Latinx and Caucasian Elementary School Children’s Knowledge of and Interest in Engineering Activities

Ethnic minorities, such as Latinx people of Hispanic or Latino origin, and women earn fewer engineering degrees than Caucasians and men. With shifting population dynamics and high demands for a technically qualified workforce, it is important to achieve broad participation in the engineering workforce by all ethnicities and both genders. Previous research has examined the knowledge of and interest in engineering among students in grades five and higher. In contrast, the present study examined elementary school students in grades K–5. The study found that older students in grades 4 and 5 had both greater knowledge of engineering occupational activities and greater interest in engineering than younger students in grades K–3. Moreover, Caucasian students had greater knowledge and interest levels than Latinx students. There were no significant differences between boys and girls, nor any significant interactions among gender, grade level, and ethnicity. A significant positive correlation between knowledge of engineering occupational activities and interest in engineering was also found. The findings suggest that early engineering outreach interventions are important. Such early interventions could potentially contribute to preserving the equivalent interest levels of males and females for engineering as students grow older. Also, ethnic disparities in engineering knowledge and interest could potentially be mitigated through early interventions

Faculty as Designers of Authentic Learning Projects in Online Courses

This study investigated similarities and differences in faculty’s interpretation of authentic learning and how their interpretations were manifested into their design and implementation practices in competency-based, fully online courses. From a theoretical perspective, designing for authentic learning calls for a holistic approach, which considers various aspects, such as real-world relevance, personal meaningfulness, authentic assessment, disciplinary authenticity, and teacher authenticity. In terms of similarities across participants in this study, most faculty interpreted authentic learning as including “real-world” characteristics -- that is, authentic learning is a type of learning that is situated in real-world contexts and is relevant to learners’ future careers. In terms of differences, only a few participants emphasized that authentic learning requires removing the dichotomy of a hierarchical classroom environment based on the principles of co-learning. The findings of this study also highlighted examples of authentic learning and challenges associated with implementing authentic learning in competency-based online courses. The study further provides implications for future research and practice

Coaching teachers to integrate technology: The effects of technology integration on student performance and critical thinking

This article presents the results of a mixed-methods study that investigated effects of technology integration practices of teachers in a 5th grade students’ scores and critical thinking in a public school, and introduced coaching for technology integration as a strategy to train in-service teachers for technology integration. The purpose of the research was to analyse how technology integration in science course effects on student's performance and critical thinking. The participants were 132 students and four teachers in elementary public school. The study used an experimental research design by having a control and research group (68 were in the two teachers’ classrooms that were using technology without coaching intervention and 64 were in the other two teachers’ classrooms, coached by the researchers to integrate available technologies). The data were collected through pre-test and post-test, classroom observation and semi-structured interview with teachers. The results showed that coached teachers integrated technology more frequently, purposefully and diversely. Additionally, the results indicated that technology integration positively affected student performance and student critical thinking behaviours in the 5th grade science unit

Investigating the Impact of Online Classes on Undergraduate Degree Completion

This study expands on current research that examines the impact of online courses on retention, degree completion, and student success. The researchers investigated the impact of online courses on degree completion by using existing graduation rate data, course enrollment data, and student grades for undergraduate students at a multi-campus 4-year institution. The researchers aimed to provide advisors, faculty, and administrators with a better understanding of how online classes fit into an undergraduate student’s program of study while completing their degrees within the desired timeframe. The researchers additionally sought to understand the impact of taking online classes on degree completion while controlling for student demographic and academic factors (e.g. age, first-generation student status, socioeconomic status, SAT/ACT scores, and 1st semester GPA) and campus type (traditional flagship, urban research, and regional). Results indicated that regardless of campus type taking one or more online classes during their program of study increased undergraduate students’ likelihood of successful degree completion. Lastly, to provide further insight, this study compared student performance in online and on campus classes. Results for this comparison were mixed; slightly higher or slightly lower online course grades were obtained by students compared to face-to-face course grades depending on type of campus

K-12 Technology Leaders: Reported Practices of Technology Professional Development Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation

Teachers have perceived technology professional development (tech-PD) as ineffective, particularly when it does not address individual needs. Researchers need to examine how tech-PD experiences are planned, implemented, and evaluated. Typically K-12 technology leaders (e.g., technology coaches) are responsible for planning, implementing, and evaluating tech-PD. This study focused on the reported tech-PD design practices of technology leaders who are members of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Based on data from questionnaire responses (n=153), interviews (n = 6), and artifacts (n = 6), three trends emerged: (a) ISTE technology leaders planned tech-PD experiences based on teacher, administrative, school, and district needs, but did not report conducting formal needs assessments; (b) ISTE technology leaders implemented tech-PD via a variety of approaches, but did not report implementing sustained and continuous tech-PD; and (c) ISTE technology leaders evaluated tech-PD using self-reported teacher data, but did not collect more systematic evaluation data

Instructional Practices for Addressing Computer Science Standards: Using Computer Kits in Preservice Teacher Education

This article examines the instructional practices used to teach the computer science (CS) standard of computer devices and systems to undergraduate preservice teachers (PSTs). With computer science education (CSE) gaining an international focus, there is a need to explore a variety of instructional practices used to teach these topics. This descriptive, exploratory case study presents an examination of the instructional practices used in a CSE licensure course. In this study, the instructor utilised two commercially available computer kits to provide hands-on, learner-centred learning experiences for PSTs. PSTs perceived these kits to be valuable for learning about computing devices and systems topics and for teaching these topics in their future classrooms. Additionally, results showed that PSTs considered the usability, grade level and ability of the kits to build interest in CS when reflecting on their future use. Limitations to the instructional practices included a lack of transfer to subject areas outside of CS and a lack of focus on the integration between hardware and software