Examining the Effects of Selected Computer-Based Scaffolds on Preservice Teachers\u27 Levels of Reflection as Evidenced in their Online Journal Writing

This study used explanatory mixed methods to examine the effects of two computer-based reflection writing scaffolds, question prompts and writing process display, on preservice teachers’ levels of reflection in their online reflective journal writing. The scaffolds were embedded in a system simulating the Professional Accountability Support System Using a Portal Approach (PASS-PORT). The outcome measure was the level of reflection achieved in participants’ writing. The researcher collected data at the College of Education of a major southern university in the United States. Participants were undergraduate students enrolled in a technology integration course in fall 2007. Sixty-five preservice teachers participated in quantitative phase of the study; sixteen out of the 65 preservice teachers were purposefully selected to participate in qualitative phase of the study. The majority of the preservice teachers were white females between the ages of 20-29 in their junior year. During the quantitative phase of the study, participants in control group and two treatment groups were randomly and evenly assigned to one of three different Web pages associated with their treatment conditions. The participants reflected on a critical incident that happened during their practical teaching. Two raters, blind to the participants’ treatment conditions, coded the highest level of reflection achieved in their writing samples using the reflection rubric developed by Ward and McCotter (2004). The researcher employed ANOVA to assess the group differences in the highest level of reflection reached and in the length of the reflective writing in the number of words. The alpha level was set at .05 for all analyses. During the qualitative phase, the researcher conducted open-ended interviews with the participants as a follow-up to their reflection writing. The participants’ reflection writings and interviews served as data sources. Miles and Huberman\u27s (1994) data analysis procedures guided the qualitative data analysis. The quantitative results indicated that computer-based scaffolds significantly enhanced preservice teachers’ levels of reflection in their online journal writing. Preservice teachers who used the scaffolds wrote longer reflection than those in the control group. Correlation analysis revealed that there was a positive relationship between the level of reflection and the length of journal writing. Three overarching factors emerged from the qualitative data analysis that explained how and why the computer-based scaffolds enhanced their reflective journal writing. The factors included (a) the specific requirements conveyed in the scaffolds; (b) the structure of the scaffolds; and (c) the use of the critical incidents to anchor reflective journal writing. How to improve preservice teachers’ critical reflection capability and skills remains an actively debated topic. Recent years have witnessed an emergence of research and development in Web-based educational systems to help prepare highly qualified teacher candidates. However, the articulative/reflective attribute of meaningful learning does not seem to be evident in most of these systems. Although there is considerable research on the potential for embedding scaffolds in technology-enhanced learning environments, mechanisms intended to facilitate reflective practice in such environments also seems to be lacking. In order to help fill this gap, it is hoped that the analyses and results of the current study can be used as a building block for research on how to leverage the affordances of computer-based scaffolds to enhance preservice teachers’ reflective practice in technology-enhanced educational systems

Students’ Perceptions of Technology-Enhanced Pedagogy in Their Statistics Learning

Statistical literacy, reasoning, and thinking are highly valued in various industries. However, many college students struggle in their required statistic course(s). The use of technology has the potential to bring about positive changes in content, pedagogy, and course format of statistics instruction. This study explores undergraduate business students’ perceptions of the instructor’s technology integration efforts in their statistics learning. The research results reveal that students mostly regarded their learning experience as positive, engaging, informative, and effective. They attributed their learning gain to the instructor’s innovative teaching style, the availability of various learning resources on Moodle, and how the resources were presented

The Importance of Mathematics Competency in Statistical Literacy

Competence in mathematics and statistics are related, but are not the same thing. To measure the impact of mathematical competence on statistics performance, ACT math scores together with remedial and required math grades were analyzed together with final grades in a two-course sequence of undergraduate statistics. Results indicate that math competence is correlated with success in the first statistics course, but generally not the second. In addition, success in the first statistics course does not imply success in the second. These findings support the claims that mathematics and statistics are two separate disciplines, each deserving of its own pedagogy

Teachers’ Belief Changes in a Technology-Enhanced Pedagogical Laboratory

Preservice teachers who were enrolled in a technology integration course facilitated student-centered lessons to K-12 students in a pedagogical laboratory. A quantitative instrument, Teachers’ Beliefs Regarding Technology Use Survey (TBTUS), was employed to measure the impact of the pedagogical laboratory experience on preservice teachers’ beliefs regarding technology integration. The impact was largely insignificant. The qualitative data suggest that changes might be incremental and TBTUS might not be sensitive to the changes that occurred after 22-hour treatment, with only six hours of real teaching experience. Moreover, unlike vicarious experiences, personal teaching experiences may be different for each candidate, so they might have learned strategies that are unrelated to the beliefs that were measure

Co-Reactant-Mediated Low-Potential Anodic Electrochemiluminescence Platform and Its Immunosensing Application

Screening high-performance anodic electrochemiluminescence (ECL) systems with low triggering potential is a promising way to broaden their applications. In addition to electrochemiluminophore, co-reactant also plays an important role in the ECL process, since the oxidation of co-reactants is one of the most important steps in the anodic ECL process. Herein, a novel co-reactant-mediated high-performance low-potential Au nanocluster (AuNC)-based ECL system has been successfully developed. Benefiting from the isopropyl substitution and hydroxyl addition to the triethylamine (TEA), the BSA-AuNC/2-(diisopropylamino)ethanol (DIPEA-OH) ECL system achieved higher energy efficiency at a lower potential of 0.75 V. In addition, compared with the BSA-AuNC/TEA system, the ECL intensity and quantum yield (ΦECL) with DIPEA-OH as a co-reactant increased 22.34-fold and 13-fold (as high as 68.17%), respectively. Based on the low potential, high ΦECL of the AuNC/DIPEA-OH ECL system, a sandwich-type immunosensor has been constructed for a highly selective SARS-CoV-2 N protein assay. In the absence of any complex signal amplification strategies, the ECL immunosensor for the SARS-CoV-2 N protein detection showed a linear range of 0.001–100 ng/mL and a detection limit of 0.35 pg/mL. Moreover, the ECL platform had good reproducibility and stability and exhibited acceptable detection performance in the detection of actual serum samples. This work established a framework for in-depth design and study of anode ECL co-reactants for AuNCs and other luminophores, and expanded the potential application of ECL sensors in the clinical diagnosis of COVID-19