1,721,008 research outputs found
Developing digital smarts in initial teacher education: What motivates new teachers to continue using digital technologies for learning?
No full textThe New Zealand Curriculum, the overarching curriculum document for both primary and secondary education, enshrines an expectation that teachers engage in Teaching as Inquiry. This is seen as linking to both evidence-informed practice and evolving pedagogical content knowledge. In a rapidly developing, complex mobile digital education, the need for teachers to constantly evolve their technological pedagogical content knowledge is pressing. In initial teacher education (ITE), one challenge is how teacher educators support ITE students’ development of evidence-informed reflective practices with digital technologies to match their content knowledge. For ITE students, this is heightened because they are growing their pedagogical knowledge concurrently with learning to incorporate digital technologies in lessons, mostly for the first time. ITE students are in the position of working out how to appropriate unfamiliar digital affordances and devices for learning in unfamiliar classrooms of students, in unfamiliar schools, and sometimes teaching unfamiliar content.
The focus of this chapter is, through a qualitative, thematically analysed study of 74 ITE students, an examination of their efforts in this regard via online postings about their practicum experiences as they experimented with digital technologies in secondary school classrooms. The key question for the study was What do secondary graduate ITE students come to value regarding using digital technologies in learning contexts? Findings showed these students creatively applied digital technologies to learning contexts, while adapting to differences among schools and their technological constraints or affordances. Findings also suggest that continuance theory can help understand ITE students’ decisions about what prompts them to continue using digital technologies for learning, and how continuance theory links to agency, structures and cultural practices
Digital Smarts: Enhancing learning and teaching [Introduction]
No full textThis book is a partnership on many levels—between co-editors, with and among the other chapter authors, external, international reviewers, and eventually with you, the book’s readership. Our colleagues have also had to trust us in the mentoring, leadership and fruition of this project. We also hope that the work is trusted in the sense of having a quality assurance process that stands up as rigorous and befitting an academic text. We will address that aspect in more detail later in this introduction.
Partnership, trust and integrity are implicit in any edited book development that grows from within a shared context such as ours, the University of Waikato’s Faculty of Education
How to develop a GROOC: Establishing group dynamics in MOOCs
Full text linkThe term GROOC has recently been defined, by Professor Mintzberg of McGill University (McGill, 2015), to describe group-oriented MOOCs, based on one he has developed on social activism. He has also made it clear that he sees no requirement to provide additional support to address group dynamics, stating that groups should be able to handle losing a few members and still function appropriately (Poets & Quants, 2015). However, the existing research in this area, building from a massive research base in traditional group work theory (Cohen & Lotan, 2014), has identified that group formation and maintenance require considerable extra planning and support. The authors have recently completed the first instantiation of a MOOC, on Entrepreneurship and Innovation in IT, as part of the dCCD-FLITE (distributed Concurrent Design Framework for eLearning in IT Entrepreneurship) research project (dCCD-FLITE, 2015), and their research has confirmed the difficulties in both forming and maintaining groups, and student reluctance to engage in group-based activities. In this paper we discuss the existing research on establishing group dynamics in MOOCs, identifying the key factors influencing success and failure, and then consider the outcomes from the dCCD-FLITE MOOC. The authors have already reported on this work, and have now further analysed the data gathered from the MOOC to consider alternative approaches to establishing Group Dynamics in MOOCs, and are currently planning to run the course once more utilising social media as a catalyst for group formation and maintenance
Investigating teachers’ lived experiences in teaching Literature in English in Ghana
Full text linkThis thesis investigates the professional experiences of a group of Literature in English secondary school teachers in Ghanaian schools. At the secondary level, LiE is an elective (optional) subject, and so we could expect that those choosing it would probably do well. However, this thesis investigation arose from a concern about the persistent lack of quality of student achievement in this subject, as noted in the annual Chief Examiner’ Literature in English report. These reports outlined challenges students face in responding to West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) Literature in English questions. I was curious about understanding what might be behind this persistent issue.
Though English is the official language and medium of instruction from the upper primary to the tertiary level in Ghana, English is a second language. This is important when considering the nature of texts mandated by the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) Ghana every five years.
In order to investigate this Literature in English phenomenon, I recruited volunteer teachers from Ashanti Mampong Municipal, using phenomenology as the methodological framework. As part of the investigation, I reviewed teachers’ perspectives about their professional lives through the lens of PCK, since teachers’ knowledge is an important element in teaching specific subjects. I also sought to know more about their professional teaching conditions - both barriers and enablers.
The findings revealed teachers’ great passion for the subject and what they thought it could provide for students’ learning in terms of reading, critical thinking and writing skills. However, major barriers interfered with their good intentions:
- the unreliability of having mandated texts available in a timely manner
- the cost of texts to students and teachers, who must purchase them
- the language complexity and cultural, social and historical contexts of some set texts
- class sizes.
The findings implied that if texts were supplied in a timely manner, and offered for students and teachers to borrow rather than purchase outright, then teachers would not need to find their own workarounds to manage the lack of texts. Also if the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) chose more contemporary and local texts, students might be more familiar with the language and contexts of the literature, and thus be more able to offer original perspectives. Teachers also had to manage large classes, making it difficult to meet students’ specific learning needs. Such barriers are likely to mitigate against teachers using the kinds of co-constructive, student-centred pedagogical practices known to enhance learning and leverage teachers’ PCK. Instead, they resorted to a range of teacher-centred pedagogies, especially when neither students nor teachers could access copies of the set texts.
Revealing these barriers to learning can inform WAEC as it makes the next set of mandated literature choices for the next five year term. Should the government also review the status of the subject and how learning materials are provided in a timely manner, this might also benefit both learners and teachers.
For participant teachers themselves, knowing their experiences - both positive and negative - are shared, may help them develop networks of professional support to mitigate the effects of access, class size, and text difficulty. In the end, these relatively small changes may be significant in positively altering the experiences of students and teachers in classes of Literature in English
Continuance theory and teacher education
No full textContinuance theory is usually related to the regular use of technology in the business/industry area. It attempts to explain why people either continue to use specific technologies in their work, or not. Essentially, it links to the perceived value to individuals‟ ability to work effectively, however that is understood in their workplace. In the profession of education, particularly schools and teacher education, the perceived value of continued use is not about individuals and their work, but about individuals‟ work with groups of students and what happens to learning when these digital technologies are used. Continued use is contingent on their students‟ positive responses to these technologies supporting learning. I examine, in the light of continuance theory, what happens when student teachers in an initial secondary teacher education programme report on including digital technologies on practicum. This includes reporting on the effect students‟ responses have on their subsequent attitudes and practices regarding digital technologies in learning contexts
iPad-mediated talk in young children’s learning and exploration of interests
No full textEmerging evidence highlights the potential of mobile and tablet technologies such as the Apple iPad in facilitating more productive learning processes and outcomes in formal contexts. Very little research has however been conducted in the New Zealand context, especially in early childhood settings. This study is aimed at understanding the nature of the talk young children (3 and a half to 5 year olds) engaged in while using the iPad for free exploration and play in small group settings with teacher guidance. Data was collected from eight observations (one hour to one and half hours long) of child-directed iPad use (video and audio recordings and photographs). Analysis of the data was based on an adaptation of Mercer's (1994) ‘talk types' framework which discriminates between cumulative, exploratory and disputational talk. Findings indicated that children used different kinds of talk to support one another's attempts to work through an app on the iPad. The iPad further afforded a unique potential as a shared, public learning device, and enabled young children's ease of sharing content and working together. Additionally, teacher-child talk was crucial in children realising the iPad's potential, reminding ground rules for working with the iPad, supporting developing literacy and numeracy ideas when working on iPad apps, and acknowledging children’s success. Teachers therefore play an important role in scaffolding young children's ability to develop talk strategies valuable to their learning and exploration with the iPad in the ECE contexts
Supporting primary student independence in virtual learning: Investigating the role of school-based support staff
No full textThis paper reports on the emerging findings of a small qualitative study investigating the role of school based support staff (hereafter referred to as SBSS) in supporting students to become independent virtual learners in the Virtual Learning Network Primary School (VLNP). The VLNP is a collaboration of schools throughout New Zealand providing virtual learning opportunities for their students in subjects that are not available in their own schools. The SBSS are staff members in the student’s home school who support and mentor the student during their time in the VLNP. Students that learn through the VLNP have varying levels of academic, technical and independent skills. In some schools SBSS assist students, however the expectations and degree of support varies from school to school. Two schools within the VLNP were used in this study. An interpretive qualitative methodology was adopted using individual semi-structured online interviews with the teachers, eteachers, principals and students at each of the case study sites. Grounded Theory was used to analyse the data. Eight key themes emerged to highlight the multiple roles that the SBSS importantly play in the VLNP. These include developing critical thinking, providing a wrap around approach, removing barriers to learning, providing opportunities, tuakana/teina: learning from each other, allowing students to take responsibility for their own learning, monitoring teaching and learning, and having administrative/managerial processes in place. The key findings in this study are of distributed support by all stakeholders and the importance of the role of the SBSS in coordinating this support
Footprints: Participant perspectives informing pedagogy for asynchronous online discussion in initial teacher education
No full textThis study looks at how students and staff experience asynchronous online discussion (AOD) within initial teacher education. The aim is to explore participant perspectives, including expectations of fellow participants, with a view to informing pedagogy, defined as the relationship between teaching and learning (Loughran, 2006).
The underpinning argument is essentially that learning and teaching can be enhanced by awareness of how participants experience the situation. Understanding the complexities of AOD entails a better understanding of participants’ tacit reasoning, expectations, misunderstandings, and responses to tasks and behaviours (Brookfield & Preskill, 2005; Loughran, 2006). It is the situation as it is perceived which is central to the quality of teaching and learning, and this puts participants and their experiences at the centre of efforts to improve pedagogy and to enhance deep learning.
This study is framed by sociocultural theory and phenomenography to explore AOD through the eyes of teacher educators and teacher education students in a specific teacher education context. Participants engaged in focus groups (face-to-face and online) and a series of semi-structured interviews, generating data about experiences and perspectives of AOD.
Key findings show the need for participants in AOD to: establish expectations for purposeful communication; to maintain a presence for learning premised on formative interaction; and to work together in ways conducive to community and student leadership in pursuit of deep learning.
This thesis adds to the limited research literature on teacher perceptions about online teaching (Spector, 2007), and makes a contribution to addressing the neglect of student approaches to study in higher education using eLearning technologies for discussion (Ellis et al, 2008; Jackson et al, 2010; Sharpe et al, 2010). The results contribute to knowledge in the field of online learning in initial teacher education by giving rise to specific pedagogical strategies for teachers and students in given situations, and by providing conceptual tools for participants when thinking about teaching and learning through AOD.
Participant experiences function as footprints, picking out pathways as others make their way through AOD (Salmon, 2002)
Understanding Socio-Cultural and Organisational Constraints on Women's Leadership: A Case Study in Indonesian Higher Education
No full textIn Indonesia, especially in Java, in a range of time, the numbers of women occupying senior leadership positions in state higher institutions are low. My experiences working in such institutions supported this phenomenon. This caused my curiosity to find out why female lecturers did not occupy higher leadership positions. I also wanted to know about the nature of the institution operating towards this situation. I assumed that there were barriers from Javanese culture and from their workplaces. In order to find out whether my assumptions were the case, I conducted case study research in an engineering higher education institution in Indonesia to find out why this situation existed, given that one of the articles in the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia states that every citizen has the rights to work and earn money.
Data from this case study research were collected through interviewing sixteen senior teaching staff comprised 12 female lecturers, 6 of them were in the lower level of leadership positions, and four men in senior managerial positions. Data were also obtained through accessible documents of the institution, and also from direct observations.
The key findings revealed that the involvement and interactions of the research participants in their social fields, at macro, meso, and micro levels, influenced the way the participants made decisions and acted towards each level. Especially, it showed how habitus played out in their lives, affecting their thoughts, behaviour and actions, and leading to their perceptions and beliefs about who could be senior leaders in this institution. It revealed that there were tensions and contradictions the women participants experienced due to the expectations from each level of social field. In the meso level of social field, that is their workplace, the tensions and contradictions amplified
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