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Preservice and Inservice Teachers Collaborating with Technology in K-8 Multicultural Classrooms: Year 2
PROCEEDINGS

, , , , Arizona State University West, United States

Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference, in Nashville, Tennessee, USA ISBN 978-1-880094-44-0 Publisher: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), Waynesville, NC USA

Abstract

Preservice and Inservice Teachers Collaborating with Technology In K-8 Multicultural Classrooms: Year 2 Introduction PT3 staff, AZCOTT teachers and education faculty at Arizona State University West are completing the second year of the Practicum Plus Program that provides hands-on training to K-8 preservice teachers and their mentor teachers to prepare them to integrate appropriate technology in grade level curriculum and practice new technologies and instructional strategies in development of an instructional Unit of Practice (UOP). The preservice and mentor teacher teams are also provided opportunities to explore ways to integrate multicultural influences and English language instruction that merge with technology in order to provide maximized learning experiences for their pupils that accommodate the rich cultural and linguistic diversity found in classrooms in the Southwest and the Nation. Preservice teachers are recruited from classes in the College of Education. Mentor teachers are recruited in local school districts that provide required internship experiences for C. O. E. students. Overview The Practicum Plus Program, made possible through a PT3 Grant, consists of collaborative, hands-on training in technology integration led by PT3 staff, AZCOTT teachers and faculty in the ASUW College of Education. The UOP is a framework for organizing thought and embedding technology into teachers' classroom instruction. Components of the UOP bring into focus seven specific elements of instruction (Invitation, Tools, Situations, Tasks, Interactions, Standards, and Assessment) that align curriculum with developmentally appropriate standards across grade levels and content. Inclusion of State and national academic standards were a requisite part of their UOPs. The ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students (TESOL, 1997) provides the framework for language activities that promote English language acquisition. Method Subjects Participants (48) consisted of two groups, 18 university students who were completing their professional education preparation program as student teachers and 30 inservice teachers. The majority of students were in Elementary Education programs including Elementary, Bilingual, ESL and Early Childhood Education. Technology Questionnaire A 42 item, Likert-scale questionnaire, which assessed teachers' beliefs and self-reported skills levels related to technology use and technology integration, was administered pre and post. (For a full description of the questionnaire see Zambo, Buss, & Wetzel; 2001). The pre-test was administered on the last day of the workshops in the summer of 2001. The post-test was administered on the last day of the workshops in the fall of 2001. Discussion Board The five cohorts of the PLUS program participated in on-line discussions through an electronic Blackboard course. The purpose of the discussion board was threefold: To provide the participants with skills of electronic communication, to encourage collegial sharing, and to create a community of learners who could interact beyond the time and place of the actual workshops. A qualitative analysis of content was used to identify emerging themes as the basis for interpretation. Results The post-test administration of the questionnaire will take place in November. For data analysis groups of items will be combined to compute subscale scores that target, among other things, teachers' perceptions of their confidence and skill level for using technology, knowledge of technology standards and the Unit of Practice, and beliefs about the best use and effects of technology integration. Analyses will include: a measure of reliability for the entire instrument, reliability measures for each of the subscale scores, mean and standard deviations for subscale scores by group (preservice or inservice teacher), an Anova to test for significant pre-post differences on subscale scores, and an Anova to test for the effects of group (preservice or inservice teacher) on subscale scores. Discussion Discussion will include analyses of the Practicum Plus Program data from year two as well as a comparison of data from year 1 and year 2. Differences in recruitment practices, factors affecting participation of preservice teachers and mentor teachers, the addition of AZCOTT teachers to the instructional team, and possible effects of a decrease in university faculty participation in the workshops will be included. Handouts will be provided. References Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (1997). ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students. TESOL: Alexandria, VA. Zambo, R., Buss, R. R., Wetzel, K. (2001). Technology integration in K-12 classrooms: Evaluating teachers' dispositions, knowledge, and abilities. Technology and Teacher Education Annual: Proceedings from the Twelfth Annual Conference on Technology and Education, 2165-2169.

Citation

Zambo, R., Beckett, C., Wetzel, K. & Marquez-Chisholm, I. (2002). Preservice and Inservice Teachers Collaborating with Technology in K-8 Multicultural Classrooms: Year 2. In D. Willis, J. Price & N. Davis (Eds.), Proceedings of SITE 2002--Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 1501-1507). Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved March 19, 2024 from .

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