Elementary Pre-service Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Digitized Visual Primary Sources in the Social Studies

This qualitative study examined the attitudes of elementary pre-service teachers toward using digitized visual primary sources in the social studies. Specifically, the researcher attempted to answer the following questions: 1. What are elementary pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward incorporating digitized visual primary sources in social studies instruction prior to a workshop? 2. To what extent if any, does exposure to strategies using digitized visual primary sources affect elementary pre-service teachers’ attitudes? 3. How, if at all, do elementary pre-service teachers think that digitized visual primary sources should be used after a workshop. Data for this qualitative study consisted of pre and post workshop questionnaires, reflection prompts, and the researcher’s journal reflections. These data were collected before, during and after a workshop that trained elementary pre-service teachers in many aspects of teaching and learning with digitized visual primary sources that included four research-based strategies. The researcher drew four conclusions from this study. First, teacher-training workshops can help pre-service teachers transform their beliefs in relation to how best to use digitized visual primary sources. Second, the participants remained optimistic about their beliefs in the benefits in using digitized visual primary sources, while challenges of time to scaffold became apparent in the workshop. The third conclusion was that pre-service teachers were motivated by current, innovative, and technology based teaching strategies with digitized visual primary sources such as creating memes or document analysis strategies. Fourth, the participants perceived obstacles with perspective taking and detecting bias strategies that are sensitive in nature

Connecting Teachers, Students and Pre-Service Teachers to Improve STEM Pathways in Schools

This paper presents an example of collaboration between teacher educators, pre-service teachers, current teachers and school students that had a primary aim to increase student interest in STEM activities through a MakerSpace STEM club, while improving pre-service teachers’ confidence in delivering the Australian Curriculum: Technologies. The benefit of close relationships between universities and schools provides the framework for collaborative learning opportunities for pre-service teachers and school students. University academics were facilitators in the process, managing the external grant application and wider community workshops as well as embedding the activities in the university curricula. The school teachers managed the internal delivery of the MakerSpace club and promotion of STEM activities in their schools. All worked collaboratively to provide two professional development workshops, supported by a grant from the Google CS4HS program. Outcomes of this research demonstrate a student-centred approach to digital technology education. This model of collaboration between teacher educators and schools is replicable and has a positive impact on preparing pre-service teachers to be classroom ready

An Assessment Of Mathematics Teachers’ Motivations For Attending A Hand-Held Technology Workshop At Bindura University Of Science Education

A ZJER article on a workshop held by mathematics teachers in Zimbabwe.The study documents reasons given by 35 secondary school and undergraduate pre-service mathematics teachers for attending a graphic calculator workshop at Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) in January 2004. Participants’ motivations, needs and appropriateness of technologies to their instructional practice are documented. The importance of the workshops is examined with a view of making mathematics teachers develop knowledge and an awareness of the role played by technology in mathematics instruction. The discussion challenges mathematics teachers in Zimbabwe to review their belief systems in order to initiate the long awaited technology reform in secondary school mathematics curricula

‘Implementation Strategies Used by Teachers’ Colleges to Prepare Pre-Service Teachers for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education in Harare Metropolitan Province in Zimbabwe

The study was carried to establish the strategies used by teacher education colleges to prepare pre-service teachers for STEM Education in Zimbabwe. Invariably, the nature of research questions led the study to be located within the pragmatic paradigm. A mixed method approach and concurrent triangulation design was adopted to examine issues under study. The study adopted stratified random sampling and purposive sampling methods to identify its respondents and participants. Data were collected from respondents who were envisaged knowledgeable about critical issues under study. Several research instruments were used to solicit quantitative and qualitative data. These included: questionnaires, interview schedules, focus group discussions and documents. The sample of the study consisted of 20 lecturers, 50 pre-service teachers, 3 Department of Teacher Education lecturers and 2 Directors in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education Science Innovation, Technology and Development. The study established that 95%of the teacher educators had the requisite STEM content knowledge. Pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of organisation and education purpose, engineering content and pedagogical content was found lacking. Furthermore, the teacher educators employed 21st century STEM specific inquiry based and constructivist teaching strategies. More so, it was established that government, the Department of Teacher Education and other development partners rendered support to teacher education colleges to prepare for pre-service teachers for STEM education. In addition, the study revealed that preparation of pre-service teachers for STEM was impeded by several structural factors that obtained in teacher education colleges. Overall, the study concluded that teacher educators had requisite STEM knowledge and employed inquiry-based strategies to prepare pre-service teachers for STEM Education. Furthermore, the study recommended that teacher educators’ knowledge in engineering needs further strengthening through workshops and synergies with industry. An alternative model for effective STEM preparation was recommended for consideration

‘Implementation Strategies Used by Teachers’ Colleges to Prepare Pre-Service Teachers for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education in Harare Metropolitan Province in Zimbabwe

The study was carried to establish the strategies used by teacher education colleges to prepare pre-service teachers for STEM Education in Zimbabwe. Invariably, the nature of research questions led the study to be located within the pragmatic paradigm. A mixed method approach and concurrent triangulation design was adopted to examine issues under study. The study adopted stratified random sampling and purposive sampling methods to identify its respondents and participants. Data were collected from respondents who were envisaged knowledgeable about critical issues under study. Several research instruments were used to solicit quantitative and qualitative data. These included: questionnaires, interview schedules, focus group discussions and documents. The sample of the study consisted of 20 lecturers, 50 pre-service teachers, 3 Department of Teacher Education lecturers and 2 Directors in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education Science Innovation, Technology and Development. The study established that 95%of the teacher educators had the requisite STEM content knowledge. Pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of organisation and education purpose, engineering content and pedagogical content was found lacking. Furthermore, the teacher educators employed 21st century STEM specific inquiry based and constructivist teaching strategies. More so, it was established that government, the Department of Teacher Education and other development partners rendered support to teacher education colleges to prepare for pre-service teachers for STEM education. In addition, the study revealed that preparation of pre-service teachers for STEM was impeded by several structural factors that obtained in teacher education colleges. Overall, the study concluded that teacher educators had requisite STEM knowledge and employed inquiry-based strategies to prepare pre-service teachers for STEM Education. Furthermore, the study recommended that teacher educators’ knowledge in engineering needs further strengthening through workshops and synergies with industry. An alternative model for effective STEM preparation was recommended for consideration

Reconceptualizing the Curriculum Development Process Through In-Service Education

Recent studies published by the National Science Foundation and the Rand Corporation have indicated the immense difficulties that confront anyone seeking to bring about change in education (Helgeson, Blosser and Howe, 1977; Suydam and Osborne, 1977; Wiley, 1977; Berman and McLaughlin, 1978). In particular, these studies indicate the special problems posed by attempts to implement curriculum change. On the one hand, there has been strong teacher resistance to externally designed products. Perhaps the most startling result of the NSF studies was the reported lack of use of the major curriculum projects of the 1960s and 1970s. On the other hand, curriculum designers seem to have placed too much emphasis on ensuring a quality product (often using high levels of technology). They have often failed to consider the problems that may arise when the product is in the hands of an untrained user who does not share the designer\u27s commitment and who has not been involved in the product\u27s design. Even when they have, as in the case of Man: A Course of Study, social and political constraints militated against the innovation\u27s use. Assisting teachers to overcome problems related to new curricula is therefore an important task in both the pre-service and in-service education of teachers. The purpose of this paper is to describe one strategy that has been used to try and overcome the problems that have been associated with attempts to change the curriculum. That strategy involved the use of in-service education courses for teachers as curriculum development workshops. The workshops were supported by a number of school-based activities so that both design and implementation could be highlighted as important aspects of the curriculum development process

Digital Security in Educational Training Programs: A Study based on Future Teachers’ Perceptions

Our thanks go to all the future teachers at the University of Granada (Campus Ceuta, Spain) who selflessly participated in this study by responding to the questionnaire.A key aspect of future teacher training in this highly digitalized period of education requires a specific focus on digital skills, especially in the area of security. This study delves into this issue by means of a quantitative, theoretical and systematic review of future teachers currently in training at the Faculty of Education, Economy and Technology of Ceuta of the University of Granada (Spain). The specific intention is to determine their perception of the instruction they receive on digital matters, concretely on cybersecurity during their phase of pre-service. To carry out the project, the study resorted to a descriptive method by submitting the participants to a specifically designed questionnaire entitled “Digital Security Competence Required for Teachers”. Examinations of the psychometric properties of the questionnaire reveal its relevance and reliability. The intention, after applying descriptive and inferential statistics tests, was to determine whether students in pre-service training really feel competent on digital matters or if they feel need more theoretical-practical training, especially in the area of security. The general findings reveal that future female teachers pursuing a university degree in Early Childhood Education, although competent from the techno-pedagogical viewpoint, indicate that attaining a high level of competence in digital security requires more theoretical and practical training. Future male Primary Education teachers, by contrast, perceive themselves as competent in digital security. This perhaps stems from their training (courses and workshops) in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the theoretical and practical instruction they received at the university during courses or during a practicum. This aspect deserves further research because, as highlighted elsewhere, higher education institutions must prioritize instruction on digital security in their teacher programs.Plan of Initiation to Research accorded by the Vice President of Research and Transfer of the University of Granad

An investigation of the development of students’ and teachers’ perceptions towards technology: A framework for reconstructing technology education in Malawi

The study investigated students’ and teachers’ perceptions towards technology and technology education with the ultimate aim of developing their beliefs and practices suitable for teaching and learning broad-based technology education and to inform future policy framework for restructuring the curriculum. Research leading to the development of technology as a school curriculum shows emphasis on the importance of students developing technological literacy essential for living in a technologically mediated society but little is known about developments related to teaching and learning technology in Malawi schools. Malawi’s Vision 2020, the Science and Technology Policy for Malawi and the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy 2006 – 2011 stipulated the need for schooling in Malawi to help students attain technological literacy as it was seen as instrumental for economic growth and development. Attempts were undertaken to include science and technology and also craft, design and technology as learning areas, but among a myriad of factors, teachers lacked theoretical, philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings of the subjects. The existing curriculum also has little scope for developing student technological knowledge and capabilities which would enable them to understand, create, control and manipulate technology. The need now is to establish technology education as a more comprehensive curriculum area than that promulgated in the technical curriculum. This study therefore provided teachers with an opportunity to broaden their understanding of the nature of technology and technology education critical for their meaningful conceptualisation of teaching and learning technology. The focus of the study was to explore influences of, expand the teachers’ and students’ ideas about technology and technology education and also to enhance teaching practices. In order to capture a more holistic understanding of such influences, an interpretive research methodology was adopted and the teachers were involved in in-depth, one-on-one and semi-structured interviews, group discussions and classroom observations before and after professional development workshops. This helped to collectively construct the social reality surrounding the teachers’ existing beliefs and teaching practices and how to change those practices and beliefs. The study was situated in a socio-cultural theoretical framework by encouraging collaborative interactions among teachers in their school groups. The study began by examining students’ and teachers’ existing beliefs and practices and these were seen as impacting on how and what teachers learn. A teacher professional development programme incorporating those beliefs and practices and also focusing on social-cultural frameworks of learning was organised to help teachers reconceptualise their understanding about the nature of technology and technology education. The professional development programme also incorporated a discussion of PATT modelling as a tool for teacher learning of students’ conceptualisation of technology and reflections of their own learning in the workshops. Key characteristics of the professional development model, therefore, included: ∙ An understanding and incorporating the teachers’ beliefs and practices into the professional development programme for teachers to change such beliefs and adopt broader views of technology. ∙ Encouraging collaborative learning in their schools for teachers to share knowledge, their own experiences and that of others, and planning presentations of their interpretations of selected scholarly readings. ∙ Teachers learning about technology from the perspectives of students using PATT data that was seen as an effective professional development tool. ∙ On-going reflections and support to enhance teachers’ capacities to reflect on their own experiences for purposeful change. The professional development helped teachers develop a broader understanding of the nature of technology and technology education using a model that focussed on teachers developing their own concepts through readings of scholarly papers, learning from other teachers’ experiences and through discussion of student concepts and attitudes to technology. Findings of the research revealed an effective professional development model focussed on social cultural frameworks of learning that resulted in teachers’ positive perceptions of technology and technology education. They had also shown innovations to implement technology as a consequence of their enhanced technological pedagogical knowledge. Three key findings arose from the study, and these are: ∙ The teachers’ contexts and the stance on the goals of the technical education curriculum influence understanding of the nature of technology and technology education. ∙ Enhanced technological pedagogical knowledge promotes teachers’ innovations to develop and implement technological activities. ∙ A professional development underpinned by social cultural frameworks of learning is an effective model when it incorporates teachers’ beliefs and experiences. The findings of the study have implications for pre-service and in-service teacher education and development, policy change in relation to curriculum reviews and reforms in Malawi and other developing countries. There are also implications for further research that focus on developing knowledge and understanding among teachers on how to improve teaching and learning that enhances student technological literacy but which considers the context being targeted by the curriculum. Enabling policy for implementing technology education in Malawi exists but a successful realisation of the policy goals is entirely dependent on teachers’ shared understanding about the nature of technology and technology education. This study provided teachers with a rare opportunity for further professional growth and development leading to improved teaching practices and knowledge about technology and technology education. Therefore, more research of this nature would be required to help develop capacity for reconstructing technology education in Malawi and other developing nations which may also plan to shift from colonial industrial arts-based curriculum to a broad-based technology education

Integrating apps for English teaching and learning

Learners of today are more technologically advanced than ever before. They live their lives with technology at their fingertips. Not only do today’s young people own multiple technology devices, they use them constantly in their day- to-day lives. The task for teachers today is a stronger focus on successfully integrating technology into the curriculum, but this has posed a number of challenges, not only because some teachers are not technologically competent, but also because the focus has remained on technology and not on pedagogy. One of the aims of the South African curriculum for English is for learners to achieve communicative competence and produce grammatically correct and contextually appropriate sentences in different situations. Moreover, learners should also become technologically proficient in line with the changing needs of society. This article reports on research conducted with the aim of sourcing and evaluating Android Apps for use in the English classroom. It offers a narrative of the process undertaken and explores the benefits of using Apps in the English classroom to promote communicative competence. The qualitative research was framed within the social constructivist theory and based on the principles of Participatory Research and Action (PRA) and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. Fourteen (14) pre- service teachers studying English Methodology were purposively selected to source and evaluate Apps for teaching and learning in the English classroom. The participants collaborated online to sift through applicable Apps and develop interactive lessons using these Apps. Data from pre- and post-intervention workshops and focus group interviews were thematically and inductively analysed and mapped against the four components of communicative competence, namely grammatical, strategic, socio-linguistic and discourse competence. This was done to determine participants’ perceptions and experiences when integrating technology in lessons and the extent to which communicative competence was achieved through these Apps. The outcomes will help pre-service teachers develop and improve their own teaching practices by experiencing integrating technology into the teaching of English, but more importantly to improve their own communicative competence and that of their learners.http://alternation.ukzn.ac.zahj2023Humanities Educatio