Building a community of practice to promote inquiry about geometry: A study case of pre-service teachers interacting online

This study is part of a longitudinal research project that aims to analyze the implications of online interaction in the training of mathematics teachers. A semantic analysis of written texts produced in a specific environment was performed. It highlights that an interactive dynamic, carried out in the hypertextual journey through the environment spaces and the discussion with the group, elements of community of practice were important to describe a way to understand the learning. Since inquiry is a powerful issue that can grow naturally from online interaction (synchronous or asynchronous) and contribute to developing critical pre-service teachers knowledge, research around learning in this particular setting should pay attention to inquiry.This study is part of a longitudinal research project that aims to analyze the implications of online interaction in the training of mathematics teachers. A semantic analysis of written texts produced in a specific environment was performed. It highlights that an interactive dynamic, carried out in the hypertextual journey through the environment spaces and the discussion with the group, elements of community of practice were important to describe a way to understand the learning. Since inquiry is a powerful issue that can grow naturally from online interaction (synchronous or asynchronous) and contribute to developing critical pre-service teachers knowledge, research around learning in this particular setting should pay attention to inquiry

Educational Technology Integration and High-Stakes Testing

Determining if the investment in educational technology will improve student achievement is complicated and multifarious. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of teacher technology integration on student achievement as measured by the Mississippi Subject Area Testing Program (SATP) and to explore the relationship between technology integration and other factors (a teacher’s age, gender, computer self-efficacy, and technology training). This non-experimental, quantitative study included 106 secondary school teachers from six school districts in Mississippi. The respondents completed a questionnaire based on their SATP course (Algebra I, Biology, English II, and U. S. History) teaching experiences. This study employed a multiple linear regression statistical test. The findings of this study indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between technology integration and a teacher’s age, gender, computer self-efficacy, technology training, and student test scores (collectively). The study also showed that when controlling for all other variables, computer self-efficacy and technology integration was statistically significant while age, gender, and student test scores were not statistically significant