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Despite its relevance to and inclusion in pedagogical practices, reflection is a challenging activity for students in tertiary dance education according to teachers. The aim of the current study was to further explore the challenges encountered in the pedagogical practice of reflection. Data on the difficulties of reflection were collected from 14 dance teachers using semi-structured interviews. The results revealed four categories of difficulty: general difficulties, difficulties describing an experience, difficulties evaluating an experience and difficulties relating to multiple perspectives. The reflection difficulties described in this study correspond to the reflection difficulties reported in other domains of higher education, and illuminate how reflection activities could be facilitated more effectively.

The three different perspectives on reflection in education are embedded in the philosophical traditions of pragmatism, critical social theory and Kant. We aimed to describe the pedagogical practices of reflection, and to develop a descriptive model of the practices of reflection in tertiary dance education which can be used by dance educators to support their students' reflection activities. Data about the reflection practices were collected from 13 dance teachers in the Netherlands. The developed model of pedagogical practices consists of five types of reflection based on the Kantian and pragmatists' notions of reflection.

The aim of the study was to identify the features of the pedagogical context in choreography and dance technique classes which could be viewed as the basis for developing a suitable web-based ICT application to support teaching and learning in practical dance classes. The sample consisted of teachers from four dance academies in the Netherlands. Data about the pedagogy was gathered using a questionnaire and an interview. The results showed that there are similar patterns in applying reflection in terms of content, methods and frequency, and that students encounter difficulties with reflection activities in both choreography and technique classes. Therefore, an appropriate ICT tool for practical dance classes should focus on facilitating the pedagogy of students’ reflection.

Interest in supporting the development of teachers’ professional identity in preservice and in-service teacher education programs has increased in recent decades considerably, given that teachers’ sense of their professional identity manifests itself in job satisfaction, occupational commitment, self-efficacy, and changes in their levels of motivation (i.e., Day, 2002). In this chapter, we present different pedagogies that have been enacted in the Estonian context to support the development of preservice and novice teachers’ professional identity. The pedagogies have been divided into three groups: pedagogies that facilitate the professional aspect of teacher identity, pedagogies that address the personal aspect of teacher identity, and pedagogies that support the interaction of the professional and personal aspects of teacher identity.

We explored doctoral supervisors’ explanations for students’ lack of progress toward gaining their degree and describe the activities that supervisors said they take on such occasions. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews from 21 supervisors specializing in the fields of natural and educational sciences and then analyzed using thematic analysis. The results indicated that supervisors communicated understanding about the stalling of studies. The supervisors noted that it is important that students have the knowledge and skills suitable to maintain progress toward their degree. However, the supervisors indicated that successful progress depends on a student’s initiative to ask for help, believing that because the student is an adult learner, they should be intrinsically motivated. Consequently, supervisors often adopt a wait-and-see attitude in terms of their intervention strategy.

This chapter describes the main findings from my PhD research about pedagogical practices of reflection in choreography classes. This research was carried out in the Netherlands and aimed to explore pedagogical practices in higher professional dance education. In general, it can be classified as practice-led research, in that the relevance and aims of reflection, the distinction between the actual and desired situation of students’ reflection, and the possibilities for bridging the two were determined by and based on teachers’ visions, reservations and explanations embedded in their daily teaching practice.

The aim of the study was to find out how dance students experienced learning in an international distance education program delivered in an e-learning format using a virtual learning environment platform. In order to organize the students' experiences with the various learning assignments, we focused on three broad categories of learning tasks: individual writing assignments, collaborative assignments, and individual practical assignments. Data were collected from 42 students using a questionnaire and group interviews. Regarding the e-learning format, we found that the most crucial factor for carrying out all learning assignments was the teacher's guidance and feedback on students' work. Regarding the learning platform, we found that in comparison to other learning tasks, carrying out practical assignments was the most limited with the available tools.

Changes in the content and organization of doctoral studies have provided material for researching different aspects of doctoral studies. Much of the current literature concentrates on identifying the functions that an effective supervisor needs to carry out. Less attention has been paid to how well supervisors understand the aims of doctoral studies. The aim of this study was to describe the Estonian PhD supervisors' conceptions about doctoral studies. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with 21 PhD supervisors from educational science and exact and natural science disciplines. The data was analyzed using qualitative thematic data analysis techniques. The results show that according to supervisors' conceptions, the aim of a doctoral study is to prepare future researchers and acquire academic writing skills as quickly as possible. Doctoral studies are also seen as an intermediate process in the course of becoming a researcher.

The reformed upper secondary school curriculum in Estonia states that pupils need to be supported to take a more active role when developing knowledge and competencies in music. The purpose of the current study was to test an active learning method designed to support music listening skills. The sample (n = 55) consisted of 11th grade pupils in one public school in Estonia. Students evaluated ten musical examples from the classical period to complete the pre- and post-test. The results indicated positive changes in students’ assessments of classical music listening when activating learning activities were used in the learning process.

Self-directed (SDL) and self-regulated learning (SRL) skills are important, increasingly in e-learning, but the terms are not clearly distinguished in literature having led to tangled understandings and complications measuring SDL and SRL. The aim of the study is to further explore the similarities and differences between the terms and their usage. Consequently, two research questions were posed: whether and how are SDL and SRL distinguished in empirical studies? What kind of research methods and instruments are used for studying SDL and SRL in e-learning context? To answer the questions the literature review of 30 empirical studies was conducted to compare them on SDL and SRL in the context of e-learning to find overlappings and differences between the concepts and research methods. The studies were compared on the basis of the use of terms, approaches, methods, instruments and analysis.

Item does not contain fulltext INTED, 02 maart 2015

Resumen basado en el de la publicación Título, resumen y palabras clave en español y en inglés La vertiente práctica de la formación docente, ha de ofrecer óptimos recursos para aprender a enseñar. A ese fin contribuye el Proyecto Europeo “Action-oriented teacher knowledge”, (ACTTEA), desarrollado en cuatro países, entre ellos España. Acomete la formación del profesorado mediante la reflexión guiada con el fin de generar conocimiento profesional a partir de la práctica docente efectuada durante la estancia en Centros Escolares. ESP