The promise of technology integration to increase student learning and acquisition of academic skills is far from realized, as teacher instructional practices do not reflect meaningful learning with technology. Inform...
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The promise of technology integration to increase student learning and acquisition of academic skills is far from realized, as teacher instructional practices do not reflect meaningful learning with technology. Informed by sociocultural and situated learning theories, a mixed methods study was designed for eight general education and two special education middle school teachers with 6 to 25 years of teaching experience. Two teachers represented each of the following disciplines: English language arts, history, mathematics, science, and special education (N = 10). The 8-month study used surveys, teacher reflections, and a focus group to determine whether participation in a peer-to-peer coaching intervention changed teacher self-efficacy, technology perceptions, and technology knowledge and skills. A Wilcoxon signed rank test did not find statistically significant changes in teacher self-efficacy or perceived ease of use, but a statistically significant change was found for perceived usefulness of technology. Qualitative data from teacher reflections and a focus group revealed that technology knowledge and skills improved, which may be attributed to teachers engaging in conversations with peers from other content areas. Participation in a community of learners supported risk-taking and openness to integrating technology into instructional practices. An implication for practice is that teachers should collaborate in interdisciplinary teams to increase understanding of how technology can support student learning. Teachers need time to develop collegial relationships as well as explore, plan, and play with technology. Future studies should consider examining formal and informal peer support structures and their role in providing real-time assistance to teachers.
In today's information society there is a wide range of resources available to carry out different activities involving Educational Robotics (ER). Teachers can choose from a variety of robotics platforms, such as ...
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ISBN:
(纸本)9781450323451
In today's information society there is a wide range of resources available to carry out different activities involving Educational Robotics (ER). Teachers can choose from a variety of robotics platforms, such as EIM, IM or I (Electronics/Mechanics/Informatics), as well as different software programs (textual or graphical), and thus eventually create a particular Robotics learning Environment (RLE). Recent studies have shown that learning results associated with ER activities have a stronger link to RLE factors than to proper tools. In this paper we examine the state of the art (RLE resources and features) of ER in Spain and Latin America. A total of 127 teachers completed an online survey between March and May 2013. The final results confirm similar features existing between ordinary school activities and those carried out after school, as well as a high presence of hereby proposed features (active, manipulative, constructive, collaborative, reflexive, intentional, complex, conversational, contextual and technological), promoting significant learning. However, there are important differences with regard to gender, age and participants' countries of origin, as well as their participation in competitions, and their implementation of phases or roles, depending on the different features taken into consideration. This paper points at the importance of focusing research on pedagogical actions which may strengthen RLE features, and thus improve learning results.
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