Transforming pre-service teacher curriculum: observation through a TPACK lens

This paper will discuss an international online collaborative learning experience through the lens of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. The teacher knowledge required to effectively provide transformative learning experiences for 21st century learners in a digital world is complex, situated and changing. The discussion looks beyond the opportunity for knowledge development of content, pedagogy and technology as components of TPACK towards the interaction between those three components. Implications for practice are also discussed. In today’s technology infused classrooms it is within the realms of teacher educators, practising teaching and pre-service teachers explore and address effective practices using technology to enhance learning

Working collaboratively on the digital global frontier

An international online collaborative learning experience was designed and implemented in preservice teacher education classes at the University of Calgary, Canada and the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. The project was designed to give preservice teachers an opportunity to live the experience of being online collaborators investigating real world teaching issues of diversity and inclusivity. Qualitative research was conducted to examine the complexity of the online collaborative experiences of participants. Redmond and Lock’s (2006) flexible online collaborative learning framework was used to explain the design and the implementation of the project. Henri’s (1992) content analysis model for computer-mediated communication was used for the online asynchronous postings and a constant comparative method of data analysis was used in the construction of themes. From the findings, the authors propose recommendations for designing and facilitating collaborative learning on the digital global frontier

Do secondary pre-service teachers have what it takes to educate learners with special educational needs?

This case study shares secondary pre-service teachers’ concerns about teaching students with special educational needs within mainstream classrooms. Many pre-service teachers are fearful that they do not have what it takes to provide the best learning and teaching experiences for students with special educational needs. In this study, an online community comprised of pre-service teachers, practicing teachers, and teacher educators explored contemporary teaching and learning practices for students who have special educational needs. An analysis of the online posts exposed that the pre-service teachers: 1) had limited realization of the diversity of learners in secondary classrooms; 2) demonstrated a positive attitude towards inclusivity; 3) used literature to support claims; 4) presented an appreciation of learning with and from each other within an online community; and 5) made explicit references to their personal learning during their participation in the online community

Secondary pre-service teachers’ perceptions of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK): what do they really think?

Meaningful integration of digital technology into learning and teaching is ill-structured, complex, and messy. Inherent in the complexity is the interaction between the different domains of teacher knowledge. The multifaceted problem is further compounded by the diversity of learners and technology in today's dynamic classroom contexts. Pre-service teachers often feel ill-prepared to plan for effective technology integration in their classrooms. Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) has provided educators with a theoretical framework to unpack the complexity of technology integration. It sits at the heart of three interrelated components: content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge. These knowledge areas interact, support, and constrain each other. This study investigated secondary pre-service teachers’ perceptions of TPACK. Data were collected through an online survey and interviews. Following a brief introduction to TPACK, this article explores secondary pre-service teachers’ perceptions of TPACK and its components, along with their professional learning needs for TPACK development. Implications for teacher education programs are also provided

Achieving Knowledge in Action through Online Collaborative Learning: What We Have Learned?

Internationalization is a priority area in higher education. Many institutions are exploring various approaches to achieve this goal including strategies such as internationalizing the curriculum. This paper provides an example of how educators can design and facilitate international authentic online collaborative learning that engages multiple perspectives, higher order thinking, and critical discourse. Given the affordances of digital learning technologies, students and educators are able to investigate topics with others from around the world within a virtual classroom environment. For 12 years, the authors facilitated an international collaborative inquiry for student teachers where they engaged in critical discourse with practicing teachers and teacher educators who acted as experts. Through a reflective process, the authors share highlights of their experiences and research, as well as identify tensions and disconnections at institutional (macro), program or department (meso), and instructional (micro) levels, that impact the ability to create and implement innovate practices in achieving internationalization of the curriculum. They conclude the paper by sharing three implications for educational institutions in creating conditions for authentic online collaborative learning

Examining Success and Sustainability of Academic Writing: A Case Study of Two Writing-Group Models

In contemporary higher education there is a growing demand for academics to increase their publication output. This requirement raises the question of how institutions can best support a sustainable academic writing culture, which is needed to challenge the assumption that all academics know how to write for publication. This case study examines two models used in a Faculty of Education to support writing groups for academic staff. From the analysis of reflective journals, interviews, and field notes, we identified four factors that influence the success of writing groups, as well as six conditions that support the development of sustainable academic writing. We have learned from the study that the success of a writing group is predicated on a collaborative practice that blends relational, communal, and institutional forms of sustainability in a purposeful, engaged, and reflexive way.  Dans la sphère contemporaine des études supérieures, on demande de plus en plus aux académiciens d’être publiés. Cela soulève la question sur la façon dont s’y prennent les institutions pour soutenir efficacement une culture d’écrits académiques durables. Un tel soutien est nécessaire pour contester la présomption selon laquelle tous les académiciens savent suffisamment bien écrire pour être publiés. Cette étude de cas se penche sur deux modèles utilisés dans une Faculté de l’éducation afin de soutenir des groupes de rédaction pour le personnel universitaire. Au moyen d’analyses de revues scientifiques, d’entrevues et de notes de terrain, nous avons relevé quatre facteurs qui influencent le succès de ces groupes de rédaction. Nous avons également relevé six conditions qui soutiennent la rédaction d’écrits académiques durables. Cette étude nous a appris que le succès d’un groupe de rédaction est directement lié à une approche collaborative combinant des aspects relationnels, communautaires et institutionnels dans un cadre engagé, efficace et réfléchi

Dark Lancaster

In this position paper we'll outline a few ongoing and planned projects at Lancaster that are not all sweetness and light. In some we are interested in some of the darker aspects of human nature: frustration when things go wrong in order to design games with the right emotional impact; and anger of those seeking jobs in order to help train those who need to defuse fraught situations. In others we deliberately seek to design ‘bad’ situations; obviously this is necessary to study issues like frustration, but also we design bad things in order to understand what is good! Finally, there are times when good is dark and the bright light of day needs to be shrouded just a little

Investigating pre-service teachers’ inquiry into Indigenous perspectives

The concept of Indigenous perspectives is multi-layered and complex; it is greater than teaching content and requires cultural and values knowledge about one’s self and others. With this in mind, teacher educators created a highly structured but content-free learning environment for secondary pre-service teachers to inquire into embedding Indigenous perspectives across the curriculum. This chapter presents an innovative project whereby secondary pre-service teachers inquired into Indigenous perspectives in an online learning environment. Through this online collaborative initiative, these pre-service teachers had the opportunity to engage with their peers, practicing teachers, teacher educators and other educators to explore their questions, address their assumptions and gain insights into how to design and facilitate learning that honours Indigenous perspectives in all discipline areas