Sociology: Critical Analysis of Readings on Teacher Development

This assignment presents a critical analysis of several sociology readings pertinent to teacher development and educational practices. The first reading discusses visible learning and effective strategies for enhancing student learning outcomes, emphasizing the role of teacher's verbal ability and the integration of technology. The second reading explores ethics education in Australian pre-service teacher programs, highlighting the importance of ethical considerations in classroom management and student care. The third reading addresses distractions in education, particularly those arising from political decisions and variations in teacher effectiveness. The fourth reading examines adolescent gifted girls with ADHD, focusing on their experiences in school and the coping mechanisms they employ. The final reading investigates teacher perceptions of effective teaching strategies for Aboriginal middle school students, emphasizing cultural understanding and relationship building. Each analysis identifies key ideas, potential applications, and drawbacks, providing a comprehensive overview of the readings' implications for educators.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
Sociology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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ACELAustralia. "2016 Annual Hedley Beare Memorial Lecture with Anna Bligh." YouTube.
Last modified March 16, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=i9iEBwbMTVI&feature=youtu.be.
The video states the illustration and the discussion by John Hatttie, the director of the
Melbourne educational research institute on global education regarding what drives the
outcome of the students. The basic argument that is being stated in the video is that there lies
some of the simpler ways to dramatically accelerate the learning pattern of the group and the
individual. The video is an illustration of the visible learning by Hattie that provides the most
rigorous and global evidence drawn from 1000 meta-analysis regarding the strategies that are
most effective for driving the learning outcomes of the students. Some of the key ideas
discussed in the video that were helpful were the identification of factors that influence the
process of visual earning. These are the verbal ability of the teacher, the teaching of the co-
team, the process of mentoring, the education of the teacher, the knowledge related to the
subject matter of the teacher and the volunteers compared to the teaching techniques. The
section within the video which is mot appreciable is how Hattie discussed the factors of the
technology that influences the teaching habits. These include the online digital tools, the
computers in the literacy and the reading the use of the power point, the web based learning,
one to one laptop sessions and computers in case of the distance education. The idea that can
be drawn for application in real life of a teacher is that the teacher can make up videos of his
or her lectures, summarize the lecture notes and the analytics and present it to the students in
the form of visual representation which will be beneficial to the students in the long run. The
video argues that though projection of the videos is valid, the use of the online materials is
not that trustworthy for the academics of the students.
Boon, H. J., & Maxwell, B. (2016). Ethics education in Australian preservice teacher
programs: A hidden imperative?. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41(5), 1.

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The basic argument of this paper illustrates the snapshot of the ongoing approaches
towards the accrediting the moral education in the pre-service teacher program of Australia.
The article provides a timely picture regarding the current handling of the ethics education in
the PST programme of Australia. Some of the key ideas that are found to be helpful in this
article include the inclusion of ethics education as the mandatory subjects in the programme
of the foundation of the education programs. These are essential aspects of teaching including
classroom management; pedagogical practices are the decisive factors that have been
highlighted in the article. The author of the article furthermore argues with the fact of how
ethics of the care of the students provides a safe environment for the learning. The report also
highlighted on the superficial and the legalistic frameworks for the effective management of
the behavior of the student in the classroom. The section of the discussion in the article is
preferable since it highlights the importance of ethics education and its aspects in the context
of the pre-service teaching curriculum. The report highlighted some of the positive response
from the students who had been selected for the sample of the research paper. The idea of the
author of this article regarding the belief that ethics as a subject tends to have a significant
effect on the professional development of the students as teachers is a crucial lesson that can
be applied in real life. One of the main drawbacks of the article lies like the data collected
and the methodology of the non-random sampling techniques. The author stated the efforts
that were made for the verification of the precision of the participants regarding the frequency
of the needed subjects related to the ethics, but there had been some of the drawbacks
associated with the degree of the participants.
Hattie, J. (2016). What doesn't work in education: The politics of distraction. British
Columbia Teachers' Federation.
The author in his research noticed the importance of the politics regarding the
distraction in the field of education and how the leaders and the policy makers were doing,

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often leading to distraction from one another. In his research paper, the author highlighted
some of the fascinating insight regarding the standardized curriculum. The basic argument of
the research paper states that those making decisions often are based on politics. The
fundamental ideas of the research that has been the most helpful are the division of the
distraction in some of the significant areas. These are appeasing the parents, fixing the
infrastructure, fixing the students, fixing the schools and fixing the teachers. The section of
the research that is more preferable is the discussion of the author regarding the various
causes of the variation within the school, among which the most important being the
variability in the effectiveness of the teachers. The author argues in this position stating that
all the teachers are not bad, but there lies much of the variability among the teachers in the
institution towards the effect on the learning of the students. One of the ideas by the author
that can be applied in real life includes the reduction of the size of the class for appeasing the
parents. The author justifies this statement in the research paper by stating that the teachers
require to incorporate different types of instruction and feedback for influencing a positive
effect on the learning of the student. One of the drawbacks of the article lies in the fact that
the readers of the column might see this paper with a very visceral reaction. Overall the paper
focused on all the topics of the distraction with an open and a reflective spirit.
Fugate, C. M., & Gentry, M. (2016). Understanding adolescent gifted girls with ADHD:
motivated and achieving. High ability studies, 27(1), 83-109.
The authors of this research article illustrated the basic argument regarding the
manifestation of the ADHD girls and their lived experiences in the school. The research study
argues with the explanation and the illustration of the girls who have ADHD and how this
disorder can impact on the academic performances and the motivation of the girls. Some of
the critical ideas of the research paper that are most helpful in nature include the
understanding of the array of the coping mechanisms that are used for the navigation of the

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academic pressures of the secondary years. One of the factors that are evident in the research
article is the inclusion of the girls for the participation in the research study who belong from
the variety of the educational settings that include the private the public and the charter
schools. The author highlighted the factor such as self-efficacy, self-competence, self-
concepts, and beliefs related to the expectancies that have been found to affect the motivation
of the student. The article furthermore reflects on the strong interpersonal relationships
among the teachers and the students that help the students to face the challenges in their lives.
One of the factors among the discussion by the authors in the article that can be applied on
real life is the positive effects of temperament towards the approach of the motivation that
tends to help the students to enjoy happiness and pleasure. One of the decisive factors that the
article explains in the findings from the research study is ending of the stigma related to
ADHD. The research study implicated how it is essential to acknowledge these girls due to
their dual personalities that make them unique. The article recommends the teachers to
portray on motivating and encouraging these girls so that they can increase their ability to be
successful.
Harslett, M., Harrison, B., Godfrey, J., Partington, G., & Richer, K. (2000). Teacher
perceptions of the characteristics of effective teachers of Aboriginal middle school
students. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 25(2), 4.
In this research article, the authors focused on the perception of the teachers regarding
the characteristics of the effective teaching techniques of aboriginal middle school students.
The basic argument of the paper explains the features of effective teaching habits in the
selected secondary and primary schools. The article highlights the regional and urban places
of Western Australia. One of the critical ideas that are found to be most helpful are the

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characteristics of the effective teaching that includes the understanding of the culture, the
history and the backgrounds of the students belonging from aboriginal culture. The research
study furthermore highlighted the ability towards the development of right relations with the
indigenous students and their family backgrounds. It also focusses on the sense of humor and
preparation for investing tie for interaction with the aboriginal students out of the boundary of
the school for the strengthening of the relationships. The section of the research paper that is
most preferable is the discussion regarding the direction for the teachers for induction, pre-
service training, and in-service professional development. In the case of the application of the
ideas of the authors of this article in real life, the factor of effective teaching techniques gives
a positive approach. The effective teachers tend to set realistic individual expectations for the
students and tends to give positive acknowledgments in case of the achievements.
Furthermore, the idea of the understanding of the culture of indigenous history for building
relationships by empathy and understanding are some of the significant factors that are
applicable in real life. The article projects one of the major ideas relating to the ability
towards the active development and sustainment of the right relationships with the aboriginal
students and their families which are useful for the teachers.

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Reference
ACELAustralia. "2016 Annual Hedley Beare Memorial Lecture with Anna Bligh." YouTube.
Last modified March 16, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=i9iEBwbMTVI&feature=youtu.be.
Boon, H. J., & Maxwell, B. (2016). Ethics education in Australian preservice teacher
programs: A hidden imperative?. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41(5), 1.
Fugate, C. M., & Gentry, M. (2016). Understanding adolescent gifted girls with ADHD:
motivated and achieving. High ability studies, 27(1), 83-109.
Harslett, M., Harrison, B., Godfrey, J., Partington, G., & Richer, K. (2000). Teacher
perceptions of the characteristics of effective teachers of Aboriginal middle school
students. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 25(2), 4.
Hattie, J. (2016). What doesn't work in education: The politics of distraction. British
Columbia Teachers' Federation.