Education Commons^™

Examining Culturally Responsive Understandings Within An Undergraduate Teacher Education Program, Kelly M. Gomez Johnson, Anne E. Karabon, Derrick A. Nero

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

This article examines how a group of elementary and secondary preservice teachers engaged in understanding “culture” and culturally responsive teaching while enrolled in an early program course. We analyze how culturally-related experiences, emotions, and perspectives contribute to the overall understanding of cultural competency training in teacher education. Preservice teachers varied in their use of individual- and structural-orientations, in isolation and in combination, as they developed and progressed as socially just teachers. These findings reveal that despite attempts to develop and shift toward asset-based perspectives, far more culturally embedded coursework and practicum experiences are necessary. This paper includes a reflection on …

The Role Of The Clinical Educator In Teacher Preparation: An Exploratory Study Of Perceptions Of Preparedness, Kristen M. Driskill

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

As the demands on P-12 teachers increase, so do the demands on teacher preparation programs. In higher education institutions across the country, coursework is regularly updated to reflect changing academic standards, increasing diversity in classrooms, rigorous certification exams, etc. In addition, accreditation standards have been updated to reflect the need for P-12 partnerships in best preparing teacher candidates. As a result, clinical practice has come under focus. Yet the role of the clinical educator remains unclear. There is a gap in the literature regarding the preparedness and support of clinical educators, particularly addressing their role in developing teacher candidates along …

The Complexity Of Learning To Teach News Media In Social Studies Education, Mardi Schmeichel, Jim Garrett, Rachel Ranschaert, Joseph Mcanulty, Shannon Thompson, Sonia Janis, Christopher Clark, Stephanie Yagata, Briana Bivens

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This research reports on data generated through an initial teacher certification program for secondary social studies teachers that introduced a specific and program-spanning focus on news media literacy. Growing out of the urgent need for pedagogies that address and promote critical engagement with the kinds of news media sources upon which civic decisions are made, our project follows teacher candidates from their initial certification coursework through the culminating student teaching semester. Our work with teacher candidates over this time was explicitly intended to intervene in and develop teacher candidates’ understandings of news media literacy, its place in social studies education, …

Holding Onto Dread And Hope: The Need For Critical Whiteness Studies In Education As Resistance In The Trump Era, Brittany A. Aronson, Kyle Ashlee

Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs

The purpose of this article is to critically examine how white higher education instructors work through the tensions of dread and hope while supporting and preparing educators during the Trump Administration. Dread is a result of the permanence of racism while hope seeps through a collective effort and commitment to dismantling white supremacy. Aronson is racialized as a white, ethnically Latina female teacher educator who educates predominantly white female pre-service teachers and Ashlee is a white male doctoral candidate who teaches master’s level student affairs courses to predominantly white students. Using critical autoethnographic narratives, they reflect on their experiences using …

Clinical Field Experiences Of Nontraditional Pre-Service Teachers: Issues And Beliefs, Melanie Diloreto

Journal of Practitioner Research

According to the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE, 2010), effective teaching practices and good clinical experiences share a mutually beneficial relationship. Additionally, according to research reported by AACTE (2010), an important link exists between future P–12 student-achievement and effective clinical practices experienced by pre-service teachers. This case study sought to determine experiences deemed effective or important by nontraditional pre-service teachers while engaged in fieldwork completed in an elementary and/or middle school classroom setting. Four themes were derived from the qualitative data obtained through semi-structured interviews of four junior or senior teacher education students engaged in clinical field …

Using High-Leverage Practices To Support Twice Exceptional Learners, Susan Keesey, Kelsey Highbaugh

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Students documented as twice-exceptional, possessing both giftedness and a disability, are a group of learners that despite strong potential, are often misunderstood and misdiagnosed. Often, for these students, either the giftedness hides the disability or the disability overshadows the giftedness. It is important that teacher education programs help preservice teachers learn how to recognize and support students classified as twice-exceptional. High-leverage practices can help support twice-exceptional students. This article demonstrates how all four key components of HLPs (i.e., collaboration, assessment, social/emotional/behavioral practices, and instruction) can be incorporated into the plan to support twice-exceptional learners and maximize learning outcomes for these …

Una Destinatio, Viae Diversae – One Destination, Many Paths: An Invitation To Design Curriculum, Aviva B. Dorfman

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

One goal of early childhood teacher educators is to teach in ways that model teaching young children. What better way to study curriculum than to design it? This article describes a graduate early childhood curriculum course in which the students participate in the process of designing the syllabus. They receive a syllabus empty of topics, schedule, and readings. Together, we design the course according to their interests and needs. By semester’s end there is a full reading list and schedule. The invitation to co-design curriculum provides opportunities for investigation, representation and reflection as does constructivist teaching for children, and demonstrates …

How Does Training From A Stem Elementary Education Program Influence An Elementary Teacher’S Instruction And Experiences?, Courtney G. Mayakis, Jessica R. Robinson, John Williams Iii

Journal of STEM Teacher Education

In the United States, innovation and our economy seem to be lacking in comparison to other countries. Many cite the shortage of individuals interested in STEM careers as part of the problem. The following research article addresses how STEM programs may influence the efficacy and practice of curriculum integration as well as the mathematics and science instruction of teachers in elementary education. Data were collected using interviews and taped instruction from an elementary educator who graduated from a STEM-focused elementary program. This exploratory case study will aid in understanding how preservice programs focusing on STEM-integrated curriculum in elementary education can …

Reading Researchers In Search Of Common Ground: The Expert Study Revisited, Tiffany A. Flowers

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this book review was to analyze the main arguments regarding literacy instruction from various paradigms of research. The Foreword of this text was written by Dr. Patricia Edwards the Past President of the Literacy Research Association. As Dr. Edwards pointedly reveals in her endorsement of this text, “Reading researchers must find some common ground in order to provide teachers with the necessary strategies to teach children reading." Dr. Edwards takes a strong stance on the reading wars debate. This foreword leaves readers with key questions that are answered throughout the reading of this text such as, what …

An In-Depth Case Study Of A Prospective Black Male Teacher Candidate With An Undisclosed Disability At A Historically Black College And University, Julius Davis, Lynne Long, Sarah Green, Yvonne M. Crawford, Jeannette Blackwood

Journal of Research Initiatives

As scholarship of Black male collegians is growing, there is limited research attentive to Black males with disabilities and in teacher education programs. The research focused on pre-service Black male teachers with disabilities attending HBCUs and the federal laws impacting their education and supports is absent. This research study fills the void by examining the individual experiences of a Black male pre-service teacher with a disability attending an HBCU. The research team used Black males with disability theory and single-subject case study methodology to describe Christopher “CJ” Jackson’s journey navigating his program of study as an English education major. Four …

Experiential Learning In Teacher Education: Increasing Awareness Of Diversity Through The Immersion Experience, Nadine Dolby, Jubin Rahatzad

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Sixty-four years after the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision, schools, neighborhoods, and communities in the United States remain largely segregated by race and class. As a result, many incoming students arrive on college and university campuses with limited exposure to people from a wide array of backgrounds and identities. In this article, we examine how students enrolled in an undergraduate teacher education course, Multiculturalism and Education, learned from and reflected on an experiential learning assignment. The assignment, called “Immersion Experience,” required them to have a brief experience in a cultural context that is different from their own. Through …

Making Learners: A Framework For Evaluating Making In Stem Education, Jill A. Marshall, Jason R. Harron

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

The maker movement has strong connections to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well as art and crafts, but the goals of making are not in perfect alignment with any of these disciplines. Within the problem-based paradigm, however, there is room to incorporate making as situated STEM learning, even in formal, standards-based educational settings. We report on a framework for making in STEM education and describe a rubric for assessing the presence of the essential elements of making within STEM instruction. We present examples of the application of the rubric in a STEM teacher education course.

Tinkering With Logo In An Elementary Mathematics Methods Course, Keri Duncan Valentine

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

With an increased push to integrate coding and computational literacy in K–12 learning environments, teacher educators will need to consider ways they might support preservice teachers (PSTs). This paper details a tinkering approach used to engage PSTs in thinking computationally as they worked with geometric concepts they will be expected to teach in K–5. Experiences programming in Logo to construct authentic artifacts in the form of two-dimensional geometric graphics not only supported PSTs’ understanding of core geometric and spatial concepts, but also helped them to make connections between mathematics and computational literacy. Artifacts and discourse are discussed as they relate …

An Alternative Pathway To Elementary Teaching, Lotta Larson, Tom Vontz

Educational Considerations

This article describes an alternative pathway to elementary teaching through the MAT online program at Kansas State University.

Making Connections: Evaluation Of A Professional Development Program For Teachers Focused On Stem Integration, Judy Lambert, Carmen Cioc, Sorin Cioc, Dawn Sandt

Journal of STEM Teacher Education

This article reports on a 2-year evaluation of a STEM integration professional development (PD) program for 40 math, science, and special education teachers in Grades 5–9 from a large Midwestern public school district. The National Research Council’s framework for integrated STEM education (Honey, Pearson, & Schweingruber, 2014) was used to explain the goals, outcomes, nature and scope, and implementation of the program. Teachers were measured on their growth in STEM content knowledge, technology integration, teaching confidence, pedagogical beliefs, and impact of PD. Increases resulted in all these areas with statistically significant improvements in most of them, particularly in Year 2. …

Searching For Mirrors: Preservice Teachers’ Journey Toward More Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Tanya Christ, Sue Ann Sharma

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Culturally relevant text selection and pedagogy support students’ motivation, engagement, literacy outcomes, and positive identity formation. Nevertheless, there is limited research on teacher preparation that fosters these outcomes. We explore 17 preservice teachers’ challenges and successes with culturally relevant text selection and pedagogy for their students’ literacy instruction. Data sources include reader responses, lesson plans, and reflections. Emergent coding and constant comparative analysis yielded four categories of challenges (resistance, limited view of culture, lack of knowledge about students’ cultures and identities, and lack of opportunities for students to develop critical consciousness) and three criteria for successes (knowledge about the students’ …

A Collaborative Children's Literature Book Club For Teacher Candidates, Tara-Lynn Scheffel, Claire Cameron, Lindsay Dolmage, Madisen Johnston, Jemanica Lapensee, Kirsten Solymar, Emily Speedie, Meagan Wills

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This paper highlights the two-year journey of an extra-curricular book club for teacher candidates as they explored children’s literature in order to further their teaching practice. Initial themes were confirmed and refined as the journey of the book club concluded after two years. A sociocultural theoretical framework guided this work and considered Cambourne’s (1988) conditions of learning, specifically immersion in texts, as well as the important role of social contexts in developing shared text meanings. A qualitative methodology, drawing on participatory action research (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2005) and taking a case study approach to sharing the "case" of this collaborative …

The Iterative Development And Use Of An Online Problem-Based Learning Module For Preservice And Inservice Teachers, Peter Rillero, Laurie Camposeco

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Teachers’ problem-based learning knowledge, abilities, and attitudes are important factors in successful K–12 PBL implementations. This article describes the development and use of a free, online module entitled Design a Problem-Based Learning Experience. The module production, aligned with theories of andragogy, was a partnership between the recipients of a grant using PBL to enhance English language learner education and the Sanford Inspire Program. A multistage evaluation design was used in the iterative process of module creation. Starting with an initial white paper, the module’s conceptualization, development, pilot testing, and refinement are described, along with the current use statistics. The URL …

Problem-Based Teacher-Mentor Education: Fostering Literacy Acquisition In Multicultural Classrooms, Pamela Hartman, Corinne Renguette, Mary Theresa Seig

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

We designed a professional development (PD) teacher-mentor program that used problem-based learning (PBL) to accomplish two goals. First, teachers explored how PBL could be used effectively in their classrooms to change the way they think about teaching to include literacy development in content areas. Second, PBL was the basis for PD training to help them improve their own knowledge of PBL, become mentors to other teachers, and implement PBL in their schools across content areas.

Educators in the United States are challenged to teach linguistically and culturally diverse (LCD) students with differing literacy levels. The demographics of U.S. classrooms require …

Inquiry, Identity, And Integrity In A Biblical Studies Methods Course, Philip Teeuwsen, Abigail Deelstra, Jonathan Van Santen, David Grills

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

In this study, a university professor, a high school teacher, and two teacher-candidates engage in an inquiry into the identity and integrity of the religious studies teacher. Using Charteris’s (2014) ‘epistemological shudders’ as a framework, the authors explore the experience of learning to teach Bible in Christian schools by paying attention to the ways in which their experience with the unfamiliar intersected with their taken-for-granted beliefs and perspectives. The authors believe such reflections on experience are essential in particular to teachers of the Bible in Christian schools, but also, more generally, for ongoing lifelong teacher growth. This paper offers insights …

Preservice Teachers' Understandings Related To Language In The Mathematics Classroom, Amanda T. Sugimoto

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Mathematics reforms are highlighting the important role that language plays in mathematics education. However, there remains a common misconception that mathematics is somehow language-free. This qualitative study explored 67 elementary preservice teachers’ developing understandings about the role of language in the mathematics classroom based on their practicum experiences. Iterative, open-coding techniques were used to analyze mentor teacher advice and preservice teachers’ observations of mentor teachers teaching a mathematics lesson. The tool helped focus preservice teachers’ attention on language in the mathematics classrooms. Implications are identified for mentor and preservice teachers’ knowledge and skill development toward linguistically responsive teaching practices.

Experiences And Perceptions Of University Students And General And Special Educator Teacher Preparation Faculty Engaged In Collaboration And Co-Teaching Practices, Leila A. Ricci, Joan Fingon

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

General and special education faculty modeling co-teaching practices in teacher preparation programs can promote collaboration among future K-12 teachers serving children with diverse needs. This article describes the experiences and perceptions of 59 university students enrolled in teacher preparation reading courses with sessions co-taught by general education and special education faculty members at a large, Hispanic serving public urban university in Southern California. The courses included lessons on co-planning, co-instructing, and co-assessing in reading jointly taught by the general education and special education professors; class readings and activities on collaboration and co-teaching; and the opportunity for university students to co-plan …

Using A Place-Based Approach In Preparing Community Teachers For High-Need Schools, Joanne Carney, Marilyn Chu, Susan Donnelly, Marsha Riddle Buly, David Carroll

Journal of Educational Controversy

This case study describes actions and outcomes of a school-university partnership to better prepare teachers for high-need schools with large numbers of English Learners. Using a place-based approach to preparing community teachers, preservice and inservice teachers and teacher educators collaboratively learned how to work with families and community members to address student needs and developed core practices attuned to the socio-cultural context. The partnership also established a pathway to teaching for bilingual/bicultural students from the community. Data are derived from semi-structured interviews, focus groups, intern and teacher surveys, journal reflections, and a statewide teacher employment database.

Three Cases: Bridging The University-School-Community Divide Through Collaborative Learning And Innovative Uses Of Educational Technology, Joanne M. Carney, Paula Dagnon, Martha Thornburgh, Lori Sadzewicz, Chloe Unruh

Journal of Educational Controversy

The following three articles are presented together because each is a case study exploring a common theme: How the cultural and systemic differences between school and university might be bridged in partnership, as educators work together with community members to educate and promote the wellbeing of children. The cases show how personal relationships, collaborative learning, and innovative uses of technology can be fostered by “hanging out and joining in.”

Each of the cases has three levels of significance, which is in keeping with the nested contexts of partnership work: 1) teaching and learning with elementary students and their families, 2) …

From Worldviews To Classrooms: Framing Evolution Acceptance In Pre-Service Science Teachers In The Southeastern United States, Amanda Glaze

Georgia Educational Researcher

Research demonstrates that teachers' acceptance or rejection of evolution impacts whether they teach evolution in their classrooms. Furthermore, factors such as religiosity and nature of science understanding impact acceptance or rejection. What is absent from the literature is an exploration of experiences that inform choices made regarding acceptance or rejection, experiences that illuminate the counter-intuitive relationships demonstrated in quantitative studies. For this reason, we explore the lived experiences that inform the worldviews of Pre-Service Secondary Science Teachers (PSSTs) and how those worldviews might inform their acceptance or rejection of evolution. Coding and pattern analysis informed themes within the data explaining …

Early Career Teachers’ Knowledge And Practice In Spelling Instruction: Insights For Teacher Educators, Grace Oakley

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Children who cannot spell fluently are likely to encounter difficulty in writing texts across the curriculum. Furthermore, spelling is often a component in high stakes tests, the results of which have significant implications for students and schools. In the context of debates on teacher quality, it is pertinent to examine the views of early career teachers on their preparedness to teach spelling. This article reports on a small scale study on the views, knowledge and practices of early career teachers in relation to the teaching of spelling, and their views on their pre-service teacher preparation. Participants were early career teachers …

Issues Arising From The Use Of University Ilectures: A Case Study Of One Australian Campus, Toni J. Dobinson, Tatiana Bogachenko

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Australian universities have moved towards greater reliance on technology as a learning tool. The use of podcasts or recorded lectures (sometimes called ilectures) is now common practice in both on-campus and online modes. Using a qualitative approach to data collection which included recorded interviews, an online survey of open-ended questions and the researcher’s own reflections on using ilectures, this study investigated 1) the impact of ilectures on the teaching and learning practices of both academics and students 2) student attendance in recorded lectures and 3) the responses of lecturers and students to being recorded. Findings highlighted a mix of reactions …

Encouraging Teacher Candidates To Cultivate Habits Of Reflection, Amanda Wall

Becoming: Journal of the Georgia Association for Middle Level Education

The conceptual framework for the College of Education at Georgia Southern University is: Reflective Practitioners for a Diverse World. Three of the five Middle Level Teacher Preparation Standards from the Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE, 2012) also specify reflection as a habit. Standard 5 on Middle Level Professional Roles, for example, states: “Middle level teacher candidates understand, reflect on, and are successful in their unique roles as middle level professionals.” In order for teacher candidates to become reflective, they need multiple opportunities to engage in reflection.

Facilitating Discussion Of Theory And Practice In Education Seminars, Bailey Herrmann, Jessica R. Gallo

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Field experience seminars, discussion-based courses paired with school-based practicum experiences, provide a space for teacher candidates to discuss the theories they study in their university classes and the practices they observe and implement in their school placements. This article describes an action research study that examines teaching techniques that promote discussion in English education seminar courses. The purpose of this research was to collaboratively develop teaching approaches that would help teacher candidates bridge ideas about theory and practice in their development as aspiring teachers. The conversations that challenged the teacher candidates to think critically and theoretically about their classrooms were …

Factors Influencing The Evolution Of Vocational Teachers’ Beliefs And Practices Related To Classroom Management During Teacher Education, Céline Girardet, Jean-Louis Berger

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Two studies were conducted to investigate the evolution of 71 Swiss vocational teachers’ classroom management as a result of the inputs of a teacher education program, and to identify the factors that encouraged or impeded teacher change. Study 1 consisted of a longitudinal survey, and Study 2 of interviews. Longitudinal analyses were performed using a multilevel approach. This mixed-method study revealed that vocational teachers’ classroom management evolved towards the beliefs and practices encouraged by the teacher education program. Years of prior teaching experience and motivations for choosing teaching were found to moderate teachers’ evolutions. Moreover, influential people, providing alternative strategies …