Integrated Concept Mapping as a Method for Democratically Evaluating a Teacher Preparation Program in the Area of Classroom Assessment Proficiency

This dissertation reviews current policies regarding Teacher Preparation Program (TPP) evaluation and addresses “accountability era” influences which often minimize factors related to equity and promote a limited view of teacher and school “effectiveness.” Integrated concept mapping is proposed as an alternative method of evaluation because of its democratic framework for accountability. Using this method, a TPP in the Mountain West was evaluated in the area of classroom assessment

Investigating the Effectiveness of Digital-Based Concept Mapping on Teaching Educational Technology for Undergraduate Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using digital-based concept mapping as strategy on students’ achievements and attitudes. Data was collected from 58 students enrolled in the course of ”Introduction to Educational Technology” in Instructional and Teaching Technologies Department at Sultan Qaboos University. Two sections out of four sections were selected randomly as the sample of the study. One of the sections was randomly chosen as experimental group (n = 27) and the other was control group (n = 31). Both pre- and post- achievement tests were used. The results of the study revealed that students who were taught with digital-based concept mapping strategy performed better than those who were taught with the conventional method. There was a significant difference between male and female students in the post test scores of the experimental group in favor of females. In addition, no interaction effect for the independent variables was found. The study also showed that students in the experimental group had positive attitude towards using digital-based concept mapping in learning edu- cational technology

Digital storytelling as a means of supporting digital literacy learning in an upper-primary-school English language classroom

Digital literacy learning has become a requirement created by the wide development and application of new technologies for communication and representation. In the context of this study, ‘digital literacy’ is defined as a set of skills that enable an individual to use technologies to work with information. It builds on the traditional literacies of reading, writing, listening and speaking and includes elements of information literacy, media literacy and technology skills. The purpose of this study was to investigate digital literacy learning in terms of the set of competencies - aspects of digital literacy - that a student in an upper-primary school English-language classroom in an international school in Hong Kong needs to possess to participate meaningfully and actively in representing through digital multimodal texts such as digital stories. In this study, digital storytelling is defined as a contemporary strategy for the creation of digital multimedia content for expressing ideas, representing knowledge and otherwise communicating information through digital artefacts. This study adopted a case study approach, mapping the development of digital literacy skills in three students. Data collection included, a whole class student questionnaire, interviews with the three case study students, participant observations, class discussions, students’ written reflections, peer evaluation, discussion of planning documents and digital artefacts by the researcher and three students as well as analysis of the digital artefacts by the researcher. In the course of the study, the three participants engaged in the planning and creation of three digital stories based on different genres: pourquoi story (narration), story review (response) and show & tell (personal story with a predefined genre). Analysis of the collected data provided insights into how digital storytelling supports digital literacy learning in an upper-primary-school English language classroom, what aspects of digital literacy develop through digital storytelling and what are the factors that inhibit the effective implementation of digital storytelling. The key findings of the study suggest that digital storytelling is an effective strategy for digital literacy learning in a Primary 6 English-language classroom. Digital storytelling has supported the digital literacy learning of the three participating students and provided a context for the development of digital literacy. In addition, it has enhanced other aspects of teaching and learning that contribute to digital literacy development. To identify and analyse the aspects of digital literacy that the three students developed, an assessment rubric was constructed by the researcher. The application of this rubric produced evidence that suggested that all aspects of digital literacy were developed through the three digital storytelling projects. Each of the three projects completed by the students enabled them to build on their skills while learning new digital literacy skills. The study also found that the implementation of digital storytelling in the classroom was mediated by a range of issues that were affected by both curricular and extracurricular constraints. The study produced a number of recommendations for teachers and curriculum designers in relation to integrating digital storytelling into the school curriculum

Supporting FL students' writing through metacognitive writing strategies

Treballs Finals del Grau d'Estudis Anglesos, Facultat de Filologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2020-2021, Tutor: Carme MuñozThis Bachelor’s thesis offers a review of the latest empirical research on the practical application of metacognitive and self-regulation strategies at the elementary/secondary and tertiary levels. The analysis synthesizes various metacognitive writing practices that other researchers employed in the FL classroom as well as methods and instruments used to gauge learners’ achievements. The overall picture that emerged from the studies reviewed is discussed in terms of the pedagogical implications. Considering these implications, the thesis further offers a 4-hour learning intervention targeted at high-school students in the context of Catalan secondary education. Its main goal aims at developing their metacognitive and self-regulation strategies for pre-writing, composing, and revising a persuasive writing task in the format of a formal letter of complaint. Concluding remarks suggest recommendations for instructors as regards grouping techniques, corrective feedback and rubric use in the didactic proposal.Aquest treball ofereix una revisió de les últimes investigacions empíriques sobre l’aplicació d’estratègies metacognitives i d’autoregulació a l’aula de llengua estrangera en els nivells elemental/secundari i universitari. L’anàlisi sintetitza diverses pràctiques d’escriptura metacognitiva que altres investigadors han emprat a l’aula, així com mètodes i instruments utilitzats per avaluar l’aprenentatge dels alumnes. El panorama general que es desprèn dels estudis revisats s'analitza en funció de les implicacions pedagògiques. Tenint en compte aquestes implicacions, la tesi ofereix a més una intervenció d’aprenentatge de 4 hores dirigida a estudiants de Batxillerat dintre del context de l’educació secundària catalana. El seu objectiu principal és desenvolupar les seves estratègies metacognitives i d’autoregulació per prescriure, compondre i revisar una tasca d’escriptura persuasiva en format de carta de queixa formal. Les conclusions finals suggereixen recomanacions per als professors pel que fa a les tècniques d'agrupament, retroalimentació correctiva i ús de rúbriques en la proposta didàctica

A Case Study of English Language Learners’ Multimodal Compositions and Identity Representations

English learners’ literacy practices have become multimodal in today’s media and technology saturated world. Studies have investigated the application of multimodal composing in English language learning (ELL) classrooms and found that multimodal composing fostered students’ English achievement and understanding of course content more effectively than the lecture-type instruction (e.g. Yang & Wu, 2012). However, the examination of ELLs’ multimodal writing practices and their identity representation through out-of-class spaces have not been fully explored. This qualitative case study investigated international multilingual students’ choices of multimodal resources and how they used their preferred resources to design multimodal compositions to write about their previous and current English learning experiences, and how their social and literate identities are revealed from their multimodal compositions. There were three overarching research questions: first, how do ELLs use multimodal resources to write about their experiences of learning English in and out of the U.S. in a multimodal composing workshop? Second, how are their identities portrayed in their multimodal compositions and self-descriptions? Third, what are their perceptions of using multimodal resources to express themselves? Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, workshop observation notes, video-recorded workshop sessions, participants’ multimodal compositions and researcher’s log. Social semiotic multimodal discourse analysis (MDA) (Jewitt, 2009, 2011), and grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) were the primary data analysis methods. The study was situated in the frameworks of multimodality (e.g. Jewitt, 2008; Kress, 1997) and sociocultural and literate identities theory (e.g. Holland et al., 1998; Vasudevan et al., 2010). Participants were a group of ELLs recruited from an Intensive English Program (IEP) in a university located in the southeastern region of the US. A series of 10 workshop sessions were scheduled to investigate ELLs’ multimodal composing practices and identity manifestation. Participants were found to use a combination of words and images to compose multimodal texts to write about their personal journey of English learning regardless of their age, gender, and nationality. Revolutionary perceptions about multimodal composing both in and out-of-classroom spaces were advocated by participants to satisfy their various writing purposes and communication needs

Educational Technology Primer: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers

The Educational Technology Primer grew out of the realization that today’s teacher education students have different needs than their predecessors. Current students arrive on campus less intimidated by technology and more experienced with the use of technology in instruction. However, many introductory educational technology texts still highlight the acquisition of basic technology operations; knowledge and skills that made sense when students entering an introductory educational technology course lacked technology experiences, but not today

Effectively Using Presentation Technology in the History Classroom

In spite of increased use of technology in the history classroom, the impact of technology remains low on student retention and comprehension of historical information. This project study examined the manner in which PowerPoint slides in history classes are formatted and the elements they contain for effective use. The literature related to best methods was reviewed to reveal practices that lead to the highest levels of comprehension and retention and how those practices could be implemented in PowerPoint presentations. This grounded theory study in the field of cognition and instruction centered on a high school that successfully implements technology in the history classroom. Qualitative data were obtained from interviews with 4 history teachers who used presentation technology on a regular basis and surveys that asked for both qualitative data and some limited quantitative data for demographic and background purposes of students and other teachers. Data from the study were viewed through the lens of schema theory. Findings indicated that bullets promoted memorization, and, as a result, information was placed in a narrative format. Findings also suggested the effectiveness of visual images and interactive activities and they were incorporated extensively. The project study\u27s impact and the resulting implications for social change include increased retention and comprehension of history for students

A Case Study Investigating Secondary Science Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Science Literacy Instruction

This project study addressed the lack of inclusion of discipline literacy pedagogy in secondary classrooms in a rural school district in eastern North Carolina. Discipline literacy practices are recommended in the Common Core Standards for History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. The district had implemented content area reading strategies across content areas, yet no significant progress in secondary students\u27 reading abilities had been demonstrated in statewide or national assessments. The conceptual framework that drove this study was disciplinary literacy, founded by the literacy research of Shanahan, Shanahan, and Zygouris-Coe. Within a qualitative case study method, this investigation of 8 secondary science teachers\u27 experiences teaching literacy during content instruction focused on practices of embedding science-specific reading strategies into lessons and factors that influence teachers\u27 decisions to participate in professional development to advance their learning of discipline-specific literacy methods. Data were collected and triangulated using a focus group and 8 individual interviews. Data from both methods were analyzed into codes and categories that developed into emergent themes. Findings from the focus group and individual interviews revealed that the science teachers possessed limited knowledge of science-specific reading strategies; used random, general literacy practices; and had completed inadequate professional development on science-related topics. Positive change may occur if district leaders support teachers in expanding their knowledge and application of discipline literacy strategies through participation in discipline literacy-focused professional development. The study may provide educators and researchers a deeper understanding of disciplinary literacy and increase research on the topic

Proceedings of the 1st Annual Higher Education Flipped Learning Conference

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