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This research investigates the impact of varying levels of sports participation on college students' self-perception and their sense of connection to their educational institution, with a specific focus on an Israeli context. Recognizing the gap in the existing literature regarding the nuanced effects of different degrees of sports engagement, this study aims to offer insights into how sports involvement shapes students' academic, social, and psychological experiences. Utilizing a qualitative approach, the research involved conducting 26 semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students from a northern Israeli college, encompassing a diverse range of sports participation levels, from occasional involvement to committed varsity athletes. The findings reveal that sports participation significantly enhances students' perceptions of their academic and social abilities, fosters a sense of belonging to the institution, and cultivates institutional pride, regardless of the level of involvement. Particularly noteworthy is the positive correlation between sports engagement and heightened self-esteem and self-efficacy. This study contributes to the understanding of the broader impacts of sports in higher education, highlighting its role in personal development and institutional affiliation. The research underscores the need for further studies in varied cultural contexts to deepen the understanding of these dynamics. Additionally, the study's focus on an Israeli sample provides a unique perspective on the role of sports in a culture where collegiate sports are less academically explored. This research serves as a stepping stone for future quantitative investigations to objectively measure and enhance the understanding of the relationship between sports participation and student development in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesson planning is a core task for preservice teachers and simultaneously a major challenge due to the complexity of the planning process. This complexity can be reduced by using preselected teaching materials (material-based planning). To explore its potential, think-aloud protocols of material-based planning on the topics of photosynthesis and digestion by 13 preservice biology teachers at a German university serve as the main data source. The data were coded using qualitative content analysis, whereby a superordinate distinction was made between core and secondary dimensions of lesson planning. The results reveal a focus on core dimensions such as instructional strategies (visible structures) and student understanding (deep structures), while secondary dimensions like reflecting task authenticity are comparatively rare. This shows the potential of material-based planning, which enables preservice teachers to concentrate on central planning dimensions due to a reduced workload. Further analysis of the code frequencies shows an imbalance between visible and deep structures, which is more commonly observed in the planning of photosynthesis and is interpreted as an indicator of students' overload due to the complexity of the topic. Successful planning by preservice teachers is therefore dependent on both planning task and topic selection. Corresponding implications for teacher education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, providing high-quality practice learning experiences for preservice teachers was already taxing due to the heavy reliance on school practicum, which is often besieged with challenges. Given these challenges, there is a growing urgency to explore alternative avenues for offering practice learning experiences to preservice teachers in addition to school practicum. With this backdrop, a qualitative study was conducted, employing observation and interviews as data collection methods to explore the potential of mixed-reality simulation (MRS) to strengthen the practice learning experiences of preservice teachers. The core teaching practice of questioning was chosen to explore the affordances of MRS for improving preservice teachers' understanding of and proficiency in utilizing questioning. This study found that MRS provides a low-risk learning environment that preservice teachers perceive as authentic. For these reasons, this environment is conducive to improvement, and it enables deliberate practice, which is vital for nurturing metacognition and adaptive expertise. The findings also highlight the importance of coaching for maximizing MRS advantages. The absence of coaching will most likely limit the affordances of MRS as an approximation of teaching practice. While our findings are promising, the resource-intensive nature of MRS implementation means that scalability requires further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational institutions in Ireland has primarily focused on third-level courses and initial teacher education programmes. Little research has captured the experiences of practising post-primary teachers and their students as they made the transition to online learning. This study begins by examining the digital context of post-primary education in Ireland prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, paying particular attention to ICT policies and their recommendations. Following this, the importance of schools as more than a centre for curriculum delivery is examined, as well as the potential challenges adolescents face in non-face-to-face contexts. In total, 49 teachers and 130 students participated in the study by completing online surveys about their online learning experiences. The findings indicate that although teachers felt underprepared, many benefits to online learning were identified, especially around assessment and the provision of asynchronous content. Students enjoyed elements of online learning but felt overwhelmed and isolated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following concepts describing lesson planning as a form of anticipatory reflection, preservice physics teachers' reflection skills are assumed to be positively connected with their planning skills. However, empirical evidence on this is scarce. To explore how relations between these specific skills change over the course of a field experience controlling for influences of professional knowledge, we conduct a pre-post field study with N = 95 preservice physics teachers in a one-semester field experience. Content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (paper-and-pencil tests), and reflection and planning skills (standardized performance assessments) were assessed before and after the field experience. Path analyses revealed almost no influence of reflection skills on planning skills. Reflections skills did not contribute to preservice teachers planning skills beyond knowledge, indicating both constructs might represent rather independent abilities. The results show the need for further development of models describing the development of teachers' professional knowledge and skills in academic teacher education and for the development of concepts for a better integration of reflection and lesson planning in field experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses how the introduction of a more product-oriented curriculum in Norway has challenged and altered more traditional ideas of teacher autonomy. Based on interview data, the study investigates prominent perspectives on autonomy through an analysis of how teachers, principals, a district superintendent and educational administrators perceive the current steering and control through the national curriculum. The findings show three main perspectives on teacher autonomy as (1) pedagogical freedom and absence of control, (2) the will and capacity to justify practices and (3) a local responsibility.However, these varying viewpoints are contested and highlight the multidimensionality of teacher autonomy. These should be discussed in relation to one another for an increased understanding of the associated and current dilemmas arising in the teaching profession with the shifts in curriculum control. The findings also shed light on how an increase in local responsibilities related to student outcomes and school development interferes in the unofficial contract that has historically existed between teachers and the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sets out to examine the role of teacher research and enquiry in the professional development of teachers. The context derives from the initiative of the Scottish Executive to enhance the status and working conditions of teachers. We consider the extent to which continuing professional development activities arising out of the Chartered Teacher Programme encourage teachers to value research, equip them to become research-minded and support them to engage in research and enquiry in their own professional contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explains that approximately one third of teachers choose to leave the profession within the first three years. With U.S. schools desperate for qualified teachers, the author seeks improvements to training and mentorship in order to boost retention. Relationships, career competence and skills, personal ownership of career, sense of accomplishment, and sense or humor are listed as factors contributing to teachers' decisions to stay in the field. Resiliency and persistence are traits found in those able to persevere in the face of obstacles. Dissatisfaction from administration and opportunities for professional development contribute to teacher attrition.

College and university technology administrators and faculty face an interesting scenario of technology supply and demand. On one hand, the promise of technology for enhanced learning has created a demand from faculty to be provided with cutting-edge hardware, software, and training aimed at technology implementation into their curriculum. However, education, economy and businesses' need for technically-savvy scholars and workers has meant an increase in the supply of students returning to receive education in technology-related fields. We argue that merging these two in advanced technology courses solves an institute's need for software and training; it also provides incoming students with an authentic learning environment for appreciating the complex domain of technological tools in education. The creation, development, and implementation of the Physical Science Activity Database is provided to demonstrate that, although this idea is not necessarily new, using Web and database networks enables widespread reusability as well as complexity of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher's professional competencies have been discussed extensively in the literature, often linked to educational policy discourses, teaching standards, student learning outcomes, or the intended outcomes of teacher education. Extensive, but fragmented and loosely theoretically or empirically based lists of teacher competencies are provided without much clarification of how, when, and why teachers learn and identify the competencies they need. Teacher competencies and how they are related to the core of their work as thinking practice have been discussed extensively by a range of stakeholders. However, what is actually needed in order to attain such competencies has been less studied. This paper contributes to the gap in the literature on active and intentional learning of teacher competencies by elaborating the relationship between teacher competencies and professional agency for learning. Through this, our aim in this article is to provide a better understanding of the topic, both theoretically and empirically. Drawing on earlier research, we have elaborated on the relationships between a teacher's professional competencies and agency for learning among pre- and in-service teachers. We also aim to answer the question: what characteristics of teacher education lead to student teachers becoming competent and agentic? Why should we focus on those features during pre-service teacher education and as part of a teacher's career? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers' approaches and beliefs are key determinants of teachers' practice. This study was designed to examine whether two aspects of Irish primary teacher beliefs are associated, their views on constructivist practices and their views on two ethical dimensions (idealism and relativism). The views of a sample of 35 teachers were assessed using the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) and the Ethical Position Questionnaire (EPQ). Significant relationships were found between ethical position and scores on dimensions on the CLES. For example, idealistic teachers valued uncertainty and student negotiation more than teachers with high relativist scores. The results are discussed in the context of continuing professional development and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]