Creating an Achievement Gap: Preparing teachers to use technology inside and outside the university

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Creating an Achievement Gap Preparing teachers
to use technology inside and outside the
university
Dr. Dennis Kubasko, UNCW Jeremy Dickerson,
UNCW Lauren Fowler, Ashley High School Rick
Neilson, UNCW
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Guiding Questions

• How are students being prepared to use technology
  in their undergraduate education programs?
• What is the typical scenario for using technology
  in many of the schools in our region?
• What are the effects of students being taught to
  use technology in college then given limited
  and/or old technology when working in the schools?

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Literature Review

• Many mentees are more knowledgeable and skilled
  in the use of technologies than their mentors
  (Dexter Reidel, 2003).
• Preservice teachers level of comfort and skill
  in using technology has been seen as leading to
  an increased use of computers in instruction (US
  Department of Education, 2000) and thus, as a
  possible catalyst for changing instruction
  (Pedretti, Smith-Mayer, Woodrow, 1999).
• However, others have argued that future teachers
  need to have more experience with technology and
  receive more guidance in the use of technology
  (Lemke Coughlin, 1999).
• In this presentation emerged and emerging
  technologies refer to the following types of
  technology PowerPoint, electronic grade book,
  computer lab., WebQuests, probeware, handhelds
  and streaming video.

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Literature Review

• The NETS-T standards call for all interns to be
  supervised by a mentor or master teacher on a
  consistent basis to enable them to become
  proficient and technologically literate (ISTE,
  2003).
• Standards state that a mentor or supervising
  teacher should be able to assist students/interns
  identify, evaluate, and select specific
  technology resources available at the school site
  and district level to support a coherent lesson
  sequence and guide collaborative learning
  activities in which students use technology
  resources to solve authentic problems in the
  subject area(s) (ISTE, 2003).
• In a study in which student teachers were asked
  to rank the use of eight different sources of
  support for technology integration, the
  cooperating teacher received the highest support
  (71) while the school technology coordinator
  (57) and fellow students (43) lagged behind
  (Dexter Reidel, 2003).
• However, in the same study, 30 of student
  teachers indicated that instructional support for
  technology at their student teaching site was
  fair to poor, and when asked whether their
  cooperating teacher used and modeled technology
  integration in their teaching, most responded
  strongly disagree.

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Preparing students to use technology in their
undergraduate education programs?

• At UNCW there are several steps in the technology
  integration plan for teacher education
• 1. EDN 303 Educational Technology
• Experience using emerged forms of technology
  Microsoft Office products as applied in education
• Exposure with emerging forms of technology
  Handhelds, streaming video, simulations, etc.
• Introduction to NETS-S and NETS-T

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Preparing students to use technology in their
undergraduate education programs?

• 2. Technology integration in methods courses
• Practice integrating emerged forms of technology
  into instructional practice Microsoft Office
  products for educators
• Experience using emerging forms of technology
  Handhelds, streaming video, simulations,
  probeware, etc. (state of the art)
• Exposure to reality of school integration

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Preparing students to use technology in their
undergraduate education programs?

• 3. Electronic portfolio required for graduation
• Online Toolset Students create, organize, and
  share reflective electronic portfolios that
  demonstrate learned competencies. Students can
  submit work for review and evaluations,
  collaborate with peers, and receive feedback from
  instructors.
• Demonstrate competency in NETS-Teachers
• Synthesize work from content and pedagogical
  experiences both in the academic class at the
  university and from the field experiences

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Preparing students to use technology in their
undergraduate education programs?

• 4. Public School Partnership
• The Watson School of Educations Professional
  Development System is a comprehensive
  university-public school partnership that aligns
  efforts and resources for the improvement of
  education for students in southeastern North
  Carolina.
• Partnership teacher training
• 5. PT3 Training
• Summer academies for in-service teachers
• Instructor integration of technology

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How are students prepared to use technology in
their undergraduate education programs?

• Watson School of Education
• Technology available in every classroom
• PC with high speed Internet access
• Shadow data projection
• DVD/VCR combination
• Document cameras
• Amplified sound
• Wireless accessibility for mobility
• Fully integrated touch panel control
• In-house technical support and instructional use

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What is the typical scenario for using technology
in many of the schools in our service area?

• Technology in the beneficial schools
• Ashley High School
• Description of physical setting (wired and
  wireless classrooms)
• Emerging forms of technology (laptops and
  probeware)
• Support?
• Technology in the challenged schools
• Union Middle School
• Rural counties and public school settings
• Description of physical setting (computer lab)
• Support?

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What is the typical scenario for using technology
in many of the schools in our service area?

• Promotion of technology throughout the curriculum
  by public school administration
• Commitment?
• Deterrents obstacles
• Time learning curve,
• Money - resources,
• EOC requirements,
• Support

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Effects on teacher interns and new teachers

• Morale
• Disillusionment - Frustration
• Professionalism
• Questioning the reality and appropriateness of
  their college curriculum

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General questions on public school students

• Are our student interns and new teachers
  addressing/meeting the needs of the millennial
  learner?
• Are our student interns and new teachers
  preparing learners to live/work in a technical
  society?
• Are learners having less opportunities to learn
  technology?

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Anecdotal Questions that arise

• Was the time spent in college learning and using
  technology worthwhile?
• If Im not going to use technology as a teacher,
  wouldnt I have been better off to have more
  classes on things like behavior management and
  reading instruction?

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Anecdotal Questions that arise

• Can/should the public schools ever catch up with
  the university?
• Should the public schools have minimal technology
  expectations?
• Are the universities spending too much money and
  time on technology?
• Why arent the universities teaching the reality
  instead of the ideal in terms of technology?

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What can be done to bridge the gap?
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Conclusion

• How do we link the ideology of expectations for
  undergraduate education programs in technology
  use with the reality of the workplace?
• Teachers as change agents need
• Collaboration and Technical Support (vertical and
  horizontal)
• Availability of Common Resources (baseline tools)
• Tapping into Partnerships for Effective
  Pre-Service (prescriptive plan for each school
  setting)

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Conclusions

• What typical scenario exists for using technology
  in many of the schools in our region?
• Prepare for the reality of public schools while
  considering the ideology of existing emerging
  tools
• Happy medium thats difficult to define
• Need for technical support
• Pre-service interns need to know who and how
  to ask for assistance
• Do we even know what technology exists with the
  plurality of locations?
• Should there be a common expectation?

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Conclusions

• What are the effects of students being taught to
  use technology in college then given limited
  and/or old technology when working in the
  schools?
• Frustration
• Lost opportunities / untapped potential
• Skill sets with out success stories
• Teacher attrition!