Facilitating Students’ Problem Solving in a Technological Context: Prospective Teachers’ Learning Trajectory

In the past decade, there has been an increased emphasis on the preparation of teachers who can effectively engage students in meaningful mathematics with technology tools. This study presents a closer look at how three prospective teachers interpreted and developed in their role of facilitating students’ mathematical problem solving with a technology tool. A cycle of planning–experience–reflection was repeated twice during an undergraduate course to allow the prospective teachers to change their strategies when working with two different groups of students. Case study methods were used to identify and analyze critical events that occurred throughout the different phases of the study and how these events may have influenced the prospective teachers’ work with students. Looking across the cases, several themes emerged. The prospective teachers (1) used their problem solving approaches to influence their pedagogical decisions; (2) desired to ask questions that would guide students in their solution strategies; (3) recognized their own struggle in facilitating students’ problem solving and focused on improving their interactions with students; (4) assumed the role of an explainer for some portion of their work with students; (5) used technological representations to promote students’ mathematical thinking or focus their attention; and (6) used the technology tools in ways consistent with the nature of their interactions and perceived role with students. The implications inform the development of an expanded learning trajectory for what we might expect as prospective teachers develop an understanding of how to teach mathematics in technology-rich environments.     

Preparing pre-service teachers to integrate technology into K–12 instruction: evaluation of a technology-infused approach

The quality of how technology is addressed in teacher education programmes is conditional for how student teachers apply technology in secondary schools after their graduation. Two technology-infused courses of one teacher education programme were evaluated. In line with studies on the development of pre-service teachers’ technological, pedagogical and content knowledge, two important enablers were distinguished: (1) teaching practice to enact what was learned in teacher education institution as well as to receive feedback from students on this enactment, and (2) modelling of teacher educators and teachers in school. Both enablers might require further development of knowledge and skills of both teacher educators and cooperating school teachers.     

Exploring pre-service secondary teachers’ understanding of care

Care in teaching has been widely investigated; however, little research has sought secondary pre-service teachers’ understandings of caring and their potential responsibility to care for students. Accordingly, semi-structured interviews were employed with four focus groups, involving 12 (2 male and 10 female) participants. Data were analysed within a qualitative paradigm using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and inter-rater reliability. Five overlapping themes were identified, and although many tensions around the ambiguities of establishing appropriate boundaries to care were shown, caring was deemed central by the participants to being effective teachers. Overall, pre-service secondary teachers agreed that neither pedagogy nor discipline strategy would be effective without care. Training implications and suggestions for future research conclude this paper.     

Pre-service teachers’ TPACK competencies for spreadsheet integration: insights from a mathematics-specific instructional technology course

This article explored the impact of strategies applied in a mathematics instructional technology course for developing technology integration competencies, in particular in the use of spreadsheets, in pre-service teachers. In this respect, 104 pre-service mathematics teachers from a teacher training programme in Ghana enrolled in the mathematics instructional technology course for one semester. Strategies applied in designing the course were: aligning theory and practice, collaborative design, learning technology by design, modelling how to use technology and scaffolding authentic technology experiences. The pre-service teachers’ technology integration competencies were assessed through analysis of lesson plans and lesson observations, their self-reported technological pedagogical content knowledge and attitudes towards technology. Findings show that pre-service teachers’ technology integration competencies improved after participation in the course. All strategies were considered important, but in particular, scaffolding authentic technology experiences including feedback from teaching try-outs made significant contributions to the pre-service teachers’ developed technology integration competencies. The study provides guidelines that can serve as a benchmark for implementing strategies in the design of a subject-specific teacher education programme in preparing pre-service teachers to integrate technology in teaching.     

Pre-service teachers’ assessment literacy and its implementation into practice

This research study was conducted to address pre-service physics teachers’ assessment literacy and its implementation into practice. The research was both quantitative and qualitative in nature. For the quantitative aspect of the study, the researchers determined the participants’ assessment literacy after their enrolment with the assessment course. Intentions of the qualitative part were to validate the results drawn from the quantitative research and to examine the participants’ assessment literacy in the practical realm. Data were collected by using a valid and reliable instrument developed by the first author, a questionnaire and the participants’ project assignment including implementation of assessment. According to the quantitative results, the pre-service physics teachers’ assessment literacy was quite high. Findings obtained from the qualitative analyses were compatible with the quantitative results. However, the study revealed gaps between assessment literacy in theory and practice. This study suggests that teacher education programmes should highlight theories of assessment as well as types of evaluation, stress validity and reliability of assessment enabling students to engage in both traditional and performance-based assessment methods, and provide opportunities for students to reflect, practice, and revise these methods.     

职前教师教育中视频案例教学的研究

在职前教师教育中采用视频案例教学是发展师范生教学技能和提高教师专业能力的一个新方法。本文在梳理教师教育中视频案例教学重要概念的基础上,考察了国内外教师教育中视频案例教学研究的现状,最后作者提出了应用于职前教师教育中的视频案例学习环境创设框架,它包括有机联系的六个要素:案例与资源、活动、工具、支架、共同体和评价。     

国外教师职前培养特点及其启示

教师职前培养是教师教育的核心组成部分,其发展状况直接影响着教师教育质量和教师专业化发展水平。在对当今世界发达国家教师职前培养入学条件、教师标准、课程体系、教育实践方式和教师资格制度等各方面特点进行总结和概括的基础上,结合中国教师职前培养现状,从中剥离出有益于中国教师教育改革的诸多经验,提出对教师教育的入学条件进行限制、确立专业化的教师标准体系、完善教师教育课程体系、加重实习的力度和完善教师资格制度等方面的改善措施,旨在借此启示中国教师职前培养的发展与完善。     

美、加、澳初任教师专业标准及其对我国教师教育的启示

初任教师的专业标准实际上就是新教师的入职门槛,对教师教育具有重要的导向作用。各国的初任教师专业标准既有共同性,都注重专业知识、专业实践、专业责任、持续学习诸方面,又各有特色:美国《InTASC示范核心教学标准》重视发展性、加拿大安大略省《专业实践基础》重视实践性、《澳大利亚初任教师教育项目认证:标准和程序》则具体而易操作。以上三国的初任教师专业标准,对中国教师专业标准的制定以及职前教师教育培养目标的完善有积极的启示作用。     

基于卓越教师培养的职前教育实践模式构建

卓越教师培养是当代我国教师教育的新主题,实践取向是我国教师教育改革的核心理念。教育实践是培养未来卓越教师的重要环节。教育实践具有主体性、情景性、智慧性、反思性、本体性等品性。教育实践以教育理论为前提,教育理论指导教育实践,教育实践与教育理论深度融合。构建职前教师教育实践模式,需要创新教育实践机制,建设教师教育协同创新体;完善教育实践内容,构建实践导向的教师教育课程体系;统筹教育实践时间,使教育实践贯穿大学教育的始终;拓展教育实践空间,建立多种类型的教育实践基地;创新实践教学方法,提升实践教学质量。     

新西兰职前技术教师教育框架述评及启示

开设适合的技术类课程以应对当前技术教育不断发展的新形势是师范院校亟待解决的关键问题。新西兰职前技术教师教育框架是奥克兰大学、梅西大学等六所高校共同开发的一个共享资源,旨在支持六所高校在职前技术教育方面保持信息一致,提升职前技术教师教育质量。该框架由技术哲学、技术教育的原理、技术课程和技术教学四个关键要素组成,在强调技术知识和技术教学知识的同时,关注技术价值观和目的观教育,并提供相应素材支持课程开发与实施。新西兰职前技术教师教育框架对我国技术教师教育具有重要启示。     

Emotional identification with teacher identities in student teachers’ narrative interaction

The paper suggests that narrative interaction in student teacher peer groups is an important context for emotional identification with culturally available teacher identities. It addresses issues pointed out as problematic in research on teacher identity formation: focus on the individual and the underestimation of context. A positioning analysis of narrative interaction in a conversation between two student teachers depicts the ways in which they express and negotiate feelings related to out loud reading. The results show that this approach can be a complement to the extensive body of knowledge on the place of emotions in teacher identity formation as it shows how emotions are negotiated among student teachers in a way that challenges the predominant focus on individual students’ expressions of emotions.     

Pre-service teachers’ use of metaphors for mentoring relationships

The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teachers’ and their mentor teachers’ metaphorical images of their mentoring relationships and the extent to which the participants changed their metaphors as they went through their practicum experience. Three rounds of interviews were conducted with seven secondary pre-service teachers over a one-year Graduate-Diploma of Education Course; at the outset of the programme, at the end of the first placement and at the end of the second placement. Thirteen Mentor teachers were also interviewed at the beginning and end of each placement. The findings indicated that the metaphors the two groups initially constructed significantly overlapped and focused on interpersonal relationships and providing guidance and support. Also, some changes were observed in the metaphors used by the two groups depending on their mentoring experiences. Implications for mentor teachers and teacher education are discussed.     

Exploring pre-service teachers’ justifications for one-to-one technology use in schools: implications for initial teacher education

ABSTRACT

Set against the backdrop of a succession of educational technology policies in Ireland, influenced by international discourses, this study aimed to explore how Irish pre-service teachers justify the use of mobile technologies in schools. In order to achieve this, 23 pre-service teachers were presented with a vignette that asked them to justify the use of a one-to-one tablet initiative in school. The research found that pre-service teachers tended to justify the initiative, as they saw the increasing technification of schools and society as an inevitable process. In addition, they presented pragmatic reasons for using the technology rather than highlighting their educational/pedagogic value. This study points to the need to challenge pre-service teachers’ innovation-centric and techno-centric attitudes towards technology use. It also highlights the need for teacher educators, as a whole, to take a more active role in addressing this issue in teacher education programmes.