Journal of Technology and Teacher Education
Volume 4, Number 2 1996
Developing Preservice Teacher's Computer Competencies
Rich Valde, Randall Bower, and Rex A. Thomas 83
Preservice Teacher Education Students and Computers:
How Does Intervention Affect Attitudes?
Martha A. Gabriel and Colla J. MacDonald 91
Effect of Intergenerational Co-Learning of Software on Preservice and
Inservice Teachers' Computer Anxiety
Mary L. Stephen 17
The Teaching Decisions Simulation: An Interactive Vehicle for
Mapping Teaching Decisions
Harold R. Strang 133
Preparing Special Education Teachers at a Distance:
Effective Televised Instruction
Joan P. Sebastian, M. Winston Egan, Marshall Welch,
and Brent Page 145
The Different Ways Preservice Teachers Have Used an Electronic Discussion
List in a Science Methods Course
M.O. Thirunarayanan 161
Abstracts
RICH VALDE
Computation Center
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50010, USA
RANDALL BOWER
Computer Science Department
REX A. THOMAS
Computation Center
Preservice teachers need a vision, very early in their college career, for using
computers in their classrooms. The vision is needed to motivate and direct their learning
of technology and related instructional methods. This paper describes the use of a
simulation which is a simplified model of computer operations with "programming"
tasks for the user to complete. The simulation is used to help meet three learning goals
for preservice teachers. First, it serves as a basis for understanding computer operations
and programming. Second, it acts as a first step in assisting preservice teachers to learn
computer concepts. Finally, it aids in developing a vision of the value and use of
computers in learning.
MARTHA A. GABRIEL AND COLLA J. MacDONALD
University of Ottawa
Faculty of Education
145 Jean-Jacques Lussier
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada
This study explores the effect of a computers-in-education course on the attitudes of
preservice teacher education students toward computers. The Computer Attitude Scale (Loyd
& Gressard, 1986) was administered to a group of 94 teacher education students
enrolled in a required computer course. In addition to gathering pre- and
post-questionnaire data, the researchers observed these students in the computer
laboratory, and conducted interviews with nine of them. Findings regarding these students'
attitudes and practices underline the importance of accommodating individual learning
styles and needs in the process of training. The findings also suggest the importance of
the role played by the teacher-training institution in fostering and supporting positive
attitudes toward computers and their implementation in the classroom.
MARY L. STEPHEN
Harris-Stowe State College
3026 Laclede Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63103,USA
Teacher educators preparing students to use technology effectively in educational
settings often face the challenge of working with computer-anxious students with minimal
computer experience. This paper describes a study involving preservice teachers and first
grade students as co-learners of a hypermedia authoring system. The study examined
potential benefits for preservice teachers from such co-learning, and the impact of
co-learning with young children on the preservice teacher's level of computer anxiety. Not
all students in the college class benefited equally. Factors identified in this study
which impacted the preservice teacher's level of computer anxiety were the college
student's perception of the purpose of the project, the role assumed with respect to the
first grade students, and the adult's individual learning style. The major benefit of this
co-learning activity for the preservice teachers was first-hand knowledge of the
differences between how adults and children approach computers with the corresponding
implications for designing computer activities involving children.
HAROLD R. STRANG
Curry School of Education
University of Virginia, 405 Emmet Street
Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA
This Visual Basic simulation enables participants to engage in fundamental
lesson-planning activities such as deciding where pupils will be located in the classroom,
with whom they will interact, what activities they will engage in, and what the teacher
will do during the lesson. Post-lesson feedback is provided via an event record which
presents both a sequential text listing of each participant's decisions and a graphical
matrix which presents a comprehensive picture of the participant's planning activities.
Initial research results suggest that experienced teachers exhibit more deliberation in
completing the simulation than do preservice teachers. This deliberation translates into
taking more time to reach better decisions-decisions that reflect personal control and
pupil empathy. Plans for improving the simulation center on streamlining its information
accessing features.
JOAN P. SEBASTIAN
Department of Special Education
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
M. WINSTON EGAN
Department of Educational Psychology
Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
MARSHALL WELCH
Department of Special Education
University of Utah
BRENT PAGE
Department of Psychology
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
This qualitative study describes the perceptions of adult distance learners who were
involved in a graduate special education distance teacher education program delivered via
televised instruction. Using a focus group method, study participants were interviewed to
identify the elements of effective televised instruction delivered using both closed
circuit television and pre-recorded video. Four themes emerged during the data analysis
that provide insight into the question "What makes a difference in televised
instruction?" Study results include a description of each of the four themes
identified as critical for effective televised instruction. Examples of participants
responses are included to illustrate the data patterns. Implications for the design of
televised instruction conclude this article.
M.O. THIRUNARAYANAN,
Elementary Education Department
Rowan College of New Jersey
Glassboro, NJ 08028-1701, USA
An electronic discussion list was established in the autumn of 1993 for use by preservice science teachers who enrolled each semester in a science methods course taught by the author. Over a two year period, many students have subscribed to the list each semester and have posted several hundred messages. In this paper the author reviews the messages posted on the list during the semester of spring 1995, and describes the different ways students have used the discussion list. During the first two years of its existence, the list has been used for many purposes. These include: (a) providing interesting information, (b) sharing science activities, (c) following up on classroom activities, (d) sharing information about resources, (e) submitting a course assignment, (f) asking questions and getting answers, (g) answering instructor's questions, (h) sharing internship experiences, (i) seeking and receiving ideas, (j) providing feedback regarding course assignments, and (k) providing feedback about the discussion list itself. Messages posted on the discussion list are excerpted and reproduced throughout this paper.