Brave Forms of Mentoring Supported by Technology in Teacher Education

Indexación: Web of ScienceQuality education is undoubtedly a global concern, tied closely to preoccupations with economic and social development. Increasingly, the adoption and effective use of current technology tools are being recognized as visible signs of that quality. Scholars are providing increasing evidence of the kinds of empowered teacher identities that will adopt the effective use of technology tools in teaching. Less is being discussed about how technology can support the processes needed to mediate such identities. The context of Teacher Education is a strategic place to begin to initiate such processes. Our aim in this article is twofold: 1) to describe two recent examples of innovative, technology - supported mentoring processes that were conducted in the context of an EFL Teacher Education program in Chile; 2) to revisit the findings of these studies in light of new evidence from participants who have moved on in their careers. This evidence is viewed in the framework of recent scholarship on the responsibilities that Teacher Education plays in their development. The first 16-month study examined the influences of a guided reading program involving e-readers on the identities and literacy skills of pre-service teachers. The second was a student-conceived study. That inquiry sought to determine the influence of upper year students' peer mentoring, made available partly through a social media site (SMS), on the identities and investment in learning of 12 firs-year students in the pedagogy program. The initial evidence from ethnographic tools used in both studies indicated that the participants were struggling with confidence and doubting themselves as knowledgeable, effective future teachers - not predictive of a potential for quality teaching. Positive signs at the end of both studies and more recent reports from participants suggest that the mentoring had longitudinal benefits for some, although not uniformly. The potential of apprenticeship and mentoring in a technology-supported environment requires rethinking Teacher Education mandates if we are to empower emerging teachers to be quality teachers.http://www.ejel.org/issue/download.html?idArticle=48

Tangible Steps Toward Tomorrow

This publication developed by W.K. Kellogg Foundation in collaboration with IDEO details a human-centered approach to evolving the system of early education for the needs and possibilities of the 21st century

Shifting Paradigms: Innovations in Teaching History in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterized by rapid technological advancements and widespread digitization, this paper delves into the evolving paradigms of historical education. Traditional teaching methods are becoming obsolete, given the tech-savvy nature of current learners. This study explores innovative pedagogical approaches that integrate technology, catering to the unique needs of this generation. By reviewing contemporary literature and gathering expert insights, we offer an overview of emerging trends in historical education. Notably, technology is poised to redefine how history is learned. Modern learners gravitate towards boundary-less learning experiences, enabled by resources like ebooks, ICT-based apps, websites, android platforms, VR, and virtual tours. To stay relevant, a significant shift in historical education is imperative. This paper concludes by emphasizing the profound implications of this transition and proposes actionable recommendations for educators and policymakers

Making Visible the Invisible: Social Justice and Inclusion through the Collaboration of Museums and Spanish Community-Based Learning Projects

Concerns about inclusion and social responsibility as conduit for social justice on university campuses offer a platform for interdisciplinary initiatives. Here we focus on one such initiative, which seeks to build community between University of Richmond students and local Latino and Hispanic populations using the University of Richmond Museum collection. Collaborations between museums and Spanish classes, including a community-based learning component (Spanish Community-Based Learning and Museums - SCBLM), provide outreach to the local community and might prompt dialogues about extant social injustices (however overt or subliminal). In these experiential learning projects, the museum serves as a communal resource to embody ACTFL’s Five C’s of language teaching (communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, communities). The SCBLM engagements, typically Spanish museum tours, encourage social awareness, connections, and social justice by way of empathetic inclusion. This paper explains the vision (objectives) of this practice (community-based learning) and the outcomes (implications) with university students; for support, we use research from museum studies, language teaching, and critical pedagogy. As a new endeavor in academic and museum scholarship, this paper provides a model for interdisciplinary teaching and research. Finally, we state the necessity for student-community inclusive projects within universities, as they allow for a more socially aware, empathetic, and connected community

Technologies and digital competences in portuguese education: history of its integration in pedagogical practices since the beginning of the 20th century

This study aims to analyse the evolutionary context of the introduction of technology in Portuguese schools, from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day, and to identify the digital competences of Portuguese teachers at different educational levels. The analysis, qualitative and quantitative in nature, allowed us to conclude that technologies had a slow diffusion in Portuguese schools, because of the scarcity of resources and residual investment in teacher training, giving the use of technology in school a more irregular and playful character rather than truly integrated in pedagogical practices to promote the quality of learning. Although in recent years there has been still some conservatism in the use of technology, very focused on its instrumental use, there have been more practices with pedagogical intent and more focused on the active participation of students, also noting the growing importance of teacher training in this field of digital technologies, with the aim of making teachers more competent and fluent in the pedagogical use of digital. Furthermore, the study focused on the teachers' perception of their digital competences in three dimensions: the teachers' professional and pedagogical competences and the students' competences from the DigCompEdu framework and the self-assessment questionnaire of digital competences built from the same framework - DigCompEdu Check-In. The analysis of the answers obtained in this questionnaire (collected from the participation of 434 teachers of Basic and Secondary Education and 118 of Higher Education) showed that teachers need to increase their levels of digital proficiency through specific training, since they present, globally, a moderate level of digital proficiency - level B1 -Integrators- being the areas 4 - Evaluation - and 6 - Digital empowerment of students, the ones that present the greatest weaknesses

Ethical decision making by school leaders in a period of neoliberal reform

School leaders and their leadership teams are involved in the process of decision making on a daily basis. Their work is often complex and arduous as they deal with a range of competing demands from stakeholders who include parents, staff, students, community groups, employing authorities and often other principals. Researchers in the field of ethical decision making have included metaphors such as ‘minefield’ and ‘battlegrounds’ in their writing to describe the complexity and dangerous nature of the work in which principals involve themselves when making decisions. The work is ‘dangerous’ because stakeholders are often upset with the outcomes of the decision-making processes, which they may not support. Their disquiet can lead to further and continuous conflict. The difficult situations and ethical dilemmas faced by school leaders are becoming more complex as both state and federal levels of government in Australia seek to exert more direct and indirect influence on schools, their leadership, management and accountability. Australia is not immune from recent major educational trends evident elsewhere in the Western world. The impact of market ideologies and neoliberal reform agendas are explored in the context of moves towards greater localised decision-making and governance in the Australian school sector. I have undertaken field work throughout this doctoral program to explore the ways in which schools can incorporate professional learning in decision making into their professional practice, the role that ethical decision making can play in nurturing leadership capacity at all levels of the school organisation, and the role that effective ethical decision-making practices can play in building dynamic and transparent school cultures. To support and nurture ethical decision-making practices in schools, I have provided conference presentations, created an Ethical Decision Making Toolkit of scenarios, designed and implemented an Ethical Decision Making Course for School Leaders, delivered workshops, created vodcasts, and facilitated Aspiring Leaders Network Meetings. These workshops and presentations have utilised frameworks of ethical practice drawn from the writings which the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) have produced to guide public sector understanding and best practice in transparent and ethical decision making. For this Professional Practice Doctorate, I have created a portfolio which is in seven parts. The portfolio is introduced by an Overarching Narrative that is followed by three scholarly papers and three professional practice initiatives. The scholarly papers provide an understanding of key issues and research. They address ethical decision making, appropriate professional learning for school leaders and the challenges of leadership in an era of significant generational change. The professional practice initiatives address educational policy making in the context of local decision making and highlight the practical initiatives I have created and implemented to support leaders in their daily leadership practices. The seven parts of this portfolio reflect my professional journey as a senior departmental officer working with schools in an era which has seen many experienced school leaders retire and younger generations of leaders assume the challenging role of educational leader with its myriad responsibilities. The portfolio raises significant questions which relate to the decision making and problem solving of leaders, the nature of succession planning and the nature of professional learning that best prepares and supports educational leaders for the challenges and dilemmas they face. My research confirms the value of school leaders and their leadership teams acquiring an understanding of ethical decision-making skills to enhance their decision making and problem solving in an era of greater localised decision making in schools

A collaborative digital pedagogy experience in the tMOOC “Step by step”

This research analysed social MOOCs (sMOOCs), which are characterised by the involvement and the interaction of participants in a model based on intercreativity, with the final objective of transferring knowledge by an agile replicating process. The fieldwork focused on the analysis of the sMOOC “Step by Step” of the European Commission-funded Elearning, Communication and Open-data (ECO) Project, which aims to build and apply an innovative pedagogical model for the the training of e-teachers. This sMOOC reaches out to a specific academic community, providing learners with digital competences in order to transform them in e-teachers. The quantitative analysis was done via an online questionnaire. One of the most significant conclusions, which answers the research questions regarding why and how to make a successful sMOOC, is that the design of collaborative activities increases the involvement of learners with the course and the interaction between participants, independent of age but dependent on area of work. This formative process in turn generates transfer of learning together with the embedded pedagogical transformation in e-teachers. This validates the addition of the transferMOOC (tMOOC) model to the existing typologies of MOOCs

Academic knowledge mobilization to promote culture change towards openness in education

Introduction: Towards a knowledge-based society, Case study: Mobilizing OER to educational practice, Sharing: Publication of academic content through OER, Selection: Documentation and evaluation of academic content, Dissemination: Communication and reference of academic content, Mobilization: Transference of academic content, Lessons learned and conclusions, Reference

Computer based training for new California State University, San Bernardino faculty

The project\u27s goal is to develop training courseware for new faculty at California State University, San Bernardino. The courseware presents classroom learning scenarios and teaching strategies that support the construction of the faculty member\u27s teaching and learning philosophy and a five year plan