The Remote Learning Experience at Portland State University in Spring 2020

It is an endeavor to understand what we have and will learn about the impact of remote instruction on faculty, students and relevant academic support teams. Simply put: We want to learn from an experiment foisted upon us by a health crisis. We have engaged in an incredibly innovative response. And now, we ask what have we learned? How might we improve? And, most importantly, are there implications from this experiment for the future of instruction at PSU and throughout higher education? The project was organized around two stages in the Spring 2020 term. Stage One: Out of the Gate: Reflections and Lessons Learned (First half of the term) Stage Two: Reaching the Finish Line: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for moving forward (Second half of the term). The project began the week of April 20 and continued through June 12. The original plan called for the following participants: (a) ten undergraduate students to put together a group of 8-10 other students to discuss the questions posed in the study; (b) Three graduate students who would assemble 5-7 fellow graduate students; (c) Three tenured or tenure-track faculty, two non-tenure-track faculty and three adjunct faculty, each of whom would form a chat group of 5-7 other faculty to discuss the questions posed in the study. In addition, Judith Ramaley put together a chat group of a dozen student support unit leaders to explore how each unit adjusted as the university moved quickly to remote learning and remote work and then, in a second round, what lessons each had learned throughout the spring term about ways to support students and assist faculty members who were also seeking to help their students

Book Review of, The Status of Social Studies: Views From the Field

Gayle Thieman reviews The Status of Social Studies: Views from the Field, which provides information on how social studies is being taught in United States schools

Crossing Borders, Building Bridges

This article is derived from the presidential address delivered at the NCSS Annual Meeting in San Diego on November 30, 2007. Through collaboration and involvement, we can meet the five critical challenges facing social studies educators today

The Need for Authentic Assessments

As state and local policymakers develop valid assessments, as proposed by Secretary Duncan, I suggest they incorporate criteria of “authentic assessment.” Unlike traditional tests of factual recall, authentic assessments are designed to examine students’ performance on real-world tasks. Authentic assessments require active learning and involvement on the part of students who construct their own understanding and apply what they have learned. Students may use digital tools to interpret and evaluate complex information while considering multiple perspectives and alternative solutions. Students use ideas and methods of inquiry that are central to the discipline, e.g., doing the work of policy makers, historians, geographers, and economists. Tasks are open-ended and allow for collaboration and divergent thinking so that students may use multiple strategies to arrive at varied conclusions. Authentic assessments may require students to share their learning in global or cross-cultural contexts. As students submit work for feedback and revision, they reflect and set goals for their own learning

Promoting Educational Opportunity and Achievement Through 1:1 iPads

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to expand the growing body of research on the educational impact of 1:1 mobile devices, investigating the iPad’s potential to reduce the disparity of access to high-quality instructional technology and achievement for low income, racially, and linguistically diverse students. Design/methodology/approach: This three-year, mixed-method study investigated the degree to which a 1:1 iPad initiative reduced the disparity of technology access and instructional use and improved student learning and attendance. The research design included survey data on student technology skills, experiences and use and teacher focus groups to confirm and contextualize the survey data. Findings: Across all three years, ninth graders and students who were white, female, eligible for free/reduced lunch and those with stable enrollment were more likely to have an individual iPad (THP). Having a THP was associated with greater satisfaction, ease and frequency of technology use, higher attendance and GPA. Research limitations/implications: Inequitable distribution, inconsistent administrative support, and uneven faculty support for iPads limit generalizability. Practical implications: This research identifies barriers to successful technology integration and impact on student achievement including inequitable access, inconsistent administrative and teacher support, and limited professional development. Originality/value: This research focuses on an issue of digital equity that has not yet been studied in depth with 1:1 iPads and investigates students’ technology access, experiences and use to support student achievement in a high poverty, highly diverse high school

Revising a Teacher Education Program for Diversity and Social Justice through Culturally Responsive Coursework and Professional Collaboration

A major revision in a graduate teacher education program (GTEP) at a mid-sized urban university provided an opportunity to rethink goals as teacher educators in order to address issues of diversity and social justice. This chapter suggests some answers to the question: What characteristics of a teacher preparation program prepare teacher candidates (TCs) to provide high quality education for all students, including those who have been historically underserved? This chapter reports a case study of the relevant research and implementation of substantially revised university coursework to better prepare teacher candidates for a diverse student population, and increased collaboration to promote program coherence. Revised coursework emphasizes culturally responsive teaching, content area literacy, and accountability for K-12 student learning. Collaboration is facilitated by clustered placements, co-teaching, and lesson study

Empowering Teacher Candidates to Create Social Justice Curriculum Through Civic Engagement Projects

The purpose of this research is to examine how participating in a Civic Engagement Project (CEP) led teacher candidates (TCs) to develop and publish race and social justice curriculum. This article describes the CEP, a graduate level social studies methods course assignment for TCs who research community issues, select a class project, collaborate, create and publish resources for educators. This mixed-methods study examines the challenges, benefits and process of the CEP. TCs\u27 reflections, digital curriculum and resources they created, surveys and interviews with TCs after graduation were analyzed through six criteria of anti-racist curriculum, based on Racial Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Critical Race Theory. The intent of this longitudinal research is to analyze the long-term development of social studies teachers across their experiences with civic engagement as pre-service and subsequently in-service teachers

What Work Samples Reveal about Secondary Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers\u27 Use of Literacy Strategies

The article discusses a study which aims to answer the research questions of whether secondary social studies pre-service teachers incorporate literacy strategies in their work samples during student teaching, and the extent and conditions secondary social studies pre-service teachers use higher levels of literacy strategies in their work samples. The study is framed within 3 areas of research namely activity theory, work sample methodology and disciplinary literacy

Preparing Secondary Social Studies Teacher Candidates To Address Common Core State Standards and the C3 Framework With Diverse Learners

This study investigates the relationship between the literacy strategies used by social studies teacher candidates, the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies (CCSS), and the College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework. In an initial study the authors discovered that teacher candidates (TCs) in high-poverty schools tended to teach lower-level literacy strategies. We also explored the differences between TCs who were identified as using more high-level literacy strategies and those who used lower-level strategies. This follow- up study examines the work samples of six secondary social studies TCs in high poverty schools to understand the degree to which the literacy strategies they used address the CCSS and the C3 Framework. Using a cross case analysis, findings suggested that TCs who used CCSS literacy strategies and addressed the C3 Framework demonstrated skill in using increasingly complex literacy strategies, organized their instruction around compelling questions, and taught social studies through an inquiry perspective

From the Field: How Oregon Social Studies Teachers are Preparing Students for the 21st Century

Much of the recent data on the state of social studies teaching has focused on the impact of NCLB on the decline of instructional time. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of K-12 social studies curriculum and instructional practice, as reported by classroom teachers. The survey investigated the impact of mandated testing, major goals and concepts, teachers’ instructional strategies, and technology integration. This paper presents findings from Oregon teachers with comparison to data from the 2010-2011 National Study on the State of Social Studies (S4) and the content and skills advocated by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills