Student teachers’ preconceptions of programming as a content in the subject technology

In many countries, student teachers are not adequately prepared to teach programming in technology education once they have completed their training. There is a corresponding inadequacy of research regarding pre-service programming education in technology, although in recent years research in this area has increased. There is a lack of research specifically regarding student teachers’ experiences and development of knowledge during programming sessions in their teacher education. A knowledge important for developing competences needed for teaching in technology. This article presents a study with the aim of describing student teachers’ preconceptions about teaching programming in technology.The study uses a phenomenographic approach investigating eight student teachers’ experiences after a five-week technology course preparing for primary education, grades 4-6 (teaching pupils aged 10-12). Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with student teachers from two different higher education institutions in Sweden. From the first step of the analysis, three tentative categories have been obtained, describing student teachers’ experiences as: 1) an understanding of a language and/or a tool, 2) an understanding and use of language or tool to solve technological problems, and as 3) a way of understanding and describing a technological environment.   The results of the study will contribute to new approaches on how to vary and design the teaching of programming in technology for student teachers to develop skills that are important for their future profession

A Comparative Case Study of Service-Learning in Teacher Education: Rethinking Benefits and Challenges of Partners and Placements

In this comparative case study, two teacher educators turned the research lens on their own experiences with service-learning. Positing that teacher education programming can explicitly address pre-service teachers’ assumptions through course-embedded academic service-learning activities, particularly reflection, the advantages and difficulties of various placements and partners were examined. Using a case study design allowed the researchers to share their experiences locating suitable placements and forging sustainable partnerships for their courses. Findings include the importance of considering the utility of non-traditional placements and settings, the value of cultivating long-term partners, and the significance of frequent and ongoing reflection. The authors conclude that comparative case study is one method for teacher educators interested in service-learning to examine their own courses as pathways to preparing pre-service teachers. Teacher educators can intentionally incorporate service-learning components that expand pre-service teachers’ frames of reference, using reflection as a tool for preparing future teachers for increasingly complex teaching

Fostering preservice teachers’ expectancies and values towards computational thinking

Theory Digital technologies have become an integral part of everyday life that children are exposed to. Therefore, it is important for children to acquire an understanding of these technologies early on by teaching them computational thinking (CT) as a part of STEM. However, primary school teachers are often reluctant to teach CT. Expectancy-value theory suggests that motivational components play an important role in teaching and learning. Thus, one hindrance to teachers’ willingness to teach CT might be their low expectancies of success and high emotional costs, e.g., anxiety towards CT. Aims We investigated whether a specifically designed seminar on CT affected preservice teachers’ expectancies and values towards programming.Method: A total of 311 German primary school and special education preservice teachers took part in the study. The primary school preservice teachers received a seminar on CT and programming with low-threshold programming tasks, while the special education teachers served as a baseline group. The seminar was specifically designed to enhance expectancies and values and decrease emotional costs, following implications of research on expectancy-value theory. Results The preservice teachers who visited the seminar gained higher expectancies and values towards CT and programming compared to the baseline group. Moreover, their emotional costs decreased. CT was positively related to change in expectancies and values and negatively related to emotional costs. Discussion Interventions with low-threshold programming tasks can support primary school preservice teachers in finding trust in their abilities and values towards CT. Moreover, their anxiety towards CT and programming can be alleviated. Thus, first steps in preparing preservice teachers to teach CT in their future classrooms can be taken in university

NLP, suggestology and stage-acting in teaching english as a second/foreign language

The article discusses the requirement to improve the system of preparing teachers of English as a second/foreign language by way of introducing the techniques of neuro-linguistic programming, suggestology and stage-acting into their training. The kinship of all the three types of those techniques is shown, and the necessity of training future language teachers in such techniques is proved by demonstrating their crucial role in establishing optimal teacher-student rapport which is the key to success in second/foreign language teaching/learning.Key words: second/foreign language teacher training, NLP, suggestology, stage-acting, teacher-student rappor

Building on Community: A Community-Built Pipeline of Community College-Educated Secondary Mathematics Teachers of Color

The race/ethnic gap between secondary mathematics teachers and their students is widening as more students of color enroll in public schools. Community colleges serve local and diverse populations. Historical focus was on elementary education, but, nationally, community college students prepare for careers in secondary mathematics education. Despite Washington State’s strong community college network, few defined secondary mathematics teacher pathways exist. Washington State community colleges’ role in preparing secondary mathematics teachers of color is emerging but is not sufficient to overcome the secondary mathematics teacher shortage and race/ethnic gap. The purpose of this case study was to understand the role community colleges played in preparing current Washington State secondary mathematics teachers of color. Cases involved participants who earned community college credits prior to teaching certificate. Themes developed through teachers of color voice were evaluated through a Critical Race Theory lens to develop potential solutions to systems of oppression and build upon strengths. The role community colleges could play involves internal community college programming and external community engagement and outreach. Recommendations include 1) strengthening faculty advisors role, 2) incorporating cultural sensitivity training, 3) implementing a secondary mathematics teaching pathway, and 3) developing a future teacher group/club

Enhancing learning with authoritative actions: Reflective practice of positive power

Drawing from classic power perspective, my reflective practice illuminates how power action, traditionally recognized as negative and detrimental to teaching process and learning outcomes, could be shaped in a positive way to enhance learning. Insights gained from this action research set in a politically charged and culturally homogenous environment provide critical perspective to the research community and challenge traditional practices of teaching and learning. Implications gained call for attention to critical perspective of empirical studies that could provide lessons for educators and researchers to create a more effective teaching and learning environment with authoritative power. An action framework is created in the end to illustrate how the positive authoritative process can be achieved

Academic Support, A Learning Brief

The K-12 Student Success: Out-of-School Time Initiative is focused on boosting student success among Oregon's middle school students. The Oregon Community Foundation and The Ford Family Foundation are currently funding 21 organizations that provide out-of-school-time programming (e.g., after school or summer) to rural students, students of color and low-income students. Funded programs emphasize academic support, positive adult role models and family engagement. This learning brief summarizes what is known about the importance of academic support from existing research and shares what we are learning about the efforts of the Initiative grantees to provide academic support through out-of-school time programming. We hope that this description of the work of the Initiative grantees helps build understanding of the practices and experiences of out-of-school time programs in Oregon.

Preparing Black and Latino Young Men for College and Careers: A Description of the Schools and Strategies in NYC's Expanded Success Initiative

The Expanded Success Initiative (ESI) provides funding and technical support to 40 relatively successful New York City high schools to help them improve college and career readiness among black and Latino male students. This preliminary report describes key components and strategies of ESI and begins to look at factors that might influence the potential to apply ESI more broadly