Elementary Education and Teaching Commons^™

A Framework For Teaching Computational Thinking In Primary Schools: A Namibian Case Study, Maria M. Ausiku, Machdel C. Matthee

The African Journal of Information Systems

Several professional development programs have been designed to train in-service teachers on a computational thinking (CT) curriculum, but few researchers have examined how these affect primary school teachers' self-efficacy and knowledge of CT in emerging economies. This study's objective was to create a framework for the professional development of primary school in-service teachers for the teaching of CT (referred to as professional development for primary computational thinking - PD4PCT) to be integrated into teachers' professional development programs. An initial framework was refined after implementing it at a Namibian school with a group of 14 teachers from five different disciplines (social …

Cognitively Guided Instruction In Elementary Mathematics: Understanding Factors That Influence Classroom Implementation, Teresa A. Conowal

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

This study focused on the teaching technique known as cognitively guided instruction (CGI), through which teachers explore the individual learning styles of their students and use the information they gather to teach more complex concepts more effectively. The focus of this study was on 10 elementary mathematics teachers, with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of the reasons they are making limited use of CGI techniques in their classrooms. The study used interviews and classroom observations of the 10 participants to identify the factors influencing their willingness or reluctance to apply CGI techniques to their instructional practices. The study …

Identifying Characteristics Of Expert Elementary School Technology Integration Teachers - A Cognitive Task Analysis, Mark Campoli

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

In all domains, certain individuals consistently perform better than their peers. In ill-structured domains such as education, the identification of experts can be difficult. This is especially true when considering technology integration experts (TIEs). In order to be a TIE, one must be an expert in content knowledge, pedagogy, and instructional technology. Systematically identifying and studying TIEs could provide characteristics consistent with expert performance.

Typically, it takes 1,000 hours, or ten years, of practice to acquire expertise. In domains such as education, the acquisition of expertise can happen sooner. Acquiring expertise can be further hastened by deliberate practice. Not all …