Engaging Mathematically in Synchronous Platforms

Author(s):  
Eileen Fernández ◽  
Eliza Leszczyński

In a qualitative self-study, two teacher educators introduce the notion of engaging mathematically to study synchronous interactions in two of their online courses for K-8 teachers. By studying the interactions between themselves and their teachers, the teacher educators are able to describe novel opportunities, negotiations, struggles, and insights involved in engaging mathematically in online platforms. Their mathematical and pedagogical illustrations convey new possibilities for synchronous online interactions during mathematics lessons. These descriptions address a gap in the research on online teaching about how mathematics can be negotiated within these platforms, as well as concerns about the meaningfulness of interactions in online settings. Implications to teacher education practitioners and researchers, and developers of learning management systems suggest the importance of the teacher education community taking a lead role in ensuring that online teaching has a purposeful part to play in the field of mathematics teacher education.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Makie Kortjass

Background: This article gives an account of what I learned through the process of a self-study research project. Self-study teacher research allows teacher educators and teachers to improve their learning, plan new pedagogies and impact students’ learning.Aim: The aim of this self-study research was to improve my own practice in early childhood mathematics teacher education through interaction and collaboration with others, such as colleagues and students.Setting: As a South African university-based teacher educator, I piloted an integrated learning approach (ILA) in the teaching and learning of early childhood mathematics in a selected undergraduate programme.Methods: I began by tracking my personal development in mathematics education and in so doing was able to recognise my personal learning of mathematics as a child growing up in an African township context. I then worked with a class of 38 student teachers to create collages and concept maps to explore their understandings and experiences of ILA.Results: Through this project, I discovered that colleagues in the role of critical friends provided essential feedback on my work in progress. I also learned that student teachers need to be equipped with knowledge and hands-on experience of how integration can take place in teaching and learning early childhood mathematics. I realised that it was essential to constantly reflect on my own personal history and my professional practice to explore new ways of teaching mathematics.Conclusion: Teacher educators may consider engaging in self-study research that includes art-based self-study methods to reflect on their practices and see how they change for the benefit of their students and ultimately for the benefit of the learners.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-529
Author(s):  
Nicola Fořtová ◽  
Jitka Sedláčková ◽  
František Tůma

The sudden switch to online teaching enforced by the covid-19 pandemic has impacted teacher education at universities, particularly micro-teachings and teaching practice, as technology has become an inherent part of these processes. The growing body of literature on online teaching and teacher education during lockdown conditions mainly addresses challenges in teacher education and educator perceptions. However, very few studies deal with the perceptions of student- teachers. To fill this gap, a group of teacher educators conducted a research study with 63 students enrolled in a master’s Degree in Teaching efl for Secondary Schools offered at Masaryk University, Czechia. To carry it out, qualitative coding procedures were employed on a dataset of 120 lesson reflections written by students completing their teaching practice via online courses which were ordinarily conducted in person. The purpose was to find out how student-teachers perceived technology use when teaching online. The main findings show that, despite constant comparison between the face-to-face and online classrooms and an initial reliance on the success of technology to determine a lesson’s success, the majority of student-teachers normalized technology as a platform for teaching, using technology-specific language for teaching strategies and classroom events. These findings suggest that online teaching and learning should be seen as an integral part of teacher education.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-529
Author(s):  
Nicola Fořtová ◽  
Jitka Sedláčková ◽  
František Tůma

The sudden switch to online teaching enforced by the covid-19 pandemic has impacted teacher education at universities, particularly micro-teachings and teaching practice, as technology has become an inherent part of these processes. The growing body of literature on online teaching and teacher education during lockdown conditions mainly addresses challenges in teacher education and educator perceptions. However, very few studies deal with the perceptions of student- teachers. To fill this gap, a group of teacher educators conducted a research study with 63 students enrolled in a master’s Degree in Teaching efl for Secondary Schools offered at Masaryk University, Czechia. To carry it out, qualitative coding procedures were employed on a dataset of 120 lesson reflections written by students completing their teaching practice via online courses which were ordinarily conducted in person. The purpose was to find out how student-teachers perceived technology use when teaching online. The main findings show that, despite constant comparison between the face-to-face and online classrooms and an initial reliance on the success of technology to determine a lesson’s success, the majority of student-teachers normalized technology as a platform for teaching, using technology-specific language for teaching strategies and classroom events. These findings suggest that online teaching and learning should be seen as an integral part of teacher education.


Author(s):  
Christi U. Edge ◽  
Abby Cameron-Standerford ◽  
Bethney Bergh

As a group of three teacher educators representing reading, special education, and educational leadership, the authors conducted a self-study of their online teaching practices with the guiding question of “How can we use multimodal literacies to re-see our practices and to empower others to construct and to communicate meaning?” The purpose was to explore the pedagogic potentials of multimodal literacy by acting upon recent findings from their longitudinal, collaborative self-study into how they use and learn through visual literacy. They sought to extend their line of inquiry and to more inclusively empower learners to negotiate and to make meaning through multimodal literacy practices. Findings document how using protocols to critically “read,” discuss, and collaboratively make meaning from their online teaching practices illuminated the relationship of multimodal texts, visuals and literacy practices in fostering access, opportunity, and ownership for learners in online courses.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-74
Author(s):  
Rochelle Gutiérrez

We are in an interesting historical moment in mathematics teacher education. On the one and, there is greater realization within our field of the connections between systems of power and mathematics (O'Neil, 2016). We are starting to acknowledge how mathematics education can be viewed as dehumanizing for both students and teachers as well as what might constitute rehumanizing practices (Gutiérrez, in press). Our professional organizations are calling for teachers to move beyond simplistic notions of equity to understand these power dimensions and challenge the system on behalf of (and in community with) Black,1 Indigenous,2 and Latinx3 students in particular


2014 ◽  
pp. 1190-1207
Author(s):  
Dixie Massey

Teacher education courses offered online are becoming increasingly common. Unfortunately, few instructors of online teacher education courses have specific preparation for teaching adult learners or in teaching online courses, resulting in faltering attempts to transfer traditional methodology such as lectures to online platforms. This chapter considers the background of distance education and examines relevant literature on adult learners. Differentiated instruction is proffered as a means of meeting the needs of adult learners in online teacher education courses. Specific examples of differentiating content, process, and product are suggested.


Author(s):  
Rukiye Didem Taylan

Teacher educators have a responsibility to help prospective teachers in their professional growth. It is important that teacher educators not only teach prospective teachers about benefits of active learning in student learning, but that they also prepare future teachers in using pedagogical methods aligned with active learning principles. This manuscript provides examples of how mathematics teacher educators can promote prospective teachers' active learning and professional growth by bringing together the Flipped Classroom method with video content on teaching and learning as well as workplace learning opportunities in a pedagogy course. The professional learning of prospective teachers is framed according to the components of the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Park & Olive, 2008; Shulman, 1986). Implications for future trends in teacher education are provided.


2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Green ◽  
Brenda Wolodko ◽  
Cherry Stewart ◽  
Helen Edwards ◽  
Margaret Brooks ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melody M. Thompson

Concerns about faculty workload in the online environment are a reported deterrent to participation in online teaching. To date, such concerns have been based primarily on anecdotal evidence rather than empirical research. This paper describes a project in which six faculty members teaching courses through the Penn State World Campus conducted studies of the comparative workload in the online environment. Results of the studies indicated that faculty workload for teaching these online courses, as measured by time on task, was comparable to or somewhat less than that for face-to-face courses. However, a differential “chunking” of productive time contributed in some cases to a perception of increased workload. The success of the project suggests it is a replicable model for investigating various elements of the faculty experience in the online environment.


Educatia 21 ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 143-147
Author(s):  
Delia Muste

"In Romania, schools were closed, courses were suspended on March 11, 2020. The Ministry of Education and Research sent teachers the recommendation to conduct online courses at home. Over the following weeks, this recommendation was supplemented by others, the Ministry recommend that teachers take online courses, without making them compulsory. On March 20, 2020, the Ministry of Education approved the Methodology on the distance continuation of the educational process in quarantine conditions that establishes the way to continue the educational process in primary, secondary and high school institutions in quarantine conditions. The methodology establishes the obligation to conduct distance learning courses through various online platforms (eg Viber, Whatsapp, Facebook, Google Classroom, Zoom, etc.) and allows the assessment of students during this period and the registration of grades in the catalog. The large number of platforms available online for conducting such courses, as well as the lack of a national or local decision on the use of a single platform, has generated quite a bit of confusion among teachers and especially among students. We wanted to find out the opinions of primary school teachers regarding the advantages and disadvantages they perceive regarding online teaching, through interviews with them."


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