Connecting Preparation to Practice: Student Teachers Uses of Technology and Their Cooperating Teache

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Connecting Preparation to Practice Student
Teachers Uses of Technology and Their
Cooperating Teachers Impact

• Anna C. Clifford
• The University of Memphis
• Dr. Michael M. Grant, Ph.D.
• The University of Memphis
• AECT Annual International Convention
• October 12, 2006Dallas, Texas

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Student Teaching

• has been a critical element of teacher education
  programs, as preservice teachers seek
  professional preparation for teaching students
  for most of this century. (Grove et al., 2004
  Strudler et al.,1999).

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Preservice Teachers Need Support

• guided and supported by knowledgeable mentors
  especially during this culminating experience
  (Moursund Bielefeldt, 1999)
• cooperating teacher is a support for preservice
  teachers as a basic mentoring practice (Bullock,
  2004 Grove et al., 2004)
• support not only includes modeling and coaching
  of instructional methods, but also involves
  mediating technology integration
• most of the cooperating teachers methods
  integrated new technologies and exemplified
  mentoring practices
• supporting the use of technology (Grove et al.,
  2004)

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Filling the Gap

• There is little data describing what cooperating
  teachers do and how they actually work with
  preservice teachers during the student teaching
  (Grove et al., 2004).
• This study attempts to fill the gap and take a
  look at the support giving by cooperating
  teachers as preservice teacher attempt to use
  technology in the classroom.

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Research Questions

• RQ1 In what ways do preservice teachers
• use technology in teaching and learning, during
  the student teaching experience?
• RQ2 In what ways do cooperating teachers support
  preservice teachers uses of technology in the
  classroom?
• RQ3 What are the enablers and barriers for
  preservice teachers to integrate technology?

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Methods

• Design
• Qualitative
• Questions
• Preservice Teachers (PT) use of technology
• Cooperating Teachers (CT) use of technology
• Recognize barriers and/or enablers
• Pseudonyms
• Case Study

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Setting/Participants

• Setting (Fall 2005)
• Private, liberal arts Christian university
• Enrolled in student teaching practicum
• Participants
• Preservice Teachers (PT) 8
• Cooperating Teachers (CT) 8

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Instrumentation
Reflections Focus Group Interviews Additional
Interviews

• Surveys
• Teacher Technology Questionnaire (TTQ)
• Perception computers and technology
• Constructs
• Impact on Classroom Instruction
• Impact on Students
• Teacher Readiness to Integrate Technology
• Overall Support for Technology in the School
• Technical Support

• Technology Skills Assessment
• (TSA)
• Perception technological abilities
• Constructs
• Computer Basics
• Software Basics
• Multimedia Basic
• Internet Basic
• Advanced Skills Using Technology for Learning

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Data Analysis

• Qualitative Data-
• In-depth notes, reflections, transcriptions
• First Round-Categorized PT CT
• Sorted according to similar phrases
• Second Round
• Questions aligned with underlying themes
• Themes exposed prior codesgrouped
• Additional themes emerged
• Quantitative Data-
• Gathered from TTQ and TSA
• Results organized (PT and CT) and using
  constructs
• Independent t-test conducted
• Tests the significant difference in the means for
  each item and each construct
• Bonferroni adjustment added
• Trustworthiness
• Member check
• Audit Trail
• Peer Debriefing
• Triangulation

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Results

• Qualitative themes
• Quantitative results supports

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Themes

• 1. Preservice Teachers Use of Technology
• 2. Cooperating Teachers Support
• 3. Additional Barriers and Enablers Experienced
• 4. Expectations for the Use of Technology
• 5. Technology Guidelines

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Preservice Teachers Use of Technology

• Used technology on a personal basis (e.g.,
  e-mail, writing lesson plans)
• Had access to and used technology in the
  classroom in one form or another (United
  Streaming, Leap Frog, PlayStations, and
  WebQuests)
• Shared experiences using personal response
  systems, presentation systems, and digital
  cameras
• Attempted to reconcile whether their uses of
  technology were teacher-centered or
  student-centered
• Scored highest, TTQ (Teacher Readiness to
  Integrate Technology) and TSA (Computer Basics,
  Software Basics, and Internet Basics)

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2. Cooperating Teachers Support

• Cooperating Teacher as an Enabler
• Cooperating teacher made real impact upon whether
  or not technology is used for teaching and
  learning (Bullock, 2004)
• Stimulated by attending technology workshops with
  their CT and connecting with veteran tech-savvy
  teachers who were willing to talk infusion of
  technology experiences
• Inspired when they saw computers being lifted
  from the garbage pile and soon becoming the tool
  used by TESC for expressing the English language.
  
• Connected when they brought in their own personal
  laptop for students to experience assistive
  technology effectively
• Opened to learning new technology capabilities
  and instructional design

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• Cooperating Teacher as a Barrier
• Told to make use of technology they had
• Did not tell her about the availability of some
  technology (e. g., United Streaming)
• Expected her to learn how to use the technology
  and then teach the CT

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• Gayle voiced, There have been times when I would
  have liked to use an overhead, but my cooperating
  teacher doesnt have one because she doesn't like
  to use one. So because of that I just write it
  on the board.

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• Preservice Teacher-Cooperating Teacher Team
• CT-PT team worked as a reciprocating unit,
  teaching and learning from each other (Butler
  Wiebe, 2003)
• CT guided PT into new technology teaching and
  learning experiences, scaffolding along the way
  to develop WebQuest, use a Macintosh computer and
  use PowerPoint and voice over. PT guided CT in
  fine tuning her skills using Word

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• Rae So my cooperating teacher and I are always
  swapping information back and forth, because I
  had no idea about the voice-over in Microsoft
  PowerPoint at all. That was brand new stuff to
  me, and it's exciting it's very exciting,
  especially for students who are slow readers.
  I've been taught a lot of that kind of stuff.
  The laptop computers and all that stuff it's
  amazing what they can do. You can just write
  down like it's a note pad and it generates it
  into text. She wasn't as familiar with some of
  Word and some of those Microsoft Office
  programs. Now on the other hand, she has taught
  me about Macintosh computers and using voice-over
  in PowerPoint and creating WebQuests.

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3. Additional Barriers/Enablers Experienced

• Barriers (Collier et al., 2004 Ertmer, 1999)
• Voiced it was up to her to find ways to use
  technology
• Tech enhanced lesson plans looked good on paper,
  but too difficult to attempt with real students
• Some found a viable solution to barriers
• Confirmed children are not losing out on
  anything, computer class once a week prevents
  them from being computer illiterate

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• Enablers (Brush, 2003)
• People support
• Concluded (PT CT) student feedback strongest
  enabler
• Self drive
• Environmental support
• Longer periods, block schedule
• Technology enriched environment
• Easy access to equipment

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4. Expectations for the Use of Technology

• Was not actually required, never a topic of
  conversation with their universitys student
  teacher supervisor
• Expected to use, we've been trained as a part of
  teacher preparation
• Know how to use if I need to use, stimulating

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5. Technology Guidelines

• Students work together
• Technology is unpredictable, have a Plan B
• Students computer experiences are different,
  some work independently, others are dependent on
  the teacher
• Computer centers are stimulating, other centers
  have to be as stimulating
• Accountability is vital, must document progress

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Chart 1. Results Teacher Technology
Questionnaire
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Chart 2. Results Technology Survey Assessment
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• Riesens?

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Implications

• Informative to
• teacher educators as they seek to prepare
  preservice teachers
• novice and experienced inservice teachers as they
  prepare themselves to use technology for
  student-centered learning

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• More research is needed to
• examine how preservice teachers shift their
  thinking of technology integration from thinking
  how they would teach and learn about technology
  to how could students use technology to support
  their learning
• examine the barriers cooperating teachers may
  present to preservice teachers
• examine how preservice teachers respond to these
  barriersinner drive/change agent

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• Connecting Preparation to Practice Student
  Teachers Uses of Technology and Their
  Cooperating Teachers Impact
• Questions?