Applying Nearpod to the Teaching Chinese as a Second Language Class to Enhance Interactions and Collaborations in the Secondary Schools

The quick spread of the epidemic since 2019 together with fast advancing of technology has exposed teachers to online education,including Teaching Chinese as a Second Language(TCSL)classrooms.Some Chinese as a Second Language(CSL)teachers were reluctant to utilize technology tools in their teaching due to the lack of technological knowledge.Thus,this study designed a CSL curriculum with the lens of the TPACK framework(Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge).Nearpod was specifically adopted as a web-based technology tool to support the teaching Chinese language due to its powerful functions provided.Nearpod allows teachers to design interactive activities in multiple ways to facilitate interactions and collaboration in the CSL learning process.This paper aimed to help Chinese teachers improve their understanding of how to effectively integrate technology into CSL teaching.Chinese teachers will develop a deeper comprehension of distance teaching from the perspectives of technology,pedagogy,and content knowledge,enhance students’deeper learning,and promote interaction and collaboration in L2 class.The effective use of the technology can develop language skills in a meaningful context knowledge with the guidance of pedagogical content knowledge.

PCK Study of Middle School Chemistry Teachers in Yan'an Based on the Core Quality of Chemistry Subject

The new round of curriculum reform requires the promotion on the development of students'core literacy,and how the core literacy of chemistry can take root in the chemistry classroom is inseparable from the guidance and nurture of teachers in the teaching process.The"Professional Standards for Secondary School Teachers"clearly stipulates that pedagogical content knowledge(PCK)is regarded as the professional knowledge of teachers.PCK is the core content of teachers'professional knowledge and an important guarantee for teachers to carry out teaching activities.Teachers5 PCK level is not only a direct measure of their teaching achievements,but also an important criterion for guiding novice teachers to become experienced teachers.The research subjects selected for this study are the middle school chemistry teachers in Yan'an City.By using the Delphi method to investigate the understanding of Yan'an middle school chemistry teachers on the core literacy of chemistry and to explore the PCK mastery of middle school chemistry teachers at different stages,it serves to deepen the Yan'an middle school chemistry teachers5 own knowledge and learning of PCK while help to promote the improvement of the teaching level and professional development of chemistry teachers in Yan'an middle schools.At the end of the paper,the relevant suggestions made based on the investigation of the chemistry PCK study of middle school chemistry teachers in Yan'an City on the core literacy of the chemistry subject will improve the overall building level of the middle school chemistiy teachers of Yan'an City.

Association between Teacher Candidates'Competency and First-Year Employment in Physical Education:A Comparison Study

Physical education teacher education(PETE)programs prepare teacher candidates to be competent and employed in P-12 school settings.This study examined the relationship between competency and first-year job obtainment in physical education(PE).Participants included 111 teacher candidates from two schools.Participants'competency in content knowledge in Kinesiology and sub-disciplines(CKKH),content knowledge in sport and skill proficiency(CKSP),pedagogical content knowledge(PCK),and first-year job obtainment in PE were collected.Descriptive statistics,independent-samples t tests,and multiple logistic regressions were used to analyze the data.The overall sample showed participants were most competent in PCK,followed by CKSP and CKKH.Female participants were more competent in PCK than their male counterparts,and those at School A performed better in CKSP and PCK than their peers at School B.As a sample,more than half of the participants(55.9%)obtained PE jobs.There was a significance between the overall sample and female participants'competency in CKKH and their first-year employment in PE.This study was limited by sample size,variances in courses between the two schools,and by the defined timeline to clarify first-year PE employment.Implications regarding the importance of CKKH and first-year employment were discussed.