Preservice teachers’ guide for learner‐centered technology integration into instruction

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn P. Rice ◽  
Daphne Johnson ◽  
Bobby Ezell ◽  
Michelle Pierczynski‐Ward

PurposePlanning is a critical step in the process toward quality instruction and should also include consideration for what technology is appropriate for the lesson. Teacher educators must assist preservice teachers in learning this critical planning step of the instructional cycle. The purpose of this article is to present a step‐by‐step procedure to be used by preservice teachers when determining the appropriate use of technology in instruction.Design/methodology/approachVarious strategies have been used by teacher educators to facilitate preservice teachers’ learning how to integrate technology. Some of these strategies are the modeling of technology integration by university instructors, the exposure to the use of technology in the classrooms during field experience, and including technology into the curriculum. In spite of these efforts, there is evidence that some teacher educators feel that preservice teachers are still not convinced of the value of integrating technology in their lessons. This article suggests that perhaps preservice teachers are still reluctant about the benefit of integrating technology because they have not been given a process for deciding which form(s) of technology should be used for what kind of instruction.FindingsIncluded are charts with detailed descriptions, providing a step‐by‐step process for integrating technology into instruction. These charts demonstrate that the decision about what technology to use in a lesson is first based upon the needs of the learners and the material being taught.Originality/valueThis process demonstrates that technology is transparent: curriculum and the needs of learners drive the choice of technology, instead of technology being used just for technology sake.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
S.R. Toliver ◽  
Heidi Hadley

Purpose This paper aims to identify how white preservice teachers’ inability to imagine an equitable space for Black and Brown children contributes to the ubiquity of whiteness in English education. Further, the authors contend that the preservice teachers’ responses mirror how the larger field of English education fails to imagine Black and Brown life. Design/methodology/approach Using abolitionist teaching as a guide, the authors use reflexive thematic analysis to examine the rhetorical moves their preservice teachers made to defer responsibility for anti-racist teaching. Findings The findings show preservice teachers’ rhetorical moves across three themes: failure to imagine Black and Brown humanity, failure to imagine a connection between theory and practice, and failure to imagine curriculum and schooling beyond whiteness. Originality/value By highlighting how preservice teachers fail to imagine spaces for Black and Brown youth, this study offers another pathway through which teacher educators, teachers and English education programs can assist their faculty and students in activating their imaginations in the pursuit of anti-racist, abolitionist teaching.


2013 ◽  
pp. 172-186
Author(s):  
Janice W. Butler

Technology is not a panacea for educational reform, but the use of technology in the classroom can enable teachers to engage today’s students in learning content. While some believed that new, young teachers would bring technology to the PK-12 classroom, this clearly has not happened. Since teacher educators generally do not model technology integration and instead use primarily teacher-centered instruction, many new teachers do not know how to integrate technology, particularly Web 2.0 technologies, into instruction. To encourage teacher educators to learn about these easy-to-use technologies, this chapter examines wikis as a low-threshold Web 2.0 tool. This chapter will discuss the power of using these technology tools.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wagdi Rashad Ali Bin-Hady ◽  
Nasser Omer Mubarak Al-Tamimi

Purpose This study aims to explore the use of technology-based strategies by Yemeni undergraduate students to develop their English as a foreign language skills in informal learning settings. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods research design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data from 110 undergraduate students enrolled at the English Departments in two universities in Yemen. In the first phase of the study, 10 students were interviewed to obtain information about their use of technology to develop their English language skills and subsystems in informal settings. Following the analysis of the interview data, a questionnaire was built to collect quantitative data, and the second phase of the study was carried out with 100 undergraduate students. Findings The findings revealed that students developed four technology-based strategies that they used in informal settings. These strategies included using social media, being inspired by someone, accessing social networks and websites. Students reported that these strategies helped them develop their listening, speaking and reading skills, while they also reported that their vocabulary was enhanced over grammar and pronunciation. Research limitations/implications The study findings can be of benefit not only for helping to raise students’ awareness of informal learning strategies to develop their English skills outside the classroom but also for teachers to rethink the importance of integrating technology tools and digital resources in their teaching practice. The results could also guide curriculum designers to augment textbook materials by integrating technology-based informal learning strategies. Originality/value This is the first study on this topic conducted in the context of higher education in Yemen and offers unique insights into informal learning practices of Yemeni students. In addition, the findings of the study open new dimensions for rethinking the classification of language learning strategies to include those that are technology-based and mainly useful for independent informal learning.


Author(s):  
David J. Mulder

The current generation of young teachers entering the profession is often presumed to have an easy comfort with and seemingly innate understanding of technology. Prensky (2001) has gone so far as to name them “digital natives” and has claimed that members of the millennial generation “think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors” (p. 1). However, recent studies in several English-speaking western nations call the millennial generation's innately skillful use of technology into question, and some studies of millennial teachers indicate that they are, in fact, no better at integrating technology into their teaching than their colleagues from other generations. Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovations theory provides an alternative to the digital native/digital immigrant approach for explaining teachers' technology integration habits. Based on this approach, suggestions for teacher educators are recommended for training millennial teachers to integrate technology and pedagogy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-257
Author(s):  
Heather Rogers Haverback

Purpose The majority of states and school systems within the USA have implemented the Common Core State Standards, but with this implementation and focus on language arts and mathematics, many believe that social studies education has lagged. The purpose of this paper is to investigate preservice teachers’ social studies self-efficacy, experiences, and beliefs. Participants were preservice teachers in a required education course. During this course, preservice teachers were required to complete a 20-hour practicum within a school. Participants completed a teacher social studies self-efficacy scale, as well as a reflection questionnaire and course discussions. Results showed that preservice teachers reported that they did not have social studies experiences within the practicum. Implications of this study support preservice teachers having additional social studies education and C3 Framework mastery experiences. Design/methodology/approach With regard to the teacher’s sense of efficacy scale, descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations) were calculated. Following qualitative tradition (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Miles and Huberman, 1994), the author used a constant comparative method to code the reflection questionnaire and group discussions. This included calculating answers and coding themes across the sources. These data gleaned insight into the participants’ experiences within the course and practicum regarding the domain of social studies education. Findings To answer research question 1, means and standard deviations were calculated. Using the social studies teacher’s sense of efficacy scale, participants reported M=6.4, SD=1.25. Research question 2 concerned whether or not participants were given a mastery experience (practicum/tutoring) in social studies. Moreover, if they were not given such an experience, in what domain did they work? Results indicated that a few participants (19 percent) stated that they had an opportunity to tutor in social studies. Most reported that the majority of their tutoring is in reading (58 percent) or mathematics (24 percent). Research limitations/implications The findings from this study inform social studies research as it focuses on teacher social studies self-efficacy and mastery experiences within a practicum. First, preservice teachers in this study had relatively low self-efficacy beliefs in the domain of social studies. Second, the participants had very few mastery experiences in social studies. Finally, preservice teachers seem to feel that they will enjoy teaching social studies, and they did learn social studies within their schools. Practical implications Teacher educators are constrained in the time that they have to impart knowledge, pedagogy, and efficacy beliefs on preservice teachers. While evolving legislative mandates are at the forefront of many aspects of teaching, a teacher’s belief in his or her ability to teach may be what leads to perseverance in the classroom. Experiences within social studies classrooms and a use of the C3 Framework will help to highlight teachers’ and students’ growth within the domain of social studies. This study highlights the need for more mastery experiences in social studies as a way of strengthening new teachers’ content knowledge. Social implications The future of social studies education within the classroom seems to be a dire situation. The consequence of the marginalization of social studies within the classroom is twofold. First, students to do have direct social studies instruction. Second, preservice teachers do not have an opportunity to observe or teach within this domain. As stated earlier, legislation is guiding classroom instruction. However, if teachers and schools are informed, social studies education does not have to disappear from student’s classroom time. School systems and teachers who have not yet done so should begin to consider using the C3 Framework. Originality/value The need to understand preservice teachers’ social studies self-efficacy beliefs is of importance given the constraints that they will most likely be facing once they enter the classroom. In other words, if preservice teachers are expected to teach children social studies, teacher educators should understand their learning of and beliefs about teaching in this domain. This study focused on preservice teachers’ self-efficacy and social studies beliefs. This study highlights the need for more mastery experiences in social studies as a way of strengthening new teachers’ content knowledge. Today, there are limitations wherein preservice teachers do not have many experiences with social studies. Future approaches should focus on offering more mastery experiences to preservice teachers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-42
Author(s):  
Hamissou Ousseini

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on a small-scale research undertaken to examine the preservice English as foreign language (EFL) teachers’ collaborative understanding of lesson study. It constitutes the first of two empirical steps undertaken for integrating lesson study in initial EFL teacher education. The paper takes to the belief that preservice teachers’ understanding is a key factor that determines success or failure of lesson study projects and should therefore be investigated. Design/methodology/approach There were four preservice teachers who volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected based on two procedures. Participants read the works of Lewis and Tsuchida (1999) and Dudley (2014) and were asked to collaboratively reflect about their readings on a WhatsApp platform. They were afterwards brought to a face-to-face discussion guided by questions mostly built from their previous reflections on the WhatsApp platform. Findings Participants have demonstrated a joint understanding which was essentially achieved due to the collaborative procedures. Likewise, participants have collaboratively reflected on the factors that could affect the process of lesson study and its application to EFL classrooms in Niger. These factors have been related to the issues in research methodology and the contextual learning culture. Originality/value The findings from this study draw attention to the need for teacher educators to use interactive and collaborative strategies while instructing preservice teachers about lesson study. The paper also offers insights about contextual factors which require preliminary and immediate actions before implementing lesson study in Niger.


2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Anderson ◽  
Robert M. Maninger

This study investigated changes in and factors related to students' technology-related abilities, beliefs, and intentions. Participants were 76 preservice teachers who responded to pre- and post-course surveys while taking an introductory educational technology course. Statistically significant changes were found in students' perceived abilities, self-efficacy beliefs, value beliefs, and intentions to use software in their future classrooms. Students' self-efficacy, value beliefs, and intentions were moderately correlated with each other. Abilities were correlated with self-efficacy and computer access. The best predictors of intentions were self-efficacy beliefs, gender, and value beliefs. These results strongly support the effectiveness of educational technology coursework in improving not just abilities, but also beliefs and intentions. They highlight the importance of relationships between preservice teachers' beliefs about technology integration and their potential use of technology in their future classrooms. The authors provide suggestions for enhancing preservice teachers' beliefs during technology coursework.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 280-294
Author(s):  
Deborah Lynn Morowski ◽  
Theresa M. McCormick

Purpose During field experiences, preservice teachers often are asked plan and teach a lesson and then to reflect on their teaching. The purpose of this paper is to examine the guided reflections of 66 preservice teachers after they planned and implemented a primary source-based lesson in an elementary classroom. The project occurred during the preservice teachers’ enrollment in a social studies methods course. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study utilized a fieldwork approach as the methodological framework. This approach provided data that allowed the researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the preservice teachers’ experiences. Data were analyzed using Bogdan and Biklen’s (1998) content unit of analysis. Descriptive and interpretive coding schemes were used to analyze data using a priori categories of successes and challenges. Findings The preservice teachers were able to engage in technical and practical reflection, considering strategies used in the classroom and their effects on student learning, but they were unable to reflect at the critical level, thinking about moral and ethical decisions. The themes and subthemes that many of the preservice teachers identified as successes, others identified as challenges. Originality/value This study highlights the importance of preservice teachers engaging with primary sources, as well as with frequent, meaningful, and ongoing field experiences. Teacher educators need to provide multiple opportunities for teacher candidates to reflect broadly and deeply on their teaching practice and student learning. Additional research needs to be conducted to assess the impact of preservice teachers use of primary sources in the elementary classroom.


Author(s):  
Janice W. Butler

Technology is not a panacea for educational reform, but the use of technology in the classroom can enable teachers to engage today’s students in learning content. While some believed that new, young teachers would bring technology to the PK-12 classroom, this clearly has not happened. Since teacher educators generally do not model technology integration and instead use primarily teacher-centered instruction, many new teachers do not know how to integrate technology, particularly Web 2.0 technologies, into instruction. To encourage teacher educators to learn about these easy-to-use technologies, this chapter examines wikis as a low-threshold Web 2.0 tool. This chapter will discuss the power of using these technology tools.


2016 ◽  
pp. 730-752
Author(s):  
David J. Mulder

The current generation of young teachers entering the profession is often presumed to have an easy comfort with and seemingly innate understanding of technology. Prensky (2001) has gone so far as to name them “digital natives” and has claimed that members of the millennial generation “think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors” (p. 1). However, recent studies in several English-speaking western nations call the millennial generation's innately skillful use of technology into question, and some studies of millennial teachers indicate that they are, in fact, no better at integrating technology into their teaching than their colleagues from other generations. Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovations theory provides an alternative to the digital native/digital immigrant approach for explaining teachers' technology integration habits. Based on this approach, suggestions for teacher educators are recommended for training millennial teachers to integrate technology and pedagogy.


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