Using Technology to Develop Preservice Teachers\u27 Reflective Thinking

Developing high-level reflection skills proves troublesome for some preservice teachers. To examine the potential of an online environment for increasing productive reflection, students in three sequential undergraduate education classes responded to regular online prompts. We coded student comments for productive and unproductive reflection, knowledge integration, and analysis of the four aspects of teaching (learners and learning, subject matter knowledge, assessment and instruction ) as described by Davis, Bain, & Harrington (2001). We adapted a scoring approach recommended by Davis & Linn, (2000); Davis (2003) to analyze what aspects of teaching preservice teachers included, emphasized, and integrated when they reflected on their own beliefs about teaching. Discussion examines the utility of online environments for producing productive preservice teacher reflection

Being digital: The challenge for career-change beginning teachers

The pedagogical challenge of supporting learning in a digital world requires an understanding of how, where, when and when not to use information and communications technology (ICT) in teaching and learning. This paper builds on existing research on the integral use of ICT for teaching and learning, that is, digital pedagogies. Additionally, the research that highlights the value of skills and experiences that career-change beginning teachers bring to the profession is advanced. Through an interpretative analysis of quantitative and qualitative data collated via an online survey, the paper builds a profile of (N=64) career-change beginning teachers currently entering the profession from a one year graduate diploma program at a Queensland university. The responses showed that (a) career-change beginning teachers have diverse backgrounds (b) a range of ICT skills related to former careers exist; (c) beliefs about how ICT should be used for teaching and learning are firmly grounded in past experience; (d) confidence to manage data and teach ICT skills is high in contrast to confidence in using digital pedagogies; and (e) expectations about how ICT will be used in school contexts are also related to past experiences. The paper concludes that influencing beliefs about contemporary learning may be central to supporting career-change beginning teachers to develop familiarity and confidence in the use of digital pedagogies

Issues for consideration to adopt educational computer games for learning and teaching

Computer games have started to gain attention in the domain of learning and teaching. The integration of computer games for education in the classroom has starting to gain acceptance in some countries. However, for schools which have never used computer games in the classroom, study still need to be conducted to investigate the teachers' belief and attitude toward the usage. The purpose of this paper is to examine issues for consideration when adopting educational computer games for learning and teaching. This paper also examines the concepts that related to educational computer games and aspects of learning and teaching. In addition, the theories of technology acceptance which use to assess the perception, belief and attitude of teachers and students have also been investigated

Extending the Research on 1:1 Technology Integration in Middle Schools: A Call for Using Institutional Theory in Educational Technology Research

In this essay, we argue institutional lenses are a vital but largely missing part of understanding how 1:1 technology programs can effect change in teaching and learning in middle schools. Indeed, while current research highlights the positive effects technology integration efforts, and 1:1 programs in particular, have on student learning and engagement, much has focused on the knowledge, skills, and beliefs of individuals or groups of actors. There is less research considering how the institutional context may impact teacher and administrator behavior regarding these and other technology-focused efforts thus limiting our ability to fully support schools and teachers in these efforts. We conclude by calling on researchers to use institutional theory to further understand and support implementation efforts and enhance outcomes for schools, teachers, and students alike

Developing the scales on evaluation beliefs of student teachers

The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to investigate the validity and the reliability of a newly developed questionnaire named ‘Teacher Evaluation Beliefs’ (TEB). The framework for developing items was provided by the two models. The first model focuses on Student-Centered and Teacher-Centered beliefs about evaluation while the other centers on five dimensions (what/ who/ when/ why/ how). The validity and reliability of the new instrument was investigated using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis study (n=446). Overall results indicate that the two-factor structure is more reasonable than the five-factor one. Further research needs additional items about the latent dimensions “what” ”who” ”when” ”why” “how” for each existing factor based on Student-centered and Teacher-centered approaches

Etika dan moral profesional dalam kalangan Pelajar Sarjana yang telah menjalani program latihan mengajar

Etika dan moral profesional merupakan salah satu elemen yang penting bagi meningkatkan sahsiah untuk kecemerlangan pelajar yang berilmu, berkualiti dan berbudi. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti tahap etika dan moral profesional dalam kalangan pelajar Sarjana yang telah menjalani program latihan mengajar. Selain itu, kajian ini turut mengenal pasti perbezaan tahap etika dan moral profesional di antara demografi iaitu dari segi jantina dan pencapaian akademik pelajar. Kajian ini berbentuk tinjauan dengan menggunakan borang soal selidik sebagai instrumen kajian. Seramai 144 orang responden terlibat yang terdiri daripada pelajar Semester III program Sarjana PTV, UTHM yang mengikuti program latihan mengajar 2 sesi Julai 2012. Data dianalisis secara statistik deskriptif dan statistik inferensi dengan menggunakan perisian Statistical Packages for Social Science Version 16 (SPSS ver 16). Penganalisisan data secara statistik desktiptif adalah untuk mendapatkan kekerapan dan peratusan. Manakala bagi pengujian hipotesis pula, ujian Mann-Whitney U dan Ujian Kruskal Wallis digunakan. Hasil kajian menunjukkan tahap etika dan moral profesional dari aspek amalan profesional adalah baik (skor=38.19%), dari aspek menyelesaikan masalah berkaitan etika adalah pada tahap sederhana (skor= 42.36%) dan dari aspek sikap beretika adalah pada tahap lemah (skor=32.64%). Di samping itu, hasil kajian juga menyatakan tidak terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan tahap etika dan moral profesional antara pelajar lelaki dan pelajar perempuan dan tidak terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan tahap etika dan moral profesional pelajar yang berlainan pencapaian akademik. Berdasarkan dapatan kajian ini, beberapa cadangan telah dikemukan untuk meningkatkan lagi tahap etika dan moral profesional dalam kalangan guru pelatih

Shear resistance improvement of oil-contaminated ballast layer with rubber shred inclusions

Railway ballast, which form an integral part of rail tracks, is highly susceptible to subsistence due to both vibration transmitted by the passing trains, as well as the breakage of ballasts with repeated impact. The resulting subsistence necessitates regular monitoring and maintenance, involving cost- and time- consuming remedial actions, such as stone-blowing and ballast renewal. Measures to minimize the wear and tear effect are therefore desirable to prolong the lifespan of the ballast layer. It is even more critical when the ballast is contaminated with oil and grease from braking wheels and leakages. This paper describes the inclusion of rubber shreds (≤10 mm in length, 1.5 mm thick) derived from the inner tubes of motorcycle tyres in oil-contaminated ballast layer for shear resistance improvement. The tests are mainly carried out in a standard direct shear test setup, i.e. shear box measuring 60 mm x 60 mm. Granitic stones of suitable sizes were sieved and used as representative samples of typical ballast. The samples were soaked in lubricant oil for 14 days to simulate the contamination. The direct shear test results indicated rubber shreds inclusion could effectively improve the shear resistance of ballast and expedient in deformation control with increased ductility of the composites. This could potentially improve absorption of impact, hence reduction of breakages of the ballasts. Clearly both mechanisms contribute to the overall reduced subsistence, accompanied by an increase in the shear resistance. However, further investigations in a dynamic test setup are necessary for verifications prior to field implementation

Seizing the Moment: Realizing the Promise of Student-Centered Learning

This brief outlines policy recommendations for supporting student-centered learning at the local, state, and federal level

An inquiry based instructional planning model that accommodates student diversity

The students in today’s public school classrooms represent great diversity and the struggle of teachers to teach all their students well. This paper describes an inquiry based instructional planning model that reflects lessons from the literature on effective teaching for diverse classrooms. An example of a high school lesson exemplifies the model. The model includes a framework for planning supports for students with extraordinary learning challenges