Education Commons^™

Technology And Teacher Preparation In Exemplary Institutions: 1994 To 2003, Mark J. Hofer

Mark Hofer

In a 1994 study commissioned by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, Mergendoller, Johnston, Rockman, & Willis (1994) examined four exemplary institutions to identify their approaches to integrating technology into teacher education. A decade later, the field would benefit from a comparison of current approaches of infusing technology into teacher education to the 1994 findings. This study examines the approaches of the first seven teacher education programs to receive the ISTE NETS Distinguished Achievement Award. Current approaches to the process are outlined, including the identification of the key factors impacting their implementation. A comparison of the 1994 and the present …

Meeting The Iste Challenge In The Field: An Overview Of The First Six Distinguished Achievement Award Winning Programs, Terri Teal Bucci, Anthony Petrosino, Randy Bell, Susan Cherup, Ann Cunningham, Sandi Cohen, Gail Dickinson, Jeremy Ervin, Mark J. Hofer, Keith Wetzel

Mark Hofer

The 2002 National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Distinguished Achievement Awards, sponsored by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), were awarded to six teacher education programs across the United States. The awards recognize institutions that exemplify successful integration of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS[solid dot]T) into teacher education programs. Institutions across the country completed an extensive application process to be selected one of the first six recipients of the ISTE Distinguished Achievement award. This process included online documentation that demonstrated the program's implementation of the NETS[solid dot]T models and practices. This article provides a means of …

Grounded Tech Integration: An Effective Approach Based On Content, Pedagogy, And Teacher Planning, Judi Harris, Mark J. Hofer

Mark Hofer

Successful technology integration must focus on standards-based, curriculum-related learning outcomes rather than on the technologies themselves. In the first installment of a seven-part series, we offer a grounded approach to technology integration based on content, pedagogy, and how teachers plan instruction.

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Tpack) In Action: A Descriptive Study Of Secondary Teachers' Curriculum-Based, Technology-Related Instructional Planning, Judith B. Harris, Mark J. Hofer

Judith Harris

How does teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) inform their instructional planning? How can this knowledge be enhanced? In an interpretivist study of experienced secondary social studies teachers' planning, we sought to discover clues to the nature and development of these teachers' TPACK-in-action as it was expressed in their planning processes. Comparisons of interview data and planning products before and after engaging in professional development that addressed content-focused, TPACK-based learning activity types (Harris & Hofer, 2009) revealed three primary findings, each supported by participating teachers' oral and written reflections upon their learning. The participating teachers' (a) selection and use of …

Strongly And Weakly Directed Approaches To Teaching Multiple Representation Use In Physics, Patrick B. Kohl, David Rosengrant, Noah D. Finkelstein

David Rosengrant

Good use of multiple representations is considered key to learning physics, and so there is considerable motivation both to learn how students use multiple representations when solving problems and to learn how best to teach problem solving using multiple representations. In this study of two large-lecture algebra-based physics courses at the University of Colorado (CU) and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, we address both issues. Students in each of the two courses solved five common electrostatics problems of varying difficulty, and we examine their solutions to clarify the relationship between multiple representation use and performance on problems involving …

The Use Of A Checklist And Qualitative Notebooks For An Interactive Process Of Teaching And Learning Qualitative Research, Rebecca K. Frels, Bipin Sharma, Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, Nancy L. Leech, Marcella Stark

Nancy Leech

From the perspective of doctoral students and instructors, we explain a developmental, interactive process based upon the Checklist for Qualitative Data Collection, Data Analysis, and Data Interpretation (Onwuegbuzie, 2010) for students' writing assignments regarding: (a) the application of conceptual knowledge for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting qualitative data; (b) utilizing detailed instructor feedback of content and writing style as a positive catalyst for growth; and (c) integrating feedback in future assignments and reflecting on the process. We advocate the cyclical use of this framework for teaching and learning rigorous qualitative research.

Using Guided Reflective Journaling Activities To Capture Students’ Changing Perceptions, Joanna Dunlap

Joanna Dunlap

Many professions are increasingly emphasizing the role of reflection, encouraging educators to look for appropriate ways to help students engage in reflective practice during their professional preparation. Journal writing is an insightful and powerful instructional technology utilizing strategies that foster understanding and the application of concepts, enhance critical thinking, improve achievement and attitude, encourage student reflection and capture changes in students' perception. Examples from three different professional preparation courses illustrate the power of journal-writing activities as a way of encouraging students' reflective thinking, and giving faculty a way to assess students' reflective practice and perceptual changes. Based on the author's …

Workload Reduction In Online Courses: Getting Some Shuteye, Joanna Dunlap

Joanna Dunlap

Instructors are a key component of any successful facilitated, asynchronous online course. They are tasked with providing the infrastructure for learning; modeling effective participation, collaboration, and learning strategies; monitoring and assessing learning and providing feedback, remediation, and grades; troubleshooting and resolving instructional, interpersonal, and technical problems; and creating a learning community in which learners feel safe and connected. Accomplishing these objectives is labor and time intensive, often requiring instructors to be constantly online. Besides being impractical, this can lead to questionable instructional quality and eventual instructor burnout. Fortunately, there are instructional strategies that can help achieve instructor presence without requiring …

Problem-Based Learning And Self-Efficacy: How A Capstone Course Prepares Students For A Profession, Joanna C. Dunlap

Joanna Dunlap

Problem-based learning (PBL) is apprenticeship for real-life problem solving, helping students acquire the knowledge and skills required in the workplace. Although the acquisition of knowledge and skills makes it possible for performance to occur, without self-efficacy the performance may not even be attempted. I examined how student self-efficacy, as it relates to being software development professionals, changed while involved in a PBL environment. Thirty-one undergraduate university computer science students completed a 16-week capstone course in software engineering during their final semester prior to graduation. Specific instructional strategies used in PBL--namely the use of authentic problems of practice, collaboration, and reflection--are …

From Pixel On A Screen To Real Person In Your Students' Lives: Establishing Social Presence Using Digital Storytelling, Patrick Lowenthal, Joanna Dunlap

Joanna Dunlap

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework is a comprehensive guide to the research "and" practice of online learning. One of the most challenging aspects of establishing a CoI in online courses is finding the best way to attend to each element of the CoI framework in a primarily text-based environment. In our online courses, we have examined the use of digital storytelling as a way to break down the barriers that can get in the way of achieving a healthy and productive CoI. In this paper, we describe how we use digital storytelling to establish our social presence as instructors.

Co-Teaching An Online Action Research Class, Brent Wilson, Jennifer Vanberschot

Brent Wilson

Two instructors report their experience co-teaching an online action research (AR) course required as part of an e-learning master’s degree. Adopting a practice-centered stance we focus on the course activities of participants (instructors and students), with particular attention to the careful crafting of course elements with the goal of achieving an excellent learning experience for students. The case narrative describes the course and ways in which we have modified the course based on a variety of considerations. We also outline problems and areas still in need of improvement. We reflect on the role of theory in our own pursuit of …

Constructivism And Instructional Design: Some Personal Reflections, Brent Wilson

Brent Wilson

Some personal reflections on instructional design and its relation to constructivism are explored. Instructional design in its present form is out of sync with the times in that its orientation, methods, and research base are behavioristic, or positivistic. However, a constructivist theory of instructional design is possible, particularly if constructivism is recognized as a philosophy rather than a strategy. To better fit the needs of practitioners, instructional design theories need to be better grounded in a broad understanding of learning and instructional processes. Generic principles and specific heuristics are needed for dealing with recurring problems and situations in instructional design …

Riding The Mathematical Merry-Go-Round To Foster Conceptual Understanding Of Angle, Ron Tzur, Matthew Clark

Ron Tzur

This article presents playful activities for fostering students' conceptual understanding of angle--a root concept in mathematics--that revolve around the Mathematical Merry-Go-Round game. The authors focus on activities for two reasons. On one hand, NCTM's Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000) stresses the central role of student activity in coming to understand mathematics. This emphasis is consistent with a constructivist stance (Piaget 1971) about learning as an active process. On the other hand, typical activities used for teaching angle, in which an introduction of the definition is followed by operations on angles, such as measuring, adding, comparing, and classifying, seem …

Fine Grain Assessment Of Students' Mathematical Understanding: Participatory And Anticipatory Stages In Learning A New Mathematical Conception, Ron Tzur

Ron Tzur

This study addressed a twofold problem--the soundness of a theoretical stage-distinction regarding the process of constructing a new (to the learner) mathematical conception and how such distinction contributes to fine grain assessment of students' mathematical understandings. As a context for the study served the difficult-to-grasp concept of "inverse" order relationship among unit fractions, that is, the larger the number of parts the smaller the size of each part (e.g., 1/7 greater than 1/10 although 10 greater than 7). I conducted this study as a whole-class teaching experiment in a third grade classroom at a public school in Israel. The qualitative …

From Theory To Practice: Explaining Successful And Unsuccessful Teaching Activities (Case Of Fractions), Ron Tzur

Ron Tzur

In a teaching experiment, I examined a theoretical model of mathematics teaching and learning in practice. In this paper I focus on how the model can guide the teacher's thinking about students' understandings and the generation of activities that foster intended transformations in those understandings. As a research-teacher I taught, twice a week for four months, basic ideas of fractions to 28 third graders, in a public school in Israel. The analysis of both classroom data and researcher's documented reflections indicates how the model can empower the generation and explanation of successful teaching activities, as well as thinking about and …

Assessing Faculty Consensus On The Quality Of Student Work [Book Chapter], Connie Fulmer, Dorothy Garrison-Wade, F. Bingham, Ken Reiter

Connie L. Fulmer

No abstract provided.

School Culture For Students With Significant Support Needs: Belonging Is Not Enough, Diane Carroll, Connie Fulmer, Donna Sobel, Dorothy Garrison-Wade, Lorenso Aragon, Lisa Coval

Connie L. Fulmer

This qualitative study examined the influence of school culture on services for students with significant support needs. Students with significant support needs are defined as those who typically have cognitive impairments, often paired with sensory and physical challenges, and who require substantial supports to receive benefit from education. Using Schein's (1988) definition of culture, ethnographic methods, including observations, interviews and artifacts, were used to collect data related to artifacts, values, and assumptions. Results of this study indicate a strong sense of family, community and belonging. However, belonging did not include critical components of instruction as described as best practice in …

Redefining Teaching And Learning In Educational Administration, Connie Fulmer

Connie L. Fulmer

Presents assumptions and components of an experiential learning model to demonstrate the transformation of traditional educational leadership program delivery models. Two examples of experientially-based course projects are presented to illustrate teaching and learning as a transactional process of creating personal knowledge. (SLD)

Responding To Linguistic Diversity, Nancy Commins

Nancy L. Commins

Second language learners arrive at every grade level with a variety of experiences and differing academic backgrounds. Responding to their learning needs means accommodating the entire range of students from monolingual English speakers to monolingual speakers of other languages, and a variety of bilingual profiles in between. This article discusses how schools adopt a "blue pathway" mindset for improving instruction for all learners. The blue pathway, which also leads to academic competence, represents best practice for second language learners--strategies and approaches that from the outset account for language proficiency and cultural diversity. Instruction on the blue pathway can be summed …

School Culture For Students With Significant Support Needs: Belonging Is Not Enough, Diane Carroll, Connie Fulmer, Donna Sobel, Dorothy Garrison-Wade, Lorenso Aragon, Lisa Coval

Dorothy Garrison-Wade

This qualitative study examined the influence of school culture on services for students with significant support needs. Students with significant support needs are defined as those who typically have cognitive impairments, often paired with sensory and physical challenges, and who require substantial supports to receive benefit from education. Using Schein's (1988) definition of culture, ethnographic methods, including observations, interviews and artifacts, were used to collect data related to artifacts, values, and assumptions. Results of this study indicate a strong sense of family, community and belonging. However, belonging did not include critical components of instruction as described as best practice in …

Assessing Faculty Consensus On The Quality Of Student Work [Book Chapter], Connie Fulmer, Dorothy Garrison-Wade, F. Bingham, Ken Reiter

Dorothy Garrison-Wade

No abstract provided.

Engineering A Dynamic Science Learning Environment For K-12 Teachers, Patricia Hardré, Mark Nanny, Hazem Refai, Chen Ling, Janis Slater

Dr. Chen Ling

The present study follows a cohort of 17 K-12 teachers through a six-week resident learning experience in science and engineering, and on into the planning and implementation of applications for their classrooms. This Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program was examined using the strategic approach of design-based research, with its fluid, adaptive management of the complexity of authentic learning "in situ" and its attentive documentation of expected and unexpected events, in process and products, to capture the richness of teachers' and mentors' experiences. Research on effective teacher professional development, adult learning, situated cognition, and learning transfer were utilized to inform …

"Both Sides Now" Ii: Some Practical Suggestions For Creative Writing Exercises In The Literature Classroom, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

Outlines effective and practical creative writing assignments given to literature students. Concludes that writing short, imaginative summaries provides a change of pace from the usual lecture, discussion, and group work formats of literature classes.

"Both Sides Now" Iii: A Creative Writing Exercise In The Literature Classroom, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

Details a creative writing assignment used in literature classes to help students better grasp the principles of literature from the inside out. Suggests this method should be employed more often in survey classes.

"Both Sides Now": The Evolution Of An Approach To Teaching Fiction, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

Discusses the connections between creative writing and literary criticism. Explains experience of combining a literature and creative writing class. Concludes the combination results in both groups gaining a greater understanding of each others' crafts.

Mainstream First-Grade Teachers' Understanding Of Strategies For Accommodating The Needs Of English Language Learners, Clare Hite, Linda Evans

Linda S. Evans

In this time of high stakes testing, teachers' working with English Language Learners (ELLs) becomes a high-stakes teaching act. Nationally, mandated testing is increasing in the schools even as school demographics are changing. The growing numbers of language-minority students come with varying levels of English proficiency, from little or none to fluent bilingualism. Teachers find it difficult to bring all their native-English-speaking children along to an acceptable level of performance in literacy and content-area subjects; ELLs present an even greater challenge, particularly for the elementary mainstream classroom teachers who are the primary language teachers for most young ELLs, yet typically …

"Both Sides Now" Ii: Some Practical Suggestions For Creative Writing Exercises In The Literature Classroom, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Charlie Sweet

Outlines effective and practical creative writing assignments given to literature students. Concludes that writing short, imaginative summaries provides a change of pace from the usual lecture, discussion, and group work formats of literature classes.

"Both Sides Now" Iii: A Creative Writing Exercise In The Literature Classroom, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Charlie Sweet

Details a creative writing assignment used in literature classes to help students better grasp the principles of literature from the inside out. Suggests this method should be employed more often in survey classes.

Using Computer Databases In Student Problem Solving: A Study Of Eight Social Studies Teachers’ Classes, Lee H. Ehman, Allen D. Glenn, Vivian Johnson, Charles S. White

Vivian Johnson