Communities of Designers: Transforming a Situation into a Unified Whole

A new player, digital technology, has entered into the already variegated and often contentious world of teaching and teacher education. This new player promises to disrupt existing practices in some as yet undefined way. It is not surprising that its eventual impact on learning or on educational equity is uncertain, when there is still great uncertainty around basic questions such as which digital tools ought to be considered or what they cost. The previous chapters in this book make a major contribution to the conversation about (digital) technology in education. They address three large questions: How should we integrate technology into learning? What happens when we do? How do we learn to do it (possibly better than before)?published or submitted for publicationnot peer reviewe

An Engineering Linkage To K 12 Teachers

Engineering faculty at Iowa State University have worked collaboratively with teacher education faculty since 1996 to offer an undergraduate course entitled Toying with Technology to elementary and secondary education majors1, 2. The development of this technology literacy course provided students with an appreciation for the technological innovations that surround them. Studies have shown that students form many of their overall career and educational attitudes as early as elementary school. Elementary (and even secondary) schoolteachers who have an appreciation for technology will likely convey that appreciation to their students. This will, in turn, broaden the horizons of these students regarding the opportunities they may have regarding careers in scientific and engineering disciplines. Engineering faculty believe the Toying with Technology course is a component of the long-term recruitment of K-12 students, particularly minorities and women, into technology-based fields3, 4, 5. This course is designed to explain the principles behind many of the technological innovations in wide use today via a collection of hands-on laboratory experiences based upon simple systems constructed out of LEGOs and controlled by small computers. These laboratory experiences are designed to lead students, literally by their hands-on experimentation, through the use of technology in support of many everyday activities. The lab experiences are simple enough to isolate and illuminate the underlying basic principles and yet complex enough to represent real-world examples. Students typically design and construct simple models of real-world systems, including an elevator and its controller, a garage door and its opener, a computer-controlled car, and a house security system. A significant portion of this course is the many field experiences involving K-12 students being facilitated in mobile robotics exercises by the pre-service teachers. The literature in recent years shows numerous papers on mobile robotics1, 2, 6-8, many using LEGOs. There also are many references to engineering outreach efforts3-5, 8-12. During the summer of 2000 a graduate course incorporating these mobile robotics and scanning electron microscope exercises was offered to in-service teachers and teacher education graduate students. Several of the in-service teachers who took this course are now partnered with the current undergraduate students to provide an on-going relationship among the practicing teacher, the pre-service teachers, the K-12 students, and the engineering faculty. In effect, the practicing teacher’s classroom becomes the laboratory for the Toying With Technology course

Middle and High School Teacher Perceptions of Training to Manage Disruptive Students

Schoolteachers report a lack of resources and training to manage disruptive student behavior that presents as antisocial, problematic, and/or symptomatic of mental illness. Disruptive student behaviors have a negative impact on students socially and academically. The social cognitive theory and social learning theory guided the research questions to examine differences in perceptions of 195 urban general and special educators in middle and high school regarding their skills to manage disruptive student behavior and teachers’ need for professional training to manage disruptive student behavior. A 2X2 between-groups nonparametric survey research design was used, and the two dependent variables were measured using the Skills and Needs Inventories in Functional Behavior Assessments and Interventions (SNI-FBAI). Data were examined for distributional properties and reliability analyses were conducted to verify internal consistency before combining items to form the two scales. Inferential statistics produced no significant differences between middle and high school teachers’ capacity to manage disruptive student behavior. However, there was a significant difference between means of special and general educators’ perceptions of their ability to manage disruptive behaviors. Additionally, there was no significant difference between middle and high school teachers’ reports in terms of their need for training to manage disruptive student behavior, but there were significant differences between special and general educators’ reports in terms of training need. Administrators may use the findings from this study to improve education reform efforts focused on teacher development by learning which topics involving professional training teachers identified as needed to improve their capacity to manage disruptive student behavior

The Implementation of Online Learning in Elementary Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study was to determine how online learning was implemented in elementary schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research was conducted in elementary schools in the Muara Enim District, in Sumatra Selatan, Indonesia. This was descriptive research and a qualitative approach was used. The research subjects were elementary school teachers. Data were collected through observations, interviews, and documentation analysis. Data were analyzed using the Miles and Huberman model. The results showed that: 1) teachers were not ready in terms of planning and implementing online learning; 2) most elementary school teachers in Muara Enim District used the Whatsapp application in the process of implementing online learning; 3) online learning tended to be less effective because elementary school students still dependend on teachers and parents; 4) student learning outcomes tended to increase during online learning; this was indicated by the average score of students which was ≤ 70 before online learning and ≥ 90 after online learning. Teachers were still hesitant in reporting the assessment of student learning outcomes, because during online learning the teacher cannot supervise students’ completion of the assignments. For this reason, parent cooperation is needed for educating and guiding their children during online learning and so that teachers can determine the development of student learning outcomes at home. Keywords: effectiveness, online learning, elementary school, COVID-19 pandemic, Whatsap

ISTS E-Newsletter, May 15, 2009

In this issue: --Message from the ISTS Chair, De Anna Tibben --Message from the Fall Conference Chair, Morgan Masters --Message from the Vice Chair, Kathy Megivern --Announcements --Opportunities --Book Review --News --Your ISTS Leadership Teamhttps://scholarworks.uni.edu/ias_istsnews/1020/thumbnail.jp

Museum Education and the Climate of Accountability

This study examines how the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002’s accountability mandates for public schools have affected museum education programs in a large, Midwestern city. For this multi-method study, relevant educational materials were analyzed, and fourteen educational professionals affected by the relationship between museums and public schools were interviewed. As public schools are increasingly pressured to increase student test scores, cuts in fieldtrip attendance are seen as justifiable, since these experiences do not directly result in students’ making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on standardized tests. To remain relevant to these new goals for public education, many museums have tied their field trip content to general state standards, or explicitly linked museum lessons to the tested subjects of math and reading. These alterations further circumscribe public students’ educational experiences to testable curricula, and students lose out on learning content that gives their studies real-world context and meaning

An exploration of computer-mediated skill acquisition in concept mapping by in-service panamanian public elementary school teachers

A large body of research provides evidence that concept mapping can support meaningful learning. However, very little is known about how novice mappers acquire the ability to construct concept maps. This dissertation explored the process by which learners acquire skills in computer mediated concept mapping. The study took place in Panama’s Conéctate Project, where elementary public schoolteachers are being trained in concept mapping in 2-week workshops. In view of the time average learners require to become proficient mappers, the short period considered by this study, at best, tells only part of the story. It constitutes, nonetheless, a solid starting point, helping us understand the difficulties that novice mappers confront, and explain the initial resistance they often display. This understanding, in turn, can assist in developing more effective concept mapping training programs.Gran cantidad de investigaciones proveen evidencia de que los mapas conceptuales pueden apoyar el aprendizaje significativo. No obstante, muy poco se sabe sobre cómo los mapeadores novatos adquieren habilidades para construir mapas conceptuales. Esta disertación exploró el proceso por el cual los aprendientes adquieren habilidades en la construcción de mapas conceptuales mediados por computadora. El estudio se realizó en el Proyecto Conéctate de Panamá, donde se está capacitando a maestros de escuelas primarias públicas para construir mapas conceptuales en talleres de 2 semanas. En vista del tiempo promedio que requieren los aprendientes para volverse mapeadores competentes, el corto período considerado por este estudio, a lo sumo, cuenta parte de la historia. Constituye, sin embargo, un sólido punto de partida, que nos ayuda a comprender las dificultades que enfrentan los mapeadores novatos y a explicar la resistencia inicial que suelen mostrar. Esta comprensión, a su vez, puede ayudar a desarrollar programas de capacitación más efectivos.Gran quantitat d'investigacions proveeixen evidència que els mapes conceptuals poden donar suport a l'aprenentatge significatiu. Tot i això, molt poc se sap sobre com els mapejadors novells adquireixen habilitats per construir mapes conceptuals. Aquesta dissertació va explorar el procés pel qual els aprenents adquireixen habilitats en la construcció de mapes conceptuals intervinguts per ordinador. L'estudi es va realitzar al Projecte Conéctate de Panamà, on s'està capacitant mestres d'escoles primàries públiques per construir mapes conceptuals a tallers de 2 setmanes. En vista del temps mitjà que requereixen els aprenents per tornar-se mapejadors competents, el curt període considerat per aquest estudi, com a màxim, explica part de la història. Constitueix, però, un sòlid punt de partida, que ens ajuda a comprendre les dificultats que enfronten els mapejadors novells i a explicar la resistència inicial que solen mostrar. Aquesta comprensió, alhora, pot ajudar a desenvolupar programes de capacitació més efectius.Societat de la informació i el coneixemen

Practicing K 12 Teachers In A Graduate Engineering Course

The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century stated that “Better mathematics and science teaching is therefore grounded, first of all, in improving the quality of teacher preparation and in making continuing professional education available for all teachers 1.” The constructivist paradigm 2,3 asserts that learning occurs through a process in which the student plays an active role in constructing the set of conceptual structures that constitute his or her own knowledge base. Some specific examples of the successful application of technology grounded in constructivist theory are evident in projects in the Carter Lawrence School (Tennessee), Clearview Elementary School (California), Ralph Bunche School (New York) and the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT) studies. At Iowa State University engineering faculty have worked collaboratively with teacher education faculty since 1996 to offer an undergraduate course entitled Toying with TechnologySM to elementary and secondary education majors4,5,6. This course, which employs the constructivist method and seeks to improve teacher preparation, began with 15 preservice teachers in the first semester and has grown to about 100 preservice teachers per year in the undergraduate course and 20 inservice teachers in the graduate course. In addition about 1000 K-12 students per year experience a one to two hour workshop and others, who are in classes taught by teachers who have been in these courses in previous years, get a longer, more in-depth experience. The Toying With TechnologySM Program maintains a web site at http://www.eng.iastate.edu/twt/. This technology literacy course provides students with an appreciation for the technological innovations that surround them. Studies have shown that students form many of their overall career and educational attitudes as early as elementary school7. Elementary (and even secondary) schoolteachers who have an appreciation for technology will likely convey that appreciation to their students. This will, in turn, broaden the horizons of these students regarding the opportunities they may have regarding careers in scientific and engineering disciplines