ISET Expert Panel Discussion Series 2020–2021

The Innovations and Special Education Technology Professional Development Committee would like to extend its appreciation to the following leaders in the field of Special Education. Each of the following individuals volunteered to speak during the 2020–2021 ISET Expert Panel Discussion series and shared expertise on a variety of pressing topics during remote instruction due to the COVID pandemic. The information sharing is a testament to their unwavering support for the members of ISET and all of the stakeholders involved in supporting individuals with disabilities.

Professional Development for Classroom Teachers

The professional development of teachers in instructional technology is of paramount importance. This chapter provides an overview of the topic, beginning with adult learning as a foundation. Teachers are adults, and any type of professional development, whether related to technology or not, should meet the needs of adult learners. The chapter subsequently provides a review of professional learning communities (PLCs), which may provide a venue for impactful, sustainable technology professional development. Next, teacher-led technology professional development and peer coaching are addressed, followed by a discussion of the use of the community, corporate, and university partnerships that may enhance professional development through symbiotic relationships. The chapter concludes with a discussion of virtual professional development, which may serve a dual purpose of enhancing professional development sustainability as well as modeling technology use for instructional purposes.

Handling Research Challenges

This chapter explores some of the challenging issues that were raised for the author while conducting her first biggest research project as an international doctoral student at one of the United States universities. The main challenge that the author faced was the difficulty of having access to a language center to examine her technology professional development model on language teachers to explore its effectiveness in understanding the teachers' adoption and rejection decision of using education technology and to collect data for her dissertation. After choosing an alternative venue and planning to travel to the United Arab Emirates to conduct the practical part of her research at one of the UAE's universities, an academic networking event changed the course of the latest plans and had a gatekeeper assisting her in experimenting her model and conducting the rest of her study in an American university. The chapter explores some of the challenges and how the author tackled each one of them. The chapter ends with some general recommendations for graduate students and novice researchers.

Learning from the emergency remote teaching-learning in China when primary and secondary schools were disrupted by COVID-19 pandemic

China educational system launched the emergency remote teaching-learning (ERT) as the response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the mission of “suspending schools without stopping teaching-learning”. When schools moved to temporary remote instruction, teachers, students and parents encountered challenges in terms of deep remote teaching and learning. In the current study, parent (N=741) and teacher (N=145) from 16 provinces in China gave responses to four open-ended questions in the web-based questionnaires released on wjx.cn. The themes arose from the thematic analysis. The participants emphasized that online teaching-learning can’t replace face-to-face one in the brick-and-mortar classrooms in terms of the glitchy technology, engaging students into learning, enhancing students learning and leaning atmosphere. Teachers felt unprepared for teaching online. Teachers and parents also argued that remote teaching-learning only benefit those students with good self-discipline and high autonomy in learning. The current study suggests the provincial governments equipping schools with a standardized online teaching-learning management system (LMS), followed by the instructional technology professional development for ensuring online teaching quality at timely manner. This might make ERT teaching evaluation possible. Schools can develop a checklist of prioritized perspectives and actionable strategies for preparing students and their parents for online learning success.

“Am I Doing What I think I’m Doing?”: The Importance of a Theoretical Frame when Integrating Tablets in Teacher Education

In the following self-study, we share our investigation of the shifts in faculty pedagogical beliefs, instructional practices, and curricular decision-making while engaged in a cycle of reflection on tablet-focused teacher education course. We conducted this inquiry into our practice, using Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) and the Substitution-Augmentation-Modification-Redefinition (SAMR) model as frameworks to examine data from interviews and reflective writing. We conclude the need for the explicit connection of technology professional development, specifically tablet technology, with a meaningful theoretical framework, in order for faculty to engage in effective integration. We also share our model for examining the development of instructor’s thinking about integrating technology, including influences on thinking and classification of instructional decisions into the SAMR taxonomy.

Professional Development for Classroom Teachers

The professional development of teachers in instructional technology is of paramount importance. This chapter provides an overview of the topic, beginning with adult learning as a foundation. Teachers are adults, and any type of professional development, whether related to technology or not, should meet the needs of adult learners. The chapter subsequently provides a review of professional learning communities (PLCs), which may provide a venue for impactful, sustainable technology professional development. Next, teacher-led technology professional development and peer coaching are addressed, followed by a discussion of the use of the community, corporate, and university partnerships that may enhance professional development through symbiotic relationships. The chapter concludes with a discussion of virtual professional development, which may serve a dual purpose of enhancing professional development sustainability as well as modeling technology use for instructional purposes.