University faculty members who implement field-based teacher education programs experience challenges providing instruction for clinical, site-embedded university-based students. These issues can include a lack of common times to meet with students, limited access to meeting space to provide direct instruction, and changes in the school schedule. A number of these barriers may be addressed by adding elements of online instruction to traditional in-person classes, making the course, in effect, a hybrid one. In this study, the researchers analyzed the perspectives of university-based, special education focused instructors and clinical partners on the barriers, needs, benefits, and content related to implementing hybrid instruction in field-based settings. The hybrid content would supplement special education teacher education candidates’ learning as they developed their skills for supporting students with special needs. Five university faculty members and two field-based PK-12 partners involved in special education teacher preparation participated in in-depth, open-ended phone interviews. Data analysis included identifying themes using a constant comparative qualitative approach. The participants recommended several supports they considered necessary for using technology to teach their students successfully. Rather than a temporary pandemic measure, the authors suggest that hybrid instruction offers a promising approach to support preservice teachers in the field going forward.
Current Practice
The Current Practice section is sponsored by the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE). Papers published in this section focus on innovative and new approaches to integrating technology into teacher education or innovative approaches supported by professional development for teachers. The goal is to advance discussion and make available ideas and findings for practitioners in technology and teacher education. The Current Practice section values descriptions of promising ideas with empirical data describing their implementation, as well as formal research studies. The study, theory, case, review, research, or education model described should be grounded in the literature This section encourages submissions that take advantage of the World Wide Web as a publishing medium through the inclusion of media, graphics, and/or other examples to illustrate the context and/or findings.
Most Recent
Literacy Clinics During COVID-19: Pivoting and Imagining the Future
Literacy clinics have a long history of providing supplemental assessment and instruction to students with literacy needs, but they were tested during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many pivoted from a face-to face format to three-way remote learning. This study provides a window into how literacy clinics at this moment of transformation in education embraced, and in some cases were challenged by, technology. A survey was administered in spring 2021 to a sample of 58 literacy clinic directors from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Bolivia, The Netherlands, and Australia. Data analysis included quantitative descriptive and inferential statistics reporting on the use of technological platforms and resources, clinic settings, and the format of clinics, before, during, and anticipated after pandemic. Results suggest that clinicians retained some traditional instruction methods while moving some components to digital spaces. Qualitative analysis included (a) coding, (b) creating categories, and (c) developing profiles of respondents based on their prepandemic and postpandemic instructional delivery format. Survey responses conveying the challenges and opportunities of online instruction are discussed in accordance with technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge. This research captured the precipice of institutional change as literacy clinics responded to the pandemic and then recalibrated their intentions for the future.
Using Mixed Reality Simulations to Prepare Justice-Oriented Teachers
This qualitative study investigated how mixed-reality simulations supported the development of justice-oriented core teaching practices within a large elementary education program. Told from the point-of-view of two methods instructors, using candidates’ written and oral reflections, the authors examined the use of Mursion® mixed reality simulation software as a tool for rehearsing to teach content through a justice-oriented lens. Three themes emerged from the words of the teacher candidates in the focus group, as well as in their written reflections after completing each of the simulation cycles during their coursework: (a) simulations provided a safety net for students (and their teachers) in PK-12 schools; (b) simulations made the learning of these core practices focused on skill development (versus classroom management) and thus less messy; and (c) simulations provided a safe space to apply justice-oriented lenses while engaging students in content. Simulations augmented the candidates’ field experience, while providing a window on their development as teachers committed to becoming change agents enacting just and equitable learning. Implications and the limitations of using simulations to support teacher candidate learning are discussed, particularly when the goal is teaching for equity.
Transforming Assessment in Online STEM Learning: Preparing Teachers to Integrate Computational Thinking in Elementary Classrooms
With the increasing emphasis on infusing computational thinking (CT) in PK-12 education, developing teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge is essential for CT integration. In a graduate online CT course for elementary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching, the Authentic Integrated Online Assessment model (Galanti et al., 2021b) informed the design of a digital interactive notebook (DINb) as a performance-based assessment of teachers’ CT content and pedagogical content knowledge. Qualitative content analysis of course artifacts revealed the power of the DINb to prompt feedback, revision, and self-reflection. The iterative nature of the DINb deepened CT understandings, normalized incomplete thinking as productive, and enhanced online teacher-instructor communication about CT concepts. Findings indicate that this iterative approach to online assessment developed elementary STEM teachers’ CT skills and dispositions. They demonstrated their understanding of CT as a problem-solving approach that they could learn and integrate in their own classrooms.