Volume 5, Number 2/3 1997
Articles
Increasing Faculty Use of Technology in Teaching and Teacher Education
D. Randall ParkerTechnology in Teacher Education: Where Are We and Where Do We Go From Here?
KerriLee BrownellThe Voice of Experience: Inservice Teacher Technology Competency Recommendations for Preservice Teacher Preparation Programs
Mercedes M. FisherOn-Line Collaborative Lesson Planning: An Experiment in Teacher Education
Priscilla Norton and Debra SpragueExtending the Educational Community: Using Electronic Dialoguing to Connect Theory and Practice in Preservice Teacher Education
Denise JohnsonUsing an Interactive Information System to Expand Preservice Teachers’ Visions of Effective Mathematics Teaching
Diana V. Lambdin, Thomas M. Duffy, and Julie A. MooreTechnology’s Second-Level Effects: Fostering Democratic Communities
Helen L. HarringtonTechnology as a Tool in Achieving the Mandates of Inclusion
Cathy C. KaufmanInteractive Multimedia Training Materials for Assessment of Students With Behavioral Problems: Design and Outcomes
Gail E. Fitzgerald, Louis P. Semrau, and Gia S. Deasy
Abstracts
Increasing Faculty Use of Technology in Teaching and Teacher Education
D. RANDALL PARKER
Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership
College of Education
Louisiana Tech University, P.O. Box 3161
Ruston, LA 71272, USA
doctorp@latech.edu
Advances in educational technology and its increasing availability in K-12 schools make it incumbent upon colleges of education to look critically at how technology is integrated into teacher preparation programs. In seeking to prepare teachers for the next century, college faculty are increasingly being expected to use and model the use of technology, to facilitate its use by their students, and to integrate technology into instruction. Unfortunately, the literature reveals that technology is not systematically integrated into many preparation programs and that the lack of equipment, training, and time often limits opportunities for both faculty and students.
This article reports the results of a collegewide faculty self-study regarding (a) faculty use of technology in planning and instruction, (b) required student use, (c) perceived obstacles to increased use, and d) faculty interest in professional development in technology. The results have been used to develop a strategic plan to increase faculty use of technology within the College of Education at Louisiana Tech University (LTU), including external grant development, allocation of additional funds and staff, and faculty collaboration to increase the use of technology in instruction. Others who would wish to improve the instructional use of technology in their setting might consider this model for systematic improvement.
Technology in Teacher Education: Where Are We and Where Do We Go From Here?
KERRILEE BROWNELL
Department of Special Education
University of Utah, Milton Bennion Hall
Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Browne_k@gse.utah.edu
In this review, the author summarizes the research on application of educational technology in teacher education from 1990 to 1995. It identifies methodological features of recent research and draws conclusions regarding the current state of technology in teacher education. Specific questions addressed in the review include (a) review recent research on application of educational technology in teacher education, (b) identify common methodological features of recent research, and (c) provide recommendations for future directions in teacher education and technology research. Twenty-eight studies met selection criteria and are summarized in three different tables. These tables represent an overview of research that provide cursory abstracts. For more in-depth information, readers need to refer to actual articles. The use of qualitative research was the most prevalent research method in this review. However, a large portion of the research is still assessing the attitudes towards technology which suggests that research is still in the inquiry mode. Recommendations for further research is offered based on the results of this review.
The Voice of Experience: Inservice Teacher Technology Competency Recommendations for Preservice Teacher Preparation Programs
MERCEDES M. FISHER
School of Education, Marquette University
Schroeder Health Complex, 159, P.O. Box 1881
Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881, USA
fisherm@vms.csd.mu.edu
The value of technology in schools depends on how teachers are prepared to use it. This study identifies inservice teacher recommendations for incorporating technology competency requirements into teacher education programs. From a total of 495 questionnaires sent to K-12 teachers in Colorado, 287 (58%) were returned. The study includes an overview of 10 technology competency recommendations and details them further, a description of the technology competency recommendations assessment instrument that was designed and administered, a summary of results, and a review of the implications for preservice training. Analysis of the data supports the importance of technology training for teacher preparation programs.
On-Line Collaborative Lesson Planning: An Experiment in Teacher Education
PRISCILLA NORTON
Division of Educational Specialties
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
pnorton@osf1.gmu.edu
DEBRA SPRAGUE
Graduate School of Education
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
dspragu1@osf1.gmu.edu
What happens when inservice teachers use email to collaborate with other inservice teachers or with preservice teachers to create lessons? This article presents an assessment of the results of an on-line lesson-writing collaborative. Study results indicated (a) no significant difference between the quality of lessons created by inservice teams and the quality of lessons created by inservice/preservice teams; (b) an improvement in the attitudes of preservice teachers about the possibilities of telecommunications, both for professional use and use with students; and (c) that all participants reported the collaborative experience to be a positive experience. The study suggests that on-line collaboration between inservice and preservice teachers may serve to support preservice supervision.
Extending the Educational Community: Using Electronic Dialoguing to Connect Theory and Practice in Preservice Teacher Education
DENISE JOHNSON
Department of Childhood and Special Education
University of Central Arkansas, PO Box 4913
Conway, AR 72035, USA
denisej@mail.uca.edu
The purpose of this article is to describe a project conducted in a reading methods course for preservice elementary education students to model how technology can be incorporated into the curriculum to facilitate learning. A specific goal of the project was to provide an avenue for the participating preservice teachers to gain a greater understanding of different philosophies of reading through collaboration with practicing teachers across the country via electronic dialoguing. The article includes specific feedback provided by the preservice teachers and the practicing teachers as well as outcomes of the project for both groups.
Using an Interactive Information System to Expand Preservice Teachers’ Visions of Effective Mathematics Teaching
DIANA V. LAMBDIN, THOMAS M. DUFFY, and JULIE A. MOORE
School of Education
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
lambdin@indiana.edu
This research investigated how use of an interactive videodisk information system (the Strategic Teaching Framework-STF) helped preservice teachers expand their visions of teaching, learning, and assessment in mathematics and their skills in translating that vision into action in the classroom. The data document how students used the technology in planning and teaching lessons to actual classes of children, in critiquing their own teaching and the teaching of others, and in formulating their own personal philosophies and beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics. Teachers and lessons shown in the STF videos served as important models for the preservice teachers; additionally, the related commentary and perspectives provided by the system offered a springboard for student reflection and discussion. An important side benefit of STF was its frequent use as a common image and reference point for class discussions, since instructor and students alike were familiar with its examples.
Technology’s Second-Level Effects: Fostering Democratic Communities
HELEN L. HARRINGTON
School of Education
The University of Michigan, 4216 A SEB
Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
helenhar@umich.edu
The work presented in this paper focuses on if and how the conversations occurring on a computer conferencing activity embedded in an introductory teacher education course reflect characteristics of democratic communities. Findings suggest that conferencing activities enable students of teaching to struggle with the dilemmas of teaching within a community of peers. The activities seem uniquely suited to providing democratic communities wherein values are shared and "there are varied and free points of contact with other modes of association" (Dewey, 1916, p. 83). As students deliberate in the conferencing activity, their discussions disclose the complexity of the issue being addressed. They move from what appears to be a straightforward delineation of a problem and its resolution, to a more inclusive consideration of the various ways a problem might be framed and draw attention to the facts or lack of facts and how that limits the ability to make responsible, professional decisions
Technology as a Tool in Achieving the Mandates of Inclusion
CATHY C. KAUFMAN
Professional Studies in Education
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
329 Davis Hall, IUP, Indiana, PA 15705, USA
CKAUFMAN@GROVE.IUP.EDU
This work examines how the use of technology can equip classroom teachers to more competently and confidently address policy mandates that relate to inclusion. These policies integrate students with special academic, physical, or emotional needs into the classroom environment with their peers. In previous decades in the United States, students requiring special services were commonly removed from their classrooms to work with specialists. In this paper, the author suggests that two concurrent reform movements in education, technology integrations and inclusive classroom practices can more effectively be linked in the training of educators.
Interactive Multimedia Training Materials for Assessment of Students With Behavioral Problems: Design and Outcomes
GAIL E. FITZGERALD
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
University of Missouri-Columbia, 351 Townsend Hall
Columbia, MO 65211, USA
fitz@tiger.coe.missouri.edu
LOUIS P. SEMRAU
Department of Special Education and Communicative Disorders
Arkansas State University
State University, AK 72467, USA
lsemrau@kiowa.astate.edu
GIA S. DEASY
Department of Special Education
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
After a review of the theoretical basis and advantages of interactive multimedia training for teacher educators, a computer-videodisc program, Assessment and Planning in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, is described. The program is designed as a microworld simulation based on principles of cognitive science. It features two interactive case studies and observation practices in which users access information, contextualize knowledge and skills, and apply information in problem-solving activities. The case studies were implemented in a preservice methods course in behavioral disorders and its use and outcomes are reported. Information for obtaining the program is included.