Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Volume 1
Series Editor:
Scope:
Edited by
Yeping Li and Janet Hammer
Texas A&M University, USA
A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Acknowledgementsvii
Part 1: Introduction and Perspectives
1. Teaching at Work: Innovating and Sharing Teaching Approaches
andPractices to Advance Teacher Preparation 3
Yeping Li and Janet Hammer
2. Research-Based Approaches for Identifying and Assessing
Effective Teaching Practices: Challenges, New Directions, and
PolicyImplications 9
Hersh C. Waxman, Nancy Dubinski Weber,
Susana E. Franco-Fuenmayor and Kayla B. Rollins
3. Connecting Research and Practice through Teacher Knowledge 29
Emily Binks-Cantrell and R. Malatesha Joshi
Part 2: Selected Approaches and Practices in Teaching and
Teacher Preparation
4. Preservice Teachers Problem-Solving Lesson Engagement and
Knowledgeand Beliefs about Teaching for Equity 51
Trina J. Davis, Gerald Kulm, Ayse Tugba Oner,
S. Enrico P. Indiogine, Dianne S. Goldsby and Tingting Ma
5. Changing Preservice Teachers Attitudes Toward Linguistic
Diversityby Introducing a World Englishes Perspective 81
Zohreh R. Eslami, Edie Cassell and Burcu Ates
6. Subtracting Stereotypes through Studying Abroad: The World
Is a Book, and Those Who Do Not Travel Read Only
One Page (St. Augustine) 105
Cynthia Boettcher, Janet Hammer and Sunni Sonnenburg
7. Preparing Preservice Teachers for Diverse Urban Classrooms 123
Kamala Williams and Norvella Carter
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Index261
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks also go to a group of peers who took the time to help review many
chapters of the book. They include: Lynn Burlbaw, Mary Margaret Capraro,
L. Quentin Dixon, Valerie Hill-Jackson, Patricia Larke, Mnica Vsquez
Neshyba, and Julie Singleton. Their reviews and comments helped improve
the quality of many chapters.
Finally, we want to thank Carol Gonzalez for her assistance in formatting
many chapters of this book and Michel Lokhorst (a publisher at Sense
Publishers) and Jolanda Karada for their professional assistance in making
this publication a smooth and pleasant experience. As the first volume of
the new book series on Advances in Teaching and Teacher Education, this
books timely publication would not have been possible without Michel and
his team.
viii
PART 1
INTRODUCTION AND PERSPECTIVES
YEPING LI AND JANET HAMMER
1. TEACHING AT WORK
Innovating and Sharing Teaching Approaches and
Practices to Advance Teacher Preparation
INTRODUCTION
4
Teaching at Work
This book is structured in three parts that include a total of 13 chapters: Part
I: Introduction and Perspectives (3 chapters), Part II: Selected Approaches
and Practices in Teaching and Teacher Preparation (9 chapters), and Part III:
Commentary (1 chapter). In the following sub-sections, we will provide brief
summaries for Parts I-III.
5
Y. Li & J. Hammer
6
Teaching at Work
FINAL THOUGHTS
The books title indicates the content of this book. Also explained in the
beginning are the several meanings that this title is designed to contain. We
do hope that the book, as outlined above, provides much useful information
about different teaching practices and approaches developed and used in
teacher preparation.
At the same time, we want to inform readers that this book is not put
together to ignore learning, in this case, preservice teachers learning. In
7
Y. Li & J. Hammer
fact, readers should know that preservice teachers and their learning are
actually at the center of different teaching practices and approaches that are
discussed in this book. Teaching is never meant to be a purpose in itself
for what readers can learn from this book, but rather learning is the focus.
Just as we can learn from our own teaching through practice and reflection,
we also learn about teaching through sharing and collaboration. Teaching,
as a professional practice, needs systematic studies, especially in teacher
preparation where much still remains to be explored.
REFERENCES
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Boston,MA: Harvard University Press.
Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. New
York,NY: Teachers College Press.
Li, Y., & Huang, R. (Eds.). (2013). How Chinese teach mathematics and improve teaching.
New York,NY: Routledge.
Li, Y., Silver, E. A., & Li, S. (Eds.). (2014). Transforming mathematics instruction: Multiple
approaches and practices. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Publishing.
Osborne, J., & Dillon, J. (2010). Good practice in science teaching: What research has to say.
London: Open University Press.
Richardson, V. (Ed.). (2001). Handbook of research on teaching (4th ed.). Washington, DC:
American Education Research Association.
Saha, L., & Dworkin, A. G. (Eds.). (2009). International handbook of research on teachers
and teaching. New York,NY: Springer.
Stigler, J. W., & Hiebert, J. (1999). The teaching gap: Best ideas from the worlds teachers for
improving education in the classroom. New York,NY: The Free Press.
Yeping Li
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University, USA
Janet Hammer
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University, USA
8
HERSH C. WAXMAN, NANCY DUBINSKI WEBER,
SUSANA E. FRANCO-FUENMAYOR AND KAYLA B. ROLLINS
INTRODUCTION
Research has found that having an effective teacher is one of the most
influential factors that improve students academic achievement (Darling-
Hammond, 2011). Unfortunately, the inequitable distribution of high-
quality teachers within and across schools is one of our most serious
educational problems (Darling-Hammond, 2010, 2011; Rothman, 2009;
Waxman, Padrn, Shin, & Rivera, 2008). High-poverty schools that serve
predominantly minority and poor students have been found to typically have
less-experienced and less-qualified teachers than low-poverty schools (Almy
& Theokas, 2010; Jerald, Haycock, & Wilkins, 2009). Students from high-
poverty schools have also been found to have diminished opportunities to
learn and receive a lower quality of classroom instruction than their more
affluent peers from low-poverty schools (Boykin & Noguera, 2011; Camburn
& Han, 2011). In addition, the quality of teachers classroom instruction has
also been found to vary dramatically within the same school thus creating an
additional equity concern for students who do not have opportunities to learn
from effective teachers (Day & Gu, 2010; Duncan & Murnane, 2014). This
lack of consistency across classrooms and grade levels also has been found
to interfere with student learning (Duncan & Murnane, 2014). To address
these concerns of providing equal access to good teachers to students of all
ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, the federal government has recently
developed a 2014 initiative Excellent Educators for All that requires states
to develop plans for providing effective educators for all students.
One of the challenges in addressing this problem of closing the gap of
access to effective teachers is that there is considerable debate in the field
regarding the identification and assessment of effective teaching practices
META-ANALYTIC APPROACHES
10
RESEARCH-BASED APPROACHES
11
H. C. WAXMAN et al.
CHECKLIST APPROACHES
12
RESEARCH-BASED APPROACHES
13
H. C. WAXMAN et al.
14
RESEARCH-BASED APPROACHES
15
H. C. WAXMAN et al.
pilot study were promising and indicated that the classroom observation
ratings were valid measures of teaching practicestudents showed the most
academic growth in classrooms where teachers received a high rating and the
least academic growth in classrooms where teachers received a low rating.
Classroom observation research along with studies using more indirect
measures have revealed that instructional practices and levels of cognitive
demand vary greatly from classroom to classroom within the same school
(Rothman, 2009). Hamre and colleagues (2013) developed the Teaching
through Interactions framework, which suggests that much of the effect that
teachers and the classroom have on student learning is found in the teacher-
student interactions. Results from over 4,000 classroom observations
indicated that teacher-student interactions across grade levels fit into
three domains: (a) emotional support, (b) classroom organization, and (c)
instructional support.
While classroom observation instruments have a primary role in
examining effective teaching, critics of current practices argue that classroom
observations have failed to provide teachers with the necessary feedback
to improve their instructional practices (Sartain, Stoelinga, & Brown, 2011;
Hill & Grossman, 2013; The New Teacher Project, 2013). Additionally, it has
been noted that the observation instruments used are often generic in regard
to content area and grade level observed indicating the feedback from the
observation lacks the specificity needed for instructional changes. Additional
concerns regarding whether this observational approach will lead to improved
teaching and student outcomes involve the expertise of the observer. School
principals or other administrators often conduct classroom observations that
are used for the purpose of teacher evaluation and instructional feedback (Hill
& Grossman, 2013). Principals and administrators, however, often lack the
instructional expertise for specific content areas making it nearly impossible
to provide effective feedback. Furthermore, teachers are typically only
observed two to four times per year making it unlikely that such infrequent
feedback can have a meaningful impact on classroom instruction.
While there are many critics regarding current observational practices,
feedback from classroom observations is still viewed as a crucial aspect
to making changes in instructional practices in order to ultimately impact
student learning. Hill and Grossman (2013) argue specific changes that
should be made to current practices of using classroom observation to
examine effective teaching including (a) develop content area specific
observation protocols with appropriate instructional practices for the
grade level being observed, (b) conduct more observations for struggling
16
RESEARCH-BASED APPROACHES
teachers rather than fewer observations across all teachers, and (c) consider
the possibility of using content area observers (e.g., department chairs)
to provide more specific feedback than administrators. The New Teacher
Project (TNTP) (2013) recommended additional specific changes to be made
to existing classroom observations practices including (a) removal of any
items on the observation instrument that cannot be directly observed, (b)
simplify the observation instrument by condensing items that measure the
same instructional aspects, and (c) provide meaningful formative feedback
on lesson content and support adaptation efforts.
VALUE-ADDED APPROACHES
17
H. C. WAXMAN et al.
another reason among many why talented young people will avoid entering
the teaching profession or leave just as they are becoming effective teachers
(Darling-Hammond, 2013).
It is important to understand the underlying assumptions of the value-added
approach since there are different models that are commonly used. Scherrer
(2012) points out that the underlying assumptions of value-added modeling are
dubious, at best (p. 58). He considers that value-added models improve current
accountability systems using status models to measure student performance on
a one-time assessment and then compares it to a target level. He also believes
that this approach seems to reward teachers for whom they teach and not how
they teach (p. 58). Some value-added models rely exclusively on student test
scores from previous grades and prior teacher effects to estimate the teachers
contribution to current learning as opposed to other models that adjust for
differences in regards to the student, classroom, and the school. Consequently,
the latter not only include students test scores from the previous year, but also
account for other background characteristics that could be related to student
learning such as school level aggregates and other measures of classroom and
school-level inputs (Kersting, Chen, & Stigler, 2012).
Kersting et al. (2012) argue that it is crucial to understand how much
teacher value-added estimates depend on the type of data and statistical
models used. They explored the effects of (a) differences among students in
their prior learning, (b) using single or multiple cohorts of students, and (c)
the number of students contributing to the value-added estimates for each
teacher on the stability of value-added estimates. Additionally, they highlight
that studies have divided the value-added distribution into different types of
performance groups. For example some have divided teachers in three groups
according to how effective they are according to the student data (i.e., below
average, average, and above average), while others have divided teachers
into quartiles when they report the percentage of teachers that either remained
in the same group or changed categories. This difference in classification
confuses users of value-added scores when comparing percentage changes in
teacher designations if these are based on different numbers of performance
groups. Kersting and colleagues concluded that almost two-thirds of teachers
remained in the same performance group across all conditions. Additionally,
they found that differences in number of students used in the statistical
model accounted for up to one-third of teacher reclassifications into different
performance groups while single versus multiple cohort models accounted
for about one-fifth. Different methods for controlling for student prior
learning accounted for about one-sixth of teacher reclassifications.
18
RESEARCH-BASED APPROACHES
19
H. C. WAXMAN et al.
DISCUSSION
20
RESEARCH-BASED APPROACHES
there have been few studies examining teacher practices which specifically
foster students resilience or internal protective factors that contribute to
students academic and social success (Rivera & Waxman, 2011; Waxman
& Chen, 2006).
A third major concern with most of these approaches for evaluating and
assessing effective teaching is the lack of conceptual and theoretical models.
Cuban (2013) describes this issue as the black box of classrooms because
we have a lack of understanding of what actually happens in the classroom
during instruction. Comprehensive theories of instruction are needed
to provide us with explanations of which instructional practices are most
important and how they should be combined in order to provide greater effects
on student outcomes. Classrooms are highly complex and generally consist
of different domains or dimensions of teaching. Roehrig and her colleagues
(2012), for example, argue that there are four dimensions of effective teaching
that make up a dynamic, highly-complex inter-rated system: (a) developing
caring classroom communities, (b) enhancing students motivation to learn,
(c) planning and delivering engaging, assessment-driven instruction, and
(d) supporting students deep processing and self-regulation. Although the
dimensions or constructs of teaching have been identified in this model, we
do not have an explicit specification of the model that provides us with an
understanding of how these constructs impact each other during ongoing
classroom instruction.
Another important issue to address is whether the teaching practices
described in this chapter are generic and effective for all students or are some
instructional practices differentially effective for some students. Research
on effective instructional practices often fails to take into account important
individual student characteristics or school contextual differences that may
differentially impact their relative effectiveness. For example, effective
classroom instruction for students in urban schools or high-poverty schools
may be different than schools serving suburban or rural classrooms. Similarly,
effective classroom instruction for English language learners (ELLs) may be
different than instruction for non-ELLs (Waxman, Padrn, & Garcia, 2007).
Classroom contexts are diverse and educators need to focus on what works
best, under what conditions, and for whom.
A final concern and policy implication is the need for researchers to
collaborate with practitioners to design better research on assessing effective
teaching. John Easton, the former director for the Institute of Education
Sciences, has recently argued our greatest challenge is in working better
with practitioners and policy makers to use the research to make schools
21
H. C. WAXMAN et al.
better places where students learn more (Easton, 2010, p. 1). Others have
similarly advocated for use-inspired basic research (National Research
Council, 2002; Stokes, 1997) or engineering approaches to educational
research that focus on how to make things actually work in the settings
we want to improve. Berliner (2009) succinctly describes this issue, it is
the tinkering by teachers and researchers and the study of their craft by the
teachers themselves, that seems to me the most likely to pay off in improved
education (p. 311). The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching, for example, describes this collaborative process as building
networked improvement communities in education (Bryk, Gomez, & Grunow,
2011). Penuel, Fishman, Cheng, and Sabelli (2011) similarly describe the
emerging model of design-based implementation research that focuses on
the persistent problems of practice from multiple stakeholders perspectives
and calls for reconfiguring the roles of researchers and practitioners. Such
collaboration can lead to improved approaches for identifying and assessing
effective teaching practices. Hargreaves and Fullan (2012) support this
position by arguing that, good teaching is perfected through continuous
improvement (p. 14).
In their recent book on improving teaching, Professional Capital:
Transforming Teaching in Every School, Andy Hargreaves and Michael
Fullan (2012) argue that the professional expertise is not just having and
being aware of evidence, its also about knowing how to judge the evidence
and knowing what to do with it (p. 54). We strongly agree with their
perspective and also maintain that educational researchers similarly need to
be able to (a) be more mindful and reflective of the quality of their own work,
(b) focus on the ignorance or biases in their own research, and (c) try to
work collaboratively with researchers from other disciplines, practitioners,
and policy makers to address important research questions (Waxman, 2013-
14). When these three activities are done on a more consistent basis, it will
promote more mindful research that will make a difference in education.
The serious equity-related teacher quality issues that plague many students
from high-poverty schools highlight the need for schools and teachers to begin
using scientific evidence to determine effective teaching practices and then
ensure that all students have access to high-quality teachers. Furthermore,
critical out-of-school factors that affect the outcomes of schooling for
students must also be addressed. If we only focus on school or teacher
factors and ignore the importance of family and community influences
on the education of students, we will clearly fail in our endeavors. There
is a critical need to develop a solid knowledge base on effective teaching
22
RESEARCH-BASED APPROACHES
practices and policy for all students that focuses on practices that improve
students academic achievement and affective outcomes. Hargreaves and
Fullan (2012) argue that the teaching profession continuously creates new
practices while (a) building on the knowledge base, (b) testing the impact
of classroom practices, and (c) developing, circulating, and adapting best
practices. In other words, communities of teachers need to simultaneously
use best practices while developing new, innovative practices. Strengthening
links between evidence-based research and educational practices can benefit
the growing population of students at risk of failure in schools and those
who share responsibility for educating them. With greater understanding and
support of the needs of all students and their teachers, schools can improve
the quality of teaching practices and ensure that no child, teacher, or school
is left behind.
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Waxman, H. C., Padrn, Y. N., & Garcia, A. (2007). Educational issues and effective practices
for Hispanic students. In S. J. Paik & H. J. Walberg (Eds.), Narrowing the achievement
gap: Strategies for educating Latino, Black and Asian students (pp. 131151). New York,
NY: Springer.
Waxman, H. C., Padrn, Y. N., Shin, J. Y., & Rivera, H. H. (2008). Closing the achievement
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Weisberg, D., Sexton, S., Mulhern, J., & Keeling, D. (2009). The widget effect: Our national
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New Teacher Project.
26
RESEARCH-BASED APPROACHES
Hersh C. Waxman
Education Research Center
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Nancy D. Weber
Education Research Center
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Susana E. Franco-Fuenmayor
Education Research Center
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Kayla B. Rollins
Education Research Center
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
27
EMILY BINKS-CANTRELL AND R. MALATESHA JOSHI
INTRODUCTION
30
Connecting Research and Practice Through Teacher Knowledge
Council (Snow, Burns, and Griffin, 1998) concluded that quality classroom
instruction in kindergarten and the primary grades is the single best weapon
against reading failure (p. 343). While a students language awareness
and incoming reading skills are the best predictors of reading achievement
(Olson, Keenan, Byrne, & Samuelsson, 2014), effective instruction in
basic language constructs such as phonology, the alphabetic principle, and
morphology that is explicit, systematic, and synthetic can enable students
to overcome other factors that may be stacked against them (Blachman et
al., 2004; Brady, 2011; Denton, Foorman, & Mathes, 2003; Foorman et al.,
2006; Torgesen, 2004).
Because the acquisition of reading skills does not come naturally or easily
for many children, these children become dependent upon the skills and
knowledge of the primary grade classroom teacher as their main source for
learning to read. The National Research Council (Snow, Burns, and Griffin,
1998) cited poor classroom instruction as a statistically significant cause of
reading difficulties in young children.
While research has suggested certain and specific components and
student skills necessary for learning to read (NICHD, 2000), teachers have
demonstrated limited knowledge of such concepts over the past ten years.
Moats (1994) and others (Bos, Mather, Dickson, Podhajski, & Chard, 2001;
McCutchen et al., 2002b; Moats & Lyon, 1996; Spear-Swerling & Brucker,
2003) have attributed poor classroom instruction to a lack of teacher
knowledge needed to teach reading skills. As a result, many children do
not receive the kind of instruction necessary for them to succeed in reading,
and hence, a national literacy problem exists. One main factor is suggested
as the major cause: poor instruction due to poor teacher knowledge due to
poor teacher preparation or in other words, research is not being put into
practice. However, there is hope that when teachers receive high-quality
training in research-based reading instruction, both teacher knowledge
and classroom practice, as well as student reading achievement, will be
positively affected.
31
E. Binks-Cantrell & R. M. Joshi
the criteria included in SBRR are research studies that employ systematic,
empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment; involve rigorous
data analyses; and have been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or have
undergone rigorous, scientific review.
The federal government created the National Reading Panel to perform a
meta-analysis that reviewed all scientifically-based reading research studies
and, in 2000, outlined the findings that had been repeatedly replicated.
According to National Reading Panel (NICHD, 2000), the five essential
components of reading instruction based on scientifically-based reading
research include explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness,
phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension.
The National Reading Panel (NICHD, 2000) recommends that teachers
have an explicit knowledge of such concepts for the effective teaching
of decoding skills in a direct, systematic manner to enable the successful
acquisition of early reading skills for all beginning readers. Ironically,
colleges of education may not be providing pre-service teachers with
this information (Binks-Cantrell, Washburn, Joshi, & Hougan, 2012;
Greenberg, McKee, & Walsh, 2013; Joshi, Binks, Graham, Dean, Smith, &
Boulware-Gooden, 2009; Joshi, Binks, Hougen, Dahlgren, Dean, & Smith,
2009; Joshi, Binks, Hougen, Dean, Graham, & Smith, 2009; Walsh, Glaser,
and Wilcox, 2006) leaving teachers unprepared to effectively teach reading
to all students, as one cannot teach what one does not know. Moats (1999)
states this clearly,
Specifically, teachers must understand the basic psychological processes
in reading, how children develop reading skill, how good readers differ
from poor readers, how the English language is structured in spoken
and written form, and the validated principles of effective reading
instruction. The ability to design and deliver lessons to academically
diverse learners, to select validated instructional methods and materials,
and use assessments to tailor instruction are all central to effective
teaching. (p. 13)
Through scientifically-based reading research, it has been repeatedly shown
that the direct teaching of linguistic structure concepts is of great importance
to both beginning and struggling readers (Moats, 1994; Seidenberg, 2013).
Research performed with struggling readers has repeatedly found direct,
explicit, and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics
improves reading and spelling development and reduces the number of
students who experience reading difficulties (Bos et al., 2001). Adams (1990)
32
Connecting Research and Practice Through Teacher Knowledge
33
E. Binks-Cantrell & R. M. Joshi
depending upon the nature of the students difficulties and the students
progress (Calhoon & Petscher, 2013; Calhoon, Sandow, & Hunter, 2010).
Accordingly, informed teaching requires an informed teacher who has an
explicit understanding of the complex structure of the English language
(Moats, 2014). Otherwise, a teacher without such knowledge may
encourage students to guess or skip unknown words, memorize words by
sight, utilize formulaic comprehension strategies, and over-rely on reading
aloud and rereading: Even if they use one of the many well-designed
and scripted intervention programs, teachers must rely on background
knowledge of their own to tailor lessons for individual students (p. 3). The
present chapter, therefore, focuses on the teacher knowledge necessary to
deliver effective, research-based reading instruction, rather than reading
curriculums or programs.
The critical features of effective teacher training programs in reading
must align with research by presenting a balance of oral language, phonemic
awareness, phonics, word identification, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension,
the assessment of all aspects of literacy leaning and managing literacy
instruction across grade levels (International Reading Association, 2003).
As the findings of Bos and colleagues suggest that teachers generally lack
the knowledge or preparation to adequately instruct students with dyslexia
and related reading problems, the authors suggest important implications for
teacher training:
Teacher preparation does not apparently include sufficient or in-depth
content training (Hill, 2000) and may seriously impact implementation
of recommendations such as those offered by the National Reading
Panel (NICHD, 2000) for the use of systematic phonics instruction.
We concur with Lyon (1999) that teacher preparation and professional
development programsmust develop preparation programs to foster
the necessary content and pedagogical expertise at both pre-service and
in-service levels. (p. 8)
As research suggests that training can increase teachers knowledge and
use of systematic instruction that will assist at-risk children with reading
development (Bos, Mather, Friedman, Narr, & Babur, 1999; McCutchen &
Berninger, 1999; OConnor, 1999) and given the great amount of research
that emphasizes the importance of teaching phonological awareness and
phonics, teacher training programs must instill teachers with the foundational
knowledge necessary for providing early systematic research-based reading
instruction.
34
Connecting Research and Practice Through Teacher Knowledge
35
E. Binks-Cantrell & R. M. Joshi
36
Connecting Research and Practice Through Teacher Knowledge
listening comprehension growth. For the first grade students, the effect
of experimental condition was statistically significantly related to growth
in phonological awareness, reading comprehension, reading vocabulary,
spelling, and composition fluency.
The findings of this study add to the mounting number of research studies
that have documented a causal relationship between explicit alphabetic
instruction and student learning (Ball & Blachman, 1991; Bradley & Bryant,
1985; Cunningham, 1990; Foorman, Francis, Fletcher, Schatschneider,
& Mehta, 1998; Foorman, Francis, Winikates, Mehta, Schatschneider, &
Fletcher, 1997b; Lundberg et al., 1988; O'Connor, 1999; Torgesen, 1997;
Vellutino et al., 1996). By focusing on teacher knowledge, teacher-generated
instructional activities, and more advanced reading and writing skills, this
study also yielded three important findings: (a) We can deepen teachers
own knowledge of the role of phonological and orthographic information in
literacy instruction; (b) teachers can use that knowledge to change classroom
practice; and (c) changes in teacher knowledge and classroom practice can
improve student learning.
Other researchers examined the word-structure knowledge of new teachers
and evaluated the progress of children tutored by a subgroup of the teachers
(Spear-Swerling & Brucker, 2004). To assess teachers word-structure
knowledge, graphophonemic segmentation, classification of pseudowords
by syllable type, and classification of real words as phonetically regular or
irregular tasks were administered. Several measures of basic reading and
spelling skills were used to assess the tutored childrens progress. Results
indicated that the new teachers who received the word-structure instruction
outperformed a control group of teachers who did not receive such instruction
in knowledge of word structure at post-testing time. Furthermore, children
who received tutoring improved statistically significantly from pre-test to
post-test on all assessments. Statistically significant correlations were found
between teachers' post-test knowledge on the graphophonemic segmentation /
irregular words tasks and tutored children's progress in decoding phonetically
regular words. Error analyses also indicated links between teachers patterns
of word-structure knowledge and childrens patterns of decoding progress.
Conclusions were drawn that word-structure knowledge is indeed important
to effective teaching of word decoding, and therefore, there is a strong need
include information about English word structure in both pre-service teacher
preparation and in-service teacher training.
In this study, course instruction was consistently a more important
influence on post-test performance than was prior background (on all three
37
E. Binks-Cantrell & R. M. Joshi
measures for Group 1 and on two out of three for Group 2). Furthermore,
participants in Group 1 (who supervised tutoring) scored higher on post-
tests in comparison to the scores of Group 2 (who did not supervise tutoring,
although they had statistically significant higher backgrounds). But because
these differences were not statistically significant, it cannot be concluded
that supervised tutoring experiences enhances teachers word-structure
knowledge beyond the benefits provided by course instruction. Another
interesting note is that even after six hours of course instruction in word
structure, many new teachers still performed below ceiling on the post-
test (particularly in irregular word tasks), which suggests a need for more
instruction.
Although it was not possible for the authors to obtain a control group
of untutored children for comparison, tutored children consistently showed
statistically significant progress in all specific areas of tutoring and the
teachers post-test performance patterns on the word-structure knowledge
measures (including knowledge of letter sounds, decoding and spelling of
phonetically regular words, and reading and spelling of irregular words).
Results suggest that the teacher knowledge gained as a result of the course
instruction influenced the teachers abilities to effectively teach decoding
skills.
Overall, the results yielded from this study support the belief (e.g., Brady
& Moats, 1997; McCutchen & Berninger, 1999; Moats, 1994, 2000, 2004)
that an understanding of word structure is important for effective decoding
instruction. The novice teachers in this study were beginning to acquire
some competence in teaching word-level reading skills, but results suggest
that further preparation in this area was needed for better results. Better
pre-service preparation in English word structure could allow in-service
professional development to focus on topics such as meeting individual
differences and grouping children. Notable characteristics of the tutoring
program which appeared particularly helpful in balancing the needs of the
novice teachers and tutored children include:
the use of a structured lesson plan emphasizing one or two basic techniques
for developing specific skills;
focused assessments providing clear information about skills to work on
in tutoring; and
opportunities for novice teachers to practice administering assessments, as
well as various instructional techniques, in university classroom sessions.
(p. 356)
38
Connecting Research and Practice Through Teacher Knowledge
39
E. Binks-Cantrell & R. M. Joshi
The good news is that they also assessed a group of university instructors
who had participated in a bi-yearly professional development program for
at least two years and not only was their performance on the knowledge
survey statistically significantly higher than their counterparts, but their
students (the pre-service teachers) knowledge was statistically significantly
higher as well. This demonstrates that university instructors knowledge and
understanding of how to most effectively teach reading can be heightened to
a proficient level when relatively simple efforts are made to stay abreast of
current research and practices in the field and, most importantly, that this
knowledge will carry over to their students (the pre-service teachers). These
findings have strong implications for the future of teacher preparation, but
there are a few challenges that remain. At the current time, most universities
do not require their instructors to attend professional development seminars
or make other efforts to stay up-to-date with the most current research.
Teacher accountability is an issue for the university level just as much as the
K-12 level, but the concept of scholastic, or academic, freedom poses a few
barriers to holding university instructors accountable for understanding and
preparing their pre-service teaching students with an understanding of the
basic language constructs from current research.
In some ways, teacher knowledge (and the role teacher preparation programs
play in improving teacher knowledge) is starting to receive the recognition
of importance it deserves. For instance, several professional organizations
have adopted knowledge and practice standards for teachers of reading,
such as the International Reading Association and the Council for Exception
Children. More recently, the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) set
forth its own list of standards in 2009 to fill in gaps of specificity, clarity, and
scientific grouping that the former sets of standards lacked (Moats, 2014).
With recognition that these standards are only truly meaningful if they are put
into practice, IDA has begun to look at the alignment of the standards with
teacher preparation programs. During the past five years, teacher preparation
programs have been able to volunteer for accreditation based upon alignment
of the programs syllabi, evaluations, assignments, practicum requirements,
and any other evidence with IDAs Knowledge and Practice Standards. To
date, 18 teacher preparation programs have been accredited, ranging from
small, private programs to large, public universities. Those with accreditation
are experiencing increases of quality applicants, and programs that did not
40
Connecting Research and Practice Through Teacher Knowledge
41
E. Binks-Cantrell & R. M. Joshi
Binks-Cantrell, and Joshi found that while there are some differences in
the misconceptions of teaching reading and dyslexia between American
and British pre-service teachers, both populations are largely leaving their
teacher preparation programs lacking the knowledge they need to effectively
teach reading, especially to those at-risk for reading difficulties. And
most recently, two special forums (2013, 2014) have been held on teacher
knowledge from an international perspective at the Society for the Scientific
Study of Readings annual conference highlighting patterns in knowledge
among teacher educators, in-service teachers, and pre-service teachers in
New Zealand, Canada, China, Portugal, Israel, Finland, and Zambia.
The textbooks used to prepare teachers to teach reading are also starting
to receive attention through a more critical lens. Walsh, Glasser, and Wilcox
(2006) found that the vast majority of the most popularly used reading
education textbooks neglected to provide information on all five essential
components of effective reading instruction as identified by the National
Reading Panel. In addition to lacking the quantity of information, Joshi,
Binks, Graham et al. (2009) found the same textbooks often lacked in the
quality of information provided, such as incorrect definitions of phonemic
awareness, phonics, and related terms and concepts.
Dysteachia is a term used to refer to the phenomenon of students who
exhibit dyslexic-like tendencies, not because of a neurologically-based
reading disability but because of inadequate instruction. The hope is that as
teacher knowledge and teacher preparation (including the knowledge and
professional development of teacher educators, as well as the textbooks used
in teacher preparation courses) begin to receive more attention, the quality will
increase and the rate of dysteachia will decrease. While the above initiatives
demonstrate some positive directions, many of the current educational
policies and funding priorities still target curriculum materials, school
organization, and high stakes testing results rather than the teacher, teacher
knowledge, teacher preparation, and teacher professional development that
maximizes teacher quality (Moats, 2014).
Twenty years ago, Louisa Moats conducted one of the first major
studies of teacher knowledge and preparation to teach reading (1994). She
administered a survey to regular and special education teachers and found
that very few possessed an understanding of the basic language constructs
that research has deemed fundamental to successful reading acquisition.
Since that time, numerous other researchers have assessed both in-service
and pre-service teachers with various instruments and have found similar
results. Despite the strong correlations that have been demonstrated between
42
Connecting Research and Practice Through Teacher Knowledge
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Emily Binks-Cantrell
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
R. Malatesha Joshi
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
48
PART 2
SELECTED APPROACHES AND PRACTICES IN
TEACHING AND TEACHER PREPARATION
TRINA J. DAVIS, GERALD KULM, AYSE TUGBA ONER,
S. ENRICO P. INDIOGINE, DIANNE S. GOLDSBY
AND TINGTING MA
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING LESSON ENGAGEMENT
The context for the research was a mathematics problem solving course
that is required for middle grades math teachers at Texas A&M University.
The course was revised by the KATE research team over a period of five
semesters to include activities and assignments to address issues of diversity
and culture in teaching algebra. The design of the course includes four
primary, interrelated components: (1) math problem solving and problem
posing, (2) math problem equity challenges, (3) readings and discussions on
diversity, and (4) Second Life tutoring and teaching.
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T.J. DAVIS etal.
STUDY 1
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING LESSON ENGAGEMENT
Methods
Participants. The spring semester class consisted of 21 females and 1
male. There were 16 White females, 1 African-American female, 4 Hispanic
females, and 1 White male. The fall semester class included 28 females
and2 males. There were 24 White females, 4 Hispanic females, and 2 White
males.
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING LESSON ENGAGEMENT
Some actions challenged the PSTs to adjust their approaches. The instructor
provided feedback to the PSTs if there were issues with their lesson plans.
These detailed planning sessions occurred a week prior to the delivery of
each lesson.
Instruction for diversity was guided by a Hypothetical Learning Trajectory
(HLT) (Simon & Tsur, 2004) for teaching for equity developed by the
research team (Brown et al., 2011). The PSTs chose one of three schemes
from the HLT to guide the design of their problem-solving lessons in SL:
Situated learning scheme Provide an instructional context that allows
students to have concrete and hands-on experiences with math knowledge
and skills. Build math learning on realistic, open-ended, culturally relevant
problems that students solve using a variety of skills, concepts, and tools.
Culturally relevant teaching scheme Use contexts for activities that are
based in and relevant to students cultures and lives.
Critical pedagogy scheme Provide learning activities in which students
investigate the sources of mathematical knowledge, identify social
problems and plausible solutions, and react to social injustices.
During the algebra problem-solving lesson, the preservice teacher went to
a remote room where sh/h-e logged into Second Life as a teacher-avatar and
delivered the lesson in the virtual classroom. Within the three-dimensional
virtual space PST avatars walked into the classroom, advanced their lesson
slides that were projected on a display screen, asked questions and engaged
with MGS avatars in the classroom. PSTs used an interactive pen display (i.e.,
SmartPodium tablet) to illustrate their problem-solving work and respond
to questions posed by the MGS avatars. The working out of problems was
then displayed on a media screen in the virtual classroom in real-time (with
a few seconds delay). All of the problem-solving lessons were recorded by
research team members who were serving in avatar roles. Video recordings
were made using the Camtasia software. Camtasia allows a user to record
any on-screen activity. The recordings were then uploaded to the universitys
MediaMatrix website. The site includes a specialized database application
designed to provide access to Internet media streaming content. PSTs and
research team members were able to access the video recordings from this
secure site.
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING LESSON ENGAGEMENT
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T.J. DAVIS etal.
Lesson plans. Archival data were collected from all lesson plans that were
submitted by PSTs enrolled in either the spring or fall course. The lesson
plans included eight components: name of the scheme, (2) key mathematical
concepts and/or procedures, (3) rationale for the context selected, (4) statement
of the problem, (5) solution, (6) description of alternative approaches students
might have, (7) questions to probe students understanding, and (8) extension
or generalization of the problem. The third author reviewed the lesson plans
and concatenated the schemes that were used in the spring and fall courses.
Results
Student-teacherengagement.We examined student-teacher lesson
engagement data from PSTs enrolled in the spring course and for a second
group of PSTs enrolled in the fall course. Table 2 displays means, standard
deviations, and effect sizes of student and teacher actions from PSTs lessons
in each of the courses. A comparison of the student actions for the spring
and fall groups was done using t-tests to determine if there were significant
differences in the means. The Cohens d (Cohen, 1992) statistic was used
as a measure of effect size or standardized difference in means. Cohens d
indicated that the student asked a question item (d = 1.93), had a much
larger than typical effect size. There were statistically significant (p<.01)
differences between the spring and fall group means for this item. Cohens
d calculated for the student used gestures item (d =. 94) indicated a large
effect size. There were statistically significant (p<.01) differences between
the spring and fall group means for this item as well. Both students asking
questions, and using the gestures had higher means during the fall
semester course as compared to the spring semester.
A comparison of the teacher actions for the spring and fall groups was done
using t-tests. The Cohens d statistic was used as a measure of difference in
means. The items with statistically significant (p<.05) differences between
the spring and fall group means were the teacher asked a question (d =. 55)
and the teacher responded to a student question (d =. 49), both in favor of
the fall group. The Cohen d values computed were medium or typical effect
sizes. Teachers asking questions, as well as, responding to student questions,
were moderately higher during the fall course. Working on problem posing
was a key component of the course, questioning seems to be a prominent
teacher action observed in the lessons during both the spring (26.52) and
fall (31.88) courses. Additionally, a very small number of teachers ignored
student avatar questions or misconceptions during their lessons. The results
of the analyses of the measures are provided in Table 2.
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING LESSON ENGAGEMENT
Teacher Actions
Asked a question 26.52 (8.96) 31.88 (10.59) 0.55
Responded to a student question 13.31 (8.93) 17.25 (6.75) 0.49
Was unclear during the lesson 0.38 (0.66) 0.38 (0.66) 0.00
Gave incorrect or inaccurate 0.10 (0.37) 0.28 (0.58) 0.38
information
Addressed a student misconception 1.10 (1.28) 0.66 (0.87) -0.39
Ignored a question or misconception 1.52 (1.61) 1.09 (1.80) -0.25
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T.J. DAVIS etal.
Table 3. Means, standard deviations, and effect sizes for mathematics instruction
Item Spring Course Fall Course Cohens d
Mean (SD) Mean (SD)
Clearly articulated the objectives of the 1.62 (0.83) 1.41 (0.67) -0.28
lesson to the students
Clearly outlined how the lesson would 1.64 (0.73) 1.56 (0.72) -0.11
proceed
Gave a rationale or justification for 1.40 (0.70) 1.62 (0.75) 0.30
learning the mathematics or solving
the problem
Presented the lesson clearly, using 2.26 (0.59) 2.63 (0.49) 0.68
appropriate math language and
materials
Worked out the mathematical content 2.29 (0.60) 2.56 (0.50) 0.48
accurately and thoroughly
Connected ideas and concepts 1.79 (0.68) 2.13 (0.71) 0.49
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING LESSON ENGAGEMENT
Table 3. (Continued)
The lesson clearly followed the above 2.02 (0.35) 2.16 (0.37) 0.39
scheme
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T.J. DAVIS etal.
In addition to examining the full class aggregate results for all lessons
completed by the two external evaluators that have been presented thus far,
we also examined mathematics instruction results specifically for two sample
lessons. We examined the mathematics instruction component from three
perspectives: preservice teachers self-evaluations of the two sample lessons,
full class peer evaluations of the two sample lessons, and external reviewer
evaluations of the same two sample lessons. The full class was instructed to
review the recordings of two of their peers lessons and complete a M-VCOI-
Lite evaluation of the lessons. The M-VCOI-Lite protocol does not include
the section 1 student-teacher-engagement component. It is identical to the
M-VCOI protocol in all other ways.
The two sample lessons were designed and taught by preservice teachers
enrolled in the fall semester course. According to the respective preservice
teachers, lesson 1 was designed to follow a culturally relevant scheme and
lesson 2 was based on a critical pedagogy scheme. Lesson 1 spanned 19.01
minutes, and lesson 2 spanned 24.38 minutes. Table 5 displays mathematics
instruction results for both lesson 1 (L1) and lesson 2 (L2). The evaluation
results include preservice teachers respective self-evaluation responses (S1
and S2), peer evaluation means (L1 Mean, and L2 Mean), and two external
reviewer evaluation responses (E1 and E2).
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING LESSON ENGAGEMENT
Examining the data from the three perspectives revealed several findings.
When PSTs in the class were asked to complete evaluations for two of their
classmates lessons, their evaluations were typically higher across most
mathematics instruction indicators, than the evaluations made by the external
evaluators. Despite this limitation, all three evaluator groups (self, peer, and
external) were consistent in evaluating lesson 2 higher than lesson 1 across
several mathematics indicators.
Similarly, the self-evaluations from the two preservice teachers
were typically not as high as the peer evaluation means across multiple
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T.J. DAVIS etal.
Discussion
One of the overarching objectives of our broader work was to provide
preservice middle school mathematics teachers early experiences in teaching
algebra for equity. Our research and design teams went to great lengths to
design a highly engaging and immersive virtual classroom, and small-group
learning spaces that were used to structure carefully planned mathematics
teaching experiences for preservice teachers. The experiences provided
ongoing practice for preservice teachers in presenting and assessing problem-
solving activities in a virtual classroom setting with diverse middle grade
student avatars.
In summary, the student actions with statistically significant differences
between the spring and fall groups were students asking questions, and
using the gestures, the means for both items were higher for the fall
course. During both the spring and fall semester courses, the student action
that occurred the most during the problem-solving lessons was MGS avatars
responding to questions or making comments.
In terms of teacher actions, the two items with statistically significant
differences between the spring and fall groups were the teacher asked a
question and the teacher responded to a student question, the means
for both items were higher for the fall course as well. The teacher asking
questions was the action observed the most in lessons during both the spring
and fall courses, with a higher mean for the fall course. This may be due
in part to questioning and problem posing exercises being emphasized
throughout the math problem solving courses, with perhaps greater success
during the fall semester.
During both semester courses, a majority of PSTs followed a culturally
relevant scheme for the lessons, and the situated learning scheme was
followed the least. During the spring course, lessons predominantly followed
either a culturally relevant context scheme or a critical pedagogy scheme.
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING LESSON ENGAGEMENT
During the fall course, fewer lessons followed a culturally relevant context
scheme and there was a modest increase in lessons that followed a critical
pedagogy scheme. Seeing this very modest increase in the variety of schemes
employed during the fall semester course was promising. Perhaps some
attention can be directed at ways to better empower preservice teachers to
design lessons around the situated learning and critical pedagogy schemes in
future courses.
In addition, our examination of the lesson evaluation data from three
perspectives (self, peer, and external) revealed notable findings. PSTs
peer evaluations were typically higher across most mathematics instruction
indicators, than the evaluations made by the external evaluators. Anecdotally,
a similar inflation of peer lesson evaluations was observed during the first
semester of the project. One possible explanation is that even when PSTs
are instructed to the contrary, they think of the evaluations as grading their
classmates work and they tend to evaluate their peers more favorably. This
perhaps offers some insight on their inflated evaluation responses. This also
helps to build a case for not restricting the lesson evaluations to just peer
review. Despite this limitation, all three evaluator groups (self, peer, and
external) were consistent in evaluating sample lesson 2 higher than lesson
1 across several indicators. Similarly, the self-evaluations were typically not
as high as the peer evaluation means across multiple mathematics instruction
indicators. It appears that the self-evaluations were more discriminating than
the peer evaluations were as well.
Through the use of the M-VCOI, we were able to conduct a preliminary
examination of student and teacher actions during the problem solving
lessons, and take a closer look at PSTs mathematics instruction performance
across 21 indicators. This exploratory investigation will help to guide further
examination of the Second Life problem-solving lessons described in the
current study. Efforts are also underway to validate the M-VCOI protocol.
This was a limitation of the current study.
STUDY 2
In the second study, the objective was to compare the beliefs about teaching
for equity and the problem solving knowledge of participants in the course
developed and taught by the KATE research team (Experimental) with the
standard version of the course offered by the department (Comparison).
A key purpose of the experimental course was to develop equity
consciousness, which embodies four beliefs: 1) all children (with a few
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T.J. DAVIS etal.
Methods
The comparison group for the study was a second section of the course. The
university online registration for the two sections provided information that
one of the sections was a research project.
Procedures. The third author, a graduate teaching assistant, was the lead
instructor for the experimental class, with guest presentations by members
of the research team. The following summaries provide brief descriptions of
the activities of the experimental class, which met once a week for 3 hours,
for a 14-week semester.
Math Problem-solving and Problem Posing. Instruction and practice with
problem-solving heuristics, using How to Solve It (Polya, 2004) as the
primary textbook. As homework, participants completed several problem
sets that applied heuristic methods, writing out complete solutions.
Math Equity Problem Challenges. Each of three assigned Equity Problem
Challenges illustrated one of the Teaching for Diversity schemes and
consisted of four components: a culturally relevant problem to solve and
adapt for middle grade students, responding to student misconceptions,
planning a problem-solving lesson, and answering mathematics and equity
questions that middle grades students might ask.
Readings and Discussions on Diversity. Assigned readings were given
from the textbook, Responding to Diversity (Ellis, 2008) and other essays
on teaching for diversity. Two guest lecturers presented and discussed
cultural diversity and cognitive engagement.
Second Life. Participants completed an orientation to SL, met and
tutored a middle grades student avatar, and planned and presented a 15-20
minute problem-solving lesson that used one of the Teaching for Diversity
schemes to a group of avatars in SL (See Study 1; Davis et al., 2012).
The fifth author, an award-winning clinical professor, was the
instructor for the comparison class. The following summary provides a
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T.J. DAVIS etal.
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING LESSON ENGAGEMENT
Results
The pretest and posttest scores on CABI, Algebra Knowledge and Problem-
solving, and Algebra Teaching measures were the dependent variables. A
comparison of the pretests for the experimental and comparison groups was
done using t-tests to determine if there were significant differences in beliefs
or algebra knowledge prior to instruction. The Cohens d (Cohen, 1992)
statistic was used as a measure of effect size to determine the effectiveness of
the treatment, using mean and standard deviation estimates of experimental
and comparison groups. The results of the analyses of the measures are
provided in Table 8.
Table 8. Means, standard deviations, and effect sizes for experiment
and comparison groups
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T.J. DAVIS etal.
Discussion
The activities developed and implemented in the problem-solving course
appeared to provide a reasonably effective combination of approaches that
help improve preservice middle grade math teachers knowledge and beliefs
about teaching for equity. While the effect size was modest, it should be
noted that these attitudes and beliefs are often well-established and resistant
to change. Also, it is worth noting that the comparison group experienced
a decrease in attitudes and beliefs about diversity over the semester. Our
informal observations have been that participants often enter the course with
reasonably positive beliefs and confidence about teaching diverse students.
As they encounter the activities and assignments, they recognize their
limitations. The activities designed to develop experiences with teaching
diverse students may have helped the experimental group to become more
confident, armed with the knowledge and practice they gained.
The experimental groups performance on the algebra test was
disappointing, given the extent of the work done on problem sets and Equity
Challenge Problems in which they did well in applying Polyas heuristics in
solving a variety of challenging problems. There may have been a ceiling
effect since their performance on the pretest was equivalent to the posttest
for some previous semesters (Brown et al., 2011), leaving little room for
improvement. The performance on the algebra teaching items was especially
puzzling since the participants had extensive experience in the course planning
lessons, responding to student misconceptions, and teaching a simulated
lesson in Second Life. Perhaps the test items did not capture the extent of
the participants knowledge. In some informal follow-up analyses, it appears
that the experimental group responses to misconceptions made attempts to
engage students by asking questions, whereas the comparison group only
told the student the correct procedure. This finding is important and requires
further research. The number and demand of assignments and the challenge of
connecting problem-solving and teaching for equity may have interfered with
the experimental participants ability to integrate their knowledge. We plan to
do follow-up research after the PSTs have had student or full-time teaching
experience to determine if the course has more lasting effects.
Concluding Thoughts
The work highlighted in this chapter is another step in pursuing an emerging
research agenda. Few scholars have designed and employed virtual
classroom simulations as an experimental setting for preservice mathematics
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING LESSON ENGAGEMENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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Trina J. Davis
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Gerald Kulm
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
S. Enrico P. Indiogine
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
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PRESERVICE TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING LESSON ENGAGEMENT
Dianne Goldsby
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Tingting Ma
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
79
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APPENDIX
80
ZOHREH R. ESLAMI, EDIE CASSELL AND BURCU ATES
INTRODUCTION
There is little argument that English has become the international language,
but there is a widening debate over the variety of English that is most
acceptable. Should there be only one Standard English, and if so, which
variety (from the United Kingdom, North America, or another standard)? Or,
should a number of varieties of English (Englishes) be considered legitimate
for use globally? As stated by Kubota (2001), the World Englishes (WEs)
paradigm challenges the homogenous viewpoint of English and offers a
heterogeneous perspective. World Englishes challenges the acceptance
of one Standard English variety, rather WEs embraces emerging varieties
of English used in diverse sociolinguistic contexts and includes local and
international varieties. As a paradigm shift in English language teaching, a
WEs perspective rejects the superiority and authority of speakers of standard
English and accepts the language authority and norms of diverse users of
English (Shin, Eslami, & Chen, 2011). According to Bolton (2006), WEs
is an umbrella label referring to a wide range of differing approaches to the
description and analysis of English(es) worldwide. With the spread of the
English language and the increasing number of English language users who
have acquired English as an additional language (Graddol, 1997), there has
been an increasing interest in considering the pedagogical implications of
WEs, defined inclusively to encompass not only the linguistic varieties but
also the functional varieties of English today (Matsuda & Matsuda, 2010).
The pedagogical implications apply to both spoken and written English. As
Matsuda and Matsuda (2010) suggest, while teaching the dominant codes and
conventions, teachers can also help students understand that language users
may deviate from the perceived norms to convey important social meaning.
As a nation that is becoming more diverse, educators need to adapt to
multilingualism and at the same time prepare for this transformation of
English. However, in spite of this growing diversity within the English
language, both inside the U.S. and beyond its borders, varieties of English are
not being addressed in teacher education programs. If U.S. preservice teachers
are not exposed to linguistic diversity both globally and locally, especially
regarding the English language, then they may not validate varieties of
English in their teaching dispositions and teaching practice. Because English
language teaching has become a major commodity worldwide (Anchimbe,
2006), researchers and teacher educators recognize the need to consider how
varieties of English are regarded in classrooms. When educators reflect on
the impact of English varieties on English instruction overall, they cannot
forsake the sociocultural contexts of its use and its speakers.
The World Englishes paradigm challenges the deficit perspective that
monolingual English speakers may subscribe to heterogeneity of English
users. The WEs perspective offers a heterogeneous viewpoint that recognizes
the varieties of English, both within the United States and beyond. However,
as Matsuda (2009) notes, researchers need to investigate how World
Englishes can be incorporated in teacher education programs in the U.S.
and internationally. This paper focuses on one of the activities, ranked most
influential among the participants in this study, used in a WEs project aimed
at promoting awareness about local and international varieties of English
in a teacher education course in the U.S. The project exposed pre-service
teachers to activities designed to prepare them to address the varieties of
English that exist globally as well as locally (Snow, Kamhi-Stein, & Brinton,
2006). This is a pressing concern for pre-service teachers in the U.S. because
of the plethora of cultures, languages, and linguistic varieties that reside
within U.S. borders due to a high rate of immigration. Therefore, there is
a need to design teacher education courses that focus on instilling a sense
of openness to diversity in teachers as well as self-awareness of their own
attitudes and beliefs (Garmon, 2005). Among these courses there must be
curricula that specifically deal with varieties of English as the main content.
Vavrus (1991) surveyed the teacher training coursework of 12 universities in
the U.S. and found that none of them had classes specifically dedicated to
the teaching of WEs. (The study by Vavrus was conducted 24 years ago, so a
new survey is certainly needed.)
So, to improve U.S. pre-service teachers preparation, researchers need
to find models of successful curricula or specific activities that can serve
to linguistically enlighten future teachers. The current study is a sub-part of
a larger study that aimed to promote awareness and instil positive attitudes
toward linguistic diversity among preservice teachers. Six activities were
implemented in undergraduate pre-service teacher education courses at a
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LITERATURE REVIEW
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Z. R. ESLAMIetal.
only need training to develop sensitivity to other varieties of English but also
to become interculturally competent speakers of English.
Shifting teachers perspectives to accept varieties of English as legitimate
varieties does require a shift in thinking and predispositions. When teaching
English as an international language, teachers are required to have a mindset
and approach that is different from those traditionally used in English
language teaching (Matsuda, 2008). This change should have an effect on
what teachers understand to be good practice in their profession (Dewey,
2012). The aim is to help teachers recognize and accept linguistic diversity by
introducing them to a variety of Englishes in the Inner Circle countries (e.g.,
United Kingdom, U.S., and Australia) and beyond (Samimy & Kurihara,
2006). The term, Inner Circle countries, was coined by Braj Kachru (1992).
He conceived of the idea of three concentric circles or geographic spheres of
influence where the English language is used.The Inner Circle represents the
traditional bases of English: the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia,
New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, and some of the Caribbean territories. The
other two circles are the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle.
Kubota and Ward (2000) define the term, World Englishes, as the linguistic
diversity of English users around the world, both within Inner Circle countries
and internationally. In this study, we regard World Englishes beyond its
general description of post-colonial and institutionalized varieties of English
and define it as the linguistic diversity of English users both within Inner
Circle countries and internationally as well.
There are a number of considerations that must be taken into account
when educators reflect on how WEs have an impact on English instruction.
English is a language that is used both in local and international contexts
by both native and non-native speakers regardless of the name given to it
(Snow, Kamhi-Stein & Brinton, 2006), International English, English as
an International Language, World English, English as a World Language,
Global English, etc. (Droschel, 2011, p. 34). It is the language of
globalization, spoken by millions, with a billion more learning it. According
to Qiong (2004), it is predicted that by 2050 approximately half the world will
be proficient in English due to its globalization. Because of the large number
of people speaking English, more varieties of the language are emerging. The
two traditionally known varieties, British and American English, are now
merely two of many varieties of World Englishes. Through globalization and
spread of English, varieties emerge as the language is molded by the new
communities which adopt it; thus this global language (English) becomes
polycentric- it no longer has a single center (such as the U.K. or U.S.) which
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Changing Preservice Teachers Attitudes
influences its norm of usage, but instead has multiple centers around the
globe which individually shape its character (Seargeant, 2012). The numerous
varieties of English that have developed require teachers to be prepared to
teach students about the varieties of English spoken around the world as well
as be able to positively impact their students attitudes toward these varieties
(Matsuda, 2003; Kubota & Ward, 2000; Kubota, 2001).
Many pre-service teachers are unaware of the degree of linguistic diversity
among English language users; they regard their own cultural frame of
reference as the norm and are completely oblivious to the privilege they enjoy
through being a speaker of an Inner Circle variety of English (Kubota & Ward,
2000). Additionally, the literature emphasizes that ethnic and racial prejudice
still heavily linger in the U.S., which negatively color the attitudes of native
speakers toward varieties of English (Kubota, 2001; Lippi-Green, 1997).
As a result, many school programs have not been sensitive to students who
speak varieties other than Standard American English. Lippi-Green (1997)
identifies a pervasive idea of a hierarchical order of English varieties that
exists in the U.S. Individuals who do not speak standard English are deemed
second class English speakers (Lippi-Green, 1997) and linguistic variation is
generally seen as something that must be fixed in an individual (Lippi-Green,
1997) rather than a marker of uniqueness (Schnizter, 1995). Thus, there is
a need for researchers to further examine how pre-service teachers can be
better prepared to address the varieties of English they will encounter in their
instructional practices (Snow, Kamhi-Stein, & Brinton, 2006).
Teacher education programs need to adequately prepare teachers for a
society that is experiencing a high rate of immigration and producing more
and larger groupings of cultures, languages, and linguistic varieties in U.S.
classrooms. Since migration has led to dramatic changes in the demographic
of students, these changes require teacher preparation programs to prepare
all teachers to affirm linguistic and cultural diversity in their professional
practice. It is imperative for pre-service teachers who are from Inner Circle
countries (Kachru, 1992) to be aware of the WEs paradigm so they can
better understand and be prepared to meet the needs of English language
learners (ELLs) in their future classrooms. So, to avoid enforcing monolithic
native speaker norms or stigmatizing ELLs language in the classroom,
future teachers must develop knowledge and competency in WEs. It is our
belief that incorporating a WEs perspective into teacher education programs
supports these goals.
How can teacher educators design coursework and activities that prepare
teachers to effectively and sympathetically deal with linguistic diversity
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(2001) study provided the impetus for this study: we examined the effect
of incorporating a WEs perspective into a mainstream pre-service teacher
education program in the U.S. using a much larger subject sample, a longer
treatment length, and a variety of activities. Through carefully planned
coursework and classroom activities, we examined the effects of our
intervention on pre-service teachers perceptions and attitudes toward WEs
and diverse English users (Ates, Eslami, & Wright, under review). Among the
six activities used in this intervention, pre-service teachers ranked watching
American Tongues as the most effective activity. In this paper, we examine
the reflections of the pre-service teachers to explore their views and opinions
in relation to linguistic diversity and also to reveal possible reasons why
this activity was considered the most effective activity by the pre-service
teachers.
METHODOLOGY
Context
A large land grant university located in southwestern region of the U.S.
was selected as the site for this study. According to fall 2011 demographics
published in the universitys statistical fact book 65.8% of students enrolled
were White, 15.2% were Hispanic, 3.4% were Black, and 8.6% were
international.
Participants
This studys participants were preservice teachers seeking a Bachelor of
Science (B.S.) degree in Interdisciplinary Studies enrolled in the College of
Education. The teacher credential program requires all preservice teachers
to take multicultural education and English as a second language (ESL)
methodology courses as part of the teacher education curriculum. A fifteen-
week semester-long ESL methodology course was selected to conduct the
large study on WEs. The study involved a total of 215 preservice teachers
from five ESL methodology course sections in spring 2011.
Activity
Six activities were used to introduce WEs to preservice teachers. The
activities consisted of four in-class sessions and two online sessions. The
first in-class activity was Introduction to World Englishes. Preservice
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Changing Preservice Teachers Attitudes
After watching the documentary, reflect in about one page (300 to 500
words) on the different varieties that exist in American English. Did
you know all these varieties existed in the United States of America?
Did they sound different? Would you judge someone based on their
accent, even though you know they are speaking American English
(a variety different than yours)? Were you able to understand what was
said in different varieties of American English? Did you prefer one
accent over others? Why? Were some accents more intelligible to you
than others? Why?
DATA COLLECTION
DATA ANALYSIS
A thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998) was used to find common themes that
emerged from the reflection papers. The analyzed texts were divided into
segments which were paragraphs, sentences, or parts of sentences related to
a distinct concept. Each text segment was classified into a topical category
labeled with a code. Themes were formed by grouping common responses
of participants that implied the same meaning or underlying idea. These
common responses were grouped under the relevant category to which they
belonged.
More specifically, one of the researchers read through all of the reflection
papers and extrapolated common themes that emerged from the responses.
The same researcher revisited the reflections and assigned noteworthy
quotations that corresponded to the themes. To add trustworthiness to the
analysis, fifteen percent of the reflection papers were coded by another
researcher and similar themes were identified. There were seven major
themes identified in the analysis of the reflection papers.
FINDINGS
This section represents the findings of the qualitative data analysis. The
study revealed that activities such as watching the American Tongues
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Changing Preservice Teachers Attitudes
than me. I usually think we all speak English, it just sounds different.
Now I can be more observant of other English speakers and how they
express the language. I have always noticed the difference in peoples
voice, but I did not realize that there were so many different varieties,
the list seems endless.
This documentary really opened my eyes to the different forms of
American accents all around our country. I was not aware of even
a slither [sic] of the plethora of accents here in our melting pot of a
country. I had heard of universally known accents, such as maybe a
Southern American accent, a British accent, or a Mexican accent, but
I had little knowledge of the hundreds of varieties which are derived
from the different countries from which immigrants travel.
Prior to watching this video I was unaware of the many different dialects
spoken in America. I always assumed there was a Southern dialect and
then in my eyes a Jersey or New York dialect. I assumed that every
other region just spoke normally. I was far from right; every region
has specific words, dialects, accents that can be associated with them.
Common phrases that were echoed by the pre-service teachers were that this
documentary opened my eyes to different varieties, I was unaware of
the varieties, I was very surprised at the numerous varieties the English
language consumed, and I learned so much that I had never heard of
before. These reflections of pre-service teachers reveal that the majority
were not familiar with the breadth of American English varieties existing
within the U.S.
2. Criticism of stereotyping/being judgmental of others dialects and accents
The next most common theme that emerged was criticism of judging
people based on the accent and dialect they use. Pre-service teachers
specifically emphasized how some people in the film were quick to make
a character judgment based on a persons accent or dialect. The participants
found this surprising and at the same time offensive. In their reflections, some
speculated that this behavior stemmed from ignorance. Relevant examples
from the reflections are listed below:
Most of the people that were interviewed stated their stereotypes when
it came to different accents across the United States. Instead of saying
that their own accent was hard to understand and follow, they would
always say that people living in other parts of the country are the ones
that are hard to understand.
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Z. R. ESLAMIetal.
I was surprised to see how strongly some people feel against certain
accents.
In the video many different American accents are presented, and I was
surprised how willing people were to admit their somewhat offensive
opinions on just the way people talk.
I think that people may be too stereotypical when it comes to dialects
and accents. I dont think people should have to feel inferior to others
based on their accents. I have family members who speak all different
dialects but I dont think some are better or worse than others.
After watching this video, I was surprised to learn about how one can
be judged about what kind of person they are just by their accent. That
was something I strongly disagreed with, as an educator especially I
would not judge a persons character through their accent.
People classify others as being dumb or smart depending on their
accent which they locate to a certain state. I think this is absurd because
you cannot judge a person just from their accent.
Dialects bring a sense of sentiment and identity with them. It was sad
to hear some of the comments in the video that discriminated against
people purely based on the sound of their voice. Hearing these people
make character judgments about others was wrong and seemed to stem
from ignorance as people acted surprised by others accents.
As shown in the reflections cited above, this documentary was effective in
making students aware of how language users are judged, stereotyped, and
even marginalized based on the accent and variety of English they use.
3. Recommendation to apply the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would
have others do unto you
Another theme that emerged is an extension of the observation about
stereotyping and being judgmental. Many pre-service teachers responded to
the negative stereotyping by suggesting that people should treat others as
they wish to be treated. Some participants even identified the practice of
valuing or placing a higher status on one dialect over another by saying that
no one has the right to say one accent is right or the other is wrong. Examples
of comments related to this theme are listed below:
This video makes me question if I have the right to say that. They might
think that my English has a strong accent. There is no one who can say
who is right or wrong. We both have our own opinions and our own
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The varieties that exist in American English [sic] is exactly what makes
the language so rich and everlasting.
The documentary American Tongues opened up my eyes and made me
realize that everyone is unique and although in society we sometimes
think of that difference as a negative thing that is not always the case.
Rather we need to embrace these differences and realize that English is
a mixture of languages and varieties of accents. This is what makes our
country so strong and diverse.
We all must understand that we have different varieties, accents, and
backgrounds, and we all must value and respect those differences. I love
America and the fact that we are different. We all add to what America
is, and America wouldnt be the same without this diversity.
One of the best things about America is that it is a country where people
are free individuals and speak in diverse and unique ways according to
who they are. There is no right way to speak English. All regions have
developed a specific slang depending on their way of life. As a country,
we should accept and appreciate all of the diversity that forms America
and be free to speak in any form of English that we want to.
Pre-service teachers reflections indicated that they believe Americans take
pride in regional variations in language and culture as part of the fabric of
the overall diversity in the United States. They stated that linguistic diversity
should be celebrated and appreciated for its variety and uniqueness because
part of being American is being free to express ones own culture.
7. Pledge to embrace American English dialects as future teachers
The last of the themes that emerged from the teachers reflections was
about the impact of this activity on their future classroom teaching and on
working with English language learners:
It is important as a future teacher to not discriminate or judge any child
based on their accent.
Every person deserves to shown respect, and in an ELL classroom
this is extremely important for making our students feel comfortable and
welcomed.
As future educators, we need to be aware of our predispositions. It would
not be fair to our students to deem them as less than or greater than other
based off the accent or dialect that they speak with. It is also important to
educate students about proper English within the classroom versus in a social
context, while letting students know that the English that they use in social
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contexts is perfectly acceptable. We should not give the impression that their
use of the English language is less than any other use.
As a future teacher I feel that I need to be open to all forms of English and
willing to accept and learn each persons background that goes along with
their accent.
I believe after watching this video that I can appreciate the variety
of Englishs that America holds, and will be able to embrace others with
different accents than mine more easily. I also think that this will help me
when I encounter a student in my classroom who may be from an entirely
different place than me, with an accent or dialect that I have never heard
before.
In general, pre-service teachers discussed their need to appreciate and
embrace the language diversity English language learners bring into the
classroom. The key point for them was to make ELLs feel welcome and not
feel discrimination because of their language, dialect, or accent.
DISCUSSION
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also reveal the cumulative effect of all six activities on their transformed
attitudes. Even though students indicated that this was the most influential
of the six activities, we cannot separate the influence of this activity from
the cumulative effect of all the activities. In order to investigate the impact
of only this one activity, a separate study is needed. It is evident in this
study that the introduction of the World Englishes paradigm through the
intervention of this instructional activity in a teacher education course did
affect the teachers perceptions and attitudes and appeared to have helped
prepare them to affirm linguistic and cultural diversity in their professional
practice (Ates, Eslami, and Wright, under review).
Kubota and Ward (2000) define the term, World Englishes, as the
linguistic diversity of English users around the world, both within Inner
Circle countries and internationally among countries. Teachers reflections
indicate that when pre-service teachers from Inner Circle countries (Kachru,
1992) develop knowledge and competency in the WEs paradigm, they can
better understand and have the perspective to support, and thereby meet
the needs, of English language learners (ELLs) in their future classrooms.
We believe it is imperative to incorporate a WEs perspective into teacher
education programs so that teachers will be adequately prepared for diverse
learners. This means that teachers who accept the validity of a variety of
Englishes within the U.S. and throughout the world are not focused on
remedying perceived deficits in their students linguistic heritages. Instead,
these teachers can be more effective because their students gain confidence
when they are introduced to a broader world view in a classroom focused on
what each student has to contribute.
The United States has become a highly diverse country inhabited by people
from all over the world speaking dialects of English. It is imperative that
the teaching force is able to understand and accommodate WEs, as well
as transmit that same acceptance and knowledge to all the students in
their classrooms. The responsibility lies with the U.S. educational system
to recognize and embrace the increasing diversity, which is occurring at a
rapid pace. As the English language is adopted by people from all over the
world, both within and beyond the U.S., it no longer remains as it once was
but is molded and enhanced into different forms. New varieties of English,
although sometimes vastly different, should be considered just as valid as
any Inner Circle variety, especially in the classroom. By doing so, a teacher
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Zohreh R. Eslami
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Edie Cassell
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Burcu Ates
Department of Language, Literacy, and Special Populations
Sam Houston State University
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CYNTHIA BOETTCHER, JANET HAMMER AND
SUNNI SONNENBURG
INTRODUCTION
106
SUBTRACTING STEREOTYPES THROUGH STUDYING Abroad
107
C. Boettcher etal.
As faculty members and study abroad leaders, the authors of this chapter
believe it is imperative to prepare pre-service teachers for their international
programs before they arrive at their destinations, and Barkhuizen and Feryok
(2006) view and stress that the preparation goes well beyond the usual
advice about clothing, medications, and travel documents (p. 131).
The rewards of a successful international program for educators or future
educators are significant. Robertson and Webber (2000), in reporting the
results of their cross-cultural travel study exchange between Canadian and
New Zealand students in educational leadership, state the breaking of
boundaries between theory and practice, between university professors and
students, between two nations, and between self and others, can foster the
development of critically inquiring leaders who may not only have more
questions than answers, but, more importantly, know that there are still more
questions to ask (p. 329). In the classic Wilson study (1982), it is noted that
an intense immersion experience, in which the student moves from the level
of dabbler to participant, is the most exciting and rewarding and ends
her article, Cross-Cultural Experiential Learning for Teachers, with the
words, No one should make the claim of being educated until he or she has
learned to live in harmony with people who are different (p. 191).
The nature of study abroad programs and their impact on pre-service
teachers vary from program to program, and it clearly suggests that study
abroad experiences, even as short as one week (Willard-Holt, 2001), can
change and motivate pre-service teachers. Barkhuizen & Feryok (2006),
however, point out that just being in another country does not create an
international experience and caution against the tendency for student teachers
to limit many of their activities to their own group members, in their case
leaving little in-depth engagement with real New Zealanders (p. 132). In
fact, the authors state that this tendency was the greatest shortcoming of the
programme, and one that has continued to be the most difficult to address in
subsequent programmes (Barkhuizen & Feryok, 2006, p. 132). The authors
further suggest that innovative ways of providing more intercultural and
interlingual contact should be found for a successful international experience,
including social activities with members of the community and professional
meetings with host-country educators.
Based on the research of Willard-Holts (2001) goals for educating pre-
service teachers, the authors of this article developed three questions to
investigate with their various types of study abroad programs. The questions
were asked at the beginning of the courses before the students studied the
cultures of the country they were to visit, and again after their travels.
The students wrote in-depth reflections on these three questions so the
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words can mean very different things to different people at different times
(p. 66). His goal of helping students to think and reflect beyond a single answer
and American cultural definition is the model by which the authors of this
chapter mentor students in their literature reflections. The field trip includes
visits to multiple historical and cultural sites, and students are encouraged
to interact with local residents as much as limited time allows. During the
field trip, students maintain a journal and upon return from the study abroad
experience, students submit a culminating reflection paper sharing what they
have learned and experienced. Pence and Macgillivray (2008) suggest that
stepping outside of ones comfort zone and reflecting on ones reactions can
help pre-service teachers become more flexible and reflective practitioners
(p. 16). As students begin to break down their stereotypes they must learn
to interact in harmony with other people in settings outside of their own
American culture (Hammer, Wiese, & Boettcher, 2011).
As the authors analyze their students reflections from study abroad field
trips over the past eight years, the findings uncovered several strands of
demystifying stereotypes: Students demonstrated shifts in their perspectives
of a visited culture and their preconceived notions were changed following
their travels (All names are pseudonyms).
Ben wrote, as I prepare for this trip to Russia, I hope to learn about the
different lifestyles of others. I have always been taught certain things about
communism and Russia and I wonder if it is really this way. From what I
know I really dont like the communist lifestyle of this country, because I
really like the freedom and capitalism in America. My parents have always
led me to believe that America is the greatest country in the world. I really
dont like what I have learned about socialism and wouldnt want to live
likethis.
Upon returning from Russia Ben wrote, As an American growing up in a
conservative household, I bleed capitalism. However, with these beliefs came
a prejudiced outlook on socialism and other non-capitalistic viewpoints. It
was merely a biased opinion on the different forms of government, rather
than the people who were subject to them. The old clich never judge a
book by its cover is a strong parallel to my experience in Russia. I expected
Americans to be hated upon, to be cold-shouldered at every interaction with
the Russians. I had no idea that my experience was to be extremely different
from what I had anticipated. One of the greatest educations that every
student needs is that of other cultures and people. A classroom of students
can sit, talk, read, and learn about Russia. That class will learn only so much
about the people and the way they live. If this same group of students were
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much more brutal. Overall, it was very interesting because it made me feel
more passionate about my own history and culture and helped me break
down the stereotypes of different religions. They were very passionate and
have had to fight all their lives. It makes me feel that I cant take Irelands
past and history for granted.
Lauren writes about her study abroad field trip to Ireland, My eyes were
opened to a whole new culture both different and similar to my own. Hearing
about the day-to-day lives of everyone we met who would talk to us was so
interesting. I definitely have an altered perspective on different cultures since
I took cultural plunge for10 days in Ireland. You can never judge a book by
its cover, which is something I have always done. But at the same time, just
because you have heard A, B, and C about a certain group or culture does
not mean that they actually do or act the way you were told; my stereotypes
were shattered.
Alice wrote, throughout this experience I learned that the world is so
much bigger than you will ever be able to fully comprehend. With so many
people, and so many different customs you have to have an open mind when
meeting new people. I learned a lot about the Spanish culture. I have a better
understanding of their history, and how this unique history has shaped the
people of Spain. Their culture is completely different than my own, but I
loved seeing and being a part of these differences. Learning about these
differences made me more culturally diverse and aware. They speak a
different language, they eat different foods, and they have different modes
of transportation, and have a different living style. Together these and many
more aspects make the people of Spain beautifully unique to me as a native
Texan. Learning about these differences impacted my perceptions of Spain
greatly.
The second question we investigated: What do you know about the
international issues of the culture and country you are going to visit? We
discovered that prior to the trips abroad, students knew very little about the
geography, political structure, economy, history, literature, and the arts of the
country they were to visit.
Ella wrote prior to going on the trip, to be honest, I know very little about
Russia and this countrys international issues. I know the name of their
president, but I dont much about the people, their literature, or their history
or what they do for a living.
After traveling to Russia Ella wrote, I learned that Russian people are
very simple, but also tough. These people have been through so much from
the czar rule through communism. I never realized how horrific some of the
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treatments were of Lenin and Stalin. Today the people consider themselves a
democracy, but there are evidences of communism everywhere we traveled.
The Russian people were so friendly. In talking to the Russian citizens
some of them prefer communism because they felt that everyone had a job
and their families daily needs were provided. Others I visited with didnt
want a communist government, and they really wanted their country to be
democratic. It was so interesting to hear the different perspectives of the
older and younger generations.
Heath wrote, I really knew what it felt to be a foreign student not knowing
what the teacher was trying to tell me or help me understand. I realized that
many countries, including Russia, have children learn English in addition to
their native language. We Americans expect for others to know our language
and because of what I had learned in this multicultural literature class, I
was able to take in that reality. Yes, English is the language of business, but
how many children that are required to learn it actually practice it every
day and are perfectly fluent in it? Sergei, our tour guide from Moscow, was
the perfect example of language acquisition; he knew five languages which
he learned himself by reading. People like Sergei came to the rescue in
Moscow and St. Petersburg when we needed help in the coat room, store, or
market. Their attitudes about language acquisition, I believe was definitely
part of their culture. To think that I could be speaking three other languages
fluently blows my mind and the fact that there are people in the world that do
that made me want to better myself and maybe even take on that challenge
pertaining to this aspect of my life.
Andrew wrote, the main thing that I learned from the study abroad was
how important it is to get out and interact with diverse types of people. I
figured out the more that I interacted with the people from the different
cultures, the more I learned about myself. I liked not knowing where I was
and having to figure how to get to where I needed to be. I loved having the
opportunity to speak to the various tour guides and townspeople to learn
more about them and their cultures. Of those conversations, my favorite was
a night in Budapest when a small group of us went to a coffee shop and we
ended up having a great conversation with our waiter who was a native
Hungarian. We had been having a difficult time finding our way around
and when we would ask people on the streets for directions, they could not
understand what we were saying. He taught us some basic Hungarian that
ended up really helping us out in the following days. Most importantly I
enjoyed visiting those countries and having the opportunity to observe their
normal daily life routines. Being stuck in the cookie cutter society that I
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have always been a part of, I easily thought that what I do and how I live
is the same for everyone; but from this experience I quickly saw that I am
only a little spec in a huge world of diversity and change. I learned firsthand
from the people we met in the coffee shop about the various things that the
Hungarians people have been through and their struggles since World War
II. I am still amazed that the people in Buda and Pest were separated from
each other for years because Hungary didnt have money to reconstruct their
connecting bridges which were bombed during WWII.
The third question we asked students prior to and after their trips was:
What do you know about the various subcultures in the country and their
contributions? Prior to the course, the students really did not even consider
that the country was multicultural.
Sarah wrote about her experience in Austria. Mauthausen. Something
you can never forget. There is nothing that can prepare you for what you
will experience as you walk through this concentration camp. As I walked
through each building, the roll call area, the execution chamber, I cannot
help but think of who has walked there before me. I see faces that have given
up hope, eyes full of terror, hearts full of anger of people that did nothing
to deserve this tragic fate. I imagine how many of those people were ready
to claim death and try to think of those who were fighting until the end.
Nothing can prepare you for the rush of emotions as you walk through the
gas chamber, see the crematorium or picture the atrocities that happened
on the dissection table. Learning about the Holocaust in school, watching
the watered down movies about the horror, and reading the firsthand
accounts of Holocaust victims still never prepares you for the harsh reality of
experiencing something like this firsthand. I have a total appreciation for the
Jewish people and the struggles they experienced. I also came to understand
why so many of the German soldiers used drugs and alcohol because not all
of them agreed with the commands that they were given. While I still struggle
with the Nazi treatment, I am at least able to understand that some of these
soldiers had different convictions than Hitler, and turned to substance abuse
to carry out their horrific duties. There deeds were still wrong, but their
convictions cannot be overlooked.
Kylie wrote, while in Russia I also learned that the people today do not
like to consider themselves as Communists. Before visiting the country I
was actually unsure whether they are a communist country. When you hear
Russia referred to in the American media, there is a negative communist
connotation still associated with the country. After studying the history and
visiting the various palaces of past czars, I realized why the starving masses
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Roman Coliseum. When studying America history, I know that many Italians
settled in New York. As far as I know, the Italians are friendly with all people
and are very wealthy.
Lucy wrote about her experience, during my time in Italy there was a local
and national election. I was shocked to discover that the Communist Party
was a viable part of both elections. While in Italy, I learned that the city of
Castiglion Fiorentino was actually bombed by the Allies, which I have now
discovered England and the United State were members of during World
WarII. After my experience, I now know that Italy was a socialist country and
is today a Constitutional Republic, which means they elect their officials. My
American history classes never impacted my view of the international issues
of Italy. I am embarrassed that I didnt know about the political structure of
Italy as a college student.
Don shared in his journal prior to departure, I would assume that all
people living in Italy are of Italian and Catholic descent. I feel confident that
they all speak Italian and I will not experience many other cultures. It seems
the primary influence of the Italian culture in the United States in food. The
other things that I know about Italy are from movies I have watched where I
have observed that they are very family oriented and like to get together and
eat and celebrate. It appears to me that the mother is the most influential
member of the family.
After Don spent two months in the Italian schools he learned, The Italian
schools have immigrant children who do not speak Italian and lessons must
be modified to accommodate the various the Italian language learners. I had
my eyes open to the fact that Italy has influenced more than food and they are
known throughout the world for their cultural innovations such as irrigation,
architecture, art, and the fashion industry. While the mother is revered, the
father is still considered the head of the family. From the past two months
I have recognized the influence of the Italian culture on the United States.
The final question that we posed with our two-month Italy group was:
What do you know about the various subcultures in the country and their
contributions? As with the ten-day study abroad trips, our American students
didnt realize there were so many subcultures in Italy.
Patricia wrote prior to the experience, I knew that Italy was known for
their numerous cathedrals. I also know that there are many fashion designers
in the popular magazines and Italy is known for its sense of fashion. In
addition to these two groups of people, I have always read that Italy has
many artists and architects and they are famous for their buildings and their
ancient culture.
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CONCLUSION
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C. Boettcher etal.
investigation of our former students in the field and how they are using the
knowledge from their study abroad experiences. In conclusion, the authors
agree with Dantas (2007), that educational programs with an international
component and cultural immersion provide students opportunities to create
a better understanding of self and to subtract stereotypes of other cultures.
REFERENCES
Barkhuizen, G., & Feryok, A. (2006). Pre-service teachers perceptions of a short-term
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Bateman, B. A. (2002). Promoting openness toward culture learning: Ethno-graphic interviews
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Braskamp, L. A. (2008). Developing global citizens. Journal of College & Character, 10(1),
15.
Brindley, R., Quinn, S., & Morton, M. L. (2009). Consonance and dissonance in a study abroad
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Dantas, M. L. (2007). Building teacher competency to work with diverse learners in the
context of international education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 34(1), 7594.
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Hammer, J., Wiese, P., & Boettcher, C. (2011). Exploring implications, observations, and
conclusions of a cross-cultural partnership between pre-service English as a second
language (ESL) teachers and an Italian middle school. Panel Presentation and Paper,
Hawaii International Conference, Honolulu, HI.
Janes, D. (2011). Beyond ignorance: Using the cultural stereotypes of Americans studying
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Pence, H. M., & Macgillivray, I. K. (2008). The impact of an international field experience on
pre-service teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 1425.
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Cynthia Boettcher
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Janet Hammer
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Sunni Sonnenburg
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
121
KAMALA WILLIAMS AND NORVELLA CARTER
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, there has been a demographic shift of those seeking careers
in teaching. As more of the teaching force is filled with middle class White
women, vacancies for positions in diverse urban schools increase. There
is a diminishing resource pool of teachers entering the profession with a
desire to teach in an urban setting, further exasperating the receivement
gap for diverse students in urban settings. Getting certified teachers to seek
positions in urban settings is a systemic problem, which is multiplied by
negative views of cities and city schools. While the media has sensationalized
these views, some researchers have exasperated these views by explaining
urban conditions through deficit theories and unchallenged stereotypes that
promote racism and discrimination. Yet, according to the National Center
for Education Statistics (2012), urban districts account for more than 50%
of the total school districts and teaching population in the nation; thus
teacher education institutions are responsible for preparing teachers for
urban schools. Alternative education programs have increased over the past
decade, because of the shortage of teachers being produced by traditional
college programs (National Center for Alternative Education, 2007; 2008;
Ng, 2003). Many education institutions are beginning to rethink how to
attract and prepare urban teachers. In this chapter, we offer an overview of
the historical context of urban education and preservice teachers, a revised
model of a preparation program, a description of a revised field experience
course and the preliminary findings of the dispositions of preservice teachers
that are headed for diverse classrooms. Based on current teacher education
needs, additional studies are warranted on the study of preservice teachers
for urban environments. The terms preservice and student teacher are used
interchangeable in this chapter. This school district refers to preservice
teachers as student teachers.
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K. Williams & N. Carter
Researchers have argued extensively that urban teachers need specific skills
and preservice teachers need specific experiences to develop their expertise
(Bennett, 2000). It is becoming more widely understood that preservice
teachers who aspire to become urban teachers should be provided with the
necessary experiences to enable them to be effective in diverse classrooms.
Unfortunately, faculty members at many teacher education institutions are
not unlike the profile of the preservice teachers they teach, meaning they
are comprised of primarily White, middle-class females. While the faculty
members are sympathetic to issues of cultural diversity and social justice,
they simply have had little experience working in urban schools themselves
(Singer, Catapano, & Huisman, 2010).
Therefore, the authors revisited a model previously used at a university in
the Midwest part of the country to provide educational experiences to assist
preservice teachers in learning to teach in urban environments. Additionally,
an urban specialist was assigned as the field experience supervisor and
student teaching course instructor to provide the instruction needed to be
effective.
With the rising concern about how to enhance the quality of education
in urban schools, studies began to support the significance of teachers
behaviors and attitudes in the educational process (Gollnick & Chinn 1986;
Sleeter & Grant, 1994). Urban teachers were found to need high levels of
cultural sensitivity often demonstrated through their attitudes, behaviors, and
instructional practices in the classroom (Larke, 1992; Zeichner, 1992). In
addition, teacher beliefs operate as filters through which their interpretations
and decisions are made in practice and instruction.
The traditional core experience required the students to spend a set number
of hours in the classroom before student teaching. The hours were spent in
predominantly White middleclass settings where the socioeconomic status
was similar to the university students own experience. The students were
not prepared for diverse classrooms. The preservice teachers were introduced
to an initiative designed to provide additional support for placement in
urban settings. The teacher education program at a Type I university in the
Southwestern part of the United States was reflective of a growing number
of large teacher education programs needing to redesign coursework
and experiences to prepare preservice teachers for diverse classrooms.
The initiative redesign focused on a student teaching model with equally
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Preparing Preservice Teachers for Diverse Urban Classrooms
applied for positions after completion of their student teaching. The district
continues to support new teachers with a new teacher induction program.
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K. Williams & N. Carter
was invited to speak to the student teachers. The discussion was organized
to address how to avoid the pitfalls of anti-racist teaching. This presenter
described ways in which educators who try to promote anti-racism in the
classroom can promote the dominant ideology that is prominent in mainstream
education by emphasizing individuality, placing too much focus on the
Other and by using teaching strategies based on deficit theory. The author
explained different ways all educators can support the dominant discourse
on race relations and offered suggestions to keep equity at the forefront of
teaching. The student teachers were encouraged to ask questions and discuss
scenarios openly in a safe environment.
The urban specialist, in the role of field supervisor completed all required
observations of the student teachers in the classroom. Shortly following the
observations, the urban specialist conferenced with the student teachers to
address their teaching practices. As part of the follow-up conference, the
student teachers were provided a chance to reflect on experiences requiring
guidance about their lessons. This gave the urban specialist an opportunity
to offer input regarding teaching practices based on culturally responsive
pedagogy. A critical part of the urban specialist responsibility was to mentor
the student teachers. As a supportive mentor, the urban specialist addressed the
immediate needs of preservice teachers by providing psychological support,
assessments, feedback on teaching and identified areas of improvement.
An essential component for creating positive preservice teaching
experiences was the scheduled share and support sessions. Psychological
support built the preservice teachers self-esteem and ability to handle stress.
The journals student teachers kept afforded the urban specialist with ideal
discussion topics. The student teachers used journaling to express their many
concerns and challenges. The process allowed the urban specialist to guide
and direct student teachers appropriately. During these scheduled sessions,
the student teachers were also able to share common experiences with one
another.
The USTEP Model illustrates the importance of collaboration and support
between the university, district and urban specialist in preparing preservice
teachers for diverse urban classroom. The relationship model displayed in
Figure I depicts an equal importance on each component with interaction
among all entities. In keeping with a tenet of culturally responsiveness, the
student teacher is at the center of the process. While each component is
equally important, this model places light on the significance of the urban
specialist. The role of the urban specialist as course instructor and field
supervisor provided the students with valuable expertise as mentor. The
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Preparing Preservice Teachers for Diverse Urban Classrooms
USTEP MODEL
This model illustrates how the university collaboratively worked with an,
urban district and an urban specialist to preservice teachers. The goals of
implementing the initiative undergirded by the fulfil the needs of USTEP
Model included:
1. promoting the confidence of the preservice teacher in diverse urban
classrooms;
2. improving effective teaching behaviors for all student teachers;
3. increasing knowledge and application of culturally responsive teaching;
and
4. increasing the numbers of prepared urban teachers for diverse urban
classrooms
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DISPOSITIONS OF APPLICANTS
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K. Williams & N. Carter
Urban Choice
A theme emerged that is worthy of discussion, specifically, an urban school
as a place of employment. In a classic study by Carter and Larke (1995), a
group of 45 White, middle-class preservice teachers were asked to explain
in detail why they would not accept a teaching position in an urban school.
Some of their responses were the following:
I realize I am being selfish and idealistic, but I dont want to settle for
less.
I couldnt handle being in a school where teachers spend most of
the day dealing with depressing problems.
It was a great [urban field] experience, but I would be embarrassed to
tell my friends and family that I work here
These comments were made almost 2 decades ago, but according to more
recent studies, the predispositions of these students still exist and are attached
to real feelings about their jobs as a social status symbol (Hollins & Guzman,
2005; Jenkins & Carter, 2013;Singer & Hoffman, 2008). For these preservice
teachers, the wealth and social status of the school district determined their
personal value and worth as a teacher. Larke and Carter (1995) reported
these students were steeped in their philosophical orientation toward how to
establish their own sense of worth and it was tied into their desire to teach in
affluent school districts. Some of these same students pursued an urban field
placement because it would look good on their resume or show they were
well-rounded to an employer.
In direct contrast, preservice students who applied for the USTEP initiative
were excited and eager to seek employment in an urban environment. They
actively sought opportunities to serve children in city schools and articulated
passion toward being in the city. Prepositions of preservice teachers may
have implications for recruitment and the selection process of potential
teachers for diverse classrooms.
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Cohort Support
An essential component for creating positive preservice teaching
experiences was the weekly share and support sessions. The preservice
teachers overwhelmingly expressed the importance of the cohort support.
Psychological support built the preservice teachers self-esteem and ability
to handle stress.
Being a part of a group where you could discuss your experiences and
share ideas every week was so important. Sometimes you were going
through some of the same things and you were able to share that with
others in the program.
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Discussions with the group and support from supervisor. Just to know
the members of the cohort were experiencing some of the same highs
and lows and to have someone to help you work through those situations
was most helpful.
The opportunity to work in a cohort with other student teachers so
closely. journaling and reflecting on assignments and experiences with
your group in our weekly meeting. I knew others were having some of
the same experiences we were able to discuss and share.
Supporting emerging teachers was incorporated as a form of therapeutic
guidance. Teacher efficacy was an important element. Teacher efficacy is
the extent to which a teacher believes he/she can actually teach the children.
To build self-confidence and a high sense of teacher efficacy, discussions
and activities oriented around self-assessed needs and concerns are essential.
Peer share and support sessions were built on the founding codes of trust,
respect and confidentiality. These requirements were critical to the success
of the group meetings. Support was sustained throughout the program by
dialoguing with the preservice teacher and his or her peers. Scheduled weekly
meeting sessions allowed opportunities for them to voice their concerns, vent,
share their successes and challenges, and help one another solve problems.
These meetings assisted preservice teachers cope with problems and gave
them opportunities to reflect, learn and grow professionally.
Through sharing personal experiences, preservice teachers gained
a deeper understanding of themselves as emerging teachers. Feedback
received during this process enabled them to see that others were
experiencing the same challenges. One of the most important aspects of
these confidential group sessions was that the activity permitted teachers to
share their accomplishments and frustrations without fear of consequences.
Since the urban specialist was university-based, there was no inclination
to cast judgment. According to Rogers and Babinski (1999), peer meetings
also allow preservice teachers to feel part of a group, thus retarding
feelings of isolation. Consequently, peer support sessions reduce isolation
and provide candid and sincere dialogue from peers experiencing similar
challenges.
Danielson and McGreal (2000) reported that structured journal reflections
on practice effectively promoted professional learning. Reflection was a
means for improving classroom process and outcomes. When preservice
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CONCLUSION
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K. Williams & N. Carter
Recommendations
Finally, it is recommended that colleges and universities should answer
the call to provide the nations schools with adequate numbers of teacher
prepared to teach in diverse urban classrooms, a change in the preparation
of preservice teachers should be considered. Universities should recruit
and identify students that are willing to teach in urban schools. In addition,
these students should be supported by a district that provides continuous
professional development during the preservice field experience. The
district should identify cooperating teachers who want to guide, mentor
and share best practices that are grounded in culturally responsive
pedagogy. The university should provide preservice teachers interested
in teaching in an urban setting with an urban specialist as supervisor and
instructor. Preparing teachers for urban schools should be viewed as a
distinctive component of teacher education programs, rather than adhering
to the traditional standards involving general guidelines. Additionally,
new models with specialized criteria should be embraced. The use of
various components of this evolving model may be useful in identifying
existing programs that allow preservice teachers to be supported by the
university, district and an urban specialist to help in deconstructing new
experiences faced in diverse urban schools, thus negating the perpetuation
of stereotyping and discrimination.
NOTE
The present uban education model discussed in this chapter is based on the foundational
1
model introduced by Carter and Larke (1995). This model has been in used for nearly 20
years at various institutions thus a revisitation of the model is needed.
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Preparing Preservice Teachers for Diverse Urban Classrooms
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Kamala Williams
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development,
Texas A&M University
Norvella Carter
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development,
Texas A&M University
143
TRACEY S. HODGES, ERIN MCTIGUE, APRIL G. DOUGLASS,
NANCY DUBINSKI WEBER, KATHERINE LANDAU WRIGHT
ANDANNA DE LA GARZA
INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE
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should these courses be informative, but they should also fully prepare future
teachers for the task of teaching writing themselves. The specific goals of
these courses can differ; however, they should be designed to provide students
with specific, authentic practice in writing that both inform their knowledge
of the content and allow them to practice effective writing methods.
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teacher behaviors and strategies (Kane, Taylor, Tyler, & Wooten, 2011). The
observations can be triangulated with other data such as student achievement
scores and survey responses to identify specific teaching practices that
lead to positive student outcomes (Raphael, Pressley, & Mohan, 2008) like
engagement (Raphael et al., 2008; Ross, Smith, Alberg, & Lowther, 2004)
and achievement (Kane et al., 2011). This method increases our overall
understanding of effective teaching (Waxman, Padrn, Franco-Fuenmayor,
& Huang, 2009).
METHODS
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Participants
Two sets of participants are the focus of this evaluation. The first set of
participants consists of 233 preservice teachers enrolled in 12 sections of
face-to-face writing-intensive education courses in the spring of 2014. The
second group of participants consists of the eight instructors of the writing-
intensive courses.
As can be seen in Table 1, 84.6% of the preservice teachers are White, and
the majority (n=113) indicated that they are interested in pursuing an early
childhood (EC-6) certification. The majority (83.9%) are either sophomore
or junior classification, and 66.7% indicated they write more than three times
Classification 2 .9%
Freshman 61 26.1%
Sophomore 140 59.8%
Junior 29 12.4%
Senior 1 .4%
Graduate
Ethnicity 2 .9%
African American 2 .9%
Asian 26 11.1%
Hispanic 198 84.6%
White 3 1.3%
Other
Certification Area 113 48.3%
EC-6 89 38%
4-8 16 6.8%
8-12
Frequency of Writing daily 70 29.9%
3-5 per week 86 36.8%
1-2 per week 64 27.4%
less than 1 per week 10 4.3%
Never 3 1.3%
MyCompLab Grammar Module
Yes 97 41.5%
No 136 58.1%
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Instruments
Two surveys and three classroom observation instruments are the focus of
this analysis. Together, they collectively tell the story of what happens in
writing-intensive education courses and what impact these courses have on
preservice teachers who will be tasked with teaching writing.
The Preservice Teachers Self-Efficacy for Writing Inventory, Pre-Version
is divided into four major sections: (1) demographic information, (2) self-
efficacy for writing, (3) self-efficacy for writing instruction, based on the
effectiveness of the teacher preparation program, and (4) self-efficacy for
writing instruction. Section 1 asks preservice teachers to indicate the course
for which they are currently enrolled, their classification, gender, ethnicity,
certification area, the number of writing-intensive courses they have
Table 2. Writing-intensive
education course instructors
Instructor ID Course Taught
1 A
2 A
3 A
4 B
5 B
6 C
7 C
8 D
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completed, how often the write, types of writing activities, and the status
of their completion of the MyCompLab grammar module. This information
was used to establish similarities and differences among samples. The
reliability scores for the current sample were moderately high ( = 0.892)
and fell within an acceptable range, using current research.
Sections two through four ask questions to establish the self-efficacy for
writing and writing instruction, as well as preservice teachers beliefs about
the effectiveness of their teacher education program in preparing them for
writing and writing instruction. Questions for sections two and four are rated
on a 5-point Likert scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5),
while section three is rated on a 3-point scale from not at all (1) to a great
extent (3).
The Preservice Teachers Self-Efficacy for Writing Inventory, Post-
Version consists of five major sections: (1) demographic information, (2) an
evaluation of the effectiveness of the course for which the preservice teacher
is currently enrolled, (3) self-efficacy for writing, (4) self-efficacy for writing
instruction, based on the effectiveness of the teacher preparation program, and
(5) self-efficacy for writing instruction. The primary difference between the
two surveys is the addition of section two on the post-course survey, which
asks the participants to directly compare their experiences from beginning
to end of the semester. This section served as an additional comparison to
the two surveys by focusing specifically on how the preservice teachers feel
their self-efficacy for writing and writing instruction has changed throughout
the semester. Questions for sections two, three and five are rated on a 5-point
Likert scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5), while section
four is rated on a 3-point scale from not at all (1) to a great extent (3).
Overall reliability scores for this sample were high (=0.915) and reflected
current trends in current research.
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Procedures
The 233 participating preservice teachers were administered the Preservice
Teacher Self-Efficacy for Writing Inventory, Pre-Version during the third week
of classes to assess their initial views on writing, the effectiveness of their
teacher preparation program, and their initial views on writing instruction.
The Preservice Teacher Self-Efficacy for Writing Inventory, Post-Version,
which was a follow-up measure, was administered during the second-to-
last week of courses. Using both instruments together, we calculated effect
sizes to determine the impact of each instructor on the self-efficacy beliefs
of students in that course.
Two classroom observations were completed for each instructor. One
observation occurred before Spring Break and focused on a day devoted to
writing instruction. The second observation occurred after Spring Break and
was specifically chosen as a more general education day in the course. We
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wanted to analyze how the instructors specifically taught writing and observe
how much writing was present in a class day not devoted to writing instruction.
As each course is designated as writing-intensive, writing should have been
present even if the focus of the lesson was on general course content.
During the systematic observations, we utilized all three instruments, The
Instructor Observation Instrument, The Student Observation Instrument, and
The Classroom Reflective Instrument. For each observation, the researcher
selected three students who represented the demographics of the class, taking
into consideration age, ethnicity, and gender. To complete the observation,
first, the researcher observed the instructor for 30-seconds then documented
on The Instructor Observation Instrument which behaviors were observed
as well as the setting of the classroom, type of instruction, and focus of
the instruction. Next, the researcher observed each student for 30-seconds
and documented the classroom setting, writing activities, and writing skills
which were the focus of the instruction. For 50-minute courses, five rounds
of observations were completed. For 75- or 180-minute courses, ten rounds
of observations were completed. Finally, at the end of the observation, the
researcher completed The Classroom Reflective Instrument.
Statistical Analyses
The goal of the present study was to determine the impact of the writing-
intensive courses on the preservice teachers self-efficacy beliefs for writing
and writing instruction. Additionally, we wanted to explore the instructional
practices emphasizing writing within the writing-intensive courses. To
analyze these results, several statistical procedures were used.
Effect sizes. Using Cohens d, effect sizes for preservice teachers self-
efficacy for writing and preservice teachers self-efficacy for writing
instruction were calculated. For the purposes of this study, effect sizes were
calculated for each instructor. This allowed us to compare instructors and
better inform the behaviors we observed within the classrooms.
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two groups. Clear differences were seen among the instructors simply by
analyzing the percentage of time spent on different writing and pedagogical
practices. Interestingly, the two groups did not correlate with overall gains in
the preservice teachers self-efficacy scores. This indicates that the two groups
may represent different teaching styles rather than effectiveness of instruction.
RESULTS
Effect Sizes
According to Table 3, most of the instructors made modest improvements in
overall preservice teachers self-efficacy for writing. As much of the current
research indicates that beliefs cannot be altered (Woolfolk Hoy, Davis, &
1 A F W .191 -1.090
2 A F H .719 -1.254
3 A M W .219 -1.071
4 B F W .147 -.965
5 B F W .223 -1.256
6 C F W .276 -1.886
7 C F W .578 -1.024
8 D F W .237 -1.336
Overall .281 -1.286
Scores
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Pape, 2006), this is a positive finding. The effect sizes represent changes from
The Preservice Teacher Self-Efficacy for Writing Inventory, Pre-Version and
Preservice Teacher Self-Efficacy for Writing Inventory, Pre-Version for each
instructor. Overall gains in preservice teachers self-efficacy for writing are
low to moderate and positive (d =.147.719). The mean for all the instructors
(d=.281) is low but positive.
As can be seen from Table 3, the overall average gains in preservice
teacher self-efficacy for writing instruction are negative (d=-1.886 -.965).
Additionally, the average of all the instructors was negative and low (d=
-1.286). This finding is surprising; however, it reveals important information
about the writing-intensive courses, explained later in the discussion.
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While the results of the study, overall, are modest, the positive effect size
for preservice teachers self-efficacy for writing is impressive. Additionally,
the results of the ANOVAs show that differences among instructors do exist,
in terms of frequency of instructional or student behaviors observed. These
results are not correlated with the effects on preservice teacher self-efficacy,
but they do show differences in pedagogical and instructional practices.
DISCUSSION
This section will interpret the results of the effect sizes, ANOVA, and include
further analysis of the differences between instructors based on instructional
and pedagogical practices.
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and did not have many opportunities to practice teaching writing. These two
limitations to the study could be a factor in our results.
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Limitations
Several limitations are present in this study. First, the study takes place over
one semester. Typically, beliefs are difficult to change and change over longer
periods of time. However, as we found positive effects for self-efficacy for
writing, this limitation is small. Second, because of the time constraints, we
were not able to conduct more observations of the classrooms. One course
we were observing moved online two weeks after Spring Break, which
prevented us from conducting a second observation for three sections of that
course with the same instructor. Third, due to absences, course withdrawals,
and student attitudes, we had fewer students (n=209) complete the post-
survey than completed the pre-survey (n=233). Every course and section had
fewer students engaged in the post-survey. Finally, the surveys administered
are researcher-created by the authors of this chapter. They were pilot-tested
with a small sample (n=26) the semester before this study was conducted.
Therefore, validity and reliability for the scores is being established. Despite
this fact, the reliability scores are generally high for the surveys.
CONCLUSION
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Tracey S. Hodges
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Erin McTigue
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
April G. Douglass
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
168
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Anna de la Garza
Department of Education Psychology
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
169
KATHERINE LANDAU WRIGHT, TRACEY S. HODGES,
AMANDA D. FRANKS, ERIN MCTIGUE AND APRIL G. DOUGLASS
INTRODUCTION
of the failure to translate research into practice has been a lack of use of these
[research-based] practices, especially those related to reading instruction
(p. 3). While Vaughn, Klingner, and Hughes (2000), note a frequent blame-
game about why this gap between research and practice continues to exist,
the current literature offers few solutions. Meanwhile, teacher preparation
programs are currently under pressure to reduce this research-practice gap
by producing highly-qualified and effective teachers (Scheeler, 2008) with
knowledge of current research findings.
In total, drawing from constructivist models of learning, if preservice
teachers are engaged with creating the latest findings in educational research,
they will take ownership in their profession. New ideas can be directly
injected into future K-12 classrooms. Research-trained teachers will have a
mindset to value research findings as they progress in their careers. Finally,
research-trained teachers may engage in informal action-research within
their classrooms.
PURPOSE
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Minding the Gap
Mentoring Framework
As a solution to the research-practice disconnect, we present our experiences
of including undergraduate education students as research interns in
educational research projects. In particular, we have found great success in
partnering undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty in tiered-
mentoring research situations. Within this framework, multiple levels of
mentoring and collaboration are present, benefiting all involved. Figure 1
shows this tiered mentoring hierarchy, and the sections following provide
more extensive descriptions of each tier.
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METHODS
These case studies were developed using data from participant observations
(Creswell, 2013) and semi-structured interviews. All authors of this chapter
(two faculty members and three doctoral students) worked closely with three
undergraduate students in two separate research projects and served as the
participant observers. After research was completed, all three undergraduate
students were interviewed to document their perspectives of the experiences.
The primary research focus for the current study is to examine the lived
experiences of three undergraduate research assistants and how their
experience with education research as preservice teachers helped shape their
knowledge and beliefs about teaching.
Participants. The three students, Jana, Manha, and Gabby (all names
are pseudonyms), represent diverse educational experiences and different
research experiences and were mentored through the research process by
a graduate student, a faculty member, or both. A brief description of each
student, along with their path to educational research, is described below.
Jana is a current undergraduate student, of Caucasian background, in her
fourth year of study as a preservice teacher. She first became interested in
educational research after taking an undergraduate course with Dr. McTigue
(author of this chapter). Jana heard about an opportunity for an undergraduate
research grant, and approached Dr. McTigue about sponsoring her application.
Together, Jana and Dr. McTigue decided to pursue how direct instruction
of character perspectives could impact third-grade students literary reading
comprehension.
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RESULTS
Jana
Jana collaborated in a new reading comprehension intervention study for
third grade students. She became involved in the study because her intention
after gaining classroom teaching experience is to further her education and
obtain a graduate degree. At the time, she was unsure whether she would like
to go into administration, policy, or educational research.
The previous year, Jana had worked, as a nanny, for an engineering
professor, who mentored undergraduate researchers in her laboratory. (As
noted earlier, science and engineering departments generally involve more
undergraduate students in research than education.)Through the engineering
professor, Jana learned about the option of undergraduate research at TAMU.
Jana felt a research experience would help her better understand the process
of educational research and to see if it would be of interest to her and directly
asked Dr. McTigue to mentor her. She hoped exposure would give her a better
idea about what direction she wanted to take in furthering her education.
Jana played an active role throughout the research process. In the first
semester, she was involved in reviewing relevant empirical literature,
creating lesson plans, selecting and reviewing appropriate childrens books,
preparing an IRB (institutional review board) application, and designing
an intervention plan and schedule. In the second semester, Jana organized
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Manha
Manha started out as a biology major whose only educational experience
was teaching religious education every Saturday for three hours in her
home town. Working with the young children made her realize that she
really wanted to pursue a career in education. Additionally, through the
Help One Student To Succeed (HOSTS) program, Manha has been able to
work with children at the university-affiliated early childhood center. These
experiences led Manha to transfer from biology to the College of Education
and Human Development. During her interview, Manha explained that
she became interested in educational research after the teaching assistant
in one of her classes, one of the authors of this chapter, shared insights
about her research. Manha was intrigued by the possibility of one day
pursuing a Ph.D., and this led to a desire to find research opportunities as an
undergraduate student.
Manha has been an active member of the research team since joining the
group in the fall of 2013. Manha played a supportive role in the Perspective
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Gabby
Gabby is a bilingual education student who joined a research team focused
on improving preservice teachers self-efficacy to teach writing. She was
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DISCUSSION
While these are only three case studies, the results demonstrate that involving
undergraduate students in educational research can be beneficial for
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Continued optimism for linking research and practice. In all three case
studies, the undergraduate research assistants made connections between the
research they were conducting and classroom practices they had observed,
both in clinical field experiences and within their teacher education courses.
The students discovered that research guides the practices seen in classrooms;
however, they also noted that research is often not at the forefront of
practitioners minds, particularly with in-service teachers. For example,
Jana noted that she has now realized the importance of educational research
but admitted that it is a time-consuming endeavor and that many practicing
teachers do not have the time to invest in learning and staying up-to-date
with the research. Teachers were not lazy or uninterested in learning about
research, but rather had other demands on their limited time. Other sources
for teaching ideas are more readily available to practitioners.
In addition to noticing the link between theory and practice and the
importance for fostering this bridge, hearing the optimism each of the students
had for research and practice was refreshing. All three students were positive
that teachers could integrate more research into their classrooms and teacher
educators could instruct preservice teachers on how to utilize research in
lesson design. Gabby was particularly optimistic about how research informs
practice and how teachers could benefit from being involved in research
projects. This optimism is encouraging for building more interest in research
among fresh generations of educators.
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Desire to encourage research among peers. The final theme that emerged
from the three interviews is that each student felt a strong desire to encourage
research among her peers. All three students saw strong benefits in working
on research and felt their peers could benefit from these experiences as well.
Each said she would recommend being part of a research team to a peer and
each felt that working on research could strengthen the skills required to be
an effective teacher.
This finding is particularly encouraging to teacher educators who want
to help raise awareness about enrollment in graduate programs, both at
the masters level and doctoral levels. In fact, our three students represent
a diverse group of students with unique backgrounds, interests, and career
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Undergraduate students:
1. Financial support, such as work study funds for undergraduate research,
can allow greater access for all undergraduate students. This also helps
faculty attract undergraduate students.
2. Providing course credit opportunities/course substitutions for students
who engage in research. Similar to providing research funds, alternatively,
if students gain course credit, it allows them greater flexibility in their
schedules.
3. Creating a research certificate or honors track for students engaged
in research would formalize the process and allow students to clearly
document their learning on their resumes.
4. Highlighting the work of undergraduate students in research, such as
in college newsletters and on websites, will help make the practice more
visible for both faculty and students.
5. Annual awards for undergraduate student research both highlights
the work of student-researchers and allows students to enhance their
resumes as they prepare for the job market.
6. University level opportunities, such as Student Research Week,
provide a forum for education students to share their work with researchers
in other fields.
7. Providing funding opportunities for undergraduate students to travel
to present research at conferences.
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CONCLUSION
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Tracey S. Hodges
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Amanda D. Franks
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Erin McTigue
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
April G. Douglass
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
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INTRODUCTION
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also can enhance competencies that go well beyond the knowledge and skills
typically measured by these achievement tests (Bransford, Brown, Cocking,
1999; Collins & Halverson, 2009). These competencies include improved
understanding of complex concepts, connections between ideas, processes
and learning strategies, as well as the development of problem solving,
visualization, data management, communication, and collaboration skills,
which are among the skills that employers find lacking even in many college
graduates (The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families,
the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource
Management, 2006).
In the fall of 2009 the need was identified at our university for a course
on technology integration. While the majority of our undergraduate
students owned mobile devices and various other technologies, they were
not comfortable nor confident in integrating technology in their field based
practicum classrooms. During the adoption of a new degree plan a course,
EDCI 365 Using Technology in Elementary Classrooms was developed and
added to the curriculum for all students seeking Pre-K through 6 teacher
certification. This course provides an overview of technology as it relates
to the design of instruction and practices that support effective teaching and
learning. The focus is on the study of how learning theories are reflected in
and supported by technology and on current and emerging applications in
technology-delivered and supported learning environments. The enrollment
in the course consists of students from various departments including special
education and agricultural education. There is a wide variety of technology
ability and comfort within each class
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empower students to take an active role and take ownership of their own
learning (NNPS, 2012).
Earlier studies of technology in classrooms have shown that many
educators are unprepared to integrate technology into their instruction (Efaw,
2005). Preservice teachers cannot capitalize on the educational potential of
technology if they have not had the opportunity to see how it can foster
learning and how it can be integrated into the curriculum. Its a mistake
to give teachers computers and demand that they find useful things to do
with them. Instead, we need to create opportunities for teachers to integrate
technology into the curriculum (Knobel, 2009).
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updated), the quality of the page itself (what kinds of sites it links to, and
whether those links are current), and finally checking the history of the
website itself through tools such as https://archive.org/web/ We emphasize
the need for students to try and find primary sources of good quality when
doing research of their own, and also of the real need to teach their own
classes about concepts such as web literacy. We also try to debunk myth such
as the idea that the use of the internet has generally speaking been detrimental
to student creativity and writing capabilities by exposing students to such
information as the Pew Internet use report that found that 77% of teachers of
advanced writing courses in high school thought that the internet and digital
search tools have had a positive influence on student writing (Pew Internet
and American Life Project, 2012).
Experts agree that some of the most critical areas that need to be addressed
in technology integration include giving students access to primary source
material, redesigning learning environments and integrating mobile
technologies into classrooms. Each of these areas is discussed further below.
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Feedback
We have received positive feedback from our students and the administrators
that have hired these students. During her senior methods semester one of
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CONCLUSION
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Robin Rackley
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Radhika Viruru
Department of Teaching Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
210
LYNNE MASEL WALTERS, MARTHA R. GREEN,
TIMOTHY N. WALTERS AND LIANGYAN WANG
INTRODUCTION
The term reflection has become one of the most important vocabulary
words of teacher training (Hatton & Smith, 1995). One quality a good teacher
should possess is the ability to reflect on what, why and how things are done
and to adapt, develop and improve his or her practices within the context of
lifelong learning. Individuals construct understanding through the process of
reflection on experience (McDrury & Alterio, 2003; Schunk, 1990; Connelly
& Clandinin, 1990). Freire stated, "Within the word, we find two dimensions,
reflection and action, in such radical interaction that if one is sacrificed- even
in part- the other immediately suffers" (1970, p. 69).
Thus, for teachers, reflecting deeply on their educational philosophy and
practice is a critical first step for taking action in the classroom. While it
may be painful to look in the mirror and consider the who, what, where,
when, why and how of what works and doesnt work in the classroom, the
unexamined teaching career can lead to becoming just a glorified babysitter,
stuck in a rut and no longer enjoying the job. Times change, perspectives
change, and [teachers] must change in order to adapt and to remain relevant
in the ever-changing world of education (Lewis, n.d.).
Because of the perceived importance of reflection on educator
performance, faculty in schools of education around the world are teaching
and researching this practice. Teacher educators are using such techniques
as journals, portfolios, fieldwork, coaching and mentoring, in-class projects
and peer collaboration to encourage their students to become reflective
teachers (Edwards, 2007). Many studies have shown that these techniques do
not work; teacher trainees reflect at a superficial level, if at all (Collier, 1999;
Bean & Stevens, 2002). Colliers (1999) study of four student teachers found
that reflective practice was typically at the lowest level of thinking, with only
PURPOSE
John Dewey raised the issue in his book, How We Think (1933). He defined
reflective thought as active, persistent, and careful consideration of any
belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support
it and the further conclusions to which it tends (Dewey 1933, p. 118).
Through reflective thought, individuals create new meaning that leads to
growth and the ability to take informed actions.
Dewey stressed that reflection involves communication within a social
context and world (p. 11). This definition encompasses many of the attributes
commonly associated with behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism
namely, learning as a lasting changed state (emotional, mental, physiological)
brought about as a result of experiences and interactions with content or
other people (Siemens, 2004).
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to make sense of the world we experience and create (Szurmak and Thuna,
2013). Through narrative, we learn from an event or encounter, by reflecting
upon it, declaring what it means, and distilling it into a symbolic form to be
expressed and remembered (Davis, 2006). The resulting knowledge becomes
ones own (Boase, 2008, 4).
The ancient narrative art of cave walls and campfires has been re-shaped by
the modern tools of technology (Lathem, 2005) into the digital story. This has
become an important teaching and learning technique in American classrooms.
Currently, we are witnessing dramatic growth in the educational use of digital
storytelling, as a convergence of affordable technologies interacts with a
contemporary agenda for todays classroom. (Robin, 2008) The combination
of powerful, yet affordable, technological hardware and software meshes
perfectly with the needs of many of todays classrooms, where the focus is
on providing students with the skills they will need to thrive in increasingly
media-varied environments (Riesland, 2005). Storytelling may mimic our
brains functions, but technology alters or rewires our brains. The tools we use
define and shape our thinking (Siemens, 2004).
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There are two types of students in this class, preservice teachers who receive
a Bachelors degree in education or a content area and enter the Masters
program, without full-time classroom experience, and in-service teachers
who are seeking a Masters degree to advance their knowledge and/or their
professional opportunities. All share a common goal, which also is the goal
for the course, that is, to enable student to teach and work effectively in a
culturally pluralistic society.
Cultural Foundations is a multimodal and interactive course. Along with
lectures, students are provided with a wealth of materials, readings from
texts, academic journals, newspapers, magazines and books. Instructors
also provide movies, videos, podcasts and PowerPoint presentations that
enable the class to examine socio-cultural forces that influence the American
educational system. Each assignment includes an online discussion, with
prompts provided by the instructor. Responses are posted and graded in
eCampus, the universitys online platform. There is feedback from the
instructor to all students, using whatever medium is most available and
appropriate.
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L. M. Walters et al.
to the visual clips, established the framework for the digital story and
shifted narrative writing into the digital environment. Occasionally backed
by appropriate music or sound effects, personal narration added greater
authentic and emotional substance to the story. Spoken in a conversational
style, personal narration adds drama, and emphasis (Chung, 2007).
To construct the digital story, students were required to use a graphic
organizer, called a storyboard, as a tool to plan the sequence of the scenes and
the interaction of the narrative and visual components. Chung (2006, 2007)
states that the storyboard is a planning tool that helps students efficiently
organize the development or evolution of a story and keeps the story focused
in terms of timing, imagery, audio, and music. It allows the creator to
brainstorm with others, make adjustments in the pre-production phase of the
digital process, visualize and reflect on the storytelling, and focus the story
and the timing in several key frames. In other words, the storyboard is the
place to plan what media to use and how they might best work together to
depict an important, engaging, and informative story (Chung, 2007).
Students were provided with a storyboard template, or given the option to
use a digital storyboard in Microsoft Word format. A storyboard looks like a
comic strip with a series of empty rectangular boxes for the visuals and blank
lines beneath each box for dialogue that is to be spoken when the visual is
on the screen. Students were given the choice to draw images, use personal
photographs and video, or locate appropriate images on the Internet using
key word searches. Emphasis was placed on selecting images that extended
the meaning of the narrative and supported the structural development of the
story.
The primary consideration in the selection of the visuals was the meaning
of the story; students were steered away from fancy image effects or slide
transitions, designed to dazzle, rather than integrate appropriately to achieve
cohesion (Chung, 2007). Students were also provided with a rubric as a
guide to the project requirements, as shown in Appendix A. This rubric was
designed by the instructors and a graduate assistant and used to grade the
digital story projects.
Each instructor provided the students with multiple materials, including
handouts, that provided a step-by-step guide to the technical construction
process for making digital stories in the most popular software programs,
including Windows Movie Maker and I-Movie. They also showed examples
of digital stories designed by other preservice teachers, to illustrate how
recorded narrative links to visual representations to extend the meaning of
words.
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digital story with others? What were the differences between writing a paper
and creating a digital story about your cultural plunge?
Three of the researchers examined the open-ended questions, related to
the digital story project, submitted by the 36 students in two sections of the
Cultural Foundations of Education course in Fall, 2013, using the emergent
coding method to establish themes prevalent in the responses. The themes
fell into three categories: Raising Cultural Sensitivity, Raising Perspective
Consciousness, Education and Diversity.
The cultural plunge assignment evolved over several terms, each one bringing
more refinements in the available technology, learning objectives, instructor
directions, supporting materials and evaluation mechanisms. Given our
interest in cultural sensitivity, digital technology, and the process of teacher
reflection, we elected to conduct a qualitative research study to investigate
whether constructing digital stories, based on a cultural plunge, could develop
the reflective capabilities of education students about diversity. They should
be replaced with Students in the Cultural Foundations class noted that that
the experience gave them a sense of otherness young people from different
cultures must feel as they enter the classroom. Said one preservice teacher
who visited a Hindu temple:
Ive learned that I need to be more culturally sensitive in my classroom
in order for students that have come from different countries to feel
welcomed. I want to learn more about different cultures as well and
visit different countries to experience things firsthand.
Said another of her plunge as a volunteer at the Special Olympics:
I look forward to my students sharing their different cultures with one
another and making my classroom a more multicultural environment.
We can learn a lot from each other and this cultural plunge and digital
story has given me new eyes to see all of that.
Results of the study conducted by the authors indicate that transforming the
cultural plunge experience into a digital narrative increased the education
students level of perception consciousness, as they enhanced their words by
combining them with images and audio tracks and made choices about how
an audience would respond to the combination of images, words, and sounds
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Many strong people will be needed to educate children in the complex, diverse,
globalized environment in which we find ourselves today. There continues
to be an ever-increasing disparity between the diverse student population in
the United State and the predominantly White teaching force (Steeley, 2003).
The number of K-12 students from culturally and linguistically diverse
backgrounds continues to increase exponentially (Major & Brock, 2003).
In fact, by 2042, the minorities are expected to the majority in the United
States. However, most students entering the field of teaching continue to be
White, monolingual, middle-class women (Ference & Bell, 2004). Female
European-American teachers will thus continue to comprise the greatest
proportion of educators for some time to come, but will be teaching students
increasingly different from themselves in terms of race, ethnicity and social
class.
For the vast majority of people in the world, direct involvement in life
beyond the local community is infrequent or non-existent. Many factors, other
than personal experience, can shape perspectives; these include ethnicity,
religion, economic and social status, views and expressed through and by the
media: television, newspaper, the Internet, and social media, among others.
Teachers must learn to reflect on and look at phenomena and events from
different perspectives in order to encourage respect and appreciation for
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beliefs, customs and values different from their own if they are to function
successfully in a diverse classroom.
Achieving such aims means that university educators must provide
the means by which these teachers can become good global citizens who
are culturally sensitive, personally reflective and conscious of planet-
wide issues. Critical, too, is the ability of teachers to examine their own
values and attitudes and to develop knowledge and skills so that they can
participate in a global community and disparate classroom (Focho, 2010).
Cross-cultural awareness aids in correcting misunderstandings and fosters
cooperation, forming culturally sensitive individuals who can face everyday
challenges of a society characterized by a culturally diverse, multilingual,
and interconnected world from multiple perspectives (Focho, 2010).
The education students whose digital stories we studied here were willing
to admit how much they needed to learn about the world and its cultures;
that they had held to stereotypes and misinformation about different peoples.
Several said they wanted to travel, learn more about current events and the
rest of the world, to become, said one, a global citizen. The preservice
teacher who attended a service at a mosque believes she is prepared to do
this. She said,
I've discovered that my perception of Muslim people in general to be
scary and suspicious was absolutely wrong. In fact, they are one of
the most gracious and peaceful people Ive met. I will tell my students
its not fair to hate every Muslim person because of the actions some
committed.
From these statements we learned that the Cultural Plunge digital story
assignment leads education students to see culture, as one said, with new
eyes. And the eyes were turned inward, as well as outward, as the students
learned about themselves and how their own culture had affected their
attitudes, values, perceptions and behaviors. As Edward T. Hall explained
in his book, The Silent Language (1959), one of the most effective ways to
learn about oneself is by taking seriously the cultures of others. It forces you
to pay attention to those details of life, which differentiate them from you.
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until the new information can be assimilated and accommodated. They are
in a state of cognitive disequilibrium (Gregoire, 2003). Researchers suggest
that cognitive disequilibrium facilitates further reflection and can lead to
conceptual change, but only if the students are properly motivated (Bendixen
& Rule, 2004; Schunk, 1991).
In higher education, the awareness stage of reflection and the following
cognitive stimulation stage can be encouraged when instructors present their
university students with tasks such as creating a digital story from their
Cultural Plunge assignment. Said one participant:
This assignment has already impacted my classroom by allowing me
to teach with a better understanding of the Jewish faith. Now I feel
much more confident in my delivery on the lesson as well as more
eager to learn along with my students. They have become more open
in discussing discrimination as well as the importance of not staying
silent.
Tasks, such as plunging into and reflecting upon a Shabbat service at a local
synagogue, puts education students in a state of cognitive disequilibrium,
caused by being the other and dealing with elements of a culture that is
not their own, and thus stimulating them to reach comprehension (Graesser,
McNamara, & VanLehn, 2005), while at the same time motivating them
to fully engage in the process of ideological becoming, which, according
to Bakhtin, is an intense struggle within us for hegemony among various
available verbal and ideological points of view, approaches, directions and
values (2002, p. 346). He explains further: Ones own discourse and ones
own voice, although born of another or dynamically stimulated by another,
will sooner or later begin to liberate themselves from the authority of the
others discourse (p. 348).
In addition, this project gave the participants opportunities to understand
and explore their topic through multiple media, which offered unique
angles on or ways of approaching their topic (Ranker, 2008). Evoking new
challenges, followed by new understandings, gradually the students come to
regard themselves as committed to change of behavior and of perspective.
Exposing them to new ideas, metaphors, images and technologies also can
change the way they think about the world and their place in it. This also
provides students with opportunities for ideological becoming, taking
other peoples words, concepts and visual representations and using them
to build their own arguments, themes and theses, giving them ownership of
the project (Bakhtin, 2002; Murnen, 2007). They also begin to connect the
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personal with larger public issues, to be effective as tools for political and
social activism.
Cross-cultural awareness aids in correcting misunderstandings and fosters
cooperation inside the school and across the globe, forming citizens who can
face everyday challenges of a society characterized by a culturally diverse,
multilingual, interconnected world from multiple perspectives (Focho, 2010).
The contention is that, by developing the reflective abilities needed to create a
digital story of a cultural plunge, teachers will develop the ability to function
successfully in a multicultural classroom and an interconnected world.
Education students develop planning skills, learn to understand the
relationship between words and images to convey meaning, and come to
value digital technologies as tools for thinking, learning, and sharing ideas
as they construct digital stories. Results indicated that the students valued the
digital storytelling project as a model for teaching the writing process in the
digital environment, as a method for self-expression and for sharing stories
within a community of learners, and as a strategy for integrating digital
technology in the classroom. Results also indicated that participating in the
digital storytelling project increased their understanding of the connection
between the planning process in the text-based environment and the planning
process in the digital environment and of the relationship between words and
images to convey meaning (Green, 2011).
Writing a personal narrative, thinking about a meaningful personal
experience, and sharing a digital story within a community of learners helped
students in the graduate course develop a greater sense of personal identity
and voice (Walters, Green, Wang, & Walters, 2011). The stories allowed
students to reflect on past experience and to be present as individuals within
a community of learners. A digital story project provides a context for sharing
experiences with others and an opportunity for thinking about self. Rakes
and Casey (2002) suggest that technology training in teacher education is
often thought of as skill acquisition instead of a change process that affects
the behavior of individuals and provides students with effective methods to
transfer strategies into the classroom.
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Timothy Walters
College of Education
Ahmad Dahlan University, Indonesia
Liangyan Wang
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
230
APPENDIX A
Content 1 Clearly describes key Describes key features of Somewhat describes key Does not describe key features
Story Itself features of cultural plunge cultural plunge project, features of cultural plunge of cultural plunge project, less
project, clear rationale rationale for choice of project, rationale for choice rationale evident for choice
for choice of particular particular critical cultural of particular critical cultural of particular critical cultural
critical cultural plunge plunge experience, identifies plunge experience, attempts plunge experience, not clearly
experience, identifies what what initial beliefs are to identify what initial beliefs identify what initial beliefs are
initial beliefs are about the about the project, interprets are about the project, and about incident nor possible
project, interprets possible possible significance of significance of incident. significance of incident.
significance of incident. incident.
(Continued)
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Rubric for grading cultural plunge assignment (Continued)
232
Evaluation Advanced Proficient Basic Needs improvement
Category
Content 2 The pace (rhythm and voice Reasonable evidence of Some evidence of reflection Little evidence of reflection,
Reflection punctuation) fits the story reflection and learning that that shows how the cultural does not show how the cultural
L. M. Walters et al.
line and helps the audience shows how the cultural plunge experience impacted plunge experience impacted on
really get into the story. plunge experience impacted on their emotions, thoughts, their emotions, thoughts, beliefs
on their emotions, thoughts, beliefs and actions. Some and actions.
beliefs and actions. evidence of reflection on Little evidence of reflection
Reflects and draws on other other perspectives about on other perspectives about
perspectives about incident. incident, or consideration of incident, or consideration of
Considers cultural plunge cultural plunge experience in cultural plunge experience in
experience in different ways. different ways. different ways.
Total
Student UIN:
Total Score: /75
Comments:
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DIANNE S. GOLDSBY AND MARY FIGUERO-CHARLES
INTRODUCTION
MENTORING DEFINED
236
MENTORING VIEWED THROUGH AN OPEN CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE
MENTORING IN EDUCATION
Mentoring has been a strategy used for many years and has been used in
the school reform movement (Healy &Welchert, 1990). Mentoring was used
by the ancient Greeks, such as Odysseus as he entrusted his son to an elder
named Mentor for education and guidance. It has been implemented in the
training of nurses, psychologists, scientists, sociologists, teachers, business
leaders, and educational administrators. Mentoring has been a significant
part in the teaching, inducting and developing the skills and talents of
others (Ehrich et al., 2004, p. 519).
Gray and Gray (1985) developed a four phase formalized mentoring
program to induct beginning teachers. Their work was among the first to
study the mentoring relationship while it was developing as opposed to
after the mentoring relationship had ended. They noted the major mentor
functions or roles as situational leadership, role-model, instructor or promoter
of thinking sills, demonstrator or teacher, motivator or promoter of realistic
values, supervisor, counsellor, and promoter of indirect mentoring (learning
form others). The mentor gradually helps the mentee or protg to assume
greater responsibilities and guides him/her to ensure he/she can succeed.
Thus, the mentor fosters discovery, learning, creativity, and self-evaluation
while supporting the protgs attempts to organize new values into his or
her value system (Gray & Gray, 1985, p. 42).
Healy and Welchert (1990) in their work on mentoring contrasted
mentoring with supervising and teaching to clarify the reciprocity in
mentoring (p. 18) and to establish this mutual exchange as a sine qua non
of mentoring (p. 18). Their definition emphasized this reciprocity and noted
an identity transformation by each party as career development was an aim
of the relationship. Their work was a departure from other definitions that
frequently lack grounding in theory (p. 17).
Ehrich and others (2004) examined over 300 research-based articles in
mentoring across education, business, and medicine from the mid-1980s
to 2000 to make inferences about mentoring and its nature and outcomes.
Their structured analysis of the articles found that mentoring has enormous
potential to bring about learning, personal growth, and development for
professionals (p. 536). This was a different focus for many studies which
had focused on the value of mentoring to the mentee. They identified
critical issues for educational administrators to consider in planning and
implementing formal mentoring programs: awareness of the increasing body
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D. S. GOLDSBY & M. Figuero-Charles
of research literature on mentoring, the need for support at various levels, the
need for mentor training, thoughtful selection of participants, and the need
for ongoing evaluations. They supported Merriams (1983) claim that many
mentoring program evaluations were just testimonials and opinions. Only
in educational studies had mentors and mentees considered reflection as a
significant outcome. In the studies reviewed, nearly two-thirds of which were
educational studies, focused on mentoring for practice or beginning teachers.
Mentoring programs for women and people of color have become an area
of increased interest for investigation. Edwards (1995) stated the introduction
of formal mentoring programs into American organizations was to address
affirmative action legislation. Thomas (1989) noted participation by minority
populations in mentoring programs does not eliminate problems as race and
gender misunderstandings can create incompatibility between mentors and
mentees (as cited in Ehrich et al., 2004).
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MENTORING VIEWED THROUGH AN OPEN CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE
and to the mentor. This table indicates the roles involved in the mentoring
relationship:
One of the most important roles a mentor can provide for graduate students
is clear and effective communication and honest feedback (Rose, 2003). Frank
discussions of the observations of the classroom were a required portion of
the program. In the Open Classroom Program each mentor evaluated the
graduate student assigned to his/her courses after the observations and made
a recommendation to the associate department chair for graduate studies
at the end of the semester regarding the work of the mentee. After each
observation, the mentor and mentee met to discuss the observations.
CONTEXT
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D. S. GOLDSBY & M. Figuero-Charles
the content and the delivery of that content. The mentor and mentee could
discuss classroom and instructional issues if they arose and determine the
appropriate course of action.
Mentoring is usually dependent upon the context in which it occurs and
thus varies, reflecting the function it serves for the individuals involved
(Yaffe & et al., 2012, p. 35). Instead of random visits by a doctoral student into
various classrooms, each graduate student involved in the Open Classroom
Program focused on observations of an experienced faculty member. It was
hoped that the program and mentor/mentee relationship would better prepare
the graduate students to teach the courses to which they were assigned. It was
additionally hoped that the mentoring of the graduate students would enhance
their graduate program experiences as The cultivation of developmental
or mentoring relationships between graduate students and their professors
is a critical factor in determining the successful completion of graduate
programs (Davidson & Foster-Johnson, 2001, p. 549).
The particular mentoring arrangement discussed in this chapter stemmed
from the assignment of the graduate student to teach sections of the same
mathematics methods course the faculty member was teaching. In this
particular instance, the faculty member suggested the graduate student
shadow her in her sections of the course and then replicate the activities and
content in the graduate students course sections. This procedure and process
had been followed with other graduate students in previous semesters. The
graduate student would observe the class, ask questions, discuss issues, and
then mimic the lessons with his/herown take on the material with possibly
different activities. The same textbook and syllabus were used for all sections
of the course. As the current graduate student had not taught an elementary
mathematics methods course before, she considered this to be an appropriate
and helpful course to follow.
Description of Course
The mathematics methods course is one of four methods undergraduate
courses preservice teachers take as a block during the semester before
student teaching. The four courses, mathematics methods, social studies
methods, science methods, and reading methods, are taught one day a
week with 75 minutes of face-to-face instructions in each course. Each pre-
service teacher is placed in a local elementary classroom for 8 hours per
day for two days each week. Uniform policies regarding course grading
scales, some common assignments and attendance are in place. The specific
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The mentor, a clinical full professor, has been a faculty member in the
Teaching, Learning and Culture Department for 12 years, teaching sections of
the elementary mathematics methods course and middle grade mathematics
courses each year. The mentor had become the lead elementary mathematics
course instructor for the elementary methods course and as such worked
with other instructors to ensure a similar experience for all the elementary
mathematics methods sections. She was a former mathematics teacher in
middle and secondary classrooms in private and public schools, mathematics
coordinator for a preK-12 school for 10 years, and a mathematics consultant
for a school district. Her academic background and experiences provided
both mathematical content and pedagogical knowledge and skills necessary
for teaching the courses. It was a common occurrence for graduate doctoral
students to observe her courses in the semester prior to teaching sections
of the methods courses. Her goal was to help prepare the graduate students
to teach pre-service teachers in ways that would improve the learning and
understanding of mathematics in elementary classrooms.
The mentee was a middle school mathematics teacher. Unlike previous
mentees, the mentee was a classroom teacher for over 18 years. Her most
recent assignment prior to her enrolment at Texas A&M, was as an 8th Grade
mathematics teacher at a public school in a large urban area in Houston. The
mentees teaching career was extremely diverse. Before her appointment
at the middle school she was a 6th grade Gifted and Talented teacher at
an Engineering School in the same district for five years. She also taught
mathematics to 7th and 8th graders in an inner city school in Hartford,
Connecticut for three years, which according to the mentee, prepared her for
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D. S. GOLDSBY & M. Figuero-Charles
her experiences in Houston. She was also a paid tutor at Oakwood University
in Huntsville, AL. The mentee was a general education teacher in Trinidad
and Tobago for a few years before migrating to the United States.
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expressed by Healy & Welchert (1990) that the degree of maturity that
both parties bring to the relationship influences its outcome (p. 20) and
evidenced the connection between the mentor and mentee that is central
to the mentoring experience (Mansson & Myers, 2012). The pedagogical
explorations of the material were beneficial to both the mentor and mentee.
These explorations reinforced the mentors view of the importance of
specific strategies to the teaching of concepts and the importance of the
engaged learner. The mentor understood and appreciated that the mentee, as
an older female doctoral student, would view the mentoring experience as
an opportunity to share information and develop a sense of camaraderie
(Holley & Caldwell, 2012, p. 251). Perhaps as Rose (2005) noted, women
seek acceptance and confirmation from a mentor and this made the
relationship more productive. Usually the mentees mentor is the primary
research advisor or major professor but the mentor in this instance was not
the mentees major professor. The connection and bond between the two were
their teaching of their common disciple, i.e., mathematics, the mathematics
methods courses and the passion for teaching and for mathematics. Studies
have indicated that women find mentors more helpful in providing support
and encouragement, raising confidence, and providing opportunities for
growth (Rose, 2005).
Initially in discussions the mentee viewed the methodology as artsy and
this was confusing to the mentor. The mentor viewed these activities as being
relevant, engaging, and contextual for student learning. Her experiences had
reinforced for her the need for student understanding beyond the learning of
rote procedures and rules for mathematics. Having prepared for mathematics
teaching with courses beyond those necessary to teach the content in
school mathematics and having experienced teaching at various levels, the
mentor was able to see the continuum of school mathematics and student
characteristics. Thus, the mentor felt it necessary to make the learning
environment and the materials relevant to the pre-service teachers. Rules
and procedures could be developed through exploratory activities in which
students dithered with the material and were engaged. These professional
troves are not concepts and methods from textbooks but approaches with
which the mentor applies the knowledge of the craft (Healy & Welchert,
1990, p. 18.) The necessity of clarifying these ideas and justifying them
to the mentee strengthened the mentors commitment to this approach to
the teaching and learning of mathematics by doing. Her own teaching had
changed as she, herself, had viewed others classrooms and methodologies
during her doctoral studies.
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MENTORING VIEWED THROUGH AN OPEN CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE
Another issue that developed and which was of great concern to the
mentee was her lack of familiarity with the syllabus. Even though she readily
admits that visiting her mentors class was invaluable, she would have
preferred to have more time to become familiar with the entire syllabus and
the textbook. In hindsight, the mentee commented that there was a definite
logic to the topics in the syllabus and had she a better understanding of
the whole, her delivery of the parts would have improved significantly.
Related to this, was the introduction of the new online system instituted
by the university. The mentee had been very familiar with the elearning
portal but the new system called eCampus required training which she did
not receive. She therefore began the experience not having some of the
prerequisite exposure needed to effectively evaluate assignments, and to
post feedback and comments to students. The mentee, strongly believes that
the mentoring relationship should have therefore existed well in advance of
her teaching experience.
The faculty members familiarity with the course content and methodology
sometimes was intimidating for the mentee as she had to learn some aspects
herself before she taught them to the students. In her words, she had not
thought about how one developed the concepts. In her mathematics classes
she was teaching content that built on these concepts, not the specific concepts.
The Van de Walle textbook was a perfect accompaniment to the mentors
approach. However, the mentee felt that exposure to the textbook prior to
teaching the class would have been of benefit to both the students assigned
to her and her professional development. Some extenuating circumstances
had not enabled her to interact with the mentor and the materials before the
semester began as each would have liked.
The mentee was quite comfortable with the mathematics involved but
hesitant with the methodology for teaching the content, especially with what
she referred to as the creative aspects. To create a model to show a concept
other than a drawing was not what she was used to doing. When she viewed
a course assignment to create a Math in a Container, she seemed stymied.
She stated she would not have thought of an example and gladly took the
samples to show her group. She never considered herself to be artistic. As
a math teacher she felt comfortable with this limitation because she felt
there was little need for the expression of what she called artistic ability
in Mathematics instruction. In fact, she often joked among her peers that
Math was her thing because she could not do the artsy stuff. The mentee
had a particular disdain for teachers who required that students spend
large portions of their time transcribing copious teacher notes which were
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D. S. GOLDSBY & M. Figuero-Charles
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MENTORING VIEWED THROUGH AN OPEN CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE
CONCLUSIONS
247
D. S. GOLDSBY & M. Figuero-Charles
both were changed, recharged, and prepared for the challenges of another
school year. The mutual exchange of ideas and perspectives served to bolster
their mutual commitment to their profession and to the continued exploration
of methods of instruction in mathematics that foster understanding and
achievement. The benefits of participation in the program included the
sharing of insights and encouragement and as a dynamic and reciprocal
relationship as defined by Healy and Welchert (1990). Their perspectives
had been broadened through seeing each others views.
Some suggestions for the improvement of the Open Classroom Program
are given that have resulted in improvement of the experience for the mentor,
mentee and the students they serve. Extended time both before and during
the program for the mentor and mentee to interact would be and have been
beneficial since there are aspects of the curriculum that are novel even for the
experienced classroom teacher. The mentors belief that the mentee should
observe the mentor the semester before the mentee taught the course was a
point on which they both strongly agreed. Careful selection and matching of
the mentor and mentees has led to improved quality of the program. Support
for any mentoring program is necessary. This Open Classroom Program
did have departmental support and departmental leadership was open to
suggested improvements. One value of the program has been the reflection
piece as it has provided opportunities for both the mentor and mentee to
reflect on their practice, reconsider what they are doing and why, and work
toward improving their professional practice (Ehrich et al., 2004. p. 532).
Luna & Cullen (1995), in their report on mentoring, noted mentoring
needs to include plans for implementation and evaluation, which encompasses
strategies for establishment of a mentoring program, commitment for
continuation, and responsibility to monitor, improve, and enhance the
program (p. 61). Mentoring should be supported by the faculty, meaning
communication of the mentoring benefits the protg, mentor, and institution,
as well as the faculty's involvement in the creation, direction, and continuation
of a mentoring program (Luna & Cullen, 1995). The Open Classroom Program
has these characteristics and with continual faculty involvement can continue
to refine and enhance the mentoring experience for both mentors and mentees.
The Open Classroom Program has the potential to re-introduce beginning
teachers to an investigative approach to instruction, mathematics instruction
in the specific experience described here, which goes beyond the typical rote
learning approach. It is an opportunity to lead both teachers and students to
a depth of understanding previously and typically ignored by educators. It is
an effort which purposefully attempts to provide and prepare a generation of
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MENTORING VIEWED THROUGH AN OPEN CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE
educators who will through their interactions with each other and with their
instructors derive a new vision for mathematics instruction. If the mentor/
mentee relationship has managed to inspire such innovation in thought and
approach to the instruction of mathematics, then there can be no doubt that
the program was a success.
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Rose, G. L. (2003). Enhancement of mentor selection using the ideal mentor scale. Research
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Dianne S. Goldsby
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
Mary Figuero-Charles
Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
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COMMENTARY
DOUGLAS J. PALMER
INTRODUCTION
communities and with limited achievement and English skills are most likely
to have the least prepared teachers.
Within this educational and political context, a variety of concerns
also have been noted regarding the quality of university-based teacher
preparation programs and their graduates. Concerns have ranged from
academic qualifications of university teacher education applicants, utility of
pedagogical coursework, impact of accountability / accreditation initiatives
for teacher preparation programs, and student outcomes of teachers who
completed teacher preparation programs (National Research Council, 2010).
As a result, in part, of these critiques a variety of alternative certification
programs have been established. In Texas, the single largest producer of
teacher certifications is a for-profit alternative certification company, i.e., A+
Texas Teachers, and approximately half of all teachers prepared in 2013 were
from alternative programs (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). While
educators have expressed concern that the development and expansion of
alternative programs result in poorly prepared teachers, characterizing
differences in alternative and traditional preparation programs is difficult,
at best. There is more variation within program type than between (National
Research Council, 2010). Reviews of research evidence have concluded
that teachers knowledge of curricular tasks, their understanding of how
learners acquire knowledge in a given subject area, and opportunities to
engage in corrected practice are important in the development of effective
teachers (Darling-Hammond and Bransford, 2005); however, research on
characteristics of preparation programs to develop these qualities in teachers
is limited (National Research Council, 2010).
Design and implementation of programs to prepare high quality teachers
require a clear understanding of effective teaching. As noted in the chapter
by Waxman et al., differing perspectives and methodologies to the study of
effective teaching result in different and, at times, conflicting conclusions.
Moreover, the outcomes of effective teaching are varied, e.g., assessed
knowledge and skills, social-affective skills, and self-regulation skills, which
provide additional complexity to our understanding of effective teaching.
With the current focus on student outcomes as a prime marker for evaluation
of teachers and teacher preparation programs and the increasing concern by
stakeholders concerning the utility of standardized achievement instruments
to measure educational outcomes, confusion regarding quality teaching and
quality teacher preparation is to be expected.
Recognizing these multiple challenges, there is a significant need for
quality teachers to educate students from increasingly diverse backgrounds
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Quality Teaching and Teacher Preparation
with skills that support their economic and social development in the 21st
Century. Teacher educators are called upon to prepare individuals who are
safe to practice in the instruction of K-12 students. Faculty in teacher
preparation programs are called upon to design and deliver university-based
coursework and supervise field-based practica to support the development
of future teachers. Moreover, faculty and college administrators are asked to
review and evaluate curricular initiatives and allocate fiscal and instructional
resources to support the delivery of teacher preparation programs. While
there may not be general consensus of research evidence to support specific
teacher preparation practices, instructional decisions to prepare quality
teachers are being made. The chapters in this text reflect the work of a
group of faculty who are engaged in the study and implementation of a large
undergraduate teacher education program.
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CONCLUSION
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REFERENCES
Almy, S., & Theokas, C. (2010). Not prepared for class: High-poverty schools continue to
have fewer in-field teachers. Washington, DC: Education Trust.
Bransford, J., Darling-Hammond, L., & LePage, P. (2005). Introduction. In L. Darling-
Hammond & J. Bransford(Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers
should learn and be able to do (pp. 139). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Center for Education Policy. (2012). A public education primer: Basic (and sometimes
surprising) facts about the U.S. educational system. Washington, DC: Author.
Darling-Hammond, L., & Bransford, J. (2005). Preparing teachers for a changing world:
What teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Hammerness, K., Darling-Hammond, L., Bransford, J., Berliner, D., Cochran-Smith, M.,
McDonald, M., & Zeichhner, K. (2005). How teachers learn and develop. In L. Darling-
Hammond & J. Bransford(Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers
should learn and be able to do (pp. 139). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
National Research Council. (2010). Preparing teachers: Building evidence for sound policy.
Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Palmer, D., Stough, L., Burdenski, T., & Gonzales, M. (2005). Identifying teacher expertise:
An examination of researchers decision making. Educational Psychologist, 40 (1), 1325.
Stough, L. M., & Palmer, D. J. (2003). Special thinking in special settings: A qualitative
student of expert special educators. The Journal of Special Education, 36(4), 206222.
U.S. Department of Education. (2013). Preparing and credentialing the nations teachers:
The secretarys ninth report on teacher quality. Washington, DC: Author.
Douglas J. Palmer
College of Education and Human Development
Texas A&M University
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