Challenges in Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Elementary Settings with Math Instruction using Learning Technologies

This research effort reports the findings of an empirical study focusing on the ways in which technological tools are implemented specifically in mathematics education in a Title I school. The purpose was to identify the perspectives and actions of the school’s mathematics specialist and the multi-graded (grades 2–3) classroom teacher as they attempted to deliver instruction with technology for both English Language Learners¹ (ELL) and non-ELL students. Findings showed that a critical factor in access to mathematics education and technology for ELL students in a multi-graded 2–3 classroom in a Title I (K-5) school setting was language. Although potentially powerful technologies—analog (concrete objects) and digital (software) were used, many ELL students could not access the content solely because of language difficulties. Teachers used the concrete objects as modeling tools, to reveal students’ thinking, and for communication of foundational mathematics. Conversely, the software used served none of these functions because the available software did not do the kinds of things the manipulatives did, teachers’ knowledge of exemplary software was insufficient, the school used an impoverished model of technology integration, and teachers were constrained by the school district’s policies of English immersion for ELL students.This paper was presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, 2005, Montreal, Canada, on Tuesday, April 12, 2005, 4:05–5:35 pm, in Le Centre Sheraton Montreal/Salon 7, in a session titled, “Science and Mathematics Teaching for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students” sponsored by Division K-Teaching and Teacher Education/Section 1—Research on Teaching Practices, Teacher Knowledge, and Teacher Education in Math and Science.Tirupalavanam G. Ganesh is a December 2003 graduate of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Educational Media and Computers, Division of Curriculum and Instruction, at the College of Education, Arizona State University. He also holds a Master of Computer Science degree from Arizona State University. His teaching interests include graduate and undergraduate courses for in-service and pre-service teachers in the use of learning technologies for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and technology integration. His research interests include studying the impact of informal learning experiences in settings such as museums and after-school programs, technology integration, and teacher’s practices in elementary/middle schools. Address correspondence to Tirupalavanam G. Ganesh, Assistant Professor, Instructional Technology, College of Education, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Houston, 256 Farish Hall, Houston, TX 77204-5027. Tel.: +1-713-743-0574; e-mail: tganesh@uh.edu.James A. Middleton is Division Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the College of Education, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1992, in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His teaching interests include mathematics methods for secondary teachers and graduate courses in children’s mathematical thinking and technological innovation. His research interests include motivational processes in education, children’s mathematical thinking especially in the area of rational number and geometry, and technological innovation in mathematics instruction and assessment. James A. Middleton, Director, Division of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, Arizona State University, Box 871011, Tempe, AZ 85287-1011. Tel.: +1-480-965-9644; e-mail: james.middleton@asu.edu.     

Computer-Mediated Classrooms for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners

No abstract available for this article.     

Learning to Teach Through Teaching and Being Taught

Teacher shortage has been a problem in northern Norway for decades. The authorities have taken steps to stimulate the supply of teachers in these regions through economic incentives and decentralized or part‐time teacher education. The full effect of these measures cannot be fully evaluated till the early or middle 1990s. In this article, structure and assessments of first and second generation decentralized and part‐time teacher education are referred. Even though this approach to teacher education has been disputed, it now seems to be accepted by most interest groups. The main problems of these programs seem to be related to the pressures on students trying to fill multiple roles (student, part‐time teacher, mother), and the supervision of students.     

Developing Motivation to Teach Elementary Science: Effect of Collaborative and Authentic Learning Practices in Preservice Education

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Implementing Engineering in Diverse Upper Elementary and Middle School Science Classrooms: Student Learning and Attitudes

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Recent reforms in education call for science teachers to incorporate STEM concepts into their curricula. This study explores the association among...     

Inclusive Achievement Testing for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Test Takers: Essential Considerations for Test Developers and Decision Makers

Substantial growth in the numbers of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States and Canada in recent years has significantly affected the educational systems of both countries. This article focuses on critical issues and concerns related to the assessment of ELLs in U.S. and Canadian schools and emphasizes assessment approaches for test developers and decision makers that will facilitate increased equity, meaningfulness, and accuracy in assessment and accountability efforts. It begins by examining the crucial issue of defining ELLs as a group. Next, it examines the impact of testing originating from the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) in the U.S. and government‐mandated standards‐driven testing in Canada by briefly describing each country's respective legislated testing requirements and outlining their consequences at several levels. Finally, the authors identify key points that test developers and decision makers in both contexts should consider in testing this ever‐increasing group of students.     

Learning to Teach Elementary Mathematics: Ecological Elements of a Field Experience

Three elements of the ecology of a mathematics methodsfield experience were particularly important topromoting a shift in locus of authority thatprecipitated reflective thinking among the preserviceteachers: (a) an inquiry perspective, (b) the cohortgroup, and (c) school-university collaboration. Thearticle describes these three aspects of the ecologyof the field experience and provides the perspectivesof the mentor teacher, preservice teacher, and teachereducator. Also included are new challenges andproblems that arose with each aspect.     

Finding the Hook: Computer Science Education in Elementary Contexts

The purpose of this study was to investigate how elementary teachers with little knowledge of computer science (CS) and project-based learning (PBL) experienced integrating CS through PBL as a part of a standards-based elementary curriculum in Grades 3–5. The researchers used qualitative constant comparison methods on field notes and reflections to describe the teachers' participation in professional development to create CS-infused projects to be implemented with their students. Categories that emerged included standards integration, student autonomy, and challenges of infrastructure and time. The data are from the first 6 months of a 3-year, National Science Foundation-funded project. (Keywords: computer science, project-based learning, integration, elementary curriculum)     

Preparing Science Teachers for Culturally Diverse Students: Developing Cultural Literacy Through Cultural Immersion, Cultural Translators and Communities of Practice

This three year study of P-12 professional development is grounded in sociocultural theories that hold that building knowledge and relationships among individuals from different cultural backgrounds entails joint activity toward common goals and cultural dialogues mediated by cultural translators. Sixty P-12 pre and in-service teachers in a year long interdisciplinary science curriculum course shared the goal of developing culturally relevant, standards-based science curricula for Native Hawai'ian students. Teachers and Native Hawai'ian instructors lived and worked together during a five day culture-science immersion in rural school and community sites and met several times at school, university, and community sites to build knowledge and share programs. Teachers were deeply moved by immersion experiences, learned to connect cultural understandings, e.g., a Hawai'ian sense of place and curriculum development, and highly valued collaborating with peers on curriculum development and implementation. The study finds that long term professional development providing situated learning through cultural immersion, cultural translators, and interdisciplinary instruction supports the establishment of communities of practice in which participants develop the cross-cultural knowledge and literacy needed for the development of locally relevant, place and standards-based curricula and pedagogy.     

Learning to Read and Learning to Teach Reading

The National Curriculum for Initial Teacher Education in English is specific and detailed about the knowledge expected of primary teachers. Shulman (1987) argued that teachers transform this sort of subject content knowledge into something accessible and meaningful to their pupils and this knowledge is described as ‘pedagogic content knowledge’. Medwell et al. (1998) found that effective literacy teachers only knew literacy in the way that they taught it. The research project underpinning this article aimed to explore student teachers' conceptions of the teaching of reading in order to find out what they thought they were teaching when they taught reading. It was thought that the personal reading histories of the students would impact on their developing conceptions of teaching reading. This article traces one student, Gordon, through the year of his PGCE course. In the form of dialogue between Gordon and the researcher developing understanding is articulated. Three different types of reading are described: decoding, making meaning and engaging. Reading is seen as a transformative process, where the reader is both within and outside the text. This has implications both for the conception of reading contained within the curriculum and the way it is implemented within the classroom. A teacher can only introduce children to experiences and ways of reading that are known to herself. It is argued, therefore, that student teachers need to extend the boundaries of their own reading and so appreciate the wide range of ways in which meaning is constructed and readers are created.     

A Framework for Learning to Teach Science in Initial Primary Teacher Education

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Use of Culturally Diverse Books in Daycare

Culturally diverse books are written for children to promote acceptance of diversity; however, there is little research that has examined their use. The purpose of this study was to examine the culturally diverse book use of preschoolers in daycare. Research Findings. Thirty-five children (ages 44-65 months) and their teachers in two daycare classrooms participated. The children represented a variety of socioeconomic levels and raciaVcultura1 groups. Observations of book use were conducted during freeplay and naptime. In a multiple baseline time series experimental design, comparisons were made between the use of culturally diverse books and books depicting no cultural diversity (Euro-American books). It was determined that one category of culturally diverse books (Culturally Conscious) was not being used as frequently as others. The Culturally Conscious books depicted characters from one of three cultural groups—Black, Asian, and Latino. A simple intervention was implemented in which the teachers introduced some of the Culturally Conscious books at group times and this led to an increase in their use. Additional book use information was gained through parent questionnaires, teacher interviews, and teachers' anecdotal notes. Implications for Practice. In daycare centers similar to the ones used in this study, it is likely that children will use culturally diverse books when available. Teacher introductions of infrequently used culturally diverse books may be an efficient and effective practice for encouraging their use.     

Teaching and Learning Nature of Science in Elementary Classrooms

Science & Education - Our goal in this article is to provide research-based strategies for embedding Nature of Science (NOS) into science instruction at the elementary level. We thus intend to...     

Coteaching and Disturbances: Building a Better System for Learning to Teach Science

Science education research has examined the benefits of coteaching for learning to teach in elementary and secondary school contexts where coteachers bring variable levels of experience to the work of coteaching. Coteaching as a pedagogical strategy is being implemented at the university level but with limited research. Drawing from the field of activity theory and our emic experience as coteachers, we examine the enactment of coteaching in university science education courses. One of the tools central to our examination of coteaching included the analysis of disturbances in the work and object of preparing science teachers. This analysis highlighted the role, during discursive interactions, of problem posing and problem solving for addressing observed disturbances. The presence of an extra instructor provided increased opportunities in the system for recognizing and valuing disturbances as indicators of underlying contradictions or tensions in elements of the activity system of the learning and teaching of science teachers. Our analysis suggests that coteaching offers expanded opportunities for the evolution of the activity system of preparing science teachers.     

Waves: Scaffolding Self-regulated Learning to Teach Science in a Whole-Body Educational Game

Journal of Science Education and Technology - This study employed mixed methods to investigate the efficacy of scaffolding self-regulated learning prompts within a whole-body educational game,...     

Visualizing Culturally Relevant Science Pedagogy Through Photonarratives of Black Middle School Teachers

This study situated in a Southern resegregated Black middle school involved four Black teachers and two White science educators’ use of photonarratives to envision culturally relevant science pedagogy. Two questions guided the study: (1) What community referents are important for conceptualizing culturally relevant practices in Black science classrooms? and (2) How do teachers’ photonarratives serve to open conversations and notions of culturally relevant science practices? The research methodologically drew upon memory-work, Black feminism, critical theory, visual methodology, and narrative inquiry as “portraiture.” Issues of positionality and identity proved to be central to this work, as three luminaries portray Black teachers’ insights about supports and barriers to teaching and learning science. The community referents identified were associated with church and its oral traditions, inequities of the market place in meeting their basic human needs, and community spaces.     

Learning to Teach in Secondary College

English teaching in secondary colleges is quite different from the others. The individuality of the students and the vocational oriented training goal are the chief features. The key issues for the teachers in secondary colleges are learning to teach and make it a collaborative effort, reflective process, situated experience and theorizing opportunity.