Teacher Education and the Integration of Technology: a reading and language arts perspective

ABSTRACT

Teachers are increasingly expected to employ integrated technology practices in their classrooms to help students learn more, better, faster and cheaper. Unfortunately, teachers generally have not been provided education or training on how to employ these technology practices. Attempting to get integrated technology practices into pre‐service and in‐service teacher education, especially in reading and language arts, is at the core of this article. An overview of technology integration is provided along with discussions about: (a) goals and content for teacher education courses or training, (b) research on integrating technology into reading and language arts education, (c) integration without education and training, and finally (d) issues that affect integration.     

Discoursing Education Reforms: A Case Study of Post-Handover Education Development in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study adopted a discursive institutional framework to examine how teachers make sense of and understand transformation in their work and workplace during education reforms. Examination of this process is highly significant because it helps us to understand the often misplaced emphasis on workload in analysis of teachers’ work pressure in public and academic discussions, which might not reflect the whole picture. In-depth interviews were used to obtain information from the teachers’ perspective as front-line practitioners in the education institution. The study identified the discursive processes contributing to the institutionalization of new ideas and practices introduced during education reforms. This article argues that through situating teachers’ response to the reform in the relevant sociohistorical context, we can better delineate how meaning negotiation is possible in the moment of institutional change.     

Disposition assessment in teacher education: A framework and instrument for assessing technology disposition

Abstract

This study proposes and verifies the concept of a technology disposition in teacher education, which is comprised of predisposition and competence. It examines the reliability and validity of a measure of the technology disposition of teacher education students, the Technology Disposition Scale for Teacher Education Students (TDS‐T). The TDS‐T is comprised of two subscales: technology predisposition and technology competence. In this study, the TDS‐T was completed by 656 teacher education students. Results showed the proposed disposition model of predisposition and competence had significant relationships with gender and class year. Male students had significantly higher overall technology disposition scores than did female students, but these differences were due to the male students' strong self‐concept, especially self‐confidence. Students technology competence level was significantly higher for seniors than for sophomores, and the overall technology disposition scores significantly increased from students' junior to senior years. The TDS‐T demonstrated content validity through factor analysis and convergent and discriminate validity through item analysis. The value for Cronbach's alpha was .93, indicating highly satisfactory reliability.     

Deploying Warrants,Producing Policy: A Self-Study of Teacher Education Policy Discussions

ABSTRACT

The practice of teacher education is inextricably linked to the policy environment in which it occurs. Calls by policymakers and politicians for accountability measures, standardization and performance assessments are efforts to influence the direction of the preparation of educators. In this self-study, I examine my participation in a state-level teacher education policy decision-making body in the United States in order to illuminate how policy decisions are made about teacher education. More specifically, I discuss the kinds of warrants about teacher education practice that I deployed as I navigated the political and practical consequences of policy decisions. This study serves not only to illuminate the nature of policy discussions in teacher education, but also to encourage teacher educators to engage directly the policy-making arenas that implicitly and explicitly influence their work.     

JEREMY BENTHAM,THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND,AND THE FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES OF THE NATIONAL SCHOOLS SOCIETY

The German medieval universities entered the picture late but abo as a new type. Territorial rulers, city authorities and their boards combined the older types of Bologna and Paris and out of them formed the new “German type”: the Four‐faculties‐University which was forced to tolerate not only the different branches in one and the same “universitas” but moreover the enormous differences relating to the social backgrounds of lawyers, theologians, medical doctors and men of arts. The territorial structure of the Holy Roman Empire finally explains the fast growing number of universities. The rulers, however, were concerned about increasing the prestige and profit of their dynasties and rule rather than about general education and science. University studies and education nevertheless introduced one of the most momentous processes of innovation in Germany. Until the Reformation more than 250000 persons had attended the universities, about 80 percent as men of liberal arts however. This fact has to be kept in mind when dealing with a comparative history of education in Europe.

*This contribution is concieved as an essay, as a state of the art. It is based on a selection of older and recent works mentioned in the select bibliography at the end of the article and on proper reflection. Therefore, I omitted to add notes to the text.     

Using picture books to develop critical visual literacy in primary schools: challenges of a dialogic approach

This paper presents findings from a collaborative project on critical visual literacy in primary schools. In the project, we (a researcher and a teacher) implemented a series of picture book discussions with children in years 5 and 6. Our first aim was to develop the children's ability to analyse the visual images in picture books and how authors/illustrators use these, together with writing, to communicate specific ideas. The second aim was to promote a dialogic lesson in which the children would lead the talk. In the paper, I discuss the challenges we faced in reaching our aims. My data include observation notes and audio recordings of the sessions and of discussions with the children. In the analysis, I examine the roles we took on, for example, as extenders and clarifiers of the children's talk. However, unbeknown to us at the start, our two project aims turned out to be in conflict with each other. While the children enjoyed looking closely at the pictures and discussing the books' possible meanings, without repeated questions and prompts, they focused on the book as story not on how it was constructed by the author and illustrator. This required a more teacher‐focused approach than what we had planned.     

Barriers to distance education: A factor‐analytic study

Abstract

This article reports on a large‐scale (n = 2,504), exploratory factor analysis that determined the underlying constructs that comprise barriers to distance education. The ten factors found were (1) administrative structure, (2) organizational change, (3) technical expertise, (4) social interaction and quality, (5) faculty compensation and time, (6) threat of technology, (7) legal issues, (8) evaluation/effectiveness, (9) access, and (10) student‐support services.     

Writing Activities Can Improve Learning in Computer Science Courses

Those of us who teach computer science courses, especially upper division courses, face a difficult pedagogical problem. What kind of activities can we provide that will help our students progress beyond the superficial level of learning yet another collection of disjointed facts and procedures? The literature on writing strongly suggests that writing assignments can help the students master difficult concepts and develop the higher level skills that should be part of their education. Short, narrowly focused writing assignments have been used effectively to supplement a wide range of computer science courses. Holistic grading and follow‐up discussions can reduce the grading burden without sacrificing the quality of the feedback.     

Program reflections on the role of longitudinal digital portfolios in the development of technology competence

Abstract

Digital portfolios in teacher education provide opportunities to conceptualize learning and growth over time. The digital portfolio experiences of two secondary teacher education students in the context of an entire preservice teaching experience are presented. These vignettes, along with programmatic observations from the past four years, indicate that high‐level uses of educational technology are difficult to facilitate in large teacher education programs using a technology infusion model that emphasizes general skills. Whereas many teacher education programs have abandoned required technology courses to jump start National Educational Technology Standards‐based competence, the authors argue that advanced courses in educational technology for teacher education majors are still necessary for curricular integration with technology. This article concludes with a discussion of the nature and level of technology competence in relation to portfolio development and makes recommendations for how programs might pursue similar models.     

The social construction of time in contemporary education: implications for technology,equality and Bernstein’s ‘conditions for democracy’

Abstract

This article discusses how the introduction of technology has led to a fundamental shift in the relationship between education and time. As a means of analysing the extent of such changes on pupils from different backgrounds, I use Bernstein’s ‘conditions for democracy’ as a framework for evaluating the impact new understandings of time in education are having on disadvantaged social groups in England. I conclude that Bernstein’s framework presents a useful way of illuminating the complex interplay of personal agency and the external environment. Consequently, here we see that new definitions of time in education, specifically with regard to synchronous versus asynchronous learning, have resulted in new inequalities for those in deprived areas.     

Computer self‐efficacy,academic self‐concept,and other predictors of satisfaction and future participation of adult distance learners

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a predictive model of satisfaction of adult learners in a Web‐based distance education course and their intent to participate in future Web‐based distance education courses. The factors examined were computer self‐efficacy, academic self‐concept, age, gender, academic status, years of computer use, frequency of computer use, computer training, Internet experience in a class, and participation in a workshop for a Web‐based course. Computer self‐efficacy was the only predictor variable that was statistically significant. There was a positive relationship between learners' satisfaction with their Web‐based distance education courses and their intent to participate in future Web‐based courses.     

Revealing the research ‘hole’ of early childhood education for sustainability: a preliminary survey of the literature

In 2007, Environmental Education Research dedicated a special issue to childhood and environmental education. This paper makes a case for ‘early childhood’ to also be in the discussions. Here, I am referring to early childhood as the before‐school years, focusing on educational settings such as childcare centres and kindergartens. This sector is one of the research ‘holes’ that Reid and Scott ask the environmental education community to have the ‘courage to discuss’. This paper draws on a survey of Australian and international research journals in environmental education and early childhood education seeking studies at their intersection. Few were found. Some studies explored young children’s relationships with nature (education in the environment). A smaller number discussed young children’s understandings of environmental topics (education about the environment). Hardly any centred on young children as agents of change (education for the environment). At a time when there is a growing literature showing that early investments in human capital offer substantial returns to individuals and communities and have a far‐reaching effect – and when early childhood educators are beginning to engage with sustainability – it is vital that our field responds. This paper calls for urgent action – especially for research – to address the gap.     

Frailty in transition? Troubling the norms,boundaries and limitations of transition theory and practice

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on ‘transition’ and how it is understood within higher education. Drawing on data from concept map-mediated interviews at two institutions, we examine the conceptions of transition held by academic and professional staff, who work to support students’ learning into and through higher education. We suggest that normative understandings of transition often draw upon a grand-narrative that orchestrates and reiterates a stereotypic understanding of students’ experiences. Often this narrative involves students’ interpellation into a field of discourse where the subject is constructed as both homogeneous and in deficit: ill-prepared, lacking in independence, as vulnerable and in need of support. However, this study suggests that beneath this discourse lies a more nuanced picture: one where students’ experiences can be conceptualised as diverse and fluid. Moreover, we employ the concept of pedagogic ‘frailty’ to expose the significance of the environments and wider contexts in which students ‘transition’, and to explore the impact of systemic tensions upon students’ experiences. This article further argues that future research should shift discussions away from the deficits of students, and examine how we can make underlying environmental and systemic challenges more explicit, in order to widen our understanding and discussions of these constraints.     

Understanding the experiences of bilingual,Latino/a adolescents: Voices from gifted and general education

Eight gifted and eight general‐education students engaged in discussions regarding their observations of, experiences in, and recommendations for education. Six categories emerged through qualitative analysis of their conversations. These categories include: problem solving, task commitment, self‐perceptions, education, communication, and discrimination. Content within each category provides a glimpse into the students’ perceptions of their schooling experiences. The roles of ethnic identity development, identification with majority culture, adolescence, and gifted‐ness are examined and recommendations for future research are provided.     

The Effects of Preschool Education: Some American and British Evidence

ABSTRACT

Tensions between schools and the outside world have often arisen out of the lack of contiguity between the aims of child‐centred education and the demands of society on education. Technology now offers the opportunity for neutralising these tensions; it is argued that technology confers on individuals more autonomy and reduces the power of the large organisation by exposing the weaknesses inherent in its structure; as society becomes more individual‐centred the logic of child‐centred education will become more clearly apparent. Yet education in its perception of the effects of technological change is short‐sighted and its response is marked by a kind of stereotypy. Some reasons for education's difficulties in understanding the effects of technological change are advanced while some developments in schools are identified as positive reflections of technologically‐induced change. It is suggested that recognition and understanding of the processes underlying these developments is necessary if we are to promote the benefits to be derived from the new changes.     

Raising the bar: Encouraging high level thinking in online discussion forums

More universities are offering online instruction for students though we know little about effective online learning. Some have found online instruction increases student participation while others have reported that students prefer the traditional face‐to‐face format This study of gifted education graduate students follows the expectation that online students ought to have time to be more thoughtful with online course interactions as compared to the time‐constrained interactions in a face‐to‐face course. Researchers evaluated students’ thinking levels (as per Bloom's Taxonomy) in the online discussion forums required by a graduate course in gifted education. Results indicate there was no relationship between the level of the prompt and the level of the responses. Higher level prompts did not necessarily generate higher level responses. The research‐developed Rubric for Evaluation of Online Discussions can be used both as an instructional guide and as an evaluation rubric to assess the level of online discussions.     

International Collaborations in Teacher Education: a constructivist approach to using electronic mail for communication in partnership with schools

ABSTRACT

This article deals with collaborative projects carried out in co‐operation with teacher‐training/Higher Education institutions and schools around the world. Partners for these links included the University of Helsinki (Finland), City College (New York, USA), the Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russia) and the University of Oldenburg (Germany). A rationale is offered for the use of telecommunications, especially electronic mail, in co‐operative projects of this kind and the potential is explored for further networks with research and development aspects. The article draws upon previous presentations and discussions at conferences in Germany, Australia, USA and the United Kingdom. Recent developments concerning links between initial teacher education and schools in Britain are examined briefly and suggestions offered for ways in which electronic mail can facilitate such links.     

Diesterweg und das Problem der deutschen Nationalerziehung

National education plans, published in Germany in the first half of the nineteenth century, expressed the developing political consciousness of the middle classes who wanted to create conditions favourable for the development of national unity through education and learning in the face of existing resistance. Diesterweg's national pedagogical reflections can be seen within this context. If we look at his statements on this subject and the associated attempts to define German identity, we can find in Diesterweg's publications from 1848 onwards a development, which is characterised by a more and more idealised picture of the German nation and subsequently a distinct devaluation of neighbouring peoples. The glorification of the specifically German is legitimised by the special value of national descent and some seemingly unchangeable national characteristics, achievements, and values. Diesterweg's publications on German national education also reveal the sort of inheritance which is connected with the so‐called liberal education of the 19th century in Germany and often is only seen under the limited aspect of pedagogical reform concepts and progressive political and social positions.

     

General studies in the pre‐employment course: The Ballymun experience, 1971–1981

Abstract

In this paper we use the lens of an emerging research method in education called “design research” to address questions raised by Sugrue and Uí Thuama (1994) about the lack of strong linkages between research and classroom practice in Irish education. We provide context for this question by contrasting it with similar discussions in the US and UK about research quality in education. Next we elaborate a framework from one member of the design research community in educational research (Bannan‐Ritland, 2003) to show why some varieties of educational research may have little to offer practice at least directly and in the short term. Finally, we offer insight from Lesson Study in Japan (Lewis, 2002) as one possible solution to the problem of research and practice alignment.     

New trends in science education

I intend to review the main contributions from the impressive developments made in science education research during the last decade. These developments have made the construction of a coherent body of knowledge possible allowing us to expect a significant improvement in the science teaching/learning process. I shall refer, in particular, to the new trends in science education research, both in the domain of science learning and science teacher‐training.