Adoption of information communication technology by teacher educators: one-on-one coaching

Abstract

Research evidence suggests teacher educators who role model the use of information communication technology (ICT) in their practice help their students build confidence and competence as ICT users. This research finding is also supported by feedback from Louisiana Tech University students in teacher education. Research also indicates that a number of factors impact the adoption of ICT in the practice of teacher educators. This research has examined one of these factors, namely the benefits of one-on-one coaching for teacher educators by technology coaches as they worked together to learn to use technology. Participants included 33 teacher educators from Louisiana Tech University and 14 pre-service teachers. The pre-service teachers served as technology coaches and worked with the teacher educators in their offices and classrooms as they learned to use technology for their personal benefit and to integrate technology into their teaching. Interviews and observations indicated that coaches as well as teacher educators benefited from the relationship and both groups increased their technology competency.     

Towards a learning society in finland: information and communications technology in teacher education

Abstract

This article describes the recent development of Finland as a learning and information society. Education, training and research have been seen as core factors to accelerate development towards a society where all citizens have a high level of competence in using information and communications technology (ICT) in their lives. A short review is given of the present situation in schools and teacher education and of how governmental strategies have guided the development and use of ICT for a learning society in Finland. The strategies of teacher education departments in universities are then analysed with the main focus on how teachers learn to use ICT as a tool which opens up high-quality learning opportunities for pupils and challenges teachers' growth as professionals. Cases have been selected to describe good examples of teachers' pre-service and in-service education. These draw a picture of how ICT is applied in different fields of teacher education. At the end of the article some trends from the late 1990s to early 2002 will be summarised. These trends are: using ICT more as a mindtool, moving towards more collaboration, interactivity and active learning, more integration of ICT in curricula and a better technical and pedagogical infrastructure.     

Integrating the Educative Functions of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in teachers' and learners' toolboxes: a reflection on pedagogical benchmarks for ICT in teacher education

Abstract

The big question about pedagogical benchmarks for information and communications technology (ICT) in teacher training is whether they can be transferred to contexts other than the ones in which the benchmarks have been developed. In this article we reflect on the chances that the benchmarks presented will become really integrated within the heart of the learning and teaching process of teacher training programmes. To understand that process better, we reflect on the concept of professional learning and what that concept has to say about organisational learning and about how the integration process could be further developed. We propose a broad framework for actions of all actors involved: teacher training institutes, their partners (professional development schools), research and development agencies, the teacher trainers, the students, teachers in practice and their pupils. Only a concerted action of collaborative experimenting and professional learning on ICT integration in the learning and teaching processes can lead to the use of ICT as a catalyst for implementing learning arrangements that fit the expectations of the twenty-first century and its youth.     

Reading Content that Interests Seventh,Eighth, and Ninth Grade Students

Abstract

In view of the current interest in the role teacher expectations play in the education of children, teachers in charge of eighteen special classes for educable mentally retarded (EMR) children were asked to indicate their expectations for each of their students for the year ahead. Tests administered at the beginning and end of a 3-semester period disclosed no statistical relationship between expectations and academic achievement.     

A framework for Information and Communication Technology integration in schools through teacher professional development

Abstract

The demands of the twenty-first century require effective and sustainable use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in education. Various ICT strategies and initiatives across South Africa have not resulted in system-wide, sustainable ICT integration in schools. Although the roles of principals are acknowledged in educational management, the question remains how principals influence teachers' effective and sustainable integration of ICT through teacher professional development (TPD). A matrix of theoretical criteria selected seven participants across diverse contexts. In-depth interviews produced an integrated dataset that revealed principals' patterns of influence, their perceptions and experiences, their leadership and management styles, their attitudes towards ICT integration, their knowledge on related ICT and related TPD issues, as well as their strategic thinking on ICT integration. The proposed theoretical framework illustrates the interrelatedness of aspects that influence principals' leadership through open distance learning.     

Computer-aided graphing: a comparative study

Abstract

Good practice with information and communication technologies (ICT) in teacher education is responsive to its society's needs. This article provides a complementary view to those from Europe and elsewhere in the world from the perspective of federal USA, with this nation's localised support for K-12 schools. It is part of the quick-scan study in 2002 led by Paul Kirschner of the Open University of the Netherlands. Five teacher education programmes were selected to illustrate best practice with technology (as ICT is called in the USA) in US teacher education. Although the ICT benchmarks described by Kirschner & Davis (this issue) were present in every case, a better distinguishing factor was that all had a mission to serve their diverse communities. In addition, these programmes provide complementary professional development in the schools in which pre-service students gain internships. The review of best practice comes after 3 years of significant federal funding provided through the Federal Department of Education's initiative: ‘Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to use Technology’ (PT3∥. Strategic planning for this initiative by government agencies and professional organisations is also described. It is noted that there is still much work to be done towards social justice and digital equity within and beyond the USA.     

Making Information and Communications Technology Work

Abstract

This article describes the consequences of using an assessment portfolio as a means of implementing information and communications technology (ICT) in initial teacher education. The study involved a group of 18 mathematics student teachers both during their training year and in their first year of teaching. The results suggest that the aim of motivating them to use ICT in teaching mathematics was achieved, but the students did not value the portfolio per se. It seems that it needs to be made a more formative experience if it is to fulfil its potential.     

Technology in Teacher Education: examples of integration and implementation in early childhood courses

Abstract

This article explores a number of ways in which information and communications technologies (ICT) have been incorporated and integrated in a teacher education program in order to extend opportunities for students to interact with ICT as part of their preparation for becoming early childhood professionals. It describes three examples where ICT have been utilised in different contexts to promote understanding of the implications of technologies in educational settings, to engage students with powerful conceptual ideas and as a means of communication between students on campus and those in remote areas. The examples reveal that both undergraduate and graduate students indicated that they were at a novice stage of use and understanding before embarking on the courses. In addition, the examples show that participation in the courses helped students to come to terms with computer technology as a device that could help them both to acquire new forms of knowledge as well as extend the possibilities for interactions with other early childhood professionals who were located in remote areas. The examples also highlighted the need for teacher educators to become aware of the variety of ways in which ICT can complement and extend teaching and learning contexts in new and dynamic ways rather than be used to perpetuate existing pedagogical strategies that need to be reconceptualized in the information age.     

Social representations and uses of technologies of African high-school students

ABSTRACT

This article examines social representations of information and communications technologies (ICT) in high school students in Niamey, Niger, and explores whether these representations are determined by training in and regular use of ICT. A sample of 50 students attending two lycées1 was studied. Only one lycée offered computer courses. The results of semi-directed interviews show that whether or not they took computer courses, the students developed social representations of ICT. These representations were associated with favourable attitudes toward computer and Internet use at school. The chi-square test hypothesis shows that students’ social representations of ICT were not determined by training in ICT.     

Students' information and communications technology skills and their use during teacher training

Abstract

Two surveys of the 1997–98 cohort of Postgraduate Certificate of Education students in the United Kingdom showed that students had a wide range of information and communications technology (ICT) skills at the start of their course; much of their experience had been gained during their undergraduate studies or at home. They also had considerable enthusiasm for learning more skills and using them in their future careers as teachers. However, as many other researchers have also found, students were not always able to transfer their skills to use in the classroom, although they very often used them in preparing both classroom materials and assessed coursework. Significant differences in ICT use were found between students studying different subjects; availability of ICT facilities in schools (varying between subjects) also affected use of ICT. The results are discussed in terms of attitudes to ICT in schools.     

Teacher expectations in a university setting: the perspectives of teachers

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to investigate the bases of teacher expectations in higher education. The first author interviewed 20 university teachers from an English-as-a-foreign-language course, exploring their expectations for the first-year undergraduates in their classes. The grounded theory method was adopted to analyse the data that had been collected. The results showed that for this sample of 20 teachers, student characteristics were important contributing factors to their expectations in the teachers’ university settings. The factors the teachers considered important included students’ (a) prior academic achievement, (b) motivation, (c) study skills, and (d) academic discipline. Also, teacher characteristics were found to be another major source of these university teachers’ expectations, including teachers’ (a) past teaching and learning experience and (b) teaching self-efficacy. The findings suggested that the bases of teacher expectations in higher education may differ from those at the elementary or secondary school level.     

Teacher expectation effects on need-supportive teaching,student motivation,and engagement: a self-determination perspective

ABSTRACT

Previous research has shown that teachers differentiate their behaviour based on their expectations of students. Self-determination theory (SDT) makes explicit how teacher behaviour relates to students’ motivation and engagement, namely, via need-supportive teaching. In the present study, we combined both research traditions and examined associations of teacher expectations with need-supportive teaching and thereby students’ motivation and engagement. Two-hundred-and-seventy-six secondary school students and their teachers (N?=?11) completed questionnaires. The results indicated that teacher expectations were moderately but positively associated with students’ intrinsic motivation and engagement, and negatively with amotivation. These relationships were fully mediated, although with small effect sizes, by need-supportive teaching. These findings highlight the value of combining research on teacher expectations and SDT, to gain further understanding of how teacher expectations may cause teachers to provide more need support to some students than to others, thereby affecting students’ motivation and engagement.     

Computer skills of initial teacher education students

Abstract

A constant challenge for teacher education lies in keeping courses up to date. This article provides a view of the current skills, attitudes, and perceptions regarding computer technology in the classroom from a preservice candidate perspective. The intent of this research is to help foster discussion about how to further develop pre-service educational technology courses that best meet the needs of a continuously evolving and changing student-teacher population in terms of computer technology skills. The primary instrument was a self-assessment survey of the skills, attitudes, and perceptions about utilizing computer technology in the classroom among firsttime students enrolled in introductory education courses at a large midwestern university in the USA in the fall semester of 1999. Surveys were administered to a total of 205 students. Questionnaires were given to preservice teachers during their initial courses rather than mailed to their homes, in an attempt to increase participation rates. Participants were categorized as being either a ‘Beginner’ or ‘Experienced User’ of computer technology, based on their responses to the skill section of the survey. The article includes an overview of the results and segments them as they pertain to three general issues: general attitudes with regards to teaching with computer technology, intended use of computers when beginning to teach, and perceived problems to be expected with computer technology when beginning to teach. Finally, an informal discussion regarding student expectations of future teacher training programs and the corresponding implications for school districts are presented from the free-response section of the questionnaire.     

ETAS: an instrument for measuring attitudes towards learning English with technology

ABSTRACT

Information and communication technology (ICT) increasingly is utilised in second-level English education, aiming to engage students, yet quantitative instruments for evaluating the impact of technology-mediated learning experiences are lacking. This article presents the rationale, development and psychometric analysis of the English and Technology Attitudes Scale (ETAS): a 19-item instrument designed to evaluate students’ attitudes towards English and technology and monitor changes. Five constructs are measured: behavioural engagement; technology confidence; English confidence; emotional engagement; and learning with technology. Using the ETAS, this study revealed insights to Irish students’ (n = 419) attitudes that can inform approaches to teaching and learning with ICT. Despite strong technology confidence, a high proportion of students report poor attitudes towards learning English with technology. Moreover, males have significantly more positive attitudes towards learning English with technology, yet females have significantly higher engagement in English. These findings demonstrate both the need for and the usefulness of this instrument.     

Social Reinforcement Counseling as an Adjunct to a Course in Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine what effects social reinforcement counseling has on attitudes toward teaching and accuracy of teacher attitude self-estimation held by beginning education students. Teacher attitudes were assessed by the MTAI. Seventy-eight education students at the Ohio State University were randomly divided into three groups that received individual counseling, group counseling, and no counseling for four sessions with social reinforcement as the major technique. The results of the study lend support to conclusions which follow. First, social reinforcement counseling in individual or group setting is more effective for changing attitudes toward teaching, but not effective for increasing students' accuracy of self-estimated teacher attitudes. Second, social reinforcement counseling in groups is as effective as individual counseling for changing MTAI scores of beginning education students.     

Training Research Workers

ABSTRACT

The authors investigated and compared Brunei trainee teachers’ attitudes to specific disabilities and students with high support needs. The random sample consisted of 89 participants of both genders on 2 teacher education programs. Data were collected using a 3-part self-report instrument constructed by the researchers. Overall, the participants supported inclusion but were not in favor of accommodating students with sensory, mental, challenging behaviors, and multiple disabilities. Such students tend to have high support needs. Moreover, there were no significant differences in attitudes to inclusion and specific disabilities between the genders and types of programs. Future teacher training programs should develop and foster more positive attitudes toward the integration of students with less favorable disabilities and high support needs.     

Negotiating contrad(ICT)ions: teachers and students making multimedia in the secondary school

Abstract

In this article, we investigate the use of multimedia information and communication technologies (ICTs) in integrated arts projects in two secondary schools. The ways in which teachers and students make sense of the technologies in relation to the dominant discourses of education/technology policy and educational research are explored before considering the implications for curriculum and teacher development. The ICT in the word contrad(ICT)ions is emphasised to represent the ways in which teachers and students' use of multimedia exposes and makes visible problematic issues in relation to literacy, school subjects and pedagogy.     

Pedagogic Benchmarks for Information and Communications Technology in Teacher Education

Abstract

This article analyses the required content and strategies of information and communications technology (ICT) training for teachers in terms of learning to know, learning to do, learning to live with each other and with others, and learning to be. We conclude that the fast-changing role and nature of ICT in education, combined with the low level of penetration of ICT into present educational practices, requires a strategy that includes three aspects. These aspects are the training of students within teacher training institutions, the high-level implementation of ICT in schools as a joint effort by students, schools and teacher training institutions, and the formation of cooperating communities of practice to ensure the continued flow of emerging knowledge and practices to the educational field. Special attention should be given to unwanted and unforeseen side effects that may affect pupils' lives today and in the future.     

Teachers as Designers of Learning Environments

Abstract

This study examined how six Singapore teachers approached the design and implementation of a unit of work (topic) to demonstrate exemplary classroom practices that engage learners and use ICT in knowledge-generative rather than presentational activities. After a reflection and feedback session on the first lesson observation involving the researcher and the teacher, the teacher redesigned the lesson to enhance ICT use and involve students more actively in their learning. Our study revealed that there is a difference between students' physical engagement and cognitive engagement in a task and that the teacher, as a designer of the learning environment, needs to make explicit the cognitive processes involved in using the tool to ensure students' effective use of ICT. The teachers' understanding of what constitutes effective learning and their roles in students' learning determine how they design the learning environment. In essence, it is the teacher's skill in managing the “tripartite” partnership of IT tool, learning task, and teacher support that brings about higher levels of student engagement.