Guess my X and other techno-pedagogical patterns: toward a language of patterns for teaching and learning mathematics

Most people see learning mathematics as a demanding, even threatening, endeavour. Consequently, creating technology-enhanced environments and activities for learning mathematics is a challenging domain. It requires a synergism of several dimensions of design knowledge: usability, software design, pedagogical design and subject matter. This paper presents a set of patterns derived from a study on designing collaborative learning activities in mathematics for children aged 10-14, and a set of tools to support them

Dealing with abstraction: Case study generalisation as a method for eliciting design patterns

Developing a pattern language is a non-trivial problem. A critical requirement is a method to support pattern writers with abstraction, so as they can produce generalised patterns. In this paper, we address this issue by developing a structured process of generalisation. It is important that this process is initiated through engaging participants in identifying initial patterns, i.e. directly dealing with the 'cold-start' problem. We have found that short case study descriptions provide a productive 'way into' the process for participants. We reflect on a 1-year interdisciplinary pan-European research project involving the development of almost 30 cases and over 150 patterns. We provide example cases, detailing the process by which their associated patterns emerged. This was based on a foundation for generalisation from cases with common attributes. We discuss the merits of this approach and its implications for pattern development

Organizational citizenship behaviors and technologically proficient university faculty

As institutions of higher education seek to meet the demands of a changing technological environment, they are compelled to push for increased faculty use of technology in their instructional and scholarly pursuits. as more faculties adopt these innovations, universities find themselves unable to provide the necessary technological support required. Filling this support gap are the techno-profs, faculty members who are technologically proficient, have a network of technological resources, reside at the department level, and are willing to assist most everyone who asks for help.;The purpose of this study was to determine if the techno-profs within various university administrative units have common social and personal characteristics, provide similar technological contributions to their units, exhibit characteristic organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), and experience positive or negative effects on their careers as a result of these discretionary behaviors.;Social network analysis of the results of a World Wide Web based survey of two academic departments at two universities in the southeastern United States revealed three techno-profs to whom other faculty went for assistance. Semi-directed interviews of the three techno-profs, their deans, and the information technology administrators at both institutions were conducted using a conceptual framework of the university as a social organization based upon the works of Goran Ahrne (1994) and Shirley, Peters, & El-Ansary (1976).;It was concluded that by relying so heavily on techno-profs to provide technological expertise and by providing them the most advanced technological resources, organizations, in essence maintain these faculty in a position that benefits the institution, but is often detrimental to the individual. Techno-profs can easily attribute an exaggerated worth to their technological abilities and importance to the organization as the university pays little heed to their contributions at promotion and tenure time.;Further research is needed to evaluate the effects of OCB on faculty in disciplines other than Humanities, and at different points along the faculty career path. A study of the financial impact of OCB is also needed

IDR : a participatory methodology for interdisciplinary design in technology enhanced learning

One of the important themes that emerged from the CAL’07 conference was the failure of technology to bring about the expected disruptive effect to learning and teaching. We identify one of the causes as an inherent weakness in prevalent development methodologies. While the problem of designing technology for learning is irreducibly multi-dimensional, design processes often lack true interdisciplinarity. To address this problem we present IDR, a participatory methodology for interdisciplinary techno-pedagogical design, drawing on the design patterns tradition (Alexander, Silverstein & Ishikawa, 1977) and the design research paradigm (DiSessa & Cobb, 2004). We discuss the iterative development and use of our methodology by a pan-European project team of educational researchers, software developers and teachers. We reflect on our experiences of the participatory nature of pattern design and discuss how, as a distributed team, we developed a set of over 120 design patterns, created using our freely available open source web toolkit. Furthermore, we detail how our methodology is applicable to the wider community through a workshop model, which has been run and iteratively refined at five major international conferences, involving over 200 participants

Technology-enhanced learning and teaching: Narratives of secondary English teachers in Western Australia

This qualitative study explored teacher beliefs, decision-making, and pedagogical practices for using digital technologies in Western Australian secondary English classrooms. Driven by technology and the assumption that technology integration enhances student learning, the secondary school education landscape is undergoing a period of rapid change. While some stakeholders view teachers’ pedagogical practice as integrated with technology-enhanced learning (TEL), the literature identifies that the contrary is often true: technology use and deployment can be uneven and unsystematic. This study aimed to understand these perceptions via three research questions, that explored TEL's effects on secondary English teaching, both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic home learning experience. Six secondary English teachers were recruited via professional networking. Employing a narrative inquiry methodology, semi-structured interview questions were designed to encourage participants to share their pedagogical approaches and experiences with technology. The interview data were analysed using narrative thematic analysis and dominant themes were identified. The analysis found that teacher participants articulated stories of change and adaptation when using TEL, which gave insight into both personal and professional beliefs regarding education technology. Additional findings report that the home-learning experience during the pandemic has opened up possibilities for new digital pedagogies. However, this was counterbalanced by reinforcement of traditional beliefs about behaviour management, student learning, and teacher agency. The study concludes that if the knowledge gained from home learning in 2020 is utilised in positive ways to further integrate digital pedagogies into curricula, all educational stakeholders are likely to benefit. Furthermore, findings may have implications for twenty-first century in-service and pre-service teacher education to ensure that TEL functions as an enhancement to learning in its broadest sociocultural context

Global Citizenship Education: Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Global Education

As technology has improved communication and access to information around the world, it has become necessary for the purpose and goals of the American educational system to evolve. A focus on developing global citizens who can demonstrate 21st century skills will help educators who want to prepare their students to enter the world. This transcendental phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of current secondary educators who make global connections in their classrooms so that it can provide practical support to educators looking to begin making or improve existing global connections in the classroom. This study was guided by two research questions: (1) In a public school district committed to global citizenship, how do secondary educators perceive global citizenship education? and (2) How do public secondary school educators understand how their perception of global citizenship influences the way they include global education in their classrooms? Data were collected through one-on-one interviews with nine self-identified globally aware secondary educators, which were transcribed and analyzed. Four themes emerged from the data: (1) recognition of self as global citizen, (2) global citizenship in the classroom, (3) the participants’ vision for students as global citizens, and (4) the challenges and opportunities of GCE pedagogy. The researcher’s interpretation of the themes resulted in a collective description of the experiences of globally aware secondary educators. The study provides recommendations for practitioners, including developing a clear definition and implementation plan for global citizenship education. Additional recommendations are made for those who prepare educators for the classroom, including expanding teacher certification requirements and preparation programs to include global citizenship education. The researcher also makes suggestions for further study of global citizenship education in practice, including studies that examine the experiences of students exposed to a global curriculum

Layering literacies: Computers and peer response in the 21st century

Research into peer response work has a long history in the field of composition, and the work of my dissertation is to extend that research into the newer subfield of composition, computers and writing. Specifically I focus on the way students use multiple linguistic competencies (oral, print and electronic competencies) to perform a variety of selves in peer response. Drawing on the work of Erving Goffinan, the extant literature of peer response, work done in ethnomethodology, and research done in three first year composition classrooms, I outline the contours and strategies that students use to engage in peer response while using asynchronous computer technologies and speech. Ultimately, I argue for a multilayered conception of peer response in which students use electronic texts, printed texts, and talk to negotiate selves on a moment-by-moment basis. I examine the implications that this conception of peer response might have for the teaching of writing---paying particular attention to the role that talk plays in computer-based peer response work

Personal effects : education in the age of personal-industry technology

This work explains and models a "personal" way of doing education in the current era of personal-industry electronic technology represented by the computer. Seeing how powerful the now-fading mass-industry technological paradigm (represented by the factory) has been in terms of promulgating a one-size-fits-all, quasi-personal and quasi-social education, this work explicates and models a way of doing education which is instead highly-personal and highly-social, in accord with the potential of the new technological paradigm of personal-industry. The question of whether or not this new personal mode of education will promulgate itself as successfully as the former mass-industry model did is addressed, and resistances to the explicit and implicit changes the new paradigm represents are outlined and discussed

Scoping a vision for formative e-assessment: a project report for JISC

Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. If the relationship between teaching and learning were causal, i. e. if students always mastered the intended learning outcomes of a particular sequence of instruction, assessment would be superfluous. Experience and research suggest this is not the case: what is learnt can often be quite different from what is taught. Formative assessment is motivated by a concern with the elicitation of relevant information about student understanding and / or achievement, its interpretation and an exploration of how it can lead to actions that result in better learning. In the context of a policy drive towards technology-enhanced approaches to teaching and learning, the question of the role of digital technologies is key and it is the latter on which this project particularly focuses. The project and its deliverables have been informed by recent and relevant literature, in particular recent work by Black andIn this work, they put forward a framework which suggests that assessment for learning their term for formative assessment can be conceptualised as consisting of a number of aspects and five keystrategies. The key aspects revolve around the where the learner is going, where the learner is right now and how she can get there and examines the role played by the teacher, peers and the learner. Language: English Keywords: assessments, case studies, design patterns, e-assessmen

A design approach to research in technology enhanced mathematics education

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