƯtƯbƗ. Promocijas darba pedagoƧijas nozares augstskolas pedagoƧijas apakšnozarƝ kopsavilkums. Daugavpils: DU, 2006. IzglƯtƯbas attƯstƯbas pamatnostƗdnes 2007.-2013. Gadam. (2006). Retrieved June 3, 2013 from: www.izm.gov.lv/upload_file/Normativie _akti/izm_260906_izgl_att_pamatnost_2007-2013.doc. IzglƯtƯbas likums. RƯga: RaKa, 1999. KoƷe, T. CilvƝka mnjžizglƯtƯba sociƗli pedagoƧiskajƗ kontekstƗ. Latvijas VƝstnesis, 2001.Nr. 186 (2573).

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Latvija 2030. Latvijas ilgspƝjƯgƗs attƯstƯbas stratƝƧija (2009). Retrieved June 3, 2013 from: http://www.raplm.gov.lv/uploads/filedir/ aktualitates/Latvija2030_%20kopsavilkums.pdf. Levin, B., Fullan, M. Learning about system renewal. Education Management and Leadership 36, 2007, p. 289- 303. Papule, E. Pedagogu profesionƗlƗ pilnveide. Projekts “Pedagogu tƗlƗkizglƯtƯbas metodiskƗ tƯkla nodrošinƗjuma izveide” RƯga: ESF,VIKNA, 12. jnjnijs, 2008. Pimanova, M. Skats no skolas: lauku pamatskola izglƯtƯbas reformƗ. RƯga: RaKa, SkolotƗjs, 2009, Nr.6 (78), 6.lpp. Rubene, Z. AttiecƯbas starp skolotƗju un skolƝnu – digitƗlais imigrants vs. digitƗlais pilsonis. Skolas vƗrds. Nr.1, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013 from: http://www.skolasvards.lv/sleja/intervijas/attiecibas-starp-skolot aju-un-skolenu-digitalais-imigrants-vs-digitalais-pilsonis. Zeiberte, L. Pedagogu tƗlƗkizglƯtƯbas pƗrvaldƯba nepƗrtrauktas profesionƗlƗs pilnveides nodrošinƗšanƗ. Promocijas darbs. RƯga: LU, 2011, 241 lpp.

About the Authors KarƯna Brikmane, Mg.sc.educ., Head of the National Centre for Education ESF project “In-service Training of Teachers of General Education”, PhD student at Liepaja University. Scientific research themes are devoted to analyses of teacher motivation in professional growth and development and identification of teachers’ needs according to the changes in the pedagogical process in the 21st century. AlƯda Samuseviþa, Dr.paed., Professor, Institute of Educational Sciences, Leading Researcher. Scientific research themes are devoted to problematic issues in the pedagogical process and upbringing, study of teachers’ professional competences, conflict management and analysis, social interaction and personality formation.

CHAPTER SIX WHERE DOES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PIRLS 2006 AND PISA 2009 RESULTS COME FROM? ANTRA OZOLA AND ANDREJS GESKE Abstract Comparison of PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2009 and PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) 2006 results for some countries indicate a relative rise of average reading literacy performance; for some countries there is a drop in average achievement. The purpose of this paper is to find out how these changes in reading achievement scores can be explained. PIRLS 2006 and PISA 2009 data are used to compare situation in the countries, which participated in both studies. Keywords: PISA, PIRLS, rote learning, reading engagement, HDI.

Introduction There is a broad spectrum of social factors that influence student achievement in reading literacy (Geske, Ozola, 2006; Geske, Ozola, 2009a; Geske, Ozola, 2009b). Many of these factors are included in largescale international studies of education such as IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement), PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), and PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and they need to be analysed along with student achievement data. Both PIRLS 2006 and PISA 2009 studies have mainly focused on measuring reading literacy. Respondents of

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PIRLS study are Grade 4 students, but the PISA study targets 15-yearolds. A group of 28 participated in both the PIRLS 2006 and PISA 2009 studies: Austria, Bulgaria, Taipei, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Romania, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States. When results from both studies are compared, a relative rise in average reading literacy performance can be noticed in some countries, and for some countries there is a notable drop in average achievement scores. The purpose of this paper is to find out how these changes in reading achievement scores can be explained.

Methods For the analysis, data from PIRLS 2006 and PISA 2009 studies were used. PIRLS is one of the international education studies organized by the IEA. The first cycle of this longitudinal study was organized in 2000– 2001, the second was implemented in 2005–2006, and the third cycle in 2010–2011. Latvia participated in the first two cycles – PIRLS 2001 and PIRLS 2006. The target group of the study is Grade 4 students aged 9-11. The study uses tasks for assessing students’ reading literacy, as well as surveys of students, their parents, teachers, and school principals. These surveys allow the assessment of the students’ learning context and the influence of the surrounding environment on their results. In Latvia, around 4000 students, their parents and teachers, as well as school principals from both Latvian language instruction and Russian language instruction schools participated in each cycle of the study. Launched in 1997 by the OECD, PISA is an international study, which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. To date, students representing more than 70 countries and economies have participated in the assessment. Every three years since 2000, randomly selected groups of fifteenyear-olds take tests in the key subjects – reading, mathematics, and science – with focus given to one subject in each year of assessment. The students and their school principals also fill in background questionnaires to provide information on the students’ family background and the way the schools are run. Some countries and economies also choose to ask parents

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to fill in a questionnaire. In 2000 the focus of the assessment was reading, in 2003 mathematics and problem solving, in 2006 science, and in 2009 reading. There is a group of 28 countries that participated in both the PIRLS 2006 and PISA 2009 studies. The reading assessment scale of the PIRLS study was based on the results of PIRLS 2001 results. The international average was set at 500 and the standard deviation was set at 100. The assessment scale for the PISA study was created in 2000 with the average of OECD countries set at 500 and the standard deviation at 100 scale points. Since both of these scales cannot be compared in a straightforward way, ranks of countries are analysed. The 28 countries were ranked according to their results. Two ranks were created – one for each of the studies (see Table 1). Rank 1 was assigned to a country with the highest average achievement score, and rank 28 to a country with the lowest average result. The highest achieving country in PIRLS 2006 was the Russian Federation but in PISA 2009 – Hong Kong. In both studies Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, and Romania had the lowest average results. The rank difference of 0 can be noted for all three countries with the lowest achievement in both studies. In the two countries with a very high achievement level, Hong Kong and Singapore, the rank difference between studies is 1. Countries in which average achievement is much higher in the PIRLS 2006 study than in PISA 2009 are the Russian Federation, Luxembourg and Bulgaria. The Russian Federation is a special case because it had the highest average achievement among all PIRLS 2006 participants, but in the PISA 2009 study, the Russian Federation is ranked 24 out of 28. Countries like Norway, Iceland, Poland, and New Zealand have an inverse situation – their average achievement in the PISA 2009 study is higher compared with PIRLS 2006. Latvian students in PISA 2009 had lower results than in PIRLS 2006; Lithuanian results in PISA 2009 were even lower. When two groups of countries are compared – the first group whose PIRLS 2006 achievements were higher than PISA 2009 and the second group that had higher scores in PISA 2009 than in PIRLS 2006 – no similarities can be noticed. For instance, there are postSoviet countries that had higher achievement in PIRLS 2006 (the Russian Federation, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria), post-communist countries that had higher achievement in PISA 2009 (Poland), and also post-communist countries whose average achievement was about the same in both studies (Slovakia, Romania).

Chapter Six

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Rank correlation has been utilized on country-level data for the data analysis.

Results We discovered that the achievement gap between PISA 2009 and PIRLS 2006 average reading literacy scores is significantly correlated to three main factors: national wealth, rote learning, and reading engagement. Table 1. PIRLS 2006 and PISA 2009 scores, ranks, and indicators of national wealth, rote reading, and reading engagement Country

Austria Bulgaria Taipei Denmark France Germany Hong Kong Hungary Iceland Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Netherlands New Zealand Norway Poland Qatar Romania Russian Federation Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Trinidad and Tobago United States

PISA 2009 Human PIRLS PIRLS PISA PISA Difference Index of in ranks development 2006 2009 2009 2006 memorization Index score country score country strategies points rank points rank

538 547 535 546 522 548 564 551 511 512 551 541 537 557 547 532 498 519 353 489 565 558 531 522 513 549 436 540

14 10 16 11 19 8 2 5 24 23 6 12 15 4 9 17 25 21 28 26 1 3 18 20 22 7 27 13

470 429 495 495 496 497 533 494 500 474 486 484 468 472 508 521 503 500 372 424 459 526 477 483 481 497 416 500

22 25 12 13 11 10 1 14 7 20 15 16 23 21 4 3 5 6 28 26 24 2 19 17 18 9 27 8

8 16 -4 2 -9 2 -1 9 -17 -3 10 4 8 17 -6 -14 -20 -15 0 0 23 -1 1 -3 -4 2 0 -5

0,944 0,816 0,91 0,943 0,942 0,932 0,927 0,869 0,96 0,927 0,94 0,845 0,857 0,945 0,947 0,936 0,965 0,862 0,844 0,805 0,797 0,916 0,856 0,91 0,938 0,951 0,809 0,948

0,45 0,38 -0,13 -0,18 -0,11 0,22 0,13 0,74 -0,34 0,22 -0,17 0,13 0,19 0,23 -0,25 0,05 -0,44 0,42 0,59 0,22 0,20 0,06 -0,33 0,06 0,34 0,19 0,38 -0,04

PISA 2009 Agreement with statement “I read only to get information that I need” (%)

53 57 45 47 44 45 38 47 42 47 48 55 56 49 49 40 50 54 51 61 60 41 56 53 46 42 45 47

Where Does the Difference Between 2006 and 2009 Results Come From?

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National wealth International comparative studies of education over 50 years have shown that student achievement is correlated with socio-economical factors on all levels – individual, school, territorial, and country level. The more resources families have, the higher on average their achievements. The same is true for schools and territories. In Latvia, students from Riga have the highest average achievement, and their families are richer. Students from rural areas have the lowest average achievement in Latvia (Geske, Ozola, 2006; Geske, GrƯnfelds, Kangro, Kiseƺova, 2010). Correlation with economical factors exists also on the international level. Among OECD countries in the PISA 2009 study, 6% of average student achievement can be explained with differences in gross domestic product (GDP). Among all the countries that participated in the PISA 2009 study, GDP accounts for 30% of student achievement (OECD, 2010b). In Figure 1, a connection between student achievement in reading literacy in PISA 2009 and GDP is illustrated (OECD, 2012). From the group of relatively poor countries (GDP