Student teachers need a shot in the arm: a study of librarian/teacher collaboration through teacher preparation programs

The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teacher training and/or exposure to the potential collaborative role of the teacher-librarian. The study used a short written survey questioning pre-service teachers about any instances of collaboration with a school library media specialist, knowledge about and exposure to collaborative ideas or methods involving school library media specialists throughout their teacher preparation program, and attitudes towards the roles of the school library media specialist. The population for this survey was pre-service teachers that had been contacted through their field experience or education departments or through face to face contact. Pre-service teachers were invited to respond to either an electronic posting through Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com, 2006) or by a hard copy survey handed to them. The results indicated that the pre-service teachers saw the LMS as performing the more traditional roles of Information Specialist and Library Administrator, rather than as an Instructional Partner or Teacher. They also participated, discussed, or observed low-level collaborative activities for the most part, such as asking a librarian for books rather than higher-level collaborative activities such as planning a lesson with a librarian. It was concluded that teacher education programs must increase the amount of teacher-librarian collaboration

Changing Students’ Approach to Learning Physics in Postsecondary Gateway Courses

This study investigated if and how a combined set of specially developed activities can help students change their approach to learning physics. These activities included (a) reflective-writing activities, (b) critique-writing activities, and (c) reflective write-pair-share activities combined with conceptual-conflict collaborative-group exercises. Each of these activities was previously successfully tested as a stand-alone activity. This investigation was conducted at two different institutions over a three-year period. At each institution the same instructor taught students in two sections. At the first, a university with a substantial graduate school, sections were relatively large (over 100 students each) covering a typical introductory calculus-based mechanics course. At the second, a community college, there were relatively small classes (32 students each) covering a typical algebra-based introductory course in mechanics, electricity, and magnetism. The courses at the two institutions used different textbooks and had different formats. Measured data included student interviews and writing products. We developed rubrics for evaluation of the impact of the writing products and interviews of students. The main results of this study were the changes in students’ approaches to learning physics, especially as revealed in the interviews. Students who experienced the full suite of activities (a) changed their understanding of physics from solving problems to creating a network of interrelated concepts, and they also (b) modified their approach to learning physics from repetitious review to consideration of the interconnections of the subject matter and (c) related their new learning to key concepts in an overall physics framework

The Effects of a Constructivist Intervention On Pre-Service Teachers’ Confidence and Perceptions of the Experience

The purpose of this study was, first, to determine the effect of a constructivist intervention supported by technology on pre-service teachers’ confidence in their own ability to plan and create six constructivist learning activities supported by technology and, second, to understand their perceptions of the experience. Participants were 23 pre-service teachers accepted into the College of Education’s Masters program at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and enrolled in an introduction to instructional computing course during the summer of 2001. A survey was used to assess pre-intervention confidence levels and experience with six constructivist learning activities supported by technology. Students were then situated in a class that employed constructivist methodology supported by technology to facilitate their own exploration of constructivist pedagogy supported by technology. Once students completed the class, they were asked to re-take the portion of the survey that focused on their confidence to plan and create constructivist learning activities supported by technology. A paired samples t-tested was used to compared pre-intervention confidence levels with post-intervention confidence levels. The results revealed a significant difference, p \u3c .001, in each of the six areas. Journals, focus groups, and interviews were used to gain insight into the participants’ perceptions of the experience and suggested a reflective process. Participants engaged in thinking about, comparing, and adapting their constructs of teaching, learning, and the use of technology. They were self-motivated to analyze how their constructs of teaching and learning might work in future classes, the processes they used while situated in a constructivist learning environment, the instructor’s role in their learning, their collaborative/collegial relationships with peers, how specific materials supported learning, and their technology skills