English/Language Arts Education

Contemporary Literacies and Technologies in English Language Arts Teacher Education: Shift Happens!

by Marshall George, Carol Pope & Louann Reid
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Three leaders of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Conference on English Education (CEE) reflect on the changes that have occurred in English language arts teacher education in the past 15 years since the first edition of Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE Journal) was published. The authors take a historical look at the development of the CEE and CITE Journal relationship, reflect on the inaugural article in the CITE Journal English Language Arts Teacher Education section and the principles it presented, and provide a history of the evolution of NCTE/CEE belief statements, resolutions, and standards for teacher preparation as they relate to 21st-century literacies and technologies. The piece provides a snapshot of current practices in English language arts teacher preparation and considers the future of the field.

Mathematics Education

Prime Online: Developing Grades 3-5 Teachers’ Content Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics in an Online Professional Development Program

by Stephen J. Pape, Sherri K. Prosser, Cynthia C. Griffin, Nancy Fichtman Dana, James Algina & Jungah Bae
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This study sought to identify components of an asynchronous online teacher professional development program, Prime Online, that potentially affected participants’ mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT). Twenty-three third- through fifth-grade general education and special education teachers completed a yearlong online teacher professional development program focused on improving MKT, instructional practices for all learners (particularly those with disabilities), and practitioner inquiry. Latent growth modeling and focus group data indicated growth in participants’ content knowledge and initial growth in knowledge of students from pretest to midtest, with a decline at the end of the program. Module components are described to highlight the online teacher professional development program structure and specific activities that potentially supported participants’ growth. Mathematical modeling, engaging with practitioner-focused journals and websites, developer-constructed materials, classroom implementation, and reflection and discussion provided participants with the opportunities for professional development resulting in increased MKT.

Science Education

Determining Useful Tools for the Flipped Science Education Classroom

by Gregory MacKinnon
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This paper reports the results of a 3-year longitudinal study on the perceived utility of supplying elementary science teacher interns with four asynchronous tools to assist them in creating their first lesson plan of a constructivist nature. The research accessed qualitative and quantitative measures to sample intern reaction to the notion of a flipped classroom. As cited by the Flipped Learning Network (FLN, 2014), “Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter.” Of the flipped resources supplied to support the constructivist lesson framework of Driver and Oldham (1986), students found the handbook on formative assessment strategies to be the most helpful. Overall the implementation of the four supplemental resources in a flipped classroom mode culminated in at least 10% better grades on the first lesson plan (over 3 years) by comparison to the 2 years prior to the intervention.

Social Studies Education

Current Practice

 Putting TPACK on the Radar: A Visual Quantitative Model for Tracking Growth of Essential Teacher Knowledge

by Julien C. Colvin & Ming C. Tomayko
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Since Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) description of technological pedagogical content knowledge (also known as TPACK), scholars have analyzed the various paths preservice and in-service teachers can take to develop their knowledge in each of the subdomains. However, the model of the overall framework can be confusing to teachers, as Venn diagrams are generally used for categorization. Furthermore, no representation of TPACK to date has presented a means to accurately reflect a teacher’s growth in knowledge over time. This paper proposes a visual and quantitative representation of TPACK that will help teachers better understand the TPACK framework and track their growth in the knowledge domains over time. A pilot study was conducted with 24 preservice science and mathematics teachers. Quantitative evidence indicated that an explanation of TPACK using a radar diagram was at least as effective as an explanation using a Venn diagram in terms of these students’ understanding of TPACK. Furthermore, the qualitative evidence supported the assertion that teachers would benefit from a way to track their growth in the essential knowledge areas encompassed by the framework.