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Many universities have implemented initiatives to drive instructional change, yet their success has often been limited due to a lack of recognition of academia as a complex dynamic system. This paper explores how the interconnected and dynamic nature of academic systems influences faculty motivation to adopt instructional innovations, such as project-based learning (PBL) and small group collaborations (SGCs). We present a Conceptual Systems Dynamics Model (CSDM) that illustrates these interconnections, demonstrating how systemic factors create feedback loops that either reinforce or hinder faculty motivation, as well as other related factors. These loops, represented as Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs), were derived from literature reviews and qualitative data obtained from interviews and focus groups involving 17 faculty and administrators within an Engineering Department at a research university in South America. The paper identifies thirteen CLDs, comprising seven reinforcing dynamics that positively influence faculty motivation and six balancing dynamics that exert negative pressure. Using empirical evidence and analysis, we describe how the systemic factors influence faculty motivation, and how shifts in motivation reciprocally impact these interconnected factors. By elucidating the complex dynamics at play, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of how to promote sustainable instructional change within academic institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the effects of a French education reform on health behaviors and preventive care. The reform delayed the tracking of middle school students into academic or vocational education and introduced a common academic curriculum. Through a regression discontinuity design, the study reveals that the reform increased the likelihood of receiving preventive screenings for chronic illnesses, specifically cholesterol and glycemic index tests. However, it did not have a significant impact on health behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and exercise. The findings suggest that changes in education quality at an early age do not contribute to gender disparities in health behaviors or access to preventive care. The study also discusses potential mechanisms that may explain how reducing early school tracking could influence long-term preventive care. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: This study addressed a relatively understudied process of school leadership: the principal-teacher conversation about instructional change. Two distinct conversation structures were examined: controlling conversation and transformative leadership conversation (TLC). Self-determination theory (SDT) was used to make the case that TLC is a better fit for instructional change than controlling conversation. Hypotheses were developed on the relationship between principal-teacher conversation and teacher trust in the principal, teacher autonomy and teacher vitality. These mental states were identified for empirical testing because of their influence on change processes. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical study used a correlational research design with survey data. The data came from a random sample of 2,500 teachers from the population of certified teachers in a southwestern state in the USA. Useable survey responses were obtained from 1,615 teachers, for a response rate of 65 percent. Teachers in the sample averaged 15 years of teaching experience, with 7 years in their current school. Around 81% of teachers identified as female and 18 percent as male and 79% of teachers listed a racial identification as white. Hypotheses were tested in a path model using AMOS 28.0 with robust maximum likelihood (MLR). Findings: As hypothesized, TLC had moderate to strong positive relationships with teacher trust in the principal, teacher autonomy and teacher vitality. Controlling conversation had small, negative relationships with teacher trust in the principal and teacher autonomy. Controlling conversation was not related to teacher vitality in the path analysis. Compared with controlling conversation, TLC had stronger relationships with teacher mental states. Originality/value: The results of this study begin to reveal useful evidence on the inherent social-psychological mechanisms active in principal-teacher conversations. With results indicating that conversation structure has consequences for positive teacher mental states, the study directs attention to a ubiquitous yet understudied leadership process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative research study explored the effectiveness of implementing the 5E instructional model in mathematics education within the context of two selected advanced-level public secondary schools in Gasabo District, Rwanda. The 5E instructional model, comprising five phases: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate, has gained enhancement in mathematics education due to its student-centered approach and potential to enhance conceptual understanding. Participants included two mathematics teachers and seventy-three senior six students from two selected schools. The study adopted a case study approach, utilizing interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis to gather data from mathematics teachers. The results of this qualitative study provided valuable insights into the feasibility and effectiveness of integrating the 5E instructional model into mathematics education in Rwandan public secondary schools. Also, the results contribute to the ongoing discourse on pedagogical practices and curriculum reform in the Rwandan educational system, with potential implications for improving mathematics education at the advanced level. Furthermore, the study offers recommendations for teacher training and support to enhance the successful implementation of the 5E model in mathematics classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study investigates Indonesian teachers' responses to curriculum changes over the past twenty years, involving four curriculum changes. This study employed a qualitative approach, conducting a systematic literature review conforming to PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Utilizing databases such as Scopus, ERIC, EBSCO, ProQuest, Taylor & Francis, Science Direct, and Google Scholar with selection criteria focused on empirical studies capturing Indonesian teacher's responses toward curriculum changes within the last 20 years (2003-2023). Screening and quality assessment resulted in 26 studies for detailed content analysis. The findings showed teachers’ general openness and acceptance of new curricula, yet this does not translate into effective implementation and reliance on traditional methods. Persistent difficulties include struggles applying student-centered learning, developing learning material, authentic assessment, digital proficiency, and tailored curriculum. These challenges were attributed to inadequate training, resource constraints, student difficulties, cultural factors, and teacher practical competence. This review implied the need to shift schools and local government towards hands-on in-service teacher training and for policymakers to enhance effectiveness through a system of monitoring and incentives. It also suggested a re-evaluation of pre-service training and teacher recruitment criteria, ensuring teachers were equipped for transforming educational practices in Indonesia.

Background: The drug retail represents the main area of activity for pharmacists worldwide. In Brazil, this sector is responsible for employing around 80% of professionals. Before this reality, the academic training of pharmacists requires specialized skills and knowledge so they can fulfill their tasks. In this sector, considering the influence of managers and mentors on the model of pharmaceutical practice, their perceptions about the demands of the market can help discussions related to the training of pharmacists. Aim: To analyze the academic training of pharmacists for the drug retail market from the perspective of managers and mentors. Method: This is a qualitative study conducted with managers and mentors of the drug retail market. A semi-structured interview guide was prepared and applied to the intentionally selected participants. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee under the number 4,169,752. The interviews were conducted through videoconference by an experienced researcher. The data obtained were analyzed using Bardin's analysis technique, following the steps of categorical thematic content analysis using the ATLAS.ti software. Results: 19 interviews were carried out. Among the reports, the interviewees highlighted the importance of retail in the employability of pharmacists, as well as inconsistency in the academic training for this sector, originating the following categories: curriculum reform to include the market demands, follow-up and career plan, training for entrepreneurship and sales, practical application of knowledge, and encouragement of experience. Conclusion: Pharmaceutical academic training is linked to several challenges, whether organizational, structural, or budgetary. To overcome these challenges, it is necessary to unite the interested parties in the formulation and implementation of a strategy for the professionalization of pharmacists, considering their social role in patient care, aligned with the company's sustainability, so that both coexist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of reflective practitioners is one of four dominant change strategies in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) higher education literature. However, little research concerns the characterization of faculty's reflections. Before professional development programs can effectively incorporate reflective writings as a tool for pedagogical improvement, it is necessary to first understand the current state of faculty's reflections. To accomplish this goal, 98 physics and astronomy instructors were recruited from a teaching-focused professional development workshop and were asked to write a reflection on a self-identified challenging teaching experience. A combination of a priori coding to analyze the content and depth of the reflections, as well as in vivo coding to better capture instructors' thinking were utilized. The majority of instructors wrote low-level reflections, wherein connections were not made between an instructors' actions and the observed outcomes or the described experience was not centered on students' outcomes or educational research literature. Approximately half of the instructors contemplated their own growth and the relationships with their students. However, only a small minority of instructors considered larger societal, cultural, or ethical factors. Plans created by instructors to address future, similar situations heavily relied on the instructors themselves, regardless of the depth of their reflections, and few planned to seek out knowledge from other resources such as peers or the education literature. This study indicates that instructors may not engage in the types of reflection that are considered to promote meaningful instructional change. Trends in the instructors' plans show that ongoing support is necessary for them to effectively reflect and grow as practitioners. Overall, this work provides valuable insight into the poorly understood nature of faculty's reflections and showcases the need for more research to fully characterize reflections across STEM disciplines and to better inform professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Textbooks, as potentially implemented curricula, play an important role in supporting classroom teaching and learning. Mathematical connections, one of the essential and hot topics advocated in mathematics education, have been emphasized in national curriculum reforms in various countries. However, little is known about the connection networks represented in school textbooks; even less has been done to compare textbooks from different countries. In this study, we propose an innovative method for examining how connections are represented in two popular U.S. (the UCSMP series) and Chinese (the PEP-A series) high school textbook problems involving quadratic relations. By using social network analysis, we identified 1129 connections, characterized connection networks into dense, moderate, and sparse digraphs, identified influential, prominent, and dual concepts and representations, and evaluated the strength between typical and reverse connections. The results revealed that the Chinese series presented a denser network of balanced between-concept connections but limited within-concept connections. The U.S. series exhibited more within-concept connections but emphasized typical connections, thus validating the potential of this innovative method. From this study, we suggest that our novel method provides a theoretical contribution to textbook analysis and connection analysis, which has rich implications for practice, for example, examining the network of connections students construct as a way to assess and to promote their conceptual understanding, and our approach opens the possibility of adopting new and efficient analytical tools from social network analysis in mathematics education research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of new liberal arts, the teaching of ancient Chinese course in colleges and universities should focus on the educational goal of the organic integration of knowledge imparting and ability training, deeply explore the teaching resources of ancient Chinese traditional culture, establish the teaching system of deep integration of ancient Chinese and other disciplines, and integrate ideological and political education into daily teaching through Internet technology, flipped classroom and practice inside and outside the school, so as to stimulate students enthusiasm for learning, help students feel the charm of Chinese culture and enhance cultural selfconfidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropology, which requires understanding educational processes in human culture and social structure; It is a discipline that examines how people learn and transfer knowledge in cultural, social and historical contexts. In this context, educational anthropology considers the social, cultural and historical perspectives of education together. Education in this network that consists of everything that a person does and puts forward based on who he is; As a carrier of culture, it appears as an important dynamic of the system. Anthropological education is an approach that aims to provide individuals with knowledge and skills within a cultural context. This education, which we can call human-based, not only provides students with knowledge, but also focuses on understanding their role in the society they belong to and developing their own identities. As Immanuel Kant said, "a human being becomes a human being only through education." Therefore, there is a need for a diverse system designed for the human subject of education. All activities of anthropology aimed at understanding cultural diversity also help explain how education should be. As a matter of fact, anthropological education also emphasizes cultural diversity and aims to provide students with critical thinking and cultural sensitivity. Anthropological education methods generally include methods such as participant-observation, ethnographic studies, oral history, cultural analysis and group studies. These methods aim to provide students with the ability to understand and evaluate cultures in depth. Each society may have its own educational approach. Anthropology, which deals with the other, will be more productive and original when supported by studies within societies. In order to organize education, it is necessary to understand people first. Anthropology and education will be expressed more clearly together, based on the thought of Kant, who sees education and human beings as one. On the other hand, it is observed that Thodore Brameld's anthropological education model, the current curriculum changes and the integrated education model, and the motto of "raising good people" are one and the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In taking up educational technology tools and student‐centered instructional practice, there is consensus that instructors consider the unique aspects of their instructional context. However, tool adoption success is often framed narrowly by numerical uptake rates or by conformity with non‐negotiable components. Purpose: We pursue an alternative ecosystems framing which posits that variability among contexts is fundamental to understanding instructors' uptake of instructional tools and the ways their teaching trajectories develop over time. Design/Method: Through a multiple‐case study approach using interviews, usage data, surveys, and records of community meetings, we examine 12 instructors' trajectories to illustrate the dynamic uptake of a technology tool. Results: Cross‐case analysis found that instructors' trajectories are tool‐mediated and community‐mediated. We present five cases in detail. Two foreground ways that instructors gained insight into student learning from student responses in the tool. Two illustrate the role played by the project's Community of Practice (CoP), an extra‐institutional support for deepening practice. The final case illustrates the complexity of an evolving instructional ecosystem and its role in instructors' satisfaction and continued use. Conclusions: Use of the educational technology tool perturbed ecosystems and supported instructors' evolving trajectories through mediation of instructor and student activity. Instructors' goals guided initial uptake, but both goals and practice were adapted using information from interactions with the tool and the CoP and changes in instructional contexts. The study confirms the need to understand the complexity of the uptake of innovations and illustrates opportunities for educators, developers, and administrators to enhance uptake and support diversity goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of curriculum reform in Norway, this article presents a study of teacher involvement and influence in national curriculum making through participation in official commentary processes. Education policy documents presented teacher involvement in the reform as essential to the legitimacy and ownership of the curriculum in schools, but a central question in this study is whether involvement in the process also means influence over the final curriculum. The study focuses on a central new element of the curriculum, the interdisciplinary topic democracy and citizenship, and analyses how teachers influenced the content of the new curriculum. Qualitative document analysis and reflexive thematic analysis were applied to curriculum drafts, responses to an official commentary process, and the final curriculum. The analysis shows that teachers' opinions were backgrounded throughout the development process, while the content suggested by educational experts was foregrounded. In the final curriculum, the teachers' suggestions for content were omitted. The findings may have consequences for future reforms as well as for curriculum interpretation and operationalization in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional Educational Researchers (PER) are a crucial component of China's Five-Level Education and Teaching Research System (ETRS), which has been of fundamental importance to Chinese basic education development. PERs play a significant role in directing teachers' professional development, advancing basic education curriculum reform, and supporting educational decision-making. This article explains the concept of the PER in the context of the ETRS, describes the professional criteria for being a PER, and expounds on their significance for basic education advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been recognized by the International Pharmaceutical Federation as a required competency for a pharmacist. This study aimed to compare EI and Perceived Stress (PS) levels in pharmacists who completed the post-graduate specialization program (the Case), and pharmacists who started the program (the Control group). Materials and Methods: Validated instruments measuring EI and PS were distributed online to participating postgraduates or alumni. All complete responses were analyzed; data from participants who had undergone previous EI training were excluded. Comparing the groups, additional EI domains' subanalysis and their correlations with PS were made. Results: The overall response rate was 67.8%. There was no expected difference between the groups either in EI or in the PS levels, and the overall population reached means of 119.30±12.92 and 17.25±6.46, respectively. The highest EI levels were found in sales and marketing professionals in the pharmaceutical industry and the lowest in clinical pharmacy practitioners. EI and PS were highly negatively correlated (r=-0,543), thus indicating that developing EI may have protective effects against stress. Subanalysis revealed the highest potential for stress-protective effects in the Emotional Self-Management and Emotional Self-Control subdomains (r=-0,528, r=-0,457, respectively). Conclusion: Given the expanded importance of EI development in pharmacy practice, the results of the study could be a basis for the specialization and continuing pharmacist education program creators to evaluate the curricula and propose changes in the methodologies, contents, and approaches in work to meet development needs of post-graduate pharmacists better. Further research should confirm the findings of the EI subanalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The curriculum review and transformation project reported in this paper represents an intentional and collaborative effort of faculty and administrators in one academic department to implement meaningful changes in undergraduate curricula. Supported by two internal grants from the university, this three-year project included all faculty and administrators of the department. A systematic comparison was conducted between course syllabi content before and after the curriculum content intervention. Results identify changes in syllabi, course learning objectives, units/topics covered, and readings/course materials. Discussion provides implications for curriculum revision and suggestions for best practices to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion across curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This note explores the intricate dynamics of Türkiye’s legal and political evolution, scrutinising the delicate interplay between Shari’ah and the state. Traversing historical landscapes, it unfolds from the Ottoman legacy rooted in Islamic law to the transformative secular reforms shaping the secular identity of the Turkish Republic. The rise of political Islam, notably under the Justice and Development Party (AKP), influences constitutional changes and judicial dynamics. Societal complexities, marked by urban-rural disparities, come to the fore through case studies examining contentious issues like the Hagia Sophia conversion and evolution in schools i.e. adapting the curriculum to reflect changes in the cultural and historical narrative. Uncertainties surrounding the balance between secularism and Islamic influences become paramount considerations, with implications extending globally. The paper contends that Türkiye’s choices at recent legal and political changes in Türkiye will not only determine its domestic trajectory but will reverberate across the broader canvas of international relations, positioning the nation at the forefront of the 21st century geopolitical discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lexical complexity has been a key consideration of teaching preparation in determining grade appropriateness of teaching materials. However, the lack of quantified and defined standards for benchmarking lexical complexity has made it difficult for teachers when adapting source texts to target learners. This study has assessed quantitative differences in lexical complexity of exemplar texts at different points of schooling using a range of lexical diversity and sophistication features. The data consists of 2,372 texts from popular curriculum packages adopted from 1 to 12 grades of the English curriculum in China. One-way ANOVAs revealed significant differences in 16 out of 17 lexical complexity indices among different grades. Subsequent post hoc tests identified three lexical diversity features and four sophistication features that helped to differentiate exemplar texts across these 12 grades. These findings on the nature and role of lexical complexity have yielded new insights into the establishment of grade-level benchmarks for material preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the publication of the CEFR Companion Volume in 2018, a revision of the curriculum in force for the English subject in the Bilingual Sections in the Community of Madrid has been implemented. One of the main changes is the inclusion of the concept of linguistic mediation in the subject 'Advanced English' in the last stage of secondary education. In an attempt to understand how linguistic mediation strategies and activities are being developed in real classroom contexts, this study has focused on teachers' perceptions of linguistic mediation. A questionnaire and a focus group were used to examine teachers' understanding and awareness of linguistic mediation, as well as the type of mediation activities that are relevant for their students and the extent to which they include linguistic mediation activities and strategies in their lessons. Additionally, the study has shown some of the deficiencies that exist in the way linguistic mediation is currently being addressed in the classroom, as well as teachers' needs in order to better implement it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is creating both opportunities and challenges in higher education. This article explores perceptions, concerns, barriers, and facilitators for integrating AI into academic activities. It focuses on a public university in Northern Peru, examining faculty opinions through interviews and focus groups. The findings show that faculty find generating texts and organizing activities with AI advantageous; however, some have concerns about its use, doubting its accuracy and truthfulness. They agree on discussing these changes and integrating them into the curriculum, seeking to overcome barriers through training to improve the perception and use of AI. Despite the potential and strong support of AI in the university, it is necessary to implement institutional measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the openings for educational change enabled by framing inequality through the concept of rights, considering how variations of this framing have emerged historically and in current debates. Taking as our starting point the 1970 publication Rights and Inequality in Australian Education, we suggest that it is important to pay attention to the ways in which rights gain force within social action and through demands made by differently constituted publics. In the 1960s and 1970s, a right to educational equality garnered greater recognition, prompting moves towards needs-based funding and curriculum diversification, led by the Commonwealth Schools Commission. These moves were responsive to social movements that helped to shape new publics. In a second and more politically conservative moment, rights and inequality were increasingly separated in policies influenced by neoliberalism. We argue that the strategies currently adopted by Indigenous scholar-activists are promoting a return to a rights-based perspective, which is distinctive in casting inequality as ontological and epistemic violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion among several professors in the history department at the University at Albany, the State University of New York who were involved in a curriculum overhaul project that failed to obtain the objectives of attracting new students and stemming the decline in those choosing to major in the humanities. The University's department embraced the premise put forth by the American Historical Association's Tuning the History Discipline project that sought to attract majors, resources and prestige through a more creative, research-based curriculum. The scholars discuss the reasons why the project failed, and how they have reevaluated their assumptions, expectations and options going forward.

The article offers information on the History Teaching & Learning Project (HTLP), with the aim to reform the history curriculum at the University of Colorado Boulder. The project's origins, development, and implementation goals, including the development of student learning objectives, the promotion of a culture of scholarly teaching, and the revision of the curriculum, are discussed.

The article discusses the revision of the curriculum in history education, with the goal to offer a curriculum that is more inclusive and committed to antiracism. It notes that history students were surveyed. Additional topics mentioned include allowing for academic freedom, revising scholarly literature, considering the function of history education, and implementing the changes.

This discussion article presents practices for designing more supportive and individualized writing tasks for adolescent and young adult students. The practices emerged from a synthesis of findings from a prior study in which we asked 79 undergraduates to talk about moments from their writing histories that made them feel proud of their writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curriculum change and the ready access to school level appropriate statistical software has seen the focus of statistical practice for novice statisticians move from primarily constructing graphs and calculating statistics to describing and reasoning from distributions. Many multi-faceted concepts and statistical ideas underpin distributions, which students find difficult to navigate and cognitively coordinate. Limited research, however, exists on how to enhance students' communication when describing distributions. This paper explores the actions of a teacher as she supported 14–15-year-old students to develop notions of distribution and to describe distributions. The findings indicated that the teacher, through knowing, modelling, and listening, supported the development of student statistical language and communication. Students, through engaging in specifically designed instructional activities to engineer learning around the concept of distribution, seem to be able to transition from using their own language to using statistical language to describe distributions that communicated the concepts and features that were identified in the distribution description framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses challenges posed to the design and enactment of twenty-first century school curricula by examining three core issues: pedagogical autonomy, the balance and integration of knowledge and thinking skills, and curricular flexibility. It focuses on how a committee of experts commissioned by the Israeli ministry of education to advise it on reforming the state curriculum responded to these challenges. The discussion highlights two fundamental questions in curriculum design: how to integrate global research finding with local conditions? and how to respond to a changing and unpredictable reality? To deal with the challenges, the article offers a model that aims to enhance the flexibility of the curriculum, and a list of criteria to assist educators on all levels in making informed curricular decisions. Although the analysis is situated within a particular cultural and national context the issues addressed have general and global implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the course of a two-year curriculum field test study that implemented a curriculum-based professional learning framework, we investigated the factors that influenced teachers' willingness and ability to implement NGSS-aligned, phenomenon-based storylines for teaching the nature of science, evolution, and climate change. Through qualitative data collected from interviews and lesson evaluation surveys from 25 middle and high school science teachers, we identified potential implementation barriers and support structures relating to organizational culture as well as curriculum and instruction at the classroom, school, community, and systemic levels. The data indicate that lack of administrative support, time constraints, difficulty with student sense-making, and mismatched classrooms are the largest barriers to implementation, while curriculum-based professional learning including working through the lessons from a student perspective, peer collaboration, autonomy, and flexibility were the largest predictors of successful implementation. Administrators can play a large role in providing successful supports and removing barriers for teachers implementing NGSS-aligned, phenomenon-based lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects of high school curriculum reforms on infant health by exploiting sharp and staggered changes across states in core course requirements for graduation. Our results suggest that curriculum reforms significantly reduced the incidence of low birthweight and prematurity for black mothers. For white mothers, the estimated effects are small and generally insignificant. We also explore the mechanisms for observed effects and provide evidence consistent with our explanations. Finally, we calculate a large social gain induced by favorable infant health outcomes. Several robustness checks and different placebo tests support our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The people of North Kayong Regency-West Kalimantan still uphold the culture of utilizing plants as food, known as North Kayong local vegetables. Preserving knowledge about existing local potential and its utilization can be done through education based on local wisdom or local potential. It can be employed as a tool to enhance the efficacy and significance of education while preserving the unique possibilities of every area. The K13 curriculum is a curriculum of change from conceptual learning to contextual learning. The education process according to regional potential can be done through encyclopaedia media that attracts readers because the encyclopedia contains explicit information and is accompanied by pictures with bright colours. analysis and development, the creation of a local vegetable-based encyclopedia of North Kayong Regency as a biology learning media using a development model (D&D) consisting of six stages, namely: problem identification, description of objectives, design and development, product trials, evaluation of trial results, and communication of trial outcomes. The outcomes of validation and students response trials to the encyclopedia media developed obtained perfect scores. Where the validation test received a value from media experts of 97.08% (very valid), material experts of 90.22% (very valid), and language experts of 88.14% (very valid). Students responded very well to the small-scale (78.83%) and large-scale (84.47%) trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the process of designing and implementing an update to the Introduction to Information Technology course at Bentley University, a business university in New England. Driven by a university-wide curriculum reform initiative and following best practices from digital literacy frameworks and IS model curricula, the new CS 100 course, entitled Solving Business Problems with Information Technology, shifted emphasis from a personal computing context to exploring small business applications of technology. Students networked with university alumni at “Topics in Tech” presentations, where they learned about career options as information technology professionals. The authors describe the pilot courses that led to proposing a new CS 100 course and reflect its challenges and successes. Challenges included meeting the university’s goal of transfer friendliness, scaling from a few pilots to multiple sections, consistency of course delivery, and evaluating assessment. Successes include placing course topics in a business context, introducing current technologies, and providing opportunities for students to learn about career opportunities and experiences from university alumni. The paper also describes how CS 100 aligns with the university’s student learning goals for the new curriculum. These include developing future-focused skills, encouraging curiosity and critical analysis, communicating and collaborating in different settings, and demonstrating understanding of issues related to ethical use of technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustaining changes in teachers' practices is a challenge that determines the success of curricular reforms, from which Digital Education (DE) is not exempt. As the literature on sustainability is considered "scarce" and "scattered", long-term studies modelling the factors impacting teachers' sustained uptake of DE pedagogical content are lacking. Thus, we investigate whether and how 287 in-service teachers sustained a primary school DE curricular reform over a year after they completed their two-year DE professional development program. We model the sustainability of the reform through Structural Equation Modelling, and identify critical sustainability-factors. The validated Sustainable Adoption of Digital Education (SADE) model confirms that sustainability in the fourth year of the reform depends on perceived usefulness of teaching the new content, ease of implementation, and access to sufficient support in schools. Such factors should thus be evaluated, accounted for in the implementation phase of the reform, and sustained over time. The findings confirm that the DE curricular reform model contributes to positive self-efficacy to teach DE, provides sufficient in-school support, and promotes increasing adoption over time. However, as teachers' practices have not yet stabilised, and teachers may still adopt more to cover the breadth of DE-concepts, it is important to remain attentive to remaining sustainability barriers: lack of time, effort required to teach DE with teachers preferring to delegate, and lack of student-learning evidence, the latter being a significant challenge to address in the literature. These barriers must therefore be jointly addressed by researchers and practitioners in the field in order to promote the sustainability of the reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Indonesia, the phenomenon of curriculum change continues to experience various changes and improvements starting from the 1947 curriculum to the one that is being hotly discussed "Merdeka Curriculum". The research aimed to describe the implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum in teaching English and identify the teacher's problem during this process at the seventh grade of SMPIT Insan Mulia Surakarta in the academic year 2022/2023. The study used a qualitative descriptive method, collecting data through observation, interviews, and documentation. Data were gathered from two class observations and an interview with an English teacher. The findings revealed that the Merdeka Curriculum had been successfully integrated into English teaching. The teacher developed lesson objectives and teaching modules based on the Merdeka Curriculum, tailored to the characteristics of the educational unit. Additionally, the teacher followed a learning cycle and conducted assessments aligned with the Merdeka Curriculum. All components of learning, including objectives, materials, methods, media, and evaluation, were incorporated into the English teaching. However, the teacher encountered challenges such as limited time to design differentiated learning for individual student needs and difficulty in maintaining student engagement throughout the lesson. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By April 2020 public schools throughout the country closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the brink of these turbulent times, we concluded a larger survey study describing first grade literacy instruction in February 2020. Having documented a year of pre-pandemic literacy instruction, we then reached out to the same participants to report on their experiences teaching first grade during the 2020–2021 academic year impacted by COVID-19. In this exploratory study we surveyed first grade teachers (n = 36) to better understand the context, the amount of time allocated, and the materials and resources used by teachers for and during literacy instruction and how these variables differed before and during the COVID 19 pandemic. Our data indicated teachers had increased responsibility as they had reduced access to collaborative planning (t35 = − 2.092, p =.004, d = − 0.507), and the support of paraprofessionals (t35 = − 2.256, p =.030, d = 0.457). This increase in responsibility was amplified by the challenges of virtual and hybrid instruction, and the changes in instructional formats experienced by teachers. Concurrently, students experienced less instructional time (Z35 = − 3.704, p <.001, r = − 0.437), particularly in the areas of writing, vocabulary, and fluency. The consequences of these tumultuous experiences for teachers and students are likely to be long-lasting and complex to reconcile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is well established in the literature that active learning instruction in introductory STEM courses results in many desired student outcomes. Yet, regular use of high-quality active learning is not the norm in many STEM departments. Using results of a national survey, we identified 16 departments where multiple instructors reported using high levels of active learning in their introductory chemistry, mathematics, or physics courses. We conducted interviews with 27 instructors in these 16 departments to better understand the characteristics of such departments. Results: Using grounded theory methodology, we developed a model that highlights relevant characteristics of departments with high use of active learning instruction in their introductory courses. According to this model, there are four main, interconnected characteristics of such departments: motivated people, knowledge about active learning, opportunities, and cultures and structures that support active learning. These departments have one or more people who are motivated to promote the use of active learning. These motivated people have knowledge about active learning as well as access to opportunities to promote the use of active learning. Finally, these departments have cultures and structures that support the use of active learning. In these departments, there is a positive feedback loop that works iteratively over time, where motivated people shape cultures/structures and these cultures/structures in turn increase the number and level of commitment of the motivated people. A second positive feedback loop was found between the positive outcome of using active learning instruction and the strengthening of cultures/structures supportive of active learning. Conclusions: According to the model, there are two main take-away messages for those interested in promoting the use of active learning. The first is that all four components of the model are important. A weak or missing component may limit the desired outcome. The second is that desired outcomes are obtained and strengthened over time through two positive feedback loops. Thus, there is a temporal aspect to change. In all of the departments that were part of our study, the changes took at minimum several years to enact. While our model was developed using only high-use of active learning departments and future work is needed to develop the model into a full change theory, our results do suggest that change efforts may be made more effective by increasing the robustness of the four components and the connections between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The number of mentally altered patients a dentist meets in practice is increasing and interaction with them can be very challenging. As a baseline for an interventional study, we want to assess the attitude of dental students and identify areas of improvement in patient communication. This work compares the attitude of dental students towards people suffering from dementia to the attitudes of trained medical caregivers and the general population. Our aim is to use the results to assess the need for training in communicating with mentally altered patients. Materials and Methods: Fourth‐year dental students attended two lectures on dementia given by a psychiatrist as part of the geriatric dentistry lecture and were questioned afterwards using the Dementia Attitude Scale. In 2016 and 2017, 73 students at the University of Greifswald were interviewed. The response rate was 84%. Using a factor analysis, the Dementia Attitude Scale's validated questions were interpreted and compared with data from nursing staff from Switzerland and the USA. Results: The factor analysis of the data showed the same two‐factor loadings as the comparative groups, and that dental students' attitude is more comparable to the general population than to medically trained nursing staff. Conclusion: Given the results, we conclude that the implementation of a communication module can serve in improving the attitude of dental students towards patients with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the current situation of education for sustainable development, climate change education and environmental education in a nationwide context. Methodologically, this study calls for more research to go beyond case studies and take a similar approach to examine university curricula and facilitate cross-country comparisons. Design/methodology/approach: This paper examines the status of climate and sustainability curricula in Taiwan's higher education system. Using the course catalog for the 2020–2021 academic year, the authors constructed a unique data set that includes 1,827 courses at 29 major universities in Taiwan. In each institution, the authors search for course titles that include "climate," "sustainable/sustainability" and "environment/environmental" as keywords and code the courses according to their disciplines. Findings: The finding highlights the variations across institutional types and subject matters. Public universities have an average of 4.94 related courses per 1,000 students, whereas private universities have only 3.13. In general, the relevant courses are more concentrated in the STEM and bioscience fields. The curricula, however, are seriously constrained by the disciplinary structure and foster few transdisciplinary perspectives. Originality/value: The authors seek to go beyond case studies and offer one of the most comprehensive curricula samples at the national level. Taiwan adds an important data point, as the current literature focuses heavily on the USA and Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's Wear Design is an important part of the fashion design course. As a special category in design, children's wear plays a significant role in the growth and future of children. This paper starts by analyzing the status quo and the problems to be solved in the course of Children’s Wear Design, and then explores innovative teaching methods, teaching philosophies, and teaching objectives of the curriculum reform from three dimensions of teaching content, teaching structure, and teaching assessment. Thus, the analysis explores the new framework, new resources, and new perspectives of this course based on students’ individuality and design subjectivity, and then puts forward the implementation methods and optimization strategies for curriculum reform practices. The aim of the paper is to provide an effective framework reference for the teaching reform and practice of design courses, and also an inspiration for the future practice and teaching reforms of fashion design courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the four dimensions of PCK, this paper investigates the professional development of rural PE teachers in Huaiji County by using the research methods of literature, questionnaire, interview and mathematical statistics. Based on PCK related theories, this paper analyzes the current situation of professional development of rural PE teachers in Huaiji County, explores the problems existing in the process of professional development, and provides an optimal path for the professional development of rural PE teachers, so as to improve the teaching ability and classroom quality of rural PE teachers, and promote the further development of rural PE education under the background of new curriculum reform. Through the research, it is found that the shortcomings of rural PE teachers are: lack of situational knowledge; lack of understanding of the course content; not flexible use of teaching representation; low ability to identify the differences of students' learning styles; lack of understanding of social environment, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, internationalisation at home and internationalisation of the curriculum are adopted by universities across the globe but their systemic implementation is a complex process. For instance, academics and academic disciplines understand and approach internationalisation differently, as previous studies have shown. However, there is little research on the role of such disciplinary perspectives in relation to different internationalisation practices and interventions. Using the Becher-Biglan framework of academic tribes, this exploratory study compares 12 undergraduate programmes at a Dutch university of applied sciences and addresses the question if the different disciplinary approaches to internationalisation as identified in previous studies are also reflected in the choices of internationalisation at home activities. The findings show there is more variation in the range of activities rather than in the types of activities and that it is within the rationales underlying those choices where the influence of disciplinary perspectives is more visible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curriculum has become a core element of universities' competitive positioning, internationally and nationally. This paper presents a longitudinal analysis of policy processes and outcomes associated with 'radical' university curriculum reforms that resulted in divergence from institutions' own historical patterns and national conventions and traditions. The empirical investigations draw on a policy trajectory conceptual framework and focus on how two research-intensive Australian universities navigated global–local policy flows throughout their curriculum transformations. Findings revealed that each reform project manifested proactive policy learning and, ultimately, agency, as global and national influences were articulated into local contexts, with the effect of 'breaking the mould' of relatively standardised university curriculum provision in Australia. At the same time, the analyses revealed a similar pattern of intensified bureaucratisation of curriculum governance within the two universities, as well as the compromising of initial reform objectives in key curriculum areas such as interdisciplinarity, internationalisation and so-called twenty-first-century skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementation considerations should be integrated into the iterative development of educational innovations. The purpose of this design-based implementation research (DBIR) was to identify intervention components worthy of revision, examine the feasibility of a video manual and document barriers to the implementation of a multi-tiered dual-language instructional curriculum. Six teachers implemented the curriculum and provided feedback via structured interviews. Although four of the six teachers reported the intervention to be highly feasible, multi-tiered instruction did not align with the beliefs of two teachers. Teachers' feedback combined with child-level narrative and vocabulary outcomes led to curriculum revisions and to the creation of additional implementation supports. Findings suggest system-level barriers influence the sustainability of multi-tiered instruction in early childhood settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing students' competence in algorithmic thinking is emerging as an objective of mathematics education, but despite its inclusion in mathematics curricula around the world, research into students' algorithmic thinking seems to be falling behind in this curriculum reform. The aim of this study was to investigate how the mathematical modelling process can be used as a vehicle for eliciting students' algorithmic thinking. To achieve this aim, a generative study was conducted using task-based interviews with year 12 students (n = 8) to examine how they used the mathematical modelling process to design an algorithm that solved a minimum spanning tree problem. I observed each students' modelling process and analysed how the task elicited the cognitive skills of algorithmic thinking. The findings showed that the students leveraged their mathematical modelling competencies to formulate a model of the problem using abstraction and decomposition, designed their algorithms by devising a fundamental operation to transform inputs into outputs during the working mathematically transition, and debugged their algorithms during the validating transition. Implications for practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities across the globe are considering how to effect meaningful change in their higher education (HE) delivery in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and shifting student learning preferences. This paper reports on a descriptive case-study of whole-of-institution curriculum reform at one regional Australian university, where more traditional 13-week semesters have been replaced with a 6-week immersive block model known as the Southern Cross Model. Based on a synthesis of literature in best practice HE pedagogy and principles, the case study draws on both a review of policy and staff interviews (N = 5) to outline the key changes necessary for successful HE transformation. Analysis revealed themes related to the vital roles of leadership, capacity building, monitoring the transition, staff adoption, and adequate technical systems in implementing a radical, multifaceted institutional transformation. Implications for practice at institutions considering reforming their curriculum model are also discussed. The findings from this case study indicate that an institutional transformation to an immersive block model requires both a considered change in institutional policy and process, as well as the appropriate resourcing of roles, governance committees, technical solutions, and, importantly, communities of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]