Elementary school children are spending more time using digital technologies. Teachers and school... more Elementary school children are spending more time using digital technologies. Teachers and schools are concerned about the student's digital safety. We interviewed ten elementary school teachers virtually to understand their concerns and understand the actions they take regarding elementary school children's digital safety. Using thematic analysis, we identified themes of concerns and actions of teachers and schools on elementary school children's digital safety. Some digital safety concerns discussed by the teachers included content-related concerns such as accessing inappropriate content, contact-related concerns, inappropriate contact with others online, sharing personal information, lack of understanding of danger, conduct-related concerns regarding cyberbullying and digital footprint, contract-related concerns such as digital security and privacy, and home-related concerns. Teachers and schools have taken several actions to address these concerns. Some of the digital safety actions included security measures and limits, monitoring student activities, providing education on digital safety, and support from guidance counselors. This study has implications for elementary school educators, administrators, parents, and students on the safe use of digital technologies.
Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 2021
There continues to be an abundance of research conducted and published about online learning in K... more There continues to be an abundance of research conducted and published about online learning in K-12 settings. In this systematic review, 386 articles on K-12 online teaching and learning published...
Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Diversity and Equity in a Virtual World, 2022
This chapter describes the frameworks of mathematics tasks, equity-based mathematics teaching pra... more This chapter describes the frameworks of mathematics tasks, equity-based mathematics teaching practices, technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), and how they relate to teaching for equity in virtual learning environments (VLE). The frameworks are used to describe vignettes from VLEs with elementary school learners and elementary school teacher candidates (future teachers). Implications of these vignettes include a need for an empirically based trajectory related to equity-based teaching practices as well as a need to consider which technologies in a VLE can be used to effectively promote equity-based mathematics teaching practices.
This article describes the synthesis of the NCATE PDS Standards, the NAPDS Nine Essentials and th... more This article describes the synthesis of the NCATE PDS Standards, the NAPDS Nine Essentials and the CAEP Standards to create a rubric that can be used to help PDS stakeholders develop, refine, and evaluate their partnerships. Implications and future directions on how to use the rubric are also shared.
ABSTRACT Within the current educational context, educator preparation programs are under increasi... more ABSTRACT Within the current educational context, educator preparation programs are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their effectiveness in producing teachers that impact P–12 student learning. As a result, programs must investigate organizational features that are powerful for preparing teacher candidates to enter the classroom. One facet is the clinical experience, which allows candidates to enact practices learned within the preparation program within an educational context. This article describes the development of an embedded, multi-semester internship that incorporated an intensive field experience delivered in partnership with a local district. It was theorized that the activities associated with the internship and the related partnership have the potential to be a powerful way to structure teacher learning to impact theory-practice connections and improve candidates’ efficacy for teaching and learning. Preliminary data collection in the form of surveys and focus group meetings have revealed positive outcomes, including perceptions of readiness to teach and the development of relationships between various stakeholders. Subsequent analyses will examine the impact on observable classroom behaviors, performance on the edTPA, and impact on teacher self-efficacy.
In this chapter, InterMath is introduced as a learner-centered professional development environme... more In this chapter, InterMath is introduced as a learner-centered professional development environment that supports the development of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Evidence will be presented from the research and evaluation on InterMath to highlight some of the ways in which InterMath has been successful. Vignettes provide examples of a typical conversation in a TPACK professional development environment. An analysis of findings indicates that the InterMath project contributed to teachers' TPACK development, with a focus on teachers' knowledge of technology and content (TCK). The knowledge and skills of the professional development facilitator was a key factor in the teachers' development. Implications for the design of professional development include simultaneously developing teachers' integrated knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content.
ABSTRACT Children are exposed to digital devices at an early age. This study examines parents’ pe... more ABSTRACT Children are exposed to digital devices at an early age. This study examines parents’ perception of student digital safety on technology use, time spent, parent concerns and knowledge on various digital safety topics. Through a survey-based study, we analyzed data collected from 113 parents. Parents mentioned that their kids use Internet via tablets and laptops primarily to watch videos, play games, and for schoolwork. Parents were knowledgeable about apps and gaps their children used for education and entertainment. Regarding time limits and restricting access, 40% of parents let their kids online for 1–2 hours in a day and 47% of parents set time limits. Parents are concerned all the time about their child’s digital safety with the biggest concern being their kids being exposed to sexual content and them talking to strangers. Parents perceive themselves to be knowledgeable on most of the digital safety topics discussed in this study. Parents recommend to ensure age restrictions and identity verification when using various websites and games. This study has implications for parents of elementary school children.
The International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2020
Higher education faculty use of current digital technologies based on their perception of importa... more Higher education faculty use of current digital technologies based on their perception of importance, competence, and motivation is examined in this study. Two hundred and forty-seven faculty in the United States responded to an online survey on current digital technology use. Descriptive statistics and categorical means for the digital technologies are provided. Faculty rated the use of learning management system as the highest in terms of importance and competence. They rated social media as the lowest in terms of importance and adaptive learning in terms of competence. For motivation to integrate digital technology, faculty rated benefit to learning as the most influential factor and reappointment, promotion, and tenure as the least influential factor. Faculty characteristics such as gender, teaching level, primary teaching method, faculty rank, and teaching experience and its association with faculty beliefs of importance, competence and motivation on using digital technologies are also examined in this study.
PurposeThe National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) recognizes that ther... more PurposeThe National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) recognizes that there is a tendency for the term “PDS” (Professional Development School) to be used as a catch-all for various relationships that constitute school–university partnership work. The intent of this NAPDS statement is to assert the essentials, or fundamental qualities, of a PDS. NAPDS encourages all those working in school–university relationships to embrace the Nine Essentials of PDSs communicated in this statement. The Essentials are written in tangible, rather than abstract, language and represent practical goals toward which work in a PDS should be directed.Design/methodology/approachPolicy statement.FindingsNAPDS maintains that these Nine Essentials need to be present for a school-university relationship to be called a PDS. Without having all nine, the relationship that exists between a school/district and college/university, albeit however strong, would not be a PDS. How individual PDSs m...
Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education (TURCOMAT), 2021
One of the features of 21st-century education is the encouragement of Higher Order Thinking Skill... more One of the features of 21st-century education is the encouragement of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). Through the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025, the government fosters the acquisition of HOTS in all subjects, including moral education subjects. Thus, blended learning, which integrates conventional teaching methods and learning activities that utilize online technology, is considered appropriate as an effective learning method for the digital generation. Therefore, this research aims to explore the potential of blended learning methods in generating HOTS among secondary school students. This qualitative study used 14 participants who were students in moral education classes in two secondary schools. Moral education students are involved in the five steps of the blended learning method: set induction, lesson development, classroom activities, assessment as well as closing and reflection. The findings show that blended learning methods can enhance students' thinking s...
Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 2020
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide insight into institutions of higher education (IHE... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide insight into institutions of higher education (IHE) on how to support faculty in the integration of digital technologies. The research explores faculty interest in types of digital technology information and training, and the types of support faculty are likely to participate in related to digital technology integration. The association of demographic factors of primary teaching method, and experience teaching online or hybrid is provided.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 247 faculty from 53 institutions in the USA completed an online survey related to information, training and support for digital technology integration. The analysis included exploring the descriptive ratings overall and by demographic variable and conducting the one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with reported effect sizes and Scheffe post-hoc tests.FindingsFrom a list of digital technologies that included the LMS, Collaboration Tools (social media...
This study examined 388 elementary education teacher candidates (n ¼ 388) across four semesters i... more This study examined 388 elementary education teacher candidates (n ¼ 388) across four semesters in one educator preparation program about their experiences completing the performance-based assessment edTPA. Candidates were in one of three programs at a large, public research university in the Southeast region of the United States. These programs included: a general undergraduate elementary education program, an undergraduate elementary/special education dual licensure program, and a post baccalaureate graduate certificate in elementary school teaching program. Findings indicate that candidates across all three programs reached consensus on the five biggest challenges of edTPA. The challenges included: (1) deeper thinking for students; (2) identifying the language function of the lesson sequence; (3) including discourse in the lesson plans; (4) including the syntax supports in their lesson plans; and (5) making connections to research and theory. While all three groups of candidates identified these five challenges, the order and the extent to which they were a challenge varied by group. Further, candidates expressed disproportionate periods of time dedicated to edTPA during student teaching. Candidates in the graduate certificate in teaching program reported that they felt less prepared than undergraduate students in the other programs. Implications include examining how to best support candidates in all three programs to increase their likelihood of success on edTPA.
Abstract Eliciting students’ thinking is a key component of effective student-centered mathematic... more Abstract Eliciting students’ thinking is a key component of effective student-centered mathematics instruction, and research demonstrates promising approaches to developing this skill in pre-service teachers [PSTs] during methods courses. However, few studies have provided insight into how PSTs can be supported in continuing to develop the skill of eliciting thinking during student teaching internships. This case study describes the development of two PSTs as they worked to fully elicit their students’ thinking during their internship, with the support of a coach. The PSTs’ development generally aligned with an emergent trajectory synthesized from the literature; however, additional specificity was needed to fully interpret the data. Both PSTs learned to effectively probe the thinking of students who provided correct answers to initial prompts but made less progress in probing students’ incorrect answers. The article concludes with an analysis of the learning opportunities presented by the coaching moves, as well as missed opportunities.
Globalization is a powerful force that will shape the future world in which our children will liv... more Globalization is a powerful force that will shape the future world in which our children will live. To prepare our students for the world, we need to prepare their teachers. To be effective in the new global environment, teachers need broader sets of knowledge and skills than have previously been required. We designed this action research study to examine our teacher candidates’ use of global education content to support our ability to develop their knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward its use. The following research questions focus the study: How do elementary education teacher candidates utilize global content within integrated unit plans? How can the elementary social studies methods course prepare teacher candidates to use global content? The findings reveal teacher candidates’ integration of global content was strongest in the areas of foundational-knowledge-level dimensions with few examples of higher-level application, cross-cultural experiences, or action-oriented learnin...
Elementary school children are spending more time using digital technologies. Teachers and school... more Elementary school children are spending more time using digital technologies. Teachers and schools are concerned about the student's digital safety. We interviewed ten elementary school teachers virtually to understand their concerns and understand the actions they take regarding elementary school children's digital safety. Using thematic analysis, we identified themes of concerns and actions of teachers and schools on elementary school children's digital safety. Some digital safety concerns discussed by the teachers included content-related concerns such as accessing inappropriate content, contact-related concerns, inappropriate contact with others online, sharing personal information, lack of understanding of danger, conduct-related concerns regarding cyberbullying and digital footprint, contract-related concerns such as digital security and privacy, and home-related concerns. Teachers and schools have taken several actions to address these concerns. Some of the digital safety actions included security measures and limits, monitoring student activities, providing education on digital safety, and support from guidance counselors. This study has implications for elementary school educators, administrators, parents, and students on the safe use of digital technologies.
Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 2021
There continues to be an abundance of research conducted and published about online learning in K... more There continues to be an abundance of research conducted and published about online learning in K-12 settings. In this systematic review, 386 articles on K-12 online teaching and learning published...
Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Diversity and Equity in a Virtual World, 2022
This chapter describes the frameworks of mathematics tasks, equity-based mathematics teaching pra... more This chapter describes the frameworks of mathematics tasks, equity-based mathematics teaching practices, technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), and how they relate to teaching for equity in virtual learning environments (VLE). The frameworks are used to describe vignettes from VLEs with elementary school learners and elementary school teacher candidates (future teachers). Implications of these vignettes include a need for an empirically based trajectory related to equity-based teaching practices as well as a need to consider which technologies in a VLE can be used to effectively promote equity-based mathematics teaching practices.
This article describes the synthesis of the NCATE PDS Standards, the NAPDS Nine Essentials and th... more This article describes the synthesis of the NCATE PDS Standards, the NAPDS Nine Essentials and the CAEP Standards to create a rubric that can be used to help PDS stakeholders develop, refine, and evaluate their partnerships. Implications and future directions on how to use the rubric are also shared.
ABSTRACT Within the current educational context, educator preparation programs are under increasi... more ABSTRACT Within the current educational context, educator preparation programs are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their effectiveness in producing teachers that impact P–12 student learning. As a result, programs must investigate organizational features that are powerful for preparing teacher candidates to enter the classroom. One facet is the clinical experience, which allows candidates to enact practices learned within the preparation program within an educational context. This article describes the development of an embedded, multi-semester internship that incorporated an intensive field experience delivered in partnership with a local district. It was theorized that the activities associated with the internship and the related partnership have the potential to be a powerful way to structure teacher learning to impact theory-practice connections and improve candidates’ efficacy for teaching and learning. Preliminary data collection in the form of surveys and focus group meetings have revealed positive outcomes, including perceptions of readiness to teach and the development of relationships between various stakeholders. Subsequent analyses will examine the impact on observable classroom behaviors, performance on the edTPA, and impact on teacher self-efficacy.
In this chapter, InterMath is introduced as a learner-centered professional development environme... more In this chapter, InterMath is introduced as a learner-centered professional development environment that supports the development of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Evidence will be presented from the research and evaluation on InterMath to highlight some of the ways in which InterMath has been successful. Vignettes provide examples of a typical conversation in a TPACK professional development environment. An analysis of findings indicates that the InterMath project contributed to teachers' TPACK development, with a focus on teachers' knowledge of technology and content (TCK). The knowledge and skills of the professional development facilitator was a key factor in the teachers' development. Implications for the design of professional development include simultaneously developing teachers' integrated knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content.
ABSTRACT Children are exposed to digital devices at an early age. This study examines parents’ pe... more ABSTRACT Children are exposed to digital devices at an early age. This study examines parents’ perception of student digital safety on technology use, time spent, parent concerns and knowledge on various digital safety topics. Through a survey-based study, we analyzed data collected from 113 parents. Parents mentioned that their kids use Internet via tablets and laptops primarily to watch videos, play games, and for schoolwork. Parents were knowledgeable about apps and gaps their children used for education and entertainment. Regarding time limits and restricting access, 40% of parents let their kids online for 1–2 hours in a day and 47% of parents set time limits. Parents are concerned all the time about their child’s digital safety with the biggest concern being their kids being exposed to sexual content and them talking to strangers. Parents perceive themselves to be knowledgeable on most of the digital safety topics discussed in this study. Parents recommend to ensure age restrictions and identity verification when using various websites and games. This study has implications for parents of elementary school children.
The International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2020
Higher education faculty use of current digital technologies based on their perception of importa... more Higher education faculty use of current digital technologies based on their perception of importance, competence, and motivation is examined in this study. Two hundred and forty-seven faculty in the United States responded to an online survey on current digital technology use. Descriptive statistics and categorical means for the digital technologies are provided. Faculty rated the use of learning management system as the highest in terms of importance and competence. They rated social media as the lowest in terms of importance and adaptive learning in terms of competence. For motivation to integrate digital technology, faculty rated benefit to learning as the most influential factor and reappointment, promotion, and tenure as the least influential factor. Faculty characteristics such as gender, teaching level, primary teaching method, faculty rank, and teaching experience and its association with faculty beliefs of importance, competence and motivation on using digital technologies are also examined in this study.
PurposeThe National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) recognizes that ther... more PurposeThe National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) recognizes that there is a tendency for the term “PDS” (Professional Development School) to be used as a catch-all for various relationships that constitute school–university partnership work. The intent of this NAPDS statement is to assert the essentials, or fundamental qualities, of a PDS. NAPDS encourages all those working in school–university relationships to embrace the Nine Essentials of PDSs communicated in this statement. The Essentials are written in tangible, rather than abstract, language and represent practical goals toward which work in a PDS should be directed.Design/methodology/approachPolicy statement.FindingsNAPDS maintains that these Nine Essentials need to be present for a school-university relationship to be called a PDS. Without having all nine, the relationship that exists between a school/district and college/university, albeit however strong, would not be a PDS. How individual PDSs m...
Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education (TURCOMAT), 2021
One of the features of 21st-century education is the encouragement of Higher Order Thinking Skill... more One of the features of 21st-century education is the encouragement of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). Through the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025, the government fosters the acquisition of HOTS in all subjects, including moral education subjects. Thus, blended learning, which integrates conventional teaching methods and learning activities that utilize online technology, is considered appropriate as an effective learning method for the digital generation. Therefore, this research aims to explore the potential of blended learning methods in generating HOTS among secondary school students. This qualitative study used 14 participants who were students in moral education classes in two secondary schools. Moral education students are involved in the five steps of the blended learning method: set induction, lesson development, classroom activities, assessment as well as closing and reflection. The findings show that blended learning methods can enhance students' thinking s...
Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 2020
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide insight into institutions of higher education (IHE... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide insight into institutions of higher education (IHE) on how to support faculty in the integration of digital technologies. The research explores faculty interest in types of digital technology information and training, and the types of support faculty are likely to participate in related to digital technology integration. The association of demographic factors of primary teaching method, and experience teaching online or hybrid is provided.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 247 faculty from 53 institutions in the USA completed an online survey related to information, training and support for digital technology integration. The analysis included exploring the descriptive ratings overall and by demographic variable and conducting the one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with reported effect sizes and Scheffe post-hoc tests.FindingsFrom a list of digital technologies that included the LMS, Collaboration Tools (social media...
This study examined 388 elementary education teacher candidates (n ¼ 388) across four semesters i... more This study examined 388 elementary education teacher candidates (n ¼ 388) across four semesters in one educator preparation program about their experiences completing the performance-based assessment edTPA. Candidates were in one of three programs at a large, public research university in the Southeast region of the United States. These programs included: a general undergraduate elementary education program, an undergraduate elementary/special education dual licensure program, and a post baccalaureate graduate certificate in elementary school teaching program. Findings indicate that candidates across all three programs reached consensus on the five biggest challenges of edTPA. The challenges included: (1) deeper thinking for students; (2) identifying the language function of the lesson sequence; (3) including discourse in the lesson plans; (4) including the syntax supports in their lesson plans; and (5) making connections to research and theory. While all three groups of candidates identified these five challenges, the order and the extent to which they were a challenge varied by group. Further, candidates expressed disproportionate periods of time dedicated to edTPA during student teaching. Candidates in the graduate certificate in teaching program reported that they felt less prepared than undergraduate students in the other programs. Implications include examining how to best support candidates in all three programs to increase their likelihood of success on edTPA.
Abstract Eliciting students’ thinking is a key component of effective student-centered mathematic... more Abstract Eliciting students’ thinking is a key component of effective student-centered mathematics instruction, and research demonstrates promising approaches to developing this skill in pre-service teachers [PSTs] during methods courses. However, few studies have provided insight into how PSTs can be supported in continuing to develop the skill of eliciting thinking during student teaching internships. This case study describes the development of two PSTs as they worked to fully elicit their students’ thinking during their internship, with the support of a coach. The PSTs’ development generally aligned with an emergent trajectory synthesized from the literature; however, additional specificity was needed to fully interpret the data. Both PSTs learned to effectively probe the thinking of students who provided correct answers to initial prompts but made less progress in probing students’ incorrect answers. The article concludes with an analysis of the learning opportunities presented by the coaching moves, as well as missed opportunities.
Globalization is a powerful force that will shape the future world in which our children will liv... more Globalization is a powerful force that will shape the future world in which our children will live. To prepare our students for the world, we need to prepare their teachers. To be effective in the new global environment, teachers need broader sets of knowledge and skills than have previously been required. We designed this action research study to examine our teacher candidates’ use of global education content to support our ability to develop their knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward its use. The following research questions focus the study: How do elementary education teacher candidates utilize global content within integrated unit plans? How can the elementary social studies methods course prepare teacher candidates to use global content? The findings reveal teacher candidates’ integration of global content was strongest in the areas of foundational-knowledge-level dimensions with few examples of higher-level application, cross-cultural experiences, or action-oriented learnin...
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