Effects of Case-Based Learning on Preservice Secondary Teachers’ Multicultural Attitudes: A Mixed Methods Study

As our society changes, so must our teacher education practices. In the past decade, the Southwestern U.S. has been transforming into a majority minority region (U.S. Census Bureau 2005), which must in turn reframe the underpinnings of teacher education in this area of our country. As teacher educators, we have known that many preservice teachers lagged in their preparedness to teach students who are culturally, ethnically, and linguistically different from themselves. Teacher education increasingly is being criticized as having inabilities to instruct teacher candidates in ways that produce greater K-12 student learning; diversity awareness will be a cornerstone if we can change this infamous trend (AACTE 2003)

Evaluating the impact of virtual exchange on initial teacher education: a European policy experiment

Virtual exchange refers to education programmes in which constructive communication and interaction takes place between individuals or groups from different cultural backgrounds with the support of educators or facilitators. Evaluating and Upscaling Telecollaborative Teacher Education (EVALUATE, http://www.evaluateproject.eu/) was a European policy experimentation financed by Erasmus+ which studied the impact of a telecollaborative model of virtual exchange on student teachers. Between 2017-2018, the project consortium trained teacher trainers and organised virtual exchanges which involved over 1,000 student teachers at initial teacher education institutions. This entailed students interacting and collaborating with partner classes from other countries as an integral part of one of their courses. The research team then analysed the learning gains from these exchanges using qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. They also worked with representatives from European ministries of education to understand how virtual exchange could be upscaled in teacher education across Europe. This publication presents the findings of the EVALUATE experimentation and its implications for the education of future teachers. The study found that engaging student teachers in structured online intercultural collaboration as part of their formal learning can contribute to the development of their digital-pedagogical, intercultural, and foreign language competences. It can also lead to innovation and international learning in the education of future teachers

Online global collaborative educators and pedagogical change

Despite over 20 years of internet access in the classroom, online global collaborative curriculum-based activities are not typical in K-12 schools. Those educators who are collaborating globally identify the potential for student-to-student global interactions leading to deeper understandings of how the world works. The scope of this study was educators in K-12 learning environments and included participants from different countries and school systems. The research was guided by the question, 'How might online global collaboration influence educators’ pedagogical approaches?' This qualitative study used a single case study methodology where the phenomenon of online global collaboration was explored through K-12 educator survey responses and interviews. The researcher used a two-part case study design to initially collected responses via a survey from a larger group of globally active educators. This led to the ultimate purpose of the survey for the selection of a smaller group of participants who were implementing extended and ongoing online global collaborations. Semi-structured interviews with selected participants explored the following points related to participants’ school contexts: a) how online global collaborative learning was implemented; b) how these educators were influenced by their beliefs about teaching and learning; and c) how their personal pedagogies enabled online global collaboration. Findings reveal that educators who successfully implement online global collaborative learning are champions in the digital learning environment, adopt constructivist beliefs and employ innovative pedagogical practices. The findings also reveal how educators developed a Global Collaborator Mindset (GCM), identified as having attributes of openness, connection, autonomy and innovation. Pedagogical influences inform the Online Global Collaborative Learning (OGCL) construct, developed as a tool for understanding classroom learning modes that are online, global and collaborative. The key outcome of the research is the OGCL Framework that encapsulates the wider pedagogical implication informing shift in practice for educators

Research Trends in English Language Teacher Education and English Language Teaching

Research Trends in English Language Teacher Education and English Language Teaching presents a collection of articles about principled review of recent research conducted in the field of ELT and English language teacher education. This resource will be of interest to novice and experienced researchers who would like to see an overview of recent research trends in the field. The collection of research would hopefully shed light on themes and line of research along with implications and suggestions for further research. Each chapter examines studies published in prominent journals in the recent years and attempts to classify them in terms of focused topics, methodology and findings. The edited collection of research is a product of an international research group in the field of English language teacher education formed by Gazi University (Ankara, Turkey), the University of Évora (Évora, Portugal), Pomeranian University (Słupsk, Poland), and Boğaziçi University (Istanbul, Turkey). Research Trends in English Language Teacher Education and English Language Teaching is produced as part of the Erasmus+ project titled ILTERG, "International Language Teacher Education Research Group" (no. KA203-035295), funded by the Turkish National Agency and co- founded by Erasmus+. We would like to thank several other authors from different universities who have contributed to this work of international collaboration and we hope Research Trends in English Language Teacher Education and English Language Teaching could help teacher educators and novice researchers to benefit from the insightful findings of recent research trends collected in the book

Footprints: Participant perspectives informing pedagogy for asynchronous online discussion in initial teacher education

This study looks at how students and staff experience asynchronous online discussion (AOD) within initial teacher education. The aim is to explore participant perspectives, including expectations of fellow participants, with a view to informing pedagogy, defined as the relationship between teaching and learning (Loughran, 2006). The underpinning argument is essentially that learning and teaching can be enhanced by awareness of how participants experience the situation. Understanding the complexities of AOD entails a better understanding of participants’ tacit reasoning, expectations, misunderstandings, and responses to tasks and behaviours (Brookfield & Preskill, 2005; Loughran, 2006). It is the situation as it is perceived which is central to the quality of teaching and learning, and this puts participants and their experiences at the centre of efforts to improve pedagogy and to enhance deep learning. This study is framed by sociocultural theory and phenomenography to explore AOD through the eyes of teacher educators and teacher education students in a specific teacher education context. Participants engaged in focus groups (face-to-face and online) and a series of semi-structured interviews, generating data about experiences and perspectives of AOD. Key findings show the need for participants in AOD to: establish expectations for purposeful communication; to maintain a presence for learning premised on formative interaction; and to work together in ways conducive to community and student leadership in pursuit of deep learning. This thesis adds to the limited research literature on teacher perceptions about online teaching (Spector, 2007), and makes a contribution to addressing the neglect of student approaches to study in higher education using eLearning technologies for discussion (Ellis et al, 2008; Jackson et al, 2010; Sharpe et al, 2010). The results contribute to knowledge in the field of online learning in initial teacher education by giving rise to specific pedagogical strategies for teachers and students in given situations, and by providing conceptual tools for participants when thinking about teaching and learning through AOD. Participant experiences function as footprints, picking out pathways as others make their way through AOD (Salmon, 2002)

Practical approaches to delivering pandemic impacted laboratory teaching

#DryLabsRealScience is a community of practice established to support life science educators with the provision of laboratory-based classes in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and restricted access to facilities. Four key approaches have emerged from the innovative work shared with the network: videos, simulations, virtual/augmented reality, and datasets, with each having strengths and weaknesses. Each strategy was used pre-COVID and has a sound theoretical underpinning; here, we explore how the pandemic has forced their adaptation and highlight novel utilisation to support student learning in the laboratory environment during the challenges faced by remote and blended teaching

Using Active Learning to Teach Critical and Contextual Studies: One Teaching Plan, Two Experiments, Three Videos.

Since the 1970s, art and design education at UK universities has existedas a divided practice; on the one hand applying active learning in thestudio and on the other hand enforcing passive learning in the lecturetheatre. As a result, art and design students are in their vast majorityreluctant about modules that may require them to think, read and writecritically during their academic studies. This article describes, evaluatesand analyses two individual active learning experiments designed todetermine if it is possible to teach CCS modules in a manner thatencourages student participation. The results reveal that opting foractive learning methods improved academic achievement, encouragedcooperation, and enforced an inclusive classroom. Furthermore, andcontrary to wider perception, the article demonstrates that activelearning methods can be equally beneficial for small-size as well aslarge-size groups

International Open and Distance Learning Conference proceedings book = Uluslararası Açık ve Uzaktan Öğrenme Konferansı bildiri kitabı

The 4th International Open & Distance Learning Conference- IODL 2019, which was held at Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Türkiye on 14-16 November, 2019